Disclaimer: This show/manga/whatever you wanna call it definitely doesn't belong to me! Jyou belongs to Digimon, so he's not mine either, and Lance (aka bucket-head) belongs to X-Men: Evolution, so he's also not mine. *pouts* How come all the cute guys don't belong to me?
Matchmaker, Matchmaker
Lance: PM's still trying to convince Yue to come out from under the bed.
Jyou: Well, threatening to cut off his hair isn't going to win points with anybody.
Lance: Besides, didn't she already cut off his wings.
PM *glaring*: That was a STORY!
Jyou and Lance: Same diff!
Yue *bellowing*: I demand to know why you keep wanting to cut off my limbs!
PM: For crying out loud, your hair is not a limb!!!
Yue *just cuddles in under the bed further*
*Lance and Jyou laugh hysterically*
PM *screeching*: AREN'T YOU GOING TO HELP?!
Jyou: Um… no?
PM *drags both of them off and throws them into a bottomless pit* Anyhow, now that that's over with, this chapter isn't really humor, but more fluff. There's some humor at the beginning and end, but the majority is fluff. *apologetic smile* Sorry, but I couldn't find any other way of writing this!! Also, many thanks to Mateem, who read this over for me and gave me the thumb-ups. :) Thank you so much!
Rated PG for language and such
"You're so irrational, Clow Read!" I yelled angrily at the top of my lungs, ignoring the rational part of my brain which reminds me that by stamping my foot and sulking, I'm acting more like a willful child than a responsible, mature guardian. Which I am, of course!
"It was only one question…" Cerberus muttered.
"YOU STAY OUT OF THIS!!" Clow and I bellow, causing Kero to hide behind a tree.
I turn back to glare at Clow, who glares back. The wind blows my bangs, causing it to go into complete disarray.
"It isn't that irrational, Yue."
"IYA! Don't you trust me?!"
"Hai, hai…" Clow smiles kindly, making me feel guilty, as if it's my fault for blowing up at him because of his ridiculous question. The nosy sun-guardian guffaws and shoots me an incredibly annoying smirk.
Before I can blast the grin off Cerberus's stupid face, I'm glaring not at random nothingness, but Clow's kind yet at the same time equally annoying smile. Even when I'm this angry at him (and this is what I hate about his smile), his smile can make that ice around my heart melt as if he is the sun itself.
I don't move as he takes my face in his hands, and I inhale his scent. It's been so long since the last time, but I can never forget it… musty old books whose pages have been turned carefully and lovingly over the many centuries of their existence. So different from…
To-ya…
As Clow brushes those stubborn white bangs off my face, guilt starts to pang again. Touya…
After everything he's done for me, I'm still pining for Clow…
My thoughts are cut off and I practically choke when Clow presses his lips roughly against mine. Alarm bells are ringing. This isn't right, none of this is right. This situation… I remember it so clearly, and it didn't happen this way! These feelings… my love for Clow will always be with me, but now there's To-ya…
It wasn't very surprising as the entire scene faded away, except for Clow. A dream. This is all just a dream…
Then he too, began to change. Those violet-blue eyes gained an odd pinkish tint, black hair lengthened and too changed color.
I blinked, and now a very different scene was before me.
Ruby Moon… that psychotic, crazy, disgrace-to-all-moon-guardians, pink-haired butterfly… was… kissing… ME!
~*~
Yue's beautifully curved lips twisted and opened in a half-strangled scream as he stared into Ruby's eyes.
Suppy whimpered.
Ruby backed off smirking, which allowed Yue to breathe in deeply, "WHAT THE *BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP?!?!?!*"
= Author's note: Due to technical and moral difficulties, that word has been cut out in order to prevent traumatizing of little kids and to give me time to call Kurt over to bring a soap bar in order to wash out the moon-angel's mouth. Thank you. =
"I want to go home…" the sun-guardian whispered as Yue advanced on the pink-haired butterfly, hands outstretched and looking ready to blast it into next Tuesday.
"Ruby…" he hissed angrily.
"Yes?" was the innocent reply as it batted its eyelashes. For what reason, he could not phantom, but he did not care. Somebody was going to die tonight, and that somebody stood in front of him.
"Why. Are. You. Here."
"I missed you!"
"Oh by the…" Yue was cut off when Ruby threw itself on him, glomping him as he did a new dance step that we will call, 'getting a certain psychotic butterfly off before I throw myself off a cliff and hopefully use it to cushion my landing'.
"Eriol asked us to help," Suppy supplied softly, jumping into the tree to avoid getting pulled into the dance.
"I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP!" Yue bellowed.
"We know that! But we haven't seen you for so long that we just wanted to hang out with you for a while!" Ruby chirped.
"I need that as much as I need a hole in my head…" the moon-angel hissed under his breath as he wondered exactly how mad Clow's reincarnation would be if he happened to slam Ruby into a conveniently located tree, by no fault of his of course.
"Come on, Yue," Ruby fixed the angel with wide-eyed, innocent puppy-eyes, "Eriol thought you would be the perfect person to help! That's why he suggested it to Tomoyo!"
"WHAT?!" Yue glared at the butterfly-winged-freak-of-nature-moon-guardian clinging to his back, "He did WHAT?!"
"Eriol told Tomoyo you would be best to help Sakura and Syaoran to get back together…" Spinel supplied from his hiding spot at the top of the tree.
Obviously because he has a death wish, that…
"After all, as Yukito, you are very close to Sakura-chan," Ruby looked at him with a knowing look, sounding disturbingly intelligent to Yue, "and of course, the incident between you and Clow…"
Yue resisted the urge to fling Ruby into the tree Spinel Sun was hiding in (or at the very least off the nearest cliff) by grabbing its wrist and swinging it off and in front of him in order to glare furiously at his fellow moon-guardian, "Do NOT go into that, Ruby Moon."
It grinned inanely, "Why not?! It's so funny!"
"Ruby, is it really a good idea to taunt him?" Suppy questioned intelligently in his soft voice, "Perhaps you should leave him alone."
"That's not much fun," Ruby pouted before turning back to Yue, "How is it that you and Clow would get into such a fight?"
The angel's amethyst-blue eyes flashed angrily. Unfortunately, Ruby either did not get or would not get the message.
"Eriol only told us that you wouldn't talk to him for over a month! Because he had said something that made you so mad… just like Syaoran and Sakura-chan," the genderless continued, "Well, you definitely hadn't lost your amazing quality of being so stubborn."
"Leave him alone, Ruby," Suppy snapped.
The look on its face said quite simply that it wasn't ready to take his advice.
"He asked if you were cheating on him, and it made you go ballistic. Why would he think that, Yue? Unless…" Ruby brought a finger up to the pink lips, looking thoughtful, "You were?"
Spinel could see that if this incessant prattle continued, Ruby was going to be on a one-way trip to its namesake. Knowing what a short temper Yue had, it was a wonder that he hadn't already snapped and Ruby was still standing… in one piece…
"Ruby Moon…" was the soft growl.
"One of his friends? A mage of great power? Was it a man or a woman?"
"Ruby, stop this," the sun-guardian tried to end the taunts.
Yue looked ready to murder, "Even if I wanted to speak to anybody about that time, it would not be you."
"Why not?"
"Because it's not nice to pry into somebody's past."
Ruby opened its mouth to protest, but shut it when the realization quickly sunk in that it had not been Yue who had spoken, or even Suppy.
Standing there was Kinomoto Sakura.
~*~
"Sakura!" we all exclaimed at the same time. She looked as sweet and innocent as ever, except for the fact that her green eyes were puffy and red, as if she had been crying a lot.
Cerberus often told me that my face was puffy a lot after our argument. Not one of our best moments.
"What are you doing here?"
"I heard your voice, Yue-san," Sakura replied quietly.
I meant here as in the forest.
"I think Mr. Eloquence here meant what you were doing in this forest," Ruby supplied perkily, earning a glare from Spinel Sun and myself. Sakura looked pained at the question.
"I… um… needed some time to think…" her voice got more quiet with each word.
"Be quiet, Ruby!" I heard the butterfly-winged black panther hiss. Surprisingly enough, Ruby actually looked shamed, although it might have been because of the sad look on Sakura's face. The sad look definitely did not belong on her face, replacing the sunny smile that always brightened the room… or forest, in this case.
"Daijoubu desu ka?"
"Dai… daijou… bu," Sakura tried to smile reassuredly at me, but the smile didn't fool any of us.
It was just a question Yue!
Why don't you trust me?!
Silence…
He didn't trust me then, and that's why I was so mad. And then I was so miserable because I thought it was my fault… is this what Sakura is going through?
That's probably what Eriol saw and remembered. No matter how much I want to kill Clow's reincarnation for telling Tomoyo and this psycho moon-guardian, he was right.
Unfortunately.
I open my mouth to speak, then quickly shut it. If I want to talk deep thoughts or whatever Cerberus would sarcastically call it, I certainly do not want to do it when Ruby Moon and Spinel Sun are watching my every move.
Perhaps it will be best to speed up the month it had taken for Clow and I to make up. Reaching up, I almost casually grab Spinel Sun's tail, pulling him out of the tree and quickly stepping out of the way as he lands with a heavy 'oomph!'.
"Go find Clow's descendent," was the whispered order.
Ruby blinked, "WHAT DID YOU SAY?"
Spinel rolled his eyes, grabbed Ruby by one of the bright red ribbons, and literally and forcibly dragged it off.
Sakura stared blankly.
"Na… nani Yue-san?"
"Touya told me about your misunderstanding with Clow's descendent," I finally supplied.
"Oh," Sakura squeaked nervously.
"You are very unhappy, aren't you?"
"Why would I be unhappy?"
The question comes out bitter and dripping with sarcasm.
This is one of the few times I've heard Sakura sound like this.
An uncomfortable silence.
"Go… gomen," she whispered.
Another pause.
"Yue-san…" the cardmistress looked at me hesitantly, "Why do you want to help me? Is it because onii-chan is making you? Because you don't have to, if you don't want to. I mean, you shouldn't have to deal with my problems along with all of yours and Yukito-san's. It's all right, really…"
I just watched her silently as she fumbled through the words.
"You said it yourself, didn't you? If you want to be my friend, I must repay the favor, and friends help each other."
God, did I just say that?
Sakura looks very much shocked as she stares at me as if she had never seen me before.
"Yue-san…" she looks about ready to break down crying again. A part of me was flustered, trying to find some way to maintain some control. I finally bent down in front of her, and the first words that came to mind slipped out of my lips.
"It hurts right now, but it will get better."
She looked up at me.
"It doesn't feel like it though," she stated softly.
We both just watched each other as the words sunk in.
What on earth has happened to her? Being this distant, pessimistic, and cold is the exact opposite of the Sakura I've come to respect and call my mistress and friend.
My lips curl into an ironic smile.
She sounds like me.
"It will," I say firmly.
She gives me the same dumbfounded look she had before.
Then she really does start crying. I swear, this is my 'gift'. I can make her cry in about ten seconds flat.
And Yukito can make her smile again.
The thought reluctantly slips into my mind. Maybe I should let Yukito take over… he'll know better than I about what to do.
A hand grips my wrist tightly, and I look at Sakura, her green eyes brimmed with tears that simply do not suit her. Gently, I bend down and reach out to brush those tears away, just as I had done when she had learned about Touya and my state of condition when she did not have enough magic to support my existence. She has grown since then, both physically and mentally, but she has not lost the innocence that drew us all to her. Straightening, I find her staring at me at what looks like utter shock, just as she had before.
Am I really that cold?
"Do not worry," I whisper.
Then, as we stare dumbly at each other, she wraps her arms around my waist in a tight hug, causing me to stiffen straight.
"Arigatou, Yue-san," she whispered through tears, "Arigatou."
Awkwardly… perhaps somewhat reluctantly, I tentatively extend a hand out to stroke the chestnut-brown hair, causing a faint smile on my lips. Clow used to do that, especially after Cerberus and I had gotten into a fight (which happened quite often) or we accidentally set the kitchen ablaze (a wonder that he still let us near it). Or simply when he thought I was depressed, and then some. Cerberus often commented nastily that it was like petting a puppy dog… no need to wonder exactly whom puppy dog was referring to… but it always managed to calm my nerves.
Sakura is still crying and mumbling into my robes, getting them very wet and sticky, I suppose, but it doesn't matter that much. I must help her not because it is my duty as she is my mistress, but because she is my friend. Perhaps it came out colder than I had meant for it before, but when she cries like this, it hurts me so much to see it. I doubt that her emotional pains should be carried on to her guardians (especially since Cerberus never seems to notice until it's stuck in front of his pudding filled face), but I can feel my own heart wrench while she cries.
If I hadn't gone through the same thing with Clow Read, would I still be feeling this way?
~*~
The chestnut-haired girl finally pulled away from her guardian, looking rather sheepish at her behavior. Okay, so she had gotten a bit emotional since her argument with Syaoran, but she had never lost it like this. But there was something about Yue-san that had made her go off like that… maybe it was because that of everybody, he seemed to understand?
Although she had no idea why.
"Arigatou," she whispered again, looking into the stern amethyst-blue eyes. They always seemed to hide something, although she wasn't sure what, but she never wanted to pry.
"Daijoubu?"
"Daijoubu," she affirmed with her stunning smile. Something was calling to her, urging her. She could feel a blush creeping up her cheeks at the ever-persistent question.
Of all people, why did Yue suddenly choose to help her? It wasn't that her usually callous moon-guardian was necessarily somebody who tried to avoid her or didn't want to help her, but he never seemed to be the kind that would coach her through her jumbled-up emotions. Yue was usually helping her understand the magical principles of her own powers, the cards, the guardians, and the magic in the world around them, but never with matters of the heart.
It was all very mind-boggling for the young card mistress.
Why?
The question slipped from her lips without her acknowledgement, or even knowledge of. One second she was looking at stoic eyes, the next they looked somewhat edgy and disturbed.
"Hoe!" she exclaimed, "I didn't mean that!"
Yue didn't seem to acknowledge the statement, looking at her with an expression between confusion and perhaps even sadness.
"Gomenasai," Sakura quickly apologized, "You don't have to tell me. I shouldn't have asked that!"
"Do you really wish to know?"
The question completely threw her off, soft and filled with sadness.
"Hoe?" she stared into her guardian's stunning cat-eyes.
"Do you want to know?"
"Only…" the green eyes were serious and earnest, "Only if you want to tell me. Not because I'm the card mistress, but because you want to tell me as a friend. You don't have to tell me anything that you don't want to tell me."
As she spoke, the angel's expression never seemed to change.
At first, she thought he was going to transform to Yukito or spread those giant white wings of his and fly off. She wouldn't have been surprised, and she would probably deserve to be choking on dust if he had done so. But there was a bit of thoughtfulness in his eyes that clearly showed that he was actually considering her words.
After what seemed like a century, he looked at her, almost shyly. This surprised her, as she had never looked at her seemingly apathetic guardian as… well, shy.
"I suppose Cerberus already told you about my relationship with Clow?"
The question caught her rather off guard. She stared at him for a minute before nodding slowly.
Yue sighed slowly.
Did he really want to do this?
But alas (or really good for us), his rebellious lips moved without his consent, "For a while after figured out this… attraction, Clow was rather… err… protective."
"Like Syaoran," Sakura mumbled. Yue nodded simply.
"Like Clow's descendent," he paused before stating dryly, "It appears that he has somehow inherited Clow's over-protectiveness and ability to quickly jump-to-conclusions."
Sakura snorted, trying not to giggle at the sardonic statement, but she honestly couldn't argue with it.
"Er… there was a lady, a companion of Clow's, but not a real friend. It wasn't that they disliked each other, but they had two entirely separate lives. She cared little for developing her magical skills, preferring to simply use her knowledge to help around the house… was married and had a son and daughter. For some reason," Yue's voice dripped with acid, "He thought I was falling for her."
"Hoe?" Sakura stared. Yue was looking rather ill.
"I'm not entirely sure why… we did spend a lot time together, but that was mainly so she could help me control my magic… she specialized in ice attacks. Clow was still creating more Clow cards… and… Cerberus somehow blew it completely out of proportion."
"But wasn't she married?"
"Isn't Clow's reincarnation in love with the moon-magic wielder?"
"Oh."
Yue nodded, "Hai."
"So I guess Clow-san accused you of cheating on him too," Sakura stated glumly.
No answer, not that one was needed (however, it should be noted that Yue did not completely understand what Sakura meant by 'cheating').
No time to wonder about it because Sakura was smiling at him again, "Arigatou, Yue-san. For trusting me."
He nodded elegantly in response.
"Yue-san…" the emerald-eyed girl started, "You and Clow-san eventually made up, right?"
Yue stared into her green eyes, radiating happiness. But for what? That he trusted her? That she might still have a chance with Clow's descendent? That the story was so hysterically ridiculous that she had to smile at it?
That he and Clow made up?
Was she happy for him?
"Hai," was the soft answer.
Sakura fidgeted.
"Do you think Syaoran-kun and I will make up too?"
"Hai," two voices said at the same time. A small pause as that information sunk in, and they both whipped around (well, Sakura did, but Yue took his pretty time) to see Li Syaoran standing there.
"Syaoran-kun!"
PM *sweatdrop* I give up. I can't write anymore.
Jyou: I agree.
PM *stiffens* YOU weren't supposed to agree, you weirdo!
Jyou: First you want me to agree, then you don't want to agree! MAKE UP YOUR MIND WOMAN!
PM: *bows repeatedly* Gomen everybody, but this writer's block has really gotten me. I have approximately one paragraph after this, but I don't think it's going to be finished for quite a while. I'm sooooooo sorry! I thought I had gotten over my writer's block and would have finished the story in another week… but this measly section has taken me over a month! *bangs head on wall* I'm very sorry. And this part is so… sappy and mushy. *shivers* I was originally going to finish the whole caboodle with this chapter and then make an epilogue, but it does not appear to be happening. I'm really sorry… X_x I'll try to be more prompt with the next chapter, promise. But I might need another month. *grimace* I just got a C in algebra, and my parents aren't too happy, to say the least. Plus school is starting to pick up again… unfortunately for me.
Lance: Are you done yet?
PM: No. Yue hasn't said anything yet.
Jyou: I don't think he will.
PM: I'm not ending until he says something!
*five hours later*
PM: SAY SOMETHING!
*SILENCE*
PM *grumbling*: Poohy… I'll just have to end this story because a CERTAIN stubborn-ass moon-angel won't SAY good-bye to the poor, dedicated readers…
Yue: *coughs*
PM: Okay, that's a wrap!
Yue: WHA?!
PM: I count those little asterisk things as speaking.
Yue: You are thoroughly tempting me to come out just to whack you on the head.
PM *dreamy*: As long as I can glomp you…
Yue: *TWITCH*
Pikachumaniac
Jyou *mumbling* I think your author notes were longer than the fic.
PM: I hate to admit it, but I think you're right… and they're not over yet! *Faint* What I have to say is that in the next two parts of this fic, I'm taking requests for anything you might want to see in the fic. As long as it's not too over-the-top (like little green men from Mars kidnapping Yue because they need a human… kinda… specimen), I'll try to incorporate it in. :)
