Author's Note: You may want to view this as a slash fic. I don't really care. Please tell me what you think of it after reading. Thank you. If you've read this somewhere else, no, this is not plagiarized. I posted this in some other site. So do not pester me about it. I just tried posting it.


Leaning on You


“You’re alone, Watanuki-kun?”
Watanuki looked up and saw the asking face of his homeroom teacher. He flashed his teacher a perfectly practiced fake smile.
“I’m sorry, sensei. There’s no one else who could come with me to this parent-teacher meeting.” He said, hoping the slight tremble in his voice would not be noticed.
The teacher nodded.
“Oh, well. Alright. Shall we start?”
Watanuki nodded and managed to let out a weak smile, despite the strange heavy weight inside him, straining every bit of his body.

---

When he walked out of the room and said his cheerful goodbye to his homeroom teacher, he was at least expecting that the heavy weight inside him would dissipate and he could carry out his routine perfectly all throughout the day. But as he took each step away from the room, the weight inside just seems to become heavier.
He was actually sure that he could attend the parent-teacher meeting without feeling sad. He was sure he could handle it, since he had been telling himself for years now, that he’s just doing fine living alone. But the feeling of loneliness is really hard to forget, especially when you have been trying to endure it for many years. Just like the spirits who have seemed to become a part of his miserable life, loneliness is something that he can’t just separate from his system.
He knew self-pity was almost a sin. Because it triggers different emotions in him, making him feel a little bit more helpless than he already feels he is. But then again, he can’t help it. He is an orphan. He doesn’t have many friends, if he could actually call Yuko-san and the others his friends. Well, he could consider Himawari-chan a friend, and perhaps the stupid Doumeki, too, although he was sure friend isn’t the term he would desire to call the idiot Doumeki who seems to get on his nerves everyday.
In short, he’s still alone. Because, at the end of the day, he would still enjoy his unbearably painful isolation in his apartment room. Alone.
And just like those depressing nights, the parent-teacher meeting is like a reminder to his solitude.
And so, he should be given the freedom to self-pity because the root is a fact. A fact that, no matter how hard he try to set aside, will remain and will perhaps forever continue to remind him that life is an unjust bastard, and that he was one of the unlucky ones who had experienced its injustice.
And so with a frustrated sigh he continued down the hallway, which was already deserted since the students either have gone home already, or was still with their parents happily discussing their academic status with their homeroom teachers.
That is why he was a little surprised to find the familiar figure of his stupid friend Doumeki, walking towards him.
“Oi.”
The usual anger flowed throughout his body, and his eyes automatically gave out a glare in return.
“Can’t you at least use the name of the person you’re greeting when you’re doing it, you oaf!” He exclaimed, and he felt the heavy weight inside him dissipate a little, if it was possible.
The object of his insult did not even budge at his remark.
“You done with your meeting?” The jerk asked, and the question brought forth the familiar heaviness again.
He concealed the conflicting emotions by plastering a fake scowl on his face.
“Of course, you dummy! Why would I even lurk around here this time if I wasn’t! Why are you asking anyway?! It’s as if you’re waiting for me.”
He waited for the other’s denial, but the young man merely stared at him. Was he really waiting for him? Why would the oaf do that? There was no freakin’ way the stupid Doumeki would do that for him.
“Anyway, I’m going home.” He said, as he walked past Doumeki. He can’t keep the face up any longer. He was sure the heaviness inside him would eventually make him break down and he certainly refuse to show it to anyone, especially to Doumeki. The reason for it, he wasn’t sure either.
He was startled out of his thoughts when he felt a hand grab his wrist, pulling him back.
“What the hell do you think you’re—
He was cut short when his nose came in contact with Doumeki’s shoulder, making him feel the warmth radiating from the said man.
“What are you doing, you stup—
“Cry.”
The word resonated all throughout his system. And he couldn’t stop himself from trembling.
He wasn’t sure what came to him but he felt the tears slowly trickling down his cheeks. He was trying to make up some kind of retort but his mind was too hazy and he couldn’t summon up the courage to actually blurt out some words. He was afraid he would hear his own trembling voice. And so he decided to finally let go and brought one hand to clutch the fabric of Doumeki’s uniform, before trying to restrain himself from sobbing loudly.
It was too much for him. The feelings he was trying to conceal since his parents died, were easily seen by this stupid, dumb imbecile before him, who was making a bad effort in consoling him.
He felt a hand pat him at the back of his head, and that was enough to make him break down completely, the loud sobs being unbearable anymore. He buried his face onto the man’s shoulder completely so as to stifle the sobs coming from his damn mouth. He knew it was embarrassing, but he couldn’t stop.
He just couldn’t stop.
After fretting that way for a few minutes, he felt better and the sobs died down. He felt a strange lightness inside him, and he was sure he had never felt any better than this his whole life. It was new to him. To feel this better after pouring all of the heaviness in his heart.
And it felt so good.
He came back to his senses and felt the damp fabric of Doumeki’s uniform, making him immediately pull back, and he quickly wiped the trail of his tears on his face using the back of his hand. He was thankful Doumeki said nothing and just stared at him.
He turned away and started to walk away. He expected footsteps to follow him, and so his eyebrows twitched in irritation when he heard nothing. He turned to glare at the man who was still staring at him with the usual stoic expression plastered on his face.
“Aren’t you going to walk, you moron?!”
Doumeki just blinked at him, and slowly started to move towards him. Watanuki waited for the man to arrive beside him before taking a step forward matching Doumeki’s long strides.
Strangely, he could feel that his steps are far too lighter than before. He halted and Doumeki stopped as well, blinking at him in confusion.
“D-do you want to have dinner in my apartment tonight?” He asked, cursing himself mentally for his stuttering.
Doumeki blinked at him for a while before letting out a small smile.
“I want Omurice.”
Watanuki narrowed his eyes in annoyance.
“You ungrateful bastard! Who are you to demand food from me, huh?! If you were Himawari-chan, I’d gladly do it! But you, you insolent bastard, dare to demand such from me! Aargghh!” He roared, and the man just raised his hands to cover his ears, making Watanuki flail his arms more furiously, while stomping along with Doumeki out of the building.
As he walked out of school along with the imbecile, Watanuki can’t help but think that life is really an unjust bastard.
Although, its unjust ways may not be that always unbearable as he thought.