Hi! Thanks for the reviews and encouragement to go on :P  Rinoa Redcloak: I am not really sure I will make anything decent out of this blindness business. Will try.

Please read& review!

% generally means memories. I was using Italics for  thoughts. However, I didn't realize that when I upload my formatting goes awry and the italics disappears, so I know it has been a little confusing… will rectify.

I have read so many fics lately that I hope I have not unwittingly plagiarised someone... please let me now if you feel otherwise.

Disclaimer: I don't own YnM or any of the characters. I hopefully have invented Sacha and Anya though.

When Hisoka woke up, it was the middle of the night. He could tell by the still silence and the fresh breeze. He registered immediately that 1) he was still in his clothes 2) Tsuzuki was also asleep on the bed. What!?! He bolted up. In his mind he fought with himself to stop his hand from reaching over and checking whether Tsuzuki was still dressed too. He knew he had to believe. Not trusting had already made him get into trouble once. And he loved Tsuzuki. And yet the presence of his partner on the bed scared him and he could not stop it from happening. Fortunately, at least this time, his most sensible self won, and, taking care not to wake his partner, he moved to the bathroom to get ready for bed. Unfortunately he tripped on something. Damn.

Tsuzuki was woken up by the sound of Hisoka falling on the floor. What is he doing, he is going to get hurt all alone... "Hisoka are you alright?" Tsuzuki switched on the bathroom light and found a half-naked Hisoka on the floor. It seemed a good idea to help him up. Then his body registered the contact with Hisoka's bare skin. It immediately stopped seeming like a good idea. It wasn't like it hadn't happened before and he only had his arm around the boy's shoulder… But still. It was enough. He felt the boy tensing as the bulge became increasingly obvious. Damn, damn, damn.

Hisoka saw himself through Tsuzuki's eyes. He was half naked. He was also blushing, unsurprisingly. As Tsuzuki helped him up, he felt Tsuzuki's emotions… and saw them changing. He also did not fail to notice a more bodily reaction of the man. Fear surged again. His whole body tensed up ready to reject the contact. Then he remembered. How the fear had led him straight into Muraki's arms, just to feel more pain. How fear had risked him losing his life, and that of a bunch of other people. And he remembered how Tsuzuki helped him undress without letting his emotions slip so many times when they had first been back. How he had learned to cook just for him. How he had stated clearly he would leave, if Hisoka preferred. And he just tried to remember his amethyst eyes and his caring smile, which he hadn't seen in a while. His body slowly relaxed. Good boy…

Tsuzuki was about to let go when he felt Hisoka relax and slowly motion closer. He was dumbstruck. This couldn't be. But he wasn't going to say anything that may push the boy away. He helped the boy back into the bedroom and Hisoka skillfully removed the covers from the bed and climbed into it. Tsuzuki motioned to tuck him in. They didn't say a word but the silence was somehow incredibly noisy. The brown-haired man stopped and looked down on the boy, his vacuous eyes. He brushed his bangs away from his forehead. Then slowly counted to three and motioned closer. Although his mind kept seeing neon signs all over with the writing "BAD IDEA" he couldn't stop himself. He kissed the boy's lips softly and whispered "Good night". When he moved his face away, his heart fluttered to see Hisoka smile.

When Tsuzuki woke up, this time in his own bed and amazingly in time for work, the events of the previous night seemed like a dream. A lovely unassuming dream, but still a dream. He would have retained this impression, if Hisoka hadn't mentioned his fall over breakfast. "Thanks" he had said, blushing slightly. BLUSHING. Big neon signs appeared in Tsuzuki's mind again. Mostly question marks. His heart sang while they walked to work.

For the rest of the day Tsuzuki was cheerful. More than usual. In a manner different from usual. And everybody noticed and more than a few people wondered at the increased blushing that accompanied the inevitable contact between the two partners. People spent a lot of time wondering about the couple anyway, after all. Watari, Sacha and Anya's secret hopes were quenched, however, after a little revelation spell showed them that the curse marks were still there. "The marks are still there." Decreed the scientist. "But hey, something is going on. We can't expect them to go that fast…" Sacha smiled. She smiled so rarely, thought Watari. And every time she smiled at Hisoka, so much sadness seemed to accompany that smile. Something in her past? Watari blushed finding himself think how beautiful the girl was. He wasn't the only one who had noticed. Tatsumi himself was rather perky around the girl. Her soft brown curls and her shiny green eyes. Her elegant walk.  Not that Anya wasn't pretty. But there was this mysterious charm about Sacha. The same that surrounded Tatsumi himself or Tsuzuki.

Tatsumi tried to tidy up his office again. Which was proving pretty hard given that it was already very tidy to start with. But he always did that when something was on his mind that he had rather not think about. Eventually he gave up and sat back in his chair and resolved to analyse the very thoughts that were giving him such a hard time. He was jealous. No matter how he toyed around with the statement, no matter how he tried to get around it that was it. He was jealous. Of what though? Of the fact that FINALLY, thank EnmaDaiOh!, something was going on between his former partner and the blonde empath that did not involve arguing like crazy? Or of the fact that Sacha and Watari were constantly so engrossed in their work and maybe in each other that they never talked to him? Or maybe just generally of the fact that they were all somehow making connections and he was left behind? He couldn't deny that it was in fact his fault for spending all his time behaving like he was in ivory tower. Aloof, unavailable Shokan secretary. If he kept a diary like Bridget Jones maybe that could be his mantra.

He got up again and started attempting to tidy up again. Then he noticed that Sacha was currently sitting under a tree just outside of the building. His mind debated whether to join her. For once the aloof unavailable secretary decided to get less aloof.

Sacha looked at the approaching man with surprise. She studied his features and his figure like she'd done before. He was good looking. She already knew  that there was something about Tatsumi that she found really attractive. He was the first person she had discovered herself thinking about in such a way for a long time. But of course Tatsumi loved Tsuzuki. It was no secret, if you had eyes at all. But that was no good. If Tatsumi ever got through to Tsuzuki, then Hisoka…

The secretary was now very close. The usual polite chit chat ensued while he positioned himself next to her. Then, very bizzarely, he started staring at her. Neither of them was a real empath but they had enough power to tell what each other were thinking. Then Tatsumi spoke. "You don't think I deserve him." It was a flat statement.

"You left him when he needed you. The boy stayed."

"I know I don't."

"If you harm Hisoka in any way, if you try to take Tsuzuki away from him, you will be in big trouble."

Tatsumi was taken aback by the vehemence of the girl's words. If he hadn't been able to tell with his low-key empathy that she did not despise him, he would definitely have thought so. It was his turn to wonder what made the girl so protective towards the boy.

" Have you ever had an impossible love?" Tatsumi wondered what had got into him as soon as the words left his mouth.

The brunette's eyes clouded "Yes. Not long ago. He was still alive and I was obviously me. At the time he was sixteen but he is probably thirty something now. God, I had never mentioned this to anybody before." Sacha blushed.

It was then that Tatsumi realized this was the most personal thing Sacha had said to anybody he knew for ages. It was something about the way she felt now that she'd said it. Like she'd given something precious away. Aloof unavailable freelance shinigami. That was Sacha for you. Caring and nice and kind. But removed from the rest of them. It reminded Tatsumi of himself.