Hawking and Hitsuzen (Eriol/Kaho) *repost*

[storypaint]

Comm: 30_romances
Words: 379
Fandom: Cardcaptor Sakura
Title: Hawking and Hitsuzen
Author: rhap_chan
Theme(s): 31. The Library; Bookshop
Pairing/Characters: Hiiragizawa Eriol/Mizuki Kaho
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Cardcaptor Sakura belongs to CLAMP. This fanfic is a derivative of canon material that is not my property. I do not profit from these writings. The opinions and actions expressed in these stories are not necessarily the views and beliefs of the original author or me.

Excerpt: They met in a bookshop in London. It was entirely an accident, Kaho thought at first, but of course, she thought later, hitsuzen makes fools of us all.

They met in a bookshop in London. It was entirely an accident, Kaho thought at first, but of course, she thought later, hitsuzen makes fools of us all.

She saw him in the Metaphysics section, apparently quite lost in thought. He was a child, and Japanese by the look of him. Kaho was instantly interested. She was going to Japan to teach overseas the next year.

"How's the book?" she said casually, coming around the corner with something in her hands more suited to his apparent age group (C.S. Lewis's The Magician's Nephew, not realizing how close she was to hitting the mark).

Casually he reshelved it and said, "Hawking always backs up his statements with inconclusive evidence. I read this one a few weeks ago."

"You were holding the book upside down," Kaho pointed out. He was the know-it-all type, she realized. It was always best to take them down a peg, or they wouldn't learn anything in class.

"That's because I was waiting for you, Mizuki Kaho," he said in Japanese. She was right about his ethnic origin but was of course more distracted by the fact that he knew her name. She knew she hadn't mentioned it.

"Waiting for me?" she repeated, this time using Japanese. He smiled, and somehow it was a familiar smile. It made her dizzy...

"Of course. It was fated. One day, after all, you shall be Hiiragizawa Kaho, after all. It has a nice ring, doesn't it?"

He smiled and Kaho found herself blushing. This "child" wasn't acting like a child at all. There was something old in his gaze.

"If you will let me treat you to lunch, I will explain everything," he said, holding out his hand. "I am Hiiragizawa Eriol."

"'One who dreams alone,'" she said, the literal translation of his name.

"Yes, it was one of Clow's jokes," Eriol said, as though this Clow person was an old friend of them both. She found herself taking his hand and setting The Magician's Nephew on a shelf as they left the shop.

"Kaho," he said as they walked down the street (he had already dropped honorifics), "do you believe in real, true magic?"

And strange as this was, she found herself saying, "Yes," and holding onto his hand.