haHAAA!!! I bet you all thought I had DIED!!! Muahaha!

Ok, this chapter was freakin CURSED. Yes, homework, work and finals have played a big part in my disappearance, but this chapter was honestly, very cursed. I kept getting it lost. o.o Until I got the message and changed it. hehe - that's my Muse's own way of communicating with me. If she doesn't like the way I'm making things go, she either takes away all inspiration or takes away the actual darn piece of work.

I do update my profile with how my writing is going on, so if someone actually wants to find out if I'm dead, if I'm writing or if I've decided to give up on a story, just check in-- The most recent updates are at the very top. No scrolling necessary - though the last time I edited my profile IS displayed at the very BOTTOM of the page.

Ok, I'll shut up so you can read what has taken me 2 whopping months to write. (I hate the beginning, but I can't bother changing it. Oooh well.)

Somehow Watanuki managed to stop crying. With his face buried in the soft, white pillow, somehow he managed to fall asleep. Somehow…


He felt Doumeki's mouth close in around him… His fingers curled into the archer's hair and he arched back.

Somehow the memories found their way in; into his dreams, into his thoughts - they returned no matter how many times he pushed them away.

It was pleasure beyond anything he had ever experienced before.

Images danged before him as he relived the memories he was so desperately trying to forget. The Watanuki that had touched Doumeki that way, it couldn't have been him!

He plunged into the depths of Doumeki's mouth, his tongue making the demands that his voice could not. He was kissed back just as passionately, tongues swirling in a dance of mutual desire.

It wasn't mutual. It couldn't have been mutual. They were guys! He liked a girl, he wanted a girl-

"I want you Doumeki."

No… He didn't… He didn't.

"Now, Doumeki!" A soft complain, piercing through the archer's heart, the effect visible on his face as he was no longer able to resist-

No! It wasn't Doumeki that was resisting. It wasn't. The memories were wrong. Wrong!

"I want you Doumeki."

He-

"I want you-

"I DON'T!" he shouted in opposition as he jumped up in reflex. He blinked in surprise as he found himself in complete darkness. Was it night already? Had he slept through the day?

His breath was coming in short gasps and a thin layer of sweat covered his entire body. He was still completely naked, which was a good thing in a way. It meant that Doumeki hadn't dared to lay another dirty finger on hi-

"Watanuki?" the owner of those dirty fingers asked softly from the other side of the door. "Are you alright?" He must have heard him cry out…

"I'm fine!" was what Watanuki wanted to snap back in response, but at the sound of Doumeki's voice his own deserted him. He lowered his head, squeezing his eyes shut tightly, angry at those impudent tears that threatened to make an even bigger fool of him. His throat was dry, but he dared not ask for water. His lower half was feeling a lot better, but his stomach felt as if it were on fire.

In other words, he was starving.

'The sooner I leave, the sooner I can eat,' he reasoned, and tried experimenting with moving his body. His arms were fine. His headache was a lot better. His legs responded, although they were still a little shaky, and it didn't hurt to sit up anymore. If he tried hard enough, he might be able to walk…

"Are you alright?" Doumeki repeated, his usually indifferent voice now tinged with worry.

"Leave me alone." This time his voice obeyed him and the message was delivered successfully. He scrubbed one hand against his face, trying to wipe away some of the sweat that was suffocating him. He had to leave. If he could stand, he was going to leave.

…On second thought, if he could locate his clothes, he was going to leave.

---------------RARE DOUMEKI POV THAT IS FOR SOME REASON BECOMING MORE FREQUENT----------------

"Leave me alone."

Doumeki shut his eyes and turned away from the door, sighing softly. He was starving and his back ached from leaning against the wall all day, but he tried not to think about it. He knew that he should be preparing some food to at least offer Watanuki after he had been thrashing in his sleep all day, but for some reason he was afraid to walk away from the door. Anxiety was clawing at his insides and he didn't like it. Even though he would never regret it, yesterday should have never happened.

His stomach growled loudly and he yawned. It was late. What time was it exactly? He couldn't tell. He refused to take his eyes from the door in order to go find out. One day without food wouldn't kill him. He was worried about Watanuki going without a meal, but knew that the smaller boy would refuse anything offered to him by Doumeki, even if his life depended on it. He knew it.

He just had to wait until Watanuki calmed down a little more. He just had to wait until he stopped hating him as much. Doumeki had no experience with explaining his feelings to other people, but this time he wanted to try, as much as it scared him. He wanted to at least try to make Watanuki understand that last night was not him taking advantage of the situation and making use of him… Even if he were to end up being hated, he wanted to know that he had at least tried.

All he had to do was to wait. All he had to do…

------------------------------RARE DOUMEKI POV END----------------------------

Watanuki shot one last glance down at himself and nodded in determination. This would have to do. After he had managed to get out of bed and had gotten used to walking around without fear of falling, his eyes had adjusted to the darkness enough for him to realize that his clothes weren't there. Fortunately enough this happened to be Doumeki's room, and he'd found a few robes in the closet, one of which he had helped himself to. Lack of his uniform wasn't going to stop him from leaving. Nothing was going to stop him from leaving.

He turned to face the door and took a deep breath. He had no idea where Doumeki was, but that big stupid oaf had better not appear out of nowhere and try to stop him.

He walked up to the door and extended one hand, gritting his jaw in determination. He had reached the point of no return…

As he slowly slid the door open, a soft light spilled into the room…at the same time that an ice-cold chill went down his spine. He blinked in surprise, tightening his grip on the door as he gazed down at the dark bundle that was propped against the wall. There was no room for question. That was Doumeki… Dressed in the same clothes as the time that Watanuki kicked him out of the room, had he spent the entire day outside in the hallway?

His chest tightened unexpectedly and he frowned as he tried to understand what the archer was thinking. Why hadn't he just let him be? Why hadn't he just forgotten about him…? Was it that last night hadn't been enough?

That's what he wanted to believe, but despite how stubborn he was, he wasn't stupid enough not to realize that if Doumeki had wanted more of him, he would have broken into the room and taken it…not spent the entire day out in the hallway, propped against the hard wall in what had to be the most uncomfortable pose Watanuki had ever seen.

The memories were still echoing in the back of his mind, but this time he didn't try to muff them out. The physical pain wasn't what had gotten to him…it was the damage caused to his pride. It wasn't right to verbally attack Doumeki just because his man-pride was wounded, but he couldn't help it. All the time that he had known Doumeki, this was the last scenario he would've considered possible…or even considered at all. Why was Watanuki the only one that seemed affected? Why was Doumeki taking it so…calmly?

Stupid Doumeki. Everything was his fault…and as his anger slowly turned into sadness, he couldn't help but hate him even more.

He couldn't muster the strength to wake him up. He couldn't even muster the strength to frown as he turned away and began to slowly make his way down the hall. With every step he took, he felt even worse. If Doumeki really never left the hallway, that meant he hadn't eaten.

Serves him well, he growled inwardly, his fists clenching in what could be either fury or regret. …That stupid idiot.

----------------------------------------------- DOUMEKI POV IS BACK! ------------------------------------------------

Doumeki didn't dream, but as he drifted in and out of consciousness, he started to wander if that was what dreams were like. Somehow, even in his stupor he knew that it was impossible. He was too tired to dream, and the more he slept the more tired he seemed to be getting. Rising from his half sleep only to fall back into it, he only half registered how much pain his body was in. A soft groan escaped his lips and he rolled his head over to the other side, forcing himself to ignore the needle of pain that stabbed at that particular location.

I should move, he mused absentmindedly. But he couldn't leave the hallway. Even in his sleep, he knew that. He was in the hallway for a reason. See, he had to watch the door just in case-…

The door!

He half-jumped in panic as he realized he had fallen asleep, his eyes shooting open in a combination of surprise and of fear as he stared at his bedroom door. The door was open…and the room was empty.

Suddenly very cold, feeling as if someone had spilt a bucket of ice cold water over him, he shivered. He threw panicked glances from side to side, but Watanuki was not in view. How long had he been asleep? How long since Watanuki…

He forced himself onto his feet, groaning at how stiff his body felt. He immediately pushed all protest to the very back of his mind. His own pain didn't matter. He had to find Watanuki… Even if he was not in his house anymore, he had to find him.

He forced one foot in front of the other, hastening his steps every second until he was running. Down one hallway, around the corner… He had decided that it didn't matter if Watanuki hated him, but he had to explain to him how he felt… He had to. He absolutely had to.

Why did I fall asleep? he groaned inwardly, angry at himself. If he hadn't fallen asleep…then maybe-

His self-loathing was brought to a sudden halt when he literally collided with the kitchen door - which was, for some bizarre reason, shut - and got thrown back and onto the cold hallway floor. He moaned in pain as he rubbed a palm over his stinging face, rubbing his throbbing nose and blinking startled tears from his eyes. Why was the door closed? He could very well remember leaving it open.

"You get dumber every day, don't you?" an awfully familiar voice snapped from the other side of the door. "But I suppose it serves you well…"

"…Watanuki?!" a cold wave of disbelief swept over him, washing away all pain…and all remaining coherent thought. Instead of leaping onto his feet and flinging the door open - which was what some faraway, ignored fragment of consciousness screamed at Doumeki to do from the darkest, most forgotten corner of his mind - he remained on the floor, gaping at the door as if it had sprouted a pair of eyes and was staring right back at him.

"I bet you thought I was going to leave," Watanuki growled from within the kitchen. Doumeki blinked once, only barely registering any sounds coming from beyond the door other than Watanuki's voice. …A clang? …Footsteps. A…sigh?

He was still gaping at the door when it slowly slid open. Watanuki met Doumeki's gaze as he bleakly leaned against the doorframe, his own eyes validating his surrender.

"So did I."

Doumeki blinked again, somehow unable to come up with an appropriate response to Watanuki's declaration. He was slowly recovering from the shock, however, as his eyes slowly lowered, breaking their link with Watanuki's gaze to take in his even more unexpected attire. Watanuki wiped one hand over the apron that he had slipped over Doumeki's robe, then used the same hand to gesture over his shoulder with his thumb.

"You should stock something other than noodles, you know. It took me twenty minutes to dig up enough ingredients from your sorry excuse of a kitchen to make food. Now stop staring and come in. If you're half as hungry as I am, you'll eat whatever's on the table without complaint."

And he then turned heel and walked back into the kitchen leaving Doumeki in the hallway alone, the irresistible smell of meat and baked potatoes wafting out to embrace him softly.

Und das ist the END!

There will be more, because although I've decided that I'm probably going to scrap half of the story's beginning upon revision, I DO have to mention SOMEWHERE what the darn drink was. I might just have a small, sappy chapter coming up and then have a Yuuko pov at the end where she tells...maybe Mokona...hm... Oh, and there MIGHT be no more lemon :o I'm actually planning on having sap (ooc? darn. oh well) but no actual lemon...unless I get enough people demanding it, AND the inspiration for it. lol

HEY! Holidays coming up. No work! (the math lab closes with the college!) (in other words: no pay! yay! I must write to distract myself from my poverty!) So come on and review. I'll take opinions on which direction you want the ending to take, though in the end it's up to my Muse, Kadesha, to decide.

Ok! I MUST GO OR I'LL BE LATE TO CLASS AND THUS MY FINAL EXAM O.O

-runs away-

Please review -grovels- please forgive me! See? I haven't given up.

-NokturnalAugury