Summary: They both knew they were going to die, but that didn't matter anymore. They were together, and there was nothing that could split them apart. A different take on Kyoto, had Tatsumi not saved Tsuzuki and Hisoka in time.

Rating: K+

Genre: Hurt/Comfort/Spiritual

Characters: Tsuzuki Asato, Kurosaki Hisoka

Words: 1,913

Author's Note: I really need to write something that doesn't involve Tsuzuki and Hisoka... Inspired by the songs "This Is Home" and "Saddest Story Never Told", both by I Am Ghost. No lyrics from either song are included in the story.

The fire around them was raging, consuming the building and threatening to engulf them in its mass of black flames, but neither of them made a move to try to escape. Neither of them had any desire to. One embraced the flames, waiting for them to finally bring him the ultimate peace he'd always wanted, the other refused to leave his side, no matter the cost.

If Tsuzuki wanted to die that badly, then so be it, but Hisoka would not let him go alone.

The boy had recklessly leaped into the quickly burning building, not giving a single thought to his own safety. All he had cared about was getting to Tsuzuki. Once there, however, Tsuzuki had refused to move, only asking that Hisoka stay away so he wouldn't be killed too. Still, the younger would not accept that, and had thrown his arms around his partner, determined to remain by his side. Listening to Hisoka tell him that he needed him, that he would go wherever he went, Tsuzuki had found it was impossible to keep the boy away. Hisoka always had been stubborn. So, the older man had done the only thing he could do: wrap his arms around his young partner and await the inevitable.

Of course, Hisoka wanted nothing more than to save Tsuzuki. After sixteen long, harsh years of life, he had finally found a reason after death to take advantage of his second chance and live. Tsuzuki had given him everything he never had, and everything he'd always wanted. He'd been the first person to show him compassion, the first person to actually care about him. Hisoka hadn't loved his parents, and there was nobody else in his life close enough to even be worthy of the smallest amount of love. Tsuzuki had completely turned that around. He'd given Hisoka everything and asked for nothing. It was inevitable for Hisoka to become so attached to Tsuzuki. In his eyes, Tsuzuki was nothing short of an angel.

As things were, however, saving Tsuzuki was not possible. Touda's fire had already grown too great, and, with Tsuzuki refusing to get up, it was impossible for Hisoka to try to get him out. So, the empath had to settle for the next best thing: dying with him.

At this point, Hisoka couldn't imagine living without his partner. As much as the older man annoyed him at times, if he lost the only person who had ever cared for him, the only person he had become attached to, he would never get close to another person. If he had been cold before, he'd show as much emotion as a zombie should he lose Tsuzuki. He wouldn't allow Tsuzuki to go thinking he was alone. Even if it was too late to save him, Hisoka would make sure his partner knew that his feelings toward him were reciprocated. The empath cared about Tsuzuki just as much as Tsuzuki cared for him. If Hisoka had to die to let him know that, then so it would be.

Tsuzuki had been his reason to learn to live, and now Tsuzuki was his reason to die.

Tatsumi and Watari were yelling something from outside, but the words didn't clearly reach Hisoka's ears. He did feel bad leaving them. After all, they had also treated him with kindness, they were most certainly good friends, and he felt bad that he would never get to repay them. Tsuzuki needed him more than they did, however, so he did not regret his decision. His only regret was that he was not able to save Tsuzuki earlier. That Tsuzuki had been in so much pain to lead him to suicide made Hisoka feel absolutely horrible. He felt Tsuzuki deserved far better than that, and wished he could have made him feel wanted long ago. He didn't deserve to have gone despising himself for so long. He didn't deserve to be in pain. He deserved to be loved.

As the fire raged on, the two still did not move. They both knew they were going to die like this if nobody else did anything, and they accepted that. They had each other, they didn't need anything else. Nothing could separate them now.

And, despite the looming fate of being burned alive, Tsuzuki felt safe. There was nothing else that could hurt him now, there was nothing else he could do wrong. It was a great relief that he would finally be released. Though he really wished Hisoka hadn't come to him, for Hisoka's sake, another part of him was glad his partner was there. It felt selfish, and his desire to see Hisoka safe outweighed his desire for comfort, but he knew Hisoka was not going to leave. This is what Hisoka wanted, and, this time, he would accept that. Let them both be free from pain, let them both be unbound by the chains of their pasts. They were there for each other, and that was all that mattered. They were in the one place where they both felt they truly belonged: in the arms of one another. The only place Hisoka could call home.

The black flames had closed them in now, becoming ever closer to completely engulfing them. Though the flames licked at him, scorching his clothes and exposed skin, Hisoka bit back his cries of pain. He wouldn't let Tsuzuki feel guilty for hurting him. After all, the emotional pain he'd feel if he survived and Tsuzuki did not far surpassed the physical pain of the high-heat flames. He only clung to Tsuzuki tighter, pulling himself as close as physically possible, and Tsuzuki responded by tightening his arms around his partner and holding him there.

Hisoka hadn't done this because he was afraid of dying. The only thing he was afraid of now was Tsuzuki not knowing how Hisoka truly felt about him. Thus, he spoke through his action. He told Tsuzuki everything he wanted him to know through his actions, how much he appreciated every little thing the older man had done for him, how grateful he was for Tsuzuki's continued and unconditional kindness despite the coldness he had received, how much he needed Tsuzuki.

As the flames began burning both of them, Tsuzuki felt the need to apologize. Apologize not only for bringing this upon them, but for everything he'd ever done wrong. Hisoka knew it was coming before Tsuzuki could part his lips to speak it, and quickly cut him off with a shake of his head. He didn't want Tsuzuki to be sorry, and Tsuzuki could already hear Hisoka's voice in his head, 'Don't apologize, idiot.' So, Tsuzuki said nothing and simply nuzzled Hisoka's neck.

Hisoka turned his face so that his lips were to Tsuzuki's ear. He knew he wouldn't be able to speak loudly, and it would be even harder to hear above the roaring fire, but this he knew his partner would hear.

"I love you."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The building had been long abandoned. Ever since before he was born, in fact, which was a good 16 years ago. He'd been told it was due to an unexplainable fire. That wasn't so unusual, as it was apparently a laboratory, but the rumors about it were a tad out of the ordinary. Those who saw the fire claimed that the flames had been black. As far as he knew, there was no such thing as black fire. The claim of black fire had brought about much speculation, and, as often happened when humans could not explain something, rumors of devils and other such paranormal things began floating around. Many people believed all kinds of horrible experimentation had gone on in that laboratory, including cloning research. Consumed in the fires of their own evil, some people said regarding those who conducted the experiments. All stuff the boy would normally consider utter nonsense.

Normally, had he not found himself strangely attracted to the place, as if it was a magnet pulling him in.

He never told anybody about his occasional visits to this abandoned building. After all, it would sound ridiculous. There was no reason for the area to hold any sort of significance to him, and yet he felt the most unusual attachment to it. It wasn't a positive feeling either. For an unknown reason, he felt as if the fire had actually had an effect on his life. It even haunted his dreams.

Sometimes, he would dream that he was actually in the building as it was burning, which was completely ludicrous, seeing as it had burned to the ground before he had even been alive. He was never alone in the dreams either. There was always somebody else with him, somebody whom he was dead set on staying with. This person had no face, didn't talk, and was completely unidentifiable, yet, in his dream, he felt some strong sort of attachment to the person. It would always end in the both of them being trapped in the flames, and always resulted in the boy waking up in a cold sweat.

And yet, despite this, he visited the area anyway. It didn't make sense, even to him, but he had given up trying to figure out why and simply followed his emotions. This day was different, however. This would be the last time he would see the place as it was: desolate, charred, and completely untouched. After many years of abandonment, the remains of the building were finally going to be torn down, the area landscaped, and a new building put up. It was supposed to be a supermarket. And, to be honest, the boy wasn't sure how he felt about it. It was both a relief to finally be rid of the building that haunted his dreams, and a sort of loss and sadness for the unexplainable sense of attachment he also got from it.

The sound of footsteps interrupted the boy's thoughts, his emerald eyes breaking away from the building to find who else was there. Not too far away from him, another boy stood, one who looked around his age, perhaps slightly older, gazing at the ruins of the building, clearly lost in thought. As the boy stood, watching, the other eventually turned to him, revealing unusually-colored, yet beautiful, purple eyes. His lips began forming into a smile, slowly reaching up to those amethyst orbs, and the green-eyed boy was taken back. Who was this stranger, smiling so freely at somebody he didn't know as if they had been long-time friends? The newcomer took a couple of steps forward, the other suddenly rooted to his spot. He gazed into those purple eyes, eyes that should be alien, yet felt as familiar as his own. As the stranger continued to walk towards him, the boy's thoughts suddenly flew back to his dreams, to the mysterious person he had so longed to be with. Four words echoed in his mind, words that had not been spoken by him, but directed to him, words that he had never remembered until this point, 'I love you too.'

The two boys were now standing no more than a couple feet apart, the one with the purple eyes still smiling. The green-eyed boy suddenly found himself smiling back, not an expression he wore lightly. Neither of them had yet said anything, but both of them knew there was a connection, unspoken words that were nevertheless mutually heard.

'I've been waiting for you.'