Doumeki Aiko fiddled with her napkin in her lap under the table where it wouldn't be seen as she waited. Her son was sitting next to her, looking perfectly calm and quite in place of the small coffee shop. She, however, looked quite out of place. She felt out of place. She wore a pants suit and had been out to impress until she'd walked in this door and felt the homey feel. Somehow, she had expected an exclusive kind of place. She would have thought her son would have chosen someone with connections and a high reputation to work part-time for.

There was the jingle of a bell at the door to the coffee shop and she glanced up to see a man enter. When her son lifted his head and beckoned him over, she figured this man was the person she was supposed to be meeting. His clothes weren't of the highest quality, and cut in an older style, but his aura of responsibility overrode what he wore and she changed her initial findings about him. He fit right in with the shop. Nice but not overwhelming clothes, dignified but still reachable.

"Only yourself, Doumeki-san?" the man inquired as he sat down.

"My husband is in court at the moment," she replied and crossed her arms loosely over her chest, suddenly no longer nervous. This man's eyes held a coiled strength in them, someone she was used to encountering in her time as a high-profile doctor.

"To be honest," she started off, "I'm not entirely pleased with the idea of my son having a part-time job, especially during his senior year and having to prepare for exams for Tokyo University."

"But it isn't certain if he's going to be going there. He could choose another college nearby."

"He'll be going to Tokyo University," she stated flatly and there was a moment of awkward silence.

"Are you ready to order?" asked a woman as she approached their table. Her hair was perhaps the longest Aiko had ever seen in modern days, but looked very thick and lovely, full of curls. Her eyes were a dark, hunter green and the smile she gave them was bright and cheery.

"Ah, Himawari-chan. The usual for me, if you don't mind."

"Of course, Watanuki-kun. It'd be my pleasure."

Aiko had glanced at the menu previously while they had waited for this man's entrance. "I'll have the green tea, that is all." Shizuka only shook his head when asked what he would want and she glanced at him in speculation. That wasn't like her son.

"You seem to know this place well," she commented.

"Quite. Himawari-chan is the owner. We've known each other since high school."

"That explains why she was the one that served us." She straightened out her jacket, making sure there were no unnecessary creases, before speaking again. "As I was saying, I'm not sure I like the idea of my son working part-time. What exactly is it that you do?"

"I own an antique store," the man answered promptly as her tea was placed in front of her and a small slice of cake and tea in front of the shop owner. "I specialize in rare items and their acquisitions."

Her lips pursed as she watched him eat the small piece of cake peacefully. "Watanuki-san, how do I know that I can trust you with my son? He is a bright young man that I don't want steered down the wrong path."

There was a moment of silence before those blue eyes, hidden by thin, silver wired glasses, locked with her gaze. "Doumeki-san, I don't believe anyone but Shizuka-kun can tell what the wrong path is for himself. It is his choice whether he accepts my offer of working part-time at my shop. Neither you, nor myself have any right whatsoever to interfere with that. I just offered to meet you to set your mind at ease of worries, not to ask for your permission for your son."

Aiko stiffened at the small speech, said without heat but with an overbearing amount of conviction and strength in his voice. This man reminded her of the strength of her husband when he was in court. He knew exactly what to say, what not to say, and how to get his way.

"Fine," she said at last, having weighed his character more than the idea of Shizuka having a part time job. It was true that what he said was correct, but she was not ready to let go of her son and let him leave her protected nest.

"Just one thing before you go, Doumeki-san," Watanuki added as she was about to stand up.

"Yes?"

"Perhaps it would be wise to remove your curfew from your son. It almost seems like you don't trust him. I would sincerely hope that's not the case."

Her eyes involuntarily looked at her son, feeling rebuffed by the man's words, and he stared straight back at her, as if agreeing with the shop owner. It went against every instinct that her mother's heart gave her, but she knew that at eighteen years old, she was no longer protecting but smothering her child.

"I will talk to my husband about the curfew issue." Her beeper suddenly went off and she checked it with a grimace. So much for her day off. Doctors never really did get days off. "I'm afraid I have to leave you for now. I'll see you tonight, Shizuka."

If she had turned around to glance at the two men at the table, she would have seen a much warmer atmosphere without her presence.

"You must have worked some magic, because I've never seen my mother agree to anything that fast," Shizuka commented as they ambled back to the shop.

Watanuki glanced at the boy next to him and he was tempted to tell him just how nervous he had been. The last time he'd been nervous about anything was sixty years ago, during a particularly huge wish that he hadn't been sure he could grant. He had forgotten the kinds of knots his stomach could do. Probably the only reason he'd been able to succeed in what he'd done was because he had gone into the discussion with the mentality that failure was not an option.

Because it wasn't. He'd lost Shizuka once before and he would be damned if he'd lose him again when he'd finally gotten the chance of a lifetime in front of him.

"I've dealt with spirits much like her and I've seen her type before. Being belligerent won't work, but neither will be being courteous and laid back about it. That only leaves quietly determined, showing in a non-aggressive way that you're not going to back down because what you know is right."

Shizuka glanced at him and he tried not to get lost in those green-gold eyes. They weren't the pure golden color that they had been when they'd been in high school together, but the green of his eyes was surrounded at the edges with a dusting of gold in a way that was fascinating. And damn it, if Shizuka still wasn't taller than him!

He tore his eyes from that inquiring gaze and glanced down at the uniform he had long since memorized: black pants, white shirt, and a midnight blue blazer with the symbol of his high school on the pocket. The blazer was, as usual, unbuttoned, as well as the first top buttons of his white shirt, exposing a well-muscled neck that just begged to be kissed. It was hardly his imagination; he memorized what Shizuka had been like before he'd died and his reincarnation was even more filled out and at least two inches taller than he'd been before.

"Is something wrong, Watanuki-san?"

Inwardly, Watanuki jumped, startled out of ruminations and he put on his best, reassuring smile. "Nothing's wrong, I was just remembering."

"Remembering what?"

Watanuki just couldn't say it and lapsed into silence. He didn't think he'd ever be able to let go of the past they'd shared when he'd been sixteen until it was clear that Shizuka could either love him or not now. If he couldn't, then that just meant that all he'd have were his memories to fall back with his love. If he could, if it could actually happen, he could finally let go of the past and enjoy the present.

Maru and Moro welcomed them home with panache and he felt his tension drain away now that they were in the shop. As soon as he left the courtyard and back into the world, there was always that feeling of tautness that gripped him, readied for anything. This was probably because of when he was younger. After Shizuka had died, he'd never felt safe anywhere except at the shop. Yuuko had taken pains after that to make sure he was protected at all times when she asked him for jobs done.

He hadn't realized just how protected and safe he'd felt around Shizuka until he hadn't had it anymore.

But that feeling was coming back again now, the longer he stayed around the reincarnation of his love. He'd been waiting Shizuka's whole life to be able to enjoy this. Sure, an hour of talking almost every day was good, but that was only the tip of the iceberg. It was only something to tide him over. This was what he needed: Shizuka in the shop, talking with him, being with him.

He hid his nervously shaking hands in his pockets as he lounged on the chair in the room all visitors were brought, including Shizuka when he'd first entered. Unlike Yuuko who had drunk and smoked, he touched neither without reason and still spent his time making sure the shop was clean, though there wasn't a lot to do with no one to mess it up. It helped soothe his nerves. The first time he'd cleaned the treasure room when he became the owner of the shop, he kept expecting when he went back to it that it'd be dusty and disarranged again, but it hadn't been. It was almost like there was magic in the woodwork of the shop that catered and changed to fit the pace of the owner. Yuuko had liked things messy and her alcohol and lounging, but he preferred to be moving and doing things, so things had seemed to change for him.

It was a puzzle.

"So now that you are hired," he commented to the young boy, glad that his voice wasn't shaking as much as his insides and his pounding heart, "please drop by every day after school, and I'll have things for you to do, starting tomorrow."

"I'll be sure to."

Shizuka was already at the gate of the school by the time he heard the calling of his name. If he didn't hurry, he'd be late. Now that he was working for Watanuki and would see him on a daily basis, he could barely stand the thought of school, knowing that it was only hours before he'd get to see him again. He turned, glancing at his watch impatiently, while he waited for her to reach him.

Hisano Kagami.

He had known her since middle school and last year had confessed to him. Turning her down was hard, as he really did like their friendship, but had no way of returning her feelings. He needn't have worried. She had spent the latter half of that year and so far the entire one of this one convinced that he would eventually fall in love with her, which was fine until she started pretending like she was his girlfriend.

She was different from other girls he'd known, which was why he liked her in the first place as a friend, but sometimes her overwhelming confidence in her looks and personality, as if assured she'd get anyone she wanted, grated on his nerves.

"Haruki said he can't make it, he's got club today, but we can catch him tomorrow as usual."

Shino Haruki was his best friend and the star of the basketball team. They'd known each other since elementary school and had often played in the park with him, when he'd always meet Watanuki. Haruki was, perhaps, the only person in the world that really knew him best and even about his feelings for Watanuki. As much as he disliked talking about his feelings, perhaps conditioning from the fact that his parents never listened to his opinions at home, Haruki was the only one he could bear to let out all the embarrassing stuff too.

The three of them usually always walked home together: the tomboy Kagami with her black hair cut short around her head, the tall and eye catching Haruki, and the studious Shizuka.

"Sorry, Kagami, but I can't walk home with you today."

"What? Why not?"

"I've got a part time job now that I go to every day after school."

"Really?" She had a right to be surprised since his parents had objected to any kind of part time job for years while he was in school, insisting on him concentrating on his studying. It was easier to do what they wanted than try to get them to listen. "Your parents agreed? What about the curfew?"

"Curfew is gone and Mom agreed. She even met him." He glanced at his watch impatiently, eager to be gone. But Kagami wasn't going to let him go so easily, she wanted details.

"That's incredible. Let me walk you there, I want to see the kind of place you work at."

Damn, that was not a good idea. There was a possibility that she wouldn't even see the shop and he didn't want to pull her into the supernatural world, either. Not to mention, he didn't know if Watanuki would approve.

"That's not such a good idea, Kagami. I just started there yesterday. Give it a little while for me to get settled and comfortable there. Anything now at this stage might make me lose this job."

After an annoyingly long two minutes, Kagami finally nodded. "I s'pose you're right. Some employers are finicky like that. They want to see you working and if they see you bring a friend on the second day, they might get really upset."

"Glad you understand and I have to go, or I'll be late."

He was eager to be moving. In the two times that he'd traveled down the streets to the shop, it felt like a lifetimes worth. That if he bothered to close his eyes and just let his feet do the walking, he knew with certainty he'd be there without a wrong turn. It was a strange sensation, the like of which he'd never had before.

When he reached the gate and entered the courtyard, Watanuki was sitting on the porch. His sapphire eyes, which had been closed, opened at the sound of his footsteps. "You're late, Shizuka-kun."

"Sorry, I had to explain to my friends that I have a part time job now."

It didn't seem like Watanuki was angry, but he didn't say anything for such a long moment that he wondered if somehow something was bothering the man. For all the fact that his expression seemed to change little, there was still emotions that crossed that face fluidly all the time. He craved the knowledge to know what those emotions were, to be able to read Watanuki like a book.

"Well, I suppose it doesn't matter if you're a little late on your first day of work, but try not to make it a habit." The voice was devoid of anything that might hint of irritation or anger, but he still couldn't help feeling that there was something bothering his new employer. "Anyway, your errand today is a simple one. I'm going to give you a package and you're going to deliver it for me to someone. This time, Mokona won't have to go with you, but I will send along just a little something for those 'just in case' moments."

Something slithered from beneath the robes that Watanuki wore and blinked at him. It took him a moment to realize that it looked like a snake and yet didn't. It seemed to have a body of a snake, except it was fuzzy pale brown, but the black, beady blinking eyes were not like any snakes at all. He leaned down to get a closer look, tentatively touching it, and it slithered immediately up his arm, as if it had no problem with strangers. It rubbed against his cheek a little, as if to say 'welcome back'. Which was strange, since he'd never seen it before in his life.

"What is this?" he asked, with a mixture of trepidation and curiosity, gently reaching out to touch the thing. He wondered if he dared hold it or touch it hard. It seemed so fragile and he didn't want to hurt it.

"It's a kudakitsune. A pipe-fox spirit. A gift to my predecessor in return for a job a long, long time ago. He's been with me since then. I call him Kuda, for lack of anything else." Watanuki smiled a little at him and it seemed as if it was full of amusement at some thought. "Now, if you could fetch me some water from the well while I go get a vase out of storage…"

End

There are some new characters that I created for this story. I'm going to have previous xxxholic characters show up in this story, naturally, to balance out the new ones, so it's a nice new mix. Can't have a story like this without new faces, but I don't want it to see AU with all new, like a new generation (which I hate stuff like that). Hopefully you'll come to like the new characters when I have time to develop them and show you some complex sides :)