Our Eye

Eyes. Today Kimihiro Watanuki was wondering about eyes. He'd been told before that everyone's eyes were different, and that's why only his eyes could see spirits like they could. The "eye-world theory" and all that. But now he was beginning to wonder what other people's eyes saw. Specifically what one person's eyes saw.

He looked up at Doumeki, who was walking slightly ahead of him on their way to the shop. After the taller boy had paid the price of blood, he'd been able to see some spirits as well. Watanuki wondered how Doumeki saw the world. Maybe to other people, the sky was what Watanuki knew as green. But they thought it was blue because that's what everyone said. Maybe to Doumeki, the clouds were black, but he called it white. Watanuki didn't doubt it. Doumeki was a very . . . Well, "dark" sort of person.

He wondered how Doumeki's eyes saw people. Maybe they looked different too. Maybe they looked like the ugly spirits that Watanuki saw. He wondered how Doumeki saw him. How did he, Watanuki, look in Doumeki's eyes?

Suddenly, Doumeki stopped walking. He turned to face Watanuki, "Hey."

Watanuki gritted his teeth, "my name is not 'hey'" he hissed.

Doumeki ignored him, "what are you thinking about?"

"Why do you want to know? It's none of your business," Watanuki growled.

Doumeki placed a finger on Watanuki's face, just below his single gold eye. "Because I'm seeing myself." He lowered his finger and jabbed it into Watanuki's chest just above his heart. "Which means your emotions are on high."

Kimihiro blushed, "oh shut up! I was just thinking that maybe the world looked different in other people's eyes!" He hesitated, "and, I wondered what it looked like through your eyes . . . What . . . I looked like in your eyes . . ."

A slight, rare smile crept across Doumeki's face. "Hnn . . . I'll tell you." He placed a hand on Watanuki's shoulder, "I see a person wearing his school uniform. He's shorter than I am, and his hair is dark. He has one blue eye, all his own, and one gold eye that was a gift. He overreacts to everything, and is often angry at me for no apparent reason. He has a school-boy's crush on Kunogi, but he never admits his true feelings about anything. I'm constantly having to save him, but that's alright. I see a person who loves to cook, and yet can't remember the taste of most foods. I know he's lost, but I don't doubt that I'll find him." Doumeki's hand moved up slightly, resting on Watanuki's cheek, "I see an idiot who I care about more than anyone else standing here in front of me." He smiled, and turned around to continue walking.

Watanuki felt his heart stop, skip a beat, and flutter all at the same time. What was this? Why had he never felt it before?

Oh wait . . . Yes he had. Whenever he stood near Doumeki. Whenever they were together, close enough that Doumeki's power made the spirits effect him the least.

Unconsciously, he stepped forward and grasped the back of Doumeki's shirt.

"Don't you . . . Don't you want to know what I see?"

And almost nonexistent laugh escaped Doumeki, "I already know. I'm still seeing through our eye."

Our eye. Yes. That was it . . . Why hadn't he realized it before? He, Watanuki, had always said, "me, mine, and I". There had only ever been him. That's what he thought.

But Doumeki, Doumeki had always said, "we, us, and our". Because there was Doumeki. There would always be Doumeki, always had been. Standing at Watanuki's side no matter what.

"The vision is blurry . . ." Doumeki's voice was quiet, "are you crying?"

Watanuki's arms wrapped around Doumeki from behind. In Doumeki's eyes, there was always "them". But he, Watanuki, had been selfish, only seeing himself. Only caring about himself. He hadn't seen it.

But as he closed his eyes, his head resting against Doumeki's shoulder blades, he could feel it. The warmth of Doumeki's body. The beating of his heart through his back, matching Watanuki's. the beating that was pumping his- no . . . Their blood through his veins.

"I love you . . ." he whispered, his grip on the taller boy tightening, "I love you Shizuka."

Doumeki's breath hitched, "Let go," he whispered, "Let go of me for a second."

Watanuki did, fearing he'd said the wrong thing.

Shizuka Doumeki whirled around, pulling Watanuki against him and into his embrace. "Idiot," he murmured, "what took you so long to admit that?"

"Sorry . . ." Watanuki mumbled against his chest. He didn't doubt that right now, Doumeki was still seeing everything that he saw. Through their eye.

RANDOM AUTHOR RAMBLE

This was a story I wrote after the American release of the xXxHolic novel "Another Holic". There was an idea presented there called the "eye-world theory" that was basically explained above in the fanfic. That everyone saw everything differently. And so I played off of that idea and connected it to the pair's shared eye.

Doumeki isn't even in the novel actually tho . . . *sigh* but Watanuki's thoughts of him are subtexty enough to satisfy any fan, so I encourage you to read it if you haven't done so already.