Author's note: I know I am late. Sorry. But I did say something about my grad school application earlier, didn't I? And on a happier note, it's all done. I have been accepted at university of Bristol this year. Whooopeee.(Crazy jig). And here is the update you thought I would never write. Read and review please. I love you all!
Disclaimer: You would be mental in thinking I could ever own these characters. Google them and you'll know they belong to CLAMP. D-uh. Now that it has been sorted, will please quit badgering me?
I stared at my right hand. The tiny mole on my wrist was now being daubed by a slow trickle of blood. I kept looking at it, unconscious of the weight of the person slumped against me. The night had become entirely silent now; even my uncle's snores had disappeared. I stood in a trance, still processing what had just transpired.
And so, while I thought, his hair mussed across my face as his face started sagging down my shoulder. I took hold of his arms on the either side and steadied him against me, hands trembling all the while. What? Why was the ice queen being a wuss all of a sudden, you wonder? Well sorry if I don't have murdering people with cricket bats as my repertoire!
I leaned over and tried to feel his pulse. For a moment, underneath that bulky hoodie of his, I heard my own terrified breathing. My shaky hands tried to hold his head still as he began to fall over me meanwhile. I began to doubt if any of my pulse was left. My panic levels increased and just as my legs started wobbling with the sheer terror, I must have heard the most beautiful sound in the world:
His heartbeat.
He spluttered a bit and drew in air in a long gasp finally. I almost sank down to the ground in relief. Damn this clown, making me kill myself like that. He gave me the biggest scare of my life. No, strike that. The second biggest scare, the first would be forgetting physics. I looked down at him, conveniently unconscious. Sighing, I took a deep breath and prepared to drag this pseudo dead body towards the porch.
A young woman dressed elegantly in a deep purple jeweled gown and holding two champagne flutes strode across the vast ballroom, smiling politely at people who nodded at her. Not that anyone didn't. It wasn't that people would come to one of the most extravagant bashes hosted by the Li industries and not recognize one of the heiresses to the same. She was looking for a certain person and when she found him comfortably in conversation with her father, she inwardly relaxed. Gods were extra kind to her today. With one person already out of scene, she had a relatively easier task at hand: to keep a certain man away from
"I see that you have a young man with you today, darling?" a tall woman said, accosting her at the center of the ballroom.
Her mother.
She cringed inwardly as her pendant was duly adjusted by her mother who looked back to see the effect.
"There dear, perfect!"
A perfectionist at heart, her mother was. Shiefa always felt that her mother could never be satisfied with anything. Especially not her choice when it came to men. Finding faults in her boyfriends was the favorite pastime of Syaoran and her mother. Admitted that Syaoran had a streak of possessiveness that made him growl and snarl at the dates she brought home, she knew he would get over it if the man held ground instead of running for cover like a frightened colt. But her mother was impossible to please.
It was always
"Don't be silly, that man had a crooked bow tie."
Or
"Did you see his left hand? My! What was that hideous tattoo for?"
Or
"His teeth, darling, his teeth. How could even let him kiss you!"
She sighed. And it was just now that she was thanking the heavens on an almost perfect evening, for evading her mother's attention. Premature prayers, she thought and smiled at the woman in front of her, bracing herself for the questions of scrutiny that would follow.
Hell, this man was lot heavier than what he seemed. Logically, people did tend to get more bulky when they are unconscious. But for the love of god, dragging his bulky frame till the door was one of the most physically most exhausting things I had ever done. The only exercise that came even close to comparing to this was my marathon to catch a flight to London in Dubai's insanely long airport. I paused to take a breath at the threshold. For anyone passing by, I would look like a guilty criminal who was lugging a dead body to hide in the attic. Shivering slightly at the implications, I hastened to pull him across the entrance as slowly as possible. Thanking my stars that my uncle was a deep sleeper and the timely Li party Shiefa had dragged my cousin to, I pulled him inside the living room, groaning silently.
When we reached the EMO couch, I gave up trying on dislocating my hands from their sockets and dumped him unceremoniously on it. Flopping myself on the bean bag nearby (I know, extremely childish and extremely Touya) I reached eagerly for the half filled bottle of water on the coffee table and emptied it in a flash. Phew. So much for saving a stalker from dying of concussion! Obviously either he or I were in dire need of therapy. Or maybe he was suffering from a neurotic stalker syndrome and I was having an attack of paranoid sadism. I glared at him through my musings, wondering when he would get up and I can start sanitizing the house from his germs. And just then, as if my cursing took a physical form and whacked him on the face, he winced.
I leaned towards him curiously. His crown was matted with blood and he seemed to be in some pain. On a closer observation, I realized I had dumped him in a rather awkward position. His head was leaning against the hard headboard and bumping his wound. I got up and stretched his legs across the length of the couch. Pulling the cushions underneath him, I eased him in a sleeping position and stacked them under his head. After checking for his pulse again (He may have died in the violent dragging session) I went to retrieve my papers from the porch.
The briefing I was due today was screwed big time. Not like I can do anything now, I consoled myself. It was nearing 4 am already and I felt like a sleep deprived zombie walking right from the grave. Closing the door and pepping up the heaters I went back to living room to inspect our comatose guest. Not that I expected him to do cartwheels after a concussion, but regaining consciousness would ease my conscience a bit. But well, He was such a dumb brain when awake, that I didn't mind him out of action for a while. It suited him more too, I think. He looked lot more human this way.
I heaped the files and papers on the coffee table and yawned. Sleep. I needed it badly. I looked at the cup of melted ice cream on the table wistfully. It looked like a melancholic milkshake now, with the sad faces of nuts floating around in chocolate sauce. I took out the spoon and tried to sip it. And it tasted weird, with a foggy feel of grapes blended with chocolates. It wouldn't do. And I was too tired to go and get some more. Promising to treat myself today afternoon, I went to drag my dead feet upstairs. The kill-Syaoran Li dreams were already starting to dance in my semi lidded eyes.
"wate..." A small groan came. I jerked my eyes open temporarily and looked around. Li wanted water now. Why couldn't he have been unconscious for another 5-6 hours? That way I would get some respite too. But no, his highness was born without an internal body clock. That explained his 3 am shutter opening act. I walked past him toward the kitchen and hauled a glass out of the cabinet. Filling it with water I trudged back and knelt near his head.
He was blinking irregularly and I made an empty wish that his memory was damaged in some way or the other and I was an unknown stranger-
"Kino…Kinomoto?" He looked at me dazedly, dashing my hopes to ground. Figures the tooth fairy can be quite the vindictive vixen if you refused to believe in her as a child. Like the brazen way she was reversing all my wishes these days.
I nodded vaguely at his question, wondering if I could befuddle him by sadly twitching his head and telling
"You seems bewitched, laddie. There ain't anyone here by that name." in a high Scottish accent. But I was too tired for all those theatrics now. So I stuck to the less dramatic version of helping him drink water. He shifted slightly and took the glass in his own hand after a few initial sips. His poise was very disorienting for his head so I reached out to his shoulders and waited for him to finish it.
The cold flooring was uncomfortable for my knees. I longed to go back to my warm cozy bed and sleep. Snuggle in the heavy reassurance of the blankets, fluff up the pillows and sleep. Could anything be more divine than that?
Good old slee…
"Oi, Kinomoto, wake up! Did you knock yourself up too?"
Author says: It's been a month and I still hear from you people every other day. Either adding me to your favorites list or putting my story on alert and the sweetest of all, reviewing my work. I am overwhelmed and truly appreciate all of you out there. Thank you. Please keep reading and reviewing. Love you all.
StarAngel02: So glad you like my story. (Grinning widely). I love that you reviewed and hope that you wouldn't mind this delayed-by-eternity update. Keep reading and reviewing.
Blissful Delight: OMG, I TOTALLY LOVE THAT YOU LOVE THIS CRAZY FIC! (Broad smiles) Your review was so enthusiastic that it made me smile for 5 whole minutes. Thank you for that feel good moment. And, err, I think the update was only ahem, teensy bit late. Hope you didn't give up on me. Love you and your reviews. Do read my story.
AngelEmCuti: Insane and pointless too, I know. But well, Syaoran was being Syaoran. He, err, tends to get way too impulsive. And as for Sakura's sanity, rest assured, is in perfect condition. It is her heart that needs some attention. All in due course of time, of course. You write terrific reviews. Oh, and just to remind, I love these"^_^". Read and review, please.
Black Licorice Addict: Wow, You got yourself a new name. Sounds lot more mysterious, I must say. Cricket did you say? I would dare you to entice her to leave her lab actually. Thank you for your prompt reviews. It is amazing to hear from you every time. Keep reading and reviewing.
Ellabell: Thank you dear. Appreciate your reviews. Do read my story.
Kiki fuji: Glad you like this insane indulgence of mine. I hope you enjoy my story for a lot more while too. Do read and review.
