Disclaimer: Characters owned by Clamp.

In a review on a different story of mine, WingedSerpent said that "Doumeki and Watanuki have an interesting relationship (one that I don't think would be naturally romantic)". While I know it's not quite what he meant, it made me think about the path a relationship between the two of them would take, and realized it would be a long, winding, and difficult one, because sometimes even the best love is surprisingly hard to manage.

I'm going to explore that path, and choose to do it in a series of songfics, because nothing speaks to me more than music. Any musical suggestions would be lovely!

This turn's choice is Don't Wait, by Dashboard Confessional, and is in italics.

For WatanuKimihiro, because she's the best reviewer ever. Thanks bunches for ever and ever, darling!

Feedback fulfills my world. I'd sincerely appreciate any and all of it! Please be courteous and review!

He wasn't sure how he'd ended up here, but he supposed, in the end, it was better to have Doumeki's company than no company at all. It was something he'd been forced to accept, anyway. Besides, they were watching a meteor shower that only happened every hundred years or so, what kind of opportunity could his older rival have to annoy him, like he was wont to do?

Watanuki loved late summer. It wasn't as humid, and the night breeze was extremely pleasant here in the park they'd frequented so many times, with its cherry blossoms and rolling green hill, on which the two boys were sprawled in their light yukatas, limbs akimbo. Watanuki curled his toes into the grass, sparing a brief glance at his companion, who was his usual cool self, laying back with his hands tucked behind his hair, sleeve fallen back to his elbow. Even in the faint light, he could see the web–work of scars that patterned his forearm, a testament to the many, many times he had been there at exactly the right time.

The sky glows, I see it shining

When my eyes close

I hear your warnings but we both know

I'm gonna look at it again

Doumeki never gave the night sky too much thought. It was unfathomable, and Doumeki didn't like to waste time with things he never cared to understand. Not until recently, anyway. The night sky became a lot more interesting when Watanuki showed enthusiasm for it. Just like he couldn't keep himself from gleaming with something he couldn't put his finger on whenever Watanuki cheered him on at his archery meets, something more than concentration and accuracy could accomplish. It was a funny thing, something Doumeki wasn't sure he wanted to understand – but because it involved Watanuki, it was intriguing instead of irritating.

And here it was again, laying on a hillside with the slight, skittish boy in silence, and Doumeki wanted to break it simply because he wasn't sure what else to do with it. Whatever forces there may be, he'd never had the chance to start a real conversation with him, something besides wry jokes, loud protests, or those vaguely unnerving things that seemed to pop out of their mouths at tense moments, moments where things were bare and vulnerable. While Doumeki knew himself to be collected, thoughtful, and sometimes a blatant jackass, he'd never thought he was a coward, but it was there, in those moments, all the same.

Well, you get one look

I'll show you something that the knife took

A bit too early for my own good

Now let's not speak of it again

When the sky began its chaotic dance of shooting stars, Watanuki let the glare of the silence fall away into mesmerizing display.

He thought about his parents, and how once, when he was little, they'd let him stay out past his bedtime to stargaze, the first time he'd ever wished on a falling star. He couldn't remember what he'd wished for, but he'd been a child, so it was likely an extra bowl of shaved ice, or a puppy, or any one of the things a child craves. If only I'd wished… Watanuki let out a long sigh as if it would drown out the thoughts that trailed through his mind. He had access to a whole shop full of wishes, and now that he knew the weight of them, it was unlikely he'd ever idly yearn for something again.

Yuuko would take it out of his paycheck.

Don't wait, don't wait

The road is now a sudden sea

And suddenly I'm deep enough

No matter how hard he tried, Doumeki couldn't find the streaks of light as captivating as popular opinion seemed to dictate. He continually found his gaze dropping to Watanuki and the expression on his face, a wistful mixture of melancholy and irony, and he finally admitted to himself that what brought him off the temple grounds tonight had not been the temptation to see a meteor shower. He was a fool, indeed, to think he'd come out for any other reason, and a coward to do nothing about it. But, in the end, he knew why he wouldn't.

So instead of acting on impulse, something he'd been careful to resist on principle alone, Doumeki settled in comfortably and, to be safe, closed his right eye. He let his head tilt to one side, his face tickled by the grass, and watched the display of emotions swimming across Watanuki's. It was far, far more interesting than the sky.

Don't wait, don't wait

The lights will flash and fade away

The days will pass you by

Watanuki lifted one finger, tracing the streaks across the sky, and was struck by the memory of Doumeki saying he couldn't go into the shop. Why couldn't he go in? Did it mean he'd never wished for anything at all? Would never wish for anything at all?

Doumeki didn't notice when his right eye slipped open again.

Don't wait

To lay your armor down

"Have you ever wished on a falling star, Doumeki?" Watanuki asked. There was a silence, and right before he turned to look at the other boy, his vision swam then solidified into a clear picture of night sky on the left, and a clear picture…

… of himself, one finger pointed at the sky, soft smile and a faint stroke of light across the lens of his glasses on the right.

Watanuki jerked his head to meet that stare, and became frozen in it – cool Doumeki was warm – warm in a sense Watanuki never would have thought he was capable of, and to his surprise, Watanuki liked the smile that began to spread on Doumeki's face, a sight so exceedingly rare that he was stunned for a moment.

But he shot up, away from it, leaning back on the heels of his hands, before he would let that thought get any further.

Doumeki's smile became a grin as he turned his head to look back up at the sky. If he was a coward, at least he wasn't the only one.

Don't wait

To lay your armor down.