Bonds
Summary: Watanuki's musings on the events of episode 23. SPOILERS FOR EPISODE 23.
Pairing: DoumekixWatanuki?
Author's Note: Wow...my first fanfiction on . Also, my first xxxholic fanfiction. Be nice, ne? Spoilers, once again.
"It's all because you continued to see that woman."
It was hard to hear – the blame in Yuuko's tone was obvious. But could she really blame him? Seeing that woman was like a drug, his favorite kind, one that hurt and felt good all at the same time. He'd tried to stay away, but her tears brought him back, time and time again.
"You're lonely, aren't you?"
He could see it in her eyes; the guilt, the shame, but the powerful need that drove her to sit at that park bench, day after day, waiting for him. He knew that she knew that she was the cause of his sickness. She was the cause of his coughing; blood splattering his fingertips as he leaned over and fell, fell, and fell, waking up in the morning with either Doumeki or Yuuko standing over him. Watching him. Their eyes filled with pity, and anger, and he could feel the guilt eating at his insides along with the sickness that she had caused.
He could never replace the child that she'd lost, and she'd never be able to replace the parents that he'd lost. Even so, he would continue to see her, time and time again, happily grasping at the rope that she offered. That he'd offered. When he was with that woman, it was like he had a family again. Not a family with picnics and Himawari-chan and Doumeki, that bastard, but a real family. One with a cool hand that pressed against his cheek when he was sick, a motherly shoulder to cry on when everything felt as if it were going wrong.
"Now…you have someone who needs you."
Someone who needed him? Needed him, who always caused trouble for them? He, who had seen that woman despite the fact that Doumeki and Yuuko had tried to convince him otherwise? Her words didn't make sense. Or maybe it was because his mind was still cloudy.
"A person's wishes are capable of creating so much…"
Slowly, the weight on his chest was fading.
"You are Doumeki are such good friends, Watanuki-kun!"
Watanuki smiled softly to himself.
"…Yeah. I suppose we are."
Because, in the end, Doumeki's wish to keep him safe had overrode his wish to see that woman again. In the end, his wish to see her again had been replaced with the wish to keep everything as it was.
"What should I make for lunch today?" He mused, walking down that familiar street to Yuuko's shop.