Work Text:
As if the heat wasn’t enough, Watanuki stands under the burning sun next to his absolutely least favorite person in the world, Doumeki. The track bends toward them between yellow lines. His rage bubbles and simmers in his chest as someone fires a gun, setting events into motion. He taps his foot. The volume of the crowd increases as they shout names of classmates to cheer them on their way. Watanuki can’t hear it over the anger hissing and rolling to a boil, which sounds a bit like Doumeki, Doumeki, Doumeki.
“Would you stop doing nothing so loud already?!” Watanuki’s anger overflows and explodes out of him.
Doumeki passively puts a finger in his ear. “I’m not doing anything.”
“I know! I can hear you not thinking! Stop not thinking so close to me!”
Watanuki’s favourite part of sports day was slipping out of any responsibilities. As a member of the go-home-early club, no one would look to him to do this or that. He might get the dregs activity of a three-legged race, but that was it. This year, he wasn’t so lucky.
“Watanuki, would you run the relay race?” Himawari’s voice is sweet as sugar and makes flowers bloom in his chest. No matter what, Watanuki can never say no to her.
“Anything, Himawari-chan!” He agrees without asking for any more information. “I’ll win the relay race for our class, so please cheer me on from the sidelines!”
“Oh, I’ll be preparing lunches in the school by then.”
“I’ll get to eat a lunch hand-made by Himawari-chan!”
“Actually, we’re buying them from a store,” says Himawari. “We just need to divide everything up into bags for everyone.”
“I’ll get to eat a lunch that Himawari-chan put in a bag!” When Watanuki stopped twirling, a thought occurred to him. “Hey, why did you want me to run? I’m not on the track team.”
“I heard that you were good at running!” Himawari’s glimmering eyes and sweet smile made Watanuki’s stomach do flips. “Doumeki-kun told me.”
Doumeki’s name from Himawari’s sweet mouth was like a shotgun to the gut. “What does he know?!”
“He says you’re always running away from monsters and stuff while screaming your head off.” Himawari’s tone was cheerful and her smile didn’t falter, but Watanuki’s did.
“Anyone would scream in that situation!!!”
Thinking about Himawari’s cute and elegant smile is almost enough to outshine the dark cloud Doumeki's presence had brought to his day. Behind them, crowds cheered as the baton was passed from the second runner to the third. Doumeki turned to watch his classmate approaching. Watanuki stared a hole through the head of Doumeki.
Watanuki thought about all the times he ran at full tilt down narrow town streets, pursued by bear-like spirits and youkai. The sprint from school to home wasn't even so bad anymore, though he made the sprint from home to school more often, for some reason, and that direction had more downhill slopes.
Meanwhile, Doumeki was on the archery team. Did he even know how to run? Maybe he could run well if he used his hands? His shoulders were jacked, but could his long legs hold up his big burly torso and manage to keep up with quick, lithe Watanuki?
“How about we make a wager?” The words slipped from Watanuki's mouth before he even decided what was on the table.
Without moving his head, Doumeki's eyes slid to Watanuki. It's a wordless communique that Watanuki has seen a thousand times, which means: Yes, my lord? Go on, and share your wisdom to me, your lowly servant. I may be too stupid to understand, but I shall try.
Then, Watanuki knows what he wants.
“If I win, you get to be my servant for a day.”
Even the thought made Watanuki tingle. Oh the sweet little revenges he could enjoy! The groveling he could—
“No,” said Doumeki, as he turned to face forward and readied himself to take the baton.
“What do you mean, no?!” Watanuki howled.
“You're too loud,” Doumeki complained quietly, and the patter of classmates’ steps get louder.
“You just think you're going to lose!” Watanuki barked back, but it was too late to negotiate.
Watanuki started to run and the baton slapped into his palm from behind.
He charged into the best sprint he had, but he realized at once that his heart wasn't in it. He never ran for fun, he ran for his life. Trying to visualize a giant abomination looming over him from behind didn't work, because he knew nothing was there. And he knew nothing was there because Doumeki was, and he chafed against Watanuki's psyche like an alarm clock that he couldn't turn off. Like the gentle brush of sandpaper—no, untreated wood, all full of splinters and stuff. Yeah, like that!
Without Himawari's bright, soft, gentle sunshine, Watanuki just couldn't cope with Doumeki's grating, scraping—
Oh! That's right, he was doing this for Himawari!
Watanuki tried to run with renewed vigor. His class was faster than Doumeki's, so he had a head start, but he could feel the prickling discomfort of Doumeki's presence coming up fast—or maybe it was the sound of his footsteps.
Maybe if I win he won't be my servant for a day, but I can still say I won against Doumeki!
The finish line seemed so far, but inches closer. Halfway there. Nearer! Watanuki reminded himself to breathe.
Doumeki appeared in the corner of his eye.
Watanuki heard Himawari's voice over the crowd.
“Go, Watanuki!”
And then—
“Huh?” Said the announcer. “Is that a cat?”
A black figure smeared out onto the track in front of the runners. The cat stopped in Watanuki's lane and froze, staring right at him.
Watanuki hit the brakes, which were his feet, and they tangled up. He teetered, balance gone, and tried to steer himself in midair so that if he faceplanted into the pavement, he at least wouldn't hit the cat.
But instead he fell into open arms which spun him gracefully back to his feet. Big, warm, sturdy arms.
“Are you okay?” Doumeki asked.
Watanuki was furious. “Obviously.”
“Nice save from runner Doumeki-kun from class 2-4! I think he's the real winner of this year's sports festival, don't you think folks?”
At the announcer’s generous encouragement, the crowd went wild.
“And this year’s winner is class 2-1’s Yamada-kun! Let's hear it for class 2-1! And I'll give my lunch to whoever finds the cat!”
Watanuki sighed and pushes away from Doumeki’s chest. “I guess neither of us get to be anyone's servant for a day.”
Doumeki was almost speechless, which is almost as annoying as when he spoke. “I'll take a banana crêpe,” he said.
"You didn't even win!"