storypaint (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
storypaint) wrote2009-08-23 10:32 pm
storypaint) wrote2009-08-23 10:32 pm
Reflection (Clow/Yuuko)
Title: Reflection
Fandom: xxxHOLiC
Length: 649 words
Prompt: see lyric prompt below the cut
Pairing: Clow/Yuuko implied; Yuuko and Watanuki gen
Other: Fifteenth in a series; table of contents.
Excerpt: "Do you see the rabbit in the moon, Watanuki?" she asked, her voice soft and far away.
Watanuki learned fast, which was important in his line of work as Yuuko's employee. But Yuuko took a lot of time to figure out. She could be moody in one second, giddy in another, and often the object or action that would set this change in motion would seem insignificant or even nonexistent. But he learned to read her desires, and to anticipate them, having her favorite food prepared when she was feeling particularly tetchy, complaining about his bondage to Doumeki when she wasn't. Even so, he could never anticipate the nights she'd send him home early, full of an odd temper or silly joy.
Of course, after he moved into the shop, on that strange line of temporary confusion that seemed to require him to stay overnights, he saw all of her moods, occasionally fleeing to Doumeki's temple when she became too difficult. Doumeki grunted in response to his whining; it wasn't exactly satisfying, but it was better than having Yuuko breathing down his neck.
She kept a lunar calendar, something unusual in this day and age but not exactly surprising to Watanuki. He'd noticed the crescent moons that seemed to be her decorating theme, and in any case, Yuuko seemed to think of time as an inconvenience more than a duty. The only date she kept with any consistency was her full-moon-viewing.
"My sake, Watanuki~!" she trilled, stepping out onto the porch in a black yukata robe thrown over a mint-colored sheath dress, belted with a saffron-colored obi. Her hair was half-tamed with golden ribbons and she looked like some sort of wild goddess, but Watanuki barely noticed these things anymore. Yuuko would be Yuuko. He produced her moon-viewing sake and two cups (one for Mokona). He prepared, half-heartedly, to leave for Doumeki's, but she grabbed his sleeve.
"You didn't bring enough cups," she declared. "Aren't you staying?"
He was surprised at her request, but retrieved another cup from the kitchen. When he returned, she was sitting on the edge of the porch, long legs dangling off the edge. Mokona was cuddled into her shoulder. He poured for the three of them and then sat down next to his boss, looking up at the moon.
It was low in the sky, as golden as her obi, and huge.
"Do you see the rabbit in the moon, Watanuki?" she asked, her voice soft and far away.
Someone... someone had asked him that question once, but the thought slipped away. "I suppose," he said cautiously. One never knew where Yuuko's thoughts were on nights like this.
"The moon rabbit taught us to make mochi!" Mokona piped up. Yuuko petted it.
"Oh?" Watanuki said.
"We did tsukimi together once, all of us," Yuuko said. She finished her drink and made Watanuki refill it before she continued. "Clow and Mokona and I."
She didn't seem as irritated as she usually did when Clow came up in conversation. He'd only seen her like this once before, almost maudlin. It was a side of Yuuko he wasn't sure how to react to. He shifted uncomfortably.
She looked at him and smiled, showing too many teeth. "You know," she said, "you look like him a little."
Her smile dropped suddenly into a frown, and then she was poking him in the side, her fingernails deftly finding his ticklish spots. He darted sideways, mouth falling open in horror at her sudden attack. Mokona laughed and laughed.
"WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT?"
"Payback," she muttered. He blinked, and before he could demand to know what exactly he was paying for, she thrust her cup at him for a refill. And after that, it was to the kitchen for snacks, and one thing after another until bed.
She drank the last glass alone, standing in the lee of the door, looking anywhere but at the bright moon.
Fandom: xxxHOLiC
Length: 649 words
Prompt: see lyric prompt below the cut
Pairing: Clow/Yuuko implied; Yuuko and Watanuki gen
Other: Fifteenth in a series; table of contents.
Excerpt: "Do you see the rabbit in the moon, Watanuki?" she asked, her voice soft and far away.
My heart is drenched in wine.
But you'll be on my mind forever.
-Don't Know Why, Norah Jones
Watanuki learned fast, which was important in his line of work as Yuuko's employee. But Yuuko took a lot of time to figure out. She could be moody in one second, giddy in another, and often the object or action that would set this change in motion would seem insignificant or even nonexistent. But he learned to read her desires, and to anticipate them, having her favorite food prepared when she was feeling particularly tetchy, complaining about his bondage to Doumeki when she wasn't. Even so, he could never anticipate the nights she'd send him home early, full of an odd temper or silly joy.
Of course, after he moved into the shop, on that strange line of temporary confusion that seemed to require him to stay overnights, he saw all of her moods, occasionally fleeing to Doumeki's temple when she became too difficult. Doumeki grunted in response to his whining; it wasn't exactly satisfying, but it was better than having Yuuko breathing down his neck.
She kept a lunar calendar, something unusual in this day and age but not exactly surprising to Watanuki. He'd noticed the crescent moons that seemed to be her decorating theme, and in any case, Yuuko seemed to think of time as an inconvenience more than a duty. The only date she kept with any consistency was her full-moon-viewing.
"My sake, Watanuki~!" she trilled, stepping out onto the porch in a black yukata robe thrown over a mint-colored sheath dress, belted with a saffron-colored obi. Her hair was half-tamed with golden ribbons and she looked like some sort of wild goddess, but Watanuki barely noticed these things anymore. Yuuko would be Yuuko. He produced her moon-viewing sake and two cups (one for Mokona). He prepared, half-heartedly, to leave for Doumeki's, but she grabbed his sleeve.
"You didn't bring enough cups," she declared. "Aren't you staying?"
He was surprised at her request, but retrieved another cup from the kitchen. When he returned, she was sitting on the edge of the porch, long legs dangling off the edge. Mokona was cuddled into her shoulder. He poured for the three of them and then sat down next to his boss, looking up at the moon.
It was low in the sky, as golden as her obi, and huge.
"Do you see the rabbit in the moon, Watanuki?" she asked, her voice soft and far away.
Someone... someone had asked him that question once, but the thought slipped away. "I suppose," he said cautiously. One never knew where Yuuko's thoughts were on nights like this.
"The moon rabbit taught us to make mochi!" Mokona piped up. Yuuko petted it.
"Oh?" Watanuki said.
"We did tsukimi together once, all of us," Yuuko said. She finished her drink and made Watanuki refill it before she continued. "Clow and Mokona and I."
She didn't seem as irritated as she usually did when Clow came up in conversation. He'd only seen her like this once before, almost maudlin. It was a side of Yuuko he wasn't sure how to react to. He shifted uncomfortably.
She looked at him and smiled, showing too many teeth. "You know," she said, "you look like him a little."
Her smile dropped suddenly into a frown, and then she was poking him in the side, her fingernails deftly finding his ticklish spots. He darted sideways, mouth falling open in horror at her sudden attack. Mokona laughed and laughed.
"WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT?"
"Payback," she muttered. He blinked, and before he could demand to know what exactly he was paying for, she thrust her cup at him for a refill. And after that, it was to the kitchen for snacks, and one thing after another until bed.
She drank the last glass alone, standing in the lee of the door, looking anywhere but at the bright moon.