(Untitled)

[unlucky_prophet]

WHO: Doumeki, Watanuki [open?]
WHAT: Delayed birthday wishes
WHERE: Moving from Yuuko's shop to the temple
WHEN: The weekend after Doumeki's birthday

Watanuki was fiddling nervously with the corner of his apron as he sat in the kitchen. Hopefully Yuuko-san was appeased enough with the snacks and he would be able to just leave when--er, gods, that'

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[silent_archer]

Doumeki simply raised an eyebrow at Watanuki's retort, amused by his choice of words. He placed the plates and chopsticks at their usual sitting place.

The archer was taken by surprise by the other male's unexpected declaration. He wondered briefly why Watanuki had said such thing, but when he saw how tensed the smaller teen was, Shizuka realized the underlying meaning of the trivial words. He took a slight step forward, the need of comforting the pale boy becoming almost unbearable. But the archer frowned instead:

"....There's a difference between being an airhead someday and truly forgetting things...."

As he left the dinning room to get the tea despite the order to sit down by Kimihiro, Shizuka struggled a moment to try and think of the right thing to say. He knew the seer was worried about forgetting everything, and the taller male would have been lying if he was saying that he wasn't too. But he wanted to believe that Kimihiro wasn't in the process of losing all his memories. He wanted to believe that all those short attention span had a good reason to it and that, most importantly, there was a solution to it.

Once the teapot on the table, Shizuka finally sat down at the table. As he looked at Kimihiro, he couldn't help to think that he would go to World's End to help regain his memories.

[unlucky_prophet]

"I'm not an airhead," Watanuki returned automatically in a sharp voice as he continued to arrange the food in the skillet. The smell of the steak was already wafting around the room. He kept his gaze away from Shizuka's as he cooked the food carefully--concentrating on not overcooking the vegetables and the meat.

"I know what you're thinking," he said after a long pause, still not looking up at the archer. "But I'm determined to not reach that point... I'm sure you know that I won't be able to give up." The boy smiled slightly at the carrots as he piled them into the skillet. "And I suppose that whatever I forget makes room for new memories right?" Kimihiro set the skillet back down on the table and reached for the tea pot--his hand hovering next to Shizuka's.

Slowly, he turned his eyes up to the other male. "I know it hurts me to know that I'm forgetting something, although I'm not always sure what it is I'm forgetting..." His fingers carefully curled over Doumeki's. "But you can't let it hurt you, because you have to help me make new memories." The smile wavered, becoming a little more solid for a moment.

[silent_archer]

Doumeki let Watanuki's word sink in, watching the skilled hands working the vegetables and the meat. He trusted the other male to never give up on himself. The seer had changed over time and Shizuka was more and more certain that the bi-color eyed boy had understood that he was important to other people and that self-sacrifice was not always the best solution.

As he felt the small hand curled around his, the archer looked up and twisted his fingers around Watanuki's, squeezing it gently. The next words left him truly speechless. He felt a wave of warmth spread through his body and his heart felt so light that it seemed to be filled with helium. In the back of his mind, he couldn't think of a better birthday gift then what Kimihiro had just said.

Leaning forward as he pulled softly on the seer's hand, he brushed his lips against Kimihiro's.

"Aah" he simply said before kissing his boyfriend properly, sealing the silent promise he had just made to him.

[unlucky_prophet]

Watanuki returned the kiss shyly, gripping Shizuka's hand in his own. He wasn't too sure how easy that promise would be, or how likely he was to start stumbling along the way. But he could tell that Doumeki would be with him the whole way, and that made him happy.

The boy pulled back, a bright smile on his face. He sat that way for a few seconds before he suddenly jumped and turned to look at the skillet. "Ah! I'm burning some of the vegetables!" he whined, quickly reaching out and pulling out the wilting greens. "Ahh I guess we can start eating..." Watanuki muttered nervously, giving a small laugh and bringing up his small plate to serve himself.

[silent_archer]

Doumeki waited for Watanuki to serve himself before filling his plate. The room was filled with a delicious scent and despite the very few burnt vegetables, the mizutaki looked amazing.

The archer ate in silence, as usual, tasting everything to the fullest despite the fast pace he finished his plate. Up until the moment he had taken the first bite he had not thought he was that hungry.

Without asking, he served himself a second time, but not before serving tea to Kimihiro and himself.

[unlucky_prophet]

Watanuki frowned at the archer. "You eat like such a pig!" he scolded, taking his tea. "Slow down, why don't you? It's not like it's going to get up and walk away or anything like that!" He took a sip from his tea and reached out with his chopsticks for some of the vegetables.

The boy fell into silence as well, concentrating on his chopsticks as he ate. After a few moments, Watanuki set down his bowl and folded the wooden eating utensils over it neatly. "Ne... I was just wondering... What do you normally do on your birthday?" He glanced curiously up at Shizuka, his fingers fidgeting nervously on the table top.

[silent_archer]

"I'm hungry" the archer simply replied between two bites.

Once he was done, leaving pretty much nothing to waste in the skillet, Doumeki reflected Watanuki and brought down his bowl and chopsticks on the table.

He thought for a moment before answered the seer's question:

"Nothing much than usual. Chores, school. Dinner with my parents."

It was true. The fact that he was getting older of a year had never really changed his daily routine. His birthday had used to be more busy when his grandfather was around.

"One year, my grandfather brought me to the hot springs in the mountains. He said that it was to purify ourselves for the year to come, but being older now, I think he just wanted to look at the young mikos there," he offered with a small smirk, the memory clearing amusing him.

[unlucky_prophet]

"You're always hungry," Watanuki returned dryly, watching with a small smirk as the food quickly disappeared from the skillet. "I would be very surprised if there was a time when you were not hungry."

The boy sighed, gathering up his strength before rising to his feet and picking up the emptied skillet. "I guess then we kind of celebrate our birthdays the same, huh?" he said with a small laugh. "Minus I don't have dinner with my parents."

Watanuki took the dishes over to the kitchen, listening to what was said about Doumeki's grandfather. "So... Haruka-san was a pervert...?" he said slowly, trying to suppress a shiver. The spirit certainly didn't look like one, but Watanuki had the creeping feeling that he could definitely see Haruka-san as a pervert.

He.... hoped it wasn't passed down to the grandson.

[silent_archer]

Doumeki blinked once; he could easily recall moments in his life where food was the last thing on his mind.

He stood up, helping the smaller male clearing the table and slowly prepared to wash the dishes. As the sink filled up woth soapy water, the archer took out a clean drying cloth and offered it to Watanuki.

He shrugged slightly as he started to wash the plates.

"Hn."

He had never really thought of his grandfather that way. But then again, the priest always seem to like spend time with the temple maidens. Shizuka guessed his behavior could have seen like one of a pervert, but the young exorcist remembered his elder to be still very much in love with his late wife.

[unlucky_prophet]

Watanuki was a little startled when the archer had stepped in to start cleaning the dishes, as he had every intention to do them. Out of habit, most likely. And probably to make up for the failure of not getting around to cleaning Yuuko-san's kitchen the fourth time. With a slight, unjustified frown, Kimihiro took the dish towel and sniffled indignantly.

Doumeki's reply didn't help any. "I'm just trying to make conversation..." he muttered, taking the first clean plate and drying it dutifully. "Really, sometimes you are just so hard to even hold a normal conversation with. But then again, I would be concerned if you just started talking a lot. Though I suppose I might get used to it after awhile, because it certainly makes conversing like normal humans a lot easier."

[silent_archer]

Doumeki put another cleaned plate to be dried on the counter, looking at Watanuki for a moment.

"My grandmother died before I could remember her. But....even if my grandfather liked beautiful women, I remember him still loving her very deeply" he said softly, thinking of the numerous time he had visited his grandmother's grave with Haruka-san to put fresh flowers on it.

Working on cleaning the skillet, Shizuka was surprised to feel at ease with the small bit of his past he had revealed. It was nothing that important or that big, but he was expecting to feel awkward since he wasn't used to talk about himself that much.

He offered Kimihiro a small smile as he put the skillet on the counter.

[unlucky_prophet]

Again, the boy was startled to actually hear Doumeki reply to him. So the lout wasn't as stupid as he appeared to be! He actually listened to people! Watanuki returned the smile with a small one of his own. He wasn't too sure just how much of his expression showed how pleased he was that the archer was talking about himself.

"I wish I could remember my grandparents," he said wistfully as he turned away from Doumeki. "I mean, even without losing my memories... I don't think I ever knew them that well." His two-toned eyes stared blankly at the dish he was drying, an absent smile on his face. "You're lucky to have had such a great relationship with Haruka-san," Watanuki said after a pause and set the plate aside to reach for another one. "I would have liked to meet him when he was still alive, I think."

[silent_archer]

Doumeki pondered his boyfriend's words for a moment.

"From what you've told me about him, he doesn't sound much different in your dreams than how I remember him."

Finally done with the dishes, Shizuka drained the sink and cleaned the counter quickly. He turned around and leaned against it, watching Kimihiro dry the last of the dishes. It would have been great if his grandfather could have met the seer in flesh. The archer was pretty sure the two of them would have had a great relationship; Haruka-san being a better parent-figure than Yuuko-san. He smirked lightly:

"He would definetly have fun teasing you" he said, having no trouble at all imagining Watanuki spazz at Haruka-san's shrewd jokes. Especially if they were about the two of them.

[unlucky_prophet]

"Why does everyone have to tease me?!" Watanuki snapped back irritably, whacking the archer's arm with the damp towel in his hand. "And why does that have to be the one thing you think of?" Turning back to arrange the dish towel neatly out to dry, the boy muttered unintelligibly to himself, his expression dark.

Resisting the urge to whine in annoyance, Kimihiro turned and and crossed his arms over his chest. After a pause, reflecting on how harried his life would be if he was getting teasing from Haruka-san on top of from everyone else, the boy sighed and let his arms fall back to his sides. "I give up... I suppose it's just in my nature to be teased relentlessly by everyone..."

With another sigh, Watanuki crossed back over to the table and dropped down into the chair he had previously occupied. He was feeling a little tired, but tried not to let it show. It was just another typical day at work and at school, so there was no reason why he should be too tired. "Well? What next?" It was the archer's birthday 'celebration' after all--he felt slightly guilty for not getting Shizuka anything, but had the feeling that the other male could have cared less for a present.

[silent_archer]

"I think it's the flailing..." he answered. At least it was what amused the archer the most when he was teasing the pale boy.

Shizuka watched Kimihiro drop on the chair and noticed how tired the seer looked in the dinning room light. There was a lot of things they could do, but today was also a normal and tomorrow school would come again and that only meant one thing:

"Homeworks" he said flatly, putting their school bags on the table. Although he didn't really needed to study, Doumeki thought that it was a very neutral activity to do, one that wouldn't make Watanuki nervous, one that would make the archer think about something else than how tempted he was to simply pull the pale teen on his lap and kiss him until they both couldn't breathe.

[unlucky_prophet]

Watanuki shouted wordlessly, flailing one arm from his spot on the chair. "I don't always flail!" he retorted. Okay, well, maybe he did. Grumbling, the boy tucked his chin into one hand and decided that he would be better off glaring at the table under his elbow.

And when Doumeki suggested what they should do for the rest of the evening, his face deadpanned. "Homework? You want to do homework on your birthday?" Not that... he ever really did anything different. In fact, he probably would be doing the exact same thing on his birthday. Dinner, cleaning, homework. Oh, unless Yuuko-san decided to harass him like she did last year. That wasn't too bad fun. (Make up your mind, Watanuki).

With a shrug, he rose to his feet. "Then I'll make some tea and snacks," he decided, automatically moving back into the main part of the kitchen.