Yami No Matsuei Fan Fiction ❯ Little Things ❯ Clean-Up ( Chapter 3 )

Little Things

Clean-Up

By: eternalsailorsolarwind

 

Disclaimer: Nope, still not mine. I can only dream, I'm afraid.

 

A/N: Just another little one that popped into my head. More fluff. ^_^ Watari x Tatsumi this time.

 

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Little Things

 

Clean-Up

 

Coughing, Watari Yutaka sat up with a groan. He looked around at the now-disordered lab, seeing the soot streaks and splashes of color along the walls. The tables, cupboards, and other furniture and fixtures were battered, and one chair was even burning. Everything was silent, Watari realized. Eerily silent. He tried to say something; a curse at how the experiment turned out.

 

He couldn't hear his own voice.

 

The knowledge that his hearing was gone, most likely from the loud explosion that had created this wasteland in his lab, brought Watari up short.

 

Damn it, he thought. This wasn't fair - it wasn't even his sex change potion that he'd been working on. That was the experiment that usually produced such…dramatic results. No, this was actually something that the Ministry was paying him to work on.

 

A sudden movement out of the corner of his eye, made him turn to see what it was.

 

Tatsumi Seiichiro, his friend, some-time partner, and lover, had burst through the door, skidding to a sudden stop. Tatsumi carefully picked his way through the carnage that was the lab, his shadows momentarily enveloping the burning chair. When they receded, only the chair remained; not even a wisp of smoke to say that the fire had been doused.

 

Worried eyes behind frameless glasses looked him over before hands that Watari knew were both strong and gentle gingerly reached out to seek for wounds. Even though he ached, Watari leaned into the touch, feeling the caring that was behind the simple gesture.

 

A little dazed, Watari noticed that Tatsumi was getting more and more worried. Belatedly, he realized that his lover was speaking to him. But because he wasn't answering, Tatsumi was starting to fear the worst. Squeezing he other man's arm, he shook his head, pantomiming that he couldn't hear.

 

When Tatsumi tried again, this time louder, Watari could only shrug helplessly. He saw that his lover's mouth was moving, but there was no audio. Tatsumi started to shout.

 

Which was the exact moment that Watari's shinigami healing finished its job: his hearing returned with a pop.

 

“…all right, Yutaka?” bellowed Tatsumi.

 

With a wince, Watari nodded. “I'm fine, Seiichiro. My hearing kicked back in.”

Tatsumi didn't seem convinced, hands still gently probing for injuries. “Are you sure, Yutaka? That was a…large explosion.”

 

“Just the usual bumps and bruises, now that I can actually hear again. They'll heal up in no time,” replied Watari. “I just need to clean up this mess.”

 

With a nod, and a gesture to brush some soot from Watari's cheek, Tatsumi smiled and stood up. Looking around, he sighed. “I'll help you clean up, Watari.”

 

Taking the proffered hand, Watari allowed Tatsumi to help him up. “Sank yuu, Tatsumi!”

Grabbing a broom that had somehow been sheltered from the blast, Tatsumi turned his head to look sternly back at Watari. “Don't think that my helping you clean up will get all your equipment replaced, Watari. You still have to fill out the proper forms and submit them to me - in triplicate - before I will agree to let you have any more funding for the lab. You know how far in the red we are. This won't help.”

 

Watari pouted at Tatsumi, and the secretary's face softened into a fond smile. “I'm just glad that you are all right, Yutaka.”

 

The secretary returned to his sweeping, and Watari stopped to watch his lover sweep debris, smiling foolishly. With that one small smile, Tatsumi had erased all his aches and pains, making him feel whole and strong again. Watari briefly wondered, as he started to pick up larger debris from the floor, if it was possible to study the effects of love on the human body…..