log; in progress

[i-themagician.livejournal.com]

When; Thursday, October 30th, the night of the masquerade
Rating; PG
Characters; Lucy Saxon (inbetrayal) and Clow Reed (i_themagician).
Summary; He was the one who closed the door, yes, and then locked it - but it was understood that she could crack it whenever she wanted.
Log;

Dancing. A wonderful pastime. The best thing about it is that it gives you the opportunity to flirt with and impress people with whom you have absolutely no intention of getting involved - the addition of masks only makes it better, enabling you to do so under the pretense of anonymity. In the nineteenth century, masquerade balls were little more than an excellent excuse to go home with someone other than your spouse with the (dubiously) plausible deniability of not realizing who it was.

Clow doesn't have any desire to go home with anyone tonight, but he gets an odd bit of amusement out of making people think otherwise. It works - he doesn't even look like himself dressed in a white suit and with that feathery mask with the wing motif. It's hard to say how exactly he solved the problem of trying to wear spectacles and a mask at the same time, but there you go. He's being a bit of a wallflower at the moment, watching the dancers and the attendees as a whole and trying to pretend that he doesn't see that familliar figure across the dance floor.

Comments

[i-themagician.livejournal.com]

Well, there's an expression that she should erase from her dictionary. Clow was convinced that he was the only one who was allowed to smile sadly and get away with it. In any case, it's difficult to decipher what exactly she means by it and this might only make things worse, but-- he kisses her tenderly on the forehead, as if kissing a small cut to make it all better. And then he holds her closer as they continue to dance. It doesn't really matter what she's doing there or why, just so long as she understands that he's there for her.

[inbetrayal.livejournal.com]

She could probably come up with a few viable synonyms if she tried, really. She lets him, though - she's almost slightly surprised by it, and has the slightest feeling of trepidation about it, but she lets him. She even brushes her fingers - of the hand on his shoulder - against his jaw, briefly. It's a small gesture of affection, a little bit of vulnerability willingly shown in return.

After a few more measures, listening to the music slow down (the end of the song coming, soon), she says, just quietly enough for only him to hear, "Do you remember what I said to you, that night after the memory curse?"

[i-themagician.livejournal.com]

He leans into the touch a bit, savoring it, as they slow down with the music.

"We both said a lot of things that night." But he's smiling, perhaps remembering that very thing she's thinking of.

[inbetrayal.livejournal.com]

"Then I imagine you'll have to recall what I'm referring to on your own," she says, very softly, leaning up just far enough so her lips are next to his ear, "because I won't say it again." It's not a seductive movement, or even coy (at least not purposefully), but it's an action almost a bit too intimate for the setting - the masks are emboldening, a pretension of anonymity and thus to lack a consequence. "But I want to say: it still holds true."

The music slows, then, dipping to a halt as the song ends (and so, too, the dance). She pulls back, meeting his eyes not with hope but again, rather, that small bit of sadness - more fond than anything else this time.

[i-themagician.livejournal.com]

Of course she won't say it again. He can't just fall in love with people who give their love freely. It's so much better when it's rare, though, when he has to work for the slightest hint of affection. It makes him smile all that much brighter, makes him just a little cockier - as if he really needed to be, right? Which in turn makes them want to swat him down harder.

"Then just know that I feel the same way about you." A finger reaches and caresses her chin as he hears himself echo Yuuko's words to him, as he pulls away from Lucy and leaves her. 'Go be happy with that other man,' he wants to say, and he'd mean it... if she could. His heart sinks. If she could ever really be happy.

[inbetrayal.livejournal.com]

She closes her eyes for a moment as he touches her face, eyelids fluttering shut as she leans forward just a bit in response. Of course he does, and of course it won't change anything. He pulls away, and her eyes flicker open again, but she doesn't do anything to stop him - just watches as he walks away, standing still in the midst of a flurry of movement.

She could be happy - she has, but it would only be a halfway sort of joy at most. Bittersweet, and though she's hardly feeling any joy right now, there is the bitter part - a tightness in her throat, a prickle in the corners of her eyes. Wishes never do get granted in quite the way they're supposed to.