Chapter Three—A Thousand Years

Petals

**Just before I start, I want to thank some people for their reviews: I Forgot It, Hazelwand, your two reviews were so nice!! Gemini Star—you like me, you really like me! Sophie6_13, AngelBlossom, Angel, ~WhAtEvEr~, Sapphire Midnight—aww thanks!! Like a falling star, and The Great One: okay, chapter three's up! Thanks to her…fiery review, I got this story going again. Not many people threaten to cut my head off.**

~*~

"I found you…"

Tomoyo blinked, as he kissed her hands.

"Why the hell—how the hell did you find me!?" she demanded, snatching her hands away.

"I am a man of many talents," he replied smoothly.

"And of many secrets," she snapped. "Just who are you, Hiiragizawa?"

"Much more than you could ever imagine, my dear Tomoyo," he said, savoring the use of her name.

Tomoyo scowled at hearing her name, but that was the least of her problems. "It matters not. I have to go, and never return," it was easily the most stupid thing she had said in a while, but she wanted to get away from his eyes; his blue, blue eyes--they were burning in their depths, penetrating, and they were gazing at her in such a mixture of adoration and curiosity that she felt afraid.

"LEA—"she started, but never finished,  because Eriol leaned forward and kissed her. 

Suddenly, Tomoyo's resolve disintegrated and she gave up, leaning into the kiss. He was so…he made her feel different. Special. Like she was some one worth time. And it made her mad.

A thousand years, a thousand more

a thousand times a million doors to eternity

For a brief, fleeting moment her mind was blissfully blank, and she was aware of nothing other than the feeling of his mouth on hers, and his hands on her back, the taste of his mouth, laced with sweet alcohol. She pulled away angrily, confused, as her world was spinning out of control.

I may have lived a thousand lives, a thousand times

an endless turning stairway climbs

"LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE! I NEVER ASKED FOR YOU DAMNIT! WHY THE HELL ARE YOU FOLLOWING ME?!"

to a tower of souls…

Eriol shrunk back, eyebrows knitted together, still reveling in the taste of her mouth. "I love you, Tomoyo," he said simply.

If it takes another thousand years, a thousand wars

The towers rise to numberless floors in space

Tomoyo trembled. "Shutup!" she screamed angrily. "Go away!" Before she knew it, she had salty tears streaming down her face.

I could shed another million tears a million breaths

A million names but only one truth to face

She looked up at him, spent and exhausted, lavendar eyes rimmed with red and pink. "What?" she whispered. "Say it again, say it!"

A million roads, a million fears

A million suns, ten million years of uncertainty

I could speak a million lies, a million songs

A million rights, a million wrongs in this balance of time

He smiled at her gently, kissing her forehead, then her nose. "I love you."

But if there was a single truth, a single light

A single thought, a singular touch of grace

Then following this single point, this single flame,

This single haunted memory of your face

She cried out, beating her fists against the wall, yelling and screaming incoherently.

"S-sh, Tomoyo-chan, shhh…" he murmured, catching her hands and drawing her in for a deep embrace. She didn't notice; she didn't care. The world melted into a palette of bizarre colors, blending and twisting into surreal shapes, her tears blurring her vision. She clung to his shirt, dissolved into tears, like a toddler, whimpering.

I still love you

I still want you

"Khalid…" she sobbed. She felt Eriol stiffen, but she didn't care. "oh, just leave me alone, Khalid go away…"

They didn't know how long they stayed locked in each other's embrace. 

A thousand times the mysteries unfold themselves

Like galaxies in my head

~*~

Syaoran threw his arms up in disgust.

"DAMNIT! I GIVE UP! I GIVE UP!" he yelled, ranting to the gods. "I am SO SICK OF THIS PHONE!!!!"

He threw it down on the ground and jumped on it like a three year old.

Sakura blinked, then giggled. "Now who's acting like a moody toddler, hmm, Li-kun?"

He looked reproachfully at the remains of the cell phone that lay battered and broken on his kitchen floor. And he started to laugh.

"I guess I am?"

"Right." She pecked him on the corner of his mouth. "Hey!" she cried, as he slid his arm around the backs of her knees and her waist. "Where are you taking me?!"

He smirked. "Would you rather I sling you over my shoulder?"

"No, I'd rather not."

He carried her out to the shore, and set her down daintily, and with a laugh, Sakura ran to the water.

"O-oh, it's warm!" she cried, giggling.

Syaoran laughed as she kicked water his way, sending salty droplets spinning through the air, dotting his shirt.

"Hey, this was a designer shirt!"

"Syaoran, it's a tee-shirt."

"Yeah, but it's Armani!"

"Since when have you worn Armani?!"

"When I became rich and famous."

Sakura rolled her eyes, kicking more water over. "It still is a designer shirt, now it's just wet."

They proceeded to have a long and furious water fight, which consisted of Sakura shrieking as Syaoran dumped her unceremoniously in the water, and then Sakura grabbed his ankles and dragged him back into the surf. Syaoran tried to make a get away, but Sakura made a flying tackle that would make any American football player jealous, and Syaoran fell forward face first—Sakura on his back. They started to have a splash fight which lasted a quarter of an hour.

They lay on the beach, soaking wet and sticky with sand, contentedly quiet. Syaoran rolled over, and was hardly surprised that Sakura had fallen asleep next to him, breathing deeply and calmly. He smiled lightly, and pressed his mouth to hers briefly, then lay back, and closed his eyes, and he too, fell asleep, the spangled sky as their roof and the endless waves their lullaby.

~*~

"He hurt me," Tomoyo said quietly, some time later. "He hurt me badly. And when he was done, I killed him."

Eriol made small circles with his thumb on her slender, almost limp hand.

I may be numberless, I may be innocent

I may know many things, I may be ignorant

Tomoyo didn't know what she was doing, really. But she knew…she knew that eriol was different, and that she could trust him. If it was one trait that Tomoyo did not posess, it was foolishness.

 Or I could ride with kings and conquer many lands

Or win this world at cards and let it slip my hands

Wearily, she brushed a strand of hair from her face. "But killing him did me no good. I had thought my soul would be restored, but it wasn't. He'd hidden it somewhere. And because it's gone, I'm like a walking contradiction. I'm the nightmare of your fantasies, I can turn into anything I want. She looked up at him. And I am a Seer."

I could be cannon food, destroyed a thousand times

Reborn as forturne child to judge another's crimes

He was chilled. "A…a Seer? All because he took your soul?"

She smiled wanly then. "I've been a seer my whole life—but there's a catch. I can see only outlines for the far future, and for the near, I get mere flashes. So really, it's not that much of a gift."

Or wear this pilgrim's cloak, or be a common thief

I've kept this single faith, I have but one belief

"It is, to me."

She looked away. "You…sound like him some times. So…almost arrogant and proud. So calm, so coolly detatched." Her voice quivered. "But then you're different. And because of that difference it's why…why I love you."

There. The words were out. Eriol smiled. "I know. I know."

I still love you

I still want you

A thousand times these mysteries unfold themselves

Like galaxies in my head

On and on the mysteries unwind themselves

Eternities still unsaid

'Til you love me

So ends Chapter Three. Sorry it's so short, but I had a block and figured this was the best way to end it for now. I'm gonna be on vaca for the next ten days and I hope you guys like this chapter!! Oh, and the lyrics are Sting's "A Thousand Years" –I most certainly don't own 'em.

Peace!!