sasayaki
by mei
Pairing: Tatari
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I do not own Yami no Matsuei, or the characters; I'm merely playing with words.
A/N: I'm actually in time for V-day! I'm shocked at myself. (Though the bunny was from a long time ago.)
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It should have been a simple case. The typical confused spirit, lingering in the mortal realm, unaware of her own death and the imbalance it resulted in.
The long welts were now only thin red lines, but they were clear enough against the colour of his partner's skin to remind Tatsumi that he should have looked further. That a spirit who manifested around a children's playground miles from the hospital bed where she had passed on was a fact that threw 'typical' out the window.
Tatsumi reached out to touch the spot. The force of her refusal to move on had sent loose gravel at the shinigami, according to Watari's brief verbal report. Tatsumi felt the seeds of guilt twisting his gut. If she had been an older spirit, if her anger had turned vengeful, if she had been more violent in life...
"They'll heal and close up, you know." Fingers circled his wrist, breaking his train of thought, and he looked up to meet Watari's level gaze. Sometimes, he thought, Yutaka knew him too well.
"It shouldn't have--"
Watari shook his head firmly, chuckling and interrupting. "'Should' and 'should not' are words that you have a bad habit of using too often, Seii."
Tatsumi kept silent, aware that Watari would, as he had in incidents before, logically refute all of Tatsumi's self-admonishing words. He was starting to accept that he was still only human, that he couldn't do everything. Seeing his partner and lover hurt, however, wasn't the same as recognizing that Tsuzuki now had someone taking care of him.
His expression must have shown some of what he felt, because Watari's arms wound around Tatsumi's waist, blonde curls tipping forward as he pressed his cheek to Tatsumi's collar. And for moments they stood like that, feeling, hearing, and taking comfort from each other's breathing.
Watari spoke first. "I feel sorry for her, actually." He had only given a summarized version of the case when he noticed Tatsumi's eyes on the scratches on his cheek. The spirit's denial came back to him, contrasting against Seiichirou's hand threading through his hair, and he pressed himself closer.
"Waiting for a promise made long ago and in jest, putting her faith and life into words spoken by a child who has now unintentionally forgotten them. Taking childhood play so far." He lifted his head, smiling wryly at Tatsumi, who brushed his fingers over the disappearing scar on Watari's cheek. He spoke again. "I'm luckier than she is."
"Because you received no such childhood promises?"
"No." The warmth that Tatsumi felt when he met hazel eyes constricted a little in his throat. "Because I have in death what she wanted desperately to find in life."
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end
C&C appreciated as always.