Title: In Harmony
Rating: K+/PG
Theme: #5 – "ano sa" ("hey, you know...")
Characters/Pairings: Clow/Yuuko
Word count: 2030
Disclaimer: I don't own xxxHOLiC.

Yuuko would never admit it out loud, but she loved to sip her favorite brand of sake while listening to Clow play the piano. There was something extremely soothing about his music that warmed her up in the coldest of evenings; it was sweet and gentle, with hints of melancholy. She figured it was that mix of indescribable emotions what made it ultimately beautiful, much like a reflection of his soul.

Of course she would be damned if she ever dared to tell him any of that. It would be too much of a boost on his overly inflated ego, and she definitely had no need for that.

Locking those thoughts in the back of her mind, she reclined against his favorite armchair and let her eyelids flutter closed, sighing as her ears focused on the dreamy melody. Even if her eyes didn't, she could still mentally see his pale, bony fingers striding over the keys in a harmonic combination that Clow had arranged himself, so to extract only the best of sounds. She also saw when he stopped playing, all the frustration on his face nearly visible to her upon hearing him sigh.

"Is something the matter?" She asked, popping one eye open to peek at the magician hunching over the piano.

"This is not right," He fixed his glasses on his frowning face. Yuuko noticed he looked much more serious than usual, but said nothing about it for the time being. "There's something missing…"

"What, the song? Oh, stop being such a perfectionist prick, Clow!" She waved him off in a playful fashion, but recoiled slightly when he gave her a sober stare. "I mean, it sounds quite pretty to me…"

"Thank you," He flashed her a sad smile and gazed at the ivories from the corner of his oculars. "I just don't feel it's good enough, though…"

"Are you sure it's not just your inner perfectionist prick kicking in?" She teased yet again, and this time she grinned at his glare. She knew Clow always strived to achieve perfection with each and every one of his creations, magical or not, and in all truths, she actually admired that side of him. It just annoyed her beyond words when he went over-boards with it.

"If you're not going to help, I'd appreciate it if you didn't make things worse either." He folded his arms across his chest and turned his back on her, failing to hide a semi-pout from his companion.

"Oh, c'mon! No need to get all sore about it!" Yuuko chuckled at his reaction and scrambled to her feet, moving closer to his sulking form. Her fingers pressed his shoulders gently and he seemed to relax under her touch. "Besides, I don't know how to help."

"Well, this is a very good start… Hmm, yes, right there…" He moaned in taunting, insinuating ways, to which Yuuko responded with a harder grip on him.

"You're just lucky I'm feeling rather benevolent today, Clow…" Her tone was that of a warning, though she was inwardly smiling. "Now, get back to your song, will you?"

"Alright, alright…" He went quiet for a minute or so, eyes closed in concentration. When his sapphires came into sight once more, they had that special glow on them that told Yuuko he had just come up with one of his brilliant ideas. "Maybe I should add lyrics to it!"

"Lyrics? And who would be singing them?"

"Me, of course."

She gasped. "You? Singing?" He nodded simply and she broke into fits of laughter. "That has to be one of the funniest things I've ever heard from you! You're kidding me, right?"

"No, I am not." Clow eyed her warily. "What makes you think this is a joke?"

"Hmm, let me put this nicely," She paused and took a deep breath, trying to suppress her laugh. "You cannot sing, Clow! Not now, not in a million years. Not even if the lives of your future selves depended on it."

"I remember no complaints about it last time I sang to you…"

"Do you also remember that you ran out of alcohol on that same occasion? You don't think that was a coincidence, do you?"

"Hitsuzen has nothing to do with it."

"Oh yes, it does!" This time, she couldn't hold her evil cackles back. "You were meant to sing to me then, therefore I was meant to drink myself into oblivion after surviving the horror!"

"This is not funny, Yuuko…" His eyes narrowed dangerously to two thin slits.

"Oh, I'm sorry," She cooed and embraced him from behind, her chin resting on top of his head. "But I am serious, you know. There are very few things you can't do and, unfortunately, singing is one of them.

"Is it really that terrible…?" She nodded and kindly rubbed his chest in response, employing her best efforts not to go on another rant about his lacking skills. Yuuko thought he would be sad at such realization, but instead she was shocked to see him smiling widely at her. "In this case, perhaps you could sing!"

"Oh, no, no, no, mister! The price of that wish is too high for you to afford!"

"But, Yuuko-chan--"

"Look," She interrupted before he could try and convince her to do otherwise – and God knows it wouldn't be the first time. "Clearly this is not a good day for ideas, so why don't you just leave it at that for now and resume work later?"

"I can't. Christmas is in a few days, so I don't have much time."

"Christmas? What does that have to do with anything?"

Clow smiled and watched as she took a seat by his side, her long, midnight-black ponytail swinging with grace in the air. "Do you know the meaning of that song, dearest?" When Yuuko shook her head negatively, he proceeded. "That is a hymn. It's a song of praise, and it's a way of showing gratitude." Here, he paused to think of his next words, his index and middle fingers idly playing with the keyboard in the meantime. "With this song, I wanted to say thanks… Not only to people, but to things alike… The wind, the water, the plants… All of them are alive and deserve to be appreciated, right?"

Ruby eyes softened at his speech and Yuuko at last came to understand why he was being so serious about it. It was so like him to go out of his way for the sake of those he loved – and who else would think of saying thanks to things at a time like this? Of course Clow Reed would, and the reason for that was not only his excessive kindness, but also his different perspective of the world. To him, there was no distinction between people such as himself and what others would consider things – his magical Cards and Guardians included. As long as there was life, they were all worth his attention and love. He had the greatest urge to love – anything, anyone – without even expecting the same affection in return.

She couldn't help but wonder if he had any idea of how loved he really was, by things and people alike.

"It's such a shame, though," He turned to her, his smile still in place. "I spent days planning this song, and now I can't get it to sound right…"

"Hey, you know…" She placed her hand on his and carefully removed it from the keyboard. "Maybe that is why it's not working as it should…"

"What? Are you questioning my composing skills as well?"

"No, silly!" She gave an exasperated sigh and continued. "You're always planning and making arrangements beforehand, but sometimes your best option is just to sit back and let it flow. You can't force inspiration, the Muses don't work that way."

"Let it flow, you say...?" He inquired out loud, allowing time for her advice to sink in.

She nodded. "You need to forget about it for a while, and before you realize, your mind will be brimming with ideas. Besides," With a hand on the side of his face, she moved closer and whispered the next set of words. "What comes unexpectedly is always much better and much more fun, too."

In a quick, fluid movement, Yuuko closed the remaining gap between them and touched the corner of his lips with hers in a tender kiss, if only too brief for Clow's likings. When they parted, his initial state of surprise had long passed, easily replaced by his usual smile and kind expression. His fingers wrapped around hers and kept them on his cheek so he could revel under her warmth for a little longer.

"Just remember to let it flow," Her tone was unnaturally nurturing and caring, much more than she had intended. She thought nothing of it, figuring it would cause no harm. "It will come to you."

"Thank you, Yuuko-chan." He brought her hand to his mouth for one second and returned the gentle gesture she had presented him with before.

"Now, now!" She stood up in a hop, fists on her hips in an energetic fashion. "Knowing you the way I do, you won't move your butt out of that bench until you succeed on what you're set out to do, sooooooooo…"

He chuckled, very aware of what she was hinting at. "You know where I keep the booze. Help yourself."

"Yaaaaay! I knew you weren't all bad!" She clasped her hands together out of glee at the prospect of stealing his treasured alcohol, a wild, nearly freaky smile sprouting on her features. "Now, should I get more sake or brandy instead? Maybe some wine… Ah, you know what? I'm just gonna feast on everything you've got here, you owe me that for putting up with your mood swings, Clow Reed!"

A pair of amused eyes followed the overly happy witch until she frolicked out of sight, singing and swinging her arms about as she did. Unable to contain his smile, he let his hand drift to his face, brushing against the exact spot where her lips had met his skin. That woman was a walking hurricane, and it was no secret she drove him mad sometimes; yet, were it not for her, his life would be much more tedious, and much less fun. He should be thankful for that as well.

Then it hit him.

In a half-second, his attention was redirected to his work in progress and the piano standing right in front of him. His fingers reached for the keyboard and began moving almost on their own, playing every note just as easily as they had done with its predecessor. The result was a gorgeous melody, ranging from lively to bleak, much like the sounds of nature. It was a little different from what he had planned, but even better in its uniqueness. Perhaps that was exactly where he had been lacking – he needed something completely unlike his normal style, something… unexpected.

Even if somewhat muffled by the beautiful tune he was gradually giving birth to, Clow's wholehearted laugh echoed through the room, in a grand display of relief and sense of humor – it took a lot of that for him to poke fun at his own mistake. There had been, indeed, something missing from the start, and he almost felt stupid for not having seen something so glaringly obvious before. It was not by chance that his musical work hadn't pleased him earlier, as it was not a coincidence that, minutes later, he was mesmerized at his own creation.

The world was a tangled web, where every thread had a meaning. Everything was linked through Hitsuzen, wasn't it what she always said? He was not much of a believer – a born meddler such as himself would rather tweak his own fate and be on full command of his destiny – but at times like this, he was forced to reconsider and give her ideals some credit. Perhaps Hitsuzen had, in fact, just played a major role in his plans. Ah, that crazy woman had quite some power over him, disturbing his thoughts, instigating his actions and acting as his muse of inspiration, if only so to serve her own selfish purposes and leave little traces of her in everything he did…

That came off as no surprise. Yuuko had long marked his life in far greater ways than a few melodious notes could ever tell.