Watanuki blinked his sleepy eyes open. He felt mildly confused as he awoke. He was warm and content and felt vaguely satisfied in a way he'd never felt before. But... something was... different? Yes... definitely different...

It was so quiet...

With a gasp of breath he went to sit upright. He found himself very irritated to find a large, heavy arm slung across his chest and keeping him on the futon. "Doumeki!" He hissed. "You're heavy!"

"... Hn..." Doumeki grunted. He moved a little as Watanuki woke him as well. His muscles stretched then tightened, which pulled Watanuki closer still.

"Doumeki..." Watanuki growled.

"Noisy," Doumeki mumbled. "Go back to sleep."

"I can't do that! We have school today! Get up! Doumeki!"

"Shizuka," he corrected, his eyes still closed.

"Don't be so-"

"Shizuka," Doumeki interrupted. "I told you that last night."

There was an audible snap as Watanuki closed his mouth. A fine dusting of a blush spread across his cheeks. He rolled over and started to push away Doumeki's still unmoved arm. "It's quiet this morning. There aren't any spirits anywhere, not even at the windows." Finally he managed to push away the offending limb and started to crawl out from underneath the covers.

Doumeki opened his eyes when he heard a small hiss of discomfort from his sleeping partner. "Are you all right?"

"Fine," Watanuki bit out.

Doumeki continued to stare at Watanuki's back. "Are you sure? You're probably a little sore."

"Well, I wouldn't be sore right now if you hadn't... with your..." Watanuki's face heated up even more. He was already in the makings of getting thrown into another animated fit.

Doumeki smirked in a very satisfied way. "If I remember, you were the one that pushed me on the ground to go on top. Any roughness you did to yourself."

"That's because you weren't hitting the right spot! It didn't feel as good!"

Doumeki smirked again even wider.

Watanuki's eyes went wide when he realized what he had just said. He stood up and scowled darkly. He grabbed the blankets and wrapped them around himself as he stood up and walked towards the bathroom. He looked back behind him at Doumeki's naked form as he lay on the futon, uncaring that he was completely exposed. The taller male rested a hand on his chest as he rubbed sleep from his eyes. "Have you no shame?" Watanuki demanded.

Doumeki looked at him. It was one of those looks, the one that said he was staring at an idiot. "What should I be ashamed of?"

"P-Pervert!" He stuttered, then shuffled into the bathroom to shower.

. . . . . . . .

Watanuki found himself getting harassed as he made their lunchboxes for the day. Arms as thick and sturdy as tree branches slipped around his waist and pulled him in against a broad chest. "Do you mind?" He squeaked. "I'm trying to cook!"

"Is there inarizushi?" Doumeki asked him.

"Is there-" Watanuki started to rage. "Do you have any idea how long it takes to cook that? I don't even have all the ingredients!"

"Then... rice balls?"

"Of course there's rice balls!" Watanuki pointed sharply at his dining table. "Go eat your breakfast."

Doumeki looked at the table. A big bowl of tamagoyaki was waiting for him. "I thought you said you couldn't afford to feed me."

"I can't," Watanuki snapped. "This will be the last of my food for a couple of days."

Doumeki frowned. He didn't like that answer at all. "Wait for me after practice today. We'll go to the grocery store."

"With what money?" Watanuki asked hotly.

"I have some," Doumeki answered. He released his hold on the shorter male and seated himself at the table.

"And you just expect me to wait for you after school?" Watanuki asked with disdain. He brought over a cup of tea and sat it next to Doumeki's bowl.

"Yes," was the stoic reply.

Watanuki sat down heavily on the other side of the table. "I'm not happy about this, for the record. I didn't ask for your help."

Doumeki looked up from his meal. "Would you rather be dead?"

Watanuki looked shocked at the question, then snarled. "Don't ask stupid questions!"

"It's not a stupid question. Do you want to live?"

The blue eyed teenager found himself suddenly very uncomfortable as he was pinned with that sharp golden stare. Doumeki was serious about this question. He squirmed a little in his seat. He hated how Doumeki could stare at him as though he were a misbehaving child. "I want to live," he said at length. "I do."

Doumeki nodded. He appeared to accept the answer. "Good." He took another bite of food. "Then wait for me after school."

"Tch!" Watanuki stood up and headed into the kitchen to finish with their lunches. At least he had stopped arguing about grocery shopping.

They walked together down the sidewalk towards Private Cross High School that morning. Watanuki seemed like he couldn't decide if he wanted to walk just ahead of Doumeki, slink along behind him, or suck it up and walk beside him. Doumeki found the wide mix of emotions baffling and amusing all at the same time.

"Don't even breathe a word of this at school," Watanuki warned before they entered the gates. "You'll be fine, I'm sure, but I get picked on enough as it is. The bullies will never let me live this down if they find out."

"Hm," Doumeki hummed noncommittally. Watanuki glowered because it was not the agreement he'd been looking for.

No one stared as they walked in to school together and went their separate ways to their lockers. Watanuki stowed away his lunch box as he always did in the mornings and went to his first class, homework in hand. He headed straight for the back of the classroom. At least he wouldn't have to feel Doumeki's eyes staring at his back if he was in the last row. It would be too awkward.

It was quiet all through their first period English class. No one seemed keen on speaking up much that day and Watanuki made it into second period without being ridiculed by someone yet. That in itself was a bit of a blessing. Maybe that... warding... stuff... whatever Doumeki wanted to call it, helped to make him less noticeable to normal people too? That would be a valued benefit if it was the case!

Third period was a math test. Doumeki had been bent over his work for nearly half an hour trying to puzzle out the equations. While he certainly didn't lag in any of his classes he couldn't say he really liked mathematics. He found them boring, really. In his boredom he was quick to pick up on the sound of someone coughing a few seats behind him. Extremely sensitive to such an act after the previous night Doumeki whipped his head around to see Watanuki leaning over his desk, one hand covering his mouth and nose and another wrapped around his neck.

Again... it's happening again...

He coughed more, loud and wheezing and it looked like he wasn't going to stop.

Muwahara-sensei came up to the noisy student's desk to check on him. "Watanuki-kun, are you all right?"

Watanuki made a strange sort of strangled noise deep in his throat, his eyes wide. Everyone was staring.

Doumeki stood up and walked directly to Watanuki's side. "I'll take him to the nurse, sensei." He pulled Watanuki up out of his desk and started towards the door.

"Yes, thank you, Doumeki-kun. You'll be excused from your math test for now. You can complete it later this week."

Doumeki spared the math teacher a glance before he ushered his charge out of the door. "Thank you, sensei."

Instead of going to the nurse's office Doumeki grabbed Watanuki's hand and started running towards the restrooms. He was very grateful that their school had a separate, single, lockable restroom for disabled individuals. He shoved the coughing boy inside, locked the door, and pushed Watanuki against the wall and kissed him. He definitely did not like the feeling of the shorter male coughing against his face so forcefully, but eventually Watanuki was able to calm down and breathe normally. As with the night before he responded to the kisses with surprising gusto. It was nearly five minutes before they broke apart for air.

Doumeki pulled away briefly. Watanuki gasped for breath – softly and sweetly and not with even a trace of pain – and moaned out "Shizuka," and his hand pulled at Doumeki's shirt tightly.

Doumeki felt an uncontrolled shiver roll gently down his spine at the appreciated use of his given name. "Kimihiro," he said back.

Watanuki let his head fall back against the wall and closed his eyes. "...Stupid," he muttered. He squeezed his eyes closed.

Doumeki checked his watch. It was ten thirty in the morning. It didn't seem to have lasted very long. "What time did we have sex last night?"

Watanuki's face immediately heated up and his eyes flew open. "What? How can you ask that so casually?"

Doumeki blinked with surprise. "What, sex?"

Watanuki looked appropriately violated. "Yes, that! Don't say it like that!"

"Why?"

Watanuki's muscles vibrated with frustration. Why did the bastard have to look so bored talking about such a sensitive topic? "Because, you uncivilized cretin! It's crude, that's why!"

Doumeki almost snorted. "Then what should I call it?"

Er... "It's not something you're supposed to talk about!" The way the blush kept growing was really cute Doumeki observed.

Doumeki sighed. "You still didn't answer my question."

"What, what time?"

"Yeah."

Watanuki looked off to the side, as though looking away negated the fact he was still pinned in Doumeki's arms against the wall with one of his legs hooked pleasantly around the taller male's waist. "I don't know, around ten-ish? I was kind of asleep when I was attacked."

Doumeki nodded. "Twelve hours."

"...What?" Watanuki asked, his voice suddenly weak. He felt he knew the answer but he did not want to hear it confirmed.

"It lasted twelve hours," Doumeki elaborated. "The ward that... intimacy created, lasted twelve hours."

Slowly his eyes started to grow wider and wider. "Are you saying that... we have to... twice a day? Every twelve hours?"

Doumeki started to unbutton the top of his shirt. "Looks like it."

He squeaked. In a most horrid and very undignified manner Watanuki squeaked. He couldn't even fathom that he'd done it once already, and with Doumeki of all people! But twice a day every twelve hours? "I'll never be able to walk again!" Was the first thing he cried out.

Doumeki smirked. "There are other things that can be done."

The blush on his face felt hot. He knew he looked like a tomato. "How would you know?"

"Grandfather's library is huge. There's a good sized section of it that's dedicated to kama sutra books. They were very informative."

"P-Pervert!" Dammit, he squeaked again. Watanuki almost wondered if he should go with the alternative. Maybe choking to death would be preferable to having Doumeki all over him twice a day. And every twelve hours! Like clockwork!

He was going to die anyway.