Growing Need

Monday morning came all too soon for everyone in the Shokan division, especially for two particularly exhausted shinigami who trudged sluggishly towards the office they shared. Even Terazuma's snide remarks could rouse no more than a yawn and a wave from the normally hyperactive Tsuzuki, who didn't have the energy to bother with conversation, let alone an argument. Their coworkers were baffled by their lethargic behavior; that is, all but two, who only waved and sent knowing smiles their way.

Watari had certainly been in for a surprise when Bon walked into the office, still sixteen and incoherent with fatigue, but not at all irritable. Tsuzuki had trotted in right beside him, equally worn out and strangely apathetic. That was when Watari had known that things had worked out better than just fine between them. He himself had seen a little action as well; Saturday night, he'd finally convinced Tatsumi to go with him to a dance club in Shibuya, and after having a few drinks, found themselves engaging in a much more intimate form of dancing in the Kagetsukai's bedroom...

After a lengthy conversation the following morning, the subject had turned to Tsuzuki, and knowing that Seiichiro could be trusted with this information, he'd filled him in on the man's at-the-time volatile relationship with Kurosaki-kun. Since then, they'd both been anxiously waiting to see how things panned out between the two. Although their partnership, and relationship, had ended several decades earlier, Tatsumi still cared deeply for his old friend and hoped that he could finally find happiness. It was apparent now, and would become more so over time, that happiness was exactly what his amethyst-eyed ex-partner had achieved.

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They'd finally come to an agreement regarding the sleeping rotations; Hisoka would take the first nap under the terms that Tsuzuki would neither let him sleep longer than an hour nor stare at his partner, thinking about how "cute" he was when he slept. No promises were made on the latter condition, but the older man agreed to at least try, knowing how much the boy despised being described by such a childish adjective. Laying his head on the folded arms atop his desk, the weary youth quickly began to doze off.

He'd tried, he really had, for the better part of twenty minutes not to stare at the enchanting form slumbering nearby, but Tsuzuki simply couldn't help himself. Hisoka was so beautiful, too beautiful; it was impossible to keep his gaze away for very long. He sighed hopelessly, a small smile forming on his lips as he scooted closer, a hand reaching out to rub the backs of his fingers along a smooth, porcelain cheek. His smile grew wider as a light pink crept across the bridge of the blonde's nose. 'He's so cute when he blushes...'

The moment was rudely interrupted when Gushoshin the Younger swung the door open, squawking, "Tsuzuki-san! Hisoka-san!" Tsuzuki immediately recoiled his hand, completely caught off guard and practically yelped, "Nan da yo?!" "Hai," uttered a surprised Hisoka, who bolted awake at the sound of the flying chicken's grating voice. "We... have a case," Gushoshin informed them, baffled by their shocked expressions, but not wanting an explaination, either... "We'll head over to Kachou's office right away," the boy hurriedly assured him. As the bird drifted out the door, he wondered, 'Why was Hisoka-san blushing?'

"Gomen nasai," Puppy-Tsuzuki whimpered defeatedly, "but I couldn't resist!" Hisoka only shook his head, grumbling incomprehensibly. "So," Tsuzuki timidly inquired, "are you angry at me?" "No..." To tell the truth, Hisoka was flattered that the elder shinigami found him as attractive as he did. With a seductive glare, the boy glided towards his partner, leaning down to kiss the man's jaw as he breathed, "You'll make it up to me..." running his tongue up the craning neck, "later." A hand gripped his chin as violet eyes took on a mischevious glint, a low voice tempting him, "Why not now? We're alone..." "No," was his youthful lover's stern reply, despite his shiver at Tsuzuki's words, "you heard Gushoshin. We have a case. Later." Stepping out of the brunette's reach, the teen sauntered towards their office door, his pet following soon after. Yes, his pet; as much as Tsuzuki liked to pretend he was in control, both men knew that Hisoka was the true master...

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It seemed a fairly normal case at first; a nineteen-year-old male had encountered more vertigo problems than he could handle while leaning over a balcony. His soul was still wandering around Chijou, and they were going to retrieve him. At the time, they couldn't have possibly known just how strange this case was going to get...

Arriving in Kagoshima, Tsuzuki pulled from one of his trench pockets the photo of the deceased, Kinoko Ayumu, who sported black, shaggy hair that reached just past his thin shoulders, the majority of which was hidden by a huge rasta hat, colored red, yellow, and green. Bloodshot muddy-brown eyes carried a vacant expression, mouth slightly slack, and he was drowning in clothes at least twice his size. Upon reaching the scene of death, a cheap apartment complex on the outskirts of town, they immediately recognized the man from the picture, staring off into space as he sat on the metal stairs. They approached him cautiously, Tsuzuki being the first to speak, "Sumimasen... are you Kinoko Ayumu?"

"Huh?" The young man's head slowly turned their way, "Did somebody say my name?"

"Uh... Kinoko-san," Tsuzuki addressed awkwardly; this guy was really out of it. The pupils of his half-open eyes were enormous.

"Yeah," the disoriented fellow answered tiredly.

"I'm Tsuzuki Asato, and this," he said, motioning towards his partner, "is Kurosaki Hisoka."

A sloppy smile crossed Ayumu's face as his delayed reply trickled out, "Cool! How's it hangin', dudes?"

"We're shinigami," Hisoka continued, his inability to find a trace of emotion from the spacy man making him quite nervous.

"So you're, like, angels of death or something??" His eyes widened, sending Tsuzuki's stomach into a series of flip-flops. Gods, he hated this part...

"AWESOME!!!"

Both shinigami fell flat on their faces. Two angels of death had just approached him, and he was saying 'awesome?!' "Anou... Kinoko-san?" Tsuzuki warily began pressing for information, rising to his feet, "Do you remember anything that happened two nights ago?" A quizzical expression appeared in Ayumu's visage, and what felt like several minutes passed before he leapt up, pointer finger in the air as his epiphany struck. "Oh yeah," he proclaimed, "that's the night things started gettin' all weird on me!" Not completely convinced he wanted to know the details, Hisoka asked out of duty alone, "So, what happened?"

"Well," Ayumu informed, "that's the night me and a few buddies decided we wanted to go shrooming. We were chillin' out to 'Requiem for a Dream' - damn, that movie's trippy - and when it was over, I went out on the balcony for some fresh air."

The partners looked back and forth from the druggie to each other, afraid to let him continue as he suddenly became very animated, hands flailing about as he went on, "That's when one of the cinder blocks the neighbor had out pulled me down to the ground and head-butted me!! It didn't hurt like I thought it would, but I swear to God that damn cinder block was possessed!!" Moving his face only an inch from Tsuzuki's, eyes bugging, he rasped, "It was pure fuckin' evil, man," proceeding to do the same to Hisoka before pulling back and getting on with the story.

"Anyway, I shook it off and went back upstairs to smoke a bowl from the hookah with my boys, and then I heard them askin' each other where I was. I kept tryin' to tell 'em I was right there, but it was like they couldn't even hear me!"

"That's because they couldn't hear you," an irritated Hisoka interrupted, incredibly annoyed at the pothead's unbelievably oblivious state of mind. "They couldn't see you, either. The fall from the balcony broke every vertebrae in your neck and severed your spinal cord."

Slowly, the realization dawned on the reefer fiend as he inquired in a dazed tone, "So... that means I'm dead, huh?"

'Wow, he catches on fast,' Hisoka sarcastically remarked in his mind.

"Yes," Tsuzuki sadly replied, lowering his head. "We're here to take you to Meifu..."

"Whoa..." the stoner marveled, "total buzz-killer, dude..." His eyes grew sober and serious for a moment before he stated in a sullen voice, "There's only one thing I want to ask you before I go with you guys..."

Meeting Ayumu's somber stare, Tsuzuki meekly responded, "What is it?"

"Do you think they'd let me grow my own weed there?"

The elder shinigami's amethyst eyes turned comically beady as Hisoka's eyebrow twitched in frustration. The blonde almost slapped the sweet-addicted baka when he stammered, "W-We'll see what we can work out with Enma-Daioh..."

"Sweeeeeeet," the pothead drooled, consenting completely with a cheerful, "Okay, let's go!"

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Later that night at the small, but comfortable house Tsuzuki owned, Hisoka headed straight for the bathroom, massaging his temples in vain as he tried to fend away the slight buzz now in his system, angrily murmuring, "I probably got a contact high just standing next to that guy..."

"'Soka," Tsuzuki called, slightly worried, "where are you going?"

"To wash up," the boy snapped, "I'd rather not go to bed reeking of marijuana."

Hisoka stripped quickly, wanting to be rid of the odor as soon as possible as he stepped into the shower. He closed his eyes as the hot water cleansed his skin, lost in the tingling sensation it provided as he lathered his hair. He felt a twinge of guilt as he reflected on his sour demeanor towards his lover throughout the day; after all, it wasn't Tsuzuki's fault some idiot druggie had been the victim of a bad shroom trip. The brunette wasn't to blame for the pot fiend's nerve-grating, erratic behavior, either...

Thoroughly rinsing the shampoo out, the teen was too consumed by his own thoughts to notice the shower door opening, and it wasn't until powerful arms wrapped around him from behind, his partner's firm body so flush against his own, that he acknowledged the older man's presence. "Tsuzuki?!" He leaned his head back, gazing up into darkened violet spheres as the deep, sensuous voice that sent chills up his spine purred, "I thought I'd help you relax." One hand broke away from the embrace only long enough to grab the hand cloth hung around the shower head, which had retained much of the lavender body wash it had acquired during its previous use. Hisoka couldn't fight the mewls and moans that escaped his throat as his lover, starting with the hands and arms, gently spread creamy suds over every inch of pale flesh his slender fingers could reach, kissing and nipping the youth's neck, jaw, and shoulders. "Besides," Tsuzuki whispered hungrily, "I still need to make up for this morning, remember?" A groan was the only reply the blonde could muster, giving Tsuzuki all the incentive he needed.

By the end of the night, the purple-eyed shinigami's every offense was readily forgiven.

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AN: I know, I'm evil for stopping there, but you'll get your lemon in Chapter 9 :P I know, I lied... but thanks to a random creative burst, there will be one more chapter.
laustic, Orenji, and Dark_Lady, you guys are amazing (like you didn't already know that) This chapter was a tribute to, and most likely caused by, "the Stuff" (those who have watched the musical "Reefer Madness" will appreciate this)