U.U, i do not own xxxholic or its characters, nor can i ever.
"A flower?"
Yuuko chuckled and swirled the glass of bourbon in her hand. She was draped across one of her many ornate couches, her wave-patterned Kimono flowing over the seat and spilling across the floor. Mokona giggled with her, and took an unproportional swig of the alcohol straight from the bottle.
"Yes, Watanuki, just a flower. A recent client requested that it be her payment, but she is quite incapable of fetching it herself." Yuuko drawled, a crocodile smile planted on her face.
Watanuki heaved a dramatic sigh, That wasn't really my question. Anything that Yuuko wants cant 'just be' anything. And Watanuki was right; anything the dimensional witch requested had some magical, twisted or dark property to it.
"And why do I have to go with Domeki if it's 'just a flower,' I can HANDLE a flower without being babysat constantly! I'm so tired of having to go do normal stuff with him, let alone your supernatural outings!" Watanuki flailed about, withering at the thought of yet another situation involving the stone-faced, endlessly hungry archer/priest-in-training.
"Well Watanuki," Yuuko giggled, "The flower's no fun with just one person! And besides, I think you and Domeki are quite the pair, you really should learn to…get along."
Watanuki's mind blocked out the mysterious implication before he had the capability to block it consciously. Working for Yuuko did that to you. He fell limp onto the floor, muttering angrily into the wood while Mokona and Yuuko discussed animatedly and drunkenly how much more dashing Watanuki looked with his polar eyes, at least before he opened his mouth. Watanuki stomped out of the room followed by storms of raging laughter and a thump when Mokona dropped its bottle. But before he could reach the entrance, Yuuko's suddenly serious voice made him pause in his spasmodic tirade.
"Oh, and Watanuki?" She said, cat-like eyes zeroed in on his, a frown staining her lips. "The flower… it's meant for certain kinds of people, and sometimes its results can be disastrous. Let's hope my intuition is correct, but be forewarned."
Watanuki gulped and opened his mouth to say something but Yuuko cut him off first.
"One more thing…" Her frown deepened, and she broke her snake-vs.-insignificant rodent gaze, tracing an invisible circle on the arm of the couch, "I'd like Okonomiyaki for dinner!" Watanuki fell over himself at the release of tension, and sputtered incoherently in Yuuko's general direction before being chased out of that particular area of the house by howls of laughter and the clink of one glass on another.
"You want to take a vacation with me in a little shack up on a mountain? Sure, I'll go." Domeki's impassive face didn't move infinitesimally while Watanuki's face transmogrified into something similar to an angry, constipated Pug.
"That is not what I said!" He growled, "Yuuko wants you to go with me to get this stupid flower, and the flower is in an abandoned cabin at a mountaintop. I would never go on a vacation willingly with you." He added with a huff. "Buuuuttt, Himawari-chan on the other hand…" Watanuki's face slid into dreamy state, a faint pink blush spreading across his cheeks. Domeki simply watched him, and though his face never belied what he felt, the mention of Himawari irritated him. It wasn't that he didn't like her, she was sweet in a cookie sort of way, but when Watanuki talked about her, he couldn't help but want to remove her from the picture - in a purely non violent way. Thoughts like that had plagued Domeki's head since he'd started accompanying the seer in his adventures, and after awhile Domeki had simply accepted that. There was obviously no changing how he felt, no matter what society he knew one thing; If Watanuki ever found out, Domeki wouldn't even have the pleasure of being in the presence of the boy. Domeki persoally felt that Watanuki could possibly have a heart-attack if the news were somehow able to reach his thick head. But Domeki also knew that Watanuki could never really get rid of him: Not only did Watanuki house half of Domeki's eye, but Domeki's own blood ran through his veins, and in a possessive, sadistic way this thrilled the archer. Not that he wanted to 'own' Watanuki… in any way…
"Hellllloooooo?" Watanuki snapped, waving an eccentric hand in front of Domeki's face. Tawny eyes slid to the boy's pale face as he was brought back to the now.
"Huh?"
Watanuki sighed, exasperatedly slumping down.
"Are you going?"
Domeki thought about it for a millisecond before agreeing to attend. God knows what kinds of trouble Watanuki would get himself into if he wasn't there, and if it were a particularly dangerous bit of trouble he was sure Watanuki would fail to escape properly, and the last thing Domeki wanted was a one-sided-love towards something dead. Domeki couldn't stand the thought of something bad happening to Watanuki when he wasn't there. The last time…all he could remember was sprinting with Watanuki cradled gingerly against him, the only thing he could hear was his thudding heartbeats pounding in his ears, and the only thing he could feel was hot blood covering his arms, chest, and neck. Watanuki's blood, and that was all that mattered. Watanuki was all that seemed to matter in his life right now.
"Watanuki?" Domeki questioned, face like…well, like his face always was.
"What could it be now?" The small one swung around, fists clenched and teeth bared.
"Are you going to make us a to-go lunch? If so, I think fresh tuna sashimi would be a good place to start."
After a long bus ride and an even longer hike, a panting Watanuki set down the box lunches that he'd angrily put together (tuna sashimi, mochi rolls and a thermos of tea) and flopped down onto the ground. Domeki surveyed the oxygen-deprived boy, then turned his flat stare to the 'shack.' It was a small, western-style wooden lodge overrun with ivy and blue morning glorys. It was perched nearly at the very top of the mountain, with a panoramic view of the surrounding wilderness. In short, it was a beautiful place, planted firmly in a small meadow full of tall grass and wildflowers waving in the breeze. He sat down next to watanuki who, though flushed, was recovering quickly.
"Since its just a flower, we can eat first. Don't want the tea to get too cold." He stated, leaning over and popping off the first box's lid. Watanuki snatched the box away, glaring openly at Domeki.
"Let me do that! Your kind of a slob and you'll mess the whole box up if you try to get the first piece out." Watanuki huffed, Domeki almost smiled, but the mostly-dormant muscles in his face didn't have time to catch up with the thought. Watanuki separated out the two servings and poured two cups of luke-warm tea into small finger-cups before saying thanks and digging in. Watanuki finally took the time to look around himself as he ate, and he liked what he saw. Whenever he was in the mountains, he almost never saw any spirits, except the occasional angry, dead hiker that hadnt been found. It was the most he could relax at almost any point, and the scenery was breathtaking. The grass, flowers, mountaintops, blue sky and tiny shack, all of it was wonderfully peacefull. And the smell…Watanuki didn't know if it was any particular thing that was emitting it, but it was similar to a spicy musk with a hint of nag champa. It hung in the air, wafting about the meadow and soothing Watanuki's high-strung nerves.
"I've never smelled anything like that, either. Its…" Domeki trailed off into silence. Watanuki being quiet was surprising, and after a quick observation he'd realized that the seer was eating slowly, inhaling in long, relaxed strides inbetween bites. It was the first time Domeki had seen him this calm without something bad happening beforehand. Domeki couldn't help but inhale the scent as well, and the more he did, the more relaxed he became. But he also started feeling a little warm, a tingling sensation coursing through his limbs. A very small prick of hotness also appreared somewhere in the region of his stomache, slowly spreading out. Domeki started, and looked at Watanuki, who's cheeks had the faintest tinge of color and who's eyes seemed unnaturally glazed over and had a spark of something Domkei had never seen before in them.
"Watanuki, do you sense anything weird up here? Maybe coming from that shack?" Domeki asked, and the glaze faded slightly from Watanuki's eyes as he turned and answered,
"No, I looked for that right off the bat, but nothing weird or evil. Why do you ask?" Domeki shook his head, but couldn't tear his eyes away from Watanuki's face. The ivory color of his skin and the mismatched cat-like eyes were stunning, and his girlish lips looked seductive without even trying. Even the tiny smear of Mochi-filling above the corner of his mouth didn't make Watanuki look any less wild…Domeki stared. He willed with all his might for Watanuki to lick it away, to be rid of its presence, but apparently Watanuki didn't know of its perch on his face. The sudden urge to get it off made Domeki jerk his gaze away, and made the small fire in his abdomen flare up with intensity. It was just annoying, that's all. How could Domeki take Watanuki seriously at all if the boy had filling in such a tempting place? Domeki funneled all of his willpower into not moving (the thought of simply telling Watanuki about it never crossed his mind), years of training had prepared him…for this? Before Domeki even had a chance, he leaned over and pressed his lips to the spot, running his soft tongue over the corner of Watanuki's mouth in order to get the filling in one swoop. He faintly heard Watanuki gasp, and the noise made the burning in his body intensify. He exhaled sharply, and pulled himself away with a strenuous effort, licking his lips and staring at the shocked boy.
"W-what was that!?" Watanuki stammered, the unsual tenacity gone from his voice, replaced by a previously unheard tremble.
"You had frosting on your face." Domeki stated, returning to his lunch and tea. His heart was pounding in his chest and the burning in his body was getting out of hand, but he willed his hands not to shake, at least.
Watanuki wiped the spot that Domeki had licked, and grumbled, "Just t-tell me next time, I can get it off by myself, weirdo." Something flitted across Domeki's face faster than watanuki could have seen, but his mask was on once more. That was an unusually watered-down reaction for Watanuki…somethings wrong here. I can't control myself properly, and he obviously has something on his mind if THAT was his reaction to me licking him, he should have blown a freaking head gasket. And why did I do that? I know he'll freak out, and usually I can win a staring contest with a boulder, but I didn't even realize I was moving until I already had. But, Domeki wouldn't lie, pressing his lips to Watanukis skin had been unbelievably exhilarating. It shouldn't have felt that good, but it did, and now the warmth that had started in his belly was all over, in his limbs and creating an intense pressure in his stomache.
"Watanuki, I think we should go get that flower before it gets much darker, after all, I doubt its that easy of a task." Domeki said, standing up and brushing off his yukata. Watanuki nodded, and began cleaning up the luch, packing it all into a bag. His movements were slow, like he didn't want to upset an unseen balance. His silence was unnerving to Domeki, but he stood up and the two proceeded to the door of the pretty, dilapidated shack.
Domeki opened the door slowly, but even then the frangrance that hung in in the air rushed out of the cabin, overpowering and strong. It swept over the two, swirling around them in an invisible wave, and Domeki almost fell to his knees. A small whimper escaped Watanuki's lips and he staggered before Domeki caught his wrist. The archer's entire body was suddenly burning from the inside out, his breath came out in a harsh exhale, and suddenly he understood what the scent was doing to him; to both of them.
"Watanuki, lets get that flower and get the hell out of here, fast." Domeki commanded, startling the breathless skinny boy, whos face was flushed pink. Watanuki had dropped the bag at the entrance, and didn't bother to retrieve it.
At the shop, Yuuko paused in her unproductive doings to look out the window at the setting sun over the towering outline of the city. She smiled to herself, and Mokona looked up from it's place in her arms.
"Are you happy that Watanuki and Domeki are getting your flower? It's taking them an awful long time to get back." It questioned,it's paws rubbing Yuuko's long, slender fingers. She looked down and her grin broadened,
"Why, Mokona that flower isn't for me." She giggled, "That flower is for Domeki and our little Watanuki!" Mokona looked confused, so Yuuko continued, "You see, I am a very patient person when it comes to a lot of things ('Patient~Patient' Moro and Maru chanted in the background), but there is one thing that I cannot stand whatsoever. Magnets, Mokona, magnets. They're made of the same exact materials, but sometimes, if you try to put them together they just refuse to, sliding around eachother but never actually touching. This is frustrating, but if you simply flip one over, ZAP!" She clapped her hands together loudly with a sparkle in her eyes, dropping Mokona to the floor ('zap zap ZAP!' the twins shouted) "they suddenly attatch and its even harder to sparate them! So you see, Watanuki just needs to be flipped over! And the flower will do that for them!" She collapsed to the floor in a fit of giggles at her dirty pun while Maru and Moro danced about her singing "Wat~a~nuki just needs to be flipped o~ver!" Mokona still didn't get it completely, but found it entertaining none the less.