Disclaimer: Characters belong to CLAMP, so …. not mine?
Notes: Umm, Hi! I love xxxHOLiC and I've no idea where this came from. As always I'm not happy with the ending, but as always I can't seem to do anything about it, so any criticisms would be appreciated. Thanks!
It had been many years since he had last seen the other boy – indeed it had been long enough that they were both no longer boys, but men.
He was just as he had remembered – tall, yet shorter than himself, well defined facial features and a personality that many would call 'stable', yet was still prone to hysterical outbursts, whether from anger or happiness.
"Hello"
"Hey" came the reply
They lapsed into silence, each looking at the other and yet not, each remembering.
---
They were only children then – unsure of themselves and of each other. Under her guidance, they had slowly explored their relationship and for a few short months they had been totally and utterly happy.
To this day he wonders what it was that caused the other boy to walk away from what they had. He remembers the innumerable days spent standing outside the field that contained the witch's store. He remembers following the other boy home. He remembers hoping for a reason and getting only silence.
He remembers being desperate, devastated and being at the end of his teeter. He remembers grabbing the other boy and yelling loudly, demanding a reason. He remembers the blank look in the other's eyes as he asked him quietly to let go. And he remembers doing the only thing he could – he let him go.
---
"Do you still work for Yuuko-san?"
"Ah – no. No, I stopped working there a little bit after, after …"
At this point the shorter man is making hand gestures and he understands what the other means.
"So she granted your wish?"
Silence. And then –
Soft laughter. The shorter man is laughing as he answers his question.
"No, no. I can still see them. In fact this is the first time I haven't seen any in years. Because you're here, huh?"
He's surprised. He had always assumed that she had granted Watanuki his wish by now, but now he was no longer working there and the wish hadn't been fulfilled? He looks at the other man with curiosity, but before he can ask, Watanuki continues.
"A little while after that, Yuuko said that I could stop working, not because she could grant my wish, but because she couldn't grant it anymore. Strange, huh?"
He notices the other's slightly higher pitch and slightly melancholic smile as he speaks and scrambles quickly to change the subject. He lets him, knowing that enquiring any further would only cause the other pain.
After a few minutes, they take leave of each other – each knowing that they had missed their one chance, their 'once in a lifetime' opportunity. Perhaps it was hitsuzen, but than again, perhaps it wasn't – all he knew was that there was no going back.
Note: I know that Watanuki is somewhat OOC, but I figured that he had to mature at some point and having been extremely close to Doumeki at one point that he wouldn't have those sort of spaz attacks anymore