Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ Wish Unbroken, Dream Unspoken ❯ Chapter 14

A week had passed, and the next Sunday morning had dawned bright and clear and as early as only summer days could. The first week of school after vacation had proved to be hectic, and wonderfully new-student free this year. Touya's work schedule had kept him too busy to spend any time in private with Yukito or Yue, and in public the usual smile was left securely in place on his friend's face. The morning after had been giddy for all of them; the rush of possibility had brought smiles all around. Eriol had left Sakura with one of Clow's old books with his notes on creating the cards as well as a wish of good luck for bringing Mirror back. She had cried on his shoulder with tears streaming down her face and a grateful smile.

Touya hadn't fared much better. When Eriol had returned Yukito and Yue to the way they were supposed to be, he had felt weak with relief and overwhelmed by hope. There was nothing that couldn't be done, no words that couldn't be said, no obstacles that couldn't be overcome at that moment. Despite his usual cautious stoicism, he had found himself smiling all day. It had been like a strange party, and again Touya hadn't had any time left alone with Yukito or Yue. At the time it hadn't mattered, but now....

Touya jumped out of bed and rushed to the shower. The day was just dawning, and no one else would be up. He enjoyed the hot water as it ran across his body, but didn't give himself much time to savor the sensation. He rushed through his morning routine, faster than he would if he were heading either to school or to work. A hastily scrawled note on the whiteboard was left for his dad or Sakura when either of them woke up, then he raced out of the house and tore off on his bike.

The morning wind blowing through his damp hair cooled him despite his frantic pace. His heart was pounding, but it had started this frantic need to go faster. He was driven by an urge to finally end this--or maybe to finally let it begin.

He smiled, preferring to think of this as the beginning rather than the end. Even if it was the end of so many terrible events...it was the beginning of something new and hopefully wonderful. "I hope it's that easy," he panted softly as he finally pulled up to Yukito's house.

His friend wasn't expecting him. This was to be a surprise, and hopefully a pleasant one. That's why he had rushed at daybreak to leave as soon as he could. He wanted to spend as long as it took to set everything right, once and for all.

He had almost reached the door when his newly reawakened sixth sense told him that his friend was not inside. He was sleeping, yes, but not where Touya had expected him. With a grin he walked around to the side yard and began to climb up the ladder he found there. He wasn't sure what to expect, but--

It was a twisted, reversed déjà vu for him. His eyes were met by the sight of his beloved Yue fast asleep on the roof, fairly glowing in the light of the morning sun. The sight nearly brought him to his knees. Yue's white hair had worked loose of the braid at the end. He was laying on a blanket of glowing white strands, wings beneath him like a heavenly down mattress, robes slightly rumpled and askew but still holding their formal mystique. Yue's face was beyond words, the hard look of grief or cold look of his terrible self-control entirely erased. Sakura might not recognize this being as the same guardian that had made her scream in surprise for so long.

Somehow though, this was the Yue that Touya had always known. It had only taken sleep to reveal the utter truth.

Touya was careful not to step on the snowy strands as he crept closer, but it was very difficult to manage. By the time he was close, vivid violet eyes were blinking slowly open and looking directly at him. "Good morning, Touya."

"Good morning, Yue." Touya smiled, his heart melting at the sight before him.

Yue began to float upward, gathering his hair and his dignity in an instant, immediately looking like his old self. His hair was floating free around him for a change, but he looked very much the same as the first time Touya had seen him up close. Well, no, his expression was different. It still bore the same calm softness that sleep had granted the moon-ruled guardian.

"I'm glad," Yue began, drifting close so he could reach out and touch Touya, caressing his cheek.

Touya didn't give Yue the chance to finish his sentence though. He grabbed Yue's hand and planted a kiss in his palm. "I love you, Yue. This morning though, I want to spend with Yuki."

Yue nodded understandingly, but did not begin the transformation right away. He instead pulled even closer to Touya, wrapping arms and wings around him and trapping his lips in a kiss. Touya kissed back hungrily, meeting passion with passion, thrilling to the feel of this intimate caress of lips and mouth, and indeed, the entire body as they pressed against each other, hands exploring and holding closer and closer--

Again the sensation came mid-way through the kiss, like the last one they had shared on this roof. Touya eased the kiss, but did not stop it. As magical cat's eyes changed to a more human appearance and long hair became shorter, Touya let his new partner set the pace of the kiss. Apprehension curled within his gut, but he did not break off. He would trust Yue this time. The guardian hadn't left from fright or shame this time, so Touya had to trust that there was some other reason.

The kiss went unbroken.

Yukito's eyes were wide with shock at first, but soon his amber eyes closed and he began to kiss Touya back. There were indefinable differences between the way Yue kissed and the way Yukito kissed, and Touya was enjoying the discovery that there was a difference. There were hesitations between them that had never occurred when Yue kissed him, but now with Yukito, there were. That wasn't how it was different however. It just was.

And that proved beyond anything else, any other of the recent events, that no matter what Clow Reed had intended, these two were different people. Touya was in love with them both. He would just have to be honest about it and see what became of things.

If this kiss was any indication though, Yukito would at least be understanding.

Touya chided himself for his train of thoughts. He couldn't assume. He had to speak his mind and be honest, no matter what. If he assumed the wrong thing because of this kiss, a whole new series of disasters could befall.

They broke off the kiss, panting and staring, each afraid to be the first one to speak. "Touya! That was, I mean...wow, no, that was--" Yukito took a deep breath, looking down for a moment and blushing. "Good morning, Touya."

"Good morning, Yuki," Touya replied breathlessly. He hooked a finger under Yukito's chin, bringing the smaller man's eyes to meet his own. There were no glasses on his face this morning, a difference that would take getting used to. Yukito still wore them to school where others were used to seeing him with glasses, but he was quick to discard them when they weren't necessary...and had sometimes absently forgotten them even in classes.

"Were you kissing Yue?" The question was gentle this time, and almost teasing as an echo of what had happened before.

Touya nodded. "He started it, but yes...yes, I was kissing him as well."

Yukito smiled slightly, pulling a step away and looking thoughtful. His hand brushed over his lips absently while he thought. "And then you kissed me...."

"Yes."

Yukito backed away further, then sat down. There was silence between them for a time and Touya decided to sit as well. A shocking moment later Yukito reached over and grabbed Touya's hand, twining their fingers together. "What would you do if I asked you to make a decision between him or me?"

Touya swallowed hard, a lump forming in the center of his chest. "I-I don't know. I don't think I could. Yuki, I love you, but I also love Yue."

"You don't give your heart lightly."

"No, I never have," Touya agreed in a ragged whisper.

There was another pause in the conversation while Yukito looked off into the distance. Touya's palms began to sweat and a cold prickle danced down his spine as he thought about being forced into that decision. He couldn't decide. He finally wiped his hands on his jeans, pulling away unconsciously from the one that had the power to do that undesirable thing. He hadn't asked it yet, but he could...and then what would happen?

"You know that Yue and I are not the same. You can't treat us as if we are."

Did that mean...? "I know. I won't."

"I don't know how well this will work, but I do know I can't live with the way things were. I love you too, Touya. I don't know if I'm ready or not for this, I don't know if you will be able to deal with how different I am or--"

"Yuki, I have loved you since the first time I laid eyes on you. It terrified the hell out of me, but I stayed by your side. I have known since that time that you're different, but that wasn't what scared me. Maybe it won't work between us. Maybe trying to be in a relationship with you and with Yue at the same time will tear us all apart. Maybe it won't. I'm ready to see for myself, one way or the other. I won't be scared away. Any relationship is a risk, but if you don't take the risk you can't earn the reward."

"I never thought I'd hear you say something like that, Touya."

He looked away, ducking his head and grinning slightly. "Ah, well, I can't claim all the credit. I was working at the restaurant earlier this week and heard a couple saying something along those lines. It just--it made sense. I've been waiting all week to say it to you."

"It's a strange way to get words of wisdom," Yukito said with a smile, "but it really makes sense. You-you're willing to risk your heart for me?"

"For you, and for Yue. I don't know what the outcome will be, but I think I'm glad I don't. We'll find it, we'll make it, together."

The sound of the phone ringing startled Sakura out of a homework-induced doze. She answered it absently, her mind still on school and homework and the probability of one of her friends calling to compare answers or double check that they wrote down the right assignment. Mundane life had reasserted its control of her routine, sweeping aside the fantastic with the hectic yet tedious detail that drives the lives of children everywhere.

The last thing she expected was the bright and cheerful voice of Nakuru, practically yelling in her ear.

"Sakura-chan! Hi! We miss you! How are you doing over there? We're doing fantastic, but we need your help!"

"What? Help? Why? What's wrong?" Sakura was on the verge of panic, trying to figure out what on earth Eriol and his guardians could possibly need her help with. What could possibly have gone wrong that Nakuru would be calling like this?

"It's terrible! Eriol is practically moping, and he doesn't want to admit it. He's too quiet and he's no fun, you have to help me. Tell me that everything worked out to a 'happily ever after' please! Or, better yet, tell him!"

Sakura blinked and uttered her trademark confused, "Hoeee~?" She heard the phone change hands on the other end of the line, and voices from a muffled conversation.

Eriol's deep and confident voice finally came through. "Hello, Sakura-chan. I'm sorry to bother you like this."

"Ah, no, I should have called you sooner! I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Eriol reassured her. "So, how are things going?" he asked with some hesitation in his voice.

"I'm almost finished returning Mirror to her card form. It's strange having her within me like this, but I think I'll miss her when this is over. She honestly thought she would cease to exist when she offered her energy to help me. I didn't know that any of the cards would be so kind." As she spoke she hugged her arms around herself, feeling Mirror's warm presence within her blush. Yes, she would miss this when the spell was complete.

"The cards love you more than anyone or anything, Sakura. Any one of them would happily sacrifice themselves for you. It's a lot of power, and a lot of responsibility."

"Yes," Sakura said, nodding despite being on the phone. "I thought I understood that before, but this made it mean so much more. I love the cards too, and I don't want any of them to be hurt. They're individuals. They're people. Maybe they aren't human people, but they're still people."

"I'm glad," Eriol said softly. Sakura could hear Clow in his voice; she could feel how protective and loving he was toward the cards. They shared a bond of understanding that no one else could begin to share because of these cards. Sakura smiled even wider as she basked in the glow of that bond. There was one person in the world that really understood her. It was wonderful.

"Everything else is going well also. Onii-chan hasn't been spending much time at home, but when he is here he's a lot happier. Neither of them has said anything, but I'm sure he must have worked things out with Yukito-san. He was over for supper last Sunday night and they kept acting so cute! I hope they stay like this forever."

"So, Ruby Moon was right. There really has been a happily ever after."

Sakura laughed. "I suppose so. Things are over, and everyone is happy except for Tomoyo-chan. She was disappointed that she wasn't there to film everything, but I don't think it would have been the same if she had. Well, the important thing is, everything is fine now." She said it with a strong finality. Even though things weren't entirely resolved and set in stone, even though events were still dynamic, everything was going just fine. "So, you can stop moping," she teased.

"She was exaggerating," Eriol protested with a laugh.

"Maybe she was, but she was probably worried too. I promise I'll write to you soon and let you know how things are from here on. Okay?"

"I'll be looking forward to it."

(This author's note is also being left intact. It's always good to thank the people who have done so much, and I'm still thankful for every person who left a review.)

Author's Note: It's been a long journey, but it's finally done. ~faints in relief~ I'm tempted to just forgo the author's note and crawl into a nice, dark cave for a while. What more do you want from me after all, now that the story is done? Right? Well, if you're still here, you obviously still want *something* from me. Ah, well, can't disappoint. ~laughs~

For all my reviewers on ff.net and CLAMPesque: Cocoa, Pokebelle-chan, Gold, Xandra, Destra, Cayenne, L-chan, Ailian Rhys, Peacewish, Turin, Alezia, Forsaken Tenshi, Kira, Dark Ice Angel, Katarina, Moonchild, S.K-chan, Silvertoekee, Perfectly Windy Sky, Megamie, NekoSerendipity, Rem, Askani Blue, Verna-S, Little Miss Fortune, Maze-chan, Emii-chan, Dark-Lil-Angel, Tica, Kari, Steph Lorraine, Cygna-hime, Darkness, CharcoalCat, Snowykittenz, BrokenAngelYue, Pandora-chan, Kamikakushi, AtomBunny, Moongirl, Keitorin, Fugago Akuma-tenshi01, Vampkestrel, Shkira, CronoCat, Silver Angel, Destiny gal, SibylSofiana, N3th3r^v^l@nd, Larania, Jlarinda, Mitsurugi Naoko, Hop42, Dark-shade-soul, Sunfreak, Hyperbole, LoNe StAr in an OcEaN SkY, and Rossi.

Thank you all so very, very much! This story would not have been what it is without each and every review.

~passes out~ I didn't think there were that many people, wow!

I would also like to acknowledge those who have inspired me. Peacewish, Dr. Megalomania, Aishuu, L-chan, Dark Ice Angel, Six Underground, Forsaken Tenshi, Askani Blue, and Emii-chan have written stories that drive me to be better, as well as being great friends. Keep writing, keep inspiring, and keep driving us all to do better, please. Thank you for sharing your own CCS fanfics with us all, and keep it up!