When time stood still for love (3/6)
Title: When time stood still for love (3/6) [ENISHI]
Pairing: Watanuki/Doumeki
Rating: PG
Warning: Character death
Author’s note: AU-ish because of an established relationship. Set during Watanuki’s ownership of the shop. Written to the xxxHolic soundtrack by S.E.N.S. Project. Thanks for reading and enjoy! ^_^
P.S. Please don’t flame me after you read this... It’s only the third part, after all. *sheepish expression*
Part One
Part Two
The afternoon of March 1...
Just as Watanuki had hoped for, the sky remained clear. That was good. It meant that the little birthday party they would be having for Doumeki would take place in the garden as planned. It wasn’t really a formal party, more like a birthday picnic under the blooming trees. That was the way Doumeki liked it and Watanuki didn’t argue.
Watanuki glanced over his shoulder at the clock that hung from the wall. It was just a quarter past two. That meant that Doumeki’s class had already ended. At three, Kohane’s class would end so Doumeki would probably wait for her. They’d be going to the grocery together, after all.
He returned his gaze to the bowl of white flour in front of him. That gave him some time to bake and decorate the cake. Maybe he could also get started on one or two of the dishes? He had most of the ingredients here anyway and it’ll make it easier for everyone later. He’d be done by the time Kohane and Doumeki arrived so Kohane would have the kitchen all to herself.
Smiling, he remembered how he had wondered what Kohane planned to make. He had tried to pry it out of her the past few days so they wouldn’t be making the same dishes but she had remained adamantly silent on that. She had only smiled sweetly and said that it was a surprise.
Oba-san was much more accommodating with information. She had confided that Kohane had been practicing making onigiri with as many different stuffing she could think of. Salmon flakes, mashed eggs, shredded cheese...Kohane had gone on and on trying to find the perfect stuffing. Remembering the long list of stuffing Oba-san had recited made Watanuki’s smile widen. Well, there was no doubt that they would be having a varied array of onigiri tonight.
He began to measure out the other ingredients for the cake. Through the window, he could see that Maru and Moro were already bringing out a huge woven mat. They laid it on the grass under the shade of a tree then started to chase Mokona all over it. He chuckled and went back to the cake.
Thirty minutes later, the cake was nearly done and Watanuki was chopping up some ingredients. Outside, Moro and Maru had already finished bringing out a low table. Now they were playing around with the table cloth, pretending that it was a parachute. Watanuki opened the window and called out to them.
“Be careful with that! You don’t want to rip it.”
“Hai!” They answered in unison, laying the table cloth on the table and smoothing out the creases.
He went back to chopping when the potato slipped from his grasp just as he brought the knife down. The sharp pain jolted him, making him gasp. He lifted his hand and saw that his pinky finger was bleeding. He stared long and hard at it before running out of the kitchen.
His heart began to race for some reason. Watanuki wasn’t sure why. He told himself that he was just in a hurry to get to the first aid kit so that he could do something about his finger and return to cooking. Kohane and Doumeki could be here anytime soon and if he wasn’t finished by then...
Doumeki...
Suddenly, he was hearing Yuuko’s voice in his head. Remember what a pinky finger represents, Watanuki. He swallowed a lump, not noticing that he had run past the cupboard that held the first aid kit. Instead, he found himself heading towards the front door at full speed. Once he got there, he threw the door wide open and ran outside.
He slowed to a stop when he saw Kohane and Doumeki standing near the gate.
“Kohane-chan...Doumeki...you’re early...” Watanuki said slowly, although that wasn’t what he really wanted to say.
He knew.
He knew, even from the distance he was standing. He knew without looking at Kohane who was clearly trying to stop herself from crying. He knew what had happened.
He knew the truth.
“Watanuki-kun!” Kohane said in a strangled cry, unable to stifle her sobs any longer.
She ran to him and literally flew into his embrace. She buried her face in his robes and wept. Watanuki wrapped one arm around her and used the other to stroke her hair comfortingly. He could feel his eyes brimming with tears too and soon, both of them were crying.
“Kohane-chan...” Watanuki forced himself to say, “Why don’t you go inside? I need to do something first.”
Kohane looked up at him with puffy eyes and nodded, “I’ll wait for you.”
She freed herself from Watanuki’s embrace and made her way to the door. When she was inside, Watanuki turned his gaze to Doumeki who was still standing near the gate. With hesitant steps, Watanuki moved towards him. He felt a chill run down his spine.
How did it happen? Was it quick and sudden? It must be. Watanuki couldn’t think of any way that it could have long and drawn out. Doumeki had no serious illness to speak of. So then... An accident?
He stopped a foot away from Doumeki and closed his eyes. His mind warred against believing that Doumeki had died but his heart had known the truth from the moment he saw him and Kohane at the gate.
Doumeki was dead.
“Watanuki...”
And yet Watanuki could still hear his voice, could still feel the rushing of air against his skin when Doumeki sighed. He opened his eyes and placed his hands on Doumeki’s cool cheeks.
“If you stay within the grounds of this shop...”
Watanuki found that he couldn’t finish the sentence. He bowed his head as tears streamed down his face. He tried to gulp back his cries but they escaped his lips nonetheless. He hadn’t thought that Doumeki would be taken from him so suddenly. He’d always thought that Doumeki would reach a ripe old age before morbid thoughts of death entered his mind.
But now...
He forced himself to stop crying, just long enough to finish what he had wanted to say. “Doumeki, as long as you are here-”
But Doumeki didn’t let him finish. With a desperation Watanuki had not seen in a long while, Doumeki pulled him into a tight albeit cold embrace and pressed his lips against Watanuki’s ear. With Doumeki so near, Watanuki almost believed that he was alive but the coldness told him the harsh truth over and over again.
“Doumeki...” Watanuki whispered as he wrapped his arms around Doumeki’s waist.
“Watanuki, there’s nowhere else I want to be.”
===
“I don’t know exactly what happened.” Kohane murmured. She set the cup of hot chocolate down on the table. “But the moment it happened, I felt it and I ran out of my class. It looked like a truck had hit Shizuka-kun.”
She paused to take another sip from the cup. “One of the professors at the scene told me that he and Shizuka-kun had gone to the bookshop across the street to get some books. As they were leaving, they saw two guys pestering a girl. Shizuka-kun stopped them but one of them who was bigger than Shizuka-kun punched him and...”
Kohane’s voice trailed into silence. Watanuki tilted his head to look up at the ceiling. He could see it all too clearly in his mind: Doumeki stepping up to help the girl, Doumeki getting into a scuffle, Doumeki getting punched, Doumeki stumbling backward just when a truck was zooming down the road.
Instinctively, Watanuki shut his eyes as if to shut out the images that came tumbling out of his mind. He could only imagine what a horrifying scene it must have been, the sight of a man getting hit with such force that he had died instantaneously. In his mind, he saw Kohane’s reaction the moment it happened, the fear and anguish she must have felt.
“Kohane-chan, thank you for bringing Doumeki here.” He whispered.
Kohane looked at him and smiled sadly, “He wanted to be here.”
They lapsed into silence which was broken only by Kohane’s sipping and the breeze rattling against the door.
“Kohane-chan,” Watanuki said gently as he got up, “I have a favour to ask of you.” When Kohane nodded, Watanuki continued. “There is something I need you to get for me. It’s something that Yuuko-san gave to Doumeki. He was probably carrying it with him today.”
He leaned closer and explained to Kohane what exactly it was and how to get it should she encounter any problems. When he was sure that Kohane understood his instructions, he gave her one last hug and made to leave the room.
“Don’t worry about the cup, Kohane-chan. Just leave it on the table. I’ll get it in the morning so take your time with the hot chocolate.” Watanuki said as he opened the door.
“Thank you, Watanuki-kun.”
He smiled and stepped out of the room. Just when he closed the door, he heard Kohane whisper “I’m sorry, Watanuki-kun.”
Watanuki bent forward until his forehead touched the screen, “I’m sorry too.”
Part Four
Note: It seems like in the manga and anime, spirits or ghosts have solid physical bodies in Yuuko’s shop like the girl ghost who was given bells to make her home less scary. I went with that idea here. ^_^
Pairing: Watanuki/Doumeki
Rating: PG
Warning: Character death
Author’s note: AU-ish because of an established relationship. Set during Watanuki’s ownership of the shop. Written to the xxxHolic soundtrack by S.E.N.S. Project. Thanks for reading and enjoy! ^_^
P.S. Please don’t flame me after you read this... It’s only the third part, after all. *sheepish expression*
Part One
Part Two
The afternoon of March 1...
Just as Watanuki had hoped for, the sky remained clear. That was good. It meant that the little birthday party they would be having for Doumeki would take place in the garden as planned. It wasn’t really a formal party, more like a birthday picnic under the blooming trees. That was the way Doumeki liked it and Watanuki didn’t argue.
Watanuki glanced over his shoulder at the clock that hung from the wall. It was just a quarter past two. That meant that Doumeki’s class had already ended. At three, Kohane’s class would end so Doumeki would probably wait for her. They’d be going to the grocery together, after all.
He returned his gaze to the bowl of white flour in front of him. That gave him some time to bake and decorate the cake. Maybe he could also get started on one or two of the dishes? He had most of the ingredients here anyway and it’ll make it easier for everyone later. He’d be done by the time Kohane and Doumeki arrived so Kohane would have the kitchen all to herself.
Smiling, he remembered how he had wondered what Kohane planned to make. He had tried to pry it out of her the past few days so they wouldn’t be making the same dishes but she had remained adamantly silent on that. She had only smiled sweetly and said that it was a surprise.
Oba-san was much more accommodating with information. She had confided that Kohane had been practicing making onigiri with as many different stuffing she could think of. Salmon flakes, mashed eggs, shredded cheese...Kohane had gone on and on trying to find the perfect stuffing. Remembering the long list of stuffing Oba-san had recited made Watanuki’s smile widen. Well, there was no doubt that they would be having a varied array of onigiri tonight.
He began to measure out the other ingredients for the cake. Through the window, he could see that Maru and Moro were already bringing out a huge woven mat. They laid it on the grass under the shade of a tree then started to chase Mokona all over it. He chuckled and went back to the cake.
Thirty minutes later, the cake was nearly done and Watanuki was chopping up some ingredients. Outside, Moro and Maru had already finished bringing out a low table. Now they were playing around with the table cloth, pretending that it was a parachute. Watanuki opened the window and called out to them.
“Be careful with that! You don’t want to rip it.”
“Hai!” They answered in unison, laying the table cloth on the table and smoothing out the creases.
He went back to chopping when the potato slipped from his grasp just as he brought the knife down. The sharp pain jolted him, making him gasp. He lifted his hand and saw that his pinky finger was bleeding. He stared long and hard at it before running out of the kitchen.
His heart began to race for some reason. Watanuki wasn’t sure why. He told himself that he was just in a hurry to get to the first aid kit so that he could do something about his finger and return to cooking. Kohane and Doumeki could be here anytime soon and if he wasn’t finished by then...
Doumeki...
Suddenly, he was hearing Yuuko’s voice in his head. Remember what a pinky finger represents, Watanuki. He swallowed a lump, not noticing that he had run past the cupboard that held the first aid kit. Instead, he found himself heading towards the front door at full speed. Once he got there, he threw the door wide open and ran outside.
He slowed to a stop when he saw Kohane and Doumeki standing near the gate.
“Kohane-chan...Doumeki...you’re early...” Watanuki said slowly, although that wasn’t what he really wanted to say.
He knew.
He knew, even from the distance he was standing. He knew without looking at Kohane who was clearly trying to stop herself from crying. He knew what had happened.
He knew the truth.
“Watanuki-kun!” Kohane said in a strangled cry, unable to stifle her sobs any longer.
She ran to him and literally flew into his embrace. She buried her face in his robes and wept. Watanuki wrapped one arm around her and used the other to stroke her hair comfortingly. He could feel his eyes brimming with tears too and soon, both of them were crying.
“Kohane-chan...” Watanuki forced himself to say, “Why don’t you go inside? I need to do something first.”
Kohane looked up at him with puffy eyes and nodded, “I’ll wait for you.”
She freed herself from Watanuki’s embrace and made her way to the door. When she was inside, Watanuki turned his gaze to Doumeki who was still standing near the gate. With hesitant steps, Watanuki moved towards him. He felt a chill run down his spine.
How did it happen? Was it quick and sudden? It must be. Watanuki couldn’t think of any way that it could have long and drawn out. Doumeki had no serious illness to speak of. So then... An accident?
He stopped a foot away from Doumeki and closed his eyes. His mind warred against believing that Doumeki had died but his heart had known the truth from the moment he saw him and Kohane at the gate.
Doumeki was dead.
“Watanuki...”
And yet Watanuki could still hear his voice, could still feel the rushing of air against his skin when Doumeki sighed. He opened his eyes and placed his hands on Doumeki’s cool cheeks.
“If you stay within the grounds of this shop...”
Watanuki found that he couldn’t finish the sentence. He bowed his head as tears streamed down his face. He tried to gulp back his cries but they escaped his lips nonetheless. He hadn’t thought that Doumeki would be taken from him so suddenly. He’d always thought that Doumeki would reach a ripe old age before morbid thoughts of death entered his mind.
But now...
He forced himself to stop crying, just long enough to finish what he had wanted to say. “Doumeki, as long as you are here-”
But Doumeki didn’t let him finish. With a desperation Watanuki had not seen in a long while, Doumeki pulled him into a tight albeit cold embrace and pressed his lips against Watanuki’s ear. With Doumeki so near, Watanuki almost believed that he was alive but the coldness told him the harsh truth over and over again.
“Doumeki...” Watanuki whispered as he wrapped his arms around Doumeki’s waist.
“Watanuki, there’s nowhere else I want to be.”
===
“I don’t know exactly what happened.” Kohane murmured. She set the cup of hot chocolate down on the table. “But the moment it happened, I felt it and I ran out of my class. It looked like a truck had hit Shizuka-kun.”
She paused to take another sip from the cup. “One of the professors at the scene told me that he and Shizuka-kun had gone to the bookshop across the street to get some books. As they were leaving, they saw two guys pestering a girl. Shizuka-kun stopped them but one of them who was bigger than Shizuka-kun punched him and...”
Kohane’s voice trailed into silence. Watanuki tilted his head to look up at the ceiling. He could see it all too clearly in his mind: Doumeki stepping up to help the girl, Doumeki getting into a scuffle, Doumeki getting punched, Doumeki stumbling backward just when a truck was zooming down the road.
Instinctively, Watanuki shut his eyes as if to shut out the images that came tumbling out of his mind. He could only imagine what a horrifying scene it must have been, the sight of a man getting hit with such force that he had died instantaneously. In his mind, he saw Kohane’s reaction the moment it happened, the fear and anguish she must have felt.
“Kohane-chan, thank you for bringing Doumeki here.” He whispered.
Kohane looked at him and smiled sadly, “He wanted to be here.”
They lapsed into silence which was broken only by Kohane’s sipping and the breeze rattling against the door.
“Kohane-chan,” Watanuki said gently as he got up, “I have a favour to ask of you.” When Kohane nodded, Watanuki continued. “There is something I need you to get for me. It’s something that Yuuko-san gave to Doumeki. He was probably carrying it with him today.”
He leaned closer and explained to Kohane what exactly it was and how to get it should she encounter any problems. When he was sure that Kohane understood his instructions, he gave her one last hug and made to leave the room.
“Don’t worry about the cup, Kohane-chan. Just leave it on the table. I’ll get it in the morning so take your time with the hot chocolate.” Watanuki said as he opened the door.
“Thank you, Watanuki-kun.”
He smiled and stepped out of the room. Just when he closed the door, he heard Kohane whisper “I’m sorry, Watanuki-kun.”
Watanuki bent forward until his forehead touched the screen, “I’m sorry too.”
Part Four
Note: It seems like in the manga and anime, spirits or ghosts have solid physical bodies in Yuuko’s shop like the girl ghost who was given bells to make her home less scary. I went with that idea here. ^_^