Followed by a Second by Orenji Yume

A xxxHOLiC one-shot fic, Watanuki/Doumeki, sequel to 'Always A First'

A/N: Sequel to 'Always A First'! I just felt like writing more of Watanuki/Doumeki, so here it is! I hope it's all right.

Shounen-ai (male/male)/fluff/highly suggestive hints is present in this fic, but does not touch on adult issues. (no lemon/lime) If you don't like it, then please don't read it, thank you...

STORY: We all know how Doumeki has saved Watanuki's life several times (especially if you've read volume 5 already). So after Doumeki's rare birthday gift to Watanuki in 'Always A First', Yuuko tells Watanuki to do something in return (not like he can refuse). Added to that, Yuuko has a little surprise for the both of them... Sorry for the delay! (I was planning to finish it by last week…) Sorry if anyone seems OOC. Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own XXXHolic, CLAMP does.

'Why am I doing this? Why am I doing this?' The fuming boy was thinking angrily to himself while placing something inside a plain, white box, along with a plastic fork. And then, his eyes met a pair of amused ones. Through that, he was once again reminded of the reason. Feeling some unjust in the situation, Watanuki cried to himself. 'Forced!'

In the background, Yuuko was laughing to herself, entertained at the response caused by her mere stare. Beside her, Maru and Moro were dancing and enjoying the mood as well. After a while of silence, Yuuko got up from the couch and went up to where Watanuki was busying himself.

"Is my share done?" She smiled widely.

Immediately a plate was pushed towards her, "..." On the plate was a hefty slice of chocolate pudding.

Her amber eyes lit up and she clasped her hands together, "Ahh...looks nice." Taking the plate as well as a fork nearby, she took her place on the couch again and called Maru and Moro up to her. Slowly, she fed them, as well as herself. Deeply satisfied by the taste, she raised her hand with her thumb facing upwards, "Delicious!" Maru and Moro joined in along with her too.

But the bespectacled boy was too mad to notice the trio's remark on his chocolate pudding. 'Why...? It's not like the idiot would bother! Whatsmore...he keeps on eating my gifts to Himawari-san and doesn't say a single word of apology...so I don't see why I should be giving him this!' Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Yuuko grinning at him. Feeling tortured, Watanuki went outside to count his misfortunes since his last birthday, as he made the excuse of needing to check on the clothes.

Once his shadow disappeared around the corner, Yuuko got up and opened the box to reveal another hefty piece of chocolate pudding. Smiling slyly to herself, she revealed a small red packet from her sleeve and sprinkled it all over the pudding. After that, she placed a slip of paper inside before closing the box and returning to the couch. Soon after, Watanuki entered, not noticing anything wrong.

Sighing, he took the box and said to Yuuko, "I'm leaving now." Upon saying that, he took an umbrella with him as he say that the weather seemed to carry signs of rain later. "I'll be back soon."

Waving, Yuuko replied, "Take your time!" As she saw the boy nearly turning into the world aside from here, she spoke in a low tone. "Beware of the weather..."

...After some time at Doumeki's house...

Staring at his rival, who was slowly eating his first bite of the pudding, Watanuki asked, "How is it?"

"..." Instead of answering, the boy in archery club merely took another bite, not looking in the angry boy's direction.

Grinding his teeth, the boy tried to calm down, "I asked you...how is it?" But is was plain to see that he could not control his temper much longer as he was shaking violently and he was leaning very forward towards his enemy in order to get some response. But when silence proceeded, Watanuki cried out while waving his hands about in a frantic manner. "What is your problem?"

Finally, the answer came, "Nothing." But it was not the answer being sought for by the blazing mad boy.

As Doumeki took another bite, a pair of hands grabbed his hands, "I'm taking everything back! The fork included! You unappreciative idiot!" To this, the seemingly calm boy was not at all bothered by this extreme measure. Instead, maybe he was wondering whether the bespectacled boy had lost his mind, since he said he even wanted the fork back. Had he really reached his limits?

Meanwhile, Watanuki just went on, "Himawari-san would never react like you! Instead she would..." His face turned soft as he began to imagine how she would thank him and say how delicious it was. Yes, she would definitely be more appreciative than the jerk here. Maybe she would even-

But his thoughts were interrupted as Doumeki managed to remove his hands away from the knot and opened his mouth. Not expecting this, the shocked boy fell back and was received by the hard wood, earning an ache on his backside. Rubbing the tender spot, he winced slightly. But soon enough, he was up again and ranting and raving madly at the unaffected boy as he pointed accusingly at him with the fork. An amusing scene indeed, but neither noticed as one was too occupied with his frustration while the other was more interested the chocolate pudding.

As the unaffected boy swiped his finger against the side of the pudding, Watanuki let out a shout. When Doumeki placed his finger inside his mouth, the boy stared at him with an open mouth. But he soon recovered when the archery boy took another swipe against the pudding. Going up to him, the temperamental was about to lecture again but was stopped when Doumeki placed the finger inside his mouth. A smirk emerged on his face, as if he was telling him to stop his shouting or maybe he just wanted to take him by surprise. Either way he achieved his goal as Watanuki immediately froze in silence. This carried on for some minutes before Doumeki removed his finger.

The silent boy collapsed to his knees, unable to take it. Meanwhile, Doumeki licked his finger as he helped himself to the bits of pudding left there. Taking another swipe, he was about to savour the pudding again. But then Watanuki stood up and stretched out his hands with flashing eyes. He wanted to grab Doumeki's throat, but instead he tripped on the 'victim's' leg and ended up landing on top of the taller boy. But what was even more surprising was that their lips met.

A mere brush of the lips, but nevertheless, enough to get the bespectacled boy agitated. Pushing himself away, his hands flew to his lips and he began rubbing it, as if he had just received some irremovable stain. With his eyes widened, thoughts flew to his head. 'I...I...I just...the idiot...!'

Opposite him, Doumeki sat up and rubbed his head, while staring around him, as if he was not aware of what had just happened, "What...?"

"You idiot!" Words of fury finally emitted from his mouth as he removed his hands. "Why did you have to...! Now my...I...ahh!" Both hands flew to his head as he started tearing his hair out, as if at his wit's end.

But the words that followed later from his rival's mouth were not at all comforting to the agitated boy, "Who are you?"

"Are you trying to forgot what just happened just by saying that? You are an idiot! An ungrateful one, that is!"

Ignoring those words, Doumeki spotted the slip of paper tucked away in a corner of the box and brought it out as he unwrapped it. That caught Watanuki's attention and he went to see what it held. 'Could it be...?' On the slip of paper, it said:

"My effort to help you have a nice time together. Don't bother looking for me. I suggest you take a walk in the park instead or somewhere else nice. Take your time to come home and be wary of the weather."

Watanuki's jaw dropped at the message. He had just been fooled. He turned to his enemy, who was busy observing his surroundings. Though what was more interesting to him was the chocolate pudding. But currently this did not bother Watanuki. 'Obviously she had placed something to wash Doumeki's memory away. But...did I cause it to spark off or something...?' The unpleasant incident entered his mind and he began to worry once more.

"How are we supposed to have a nice time together like this?" Turning to his rival, he was amazed that he had finished the pudding already and he came to a conclusion. "...You're still an idiot..." But what mattered more to him was what Yuuko had done. With determined eyes, he grabbed Doumeki by the collar and dragged him away. 'Even though she said not to find her...but I can't just stand there and watch things follow the course of nature! Is Doumeki going to be like this forever? Is this some extreme prank or something? But...she sure knows how to pick her stuff...'

"Where are we going?"

"To get things clear once and for all!"

...Back at Yuuko's place...

"She went out,"

Crying, Watanuki asked, "Where?"

Maru and Moro shook their heads as they replied in unison, "She didn't say. But she did say that she would be out long."

'No... why...? Why...?' Walking away, Watanuki went up to Doumeki and saw that he was studying him from head to toe, "What...?"

"You still have not told me who you are,"

Blinking at this, the bespectacled boy could not help but be amused at this question. How was he going to introduce himself?

"I'm Watanuki Kimihiro - we both go to the same school. And..." Pointing at Doumeki, his eyes burned. "You're my arch enemy!"

"...So who am I?"

Instead of a reply, a shout came, "I'm your rival!"

Gazing at him, the archery boy merely spoke, "You don't seem like it. So who am I again?"

"..." Though unsatisfied, Watanuki answered. "Doumeki Shizuka."

Silence followed, as Watanuki observed Doumeki digesting the information, before he finally broke the silence, "Are you done?"

"Yes...Kimihiro-kun,"

Watanuki felt his face burn slightly, "Don't call me that! We're not that close!" Seeing that Doumeki's face remained expressionless, the flushed boy went on. "Just 'Watanuki' will do..."

Then unexpectedly, the taller boy took the other boy's hand and led him on, "Where's the park, Kimihiro-kun?"

"W-why...?" And then, he realised what Doumeki had said in the second half. "I said call me 'Watanuki'!"

But the expressionless boy said nothing and pointed ahead of him, "I see a sign. Turn right, is it?" He faced Watanuki to receive a reply. Upon a nod, he continued walking down. "It said to go to the park, right? Since we don't have any other place to go we might as well just kill time there."

The shade of red just sank in deeper. Usually he would have just exclaimed at Doumeki to let him go and that they should just go separate ways since they had their own things to finish. But somehow he could not control himself. Weird...what was weird...? 'The way Doumeki is acting...that is not the usual him...somehow...' With his free hand, Watanuki scratched his head. 'This is just not right...what could she have meant by having a nice time?' Staring at the back of the once unfathomable boy, his thoughts continued to flow. 'He is still unfathomable...but right now what is important is what is held in store for us in this circumstances. I don't understand what this is supposed to mean but...I guess...we can only go with the current.' A resigned smile spread across his face, not noticing that they had stopped walking and a pair of eyes was watching him. 'Wait...unless she meant...' A flashback to his previous birthday sent Watanuki feeling some fear. 'What does she want from this? What can she gain?'

Suddenly, a laugh came to his ears. The bespectacled boy raised his eyes to see Doumeki laughing lightheartedly, yes laughing. Widening his eyes, he could not help but think that his eyes may be playing tricks on him. Doumeki...laughing? Yes, he had seen him smile when he wore contacts, but laugh?

Finally, Watanuki managed to say, "What...is so funny?"

"N-nothing...it's just that..." Looking up, the grinning boy continued. "Your expression just now was amusing..."

Blinking, the shorter boy could not believe what he was hearing. Doumeki was actually laughing over his expression. That was definitely a first. Rubbing his head, Watanuki took a while to recover from this minor shock, "L-let's go to the park and sit down first..." To this, the taller boy made no particular comment and followed the other's lead quietly. In return, Watanuki could not help but think: 'Weird mood swings...' He did not know what to feel - should this be a good or bad thing? Having his enemy act so differently as compared to his previous self...or maybe his enemy before...

The two made their way and found themselves an empty bench before making themselves comfortable. The bespectacled boy stretched his limbs and leaned back as his head tilted back to see the activities going on behind. On the other hand, Doumeki remained silent as he glanced through his environment.

It was only after some time, did Doumeki break the silence between them as he pointed before him, "Kimihiro-kun...look there. The flowers are quite a treat for the eyes, aren't they?"

Just when Watanuki was about to protest yet again to the way he was being addressed at, he was stopped as his eyes fell to where Doumeki was indicating, "Yes...except one thing...one flower there hasn't bloomed yet."

"Save the best for last," He remarked. "Isn't that only right?" And then, he turned to face his company. "We shall come here again once that flower blooms."

Immediately the boy shot up from his relaxed position, "What gives you the right to make all these decisions by yourself?"

"I thought we were best friends?"

"NO WAY!" Watanuki screamed directly in Doumeki's face. "We're rivals!"

As the heated boy calmed his nerves down, the archer boy was rubbing his ears but his face was expressionless as usual. But then, he did something unusual later on. When Watanuki was about to go on to another mad rave, the boy stretched out a hand and placed it on the surprised boy's cheek. After that, he pulled the distance between their faces closer by a few inches. Staring at him in the eye, Doumeki seemed to be studying his face. Maybe searching for something familiar...? This was revealed when he soon reached out his other hand to take off Watanuki's spectacles. An obvious shade of red passed through the struck boy's face. 'He...did it again...'

"You look better," His breath fell upon his company's face and it tickled slightly.

'I...he...said the exact same thing...' Watanuki stared, not daring to blink, as if this scene would just melt and fade away if he did. Was he actually hoping for something to happen? His heart skipped a beat. Maybe...how odd. 'Wait a minute, did I just remember what he said before?' Upon that thought, his face just blushed deeper. 'Why...why am I acting like this?' He wanted to move, but he could not. Or did his body deliberately not want to move instead?

At last, he only managed to say, "I..."

"Yes?"

Watanuki's breath caught, "You repeated it again."

"Did I...?" At that moment, there seemed to be a flicker of familiarity in the taller boy's eyes. But the other could not make it out very clearly; he just felt a slight sign. Was this what Doumeki was actually thinking? Or is it just his imagination?

But then rare sight appeared once again as Doumeki smiled slightly, before leaning towards the boy's crimson face, whose thoughts were now at a stop. A gentle brush of the lips against the forehead sent Watanuki flying back some distance. This time his hands were against his forehead. Meanwhile, Doumeki had his face in his hands for some strange reason. It was only a few seconds later did he remove them.

"Where am I?" And then he saw Watanuki pointed at him in disbelief. "What are you doing there?" After that he saw the spectacles in his hand. "..."

But before Watanuki could say anything else, it started to drizzle. Unwillingly, Watanuki grabbed Doumeki's hand, "Let's find shelter first!"

...After some time at Yuuko's place...

"You did what?" Watanuki exclaimed, now with his spectacles back on.

Yuuko repeated her words, "I only added in something to make Doumeki's memory disappear for some time. The only thing to trigger everything off and end it was a sign of affection." Gazing at the exasperated boy with a smile, she went on. "And I guessed it went on very smoothly from your reaction. So...I guess we all can agree that my effort was well invested in."

By now the boy was near to tears, "I didn't ask for it..."

"Ah...but I'm sure you did enjoy some moments, didn't you?" Yuuko began teasing him. "Oh...and by the way, I'll probably have to dock a bit from your pay for that."

Upon hearing this, Watanuki shook his head, "I didn't ask for it...I didn't say anything!"

Laughing at this answer, she rested her head against her crossed arms, "You were shouting for it actually...it's just that you didn't notice it... Surely I can't just sit by and watch it go by just like that, can I?"

"No!" Maru and Moro cried out together, jumping with their hands in the air.

"..." But the depressed boy was too busy with his own mixed feelings to take anything of these in.

Aside, Yuuko adjusted herself in the couch as she thought to herself with a small smile. 'It was fun to participate a little in...but especially so to watch...'

END

A/N: I hope it's alright! I didn't know how to end with Yuuko's words...but anyway, hope you liked it! No flames please, just constructive criticism, thanks!