Disclaimers: Yami no Matsuei is, by no means, mine. All rights are given to Yoko Matsushita and all those concerned. The song lyrics are from Shania Twain's "You're Still the One" - thank you so much for the weeklong case of LSS, might I add.

Author's Note: This is my very first Yami no Matsuei fanfic (basically it's a songfic, but leave me alone), so I can't say I'm an expert in these things. I've read my fair share of fanfics though, so I hope that it would suffice as far as "experience" is concerned. Now, I think I should warn you that this piece is written with bright pink as the page's theme (I write with different color backgrounds to get into the "mood"), a color I never really had much affiliation with, so if ever there's anything strange about this, it's color, not my innocent mug of hot chocolate, not the bowl of candies, not the gum I'm chewing, and nor is it my innate stupidity, to blame.

BUILDING ETERNITY
A Yami no Matsuei Fanfiction
- Tatsumi x Watari -
by: Cherrie ( [email protected] )

// Looks like we made it
Look how far we've come my baby
We mighta took the long way
We knew we'd get there someday... //

"What -"

Seiichirou Tatsumi took a slow, deep breath, an act that somehow eased the relentless throbbing inside his chest. Had it been possible for him to die a second death from severe - if not numerous - heart attacks, Enma-Cho would have one less secretary to feed. Not that his eating habits actually ever made any difference as far as the number of muffins there lie in the lunchroom's concerned. He left that job to Tsuzuki. It's very tempting to deduct yet another 10% from that man's salary, but Tatsumi was afraid that he'll end up starving the man to death. Okay, not enough to kill but still.

Ah, but wonder of all wonders, his current problem was not Tsuzuki. Then again, it made no difference either when the person conducting the orchestra of throbbing veins inside his head was also a regular in his office. Not that he hated having the man there mind, after all, even stone-cold secretaries have their moments. Tatsumi wasn't one to pass up a good offer if he was given enough encouragement, and seeing that luxurious golden hair just begging to be caressed, he believed that he need not elaborate on that at all. And don't even start with the body beneath that labcoat--

--Aah, but he digressed.

Pushing up rectangular glasses to the bridge of his nose - a mannerism that told anyone who knew him well that Seiichirou Tatsumi was not pleased - he continued, "--in the name of Enma Daioh is this, Watari?"

Watari. It took months to make Tatsumi drop the "-san" part every time he would utter that name. Years to have him get used to conversing in a first name basis. Over the years, Watari was made to accept the fact that Tatsumi will only call him by his given name if and only if they were at least a mile away from their workplace.

Still, that never posed as a reason for the scientist not to pout every time he was called "Watari" by this secretary-cum-lover of his. "It's Yutaka, Seii," he said, raising himself indignantly on his toes to show his disapproval.

Irritatingly cute, thought Tatsumi. A good reason to be kissed, but never an excuse when it came to anything work-related. "Watari," insisted the secretary, shifting his gaze from the golden-haired man's sulking face to the papers he had in his hands. "Shall I ask again?" He lifted the papers up to indicate what he was talking about.

"Hm? Oh!" Forgetting the initial annoyance, the scientist's face brightened up back to its original genki form and presented the secretary with a blinding grin. "It's my report for this month's expenses! Didn't you ask for it?" Innocent blinking.

Tatsumi gave the other a hard glare. "It's in pink paper, Watari."

// They said, "I bet they'll never make it"
But just look at us holding on
We're still together still going strong... //

Nine years of being officially together. Thirteen if you count the years of him being in love with the scientist. Seventeen if you wish to include the years he wasted just standing there not knowing what to do even if it was terribly obvious that he wanted more than the man's smiles. Twenty years of knowing the man and basking in the natural warmth he gave unknowingly, which he in turn took as greedily as a child would receive free treats...

Quite a lot of numbers if he did say so himself, but still the eccentricities never failed to amaze him - if he said he was amused then that's saying that he was already defeated by sheer cuteness and infatuation, and Seiichirou Tatsumi wasn't one to allow that.

"Tsuzuki had some lying around and I asked for a few sheets. The white bond papers were getting boring," said the scientist, as if the very statement was nothing more than a comment about the weather. Most hard to understand things that came from him were almost always said in the exact same manner. It's one of the few things that made him Watari, his Yutaka, and part of him didn't really want him to change that at all.

But the painful truth would stab one suddenly if need be. It wasn't really in the rules, but Tatsumi never really thought that pink paper - nor blue, yellow, nor orange much as he liked that color - could be used as an item inside the office. They were mostly used for love letters and greeting cards. There are just some things that you know aren't fit for a certain occasion.

He sighed. "Watari..."

"Seii, it's not bad, is it?"

Don't look--

Idiot.

A dark eyebrow twitched, the only sign the outside world could see that said that Tatsumi was reprimanding himself for doing something stupid. Contrary to the immediate warning his mind gave, the usually stoic secretary lifted his gaze from the papers he was working on to look at his partner's face. Something in him cracked at the sight of those worried eyes.

Before he could stop himself, Tatsumi felt his lips move as the words escaped him. "No, you did nothing wrong, 'Taka."

That has got to be the dumbest thing yet. Whatever happened to the "At least one mile, Watari, or I'll forget your name completely" speech? Goes to show the sincerity of the threat. Watch your conscience roll its eyes, Seiichirou.

Apparently, he wasn't alone when it came to noticing selected words. As if the growing grin wasn't proof enough. Before he could even think of something to warn against any stupid antics, Tatsumi found himself a really warm and inviting scientist straddling his lap, giving him a deep, hot kiss.

"Thanks, Seii. You're the best!"

And with that, the cheerful scientist bounced off as enthusiastically as he came, leaving a dazed secretary on his wake. That bastard. So he thought that he had him wrapped around his little finger, did he?

Okay, so partially, maybe he did, but Tatsumi just wasn't about to admit that. Especially not in front of Watari himself. He couldn't even begin to imagine what horrors that would cause. Neither could he even begin to imagine why. Surely it wasn't merely because he could use it to bribe Watari to let his hair down - "Seii-chan's been really nice today, so what does Seii-chan want?" - as childish as that may sound, right?

Ah, well. Another day in Seiichirou Tatsumi's life began.

// (You're still the one)
You're still the one I run to
The one that I belong to
You're still the one I want for life

(You're still the one)
You're still the one that I love
The only one I dream of
You're still the one I kiss good night... //

"Waaah!!! Tsuzuki, Seii's going to kill me!!!"

"Get off me, Watari! You're my friend and all, but I really am not going to endure Tatsumi's wrath just for you! Waaah, Hisokaaa~!!! I'm gonna die, help me~!!!!"

A thin eyebrow rose at the commotion two corners away from the office. Hisoka Kurosaki wasn't usually one to answer to his partner's childish whines, but seeing that he's been sitting around for three damn hours without being offered any help from the man who claimed that he'll go through Heaven and Hell just for his happiness, he figured that he could indulge in some slacking and find out where the appeal was. Not that it worked last year, but decisions change.

And so, with that said, he then found himself standing just underneath the doorway of the lunchroom and looking at it with undisguised terror...

Well...fuck.

Tsuzuki, upon seeing his young partner abruptly turning back and walking away from them, cried out. "Hisoka!!! Help me!!!"

"Bon! Come back, you've got to help us out!!!"

"What do you mean 'us'!? I'm taking Hisoka with me until Tatsumi's done unleashing his ghouls!!!"

Hisoka pretended that he didn't hear anything and just continued to walk briskly away from the scene. He turned his head for a last check just to see if he was being followed, a cue for him to start running. But life's a bitch and clichés happen, which was probably why they became clichés, they happen quite often. Life's just sadistic enough to use that fact in the wrong way, which was why just when he was about to turn towards the path he was treading, he found himself bumping with the last person he wanted to bump with at that very moment.

"HISOKAAAAAAAA~!!!!!!!"

Well...shit.

"Uh...good morning, Tatsumi-san," he greeted, pretending still that Meifu was currently missing two shinigami and that it wasn't his partner that he was hearing screaming like a banshee a door away from where he stood.

But apparently, he forgot to tell Tatsumi the new game he's playing. The older man merely gave him a weird look and nodded his head. "Yes, good afternoon to you too, Kurosaki-kun." Hisoka winced at his obvious mistake, but Tatsumi wasn't looking at him anyway, which he thought was good. Blue eyes were focused on the room Hisoka just came from, and was giving it a considerably scary look. Well, if you considered a blank look scary, but hey, who was the one being spoken of here anyway?

"Was that Tsuzuki-san?" asked Tatsumi, fixing Hisoka a look that dared him to say 'No, it was a penguin, Tatsumi-san.' It didn't have to take an empath to know that lying around Tatsumi would be as meaningless as threatening the Earl that he'll take Tsuzuki right in front of him. Meaningless in a sense that the bastard might probably just enjoy it anyway, perverted Tsuzuki-obsessed maniac that he was.

Bad thoughts. Back to Tatsumi.

Hisoka had no choice but to follow Tatsumi as they walked back to the lunchroom of doom, a new name it would hold once the secretary was done with all of them.

There was a deafening silence by the time Tatsumi entered the room. Well, probably not deafening since there were still noisy utensils clashing against each other in the background, accompanied by a loud crash that sounded disturbingly like the coffeemaker as it finally decided to jump off the table. There was a loud cry from the heater as if it lamented the demise of the coffeemaker. Hisoka tried to avoid looking at anyone, or anything for that matter, by shifting his gaze towards the wall. Tainted painfully bright orange in large spots wherever one dared to look, might he add.

It was during those time that the young empath thanked the gods for Tatsumi's natural ability to shield. He wouldn't even try to imagine the situation had the man been completely open for him to read whether he liked it or not. For some reason, he believed that his own shields wouldn't even be enough to protect himself.

A minute passed. Two minutes. Enma-Cho secretary Seiichirou Tatsumi once again adjusted his glasses, eyes glinting beneath the transparent surface. And so it shall start.

"Watari," he said, eyes landing on the scientist cowering behind a chair. The prolonged silence was given due result and a light meep was heard from behind the chair. A small smile broke through the secretary's lips, which, to all those concerned, was kind of curious, so they all cowered in their positions despite the contrast it might pose to the previous action.

But Tatsumi went on smiling and fixed Watari with a calm stare. He spoke again. "Are you planning to do something about this?"

Golden dark eyes meaningfully watered at the sheer look he was being given, and his head instinctively nodded. Hisoka bet that that head would still be nodding even if Tatsumi ordered that every sakura tree in Meifu be painted blue. Or something.

"Tsuzuki-san," called Tatsumi this time. Hisoka wondered where Watari's punishment was or whether or not the sentence was already given and he was too busy to hear, but his thoughts failed to continue when the secretary's eyes finally landed on his own partner. Tsuzuki was hiding behind Watari, looking just as wounded. Surely Tatsumi would let him off, right? Hell, look at the eyes, man! Really, Tatsumi wouldn't--

"I'm docking your pay."

Three jaws fell on the floor as Tatsumi crossed the room, through all flying forks and platters, to pour himself a cup of green tea seeing that coffee wasn't available. He took a small sip, as if testing the drink, and sighed contentedly. He fixed his glasses again before walking towards the doorway, teacup in hand. He looked over his shoulder. He fixed Watari an innocent rise of an eyebrow. "Shall we go?"

The scientist gave out a small 'meep' yet again and jumped up. "S-Sure!" He then pushed himself to land next to the secretary, but not before throwing Tsuzuki an apologetic grin.

It wasn't until the scientist was pushed inside his lab by a smirking secretary did Tsuzuki's wails ring through the building halls. "TATSUMI, THAT'S NOT FAIR!!!!!"

// Ain't nothin' better
We beat the odds together
I'm glad we didn't listen
Look at what we would be missin'... //

Tsuzuki decided that he was too upset with what happened the day before to continue working - not that he was giving much contribution anyway - and just started sulking on his table. He can't help but thinking of Tatsumi and his poorly diminishing salary. At the rate Tatsumi was going through, as in acting out his obvious bias towards Watari and his failed experiments by taking away his money-related frustrations out on Tsuzuki's pay instead, Tsuzuki would have to work for a week just to buy himself a meal. And that doesn't even count dessert, and that only made things much worse.

Asato Tsuzuki wanted to cry.

"Baka," muttered Hisoka, who was typing away on the computer. Tsuzuki gave his beloved partner a look and wanted to cry all the more for not being able to help him out with work. He was just so upset!

"You sit around doing nothing with or without a problem," said the empath sardonically, obviously reading his thoughts even while he worked. Hisoka's really good with what he does, proven by the fact that he could multi-task. Even as he spoke to him, he was still typing away, as if his lips were completely detached from his fingers. Aaw, that's so cute. If he wasn't so upset, maybe he'd take time daydreaming about said lips and fingers...

"Baka," was again mumbled out by the empath, but not anymore as bitterly as the last.

Minutes passed and Tsuzuki resumed back to his sulking. He knew that his partner closed himself from him moments ago. He suspected that he did so because he was starting to get redundant. He was thinking about cinnamon rolls a while ago, then Tatsumi, then cheesecake, and Tatsumi only to think of cheesecake again. Hisoka never really appreciated cheesecake much.

The silence was cut off by a familiarly cheerful voice. "Ne ne, Tsuzuki~!!!"

Tsuzuki wasn't sure whether or not he should look up to welcome their visitor - with the fact that his salary was being pulverized to a pathetic amount that could be handed in coins because this certain man decided that two explosions a week wasn't enough - and just buried his face deeper in his arms.

"Lookie what I got!"

Tsuzuki doubted that there was something the scientist could bring him that could make him happy. Still, he felt his table being cleared off of paperwork - the legs of Hisoka's chair screeched loudly against the floor in protest to that - before a plastic bag with a box inside was dropped on the space where the paperwork was supposed to be in. A scent he painfully knew and recognized played under his nose.

"Apple pie~!!!" The violet-eyed shinigami all but jumped up to dive towards the box mere inches away from where he was. The sound of merry laughter rang through the room as Watari helped Tsuzuki get the treat out to be shown great devotion by the one thing that should be done to every sweet: be savored, cherished and eaten.

"I knew you'd like it," said the golden-haired shinigami as he watched Tsuzuki eat - pig-out as Hisoka would say it.

"Sankyu, Watari~!!!" said Tsuzuki in between bites, which promptly earned a disgusted look from his partner who inched his chair away from the mess the shinigami was making.

"Ah! Don't thank me, I just brought it here," said the ever-smiling Watari as he introduced Tsuzuki to the wonderful invention called the fork, a wonderful invention indeed yet forgotten at the sight of apple pie. Hisoka noted that had that grin been any wider, there just might be small hearts fluttering around the room. Watari went on. "That's a gift from Seii for you!"

Had there been any crickets in the afterlife, their chirps would've been heard by now as the silence grew inside the confines of the room. Even the others had to stop whatever they were doing; Terazuma opening one eye to check whether or not he heard things right, one pointed ear twitching under the mass of dark hair, Wakaba stopping mid-stride when she was supposed to deliver a stack of paperwork to Kachou, etc. But it was as if the whole world decided to stop spinning. Tatsumi? Gift? Seiichirou Tatsumi does not give gifts. He does not use money unless the necessity poses to be life threatening.

But if that wasn't a miracle enough, it seemed as though Watari wasn't finished with his speech just yet. "And I pass to you his sincerest apology. He's not really docking your pay, never really did, just pulling your leg because he felt like it. So he told me to tell you to scratch off the 10%, the 10% of the remaining 90%, then the 5% of the 10% of the remaining 10% of the 90%, that he threatened to cut off from your salary since last week!"

Another bright grin here.

Tsuzuki, wonderful as the news might be, just couldn't share Watari's unadulterated sentiments for Tatsumi's kind yet surprising actions. "H-He what!?" Said with a finesse that was expected upon hearing things concerning the secretary.

"Yes! Isn't it great?"

"He isn't sick, is he?"

"Hm? Not that I know of, why?"

"Well," Tsuzuki just couldn't believe it, "n-nothing really. Just surprised, that's all." He couldn't help the tinge of doubt to escape his voice. What if it was just Watari's idea of a sick joke? Because Tatsumi just couldn't...he wouldn't...!!!

Everyone in the room was completely still, sharing Tsuzuki's thoughts most probably. But it seemed as though Watari was the only one to miss the strange phenomenon, as proven by his bright announcement - "Okay, that's all, go on back to your work everyone!" - and his usual bouncing. A minute after his leave workers of EnmaCho awkwardly resumed whatever they were supposed to do, shaking their heads as if waking up from a dream.

Somewhere in the sea of office workers, Hisoka Kurosaki woke up from his own dream, but unlike the others, a small tinge of a smile was playing across his lips.

// (You're still the one)
You're still the one I run to
The one that I belong to
You're still the one I want for life

(You're still the one)
You're still the one that I love
The only one I dream of
You're still the one I kiss good night... //

Tsuzuki was right when he told Tatsumi that the eternally falling petals from the sakura in Meifu helped ease anybody's stress. There was a time when that statement was taken back, that time when Tsuzuki's long-time partner, Hisoka, came into the shinigami's life. But as the years went by and as he watched Hisoka gradually fight the demons of his past with Tsuzuki's help, Tatsumi saw that Tsuzuki was again able to teach his current partner something that he taught Tatsumi many years ago.

Surprising, that. Surprising that even when he realized that Hisoka was growing to be more than just a partner, more than just a friend, to Tsuzuki, he found that he felt no tinge of bitterness in him. Surprising that just when he thought that he was in love with his old partner, he realized that he's been believing in something that was never there, or at least, something that has already faded away to mere love for a special friend. Truly, he was happy for Tsuzuki and Hisoka, and even encouraged them by forcing overtime on Tsuzuki - knowing fully well that the man would beg Hisoka to keep him company - and pretended that he didn't notice that there were significantly less amount of paperwork than the actual amount that could've been done in the span of three extra hours.

Yes, he loved Tsuzuki. So much that he would've killed Hisoka - as fond of his sole trustworthy worker as he may be - had he rejected the love Tatsumi himself encourage Tsuzuki to give. As for Hisoka, bless his kind soul, well... Tatsumi believed that he was responsible for whatever it was that happened that time in Watari's lab. It wasn't much. Just the usual things like, Tatsumi-san, Watari-san fell asleep on his lab again and I think I saw something crawling around his neck, potions going amuck and Watari having to need his help to wash his hair because the said mass decided to change colors in different places and had to be washed off before the potion - whatever it was that was spilled - dried.

Maybe that's where his obsession with the man's golden hair began, as strange as the memory may be.

"Hello, Seii."

Tatsumi closed his eyes as insistent flapping of wings signaled 003's arrival with her master. For some reason, the owl developed a sudden liking for landing on his head, whether he was standing or lying down, it didn't matter. Watari found it extremely cute and would laugh every time the tiny owl would find her niche on top of Tatsumi, so as frustrating as having to breath through feathers was, any effort of trying to get rid of the bird's weird preferences immediately came to a halt.

A pair of hands extracted the tiny owl, and a small shiver ran down Tatsumi's spine as he felt the tips of Watari's fingers lightly touching his neck and cheeks. Despite the significant amount of time that they've been together, he couldn't help but respond to even the smallest touch.

"Off you go, girl, no fair hogging him to yourself," Watari said good-heartedly, and as if they truly understood each other - something Tatsumi actually thought was possible - 003 let out an indignant hoot but allowed herself to be lifted anyway. A pair of smiling golden eyes landed on the secretary's own. The smile crept down to the scientist's inviting lips. "Missed me?"

Cupping Watari's cheek in his palm, Tatsumi leaned back on his free elbow to lift himself up to touch those lips with his own. These kisses - chaste yet infinitely satisfying - were things he knew he would never get tired of.

As the kiss ended, he slowly opened his eyes to meet shinning orbs of gold smiling down on him. "Is that a 'yes'?" teased the youthful scientist as a lone thumb stroked the secretary's cheek.

A smirk. "Maybe," he replied, the corner of his lips rising even more at the prompt rolling of the other's eyes. "What happened with Tsuzuki?"

"I told you giving him pie would be good. He's back to loving you!" The scientist grinned. "Now, that wasn't so bad, was it? Oh, you should've seen his face!" And as if he was reliving the sight in his mind all over again, Watari burst into laughter, his humor posing to be contagious as Tatsumi felt the corner of his own lips lifting. "And don't get me started on the other workers. Who would've thought Terazuma could actually invent an expression between complete surprise and sick terror?"

"Terazuma?"

Watari grinned at the secretary's suddenly confused expression. "Listen to me when I say that you should get out of your office more often. You listen to a story and you've heard them all. Didn't I mention to you before that our department has the sharpest of ears?"

"And your point is?"

"The point, my dear sweet Seii, is that everyone here holds a title that must always be fulfilled. Tsuzuki is expected to finish the remaining donuts, Bon's expected to curse Tsuzuki more than Terazuma can ever dream of doing, and Wakaba-chan's expected to spread cheer and good tidings wherever she goes!"

Tatsumi nodded and gave the scientist The Look. "Uh-huh. And I suppose that something's expected out of me as well?"

"But of course! You're the boss! The butt of every joke in a workplace is always the boss, unfortunately," said the scientist. Somewhere in their conversation, the golden-haired ball of energy himself somehow found a way to climb up to his lover's lap, wriggling around to find a comfortable position.

"And what, pray tell, are you idiots expecting from me?" asked Tatsumi, a hand calmly flying to the rescue just when the scientist threatened to tumble back in his overzealous movements.

Watari stuck his tongue out. "Ah, but you wound me so with your words, Seii~!" he said, clinging to the older man's neck tightly. "Nothing much is expected from you except to terrorize us all with your tendency to go to extremes wherever money is concerned. In other words, nobody expects you to voluntarily contribute to the amount of sugar Tsuzuki takes in his system everyday, and neither does anybody expect you to not dock someone's pay at least once a month, nor expects you to not cut off expenses by deciding that maybe candles would be cheaper instead of using electricity--"

"Hey, I don't go that far, you know."

"--and nobody expects you to not dock my pay just because you love me more than you love them all combined."

By this time, their lips have grown so close that it merely took Watari a small movement to fully claim the other's own. This time, the kiss was longer, deeper, their movements in synch with the other's as tongues played with one another in a quiet dance that never dulled with time. If possible, the years contributed merely to the worth of that one single kiss, feeding the flame that grew brighter as each day passed.

I love you.

Still savoring their close proximity, both shinigami allowed themselves to linger in their position, lips lightly touching, hands lightly cupping the other's face with a tenderness that was only given to things more precious than a rare piece of china. Eyes barely open, Tatsumi breathed in the light scent of cologne, together with something familiar that was just plainly Watari.

He smiled, something that he learned to do with utmost sincerity ever since he allowed the scientist in his life. "Sheer genius," he whispered, breathing still ragged from their recent activity. "You ask me to dock your pay before deciding to seduce me. What is it called again?"

"There is nothing wrong as far as the art of seduction is concerned, Seii," grinned the scientist as he sleepily nuzzle against the secretary's neck while tightening his hold. "Besides, it's not like you disapprove."

"It clouds clear judgment, my dear Watari."

"Yutaka."

"One mile, Watari."

"Aah, but I seem to remember a time when I am but a feet away from you and still you broke your own rule. What's wrong, Seii? Somehow forgot your metric skills and mistook inches to miles?"

"I plead momentary insanity, my sweet-talking mind-manipulator. Insanity is something you wear everyday, so surely I'm allowed just this once, am I not?"

"Heh, had I known any better, I'd say you actually like being seduced that way. Any secrets you'd like to share with me, Seii?"

"I have no idea what you're going on about."

Watari grinned, lifting up a finger to wiggle in front of Tatsumi. "You know the basics. Number 1: If you wish to soften Seiichirou Tatsumi up a bit to ensure a 'yes' to a favor, be sure to compliment whatever it is that you find most striking. Not the ties, nor the hair. Something you find striking about him, like his eyes, his lips. Use his first name and be a tease, because no matter how much he pretends to hate being denied the proper title of the notorious 'Tatsumi-san', he really likes it when 'Seii' is purred out. Be sure to end your sentences with the name to add more effect. Of course, such rules only apply to Yutaka Watari, so then again, writing a book about seducing this secretary of EnmaCho would be useless in the first place."

A dark brow rose at that. "So you think you can write a book about me, don't you?"

A grin. "Come on, it's not like you can't do the same with me."

"Perhaps," said Tatsumi, allowing his eyes to trail away as if deep in thought. "'The Many Eccentricities of Yutaka Watari and His Faithful Owl'... there should be a warning though. 'Not for minors and those with a weak heart. Might pose to be hazardous.' Part 2 coming up, only much neurotic weirdness can be fitted in a book."

"Jerk," said the scientist, poking the other on the ribs. No ill feeling seemed to ebb from the calm voice though, and the word was promptly followed by a sleepy yawn. "Well, this eccentric feels really sleepy and plans to sleep on the lap of Seiichirou Tatsumi. Will he survive? Tune in next chapter because Watari's too sleepy to talk anymore."

"I want to go back to work. It's been almost an hour."

"I dare you to try and wake me up. Stop talking."

"Hm, I doubt you'd hate me for what I'll say."

"Try me."

"Did you know that we'll officially be ten years together by next week?"

A pause. "Okay, so I can't hate you for remembering that--"

"You forgot again, didn't you?"

A small meep. "--I love you?"

Tatsumi shook his head. "It's okay. Apart from feeling like I'm constantly being forgotten--"

"Seii, that's not true! I love you, I really do!!!"

"--I figured that it would be okay. Ten years is nothing compared to what we have ahead of us if you think about it. I have centuries to work on you. Just as long as you promise to never die on me--"

"I promise!"

"--and that means no more explosions."

"But science mmphrmp--!!!"

"Ah, you promised."

Tatsumi couldn't help but chuckle at the look of Watari pouting with his hand covering the scientist's mouth, denying him any more chances to speak. There were still a bunch of unintelligible mumbles, but they gradually died down as sleepiness and the realization that neither of them can understand his words anymore overtook Watari. By the time Tatsumi eased the scientist away from his tight grip, Watari gave no more curses and just yawned again, snuggling into into the secretary's warmth.

"Don't think I'm done with you yet. Wait 'til my next experiment...mumblemumble"

"If you'd just take time to realize, I should be back to my room by now, working. I'm actually doing you a favor here, Watari-san."

"Yutaka."

"Watari."

"Tatsumi then."

"It's Seii."

Despite slowly losing his side of the argument, Watari smiled at his lover's words. He knew that no matter how Tatsumi refused to acknowledge it around other people, having him call him by his first name served as a comfort to the older man. Something inside him told him that with those words, he also scored a point against the other. At least that thought gave him comfort. The secretary's a real cheat when it came to word games, driven by the fact that his voice possessed the same power Enma himself might have.

White-clothed arms wound more tightly around Tatsumi's neck as the scientist once again buried himself in his lover's chest. He felt the older man shift slightly beneath him, fixing them a more comfortable position that could last them until hours. Briefly, the young scietist wondered what the others would think if they saw Seiichirou Tatsumi slacking around just because EnmaCho's genki scientist-cum-doctor decided that he wanted to sleep under the sakura trees.

// Looks like we made it... //

The petals continued to fall, giving both shinigami a soft, tranquil refuge from the busy world that continued to go on even without the help of their trusted secretary. Somewhere in the chief's office, both Konoe-kachou and Tsuzuki tried to look for Tatsumi in vain, already realizing that he was not in the lunchroom - not that that was expected - in someone else's office, and not even in Watari's lab. It was when Hisoka himself pointed out that Watari himself was gone did the whole office conclude their fruitless search. They all went home early seeing that they have no idea what to do without their beloved assigned-boss because not even Konoe himself knew what was supposed to happen next after Tsuzuki accidentally placed his report for the shredder to feed on and after Hisoka accidentally bumped into Terazuma and other things that need not be mentioned.

Some might ask how it could be possible that Tatsumi, workaholic extraordinaire, would allow himself to be held down by something as simple as a bunch of words mumbled in a way that they were incomprehensible no matter how hard one would try to strain himself for them anyway. Some might ask how in the four worlds did his deep romantic love and devotion for Tsuzuki faded to something just as strong, yet not as demanding as the love one might feel for a lover, merely for a friend one planned to hold dear. Some might ask how a simple reincarnation of a mad scientist was able to overcome the fearful secretary, to hold down the ghosts that lurked in the silence of the tight-lipped man whose story was never really clear to anybody, how the colors that the scientist held wherever he went became the very sunshine that lighted the secretary's path. How ten years seemed but a day, and that building eternity together didn't seem to be so difficult when they were like this, with his beloved warmth breathing lightly in his arms.

"Sleep well, 'Taka."

This was why.

// Look how far we've come my baby... //

-- The End --

Ending Notes: It makes my eye twitch whenever the word "empath" keeps on being underlined as I write. Okay, so the word doesn't exactly exist in the dictionary, but what else can we call Hisoka?? Bah... *upon realizing that she was rambling* Oh yeah! Feedbacks would be very much appreciated! ^_______^