Third Time's a Charm?

Watanuki blamed the whole thing entirely on Yuuko.

Doumeki chose to give her the credit.

1

It really all started because there was a ghost terrorizing couples in a park not far from the Shop. That was how Doumeki thought of it, as the Shop. Two words that inspired a myriad of thoughts that could all really be summed up in 'There was no other place like it, and maybe that was a good thing.'

Anyway, a customer had stopped by Wednesday afternoon, babbling incoherently about a bridge and a ghost and a girlfriend. For whatever reason, Doumeki had been visiting the shop that afternoon and had overheard the customer gushing on and on about it. Yuuko had explained it to him after the other guy left. Apparently, if a couple kissed on this bridge then their love would last forever. It was one of those silly superstitions that weren't really true, but people wanted to believe them anyway.

So, someone made a wish and Yuuko decided to send Watanuki to deal with the whole mess. She said something about minding the shop for other customers as her excuse for not going, and Doumeki gave her a sideways glance. Watanuki simply shouted that he didn't want to go and his soufflé would be ruined. She shrugged and sent Mokona in to watch the oven.

That's when the trouble started, because the ghost only showed itself to couples, which meant that somehow Doumeki got dragged along into it. And while Doumeki didn't mind going along, because then he got to spend more time with Watanuki, he didn't want to become Yuuko's next employee. Of course though, when he looked back on it, Doumeki was quite glad that it went. If it hadn't been for that ghost, none of the rest of it might have ever happened.

"I don't see why it had to be you." Watanuki complained loudly as they walked into the park. "Himawari-chan could have just as easily taken your spot."

Doumeki didn't bother to point out that if Watanuki even brushed against Himawari he would probably die. Watanuki just needed something to complain about. Instead he grunted something non-committal. To be honest, he had a bad feeling about this night. A ghost that only attacked couples? He wondered if anyone other than Himawari thought of them as a couple. Well, maybe Yuuko, but that wasn't exactly a comforting thought.

The park was empty, and Watanuki let out a huge sigh of relief. Less people present, less people to get hurt. "Let's get this over with." He growled and stomped over towards the bridge. Doumeki followed. He wanted to ask if Watanuki could see the ghost, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answer. After all, if the ghost was already there, there would be no need to summon it. And Doumeki still hadn't decided how he felt about summoning the spirit.

Actually, he did want to summon it, but the whole thing would just end badly.

They waited for fifteen minutes, before Watanuki complained about how much work he had to do back at his apartment. "I haven't even started on the Math assignment, and then there's the bento to be made. It's already nine o'clock. Does she really expect us to wait all night for this thing to grace us with its presence?"

"We could summon it." Doumeki suggested blandly.

Watanuki shifted back and forth on his feet. Yuuko obviously hadn't let Watanuki in on the summoning secret. Doumeki almost sighed. "How do we do that?"

Doumeki closed his eyes. He had very much been hoping to avoid explaining all of this to Watanuki. The thought of the decibel at which Watanuki would yell when he found out was enough to make Doumeki want to cover his ears. "We have to act like a couple."

There was a long pause, and Watanuki could have sworn that his stomach had relocated somewhere around his knees.

"You mean, like, hold hands?" Watanuki asked in a very quiet voice. It was a tone of voice that Doumeki didn't know how to read because he wanted it to be a quiet, hopeful voice. But it was more likely to be a quiet, horrified one.

He didn't answer, which only confirmed Watanuki's fears and his stomach sank down to his feet. He continued to shift back and forth on his feet, uncertain and agitated. "Alright." Watanuki sighed loudly again. "But you better not think it means ANYthing!" He yelled. Doumeki hadn't had time to cover his ears; he was also a little shocked that Watanuki said yes.

Watanuki shuffled closer to Doumeki in an awkward sideways kind of a way. He closed his eyes and tilted his head forward. Doumeki started to lean down and then stopped. After a few moments Watanuki began to turn red; Doumeki thought it looked cute. "What are you waiting for?"

"You'll have to kiss me." Doumeki said reluctantly. Watanuki might have said that Doumeki could kiss him, but that was not the same thing as Watanuki kissing Doumeki. Not the same thing at all. "The ghost is going to appear behind whoever starts the kiss, and I have to be able to shoot it." He calmly looked away and began to string his bow, giving Watanuki time to make up his mind.

At any other time, Doumeki would have admitted the truth to himself, because he was one of those people who would rather know the truth than not. But when it came to protecting Watanuki, everything took a back seat.

But if he wanted to be honest with himself, he wanted to lean down and kiss Watanuki. Not to make the spirit appear, not because it was part of the mission, not even because it would help Watanuki, but because he wanted to see if Watanuki would look that cute with his lips swollen and red from being kissed, from being sucked on and nipped at. He wanted to know if Watanuki would moan and sigh, or if he would be quiet. That was if he was being honest with himself.

Doumeki waited. He could afford to be patient.

"Fine." Watanuki ground out. "But don't think this is ever going to happen again! AND we are not telling anyone, EVER! I love Himawari-chan!" He announced loudly, as if to everyone who might happen to wonder. He stepped up in front of Doumeki, almost touching but not quite. It was like one of those moments in the movies, where the hero and the heroine are standing so close they could feel the breath of the other one, their chests almost brushing from the proximity. Doumeki drew his bow, just to be prepared. Watanuki hastily pressed his lips to Doumeki's. It wasn't a kiss; it wasn't even a pretend kiss. He just smashed his face against Doumeki's and held his lips perfectly still for a moment.

There was no way anyone would ever mistake that for a real kiss. Doumeki pulled away just a fraction and gently brushed his lower lip against Watanuki's. That wasn't a kiss either, but it was meant to give Watanuki a clue about what to do. Which, thankfully, Watanuki got. Whether he figured it out consciously and then brushed both of his lips across Doumeki's mouth or whether it was just a physical reaction didn't matter. That was a real kiss. Gentle, affectionate, and just a little bit afraid. Doumeki thought it must be what heaven was like, at least without the danger to Watanuki forming just behind the other boy.

Watanuki had closed his eyes when he leaned in the kiss Doumeki. He noticed the change in posture as Doumeki drew back the string and he felt the arrow fly past over his shoulder. But mostly he was aware of how Doumeki's lips were still pressed firmly against his own, and how those same lips were really, very soft and pliable against his own. He didn't notice that the spirit was gone, but rather that Doumeki had sighed ever so slightly. Just the tiniest puff of air against his own lips before Doumeki pulled away from the kiss.

"I want prawns in my bento tomorrow."

2

The second time, Yuuko had asked Watanuki to go retrieve a mirror from an old house as payment from some Yokai, and out of habit, Watanuki had asked Doumeki to come with him. It was a creepy old house, and Yuuko had warned him that the Yokai who lived there didn't take kindly to strangers. What Yuuko hadn't told either Doumeki or Watanuki was that the old demon didn't like anything except his wife who had died fifty years ago, and that the mirror was the only thing he had left of her.

It had been several weeks since the first incident, (Doumeki really couldn't think of it as anything else) long enough for Watanuki to get over his weirdness, but not for Doumeki. He could still remember the exact way Watanuki had pressed his lips against him. It was a special kind of torture. The only thing that Doumeki had going for him was that Watanuki didn't seem to notice when Doumeki's control slipped a little.

Like it had today, on the walk over to the mansion. Watanuki had been stomping ahead of Doumeki, which meant that Doumeki had a very good view of Watanuki's ass. Doumeki hadn't realized just how appealing it could be; most of the time he was focused on the other boy's hands. And Watanuki had nice hands. Long thin fingers, perfect for wielding utensils in the kitchen or pushing a needle through fabric. Nimble neat hands, clever hands. Doumeki sometimes wondered just how good Watanuki was with them.

Those thoughts occupied him all the way up the front steps. Watanuki had already gone in and was then running out the door. Doumeki wasn't entirely sure what Watanuki did because he simply grabbed Doumeki's hand as he sped by, the demon not far behind. It was really unfortunate that spirits were attracted to Watanuki, because that made it very easy for this one to follow them.

And Doumeki had left his bow at home.

But there was one other talent that Doumeki had, other than his ability to exorcise spirits. They had no interest in him, unlike Watanuki. Doumeki started to run harder, trying to get a little distance on the spirit, looking for a place to hide. Watanuki sputtered some unintelligible sentence that was surely a protest but then picked up his pace. They came into a part of the neighborhood that Doumeki was familiar with, it had several little hidey-holes where they might be able to hide from the ghost. Just a little farther up the road Doumeki spotted one; he stopped dead and yanked hard on Watanuki's hand. Watanuki spun in front of Doumeki, and Doumeki pinned him to the wall of the alcove.

He let go of Watanuki's hand and placed both of his hands on either side of Watanuki's head. They were very close together. "What are you doing?!" Watanuki yelled and brought his hands up to push against Doumeki's chest. Doumeki pushed his body closer to Watanuki. "Get away from me! What are you some kind of pervert? Back up! I can't breathe with you this close!"

There really wasn't a choice, at least not one that Doumeki could see. His yelling would either bring the ghost down on the both of them or cause him to go deaf. And if Doumeki moved his hand to silence Watanuki, there was a good chance he would end up getting bitten. So he did the only other thing he knew might work. He leaned down and kissed Watanuki.

He'd meant to simply emulate their last kiss, something chaste and uncomplicated, something that might be less awkward for Watanuki. But Watanuki was squirming and trying to protest vocally, and they were so very close together. It was a matter of life and death. At least, that's what Doumeki told himself. It was a matter of Watanuki's life or death, and Doumeki had very definite opinions about that.

So he nibbled gently on Watanuki's lower lip. He teased and pulled and waited until Watanuki actually opened his mouth without a sound. Doumeki pressed his advantage, moving his tongue into Watanuki's mouth, and hoping that Watanuki didn't decide to bite it.

He didn't. In fact, he touched it with his tongue. And then Doumeki was sucking and nibbling, and subtly pushing himself more fully against Watanuki. Watanuki wasn't the loud type. He didn't moan or sigh, and at first Doumeki was a little disappointed. He had wanted to hear what kinds of noise Watanuki would make. But then he felt Watanuki's hands grab the front of his shirt and pull hard. His thighs were pressed as tight as possibly against Doumeki, and it wouldn't be long before his was squirming. Watanuki was possessed, and possessive, which only fueled Doumeki.

It was Watanuki who put an end to the make-out session. Abruptly. He shook his head and slipped under Doumeki's arms. He looked at Doumeki, one long, piercing and unreadable look. Watanuki ran. And Doumeki watched, unsure and somewhat hating himself.

3

Yuuko was gone, just disappeared one day, and Doumeki really wasn't sure what to do with himself. Well, that wasn't exactly true; Doumeki wasn't sure what to do with Watanuki. He wasn't even sure if he should do something. And so he was sitting there, absently staring out at nothing and thinking. Well, he was trying not to think at all, but that was something that Doumeki wasn't terribly good at, especially when Watanuki looked that way. And he looked that way because of Yuuko.

On the one hand, Yuuko had a tendency to creep him out just a little with inexplicable warnings and her strange demands. She had those sly looks for no apparent reason, and that way of poking and prodding with words and fingers. But she clearly cared for Watanuki, it showed in all of those warnings and prods. And that alone endeared her to Doumeki. It was also nice that so many of her demands meant that Doumeki got to spend time with Watanuki.

But she just disappeared, leaving Watanuki clueless and confused. It was why Doumeki was currently sitting on the porch of the Shop, a bottle of sake open but untouched next to him. He was thinking about how to take care of Watanuki now. The idiotic boy was now trying to grant wishes, trying to fill shoes that were, well, Doumeki wouldn't say they were too big, but definitely pointy and almost impossible to put on. In fact, he wasn't even sure Yuuko could fit into them.

Although, it might have been nice to see if Watanuki could actually wear a pair of Yuuko's shoes, those pointy pumps, thigh high boots, skimpy little slippers. Doumeki wondered if Watanuki would be able to put them on, if he might be able to walk in them, or if he might fall down…if he might need Doumeki's help in standing back up. It was a lovely image really.

Watanuki came out onto the porch with another bottle of sake and some little appetizers on a tray. For a moment Doumeki was caught between reality and the fantasy. It was disconcerting. Watanuki swayed slightly as he put the trey down next to Doumeki and then left without saying anything. It took Doumeki a moment to recognize the scent on Watanuki. Alcohol. For possibly the first time ever, Watanuki had been drinking, drinking enough to smell like alcohol.

He stood up awkwardly and followed Watanuki to the kitchen. It smelled like food and alcohol, although mostly food. When he looked in, he saw more food than Doumeki felt either of them could actually consume. Which meant that Watanuki was still cooking for Yuuko. And possibly drinking for her. Although, Doumeki thought there might be more food then even she could eat.

"What are you doing?"

Watanuki didn't move from his spot at the counter. Doumeki didn't think he even blinked at the question. "I'm cooking. When Yuuko gets back she's going to be very hungry, so I thought I would get a head start making all of her favorites." He took a drink from the bottle of plum wine at his elbow.

"Did you buy enough alcohol for her too?" Doumeki had meant the question to be slightly ironic and thus piss off Watanuki. He wanted to get a reaction.

"Yes I did!" He shouted, grabbed the bottle and stormed past Doumeki into the hallway.

That was not what he had been expecting. That was not a very Watanuki like answer, and Doumeki was worried. He followed Watanuki down the hall down to his bedroom. The door was still open from when Watanuki had slammed it against the wall.

"Watanuki." Doumeki said from the doorway. He didn't dare step over the threshold, that acted seemed a little too intimate.

"Go away."

"No."

Watanuki stood up drunkenly from his bed and walked over to Doumeki. They each stood on one side of the door, as if that was the last barrier between them and some unavoidable end. "I said 'Go AWAY!'" He tried to shut the door in Doumeki's face.

But Doumeki grabbed onto it and forced it to stay open. He leaned over and said very definitely in Watanuki's face, "No." This seemed to be the most important thing that Doumeki had ever said up until that point.

"FINE!" Watanuki spat in his face and stumbled back across the room. "It's not like you're going to be here long anyway."

"I'm not going anywhere."

Watanuki laughed humorlessly as he turned around. "Everyone leaves. The only person who stays is Himawari-chan, and I can't touch her." He grabbed the bottle and took a gulp. "So, just go." He drained the bottle and dropped it on the floor. Doumeki watched as it rolled back and forth across the floor until it finally stopped, at the foot of Watanuki's bed.

"I'm not going anywhere." Doumeki stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. It was a simple gesture, but he hadn't been invited and so Doumeki felt as though he were invading.

"Is there something about the word 'Everyone' you don't understand?" He stalked drunkenly towards Doumeki. "Because in case you didn't notice, my parents died, Himawari and I can never touch, and now Yuuko is gone. You are the only one left. So just leave." Watanuki peered up at his face. "I'd rather get it all done and over with if you don't mind." He started to walk away.

Doumeki reached out and grabbed a hold of his arm. "No." Doumeki's breath brushed against Watanuki's face. It was another invasion, this time of Watanuki's personal space.

"No, I don't want it over and done with?" Watanuki asked, his eyes searching Doumeki's. They were intense and staring straight at Watanuki's eyes. Surely he was looking for answers in that stare, but Doumeki didn't have any answers.

Watanuki suddenly reached up and kissed Doumeki. He was fierce and lonely and desperate. And Doumeki was patient and content and gentle. They both needed someone, someone to hold onto, someone to ground them in reality, someone who would be there when the pieces needed to be picked up. But all Watanuki knew was that the pain was less when he was pressed up against Doumeki, and all Doumeki understood was that Watanuki needed him.

Suddenly, Watanuki's lips were less insistent, his breath came in great gasps, and his hands were clenched on Doumeki's shirt. He wasn't sure what to do now; that was the end of his experience and theoretical knowledge. He wasn't even sure where this was going, except that it was going somewhere, and he didn't want it to stop. But Doumeki knew. He reached his hands up between them, they were shaking, and began to unbutton Watanuki's shirt. He ran those same hands lightly across that pale skin, up and down, side to side. When one of his fingers passed over a nipple, Watanuki shivered in pleasure and broke off the kiss. He looked up at Doumeki who gave a soft smile and kissed his forehead.

Watanuki gasped as Doumeki's hand teased that nipple back and forth. "Please." He whispered, unsure of what he wanted but knowing that Doumeki would take care of it. Doumeki was always there, always looking after Watanuki, and Watanuki instinctively reached for Doumeki.

Doumeki slid his other hand down over the bulge in Watanuki's pants. It was hot and hard, and Doumeki was oddly pleased by it. He gentle caressed it until Watanuki was rocking back and forth in time with Doumeki's hand. Watanuki moaned loudly, in Doumeki's ear, but Doumeki didn't mind. It was a new kind of noise to emerge from Watanuki, and it didn't grate on his hearing. He moved his hand, intending to remove Watanuki's pants, but Watanuki objected in a wordless plea and pressed his cock more firmly against Doumeki's hand.

It didn't take long. Doumeki hadn't realized just how inexperienced Watanuki was, didn't know that he was so close to the edge. When he came, Watanuki was crying and clinging to Doumeki as if he were the only thing keeping him from shattering into tiny little pieces. Doumeki held him carefully, as if the wrong move would shatter Watanuki. After a while, Watanuki stopped gasping for breath, stopped shaking, but he didn't let go of Doumeki's shirt. He started crying, the soft tears that didn't make a single noise.

Doumeki helped Watanuki into his pajamas and under the blankets. Watanuki had slowly stopped crying, but he hadn't really let go of Doumeki. Gently, Doumeki pulled at his hand, trying to release Watanuki's fingers.

"You're going to leave me now, aren't you?" Watanuki said in a sleepy, slurred voice with his eyes half open. "I knew you would."

"I'm not going anywhere." Doumeki said softly. "I just don't want to sleep in this shirt and get it all wrinkled." He smiled at the sleepy, confused look on Watanuki's face.

"Oh." Watanuki let go, and a few moments later felt Doumeki slide in next to him on the bed. "Did you fold it? Because otherwise I'll have to iron it anyway." He felt Doumeki smile as he placed a kiss on Watanuki's forehead.

"What are you making for breakfast?" Doumeki asked.

"As if ironing your shirt isn't enough?" Watanuki snuggled into Doumeki's chest and fell asleep.