Title: bE t e r n i t y/b

Author: Yih

Written: March 20, 2002

Disclaimer: All rights are exclusively Clamp.

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4: Dreaming in Flesh

He wrapped his arms around her, hugging her close to his side. Burying his face into her sweet smelling chestnut hair, he thought this is what he had been dreaming of all of his life. To hold her as he was holding her, to touch her as he was touching her, to be with her as he was. This was a like a dream come to life.

"Eriol, what are you doing here so early?" she asked breathlessly. "I thought you weren't coming until tomorrow."

"The message sounded urgent, and I didn't want to alarm you if I came late instead of early," he explained. "I thought I'd be over as quickly as possible, but I didn't quite know when that would be myself. So I gave myself some time to get here."

He mentally shivered in delight that she hadn't drawn her body from his own yet. Her warm flesh was pressed against his in an almost exquisite torture of pleasure and pain. He yearned and he burned for her. He instinctively tightened his arms around her, drawing her closer to his body before he relaxed his hold and let her go.

She hugged him tighter instead, her arms still clinging around his neck. "I've missed you very much," she whispered into his ear. "You shouldn't have stayed away for so long."

He would have liked to have told her why, but it wasn't the time. Not quite, but he reminded himself adamantly that he was going to tell her his feelings for her before he left. "I've been quite busy for the past few years," he murmured unsteadily.

"Yes, he has been," Ruby remarked, a hidden innuendo in her words. "He's been very busy."

Eriol blushed, hiding his face in Sakura's luxurious hair. He admitted silently to himself that Ruby was right, he had been very busy thinking almost exclusively of Sakura. And if he hadn't been thinking of her, he had been daydreaming of her instead. A night hadn't gone by since he had left her those long years ago that he hadn't thought or dreamt of her.

"I can understand being very busy," Sakura responded, smiling at Ruby. "I've been quite occupied myself with college studies and all. It seems that things continue to pile up over the years rather than the opposite. The load hasn't lightened at all since I started."

"Sakura," called out a masculine voice, "aren't you coming inside?"

Ruby's eyes widen with delight and merriment at hearing the object of her obsession coming out of the house. She hurled herself onto him, but she didn't hold onto him for long before Yue grabbed her and disengaged her from Touya. She glared at Yue, about to launch herself at the fellow moon guardian when Eriol said sharply, "Ruby!"

She sulked back to him, still staring angrily at Yue for spoiling her fun. "Yes master," she answered, flicking her finger at Spinel, who was on his back laughing his guts out. Everyone's attention was turned to that odd sight of the normally solemn Spinel laughing hysterically.

"Why don't you guys all come inside?" asked Kero sensibly, his mouth stuffed with cream puffs and assortment of pastries that no one was quite certain of anymore. "I mean, so we can start talking about what needs to get done and all."

Everyone stood there, exchanging peculiar looks between the calm Kero and the crazed Spinel then shaking their heads as if they didn't believe this was happening. Eriol picked up Spinel and headed into the house, causing the rest to follow him inside. He plopped the gasping Spinel onto the couch and sat down besides his guardian, looking up expectantly at Sakura. "You said there was a matter that you needed to tell me in person?"

"Yes," she answered, sitting down besides him sending a thrill down Eriol's spine, "we need your help."

"I'll do all I can," he promised.

Sakura smiled brightly. "I knew that you would," she remarked happily. "But it's something that will require no doubt considerable effort on both of our parts. Yue came to me," she gestured to her guardian, "with a wish to be separated from Yukito so that Yukito and Touya could have a normal life without the his presence. He would not mind giving up his physical form so that Yukito and Touya might grow old together, then reassume it when Yukito dies."

"The problem," Eriol began, "is considering where we could put Yukito's soul."

"In a stuffed animal form like Kero," Sakura replied, "I have a bunny that Yue finds suitable enough."

"Then the only problem is how to reverse Yukito's aging when Yue returns into his former self," he remarked. "That indeed is quite a problem because I know of no spell the reverses aging much less brings back the death indeed if you wish to wait until Yukito is dead before reclaiming the body."

"I had not thought of that," Yue said softly. "But isn't it my magical power that keeps me from aging, that gives me my immortality? Wouldn't that solve the problem of aging if I wait until Yukito is about to draw in his last breath?"

"That should do it," Eriol reluctantly considered, "however, you cannot miss the timing. We," he glanced at Sakura, "can't miss the timing either. Yue will need our help as well in this. And Yukito especially," he looked at Touya, "will need to be careful about dangerous accidents. Because if Yukito dies before we can transfer Yue's soul than he'll have to stay in the stuffed animal form for his entire life span, which is eternity."

"I'll take the risk," Yue declared. "If anything, it's only a body."

"You don't need to do this," Touya said. "It only makes me uncomfortable at times, and at other times I don't even notice." He flushed at the thought that it was when he was highly excited and lost in the moment that he didn't notice anymore. "I don't want to risk losing either of you prematurely, you are one of my closest friends, Yue."

"That means a lot to me," Yue responded. "But I want to do this for you and Yukito, I hope you understand that eternity won't matter to me if at least part of me can't enjoy the love of his life. Yukito is a part of me, and I want him to enjoy every second of his paradise."

Eriol lowered his head, his eyes heated with the sensation of finally claiming his own piece of heaven himself. He told himself to calm himself down and breath in deeply. When he lifted his head, he found Sakura looking at him with concern. "Are you okay, Eriol?"

"Yes," he answered, "I'm more than okay."

"Do you think it will work?"

"It will work, but there are many risks involved. Indeed, there are almost more risks for a single gain, really," Eriol remarked. "And since my former self created you Yue, I feel responsible for your welfare. I don't want to see you trapped by some disaster."

"For every gain, there has to be a risk," Yue replied. "And I'm willing to take the risk. All you have to do is help Sakura work the spell out. Because the creator as well as the master needs to be there. You were the creator, Sakura is the mistress. I haven't asked you ever for a thing, Eriol-- Clow Reed's reincarnation, but this is what I'm asking you. Do this, help me."

Eriol's face paled and his face tightened with the thought by helping his creation, he may ultimately end up destroying him. But he nodded and conceded, "Yes, I'll help you, but you must realize if things don't go precisely perfect, I don't know what will happen to you."

"Yes, and I've already said I'll take the risk," Yue stated firmly.

"So when do we begin then?" Eriol inquired.

Sakura looked at Yue, then to Touya and answered, "As soon as we tell Yukito about it."

"You haven't told Yukito yet?" asked Eriol in an incredulous voice.

"No, we didn't want to tell him until we told Touya and we were about to tell him when you came, early," Sakura explained. "I think that Touya would be the best person to explain it to him, right niichan? You and Yue could stay here while the rest of us go to my bedroom and figure things out."

"Okay," Touya said.

The rest of them left the two of them alone and Yue closed his eyes, focusing his energy into withdrawing his presence into behind Yukito's self again. Yukito opened his eyes, dazed as he always was and stared with confusion at Touya, "What? Where am I?"

Touya held Yukito in his arms, hushing and calming his frazzled nerves with a soft and soothing touch. "We're at otousan's house because Yue has asked Sakura and Eriol for a favor on his behalf."

"What would that be?" Yukito asked with curiosity, recovering quickly to wrap his arms around Touya's waist. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you, too," Touya responded gruffly, holding Yukito's wrist hoping to halt his advances long enough that he'd still have a coherent thought. "But before we do anything," he said pointedly, "I want you to know that this favor very much involves you."

"Oh?" Yukito murmured, his eyes looking up with pure want that made Touya's knees feel like jelly. "Can't it wait?"

"No," Touya answered sharply, his breath coming faster and his heart beating erratically, "it can't wait. I need to know how you'd feel if Yue separated from you permanently until the day you were going to die, then he'd regain his body. You would grow old with me and you'd never have those memory lapses. You'd never be confused every again."

"Well, I don't know. I've never thought about that. I didn't even know that it was possible."

"It's very much a possibility," he remarked, holding Yukito tightly. "But there's a risk that Yue might be stuck as a stuffed animal if an a deadly accident happened or if the timing was wrong when he went to reassume his body before you died."

"I see."

"But Yue is willing to take the risk, and I'll always be there to watch over you. I won't let anything happen to you if I can help it. Besides, Sakura, Yue, and Kero will be around if anything like were to happen. I'm sure nothing will go wrong as long as we're careful."

"Do you need my consent as well?"

"Yes, we do."

"Would this make you happy?" Yukito asked.

"I don't care as long as you want it."

"I know that knowing that Yue is around makes you uncomfortable, but I worry about what if something does go wrong," he murmured. "I'd never want anything bad to happen to him because of me."

"But it won't, we'll all make sure of that," Touya declared. "Nothing bad will happen."

"I know it will make you happy, so yes I'll do it."

"You know what Yukito?" he murmured warmly, drawing his lover closer to him. Yukito's eyes asked him better than words at this moment, so he answered, "You've made me very happy."

"I know."

"Thank you, Yue," Touya murmured before kissing Yukito's breath away.

iYou're welcome, Touya. I hope that this will make at least a part of me undeniably happy. It's been a while since I've felt so alive, and that has entirely to do with you. So this is my gift to you as well to Yukito because I knew it was going to make you happy as well. It's time that you received something for coming to my aid all these years, and bringing me back from my isolation. You're more than welcome, Touya.

Thank you. /i

bAuthor's Note: /bSorry that it took so long, but I'm back now for the long haul. There shouldn't be many parts before this starts wrapping up. Hopefully, this series will hit 100 reviews ^-^ but if it doesn't that's understandable since it's not as long as my other ones nor as it as popular! Please review! Tell me what you think?! Please?