First off
I've been a horrible sister. I've neglected to say THANK YOU to saanrio for my cute little lemur! Thank you, sis!
Apparently, my xxxHolic muse is in fact not dead, but picky. I try all week to write something set in xxxHolic: Rou, and what does it do? Gives me a cheesy cheesy crossover AU at four AM.
Eh, what can you do?
Crappy first draft, fyi, and also not finished, and also just the very first bit, because I'm INSANE.
Kimihiro bent over tray after tray of snacks and treats--three-flavor onigiri, homemade mochi, various flavors of sushi, croquettes, cupcakes, muffins--all for his older sister and her bridegroom. The house was bustling with people, roaming in and out, but the kitchen was the provence of Kimihiro and his father.
He was not so wrapped up in his ministrations that he didn't notice a certain small, stuffed, winged thing sneaking towards the frosting bowl.
"One more step, Kero-san, and I will personally make sure you don't get a single cupcake."
Kero sat back on his haunches and gave Kimihiro an evil look from his beady eyes. "Stingy!" he said. "What if I just lick the bowl?"
"You can lick the bowl when I'm done," Kimihiro said. "I still have another batch of cupcakes to frost. You can have it then. Now go make sure Syaoran-san has everything he needs, would you?"
Kero gave Kimihiro a sly look. "Promise I'll get the bowl when you're done?"
"Promise," Kimihiro said, exasperated. "Just go."
Kero fluttered off, muttering about stingy cooks and how hard it could be to get a decent treat. As he pushed his way through the door noise filtered in--voices, feet pounding up and down stairs, the occasional burst of Chinese.
Kimihiro blocked it all out and attended to his half of the food. His father worked on rice, soup, and a few other dishes, but it wouldn't be enough for the Kinomoto family, plus Syaoran-san's family, plus Yukito-san's appetite and Kero and his oneesan's friends flying in from England, plus Shizuka and Himawari, and Sonomi-san and Tomoyo-san. Kimihiro just wanted to make sure everyone had something to make them happy.
***
Himawari leaned into Shizuka as Kimihiro and Kinomoto-san finally set out the food and began removing their aprons. Touya appeared over Kimihiro's shoulder and snitched a nori roll.
"Oniisan!" Kimihiro squawked, but his elder brother was unrepentant.
"Pretty good, squirt," he said, conviently ignoring the fact that Kimihiro was nearly as tall as he was. Since he still regularly referred to his little sister as a monster--even though she was the most powerful sorceress on the planet--Himawari figured it was his perogitive as an older brother to tease and annoy his siblings.
"When are you going to get dressed?" Shizuka asked, pointedly eyeing Kimhiro's t-shirt and blue jeans. "Or do you want to take photos dressed like that?"
Kimihiro squawked again and bolted for the house, and Himawari giggled.
***
Eriol stepped onto the sidewalk in front of the Kinomoto house, and smiled. He hadn't been in Japan in years, but the house still looked the same--albeit sporting streamers and flower bunches. Kaho stepped out of the taxi, and he offered her his hand as she stood up. Ruby Moon, in her civilian guise, followed her, carrying Spinel Sun.
"Here we are again," Eriol said brightly. He could, dimly, feel the presence of both Sakura and Syaoran in the house, along with the other half of Clow's soul. It was nothing like it had been the first time he arrived in Japan.
Yukito met them at the gate and led them inside. Syaoran's family was ensconced in the living room, and Eriol could see Fujitaka, Touya, and two dark-haired young men setting up chairs in the tiny garden.
"Who're they?" he asked. Yukito glanced through the window, and grinned.
"Oh, I forgot! You never met Kimihiro-kun when you were here, did you?"
"Kimihiro-kun?"
"Sakura-chan's younger brother. He was about six when you were here last--he recently turned seventeen. The big grouchy-looking boy is his friend, Doumeki Shizuka."
Eriol frowned. Kinomoto Kimihiro was tall and thin, and his hair was a dark, glossy black. He had blue eyes and glasses, and otherwise looked nothing like any of the other Kinomotos.
"If he's seventeen, then doesn't that make him four years younger than Sakura-chan? I thought her mother died when she was three."
"That happened," Yukito said. "But a year later Kimihiro-kun was left on their doorstep, and Fujitaka-san decided to adopt him." Yukito flashed them a wide smile. "To-ya's had a brother complex to go with his sister complex ever since."
Kaho slipped up beside him, and noticed the object of his gaze. She caught her breath.
"He looks rather a lot like Clow Reed, doesn't he, Yue?" Eriol asked. Yukito's form shivered and Yue leaned against the wall, stubbornly looking outside.
"He does," he said at last. "If his glasses were round instead of oval, the resemblence would be uncanny."
Eriol was silent, but he gave Kaho's hand a hard squeeze.
***
The wedding went off without a hitch, Kimihiro noted with more than a little relief. Sakura-neesan was practically glowing, and even Touya-niisan glaring half-heartedly at her new husband couldn't put her off. Father and Mother were sitting near the buffet, and if only Kimihiro and a select few other people could see Mother, then it bothered no one.
"Oi," Shizuka said, as he dropped down into one of the rented chairs. He had a plate full of Kimihiro's hard work, and he was already biting into a croquette.
"You have no manners," Kimihiro observered, but his voice wasn't as sharp as it normally would have been. He was tired from cooking, from frantically setting up the chairs and the tables, from squeezing into his tuxedo at the last minute, and any moment now--
"Hey, squirt," Touya-niisan said, thunking his knuckles lightly onto Kimihiro's skull. "Time for pictures."
"Coming," Kimihiro said. Shizuka waited until he'd gotten up, and then slid the second plate full of food onto Kimihiro's seat.
"Don't eat anything off my plate," Kimihiro warned, and followed his older brother to the end of the garden, where violet wisteria cascaded up and down a trellis. Sakura was waiting for them, fussing with her dress a little bit.
"Kimihiro, stand right here," she said, pulling him into place. "And Oniichan, you stand right here."
"Perfect!" Tomoyo trilled from a few feet away. She held an ordinary camera, rather than her usual digital recording device. "Smile!"
Apparently, my xxxHolic muse is in fact not dead, but picky. I try all week to write something set in xxxHolic: Rou, and what does it do? Gives me a cheesy cheesy crossover AU at four AM.
Eh, what can you do?
Crappy first draft, fyi, and also not finished, and also just the very first bit, because I'm INSANE.
Kimihiro bent over tray after tray of snacks and treats--three-flavor onigiri, homemade mochi, various flavors of sushi, croquettes, cupcakes, muffins--all for his older sister and her bridegroom. The house was bustling with people, roaming in and out, but the kitchen was the provence of Kimihiro and his father.
He was not so wrapped up in his ministrations that he didn't notice a certain small, stuffed, winged thing sneaking towards the frosting bowl.
"One more step, Kero-san, and I will personally make sure you don't get a single cupcake."
Kero sat back on his haunches and gave Kimihiro an evil look from his beady eyes. "Stingy!" he said. "What if I just lick the bowl?"
"You can lick the bowl when I'm done," Kimihiro said. "I still have another batch of cupcakes to frost. You can have it then. Now go make sure Syaoran-san has everything he needs, would you?"
Kero gave Kimihiro a sly look. "Promise I'll get the bowl when you're done?"
"Promise," Kimihiro said, exasperated. "Just go."
Kero fluttered off, muttering about stingy cooks and how hard it could be to get a decent treat. As he pushed his way through the door noise filtered in--voices, feet pounding up and down stairs, the occasional burst of Chinese.
Kimihiro blocked it all out and attended to his half of the food. His father worked on rice, soup, and a few other dishes, but it wouldn't be enough for the Kinomoto family, plus Syaoran-san's family, plus Yukito-san's appetite and Kero and his oneesan's friends flying in from England, plus Shizuka and Himawari, and Sonomi-san and Tomoyo-san. Kimihiro just wanted to make sure everyone had something to make them happy.
***
Himawari leaned into Shizuka as Kimihiro and Kinomoto-san finally set out the food and began removing their aprons. Touya appeared over Kimihiro's shoulder and snitched a nori roll.
"Oniisan!" Kimihiro squawked, but his elder brother was unrepentant.
"Pretty good, squirt," he said, conviently ignoring the fact that Kimihiro was nearly as tall as he was. Since he still regularly referred to his little sister as a monster--even though she was the most powerful sorceress on the planet--Himawari figured it was his perogitive as an older brother to tease and annoy his siblings.
"When are you going to get dressed?" Shizuka asked, pointedly eyeing Kimhiro's t-shirt and blue jeans. "Or do you want to take photos dressed like that?"
Kimihiro squawked again and bolted for the house, and Himawari giggled.
***
Eriol stepped onto the sidewalk in front of the Kinomoto house, and smiled. He hadn't been in Japan in years, but the house still looked the same--albeit sporting streamers and flower bunches. Kaho stepped out of the taxi, and he offered her his hand as she stood up. Ruby Moon, in her civilian guise, followed her, carrying Spinel Sun.
"Here we are again," Eriol said brightly. He could, dimly, feel the presence of both Sakura and Syaoran in the house, along with the other half of Clow's soul. It was nothing like it had been the first time he arrived in Japan.
Yukito met them at the gate and led them inside. Syaoran's family was ensconced in the living room, and Eriol could see Fujitaka, Touya, and two dark-haired young men setting up chairs in the tiny garden.
"Who're they?" he asked. Yukito glanced through the window, and grinned.
"Oh, I forgot! You never met Kimihiro-kun when you were here, did you?"
"Kimihiro-kun?"
"Sakura-chan's younger brother. He was about six when you were here last--he recently turned seventeen. The big grouchy-looking boy is his friend, Doumeki Shizuka."
Eriol frowned. Kinomoto Kimihiro was tall and thin, and his hair was a dark, glossy black. He had blue eyes and glasses, and otherwise looked nothing like any of the other Kinomotos.
"If he's seventeen, then doesn't that make him four years younger than Sakura-chan? I thought her mother died when she was three."
"That happened," Yukito said. "But a year later Kimihiro-kun was left on their doorstep, and Fujitaka-san decided to adopt him." Yukito flashed them a wide smile. "To-ya's had a brother complex to go with his sister complex ever since."
Kaho slipped up beside him, and noticed the object of his gaze. She caught her breath.
"He looks rather a lot like Clow Reed, doesn't he, Yue?" Eriol asked. Yukito's form shivered and Yue leaned against the wall, stubbornly looking outside.
"He does," he said at last. "If his glasses were round instead of oval, the resemblence would be uncanny."
Eriol was silent, but he gave Kaho's hand a hard squeeze.
***
The wedding went off without a hitch, Kimihiro noted with more than a little relief. Sakura-neesan was practically glowing, and even Touya-niisan glaring half-heartedly at her new husband couldn't put her off. Father and Mother were sitting near the buffet, and if only Kimihiro and a select few other people could see Mother, then it bothered no one.
"Oi," Shizuka said, as he dropped down into one of the rented chairs. He had a plate full of Kimihiro's hard work, and he was already biting into a croquette.
"You have no manners," Kimihiro observered, but his voice wasn't as sharp as it normally would have been. He was tired from cooking, from frantically setting up the chairs and the tables, from squeezing into his tuxedo at the last minute, and any moment now--
"Hey, squirt," Touya-niisan said, thunking his knuckles lightly onto Kimihiro's skull. "Time for pictures."
"Coming," Kimihiro said. Shizuka waited until he'd gotten up, and then slid the second plate full of food onto Kimihiro's seat.
"Don't eat anything off my plate," Kimihiro warned, and followed his older brother to the end of the garden, where violet wisteria cascaded up and down a trellis. Sakura was waiting for them, fussing with her dress a little bit.
"Kimihiro, stand right here," she said, pulling him into place. "And Oniichan, you stand right here."
"Perfect!" Tomoyo trilled from a few feet away. She held an ordinary camera, rather than her usual digital recording device. "Smile!"