Watanuki chopped the vegetables to tiny slices and put them in the boiling pot. He grabbed another vegetable and started chopping away. The way he moved around the kitchen was impressive, and the techniques that he would use as he mixed in the vegetables was an art of its own. Watanuki enjoyed days where he could freely move around a large space. Especially if that large space was Doumeki's kitchen.

"Is it almost done?"

Watanuki stopped at mid slice. His eye twitched in annoyance.

"Didn't I ask you to not bother me when I'm cooking?"

"May I have a taste?"

"No."

"…Don't forget to add the sauce."

"ARGH, DAMMIT, DOUMEKI! I KNOW WHAT I'M DOING! YOU ASKED ME TO COOK A FEAST FOR YOU AS A BIRTHDAY PRESENT, AND HELL, I AM DOING IT! I'M THE COOK, YOU BASTARD! THE COOK! STOP ORDERING ME AROUND, OR I WILL BURN EVERYTHING ON PURPOSE!!"

There was silence.

"Quiet down…idiot."

Watanuki slammed the kitchen knife on the cutting board and turned to face him. He gave Doumeki the most evil stare that he could muster.

"Get out…"

The man just looked at him, his shoulder leaning on the doorframe.

"Why?"

"Because, you are very distracting! You just standing there staring at me is not going to make the food finish any faster."

"I figured that much. I just wanted to see you cook. I noticed you put a lot of emotion into your cooking."

That stopped Watanuki from glaring at him. He went back to cutting the vegetables, a pink color decorating his cheeks. He was going to thank him, but he just hummed his response instead.

"You would make a good wife."

That ruined the mood.

"GET THE HELL OUT!!!!"

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Sunday came very quickly, and for Watanuki, he was both happy and angry that he was going to watch a movie with Himawari-chan. He really hated theatres, because ghosts tend to hang around there a lot, especially during horror movies. But then again, it was his teenage dream to spend time with Himawari after school. She was either busy, or she already had plans to hang out with her friends. It's funny how things work out.

They met up with each other in front of the theatre and entered the building. Watanuki was really nervous at first, since he saw a few shadows in the seats, but for the first time in his life, they didn't bother him that much. Only a cold brush on the face, and a nice slash on the arm, but nothing too serious. They had fun, and the movie wasn't all that bad, either. Both of them walked out of the theatre impressed.

As they stepped into the sunlight, Watanuki's pupils dilated to such a degree, he saw nothing but blinding white. He almost screamed in pain, but grunted in annoyance as he tried to shield his eyes from the sun.

"Argh…curse the so-called Theatre Blindness!"

"Yeah," Himawari started, her eyes blinded, as well, "this will last for a good half hour or so. There are times when you will be able to see after about five to ten minutes."

"Oh, joy…"

"Oh, hey! Watanuki, look! Doumeki is here."

Watanuki's stomach flipped.

"W-What? Where? When were you cured? I still have Theatre Blindness!"

He walked around quickly and slammed into a body. A hand grabbed onto his arm before he hit the ground.

"Don't move around if you are blind, idiot."

Watanuki's body stopped functioning for a few seconds, but then yelled, forcing the man to let go of him.

"D-DOUMEKI! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? CAN'T YOU SEE I'M ON A DATE WITH HIMAWARI-CHAN?"

He pointed at a certain area, hoping that he was next to her.

"She's right behind you." He heard Doumeki say.

"Damn…"

"Yuuko told me to find you. She wanted me to take you to your place and grab your things, since you are staying there for the night."

"Oh, yeah! She did tell me about that."

He soon heard Himawari speak up.

"Alright. Well, I have to head home now. It was great hanging out with you, Watanuki-kun. I'll see you tomorrow!"

Watanuki followed the direction of her voice.

"Alright. See you tomorrow!"

As she walked away from the two boys, Watanuki sighed.

"Alright…I guess the day is over," he started walking towards his place, "let's go."

"You're going the wrong way."

"Shut up! I'm still blind!"

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Watanuki opened the apartment door, sighing as he took of his shoes.

"I'm home," he mumbled to no one in particular. After all those years, he still had the habit of calling out when no one was there to greet him. He rushed to the bedroom, where all of his school supplies and extra clothes were in. He packed up his stuff as quickly as possible. He didn't bother telling Doumeki to enter, since he already was in the house. However, he was thrown off when Doumeki looked around the room, both disturbed and confused.

The place was completely clean. No spec of dust was found, as expected of Watanuki. Everything was in it's place, and it had such a welcoming feel to it. However, Doumeki didn't expect to see so many seals all at once. He found two on each wall, three on the windows, and six on the doorframes. There was a huge amount of salt placed at the windows, and some covering the corners of the rooms. In truth, Doumeki was unbelievably disturbed, even if he didn't show it. He questioned Watanuki's daily life while growing up.

"Watanuki."

"Yes?"

"I believe you have three seals too many."

"Ah, not really. I wish I had more to put up. I still hear them scratching my walls at night."

Doumeki's hands clenched in a tight fist. Why was he so annoyed by this kind of information?

"But…those seals are pretty expensive. I tried to get one the other day, but I didn't have enough. Well, I'm not complaining as much now. Just last year, there were more activity here. One of those demons shot through my window while I was taking a bath. I nearly drowned from the pressure of the ghosts on me. If I didn't touch one of the seals in my bathroom, I would have died."

There were more seals in his bathroom?

"Well, that was all in the past."

The things he goes through.

"Come on. I don't want to be late."

Living through such hell, he wondered what it was like growing up with no parents, all alone in an apartment, and ghosts tormenting you day after day.

"Knowing Yuuko-san, she would want to drink Sake first."

How the hell did he manage to survive? Doumeki shouldn't be that surprised with Watanuki's living conditions. After all, he had gone through many things with him that most paranormal activities didn't faze him, anymore. However…just knowing that after one of Yuuko's missions, Watanuki would have to go back home with more paranormal activities; while Watanuki would hear scratching on his walls night after night, Doumeki would be sound asleep in his bed, nothing but the cool, night breeze lulling him to sleep.

"Hey! Doumeki! I'm talking to you!"

He looked at Watanuki, suddenly awake from his anger.

"I said, I don't want to be late! Let's go!"

Watanuki grabbed Doumeki's wrist and dragged him out of his apartment. From that contact, Doumeki suddenly remembered the conversation that he overheard that day, and his stomach turned.

Watanuki liked him…in THAT way. He was definitely not prejudice. If you're gay, you're gay. However, Doumeki didn't know how to react in that situation. It wasn't the same like the other girls; they would call him out and confess to him, then he would kindly reject them. He would never see them again. No strings attached.

In this case, it was Watanuki. He had been protecting him from ghosts for so long. Plus, he gave up his eyesight AND his blood. He had a strong bond with him. He would see Watanuki every day, so the "No Strings Attached" didn't apply to him.

How would he be able to kindly reject him and still have a close bond with him?