Kiri ☂ (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
taotrooper) wrote2009-06-20 12:10 am
taotrooper) wrote2009-06-20 12:10 am
Entry tags:
[CLAMP] Invitation to dinner
Title: Invitation to dinner
Fandom: XXXHOLiC/CCS
Rating: PG for swearing
Genre: Angst, fluff, crack
Words: 2000ish
Summary: Watanuki is helped by a stranger, and then he goes to their house for dinner
Notes: Not beta'ed. ETA by 2009: added two words to avoid jossing
His footsteps echoed as he ran down the empty sidewalk. Watanuki never turned back, but he could feel that thing behind his back, getting closer and closer.
At his right a sedan car passed him by. He didn't notice it at first, focused on the proximity of the ayakashi. Then the car stopped some meters ahead of him. One of the front doors opened.
"Get in, boy!" A voice yelled. Watanuki knew it's not correct to get inside a perfect stranger's car, but he had no time to think it over. He accelerated and jumped in as soon as he could. He quickly closed the door. He was sitting on the copilot's seat.
After he caught his breath, he turned around to see the person next to him. It was a tall man dressed in a suit; his horrified gaze was fixed in the ayakashi, who had turned around and left them alone. He can see them, Watanuki noticed. That's why he stopped the car and helped me.
A peaceful smile appeared in the man's face. Kimihiro thought there was something familiar about him. He couldn't nail what it was, though.
"Are you okay, boy? Did that monster hurt you?"
"Uh, no. Thank you for helping me."
"It was the least I could do!" His eyes opened wide. "It was such a shock, you know. I was driving along, and then I suddenly see this spirit blob chasing a high school student. I had never seen such an awful thing in my life."
"You hadn't seen an ayakashi before?"
"No. The closest things I've seen are ghosts and such."
"That's still more than most people."
"I guess you're right," he chuckled. "My children also have abilities, but they had never attracted those. What about you?"
"I can see everything, and they... they always chase me." Watanuki's cheeks turned pink. Why did he trust that stranger?
Behind the man's glasses, he found a compassionated and sad look on his face.
"Poor child. I wish I knew how to help you..."
"Oh, that's okay! My, um, boss will do something about it." He didn't really believe it, considering it had been so many months since he started working on Yuuko's, but he wanted to console the man.
"Really? I'm glad."
He's so kind. But there's something about him...
"You know," the man went on," this street isn't a part of my route back home. Somehow I had the idea of taking a shortcut and pass around here. It's like something wanted us to meet or something!"
"...Hitsuzen."
"Probably." The man laughed again. "Hey, my daughter will be at her friend's place tonight. Do you care to join me for dinner?"
"No! That's too much of a hassle!"
"It isn't, I swear. Please, accept."
"My family..." Watanuki lied. "They're going to be mad..."
"No, they aren't." The voice was still serene, but shook a bit. "You're going to have dinner alone tonight. I can see it, I think." Watanuki glared, shocked. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't butt in; it's not of my business... It's okay if you don't want to. You don't have to lie."
"I apologize." Kimihiro lowered his head. "I didn't want to hurt your feelings, sir. It's just that... I don't know. What if those things go to your house and try to attack you?"
"Oh, that's okay!" He smiled again. "We'll have a bodyguard!"
"A what?"
"Nothing. Don't mind me. My house is safe. But if you don't want to go, it's fine. I'm sorry I was pushy."
"No, you weren't." At that moment, Watanuki changed his mind. "You know what? You helped me. I have to return the favor, so if it's fine by you, I'll join you for dinner. But I'll bake the dessert as a thanks!"
The man seemed amused.
"That's fine!" He offered the boy his hand. Watanuki shook it. "So, what's your name?"
"Watanuki Kimihiro."
"Nice to meet you, Watanuki-kun. I'm Kinomoto Fujitaka."
***
Watanuki was annoyed when he discovered Mr. Kinomoto's house wasn't even in the city. The man insisted he'd escort him home at night by car.
"Why are you doing this?" Watanuki asked.
"I'm not sure. For some reason, I'm fond of you. You remind me somehow of my son."
Kimihiro's heart clenched in his chest.
"...Although he was way more serious when he was your age," Fujitaka muttered.
***
To the boy's disappointment, the man's house looked rather normal. At least from outside.
"Come in," Kinomoto invited. "You can use these slippers, if you want." Said footwear was bigger than his size, but he had no problem with that.
The living room was cozy and warm. Watanuki followed Fujitaka to the kitchen.
"Do you like okonomiyaki, Watanuki-kun?"
"Ah, yes."
"Then I'll make some for dinner, along with rice. Is it fine?"
"Okay, Kinomoto-san. Do you have chocolate in tablets?"
"We do."
"Then I'll make you some small cakes for you and your children. How many should I make?"
"How about six? Three for us, two for my kids, one for Tsukishiro-kun." Watanuki nodded, even though he didn't know who Tsukishiro was. Kinomoto handed him an apron with a duck on it. The man was wearing one with a winged dog.
They did their parts of the dinner separately. However, from time to time, Fujitaka would leave his okonomiyaki unsupervised and would check Watanuki's work with curiosity.
"Tastes good," he said after licking the spoon. "Where did you learn?"
"My dad taught me..."
"Did your parents...?"
"Yeah... How did you know before?"
"I'm not sure. Sometimes I just know things," he shrugged. "It's a part of my powers. Or maybe it's parental instincts?"
"Kinomoto-san?"
"Yes?"
"It's been years since I cook with somebody else. Thank you."
Fujitaka made a movement, as though he wanted to hug the boy, but he remained in his spot.
"Aww, you're welcome. I haven't cooked with my son ever since he moved in with his boyfriend. So it wasn't... oh, the okonomiyaki." He turned around. "Thank God I didn't burn them..."
Watanuki returned to his bowl. He had understood now.
Cooking with Fujitaka Kinomoto reminded him of his own father.
He quickly dried up his eyes with his sleeve.
***
While Kinomoto was arranging the table, Watanuki took a look at the living room.
"This girl is gorgeous." He pointed at a frame. "Who is she?"
"My wife."
"Eeeh? She looks so young!"
"She was eighteen there."
"Isn't she going to join us tonight?"
"She hasn't appeared yet, so I guess she isn't. It's not like she can eat your cake, anyway."
"Is she a diabetic?"
"No, she's a deceased."
"Oh my God. I'm so sorry!"
"That's okay!" The man kept smiling. "I wanted her to meet you, though. She would've liked you."
Watanuki went to the coffee table and looked at the frames there. He didn't expect a familiar face in there.
"Sakura?!"
A metallic sound let him know some forks had fallen to the floor. Fujitaka's mouth was wide open.
"Do you know my girl?"
"Well, yes and no." Watanuki didn't know how to explain him about dimensions. "She doesn't know me." It was the best way to sum it up. "My boss knows about her and told me."
"She's more famous than I thought she was, though."
"Not necessarily." Then again, he seemed to be famous in that freaky world of magical creatures.
"Cerberus! Dinner is ready!" Fujitaka called.
"I can't go down! There's a presence!" A voice with Osaka accent said from upstairs.
"It's fine. He's my guest."
Watanuki didn't expect to see a tiny lion with wings flying to the table.
***
"So," Kimihiro asked the animal while he attacked a modern okonomiyaki, "what are you? A spirit? A yokai?"
"Dumb brat, I'm a guardian!"
"I'm not a dumb brat!! But I don't know what a guardian is..."
"Then you're dumb."
"Grrrrrr."
"I'm in charge of the Clow cards. I watch over them."
"Clow cards... that's something Clow Reed-san made?"
Fujitaka and the guardian called Cerberus glared at him.
"You have heard about my daughter and Clow-san," Fujitaka laughed. He did bear a dangerous grin, though. "It really must be hitsuzen..."
"But you're not a sorcerer," Cerberus intervened, "are you?"
"No. I just work for one. Is Kinomoto-san a sorcerer?"
"I'm afraid not. Someone taught me a few spells, but I barely know about magic. Sakura-san is rather good at it, though. She's Cerberus' mistress."
"And your son?"
"Touya-kun was never a sorcerer."
Kimihiro took a bite of his okonomiyaki.
"Nice!" He smiled. " You have to give me the recipe."
"Sure thing!"
After finishing the meal, they proceeded to taste Watanuki's pastry.
"Delicious, Watanuki-kun!"
"Not bad, not bad at all for a brat!" Cerberus wagged his lion tail.
"I'm not a brat. And don't eat it so fast!"
"But it's good!"
"So you admit you liked it!"
"I already did, aho!"
"You're annoying. You're worst than Doumeki and Mokona combined."
Cerberus left his fork and flew directly to Watanuki's face.
"MOKONA?! You know Mokona? Which one, Soel or Larg?!"
"I have no idea what you're talking about. Soeru? Raagu? I just know the two who live at Yuuko-san's place. One is white, one is black. We kept the black. Oh, hold it." Watanuki's fist punched his palm. "You're the Clow cards' guardian, so you have to know them.."
"We're half-siblings, yeah. Then you work for Yuuko! No wonder you've heard about Clow and Sakura!"
"You know Yuuko-san?"
"Of course, of course! What a stupid question. Everybody in the business knows Yuuko."
"Even Kinomoto-san and his daughter?"
"I have no idea who this Yuuko-san person is," Fujitaka assured him. "Does Eriol know her?"
"Hiiragizawa remembers her," Cerberus replied," but you know his situation. But you're right about something, sensei. This is truly hitsuzen."
***
"So," Yuuko sucked her pipe, "a strange man helped you out last night and invited you for dinner? Interesting."
"He was this world's Sakura-chan's father."
"Now that's more interesting. Did you meet her?"
"No, she wasn't home. Cerberus was, though. He says Yuuko-san, 'Soeru' and 'Raagu' hello."
"Cerberus!" Mokona yelled in joy. Maru and Moro backed him up in chorus.
"How's old Kero doing?" Yuuko asked.
"He ate more than Kinomoto-san and I together, and he called me a brat."
"That's him, alright. Did you see Yue?"
"Who's Yue?"
"Nevermind, nevermind. Oh man, I can't believe you were so close to meet Sakura! You know, she's more powerful than Clow."
"Ah, too bad I don't care. Her dad is pretty neat, though. I wish I could see him again... Oh, that's right. Cerberus wanted me to give you this CD. You have to check it on your computer or something."
"Let's see. Maru, Moro, bring the laptop. And be careful."
"Yes!"
The girls brought it, and Yuuko inserted the disk inside. She found several image files. The first ones had Sakura in strange outfits, often posing with another girl and a boy who resembled Syaoran a lot. Maybe he is this world's Syaoran, Watanuki thought. In one of the pictures, a person with long silver hair posed with Sakura, without smiling. Yuuko and Mokona seemed amused, and he understood from their words that person was Yue. There was also a couple of images with Touya-san, one of them with a guy they had told him it was the guy's boyfriend. The final photo darkened Yuuko's face. It was Kinomoto-san posing with a boy who looked exactly like him, only with darker hair color and lighter eye color.
"Ah, they explained me that picture was taken in England, and that kid was their host. I asked them if he was a relative, but they never told me."
Yuuko stared in silence. Then she raised her fist in shaking rage.
"Fuck you, Cerberus! I'll get even, you'll see! Watanuki! I'll take a bath, so prepare the sake now!"
Then she stood up and leave the room. He didn't understand a thing.
"What's the fucking matter with that picture?"
Nobody, not even Mokona, answered his question.
Fandom: XXXHOLiC/CCS
Rating: PG for swearing
Genre: Angst, fluff, crack
Words: 2000ish
Summary: Watanuki is helped by a stranger, and then he goes to their house for dinner
Notes: Not beta'ed. ETA by 2009: added two words to avoid jossing
His footsteps echoed as he ran down the empty sidewalk. Watanuki never turned back, but he could feel that thing behind his back, getting closer and closer.
At his right a sedan car passed him by. He didn't notice it at first, focused on the proximity of the ayakashi. Then the car stopped some meters ahead of him. One of the front doors opened.
"Get in, boy!" A voice yelled. Watanuki knew it's not correct to get inside a perfect stranger's car, but he had no time to think it over. He accelerated and jumped in as soon as he could. He quickly closed the door. He was sitting on the copilot's seat.
After he caught his breath, he turned around to see the person next to him. It was a tall man dressed in a suit; his horrified gaze was fixed in the ayakashi, who had turned around and left them alone. He can see them, Watanuki noticed. That's why he stopped the car and helped me.
A peaceful smile appeared in the man's face. Kimihiro thought there was something familiar about him. He couldn't nail what it was, though.
"Are you okay, boy? Did that monster hurt you?"
"Uh, no. Thank you for helping me."
"It was the least I could do!" His eyes opened wide. "It was such a shock, you know. I was driving along, and then I suddenly see this spirit blob chasing a high school student. I had never seen such an awful thing in my life."
"You hadn't seen an ayakashi before?"
"No. The closest things I've seen are ghosts and such."
"That's still more than most people."
"I guess you're right," he chuckled. "My children also have abilities, but they had never attracted those. What about you?"
"I can see everything, and they... they always chase me." Watanuki's cheeks turned pink. Why did he trust that stranger?
Behind the man's glasses, he found a compassionated and sad look on his face.
"Poor child. I wish I knew how to help you..."
"Oh, that's okay! My, um, boss will do something about it." He didn't really believe it, considering it had been so many months since he started working on Yuuko's, but he wanted to console the man.
"Really? I'm glad."
He's so kind. But there's something about him...
"You know," the man went on," this street isn't a part of my route back home. Somehow I had the idea of taking a shortcut and pass around here. It's like something wanted us to meet or something!"
"...Hitsuzen."
"Probably." The man laughed again. "Hey, my daughter will be at her friend's place tonight. Do you care to join me for dinner?"
"No! That's too much of a hassle!"
"It isn't, I swear. Please, accept."
"My family..." Watanuki lied. "They're going to be mad..."
"No, they aren't." The voice was still serene, but shook a bit. "You're going to have dinner alone tonight. I can see it, I think." Watanuki glared, shocked. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't butt in; it's not of my business... It's okay if you don't want to. You don't have to lie."
"I apologize." Kimihiro lowered his head. "I didn't want to hurt your feelings, sir. It's just that... I don't know. What if those things go to your house and try to attack you?"
"Oh, that's okay!" He smiled again. "We'll have a bodyguard!"
"A what?"
"Nothing. Don't mind me. My house is safe. But if you don't want to go, it's fine. I'm sorry I was pushy."
"No, you weren't." At that moment, Watanuki changed his mind. "You know what? You helped me. I have to return the favor, so if it's fine by you, I'll join you for dinner. But I'll bake the dessert as a thanks!"
The man seemed amused.
"That's fine!" He offered the boy his hand. Watanuki shook it. "So, what's your name?"
"Watanuki Kimihiro."
"Nice to meet you, Watanuki-kun. I'm Kinomoto Fujitaka."
***
Watanuki was annoyed when he discovered Mr. Kinomoto's house wasn't even in the city. The man insisted he'd escort him home at night by car.
"Why are you doing this?" Watanuki asked.
"I'm not sure. For some reason, I'm fond of you. You remind me somehow of my son."
Kimihiro's heart clenched in his chest.
"...Although he was way more serious when he was your age," Fujitaka muttered.
***
To the boy's disappointment, the man's house looked rather normal. At least from outside.
"Come in," Kinomoto invited. "You can use these slippers, if you want." Said footwear was bigger than his size, but he had no problem with that.
The living room was cozy and warm. Watanuki followed Fujitaka to the kitchen.
"Do you like okonomiyaki, Watanuki-kun?"
"Ah, yes."
"Then I'll make some for dinner, along with rice. Is it fine?"
"Okay, Kinomoto-san. Do you have chocolate in tablets?"
"We do."
"Then I'll make you some small cakes for you and your children. How many should I make?"
"How about six? Three for us, two for my kids, one for Tsukishiro-kun." Watanuki nodded, even though he didn't know who Tsukishiro was. Kinomoto handed him an apron with a duck on it. The man was wearing one with a winged dog.
They did their parts of the dinner separately. However, from time to time, Fujitaka would leave his okonomiyaki unsupervised and would check Watanuki's work with curiosity.
"Tastes good," he said after licking the spoon. "Where did you learn?"
"My dad taught me..."
"Did your parents...?"
"Yeah... How did you know before?"
"I'm not sure. Sometimes I just know things," he shrugged. "It's a part of my powers. Or maybe it's parental instincts?"
"Kinomoto-san?"
"Yes?"
"It's been years since I cook with somebody else. Thank you."
Fujitaka made a movement, as though he wanted to hug the boy, but he remained in his spot.
"Aww, you're welcome. I haven't cooked with my son ever since he moved in with his boyfriend. So it wasn't... oh, the okonomiyaki." He turned around. "Thank God I didn't burn them..."
Watanuki returned to his bowl. He had understood now.
Cooking with Fujitaka Kinomoto reminded him of his own father.
He quickly dried up his eyes with his sleeve.
***
While Kinomoto was arranging the table, Watanuki took a look at the living room.
"This girl is gorgeous." He pointed at a frame. "Who is she?"
"My wife."
"Eeeh? She looks so young!"
"She was eighteen there."
"Isn't she going to join us tonight?"
"She hasn't appeared yet, so I guess she isn't. It's not like she can eat your cake, anyway."
"Is she a diabetic?"
"No, she's a deceased."
"Oh my God. I'm so sorry!"
"That's okay!" The man kept smiling. "I wanted her to meet you, though. She would've liked you."
Watanuki went to the coffee table and looked at the frames there. He didn't expect a familiar face in there.
"Sakura?!"
A metallic sound let him know some forks had fallen to the floor. Fujitaka's mouth was wide open.
"Do you know my girl?"
"Well, yes and no." Watanuki didn't know how to explain him about dimensions. "She doesn't know me." It was the best way to sum it up. "My boss knows about her and told me."
"She's more famous than I thought she was, though."
"Not necessarily." Then again, he seemed to be famous in that freaky world of magical creatures.
"Cerberus! Dinner is ready!" Fujitaka called.
"I can't go down! There's a presence!" A voice with Osaka accent said from upstairs.
"It's fine. He's my guest."
Watanuki didn't expect to see a tiny lion with wings flying to the table.
***
"So," Kimihiro asked the animal while he attacked a modern okonomiyaki, "what are you? A spirit? A yokai?"
"Dumb brat, I'm a guardian!"
"I'm not a dumb brat!! But I don't know what a guardian is..."
"Then you're dumb."
"Grrrrrr."
"I'm in charge of the Clow cards. I watch over them."
"Clow cards... that's something Clow Reed-san made?"
Fujitaka and the guardian called Cerberus glared at him.
"You have heard about my daughter and Clow-san," Fujitaka laughed. He did bear a dangerous grin, though. "It really must be hitsuzen..."
"But you're not a sorcerer," Cerberus intervened, "are you?"
"No. I just work for one. Is Kinomoto-san a sorcerer?"
"I'm afraid not. Someone taught me a few spells, but I barely know about magic. Sakura-san is rather good at it, though. She's Cerberus' mistress."
"And your son?"
"Touya-kun was never a sorcerer."
Kimihiro took a bite of his okonomiyaki.
"Nice!" He smiled. " You have to give me the recipe."
"Sure thing!"
After finishing the meal, they proceeded to taste Watanuki's pastry.
"Delicious, Watanuki-kun!"
"Not bad, not bad at all for a brat!" Cerberus wagged his lion tail.
"I'm not a brat. And don't eat it so fast!"
"But it's good!"
"So you admit you liked it!"
"I already did, aho!"
"You're annoying. You're worst than Doumeki and Mokona combined."
Cerberus left his fork and flew directly to Watanuki's face.
"MOKONA?! You know Mokona? Which one, Soel or Larg?!"
"I have no idea what you're talking about. Soeru? Raagu? I just know the two who live at Yuuko-san's place. One is white, one is black. We kept the black. Oh, hold it." Watanuki's fist punched his palm. "You're the Clow cards' guardian, so you have to know them.."
"We're half-siblings, yeah. Then you work for Yuuko! No wonder you've heard about Clow and Sakura!"
"You know Yuuko-san?"
"Of course, of course! What a stupid question. Everybody in the business knows Yuuko."
"Even Kinomoto-san and his daughter?"
"I have no idea who this Yuuko-san person is," Fujitaka assured him. "Does Eriol know her?"
"Hiiragizawa remembers her," Cerberus replied," but you know his situation. But you're right about something, sensei. This is truly hitsuzen."
***
"So," Yuuko sucked her pipe, "a strange man helped you out last night and invited you for dinner? Interesting."
"He was this world's Sakura-chan's father."
"Now that's more interesting. Did you meet her?"
"No, she wasn't home. Cerberus was, though. He says Yuuko-san, 'Soeru' and 'Raagu' hello."
"Cerberus!" Mokona yelled in joy. Maru and Moro backed him up in chorus.
"How's old Kero doing?" Yuuko asked.
"He ate more than Kinomoto-san and I together, and he called me a brat."
"That's him, alright. Did you see Yue?"
"Who's Yue?"
"Nevermind, nevermind. Oh man, I can't believe you were so close to meet Sakura! You know, she's more powerful than Clow."
"Ah, too bad I don't care. Her dad is pretty neat, though. I wish I could see him again... Oh, that's right. Cerberus wanted me to give you this CD. You have to check it on your computer or something."
"Let's see. Maru, Moro, bring the laptop. And be careful."
"Yes!"
The girls brought it, and Yuuko inserted the disk inside. She found several image files. The first ones had Sakura in strange outfits, often posing with another girl and a boy who resembled Syaoran a lot. Maybe he is this world's Syaoran, Watanuki thought. In one of the pictures, a person with long silver hair posed with Sakura, without smiling. Yuuko and Mokona seemed amused, and he understood from their words that person was Yue. There was also a couple of images with Touya-san, one of them with a guy they had told him it was the guy's boyfriend. The final photo darkened Yuuko's face. It was Kinomoto-san posing with a boy who looked exactly like him, only with darker hair color and lighter eye color.
"Ah, they explained me that picture was taken in England, and that kid was their host. I asked them if he was a relative, but they never told me."
Yuuko stared in silence. Then she raised her fist in shaking rage.
"Fuck you, Cerberus! I'll get even, you'll see! Watanuki! I'll take a bath, so prepare the sake now!"
Then she stood up and leave the room. He didn't understand a thing.
"What's the fucking matter with that picture?"
Nobody, not even Mokona, answered his question.