april kisses

better through silence

by: samthegreat

disclaimer: uh huh…

It had been routine long enough. Watanuki would sulk to the general area where he always had lunch. He would hold a plainly decorated bento box at arms length and grumble the same thing about ungrateful archers and the fact he's not a waitress. Then, as per usual, Doumeki would eat while tossing out the casual insult and then place the next day's order. And then the protests would begin and continue until the customary tone would sound to announce the end of lunch. These were the constants of Doumeki's life and he enjoyed them, as dysfunctional as they were.

"And I think I'll have teriyaki tomorrow. Don't burn it."

"Alright," Watanuki nodded as he packed up the now empty lunch box. Doumeki slightly quirked his head to the side at the compliance of the shorter boy. There was no sour express on his face and no cursing under his breath. Watanuki felt the eyes on his face and looked up at the other boy in innocent wonder. Doumeki didn't budge from his own inspection. Instead, he pushed further.

"And I wouldn't mind something sweet. Maybe something like cookies," he paused and observed the still face of the other boy, "Or maybe that fondant au chocolat you made before. You can whip it together for tomorrow."

"Yeah, I can do that." The bespectacled boy stood and dusted himself off as bell rang to announce the dismissal of lunch. Doumeki pursed his lips tightly together in annoyance. To the displeasure of the archer, Watanuki had not taken the offered bait.

The next day was hardly different.

"Tomorrow I want onigiri with salmon in the middle. Don't make it too salty. Last time it was way too salty." Again the other boy only nodded his compliance as he finished the last of his portion. The only difference from the day before was the presence of a raven haired school girl.

She smiled brightly at the shorter of the two boys. "Watanuki-kun never minds making lunch for Doumeki-kun because you two are such good friends." The two boys froze. Doumeki waited for the systematic protests that would return normalcy to their lives. It never came.

"I guess that's true, Himawari-chan, but I also make it for you because we are good friends too," chuckled Watanuki

The school girl's giggles joined the other, "That's true." Doumeki watched as he tried to suppress the uneasiness he felt swelling up in his chest.

He finally found his mind clear enough to think logically as he walked home to his family shrine. He should have been happy, or at least relieved, that Watanuki had stopped his constant pissiness, but he wasn't. In his own slightly sadistic way, he liked it when the shorter boy gripped and complained. He liked the energy and anger that was directed at him. In a strange way, it made him feel necessary to the other.

As he began his chores at the shrine, an eerie thought crept into his mind. What if Watanuki no longer needed him? Doumeki was only necessary to the boy as a spirit ward, but what if those ghosts stopped haunting. That was in fact the reason the bespectacled boy slaved away at that shop. And if his wish hadn't been granted yet, it would only be a matter of time before it was. Then Doumeki would be with out meaning and purpose.

The thought caused the shrine keeper to tightly grip his broom. No, he wouldn't become useless like that. He had to become important to that boy. As he continued to sweep the entrance to the shrine, he decided to take matters into his own hands.

"Hmm. It's still too salty. Maybe your cooking skills have become as useless as your brains." He ate the rice ball anyway, trying to pretend that the confection was as horrible as he had claimed.

"Maybe, maybe," Watanuki nodded as he eyed the bento suspiciously.

Doumeki discarded his rice ball in protest. "Will you just stop that?" Watanuki stared back with the question showing purely on his face but a mouth full of rice held it there.

"Why are you acting like that? So, so…at peace with everything. You're not like that."

"Does it upset you?" Watanuki asked calmly.

Doumeki looked down at the bento box. His lips twitched as his taste buds remembered all the delicious food that had been brought to him in that box. "I still need you so don't out grow me just yet."

He allowed his eyes to travel up and meet the lighter ones. There was as stubble confusion that he was able to observe before he lost sight of those eyes. It was almost too quick to register, but he felt the quick peak on his lips before his ears were assaulted. "And just who are you to ask me to make that fondant au chocolat for you? Do you know just how much work goes into that, you jerk?"

Doumeki shrugged his shoulders lazily and took in the insults and the rest of the bento.

Yuuko looked coyly at the be-aproned boy who humbly offered her liquor of choice for that evening. "So," she started as he exhaled a smoky breath from her pipe, "Did it work." Said boy nodded sheepishly and blushed as he remembered that day's lunch.

"But how did you know it would work, Yuuko-san?"

The woman smiled warmly as she petted the black creature perched on her lap, "Humans are creatures of habit. They take for granted what they experience everyday, but go through horrible withdraw if anything is changed in their lives. That's why death is such a harmful thing to a human. They can't adjust to the change just as he couldn't deal with your new attitude. I predict things will always stay the same for you and Doumeki because they must."

She paused as she drew her arm out to the boy and placed her index finger on his lips, "Or perhaps, things can only get better."

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