tampered | log; in progress

log; in progress

When; Monday, July 28th; late afternoon
Rating; PG-13 for heavy alcohol consumption and adult themes
Characters; Yuuko Ichihara (

wishyuumay) and Clow Reed (

i_themagician)
Summary; Clow just wanted to drown his Lucy-related sorrows in alcohol, but an afternoon of inebriation and horribly unhealthy desserts soon turns into serious discussion.
Log;

When Clow came home that afternoon he headed straight to the kitchen. Anyone he came across on the way there got a nod or a curt 'hello' - something out of the ordinary for the magician. On finding the sanctity of his favorite room otherwise undisturbed he heaved a sigh and set to work.

Chocolate, strawberries, brandy - obviously the makings of some sort of evil kind of confection, although a shot of the brandy merely got poured into a glass once one was fetched. On making sure that all of the other ingredients were present, he began melting the chocolate and chopping the strawberries.

There had been no precautions taken to make sure that he wouldn't be followed by curious (or worried?) housemates. In fact, he might even have welcomed the company - especially if it were a certain witch who deigned to intrude.

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She sensed when he returned to her shop (Yuuko made a conscious effort not to think of it as "coming home") and thus she sensed immediately that something was wrong. After all, it wasn't that often that Clow Reed's aura was anything but an oasis of annoying calm and zen.

Putting down her unfinished pipe with a decisive 'clack', Yuuko rose and made her way to the kitchen. Sure enough, there he was, with all Watanuki's pots and pans out and ready. (Well, technically they were hers, but it wasn't like she ever used them herself.) She was quiet for a minute, just observing, but eventually she steps forward over the threshold.

"Strawberries and chocolate. Pretty heavy for an afternoon snack." Her voice is deceptively light and casual.

He of course knew that she was there before she said anything, but when she did he paused and looked over his shoulder at her with a grin. If something was wrong - which indeed it was - it didn't show on his face right at the moment.

"I skipped lunch," he replied, equally casual with a hint of silliness. Even under normal circumstances that would merely serve as a flimsy excuse to eat something so rich. Retrieving another cup, he poured another shot of liquor into it before even bothering to ask, "Brandy?"

It was more than an offer of alcohol; most importantly, it was an invitation to sit and talk with him.

Not like she expected anything less from him. And while his discomfort (though the feeling really did merit a stronger word than that, she thought) did not show on his face, it was too bad he was dealing with an age-old Witch who could read auras. Even his. (Especially his.)

"Is that so," is all she says in response to the pathetic excuse that they both as such. She curls long fingers around the shotglass, though in a rare display of restraint when it came to alcohol, she didn't raise it to her lips immediately.

"Nothing about how it's too early in the day to indulge?"

He knew that he wasn't fooling anyone, but if he couldn't pretend to be cheerful around Yuuko then all really was lost, wasn't it? Besides, even in the mood that he was in, her presence made him want to smile.

"I can hardly complain if I'm also doing so, now can I?" was all he said in reply as he finished chopping the strawberries into small chunks and paused to take a sip from his own glass. He didn't turn around, though - not just yet. Clow couldn't bring himself to initiate the conversation that he knew was going to happen.

"Mmn." It was a non-committal sound, which meant all of nothing as she lifted the glass and took a small sip. Her sharp, wine-coloured eyes remained firmly on the man in front of her.

"So, why are you doing so? You don't usually try to get drunk this early unless there's a reason and unless there's a new fortune-teller in the City..." It was a casual, almost crass reference to the madoushi incident, but there was an undercurrent of "calling your bluff" to her words. Something about his behaviour and aura ever since she returned had been uncomfortably reminiscent of that incident, after all.

He chuckled at that, not even sure quite why it was funny save for the utter crudeness. "No, no..."

Then, as quickly as it had come, his cheer subsided and vanished, leaving only a subdued and wistful gentleman in its wake. "... But a similar situation, I suppose."

It was very similar, wasn't it? He hadn't even noticed until just now, Clow realized, and that fact bothered him a bit. Absently and lost in thought for a moment, he reached over to stir one of the pots on the stove briefly before turning to face Yuuko fully.

"I left a perfectly decent lady because I couldn't handle her, and she put herself in the hospital that very same night."

This is an eyebrow going up, up, up at that statement. She meets his gaze steadily over the rim of the glass that is still held to her lips, realization and something unreadable in her eyes. So that was it. Yuuko wasn't sure how she felt about the news, but she knew that the break-up wasn't how she would have chosen to hear about this new relationship of his. And every fibre in her being was hissing at her to leave because she did not exactly wish to play post-breakup counsellor.

Against all instincts, Yuuko remained where she was.

"Then why are you here?" Danger lurked in every soft nuance of the quiet question; if the question was an animal, it could be likened to a cobra at rest: deceptively calm, but with the threat of one of the deadliest venoms behind it.

"I've nowhere else to be," came the quiet reply - true in every sense of the question that he could think of. He stared at his glass as he swirled it around before taking another sip, then looked back to Yuuko. It took him a few moments to remember that he needn't expect her to hurt him just because she could right now, that he didn't have to employ some kind of fucked-up emotional self-defense mechanism just to talk to her.

(God, what had Lucy done to his mind?)

"Besides which," he continued, choosing the side of optimism because he ~~hoped~~ believed that he could afford to, "I haven't seen enough of you since you came back."

A cautious but genuine smile crept across his lips at that - he wouldn't have seen enough of her even if he were to chain her to his side for the next six months. He had no idea why, but even the fact that he couldn't get enough of her cheered him up a little. Maybe now he'd have something to look forward to again.

I am not your substitute, she wants to say, but the soft answer stops her words dead in their tracks.

(A tiny part of her realizes that she would not kick him out, not now, even if he was just rebounding. A slightly larger part replied that, somehow, at least he always came back.) It didn't erase the tension in her chest, but she could still breathe and there would be time enough later (after she got that look off his face) to say what she wanted to say. (Besides, she needed to figure it out herself first too.)

She studied him over the rim of her glass for another minute before finally tipping it back to take another swallow. In the time it took for the familiar burn to snake from her throat down to her belly, Yuuko allowed herself to contemplate the idea that he had missed her; had felt her absence as acutely as she'd felt his those first few month (years). She did not dwell on it long though; such feelings were immeasurable, so she did not attempt to futilely stack one circumstance against another.

"Well, I'm here now." It was a statement that said volumes on several different levels, and while she did not exactly smile just yet, her eyes when it met his may have contained something of a "Now I'm home".

(Or maybe it was "Welcome home".)

Edited 2008-07-30 03:23 (UTC)

To be honest, the thought of courting Yuuko hadn't even crossed his mind except in the abstract. He wondered if he should expect her to be angry at him for not faithfully and chastely awaiting her return although he would not have expected (didn't expect) the same of her. Clow also wondered if he should act as if he were courting her again or not - but that's all it would have been at this point, an act. It's not surprising that, given the sorts of women he tended to favor, he wouldn't have much interest in moving from one to the next so quickly.

There was nothing to respond with directly to her words, but the look on the magician's face for a moment seemed... happy. Perhaps that's why he couldn't think of anything to say.

It was the oven that finally distracted him, and he checked whatever was in it briefly (apparently something with more chocolate) before closing it again to put on an oven mit.

"Bad news, Yuuko-chan," he reported as he turned away to retrieve whatever was in the oven, suddenly re-adopting his usual egotistical air. It was for levity, really, and because she'd tell him that he was full of himself no matter how he said this. "You shan't be catching me on the rebound. I know that we were courting when you left, but I believe I'd like to spend a little while alone before we go back to that."

You won't be my substitute. My heart needs to mend before I can fill it with someone else. But he will be coming back - or he will have no one.

He gives Yuuko one of his smarmiest smiles, now. "Sorry to disappoint~!"

A ghost of the familiar smirk played across her lips at last when he finished his spiel; he wasn't completely better, but hitsuzen knew he wouldn't be for a while and at least he wasn't going to break.

"In your dreams," she scoffed, affecting to a rather good imitation of his trademark arrogance and cocking her head to one side cheekily. "I don't think I've even suggested that I wished to continue, you arrogant four-eyed freak." And though it was said in a light tone, she was unsure, but not because she was upset at him moving on from her while she was gone; she just needed time to think on herself too. Besides which, she would have been downright offended (for herself and for the still-unknown woman Clow'd been with up till now) if he'd began his act again so soon.

But before they were anything else, they were friends. Good ones, despite everything, because they'd have to be after all these years and achievements together or they'd have killed each other long ago. So Yuuko returns his smarmy smile with a raised eyebrow, and knocks back her entire drink before lounging back in the chair.

"Perhaps it would be best if you moved out then," she said, expression and tone differing vastly from her lethargic posture. There was no anger in it and no resentment; she wasn't saying it as a his might-be lover, but as the friend she'd been to him for so long before that ambiguous change of status. It would be good for him, she thought, to have space and time to himself without her presence to recuperate. "Although I'd insist that you continue to come over and bake whatever it is I'm smelling right now~" An offer of company if he needed it, when he was ready for it.

"Hmm..." Clow trailed off, seriously considering the proposal as he busied himself with putting together 'baked thing + strawberries + melted chocolate + whipped cream' into two bowls (there would be leftovers aplenty, it looked like. Ah, well.) and setting one in front of Yuuko. After retrieving spoons and refilling both of their glasses, he sat down himself.

Such a direct suggestion as that made him realize that although he didn't want to move out it might very well be what he needed. Even as he had been wishing that he could just get away from nearly everyone, he had been resisting solitude as if he didn't think that he could live alone since Shiki had moved away. In the back of his mind he knew that it was foolish and slightly desperate - perhaps even a bad idea - but he didn't think he had a choice.

"... Perhaps," he said, finally. A thoughtful smile came to his face as he considered the last part of what Yuuko had said - he could come back and visit, of course. It would be like old times, wouldn't it? He even had one or two places in mind to look at.

It wouldn't be bad for him, he convinced himself.

"There is the matter of the ticking..." that was muttered, mostly to himself. Yet, he didn't feel that he'd be ready for roommates yet. Maybe not ever. Goodness, that ticking was a bother - but he had lived with it for one straight week, non-stop, so he thought that he could cope with it again in the meantime.

... And once he had made the decision, in his mind, he could see that everything would be fine.

"I think that I can move out by Friday," he stated at last, with an air of confidence and a pleased smile. "If you can live with me for that long."

"I'll survive it somehow," she replied with a cheeky grin, pointing her spoon in his general direction before digging into her (horribly sweet and terribly unhealthy) dessert. A spoonful of strawberries and melted chocolate later, Yuuko sighed with pleasure; sweets with liquor always made her happy. In fact, liquor with just about anything could lift her mood, provided that there was no serious business demanding her attention.

And if Clow wanted to speak more on the matter, he would, she decided. So for the moment, Yuuko was more than happy to devote her attention to steadily and systematically demolishing the confection before her.

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