Dec. 23rd [xxxHOLiC] Until Next Time

[lady-kikyou.livejournal.com]

Title: Until Next Time
Day/Theme: Dec.23rd – Do I want to know?
Series: xxxHOLiC
Character/Pairing: Clow Reed x Yuuko Ichihara
Rating: PG
Warnings: Sequel to Wedding Bells and Family Affairs.

 

The blood-red liquid oozed from the bottle, droplet by droplet, as though dreading to fill up that same glass for the fifth time in a row. It could actually have been much more frequent of an action than a mere five times, but Clow had long given up trying to keep track of them.

 

Approaching with caution, he handed over the drink to Yuuko, only to watch her drink it all in a single gulp and then thrust the glass right back at him, ordering more. He sighed in concern but promptly complied, fetching her yet another dose of wine. Really, it came as no surprise that Yuuko wouldn’t be terribly pleased at the idea of meeting his mother and having to pretend they were happily engaged, though he never quite expected her to react this way once the woman returned to China – from endless torture to painfully long lectures, it was all perfectly acceptable. Anything but this.

 

Anything but a miserable-looking Yuuko.

 

“Don’t you think you’re abusing alcohol?” He ventured, almost afraid his question would make her look even more distressed. Luckily, it didn’t, though it did earn an annoyed roll of eyes from her. If anything, he was grateful for that.

 

“Not any more than I usually do. Besides, alcohol is good for me. For my mental health, at least.”

 

“Oh, come on, Yuuko. It wasn’t so bad.”

 

“Oh, sure it wasn’t,” She glared, irony dripping from her words. “Only to you, you freak! In fact, you were having a blast, weren’t you?”

 

He had to make an effort not to grin and give himself away. “I have no idea as to what you speak of, dearest.”

 

“Cut the act already, Clow. I saw the smile on your face.”

 

“But that is not a rare sight, is it?”

 

“It is, when followed by an evil, evil glint in your evil eyes.” Her tone steadily went up several octaves with every time she mentioned the word ‘evil’, just for reinforcement. Clow simply chuckled at that.

 

“I am not evil, dear. Although I will concede I had quite some fun watching you try and explain to mother your ideas on child care.”

 

A pout. “It’s not my fault that the Mokonas are the closest thing to parenting experience that I have, is it?” She tried to defend herself, though her excuse didn’t quite serve her purpose.

 

“Well, no. But you could have used some common sense,” He reasoned in his usual, kind tone, figuring the last thing Yuuko needed right now was to get scolded for her lack of motherly skills. “I’m sure that your concepts of family bonding weren’t quite what mother had been expecting to hear.”

 

“What’s wrong with a nice family reunion by the fireplace?”

 

“While having drinking games?”

 

“In our case, it cannot be helped,” Her reply was expressed in a matter-of-fact fashion. She believed to be stating the obvious, anyway. “You have to realize that, if we were to ever have children together, they would be born alcoholics. Hell, look at how Soel and Larg came out, and they weren’t even conceived through conventional means!”

 

“Should we try that next time, then?”

 

There was a long moment of eerie silence in the room before Yuuko spoke again, sparing her friend a bland stare. She was barely in the mood for bothering with a smarmy response like she would gladly do on any other occasion, but such a comment simply could not go by without receiving proper attention.

 

“You know, I should be punishing you right now, for this whole ordeal and for what you just said.”

 

“Then how come you’re not?”

 

“Because no torture method known to mankind as of now is punishment enough for you, so I have to come up with improvements,” She was mildly impressed at how well she had pulled off her nasty facet, but then something else came to mind and she added, devious smirk in place. “Maybe I should use your mother for inspiration.”

 

Now, Yuuko believed, she had just outdone herself.

 

Much to her dismay, he only laughed in amusement. He knew she was trying to be mean, but he barely took that as a personal offense, as Clow himself had already suffered rather considerably under that woman’s influence. “She can be terrifying, can’t she?”

 

“I’m not sure that word is strong enough. I’m still in a state of shock after having two Reeds in the same room, and trust me, it takes a lot to get on my system like this!”

 

“Oh, I think you can handle the Reed family fairly well. Mother did seem to like you, after all.”

 

“And I think the Reed family has a very creepy way to express their liking of someone,” She retorted, staring at him. Clearly, she wasn’t only referring to Clow’s mother, but she decided to add further commentary, just as a safety measure. “In which case, stay away from me.”

 

“That is not negotiable, Yuuko dear,” His gleeful smile widened, and it scared the witch. “As long as we’re together, mother will spare me from her sermon, and I do wish to be on her good side for once.”

 

“Don’t tell me she actually believed that whole story, did she?”

 

“She certainly didn’t. But she saw the truth behind it, and that satisfied her for the time being.”

 

“How so?”

 

“Well, she finally found a marriage prospect that I can agree to, and that was a great step. All there is left to do is to arrange an actual wedding.”

 

A brief pause, followed by a menacing glare. “…I do hope you’re not hinting at what I think you are, Clow Reed.”

 

“I would never have you marry me unless you wanted to,” He assured. “However, as long as mother believes I am, at least, trying to convince you into matrimony, that should keep her quiet.”

 

“Ah, I see,” She exhaled softly in relief, though there were the faintest hints of disappointment in her face, if one were to take a close look. “I think I can do that… for a price, of course.”

 

“Of course. Also, I should inform you that I have a message from her, to the both of us.”

 

“Do I want to know?” She gave him a dubious glance, hesitant.

 

“I think you’d find it amusing, to say the least,” He chuckled, placing one hand over his mouth out of courtesy. Them he proceeded. “She said, and I quote, pretending to pretend takes twice the effort of stating the obvious truth. Spare your genius and time when I see you next, and give me a grandchild at last. Hopefully one that will resemble a human more than a magical bunny, even though Soel and Larg are just as adorable.”

 

By the time Clow delivered the last line, Yuuko was gaping.

 

Out of impulse, she emptied her glass of wine even faster than before and shoved the now clear container at the man by her side, refusing to get even the slightest glimpse of his features. That could be enough to make her lose whatever remainders of sanity she still possessed.

 

“If you keep drinking this much, you will wake up to a hangover in the morning, dearest.” He warned, though granting her whim yet again.

 

                   “I’ve just had a double dose of the Reed Factor down my throat in one sit. I can’t possibly get any worse of a hangover than I already do.”