A cuppa
Forgive me as the madness extends cross-fandoms, though I am strangely unrepentant.
Shigure lifted the tea cup to his lips, savoring the bergamot scent before taking a sip.
"Excellent tea, Eriol-san," Shigure said, sparkling.
"I would provide you with nothing but the best, Shigure-san," Eriol said, beaming back at him.
"The perfect ratio of milk, sugar and tea," Shigure continued.
"I've had years to perfect it," Eriol said, nodding.
"It warms my very soul," Shigure said, raising his cup in salute.
"Cheers," Eriol said before downing the rest of his tea in a lusty gulp.
"I never thought I would say this, but I think Master has met the twin of his heart," Nakuru whispered to Spinel.
Spinel raised his head wearily from his book. Nakuru pointed at the now-giggling duo. Spinel stared at Nakuru. She shrugged, hiding the bottle of whiskey behind her back.
"Of course, I thought a little help wouldn't hurt," Nakuru said, pouting. "You know Eriol has trouble making friends, and I have such high hopes with Shigure!"
Shigure rose shakily from his seat.
"I think I've had a little too much tea, Eriol-san. Where is your little dog's room?" he asked, just barely missing the teapot as he turned suddenly.
"Up the stairs, second door to the right. Or is that third door to the left? It's one of those doors," Eriol said, waving towards the window.
Shigure however was nearly at the door and merely waved back at Eriol. Shigure managed to find the stairs more or less and he hadn't forgotten how they worked. Lift one foot after the other. The hard part was which door? There were so many. He felt like he was on a game show. He considered right and then left, pacing slowly up the length of the hallway. He stopped at one door that felt right and turned the knob.
"Ah," he said; eager for relief.
Tomoyo sat with her mouth full of pins. A red-headed girl stood before her, clearly exasperated. She was draped in green, white and gold cloth, pinned in various places. Upon Shigure's entry, she twitched, stretching her arms out, taking one step towards the door. A look from Tomoyo stopped her. The girl whimpered but did not move from her spot.
"Remember the pins, Ginny-chan. I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself," Tomoyo said, smiling.
"Aiee!" shrieked someone.
Shigure turned and stared, a thin, pale boy wearing dark green from neck down with a strange, many-rayed hat upon his head. Shigure paused, turning his head upside down.
"A daffodil, Tomoyo-san? Cunning," Shigure said.
Tomoyo spat out her pins.
"I want a garden, but there aren't nearly enough pretty girls and boys. Sakura-chan and Li-kun ran away to Hong Kong," Tomoyo said, pouting. "Ginny-chan's family is very large. I'm sure I could convince them to join in on the fun."
Tomoyo smiled at Ginny. Ginny gave a tight smile in return. The daffodil let out a muffled sob. Shigure sighed and wiped away the tear.
"There, there, daff-o-dilly-dill, Uncle Shigure will make it all better if you tell him where the restroom is," Shigure said.
The daffodil began crying in earnest. Ginny bit her lip but quickly grew stony-faced when she thought Tomoyo was looking at her again. Tomoyo merely sighed, shaking her head.
"There, there, Malfoy-kun. If I knew he was going to kick up such a fuss, I wouldn't have brought him along. It won't do to have a crying daffodil," Tomoyo said.
Tomoyo reached over and removed Malfoy's hat, stroking his hair gently.
"Now be a dear and give him a kiss, Ginny-chan. He always behaves much better when you do that. I admit, the red blotches do ruin the effect of his costume, but I suppose that is why God invented cover up," Tomoyo said philosophically.
"The restroom is the next door over, Shigure-san, you can't miss it. We'll come down when we're done, I'm sorry, I was so rude, but I do have a deadline. However, I shall make it up to you," Tomoyo said, pointedly turning her back on the now very red Ginny and Malfoy.
Tomoyo smiled, bowing. Shigure nodded.
"I understand, Tomoyo-san," Shigure said. Tomoyo was an artist—he understood artists. He was one. You could not impose worldly concerns like time and tea upon artists. He was sure there was a very good reason for Tomoyo's neglect of social niceties. More importantly, he hoped that her repentance involved lots of skin. Fruit skin of course. He loved nothing more than peeled fruit, the crooked pinky in the air as the knife smoothly stripped layer and layer of peel.
He stumbled out and opened the door. As promised, there was the bathroom! He opened the door and slammed it shut. The bathroom was a marvel—marble, gleaming silver fixtures, a Jacuzzi tub! O, desire realized, he could die a happy mutt, yes indeed.
Several hours later, Eriol found Shigure, slumped over the toilet, snoring loudly. Every minute or so, Shigure would twitch and Eriol swore he heard a tail beat against the base of the toilet.
"Nakuru, wretched brat, I am never letting you serve tea ever again," Eriol muttered as he covered Shigure with a blanket.