Fandom: X
Title: Yours for a day.
Pairing: Aoki + Karen
Rating: G
Description: Karen and Aoki each have a day off from work and spend the day together.

Disclaimer: Yui doesn't own X. It belongs to Clamp.

I don't know why I'm writing this down. I guess it's something I also want to remember.
Just like the last time…

I don't know why I'm writing this down…
Because I know I'll never forget.

Yours for a day.
by Miyamoto Yui

"Konnichiwa, Karen-san," someone greeted me as I exited my workplace.
I turned my head to find myself smiling at Aoki-san in front of me. He lifted his hand and nodded at me.
I walked next to him and asked, "What brings you here? I thought we were meeting later."
Looking at my watch to make sure, I commented, "Well, that's what I thought…"
He laughed as he put his hand on his head. "Well, to tell you the truth, my appointment for today was cancelled, so I'm pretty much free for the day."
As we walked along together, I questioned, "Well, what are you going to do today then?"
"Take a day off." He took out his handkerchief to wipe his forehead. "It sure is hot today."
I nodded my head. "Sou ne…"

Silence.

As we reached a busy intersection, we stopped to wait for the light to change to green.
"Today…" he cleared his throat. "I guess I'm yours for the day, Karen-san."
"Hmm?" I blushed as I immediately turned my head towards his. "Excuse me? I didn't quite hear you correctly."

He then smiled at me. "Let's do what you want to do today."

I looked from side to side. "Are you serious?"
We then crossed the street and I shook my head.

Was he really kidding?
I was in deep shock.

"Wh-where did this come from?" I asked incredulously.

He shrugged his shoulders. "You have a day off and I do too. So, why not?"
Then, he blinked his eyes. "Unless you have things to do…When I think of things like this, I forget those kind of possibilities…"
When he nervously glanced nervously around, I put my hand in a fist, placing it in front of my mouth while laughing. "You're funny."

"Did I ask something wrong, Karen-san?" He then looked away.

Things to do…
There are always things to do…

But as I looked at him, I felt like I wanted to drop it all. They weren't that important anyway…
Or maybe…

Anyway, today is-

"So, what do you think?" He smiled at me.
"Sure, why not?"
"Where do you want to go first?"

I turned my head and pointed at a random direction. "There."
He nodded his head.

When we got there, he laughed. I blinked while we both looked at the sign above us. "Think it's a little childish?" I asked skeptically.
"Naw…" He shook his head, walking on before me.
I shook my head in disbelief.

Only you…

So, we spent that morning at an amusement park.
I laughed very hard as we went on ride after ride. Aoki-san looked like he was getting dizzy, but he insisted that today was my day and so, I kept on dragging him off to one ride after another.
Again, I found myself giggling to tears when we went on some boat ride that rocked back and forth. You would never have guessed we were the supposed protectors of Tokyo at the site of Aoki-san looking up at how high this ride could go, afraid of it breaking since it was creaking too much.
"Yuka-chan always laughs at me whenever we go on this ride," he commented as we exited the ride.
I smiled. "I can see why!"

That's right. He's not mine…

But…on this day…
He said he was.

I dragged him off to get ice cream like some teenager. "So, what do you want?"
"No, you don't have to." He lifted his hand politely.
"No," I insisted. "We have to eat the ice cream here. It's one of the best I've ever eaten! Now go and pick one."
He shook his head while grinning. "Okay. You said so. I'll pick…that."

I squinted playfully at his choice as we left the ice cream stand. "Who would have known you actually liked sherbet?"
"I was expecting something exotic on your part. And you get chocolate?"
We looked at each other cones, chuckling at one another.

When we left the amusement park, it was early evening. As we strode by my favorite park, I walked into the children's playground and sat on the swings. Then, I began swinging as Aoki-san just sat on the next swing set watching me.

"I'm acting like a little kid, aren't I?" Amused, I continued to swing back and forth.
His head waved from side to side. "No, I'm glad you're enjoying swinging."
Laughing joyfully while looking up at the stars that had begun to appear, I began to slow down to a stop. When I did, I glanced over at him. "You know what?"
"What?"
"When I was little, I would play on the swings and pretend that I could fly." I gazed up at the stars. "When you're little, you think you can do anything…"
Aoki-san sat in the swing silently and sighed.
"And then, you grow up," I finished. "You realize that there is so little you can do in the world."

I continued holding onto the chains beside me tightly. "Even if there was something you could do, would it all lead to the same thing if your destiny is already set out for you?"
"I still think I can do anything," he answered me.
I looked at his profile again to find him staring up at the stars above us.
"You just have to work with what you have. Someone once told me that the only person who can make you happy or unhappy is yourself."
"That's right…" I agreed.
He then got up. "Come on, let's do something else."
"You're still not tired?"
"No, not really. I'm enjoying today."
"Me too."

I then dragged him to a café that had the best coffee I'd ever tasted. It was a mocha drink with whipped cream. But this particular store had a peculiar blend that I could never find anywhere else, so I was stuck buying from only them.
Bemused, Aoki-san laughed at me when I said that.

We passed by closed shops. Only the restaurants and bars were open at that time.

Passing by a familiar store window, I stood before it. It was an antique shop that I'd visited ever since I had come to Tokyo. There were many things on display like toys, lamps, furniture, etc.
But what always caught my eye was a certain music box. There was nothing special about it. In fact, it looked really old, but was dusted out very well.
"What are you looking at?" Aoki-san peered at the window next to me.
"That." I leaned a bit forward, pointing to the simple, red music box to the left corner.
"I didn't know you liked antiques."
"Not particularly."
"Do you know what song it plays?"
"Love story, I believe." I then stood up. "I asked the clerk once to play it for me."
He nodded his head. "Oh…"
"Sorry, I didn't mean to suddenly stop," I apologized as we began to walk again.
"That's okay. My grandmother used to have something like that." He smiled as he said, "I really liked that song 'Love story'. It's probably one of few that I would ever recognize."
I grinned, putting my hand over my mouth. "Aoki-san likes music boxes too."
He blushed. "Is that so strange?"
"No. You just always surprise me."
"I do?"
I nodded my head.

We wandered to some street with a long-range view of Rainbow Bridge. As I stopped to hold onto the railing and watch the ocean below, I smiled brightly.
"This has truly been a great day." I turned my head. "Thank you, Aoki-san."
"Why are you thanking me?"
"It's because, actually…" My gaze pointed down to the crashing waves. "…today's my birthday."
He didn't say anything.
I laughed. "Why are you so quiet?"
"Because you said it was your birthday."
"What's so surprising about that?"
"Because today was the day my grandmother died."
I opened my eyes. "Really? I'm sorry…"
"Don't be." He stood next to me as he took a rock from the ground and threw it into the ocean below us. "She said something to me before she died."
"And what was that?"

At that moment, I was half not wanting to know.

"She said that the woman I meet will be my best friend. She'll be one of my allies." He folded his arms as he leaned on the railing, mumbling softly, "With a stronger bond than even my wife…"
I looked from side to side, a little shocked.

After a short silence, he said, "I'm sorry I lied."
"Hmm?" I looked at him curiously as he continued to avoid looking at me. "About what?"
"I knew it was your birthday. I asked you once and you told me that it wasn't important."
Tears began to fill my eyes. "You remembered that?"

He handed me an apricot-colored handkerchief from his pocket. It was different from the one I'd seen earlier.
"I never liked it when you cried, Karen-san."
I took the handkerchief into my hands. As I wiped my eyes, I smelled it.

It had his scent on it…

"But I hardly cry in front of you."
"You always look like you want to." He turned to me. "Do I make you cry? If I do, I'm sorry."
Blinking, I became flustered inside while trying to keep my calm.

In some aspects…Yes, you do.
But that's not your fault, Aoki-san…

I patted his head. "No…"
"That day…you made me cry." He sighed, lowering his eyes. "When you said that no one would cry for you, I told you I would cry if you died."
"Because my mother told me that I was a demon. People don't cry for demons…" I said while biting my lip.

No matter how many years had passed…
That memory always made me cry. I could be perfectly calm and lose it with that single incident stuck in my mind…

"Karen-san will make me sad when she dies…" He inhaled deeply and tried to keep his cool. "And I will lose one of my best friends…"
My eyes looked down as I held a wistful smile on my face. "You really are a nice guy, Aoki-san."

Glimpsing into the blurry, dark sky before me, I repeated what I'd thought when we first met. "Why is it that the good guys are either taken or married?"
I laughed quietly. "Or they're gay."

Once again, he shook his head while whispering. "No, they're not."
"Yes, they are," I insisted.

I truly did believe that.

At that second, he tilted his head at me and brought out something from his jacket pocket. "I brought this for you. The apricot handkerchief comes in a set. It also has a scarf."
He handed it to me and I looked at him trying not to cry. "Th-thank you…"
"Do you like it?" His eyes swept over the ground. "Well, my grandmother gave this to me as an heirloom…and I thought you should have it."
I nodded my head unable to say anything because I was so happy.

From the bottom of my heart, I grinned with my teeth showing. In that instant, there was no sadness able to penetrate into it.

"But you already gave me a wonderful birthday present."
"I did?"
"You were mine for the day?"
"But all we did was walk around the city. That's so ordinary." He sighed. "I didn't really do anything…"
"You may think so." I held the scarf and handkerchief in my hands as I looked at the ocean rocking back and forth while crashing onto the rocks below me. "But…I always spent my birthday alone."
"Karen-san…"

I began to sniff with tears wanting to fall, but I wouldn't let them. As I turned towards him while still trying to hold onto that joyful smile, I said, "And wherever we went today, I always was alone whenever I went there. But now, I have a memory that I didn't do those things alone."

"And the music box? I have been watching that thing ever since I came to Tokyo. It reminded me of my childhood, but no one ever bought it. There was no point in me buying it since I am-"
Grab.
"Aoki-san?"
"Didn't I say I hated it when Karen-san cried?" He patted my head as he wiped a tear or two that had slipped into the handkerchief.
I lightly pushed him away while bowing and smiling. "Thank you."

As we turned to walk our separate ways, it had not even been a minute when he shouted, "Matte yo!"
"Yes?!" I turned around to find him going through his pockets.
"Catch this!"
He threw something at me and I gasped as I caught it.
"I thought you might like it!" Smiling, he waved happily at me.

I stared down at the package crinkling in my hands. And in one felt swoop, I frowned.
My strong façade broke.

Plip, plop, plip, plop…
My tears made crinkling sounds onto the candy's plastic bag. I looked up to see his shadow walking away from me as my mouth opened with nothing to say.

Aoki-san, you're wrong. All the good guys are taken.
Or at least…
The one I was looking for all this time…

I will never forget today.

Today was one of the loneliest, yet happiest days of my life…

Despairing, I stared up at the stars and whispered, "Can your soulmate be-"
Then, I stopped myself. I didn't want to ask the question.

Closing my eyes, I hugged that tiny package while walking home and wiping the happy and sorrowful tears that didn't seem to stop…

I don't think you realize…
…this was the candy you had given me on the first day we had met…

and ever since, I'd searched for this taste everywhere, Aoki-san.

Owari.
-
Author's note: Well, I hope you enjoyed this piece Kerianne-san. I made it for you.
I don't know when Karen-san's birthday, so please * smile * work with it. It's artistic license taking over.

I hope you enjoyed it. I really think they're a sweet couple…

September 13th, 2002