Fandom: xxxHolic
Characters: Doumeki Shizuka, Watanuki Kimihiro
Warnings/Ratings: Oddity.
In A Nutshell: Nothing would stop him, now that he was dead.
Disclaimer: I am so much kinder than CLAMP that this is obvious.

Doumeki had always thought it would have been more of a big deal. It wasn't. He simply went to sleep one night and didn't wake up. He wasn't particularly bitter about having died so early, although there were some things he would have liked to do. It was probably because of those things that he was still here, on Earth, watching the coroner determine the cause of his death. He wouldn't have guessed than an aneurysm would get him, but he was sure that not a lot of people did.

Watching his own funeral was a bit disorienting. The sight of Watanuki actually appearing with red-rimmed eyes, sitting alongside Yuuko, was nothing short of touching. The fangirls, too, were touching, though unfortunately in a far more literal sense. Doumeki thanked whatever gods present that they were deterred by other fangirls who "did not want the body of the great Doumeki-sama soiled." As long as he was unmolested, they could call it whatever they wanted.

After the end of the funeral, he had no idea of where to go. Dying this young left a lot of unfinished business, so he had a lot of options. Fortunately, one large, mobile option was heading home to his apartment, and this is the one that the not-really-conflicted ghost chose.

What had worried Doumeki the most about dying was leaving behind Watanuki to fend for himself against a myriad of spirits. Oddly enough, he now was one.

Thankfully, whatever aura he had to keep them away before was still in place, and he could even see them now. It was no wonder that Watanuki was marginally messed up, having seen these things for his whole life.

At his apartment at last, Watanuki got out ingredients and began cooking. Doumeki sat on the counter, watching him, until he finally tired of the silence and spoke up.

"Oi. If you haven't even noticed me yet, it's a wonder you're not dead."

"Doumeki, get out of my kitchen! Wait… Doumeki… get out of my kitchen?" He whirled around to face Doumeki, who stared back unflinchingly. "ARGH! DOUMEKI, GET OUT OF MY KITCHEN! I DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE DEAD! THERE WILL BE NO MERCY! NO MERCY!"

Though amused greatly, Doumeki floated out of the kitchen to avoid any un-bodily harm. Thus began his stay with Watanuki.

…

"Oi." The scratching of pen against paper stopped momentarily.

"I'm busy ignoring you. Go away." It picked up again.

Doumeki plucked a piece of sushi from Watanuki's plate and chewed it thoughtfully. He had assumed from the beginning that he would be able to eat, seeing how many spirits tried to eat his haunted companion.

"Stop eating my food."

"No."

"But you don't need to eat! You're dead!"

"Food is still good."

"AUGH." He slammed his head on the table. "Why me?"

"Well," Doumeki began, "At least you know there's a human afterlife, in addition to the other spirit worlds."

"Oh yes. That's very comforting, especially when you consider that half of the entities in those spirit worlds happen to think I might be delicious."

Doumeki, weighing his odds and deciding to chance it, replied, "I think you might be delicious."

Watanuki, with a look of utter horror, wisely avoided any and all further conversation on the topic.

That was okay, Doumeki thought fondly. Nothing would stop him, now that he was dead.

…

On the first anniversary of Doumeki's death, Watanuki was surprisingly nice. He visited his grave and prayed for him, regardless of the fact that he already knew the archer's fate. It was all very strange for the ghost, who wasn't at all disappointed by the amount of flowers that had amassed there from admirers.

Watanuki even made inari sushi for the both of them.

"Thanks," Doumeki said at the end of the day.

"Is that really what it takes for gratitude? An untimely demise?"

"I suppose so."

…

Doumeki thought that the best part about being a ghost was how easy it was to sneak into Watanuki's bathroom while he was showering. Watanuki, on the other hand, did not find is nearly as fantastic and threatened to call an exorcist.

Doumeki continued anyway.

…

Their first kiss was a terrible, wonderful thing.

It was terrible for Watanuki and wonderful for Doumeki.

"That… That was kind of gross. I like you and everything, but ectoplasm just doesn't make for good kissing." Watanuki scrunched up his face, displeased.

"I liked it," Doumeki countered, quite pleased and hoping that this wouldn't be enough resolution of unsolved business to send him away to another afterlife.

"That's all good and well, but don't do it again."

Doumeki did it again anyways.

Watanuki would just have to get used to it.

…

The day that Doumeki was able to pull Watanuki from out of the way of oncoming traffic was a day of glorious revelations.

"Admit it. You need me."

The shorter, more alive boy pushed his glasses up his nose with a sigh. "I suppose you can be useful. Sometimes."

Watanuki realized that he owed a lot to Doumeki, more than he could make up for in maybe his entire life, and maybe Doumeki was sticking around on Earth because of that debt.

Doumeki realized that as long as Watanuki was alive, he was doomed to wander the earth, saving him, because Watanuki was his unfinished business.

This didn't bother either of them.

Not that they would admit it.

Because I just had to write something syrupy for Valentine's Day.