Lucci snuck through the front door not long after midnight, he moved silently down the hallway towards his bedroom. He was fully intending on simply hopping into bed and calling it a night until a voice rang out in the quiet house.

"Done drinking for the night are we?" Jyabura was sprawled out in one of the lounge chairs reading a book. Lucci hadn't sensed the man's presence at all before he spoke.

'I must be tired.' He thought, dismissing the screw-up.

He ignored the man and kept walking, opting for the 'adult response' this time. He didn't have enough patience to deal with the wolf Zoan's antics that night. He just wanted to sleep.

"Or did Paulie throw you out on your ass?" Lucci stopped mid step at the comment.

'How the fuck does he know that?'

"I don't know what you're on about."

"I think you do."

"There's nothing between Paulie and I."

"That's not what I've heard" The leopard Zoan's eyes thinned to mere slits as he sent the other man the most poisonous glare he could muster.

Jyabura felt a strong shiver run down his spine; he tried his hardest to suppress the shakes, he only partially succeeded.

Small hairs rose over his body under the deadly glare, he felt as though Lucci was undoing him from the inside out.

'I started this, I can't back down now!' The wolf Zoan didn't want to get into a fight with the younger man in the middle of the night; everyone was already asleep and the lot of them had to work in the morning. He also decided it wasn't the best idea for a marital arts instructor to show up to work with injuries from a fresh beating.

He swallowed hard before he opened his mouth to speak again.

"Do you have any idea how much you've hurt both, Kaku and Paulie?" The two men were silent for some time before Lucci spoke again.

"Did you tell him?" Jyabura considered he answer carefully.

"Yeah. I told him." A white lie. The older man thought it was for the best for Lucci to think he was in trouble; it may make him clean up his act.

Grinding his teeth the leopard Zoan started moving towards his room again, he had deemed the conversation over.

He stopped in front of the door and sighed heavily. He had no idea what he would do if Kaku started yelling, he really did care for the boy but his temper had been running really short lately.

Lucci slowly pushed the door open and stepped inside the dark room. He quickly stripped and pulled on a pair of thick cotton pants before crawling into bed with the red head.

"Lucci?" Kaku mumbled, roused by the movement.

"Yeah." He moved closer to the boy holding him close.

"Hmm, welcome home." He mumbled before drifting off to sleep again.

Lucci let his eyelids fall shut. It seemed as though he would be able to get a peaceful sleep after all. He moved his lips closer to the boy's ear, brushing them softly against the orange hair.

"I love you." He whispered, warm breath tickling Kaku's ear. The older man got a sleepy mumble in return.

He let a smile tug at his lips as he drifted off to sleep.

Early morning sun flooded through the open curtains, enveloping the bed with its golden light. Kaku rolled onto his stomach, trying to escape the light but to no avail. He cracked his eyes open and soon realised he was alone once again.

He replayed his memories of the previous night, trying to work out whether he had really woken up to Lucci coming home or whether it was just a dream. It wouldn't be the first time.

He sat up in bed and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

'Another morning waking up alone.'

"I'm here." A smooth voice broke into his thoughts. Kaku's sleepy eyes scanned the room for the source of the voice and found Lucci standing in front of the window, looking out over the city. The slight breeze that wafted in through the window made his black locks wave slightly.

Kaku crawled out of bed and moved towards Lucci wrapping his arms around the man's slim waist.

"So it wasn't a dream, you did come home last night." The redhead nuzzled the older man's neck as he spoke. He was glad to have his Lucci back.

"Yeah. Don't you have work today?" Lucci wasn't trying to dismiss the youth but he was already late.

"Dammit. Yeah I do." Kaku moved away from the dark haired man. Removing his silver necklace he placed it on the bedside table before starting his search for his work clothes.

"What are you doing today?" Kaku asked as he hopped around the room trying to pull on his pants.

"Probably nothing."

"Want to come to the shipyards and have lunch with us?" Kaku asked. He didn't really expect a positive answer; the older man had refused him almost every other time.

"I may" Lucci leant forward, resting on the window frame.

"Thanks." Kaku looked over at him as he did up his pants.

A rogue gust of wind lifted the older man's hair, revealing the five scars that had been on his back for as long as Kaku could remember along with a couple of new injuries. He had seen marks like those on Lucci's back before but this was the first time he hadn't put them there.

Clenching his teeth Kaku tried to act like he hadn't seen them but they kept floating back into the front of his mind.

"Say, Lucci."

"Hmm?"

"Where did you end up going the other night?" The red head asked as he pulled on a shirt.

"I got a hotel room."

"Oh ok … was-" 'There anyone else with you?' He managed to stop himself before he blurted out something he would regret.

"I was alone" Lucci was sharper then Kaku had hoped.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what I was thinking." Kaku zipped up his jacket and made it for the door.

'But the marks are there … He's lying'

"I've got to head off, I'll see you later."

Kaku rushed into the kitchen and took the slice of toast Blueno was offering to him. Califa, Fuukuro and Kumadori where there as well but there was no sign of Jyabura.

'He only has afternoon classes today, he won't be up for another hour or two.' Kaku told himself.

The boy was more than a little anxious to talk to the older man. He wanted to know whether he knew anything about where Lucci had been disappearing to, whether he knew if Lucci was cheating.

But is seemed as though he wouldn't get his chance until that afternoon.

Kaku didn't stop to eat with the others. He didn't have time, he was already late.

"I'm heading off now, I'll be back fairly late today." He announced before taking a large bite of his toast.

"Don't work too hard." Blueno said, handing him another slice of freshly made toast.

"Thanks, I won't." He rushed out the door with a slice of toasted bread hanging from his mouth.

The young man thought about his situation as he jogged towards the shipyards, he was too distracted to take his usual roof top shortcut. It was only a couple of minutes before he found himself at Dock 1 of the famed Water 7 shipyards. Kaku went straight to Iceburg's office to apologise for being late.

"I'm sorry I'm late Iceburg-san. What's on the roster for today?"

"God Kaku! What happened to your face?" Kaku lifted his hand and gingerly touched his bruised cheek. He'd have to put on a strong act today.

"I got in a fight, it's not as bad as it looks."

"Nmaa, do you want to talk about it?"

"No." 'Yes.' He really did need to talk to someone but he didn't think his boss was the right person.

Iceburg gave him a lingering look of concern.

"I'm fine really, what do you want me to work on today?"

"Nmaa, if you insist." He gave Kaku his instructions before sending him off to the shipyards.

"Hey, Paulie!" The blonde foreman had just sat down to make a start on his lunch when Kaku spotted him.

"Hey, Ka- what the hell happened?" He blurted out, momentarily forgetting what Jyabura had told him the previous day.

'No!' He thought 'I still don't believe Lucci would do that!'

"I got into a fight." He said giving his friend the same line he had used earlier that day.

"Don't give me that crap, Kaku. You don't get into fights." Paulie snapped, his words had come out a little harsher than he had intended. "Sorry." He mumbled before starting on his lunch as if he hadn't eaten in a week.

"It's ok, Paulie. You know me too well." He sat down next to the other man and sighed heavily.

"I got in a fight with my partner the other night and he hit me. End of story." Paulie stopped eating and hung his head.

"So it was true." He mumbled under his breath.

"What was that, Paulie?"

"Can- can I ask who he is?" Kaku furrowed his brow.

"As long as you don't go beat him up like Jya did." Kaku mumbled with a hint of displeasure in his voice.

"I won't."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Kaku sighed heavily.

"It's- it's Lucci. Please don't think any less of him, he's a good man. Really!"

'Dammit! Why did it have to be him.' Paulie squeezed his eyes shut. At that moment he hated himself above anything else. Taking a couple of deep breaths the blonde calmed his nerves and opened his eyes again.

"You already knew, didn't you?" Kaku asked surprised by his lack of reaction.

"Yeah, I did."

"Oh yeah, you and Jya are friends right?"

"Yeah."

'Well this conversation is going nowhere.' Kaku thought drearily.

"Hay Paulie, can- can I talk to you about something … personal?"

'Dammit, here it comes! He's gonna ask me whether I'm sleeping with Lucci!' The foreman assumed Jyabura had told him already.

"You can always talk to me." He continued, somehow keeping his voice steady.

"Well I-" Kaku started his voice shaking a little.

"Paulie, I think he's cheating on me." The foreman clenched his teeth but stayed silent. He wouldn't lie to Kaku.

"He keeps sneaking off and he often doesn't show up until the next morning. He seems so distant these days, he hardly even talks to me now and also…" He paused for a moment.

"This morning I saw some marks on his back … I wasn't the one who made them, Paulie." Kaku raised his hand to his face and covered his eyes. He had to fight back the tears that threatening to come; he wouldn't let Paulie see him this weak.

The blonde watched the other man as he tried to deny the sadness that threatened to take over him. It was almost too much for him to bear.

"I'm really sorry, Kaku." He mumbled.

"Don't apologise. You didn't do anything wrong. I didn't tell you because I want pity, I told you because I need help. I don't know what to do. I feel so lost" Kaku rested his forehead on his knees in an attempt to hide the tears he couldn't hold back any longer.

The blonde moved closer to the former assassin and gently placed his hand on his back.

"Your smart Kaku, you'll figure something out."

'God Kaku, I'm so sorry I did this to you. I'll never be able to make this up to you.'

Paulie wrapped both his arms around his sobbing friend and gave him a warm hug, it made Paulie feel a bit strange knowing he was the cause of all of his friend's suffering but he knew the boy needed the comfort.

The pair were immediately spotted by a pair of dark eyes from across the shipyards, the man stopped mid-step at the sight.

Lucci had turned up for lunch just like he said he would. He was less than impressed by what he found there. His Kaku nestled close to another man and not just any man, he was being held by Paulie.

The dark haired man watched the embrace for a moment as the time dragged on and the two didn't part.

Paulie clenched his eyes shut and sighed heavily, he had no idea how he would tell Kaku he was the one Lucci had been sneaking away to see. He had no idea how to tell him that he was sorry but he knew he would have to. Somehow.

The blonde pulled Kaku closer and placed a soft kiss on his hair in apology.

"I'm so sorry." He whispered.

Lucci didn't miss the sign of affection and it made his blood boil. How dare Paulie place his hands on his Kaku! How dare he kiss him!

Lucci was about to make his way over to the pair when a voice to his side caught his attention.

"Hey Lucci, is that you? Long time no see, mate!" It was Lulu, one of the other foreman.

"How about you come have lunch with us?" He motioned towards a small group that consisted of Tileston and a couple of other workers.

'I can't stay here.'

"I was just leaving." He mumbled before making a quick retreat. He had to get out of there before Tileston announced his presence to all Water 7, including Kaku and Paulie.

Muddled thoughts clouded Lucci's mind as he ran from the shipyard and disappeared into the streets of the water metropolis

"Please don't apologise." The light kiss made Kaku a little uncomfortable but he assumed it was just Paulie's way of trying to cheer him up and he was grateful for his friend's caring. He wiped his eyes and lifted his head.

"Thanks for listening, Paulie." He said as the other man moved away.

"Just remember, whatever happens, anything at all, remember that I'll always be here for you. You can come to me no matter what." The blonde was trying his hardest to stop his voice from trembling but he couldn't quite suppress it completely.

'He seems a bit down.' Kaku thought as he looked up at the other man. 'Maybe I got him worried.'

"I know, I won't forget."

The redhead gave Paulie a small smile before starting on his lunch.

"Hey guys." They heard only moments later.

"Lulu, what's up? You seem distracted." Kaku asked the tall man.

"Yeah, I guess I kinda am. Lucci was just here, he took off before anyone had the chance to say hi. He looked real flustered too. Wonder what's wrong with him."

Kaku and Paulie shared a look; they knew exactly what had made him leave in such a hurry.

'He saw us!'

"Shit!" the Zoan user mumbled under his breath.

"I wonder." Paulie said to no one in particular.

The three men shared a moment of silence before Kaku got to his feet.

"I'm going to get back to work." He mumbled before dismissing himself.

"Yeah, that's a good idea, I think I will to." Lulu wondered off in the direction of his current project leaving Paulie alone with his thoughts.

'What the hell do I do now?'