Mystery Illness
Author: Trans
Pairing: WatarixTatsumi
Warning: Not really sure yet. Yaoi of course, and hopefully some hanky-panky at some point. A tad of angst never hurts…
Rating: R
Disclaimer: I do not own Yami no Matsuei although I DO have my very own Watari plushie.
AN: lets get rolling!
Chapter 3
This was just not going to be his day. Tatsumi should have realized this when he was walking to work that morning, and looked up to see rain clouds gathering. It wasn't often that Meifu saw rain, but it usually presented a day full of distracted workers, and Wakaba and Watari in particular seemed to all but stop any productivity in favor of sulking.
When he'd finally arrived in the office he was less than pleased to find several notices from the treasurers where they were trying to haggle funding from him again. It was the usual battles of the war between the secretary and the unscrupulous men. He'd spent a good two hours writing return letters outlining his exact reasoning for the requests and how they fell perfectly under mandates the men had set themselves. Tatsumi knew every loop-hole in the book, and made use of it, after all, their department saw so little funding as it was.
Worn a little thin from the morning sneak attack, Tatsumi had made his way to the break room for some coffee. Apparently Tsuzuki had come less late than usual for the sole purpose of pissing Terazuma off in the morning, instead of the afternoon. Hisoka was innocently sipping his coffee in the corner, pretending not to be keeping a keen eye on the fight incase it escalated.
It didn't help that the two men were planted directly in front of the coffee machine. Well one insult, and a transformation later, their break room needed a new coffee machine, and Tatsumi was now distinctly grumpy.
Today was just not his day.
Yelling at all guilty parties seemed to take some of the edge off. He then transferred the duty to the men's respective partners, and the secretary was pleased to see the job carried out for him. His office seemed the safest place from that point on.
Of course no sooner was he alone with his thoughts, then did they turn to one pert scientist that he had promised to visit this morning. Well, it wasn't so much as a promise to Watari himself, but Tatsumi had decided it a good idea. In fact he'd found it rather difficult not to wonder how the man was doing after his abrupt departure the previous night.
As secretary for the division, he had everyone's house number on file, and at one point, Tatsumi had considered calling to make sure Watari had gotten home alright. The notion was ridiculous of course, because he'd never called the other before, and at the hour it had occurred to him, he realized that Watari was probably already asleep. Which was what he should have been doing. Tatsumi was used to worrying about his coworkers though, and would simply deny just how long it had taken for him to fall asleep last night.
Wishing he had some sort of excuse to be going to Watari's lab, instead of to check on him like a mother hen, Tatsumi yet again cursed the broken coffee machine. "I don't need an excuse to check on an employee," Tatsumi corrected himself. If Watari was still sick, then it would be his business.
Besides, Watari never seemed to need an excuse when he came to bring Tatsumi coffee, as if the man couldn't get it himself. Then again, that was Watari, and the rules never seemed to apply; nor common sense. He was a tough man to puzzle out. Tatsumi had reframed from trying to figure out why Watari had suddenly become so friendly with him in particular. He usually pretended that he didn't care one way or another, but the blonde was surprisingly welcome company.
They'd even had an intelligent discussion or two. Tatsumi wouldn't admit that he was severely lacking in people to have such conversations with, and this was also the reason why he'd become accustomed to leaving the building at night when Watari deemed it too late to be working any longer. That was a good hour or so before Tatsumi usually came to the same conclusion, but whenever the blonde popped his head in, was when Tatsumi would call it a night.
Walking through the main office, Tatsumi was relieved to find everyone working, and he took the familiar route towards Watari's lab. Outside, he could just hear the drum of rain beginning to fall. It sounded like it might be going all day. Stopping at the entrance, Tatsumi knocked firmly.
There was a pause, and then a friendly shout to come in. Watari at least, sounded like he was in a much better state today. Stepping into the lab, he was greeted by bright smile. "Oh Tatsumi, good morning!" The blonde was sitting at his computer, a program running a search with windows popping up here and there.
"Good morning, Watari-san," Tatsumi greeted. Relief spread warmly over him. He wasn't sure what he'd expected to find, but Watari was his normal cheery self. Stepping up by the scientist, Tatsumi peered at the computer screen. It was a cross reference for Wakaba and Terazuma's case. Although the Gushoshin were good at pulling information for cases, no one had quite the knack for finding connections and hacking for important clues like Watari did.
"I heard about the coffee machine this morning, want some tea or coffee? I'm afraid I only have instant though." Watari was already swiveling out of his chair in a swish of blonde hair, and walking to the far corner. He turned on a Bunsen burner to reheat the pot of water sitting on the ring stand above.
The taste of instant never really appealed to his taste buds, but the need for caffeine was greater, and the offer would be impolite to turn down. "Instant is fine." Glancing around the lab, Tatsumi realized the lack of a certain brown owl. "How is 003 doing?" Still searching the lab, Tatsumi missed the slight tensing of Watari's shoulders.
"I got her to eat, and she's napping in the back," Watari replied happily, as he poured the now hot water into two mugs. "Here you go!" Accepting his mug, Tatsumi took a sip. At least Watari knew he liked his coffee black, with no sugar or cream.
"Thank you." Close-up Tatsumi could see there were dark circles under those amber eyes, and the skin still slightly pallor, but the smile seemed real. "Did you sleep well?" Tatsumi tensed a little as the question slipped out. Hearing it with his own ears, it sounded personal.
Watari didn't take offense, but instead smiled. "Never better. Thank you for asking." Feeling like he'd been caught in a position he'd rather not have been, Tatsumi took another sip of his coffee and broke their eye-contact. "What about you? Have a good night's sleep?"
Tatsumi didn't see why he was the one being asked that. "Just fine." This wasn't the conversation he'd planned on having. "Well, I'd better return to my office, there is work to do," Tatsumi said trying not to sound uncomfortable. It was something about the way Watari was looking at him, a little too smugly, like he knew how embarrassed the last bit of conversation had made him. Those honey eyes seemed much too pleased about something.
Setting down his half-finished coffee on the counter, Tatsumi was almost to the door before Watari spoke, "Tatsumi, how about meeting for lunch?" The question didn't hold any teasing or other identifiable tone. It was a simple question, one that made Tatsumi feel perhaps more uneasy than what was necessary. It was just an invitation to lunch, but as Tatsumi turned to look back at Watari, he saw those eyes still had that victorious grin in them.
It was almost like a challenge. Tatsumi glanced at his watch. "I'll be free around noon." Watari smile lit up his entire face, giving it back some of its color, and taking the tiredness away from his eyes. Tatsumi could feel the satisfaction at the response his words got.
"Great! I'll come by your office at twelve!" Tatsumi managed to walk out the door before his own grin spread over his face.
AN: Discovering the happy urge to post today, I'll leave it at that. The next part can faster then! My Watari doll waves Thank you all for the lovely reviews, they really do make me write faster…without them I'd probably not work on this at all. I'm fickle that way. LOL. Oh! And rowen raven, you've left me such lovely reviews, but they weren't signed in, so I couldn't reply. I really do appreciate the time people spend sending me reviews and would like the chance to reply to them. If you can, please sign in next time, or if not, take this as a thank you.