It was just starting to rain.

Watanuki was sorer than he'd like to admit. He hadn't taken the full damage, Himawari and Doumeki had, so he had no reason to be hurting so much. He'd already decided that he wouldn't tell them – no need to worry them more after all that they'd done. While he had gotten used to putting on a brave front, for some reason doing it to them bothered him more than he thought it would. He wasn't used to that feeling.

It would take some time to accept the fact that Doumeki was in the shop. As much as he hated the way Yuuko tormented him about being stuck with Doumeki, the shop had always been a place where he didn't have to worry about the object of his annoyance floating into his periphery when it seemed to most inconvenience him. But that would have to change.

"Oi."

Watanuki's eye twitched. He wanted to fire back with something and get their usual routine going, but he was tired. Dead tired. All he could do was drop his head and give a reply that he knew sounded weary despite his best efforts.

"What?"

He could feel Doumeki's eyes wandering over him, looking for something – but what? He didn't want to turn around; he'd prefer to only wonder at what Doumeki must be thinking about him, for fear that it be pity, or sadness, or something even worse.

Doumeki shifted, the cracking of a joint unusually loud in the stillness.

"How does it feel?"

Watanuki furrowed his brow at the question and took his time to respond. He couldn't gain anything by lying in response to such a direct question – not about that, not without feeling horrendous about it, not to Doumeki, someone who'd given his own blood to save him despite everything else.

"Better." He finally said, honestly. "But not great." He adjusted his glasses. "It'll take a while."

Another pause, this time accompanied by an intake of breath.

"I didn't mean that."

Then what did he mean? Before Watanuki could mull over it Doumeki was suddenly beside him on the veranda, his eyes serious. "I meant her."

Her. You mean the person I've spent just about all my energy trying to pursue, to woo, the person I just found out is bad for me, who almost killed me? How does it feel?

He kept staring straight ahead, until something in him opened and he was able to speak.

"Better, but not great." He couldn't stop the wavering in his voice. "It will take a while."

This time the silence was almost unbearable, save for the pattering of the raindrops on the ground outside. Finally Doumeki decided to end it, and leaned forward to touch their foreheads. Watanuki closed his eyes and allowed himself to feel that light pressure, that presence, for just that moment.

Doumeki sat back, not looking at him. It was as if he were afraid that eye contact might break something in Watanuki.

"I'll be there."

And with that he left, his footfalls reverberating through the wooden floor until even that was gone. Watanuki closed his eyes and let himself fall back as his glasses began to fog over.

It would take a while.

---

A/N: This was inspired by a discussion in a Livejournal xxxHolic community about Himawari and Watanuki after chapter 117 that spawned an idea in my head. We don't really see what happens between Doumeki and Watanuki after that, so this is my version of what I think might have happened between the time Himawari left and Watanuki go the egg.