3. Conclusion.

T: For warnings see previous chapters! I own nothing that you see here other than Hisoka's newly acquired backbone!!

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The chill of his apartment relives him of a little of the levity that the club had instilled in him and, feeling a little grumpy for the removal of this natural high he enquires,

"Why'd you take me away from there?"

The other guides him, as one accompanying a drunkard, to the relative comfort of his sofa and then responds, "Because you are not yourself," before he pulls a slip of paper from his trousers and says, "The Hisoka that I know would not leave work early, give so vague an idea of where he was going, nor willingly dress in such a manner."

His mood tightening, simply for the slight heat present in the other's voice as he utters the last words, into something playful he tugs gently on the elder Shinigami's tie and, enquires,

"Don't you think it makes me look sexy? I know that some of the other's in the club certainly did."

The other bats his hand away, a tense mix of anger and possessiveness swamping him as their fingers brush one another.

"You are angry because I did not go there with you," It is a statement rather than a question, the words causing the other to tense and for the chill of his emotional barriers to fall again between them.

Without thought he stumbles back up onto his feet and placing a hand to the other's face says,

"This is foolish."

"There, at least, we agree." The other responds as he again breaks away from his touch.

"Why do you continue to run away from me?" He enquires as he reaches again to capture the other's face in his palm. "Even now when I have done all that I can to make you see that this is what I want, that I do not fear the conclusion that a proper relationship would bring us to."

He can now feel the other's emotions lingering just beyond the ice of his walls and, following his gut instinct, he pushes up for a kiss.

The touch is electric, the every contact of their skin burning through him as liquid fire and the gentle caress of the other's emotions within his mind as finding a part of himself that he had not even known was lost.

He becomes so caught into this feeling, into the comfort of having the other so very close, that he does not detect the other's distress before it is too late, before the other has placed again space and the wall between them.

"This isn't what you want, Hisoka, can't you see that?" The other enquires, the guilt in his voice a raw thing that he recalls all too well from Kyoto. "This is the result of my emotions bleeding into you...of the possessive streak in my heart that made me keep you close…" The other's breath hitches and suddenly he is crying, the tears born of one of the many emotions the other has suppressed and washing away the last of his playful spirit.

"I have manipulated you, have twisted your thoughts until they were shaped in a way that was pleasing to me, have become no better than Muraki."

It is the first that that hated name has been spoken since the night in the cherry grove, since they both swore to do what they could to remove the man from their lives, and the sound of it is as a the oddest of drives.

Stepping again towards the other he smiles, the expression a little shaky despite it's sincerity and says, "You are not as that man. You have lifted me from darkness, have shown me the purity of the light and have made me strong. You have given me a home, Asato and for that kindness I shall be forever in your dept…for that kindness I have fallen in love with you," before he presses his forehead against the others.

For a moment he believes even this shall prove useless, believes that Tsuzuki's self hatred shall prove stronger even than the care he knows the other feels for him, then he is caught again in his partner's unique emotional imprint.

"I love you also, Hisoka." The other responds before he leans down for a kiss, the fierce desperation in the touch as the oddest of comforts.

He knows that it is not yet perfect, that they have still to deal with the raw edges of Tsuzuki's doubts and the uncertainty of what their life together shall bring, yet for the moment such things seem insignificant.

For the moment all that seems important is that Tsuzuki is here with him, responding to his desire and matching it with his own.

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T: At which point the boys start to get naked and everything becomes about the lust! The beast is dead, why not let me know how you feel about this fact (hint, hint!)