The next week, of which the entirety of Scepter4 had off, was spent by Reisi mourning in solitude for his fallen friend. Saruhiko had left left right after the plan was decided and he had made a phone call to the boy's doctor. Saruhiko was begrudgingly told by said doctor to cut the pills in half for the next week and he could stop taking them after the week was up. The boy seemed slightly intimidated at the prospect of going straight into work right off the pills, but Reisi gave him a reassuring smile and he delighted in watching the tension melt from the boy's eyes.

On that first day at work Reisi was met with sympathetic looks from his subordinates and a sad nod from his lieutenant. Saruhiko got to work late, which was not usual for him, but since usually Reisi was in his office when the other arrived he was never certain of the time. However, when Saruhiko entered the office that day the entire building knew he arrived.

Saruhiko walked through the open double doors of Scepter4's command center with a huge smile on his face-not one of sadistic pleasure but of undefiled joy. It alone was enough to cause everyone in the room to stop what they were doing, and for Akiyama to spill his hot coffee all over his keyboard and Awashima to choke on her's. His whole appearance had been altered more than slightly, with his burgundy wrist bands gone along with his glasses. The bangs that usually hung over his left eye were now pinned to the side with two light blue hair pins.

In the stillness of the room someone suddenly lost it and bolted for Reisi's office, which was why he was now standing in the entrance to the hallway trying desperately not to let his jaw drop. He had always found Saruhiko to be adorable, found him to be beautiful and cute-but this was just too much. The boy was like a freaking model he was so beautiful, and Reisi made a mental note to keep an eye on Akiyama when he saw the heavy blush the man wore.

He catches Awashima's eye and they share a silent understanding, and suddenly she's hitting her subordinates upside the head with a rolled up magazine. He finds it more than funny that she must assume they are a couple, but it also makes him rather sad. It was infuriating for him, to see Saruhiko and want him to be his but hold the knowledge that that might not happen.

He's new to the world of liking people, because he was more focused on school work while he was growing up than at the omegas who always seemed to adore him. This omega was different from them, he knew, and now it seemed that the Saruhiko he had fallen in love with was a fake-because the old Saruhiko would never wear something to open up his face, nor smile so happily.

Somehow it didn't bother him in the slightest.

He should go back to his office, he knew, but he wanted to watch the boy just a bit longer. He watched as Saruhiko's smile faltered for a moment when he saw that everyone was staring at him, but they he caught Reisi's eyes and the smile was back, and if that didn't send a flutter through Reisi's heart he didn't know what would. He turned when he saw that Saruhiko was headed to his desk, but not before he sent Awashaima a pointed look at Aikiyama.

Reisi spent the rest of the day filling out paperwork and working on a thousand piece puzzle of the Grand Canyon. The day went by slowly, and paperwork even more so, because he kept watching the surveillance videos on his computer screen. Because he kept watching the new Saruhiko Fushimi, no, the real Saruhiko Fushimi.

At noon Saruhiko went off patrol missions, and Reisi watched with an uncontrollable smile of pride as Saruhiko walked briskly around the screen in excitement. He watched and everyone around him was confused and whispered to each other, but focused on how happy and full of life Saruhiko looked and acted.

Earlier that day he witnessed Saruhiko being more sociable than he'd ever been before, chatting amiably to the others at the water cooler during break and smiling and laughing at their jokes. He talked with his hands now, and talked more than he seemed to listen. Some of the others caught on that this was a good thing and smiled back and acted like nothing was off, but others were more skeptical and avoided the strange new Saruhiko like he had the plague.

When Saruhiko came back from missions it was late in the day, the sun just starting to set, and many people were turning in their last reports and calling it a day. Reisi was working on the puzzle still, only half way finished, when Saruhiko knocked on his door. The boy was still smiling, Reisi noticed, but looked tired like he had been running all day. Saruhiko usually left the heavy lifting to others, and stood by and watched over the proceedings unless Yata Misaki was involved, but this time it seemed he'd been out and about the whole day in the field.

"How are you feeling Fushimi-kun?" he asked, and smiled when Saruhiko stiffened with a bright blush. He looked away and nibbled his lower lip, "I'm fine just a bit tired is all, I was chasing a dog strain through the sewers so I should go take a shower soon. He could make fire come out of his mouth, poor thing didn't understand what was happening and kept lighting trash on fire by accident."

Reisi smiled and motioned to the chair in front of his desk, "Why don't you take a seat then?" Saruhiko nodded a bit shyly and pulled out the chair and took a seat. He looked down at the puzzle his captain was working on and silently started to help. Reisi smiled as they completed the puzzle faster than if he had done it alone. When Saruhiko put in the last piece he frowned when he seemed to finally look at the picture as a whole.

Reisi looked at the others confused expression, "It's the Grand Canyon." Saruhiko nodded numbly, and traced the canyon with slim fingers. Once again Reisi found himself grateful for the clear expanse of skin on the boy's wrist, but the way Saruhiko traced the puzzle's surface like he had the table in his apartment made him worried.

"It's a crack." the boy said in a monotonous voice, and lifted his other hand to scratch at the scabbed remains of where the Homra tattoo used to be. Reisi found himself reaching across the table to pull the boy's hand from hurting himself further with his nails. He had already peeled back some of the scabbing, blood beading on the pale skin and dripping down like tears.

Saruhiko stopped tracing the puzzle as Reisi held one hand and cleaned his wound gently with a handkerchief he fished from a drawer in total silence. It wasn't a comfortable silence however, and Reisi noticed he was looking anywhere put at him with a guilty expression like a child being caught doing something they weren't supposed to be.

"Doesn't it hurt when you do that?" he asked, blotting the scrapes carefully. Saruhiko kept his eyes trained on Reisi's sword, mounted on the wall. "Not really..." he whispered, "...the words hurt more." Reisi raised a brow in confusion, but they were interrupted by a knock on the door. Reisi drew back and Saruhiko blushed and Awashima came in holding a stack of papers and looking at them curiously.

Saruhiko excused himself quickly and quietly, and then Reisi was left listening to Awashima reciting the day's events and a new stack of paperwork to be completed last minute. Then Awashima left with a bow and it would take him at least an hour to finish it all if he hurried, so he snatched his PDA up and quickly typed out what he'd been wanting to write for so long.

To: Fushimi Saruhiko

I'll be finished in an hour, would you like to have dinner with me?

It took less than four minutes for Saruhiko to reply.

To: Munakata Reisi

I'd love to :)

What a cutie-pie ending! Wah I love new real Saru dont' you?