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storypaint) wrote2009-08-23 10:07 pm
storypaint) wrote2009-08-23 10:07 pm
To Teach is to Touch (Clow/Yuuko)
Title: To Teach is to Touch
Fandom: xxxHOLiC/Magic Knight Rayearth
Length: 1502 words
Prompt: see lyric prompt below the cut
Pairing: Clow/Yuuko
Other: Magic Knight Rayearth crossover. Sixth in a series; table of contents.
Excerpt: "You'd really think that Mokona would have given us coordinates for the GROUND!" she shouted, attempting to be heard above the wind rushing around them.
"We really should visit Cephiro," Yuuko said one day out of the blue. She leaned back against Clow, who lifted a hand idly to stroke her hair.
"It's not called Cephiro anymore," he reminded. "Remember, Mokona told us--"
"Yes, yes," she said, waving a hand dismissively. "But Mokona invited us to visit before he left. We could meet this Guru Clef he talked about."
They were lying in the grass on their favorite hill, doing nothing because it was one of those days. They'd both been feeling rather lazy, but her idea appealed to Clow. He'd always wondered about the world where will determined all, and he loved meeting others in their profession.
"He gave me the coordinates before he left," Clow said cheerfully, sitting up. She frowned at him, not moving.
"To you?" It was an odd choice to her because she was the one who performed the spell, generally, with Clow providing extra power.
He shrugged and then grinned impishly. "Perhaps he wanted us to go together."
Yuuko snorted and sat up as well. "For a creator, Mokona was oddly into matchmaking."
(Mokona had left them not long after their friendship had begun to dance into a courtship. He taught them the bits and pieces they needed to know to travel worlds-- enough that if they combined their efforts--
And here they were, having traveled universes together, having learned to put up with each other, more or less, having fallen into love even if Yuuko wouldn't really admit it.
It was Mokona's fault, she maintained, and it said something that later she would agree to base Mokona Modoki on him.)
Clow chuckled. "Everyone has their hobbies."
"Well, are we going or not?" she asked, leaning over to poke his nose.
"We're going," he replied, getting to his feet and offering her a hand.
*
"You'd really think that Mokona would have given us coordinates for the GROUND!" she shouted, attempting to be heard above the wind rushing around them.
"Mokona has his michief," Clow answered calmly, pulling his Cards from his pocket.
Yuuko scowled, folding her arms and waiting for Clow to work the spell. She'd just done a big transit and would rather wait for him to stop them from falling than to use any more of her magic.
But before Clow's circle had done anything more than manifested brightly, they landed hard on something. Something that smelled... fishy.
"I think it's a giant fish," Clow said, wheezing. He'd landed on his stomach and was attempting to catch his breath.
Yuuko folded her arms around her knees. "A giant fish."
From what she could see, it had fins. How these were functional for flight, she didn't know, but it had picked them up and seemed to know where it was going, so they let it lead.
Cephiro-- or whatever it was called now-- was a lovely country, mountainous but well-forested. Clow leaned over the edge of the fish and pointed out objects of interest. Eventually they could see a cliff edge and a figure in the distance. He seemed oddly small, though Yuuko chalked that up to perspective until the fish docked itself beside the cliff and she was looking down on the person.
He was very short. Very, very short. He hardly came up to her waist, and Clow dwarfed him even further. She found herself looking into the skull-staff he carried high, nearly at her eye level.
"I'm down here," the person said, flailing an arm for her attention.
Clow looked down at him over her shoulder. He had a polite gaze on his face, but he loomed over both of them, a fact which seemed to irritate the stranger as much as it irritated Yuuko.
"We're looking for the Guru Clef," he said.
"That's who I am," Clef answered, craning his neck up at them. He seemed to take Yuuko's disbelieving expression very personally.
"JUST BECAUSE YOU GUYS ARE GIGANTIC--" he began, waving his staff. Yuuko giggled. The staff was thrown about more angrily. She stepped back out of range and threw Clow a look. He made an attempt to hide his own amusement, but she could see it in his eyes.
"We're friends of Mokona," he said to the tiny figure. Just as swiftly as his rage had began, it dissolved. Clef coughed behind his hand, regaining his dignity.
"Then it's nice to meet you. Mokona hasn't been here for a while, however. Do you have business with him?"
Yuuko leaned down to be closer to his eye level. She grinned. "He told us about a magician friend of his, but he never mentioned..." She put her hand out and then lowered it deliberately, gesturing something small.
Clef's eyebrow twitched.
"--That very interesting staff you have," Clow finished diplomatically. "What sort of creature is that?"
"Oh, this?" Clef looked away from the irritation that was Yuuko and up at the head of his staff. "Actually--"
Yuuko got back to her feet. The gigantic fish was returned to its place in Clef's staff-- an action that greatly interested Clow, who was always fascinated with different ways of sealing things. The three of them made their way to the nearby palace. Clef and Clow were quickly engrossed in a discussion of theory and sealing and the like. Yuuko occasionally offered a thought and more often a tease. She seemed quite pleased by Clef's reactions, which were always disproportionate to his size.
Clow didn't get a chance to mention it until later that night, when she went off to the bathroom, but after he was sure she was gone, he chuckled and said, "You know, she finds your reactions amusing."
The smaller mage sighed. "I know. It's difficult to break long habit."
"If you don't break it, she will break you," he answered matter-of-factly. "Yuuko is very much into 'tough love.'"
Clef snorted. "If you call it love."
"I do," he said cheerfully, and Yuuko emerged from the next room and poked him in the side.
"Are you guys talking about me?" she asked innocently. She leaned up against Clow, making him support her weight until he was almost falling out of his chair.
"Of course, darling," he answered sweetly. Seeming pleased, she took her own seat.
"Hey," she said after a moment of silence, "you have alcohol here, don't you? You are allowed to drink, aren't you, Clef?"
Clef twitched. "Of course," he said coldly. She rested her head in her hand and looked at him, a pleased smile resting on her lips.
Clef met Clow's eyes. Then he turned back to the witch and smiled, a smile that wasn't actually masking his irritation.
"I'll be right back," he said, slipping out of his chair (why he had a room built on a normal person's scale, Yuuko wondered, but it was certainly more convenient for visitors, she supposed).
"You're going to give him an ulcer, dearest," Clow said to her, his gaze just a little reproaching. She shrugged.
"Someone who is as old as he is should be able to control their temper," she declared. "I'm just... helping him realize he has a problem."
"Very helpful," Clow said dryly, and then Clef returned with the bottle and three glasses.
*
The Dimension Witch and the Card wizard stayed in Cephiro for a few days, consulting with Clef, meeting the former Magic Knights, hearing about the things that Mokona had been up to since they'd spoken to him last. The day they left they had a party, which gave the visit, to Clef, an odd sense of finality.
"We have some big plans to finish," Clow said, looking around at the palace and sighing just a little.
"I see," Clef replied. He was curious but didn't want to pry.
"Oh, and Clef," Clow said after a moment's hesitation, "if... travelers should come through here again, a green-eyed girl and an amber-eyed boy... they mean Cephiro no harm, not they nor their companions. They are relatives of mine."
Clef blinked. There was so much context missing from those words. "We shall be sure to entertain them well."
Clow smiled. "I appreciate that."
The day after they left, Clef woke early in the odd silence. It was a magical silence, more than anything; he'd gotten used to the way they carried their power in them and it was strange to feel its absence. Around noon, he found a note that Yuuko had left tucked into the mouth of his staff. It was a request that mirrored Clow's in nearly every way, but of course was tucked into a few silly comments about his height and great age.
Instead of making him angry, it made him laugh. Clef set down the note and picked up his staff.
It only gave him a moment's pause to realize Clow was right. He shook his head. They were Mokona's friends, all right.
He'd have to thank the creator when he passed back through this dimension again.
Fandom: xxxHOLiC/Magic Knight Rayearth
Length: 1502 words
Prompt: see lyric prompt below the cut
Pairing: Clow/Yuuko
Other: Magic Knight Rayearth crossover. Sixth in a series; table of contents.
Excerpt: "You'd really think that Mokona would have given us coordinates for the GROUND!" she shouted, attempting to be heard above the wind rushing around them.
And you say we're too young, but maybe you're too old to remember
And I try to pretend but I just feel it when we're together
-Who's to Say, Vanessa Carlton
"We really should visit Cephiro," Yuuko said one day out of the blue. She leaned back against Clow, who lifted a hand idly to stroke her hair.
"It's not called Cephiro anymore," he reminded. "Remember, Mokona told us--"
"Yes, yes," she said, waving a hand dismissively. "But Mokona invited us to visit before he left. We could meet this Guru Clef he talked about."
They were lying in the grass on their favorite hill, doing nothing because it was one of those days. They'd both been feeling rather lazy, but her idea appealed to Clow. He'd always wondered about the world where will determined all, and he loved meeting others in their profession.
"He gave me the coordinates before he left," Clow said cheerfully, sitting up. She frowned at him, not moving.
"To you?" It was an odd choice to her because she was the one who performed the spell, generally, with Clow providing extra power.
He shrugged and then grinned impishly. "Perhaps he wanted us to go together."
Yuuko snorted and sat up as well. "For a creator, Mokona was oddly into matchmaking."
(Mokona had left them not long after their friendship had begun to dance into a courtship. He taught them the bits and pieces they needed to know to travel worlds-- enough that if they combined their efforts--
And here they were, having traveled universes together, having learned to put up with each other, more or less, having fallen into love even if Yuuko wouldn't really admit it.
It was Mokona's fault, she maintained, and it said something that later she would agree to base Mokona Modoki on him.)
Clow chuckled. "Everyone has their hobbies."
"Well, are we going or not?" she asked, leaning over to poke his nose.
"We're going," he replied, getting to his feet and offering her a hand.
*
"You'd really think that Mokona would have given us coordinates for the GROUND!" she shouted, attempting to be heard above the wind rushing around them.
"Mokona has his michief," Clow answered calmly, pulling his Cards from his pocket.
Yuuko scowled, folding her arms and waiting for Clow to work the spell. She'd just done a big transit and would rather wait for him to stop them from falling than to use any more of her magic.
But before Clow's circle had done anything more than manifested brightly, they landed hard on something. Something that smelled... fishy.
"I think it's a giant fish," Clow said, wheezing. He'd landed on his stomach and was attempting to catch his breath.
Yuuko folded her arms around her knees. "A giant fish."
From what she could see, it had fins. How these were functional for flight, she didn't know, but it had picked them up and seemed to know where it was going, so they let it lead.
Cephiro-- or whatever it was called now-- was a lovely country, mountainous but well-forested. Clow leaned over the edge of the fish and pointed out objects of interest. Eventually they could see a cliff edge and a figure in the distance. He seemed oddly small, though Yuuko chalked that up to perspective until the fish docked itself beside the cliff and she was looking down on the person.
He was very short. Very, very short. He hardly came up to her waist, and Clow dwarfed him even further. She found herself looking into the skull-staff he carried high, nearly at her eye level.
"I'm down here," the person said, flailing an arm for her attention.
Clow looked down at him over her shoulder. He had a polite gaze on his face, but he loomed over both of them, a fact which seemed to irritate the stranger as much as it irritated Yuuko.
"We're looking for the Guru Clef," he said.
"That's who I am," Clef answered, craning his neck up at them. He seemed to take Yuuko's disbelieving expression very personally.
"JUST BECAUSE YOU GUYS ARE GIGANTIC--" he began, waving his staff. Yuuko giggled. The staff was thrown about more angrily. She stepped back out of range and threw Clow a look. He made an attempt to hide his own amusement, but she could see it in his eyes.
"We're friends of Mokona," he said to the tiny figure. Just as swiftly as his rage had began, it dissolved. Clef coughed behind his hand, regaining his dignity.
"Then it's nice to meet you. Mokona hasn't been here for a while, however. Do you have business with him?"
Yuuko leaned down to be closer to his eye level. She grinned. "He told us about a magician friend of his, but he never mentioned..." She put her hand out and then lowered it deliberately, gesturing something small.
Clef's eyebrow twitched.
"--That very interesting staff you have," Clow finished diplomatically. "What sort of creature is that?"
"Oh, this?" Clef looked away from the irritation that was Yuuko and up at the head of his staff. "Actually--"
Yuuko got back to her feet. The gigantic fish was returned to its place in Clef's staff-- an action that greatly interested Clow, who was always fascinated with different ways of sealing things. The three of them made their way to the nearby palace. Clef and Clow were quickly engrossed in a discussion of theory and sealing and the like. Yuuko occasionally offered a thought and more often a tease. She seemed quite pleased by Clef's reactions, which were always disproportionate to his size.
Clow didn't get a chance to mention it until later that night, when she went off to the bathroom, but after he was sure she was gone, he chuckled and said, "You know, she finds your reactions amusing."
The smaller mage sighed. "I know. It's difficult to break long habit."
"If you don't break it, she will break you," he answered matter-of-factly. "Yuuko is very much into 'tough love.'"
Clef snorted. "If you call it love."
"I do," he said cheerfully, and Yuuko emerged from the next room and poked him in the side.
"Are you guys talking about me?" she asked innocently. She leaned up against Clow, making him support her weight until he was almost falling out of his chair.
"Of course, darling," he answered sweetly. Seeming pleased, she took her own seat.
"Hey," she said after a moment of silence, "you have alcohol here, don't you? You are allowed to drink, aren't you, Clef?"
Clef twitched. "Of course," he said coldly. She rested her head in her hand and looked at him, a pleased smile resting on her lips.
Clef met Clow's eyes. Then he turned back to the witch and smiled, a smile that wasn't actually masking his irritation.
"I'll be right back," he said, slipping out of his chair (why he had a room built on a normal person's scale, Yuuko wondered, but it was certainly more convenient for visitors, she supposed).
"You're going to give him an ulcer, dearest," Clow said to her, his gaze just a little reproaching. She shrugged.
"Someone who is as old as he is should be able to control their temper," she declared. "I'm just... helping him realize he has a problem."
"Very helpful," Clow said dryly, and then Clef returned with the bottle and three glasses.
*
The Dimension Witch and the Card wizard stayed in Cephiro for a few days, consulting with Clef, meeting the former Magic Knights, hearing about the things that Mokona had been up to since they'd spoken to him last. The day they left they had a party, which gave the visit, to Clef, an odd sense of finality.
"We have some big plans to finish," Clow said, looking around at the palace and sighing just a little.
"I see," Clef replied. He was curious but didn't want to pry.
"Oh, and Clef," Clow said after a moment's hesitation, "if... travelers should come through here again, a green-eyed girl and an amber-eyed boy... they mean Cephiro no harm, not they nor their companions. They are relatives of mine."
Clef blinked. There was so much context missing from those words. "We shall be sure to entertain them well."
Clow smiled. "I appreciate that."
The day after they left, Clef woke early in the odd silence. It was a magical silence, more than anything; he'd gotten used to the way they carried their power in them and it was strange to feel its absence. Around noon, he found a note that Yuuko had left tucked into the mouth of his staff. It was a request that mirrored Clow's in nearly every way, but of course was tucked into a few silly comments about his height and great age.
Instead of making him angry, it made him laugh. Clef set down the note and picked up his staff.
It only gave him a moment's pause to realize Clow was right. He shook his head. They were Mokona's friends, all right.
He'd have to thank the creator when he passed back through this dimension again.