Disclaimer: I don't own any of the CCS characters
~Just This Once~
Chapter 3: Importance of the Dream
Previously what happened:
***
"Oh,
don't be bashful, Syao-kun. We all have naughty--"
"...I'll kill..you, Hiiragizawa!" Syaoran threw two pillow this time,
however, both were unsuccessful as a laughing Eriol quickly closed the door and
made his way to the kitchen.
***
A sharp
whistle was heard from the kitchen, Eriol walked in and saw the kettle on the
stove screaming as steam was blown from the spout. Eriol turned off the stove
and made the arrangements for tea.
"Eriol-sama, Suppi-kun won't let me give him a haircut!" Nakuru
walked in the kitchen, complaining as she held scissors in one hand and a comb
in the other.
"And
why is that?" Eriol asked, amused.
"He's
complaining about last time when I almost cut off a bit of his ear—but that was
LAST TIME and I ALMOST did, but I didn't!" Nakuru replied, putting much
emphasis on the words that would make her seem innocent.
"I'll
be damned to hell before I let her go anywhere near my fur again." Suppi
muttered to himself in another room as he flipped a page through a magazine.
"What's
this? Making peppermint tea?" she asked slightly sniffing the tea leaves
in the teapot.
"Hai," Eriol nodded, "this will help Syaoran-kun with that sore
throat of his."
"Syaoran-kun is still here? I thought he'd be jumping out the
window!" Nakuru laughed. "He doesn't like to be near us...for some reason."
"True," Eriol nodded, "I'm quite surprised as well—however, he's
ill and I'm sure he understands he has no other choice. I'm sure he doesn't
mind it too much."
Nakuru was
silent for a while and said, "...ne, Eriol-sama...what happened to your
face?" Nakuru reached out and lightly touched the bruise on Eriol's
cheekbone.
Eriol
slightly winced, surprised by the pain. Syaoran had hit him harder than he
expected...
"Oh, I
accidentally bumped into the wall," Eriol replied, lying so very well,
"I was careless while I was lost in thought."
"And
where are your glasses?" she asked, her hands on her hips as she looked at
him with a frown that belonged to a doubtful, 'I-don't-believe-you' sister-like
figure.
"They
dropped when I hit the wall and broke," Eriol said with a smile,
"I'll get a new pair during the weekend."
"..you
normally aren't so..you know..careless," Nakuru murmured, narrowing her
eyes. "..are you keeping something from me, Eriol-sama?"
"Of
course, not." Eriol said quietly, putting the needed things on the tray.
"Hmm..okay..." she nodded her doubtfully. She wouldn't openly accuse
her master of lying to her, "One more thing..."
Eriol sighed
inwardly. Why did he do to make his guardians so stubborn? He must have
accidentally done something inadvertent when he made them...
"...what is it?" Eriol asked, forcing a light smile.
"...you
know that this is the perfect opportunity to tell him, don't you?" Nakuru
asked, her eyes serious.
Eriol looked
at her with fake curiosity, however, knew what she was getting at...
"You
know, you're weird, Eriol-sama," Nakuru remarked quietly, "why are
you so hesitant to do what you want? You never were before, why are you
now?"
Eriol turned
his eyes toward Nakuru and looked at her in question.
"Why
don't you take the chance? That's what you'd usually do if you really care for
someone...well...I've read a lot of romance books and all...so...I guess I
don't really know..."
As much as
Eriol did not want to listen to her, Nakuru's words did make much sense and
made an impact on him...
"...Nakuru-chan..." Eriol started.
Ding-dong...ding-dong...
Someone was
at the door...
"I'll
go get it, Eriol-sama! Just take the tea up to your Xiao-Lang!" Nakuru
said playfully as she skipped away, still holding the scissors that made her
look like a madwoman ready to kill.
…my
Xiao-Lang…? A sweatdrop ran down his head, as a blush tinted his face as he
thought of the prospect of that.
Opening the
door, she saw...
"Meiling-chan!" Nakuru greeted, yet despaired inwardly. She must have
done something bad in her past life to have MEILING at the door...
Meiling
glared at Nakuru and thrust Syaoran's bag in Nakuru's face.
"Where
is he?" Meiling demanded.
"Eh...who?" Nakuru smiled nervously.
"My
Syaoran-kun!" Meiling growled, glaring at Nakuru more. "He's not at Kinomoto's
home—he must be here!!!"
"Ohhhh...him," Nakuru said, "Yeah, about him...he's working with
Eriol on..ah..on a project—he must have forgotten his bookbag! Silly
Syaoran-kun...silly, silly boy!" Nakuru laughed nervously as she reached
out for the bag, hoping that Meiling would go away soon...
"Syaoran-kun would NEVER forget his bag unless he was hurt or in trouble
or dead—Hey!" Meiling started.
Nakuru
grabbed the bookbag from Meiling. "Thanks, Meiling-chan! See you
later!" Nakuru slammed the door in Meiling's face.
"...GRRRRRR..."
Meiling's eyebrow twitched.
"...phew..." Nakuru mumbled in relief.
Suppi flew
in front of Nakuru.
"Who
did you slam the door to? A salesperson?" Suppi asked with an arched
eyebrow.
"No. Worse.
Li Meiling." Nakuru replied.
"Let me
in!" Meiling yelled through the door. "How dare you do this to
me?!?"
Nakuru
rolled her eyes.
"Good
decision, Nakuru." Suppi murmured, grateful the door was closed to suppress
most of the annoying yelling and demands from Syaoran's former fiancée.
Eriol opened
the door, seeing Syaoran's head turned toward the window. Soft snowflakes
slowly fell down from the pale sky.
"What
time is it?" Syaoran asked.
"Almost
quarter after
6," Eriol replied, walking
over and setting the tray down. "It'll get dark very soon."
"...yeah, I know." Syaoran mumbled softly, sparing his sore throat as
best as possible. He stared at the sky tinted with light lavender and different
shades of blue, the stars were slightly visible as well.
"Of
course, you'll be staying here for the night. I don't particularly like to
drive through such icy conditions and you don't seem fit to walk," Eriol
said, "do you want to call Wei?"
"No, he
doesn't live with me anymore." Syaoran said, slightly straightening up in
his sitting position with his back against the wall.
"Sou
desu ka?" Eriol asked, slightly surprised as he sat down on the chair next
to Syaoran's bedside. He never knew that Syaoran now lived alone...
"I'm
old enough to live by myself," Syaoran pointed out, "my mother wants
me to finish school here and then go back to China to enroll into a University there."
"Aa, I
see," Eriol nodded quietly. He picked up the teapot and poured the hot
liquid into the teacup, "well, I guess I can expect as much."
Syaoran
watched, noting Eriol had much grace and skill with handling the teapot, seeing
that not one drop was spilled. He then noticed a bruise on Eriol's cheekbone...
"Hiiragizawa...did I do that?" Syaoran asked quietly, feeling guilt
strike him instantly.
"Oh,
this?" Eriol touched the bruise. "No, I just accidentally bumped into
the door—I guess I need my glasses more than I expected!" Eriol chuckled.
Lying very sufficiently was a gift of his.
"Oh...okay." Syaoran nodded slowly.
While
Syaoran was caught in the midst of his nightmare, he actually did hit Eriol
with his knuckles without knowing...but Eriol didn't mind. Syaoran didn't mean
to do it, after all.
"Here
drink this. All of it," Eriol said, handing Syaoran the teacup, "and
swallow these, too. I'm sure they'll take the fever down." he handed
Syaoran two white Vitamin C pills.
Syaoran
reluctantly took it, feeling guilty and embarrassed that ERIOL was taking care
of HIM...
...he sighed
and gave up. There really was nothing he could do... Syaoran sipped in the
minty drink, feeling the liquid caress his sore throat.
"I'd
think you'd be more enthusiastic to go back home to Hong Kong,"
Eriol remarked, "it is your true home, after all."
"Yeah,
well...I guess I just gotten used to being around here." Syaoran remarked
carelessly.
Eriol
noticed that Syaoran's usual irritable, 'leave-me-alone-you're-bothering-me'
voice was coming back. Eriol smiled, but decided not to say anything.
"You
don't want to leave Sakura's side, do you? Is that why you don't want to
leave?" Eriol asked after a pause.
Syaoran
looked at Eriol with a 'none-of-your-business' glare.
"Leaving friends can be a difficult thing, I suppose." Eriol
shrugged, his gray eyes stared out the window. "I'll be leaving back for England after I finish as well."
"...y-you are?" Syaoran asked, feeling something..react..in his
stomach and chest.
"Yes,
well, I don't really have any other objectives..." Eriol murmured, looking
at the ground for a moment. Well, actually I do have one last objective and
I'd like to work on it... he glanced at Syaoran, then looked back at the
window ...but...it cannot be..should not be..touched…
Eriol glanced at Syaoran wistfully for a few seconds and swiftly set his gaze back toward the sky.
"What
about Kaho, your fiancée?" Syaoran asked.
"I—we—decided it was best to split apart," Eriol answered, receiving
a wide-eyed glance from Syaoran, "she will work here and I will go back to
England. Simple."
"I
thought you—she—I thought you guys loved each other." Syaoran said,
faltering on his words out of sheer surprise.
"Well...she was in love with my past self," Eriol said, standing up
and walked to the window, staring at the crescent-moon. "But I really am
not exactly Clow Reed anymore. She seemed to look past ME...and was in love
with HIM even though he really wasn't there anymore."
Syaoran
nodded his head in understanding, even though Eriol's back was turned toward
him.
"And
it's strange to see an intelligent woman of 27 years of age in love with
someone who appears to be much younger than she." Eriol said with a little
laugh.
"Yeah, well,
either way, I never really liked her in the first place." Syaoran drank down
the last of the tea, along with the two Vitamin C pills.
"Done?" Eriol turned around.
"Yeah." Syaoran replied.
"Take
one more cup and I'll let you sleep—you still look tired." Eriol remarked,
walking back.
Syaoran
absently handed him the cup. Eriol filled it once more and handed him the
teacup again. He sat back down on the chair when Syaoran took the drink.
"Thinking about that dream of yours?" Eriol asked.
"...yeah. How'd you know? Lucky guess?" Syaoran asked.
"Well,
no. You just had that..dreamy..look on your face." Eriol pointed out with
a smile.
Syaoran
looked at him strangely.
"A pun
was intended." Eriol remarked.
Syaoran
rolled his eyes, "Oh... ha ha ha..."
"Such
enthusiasm," Eriol said sarcastically, "you make a good actor. Now,
what do you find wrong with your dream?"
"I just
don't understand it," Syaoran replied thoughtfully. He didn't like it when
he couldn't understand things. "I...argh, never mind."
"No,
no, go on," Eriol said patiently, "I do have a knack on interpreting
dreams."
Syaoran frowned
at Eriol, "I'm not exactly sure if I WANT to tell you about my
dreams—since you're the last person I trust."
"Now,
now, no need for cruel, reserved jokes." Eriol said with a smile.
"Who
said I was joking?" Syaoran asked coolly as he sipped his tea.
"Well,
if you want to be utterly clueless about what your dream really
meant...fine...living a lifestyle like Sakura's isn't bad, I'm sure..."
Eriol drawled.
"All
right, ALL RIGHT..." Syaoran snapped. Eriol KNEW Syaoran hated to be
clueless and he was using it to his advantage. Jerk.
"Good!" Eriol said, pleased with Syaoran's surrender.
"I was
running after someone..." Syaoran started.
"A
family member or a significant other?" Eriol questioned.
"...probably someone I..eh..never mind, I don't want to start this."
Syaoran growled and took a big gulp of his tea, despite the fact that it nearly
burned a hole through his tongue.
"Oh,
come now..." Eriol urged. "We're both men—well, I am at least, I'm not exactly sure about you..."
Syaoran
gripped a pillow next to him, glaring at his navy-haired target.
"I was
simply joking!" Eriol put his hands up in defense, "Ahem, go on, you can't stop
now."
"...I
was probably chasing after someone I—liked a lot," Syaoran said quickly, a
blush formed over his face, "Anyway, I was running after someone along a
rocky road..the fog seemed to press me down as I chased after that
person...What does that mean, hmm, smartass?" he glared at Eriol who for
some reason was trying to suppress a laugh.
"Do you
really not understand this dream, Syaoran-kun?" Eriol asked, amused.
"Why
the hell do you think I'm asking YOU, Hiiragizawa?" Syaoran snapped.
"Of course, I don't understand!"
"Well,
it's simple, actually...but you're probably oblivious to the fact since you're
not the most emotional or romantic person." Eriol remarked, crossing his
arms with an analytical look upon his face, yet laughter bubbled in his throat.
"What
does it mean then?" Syaoran asked with genuine curiosity.
"Well...most likely you're chasing after someone you care deeply about.
More than a friend and differently from a family member. You couldn't see this
person, correct?" Eriol asked.
"Yeah," he replied. "I couldn't see the face."
"Well,
you're in DENIAL then. Since you couldn't see WHO this person was, you might
not know or have accepted the fact that you're in love with this person,"
Eriol said. All attention from Syaoran was on him.
Eriol
finished, "And the rocky road and heavy fog says that the past behind you
and the future ahead of you was and will be hard."
"...so
I'm in love with a person that will make my life difficult???" Syaoran
arched his eyebrow. "That sounds ridiculous...are you sure you're good at
telling this stuff?"
"Well...how hard were you running? Were you trying to catch up to this
person?" Eriol inquired.
"Yeah..." Syaoran remembered the sweat rolling down his face...how
determined he was to reach this person...
"Well,
then!" Eriol said with a smile. "I think your dream signifies that
you're willing to go at any lengths for this person you love—I guess everyone
has a romantic side, ne?" Eriol eyed Syaoran with a smirk that was
slightly evil-like.
"...whatever...oh, just shut up." Syaoran blushed, glaring at Eriol
as best he could. He remembered when the person reached out to him…
Whoever it was...at least my
feelings may be returned...who was it? Sakura? …Maybe… Tomoyo? …No… Meiling?
…Hell no… WHO then? he could vaguely
remember the silhouette. But...
"Do you
think it was Sakura?" Eriol asked quietly, looking at the window again.
"...m-maybe..." Syaoran said uncertainly.
Eriol's eyes
drooped with disappointment.
"I
figured," Eriol forced a flawless smile. "You two...seemed to have
been meant for each other...from the very beginning." his voice was dull,
though he tried to sound as sincere as possible.
"Mm...yeah," Syaoran mumbled. In some way...he..he KNEW it wasn't
Sakura he was chasing after...the silhouette...no, it wasn't HER...it was…
"...someone else..." he murmured to himself.
"Sumimasen?" Eriol didn't hear the last part.
"Nothing." Syaoran said and swallowed the last of the tea.
Eriol stood
up, still having the bitter disappointment bite its way into his stomach and
heart, yet he still held a smile upon his face.
Syaoran
loves Sakura... Eriol thought heavily. ...I knew it was useless. It was
wise for me not to go any further with Syaoran...we can only be friends…nothing
more he thought with utter despair.
"Well,
I'll go and let you rest," Eriol said, eager to leave the room for a
moment's peace by himself. "I'll take the dishes down now." he held
out his hand to take the teacup.
"Do you
really think that dream means anything?" Syaoran asked quietly, looking
down at the teacup in his hands.
"...usually all dreams mean something significant." Eriol answered.
Syaoran let
out a sigh. He looked at Eriol and was about to hand him the teacup, but...
"...
..." Syaoran inwardly gasped, his eyes widening as he looked at Eriol.
Through the
glass window, the crescent moon hung overhead, the hues of dark lavender and
blue were set behind Eriol. The fat puffs of snowflakes, that were slowly
falling, looked somewhat like...fog. Eriol looked gentle, dignified, tranquil,
and powerful all at the same time as the soft moonlight glowed upon him.
"Ijou
desu, Syaoran-kun?" Eriol asked if something was wrong.
"...
..." Syaoran sat silent. Eriol was holding out a hand to him...he...he
looked like the mysterious, unknown individual...
Then it hit
Syaoran—very hard, in fact.
M-my
dream...it...him... Syaoran thought, his brown eyes grew wide, his
breathing grew faster as flashes of the mysterious silhouette and Eriol came
together as one in Syaoran's mind…
…the
mysterious figure that reached out to him…
…it was…
…H-Hiiragizawa...it's
Eriol... Syaoran swallowed, his eyes locked onto Eriol. He felt his soul
tremble. …oh, God.
"Syaoran-kun?" Eriol slowly withdrew his hand, looking at Syaoran
strangely. "Daijoubu desu ka...?"
Syaoran had
suddenly grew pale for some reason…
~*~ Author's Note ~*~
I hope the
story is getting a little more interesting for you all! ^^ Thank you for the
reviews, everyone! =^_^= I will post the next chapter A.S.A.P.
~*~ Glossary ~*~
Sou desu ka? : Really?; Is that so?
Sumimasen? : Excuse me?; Pardon? (polite way of speaking)
Ijou desu? : Is something wrong?