*blinks* Three days? That's all it took me? Wow. I guess I have this paranoia about being late for anything. ^^;; Errm...what was I gonna say? Oh yeah - I think they're called Cinnapons. Honestly, I'm not sure. If I'm wrong, let me know so I can fix it. *mumbles* Don't know why they can't just be called Cinnabuns or something... Boy, once I got started, this chapter wasn't as difficult as I had imagined it would be. I hope it's okay...it's kinda vague at the beginning. Yeah. Anyone else on devART that I haven't seen yet? *bounces around in excitement* I feel so...connected to something. .;; And sorry to anyone who was gonna review chapter 10 but didn't get to it before I updated again!

Finferwin - LOL. No problem, I'm glad to be of service!

Kara Angitia - *grins* I'm just glad it wasn't cavity-inducing sweet. *shudders at the thought*

Konnie-chan - Well, I'm anxious to see how he's gonna tell him, too. It's sad when I don't even know, isn't it? ^_^;;

Kyraille Fade - I didn't want to make Tsuzuki a one-dimensional static character, so I just had to do him justice and show his "other" side. I'm glad you approved of it, m'dear!

nobody's home - Heh, thanks. I don't think I roasted my poor brain too badly. I hope not, anyway.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There used to be times when Tatsumi Seiichiro dreamt of holding Tsuzuki Asato in his arms, of feeling those soft lips against his own. He had always known the beautiful violet-eyed man better than any other Shinigami. That was, of course, until Hisoka entered the picture. Tatsumi had been relieved that his incompetent co-worker had such a responsible partner, but also extremely saddened. It had seemed that this boy who had just arrived already had a connection with Tsuzuki that surpassed his own. Jealousy reared its ugly head, but there was no outlet for it, since he found that he was very fond of Kurosaki-kun. Plus, all the problems with Muraki had distracted everyone to a point that there was no time for hurt feelings. Despite his heartache, or perhaps because of it, he had failed to notice the way Watari Yutaka's hair glinted in the sunlight like gold, or how his amber eyes darkened when he became emotional. It had slipped past Tatsumi that Watari was the more stable, more grounded version of Tsuzuki, except no one seemed to notice him. No, he hadn't realized that his future was there every day, staring him in the face with a genki smile and a plea for a bigger budget. He took it for granted that his pseudo-partner was there for him whenever Tatsumi needed him, whether professionally or personally. Nor had he realized that every time the blonde looked at Tsuzuki and Hisoka together, his eyes took on a wistful and resigned look. Tatsumi Seiichiro had never been the most observant of men, nor the most logical. His emotions ruled him far more than he liked to admit, and he spent most of his time denying them, too busy to accept them. Often, he had looked to his partner with a hint of envy, awed at the way the blonde scientist seemed to remain emotionally detached in his cases, the way he approached every one of life's problems with logic and rationality. Tatsumi had failed to realize that Watari Yutaka repressed his emotions much in the same way as the Kagetsukai did, except that it was more of an automatic defense rather than something he had to struggle with. In fact, no one seemed to realize that fact about their cheerful co-worker. Only Tsuzuki came close to the truth, but he respected his friend's privacy too much to pry.

Perhaps if Watari had analyzed himself more, he would have realized that his emotions were building up, the pressure of their containment gradually becoming too much. Maybe he could have prepared himself for the eventual explosion, recognized the fact that he was not emotionally capable of handling such a feat as Operation: Tatsumi. But his pride kept him from doing so, and in the end he was in way over his head. Even as he struggled with the guilt of using his partner, Watari was too stubborn to admit that he had developed a weakness for the older man. He had tried in desperation to save his experiment, refusing to see just why it was failing - he was falling in love. That was not a variable he had planned for, nor one that he was willing to accept.

Of course, while Tatsumi Seiichiro and Watari Yutaka brooded over their problems, Tsuzuki Asato and Kurosaki Hisoka had demons of their own to deal with.

**********

"It's not like I heard you the first fifty times," Hisoka mumbled grumpily.

Tsuzuki pouted, making his lip tremble theatrically.

"But 'Soka...it's so cute! Tatsumi and Watari together... Don't you think it's cute, too?"

The blonde boy rolled his eyes, giving up on his paperwork. He turned and glared at his partner, impervious to the pathetic look on the older man's face.

"Grow up, Tsuzuki. It's not like you won a year-supply of Cinnapons."

Tsuzuki sat next to the boy, resuming his pouting.

"This is better than Cinnapons! Sweets come and go, but love lasts!"

Hisoka blinked, raising an eyebrow.

"Tsuzuki just admits that sweets aren't a permanent staple in life...someone call the papers."

The violet-eyed man made a surprised noise, grabbing the smaller Shinigami by the shoulders.

"Oh my god, 'Soka just made a joke! Somebody call the papers!"

"Baka, get off me!" he yelled, shrugging the hands away uncomfortably.

Tsuzuki did as he was told, trying to mask the brief flash of hurt in his eyes. He laughed half-heartedly, scratching his neck.

"Aw, c'mon 'Soka, don't be that way."

The boy turned his icy stare to his partner.

"Then don't touch me."

Tsuzuki averted his eyes, sighing softly.

"I'm sorry, 'Soka... You're right. I'm just your partner, after all. Nothing more."

He gave a wavering smile and stood, exiting the office quickly. Hisoka stared after him, surprised and extremely confused. He could feel waves of sadness and loneliness emanating from his partner. 'Maybe I was a bit harsh... I know how much he craves physical contact.' He bit his lip, unsure of whether to ignore it or go after Tsuzuki. Reluctantly, he decided that ignoring it would be the best course of action.

************

Tsuzuki made his way swiftly to Watari's lab, entering the open doorway and flopping down on a vacant chair miserably. 003 hooted, causing the scientist to take note of his unexpected guest.

"Tsuzuki? What's the matter? Hold on - let me put this away." He turned back to his test tubes, carefully setting them aside and jotting something in a battered notebook. He walked over to his friend's chair, kneeling in front of the despondent man.

"Okay, now tell me what's wrong."

Tsuzuki sighed, staring at the floor.

"Hisoka told me not to touch him."

Watari raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"Doesn't he always?"

The older man shook his head.

"Not like this. Why does he always act this way, like I'm a roach under his foot? I thought...I thought that after what happened with Touda, he would ease up some, you know? But it's almost worse than before."

Watari tilted his head thoughtfully.

"Tsuzuki...I don't know if this makes much sense, but bear with me, okay? You know how Seii's always mean and uptight and just generally an ass?" At his friend's affirmative nod, he continued. "Well, you also know that that's an act. A defense mechanism. He's afraid to act any other way for fear of showing weakness and leaving himself vulnerable to hurt. That's what Bon does, too. He pushes you away and acts like he does because he's afraid to show you how much he really cares. Think about it: If he didn't care about you more than anything, would he have rushed into Touda's flames and nearly died just to save you? He didn't even know that you could be saved, Tsuzuki, but he did it anyway. Because he loves you. Trust me, no one runs into deadly flames for you unless they love you a helluva lot. Even Seii didn't go in after you, and we all know how he feels. Doesn't that make sense to you?"

Tsuzuki blinked, thinking hard about Watari's words. 'Maybe Watari's right...'Soka did save me, after all. Why bother with that if he didn't care? But it still hurts so much. Does he even realize how much he hurts me? I know he's an empath, but he's told me before that I can shield very well when I try... Maybe that's it - maybe I shield too much for him to understand! Well, if that's the case, I can fix that problem. I really hope that's what's wrong. Otherwise...'

"Tsuzuki?"

The older Shinigami blinked rapidly, brought back to reality by a pale hand waving in front of his face. Amber eyes stared at him with veiled concern.

"Are you with me?"

Tsuzuki nodded, smiling reassuringly.

"Sorry. I think you're right, Watari. Of course you're right. It's silly of me to even think otherwise. Thanks for the help!"

As he watched his friend bounce unconvincingly out of the lab, Watari shook his head sadly. 'Tsuzuki...how can you just go back to acting like nothing's wrong? You're gonna kill yourself that way...'

*************

The next day was tense for Hisoka. Not because he felt guilty for hurting Tsuzuki's feelings, but because of the intense emotion he could feel from his partner.

"Are you going to sit there or are you going to do something for once?" he snapped, fed up with Tsuzuki's sleeping on the job. The man's head lifted from the desk, and Hisoka felt a small wave of hurt coming from him.

"Sorry. I'll, uh...I'll do something. Just, um..." The elder Shinigami sighed. "I...I uh, I actually only got two hours of sleep last night, so I'm kinda tired."

Hisoka's eyes narrowed, but he could feel the other man's exhaustion.

"Your point being? It's your own fault that you stayed up late, idiot. Stop using excuses to be lazy."

Tsuzuki blinked heavily, a wavering smile plastered on his face.

"I know..." he mumbled, a wave of resignation hitting his partner hard.

The boy shook his head, his own concern growing. 'What's wrong with him?'

"Tsuzuki...if you're not feeling well, you should go home. I'm sure Tatsumi-san would agree."

The violet-eyed man raised his eyes, a hesitant feeling of hopefulness coming from him.

"Are you worried 'bout me?"

Hisoka coughed lightly in unease. 'Of course I'm worried, you idiot!' Instead of voicing this, however, he only shrugged noncommittally.

"You're a burden if you stay here and aggravate me while I'm trying to work."

The younger Shinigami let out a small moan of pain as a fresh wave of despair hit him. Dimly, he could hear Tsuzuki standing over him, saying something. The man's extreme worry and growing sense of guilt were too much to add to the empathic soup, though, and Hisoka passed out.