title. kindling 1/?
disclaimer. CCS © CLAMP
genre. romance/hurt/comfort
warnings. AU/OOC/cut in parts


"I shouldn't have called him," said Daidōji Tomoyo as she eyed the entrance to the cafe. All this waiting has finally made her see the catastrophe she set up for herself. How long has it been? Ten? Twenty? Two thousand years? She'd lost count. But she couldn't help herself because of some misplaced sense of duty she had for him.

Or was it guilt?

Whatever.

Anyway, it's too late to back out now. She can't just up and leave. She could still hear it, the nostalgia in his voice, when he agreed to meet with her. His voice felt soft in her ear, like an old love song she'd buried deep in her memory. She had heard the yearning in his tone and something echoed inside her and awakened her own hankering for reconnection. She can't leave. She'd been left hung out to dry to know it hurt like hell.

Sighing, she opened her bag and took out a small notebook and ballpoint pen. She needed distraction. She didn't want to dredge up old hurts. Not now when he could do it later.

i was the sun
you'd orbit for,
you said,
to feel warm

tell me when
did i die
and burst
like a supernova?

Mouth hung open, she dropped her pen. For the love of god, this won't do. She's regressing. She's writing him bitter poems. And he hasn't even turned up yet. Maybe she could just leave a note and tell someone from the management to─

"Hey."

Spine straightening, her widened eyes found his panting figure, bent to the waist, looking as if he'd been chased by something awful. Grudgingly, she noted, even after all these years, his mere presence was enough to resurrect the dead butterflies in her stomach and make them hop, sing and dance.

"Did you wait too long?" he asked, taking the seat across from her, and tried regulating his breath. "My car got hit─"

"What?" she interrupted shrilly. "Are you all right? Are you hurt anywhere?"

He waved her worry off, sending her that boyish grin that was so familiar she felt her chest constrict.

She swallowed.

He stared.

"So," he ventured hesitantly after a long pause. "How have you been, Tomoyo?"

And inside her something just snapped. "I've been well, Hiiragizawa-kun. Thank you for agreeing to meet with me. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

The light in his eyes dimmed, and they turned guarded. "A decade now. Tell me, how are you really? How has life treated you while I was gone, Tomoyo?"

"I wish you would refrain from calling me that."

"Like what?"

"My name without the proper honorifics."

"I've known you since you were a girl, Tomoyo," he said with forced calm. "If you want to pretend I didn't mean anything to you, fine. That's fine. But I won't. I know you─"

"You don't know a thing about me."

She breathed hotly. God, it was just like them. It was just like them to be this… this…

Eriol sighed and leaned back in his chair, watching her intently. Rubbing the skin between his eyes, he told her, "God, you're still pretty when you're mad."

"Shut up─"

A low chuckle rumbled in his throat. "I came here curious," he started, the light coming back in his eyes. "I wanted to know if I can still do it." Propping his elbows on the table, he leaned forward. "Push your buttons." Smirking, he couldn't contain the excitement he felt in seeing the faltering in her eyes. "I'm the only one who can."

Her heart lodged in her throat.

Grinning, he offered, "How about we order now?"


a/n: ahahaha i just realized this collection is running on a theme... one more and you're probably gonna take a hint and realize what's happening to me in RL. hahahaha. anyway, the second chapter of aftermath is 3/4 finished... i'll probably post it by the weekend. please read and review! i'd love to hear from you!