A/N-Thank you already those of you who have read and reviewed this fic, your comments were very helpful and appreciated!!! Smiles. Gravitation has not yet made their appearance into the fic, but when they do, I will give a brief summary of what the series is like for those who haven't seen it yet!

Thank you again and enjoy this next chapter!!!

Ch 2.

Aya glared in the confines of the small cottage, wishing things were different, wishing that Manx had chosen a different place to hide them. A clock by his bedside table, gently ticked away the passing seconds… minutes… hours. Shwartz would find them no matter where they were. It would only be a matter of time before that happened. And when they did find them, the outcome of the fight would be… His violet eyes closed, tired. Who knows what any outcome of the fight would be? If they could fight long enough to make sure that Shwartz plan was foiled wouldn't that be enough? He didn't like hiding. Didn't like feeling trapped and forced into waiting instead of doing something.

One thing he was grateful for was that Ken and Omi weren't balking at every single thing that was happening like that idiotic Kudou was. He was also relieved to find that the two younger members were taking Yoji into their hands, occupying the man with thoughts of grocery/supply shopping. And while they had left to go get all the materials needed into making this… shack into a home… Aya had been left to take care of the doll that Omi had found when he had first explored the rooms of the house. Only one had been found, thank god but one was already too much in Aya's taste. He had buried it, not knowing what else to do with such a horrific object. He couldn't even think of it as a toy anymore. It no longer was…

He closed his eyes, a fragile memory passing through his mind like an old movie that had been watched too many times. A frown danced upon his brow and then it was gone. The ice was back and so was the mask. There was too much at stake here to remember some past events just because of… A sigh past his lips. Enough of just sitting around, things needed to get done.

It was a couple hours later that the three returned, arms loaded with plastic bags of various sizes and weight. Yoji entered first, groaning about the slave work he was being put through. It took all of Aya's self control to not turn and shinee him. Omi came after the tall man, saying nothing except for having his usual sweet smile on his face. When Ken came in, the door was slammed shut so hard it made the small house reverberate. There was little contrite yelp and a muttered apology before all the bags were dropped onto the floor.

"Kudou and Hidaka clean the house. Omi come with me and clean the kitchen while I start cooking."

"Who died and fucking made you god?" Yoji finally snapped. "My back is aching…my arms are dead… and I…" His shout trailed off as he saw Aya had left the room and had already entered the kitchen. "I hate that man." He seethed through gritted teeth. He moaned and threw a glare at Omi who was already picking at some of the bags to get the material he would need. "Make sure he doesn't poison us bishonen. I'm counting on you!" Ken barked a laugh and shook his head.

"Come on Yoji. We should start…Aya might not feed us if we don't finish." Yoji cursed but grabbed a sponge dutifully still looking vaguely threatening.

"Which room?" Yoji asked through gritted teeth. Ken regarded him for a moment and shrugged.

"The bedrooms? The bathrooms? Any room?" The brunette muttered. "We have to do everything so it really doesn't matter." Yoji's eyes have closed and the man sighed loudly.

"Damn I need a woman right now." With that said he marched into the closest bedroom.

In the kitchen Omi dusted the counters, wrinkling his nose in slight distaste. It was of no use to even try to put cleaning liquid yet… it was too dirty. Aya had made a noise in the back of his throat as he had seen the mess and had quickly spread out paper to cut the vegetables on. He said nothing more and soon Omi had to deal with heavy silence that he usually kept for company. His arm started to hurt and he had to agree for the moment with Yoji's earlier statement that it was like slave work. He turned the faucet on and let the rag that he had been using be washed of the dirt. His hand let go of the disgusting thing as a black like box caught his eye. A radio…

"Aya?" His soft voice shattered the redhead's concentration. The man stilled his quick movements with the cutting knife and turned to face him. "Could we… put on some music or something?" Omi waited until the redhead nodded before wiping his hands on his shorts. He then flipped the switch on, silently praying that it would work. He was careful as he turned it on to not disturb the cobwebs that had gathered on it throughout the years. A little red light started to shine and static filled the air. After a few minutes of fiddling, music replaced the static, making in the other rooms of the house the two older men smile as they continued doing the chores that they had been so generously assigned to do.

…

Hours later…

Hisoka let a sigh escape making violet eyes turn back and stare at him with worry. The boy shook his head. "It's no use Tsuzuki… I can't feel him anymore." The marks of the curse still painted his slim body but the burning pain was gone. The man was here… there was no doubt of that but that was all Hisoka could tell. As long as Muraki didn't do something, he wouldn't be able to pinpoint that beast in a more effective manner than just running around England hoping to catch a glimpse of him. If Hisoka had to be truthful… he didn't even want to see him, find him, and get his revenge. They could bother with that later, when both Tsuzuki and he had more time to rest. All he wanted right now was to… to just… be normal. Something that even when he had been alive, he hadn't been granted that possibility.

Tsuzuki nodded turning away from the boy for a moment as he gazed the horizon. Hisoka heard and felt the sigh that this time Tsuzuki let loose before coming back and facing Hisoka with a tired smile.

"Let's go then." He muttered softly. His hand came up softly and pressed itself against Hisoka's back as if he had been the one who had needed the encouragement to walk away from this… to stop and let go. The younger of the two said nothing, letting the warmth of that hand sooth him instead of irritate him like it should have. A small smile formed on his face before leaving just as quickly. It was amusing how much he had changed… "Ne Hisoka… does this mean we can go eat then?" He nodded without really thinking about what he was agreeing to. "Let's go then!" The hand on his back left slipped away, the warmth staying though. He continued to move forward but apparently he hadn't been going fast enough as Tsuzuki took his hand in his and tugged at it. The older man started to run, pulling Hisoka along with him, ignoring the sudden cursed exclamation.

"BAKA!" A true smile curved the older man's lips and his violet eyes shined as he looked back to see Hisoka's dark scowl directed at him.

Some things would never change.

It was only a few minutes later that Hisoka's hand was finally freed and he was allowed to, with as much dignity, get his breath back. Tsuzuki seemed perfectly fine even though he'd forced the two to run like a freaking mile or two to find this restaurant that was known for some sweet or another. Hisoka rolled his eyes. What was it that attracted Tsuzuki to sweets so much anyway? And what was an even bigger question was how Tsuzuki could know where the best ones were located? Did he have a radar?

Tsuzuki looked back over his shoulder, waving Hisoka over to follow him as a waiter showed them to a table. "Isn't this great?" He spoke rapidly, his excitement showing all over his face.

"We'll see when we get the food…" Hisoka replied quietly, letting himself slide into the empty seat. His eyes glanced onto the menu and he moaned. "I can't believe this! This isn't a restaurant… this is…" Tsuzuki pouted.

"Maa… you said I could pick where we ate today!" He pointed out whining. "And it is a restaurant! It's just…"

"Backwards…" Hisoka sighed. "You eat desserts first and then the meal." He groaned. "Fine. Whatever. Tomorrow… I'm definitely picking where we eat."

...

Ken yawned, barely able to cover his open mouth with one hand. He gave a sheepish grin and shrugged as Yoji rolled his eyes at him and Omi smiled. It had been a long day. Lunch had been skipped to get everything ready and done with. But dinner, which had been cooked by Aya (a fact that Omi was grateful for)… had been filling and had made up for the missed meals completely.

Still though, the dinner hadn't given them more energy to finish cleaning the little house… shack thing. Instead it hade made them drowsy. Aya sighed and started stacking the dishes on top of each other.

"I'll do the dishes." He said silently. "All of you should go to bed." Yoji made a noise in the back of his throat. "Or continue cleaning if you wish…" Aya added, glaring at the older man in such a way that Ken laughed.

"Hai… okaa-san…" Yoji muttered, ignoring Ken's chortling. The eldest of the Weiss assassins made no move to get up though, staying slumped in his chair. Omi bit his lip and stood up. He took two of the dirty glasses and brought them to the sink before going back for the rest. Aya nodded his thanks at the help, not bothering with words.

"Which rooms were you guys able to clean?" Omi asked, trying not make a disgusted face as he missed avoiding some of Yoji's remaining mustard on his knife. Yoji sighed.

"Nearly a hundred." The man groaned which was ignored as wide blue eyes turned to look at Ken's green eyes for a more realistic answer.

"Enough so each of us can have a room. No worries Omittchi…" The brunette grinned before also getting up and grabbing a dish towel that hung on the wall next to the sink. "…you won't have to deal with any of our snores." He teased. Aya refrained sighing.

"I do NOT snore." Yoji muttered. "Ladies wouldn't like it."

"Oh brother." Omi muttered back, shaking his head. "You should add to your list to stop complaining. 'Cause I know 'ladies' don't like men bitching either." Aya grunted and gave the eighteen year old a sharp look making Omi duck his head. "Sorry Aya-kun… I didn't mean to curse." He apologized, knowing immediately what the look was for.

"What about; 'sorry Yoji-kun'?!" Yoji moaned. "That comment, bishonen, was totally uncalled for."

"Oh grow up." Ken muttered, slapping Yoji's head with his now wet dish towel. "You lazy prick, you were just asking for someone to put you back in your place. Personally…" Ken moved away from Yoji's sudden lash out in his general direction. "I think Omi's right."

"As if any of you would know." Yoji muttered, glaring at Ken and getting back into his slumped position in his chair. He brushed his hair back in place, wincing as he felt the dampened strands filled with soap suds. "…you guys have been single for at least a year if not more by now."

"Yoji." Aya muttered bringing the banter into a close. That was enough… what had been comical before was now getting too personal… too close to parts of their hearts that had been hurt. A quiet look in Omi's direction showed that the boy had tensed, his eyes a bit cloudy as if he was remembering something, someone. Aya sighed. They would never learn. Ken cleared his throat.

"You can be a real ass Kudou." The brunette muttered, picking one of the plates and drying it off carefully. He knew the barb that Yoji had sent their way hadn't meant to hit so deeply but… Ken shook himself. There was no time for this. "We all can be…"

"We really need sleep if we're this grumpy already." Omi stated simply, his blue eyes finally focusing back. "I'll wipe the table and then… I'm going to bed." Yoji nodded, staying silent. "Aya-kun, can I quickly borrow the sponge?" Without responding the redhead removed his hands from the soapy warm water and methodically rinsed it out before handing it to the blond. "Arigato." He finished the job quickly, gathering some of the moist crumbs that didn't cling onto the sponge's surface into his hand. He brushed his hands off over the open garbage can and then before Omi left the lit kitchen, he turned back, giving the three men his usual warm smile. "Goodnight guys." He left before he could hear all of them reply back. All he wanted was a bit of peace now… and solitude. He wanted to find some thing that could remind him of home… of his country. He wanted the sudden pang of home sickness to leave him and with that feeling, the emotions of Ouka's face that had sprung into his mind to go with it. He went into the room where he had found the doll without realizing, letting himself fall limply into the now clean bed once the door had been shut behind him.

To just have blankness instead of pain…

To have nothing…no thoughts run inside his head…

The moment his head hit the pillow, Omi was pulled into that darkness he had longed for.

…

Hisoka shrugged as his answer, refusing to give an actual one. Tsuzuki pouted at him and those puppy ears and tail that Hisoka could sometimes imagine on him, seemed to sprout at that moment. He bit the inside of his cheek to keep an actual smile from forming on his face.

"…'Soka!" Tsuzuki pouted harder.

"It was ok…" The younger of the two shiningamis muttered noncommittally. "I still get to pick where we eat tomorrow… and what we both eat!" Violet eyes widened in dismay.

"…but… but… you don't like desserts and… and…" Tsuzuki sniffled loudly and seemed to droop. Hisoka bit his lip this time and looked away. It was fun to be able to tease him… usually it was Tsuzuki who managed to tease him and getting away with it by looking so damned innocent and clueless. "Maa… ok." The man sighed loudly. "But I pick the next day?" Hisoka nodded and let himself fall into the sofa as Tsuzuki let the door of their hotel room close behind them. "Fair enough!" A happy smile replaced the pout. "So what are we going to do now?" He asked, sitting on the edge of the bed. "We'll definitely go visit the stone hendge tomorrow since we didn't get to go today and oh!" Tsuzuki snapped his fingers together as he remembered something that had to be done. "We should tell the others that Muraki is somewhere in England, shouldn't we?" Hisoka nodded, already picturing Tatsumi's face upon hearing this. If it was possible for anyone to have a greater hatred for Muraki than he himself had, which he doubted, it would be Tatsumi. Tsuzuki seemed to be thinking about Tatsumi's reaction to Muraki's name as well for his smile sort of left his face for a minute and he scratched his head. "Or maybe not…" Hisoka felt one of his eyebrows rise.

"How come? I think it's a go-" Tsuzuki shook his head.

"They'd make us leave and go somewhere else and then you'd never be able to get your revenge." Hisoka's eyes widened and a small smile touched his lips. Tsuzuki would never forget any promise he made to someone. Never. "… and you wouldn't get to see stone hendge."

"I don't mind." Hisoka replied softly. "If you think we should tell them, than tell them… knowing Muraki… he'll give me plenty more chances to get back at him." Tsuzuki nodded, accepting that as truth because it was. Both of them knew that Muraki would never be done with either of them for as long as he was alive. They'd ruin too many of his plans and as they had both been told… they made awfully good toys.

"How about we tell them after tomorrow is over? That way we can see the stone hendge and have fun in England for another day before our vacation is brought short."

"Ok…" He sighed his agreement.

"Ne Hisoka…?" The younger shiningami made a soft noise in the back of his throat to show that he was listening. "What do you wanna do now?" Hisoka shrugged, turning his green eyes towards the man sprawled on the bed. "Can we watch a movie, ne? Ne?"

"I guess so…" And so Hisoka made his way to the bed after Tsuzuki had waved him over for a few minutes. He laid on his stomach, his hand propping up his head. It was only a bit after he had made himself comfortable that the bed moved a bit under him as Tsuzuki joined him in the same position so that they were shoulder to shoulder. The remote control was taken and channels were flipped many a times until Tsuzuki gave a happy sigh and dropped it on the floor.

It only took a few minutes for the older man to lean into Hisoka, his figure slumping in restful peace as he was slowly falling asleep. Hisoka sighed, rolling his eyes with warm affection that was usually hidden. "We should go to bed, Tsuzuki." He said softly, nudging the older man with his shoulder since he couldn't exactly move with the weight resting on him. Tsuzuki made a noise of slight disgruntlement but moved slowly until he had settled a bit clumsily under the covers. Hisoka picked up the remote and shut the tv off before turning his attention towards Tsuzuki. He lifted the covers and made sure to cover the man up in a more efficient manner before shutting off the lights and entering the covers himself.

Hisoka knew, probably even before Tsuzuki himself knew, that a nightmare had engulfed the older man's mind. He knew but wasn't sure… whose it was and where it was coming from, still so deep in sleep's embrace as he was. He shifted, frowning as raw emotions started blasting at him, tearing at his shields much like a cat's claws in curtains.

Still it was only when Tsuzuki awoke, gasping and suddenly grasping Hisoka's body as a life line, that Hisoka awakened as well. Both wide eyed, they stared at each other before Hisoka finally had the sense to gather the trembling man in his grasp, placing both of them back into a laying position. He didn't know what the nightmare had been about. It didn't matter as much as the task at hand… getting Tsuzuki to calm down.

Hisoka let his hand gently play with the brown strands, letting them slide through his fingers before going back and getting some more. He hoped the action would be soothing, hoped that it would somehow strengthen their growing bond… and show that baka that he could be loved. He was loved.

"Why?" Tsuzuki's voice was painfully soft as he whispered the question, lifting his head slightly off Hisoka's chest in order to look into those green eyes. They had started to blend… a side effect of his empathy. "How?" His own violet eyes looked lost and Hisoka caught up in their pain, let his hand limply drop to his side. "…I…I'm…I'm not even human." Tsuzuki hissed out harshly and moved away, placing a physical distance between the two, knowing even lost in his own pain that his touch was making Hisoka feel exactly how he felt. And that was the last thing Tsuzuki wanted Hisoka to feel. He looked to the hotel wall at his side, taking in the flowery pattern that was slowing getting blurry as tears gathered in his eyes. So it was that again… Another reason for Hisoka to want Muraki's head on a silver platter.

The pain… Tsuzuki's pain seemed to ebb into the whole room, making Hisoka's breathing shorten into small gasps. It was a deep hole surrounded by scars that had just barely started closing… it was a gap filled with lonesome memories of being different… of needing someone… anyone to be there, to love him… and never finding that someone. Instead he had found the cold consuming hatred that humans often felt when facing something unexpected, different.

Hisoka knew the feeling. Knew how that hatred could tear away at your being, at your soul… until even you were forced to believe in its poison. But he'd only been alone surrounded by hatred for sixteen years while Tsuzuki… He'd been alone for so many years. He looked down at his hands, empty. Alone… he closed his eyes. Even with the heaviest of shielding, he wouldn't have been able to block this out. It was so rare that Tsuzuki was in such a state of vulnerability that Hisoka would see, feel… share his memories and feelings.

"You're more human than most…" Hisoka muttered, scared all of sudden as he saw a darkness closing around Tsuzuki's form. "More than I am." Without thought except to make the darkness go away, Hisoka's arms flung themselves around the man's broad shoulders. "You care so much… even though it hurts to… and you never stop. You never stop… baka!" He was crying, holding on with nothing else to do. Would that darkness always be there?

Would he always have to fight it to keep Tsuzuki with him?
He didn't want to be alone anymore. He didn't want to face this life after death alone…

"…baka…baka…" The words were muffled as he pressed his face into the cloth material that made up Tsuzuki's pajamas. It wasn't quite the words that he wanted to say… wanted to be comforting but… Warm tears ran down his cheeks. It was all he could say. Because that was all he was…not Tsuzuki but himself. He would never be able to show how much he cared for a person… he didn't know how to.

He'd never had to show anything like that… "…baka…" It was the last of the words that slipped from his mouth as pain, different from the emotional pain that Tsuzuki was going through, shot through him… a new mind literally tearing away his shields and crumbling them into dust as if they had never stood there at all. There was no protection… no hiding anymore… nothing. He saw red… he saw darkness… he felt fear… he… he…SCREAM/PAIN/RED/PAIN/DARKNESS/TEARS/BLOOD/FEAR/SCREAM…onegai…

Onegai…

…help…me… Don't let him… don't let… AYA!

"Hisoka! Hisoka!" Tsuzuki screamed, his insecurities once more buried deep within himself as he held onto his partner's body with as much gentleness as his fear allowed his muscles to do so. "HISOKA!" The green eyes were glazed, the mouth open wide as hoarse screams kept coming between gasping breaths… and his whole body was arching… tensing as if he was about to snap. "HISOKA…"

OHMYGODHISOKA…HISOKAKEN!AYA!SOMEBODYHELPME!HISOKA!STOPIT…ITHURTS…I'M…

BEQUIETYOJI…ANYONE…NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!FEAR/PAIN/ANGER/BLOOD/LOSS….Loss…loss…

Tsuzuki tightened his grasp on the boy, hoping that he wouldn't get lost in the empath's mind. He had to snap Hisoka out of it… had to… he couldn't bear to hear the screams anymore.

"…muraki…" There was a second of clarity, a second that the hissing screams stopped… and it was in that second that Hisoka was himself again, his hands clawing at Tsuzuki's shirt. It was gone after the name was whispered, back into the pain the younger shiningami fell in, deeper and deeper until he was no longer anyone that he knew…he was made of broken pieces, of screaming emotions and pains that blasted at him with no name. He was lost.

Tbc…