Name: Iambic
Series: xxxHolic
Ship: Doumeki x Watanuki
Preferred Rating:
Theme(s): gaudy, rain, accidental(ly in love? XD)
Genre: mellow romance
Gravity cannot be held responsible for people falling in love.
-Albert Einstein
Watanuki wears his heart on his sleeve, and Yuuko knows it means something when even she thinks it's a gaudy little piece. It wants to be some kind of precious stone, doesn't it, all cold and cut with sharp edges and lonely bright against the grey of the rest of the world. Watanuki thinks she's had too many when she tells the button on his cuff that it's failing miserably at its little charade, and she's not the only one onto it, oh no, not at all. He tries to sneak away while her cheek is pressed into the table, but Maru and Moro pop up in front of him once the door is open enough to squeeze through. He teeters, but thinks he is safe, since he managed it silently. Unfortunately, Yuuko is… Yuuko, and so the girls present to him a scroll illuminated with butterflies and roses and hearts, detailing the kinds of goodies she wants for Valentine's Day, and exactly how much alcohol will go into them, because too much gets cooked off. He shoots her a glare, and stomps away, pretending to ignore her sweet 'Bring an umbrella tomorrow'. She was probably talking to the table.
It doesn't
rain when he sets out to school, but he has an umbrella anyway, because
it's Yuuko, and the threat of a promise is heavy and overbearing, like
the cloud Doumeki sees in the distance. He has colorful boxes waiting
in his bag, wrapped in ribbons. For Kohane-chan, the little fox, for
his friends, for the only family he might ever have known. There's cake
and molded chocolates to follow lunch, and he will graciously allow
Doumeki to partake of it because it would make Himawari happy.
"Oi."
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results,
he reminds himself, having found the quote somewhere somewhen, because
it would say a great deal about his current situation, not to be the
better person of the two of them. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting… Gah.
"You drive me crazy.
Is it too much to ask that you use the name my parents gave me?" he
demands venomously, brandishing his umbrella. The passersby stare and
duck when they can't just cross the street, and huffily Watanuki
composes himself. Or tries to localize his anger, at very least.
Doumeki rolls his eyes, and Watanuki would swear he can hear them creaking inside the thick skull that houses them.
"Watanuki," he enunciates, drawing the syllables out, impatiently clear and precise.
"Yes?" Watanuki deigns to answer civilly.
"We're
going to be late," Doumeki points to his watch, and then covers his
ears. The contained fury is unleashed, and arms flail madly as Watanuki
sputters his displeasure.
"Whose fault do you think that would be?"
Watanuki glares angrily, but it's rather difficult to be menacing and
to speed down a road at the same time. He decides getting to school on
time is more important than arguing with the other boy, since it very
clearly was not worth it to try to convince Doumeki Shizuka of anything. Rather like arguing with a rock. A rock with an attitude problem.
Lessons
pass in a slow blur, but finally the bell rings and the students are
freed for lunch hour. Watanuki ignores the sight of girls armed with
their chocolate and their confessions lining up in the hall, lying in
wait. Himawari-chan has a fever of 39 degrees, and so his only ray of
sunshine is denied him. He glances out the window and sees with some
disappointment that it is raining. It's Valentine's Day, Himawari-chan
is sick at home and he can't visit until later, and he's stuck inside
school with only Doumeki to talk to. Truly, hitsuzen is just another way of saying he is fate's, or just Yuuko's, plaything.
"Oi."
"What?" he snarls, wondering if it's possible for lightning to strike indoors.
"Lunch,"
Doumeki replies simply, as if Watanuki is a bit of an idiot for even
wondering. He turns and walks away, clearly expecting Watanuki to
follow. The stupid jerk's legs are entirely too long, so Watanuki has
to jog to be able to keep up his tirade on Doumeki's presumptuous
attitude in assuming things that have no chance in hell of being true.
It's bad enough most of the time people think he is yelling at air;
having a visible target that will not sit on him or chew or drip or maim is something he might, on a good day, confess is a nice thing.
They
sit in a stairwell, and the rain is beating against the windowpane that
hasn't been opened in who knows how long. The sky is grey, the walls
are grey; the only relief from midtone is the stark black of the boys'
uniform. Watanuki leaves the boxes open on the landing, like so many
helpless virgin sacrifices. He doesn't realize the rain makes him
sleepy, and staying up to cook doesn't help, and it's only when he's
chasing two Mokona with a red baseball bat, presumably because they are
both reciting from the Second Edition Japanese Learning Dictionary the
meanings for 'denial' and 'fate', wisps of smoke and insane laughter
dancing at the edge of his awareness, does he understand he is
dreaming. And when he realizes he is dreaming he wakes up, to find
Doumeki staring at him from much too close, with something like concern
mixed in with his usual inscrutable expression. He glances around
wildly, piecing together what must have happened; his nodding off
pitched him forward into Doumeki, who was unable to eat with his
lifeless body in the way, which would explain why the idiot was in a
state of almost-panic. Watanuki sits up quickly, furious with himself
for displaying any kind of weakness. But Doumeki doesn't comment, and
Watanuki must fill the silence somehow, not liking how empty and hollow
it tastes.
"Ah, sorry. It was an… accident…" Watanuki's frantic
explanation peters away. Doumeki isn't eating, just staring, like he's
trying to carry the one and it's being particularly obstinate about not
moving.
"Idiot," he concludes out loud and returns his attention to his lunch, standard dismissal of the standard screech of outrage.
An
accident, always an accident, little acts of fate that keep pushing
them together, pieces of a puzzle that really should be together but
just will not fit. So many accidents, but Doumeki feels less sorry with
every one. Eventually he might admit that he has a wish hard work won't
fulfill, but while Watanuki is oblivious, he still has a chance.
