Love Actually

Fic: Strange Ways

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 02:18:50 GMT

Title: Strange Ways
Author: fairymage
Rating: G
Community: 30_kisses
Theme: #29-The sound of waves
Fandom: Card Captor Sakura
Pairing: Touya/Yukito
Notes: AU. I don't do these very often, but I was playing around with The Fantasy Plotter today and came up with this, and I had to do it. HAD TO. Also for i_am_mikage's Holiday 2007 Request. I FAIL AND I AM VERY LATE.

The old legend went that up in the castle on the hill, high above the thorny forest of roses, there lived a sorcerer. No one knew how old he was – the story was ancient, as far as anyone who knew it was concerned – and no one knew exactly what he did. But he was magical, and dangerous, and it was forbidden and impossible for anyone to climb the mountain to him.

The source of his power, they said, was a magical pearl from the depths of the sea. It was the reason for the thorns at the base of the mountain, the spired castle he lived in, the lonely silence that shrouded his mountain. But it was also the source of the river that flowed through the village, the never-ending good harvests, and the coming of the spring. The pearl had been a gift from a mermaid whom he had loved many centuries ago, but, not understanding the pearl’s great power, when he took it to do his bidding he took the source of her life.

This was why the sea had receded over the years. Once the waves had come crashing up against the base of the mountain; now it was a good five hours’ journey by horse to reach the sandy beaches and bustling seaport. And, though the river had created a means of transportation and trade, the sea was more or less lost to the village.

Perhaps the pearl had granted the sorcerer eternal life. Perhaps he had found ways to keep himself alive, until he could resurrect his lost love. Perhaps perhaps perhaps. The stories floated through the village and through the generations.

---

“No, you can’t just—“ The young man was cut short by a minor explosion. “Good gods, Emily, what have you—“

“I’m sorry!” a distraught young woman apologized with a wail. “I swear I followed the instructions, Touya, I just…”

“Never mind that.” With a wave of his hand the mess was cleaned and the kitchen back in perfect order. “Now try again. Please.”

Training someone else was hard work, the young man reflected. Especially when it was clear that they had skills at neither sorcery nor cooking, the two things his family excelled at. His father was a master chef, traveling the valley and countries below the mountain. His mother had been a quiet witch, supporting the villages in the area in simple ways. Her power had been great, and her reach wide, but her untimely death had left her son to deal with her work as best as his limited skills would allow.

His younger sister was not yet old enough to have discovered, let alone mastered, her own magical power. He sensed it would be quite great, but could do nothing about it for the time being. Instead, he needed to find someone to take over the cooking, since he himself was occupied with trying to fill his mother’s shoes. Emily had her family had lived in a cottage midway up the mountain for as long as they could remember; they had always had a close relationship with Touya’s family, though never quite this intimate.

Just a few hours later, Emily had more or less mastered some basic recipes and had managed to sort out which ingredients were hers and which were Touya’s. He left her in the kitchen to prepare dinner, and took himself up to his mother’s studio. Emily had strict instructions not to disturb him, and to tend to his sister when she returned from their cousin’s home.

Touya knew he was not the sorcerer his mother was. He was only marginally more powerful than his father. Trying to care for the land as his mother had was already beginning to take its toll on him, and he was still a young man. It was no secret to his family and those closest to them that he needed help. But it was also no secret that he would not ask for such help. He spent the better part of the next four hours feeling his way through the land below him, urging crops to grow and water to run clear.

He had barely begun to tend to the forests when his body gave out, as it inevitably did every night, and he collapsed into a deep sleep.

---

Normally his sleep was dreamless. His body and magic needed time to recover before the next day’s tasks. But tonight his dreams were full of colors and shapes and pleasant sounds. Blues and greens and shimmering ivory and the murmur of waves and the soft swish of liquid silk and satin. It was very elegant, and yet oddly comforting at the same time.

Something warm and firm gripped Touya’s shoulder, and he turned around. A young, smiling face greeted him.

“What are you doing here?”

Touya stood still for a moment, staring. A… merman?

“You’re a…”

The pale face smiled even more. “Yes, a merman. And you’re a human sorcerer. There aren’t many of those left, I hear.”

“I wouldn’t know,” Touya admitted. “I’ve never left my home. My family rarely leaves its castle. This is an odd dream to be having,” he mused, turning so as to get a better view of the underwater scenery.

The pale-haired merman laughed and flipped his fins, swimming a slow circle around Touya. “That’s why I wanted to know why you were here. Are you dreaming?” he asked curiously, staring at Touya’s hands in some kind of wonder. Touya still hadn’t had a good chance to look at him.

“I thought I was. But you seem fairly certain I’m not.”

The merman shrugged. “I don’t know. Magic works in strange ways. Wouldn’t you agree?” There was a glimmer of something in his eyes, but Touya couldn’t place it or explain it.

“I suppose.” Now he was looking. Young and fair-haired, with a charming smile and a slim body. His lower half was a striking and alluring shifting of blues and purples that changed every time he moved. His fins were shaped oddly – not like the pointed and rounded fish fins Touya was expecting, but much larger and more elegant.

“You’re not bad-looking yourself,” the merman teased, dropping down to brush the ocean floor as he examined Touya’s legs, which made the young sorcerer feel horribly self-conscious. “I’m Yukito,” he introduced, pulling himself upright so that he was “standing” face to face with Touya.

“Touya,” he replied.

“Well, come on. While you’re dreaming, you might as well see things.” Yukito reached out to grab Touya’s hand, and pulled him along.

---

What felt like hours later, Touya found himself in the middle of a rock garden, being pulled through arches and secret holes by his underwater guide. The hours had been beautiful, as he’d explored a place and a landscape he had never seen and enjoyed the company of someone he’d never met and would never meet again. For the first time in his life, Touya found himself longing to leave his home.

Suddenly Yukito stopped. “I think it’s time for you to go,” he said quietly.

“How do you know?” Touya asked, placing his feet gently on the top of a rock arch, never letting go of Yukito’s hand.

“Magic works in strange ways,” Yukito repeated. He turned and smiled at Touya. “I had fun, To-ya.” An impish grin accompanied the nickname.

“I did too, Yuki.” Touya reached out and pinched Yukito’s cheek, an outwardly affectionate gesture to cover his slowly growing sorrow.

“Why do you look so sad?” Yukito asked, eyes wide and blinking.

“I probably won’t see you again.”

Yukito laughed. “I don’t think so. If that were true, I’d be sad, but the magic? Is telling me otherwise. You’ll be back,” he reassured his new friend.

“I can’t control the magic,” Touya protested.

“Yes you can,” Yukito assured. “Here.” He leaned over and kissed Touya quickly on the cheek. “It’s a promise.”

Touya woke, sitting up on his mother’s studio’s floor, the sky dark and the fire still unlit. Emily had been good to her word. He stood and collected himself, brushing his clothes off, putting books away and tidying the room. As he closed the door to return to his room, he heard the soft swirl of water around his body, as if a merman were inspecting him curiously.

Fic: Daydreams

Tue, 03 Feb 2009 17:03:36 GMT

Title: Daydreams
Author: fairymage
Rating: G
Community: 30_kisses
Theme: #20-the road home
Fandom: Card Captor Sakura
Pairing: Fujitaka/Nadeshiko

In general, daydreaming was something that he did not engage in. It wasn’t that he thought it foolish – on the contrary, he encouraged his students to daydream and entertained his colleagues’ desires to talk about theirs. It was just that, as with so many other things in his life, he didn’t see the need for it in his life. There just wasn’t anything he could think of to really daydream about.

“Have you ever thought,” Takada asked him one day at lunch, “About getting married?” Her eyes were half-lidded as she gazed at the ceiling.

“I’ve thought about it, certainly. Most people have.”

“No, I mean, really thought about it. All the details. What your wedding will be like. Who will be there. Who your best man will be. The color of your tie. Do men think about those kinds of things?”

He took a bite of rice and frowned thoughtfully. “I’m sure some men do. I just don’t happen to be one of them,” he apologized.

“Ah, well. I suppose there’s time enough for that. I was just wondering. My girlfriends and I, we had a long talk this weekend about what we’d like our weddings to be like.” Takada was quite young, actually, Fujitaka realized. “I want a Western-style wedding. The dresses are so much more… I don’t know, beautiful somehow. But my friend Akiko wants a traditional wedding.”

“There aren’t too many women who are interested in those anymore,” Fujitaka noted with another bite of his lunch.

“That’s what I told her! Where is she going to find someone to do the ceremony?! And you can’t invite too many guests, you know. I want lots of people to be at my wedding. I want lots of people to watch me kiss my new husband.” She laughed, then took a bite of her lunch – a sandwich from the French bakery a few blocks from the school – and paused.

“So you haven’t thought about it at all? Not even, say, where you’d want it to be?”

“I suppose I’d want it wherever she did,” he replied with a shrug.

“But the ideal woman you’d like to marry… where would she like to have it?”

The answer came surprisingly quickly. “She’s the sort of woman who’d like an outdoor wedding. Something simple and friendly. I think she’d even enjoy it if it rained,” he chuckled, more to himself than anything else. Takada studied him for a moment, a smile playing at the corner of her mouth.

“Have you thought about other things, then?”

“Other things?” he repeatedly teasingly, raising an eyebrow, which drew a laugh and a crumpled sandwich wrapper tossed his way.

“The house you want to raise a family in, maybe. You seem like the kind of person that might think about something like that.”

“Well, I suppose I would want it to be a house. Not immediately, because goodness knows I wouldn’t be able to afford such a thing. But eventually. A family really should have a house, you know. With a little front lawn, maybe even a back lawn for laundry and things. I’d want it to be a happy color, pink or yellow, perhaps. That’s the sort of person she is,” he added thoughtfully, hardly noticing what he was saying.

“It wouldn’t be a terribly large house, but it would be cozy and friendly. There would be enough space for us, and two children. I think two would be a good number for us. So three bedrooms, I suppose, and a nice kitchen. I like to cook, but I don’t think she’ll enjoy it as much, and I’d like the children to learn. Maybe parts of it will be very traditional, but most of it would be very Western. I think that’s what she’s used to…”

He looked over at Takada, who was trying not to giggle like a… well, like the schoolgirls she taught. “But I suppose, really, it doesn’t matter what sort of house it is exactly, as long as we’re both waiting for each other there.”

By the next morning, everyone knew that there was someone Kinomoto-sensei was serious about.

“…and an outdoor wedding, I heard something about an outdoor wedding.”

“In a garden! What sort woman would want a wedding in a garden?! That’s what we have to find out in order to find her!”

A young woman who would very much like to have her wedding in a garden smiled thoughtfully. Maybe she should listen more carefully to the rest of the rumors.

Fic: Showdown

Mon, 02 Feb 2009 06:40:13 GMT

Title: Showdown
Author: fairymage
Rating: G
Community: 30_kisses
Theme: #16-invincible; unrivaled
Fandom: Card Captor Sakura
Pairing: Touya/Yukito
Notes: Written for dreximgirl's 2007 Holiday request.

“And so that’s why nii-chan is here, and Yukito-san is at their apartment, and why Kero-chan and I are staying with you,” Sakura concluded with a heavy sigh as her head hung. Tomoyo laughed good-naturedly, and assured her it would be perfectly fine for Sakura and her rambunctious guardian to stay with her for a bit.

“In fact, while you keep Kero-chan occupied, I can check in on your brother and Tsukishiro-san for you,” Tomoyo suggested with an almost wicked grin. Her video camera rested neatly in her lap. Sakura nodded weakly – there was no point in objecting now.

“I’m sure it’ll be just like Iron Chef!” Tomoyo beamed. “Touya-san in one kitchen, working furiously, surrounded by sashimi and rice and cooking sake! Tsukishiro-san in another, with everything all neat and tidy and perfectly in order, singing a little song! It’ll be perfect to show your children someday!”

Sakura balked a little, but really… it was not worth arguing now. Her brothers were just stuck with this little holiday spat memorialized forever.

It had all started several weeks earlier, when Kero and Yue had gotten into a fight. Kero and Yue were used to playfully insulting each other in serious tones, but Kero had taken it a step too far when he insulted Yue’s cooking. First of all, no one but Yukito was supposed to know that Yue enjoyed – and was rather good at – cooking. Second, no one was better than him, with the possible exception of Touya. Yue would begrudgingly admit that Touya was quite good.

Yukito, of course, did not count, because he and Yue were more or less the same in this respect.

Kero had then continued by suggesting that even Touya was not so great, and that store-bought pudding was better than Touya’s cooking. At this suggestion, Yue flared his wings and began to take aim at his brother, stopped only by Touya rushing in between them to suggest that maybe he and Yuki-Yue should do some kind of cook-off, to see if they were better than store food.

Initially, this suggestion was only made to save his father’s house from being ripped apart by shining ice shards and giant fireballs. After peace had been somewhat restored though, Touya found himself quite offended by the Sun Guardian’s sneering remarks. Store-bought pudding? That stuff was trash! Always watery, and too sweet, or too thick, or too heavy. How dare that stupid little stuffed animal say such a thing!

So Touya and Yue (via Yukito) sat down together to organize their grand cook-off. They would each get a kitchen and a set amount of money (to be determined by Touya’s father) to cook whatever they wanted in three hours. Since it was nearing Christmas, they would both cook some sort of Christmas dinner. Touya’s father would then take the same amount of money and purchase the “best” food he could. Kero trusted Kinomoto-san with his palate, and so had no objections to this plan. Sakura, Li, Tomoyo, and Kero would be the judges of the feast.

Touya’s father, naturally, found the entire enterprise hilarious, but said nothing. Surprisingly, neither did Yukito, who found it equally silly. Neither of them would say why, however, and Yukito merely went along with what Yue wanted. And so it was that Christmas Eve dawned with Sakura over at Tomoyo’s house, Tomoyo gleefully preparing to videotape her cousins, Li complaining about the Sun Guardian’s stupidity, and Yue mentally instructing Yukito exactly how everything should be prepared.

Later that night, Sakura, Tomoyo, Li, and Kero were seated (more or less) around the Kinomoto dining table. They had to wait a few minutes – since he and Yukito had to travel, Yue was refusing to leave the apartment until everything was perfect – before they could indulge themselves. Sakura and Touya’s father had made everything quiet official, with a ridiculously large amount of silverware and dishware (“We can’t have you being influenced by what was on that fork last”) and a paper ballot and scoring system.

“What were they making?” Li asked Sakura, who was sitting next to him.

“Pot roast,” Kero began grandly, puffing up and floating above his empty plate. “Mashed potatoes, bread, a ham, sushi and sashimi, dumplings, Chinese noodles, turkey, cranberry sauce, mixed vegetables, and a green bean casserole.” Tomoyo laughed, as Sakura hung her head in shame and Li looked absolutely shocked.

“We’re—we’re supposed to eat all of that?” Li asked incredulously, his face contorting oddly.

“Merry Christmas!” a cheerful voice called from the door. Sakura jumped up to greet Yukito, but her father quickly intercepted her and sent her back to her seat. She couldn’t see what Yukito and Yue had cooked, after all. He helped Yukito into the kitchen, where Touya was finishing putting his food on dishes.

After a rather lengthy pause, Touya, Yukito, and Fujitaka emerged from the kitchen, the latter two grinning and the former smirking.

“So the three of us talked it over,” Yukito began.

“And we think that maybe this wasn’t the best idea,” Fujitaka continued. “After all, even though all the food made was the same, it was obviously made differently by each chef. Tsukishiro-san and Yue-san have a bit of Chinese, a bit of English, a bit of American, a bit of European to all of their cooking. Touya, on the other hand, is rather traditionally Japanese.”

“Instead, we came up with a better plan.”

At this point, Kero leapt into the air, scowling, short arms crossed across his chest and tail flicking angrily. “Who cares?! It’s all going to be delicious anyway!”

There was a moment of silence. Yukito was trying not to laugh.

“See, that’s what we thought!” Touya agreed, smirk widening, if that was possible. “And so we thought, ‘Hey, why should everyone else share in the spoils of our labor?’ And by everyone else, I mean you, plushie.” Touya scowled.

Sakura, Li, and Tomoyo shifted, as if to indicate their presence. Fujitaka went over and whispered in Sakura’s ear for a moment.

“I mean, we are the best cooks in, like, the country,” Touya bragged, raising his eyebrows. “So Yuki and I decided that we really don’t care what you think – though you apparently think our food is great. And we all know how much Yuki likes food.” Touya leaned over, kissed Yukito on the cheek, and sauntered back into the kitchen. Quite pleased with himself, Yukito waved and followed his boyfriend.

“HEY!” Kero yelled, as he launched himself at the closing kitchen door.

Fic: Visions of White

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 08:50:03 GMT

Title: Visions of White
Author: fairymage
Rating: PG
Community: 30_kisses
Theme: #6-the space between dream and reality
Fandom: Card Captor Sakura
Pairing: Fujitaka/Nadeshiko

Life is still hectic, and still slightly depressing, but I'm making progress in other areas! So here, have fic!

Like most young girls, she’d dreamed about her wedding day. She’d, of course, had the luxury of growing up in a situation where she was exposed to fancy dresses and elegant meals and extravagant events, so she could dream of everything from the simplest of days to the most elaborate of ceremonies.

When she was young, still in elementary school, she’d wanted something beautiful and grand. Her grandmother, aunt, and Sonomi hadn’t helped much. They’d merely encouraged her fantasies. A princess wedding dress, white chiffon and silk, with a long skirt and train, picked out in glass beads and cubic zirconia. The most delicate of netting veils, and elaborate diamond jewelry. Sonomi had even found a wedding tiara. They’d together imagined a huge ceremony in a Western-style church, with hundreds of people gathered to see their princess wed. The banquet would be in one of the fanciest hotels in Tokyo, and would feature the best food and sake money could buy. No expense would be spared in this fantasy for the beloved child.

But Nadeshiko had quickly grown out of that fantasy. Sonomi lamented this through their middle school years, since her cousin would look so beautiful in a princess dress, but it was no longer really want Nadeshiko wanted. She envisioned something… simpler. A smaller ceremony, as a start. Just a few people – people she actually knew - in a smaller church or even a hotel. Her dress could be less fluffy, less decadent. Something gentle and simple. Maybe not even white – a pastel blue, or pink? The reception (not a banquet) could be smaller, in the backyard of the country house, with light foods and refreshments like lemonade.

More than anything else, she felt, she wanted control of this dream wedding. It would not be what Sonomi, or her aunt, or her grandmother or grandfather wanted. It would be what she wanted, and she could see herself in a silk pastel sundress far more easily than a heavy satin gown.

Then in high school she contemplated a traditional wedding. Such a wedding would be far more demure, controlled, and quiet. Only a select few people would be allowed into the ceremony. She wouldn’t have to worry about wearing some ridiculous dress, because she’d only have a choice of elegant and tasteful wedding kimonos. She could imagine the gentle sounds of the garden and the tea ceremony, and realized that it made her feel at peace with the idea of marriage. Yes, that was what she would want – peace. Even the reception would be subdued because of the ceremony. There could be more people, but there would be traditional food and they would behave nicely.

But even this imagining eventually lost its appeal. Because, she realized, that she had never really thought about… well, the groom in any of her previous dreams.

The more she thought about it, the clearer it became. All those renderings had been created by herself, for herself. What difference did it make if she didn’t even know who the man she’d be marrying was? She’d always assumed that he would come, in time, and fit nicely into her stories. She had only just realized that he would do more than that. He would shape the way she thought about the entire affair, just by existing.

And so she couldn’t imagine kissing him before hundreds of people in an expensive, lavish Western dress. Nor could she even imagine him in a church. When she closed her eyes and dreamed about marrying him, she saw the outdoors – a garden, or a park. He was not serene and still like a church… he was the gentleness of Nature. Churchbells might have been romantic, but he probably would have preferred a string quartet – or even speakers playing some of his – their – favorite music.

While a traditional wedding was appealing, still, she didn’t think that he would like the formality of it. He was certainly a very formal person, and a very serious person at times, but she felt that the atmosphere might stifle them. He would be expected to be accompanied by so many relatives and so on, which she refused to ask of him. They might have one alone, just the two of them… but the formality would still be there.

And, quite frankly, she thought he would look better in a Western suit than a traditional wedding kimono.

The biggest snag with her plan was, naturally, the guest list. In her newest dream, she couldn’t see anyone. Not her family. He didn’t have any. She had next to no friends after Sonomi, who certainly couldn't be there. Perhaps he had some, but they might feel awkward or compromised.

Well, that was of little matter. They could have a private ceremony. A private ceremony, in respectable clothes but nothing too fancy, in a garden somewhere. Maybe they could find musicians. And they would both be smiling, and they would both be happy, and it wouldn’t matter that the little girl she had been was gone and never realized, because she’d found something much better.

As she lay in bed, she could see it all behind her eyelids. The way the sun shone through the leaves of the tree overhead, lighting her hair and his eyes. The gentle breeze lifting her curls and tousling his sandy hair. The willing, smiling churchman or lawman who would wed them. The flower wreath in her hair, replacing the crown of jewels she’d once imagined. His light, tan suit that looked so wonderful on him. Maybe they would get him a new, pale colored shirt to go with it. Her own dress, long and light and flowing and made of silky polyester, pale blue and pink. The deep, fluttering in her stomach, the anticipation of the honeymoon afterward – something simple, just a trip to the north to the onsen.

The thought of his smile made her heart clench and her chest ache for a moment. And the happiness she would feel, to have him smile at her like that, to have him hold her gently and promise to protect and love her forever… if she were awake, it would have made her cry.

When the moment in the vision came to kiss him, to make her own promise, she would have wished that she would never have to wake.

Death Note Fans!

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 17:54:49 GMT

If any of you are fans of Death Note and would be interested in an academic paper on it, hop over here. I'm finally getting started, and I've had others curious/interested, and would love to take any of you on the ride.

Fandom & Language

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 02:17:31 GMT

This poll is going everywhere I can post it, and I'd really appreciate it if you asked around for me.

Is there a particular language that fandom - particularly that of manga, anime, and games - favors?
Is English a preferred language for fans, or are most fans in non-English speaking countries speakers of their native language?
Do people learn or use English to communicate more often in forums, communities, scanlations, and fansubs than other languages?
What role does the English language play in the creation of fandom communities across country/national lines?

I've phrased the question multiple ways, to give people different ways of thinking about it. Unfortunately, I'm inherently limited in that I am only capable of interacting in English-speaking fandom and posting this in English.

I would greatly appreciate feedback.

Fic: Sick Days

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 23:44:45 GMT

Title: Sick Days
Author: fairymage
Rating: G
Community: 30_kisses
Theme: #28-Wada Calcium CD3
Fandom: Card Captor Sakura
Pairing: Touya/Yukito
Notes: Written for galuxkitty's 2007 Holiday request. Sorry it's so late!

“Dad, I think Yuki and I are going to spend Christmas together. Alone,” he added quickly, lest his father coyly comment that they always spent Christmas together.

It wasn’t quite the way Touya had intended their first Christmas “alone” together would go.

“Was it all right with your father?” Yukito asked, rolling over halfway from his languid position on the couch.

“Yeah, he understood. Especially when I told him that I didn’t want the brat to kill me for infecting his precious daughter.” Touya looked sideways at Yukito. “He’d never even think you did it, even though we have the exact same germs.”

Yukito laughed and sat up, gesturing for Touya to join him on the sofa. “Here, come sit down. Your favorite schoolgirl drama’s about to start.” Touya threw a pillow at Yukito but sat down anyway.

Even though Christmas was still two days away, Touya and Yukito had decided it would be best if they didn’t make the trip back to Tomoeda for the holiday. Travelling from Tokyo would just put strain on their already weakened bodies, effectively preventing them from getting well in time. Touya had caught something from one of his coworkers; naturally, Yukito promptly caught it next, despite Touya’s warnings to stay away from him.

Touya was pretty sure that Yukito (and Yue) weren’t supposed to get sick. He wondered what happened.

So for the past four days the two (three) of them had done nothing but lounge around the house, drinking plenty of fluids, “resting,” and suspiciously eyeing the bottles of vitamins that had mysteriously appeared on the table one morning. Both Touya and Yukito obediently ate one of each every morning—magnesium, calcium, vitamins A, C, D, and E, and iron.

While Touya helped out by cooking (frozen dinners), Yukito tried to keep things tidy during their illness. Nakamura, the non-descript IT worker Touya had presumably caught the flu from, felt so bad that Kinomoto and his boyfriend would have to miss the family Christmas that he and his wife had sent over a tidy Christmas dinner for two, which was now resting comfortably in the refrigerator. Yue, apparently, had also felt the need to help them get well.

“I’m pretty sure we don’t need these,” Touya had whispered one morning to Yukito after swallowing a Wada Calcium CD3 tablet. He hadn’t even wanted to know what it was. “It might even be bad for us.”

Yukito had discreetly kicked him, and Touya dropped the subject.

-----

Christmas Eve arrived, and neither of them felt like going out.

“We’re probably still infectious,” Yukito mused, studying their medicine cabinet.

“We? My head is throbbing and my body is heavy. You might be okay, but you probably should stay away from me,” Touya groaned from the bed.

There was a pause, then Yukito returned to the bed. “Never mind, I don’t feel so well either. Maybe I’ll just go back to sleep.” And he fell asleep using Touya’s shoulder as a pillow.

Shrugging, Touya decided Yukito probably had the right idea.

In the evening, after some rest and some ibuprofen, they sat at the dining room table, feeling significantly better—able to sit upright, at least. Touya had felt so good that he’d graduated from frozen dinners and had made curry from a mix.

“I’m sorry we couldn’t go out this year,” he apologized, setting Yukito’s plate down before him. Originally, they’d planned on going out to a new, popular French restaurant in Tokyo for Christmas Eve. And then, of course, out to a bar or club to celebrate, before making the drive to Tomoeda in the morning.

“It’s fine,” Yukito assured him, smiling that dazzling smile. “It’s nice to just spend time with you.”

Touya snorted. “And from-a-mix curry rice.”

They ate dinner in high spirits, and when it was done Touya took the plates to the kitchen as Yukito cleared the rest of the table.

“It tasted fine.”

Touya was momentarily confused. “Um, thanks? It was a from a mix, you know, I didn’t—“

“French food is very rich and heavy. I much prefer Italian or traditional Japanese. But curry is good too.” Yue frowned, apparently confused.

“Well I—“

“Do you want to watch a movie?” Yukito asked brightly, stepping past Touya to begin running dishwater.

-----

“GOOD MORNING, ONII-CHAN~!”

“Morning, kaijuu.”

“Put Yukito on the phone!”

“Good morning, Sakura-chan.”

“Ne, Yukito, listen! It’s Akari!” Even Touya, standing several feet away from Yukito and the phone, could hear the high-pitched wailing. “Isn’t she beautiful?”

Yukito smiled. “Yes, Sakura-chan, I believe she is. Ah, good morning, Kinomoto-san. Yes, yes, we’re doing fine. I think it’s passing. Thank you very much. Happy Christmas to you too. Would you like to speak to To-ya?”

The family—including Aunt Sonomi and Tomoyo—were very disappointed that neither Touya nor Yukito could be there for Christmas. Of course, Tomoyo and Fujitaka both assured the couple that it was high time they had their own Christmas together, without Sakura (and now Akari) and Cerberus. Sonomi sincerely hoped that someone was suffering for infecting her darling nephew and his adorable boyfriend during Christmas.

“This year—AND JUST THIS YEAR,” Kero warned, “I’ll let you two off the hook. I expect to see you both next year. None of this funny business in my house, you hear?!”

“Of course, Kero-chan.”

…
…
…

“Can I talk to Yue now please? PRIVATELY? I don’t what HIM listening.”

-----

“Man, Nakamura’s wife didn’t have to do all that,” Touya whistled as he dried the last dish and laid it on the dish rack.

“It certainly was nice,” Yukito agreed, setting tea and manju out on the table for dessert.

“Happy Christmas,” Touya added, kissing Yukito before sitting down next to him and taking a cup of tea.

“Same to you,” Yukito replied with an impish smile, holding out Touya’s favorite kind of manju.

“And Yue,” Touya finished, taking a sip of tea.

Touya wasn’t surprised to find Yue studying Yukito’s cup of tea and the plate of manju. He pretended not to notice as Yue delicately took one and set it aside near Yukito’s cup.

“Happy Christmas?” he offered.

Yue nodded awkwardly.

“You got Yuki sick on purpose, didn’t you?”

Yue went wide-eyed, then sulky. He lowered his head so his soft white hair fell around his face.

“I mean, Yuki never gets sick. I don’t think he can, because you can’t. Unless it’s magic. Right?

But that’s okay,” he continued, taking another piece of manju and avoiding looking over at Yue. He suspected Yue had crossed his arms in front of him protectively. “I got to spend Christmas with just the two of you. No little sister, no little sister’s husband, no baby, no bottomless pit… Just Yuki and you and liquids and your vitamins.” He grinned at his teacup as he picked it up.

“Thanks, Yue.”

He took a long time taking his next sip of tea. Long enough so that Yue could take a bite of manju.

Fic: Symbolic

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 17:37:51 GMT

Title: Symbolic
Author: fairymage
Rating: G
Community: 30_kisses
Theme: #8-Our own world; #9-dash
Fandom: Card Captor Sakura
Pairing: Touya/Yukito
Notes: Written for tomoyohime8's 2007 Holiday request. My apologies for the lateness!

Hopefully the mods at 30_kisses will love me and cut me a break... which they do a lot...

He sat, chin resting in his hand, bored out of his mind as Satou went on and on about his girlfriend. He knew that as a friend he should probably care, he just… didn’t. It wasn’t that he didn’t care, actually. He just didn’t care now. Satou had been going on like this for weeks.

“Dammit, man, just do what she wants and get on with it,” Touya grumbled. Thank the gods Yuki wasn’t this complicated. A plate of food and an evening at home with Touya and he was content.

“She wants a ring, Kinomoto. Are you listening? A ring. You know what that means, right?”

“Commitment, future, blah blah blah. I’ve heard it, before. You are not the first of my friends to have girl issues.”

“This is more than an issue, Kinomoto! This is a matter of… of…”

“Great importance is the phrase you’re looking for.”

Satou threw his jacket at Touya, who caught it before the zipper could whip around into his face. “Just because your love life is simple doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t help the rest of us,” Satou pouted.

“Hey, believe me, I would, if I knew what to do.”

“What do you and Tsukishiro do? To, you know, show you’re listening to each other and care and love each other? What do you do when he wants something?”

“You really want to know?” he teased with a sly smile. “Nothing. We just… are. We have dinner together, we watch movies on the couch together, we go grocery shopping together. And whenever Yuki wants something, I give it. He never wants anything too extravagant or ridiculous or overly symbolic.” Touya shrugged. “It’s not that I don’t want to help, it’s that I can’t. I’m spoiled rotten and I don’t know how.”

Satou sighed. “The least you could do is help a guy out. You have a little sister. If I decide to go with this ring deal, at least help me pick out a good one.”

“Done,” Touya agreed, tossing Satou’s jacket back. “As long as you promise not to take more than three hours.”

-----

“You look puzzled,” Akizuki noted as he sat down across from her.

“Look, I’d ask Yuki to ask you, but I figured I should man up to my responsibilities as a friend and ask you myself for help.”

“Nah, you just like me and want to spend more time with me,” she purred, grinning.

And money, Touya thought wryly, as the waitress brought Akizuki a full plate of really very good looking desserts.

“So. What is it that’s so important you’d call on me for help?” she asked, licking chocolate icing off her fingers.

“My friend, Satou, is thinking about getting his girlfriend a ring. I guess it’s something she wants. I said I’d help him, but truth is, I don’t know about these kinds of things. What women like and stuff. I buy stuff for my little sister--good stuff—but it’s always stuff she needs or stuff Yuki picks out. And this is, you know. Important.”

Akizuki studied him for a moment. “What’s this ring for?”

That threw Touya for a moment. “What do you mean, for?”

“I mean,” Akizuki explained, turning her spoon over and nibbling the edge thoughtfully. “Is it an engagement ring? A promise of an engagement ring? Or just a way of saying that he loves her?”

“Aren’t they all the same?”

“A little,” she admitted. “But in a nuanced kind of way. One is very simple. The other two are slightly more complicated. It’d be the simplest if she just wanted an engagement ring.”

“I’m not sure…”

“Sometimes women just ask for something pretty, like a ring, because they want something pretty and they know their boyfriend will get it for them. Or they want their boyfriend to think they are worthy of such a gift. It doesn’t have to mean anything beyond, ‘I think you’re wonderful and deserve something beautiful.’ You could look at it that way, instead of always assuming that a ring means two kids and a new house. If that’s what she was thinking, then she probably should have picked a piece of jewelry other than a ring, but…”

“You really think so?”

She shrugged, flipping her hair. “I don't know with this girl. But I know that women like jewelry, and when their boyfriend to give them something shiny and expensive they generally see that as a sign of how much their boyfriend values them, no matter what connotations the ring bears. It doesn’t matter if it seems frivolous. Everyone likes to feel loved. And, I speak for myself here, sometimes one of the nicest ways to be shown affection is via a gift.”

Touya stood and grabbed his jacket, tossing some money on the table.

“If you’re wrong, Akizuki, I will personally stop Yuki from ever buying you a birthday present again.”

Akizuki snorted, but Touya was in such a rush he didn’t hear.

-----

It was really an unnecessary gesture. But, as Akizuki had pointed out, sometimes unnecessary was the best way to go. He hadn’t quite thought through all the implications of his idea (especially the financial ones, surprisingly), but that was okay. He would think about them later. Right now was the time to think about the present.

Touya was pretty sure the man who first tried to help him was very confused as to his request. He didn’t see what was so hard. Engagement rings for men were boring as sin; why would he want two of those? He wanted something a little fancier. And, in retrospect, something that wouldn’t look like they were both engaged to separate women.

The woman who came to help him next was much more understanding. She showed him some slightly fancier flat rings, even some very simple women’s rings that she said might look better on his finger and suit his purposes more. He eventually settled on a ring that was flat, white gold, with a slightly raised band around the middle.

He smiled as he walked out with the two boxes safely in his pocket, his hand resting protectively on top of them. Yuki definitely wouldn’t be expecting this. But Touya was certain he’d like it all the same.

Fic: Dependency

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 00:00:54 GMT

Title: Dependency
Author: fairymage
Rating: PG
Community: 30_kisses
Theme: #7-superstar, #27-overflow
Fandom: Card Captor Sakura
Pairing: Fujitaka/Nadeshiko

Hi, all! Life has been a bit hectic and depressing, so I haven't been around much. Hopefully, now that it's summer, you'll see more of me and I'll see more of you (:

“I can’t take it anymore! How do they expect me to do all this for them without the proper staff and equipment?!”

Like a good friend, Fujitaka nodded absently and turned a page of the newspaper. Hirai, an old friend from college, had come over at Fujitaka’s invitation for tea. He was a professional photographer, freelancing for several fashion magazines. Right now, he was swamped with multiple jobs and not enough models. It was enough to drive Hirai mad—why didn’t a good-looking man like himself have enough models?!

“Equipment I can manage, you know, just take good care of the cameras and things and do quick maintenance just before every shoot. But you can’t fake make-up staff and models! I need at least one model for each job, you know. It doesn’t do to have the same models in all the magazines—the editors would go crazy!”

“But then isn’t that their fault for not assigning a model?” Fujitaka replied blithely. He had no idea how the fashion world worked—he only knew how Hirai worked. He was probably wrong, but it didn’t hurt to make the suggestion.

Hirai snorted. “Like they’d ever admit it. Say, you wouldn’t know any young, pretty women in need of some extra money, would you?”

Fujitaka lowered his newspaper and raised his eyebrow in amusement. “That could be misconstrued in so many ways.”

Hirai laughed. “You know I’m more honorable than that, Fuji. Now come on. Colleagues, old flames, the waitress at your favorite café…”

“I’m a teacher, Tadashi. My colleagues are all older than me, I haven’t dated since college, and you at some point also dated all of those women, and I cook at home almost every night. I know no one.”

“I didn’t date all of them. I only kissed some of them.” Hirai winked. “A student?”

Fujitaka’s eyes narrowed slightly. “That would be extremely compromising. You are welcome to ask the girls yourself, but if you’re too pushy or… shady, you will most likely get caught by someone in the administration, if not the police.”

Hirai laughed nervously. “You certainly are protective of them. All right. I’ll stand outside the school, I’ll be very professional and not-shady, and you can pretend you don’t know me. Unless you’d like to help an old friend out, lend me credibility. I promise none of the shoots is nude.”

~~~~~

“Excuse me, miss, but I was wondering if you have a moment.”

Nadeshiko stopped, slowly taking in the man before her. He was well-dressed, clean, very professional, and not at all threatening. She liked him immediately.

Her cousin, on the other hand, was immediately suspicious.

“Let’s go, Nadeshiko. We should report him to the school for hanging out around the gates.”

“I’m a photographer for several major fashion magazines. Here, my business card.” The man held out a card to Nadeshiko, who took it before her cousin could. “I’m currently in a bit of a bind, you see. I have some major photo shoots coming up for the following magazines, but I’m lacking in models.” He handed Nadeshiko a piece of paper detailing his jobs. “I thought I would ask if you might be interested in helping me with this one.” He pointed at a job for a well-known young women’s magazine.

“No,” Sonomi cut in quickly. “Go away.”

The man bowed his head and backed away a little. “I’m sorry to have bothered you young ladies.”

“No, wait.” Nadeshiko stepped towards the man and away from her cousin slightly. “I’m… interested.”

“What are you talking about?!” Sonomi yelled. “This is ridiculous, Nadeshiko.”

She turned to her cousin. “But it’s a job Sonomi. I’ve never had one before, and someday I’ll need one. This seems like fun, and I’d like to try.” She smiled, trying to win her cousin over.

The photographer noticed. “Ah, that’s it!” Nadeshiko looked at him curiously. “If you can do that on camera, you’ll be brilliant. A lot of these international models are going for the dramatic look… But I think you’ll be perfect with just a smile!”

Nadeshiko smiled again at her cousin. “See? I want to try, Sonomi.”

And it was true. She had been thinking, for some time, that she was nearing the end of her high school career and she had few skills. At the rate she was going, she would end up the eternal pet of her family. She had never shown interest in boys her age, and Sonomi had firmly kept her from getting to know any of them anyway. If she wasn’t married off to some business friend of her grandfather’s, she would end up closeted away at home.

And… it was a little silly to be thinking it, but she was young and had been known to think silly things before. He was a teacher, he couldn’t be making very much money… probably not enough to properly support a family…

It was only a thought, of course.

~~~~~

“One of your students came through for me!” Hirai announced triumphantly, dropping a full folder on Fujitaka’s table.

“Oh?” Fujitaka reached for the folder.

“Really pretty girl, too. Very nice. She really pulls off the look, don’t you think? She could be big someday, if she wanted. With just that smile. She doesn’t even need the glamour and the drama other models do. Just a down-to-earth look…”

Fujitaka was only listening with one ear. Most of his attention was engaged studying the sheaf of photos in between his hands.

~~~~~

“I got a job.”

“So I’ve heard. Congratulations.”

“Oh? Who told you?!”

“Hahaha. I’m sorry. Hirai-san and I are friends from university. He showed me the pictures.”

“Which one did you like best?”

“I liked them all. They were all beautiful. He’s right, you really could be wonderful at it.”

“I’ve been thinking about it. I think I would like to try.”

“Not until you’re out of school, though, right?”

“Yes, I think so.”

“Why? I don’t mean to be rude, but wouldn’t your family provide comfortably for you?”

“I don’t think I can always rely on my family.”

“Oh?”

“Who knows what would happen if I were to make a decision they didn’t agree with?”

Fic: Peppermint

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 07:16:08 GMT

Title: Peppermint
Author: fairymage
Rating: G
Community: 30_kisses
Theme: #2-News; Letter
Fandom: Card Captor Sakura
Pairing: Touya/Yukito
Notes: Written for suppis_tenshi, who requested CCS with peppermint.

He’d never really understood Christmas cards. The kind you sent to your family—those made sense. But giving them out to classmates? That just seemed silly. It’s not like classmates were always going to be there, especially now, when they were all on the verge of graduating. Touya already knew that he wasn’t staying. With any luck, he would never need to see any of these people every day again. Maybe they were all trying to hold onto something… but he knew that you had to give things up, and that little pieces of stiff paper weren’t going to change anything.

But still. He was stopped in front of a rack of cards at the gift store, wasn’t he? Shopping for the monster inevitably landed him (fairly often) in stores of small, delicate, cute, and pink objects. This one just happened to have a large and interesting rack of Christmas cards. That weren’t all pink.

There was one in particular he kept looking at. It was blue-ish, which had initially caught his eye, but now the design was what he was really looking at. It was very simple, but very… appropriate. And a little stupid, but then, it was the season for that kind of thing.

Sighing in exasperation (he was already getting something ridiculous for his sister—AND her boyfriend, just to prove a point), he grabbed the card off the rack and stalked to the register.

At least it would be appreciated.

-----

“Are you going to need the kitchen?” his father asked mildly at home. He’d just gotten home from shopping, and paused halfway up the stairs.

“No…?” The statement turned into a question, and he raised an eyebrow curiously.

“You’re not going to make any for Christmas?” His father’s smile was so innocent that it wasn’t.

“Well, I—“ he began.

“Sakura-chan is making candy this afternoon. Maybe you could help her. You might find a use for it too. I’m sure there’s someone you could give it to.”

“Yuki doesn’t—“

“But he likes candy, doesn’t he? And you got him a card already. It could use something else.”

Conceding defeat, Touya trudged back down the stairs.

“What kind of candy is the monster making?”

“Peppermint bark. All the ingredients are out. You actually might want to get started before Sakura-chan does, to make sure you have enough space. It’s very simple, really, and there are plenty of supplies, so feel free to make Tsukishiro-san a whole pan.”

“That’s how much he’d need,” Touya muttered under his breath, but he got started anyway.

-----

They were sitting on the couch together, feet propped on the table, watching some American movie on the television. They’d spent the morning at the Kinomoto house, exchanging gifts with his father and sister and the brat and trying to keep the plushie out of the pudding (though Touya was pretty sure Yukito slipped him his first bowl when he thought no one was looking). Touya’s father had eyed them curiously when neither of them gave the other a gift, but he trusted his son and his boyfriend.

Without a word (words would be awkward), Touya reached over the side of the couch, then plopped the large box of peppermint bark with the card on top in Yukito’s lap.

“For me?” he asked playfully, feigning surprise.

“Yeah…” He was pretty sure he was blushing, but it wasn’t like Yukito was going to say anything.

Eagerly but carefully, Yukito slid his finger along the sealed edge of the envelope and withdrew the card. He couldn’t help but laugh. On the front, two brown rabbits were building a “snowbunny.” Glitter snow dusted the forest scene. The inside was blank save for the generic “Happy Christmas”—Touya wasn’t good with words.

“It’s adorable, To-ya.”

“I figured you’d think so.” He smiled, a little proud of himself.

“Yue thinks so too.” Touya suspected that was something he wasn’t supposed to know. Yukito looked rather pleased with himself. He peeked into the box, withdrew a piece of peppermint bark, and nibbled an edge. “It’s good,” he complimented, offering the same piece to Touya.

As Touya took his own confection and munched, Yukito handed him an envelope and a gift bag.

Curiously, Touya opened the envelope. It was a generic Christmas card, and Yukito was already apologizing for not finding something as cute as what Touya had found him. Not that it really mattered, of course. Inside, Yukito had written “Merry Christmas To-ya!” in his neat handwriting. He was about to put it back in the envelope when he noticed Yukito gesturing discreetly. He opened the card again and noticed, in tiny script, in the bottom corner mostly covered by his thumb, “Merry Christmas.”

He grinned, and turned his attention to the bag. It, too, was nondescript. Inside were two candy canes.

“Hey, thanks Yuki…” he started, but Yukito interrupted him.

“Do you know what you get with two candy canes?” he asked, smiling impishly.

“Um… twice as much… sugar?”

Yukito laughed. “Well, that too.” He reached over and took the candy canes from Touya’s fingers. He turned one around, and put them against each other to form a heart. He smiled up at Touya. Not overly pleased with himself, just a simple smile that Touya loved.

“One for you, and one for me,” Yukito explained, handing him one and keeping the other for himself.

He could feel the corners of his mouth twitching, and it hurt a little in his chest. He leaned towards Yukito, pulling him around so their foreheads touched.

“I love you,” he whispered.

“I know,” Yukito agreed, tipping his head up to kiss Touya.

“You can have the rest of the candy canes, if you want. It’s in the pantry, top shelf.”

Fic: Black Velvet

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 17:55:18 GMT

Title: Black Velvet
Author: fairymage
Rating: G
Community: 30_kisses
Theme: #10-#10, #23-candy
Fandom: Card Captor Sakura
Pairing: Fujitaka/Nadeshiko

Shall we play a game? Can Alanna finish her second fic by the end of today??? Given that she has a fellowship application due today AND class all afternoon?!

Valentine’s Day was fast approaching, and she was well aware of it. She suspected that he wanted to tell her not to get him anything—it would be awkward for him to receive it, and he didn’t like the idea of her spending money on him. But she also knew quite well that he didn’t dare say anything, lest he make too many assumptions about their relationship.

She planned to use his honor to her advantage.

It would, of course, be difficult to plan. She couldn’t make him chocolate, as she did for Sonomi and her family. No, they would most certainly question the presence of a handful of extra chocolates. Just a small number… well, Sonomi would certainly be suspicious. She always gave Nadeshiko candy for Valentine’s Day—why would Nadeshiko need to make some extra for herself?

That was why she was wandering the inside of a fancy candy shop, along with what was possibly every married, middle-aged woman in the city. It might have been awkward but for her determination that he should receive candy from her. It wouldn’t say as much, perhaps, as homemade chocolate, but that was not an option.

“Can I help you?” a woman asked, smiling pleasantly. Possibly Nadeshiko was the only customer who looked uncertain.

“Well…”

“Who are you looking for?”

“Well…”

“Ah,” the woman sighed, nodding sagely. “You don’t know yet, what you are. But I take it you want him to know something?”

“I… I suppose…” It wasn’t that the saleswoman was wrong. It was just that she hadn’t expected to be found out so quickly.

The woman smiled gently, and took Nadeshiko’s elbow. “Then something small, I think. Not too big, you know, or you’ll scare him away. Or seem desperate, and, my dear, you most certainly have no reason to be desperate. And something too small might say that it isn’t really a gift, if you understand. What about something like this?”

The box was the right size, but covered in gold foil. It was quite lovely, but…

“It’s too… much,” she said, gesturing at it. The woman nodded, understanding her customer instantly.

“Something less eye-catching, hmmm? How about…” She held out a small, red, heart-shaped box wrapped in black velvet ribbon.

“The shape,” Nadeshiko disagreed instantly. “It’s…”

“Too forward, hmmm? Then how about this one?”

It was quite perfect, and she bought it immediately.

~~~~~

With a clean conscience, then, she was able to make her (admittedly awful) Valentine’s Day chocolates. She could never understand why they never turned out right. But it was all right. No one ever said anything, and they were quick to let her know it was the thought that counted. She was even more certain that it was better she’d bought him chocolates this first time.

Sonomi, who’d already made her chocolates, sat on a stool swinging her legs idly, but her eyes were calculating. She wasn’t saying anything, but Nadeshiko knew that was code for her thinking seriously about something.

“Who are you making candy for this year?” she finally blurted out. Nadeshiko knew it would be mean to laugh.

“The same people I always do. You, and everyone else.” Everyone else meaning the family. Flattery still worked wonders with her cousin.

“Really?” Sonomi’s eyes narrowed. “Are you sure you’re not making some extra?”

“No,” she placated gently. “I’m making exactly the same number as usual, plus two extra for you.”

“Why do I get ten this year?”

Nadeshiko shrugged. “No reason, really. I just felt like it.”

She had the nagging suspicion that it was out of guilt, but she firmly pushed that fear to the back of her mind.

~~~~~

She had not quite gotten around to figuring out how to give him his gift. If she left it anonymously, it would draw unwelcome attention from both teachers (who would find out first) and students (who would find out shortly thereafter). She could go visit him after school, as she had before, but then she ran the risk of being seen by another teacher. It was all right when the visit was relatively innocuous, but to leave him a box of Valentine’s chocolates…

No, they would have to arrange something, and that would mean giving away the secret.

On her way home from the library, she ducked quickly into a pay phone and breathlessly inserted the appropriate number of coins. The phone number from the now tattered piece of paper came easily to her fingers.

He picked up after the third ring.

“Can I… May I… Come over on Thursday night?”

There was a pause.

“Thursday is Valentine’s Day,” he commented quietly.

“I know,” she replied quickly, feeling the blush rise in her cheeks. She was sure she’d embarrassed him too. “It’s not… anything, really, I just want to… well, see you,” she finished lamely. “Give you something” sounded too… awkward, and could be interpreted in too many wrong ways. And it gave him the opportunity to refuse her, even if deep down she knew he couldn’t.

“Oh. Um… when were you thinking of… coming by?”

She wanted to clarify that it was really nothing; she could hear him thinking about what to make for dinner, and dessert, and what would be an appropriate time, and a whole number of other minor logistics.

“After school. Before dinner.” She winced slightly. She didn’t want to sound ungrateful, but she didn’t want him worrying either. “I have to be home for dinner with my family, I don’t want them to suspect anything.”

“Oh. That should be fine.” He sounded uncertain, and she became acutely aware of the precarious situation she was putting him in.

Through the clouded glass, she could see a young girl running to meet a young man. She stood on tiptoe, kissed him, and they strolled away, hand in hand.

“Thank you,” she whispered, and hung up the phone quickly.

~~~~~

She’d worried that it would be awkward when she arrived at his house, but he opened the door and invited her in with his usual smile, as if this was perfectly normal. If he wasn’t nervous… well, then what did she have to worry about? She smiled back and stepped in as if she belonged there.

“Tea?” he asked, gesturing to the table, where a tea set and small cakes were already laid out. She wanted to laugh.

“You were going to laugh at me,” he commented, eyes twinkling with mischief.

“Only because you’d gone and prepared this all anyway, even before I arrived! And after I told you not to!” Had she? It didn’t matter. She laughed anyway, and the remnants of the discomfort of earlier in the week melted away.

“It would be rude of me to not have anything prepared. Especially for you.” Both of them were surprised by how innocent the comment sounded in the air between them.

Agreeably, she sat down and poured first him, then herself, tea. They nibbled at cakes, oddly content to sit quietly without the need for small talk, especially since they both knew she needed to be leaving soon.

After a cup of tea and two cakes (“So cute!” she exclaimed with delight) she reached into her bag and held out the unwrapped box.

Slowly, he set down his cup of tea and gingerly took the box from her. It was more sophisticated and discreet than the others she’d looked at, but it was still distinctly Valentine’s Day chocolate. A black velvet rectangle, with dark red ribbon, and ten gold-wrapped chocolates inside.

He didn’t open it. He didn’t need to.

Holidays 2007 Requests

Mon, 24 Dec 2007 21:37:40 GMT

Holiday 2007 Requests

A late start, but they are now open! I couldn't stand not at least offering anything this Christmas, especially after I disappeared for four months. The rules are very much the same as last year.

Information

Comment on this post with your requests. Requirements of the request: fandom. If you want to put other things, like what you won't read, what you do want, whether or not it's related to the holiday season, pairings, characters, etc., feel free. All I really need is the fandom. List of fandoms is here. I will respond to your comment IF AND ONLY IF I feel there is some reason I cannot fulfill your request; and yes, my inability to write characters is a valid reason. These are gifts for you, and I want you all to like your gifts.

This year, I will also remember to respond to your comment with a link to your fic.

I reserve the right to make the fic as long or short as necessary. You are free to make multiple requests if I am only able to offer a drabble (100 words).

Also, if you request CCS Touya/Yukito or Fujitaka/Nadeshiko, I may also incorporate one of the challenge themes, especially for T/Y.

Timeline

I will be accepting requests until 11:59 PM PST New Years Day (GMT -8). There is no timeline this year on completing the requests, due to my acknowledgment of reality.

People who have pending requests

You are welcome to make a new request. As you've probably noticed, I don't forget requests entirely, so eventually, I promise you will get a fic.

2006 Request Post, with pending requests from:
e_chi
rhap_chan
laurus_nobilis
suppis_tenshi
triskeles
emcyclopedia
meiface

meiface also has another pending request.

If I've forgotten anything, please leave a comment asking.

Fic: Teacups

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 19:55:11 GMT

Title: Teacups
Author: fairymage
Rating: PG-13
Community: 10_passions
Theme: #5--His Place
Fandom: Card Captor Sakura
Pairing: Touya/Yukito
Notes: Written for stardarkangel's request for Touya/Yukito with bunny teacups. Sorry, the ending kind of sucks D:

It was rare for them to go straight to sex after work. They’d done it in the first week after moving into the house together, which was only natural. But they’d quickly determined that it simply wasn’t practical—dinner was late, or not made at all, dishes and laundry piled up… They accepted the reality of life and settled into a more stable routine. Still, there were those rare occasions when heated sex on the couch or floor was warranted.

Yukito was trying to determine what had brought it on this time.

Touya had practically dragged his boyfriend to the couch the moment he was through the door. He’d hardly had time to get his shoes off before he was being pressed awkwardly into the arm of the couch, Touya straddling him and kissing him. He didn’t mind, of course, he just wanted to know what it was that… well, that had instigated this whole business.

He was busying himself with removing Touya’s shirt when Touya whispered in his ear, “Where’s Yue?”

Surprised, Yukito dropped his hands to Touya’s lower abdomen and rubbed absently, earning a hiss from Touya. “He’s… well, he’s not… this sort of thing embarrasses him.”

“I’m not surprised,” Touya gave a satisfied, “heh.” He slid the tips of his fingers along the inside of the waist of Yukito’s pants. “Can you, you know, keep him out?”

“I… suppose so. He wouldn’t want to come out anyway.”

“Good.” Suddenly Touya sat up, straightening himself as best as possible, all business. Yukito eyed him curiously.

“I broke his teacup.”

“You what?”

“I broke Yue’s teacup this morning.”

“Oh. Well, why don’t you just tell him and say you’re sorry? I can get him now—“

“No!” Touya grabbed his hands. “He’ll ice crystal me to death! I need to get him a new one before… before, you know, he wants tea.”

“To-ya, Yue doesn’t drink tea that often.” That wasn’t necessarily true, but Yukito knew that no one was supposed to know about that.

“Yes he does,” Touya replied stubbornly. “That’s why you always buy a box of jasmine tea at the market, even though I’ve never seen you drink jasmine once.” Yukito shrugged internally. Yue was secretive, but that didn’t mean he kept his own secrets well.

“So we need to go shopping.”

Yukito regarded him with amusement. “And I’m supposed to keep Yue out until you’re done shopping? I doubt he’d believe that sex would take more than an hour.”

“No, no, no, you can let him come out, but you just can’t tell him that I… you know, broke his teacup. Just pretend we’re buying a new set for us, okay?”

Yukito shrugged. “All right. I won’t say anything.”

“Great.” Touya stood and started putting his clothes back on. Yukito thought about saying something, but sighed and shook his head, smiling a little. They’d talk about this later, he decided, as he pulled himself off the couch.

-----

“How about these?” Touya asked, holding up a set. He’d been searching desperately for over an hour, asking about every set that looked reasonably nice.

Yukito waved his hand. “Too plain. I like simple, but not plain.”

“These?”

“Those are glass, To-ya. They’re very pretty, but they’re the sort of teacups you’d give to your sister.”

“How about these?”

“Boring. Everyone has a set that looks like that. In fact, To-ya, that is the set of teacups we own.”

Touya continued to fret at the rows upon rows of choices, while Yukito wandered away with a sigh. He’d have to find an appropriate set on his own… one that he knew he would like, and one that Yue wouldn’t object to (much) either. If they’d wanted to be perfectly boring and normal, he would have let Touya buy one of the white ceramic sets with just a little bit of color. But, given the opportunity…

Then he saw them. They were perfect. Yue would secretly like them, he was sure, even if at first glance he’d say something mean. And he’d get to tease Touya a little too.

“To-ya!” he called, waving. Touya rushed over, eager to get the trial over with. “Here.” He held out his find and smiled eagerly.

Touya studied them, looking like he was trying to find a nice way to tell his boyfriend he was absolutely crazy. “Ne, Yuki…”

“No, they’re perfect,” he insisted, continuing to smile.

He could tell Touya was wondering if Yukito wanted Yue to ice crystal Touya, and wanted to ask it, but couldn’t. Instead, he sighed and asked once more, “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” Yukito replied with utmost certainty.

They’re very fitting, Yue commented, sounding disinterested.

“Oh yes,” he repeated to Touya. “They’re perfect.”

-----

“Can I talk to Yue?” Touya asked after dinner.

“Yes?”

“So. Um. This morning. I was sort of in a rush to leave—“

“Because you woke up late, and then you put on the wrong pair of socks, and your pants and tie didn’t match.”

“Yeah—how did you know that?”

“Just because I’m not out all the time doesn’t mean I’m not paying attention.”

“Well, I was in a rush, and… I broke your teacup.” Touya paused for a moment to let Yue digest this, but not long enough for him to think about wanting to hurt Touya. “I’m sorry. I know how much you must have liked that teacup. But… I got you a new one.” He held out the one he’d chosen for Yue.

The set had come with five cups, in five different colors and slightly different designs. Of course, he’d given Yukito and himself the blue and green ones. The purple one he’d already marked out for Yue. The pink and yellow ones… well, the pink one was obviously for Sakura when she came over, and the yellow one would just have to be for the Brat if he accompanied her.

Gently, Yue took the white cup from his hand and held it in front of him. Touya assumed he’d seen the set already at the store. The otherwise white cup was decorated with two small bunnies moon-gazing, with two spots of purple for a little color.

“Do you… like it?”

Yue frowned a little and turned away slightly. “It’s useable, that’s all that’s important. The tea will taste just fine in it.”

Touya grinned. At least Yukito hadn’t been lying to him about Yue. And Touya knew that Yukito really liked the teacups himself; he’d kept talking about how cute they were, and how he thought the rabbits (Cinnamon and Sugar) would like them. Yukito and Yue, both of them, were really very… adorable.

“You know that Yukito is a little put off.”

“Yeah, kinda.”

“Then you did it on purpose?”

Touya shrugged. “It’s more interesting that way.”

Yue considered him for a moment, then closed his eyes and tipped his head, so his hair fell over his eyes. “I’m not sure I will ever… understand its appeal.”

Touya was surprised for a moment, then fought the urge to laugh. Yukito looked at him curiously, then smiled. Touya thought they were going to pick up where they left off, so he leaned over to kiss Yukito and pull him close.

Instead, Yukito leaned against him and hugged him around the waist. “Let’s go feed Cinnamon and Sugar.”

“You really like the rabbits today, huh?” Touya asked, wrapping an arm around Yukito’s shoulders and pulling him along. You and Yue both, he thought to himself.

“I am a snow bunny,” he replied impishly.

Series Meme

Sat, 22 Sep 2007 20:21:10 GMT

Did it in my personal journal, will now do it here!

Pick five series and then answer the questions. Don't look at the questions before you choose!

1. Rurouni Kenshin
2. D.Gray-Man
3. Hellsing
4. Ouran Koukou Host Club
5. Busou Renkin

1. Which is your favorite series from your list? And why?
Busou Renkin. I like plot, explosions, endearing heros, good heroines, a good love story, and Watsuki's jokes. I loved all the characters, absolutely and without a doubt. There is very little I can say against this series, I loved it so much. It was fun and it was sweet and it made me cry sometimes, but it always made me smile. Kenshin has been kind of soured for me because of the bad anime arcs and the Tomoe stuff in the manga. I haven't had a chance to read the Busou Renkin manga, but I hope I'd like it as much as I loved the anime.

2. If you were to pair two characters from 1 and 4, who would they be?
... Oh dear. Um... Aside from the fact that Mori is like, glued to Honey's hip (I, by the way, refuse to acknowledge most of the Ouran manga), I'd say Mori and Megumi. I'm toying with Kyouya and Kaoru, but I think one would get fed up with the other and explode.

3. What is one thing you'd like to change about 3's plotline?
Integral. Like, what the hell. I seriously did not understand that woman or what her problem was. She grated me the wrong way in every way possible.

4. If both main characters of 2 and 5 were falling off a cliff, which one would you save?
Awww shit! Allen or Kazuki? I'D HAVE TO CHOOSE? I think I'd save Kazuki. Not that I don't absolutely LOVE Allen... I just... I have to choose... and... ;____; Lavi ~~and his OMGSEXY legs~~ would save Allen?

5. Which event was the most horrible for you in 1?
Everything involving Tomoe. I definitely didn't like that woman, and it has everything to do with personality. I know she was supposed to be this strong, independent, admirable woman and everything, but to me she just came across as boring. When I saw her in the OVAs I groaned because I knew what was going to happen, and I didn't want it to. I don't like women without some fire, and I just don't think Tomoe was written well in the manga or anime.

6. Which is your least favorite character of 2?
Least favorite? NOOOOOOO. Actually, I think it's Road. I know, I know, she has the evilly cute thing going for her, but she's just not cute to me. She's not even creepy, like Tykki. She's just an annoying, spoiled brat.

7. If the antagonist of 3 were to rape the main character of 1, what would you do?
... HAHAHAHAHA. I can't stop laughing. I know it's not FUNNY, but just the thought of that makes my laugh so hard I cry. If that were to happen, I would know I was having a terrible nightmare. :D

8. What song reminds you of 5?
"Makka na Chikai," the opening song. It's perfect for the series I think, plus it's sung by Fukuyama Yoshiki, which makes it doubly good.

9. Of 1, 3, and 5, which is the easiest to think about?
Oh gods, that's a tough one. Probably Kenshin, because that's the one I know best, but I also really love Busou Renkin. I don't think about it very often, though, which may make it the easiest one to think about. :P

10. Are the protagonists of 2 and 4 similar?
Not particularly. Haruhi is way too practical and straight-forward. I can see Allen and Haruhi getting along, maybe, but Allen is too idealistic. He's also a lot sillier than I can ever imagine Haruhi being.

Fic: A Mistake and a Cake

Sat, 22 Sep 2007 14:15:42 GMT

Title: A Mistake and a Cake
Author: fairymage
Rating: G
Fandom: Ouran Koukou Host Club
Pairing: Er... Tamaki/Haruhi. If you put on fangirl glasses.
Notes: ryukkux requested Tamaki/Haruhi. But I sort of fail. >.< Idea from evils_twin.

The Third Music Room was oddly (as Kyouya would have said, blissfully) quiet after a busy afternoon at the Host Club. All the girls had departed over an hour ago. Mori and Honey had excused themselves half an hour after that. Haruhi had gone home ten minutes later, saying she had to go shopping and make dinner. Kyouya had retreated home to work on the accounts for the Club. The twins and Tamaki were on their way out when—

“It’s her BIRTHDAY?!”

“Shhhh!” the twins hissed in unison, clapping their hands over Tamaki’s mouth. “We’re not supposed to know.”

“En ow u u oh?” Tamaki asked.

“Kyouya-senpai told us,” they divulged, warily looking around for the said senpai. You never knew what to expect from Kyouya-senpai…

“Ow iii eee oh?”

The twins blinked in confusion. It was the most obvious thing in the world. “Kyouya-senpai knows everything. You should know that, tono.”

“Ut r ee owing u u?”

“Well, Kaoru and I were going to try to get her a present, or something. Kyouya-senpai said she doesn’t really care about her birthday, but…” Hikaru shrugged. Ooooo! Tamaki knew how Hikaru looked at Haruhi! He knew! How dare he shrug like that, as if it didn’t matter!

“Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai are arranging dinner, or something. With crab and otoro,” Kaoru added. That was more like it. Haruhi deserved something wonderful and grand that commoners didn’t get for their birthdays! The twins were so stupid. But then…

“THAT DOES IT!” Tamaki announced, exploding and shoving the twins aside. He posed triumphantly, one arm raised high in the air. “I WILL DO SOMETHING FOR MY DAUGHTER TOO!”

And then he was off, leaving a trail of dust and two bewildered twins behind him.

Hikaru blinked. “Did we even tell him when Haruhi’s birthday is?”

Kaoru shook his head. “No.”

They looked at each other and shrugged.

“He’ll call when he figures it out.”

*****

The next day Tamaki waltzed into the Third Music Room carrying a very large box, then quickly announced that all Club activities were cancelled for the day because of Haruhi’s birthday.

Had the twins received a phone call from their illustrious lord, they would have been able to tell Tamaki that Haruhi’s birthday wasn’t for another month.

Luckily, Haruhi hadn’t arrived yet.

“Tono!” Hikaru accused loudly.

“WHAT? You were the delinquents that molested your king and didn’t tell him all the information!”

“You left awfully quickly,” Kaoru pointed out.

“We thought you would call!” Hikaru added.

“They have a point, Tamaki. You should have asked for information that you lacked, should you have needed it,” Kyouya commented idly from the couch.

“I can eat it!” Honey chirped happily, eyeing the cake Tamaki had brought. “Then Haru-chan will never know!”

In a flash Tamaki was there, bending his body impossibly over and around the cake. “NO. MY CAKE.”

Honey wibbled. Mori patted his shoulder and held out another, smaller slice of chocolate cake. Instantly Honey was all smiles again, riding on Mori’s shoulder and eating cake. Tamaki relaxed a little.

“Isn’t it magnificent?” he breathed.

They all had to admit that it was a rather nice cake. It was a circular, two-layer cake, covered in fine white icing, perfectly spread without clumps. Around the edges were little white icing dots, raised just enough. Along the top faces of the layers were little red icing roses with green icing leaves. Strawberry halves finished off the bottom layer, while “Happy Birthday!” was written in neat cursive in red on the top.

“I made it myself!” Tamaki announced proudly.

Now they were doubly impressed.

“Ne, Tama-chan actually paid attention long enough to make this?” Honey asked Mori. “He’s amazing.”

“Ah,” Mori agreed.

Kyouya pushed his glasses up his nose, finished studying the cake. “I have to say, Tamaki, I’m quite impressed with your effort.”

“Eh! Tono’s pretty cool,” the twins agreed.

All the praise had caused Tamaki to launch into a lengthy speech about the virtues of their leader, and how he had gained them, and why they must look up to such an amazing cake-decorator, and somehow had turned to talking about their great plans for Haruhi’s birthday, when the door to the Third Music Room opened.

Everyone froze. Kyouya fought the urge to laugh.

“What’s going on?” she asked, looking curiously at her friends. “The sign on the door says there’s no Club today, but no one told me, so… What’s that?” she asked, peering around the twins at whatever it was Tamaki was posed in front of.

“AH NOTHING!” Tamaki and the twins yelled. Tamaki threw himself in front of the cake, while the twins converged on Haruhi to block her vision.

“It looks like cake…” Haruhi continued, standing on her tiptoes, looking almost as forlorn as Honey had when denied the cake earlier.

“Ah, it’s nothing! Nothing!” the twins insisted, pushing her away from the table. “We just needed a cake for a birthday and Tono brought this for us—“

“HOW DARE YOU!” Tamaki demanded, bursting between the twins and gesturing wildly. “THERE IS NO WAY I WOULD GIVE YOU THE CAKE THAT I MADE ESPECIALLY FOR HARUHI’S BIRTHDAY!”

Silence fell, save for Hikaru’s muttered, “Way to go, Tono.”

“My… birthday?” Haruhi asked, pointing at herself.

“Eh… heh… heh?” Tamaki laughed nervously, backing away slowly.

“How did you find out?” she asked, looking around. Her eyes fell on Kyouya, who was watching almost boredly from the couch. Never mind, she already knew.

“Then, you know that it’s not for another month?” she asked. Kyouya raised an eyebrow and tilted his head towards Tamaki. Ah, well. That made sense too.

“IT’S ALL THEIR FAULT!” Tamaki shrieked, flailing at the twins. “THEY DIDN’T TELL ME, AND NOW THEY’VE RUINED IT—“

“It’s your fault for not asking!” Hikaru accused.

“Well, it can’t be helped, ne?” Haruhi said with a smile, causing the warring parties to stop. “Shall we have cake?”

“You’re… you’re not mad?” Tamaki asked nervously, shying away from Hikaru slightly.

“No, of course not. Birthdays are really practical things, but that doesn’t make it any less nice when someone gets you a cake.” She put her bag down and picked up a knife to start cutting.

“YAY!” Tamaki leapt for joy and landed on Haruhi, hugging her around the shoulders. “Ha~ru~hi loves~ me~” he sang happily.

There was a pause, and then Haruhi smiled. “I guess so.”

"TONO!"

"Tama-chan..."

"Tamaki... why does this cake taste like salmon?"

Fic: Sauteed

Thu, 20 Sep 2007 20:06:36 GMT

Title: Sauteed
Author: fairymage
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: Ouran Koukou Host Club
Pairing: Kyouya/Tamaki
Notes: Written for emcyclopedia's request for "Tamaki wants Kyouya to eat his vegetables." I think she wanted something with more pr0n, but oh well. Foreplay added in for yukishuii.

“You expect me to eat this?”

“Well… yes?”

“Tamaki. You cannot seriously expect me to put this in my mouth.” Kyouya flipped some of the carrots disdainfully.

“But…” Tamaki’s eyes were threatening to fall out. “I MADE THEM JUST FOR YOU!” he wailed.

Kyouya closed his eyes and sighed, fighting the urge to rub his temples in aggravation. Really. Tamaki’s stupidity never ceased to amaze him. Kyouya had accepted his invitation to dinner assuming it would be edible. “I appreciate the sentiment, Tamaki, but these are unacceptable.”

Tamaki flailed dramatically, clinging to the back of Kyouya’s chair. “But but but! They were made with sesame oil and oregano and thyme and paprika and chili pepper and salt and ALL MY LOVE. You don’t love me,” he concluded, and in an instant was huddled in a corner, his personal cloud of doom hovering just over his shoulder.

Kyouya fought the new urge to bang his head repeatedly against the very nice and very expensive redwood dinner table. Or possibly to throw his fine silver fork at Tamaki, who made a very good target.

“Tamaki, this has nothing to do with love,” he said, slowly and clearly in hopes that it would somehow make sense to Tamaki (it wouldn’t, he already knew that, but reason and logic were necessary in order to retain his sanity). “It has everything to do with edibility. I. Cannot. Eat. These.”

“WHY NOT?”

Kyouya wanted to groan. There were very few things he wouldn’t eat merely on principle. He’d eaten that fast food with Haruhi, hadn’t he? Food was a necessity to survival, everyone knew that. It was merely that Tamaki had obviously not tasted his own… concoction.

“Have you tried this, Tamaki?” he asked, waving at his food with his fork.

Sniffling, Tamaki shook his head. Kyouya stabbed a wilted carrot and shoved it at Tamaki’s face.

“But I followed the directions!” Tamaki howled miserably.

Kyouya raised an eyebrow. “Directions from… whom?”

“Ha~ru~hi~” Tamaki sang happily, radiating little pink hearts.

Kyouya seriously doubted Tamaki’s claim. Well, no. Tamaki probably had intended to get the recipe from Haruhi, but Kyouya strongly suspected someone else (or two someone elses, more likely) had gotten their hands on it before Tamaki and taken creative license with it.

“Well, whether or not you followed the directions, this is still completely inedible. I refuse to eat them. It. Whatever it used to be.”

Tamaki frowned, and a little pout was beginning to form at the corners of his mouth. Kyouya hesitated to tell Tamaki that he was really rather cute when he pouted like that.

“But you have to eat your vegetables.”

Kyouya raised an eyebrow. Oh, was that how this was going to go?

“Why, Tamaki?”

Tamaki visibly perked up a little. He was making progress with Kyouya! “Because it’s healthy!” he announced proudly, as if he were a third grader explaining why he’d just eaten his brussel sprouts.

Kyouya paused to give the impression that he was pondering Tamaki’s assertion. In fact, he was trying to figure a way out of this. He was not, under any circumstances save those threatening his life, going to eat these… vegetables. But Tamaki had appealed to reason, which Kyouya could not very well argue with. Tamaki’s vegetables were most certainly not healthy (rather, they were likely toxic at some level), but vegetables themselves were healthy, and part of a good diet—which Kyouya was quite certain he kept.

“Very well.” He set down his napkin and made to stand, which sent Tamaki into a panic.

“BUT KYOUYA! YOUR VEGGIES!”

“I will eat vegetables,” he assured Tamaki. “Just not these.” Tamaki deflated. So he hadn’t won after all… Kyouya didn’t love him…

“Are you coming?” Kyouya called. He was already out the door and halfway to the kitchen. He could hear Tamaki scrambling after him, sliding against the sleek wood floors, and crashing into at least one doorway.

“Kyou~ya,” Tamaki pleaded, jumping up and down, trying to see what Kyouya was doing in the kitchen. “What are we doing?”

“We are not doing anything,” Kyouya corrected, digging around in the refrigerator for vegetables. “I am going to make my own vegetables. You can either watch quietly and try to learn, or you can simply stay out of the way so as to not hurt anything.”

Tamaki’s jaw dropped to the floor. Kyouya pretended he couldn’t see and studied his selection of knives.

“Ky—Kyo—KYOUYA CAN COOK?” Tamaki yelled.

Kyouya rolled his eyes and started chopping. “Yes. There are certain skills everyone should know.”

Tamaki began to sparkle. “OKAAAAAAAAAAAASAN!” he cried happily, looking ready to fling himself at his best friend. Kyouya narrowed his eyes and let the light flash off his glasses and knife. “Of course Okaa-san can cook!” Tamaki bubbled happily, restraining himself for the time being.

Kyouya finished expertly chopping the vegetables, then easily slid them into a pan to sauté. Without saying a word or referring to a recipe, he oiled and seasoned them, with Tamaki looking on in complete awe. When it was done, he slipped them onto a plate and stalked back to the dining room. He set the plate down, a little loudly, then sat back in his chair, with no apparent intent of eating.

“Well?” he asked, glancing critically between Tamaki and the still-warm plate.

“Well… what?” Tamaki asked, blinking down at the plate of carrots and squash and tomatoes.

Kyouya grinned slyly. This evening wasn’t going to be a complete waste, if he had anything to say about it. “Well, I made the vegetables… so I think it only fair that you feed them to me.”

Tamaki caught on quickly. He generally did when it came to these sorts of things (although sometimes he didn’t, and that was simply too embarrassing for words). He immediately donned his Host Club persona as he smiled at Kyouya.

“From your lap?”

Kyouya closed his eyes and shrugged nonchalantly. “That, I suppose, would be acceptable.”

Immediately Tamaki was settling his lithe body against Kyouya’s, straddling his thighs comfortably. He sighed softly as Kyouya began gently brushing his fingers against Tamaki’s crotch, and started shifting and grinding sensually in response. Kyouya was watching him, though, so he without stopping he opened his eyes and held up a forkful of vegetables.

“Here… Kyouya,” he murmured breathlessly, eagerly riding Kyouya’s thighs. “Just… what you… ordered…”

Slowly and surely Kyouya closed his mouth around the fork, massaging Tamaki through his pants just a little harder as he did so. Tamaki whimpered and squirmed impatiently, but Kyouya just smiled.

After all, he’d gone through all the trouble of making his vegetables. He might as well eat them, too.

Omake

The next day Tamaki danced into the Third Music Room, swinging two wrapped lunches. Everyone except for Kyouya stared.

He held them out to the twins, who looked at each other, then back at their senpai in confusion.

“Kyouya’s teaching me how to cook!” Tamaki announced triumphantly. “And we decided that you two would be the lucky recipients of today’s Super Special lunch!”

The twins warily took the bento being shoved at them. Then they glanced suspiciously at Kyouya.

Kyouya grinned wickedly.

“You must try it. His fried egg is even better than his fried vegetables.”

Fic: Night Sky

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 18:49:22 GMT

Title: Night Sky
Author: fairymage
Rating: G
Community: 30_kisses
Theme: #15--perfect blue
Fandom: Card Captor Sakura
Pairing: Fujitaka/Nadeshiko

The day had made them far more comfortable with each other. As they drove home, they talked of many things: music on the radio, fond childhood memories, vacations in the mountains. She had been out of the country before, something he longed to do, and he kept her busy with questions.

In a pause in the conversation, she looked out the window and sighed happily. Lights dotted the spreading darkness, and if she closed her eyes just a little they blurred like fireflies. “I expected it to be darker,” she murmured distractedly.

“It’s still summer, so it won’t get much darker than this,” he reminded.

“Well, yes, but you always expect the sky to be black at night, don’t you?”

He considered this for a moment. “I suppose that’s the way it’s described in all the books, isn’t it? But that’s not the way it is at all. The sky looks different, everywhere you go.”

“Does it?” It was a bit disconcerting. She liked thinking that the sky was the same everywhere. It was comforting and safe, then.

“More or less, yes. The sky in Tokyo is very different from the sky in Tomoeda. Of course it’s the same sky, you know. But it’s different, too. The lights are different in the two cities, so the color of the sky is different. You can see stars, but different stars. The air in Tokyo is charged with energy, and people, and doing. The sky in Tomoeda is different. It’s quiet, and peaceful, and gentle.”

“I… I never noticed, I suppose.”

“Really? I would’ve thought you’d enjoy looking at the sky. The sky in Paris is supposed to be amazing.”

“Oh no, I do like looking at the sky, but I like looking at it thinking that it’s all the same.”

He smiled embarrassedly. “You should have told me that earlier.”

“Oh no! I like that you see them as all different. It would be boring, wouldn’t it, if we all thought like me? I just like thinking that whatever I see in Paris, you can see in Tokyo or Tomoeda. It’s very romantic, don’t you think?”

“I suppose it is.”

“But I also think that the sky looks different depending on how you… oh, I don’t know, how you feel.”

“How you feel?”

“Well, if you’ve had a bad day, then I think the sky looks big and empty. The stars are all far away, and there aren’t very many of them. It’s very clear, I think, when you’re sad, and you feel like you can see for millions of miles, if only you had the eyesight.

But when you’ve—“ she blushed a little “—had a good day, the sky is much… warmer. It’s not so dark, you see. The stars are closer, and there are more of them. Maybe there are clouds, that sort of wrap the stars up and kiss them good-night, make sure they don’t fly away. They make the sky not so black, more… more deep and beautiful and blue. Just like tonight.”

There was silence for a moment, then she quickly started a new conversation about cooking. It was something she wasn’t very good at, of course, so she wanted to hear everything he had to say about it…

He knew eventually the day would have to fade into night. She needed to be home, before the rest of her family was, before they discovered where she had been, and with whom… And yet he, as much as she, avoided determining where the best place to leave her would be. He wanted to cling to the blue night sky as much as she did.

“You… you should can drop me off at Haruka’s,” she cut in suddenly. He knew the ramen restaurant well; it was a popular place for a relatively younger crowd that he still, by merit of being single, could belong to. It was a ways from her home, though.

“Are you sure?” he asked, resigning himself to the coming of a black night.

“Yes. I’ll call my cousin and ask them to pick me up there. If they ask, I went out to dinner with friends.”

They drove for a few more seconds in silence. They were getting close, if he was going to say anything, he needed to say it now… He pulled up in the parking lot behind the restaurant and stopped the car. The silence extended.

“Maybe you should call your cousin now. So that you won’t have to wait very long,” he suggested.

She nodded silently and opened her door. He opened his door, too, and got out with her. When she looked at him curiously, he smiled.

“I can’t let you go by yourself. I should at least be responsible for you as long as I can. It wouldn’t do for something to happen to you now.”

She wanted to say something about how unlikely it was that something would happen to her in a few minutes while she made a phone call and sat down in the restaurant, but instead she smiled and nodded. It would be nice to have his company.

They sat down, and he held out the menu towards her. “Please, order something.”

Surprised, she stared at the menu. He couldn’t afford— “I couldn’t,” she refused, turning away. “I’m not hungry,” she tried to explain.

He shrugged. “You and I might as well order something. It would be rude for us to sit here without ordering something, don't you think?”

She blushed and took the menu, glancing over it. “Can we… share something?” she asked shyly. It seemed so forward, to suggest that they share a meal! She knew she should be concerned with what the people around her would think, but she wanted to know his answer more.

“Of course. It wouldn’t make sense if you’re not that hungry.” She glanced up at him; he was smiling gently.

Sonomi had said that they would be some time, so she was able to share the large bowl of ramen unconcernedly with him. She laughed at the way he always offered her the good pieces of chicken or vegetables, without seeming to take any for himself. It felt nice—natural, even—for them to share a meal like this. And she found herself even less concerned with what people thought of them as they laughed together, focused only on the graceful way he worked his hashi, the way he smiled at her, the way the ramen swirled as he stirred it, looking for another piece of negi for her.

They were sitting companionably, sipping tea, when Sonomi burst into the restaurant. Her eyes narrowed at the sight of Kinomoto-sensei, and she opened her mouth to yell.

“Sonomi! Wait! He was just waiting for me, he didn’t want me to wait by myself!”

Sonomi didn’t look like she was buying the story, but luckily her father appeared behind her.

“Amamiya-san,” he greeted politely, standing to bow. “I was here for dinner, and I just wanted to make sure that Nadeshiko-san made it home safely. She said she was waiting for her family, but you never know…”

Her uncle made a fuss about thanking this kind young man, properly, because who knew what could have happened to her if he hadn’t been there? Sonomi seemed to have softened, too, and accepted the story—or if not the story in its entirety, at least the sentiment that Kinomoto-sensei had wanted to make sure that she would be safe.

As she slipped out the door behind Sonomi, he caught her hand lightly. She turned, still walking backward towards the waiting car.

“You were right about tonight. The sky is blue.”

Fic: Eggnog

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 11:14:55 GMT

Title: Eggnog
Author: fairymage
Rating: PG
Community: 30_kisses
Prompt: #30--kiss
Fandom: Card Captor Sakura
Pairing: Touya/Yukito
Notes: I took requests like 10 million years ago, and I never finished them, because I just sort of fail like that. So this one is for deerlike.

Holidays were complicated things, Touya had discovered. It wasn’t anything in particular, they were just inherently not simple. Even when it had been just the three of them—him, Sakura, and their father—nothing worked out quite as easily as it should have in his mind. Add in the plushie, Yukito, Yue, the brat… There was just so much to do. Presents. Cleaning. Obligatory visits. More presents. Food. Decorating. More food. And then even more food, just to make sure Yuki had enough to eat.

So it was nice to just have time to himself. Well, himself and Yuki. It was his expert opinion that Yukito made things simpler. This, he realized, rationally did not compute right, but it worked out in actuality.

His father had gone shopping with the plushie, Sakura had gone out with her girl friends, which meant that the brat had followed her, which then meant that he and Yukito had the house to themselves with nothing to do.

Had they been younger, still in high school, Touya knew exactly what they would have been doing. But now that they lived together, it was more comfortable for them to just sit on the couch. Not even touching each other. Just sitting, sprawled out on the couch together. Yukito always sat upright, leaning against the arm, taking up as little space as possible and yet somehow (probably because of Yue, Yue like his personal space) definitely making his presence known. Touya would always throw himself across the remaining open space.

Idly he flipped through channels on the television as Yukito flipped through one of his father’s home magazines. Touya’s friends made fun of him because there was a decent supply of them at their apartment. They were extremely useful, which was why Fujitaka subscribed to several, and why Touya in turn didn’t mind having them out on their coffee table. Yukito also seemed to like them, and had pointedly told Touya bad things would happen if they were to ever disappear, which made Touya think that Yue liked them more than Yukito did.

“When are your father and sister getting back?” Yukito asked, turning a page and scrunching his forehead.

Touya shrugged and changed the channel again, looking for a movie. “My dad’s a pretty efficient shopper, it shouldn’t be too long. He was going with the plushie, though, and you know how that might turn out.” In Touya’s opinion, his father indulged the Sun Guardian far too much. But he also knew that his father was the only thing that stood between the plushie and him moving in with his brother, so he tried to keep his mouth shut.

“Sakura, on the other hand, could be out forever with those friends of hers. Cute girls, but they’re still girls shopping for Christmas presents.”

“I think they were going to a movie, actually,” Yukito corrected absently.

“Hey!” Touya protested. This meant the brat was at a movie with his sister… He shook his head. He’d long ago resigned himself to the fact that he really couldn’t do anything about Sakura, and that most of his overt concern was just an act, but still… they should have told him! Especially if they were going to tell Yukito the truth. Touya as good as knew anything that Yukito knew. Or so he liked to think.

“Well, it means they’ll be out for awhile,” he reasoned, leaning back against the couch and shifting his legs, nudging Yukito’s hands and the magazine out of the way with his feet so he could rest them in Yukito’s lap.

“Do you want to try something?” Yukito asked, continuing to frown at the magazine.

Touya raised an eyebrow. His room was still intact, and was still “his room” for whenever he wanted it, but… “Feeling nostalgic? We haven’t fooled around here for awhile.”

Yukito looked up at him, blinking. Oh, so not that kind of something… “I was thinking about trying to make eggnog.” He held out the magazine, opened to a page with a recipe and a delicious-looking picture.

Touya studied the page. “Damn, Yuki, that looks way too simple. I thought eggnog was supposed to be really hard to make well.” At least, that’s what he’d always heard. That was why so many people vomited after drinking it.

“I know. That’s why I thought we’d try it.” He paused for a moment, looking at the ceiling. “Yue says eggnog is actually very good, if you don’t put too much alcohol in it, which is what he thinks is usually the problem with it.” Touya thought alcohol should make it better, but then, he’d never really had eggnog before.

“Okay, well, let’s see what’s in the fridge.”

There were definitely eggs, sugar, and vanilla, leftover from Sakura and his father making cookies and Christmas treats. Milk was a staple of the refrigerator—Sakura had a glass every morning with breakfast, and Yukito liked it with his tea. Nutmeg was the only thing Touya wasn’t sure the kitchen actually had, but Yukito found some after digging around in the spice drawer for a few minutes.

“It just says to ‘blend’ everything together,” Touya muttered. “What kind of directions are those?”

“Simple ones,” Yukito answered, reaching around Touya for the milk. He poured it into the blender with just a little bit of flair, and smiled.

Touya grinned back. “We should have something to go with the eggnog, shouldn’t we? A snack, or something. Let’s make cookies.” Everyone—even Yue—liked cookies.

“Why don’t we just eat some of the ones we already have?” Yukito asked, pointing at the table, where several boxes of cookies were stacked. They were supposed to be to give away to friends and co-workers and that sort of thing, but Christmas was fast approaching, so Touya didn’t see much of a problem with Yukito’s suggestion.

Yukito was standing very still at the blender, nutmeg in one hand, so Touya guessed that Yue was conferring with Yukito on how much nutmeg to put in. Grinning, Touya took a large plate out of the cupboard and began piling cookies on it. Sugar, chocolate chip, gingerbread… he wasn’t sure what would taste good with eggnog, so he made sure there was a variety.

Sticking a cookie in his mouth, he carried the plate back to the living room, where the television was still going. He was just settling on the couch, sprawled out along nearly its whole length, when Yukito emerged from the kitchen carrying two glasses of frothy, whitish liquid.

Touya eyed them skeptically. “You sure that’s safe to drink?” he asked, only half-joking. No wonder so many people didn’t like eggnog.

Yukito handed him his glass and shrugged. “Yue tried it and said it tasted right, and he’s not usually wrong.”

“Well then.” Touya raised his glass, and Yukito lowered his. “Cheers.”

It wasn’t bad. It was actually really good. “Just enough nutmeg,” Touya commented, grinning. “You did good,” he teased, leaning over to kiss Yukito.

Yukito took another sip before correcting him. “You should thank Yue, too.”

Touya stared at Yue, who looked like he was sulking. “Um… did you want a kiss too?”

Yue stared back flatly, eyes narrowed. “Well, you know, I thought I’d offer…” Touya tried to explain. “Cookie?” he tried again, gesturing to the plate.

“Hmph,” Yue muttered, picking up Yukito’s drink from the table and studying it.

“Or, you know, you could have some eggnog. I’m sure Yuki wouldn’t mind, and it’s your eggnog anyway…” he babbled, still a little confused by the sight of Yue holding a glass tumbler with strawberries on it.

With another huff Yue spread his wings, turned around, and wrapped his wings around him, so that Touya couldn’t watch him drink.

Touya thought about handing him a cookie, then decided it’d probably be better to just push the cookies across the table and check on something in the kitchen.

Fic: Olive Green

Sun, 16 Sep 2007 00:38:18 GMT

Title: Olive Green
Author: fairymage
Rating: G
Community: golden_pair
Prompt: Pic #2
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Pairing: Golden Pair
Notes: Written for the 2007 Fic for a Pic Contest

There were two pressing issues to be dealt with at the moment. Well, three.

One was that Oishi’s birthday had crept up on him without him realizing it. Actually, he’d known about it; of course you didn’t just forget your boyfriend of ten years’ birthday. But he could put off buying a present until he’d found the “perfect” thing—until the week before said boyfriend’s birthday.

Two was that he was trying to shop with Fuji. That in itself wouldn’t normally have been a problem. Fuji was insightful and had clever ideas, and had helped Eiji pick out a present several years in the past. He just had to wait out the trick suggestions. Like the year Fuji had casually demonstrated intimate knowledge of a wide range of sex toys. Or the year he’d passed Eiji a flyer for a male dancer and off-handedly suggested hiring one for a threesome.

But Fuji was also the one that thought Oishi would like the herbal spa set (to help him relax after work) or the tickets to the outdoor jazz concert—neither of which Eiji would have thought of on his own, and both of which Oishi had loved.

So Fuji on his own would have been fine. Helpful, even. But Fuji was not alone. No, Fuji had brought along Tezuka. And Eiji couldn’t stop staring.

He was pretty sure it was mostly the idea of Tezuka shopping that was making his head spin slightly. Shopping was what he and Fuji—best friends—or he and Oishi—lovers for a long time—did. Shopping was not something exceptional people like Tezuka did. Tezuka didn’t bounce into fitting rooms and take off his clothes and try new ones on. Tezuka didn’t even buy new clothes. New clothes just appeared on serious, professional people like Tezuka.

In Eiji’s mind, at least.

Hence why Fuji was Not Helpful today. Tezuka was just an extra dose of Not Helpful.

The third problem was that Eiji didn’t have enough hands to carry all the things Fuji was throwing at him.

-----

“Clothes this year,” Fuji had instructed in the car ride over. Eiji had hardly been paying attention; he’d been warily eyeing Tezuka, who was driving the car.

“What?”

“Clothes. I try to have you alternate between ‘practical’ and just ‘nice’. The concert tickets were nice. The spa set was practical. We’re back to practical this year. I think Oishi could use some new clothes.”

“Oh! He has an interview next week… Thursday,” Eiji remembered, wrinkling his nose.

He and Oishi had fought (a very small fight, nothing to worry about, he hoped) about Oishi wanting to change companies. Everyone knew that sort of thing was hard. If you left one place, you usually had to start all over, and Eiji didn’t want to see that happen to Oishi. He’d worked hard to get to where he was now, he didn’t understand why Oishi would want to leave all that behind, and he didn’t think it would be good for Oishi in the long run. But Oishi had insisted that he no longer wanted to work for this company, and the only way he could keep working was to work for someone else.

It had confused Eiji, because he’d always thought that he would be the one to whine about his job and let his emotions get the better of him. In his mind, Oishi would have been the one trying to soothe his ruffled feathers and convince him to stick it out. But he’d forgotten how principled Oishi was, and respect for the system was clearly no match for integrity.

“On his birthday?” Fuji mused. “Well, why don’t we find him a new suit?”

Eiji pondered this for a moment. It sounded like a good idea. A new suit, a new shirt and tie and socks, even… It’d be a good way to be supportive of Oishi. An expensive and materialistic way of telling Oishi that he wanted him to get the new job, and that he would stand behind him and help out until they’d worked through things.

So he’d agreed, and now they were standing in the middle of a men’s store, with Eiji laden with jackets and shirts and slacks and ties and yes, socks.

Fuji was studying their choices. Eiji liked what he’d picked out for Oishi—a light gray linen suit, a dark olive green shirt, and a wine red tie. The colors looked nice together (he thought), and they avoided looking like an American Christmas. But Fuji had insisted on choices, and so here they were.

“Ne, Fuji, I really don’t think Oishi would like the purple shirt.” Eiji wrinkled his nose. He didn’t like the purple shirt. It reminded him too much of Mizuki.

“All right, then that one can go.” Fuji waved his hand dismissively. “What do you think of this suit, Tezuka?”

Eiji had his mouth open to object to the choice—it was too brown, Oishi didn’t look good in brown, and besides it was two button and the buttons looked like they were in the wrong place.

Then he snapped it shut and tried not to stare too hard at Tezuka.

Without batting an eye, Tezuka replied: “Oishi doesn’t look good in brown.”

Eiji didn’t know if he was surprised. Of course, Tezuka never dressed badly, so he must know what sort of things looked good and what was fashionable, but it just seemed so… odd that he knew those kinds of things.

And so they went through everything they’d chosen, and Eiji ended up standing with exactly the outfit he’d picked out originally. As he stood at the register handing over his credit card, he snuck a glance over his shoulder, wondering if Fuji had intentionally picked out choices he knew would never work.

-----

“Just wear it! Please!” Eiji begged, hissing. This was boding poorly for the rest of the day. Oishi’s birthday had just started, and already they were fighting. He’d wanted to give Oishi his present before the interview, so that he could wear it. He’d even gotten his sister to take the entire thing to a dry-cleaner.

Oishi had gladly accepted the gift, giving Eiji a quick kiss and a smile before dashing off to the closet, but he’d come out for breakfast only wearing the suit and tie. His shirt was glaringly white and starched and, quite frankly, glaringly boring.

At the time, Eiji had pouted and pleaded and tried to convince Oishi to change. When Oishi had continued to refuse, saying that he wanted to be comfortable and would really rather be wearing a shirt he’d worn for two years instead of a new, perfectly crisp shirt, Eiji had given in. It was Oishi’s interview, after all, and he should be allowed to conduct himself as he chose.

But as soon as the fretting Oishi had left the apartment, Eiji had begun to think. It really was not all right with him that Oishi wasn’t wearing the green shirt. First of all, the white shirt was boring. The whole point of the green shirt was that it wasn’t white. It was colored and interesting and eye-catching. Everyone wore white. Eiji had wanted Oishi to stand out.

Fashion aside, though, it irritated Eiji that Oishi had, essentially, rejected his boyfriend’s well-wishes. It was sort of irrational—all right, very irrational—but he was really beginning to feel like Oishi had told him that his gift wasn’t good enough. Even though he’d worn the suit and tie. That gift was supposed to represent Eiji’s support and love and Oishi didn’t like it!

That bothered him. Irrationally, but it bothered him nonetheless.

So he’d grabbed the box with the shirt still folded neatly inside and stormed out after his boyfriend.

“Not now. It doesn’t match my suit, and I really cannot afford that.” Oishi wasn’t intentionally being mean-spirited. There was that crease in his forehead that meant he was stressed and trying to focus. Eiji knew he wasn’t helping by insisting, but this was sort of important to him.

“It does!” he insisted. “Even Tezuka said so!”

“I know, I know, Eiji, but I just want to wear something comfortable. It was really, really nice of you to come out, and if you just wait we can go out to lunch together after the interview, but I just—“ He stopped with a frustrated sigh and went back to staring at the wall.

Eiji slammed himself down into the chair behind Oishi and tried to keep his voice even. “No. I want you to wear the new shirt because it’s supposed to be a new start. New clothes for a new job. I don’t want you to be held back by stupid things like your old job. And the best way to do that is to just start over with everything. Including your shirt. Look,” he was struggling to explain himself properly. “I just thought that I would get you something nice to… to… to tell you that I want you to get this job. And that we’ll… you know, get through this. Like we always do. Because that’s what we do.”

They were silent for a moment. Eiji sank slightly in his chair and frowned at the floor. Oishi fidgeted briefly in his.

“And… you know… the white shirt is boring. You’d look better in the green one.”

Maybe Oishi was smiling. “Did Tezuka say that too?”

Maybe Eiji was smiling now too. “No. But he did say you wouldn’t look very good in brown.”

With an amused chuckle, Oishi stood and swept up the new, now slightly wrinkled, dress shirt. “If they call me, tell them I’m in the restroom and I’ll be right back.”

Fic: Watching and Waiting

Wed, 01 Aug 2007 04:30:32 GMT

Title: Watching and Waiting
Author: fairymage
Rating: G
Community: 30_kisses
Prompt: #19--red
Fandom: Card Captor Sakura
Pairing: Fujitaka/Nadeshiko

omg It's been so long... And you know with any luck that tonight there will be T/Y fic, so stick around for that.

Surely, she was certain, her family would stay at the beach past the sunset. Sunsets at the beach were not nearly as beautiful as sunrises, since at sunrise the sun rose over the water, but it would still be light and warm, and it would still be very pretty. She didn’t want to disturb the perfect afternoon. He had shown no interest or concern with leaving soon, and rushing him would only ruin the atmosphere.

As it was he was lying on his side, propped on one elbow, reading a book. Every so often he’d stir in order to push his glasses back into place, or readjust his elbow or legs. She could tell he wasn’t distracted, he just needed to be comfortable. He’d offered, several times, to stop and join her in some other activity, but she’d adamantly refused to let him do that.

Instead, she sat at the edge of the blanket, watching him with one eye and watching the lake with the other. It was still a pretty sight, one she hated to miss, but even though she sensed this wouldn’t be the last time she’d get to watch him read, she wouldn’t pass up that opportunity either.

Eventually, she stood and began to wander away. She heard him move as she walked away, pages of his book rustling gently. He was probably watching. But he soon went back to his book, and she knelt down to run her fingers through a patch of tiny flowers no bigger than her fingernails. White and daisy-like, she fingered them gently without pulling any out.

She wandered down to the lakeshore, watching the way the late afternoon sun glinted off the warped glass surface of the lake, the way the water gently kissed the sandy shoreline. If she tilted her head just right, she could see the rocks at the bottom. Gold, gray, black, brown, aquamarine, royal blue… the colors shifted and danced against the water in a pattern she couldn’t possibly hope to follow. She sat down on the sandy shore, digging her heels and hands into the white sand.

Sonomi knew how to skip rocks. She would always stand on the shore near the house and skip rocks perfectly and expertly across the rippling water. She’d once tried to teach Nadeshiko; the lesson had ended with two very wet girls trudging back to the house to change. She wondered vaguely if they would ever be able to stand on the lakeshore like that again.

“The sun’s going to set soon,” he remarked, coming up behind her. His footsteps crunched slightly as he moved from grass to sand.

She hummed in agreement. “Is it all right if we stay? It will be very pretty,” she promised.

He smiled. “Of course. Shall I move the things down here?” They’d packed the food away, most of it back into his old car, after lunch, but the blanket at least remained. Without waiting for an answer, he turned around and went back.

She turned back to the water, just in time to see the colors change from afternoon to evening. Sonomi told her that there wasn’t a “moment” when that happened, that you just happened to turn around and notice, that’s all. But Nadeshiko was certain there was a moment when the sun hit just the right spot on the horizon such that all the colors changed from yellow-gold to red-gold. A pity he’d missed it this time.

But there would be other times.

She stood as she heard him return, and wordlessly they spread the blanket together over the place where she’d bee sitting. They both sat down on it; he lay down again and opened his book, and she sat back on her hands.

“You’re going to miss the sunset,” she teased, smiling wistfully.

“I’m trusting you to alert me as to when it’s beginning,” he replied, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly. Not a full smile, not quite a smirk either.

“I’ll do my best,” she promised. “You already missed the change to evening.”

“Well, you’re more comfortable now, aren’t you?”

She nodded. “Then I can’t complain.”

“It’s all so pretty… the water isn’t blue anymore. I mean, of course it’s still blue, but you can’t tell, because the sun is a different color.” She liked the fact that he didn’t tell her she was wrong or otherwise disagree.

“Well, so long as I don’t miss the sunset, I don’t think I shall mind much,” he repeated, and went back to his book.

She liked the fact that even though he was reading, she didn’t feel miffed or slighted. After all, it was such a lovely setting. Why not read? It seemed like the perfect kind of place, the perfect time. Picturesque, that was the word for it. So she watched him read, and he either didn’t notice or didn’t mind. Either way, she was quite pleased.

She liked the way his long fingers held the pages of the book, so gently but so firmly. They didn’t toy idly with the corners or rub distractedly against the spine. He was perfectly engrossed with the words—not too little, but not too much either. He didn’t fidget—he moved every so often, uncrossing his legs, recrossing them, shifting the elbow supporting him, readjusting his glasses or smoothing his hair, but every movement seemed deliberate.

She barely noticed how much time passed, how long she spent staring out at the lake and the moving reflections on it. Children slowly stopped playing and went inside. Dogs stopped barking. The smell of cooking food was faint, but there if she concentrated on it. The birds were quieting. Soon, it would just be the two of them and the insects.

“I thought you were going to tell me when the sunset was starting,” he said, sitting down beside her. She hadn’t even noticed him standing.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized, “but you seem to have known when it was going to start anyway.”

“No, I’ve just been checking every few minutes.”

Fic: Connections

Fri, 01 Jun 2007 10:33:04 GMT

Title: Connections
Author: fairymage
Rating: G
Community: 30_kisses
Theme: #1-look over here
Fandom: Card Captor Sakura
Pairing: Touya/Yukito
Notes: Lyrics from Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons' "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You."

j;lkdfjakfewe I ALMOST MADE IT BEFORE MIDNIGHT ;_;

ETA: LJ fails, and I cannot get it to post the next sentence, even. I will be back when the server works.

ETA2: Yes! It works! We have fic!

You’re just too good to be true
Can’t take my eyes off of you
You’d be like heaven to touch
I wanna hold you so much…

The first time he’d seen Yukito, his eye had been caught by the other presence. The one he could barely see, just a sliver of light against the solid outline of the pale-haired, pale-skinned boy. He’d long ago learned how to distinguish amongst the different otherworldly beings he was able to see, but this one was new. He felt something like a child uncovering discarded “treasure.” He couldn't stop looking out of the corner of his eye.

Eventually, he came to terms with the fact that he didn’t know what the light was, and that, unless he asked the boy directly, he would never know. So he started watching the boy. Which, he discovered, was far more interesting and informative than watching the silent presence.

Tsukishiro Yukito had the nicest smile he’d ever seen—and he’d seen plenty of nice smiles. Girls smiled at him all the time. His father’s smile was gentle and kind and patient. His mother smiled at him from the picture frames every day. Even his monster of a sister had a smile that could brighten an entire room (though he’d never admit it). But Tsukishiro Yukito’s smile shone like his namesake moon. And it wasn’t just that. It was like he combined all the smiles Touya loved, added a little magic, and then directed the smile at everyone—but at no one.

It was a puzzle Touya couldn’t quite get his mind around. He smiled at everyone, he was nice to everyone, and yet it was like he was looking for someone to smile at. He paid attention to everyone who spoke to him, but he somehow… didn’t. He wasn’t malicious, he wasn’t hurting anyone, he honestly paid every person their due and his time and attention.

And, he discovered, he wanted Tsukishiro Yukito to smile at him. Just so that he knew what it was like. Maybe it would uncloud the puzzle that Touya had been contemplating all morning. And maybe the light beside him would smile at him too.

It happened right as lunch was beginning. People were twittering uncertainly, wondering if they should invite the new boy into their already established cliques—and if so, who would get to do it. Everyone wanted to, of course: he was nice, sweet, probably good at sports, smart, and rather good-looking. Tsukishiro was apparently oblivious where most new students would stand awkwardly. He’d brought the most absurdly large lunch Touya had ever seen, and was poking through it curiously and happily, as if everything in the bag was a treat.

Then he paused and looked up, but not around at the other students watching him. He looked at Touya, who was sitting alone at his desk next to the window, absently poking the rice in his bento box with hashi. Touya would never have admitted that he wanted Tsukishiro to notice him, sitting alone, not analyzing him as “the new boy” like their classmates. Tsukishiro wrapped his long arms around the giant paper market bag, and purposefully crossed the room to stand next to Touya.

“Can I have lunch with you, Kinomoto-san?” And then he smiled.

“Touya,” he found himself replying. He didn’t let anyone call him by his first name—and his classmates knew it. His response caused almost as much of a stir as Tsukishiro wanting to eat with the lone wolf instead of the birds. “And yes,” he added, trying not to glare at his classmates.

“Thank you, To-ya.”

After that, it was never hard to get Tsukishiro Yukito to look at him. The next morning, he was sitting at the desk in front of Touya’s. He turned around in his seat and smiled that amazing, magical smile, and said, “Good morning, To-ya.” Every morning, it was the same. Shortly thereafter, they discovered that they could take the same route to school, and they began to walk together every morning.

Touya never asked about the faint presence that he could still see around his new friend. Yukito didn’t seem to know about it, and it never seemed to do anything, so Touya let his curiosity lie. Someday, he would find out about it, he was sure. But he was no longer as interested in the magical other-being as he had once been.

He was content to pass notes to the boy who sat in front of him, to laugh as Yukito put away a ridiculous amount of food at every meal, to communicate with just a glance as they played basketball with their classmates, trouncing them every time. And when Yukito smiled, Touya knew that he was the one Yukito had been looking for to smile at.

-----

Pardon the way that I stare
There’s nothing else to compare
The sight of you makes me weak
There are no words left to speak…

And now he knew what that light was, that silent glow around Yukito that made him human but not. At first he thought that Yue was all elegant grace and silence and beauty. He couldn’t help but stare.

“Why do you keep looking at me?” Yue asked once, in that cold, slightly huffy way.

“Because… well, because you’re so…”

Yue stared at him flatly.

“Because you’re so…”

He never could adequately explain it. Yue was so much like Yukito, and yet so different. Yukito radiated a kind of pleasant, happy magic that made Touya want to smile at him. Yue’s magic made him want to stare in awe. He knew full well how special, how unique Yue was; he didn't need his lost powers to know that. He wanted very badly to understand the aloof Moon Guardian better, but Yue would rarely appear before him.

He was always at a loss for words before Yue. It was as if there was nothing to say to him, or that words failed to describe what he felt or thought about the otherworldly being. Touya often wondered why Yue showed himself at all, if he could only scorn Touya’s foolish attempts at conversation. Every time he asked Yukito, Yukito would smile and cough and avoid the question. Touya wondered if the answer was a secret just for the two of them, or if… well, if the reason really was that amusing.

He could also never quite bring himself to look the Moon Guardian in the eye. Or even, for that matter, too long at any part of Yue. It always felt like he was violating something.

“Can I… touch your wings?” he asked one night. Yue had followed him into the kitchen and was watching Touya make hot cocoa.

Yue blinked, then scowled. It was more like a half-scowl, half-pout, and Touya had to fight to not laugh. “I suppose. Just don’t pull out any feathers,” he warned, turning and releasing his wings.

Touya reached out and tentatively stroked the fine, full feathers. They were, as he’d expected, the softest thing he’d touched. They were fine and clean and perfectly formed, not a single one bent or out of place. He wondered if they were always like that naturally, or if Yue made sure that they were always nicely kept.

There was a soft sigh, and Touya realized that he was stroking the wings much as one would stroke a kitten or baby bird. As soon as he paused, though, Yue ruffled his wings and folded them back.

“They’re very… pretty,” Touya suggested nervously.

“They… work.”

And then, for the first time perhaps since Touya had offered Yue and Yukito his magic, Yue looked him directly in the eye. Touya’s mouth went dry and he fumbled for something to say. Something other than, “Oh… can I touch you? Or your hair?” Because while he honestly did want to know and remember what Yue’s hair felt like, or his skin, but that wasn’t something you said to Yue.

Then Touya blinked, and Yue was gone, and Yukito was smiling at him. Maybe he was laughing.

“Can I have some hot chocolate too?”

Fic: Sunday Afternoon

Thu, 31 May 2007 21:58:35 GMT

Title: Sunday Afternoon
Author: fairymage
Rating: G
Community: 30_kisses
Theme: #29-the sound of waves
Fandom: Card Captor Sakura
Pairing: Fujitaka/Nadeshiko

I discovered today that I really shouldn't have both Fujitaka/Nadeshiko and Touya/Yukito on 30_kisses. Oh well... the mods haven't said anything yet!

She lay back in bed, shifting against the pillows. The tape she’d borrowed from him played very, very softly, just barely loud enough to reach her ears as she closed her eyes and rolled over restlessly.

She was ready to return it, having nearly memorized all the songs on it over the last two weeks. It had been difficult, finding time to listen quietly on her own, when Sonomi or her grandfather or anyone else could have asked where she’d gotten such a strange tape from. But staying up late and waking early had been worth it, and she was quite certain her hearing had improved.

But it seemed so… condescending to return the loan without an offer of her own. Everything she liked to listen to she was sure he already knew about. After all, he could hear Japanese pop every time he turned on the radio or television. And he’d hinted that he was somewhat familiar with classical music.

No, music was not what she was looking for.

Footsteps pounded against the floor down the hallway—Sonomi could never be quiet. Quickly, she flipped over and hurried to turn off the music, her steps light as a moth. She was always very careful there should be no evidence, unless someone should check beneath her bed while she was gone. Shoving the cassette in its case beneath the bedskirt, she hopped nimbly back amongst her pillows and comforter.

“Do you want to go to the beach this weekend?” Sonomi asked, throwing herself onto Nadeshiko’s bed.

The beach! What a splendid idea! But… if Sonomi was going to be away for the weekend, it would be the perfect opportunity for her to see Kinomoto-san. “I don’t know…” she replied evasively. As it was, staying at home would arouse suspicion. “I have so much schoolwork to do…”

Sonomi brushed it off. “No need to worry. We’ll play during the day and in the evening we’ll help each other with the homework.”

Nadeshiko shook her head. “I just don’t know if I feel like it. I feel like staying at home and working… the beach, you, might be too distracting.” That might please Sonomi.

Her cousin frowned, but the roundabout compliment had worked its magic. “Well, okay, think about it, and just decide before we leave.”

Nadeshiko nodded eagerly, and Sonomi hefted herself off the bed. On an impulse, she leaned over and kissed her cousin’s forehead, then shyly hurried away.

But Nadeshiko barely noticed.

Rolling onto her stomach, she reached over to her bedstand and slid the slip of paper out from under a book, fingering the worn, soft paper with his phone number written so neatly on the back.

*****

“I thought you might like this back.” She held out the tape, smiling.

“Oh, no, it’s all right.” He stepped aside to admit her, closing the door behind her. “Are you finished with it?”

“Yes! It was rather interesting. Most of it I liked, but some of it just wasn’t to my taste.” She sat down in a chair and pulled her feet up underneath her.

“I thought as much. It’s a… well, I suppose it’s something of an acquired taste.”

Before a truly awkward silence could fall, she blurted out, “Would you like to… to… to go somewhere with me this weekend?”

She was entirely certain she was blushing, and his eyes were wide. Not shocked, and certainly not disgusted, just… surprised. She was rather surprised with herself. That certainly hadn’t been the way she’d wanted to ask the question.

“What did you have in mind?” he asked, regaining his composure quickly, much to her relief.

“Well, my cousin is going to the beach this weekend. And I was thinking about something I wanted you to hear—never mind. There’s a lake in the mountains where my family often vacations. It won’t take long to get there or back, so we could only go for a day. It’s very pretty… we could have a picnic.”

He smiled. “That sounds lovely. I do, in fact, own a car. It’s not nearly as nice as the one I’m sure you’re used to riding in—“

“Oh, please! Not that again!” But he was smiling a little, so she knew he was teasing, and she blushed at herself.

“But it’ll do. I can make plenty of food.”

“Let me buy it. The ingredients, at least,” she begged. “I can’t cook, you know, so I can’t even help much…”

“You can give me directions to get there. And you can come here, or pick another meeting place.”

“That isn’t…” fair, she thought, but there wasn’t much chance of changing his mind.

“Nonsense. I can’t have you paying. It would be quite rude of me.”

She bit her lip. “Can you pick me up at the park? The one two blocks east of here. That way it’s… well, it’s a little less noticeable, don’t you think? At ten o’clock Sunday.”

“Certainly.”

*****

“Here, turn up there.”

“Left or right?”

“Oh, left, I’m sorry.” They’d already gotten confused several times because of faulty or last-minute directions.

“Don’t worry about it.” And each time he reassured her that everything was all right, that every wrong street and wayward turn and all the backtracking was just part of the trip.

“See? There it is!”

He leaned forward a little, and smiled the smile she loved so. “It’s beautiful.”

They drove a little ways around the lake, then he pulled the car over and parked along the road. Together they hefted the picnic basket and blankets out of the backseat and made their way down to the lakeshore.

“This is so wonderful,” she sighed happily as she finished off another musubi.

“The food, or the lake?” he asked teasingly.

“Both.” She blushed a little, much to her embarrassment.

“Ah, the food is nothing. It’s very simple, really.”

“But it tastes very good, which is more important.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes, eating quietly. It was only mid-afternoon; somewhere farther along the shore, they could hear children playing in the water and a dog barking. The sunlight, so radiant and warm, glinted off the rippling water. The birds chirped contentedly in the trees. Insects were largely absent. It was perfect, serene, and everything she had wanted to show him.

“Can you hear it?”

“What?” he asked, their eyes meeting.

“The lake.”

He closed his eyes for a moment, then smiled and nodded.

“Yes, I do.”

“That’s why I wanted to bring you here.”

Yup, I've lost it

Mon, 28 May 2007 07:56:31 GMT

In order to further postpone me actually doing anything productive (writing fic, making icons, RP-ing, updating communities, doing research, thinking about this presentation for my interview, etc.), I'm going to see if I can meet some of the people that comment on this journal.

(In my defense, most of the above listed things require a brain which, after having done nothing all day but continuously watch every Disney movie I own, I do not have.)

Most of you I don't know personally, so go ahead and leave me a comment with like... your name, where you live, your favorite food, what you would do if the tree in your backyard started talking to you, that sort of thing. Anything you want, really. And you can ask me questions too. At the very least I'll try to start some sort of conversation with you.

If I already know you personally, you can comment anyway. :D

*waits to see how many people comment*

Oh, and I'm thinking about changing my theme and icons. How many death threats will I get off of that?

Fic: Talking

Sat, 24 Mar 2007 07:38:55 GMT

Title: Talking
Author: fairymage
Rating: PG-13
Community: 30_romances
Theme: #3--Anvil; Banter
Fandom: Saiyuki
Pairing: Hakkai/Sanzo

Hakkai was personable. Probably the most conversational of them all. Goku was too young, too immature. And while the kappa always had his… admirers, Hakkai was the one who was gentle and easy to talk to. He had a smile that wasn’t leering or suggestive. It was open, honest, and caring.

Clearly, he was thinking too hard about this.

He sat back in his chair and took another swallow of beer, but couldn’t keep from scowling at the scene playing out at the bar.

The kappa and Hakkai had come down from their rooms, silent, and sat down at the bar. Neither had noticed Sanzo at the table in the corner, sipping beer by himself. Hakkai had seen him leave, he knew. He must have assumed that his roommate went outside to smoke, or think. Hakkai had always given him that kind of room.

The barkeep brought them each a drink, a can of beer for Gojyo and a shot of something for Hakkai. Hakkai, who never got drunk. They each took a sip of their drink, then started talking. They weren’t loud, but Sanzo could hear them clearly.

“I’m surprised you’re still here,” Hakkai commented mildly.

Gojyo shrugged. “Had to wait until the monkey was asleep, right?’

Hakkai looked at him over his glasses. “Goku’s asleep now.”

“Don’t feel like it.”

Hakkai sipped his drink. “Well, I suppose it’s none of my business.”

Gojyo downed his beer and waved at the bartender. “So why are you here?”

Sanzo stiffened and raised his eyes to watch, ears perked to hear the answer.

“Gojyo…”

“Come on, Hakkai, you’d have plenty of options.”

“You should know me better than that, Gojyo. I don’t care if you do, but you should know that’s not the sort of activity I engage in.”

Gojyo laughed. “Fine time to start! Oh, come on, Hakkai! You’d have all the ladies in an instant!”

Sanzo snorted silently.

“You’d be quite jealous, wouldn’t you?” Hakkai teased, as his glass was refilled. Sanzo couldn’t believe Hakkai was indulging the kappa—but that was the kind of person he was.

“Haha! You bet!” Gojyo laughed good-naturedly. “You’ve always been the better-looking one.”

“You don’t really believe that.”

“Hell I do! Chicks dig your look. They like me because—“

“You like them.”

“Aha, that too. But nah, they like me ‘cause I’m strange, exotic, sorta. You’re more… handsome.”

Hakkai laughed, an honest laugh, and Sanzo wondered if maybe Hakkai could get drunk. “I never thought I’d hear you use that word, Gojyo.”

“Yeah, well, there aren’t a whole lot of people to use it on. Who’m I gonna use it for, Kougaiji?”

“Exotic, you say?”

“Women like men they can take seriously. You look young and professional, really put together.”

“I suppose it’s your red hair, hmm?”

“The way your hair sort of falls across your right eye, though, makes you sort of mysterious.”

“It’s long, though, which is different. A little wild, if I do say so.”

“Glasses are a sure way to snag a woman. They like ‘em. It means you’re smart, and thoughtful.”

“You have a… how shall I put this? Racy edge to you. You guarantee a woman a good time.”

“Gentle. You look gentle. Like you won’t hurt ‘em. The kind of man they’d want to marry.”

“But you always pay so much attention to the women, so they know that, even though you may be temporary, you’re attentive to those who give you attention. You may act like it, but you don’t use women.”

“Of course, I’m sure they notice your pretty body too.”

“And likewise for you. You are rather prone to showing it off, Gojyo.”

“Don’t try to get out of it! Everyone call tell, with those nice tailored shirts and the tight-fitting pants.”

“You’re not looking, are you?” Hakkai asked slyly, dropping his semblance of tipsy humor.

“Heh, I have to! Got to know what all the women are looking at!”

As they laughed together, Sanzo stood and left the room. He didn’t have time for this. The street in front of the inn was empty; it was late, after all. Just a few men left here and there, drinking, like the two inside. Enjoying themselves. Laughing at each other.

He lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply.

He wasn’t even aware of time passing until he realized that he’d finished two cigarettes. He lit his third and shifted his position a little.

“It’s not healthy, Sanzo, how quickly you’ve gone through those cigarettes,” Hakkai chided gently, coming out the front door to stand beside him.

He snorted. “How would you know how fast it was?”

“I noticed when you left,” the dark-haired man offered mildly, studying the sky. Damn him.

“Hmph.”

“Why don’t you come inside?” Hakkai offered, looking over at him. From the corner of his eye, Sanzo could see what Gojyo had meant about Hakkai’s hair.

He shrugged. “I can’t smoke inside.”

“You shouldn’t be smoking at all. It’s late, Sanzo, you should get some rest.”

“Look who’s talking,” he muttered, taking another drag from his cigarette. “Why aren’t you inside with the kappa? You seemed to be having a fine time together.”

Hakkai looked faintly surprised. “Well, yes, I suppose. But I’m sure you know that… well, I don’t get drunk, and Gojyo does. It was time to stop.” Sanzo looked over with one eye and saw that Hakkai was smiling slightly, one of those secretive not-quite smiles.

They stood in silence for a few moments, leaning against the building. Hakkai straightened and brushed himself off. “We should go to bed, Sanzo. We’ve another long day of traveling ahead of us.”

Sighing, Sanzo flipped his cigarette butt into the dirt and crushed it beneath his sandal. He followed Hakkai back inside; Hakkai thanked the bartender and waved. Just like him.

Up in their room he tried to relax, tried to sleep. There were plenty of reasons he shoud sleep, but one reason that he couldn’t.

“Can’t sleep, Sanzo?”

“Not if you keep talking to me.” He scowled.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Talking,” he answered honestly. There was silence from the other bed, so he thought Hakkai had uncharacteristically ignored or fallen asleep on him. Then his bed creaked and the weight distribution shifted.

“What kind of talking?” Hakkai murmured, pulling their bodies together from behind Sanzo. Sometimes he hated how easy it was for Hakkai, how natural he made it seem that their two bodies should meld like that. Most of the time he was secretly thankful, because it spared him having to talk about it.

“Stupid question,” he snapped, but there wasn’t much of a bite behind it. It was hard, really, when Hakkai’s fingers were brushing over his crotch.

“Mmm… Jealous, are we?” Sanzo sulkily didn’t respond, and Hakkai laughed softly, freeing his hands to slide around Sanzo’s waist “I wouldn’t worry about it. Gojyo and I are best friends, after all.

“Besides,” he purred, lightly sucking a spot on Sanzo’s neck, rolling his hips against him. “We talk in an entirely different way.”

Very quick, non-fanfic post

Sat, 17 Mar 2007 06:17:51 GMT

Is anyone reading this going to Anime Expo this year?