CCS (c) Clamp and all rightful owners, similarly to the quotations.

The (Im) Perfect Couple

"Perfection itself is imperfection." ~Vladimir Horowitz

"There is a kind of beauty in imperfection." ~Conrad Hall

Chapter 5: Lust

"Only a struggle twists sentimentality and lust together into love." ~E. M. Forster

"In our minds, love and lust are really separated. It's hard to find someone that can be kind and you can trust enough to leave your kids with, and isn't afraid to throw her man up against the wall and lick him from head to toe." ~Tori Amos

Tomoyo –

She lusts for love; for acceptance; for belonging.

For too long, she had been confined in her 'doll-house'. For too long, (hired) bodyguards stood sentinel over her being till it became suffocating.

She lacked love.

She lacked intimacy.

She lacked familiarity.

She lacked her mother's presence.

Without love, without intimacy and familiarity, Tomoyo became a doll.

But the pseudo doll lusts for her human self – the one that is flesh and blood, compassions and feelings. Tomoyo wants; desires to resurrect her human self.

[My human self] she thinks [is the final gift Sakura can ever present to me.]

Eriol –

He lusts for sexual pleasures.

As Tomoyo noted (scoffed at), he had a huge libido.

That is why he has countless girlfriends.

The one that was not his was her – Tomoyo Daidouji.

Thus, he lusts for her.

[Goodness, he gets all excited just thinking of her.] He chuckled.

If you were perfect, why would you need to lust for anything more?

'Outsiders' –

They were a perfect pair in their eyes.

Before the rumours (assumption) of their get-together, they were the most sought after; the most desired.

They could only offer lust, yet they mistook this for a silly notion of love.

Tomoyo –

Had she not told him that she wish them to stay as friends?

Eriol was being a nuisance again – like an undeterred fly that keeps returning although one swats them away.

Every month, on exactly the date of her birth, at exactly seven in the evening, he would (forcefully) haul her along to his favoured pub.

. x .

["Be a dear, Tomoyo. Would you rather see me drive, drunk?"] He had joked with mirth.

[Yes, I would rather you die while driving, drunk.] She had told him bluntly.

No need to waste pretty words on someone like him, she had thought irritably.

Regardless, he had pestered her (like a fly – undeserving of her notice except for its obstinate will).

She gave in by eight.

(Blackmail)

.x.

As it is, he had already welcomed himself into her home without her knowledge. She really ought to change the locks.

Eriol –

Naively, she came down the grand spiral staircase to greet him with her ever-pleasant (fake) smile.

["Evening, dear Tomoyo. Let's celebrate your flawless appearance despite having aged a year by drinking!"]

He started off their usual friendly (cutthroat, insensitive) banter.

["Let us not."] She graciously answered, bowing her head in polite refusal. She stood atop the last step on the staircase, refusing to come nearer as a form of determination in her declination.

Tomoyo –

["Be a dear, Tomoyo. Would you rather see me drive, drunk?"]

Ah, there it is. He had used the same words, the same phrasing…and the same mirthful tone.

Solemnly, she bluntly answered without remorse at the cruel words. [Yes, I would rather you die while driving, drunk.]

Eriol no longer flinched at those words.

["Don't be cold. Haven't I been granting your wish all this while?"]

Instead, he had come up with an equally harsh come-back.

Eriol –

She flinched.

["What are you talking about?"]

["To be human."] He answered oh-so-simply that it had sounded mocking.

His grey eyes could tell that she had no smarting retort.

Tomoyo –

She gripped the banister – hard, to resist the flight reaction.

[Ah. It is true. Anger and disdain is part of being human.]

Resigned silence settled in.

Eriol –

He saw her worried lip-biting and wary gaze.

[So she has figured it out.]

He believes in equal exchange. She knows this –

["How about granting mine in exchange?"]

So of course Tomoyo would be wary.

Tomoyo –

[Bastard!] She angrily cursed.

She had always felt that his belief in equal exchange was his (only) saving grace. Eriol felt the need to kill any goodwill she ever thought of him.

["I won't. Your wish… I will do something else in return."]

["But it's only fair, dearest Tomoyo. Yours granted for mine."] Amusement rolled off him in waves. It disgusts her.

In a moment of (uncharacteristic) fury, she cried. ["This is unfair!"]

Eriol –

Undeterred, he strode towards her.

(To her credit, her iron-strong will made her remain on the stair instead of running.)

["You haven't been playing fair either, dearest Tomoyo."]

Tomoyo –

His eyes were serious.

She contemplates her answer.

["I had never encouraged you."]

Eriol –

He chuckled in amused bewilderment.

["Oh, but you did! Your behaviour and mannerisms, they make me want to b r e a k you."]

Lust – an intense desire – comes at a hefty price.

A/N:

(i) Guess I won't make it within 1 week. Sigh. I keep making drafts and drafts of a single chapter, only to oust them away in the end. Bad habit o' mine, I guess.

(ii) Explanation: Tomoyo wants to feel human (be able to feel herself, not fake it). Eriol, like your typical perverted guy, simply lusts over women i.e. Tomoyo (because she isn't one of his 'possessions'). He goes out of his way to make her feel human (in a perverse manner, too, by having her feel negative emotions instead of positive ones when she was with Sakura). Of course, he doesn't do it for free. His price: to taint Tomoyo. (To taint means to own, apparently).

(iii) Lots of love (and hugs, as promised previously) to reviewers James Birdsong, redeyes143 and Fauxfire101. All your reviews make me feel warm & fuzzy inside! Free mint chocolate cookies will be distributed courtesy of lala-licious the next time round!