Disclaimer: I don't own any ccs characters. :( They all belong to CLAMP.
Sorry it took so long to update....i lost my "muse" for a little bit...that and i needed to catch up in physics...yeah...this chapter would be a strong pg-13 too....you have been warned. if i told you which part i really hated writing, that would give away the chapter.
At first, Spiral was nervous. Now he had no one to kill Eli for him. He would gladly go to the job himself, but he had done so too many times. At the end, Guy had thrown something into his face. It made his eyes sting and his head woozy. After he had cleaned up the mess, he had thrown up. After that, his headaches had returned with greater fury than before. What did Guy mean by muttering that think about revenge?
He calmed down however, when the relationship between Eli and Phoenix seemed to end. Reality was, that Eriol was afraid the Phoenix might reject him and Tomoyo was afraid that Eli might not want anything to do with her, so they simply, avoided each other, only casting covetous glances at one another when they thought the other wasn't looking.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Edith Hiragizawa was a nervous wreck. Tomoyo Daidouji's birthday was in two weeks. The children would be married in three. She needed to tell Eriol, but her son was nowhere to be found! When he finally came home that afternoon, she sat him down and told him. "You will be married in three weeks."
"Might I ask to whom?"
"Tomoyo Daidouji."
"Mother, I've never met the woman!" Eriol protested.
"You'll like her."
"I've never met her!"
"She's turning nineteen in two weeks. You will attend her birthday celebration."
"I will?"
"If you don't, I'll see to it that the seven days between your wedding and her party are the most miserable seven days of you life," Edith threatened emptily.
"Fine, fine, I'll go." Eriol threw his hands up in despair and left the room.
Three weeks of bachelorhood and that was it. Tomoyo Daidouji was beautiful to be sure...but she's not Phoenix, he said to himself. He would have to make a move on her soon or else he would miss his chance.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Eriol went to find Phoenix the next day. "I have another job for you," he said, hoping that that would get them away from prying ears. It did. Spiral watched them leave jealously. He might have to interfere if they started to get too friendly.
Eriol led her to a quiet spot. "We aren't being followed. Isn't that nice for a change?" he asked lightly.
Phoenix nodded. She was afraid to say anything lest she give away her feelings. Eriol couldn't stand the quiet any more, so he did the only thing he could think of. He kissed her softly.
Tomoyo's eye's widened. She didn't want him to stop, but when he did, she looked at him through new eyes. Here was the man who had softened her heart and wasn't afraid of her. This was the kind of man she wanted. Too bad he wasn't Elite.
"Will you kiss me again?" she asked timidly. "You've tamed yourself a Phoenix." They kissed again, with more passion, desire, lust, zeal. Tomoyo melted against Eli's chest. At that point in time, she would have walked through fire for him. The fact that Eli was so close yet so far away, drove Tomoyo crazy. She broke the kiss.
"I shouldn't have started," he apologized.
They looked at each other awkwardly for a moment. "I still love you though," she said.
Eriol nodded. "I'm getting married in three weeks." Phoenix winced. "I don't love the woman I'm marrying though, I've never meet her, it's an arranged marriage. Please. Let me be happy with you for this next month," he pleaded.
Tomoyo nodded and kissed his cheek. "Be happy with me. I wish you the best of luck in your marriage."
Eli pulled Phoenix into a rough embrace and buried his face in her hair. She smelled so wonderful, like vanilla. "Three weeks is a short time."
"We'll make the best of it." She sniffed. Eli looked down. She was crying.
"Why are you crying?" He wiped away her tears.
"Self-pity. Don't worry about me."
"I will always worry for you. I will always love you, my dear Phoenix." They kissed again, tears streaming down Tomoyo's face and going onto Eli's
"I should go now then. I'll try and come back soon," Tomoyo whispered.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Spiral was quite surprised when Phoenix and Eli walked into the bar together and holding hands. He clearly had missed something the day before when they left together. He cursed himself. So, now, he was going to have to really do something to Eli. It would be hard following them without spies. He had to wait for a time when he could follow them. That would be difficult since he was the only bartender, but it was his only choice if he was to get Phoenix.
Then one day, a week later, his chance came. It was noon and business had quieted down a little bit. Phoenix and Eli left. Spiral snuck after them, making sure his dagger was ready. Tomoyo noticed that they were again being followed. She didn't tell Eli though. When the two of them stopped, she could tell that it was Spiral. A dozen wild plans swept through her head. She finally settled on one.
Abruptly, she pulled Eli and herself against a wall. As they kissed, she pulled out one of her famous poison knives from her sleeve. She made sure that Spiral saw it, but not Eli. "Kiss my neck," she whispered to him.
"What?"
"Kiss my neck! Hurry!" she said, more urgently. Slowly, she brought her arms around him. The dagger poised to strike. Spiral saw what he though Phoenix was about to do and put his own dagger away, satisfied that Phonix was going to do what he wanted. Tomoyo say Spiral's triumphant face. She raised the dagger as if to plung it into her lover's back, but at the last moment, she changed her grip ever so slightly and threw it at Spiral.
The knife landed on one of Spiral's toes. He knew about her knives and quickly drew out his dagger, pulled his foot our of his shoe and cut off the front of his foot. He tore off his sleeve and wrapped his foot in it. Spiral was so consumed by his anger that he didn't even notice the pain.
Tomoyo saw Spiral suddenly run away. She must not have gotten him if he was still walking around. She relaxed. "We shouldn't go to the Jester anymore," she said, running her fingers through Eli's hair.
"Why is that?" he asked, looking up.
"I just hit Spiral with a knife, I think. Going back would not be a good idea."
"No. I guess it wouldn't. We can risk it though."
Her hand flew to her neck all of a sudden. "You didn't give me a hickie did you?"
"Just a little one."
"That's gonna be hell to cover up," she muttered to herself.
"Two more weeks."
"Don't remind me."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Spiral limped his way through the rest of the day. His foot was killing him, but at least he was alive. His head was pounding and his eye sight was getting blurry. He blamed it on tiredness and the trauma of having to cut off part of his foot.
At night, he tried to examine his wound, but he couldn't, so he just left it. His head pains always got worse at night, even when he didn't drink. He left his foot alone, but did try to wash it. For the first time in his life, he wished that he had not been an foundling in the Underground.
a/n: eewwww....i had so much trouble writing about him cutting off his foot. they did it in the real cinderella fairytale...that's where I got the idea from, but i was grossed out by that too.