The Price of A Gift

[ahria]

Title:  The Price of a Gift
Series:  xxxHolic
Pairing:  Clow/Yuuko
Rating:  PG-13
Themes:
1. Line from a Britney Spears song. Song used- "Everytime".
2.  Shaving cream
3. A butterfly
4. Innocence lost
5. A hypocrite
Word Count: 385

He was her source of amusement in life.  He was the most entertaining (and annoying) person she’d ever met.  He had a habit of stopping in the middle of a shave as an idea struck him.  He’d begin talking excitedly and scribbling notes, shaving cream covering half his face.  She’d lounge on the sofa and laugh at him, refusing to help until he washed his face.

She figured it was an even trade, since it had been his goal in life to irritate her.  He had a butterfly brooch that she adored.  She knew he only wore it during their visits, just to taunt her, then demanding a ridiculously high price anytime she mentioned wanting it.  Every time he brought up the cost, she’d throw something at him and storm out of the room, the sound of his bellowing laughter following her out the door.

Despite knowing the whole thing was yet another ruse just to annoy her, she couldn’t help reacting exactly the way he intended her to.   It wasn’t even the fact that his price was stupidly high.  It was the fact that the price was hypocritical, because he’d never admit it either and she refused to say it first.  So it was never said at all.

When he died, she forgot all about the butterfly pin.  Instead, she focused her efforts on forgetting him.  She didn’t even have the comfort of a prayer because she’d learned as a child that a prayer was too close to a wish, and that wishes were dangerous. All she had left was the hope that someday his face would fade away from her mind, because it was the only thing she could afford.

Years after he died, a beautiful wooden box appeared on her table.  There was a note attached, a single sentence in his sloppy handwriting.  A week passed before she could bring herself to read it.

I would have admitted it if you had only asked.

The brooch she’d coveted lay inside the box.  She stared at it for a while before removing it, setting it on the table, and throwing the box against the wall as hard as she could.  The new price was still too high, and she wanted to scream at him for it.  How could she ever forget him now?