The very last chapter of In Umbra, I feel so proud of myself! I think this is the longest fic I've finished all the way, and I hope you enjoyed every minute of the oozing angst and everything else that wasn't angst. Now, on with the story.

Once he'd been well enough to do so, Tatsumi protested his sabbatical leave, declaring himself well enough to go back to work. It had only been a week, and Watari wasn't fooled at all. That, Tatsumi decided, was the downfall of having your physician and psychologist as your lover. But he wasn't going to argue with the blonde, that was partially what got him in such a predicament in the first place. Watari promised him that his paperwork was getting done and there was nothing for him to worry about but making sure he was "all right." The blonde guaranteed that it would take the three months before Tatsumi was really all right, as he'd yet to sleep all the way through a night, still waking with a strangled cry, a plea for Muraki to not touch him, to keep his hands away.

            Watari had been granted his request for part time, working three full days and one half-day a week, mostly doing Tatsumi's deskwork. The other partners had picked up their district for the time being, and though he'd gotten a few grumbles from Terazuma and the usual half-joking whines from Tsuzuki, nobody really seemed to mind, especially not when they stopped to think about why they were trampling through Osaka chasing down some vagrant spirit. Because their good friend and coworker had been brutalized and couldn't handle being around death, or blood, or the victims of rape. Because his lover was trying to keep him away from such pain until he thought the wounds were healed enough. Sometimes Watari wondered if they ever would heal, and if Tatsumi was really all right or merely putting on a brave face for him.

            Coming home one evening he found Tatsumi sitting out on the fire escape, 003 perched on his shoulder, the two of them merely staring out over Meifu. The little owl had become Tatsumi's sworn protector since first being admitted to the infirmary, spending almost more time with him than she did with Watari. The scientist knew the real reason she stayed home with Tatsumi, that he was slipping her Twinkies, even though she was supposed to be dieting. Owls, Watari had stated, were not supposed to be roly-poly.

            "What're you doing?" he asked, climbing out the window onto the rickety iron structure, leaning against the railing. Tatsumi shrugged.

            "Thinking, I suppose."

The blonde nodded, taking the tie from his hair and shaking the curls from their braided confines. His hand closed over the one Tatsumi was resting on the railing, a small sigh issuing from the brunette's lips.

            "What about?" Watari inquired gently, glancing at him.

            "Us…" he answered. "Muraki knows you're my weakness, he's going to exploit that."

Watari smirked. "I'm your weakness? I thought the crisp sound of cold, hard cash being shuffled was your Achilles' heel, my calculative companion."

            "Does money wake out of a sound sleep to make me a cup of herbal tea at three in the morning after I've had a night terror? Or willingly fill out paperwork not even Konoe will touch?"

            "Point taken," he replied grudgingly.

Tatsumi looked at him gravely, his deep cobalt eyes still shrouded with a dark fear. "He'll use one of us to hurt the other…Watari…"

            "I won't let it happen," the blonde promised. "He won't touch us, either of us."

            "…I hate feeling like this, Watari. Being so frightened…we haven't…we can't…I…" he stammered, too shamed to articulate his emotions. Watari smiled sympathetically, putting an arm around his lover's waist.

            "It's going to be all right, don't worry about it. I can practice abstinence for a couple of weeks, months, however long it's going to take for you to regain your confidence. I know you hate this, Tatsumi, and I'm sorry you have to feel this way. But I'm not going to abandon you. I love you."

            "I know…"

Tatsumi shifted, mindful of the fire escape's poor construction, facing Watari. Those clear amber eyes never once lied to him, and right now they were as bright and hopeful as ever. It was moments like these that reminded him why he'd fallen in love with the crazy blonde in the first place. He was always so open, full of life and passionate about even the smallest things. The bright shaft of sunlight piercing darkness, sending shadows skittering away. Never accepting defeat, stubborn to a fault. And the most understanding person he'd ever known.

            He tipped up Watari's chin and kissed the young man hesitantly, mindful of the owl still perched on his shoulder as he wrapped trembling arms around him.

            "Tatsumi?"

              "I would have died if it hadn't been for you. I owe you my life, Watari, my immortal soul. I wish I could do something to repay you…for saving me when I almost didn't want to be saved."

Watari embraced him, 003 moving out of the way lest she be crushed. "You don't owe me anything. You're alive, that's all I really care about. As for repaying me…well, I believe your cooking supper tonight would suffice. I don't want anything from you, Tatsumi. Just you."

            "Thank you, Watari."

            "For what?"

Tatsumi smiled. "Dying…coming here…saving my life on numerous occasions…falling in love with me…being my weakness."

            "You mean the world to me, Tatsumi," Watari replied. "I'd be your weakness any time."

            They stood on the fire escape for a long time, safe in each other's arms, watching the sakura bluster through the breezy air. And though they would never be the same again, they had one another to fall back on, to hold fast to and dispel the darkness that threatened to swallow them whole. And while they could not live happily ever after, they lived, and lived together, until the end of eternity.

The End