Exhaustion

Watanuki’s breath left his lungs with an audible “oof” as his back collided painfully with the hard sidewalk. He slid backwards, crying out as several small rocks raked across his skin. A few feet to his left, he could hear Doumeki shouting something at him but he couldn’t make it out over the shrieking of the spirit that was quickly advancing on him.

He was going to kill Yuuko for sending him here.

Watanuki tried to scramble to his feet and put some distance between him and the ghost, but it was already on top of him before he could so much as move. The spirit wasted no time in pinning Watanuki down and wrapping its hands around Watanuki’s throat. Watanuki clawed at the invisible hands squeezing his throat. His eyes widened as he felt the swipe pf a tongue against his face.

It’s going to eat me.

He could hear Doumeki shouting, but he couldn’t make even the smallest of noises as the spirit tightened its grip.

Doumeki can’t see the ghost and I can’t make any noise. I’m going to die.

The world around Watanuki was beginning to fade and lose color. His lungs were screaming for air, but no matter how hard he fought, he couldn’t dislodge those invisible hands, and he most definitely didn’t want to think about the tongue tracing patterns on his cheek.

Without warning, the grip on his throat suddenly loosened enough for Watanuki to drag a gulp of air into his lungs. He turned his head to the side to see Doumeki pull back his bow and send another arrow flying straight through the spirits chest. The spirit let out an enraged roar before vanishing. Watanuki rolled on to his side and gulped down as much air as he could hoping the world would stop spinning.

“Did I hit it?” Doumeki didn’t sound the least bit upset, he didn’t even sound interested.

“Yeah, you hit it.”

Watanuki’s eyes were starting to refocus when he noticed a few drops of blood on the pavement beside where Doumeki was standing. He glanced up at Doumeki who seemed to be unaware of his bleeding hand.

“How many arrows did you fire?” Watanuki had no idea how the whole “exorcist arrow” thing worked, or if they could even break the skin, but Watanuki wasn’t sure what else could have caused Doumeki’s injury.

“Enough,” Doumeki replied in a tone that implied the answer should have been obvious.

Doumeki offered Watanuki his hand, still unaware of the fact he was bleeding. Watanuki took the offered hand and let Doumeki pull him to his feet. He slumped against the brick wall lining the sidewalk and closed his eyes. He wanted to ask Doumeki why it had taken him so long to figure out what was going on, but he didn’t have the energy. A small voice in the back of his mind reminded him that if he was tired than Doumeki had to be exhausted.

Doumeki leaned against the wall beside him. “Are you alright?”

Watanuki had just been strangled and licked, not a pleasant experience, but he was still alive and fairly uninjured. “Yeah, I’m okay. What about you?”

Doumeki nodded, “I’m alright.”

Watanuki didn’t reply, instead he choose to lean heavily on the wall and rest while Doumeki stood beside him. Watanuki brought a hand up to his throat and winced, there was no way that wasn’t going to bruise. Watanuki sighed and pushed off the wall before beginning to walk away. He paused and turned around when he didn’t hear footsteps following him. Doumeki was just staring at him.

“Don’t just stand there like an idiot! Follow me, my apartment is nearby.” Watanuki could almost swear Doumeki had looked surprised for a moment, but it vanished as Doumeki walked over, waiting for Watanuki to lead the way.

The walk to Watanuki’s apartment was a silent one, Watanuki was exhausted and it wasn’t as though Doumeki was the talkative type in the first place. Doumeki quietly followed Watanuki into the small apartment building, watched as Watanuki unlocked his front door, and pushed it open before stepping aside and allowing Doumeki to enter the apartment first.

Doumeki quickly kicked off his shoes, set his bow down by the door and plopped down on the small couch in Watanuki’s living room. Watanuki decided not to comment on Doumeki’s lack of manners as he set his keys aside and walked towards his kitchen. “Do you want some tea?”

Doumeki made a small “hmm” noise in the back of his throat and hoped Watanuki would hear it, and take it as a yes. A few moments later, he could hear Watanuki preparing the tea over the sounds of cabinets slamming. He could also hear Watanuki muttering about “impolite jerks.”

Doumeki leaned his head against the back of the couch and closed his eyes. Getting rid of that spirit had left him exhausted. He hadn’t been able to see it at all and had instead just fired arrows at random until he figured out Watanuki hadn’t been knocked out from the spirit pushing him backwards. Even then, he hadn’t known what was going on until he noticed the two red handprints imprinted on the skin of Watanuki’s neck.

He jumped when Watanuki suddenly sat a tray with two cups of tea and a slice of cake down in front of him. Doumeki didn’t have a chance to say thank you before Watanuki walked away again, this time heading towards the back of his apartment. This time when he returned, he was holding a small first aid kit. Watanuki sat down beside him and looked at him expectantly.

“What?” Doumeki didn’t remember being hurt. Watanuki probably had some scratches on his back that needed to be looked at, but he was fine.

Watanuki grit his teeth, very obviously holding back a slew of insults. “Give me your hand, you were bleeding earlier.”

Doumeki immediately looked down and was surprised to see dried blood still clinging to his fingertips. He held back a wince when he noticed it was the same hand he had offered to Watanuki earlier. Doumeki was ready to tell Watanuki that his hand was fine but Watanuki grabbed his hand and rested it on his thigh before rooting around in the first aid kit.

“Just hold still, okay?”

Doumeki was confused, to say the least. He couldn’t remember a time when he was around that Watanuki didn’t shout or flail his arms around. Never in a million years had Doumeki thought he would end up in Watanuki’s apartment with Watanuki tenderly cleaning his wounds as his hand rested on Watanuki’s thigh. That spirit must have sent him to an alternative universe somehow.

Doumeki winced as Watanuki jabbed an alcohol soaked cotton ball against his fingers a little too hard. He’d take that tenderly comment back.

Watanuki must have noticed the wince because he looked apologetic and mumbled, “Sorry.”

Doumeki was now positive he was in an alternative universe, a universe when Watanuki was polite and didn’t spend his time calling Doumeki a bonehead. Doumeki wasn’t so sure he liked this new Watanuki.

Watanuki finished carefully wrapping bandages around the end of Doumeki’s fingers, but was surprised when Doumeki didn’t move his hand away from his thigh. After the spirit licking earlier Watanuki wasn’t sure he was ready to be randomly groped. Watanuki looked up at Doumeki who had an odd look on his face.

“Doumeki-”

Doumeki reached up and poked Watanuki’s forehead as hard as he could.

“WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?”

Doumeki removed his hand from Watanuki’s thigh and leaned back, glad to have the shouting and fuming Watanuki back. He picked up the plate from the small tray and began shoveling cake into his mouth as Watanuki watched him with an unbelieving expression.

“I’m not doing anything,” Doumeki said between bites.

They relapsed into silence, both too tired to even attempt small talk. Doumeki quickly ate his cake and drained his tea before settling back onto the couch. He stretched his legs out and groaned, he was exhausted, he was sore and he wasn’t even sure he could find his way back to the temple from here. He felt Watanuki stand beside him, but he didn’t open his eyes. He could hear the clinking of cups as Watanuki gathered up their dishes and headed back towards the kitchen.

Doumeki was almost asleep when he felt Watanuki standing in front of him, so close his legs were almost pressed against Doumeki’s.

“You look exhausted.” Watanuki always did have a knack for pointing out the obvious.

Doumeki suddenly leaned forward and pressed his face against Watanuki’s stomach. He had no idea why he did it, other than he had simply wanted to. He felt the muscles of Watanuki’s stomach tense against his face and he braced himself for Watanuki to start yelling. Surprise surged through Doumeki when Watanuki didn’t start yelling but instead rested his against of Doumeki’s shoulders, not pushing him away but not pulling him closer either.

“You can stay here if you want.”

Watanuki’s voice was soft and Doumeki wanted to look up at him but he was reluctant to pull away from the warmth seeping through Watanuki’s shirt. He nodded against Watanuki’s stomach, still baffled as to why Watanuki hadn’t punched him yet.

“I’ll stay,” Doumeki murmured into Watanuki’s shirt.

Watanuki had no idea what was going on. He had been more than ready to kick Doumeki out the minute the jerk finished inhaling his cake without so much as thanking Watanuki, but he couldn’t help having second thoughts when he saw how tired Doumeki looked. He had been planning to wake Doumeki up a bit by talking to him when that jerk had sat up and pressed his face against Watanuki’s stomach.

The first thought that popped into Watanuki’s head was to punch Doumeki as hard as he could for violating his personal space, but that small voice in the back of his head returned and pointed out Doumeki was obviously exhausted and he might not know what he was doing anymore. Watanuki decided it’d be easier to just humor him.

Oddly enough, it wasn’t so bad having Doumeki pressed against him.

Watanuki decided he should just ask Doumeki to stay here for the night. Watanuki’s apartment wasn’t very big and it’d mean Watanuki would have to spend the night trying to sleep on the small couch, but it didn’t seem fair to send Doumeki home in the state he was currently in.

Watanuki carefully pushed Doumeki back and away from his stomach. Doumeki opened his eyes and stared up at Watanuki.

“I’ll go find you something to sleep in. You can take a shower if you’d like.”

Doumeki nodded and stood up before stretching. Watanuki stumbled back a few inches, trying to put some space between him and Doumeki. Instead, he was caught by the table in front of them and ended up trapped still inches away from Doumeki. Doumeki didn’t seem to notice Watanuki’s discomfort as he stared at him with tired eyes. Watanuki hoped it was all his imagination when he felt his face heat up as he squeezed past Doumeki.

Watanuki walked into his bedroom and tired to ignore how closely Doumeki was following him. Watanuki rummaged in his closet before grabbing an oversized T-shirt and a pair of sweat pants.

“The pants are long on me, so they should fit you okay. The bathroom is just past that door,” Watanuki said while pointing to the bathroom door with one hand while giving Doumeki the clothes with the other. Doumeki took the clothes and headed towards the bathroom without saying a word.

“IT WOULDN’T KILL YOU TO SAY THANK YOU!”

Watanuki listened quietly for the sound of running water and only then did he let out the sigh he was holding in. What was wrong with him? It was only Doumeki; there was no reason for him to feel so odd. What did it matter if having Doumeki pressed against his stomach wasn’t so bad? The only thing that meant was Doumeki was being weird again, that was nothing new.

“Maybe you like having Doumeki,” close whispered that tiny voice in the back of his head that was beginning to sound an awfully like Yuuko-san.

“The only reason I’d ever like having that bonehead around is because he prevents me from being eaten!” Watanuki uttered to himself as he dug around the top of his closet, searching for an extra blanket.

“Oi, what are you doing?”

Watanuki let out a rather undignified shriek as he spun around to find Doumeki standing behind him, towel still wrapped around his shoulders.

“DON’T SNEAK UP ON ME LIKE THAT!”

When Doumeki was sure Watanuki had stopped shouting, he unplugged his ears. The shower and cake had helped him wake up a bit, but he still felt sluggish. “I asked what you were doing.”

“Huh? Oh, I don’t have an extra futon, so I was looking for a blanket. I’m going to sleep on the couch.”

“Why,” Doumeki asked, looking confused.

Now it was Watanuki’s turn to look confused, “Why was I looking for a blanket? Because I’d rather not freeze tonight.”

Doumeki ignored Watanuki’s sarcastic tone of voice, almost wishing he could end up back in that alternative universe with polite Watanuki. “No moron, I meant why are you sleeping on the couch?”

“You’re exhausted, you big idiot. I was going to let you have the futon.”

“Why don’t we share the futon? There’s enough space.”

Watanuki stopped digging in his closet and turned to look at Doumeki who was innocently raking his fingers through his damp hair. Had Doumeki lost his mind? Share the futon? Was that normal? Did people do that? Watanuki had never had somebody stay with him before, so he didn’t know what was normal and what wasn’t.

“Okay, if that’s okay with you,” Watanuki quietly replied. Maybe this was perfectly normal and it would be odd to make a scene about it.

Doumeki didn’t hesitate at all as he strolled over to the futon and pulled the blankets back. “You got a side you prefer?”

Watanuki shook his head no and Doumeki settled in, seemingly perfectly content to snuggle into Watanuki’s blankets.

“I’m just going to go lock the door.”

Doumeki grunted in response as he fluffed the pillow he was laying on. Watanuki padded out of the room and over to his front door, carefully locking it. Why was he so nervous? It was Doumeki and they were just sleeping. He should be annoyed he was going to have to spend the night so close to that idiot, not nervous.

He reached over, turned off the light illuminating his front room, and tried to carefully make his way back to his bedroom in the dark. He cursed when he stubbed his toe in the doorway and resisted the urge to shout when he heard a snort of laughter come from his bedroom.

Watanuki flipped the switch by his bedroom door, sending the room into complete darkness save for the moonlight filtering through his blinds. Watanuki carefully made his way towards the futon, watching out for any objects he could stub his toe on again. He carefully lay down next to Doumeki who silently moved over to make more room for him.

This was awkward. Since Watanuki lived alone he didn’t have much need for a large futon. Even with Doumeki lying on his side to accommodate Watanuki, there was still very little room between them. They were so close Watanuki could lightly feel Doumeki’s breath against his collarbone when he exhaled. Watanuki wished he could lay on his back, but the scratches from earlier prevented him from doing so.

Doumeki opened one eye and watched as Watanuki tired to get comfortable. Watanuki nervously fiddled with the blankets and pillows before finally settling in, only then did he notice Doumeki had been watching him the whole time. Even in the dark Doumeki could see the blush that spread across Watanuki’s cheeks.

“I’ve never shared a bed with anyone. “

“It’s okay, just relax.”

Watanuki nodded, but started moving again. Doumeki had to wonder if Watanuki moved around this much when he was by himself.

“Oi!” Doumeki threw an arm over Watanuki who immediately stilled at the contact. Like earlier Doumeki could feel the muscles under his arm tense and then relax. If Doumeki didn’t know better he would swear the contact was welcome. “Stop moving around so much.”

Watanuki remained still, lowering his head slightly on the pillow until his forehead was level with Doumeki’s. “Sorry.” Watanuki whispered.

Doumeki decided to leave his arm where it was until Watanuki either told him to move it or moved it for him. Despite being constantly yelled at, Doumeki did rather like Watanuki. Doumeki also wasn’t blind, he could easily see Watanuki was attractive and Doumeki could also see Watanuki was completely infatuated with Himawari, despite the girl being either oblivious or uninterested. However, despite all of this Doumeki had never paused to consider if he found Watanuki attractive.

Now, lying beside Watanuki in the dark with his arm around him and his breath mixing with Watanuki’s he found he wasn’t totally against the idea of being attracted to Watanuki.

Doumeki gently moved his hand up Watanuki’s back and rested it on the back of Watanuki’s neck. Once again, he felt Watanuki tense at the contact and then relax.

“How’s your neck?” Doumeki quietly asked.

“It’s fine,” Watanuki whispered, “the scratches on my back hurt more.”

Doumeki lowered his hand from Watanuki’s neck and carefully rubbed Watanuki’s back. He could feel a few scratches through the thin material of Watanuki’s shirt. Doumeki was waiting for Watanuki to yell at him or protest but the other boy remained silent. Doumeki decided to test his luck and he carefully pulled Watanuki towards him until they were mere inches apart. Watanuki’s eyes flew open at the movement and he looked confused, as though he was too tired to figure out what was going on.

“…Doumeki?” Watanuki’s voice was quiet, almost too quiet to be heard.

Doumeki leaned forward and pressed a small kiss to the corner of Watanuki’s lips, lingering just long enough for Watanuki to know it wasn’t an accident. He pulled back slowly, watching Watanuki for his reaction. Watanuki looked stunned, and Doumeki couldn’t blame him, but despite looking stunned Watanuki made no move to pull away.

Doumeki leaned forward again, but this time he paused just before his lips brushed against Watanuki’s. Watanuki was watching him with wide eyes, but he still made no move to pull back. “Watanuki, can I kiss you?”

Watanuki was silent for what felt like hours, even though the logical part of Doumeki’s brain told him it couldn’t be more than a few seconds. Then Watanuki dipped his head slightly, Doumeki wasn’t even sure it was a nod but he decided to take his chances.

Doumeki pressed his lips against Watanuki’s, slightly surprise by how soft his lips were. Doumeki didn’t press too hard; instead, he thought it would be better to keep the kiss light and gentle so he would have some form of a warning if Watanuki suddenly decided to pummel him.

Watanuki slowly started responding to the kiss, bringing a hand up to rest on Doumeki’s forearm. Doumeki brought his hand back up to Watanuki’s neck and pulled him closer to Doumeki’s chest. He lightly traced Watanuki’s lips with the tip of his tongue and after a moment of hesitation, Watanuki parted his lips. Doumeki could taste a slight hint of the tea they had earlier, light and sweet against Doumeki’s tongue.

Watanuki shivered against him and Doumeki wondered if this was Watanuki’s first kiss. He wondered if he had been saving it for Himawari but Doumeki couldn’t bring himself to feel guilty if Watanuki had been saving it.

When their tongues brushed for the first time Watanuki’s grip on Doumeki’s arm tightened and Doumeki pressed forward, swirling his tongue around Watanuki’s and encouraging him to return this kiss. Watanuki shyly began to explore Doumeki’s mouth as Doumeki gently sucked on Watanuki’s tongue. His grip on Watanuki’s neck tightened when Watanuki made a small mewling sound in the back of his throat.

Doumeki pulled back suddenly and rested his forehead against Watanuki’s while listening to Watanuki’s sped up breathing. Doumeki considered asking Watanuki if that was his first kiss, but this was Watanuki and there was no way he wouldn’t become defensive.

“Are you okay?” Doumeki asked and Watanuki nodded against him.

“I’m fine.”
Doumeki gently pushed Watanuki on his back and carefully positioned himself over Watanuki with Watanuki’s legs between his own.

“Is this okay?” Doumeki asked, he didn’t want to push too far.

“Yeah,” Watanuki said, wetting his lips and trying to get his breathing under control, “It’s fine.”

Doumeki leaned down and recaptured Watanuki’s lips, elated when Watanuki started responding immediately. Doumeki pulled back slightly and began feathering kisses along Watanuki’s jaw line. Watanuki gave a quiet gasp and Doumeki tried to ignore the way it shot straight to his groin. Watanuki brought his hands up to rest on Doumeki’s shoulders, digging his fingernails in whenever Doumeki’s lips brushes against his skin.

Doumeki moved lower before once again pulling back and staring down at Watanuki. The bruises on Watanuki’s neck were visible, even in the moonlight. Doumeki lightly traced from Watanuki’s jaw line to his collarbone with his fingertips.

“I couldn’t see the spirit. I didn’t know what was happening.”

Watanuki looked surprised, “It’s okay, you got rid of it in time.”

“Was it bad?”

Watanuki turned his head to the side and refused to meet Doumeki’s eyes, “It licked my face.”

Doumeki considered laughing at how absurd that sounded but instead he leaned down and lightly swiped the tip of his tongue against Watanuki’s cheek. “Like that?”

“Yeah,” Watanuki sounded unmistakable aroused, “like that.”

Watanuki turned his head back suddenly and caught Doumeki’s mouth with his own. Doumeki began to unbutton Watanuki’s shirt, lightly tracing patterns over the skin as it was revealed with his fingertips. Watanuki hummed into the kiss as Doumeki’s hands skimmed his stomach.

Doumeki broke he kiss and moved down slightly, carefully placing kisses against the bruises on Watanuki’s neck. Watanuki gasped loudly and turned his head to the side, giving Doumeki better access to his neck. Doumeki nibbled lightly on the bruised skin, carefully listening for any sounds that indicated pain but all he heard was tiny gasps. Doumeki traced Watanuki’s collarbone with the tip of his tongue and the grip Watanuki had on his shoulders tightened even more, if that was possible.

Doumeki finally found the last button of Watanuki’s shirt and parted the shirt, exposing Watanuki’s pale chest and stomach. Doumeki pulled back to watch Watanuki’s face as he caressed every inch of skin he could reach. Watanuki was slightly shaking, anticipating and responding to every touch.

Doumeki leaned down and brushed his lips against Watanuki’s chest, barely making contact with the pale skin underneath him. He could hear Watanuki’s breath hitching in his throat every time Doumeki’s lips brushed against his skin. Doumeki suddenly swiped his tongue across one of Watanuki’s nipples, curious about what reaction the other boy would give. Watanuki’s reaction didn’t disappoint, he gasped and arched his back, searching for more contact. Doumeki happily replied, pulling the small bud into his mouth and rolling his tongue against it.

Watanuki tugged against the T-shirt he had loaned Doumeki. “Dou…meki.”

Doumeki pulled away from Watanuki’s chest to ask what was wrong but was cut off by Watanuki pulling his shirt over his head in a less than gentle manner. Doumeki quickly caught Watanuki’s wrists and removed his shirt himself before Watanuki had a chance to behead him.

“Are you alright?”

Watanuki simply nodded before Doumeki leaned back down and this time captured Watanuki’s other nipple in his mouth. Doumeki gently bit down, delighted with the gasps and moans being pulled from Watanuki’s mouth. Doumeki began to trail wet kisses and light nips down Watanuki’s chest until he reached Watanuki’s navel. He hooked his thumbs under the edge of Watanuki’s pants. Doumeki opened his mouth to ask for permission but Watanuki just lifted his hips, silently giving his permission.

Doumeki sat back and carefully pulled the loose fitting pants off Watanuki, placing them on the floor next to the futon. Watanuki was lightly shaking and Doumeki didn’t know if it was from embarrassment or arousal. He gently placed his palms in-between Watanuki’s thighs and gently parted the other boys legs, savoring the blush that spread across Watanuki’s face.

Watanuki wasn’t quite sure what was going on at this point, things were kind of blurry at the moment with Doumeki rubbing small circles on the inside of thighs with his thumbs. Watanuki wasn’t sure why he had allowed Doumeki to kiss him, maybe it was just curiosity, but he had never expected it to feel so good. Even though his brain was telling him to slow down, to at least talk to Doumeki about this first, his body had another thing in mind and he couldn’t resist Doumeki’s careful touches. In the end, his body had won over his brain and he didn’t care what happened as long as Doumeki kept touching him.

Watanuki lost the ability to think as he felt Doumeki begin to feather light kisses on the inside of his thighs and he couldn’t stop his muscles from jumping at the contact. Watanuki’s breath was caught in his throat as he anticipated Doumeki’s next touch. Watanuki suddenly cried out as Doumeki traced the vein running along the underside of his more sensitive areas.

Doumeki had never done this before, obviously, but with the way Watanuki was gripping the sheets he figured he couldn’t be doing too horribly of a job. He gently wrapped his lips around Watanuki and sucked while running his tongue over whatever he could reach. Doumeki watched as Watanuki came apart underneath him, head thrown to the side, mouth open in a gasp, chest heaving, his hands desperately clenching in the sheets. Doumeki could definitely get used to seeing Watanuki like this.

Watanuki was murmuring something against the pillow but it sounded like nothing more than gibberish to Doumeki as he wrapped a hand around the base of Watanuki’s cock and began moving his hand in strong, firm strokes.

Watanuki blindly groped with his hands until he sunk his fingers into Doumeki’s hair. His entire body felt over-stimulated and even the smallest of touches from Doumeki sent fire curling into his stomach. He was vaguely aware that he was shaking.

“Doumeki! I’m going to…” Without making any noise, Doumeki leaned back and with three strong strokes, Watanuki was finished, crying out as he spilled himself on his stomach and Doumeki’s hand. His world seemed to vanish around him for a moment and Watanuki could feel his muscles clenching through the aftershocks of his orgasm.

Watanuki felt Doumeki settle back down beside him and gently pull him closer. Watanuki didn’t even have the energy to open his eyes, so he just rested his forehead against Doumeki’s collarbone.

“You alright?” Doumeki’s voice had the slightest bit of concern laced through it.

“Yeah,” Watanuki panted, still trying to catch his breath, “I’m okay.”

“Are you okay with what just happened?” Doumeki would be lying if he said he wasn’t still a bit worried about being suddenly pummeled by Watanuki.

“I’m okay with it,” Watanuki answered before letting his eyes drift shut. Doumeki shifted a bit and pulled him closer and Watanuki briefly wondered if he should at least try to find his pants before he fell asleep.

“At least you’re not moving around anymore.”

Watanuki would have hit Doumeki if he weren’t so tired. “Go to sleep, you idiot!”