(Untitled)

[drunkkareoke]

Who: Haku, Doumeki, Watanuki
What: Oh the weather outside is frightful... but a walk across a frozen river isn't much better.
When: Backdate, December 21, after the first day of the Feast of Rebirth
Where: Meria

Comments

[april1st_kanji]

Watanuki nodded, "Yeah...I just need some rest...one of the nurses said the doctor would talk to me in the morning..." He fell backwards into the pillows and winced a little as the pain in his chest flared up again. He needed to remember to talk to the doctor about that too.

[drunkkareoke]

Quietly, Doumeki nodded and stood. At the door, he hesitated, as if there were more that he wanted to say, but all that came out was a quiet "Feel better..." before he slipped out.

Nick was absent again, Haku was still asleep, and he was free to sulk back to his own room and flop down on the bed with a sigh. Shivering, he tugged the blankets over himself, staring at the wall blankly.

A sigh, and he slipped in to a restless sleep.

---

Several hours later, Haku was sitting in Watanuki's room. She'd woken up some time before and found everyone else asleep. She didn't want to wake anyone, but she thought at least Watanuki would like the company.

Occupying the chair Doumeki had earlier, she folded little pieces of paper in to cranes, humming softly to herself.

[april1st_kanji]

Watanuki had been dozing on and off for the past few hours, unable to truly fall asleep, despite how tired he felt. Opening his eyes and glancing blearily around the room, he noticed Yowane-san had come in and was sitting next to the bed.

"Yowane-san...? Why are you still here?" He asked after a few moments.

[drunkkareoke]

"Mm... I wanted to make sure you and Dou-kun were okay," Haku said, smiling sadly up at him. She finished the crane she was working on and held it out to him in the palm of her hand.

"And... Nicky is asleep."

[april1st_kanji]

He took the tiny crane and pulled the neck and the tail so it flapped its wings. "Thank you...you know...I don't blame you...its as much my fault as anyone else's. After all, it all turned out alright."

[drunkkareoke]

"You... you heard that..." Haku muttered, blinking a few times and looking away, chewing on her lower lip.

[april1st_kanji]

"No...but...well I'm not that dense..." Watanuki said, turning a little pink and crossing his arms in a slightly annoyed fashion. "You're a nice person Yowane-san...and you worry about other people...so I guessed you might think it was your fault. But I don't want you to worry about it anymore. Okay?"

[drunkkareoke]

"It's not that simple for me..." Haku admitted softly, "I can't just forget about it. It's in my memory now..."

Rubbing at her eyes with both hands, she slumped forward.

"Humans don't know how lucky they are... memories fade with time. Bad and good. I've got some gaps in my memory banks from a-an accident... but besides that, it's all there. Every little thing that's ever happened to me or that I've ever seen happen to some one else..."

A deep breath, and she added in a tiny voice, "I saw you disappear..."

[april1st_kanji]

Watanuki frowned and took Yowane-san's hand, "I made a promise that I wouldn't disappear. I'll keep that promise as best I can...because I don't want my friends to be sad and miss me."

He grinned, "Plus without me, I think Doumeki would starve. I couldn't let that happen either."

[drunkkareoke]

Haku put her hand to her mouth, trying not to sob but failing.

"I-I'm sorry..." she managed, a few tears slipping free. She grabbed a few tissues from the beside table, rubbing at her face again. After a minute, she had some composure back and was able to force a tiny smile out.

"I would miss you... and Dou-kun would miss you for a lot more than your cooking..."

[april1st_kanji]

'He wouldn't admit that though...' Watanuki thought, still trying to smile.

"I'm sure they'll let us both go home tomorrow...or the next day at the latest."

[drunkkareoke]

"I'll come visit when I have time," Haku offered warmly, smiling a little more.

"I hope you both feel better by Christmas, though. It's only a couple of days away."

[april1st_kanji]

"Christmas..." Watanuki said softly, letting the word settle. He'd never really celebrated Christmas, not like Westerners did at least. He'd given presents to people he knew, his guardians and such. But it just wasn't a big holiday. Here it seemed more so.

"I wasn't really planning anything...maybe I'll cook something..."

[drunkkareoke]

"Oh..." Haku said, a little surprised. It was one of the few holidays the 'loids actually did something for. Even though she knew it was no where near the extent that some people celebrated Christmas.

"If you feel up to it. If you're still not well, I can bring something over. You shouldn't stress over it... you and Dou-kun need a lot of rest."

[april1st_kanji]

Watanuki smiled, "It's okay...its not a big deal." He looked back into his hands at the crane Yowane-san had made him again. It was so fragile, just like humans, and emotions...but if you tried to force it to do something it couldn't (or didn't want to) do it would rip. He needed to remember that.

Doumeki had become so adept at avoiding his questions and changing the subject...but if you pulled slowly, the wings flapped. Maybe Doumeki just needed more time than other people to open up his wings...

"Thanks Yowane-san...I'll do my best to get better soon so I can make you and Stokes-san something."

[drunkkareoke]

Again, Haku smiled, but there was no reply aside from a short nod from her.

After a few seconds stretched in silence, she ventured a question. It was a guess, really, but she'd had a feeling something like it had happened.

"Did... Dou-kun come visit you a little while ago?"