Rant: I needed to write something fluffy and romantic for Yuko. It hurts when I read the manga and I know that Watanuki's too much of an idiot to realize that Yuko loves him. But that's the dreams of a WatanYuko fan, ne? My new favorite quote is "Anata no negai... kanaimashou?" It's Yuko's wishing quote, when she goes, "Your wish... shall I grant it?" Yeah. I am hopeless. Thanks for being obvious, haha~ SO! Back on track (as if I even started on track) Optima Dies... Prima Fugit is a quote from Virgil, and it's Latin for "In the lives of mortals, the best days flee first." I thought it fit, and I was struck by the muse (Yeah, I really am hopeless.) So I wrote. And wanted to post it. And chickened out. And here I am again! Haha!

Optima Dies... Prima Fugit

By; Nakashima Miharu-sensei

Summary; Yuko's Point of View. So many things have changed since that day... why couldn't fate just leave it alone?

The sakura were falling. A single pink petal drifted, carried by the wind, floating, airborne, for a few moments. Its pink back darkened, as it drifted in front of a ray of sun shining onto the porch of the shop. Down, down, down. The petal carved a downwards spiral in the air, coming to rest in the middle of a cup of sake. April first...

Yuko looked up at the sky, shining through the pink-laden branches of a sakura tree. It was impossibly blue. Just like Watanuki's eye. Yuko looked away. It was always painful to be reminded of what you lost, and nothing reminded her more of him than this day.

A year ago, it had been raining. The sky had been moody, crying, for who-knew-what. Yuko had been sitting in the exact same spot, but there was someone else with her. A tall, lanky boy, his black hair messy and sticking up slightly in the back. Watanuki. His eyes, one as blue as the sky, one a deep, golden brown. Both people had been looking up at the dismal stretch of gray above them.

"Great. This is going to be the best birthday ever." He had muttered, his words heavy with sarcasm.

"Either way, I still want cake, you know?" Yuko looked over, her lips twisting into her usual smirk.

"Oi, oi! It's my birthday, you know?" Watanuki frowned. "And you never give me a present, and I have to do everything!"

"You know full well why I don't get you gifts, little Watanuki." Her ruby eyes pierced him.

"Yes, yes, Yuko-san. Everything has a price. I know." He droned, sounding like he had had to equip the phrase many times before.

"So you have been listening, have you?" Yuko tilted her head, her gaze amused. She shook her sake bottle. Empty. "Watanuki..."

"Yeah, yeah." Watanuki stood, shaking his head wearily and walking inside towards the storeroom as he had done periodically for the past few hours. Yuko knew this would happen. The same routine, every year. She never tired of having this conversation, carried on over so many times. She knew, that the entire day would be spent this way, and for no particular reason, she was looking forward to it. He returned, a few minutes later, clutching a large bottle of alcohol. "We ran out of sake, but we have champagne. Is that okay, Yuko-san?"

"Yeah." So she drank. Through fifteen bottles. By the time Yuko finished, it was nighttime, and Watanuki was getting up to make dinner. "Hey, Watanuki~" She tilted her head back to look at him, her long black hair falling over her shoulders. "Can we skip dinner today? I'm too lazy to move."

"If we do, don't wake me up at midnight for food." Watanuki sat back down. "That's not a good birthday present." He looked over, turning red.

"What?" Yuko was slightly wary.

"N-Nothing..." Watanuki whipped his head around. "Just thinking."

"Don't hurt your head." The witch laughed, patting his head. A round moon shone down on the garden.

Watanuki ignored her. "It's a full moon tonight, isn't it?" He looked at her, his blue and brown-gold eyes meeting Yuko's red ones. Suddenly, he leaned forward, planting his lips firmly on hers, grabbing her wrist. For the first time in a long time, Yuko was completely surprised. Her eyes widened, then closed slowly as he pulled her closer. He was so warm...

"Watanuki..." Yuko let herself breathe, as he traced over her eyes with his lips.

"There's no price for the transaction of feelings, is there? I was told that by Haruka-san." Watanuki grinned. "I'm simply giving myself a birthday present." Yuko had relaxed a little then, leaning against a pillar. They looked at each other for a few seconds, and then Yuko bridged the gap, holding Watanuki's face in her hands and leaning forward, brushing her lips against his.

"I love you, Yuko." His arms wrapped around her. She smiled into him.

But those days were long over. Not even a year had passed before, again, Yuko had lost another precious person. His debt had been paid in full, and never again, would she be able to see him. Yuko raised the cup of sake to her lips, draining it in an attempt to drown her sorrows.

Her eyes burned with unshed tears. Her throat burned with alcohol.

Optima dies... prima fugit

Endnotes;

I admit. I'm a tsundere in a rut, and hey, fangirls have their wishes, so I'm going to post this before I wimp out, because Miharu-sensei is just like that. Heh.

Until next time, find your own wish, gain a manservant (Watanuki,) and fume at the plasticity and shallowness of the world~

Miharu-sensei (Why yes I am being slightly depressed~ ^-^)