The next morning...

"Good morning." Tsuzuki said as he kissed Hisoka.

"Good morning." Holding Tsuzuki tightly, Hisoka apologized. "I'm sorry about last night."

Tsuzuki looked at Hisoka in the eyes. "Sorry about what?" He asked.

"For making you mad."

"I was not mad. Did you think I was?"

"I could sense it. You were angry at me." Hisoka revealed sadly.

"… Did I ... hurt you... last night? … Why didn't you stop me?" Tsuzuki asked with regret.

"No, you didn't hurt me. You were just… different. Tell me what's bothering you."

"…"

"Tsuzuki, please tell me."

"You like him, don't you?"

"Him? Who him?" Hisoka asked in surprise.

"Koroji."

"No! Why? What made you think so?"

"The way you look at him. The way you followed behind him when he left the meeting room. The way you… call his name."

Hurt by the accusation, Hisoka shut his eyes and did not speak for a minute. Then he realized if the situation hurt him, it probably hurt Tsuzuki too. He opened his eyes and saw a pair of purples staring at him with tenderness, sadness, and maybe a little bit of an apologetic look. Tsuzuki confessed, "I'm sorry. I know I should trust you. But I have lost so much all my life, I can't bear to lose anything again, especially you."

Hisoka swallowed.

"Soka, do you know that you are the soul of my life? Without you, I wouldn't know where to go, what to do. You are my guardian of death, you guide my way. I need you so much it scares me. I love you so much it hurts me… Hisoka."

They held each other in silence. Tsuzuki's revelation was too honest. For the first time, Hisoka felt that Tsuzuki was the weaker one, the one who needed protection. Before, he always felt Tsuzuki was the protector, but now he saw the loneliness, the fear, the emptiness, and the vulnerability inside this man that looked like steel from the outside.

"I love you more than life itself, Tsuzuki." Hisoka whispered in Tsuzuki's ears.

"And Koroji?" Tsuzuki just had to ask.

"What about him? He and I are just teammates. I am not interested in him. I do find him interesting, but it's not what you think. I see something strange in him that I can't quite explain yet. But it's not what you think. So stop worrying. And please trust me."

Tsuzuki smiled. "But he has a young sexy well-toned body" he teased.

"That's exactly right. He's young. Too young to have the experience you have in bed. You're too good of a lay for me to abandon you." Hisoka teased back.

Chuckling, Tsuzuki realized he loved this boy more every moment. He loved him more today than he did last night. And he knew, he would love him more tomorrow than today.

"Let's go to work. Or we won't get paid at all this month. We won't have money to buy food." Hisoka suggested.

"We can eat instant noodles. I don't need nice dinners, you know."

"But you need desserts. Those can be expensive too."

"Oh… yeah. Guess what? I found myself some free dessert. Free for a lifetime."

"Really?" Hisoka asked with curiosity.

"Yes. YOU are my dessert. You taste sweeter than anything in this world."

Giggling, Hisoka teased, "Even when I don't bathe for 3 days?"

"You do that!!!???" Tsuzuki asked in faked disgust.

They laughed together. Love was sweet. Another steamy lovemaking session, and they were late to work, again.

Later in the evening…

Hisoka came home before Tsuzuki did. He went to the kitchen and started baking his very first pecan pie.

The front door opened and Tsuzuki cried in joy "Smells soooo good!! Is that pecan pie you're making?"

"Yeah, my first time." Hisoka answered shyly.

"Sweet! Can I have a bite?"

"But it's not ready yet."

"Not the pie, but the pecans…"

"Noooo, we need the pecans to make it a pecan pie, in case you did not know." Hisoka explained.

"You're no fun."

"Then you're not getting any of it."

"Alright, alright! I'm sooooorrrry. Soka? Don't be mad…" Tsuzuki hugged him from the back.

"I don't have time to be mad right now. So you're lucky." Hisoka smiled.

"Why? Are you in a hurry?"

"Yes, I'm putting the pie in the oven, we are eating dinner, then the pie, and I'm heading out to meet with Koroji."

"What for?" Tsuzuki asked.

Hisoka explained that tomorrow would be Sunday, and the next murder rape could happen, so tonight he and Koroji would go to watch the area to find anyone or anything suspicious. The plan for tomorrow would be to set a trap to catch the rapist. Koroji wanted Hisoka to disguise into a young woman to attract the rapist.

"But that's too dangerous! We don't know what could happen to you!!" Tsuzuki interrupted.

"But it's the only way."

"You're NOT doing that. It's way too dangerous."

"But..."

"I said NO." Tsuzuki commanded.

"How else can we trap the suspect then?" Hisoka asked with a bothered tone.

"I don't care. Koroji can do it himself. Or I can do it. It doesn't necessarily have to be you."

"Koroji said I have the look and body shape of the young victims, so I'm the best choice."

"Are you listening to HIM, or are listening to ME?" Tsuzuki said louder.

"Tsuzuki, you're being unreasonable now!" Hisoka yelled.

Both were silent for a moment. It was one of those stupid fights.

Deep down, Hisoka knew that Tsuzuki was worried for him. If he didn't care, why would he be upset? Tsuzuki hated himself, for being such a baby. Hisoka was only doing his job. Of course their jobs were dangerous. After all, they were guardians of death. Each wanted to apologize to the other. But sometimes, saying the word 'sorry' was so damn hard.They ate dinner in silence. The pie did not taste very good to Hisoka. Stupid pie, if it tasted better, it probably would help the situation. Stupid pecan pie, Hisoka thought.

After dessert, Hisoka headed out to meet with Koroji. At the door, he looked back at Tsuzuki. They were eyeing each other. They wanted to say something, anything, sorry, good night, love you, bye, see you later, something, anything. But no words came out. Hisoka gently closed the door behind him. Outside, the night felt frigid. It was darker and colder than usual. There were no stars in the sky.

Maybe they could make up later.