Work Text:
Overall, Watanuki couldn't be more proud of Himawari's primary career choice. She had studied psychology at the same university that Doumeki had studied folklore, and then she had been hired by an non-governmental organization where people with depression and other problems could call or send messages through the website and speak to a trained therapist for free.
It made him happy to know that some people who really needed it could count on her kindness and sweetness, and that despite her bad luck she could still make a positive impact on the world.
Then there was her secondary career, Watanuki's feelings about this were a little more complex...it had started when she was still in college and she had become friends with a classmate who was a very good drawer, and after talking for a long time they decided to make a doushinji together with the girl drawing and Himawari writing the script, a shonen ai doushinji.
She told him this during her annual visit on his nineteenth birthday, and gave him a copy of the first one she had made. He was surprised to say the least, but it was Himawari so even before reading it he congratulated her and offered her access to the extensive collection of shonen ai and yaoi manga and DVDs that Yuuko had left behind for her to use as research and inspiration, something she made plenty of use of in the years that followed with Doumeki often coming to the shop with things she had borrowed, and lists of things for him to bring back for her.
When Watanuki read it, he was surprised to find how much he liked it. Of course, he was biased because it was something that came from Himawari and that in itself gave him an initial positive attitude towards anything, but he knew he would have liked it even if that hadn't been the case. The plot of that first one was simple but captivating, he found himself smiling at times, and laughing at others and genuinely rooting for the two boys in the story to end up together.
After that, in the long hours between clients, he found himself reading some of the manga in Yuuko's collection, partly to provide Himawari with recommendations that might be useful to her, and partly for his own pleasure. He was somewhat selective, there were many things he didn't like, but he did find a few authors that he liked quite a bit, though none as much as Himawari.
It didn't surprise him at all that she decided to do more, and that the plots kept getting better, and that eventually after a few years she caught the attention of a publisher.
He had received the first volume of her latest work from Doumeki the day before and had read it after Doumeki left the store, and then he had read it again and again and again. His normal reaction after reading one of Himawari's works was to call her or text her to congratulate her and tell her about the parts he had liked best. But not this time.
The next day when Doumeki showed up after work at the university one of the first things he asked was:
“Have you read Himawari’s new manga?”
“Yes.”
“Did you notice anything peculiar about the main couple this time?”
Doumeki seemed to hesitate for a second before saying:
“Yes.”
“Well, I thought I was the only one, like I have no idea why this character would be interested in the other, the story was still good, but the couple didn’t make sense.”
Doumeki for one moment just looked at him in silence, before asking:
“That’s the peculiar thing you noticed?”
“Yes, what did you think I was talking about?”
“Nothing, continue.”
“I have no idea why the love interest is interested in the protagonist, all he does is scream and get himself into awkward and dangerous situations where he needs to be rescued, and then after all that he barely shows any gratitude.”
“I remember him making sweets for the love interest as a thank you.”
“Doumeki I know you think with your stomach, but no matter how good the sweets are it’s not an equivalent reward to having someone save your life.”
“From what I understand having the protagonist well and spending time with him is the true reward for the love interest.”
“That’s precisely my point. The guy keeps saving him over and over again and sacrificing himself for him and it never occurs to him that he’s doing these things because he’s in love with him. How can anyone be so dense???”
Doumeki considered the question for a moment before saying:
“It really is a mystery.”
“It pains me but I think this time I’m going to have to tell Himawari-chan that she needs to make the protagonist less clueless in the next volume.”
“That might be an improvement.”
“I’ll still say positive things, I liked the plot, and the dialogue, and the scene in the amusement park was pretty funny, and even though the protagonist clearly doesn’t deserve it I hope he and the other guy end up together.”
“They probably will, Himawari likes happy endings.”
“I know, I asked her about it once and she told me that reality often is depressing enough already”
“A good point.”
“And you, do you want them to end up together?”
Once again Doumeki hesitated for a second before saying:
“Yes, since the first page.”