Title: Parting
Day/Theme: December 22 [2010]: Fit objects for our tears.
Series: xxHolic
Character/Pairing: Domeki, Watanuki, Himawari, mentions of Yuuko
A/N: Sort-of an experimental piece, so sorry for any...issues it might have. Also, gah, why did Himawari have to get married? D: Way to ruin my threesome/twosome pairing. Though, I'm a little curious as to how she even manages to get married, considering her curse. Can she have kids? So many unanswered questions...(AND WE STILL HAVEN'T SEEN HER.) D:
Summary: He doesn't cry, not even when he needs to, when he has every right to.
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He doesn't cry anymore, doesn't weep in the storeroom clutching her silk kimonos. Not after the first few days, when Maru and Moro would crawl into bed with him, softly shaking as he curled around them. Yuuko's clothes would drape over them like a patch-work quilt and they would fall asleep to the smell of her smoke.
They'd whisper to each other, quietly, Mokona butting in with less enthusiasm as the hours wore on. They'd choke on strangled gasps and hold each others' hands as though these physical evidences proved they were still alive, still connected.
Domeki hasn't seen him cry after the first few weeks, not of sorrow, not anymore. Four, six, ten years later and he still doesn't really cry. Instead he morphs and changes and becomes someone he can't recognize. Watanuki now drapes himself over the couch, smoke clouding his vision, and gives a slow drawl as a greeting.
(Those first few weeks, he clung to every piece of history, as though if he collected enough she'd rise from the memories. Then he grew smart and picked pieces of her and is now becoming her instead.)
"Long day?" he asks, a calculating smile on his face. Sometimes he growls and yells at the answer, sometimes he gives a peek at that boy they all used to know.
It's rare to find that child, that Watanuki that existed before. Himawari finds him easiest, finds him in midnight phone calls and wool mittens and the quiet silences between. She always had that talent. She states I love you and he sadly smiles and though this relationship is not what it should be, it still is something.
"...For you, perhaps," Domeki finally replies, setting the bag down. Maru and Moro rush at him, chirping excitedly, and Mokona yells happily at the sight of the bottles.
"..."
He doesn't respond to that. He probably couldn't even if he had a reply.
It's late evening when they continue the conversation.
"You'll take my gift, right?" Watanuki asks, quiet and calm. This is the aspect of Yuuko that he hates, this cool and collected personality that takes over in a crisis.
"She's expecting it."
"That's true," a smile emerges. His face turns slightly, to the flowers she gave him earlier. "She'll be happy, I'm sure."
This relationship is also something it shouldn't be. Himawari loves and wants and knows better than everyone that this is one wish that cannot come true. That this is the one happiness she can never attempt to receive.
("And, since he's still unharmed, this is hitsuzen," she mentions as she sits beside Domeki, leaning against the bench. "I might not love him, but I can try. I might not be able to give him everything, but I might never meet someone else like this again.")
"She's filming the wedding, so she can send a copy to you."
"That's probably her intent anyways." Watanuki sips slowly. "She always worries too much."
("Besides," she adds, "Watanuki worries too much for me.")
"You approve, then?" He could add, without complaint? Despite the feelings you both still have? Despite it all? He remains silent.
"No one's good enough for her," he scoffs, a broken grin on his face. "But at least now she can find happiness, one that can stay with her when she needs it the most."
He downs the rest of his drink, looking like the rejected suitor he is.
Domeki can only find Watanuki in the glasses of sake under the full moon.