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mtxref_ficAuthor's Note: Written for "fic_promptly"'s "Any, Any, happy deathday". Mild Hisoka/Tsuzuki
It happened every year, like clockwork, around the end of January: Tsuzuki would become wistful and withdrawn, and his usually prodigious appetite would fall off. He didn't even have to be badgered into completing his paperwork, something that never happened the rest of the time. Normally, Hisoka could read his partner's moods like the proverbial open book, but this time, he closed himself off, not as deeply as it had when Sagantus had taken over his body, but enough that Hisoka could only glimpse the painful nostalgia that Tsuzuki kept hidden.
Finally, Hisoka realized a bribe might be in order if he was to get through to his partner. He splurged on a large slice of tiramisu from a bakery on the mortal side of the veil and set it before Tsuzuki on the desk they shared.
Tsuzuki looked up, his eyes brightening a bit. "Hey, is that for me? I don't know what I did to deserve it, but I'll do it again," he said, reaching for it.
Hisoka pulled the plate just out of Tsuzuki's reach. "I hated to have to stoop to this level, but I'm afraid you can't have it just yet."
"Awww! You've been hanging around with Tatsumi too long: you're getting as mean as he is," Tsuzuki whined.
"You haven't been yourself, and it's bugging me," Hisoka replied. "I'll let you you have it when you tell me what's going on."
Tsuzuku sighed and glanced out of the window, at the snow mixed with the falling cherry blossoms. "It's not that simple, it's just that we're coming up on the anniversary of when I died. I don't remember a whole lot of what happened, because I'd been sick in my mind and my soul for a long time before it, but I know it was painful."
"Painful enough that you took your life?" Hisoka asked, delicately.
"Yeah. I've thought about looking into my file, but it's sealed. Maybe I'm better off not knowing," Tsuzuki replied.
"Maybe you are," Hisoka replied, completely knowing and understanding what his partner meant. Finding out the cause of his own death and meeting his killer face to face hadn't given him the closure that he had hoped for. "But maybe you just need to look at it from a different angle: if you hadn't died, maybe we wouldn't have met."
Tsuzuki's face brightened, right up to his eyes. "You're absolutely right, Hisoka! All this brooding isn't really worth it, if we look at it this way. It's like a birthday, or maybe... a death-day."
Hisoka gave him a half-smirk and pushed the cake back to his partner. "Just keep telling yourself that," he said.
"Thanks! For the advice, not just the cake," Tsuzuki replied, digging in.
It happened every year, like clockwork, around the end of January: Tsuzuki would become wistful and withdrawn, and his usually prodigious appetite would fall off. He didn't even have to be badgered into completing his paperwork, something that never happened the rest of the time. Normally, Hisoka could read his partner's moods like the proverbial open book, but this time, he closed himself off, not as deeply as it had when Sagantus had taken over his body, but enough that Hisoka could only glimpse the painful nostalgia that Tsuzuki kept hidden.
Finally, Hisoka realized a bribe might be in order if he was to get through to his partner. He splurged on a large slice of tiramisu from a bakery on the mortal side of the veil and set it before Tsuzuki on the desk they shared.
Tsuzuki looked up, his eyes brightening a bit. "Hey, is that for me? I don't know what I did to deserve it, but I'll do it again," he said, reaching for it.
Hisoka pulled the plate just out of Tsuzuki's reach. "I hated to have to stoop to this level, but I'm afraid you can't have it just yet."
"Awww! You've been hanging around with Tatsumi too long: you're getting as mean as he is," Tsuzuki whined.
"You haven't been yourself, and it's bugging me," Hisoka replied. "I'll let you you have it when you tell me what's going on."
Tsuzuku sighed and glanced out of the window, at the snow mixed with the falling cherry blossoms. "It's not that simple, it's just that we're coming up on the anniversary of when I died. I don't remember a whole lot of what happened, because I'd been sick in my mind and my soul for a long time before it, but I know it was painful."
"Painful enough that you took your life?" Hisoka asked, delicately.
"Yeah. I've thought about looking into my file, but it's sealed. Maybe I'm better off not knowing," Tsuzuki replied.
"Maybe you are," Hisoka replied, completely knowing and understanding what his partner meant. Finding out the cause of his own death and meeting his killer face to face hadn't given him the closure that he had hoped for. "But maybe you just need to look at it from a different angle: if you hadn't died, maybe we wouldn't have met."
Tsuzuki's face brightened, right up to his eyes. "You're absolutely right, Hisoka! All this brooding isn't really worth it, if we look at it this way. It's like a birthday, or maybe... a death-day."
Hisoka gave him a half-smirk and pushed the cake back to his partner. "Just keep telling yourself that," he said.
"Thanks! For the advice, not just the cake," Tsuzuki replied, digging in.
