Author's Note:

Just a brief introduction to this piece: this takes place right around chapter 187, so spoilers up until then. I took some very minor liberties, which will be eplained vie AN's at the end of each chapeter, but for the most, it's canon. Basically, the shop is no longer needed for it's intended purposes, and is breaking down. So read, enjoy, and send me comments, because comments equal love, and love equals faster chapters! Warning: very shameless H/C. Shameless.

Watanuki sighed, and brushed his bangs out of his eyes, several fine black stands coming away with his fingers. It had been five years since Yuuko had left him the shop, and it seemed to miss her more then he did.

Lately it seemed as if the shop was falling into disrepair - once vibrant and dramatic, the shop now seemed old and faded, with faded, flaking paint, squeaking hinges that no amount of oil would fix, and a roof that whistled in the wind, and leaked with heavy rain, and nothing that Watauki or Doumeki did seemed to repair it, and the twins, Maru and Moro, were of no help, sleeping 75 percent of each day.

"Oy. You done with that?" Doumeki asked, pointing to the paint cans Watanuki had plopped on floor by the door.

"Mm?" Watanuki replied. "Oh, yeah. The shutters are still drying, so don't touch them, alright?"

"Sure," Doumeki said, nodding his consent. "What's for dinner?"

"You and your stomach. Don't you ever think about anything other than food?"

Doumeki just stared at Watanuki.

Watanuki sighed.

"I don't really feel much like cooking tonight. I was just planning on getting take out. You don't mind, do you?"

Doumeki shook his head.

"Alright then. The fox spirit has an oden stand the street corner, you should be able to see it through our shared eye. Tell them I say hi, ok?"

Doumeki just nodded.

Truth be told, it saddened Watanuki that he couldn't go to the oden stand himself. It had been years since he'd seen the little fox spirit, and he wondered if it had grown as much as Kohane-chan, if it could grow at all...

"Oy. You. Wake up."

Watanuki blinked his eyes open. "Hmm?"

"I've got the food. You ready to eat?"

"Ah? No, I'm not hungry...why don't you just eat without me?"

Doumeki raised his eyebrows.

"No, really, I'm tired. I'll think I'll just go to bed..."

Without warning, Doumeki sat down on the lounge next to Watanuki, and wrapped an arm around him, pressing his fingers into the back of Watanuki's neck.

"You've got a fever. You should rest."

Watanuki turned to face Doumeki. "You do realize that I just said I was going to bed, right?"

Doumeki didn't say anything, and Watanuki sighed. "Don't be up too late," Watanuki said, as he walked slowly the room that served as his and Doumeki's bedroom. "You have classes in the morning."

"Hn." was his only response.

When Watanuki awoke, he became aware of three things. The first was that it had begun to rain, and the roof was leaking again (but not in the spot he had repaired the day before, and he couldn't decide whether to be pleased or irritated about that). The second was that every inch of his body was incredibly sore, and the third was that it was still incredibly dark outside. He coughed softly, waking the young man that was lying beside him.

Doumeki blinked sleepily before looking at Watanuki, who had curled his body into the pillows, and was trying, very desperately, to stop coughing.

Silently, Doumeki pulled his ill boyfriend into a sitting position. When the smaller man (or boy? Doumeki wasn't sure, noting that Watanuki hadn't aged a day since he had inherited the shop) had stopped coughing, Doumeki handed him the glass of water that had been sitting there since he had gone to bed.

"How long?" He asked.

"What?"

"How long have you been feeling ill?" Doumeki questioned.

Watanuki sighed. "I don't know. A while?"

"You should have told me."

"I didn't think it would get this bad."

"Hn. Go back to bed."

Watanuki curled back into his sheets, wrapping them tightly around him.

"Go back to sleep. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

With that last statement, Watanuki pulled the pillow over his head, and was soon dead to the world.

Doumeki slid a cool hand over Watanuki's forehead.

"You've still got a fever," he murmured.

"I know," Watanuki replied, coughing harshly.

"And your cough is worse."

"Mm." Watanuki attempted to bury himself in his pillows, but Doumeki's hand, still firm on his forehead, held him in place.

"Do you have any clients today?"

"Just one, I think. The girl who came on Monday? She should be back today." Watanuki pulled the pillow out from under his head and over his face.

"Are you sure?" After three ** years of living with Watanuki, Doumeki still had not gotten used to Watanuki knowing what would happen before it happened.

"Mmrf - Ah!" Doumeki had pulled the pillows away from Watanuki's face.

"Well?"

"No, I'm not sure," Watanuki admitted. "I can't See * very well today. I think my cold must be fogging up my sight."

Doumeki raised his eyebrows.

Watanuki sighed.

"I know what you're thinking. And yes, I'll be fine here alone. You have to go to University today. I'm just going to sleep. Maru and Moro will wake me up when the customer arrives. And before you ask, yes, I'm sure." With that last statement, Watanuki curled into a ball and tugged all the blankets from the futon around him, forming his own little nest.

Maru and Moro came over from where they had been playing in the corner of the room.

"Master is not well," they sighed.

"No, he isn't."

"Still awake," Watanuki grumbled, from his place on the futon. Doumeki ignored him.

"I'm leaving," Doumeki informed them. "Look after him for me."

Mokona bounced into the room, landing on the futon.

"Don't worry! Mokona will take good care of Watanuki-sama! If Mokona didn't, and Watanuki died, who else would make such wonderful feasts!"

"Maru and Moro will help!" They chimed.

Doumeki picked up his briefcase and walked out the door. Not even a minute after the door slammed, Watanuki was fast asleep.

Author's Note

Well, I hoped you liked it. I uploaded it once before, and took it off the next morning because I realized I had screwed up the dialogue - not unusual, noting that I wrote it at midnight! So the dialogue is now fixed, and I extended the chapter a bit, so while it's still short, it's a bit longer.

* Ok, I'm 100% aware that Kohane brings letters from the old seer lady (does she have a name? I can't recall.) telling Watanuki if (and who?) his next client will be. But that's boring, and slow, and chancy. I like the idea of all of Watanuki essentially becoming Yuuko, so that's what I'm doing here. It was more interesting, and fits better with the story.

** I don't know the Japanese grade system, so my explanation lines up with the American, because I'm lazy. My dating system assumes that Watanuki was a sophmore (2nd year of high school) when he dropped out to take over the shop. Since Doumeki was in the same grade, I simply assumed he lived at home until he graduated (2 years) and then moved in with Watanuki. Also: the manga really doesn't specify whether Doumeki lives with Watanuki at the shop or not. The dialogue gives me the feeling that he doesn't live there (cite: "I am not the owner of this place" "Still, welcome home!" which seems to be bad translation for "I don't live here.") but from what I've seen of the raws, and the story, he spends one hell of a lot of time there, and for this fic, it honestly makes more sense for him to live with Watanuki anyways.

I AM AWARE THIS IS POSTED ON ANOTHER ACCOUNT. THAT ACCOUNT IS MY SECOND ACCOUNT. I AM MOVING BACK TO MY ORIGINAL.