It isn't exactly a rare occasion for Watanuki to have someone step into his dreams, in fact it's far more common than he likes, it is however distinct to him that on this occasion he can smile, lean back a little and relax inside of a dream with another person.
"It's been a while." He says, tea appearing beside him at a whim, steaming in earthen pots. He offers one to the other person and he takes it politely, smiling.
"It has, Watanuki-kun." He says, "I have a proposition for you but first, how have you been?" Syaoran asks, eyes soft, appreciative, as he looks at the one who both is and is not him.
Watanuki can't help but chuckle.
No matter how long it's been, Syaoran is always quick to get to the point. He never wants to waste time which could be spent achieving something else and he is always polite about it, genuinely caring that everything isn't all business despite his own need to get to the issue at hand.
So he knows that he has the time to think, tap out the pipe against a small tray and let a few particles of ash drift out.
The glass rings clear in the dream.
"Well," he starts, "Maru and Moro are doing as well as ever and Mokona is still happy eating my food. So they certainly don't have any complaints. I've been alright myself. You know the routine, customer comes in, makes a trade, usually ends up at the mercy of their own mistakes a few weeks later. The gods have been quiet though recently I suppose." The dimensional witch says, rubbing his chin.
The wind chimes blow softly and Watanuki scowls at them for a moment.
"Another customer," he murmurs, standing, and then turning to Syaoran, "if you'd please give me a moment."
The boy, no, a man now, as Watanuki supposes he could be considered too, stands, holding out his hands.
"It's really alright- I can come back another time-" He offers, looking apologetic and waiting to be granted permission to leave.
Watanuki sighs, adjusting his clothes to show a little less chest and dusting himself off.
"No- don't worry about it. I really won't be a second, they can wait while I'm talking to a friend." He says, smiling honestly, warmly.
So Syaoran sits back down on the deck behind the dimension witch's house and sips at the tea he's been given while the person who was once a shadow of him blinks out of existence, into a different dream level, and then back again about ten seconds later.
He sighs, brushing his hair back and taking an irritated puff on his pipe which used to be hers.
"Some of the mortals are so annoying, just thinking they can wish for god-like powers at any time and not have it blow up on them like it inevitably does. It's almost a pleasure to grant it to them now." He confesses, running his hands through his hair another time before he sits down, puts down the pipe and take a teacup in both hands, breathes it in deeply.
"But anyway, how have you been?" He asks, calmer already. His golden eye cat-like as he sips at his tea.
"Good," Syaoran says, sitting up taller, "The last few worlds we've ended up in have been kind to us. One of them was even advanced enough to do some maintenance on Kurogane-san's arm and another had a few ideas which might help us to find a way to talk to Sakura-hime when we're travelling." He says enthusiastically, leaning forwards with his excitement.
Watanuki smiles softly, a small huff of amusement leaving him as he takes up his pipe again.
"I'm glad," He tells the other man, honestly, "I wish that I could make sure you always landed in peaceful worlds but an intervention like that would have such a high cost." He slips into a small frown, contemplative as he calculates in his head what it would cost, a hobby by now, to think about what is given and what would need to be taken in return. A helpful one at least considering his occupation.
"But you said that you have a proposition?" Watanuki asks, curiosity suddenly too strong to resist. He trusts that Syaoran will have thought through whatever he's about to say exhaustively, know him well enough that he knows he will have.
Syaoran nods, puts down his tea, sits up a little taller again.
"Do you ever want to travel?" Syaoran asks, continuing before Watanuki can even think about his answer, "because I was thinking that if you ever wanted to travel we could swap and I could stay here and look after the shop for you and you could see other worlds."
The shopkeeper is taken a back for a moment but then smiles sadly, lowering his pipe and looking down at his lap.
"You know that I can't leave this place unless Yuuko-san comes back." He says gently, knowing that Syaoran knows that as well as him, that it is not his wish that keeps him here.
The man smiles though, not shaken at all as he sips his tea, leans back a little and looks up at the stars beyond the overhang which covers the small porch area.
"I know," he says, "but it's an offer all the same if you would like a break. With the same soul, one wandering forever and one still forever, we should be able to swap if we wanted and the price would still be maintained." Syaoran says, looking over at the other man, so unlike and yet alike him.
A breeze blows softly, warmly, throughout the dream. The windchimes ring, sound rather than alarm, and the flowers suffuse the air with sweetness.
Watanuki lifts his pipe to his lips, trailing a thin stream of smoke that curls like a serpent.
"Thank you, Syaoran-kun." He says.
The two breathe in the night for a while longer, neither needing to say the words the other already understands.