Dec. 27th [xxxHOLiC] Small Sacrifices

[lady-kikyou.livejournal.com]

Title: Small Sacrifices
Day/Theme: Dec. 27th - Eating outdoors one cold winter
Series: xxxHOLiC
Character/Pairing: Clow Reed x Yuuko Ichihara
Rating: PG

                

                 “Nice try, dear, but not good enough yet,” Clow chuckled and fixed his glasses on the bridge of his nose, unaffected.

 

A few meters away, Yuuko stood in the snow with her arms crossed over her chest, and a pout fully evident on her features. That had been, at least, the fourth time she had tried to knock him out with a snowball, but he had managed to dodge each and every one of her attempts with little to no effort. Noticeably, he had Seen them all coming, but it didn’t hurt to pretend he was normal for once and purposefully take the hit.

 

Well, perhaps it did hurt a little, but it would amuse her so!

 

“How am I supposed to start a snowball fight with you if you’re such a stubborn target?” She walked up to him, still visibly annoyed.

 

“Pray tell me, why is it that you wish to engage on a snowball fight with me?”

 

“Well, let’s see. On the right,” She made a motion to the side with both arms, indicating the spot where their magical creations and the Sun Guardian took a rest. “We have sleeping Mokonas and a completely passed out Kerberos, who not only isn’t very fond of icy weathers by nature, but also has been playfully maimed by said pair of hyperactive creatures.”

 

Clow couldn’t contain a soft chuckle at that sight. Poor Kerberos had proved to be a great source of entertainment for Soel and Larg, but it always came with a price.

 

“And on the left,” In an even more dramatic action, she proceeded to gesture towards the silver-haired angel lying under a white-topped tree, inert. “We have Yue. I don’t think I have to go into any further details with that one, do I?”

 

This time, his laugh sounded louder than before. Yue was definitely too quiet sometimes, to the point of coming off as lethargic – he was almost like a cat, Clow figured. “You certainly don’t,” He conceded, a wide smile plastered on his face. “Yue isn’t really one for games that require a lot of energy, is he?”

 

“I would phrase that differently,” She mumbled, deciding to leave it at that. “But anyway. With snoozing Mokonas and a dead Kerberos, I’m stuck with you. And that is not a good thing, mind you.”

 

“And why would that be?”

 

“Because you’re not fun! And that takes us to my next point,”

 

“That you’re bored?”

 

“Exactly!” She huffed and stared at him, frustrated. “And the fact that you know this and yet refuse to do anything about it only reinforces my initial point!”

 

“That I am not fun?” He asked, in his most cynically innocent smile. He was too happy to let her get to him, and that would normally take a lot to accomplish, even when he wasn’t in such a good mood.

 

A pause. “You do realize that you’re only digging yourself deeper into the hole, right?”

 

He chuckled again, his amusement steadily growing - at the same rate her annoyance did. “Set yourself at rest, dearest. Lunch will be ready in a few minutes, and that should keep you busy for a while.”

 

“Finally!” Yuuko heaved a deep, overly exasperated sigh and dropped to the floor, right by his side. Even if she was supposed to have gotten rather accustomed to his crazy ideas by now, his eccentricities still managed to bother her every once in a while, and this was definitely one of them. “Now, tell me again,” She pulled her knees closer to her and rested one elbow on them, propping her head up with her hand. “Why do we have to eat outside the house, anyway?”

 

“Well,” His smile widened and he reclined against the tree they had been sitting under, searching for a more comfortable position. “It’s such a beautiful day out here, so I thought we could properly enjoy it with a nice meal and a bit of playtime.”

 

There was another long minute of silence, and a lot of sharp staring on Yuuko’s behalf before she spoke again, hooking an eyebrow. “Clow?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“It’s snowing.”

 

“Why, yes, it is,” He beamed in contentment and moved his arms slightly upwards so to catch a single snowflake in his palm, almost as though oblivious to Yuuko’s glare. He wasn’t, though. “And I still think it’s a wonderful day,”

 

“Last time I checked, you didn’t like winter very much,”

 

“Perhaps I don’t,” He turned to her and their gazes locked. “That doesn’t mean I can’t find winter days a beautiful sight, though.”

 

“How can you find beauty in something you don’t like?”

 

“It isn’t that hard, really,” He shrugged a little, then gestured towards the garden area of his house. “Just look around you. The people I care for the most are all here, together and in blissful joy, each one in their own way. That is the most beautiful thing my eyes could ever wish to witness.”

 

While Clow silently watched the peaceful slumber of his creations, Yuuko took her time to watch him. He had that terribly gentle and somehow vacant look upon his features, one that blended happiness and another feeling she couldn’t quite name. It came as no surprise that she could never fully read his heart; it was the most wonderful thing she had ever met, and far too extensive for her to reach its limits.

 

His greatest virtue and only flaw was to love too much, that much she knew. Giving a little more thought to it, it made sense that he would face downsides of winter, just for the sake of those he treasured. He had already gone much further than that, had given up too much, all for the very same purpose – for the future of the people he loved.

 

And then she laughed. For someone as powerful and wise, Clow could be remarkably silly sometimes.

 

“You’re probably going to say I sound too corny, yes?” When he turned to her again, his smile resembled faint hints of embarrassment. He had been on a daze again, and so he should expect Yuuko to mock him for that.

 

“Well, corny works as well, though I was actually going for stupid,” She grinned, dusting off several snowflakes latching to his robes. “Look at you, you’re shivering!”

 

“I can make a sacrifice. It’s a small price to pay.”

 

Yuuko shook his head at him and sighed in defeat. Clow had this insatiable need to give, to bring happiness to people everyone around him, and he had progressed far too much into his life to change that now. Then, rather than dragging the topic any longer, she settled for hugging the magician, as a means to keep him warm and offer some comfort. Mostly, she just wanted to thank him for caring so much, and there was no better way to express herself than returning the affection in kind.

 

“Idiot,” She whispered fondly, even if her words said otherwise.

 

He chuckled. “You know, for someone that you deem an idiot and not fun enough, you are awfully close to me, dearest.”

 

“Yeah, well. I can make a small sacrifice, too.”