Himawari was looking generally ecstatic and Yuuko just looked smug. He began to wonder if the idea had actually been entirely Himawari's or not, as that smile was just a too little like the cat who caught the canary and mouse.
Watanuki was getting closer; he could actually feel it now. What he needed to do was get something to happen to take the final step from being friends with a mutual attraction to… more. He also needed to get Doumeki to admit it in some way or another, either through action or words. Still he was more than ecstatic from the results of this last venture. "Thanks Himawari chan, if it weren't for you I don't think I could have gotten this far." It was true. The scarier than he had ever imagined girl had been a huge help to him in such a short time.
The three of them sat there eating chocolate cake Watanuki had made at Yuuko's request, and for once her excessive drinking on top of it didn't bother him.
"Now that you know he's at least a little interested why don't you try something a little different?" Yuuko asked, a little too casually.
"Different how?" He knew something was up just by Yuuko's demeanor. Unlike Himawari, he had known from the start that she was dangerous, but in a way that made him wake up at night to rush and check that all of his clothes hadn't been replaced with school girl uniforms.
"Tell me Watanuki, do you know how a teenaged girl typically behaves around a guy she has a crush on?" The simple question made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end; he shook his head in response. "Some of them blush and can't seem to get out two words, others follow from a distance in a stalker like manner, fan clubs are formed, and if a girl can get close enough she clings to him, striving for any sort of physical contact. For example, she might grab his arm when scared, purposefully brush her hand against his when handing him something, touch his arm or shoulder casually while talking to him. A dozen little ways to communicate that she likes him and wants more than just casual friendship."
"And…?" He didn't like where this might be going. Then again he didn't like where a lot of things Yuuko said might be going.
"And," She examined her fork before taking another bite of cake, "how much physical contact like that lies between you and Doumeki?"
Watanuki could feel his cheeks flush as Himawari giggled at whatever image entered her head. He swallowed a little and shifted in his seat, trying to think. They'd never really touched before, as far as he could recall.
"Well…nothing really." He hadn't forgotten the incident in Yuuko's job where he had gripped Doumeki's arm in a fit of fear or how Doumeki had wrapped him in the warmth and safety of his embrace.
Yuuko's expression said she didn't believe him in the slightest and as he watched her take a languid bite of her cake, he grew more and more nervous. His throat was suddenly dry and when that familiar gleam entered her eye, he knew he was in the for the utter worst he'd ever heard from her yet.
"Himawari chan…" The girl in question leaned over and there was a whispered conference that he was not allowed to hear, but that annoying pork bun could. He bounced between them and giggled so maniacally at random intervals that his stomach knotted in fear.
"Watanuki kun?"
The Dimensional Witch's voice was cloyingly sweet and he felt his eye twitch. It always happened when she did that and it was something of his early warning system. That meant bad, bad news.
"Spring break is next week, right?"
"Yes…"
"You don't have any plans, do you?"
"No…"
"Then it's all settled!" She clapped her hands and returned to her cake as if nothing were amiss.
Watanuki was not going to let it go that easily. "What is all settled, Yuuko-san!"
"Why your trip to the beach house next week, of course!"
His jaw just about dropped to the floor and he turned astonished eyes at Himawari, who only beamed at him. He could practically see the sparkles around her and she gushed happily about how this plan would finalize everything and he would know real soon.
"But--"
"Think about it, Watanuki," she whispered, leaning over and holding his chin between two fingers. "You'll be all alone with Doumeki, for a whole week, just the ocean nearby and seagulls to interrupt you and your little plan. Quiet with no spirits to haunt you; no neighbors around to overhear your little screams of pleasure as Doumeki…"
If his face could have gotten redder, it would have. He frantically jerked away from her fingers as she burned him and clutched his heart as he tried to ignore the image painted in his head by Yuuko's words. "N-no spirits?" he stuttered.
"Of course not, but Doumeki doesn't need to know that," she laughed with a wink. "You can say that you can only bring one person with you and that you'd rather it be Doumeki to chase off any spirits and help you with any other…problems you might encounter."
Yuuko's leer was enough to tell him what sort of "problem" she was referring to and suddenly he wanted to die.
God, you must really hate me. And the worst part about it was that he would do it, because by now, he was desperate.
Watanuki had to admit, it would be a good way to finally get things to where he wanted them to be between them. It was also a chance to royally screw things up, depending on how things went.
He had been putting some serious thought into it, weighing the pros and cons of the situation, and still he was undecided, but he had told Yuuko he would do it, so he was going to do it.
Watanuki still had most of the week to work up the courage to ask Doumeki to go with him, and that was the biggest problem to face right now. When and where to ask? He had to ask with Himawari present so Doumeki would know that he was choosing him over her. He really was making things so obvious they couldn't be any more noticeable if he had a neon sign, but Doumeki was blind to more than just spirits.
He had pushed the thought of asking Doumeki to the back of his mind, where it could eat at him as he tried to concentrate on other things. Today, for instance, Doumeki had an archery competition. He went to all of them, sometimes by Himawari openly dragging him along, the rest of the time he snuck in to watch, hidden in the crowd. Usually he sat behind Doumeki's fan club, where he would be least noticeable. No one ever looked at that group of people.
He wasn't really sure if he wanted to remain hidden now though. He was trying to get Doumeki to notice him, not hide. But old habits die hard and all that. He could always sit with Himawari, that could push the jealously buttons just a little more, but she was getting to scare him with all of her plotting.
The school day had been fairly uneventful, no spirits attacking, no teachers yelling at him for staring off into space during class. Lunch had been a little quieter than usual; Himawari did show up for the latter half, sitting close to him but not speaking much, and then excused herself again. She was really good at playing up the desperate crush, almost too good it seemed, but if it was helping what right did he have to complain?
He could see her now, getting ready to enter the seating area for the competition. Hide, or sit with her? It really was a tough decision; each choice had its merits. He chewed on his lip, his eyes automatically going to the little area where all the team players were. They lit up on the figure of his crush and he just wanted to sigh in longing, but not the physical kind, for once. He yearned for Doumeki's smiles and touch; to have more times like when Yuuko had sent them on the mission and they had cuddled ever so briefly. He wanted Doumeki to hold his hand as they walked down the street, or for the archer to ask him out on a date.
"You know, drooling in public isn't the best idea."
"I wasn't drooling," he snapped, glaring at Yuuko who had suddenly shown up behind him. His eyes narrowed and he asked suspiciously over the general buzz of the crowd. "What are you doing here, Yuuko san?"
"Making sure our plan works," she replied with a smile and literally dragged him to sit next to Himawari.
He felt small and quite scared as he was pinned between the two scheming women, Himawari on his right and Yuuko on his left. But when the competition started and the hush fell over all present, he forgot about them. With a breathless anticipation, his waited through all the team members until it was Doumeki's turn. And though he knew that it wasn't hard for the taller boy to hit the target, he did it all the time with spirits, he found that he gripped the edge of his seat a little harder than necessary.
THUNK
There was a faint, low cheer from the Doumeki fanclub when the arrow hit the bull's-eye and he let out a breath. He caught Yuuko's knowing smirk and glance and glared back, crossing his arms over his chest and determined not to give her any more easy targets.
"Do you remember everything, Watanuki kun?"
Watanuki scratched the back of his head at Himawari's prodding, wishing he could do this some other time. The competition was over, people filtering away, but both of the schemers had urged him to stay and ask about the summerhouse. He glanced over his shoulder at Yuuko lurking in the shadows, and she gave him a thumbs up and an evil grin.
Oh god…
This was tantamount to asking Doumeki out for a date and he had never been so nervous in his life. He looked forward to all the time they would have together alone, but it was getting to that point that was the tricky part.
Watanuki didn't even realize that Himawari had dragged him over to meet Doumeki until he was standing in front of that impressive figure and those expressionless eyes. He swallowed dryly.
"We just wanted to congratulate you, Doumeki kun, on your competition." When the archer's eyes glanced at him, as if asking for confirmation, he looked away with a slight tinge on his cheeks and muttered, "I suppose congratulations are in order." He didn't want it to seem like he had secretly gone to all his competitions, even though he had. Maybe, if things worked out, he would tell him the whole truth about his attempts.
"Thanks."
"Your welcome!" Himawari said, acting as if she were halfway between forced enthusiasm and true joy. She gave him a pointed look and inwardly he blanched. His heart was already beating double time as it was.
"Hey, Doumeki."
The archer turned around after he had put up his bow and waited. He swallowed again and tried not to glance at Himawari for confidence. That would ruin the whole idea of her being there when he asked him.
"You got anything planned for next week?"
"No."
"Yuuko san's sending me off to a summerhouse and I can bring one person with me." He didn't mention that it was Yuuko's summerhouse that would, by necessity, not have any spirits in it. Doumeki seemed to wait, as if he didn't quite know where it was going. You loveable idiot… "I don't want to be bothered by spirits the whole week and not get any rest, so come with me."
"Oh, Watanuki kun, a summerhouse sounds awesome!" If he didn't know better, he would have sworn she really was jealous. He was growing more nervous and terrified of her as the days went past. He really had no idea that this side of her existed!
No expression crossed that stoic face at the demand and yet at the same time, somehow question. He had just blurted it out in the first way that came to mind. It hadn't been gracious at all, and clumsy, but at least it was out in the open and didn't make Doumeki all that suspicious.
"Sure. So long as you make lunch."
He swallowed his first reaction to bounce around in joy that Doumeki agreed. Yuuko had advised him repeatedly to not act quite as antagonistic as usual, so he bit down on the habit of reply that would have come out and asked, "What do you want? I need to know so I can buy the ingredients."
Was it his imagination, or was there surprised interest in those golden eyes? It was gone in seconds, so he was almost sure that it hadn't ever been there and it was his mind playing tricks on him.
Watanuki couldn't hold in his incredulous reply, though, as Doumeki seemed to list off every single out of season or hard to make dish possible. "You bastard! What do you think I'm made of, huh! Do you know how hard it is to find the ingredients, much less make it!"
Doumeki just stuck his hands in his ears.