Eden

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A Dinner Date?


Summary: Propositioned by the infamous doctor, the violet-eyed shinigami is presented with a contemplation. Which is more important; business or pleasure?


Disclaimer: I don't own Yami no Matsuei. I can't stress this enough. Because... if I did... Well... Just trust me, I don't. -.-


A note: To the people who've reviewed this story and emailed me, thank you so much. =D I had intended for Eden to be a simple, smutty one-shot, but it looks like it could be an ongoing series. Let me know if it's worth it!


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Hisoka had left. Hadn't he? Looking over to the opposite end of the room, Tsuzuki saw nothing but emptiness. The cabin was devoid of Hisoka, presumably having taken GuShoShin with him, considering the fact that he, too had gone.

With a shrug, the shinigami rolled over to the other side of the bed. He'd only been there a few hours, he could feel that much, having left Muraki's upper-deck cabin before daybreak, even before the doctor had risen. He couldn't go back to sleep now, he'd accepted that. It had been the same way since he was a child; whenever he was awoken from his slumber, for whatever reason, he was unable to get back to it right away. It didn't matter how tired he was. But, then again, he wasn't exactly that tired, anyway. He had too much on his mind.

Ugh. It should be so easy.

How difficult was it to get over a one-night stand? The real question, he supposed, was whether or not he wanted to.

He'd enjoyed himself, hadn't he?

That's an understatement.

He hadn't been able to stop thinking about the supposed mad scientist since the night Muraki consummated his love, for one reason or the other. He had a taste of blood and he wanted more.

"Fuck!" he cursed. Grabbing a pillow, he slammed it over his head in a very classic attempt at suffocating himself. He couldn't have done it, anyway; there was ventilation from one side.

"I don't lust. I don't lust. Kami-sama, I can't be lusting...!"

In a minor fit, he flung the cushion across the room. He succeeded only in the white-clothed pillow colliding with the nearby wall. A small thud was the result. What was the point of that again?

"Ugh... Get out of my head..." he mumbled so incoherently he could barely understand himself, pulling the sheets up and over his face. It was all too much to bear. He knew Muraki was the kind of man to get underneath somebody's skin, but this was ridiculous. For all he cared, he just wanted to be in the same bloody room, but it seemed that wasn't going to happen unless Hisoka was there.

"Tsuzuki, are you alright?"

Speak of the devil.

"I'm fine..." Tsuzuki poked his head out from beneath the covers. "See?"

Hisoka rolled his emerald green eyes, shut the door behind him and made his way over to the bedside. "I see that you're upset about something, that's what I see." His tone was bland. Then again, it always was.

With a small grumble, Tsuzuki sat himself up. From that angle, his face was hit by one solid stream of daylight breaking through the curtains. "Just tired..." A sudden gurgle from his stomach attracted his attention, and he gripped both sides of his abdomen. "And hungry."

Suddenly, he was casual as ever. Whatever he was thinking about was quickly cloaked in the form of not having eaten since the afternoon prior. Obviously, it did the trick to throw Hisoka off the trail.

"You dope. When was the last time you ate, midnight?"

"Lunch yesterday..." Tsuzuki whined as he stumbled out of bed.

An elegant eyebrow from the younger man voiced his question. Tsuzuki whimpered. "I forgot to eat, okay?!"

Hisoka couldn't help the tiny smirk that crawled upon his lips, and he shook his head. "I would think that of all things you'd forget to do, eating wouldn't be one of them."

Tsuzuki did the comic-classic falling over onto the floor act, and twitched, only briefly. "Me, too."

"Get dressed, then. We'll go up to the deck and have some breakfast."

"What time is it, anyway?" Tsuzuki asked as he looked up from the floor to a retreating Hisoka.

"Around nine. I'll wait for you at the restaurant."

Tsuzuki nodded. He could only hear the door opening, and just before it shut, he blinked, and shot his eyes back to the door. "Wait - Hisoka!"

The doorway was an inch away from being blocked. But just before he could close it, the teenager heard his partner calling his name. With a sigh, he pushed it back open. "What?"

Having gotten back to his feet, Tsuzuki shuffled over to the closet where his clothes were kept. "Where were you this morning?"

Hisoka shrugged and looked out into the hallway, as if accusing it of something or another. "Out. I heard things up in Muraki's room last night, so I was doing a little investigating."

Tsuzuki choked. He vaguely remembered hearing footsteps outside of Muraki's bedroom the night before. Muraki's cabin was near the very top of the ship; up in the section reserved for VIP's. Certainly, those important enough to be up that far wouldn't just be wandering the halls at all hours of the night. They would either be down in the casinos or in their rooms. The footsteps he'd heard were continuous; going one way, then the other. Pacing, perhaps.

At the time, he thought nothing of it. Then again, how could he have? He was victim to the sensual touch of Muraki's fingers, a talented tongue and a soft pair of lips. What was outside the door was hardly anything to be worrying about. But now that he thought of it...

That... was him...?

Grabbing the nearest shirt that came into his view, the brunette did his best to remain casual about the whole thing.

"What kind of things?"

Sighing, Hisoka leaned his shoulder to the doorframe, looking in with a near disinterest. "He wasn't alone, I know that much. I think there was another man in there with him."

"Really?" Tsuzuki asked as he peered over warily.

"They were loud enough. I guess he's satisfying his lust for you with someone else. What a headcase..."

"Oh, I see." Tsuzuki shrugged as best he could and went about selecting his outfit for the day. "Well, I'll see you downstairs as soon as I get dressed."

Hisoka nodded knowingly. "'Kay." With that, he finally managed to close the door.

The shinigami waited for the sound of Hisoka's feet padding the floor to grow fainter and fainter, before he collapsed right back against the nearest piece of furniture, which he was very happy to find was a chair.

"Damn... I'm glad I was so out of my element that Hisoka couldn't sense me in there..."

He shuddered, briefly. That was too close of a call. There were ten thousand different fates awaiting him if Hisoka found out that he had abandoned all his principles and shared Muraki's bed, even if it was just for a night. He could take it as personal abandonment, disregard for the Ministry, and a few other things, to boot.

So how to weasel out of this one? Muraki was sure to gloat.

The sharp ringing of the phone snapped him back into the world of the living.

"Huh?" Tsuzuki's eyebrow raised.

He didn't have time to ask himself who was calling. Instead, he hopped across the room and to the bedside table, where a white courtesy phone was sitting, screaming rather impatiently to be answered.

"Hello?" he said as he plucked the receiver from its bed.

"Good morning, Mister Tsuzuki," the telltale tone of the doctor came in from the other line. He seemed to be back to formalities.

Tsuzuki was just about to jump before his conscious mind took over to keep him grounded, albiet he did get a fight from his instinct. With a fidget, he cleared his throat. "Muraki," was all he could bring himself to say.

A small chuckle from the other line. "Rather cold this morning, are we?"

Muraki had struck a casual conversation? He didn't even sound conniving. Yes, there was still that icy thread in his voice, as there always was, and yet, Tsuzuki didn't feel threatened.

"I just... didn't expect you to be calling, that's all."

"Yes, well," Muraki began amongst a few other foreign voices, which gave the shinigami the impression that the platinum blonde wasn't in his room, "Seeing as how I couldn't greet you properly this morning, it seemed the only logical thing to do."

Tsuzuki sighed. "I agree. I guess you couldn't just waltz up to my room-"

"With the boy there," Muraki cut him off at the pass. He had indeed read the shinigami's mind.

"Exactly."

"I want to see you again."

Tsuzuki blinked. "What happened to being satisfied with one night?"

Muraki went so far as to laugh at his response. "I thought for a split second that one night would satisfy my hunger for your presence. I can see I was horribly wrong."

Now, he was just plain confused. How many times had he, himself, Asato Tsuzuki, jammed it into his head that Muraki was only after his body and nothing more? Now he found that he seemed to take his "obsession" to a more casual, how-do-you-do level.

Reaching up, Tsuzuki flicked his fingers through his bangs nervously. "... It's too risky on this ship."

"Oh? So you would actually consider it if it weren't for us being onboard?"

Tsuzuki fell silent.

Wait. What the Hell did I say?!

He was forced to recap.

"It's too risky on this ship."

"I..." he could think of no more to say.

He was sure he wasn't even on the same floor as the doctor, and he could feel that sinister grin crawling upon his pallid lips. It was almost a musk, hanging thickly in the air around the violet-eyed shinigami.

"You needn't answer a question to which I already know the answer. Just answer me this; you enjoyed last night, didn't you?"

If you know the answer, why are you asking the question...?

Tsuzuki could only assume that the doctor was asking for his own satisfaction and nothing more. He was more than likely correct.

"... Yes..." he muttered almost silently, as if he was afraid to answer at all, and it was only then he realized that he was blushing.

"My dear Mister Tsuzuki," Muraki spoke almost soothingly into the receiver, "There's no need to be so bashful about it."

Maybe there wasn't, but it was difficult to adjust to. As strange as the idea was, even in his afterlife, Tsuzuki had never been a victim of his own desires. It was that damnable virgin naivete that still hung about him in a fog.

"In any case. I'd like to invite you to dinner. Nothing expected in return, no strings attached. I'd simply enjoy your company."

Violet eyes were blinking once again. Dinner? Just company? The idea was enough to make his stomach do a backflip. So it wasn't just lust...

"Just my company, huh?"

"You assume I'd expect some sort of payment?" Muraki sounded genuinely concerned over the matter.

"No, no," Tsuzuki stuttered to cover his tracks, "I just... Well, I'm just... not used to being asked for a..." he struggled to get the word out, but Muraki was too quick for him.

"A date?"

"Yeah, that."

Muraki chuckled lightly over the receiver.

"Can I take that as a 'yes'?"

Taking a breath, Tsuzuki thought with himself for a moment. Closing his eyes, he went over the pros and cons.

Pro number one: A quiet meal sounded fantastic at the moment, even if it was hours off. Last meal of the day and all.

Con number one: Muraki could have been using his way with words to insist he had no expectations when, in actuality, he did.

Pro number two: As much as it pained him to admit, Muraki did have a humble side, and he might be introduced to it once again if he accepted the invitation.

Con number two: ... Con number two...

...

Come on, there's gotta be another one.

...

Guess not.

The pros quickly won the battle.

"Um... Yeah. I'll... have dinner with you."

"Splendid." Muraki sounded quite pleased with himself.

"Just... About Hisoka. I don't know if I can slip away."

"I think you'll manage."

"How do you figure?"

Muraki laughed. "Because you could always weasel your way out of a tight spot. I've taken the liberty of having the restaurant on the top floor cleared out for us. Come up around eight. I'll have everything prepared by then."

"Alright..." Tsuzuki found a small smile creeping onto his mouth.

"I'll see you then, Tsuzuki." Muraki dropped all formalities again, which only fueled the brunette's fire, even while the click of the other receiver signalled that he'd hung up.

After a second or so, he, too, deposited the handle of the telephone to its cradle and flopped back onto his bed.

Ironic, that Muraki should invite him to that specific place for a date. It was the same place the platinum blonde had wandered down from after he'd pummeled Tsuzuki with the wine bottle, and their paths on the ship had first crossed. The shinigami could only imagine that that was what had set the wheels in motion for what was inevitably about to ensue. Fate was either working for him or against him, that much he knew; the problem was in deciphering what it was that elusive destiny had in store for the two men.

"Hm..." he muttered to himself as he stared up towards the ceiling. "I really hope I don't regret this..."

He chuckled, for a reason unknown to himself, hopped back up onto his feet and proceeded to get dressed for the day.


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No lemon in this chapter, but you just know I'm working up to it.

I have the following chapter all written and ready for you guys, I just need a little incentive. *cough*REVIEW*cough*

I promise you some form of action next time!