Coffee Chapter 5

Thanks to all my great reviewers! It always makes me so happy to find that you guys like my writing! :D

P.S. This one's fluffy. Enough said. Enjoy. :3

Disclaimer: As much as I hate it, I don't own xXxHOLiC.

CHAPTER START!

It was dark outside. And cold. And Watanuki hated his life. And it was sort of creepy, how the wind blew that night. And Watanuki hated his life. Not to mention the fact that he was clad in (though thankfully with his school uniform) a pair of fluffy cat ears and a black cat tail. And Watanuki hated his life. And his enemy just had to come along with him with his stupid 'missions' as Yuuko called them.

Did Watanuki mention that he hated his life?

…'Cause he did. A lot.

"We should probably walk together," the biggest pain-in-the-ass to exist deadpanned, as usual.

Watanuki whipped around and turned to his hated rival, glaring daggers at the other who lagged behind Kimihiro's quick pace. "I shouldn't even have to be taking this mission with you, let alone walking with you!" The scrawny boy then stomped to their destination at an even quicker pace, the tail that swung between his legs making him feel strangely uncomfortable, tickling his thighs.

"Then why do you take these missions?" Doumeki asked in monotone. Kimihiro stopped in his tracks, and turning, glanced wistfully at the archer.

"Because I owe her something," Kimihiro whispered. "I'm in her debt."

Thankfully, the jerk knew when to keep his mouth shut, and the two finished their trek to the destination in silence.

"So it's here?" Doumeki asked, pointing to a squat one story house.

"Yeah," Kimihiro replied, putting his hand out. "Gimme my script, I want to go over it one more time."

"You know," Shizuka muttered, while handing the other boy a slim piece of paper, "I'm surprised you actually go along with these missions Yuuko gives you. Couldn't you just do something else, like being a waiter for free or something?" Kimihiro narrowed his eyes as he watched the other boy give the paper a distasteful look.

"I have things I need to pay for," the lanky, cat-eared boy spat, snatching the paper from the other. Like rent, and groceries he thought to himself, pouting. It wasn't like the other knew what it was like to live alone.

"There he is," the archer pointed.

And, there he was. The object of the entire mission, was peeping through the window of the house, and, from the view the two boys had, was drooling.

Ew. It's not like the boy had a choice, though, so Kimihiro whispered, "remember, do what Yuuko told us to do," and then stalked quietly over to the stalker himself.

"Hi," the lanky cat-boy waved, smiling, as the script he read told him to do. "Are you lost, sir?"

It was then that the stalker looked up. It was as if the creepy man was under a spell: his eyes were completely glued to the fake cat-ears, and his mouth was open, yet nothing came out. Did the guy realize he looked like an idiot? Especially with the pink shirt he had on—it depicted an anime cat-girl, making a peace sign. So that's what it was.

At least it explained the ridiculous getup Watanuki was wearing. Fighting back the urge to grimace and smack the stalker in the face, he asked, "Are you alright sir? You seem sick." Keep to the script, keep to the script…

"Oh," the rough voice of the creep sighed. "Yeah, um… Yeah, I'm alright."

"Alright then," Kimihiro smiled shyly, almost feeling bad for tricking the poor guy like he was… But, he was harassing innocent people, and boy, did he know what that felt like!

And, hey, guilt was gone. Walking away, Kimihiro glanced silently at the hidden archer, asking whether the stalker was following him with his eyes.

Doumeki nodded; Kimihiro rolled his shoulders and sighed, almost finished with his stupid mission.

…Bait. He was Yuuko's personal bait to lure all sorts of creep stalkers out of the woodwork—on one mission, the lanky boy had had to walk barefoot in public for hours just because the stupid stalker had a foot fetish!

Ugh, it pissed him off. Why did he have to be bait for stalkers? And every one, every single one was male! Why did he have to deal with this hell? Did he commit some sort of sordid sin in a past life?

He glanced back at his creepy follower, and the archer behind him, and realized that that was probably the case.

He then realized that his new stalker was gaining on him. Oh dear. Kimihiro picked up his pace, whilst simultaneously attempting to look natural… it wasn't working. The man was soon only ten feet behind him, and the lanky cat-boy could hear him panting… they hadn't walked for more than one hundred yards.

Finally, Watanuki broke out into a run. The two pairs of footsteps behind him quickened, and, though the presence of the second person running in the pied piper line comforted him, he was still pretty freaked out about getting followed in the first place.

…But, why would Doumeki's presence comfort him? Wasn't that guy supposed to be his most hated rival—an even worse fate than being stalked by creepers? Eh, Watanuki shrugged to himself, panting from exhaustion, he could think about that later, when he wasn't being followed.

At least he was nearly at the destination point, only a block away… thank goodness he was good at running. That didn't stop his lungs from hurting, or his calves from being forced to endure that exhausting ache.

"Hey, wait…" the creep following close behind called, surprisingly close… too close, at the speed Kimihiro was running. "Please, let me just…" he wheezed, "your… ears…"

Kimihiro pushed himself, and ran even faster to his destination… Only half a block away… almost… there…

And then he felt himself being pulled back by his collar, losing precious breath, and honest-to-god fear ran through his veins. Where was Doumeki? "Caught you," the creep breathed, running his hand through his hair, making the lanky boy shiver in disgust.

Thankfully, Doumeki was on the scene, grabbed Kimihiro by the arm and carried him like one would a sack of potatoes, and zoomed to the meeting place.

Though Watanuki was thankful to the oaf for saving him from his predicament, he was still kind of pissed that he had to be carried over the lumbering giant's shoulder.

…At least he warm, he thought, gripping the archer's shirt. Wait, where did that come from?

"We're almost there," Doumeki muttered, in between pants.

"I can walk myself, you know," Watanuki pouted. He could then feel the smirk come from Doumeki, even though his face was pressed up against the other's shirt. "Don't smirk at me!" he lifted his arm and smacked the back of the archer's head.

"He's still following us," Doumeki remarked, stopping only for a moment to set the lanky boy down on his feet, before the two took off again.

"Well," Watanuki wheezed, still exhausted from his last run, "we're almost there—keep running!"

And soon, they could see the place they were dashing madly to: a small intersection loaded with police cars, police officers, and… Yuuko, holding a megaphone with her hand on her hip… Smirking. Ugh.

"Mister Honda, we have you surrounded!" Yuuko smiled, pointing the stalker in the cat shirt, who only gaped at the two boys.

Doumeki did his usual thing, of not reacting in any way, while Kimihiro half-smiled and waved awkwardly.

The guy was still gaping.

"This is Yuuko Ichihara, the head of the Japanese Harassment Control Division!*" Yuuko called, the noise blaring through her megaphone. "You, mister Masaaki Honda, are under arrest for the following:" And then the woman proceeded to rattle off a few wordy charges, such as harassment and breaking and entering.

The man was henceforth arrested and pushed into a police car, mumbling to himself about "fake cat-people."

And, thank goodness, the ordeal was over without a scratch. Thank goodness. And then Kimihiro glanced over at the bane of his existence, and, though he hated him, the archer deserved some sort of thanks for helping him when he was in trouble.

After watching all of the police cars leave the area, Kimihiro was startled as he noticed the retreating back of the archer that had… well, very well saved his life.

"Ah—" Kimihiro called after Shizuka, before he realized that he wasn't going to be the first to cave and thank the other.

So, he decided to thank him without thanking him.

Running up behind the archer, Kimihiro reached out towards the boy's left sleeve, and tugged lightly on the fabric.

The oaf didn't notice, the jerk.

Pulling again, harder, the archer finally turned around, while Kimihiro kept his grip firmly on the fabric of the sleeve, pouting, unhappy with his plan.

Kimihiro tugged again, and jutted his chin out in another direction, hoping that the fool would understand the sentiment… the way the jerk's eyes widened, and how his mouth hung agape, he was pretty sure the other did.

So, with a final tug on the black sleeve just for good measure, Kimihiro turned on his heel and was on his way home…

Until he felt a surprisingly warm hand grip his wrist.

"It's late," Doumeki stated plainly, "sleep over at my house."

Phew! Finished! I hope you enjoyed it! And, though from the newest cliffy, you think you might understand what will happen next chapter, BUT! That is not the case… Sorry to leave my readers hanging! xD

*Yeah, pullin' that one out of my bag of tricks. AKA, made it up. xD