2. Golden

Doumeki woke up that morning with a deep feeling of uneasiness placed in his stomach. The lack of sleep and the memories of the previous day were also making his life a little more miserable. He thought about Watanuki once again, while he was brushing his teeth. Why was he asking him for sex? And why was he willing to pay for something that Doumeki would do for free? The foolishness of the bespectacled boy always surprised him.

Then again, maybe it wasn't really Watanuki's fault in this case. So far, the whole ad mix-up had been the only instance the topic had been breached, and not even properly at that.

He ate his breakfast unenthusiastically but without complains. His mother wasn't really a skilled cook, she tended to burn even corn flakes, and her misoshiru was brown coloured water with creepy lumps of too-soft tofu and pieces of wakame seaweed which looked as if they had been taken from "The Swamp Thing".

Doumeki sighed, thinking about Watanuki's tasty and nutritional bento.

00000

Watanuki wrapped up his bento and Himawari's. He was a picture of anger. Even his hair was unrulier than usual, as if the fire of his rage was messing with Watanuki's locks. Some words such as "dumbass" or "dickhead" were muttered by the blue-eyed teen as his body was occasionally shaken by spasms of sheer fury.

He left, ready for high school, muttering angrily sour words directed to Doumeki and his lack of seriousness. A tall figure was standing in the street, waiting for him.

-Speaking of the devil… -said Watanuki, exuding bitterness. Doumeki was as calm as ever, which made Watanuki even angrier.

-Where's my bento? –asked Doumeki. That made Watanuki snap.

-Is that the only thing you're able to talk about?! There's no bento for you today, not after what you did yesterday! AND I DON'T THINK THERE'S GONNA BE MORE FOOD FOR YOU FROM NOW ON!

Panting, he glared at the taller boy for a while, waiting for an excuse, or just some words, that could justify his actions.

-I left a note –said Doumeki, feeling a bit guilty. After all, that had been a lie, and he didn't like to lie to Watanuki.

-Yes, I saw your note – said Watanuki, abandoning his usual loudness - And that wasn't enough. You made me feel like a fool.

And, with this, he stomped off, walking as fast as he could, trying to control his racing heart.

Doumeki remained frozen in the same spot, astonished and slightly alarmed by the unnatural sombre tone of voice that Watanuki had used before.

-This time –he said to himself – he's really pissed off.

00000

The day wasn't as cold as the previous days. The snow had melted, and only the roof tops and the highest parts of the trees were wearing a white shiny icing.

Himawari smiled, looking at the scenery, admiring the beauty of Nature.

But she wasn't really interested in the beholding of Tokyo's winter landscapes.

She turned her head, eyeing her two friends appraisingly. There was something wrong going on, and she wasn't sure what it was, but it made eating lunch together uncomfortable.

The boys were extremely silent, and Doumeki wasn't eating his usual bento prepared by Watanuki. In fact, there wasn't bento at all. He was munching some dorayaki and drinking a can of tea.

She closed her pink lunchbox and stood up. Whatever the problem was, it was obvious it wasn't going to resolve itself as long as she was still there.

-Well, I've got to leave –she said. Both of them looked at her, each one in a different way. Watanuki seemed to be drowning in misery, while Doumeki looked quite relieved. Himawari smiled and left them to fix their problems by themselves.

Doumeki took advantage of the situation.

-Why do you wanna do it?

Watanuki blushed furiously, spluttering incoherently at the bluntness of Doumeki's question.

-Wha-wha-wha-wha…?

-Why me? –insisted Doumeki, getting closer. Watanuki shrugged, looking at everywhere except at his rival.

-I just want to make sure…

-What?

-I want to make sure that I'm not homosexual, damn it!!

Doumeki flinched as if he'd been hit.

-And… and then I saw your ad, and it seemed the best option –continued the mismatched-eyed teen – You're not a stranger, and the fact that I'm paying you makes everything more… professional.

-And colder –added Doumeki – Are you sure you're ok with this? You could find any man you'd like.

-I'm sure. It must be you.

00000

Ichihara Yuuko was lounging comfortably on a chaise longue, sipping pensively on a cup of sake and admiring her newest acquisition: an ukiyo-e picture of a dancing woman surrounded by butterflies, which she held gracefully on her free hand.

She caught a glimpse of Watanuki's reflection on the picture's silver frame.

-What's wrong, Watanuki? –she asked. He fidgeted a bit.

-I was wondering… if you don't mind… I've already cleaned the house and prepared dinner…so… Could I leave a bit earlier today?

Yuuko looked at him wickedly.

-My, does our little Watanuki have plans for tonight, perhaps?

-What's with the possessive?!

-Ok.

Watanuki blinked, surprised at being interrupted while he was immersed in his anger. He left the room before Yuuko could change her mind and left the shop. The cold air cleared his mind and relaxed him. Well, not completely, considering that hysterics was Watanuki's natural condition.

He began to wonder what was going to happen once they were in the bedroom. How would it be? Doumeki was going to be the one in control, there weren't any doubts about that. Surprisingly, Watanuki wasn't angry about being the passive part. After all, a bit of discomfort would probably be welcome, since the whole point of the experience was for Watanuki to prove to himself exactly how unpleasant and disgusting he found even the idea of a gay sexual encounter.

That was also his motivation for choosing Doumeki as his "partner".

His way home had never seemed so long. His rival was waiting for him by the time Watanuki arrived.

-You're late –Doumeki said.

-I'm not late, I even asked Yuuko to leave earlier!

-Hum.

-Don't "hum" me!

Actually, Doumeki was a bit nervous. More than that. He was being torn apart by two entirely opposite arguments. On the one hand, he wanted to tell the truth to Watanuki. On the other hand, the idea of having sex with him was erasing his doubts and practically all his sensible thoughts at high speed.

-Are you hungry? –asked Watanuki.

-Yes. But I don't want to eat anything yet. – he said. He didn't want to lose his nerve before he could actually go through with it.

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence.

-Okay, let's start –said Watanuki. He wanted to get it over with as soon as possible. Doumeki nodded and made his way into the bedroom, unbuttoning his school uniform jacket, which was followed by his shirt.

-Do you want to take a shower? –asked Doumeki.

-I…I took a bath at Yuuko's – answered Watanuki, blushing.

Doumeki sat down on the futon, shirtless, staring at Watanuki. The blue and golden-eyed boy gulped nervously, not knowing what to do.

-Come on –said Doumeki –, come here.

Watanuki moved closer to him. He remained standing, looking at the seated teen, a bit scared.

-Kneel down –ordered Doumeki, not unkindly. Watanuki obeyed. In fact, his legs had buckled under tension. Now he was between Doumeki's parted legs, waiting. What he was waiting for, he didn't know yet.

-I'm going to kiss you, don't panic –said the amber-eyed teenager.

Watanuki opened his mouth to say that he didn't want kisses; that he wanted to do it quickly and with no foreplay. But Doumeki's lips were now touching his own, driving all objections out of his mind and plunging him into a sea of pleasure.

The archer's tongue touched the corners of Watanuki's mouth, asking for entrance. The paler boy parted his own lips, allowing the wet caress to go deeper, moaning weakly, his ivory fingers grasping the sheets.

Doumeki started undressing Watanuki, looking for more of that alabaster skin, sliding the layers of cloth over trembling shoulders. The golden-eyed boy left the other teen's mouth and began kissing Watanuki's neck, making him shiver.

Watanuki was experiencing quite unsettling sensations. First of all, he was puzzled because his body wasn't reacting as he had expected. In fact, he was sporting a painful erection after just a couple of open-mouthed kisses from his rival. Furthermore, he really wanted to do to Doumeki what the archer was doing to him, exchange strokes and taste his slightly tanned skin.

"-So, maybe I'm homosexual" –Watanuki thought. He froze, suddenly terrified.

Doumeki stroked his shoulders and his back, aware of the fright reflected in those bright eyes. He kissed Watanuki again, slowly and deeply.

-Don't be afraid –he said, removing the other teen's glasses, placing them aside. His amber eyes seemed to be caressing Watanuki's trembling soul.

Three words and Watanuki wasn't afraid anymore.

00000

They were half-asleep, naked and covered in sweat. Watanuki was trying to breath with the full weight of Doumeki on top of him. The taller teen opened his eyes, staring at Watanuki.

-What? –said the bespectacled boy, a soft pink blush covering his cheeks.

Doumeki's only answer was a loud growl coming from his stomach.

-God, now you don't even speak when you ask for food –said Watanuki, rolling his eyes.

-Feed me –ordered the taller teen, nuzzling Watanuki's chest, kissing here and there, steadily going higher up his slender neck.

-You can go to a restaurant with the money I'm going to pay you –teased Watanuki – Why should I break my back cooking for you?

-I'm not taking it.

-What?

-Your money. I don't want it.

Watanuki frowned, his blush increasing.

-But…

-No buts –cut Doumeki.

-Why don't you want my money?

-This –he said, glancing at their entangled limbs – was something I wanted too.

-Ah… o-okay –said the bespectacled boy, red as a cherry.

They remained in silence for a while, until they were interrupted by another growl from Doumeki's belly.

-Ok, ok, I'm on it!

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Glossary:

Misoshiru: Japanese soup made with miso paste, a kind of seaweed called "wakame", tofu and spring onion. Japanese people take it almost for every meal.

Dorayaki: Japanese bun made of honey flavoured sponge-cake filled with red bean paste. Dorayaki is Doraemon's favourite sweet!

Ukiyo-e : "pictures of the floating world", is a genre of Japanese woodblocks prints and paintings produced between the 17th and the 20th centuries, featuring motifs of landscapes, tales from history, the theatre and pleasure quarters. It is the main artistic genre of woodblock printing in Japan.

(Thanks Wikipedia for the "ukiyo-e" definition)