A/n: I'm going to try to write at least 2 chapters today as I won't be able to update again until next Friday. In this chapter, I've finally made up my mind who's with who, Tatsumi and Tsuzuki get a case and while they're gone, things get…interesting between Hisoka and Watari. Sorry Koneko, but I am planning a Tsuzuki/Hisoka fic. D thanks to my reviewers!

Follow Me

''

Konoe was the last to step into his office that afternoon, and he sighed inwardly at the long faces of his top four shinigami.

Hisoka sat by the window, silently staring out at the Sakura.

Watari stood beside him, arms crossed over his chest and eyes closed.

Tatsumi was organizing the papers on Konoe's desk; which ever slightly irked him, however the problem at hand was far greater than scolding the neurotic secretary.

Finally, Tsuzuki was sullenly sitting across from Hisoka, refusing to look at him.

Konoe closed the door behind him, folding his arms and leaning against the door.

"What a sorry bunch of losers you three are."

Everyone looked up but no one said anything.

"Do you realize Hisoka is the only one of the four of you who's been at least half way normal since this little drama started? He hasn't been late for work once and I'm inclined to understand why he took today off…Tsuzuki."

After a moment of more silence, Konoe continued.

"If the four of you do not work out your problems right here and now I'll officially split you up and ban you from seeing each other during business hours. I don't want to get ugly about this but you're mixing your social lives with your work and it's hurting the system."

Tsuzuki was the first to speak finally.

"What is it you expect out of this Chief? We can't just make everything go away in a few hours…Hisoka just won't let go."

He received a triple glair from Konoe, Watari, and Hisoka.

Said blond spoke quietly.

"If you want me to let go than you're going to have to break up with me the way you should have three weeks ago. And stop trying to push Watari and I together. I'm aware of his feelings…I have been for a long time, but if you really want me to move on than I want a sincere apology for doing what you did."

Tatsumi looked up at Hisoka.

"I admit that the way we went about it was wrong, and I'm sorry, but everything should be settled and done by now. Tsuzuki is with me now and that should be the end of it."

Hisoka grabbed Watari's wrist as he moved away from the wall.

"Did it ever occur to you that I might be upset over this Tatsumi? Did either one of you even once consider the fact that Tsuzuki and I have been in what I thought was a solid relationship since I was nineteen? Does it even matter? Were those things you said to me real, or were you pretending that I was Tatsumi?"

Tatsumi spoke back, not giving Tsuzuki a second to answer for himself.

"Of course those things he said to you were real back then. What I said to Watari was real…it's just that I realized the mistake I was making and had to fix it. I love Tsuzuki, and I don't think this was the wrong choice at all."

Hisoka growled.

"I want to hear Tsuzuki tell me he thinks it's right that you single handedly destroyed my life!"

Tatsumi was silent as he turned his gaze to Tsuzuki who closed his eyes.

"Hisoka…when I told you I loved you, I meant it. In some ways, I still do. I just think that I made a mistake. I threw myself at you to avoid the feelings I was having for Tatsumi because I thought he'd always hated me."

Watari pushed his glasses up and found it impossible to keep silent now.

"Tsuzuki…if you say you threw yourself at Hisoka to avoid your feelings for Tatsumi, aren't you essentially saying that you didn't really love Hisoka to begin with? He was just a distraction?"

Tatsumi stood, glairing.

"Don't try to make this all our faults! You're the one that first told me you were getting bored with our relationship!"

Watari growled.

"I got bored with you calling Tsuzuki's name in your sleep! Every time you called me Tsuzuki it was like you'd stabbed me with a hot iron! It was that way from the beginning!"

Tatsumi smirked suddenly, glasses glinting in the afternoon sun.

"Maybe if you were a little better…"

Watari lost it after that and Hisoka had to squeeze Watari's wrist to stop him.

"Why you lousy S.O.B! So that's really all I was to you!"

Hisoka growled as he glared at Tatsumi.

"I can't believe you would say that in front of everyone! Have you no dignity!"

Even Tsuzuki was uncomfortable with the way Tatsumi was acting.

"That really was un called for Tatsumi."

Tatsumi shrugged.

"If it's all out in the open anyway, why bother hiding it?"

Again Hisoka had to stop Watari.

"So if everything is coming out than I guess I'll have to say you weren't that great either!"

Tatsumi closed his eyes.

"That's only because I was thinking of Tsuzuki."

Unwilling tears bit at Watari's eyes at this and he whispered softly.

"I…was always thinking about you…"

Tsuzuki spoke softly.

"Tatsumi…why are you being so mean? I really feel bad that we hurt them so much."

Tatsumi smiled softly.

"That's why I really think I want to be with you Tsuzuki. You care so much about others."

Hisoka looked away.

"I really wanted to still be your friend Tatsumi, but you're making it impossible to forgive you. First you wrapped yourself so tightly around Tsuzuki that you forgot about my birthday, and now you've brought Watari to tears with something very personal that shouldn't have been brought up. And I still can't believe Tsuzuki is standing by and watching you hurt us like this. Where did the Tatsumi that I knew last year, go to? I want him back. I want my friend back, not this hideous monster in his place."

Tatsumi felt guilt for about half a second before his anger got control of him again.

"In all fairness you could have reminded me…you forgot too you know."

That was it for Watari and Hisoka couldn't grab him in time.

Watari slugged Tatsumi so hard he fell back over the chair and slammed his head against the wall.

Hisoka glanced over at a stunned Tsuzuki.

"You know what? Watari was right, you never loved me in the first place. I'm sorry I wasted two and a half years on you. If you can't even correct for boyfriend for being a prick than why should I bother defending myself. You're right Tatsumi, I could have reminded you…but if you were really my friend I wouldn't have to."

Tatsumi stood, brushing off the punch for a moment and lunged at Watari.

"You bastard! At least I didn't resort to punching!"

In a move that reminded Tsuzuki of Muraki on the cruise ship, Watari caught Tatsumi's fist before he could get hit, and locked his arm behind his back, only instead of kissing Tatsumi, Watari slugged him in the stomach.

He smirked as Tatsumi fell to his knees.

"If you speak to Hisoka that way again, I'll be sure to make it hurt far worse, am I clear?"

Tatsumi glared up at him.

"I didn't realize you were so over him."

Watari stepped back as Hisoka stood.

"Watari…please don't turn this into a fight. The emotions in this room are making me dizzy as it is, I don't need intensified anger on top of everything."

Watari nodded with a sigh.

"I'm sorry Bon, I'm just getting really sick of his attitude."

Tsuzuki glared at Hisoka.

"I thought you were a man and could handle yourself just fine…"

The growl that emanated from Hisoka's throat even scared Tatsumi.

"No you didn't! You've never realized that I was an adult, even when I act more mature than you do! You know my age but you only see my body and you still act like I'm some lonely kid! Well news flash asshole, I never knew what childhood was! At least you had seven years to be a kid, I was forced into a cellar when I was three, where were you!"

Tsuzuki scoffed at this.

"You think I had anymore of a child hood than you did! Did you have every child in the city throwing rocks at you! No you didn't!"

Hisoka slapped him across the face.

"No Tsuzuki, I'd have taken rocks any day! At least you weren't raped by a murderer when you were thirteen!"

The room fell into silence after that until Hisoka spoke quietly.

"You keep forgetting about that don't you? Well I'll never forget…not as long as that bastard is still alive…and what's sick is your crush on him."

Tsuzuki began to retort but Hisoka put up his hand.

"Don't try and deny it, you wanted to lose that card game and I knew it. I felt your disappointment under your false relief when I won."

As Tatsumi straightened and looked to Hisoka, the blond suddenly understood Tatsumi's change.

"Don't worry Tatsumi…you've fixed it so that I'll never be with Tsuzuki again. You don't have to be jealous or feel threatened. Just because I don't think I'll ever stop loving Tsuzuki, it doesn't mean that I'll try to take him back from you. In fact, Tsuzuki, I want you to make a final choice right here and now. I don't care what you choose but I want this to be the end one way or another. If you choose Tatsumi, I don't want to feel anymore guilt about this from you."

Tatsumi's eyes widened as Hisoka spoke, and suddenly his defenses dropped and he was immediately sorry.

Tsuzuki stood and took Hisoka's hands, dropping to his knees at his feet.

"Hisoka…I really do love you…just not in that way anymore. I'm so sorry for the pain that I've caused you, but I still feel like I need to be with Tatsumi."

Hisoka sighed deeply as he looked down at his former partner.

"Okay…"

He suddenly turned to Tatsumi.

"You have seriously pissed me off Tatsumi. You should know I'm not the kind of person to steal someone away. Because I love Tsuzuki I will do whatever it takes to make him happy, and if that means letting him go for you than I'm happy to do it. Acting like a total dick is not making anything easier and I want you to say you're sorry for everything you've said. Not just to me, but to Watari too."

Tatsumi looked up at the two blonds, Watari refusing to look anywhere but his shoes.

"Watari…"

Watari closed his eyes.

"Just…don't talk to me outside of work for a while and I think we'll be okay."

Tatsumi looked back to Hisoka.

"And I'm very sorry Hisoka, for the way I've been acting. You're right in saying that I should know better…because you're much better of a man than I am. We could all stand to learn something from you. I hope that in time you and I can pick up where we left off before all of this."

Hisoka looked away as Tsuzuki stood.

"That…may take a few years…but I'm willing to try if you are."

Suddenly Tatsumi turned to Konoe who stood silently watching all this play out.

"Chief…I'm sorry for causing so much trouble. I promise that I won't let my feelings get in the way of my job ever again."

Konoe nodded.

"I suppose we're all entitled to our breakdowns once in a while. I just want the four of you to know how close you came to being fired. I had to pull for an old favor from the count to save your asses. With the exception of Hisoka who seems to be the only one able to separate work and personal issues, there were threats from above my head to take you off and bring in all new shinigami. I'm lenient with you four to the point I practically let you run this place, and with the occasional exception of Tsuzuki and Watari blowing things up, you do a damn good job. Now, are we all able to work together again the way we should?"

There was a unanimous nod from the four and Konoe smiled.

"Good, now that that's all settled, Tsuzuki, you have a new case and I'm sending Tatsumi with you. In the mean time, Hisoka, Watari; I want you two to take a break. Hisoka I believe deserves a few days off. Tatsumi, Tsuzuki, meet me in the conference room first thing tomorrow morning. And Tatsumi…"

He looked up.

"Yes sir?"

Konoe narrowed his eyes.

"I don't care how late the two of you stay up, both of you must be on time tomorrow morning at seven thirty, no excuses or I'll dock both of your pay, understood?"

Tatsumi and Tsuzuki nodded.

Konoe opened the door and stepped aside.

"You may all go now…I've got a lot of paper work to catch up on."

''

Hisoka sat in his living room, silently reflecting on all that had been happening.

Now that he'd screamed at Tsuzuki, and told him how he felt so betrayed and hurt…and gotten a sincere apology, he was feeling empty more than anything.

He'd cried and screamed his feelings, and now he had nothing more to say and no more tears to cry.

Suddenly there was a knock on his door and he glanced at the clock.

It was almost ten and he wasn't getting any indication of who was at the door, even as his mind reached out to the figure.

He was completely surprised to see Tatsumi standing there as he opened the door.

The blue-eyed secretary smiled warmly as he raised a bag into view.

"I thought you might want some company…so I cooked you dinner."

Hisoka simply stared at him, not sure what to make of the situation.

He was still slightly miffed at him for all the harsh things he'd said earlier.

After deciding to be the better man, he smiled as best he could and stepped aside.

"Thank you, that was nice. Please come in. I don't have any tea made but I have some of Tsuzuki's sake left from last years cherry blossom party if you'd like that."

Tatsumi shook his head.

"Thank you, but I never drink before noon or after eight. I'll make some tea for us, you just relax."

Hisoka sighed as he saw the look of shock on Tatsumi's face and closed the door.

"I haven't been able to pull the rest of my furniture out of storage yet. They're closed this weekend so I'll have to wait until Monday. All I have is my bed and my reading chair…didn't really expect I'd be needing my dining room set for a while. I'm sorry."

Tatsumi shook off the shock of an almost completely empty apartment and turned back.

"It's fine."

Hisoka glanced out the window for a moment.

"The floors are clean…I took out some of my anger yesterday on scrubbing this place. It was really dusty but I guess I'm glad I decided to keep it."

Tatsumi furrowed his brow, trying to find the words.

"Hisoka I…"

Hisoka shook his head, making his way into the living room again, flipping on the light.

"It wasn't meant that way Tatsumi-san. I knew we wouldn't last forever…but I guess I just needed someone to help me get on my feet and Tsuzuki was the one most willing to help me."

He sighed when he caught the look on Tatsumi's face.

"Please don't look at me like that Tatsumi-san. I'm fine. It's just going to take a little while to learn how to be alone again. I'm so damn used to Tsuzuki's noisy thoughts going on all the time that it feels weird without them. I don't want your pity Tatsumi-san…I want things to go back to the way they were. Let's just pretend that I was never in love with Tsuzuki and he was always yours. Let's just go back to the way it was when I was new here. We can build our friendship again."

Tatsumi smiled softly and rested his hand on Hisoka's shoulder.

"I'd like that. Let's start by having a nice dinner together."

Hisoka smiled and nodded.

"I'll get a blanket…it can be a picnic or something."

''

Hisoka woke late that Saturday afternoon.

He and Tatsumi had stayed up very late talking and he was glad for the day off.

Usually they didn't work on Saturdays so he realized suddenly that Tatsumi and Tsuzuki's new case must be very important.

He closed his eyes again as he hugged the covers closer.

He'd had to wash everything by hand and accidentally knocked his shampoo into the water.

It was a mistake that smelled good though and it had been a long time since he'd had anything that didn't smell like Tsuzuki's cologne.

He'd been practically tied to Tsuzuki for so long he'd forgotten what it was like to be alone, but he wasn't sure he minded too much.

He sat up, glancing around the room as he heard a knock on the door.

This time it was clearly Watari's far too energetic pounding.

He pulled on a light kimono and walked to the door.

The second he opened it he was bombarded by a dozen white roses and amid all the commotion, 003 landed on his head.

"Good afternoon Watari. What are these for?"

He struggled to see the blond over the foaming petals of soft white.

Watari chuckled.

"House warming present! I heard about your furniture problem so I brought something to at least liven things up a bit, you do like them don't you?"

Hisoka smiled and nodded.

"Thank you. I'd invite you to sit, but I only have one chair."

Watari shook his head.

"Nonsense, I'm taking you to lunch!"

Hisoka sighed as he set the huge bouquet on the counter in the kitchen and blinked.

"You know I don't think I have a vase for these. Tsuzuki uses them for his flowers so much, I decided to leave them where they were happy."

Watari shrugged as he followed him into the kitchen.

"I'll bring you one from home later. Until then you can just stop up the sink."

Hisoka shrugged and filled the sink with an inch or so of water and set the roses down into it.

"So where are we going anyway?"

Watari winked. "It's a surprise!"

Hisoka looked away for a moment.

"I just have to dress…If you'll excuse me for a few moments."

Watari nodded, blocking the mental image of a naked Hisoka.

That beautiful scent whatever it was, wasn't helping any.

Hisoka was slightly agitated at Watari's obvious lack of self control, but he was trying to block Hisoka.

After reemerging dressed, he glanced at the older blond, not bothering to hide the irritation in his tone.

"You need to work on your blocking skills…and just to let you know I'm not quite that weak looking."

He blushed furiously as Watari suddenly imagined him sleeping.

"Just don't think about me!"

Watari yelped and quickly began to think of the beach.

"Better?"

Hisoka nodded and Watari smiled sheepishly, stunned that Hisoka was able to see the images he was.

"Okay than…let's go."