Ahahahaha! See? It didn't take me another two years to update! I'm so proud of myself. :is shot:
i was really surprised to see that even after two years, there were still people waiting for me to update. i don't deserve your patience at all, but thank you for tolerating my slowness. :bows: i'll continue to work on this fic for you. and i hope that i don't disappoint you in the process :D (well, at least not any more than I already have)
Anyway, today I bring to you the next chapter. Enjoy!
Chapter 13
This morning, I woke up to the aroma of scrambled eggs and toast wafting from the kitchen all the way to the guest room. Needless to say, when I looked at the bed beside mine it was already empty. Ahh… Bliss. What could be better than eating my wife's cooking first thing in the morning. That is, of course, something I will never dare say out loud lest I want to nurse a broken heart. And a dozen broken ribs.
Sit up and stretch. Must open the curtains and greet the morning sunshine. The moment I unlock and open the glass windows, the morning breeze rushes to my cheeks. Breathe in. Breathe out. The wind carries with it the scent of hibiscus roses. Which reminds me, I should pick some later and arrange them on Hisoka's bedside table.
Right. I should go down now and help my wi… err, partner with the cooking.
"Ah! Good Morning, Tsuzuki-san!" Ayase beams as soon as he sees the door open before he gets back to setting the table, humming the tune of a familiar folk song. He's wearing a pink, fluffy apron which I'm guessing might've been his mother's… Wait! So does that mean that my partner is also…!
Ah… the sight of Hisoka in a frilly apron…
"So you finally woke up, eh?" Hisoka's quiet voice resounds from behind the kitchen counter before his delicate figure appears.
It feels like time has slowed down as I turn towards my partner. He's wearing… He's wearing…!
A long-sleeved white apron? And a hair net. A hair net!
Oi oi… This is what obaasans wear!
"Hi… Hisoka…"
"What?" He blinks innocently.
"Nothing…" Ahah. I give up. How does he manage to look cute even when he's wearing something like this?
"Anyway…" He continues, albeit still eyeing at me suspiciously. "… Breakfast is almost ready. Have a seat."
"Hai!"
---
It was only after breakfast when I came into a painful realization that nothing is free in this world. I was glad that I didn't have to help them cook. Only to find out that I'd be tasked to wipe the table, wash the dishes and clean the sink after breakfast. How troublesome.
"Achoo!"
Another sneeze echoes throughout the house. The tenth in the last five minutes.
And, like its predecessors, it was followed by Ayase's giggling fit.
"See? That's why I told you it's okay! You don't have to help me clean up anymore." Ayase walks towards Hisoka and reaches for the broom. My partner stubbornly keeps it out of his reach.
"And I told you i… it's…" Another sneeze. "It's okay…" Hisoka sniffs.
"But the dust is giving you a hard time." Ayase, equally stubborn, reaches for the broom again. "Besides, you already cooked breakfast. Cleaning up is my turn now." He pouts.
"But…"
Before their silly argument continues any further, it's stopped by the sound of the doorbell. Hisoka heaves a sigh then strolls towards the door.
He peers through the pinhole. His eyes widen momentarily before he wordlessly unlocks the door.
I was just about to ask him who it was, before a blur of yellow and brown rushes in and latches itself onto my partner.
"Bon! Long time no see!" The blur, who happens to be Watari in a simple brown overcoat, cuddles my partner enthusiastically. "How are you feeling? Are you all right? Are you eating properly? Is Tsuzuki taking care of you?" He babbles breathlessly.
"Wa… Watari-san… Need air…" My partner tries to gasp out as his face starts to sport a dangerous shade of blue.
"Oops. Sorry." Watari finally lets go, grinning sheepishly, before turning his attention to Ayase. "Oh, hi there Ayase-kun! I'm sorry for suddenly barging in."
"N… Not at all…" Ayase chuckles anxiously.
"What are you doing here?" I ask as I wipe the last plate and place it back on the cupboard.
"Oh, Tsuzuki. Didn't notice you were there." Watari blinks at me.
Forgot about me, huh. That is just too mean.
"Anyway…" I reiterate, feeling my eyebrows start to twitch. "What did you come here for?"
"Oh, that's right. Nothing. I just came to check on Bon. Would you two mind excusing us for a bit?" Watari beams.
A cold chill runs down my spin. "Watari, is there…"
"Hm? Ah! No, no!" He starts waving his arms defensively. "It's nothing serious. It's just a routine check-up. Is all."
"Really?" I look at him skeptically, searching his eyes.
"Really." He reassures. "There's nothing to worry about, all right? Now then, if you'll excuse us."
He grabs Hisoka's arm then turns to Ayase. "Ayase-kun, is it all right if I examine him in his room for a moment?"
"Mm." Ayase nods.
"Great!" Watari flashes his thousand-megawatt smile.
---
Watari said that he came over only for Hisoka's check-up. Apparently, he conveniently forgot to mention that he intended to stay for the rest of the day, and that he was planning to stay overnight.
"Can't I?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because!"
"Oh, come on, don't be stingy, it's just one night!"
"No is no, Watari." I close my eyes, my voice stern and clearly putting an end to the argument.
"Che…" Watari pouts. "Fine, I'll just sleep on the sofa. All alone in the living room. Looking nervously around in the dark, with no one there to make me feel secure…"He mumbles a little too loudly.
Looking thoroughly dejected, he stomps out of the room and slams the door shut.
The whole discussion began when he suggested sharing Hisoka's bed, since the guest room had two separate beds that we were occupying anyway. Hisoka had no objections but I had a different say in it. There's no way I'm letting anyone else sleep beside my Hisoka. Just no way in hell! And that includes Watari. Scratch that. Especially Watari. Not with his touchy-feely attitude. After all, I know full well how cute and irresistible my partner is.
One glance at Hisoka's direction tells me that he's already fast asleep. I walk towards him and give him a light kiss on the forehead, whispering "Good night". Then I walk back to my own bed and switch the lampshade off.
I don't think I've been asleep for too long when the sound of the door creaking alerts my senses. The footsteps that soon follow jolt me to become fully awake.
This had better not be Watari sneaking into my partner's bed.
Turning the lampshade on confirms my suspicion.
"Watari, you…"
"Shh." He presses his index finger to his lips. The expression on his face isn't as playful as it was before I went to sleep. He looks grave. His eyes are focused on Hisoka as he walks towards my partner and sits at the edge of his bed. He then starts caressing Hisoka's locks, as if lulling him to sleep, his golden eyes softening. Watari's unusually stern face slowly relaxes, but he doesn't smile. Instead, it looks more like he's sad and a little troubled.
"It's all right, Bon…"
The mention of his affectionate nickname towards my partner instantly shifts my attention to the aforementioned boy. My breath gets caught in my throat as I register tears silently falling from his eyes and quiet moans escaping his lips.
"Just as I thought…" Watari voices out pensively, his voice soft enough so as to not wake Hisoka.
I sit up, eyes still glued on my partner. "Watari, what's going on?"
"I didn't like what you told me about Bon's encounter with that… man." Watari frowns as he spats the word out. That in itself is a bad sign. "Tsuzuki… When someone suffers from amnesia, especially like in the case of Bon, the mind unconsciously wills to forget the worst memories. However, our memories are attached to our soul, so they can never be erased. At best, it could only be pushed back to the deepest part of his mind."
"What are you saying…" I find myself interjecting in the middle of his explanation.
"The memories his conscious mind does not remember have been shoved deep into his subconscious mind. That's where Bon is right now. Trapped in those memories one would normally call nightmares." He explains further as he continues to run his fingers through Hisoka's hair.
"Hisoka…"
Watari heaves a deep sigh. "This is the only thing I can do for you, Bon."
A gentle green glow emanates from his palm as he gently lays his hand over my partner's forehead. Within a few seconds, Hisoka's features start to relax, his tears stop falling, and his sobbing softens until he is breathing evenly once again.
"Tsuzuki." He turns to me. "I can't be by his side all the time to do this for him. But I can teach you how." He grins brightly.
"Please, Watari." I smile back at him.
---
"Tsuzuki-san, I don't think this is a good idea." Ayase bites his lower lip.
"Why not? It wasn't fair in the first place for him to just snatch my partner away like that!" I huff indignantly. "If they're going out on a date, then so will we!"
Apparently I had overslept again. But this time, I had a valid reason. I stayed up all night trying to master the sleep inducement spell Watari taught me. It was such a simple spell, but it took me overnight. I'm just glad my partner was asleep, otherwise, I would've made a fool of myself in front of him again. I mean, Hisoka's a genius. A puny spell like that would only take him five minutes to completely memorize by heart. I started to think maybe I was hopeless after all.
That pessimism died once I got out of the room. I was really thrilled that I could enjoy eating my partner's delicious cooking again, only to have that bright mood shattered when Ayase told me Watari and Hisoka had gone out, upon Watari's request for my partner to give him a tour of the place. The sneaky bastard.
And besides, why does he have so much free time anyway? It's not like he's on vacation like we are… Oh, right. There's still that case after all.
One glance at Ayase's direction reminds me that we still have his case to deal with.
"Ah! There they are!" Ayase tugs on my sleeve, pointing to the direction of the park. On a bench partly concealed by the large trunk of a cherry tree was unmistakably Watari, having a nice chat with my partner while enjoying a mouthwatering parfait. Damn them. Enjoying something so yummy without me!
"Let's go." I grab onto Ayase's wrist as we close in on those traitors.
I guess I was too focused on the parfaits… uh, I mean, the two of them, that I almost fell back when Ayase stopped dead in his tracks without warning.
"Ayase? What's wro…" Before I could finish my question, Watari's voice answers it.
"Bon, I didn't mean that he did it. What I'm saying is, we can't ignore the possibility that he's also one of the suspects. He was at the crime scene that night, after all."
Ayase holds on to the trunk of the Sakura right behind their bench, where we can clearly hear their conversation. Damn that Watari, didn't we talk about this already?
"Watari-san, he didn't do it."
The conviction in Hisoka's voice takes me by surprise. And from Ayase's wide eyes, looks like it did him too.
"I… I don't know how to explain it well, but…" Hisoka's hold on the glass containing his almost untouched strawberry parfait tightens. "… It's just, I understand Ayase's heart."
Considering Hisoka's an empath, that statement alone spoke volumes.
Watari sighs. He turns to Hisoka and starts to ruffle his hair. "Well, you have that ability after all. I can't take your word lightly now, can I?" He beams. "All right. I believe you. I'll speak to Tatsumi and Kaichou about it. Hopefully, they'll take your word on it, but I can't make any guarantees whether they'll clear his name or not."
"Thank you, Watari-san." Hisoka smiles. Whenever he does, a strange kind of warmth engulfs my chest, even if that smile isn't directed at me.
"Don't mention it." He pulls back the sleeve of his coat and looks at his watch. "Well, it's almost time for me to go." He stands up, smoothening his coat.
"Ah, what about Tsuzuki?" My partner gets up as well.
"Don't worry about him. He'll probably be happy to finish your parfait for you." He winks. "Oh and when you see him, tell him that he sucks at spying on people." He laughs. With one quick look around to see if there aren't any innocent passers by looking their way, he disappears like he was never there, leaving behind only echoes of his hearty laughter.
"You two can come out now."
How did he…?
"Hi.. Hisoka? You knew…"
/… tell him that he sucks at spying on people./
Damn. That. Bastard.
I swear. I'll get back at him for that last unnecessary comment.
"In case you forgot, your partner's an empath."
Oh… Right. Mentally kick myself.
The rustling of grass under Ayase's feet takes my attention back to him as he takes tentative steps toward my partner.
"Hisoka-san…" He turns into a blur of silvery blond as he rushes to my partner and latches himself onto him. I have the feeling I've seen that somewhere before.
"A… Ayase…" Hisoka hugs him back.
"Thank you" He mumbles, soft as a whisper, before momentarily tightening his hold then letting go.
He turns to me with a wide, grin. "Tsuzuki-san, this date was so lame. Next time, I want to go out on a date with Hisoka-san!" He sticks his tongue out at me.
"A date, eh?" Hisoka raises an eyebrow.
Uh-oh.
Hisoka turns to Ayase with a sweet smile. It's the kind of smile that has a deadly aura hanging around it. "I'm glad you learned your lesson, Ayase, it's just no fun to go out with someone so boring. We'll go out next time. Just the two of us."
Witness Hisoka's wrath and retaliation unfold right before your eyes, ladies and gentlemen.
"R… right." See me pathetically release a nervous laughter. "Wh… Why don't we go home for now? It's kind of getting late."
"Right!" With a musical chuckle, Ayase holds on to Hisoka's arm and starts pulling him towards the direction of his house. "I can't wait to try what Hisoka-san will cook for dinner."
Heave a deep sigh.
I'm glad those two are getting along.
But…
But…!
Why do I have to be left out huh?
Damn it, Watari! This is all your fault!
tbc…?
In the language of flowers, hibiscus roses mean delicate beauty :p