By the Horns

An XXXHolic fanfiction by Sir Psycho Sexy

A/N: Written for Yaoi Challenge at Livejournal. Dômeki/Watanuki fluff, with a Himawari/Mystery Person pairing. NO HIMAWARI BASHING. I refuse to bash her. If you're looking for Himawari-bashing, this is NOT your fic.

-SPS

Watanuki was taking a leisurely stroll back to Yûko's shop from classes. The slower he walked, he felt, the less…weird…his surroundings would be.

But not twenty feet in front of him he saw the reason for his entire existence: Himawari. Watanuki didn't care whether or not that strange witch told him she was bad luck; she was the center of his universe, the sun around which he orbited, and nothing was going to steer him away from at least getting one date with her.

…Or so he thought.

"Himawari-chan! Wait up!" Watanuki ran at full throttle towards her while she paused and smiled gently.

"Hello, Watanuki-kun! Today's math assignment sure was easy, wasn't it?"

"Yeah! It was a real cinch!" Of course, he was lying, but he couldn't help but mindlessly agree around Himawari.

"Since we're all done with our homework, why don't we go watch Dômeki practice, hm?"

Choosing between working for that crazy witch and watching his sworn rival practice archery was, somehow, a no-brainer. "All right, let's go."

But before they went back to the school, Himawari looked him in the eye, smiled wide, and said: "I bet you said that because you'd rather cheer on your boyfriend than do work." She waggled her index finger in front of his nose. "I know how you are."

Watanuki was on the verge of a simultaneous heart attack and nervous breakdown. "B-B-BOYFRIEND?!? What the hell are you THINKING?!? I love you, Himawari-chan! I like girls! It was weird enough when you said we were best friends, but…BOYFRIENDS?!?"

Himawari giggled. "I knew that would happen if I said that. It's kind of cute, in a way. But you're freaking out because it's true. You do like him that way."

Watanuki just stood there, his jaw dropped to the floor. "B-But…I…you…he…"

Himawari smiled her radiant smile, a place of unusual calm in the midst of a swirling typhoon. "Don't worry about making me lonely. I have someone else besides you two I like, and that person likes me, too. Now, let's go watch!"

Watanuki just nodded his head and followed her back, his stomach feeling as if it were full of rocks.

While he was watching the match, Himawari's observation went around and around in his head. He tried to ignore it, but when he looked at Dômeki, he remembered all of the things he had helped him out with, even in the guise of being enemies. Dômeki had gotten Watanuki out of many a spiritually related pickle, and felt thankful for all of those times as he saw Dômeki string his bow and concentrate.

The room was abuzz with cheering, but, for some reason or other, all Watanuki could hear was Dômeki breathing, trying to get a grip on his bow as he aimed the arrow at the bulls-eye. For some reason or other, he felt the concentration, the determination, that Dômeki felt. And then his mind wandered back to what Himawari had said, and chills went down his spine as if he had seen the most horrid ghost that had ever existed.

But then, Dômeki's gaze wandered casually over towards him, piercing him. He loosened up on his bow as he stared Watanuki right in the eye and said, "What are you staring at?"

"Umm…err…nothing!" Watanuki was suddenly nervous, as if he were crossing the road and there was an eighteen-wheeler he didn't notice right behind him. He put his hand behind his head, swallowed hard, and came up with the stupidest, most inane comment one could come up with when one did not want to admit one was staring at another person out of admiration: "There's a stain on your uniform, that's all! Heh-heh!"

Dômeki nodded his head curtly and went back to locking his target. "Whatever."

Watanuki mentally scolded himself for missing his chance, for not being man enough to take the bull by the horns. Tonight, he thought, I'm going to pay him a visit, come hell or high water…

Watanuki had ended up chickening out for two whole days before he finally went to Dômeki's temple. The first night, the night after he watched him practice, was plainly his fault; the next was Yûko's as she made him stay late to clean her shop and verbally abuse him about his all-too-obvious case of nerves while she made him go fetch her some premium sake.

But tonight…tonight was different. Yûko had a "special client", as she put it, and Watanuki was off of work. He had worked his courage up, and was marching towards the temple with outright determination, as if he were being run by a steam engine. After ten minutes of marching and psyching himself up, he arrived at Dômeki's place and knocked on the door.

"Yeah, what the hell do you want?" Dômeki was obviously less than pleased to see him. "Another ghost problem I can help you with?"

"No, not exactly." He spoke clear and unfettered. "I know this is going to sound really weird, but…"

"You want to go on a date with me. Yeah, I know." Dômeki looked calm and not at all fazed by the idea.

"…How'd you know?"

"Intuition. Or something."

"Did Himawari-chan pull the "boyfriend" thing on you too?"

"Nah, I just knew."

"I see." Watanuki paused for a moment. Still slightly nervous, he blurted out, "Just don't tell anyone about this, okay?"

Dômeki nodded sympathetically, and directed Watanuki into the temple. "Well, come on in. I'll go get you a cup of tea. It'll help you relax."

Watanuki took off his shoes, sat down on the floor, and waited for his tea. As Dômeki sat down with his tea in hand, he had him place it on the floor next to him, and took a sip.

"Chamomile?"

"Yeah, not a big deal though. It's rather cheap."

The more Watanuki drank, the more relaxed he became, until he was ready to fall asleep. "Hey…I'm pooped. Can I sleep on your lap?"

Dômeki looked at him oddly for a bit, and then said, "Why not?"

They stayed like that for the rest of the night.

Meanwhile, Yûko was visiting with her "special client", who was none other than Himawari.

"Did you tell them what I told you to tell them?" Yûko glared at Himawari, circling a bit of wine inside of a wineglass as she spoke.

"Yes, I did!" Himawari beamed.

"You do know that you have severed your ties with the men you love, correct? That is part of the price you have to pay to get your wish granted- your wish to never be alone for the rest of your life. The other part of the payment- well, you know, cutie." She smirked.

"Yes, I do!" Himawari nodded enthusiastically. "You want to make out like we did a week ago?"

"Not yet. I have to get Maru and Moro out of the room." She shooed her familiars, who went out to tend to the rest of the house, and lifted up Himawari's chin.

"Now you know, and the boys should know, that you cannot take Fate by the horns. Everything…is hitsuzen." And then she kissed her, and they both fell to the floor.

-END