Hisoka returned from his break to the sight and feeling of his partner. Tsuzuki was leaning against the wall, the sun playing with his dark hair, reflecting in those inhumanly colored eyes, and a smile was on the so strangely serene features. Hisoka stretched out his senses and caught a shiver of warmth.

"Already done gobbling down the donuts?" the young empath asked gruffly.

He didn't want to talk about Watari or anything related to their friend. He knew Tsuzuki was aware what had transpired, that he knew about their frequent talks. Sometimes he prodded gently, offered an ear, and sometimes Hisoka talked.

Not today.

"It was cake," Tsuzuki said mildly, falling in step beside him. "Wakaba kept a piece for you."

"You can have it," Hisoka answered dismissively.

The warmth was like a rain shower now, caressing his skin. Why didn't he just pull up his barrier? The answer was simple: he wanted to feel it; he needed it.

"Thanks."

And Tsuzuki meant it.

They walked in silence.

"We've got a new case."

"Oh?"

Tsuzuki smiled. "Yes. Tatsumi told me to find you and start with it."

"Okay."

They continued walking, Hisoka still very much aware of Tsuzuki. He started to pull back gently, erecting his usual barriers that had to hold throughout work.

"We're helping out in Tokyo. They're being swamped with cases," his partner continued conversationally, then began detailing the case and Hisoka just listened to the gentle tones of his lover's voice as they went on their way to do what they were supposed to do.

Angels of death.

Retrieving lost souls.

And somewhere along the road they also loved and had a happiness Hisoka had never thought he would find in this afterlife. And they had friends. Friends they cared about and who needed them.

He smiled a little.

Somehow, the afterlife was a lot more than his life. The reason for that was walking by his side.

"Hisoka?" Tsuzuki asked, looking a bit puzzled as he stopped at a corner.

Green eyes looked into those wide amethyst ones and Hisoka grabbed the askew tie. He tugged gently and Tsuzuki bent automatically forward. He kissed his partner, gently, lovingly, and he felt Tsuzuki answer the kiss with the same tenderness.

"Thank you," he whispered.

Tsuzuki blinked. "Huh? What for?"

"Everything."

"Uh." Tsuzuki blinked, then gave him that wide, wonderful smile. "You're welcome... Hisoka."

Hisoka let go of the tie and smiled a little. "Let's go before Konoe gets a fit."

And they transported into the world of the living, going after their work.

° ° °

It had been a busy ten days. Watari had been holed up in his lab, working on his computer, on old cases, new cases, on whatnot. There had been the nights he had just crashed on the cot there, waiting for a program to run its course, and he had been up and awake the next morning, looking disheveled but pretty much pleased with his handiwork.

Tatsumi had tried not to bury himself in work, had taken to not expect Watari in his bedroom each and every night, and he enjoyed those moments alone when he did. Even if it was only to crash because he had transported into the apartment with his last coherent thought before the lights went out.

Those were the times when Tatsumi would watch him sleep, feeling so very, very glad that Watari was giving this a try.

They had slept together once before now. It had been Watari taking the initiative and Tatsumi had followed his lead. After that, there had been two more active occasions in bed, both a hand job.

They were making leaps, he knew. They were making progress.

How much he found out on day eleven after the first time. Watari had come off work on time, had accompanied him home, and they had cooked together. They had joked around in the kitchen, shooing 003 out of the salad, and had spent the dinner laughing and talking. It had been such a relaxed atmosphere...

After the dishes were in the dishwasher, Watari had happily announced that one of his favorite soaps was on and Tatsumi had simply rolled his eyes. He wasn't much of a soap fan, but he suffered the thirty minutes of outrageous plot and badly acted episode each time. Snuggled together, they continue to watch a quiz program, Watari answering each question with ease.

Tatsumi's hands began to stroke through the long hair, caress one shoulder and when Watari turned his face up, their lips met in a languid kiss.

The kiss grew more intense.

The TV program was tuned out.

And Watari's hands slipped under his shirt, over his bare skin, and Tatsumi pulled back with a gasp.

Gazing into the darkened eyes, he saw the desire in there, and he felt his own rise.

"'Taka?"

Watari rose fluidly, holding out one hand, and Tatsumi took it. He was led to the bedroom.

Clothes were shed and Tatsumi let his hands wander over the slender form, feeling the warmth, feeling the muscles move under the skin. Watari met his kisses with the same fervor, hands burying in the brownish strands of his hair, pulling him down onto the bed.

Running his fingers gently over smooth skin, cautious of every sign of discomfort, Tatsumi caressed Watari's stomach, his chest, his arms. He wanted Watari to grow accustomed to his touch, to his presence, even if they had been sleeping next to each other for so long now. He had woken with Watari in his arms, stroking over the man's clothes, and they had slept together once.

But that had been different. Watari had been in control and he had been fully dressed.

Now they were both naked.

And Watari lay on his back.

His lover had his eyes closed, his breath coming in short pants and his muscles were quivering whenever he met a hot spot. Deciding to up the ante a little Tatsumi let his lips wander over the body spread out before him, noticing how Watari gasped and shivered even more.

"You're sure this is all right with you, 'Taka?" he asked softly, letting his tongue delve into the delicious looking navel.

He was rewarded with a little hitch and a hand landed on his head gently.

"Yes, I am, and stop asking. I'll let you know if I don't like it, okay? But if it makes you feel better..." Watari grabbed his arms and with a jerk rolled them both around, coming to straddle his hips.

"Taka?"

"Shut up."

Tatsumi didn't get the chance to say anything else as a pair of hot lips closed over his, and this time it were hands on his body, slowly, tantalizing, but very much goal oriented. Watari suddenly stopped, and Tatsumi caught him looking down at him with an unreadable expression.

Last time he had been on his stomach, Watari above him. He had been a more helpless position and his lover hadn't been so vulnerable. This time... they were both naked. Not that Watari was helpless; he was a shinigami after all. But memories were a trap that opened suddenly, unexpectedly, and Tatsumi wondered if Watari was currently just hovering over one.

"Would you feel better if you tied me to the bedpost?" he suggested with a faint smile.

The reaction was immediate and absolutely not what he had expected. Watari's golden eyes turned dark with anger, and he grabbed his wrists, holding them down.

"Don't you ever suggest something like that again, Tatsumi Seiichiro! I'd never do that to you! Never!"

"Taka," Tatsumi breathed, shocked by the sudden outburst.

"Never! You hear me?" Watari demanded, voice rising.

"Taka, what...? I was just... This is our first time after I..."

"I know it is." Watari let go of his wrists.

"I thought it might make you feel... more secure."

Those expressive eyes filled with emotions. "Not by tying you down, Seii. Never by that." He inhaled deeply. "Believe me, I'm jumping over my own shadow here. My heart's beating in my throat, and not only because I'm horny. And not just because I'm frightened either. I want you, Seii, I want to feel you inside me again."

Tatsumi dared to touch one bent leg of the man still straddling him. He let his hand rest on the warm skin, doing nothing more.

"I... let's say I spoke to someone who knows," Watari whispered. "And he said a lot smart things to me I hadn't figured out on my own so far. The most important thing is that I love you, Tatsumi Seiichiro, and that you are you. You might have a twisted sense of humor sometimes.. don't deny it, I know you like frightening Konoe... but you'd never willingly harm any of us. Least of all me. So... let's create some new good memories for the both of us, why don't we?"

And all Tatsumi could think of was 'oh yes!' when Watari started to move, letting his hands glide all over his body, teasing here and tickling there, adding his lips and tongue to the sensuous mixture. When his lover reached over and produced the bottle of massage oil, letting some of the pleasantly fragranced liquid drip onto his stomach, Tatsumi grabbed the headboard and moaned, spreading his legs and concentrating on the feeling of Watari's skin sliding over his.

Watari massaged the oil into his skin in long languid strokes, paying special attention to every spot that elicited a moan, a gasp, or any other reaction, and Tatsumi couldn't do anything but go with the flow, close his eyes and enjoy. He felt Watari's hot breath ghost over his skin, closely followed by his lips and even teeth. Scraping over a nipple, Tatsumi had to bite his lower lip at the sensation that caused, arching helplessly into the body above him.

Every time Watari nipped or kissed his way down his body his long hair would glide over his skin, too, a tickling silken echo of his caresses. And oh, Watari did know only too well where to blow a featherlike kiss or where to give a little bite.

His inner thighs, for example, tingling with every soft nibble as Watari worked himself upwards... and Tatsumi shivered when the golden mass of his lover's locks brushed over him like a Chinese torture. He spread his legs farther, moaning a plea... but Watari wouldn't touch him.

"Taka... do whatever you want, but..." Tatsumi ended the sentence with a choked off cry when Watari finally did something.

The shadow master was already reduced to a whimpering mass, crying out again softly when he felt the sensation of a fingertip sliding between his buttocks, teasing and caressing only.

"Taka..." Tatsumi whimpered, gripping the headboard hard when his lover decided to up the ante a little, sucking him into his mouth.

The torture didn't last too long, because just when he thought he couldn't stand it any longer Watari stopped.

Damn, but the man could still read his reactions... The mattress dipped a little as his lover slid up his body again, straddling his hips... and then Tatsumi gasped, watching wide-eyed as Watari let himself sink down onto him, head falling back, his long golden hair cascading over his back, eyes closed and moaning softly.

Oh gods, Taka, was all he could think.

Leaning back, supporting himself on his thighs, Watari let his fingers wander over his own body, caressing himself as he started to move oh so slowly, and Tatsumi had to fight hard no to thrust up into his lover's body, but to stay calm at the incredible sight of Watari taking his pleasure from his body... very much like the first time they had been together.

The sheer beauty of the man engrossed in his own pleasure had almost overwhelmed him back then, and was doing its magic all over again. Muscles clenched around him and the Shadow Master groaned, hips jerking involuntarily.

"Taka," he groaned daring to touch his beloved now, caressing the soft skin of his thighs, noticing the softly gasped whimper, and he took the courage to move farther, touch his lover more boldly.

Hearing Watari respond with a little moan reassured Tatsumi, and he dared to move with his lover.

Until Watari stopped.

Golden eyes regarded him from above, and Tatsumi wondered for a split second what was wrong. Something had to be. Memories? Flashback? Oh please, no...,

Watari tightened his hold on him and rolled them both over again.

"Taka?" Tatsumi asked, breathless and more than just a little bit confused.

"Take my wrists."

It was nothing but a soft whisper, but still a command.

"What?"

"Take my wrists," Watari repeated.

The confusion turned into horrified realization. "Taka, that's ... no!"

"Do it!"

Something in Watari's tone or maybe in his eyes made Tatsumi obey. It had been a soft hiss, barely under control, and there was a plea underneath it all, woven into the desperation that worked through the younger man.

Carefully taking his lover's wrist he placed them above his head, but he refused to hold him down, just the weight of his body kept Watari in place.

I must have done it like this.

Tatsumi swallowed back on the sick feeling spreading through him. He would never remember what had happened, but this position...

Watari just looked at him with wide eyes, breath coming in short pants, and not all of was because he was turned on. There was a deeply emotional turmoil in those eyes, the fight of love against terror, the memories flooding him, and Tatsumi was crying inside.

"Taka..."

Oh gods, please...

"Move. Do it, Seii. Do it..."

Tatsumi hesitated, and Watari clenched his muscles around him again, making him shiver and groan with the renewed sensation.

"Please, move. Seii, please...!"

"All right. Okay..."

Bending down he claimed the blond's lips, feeling Watari tremble underneath him, and he ran a tentative tongue over the well-known lips, teasing coaxing them open, asking for entrance. Watari didn't respond at first and Tatsumi was about to pull back, but then, his lover made a strangled little noise in the back of his throat, a mixture between sob and moanand then Tatsumi was met with full blown Watari erotic ferocity.

Watari pulled him into him in every sense of the word. Tatsumi let go of Watari's wrists, running his hands over the supple body beneath him, holding back with as much effort as he was able to muster at this state.

"Gods, Taka... I love you so much... " he whispered before he claimed Watari's lips again, feeling the body beneath his tremble with the force.

It was their first time all over again. But not like it at all. This was so very, very different. So much hang in balance here.

"Seii... yes... now..." Watari groaned, weaving his hands into his hair to pull him down again.

The kiss silenced both their screams of completion.

tbc...