Disclaimer: Not ours. Never was. Never will be. You'll lose more than gain if you try to sue us. I mean, think about it. Lawyers these days don't cost a nickel each, ya know…
"Chocolate?"
Syaoran looked up from his study of the pavement and blinked in confusion at the bar Eriol was offering him.
"Take it," Eriol urged softly, keeping his eyes carefully diverted from the wolf's gloomy face. For some reason, he couldn't quite look at Syaoran directly. Not without a very strong urge to feel those lips against his own overcoming him.
Syaoran stared at the chocolate for a bit more before taking it with a quiet "arigatou."
Eriol sighed inwardly in relief when Syaoran began unwrapping the bar and took a small bite. The boy had been quiet the whole morning, the silence really getting to Eriol once again.
But after yesterday, after that kiss, Eriol wasn't sure how to proceed. Oh yeah, it could've been very simple. He could've pushed it further. He could've made his moves on Syaoran right now, using all one hundred percent of his charm to claim Syaoran as his own. Syaoran was clearly at a vulnerable point; hurt by someone he cared for. What better opportunity would Eriol get to pick up the pieces?
None, of course.
But there was one little problem.
Eriol had a conscious, damn it.
Yes, and he cursed it to hell repeatedly.
Eriol really wished he could just seduce Syaoran and make him forget Yukito in the most natural and human way possible.
But as he glanced at the gloomy Syaoran beside him, the amber-eyed boy staring at the ground as they trudged to school, Eriol couldn't help the ache that came to his own heart.
Syaoran was heartbroken and the only thing Eriol wanted to do right now was comfort him. And all he had for that was sympathy and a pocketful of chocolate bars.
Life was just peachy…
If there was one thing Syaoran regretted beyond anything else, it was the careful planning he had done to have homeroom and first period with Tsukishiro-san as the TA.
Yukito was just as kind and cheerful as always. He had smiles for everyone, even for Syaoran's sad looks, and Eriol's slight frown. And with every smile that was turned his way, Syaoran's heart broke a little.
But he tried to act as normal as possible. Not too hard a task, really, considering all he had to do was keep up the silence and adopt the usual frown on his face. The only problem with that, though, was that Eriol was being so effing attentive, it was hard to keep up the act for some odd reason.
Speaking of odd…
His lips burned and his gaze went unbidden to the boy sitting next to him, his face averted but his whole presence clearly focused on anything but what the sensei was ranting about.
Focused on him.
The heat spread from his lips to the rest of his body, until he felt it down to his fingertips.
Despite all the frustration that arose from Eriol's twisted sense of humor, he had been the most supportive one throughout this whole thing. Syaoran didn't believe for one second that his reaction to Eriol's sudden sensitivity was normal (or even natural).
But it had been so right.
The bell rang and Syaoran was brought back to the present rather abruptly. Eriol's pale hand was on his arm, and Syaoran looked up to carefully neutral grayish-blue eyes that stared down at him silently.
"Xiao Lang?"
Syaoran Stared up at him for a long moment, the rest of the class dispersing around them. It wasn't until a faint pink began staining Eriol's cheeks that Syaoran finally blinked and stood up slowly.
"Hai?"
This time it was Eriol who blinked, his cheekbones reddening further at having done such a foolish thing. Getting lost in Syaoran's amber eyes was not a way to be supportive.
"We'll be late for our next class," he murmured.
Syaoran merely nodded before picking up his things and heading down the aisle.
Following behind, Eriol was suddenly brought to a halt when Syaoran froze right outside the door.
Tsukishiro-san smiled at them faintly from where he stood at the doorway speaking to the sensei. His faint smile and his concerned eyes showed them that he knew something was up.
Eriol inched around Syaoran's stiff form and stared at him with what he masked as curiosity, but was actually concern.
But Syaoran was surprisingly composed; his eyes calm, his expression distant. The only sign that something was amiss was the paleness. He wasn't blushing the deepest shade of red in the entire color scheme, as per usual.
Syaoran was aware of Eriol's gaze on him, just like he was aware of the distant ache that was making his eyes burn. But there was something inside of him that told him that what he was about to do was necessary. It was critical.
He approached Yukito with shaky steps as soon as the sensei returned to the classroom, the sensei sending them both glares Syaoran was completely unaware of. His heart felt heavy in his chest, dragging the rest of him down.
But he made it. His eyes were blank and drifting to rest on anything else beside Yukito's gentle gray eyes. He stood in front of Yukito, his mind blank, but his words coming forth nonetheless.
"I'm not sure I know what love is anymore."
Yukito blinked but his gaze became immediately sympathetic. "… It happens at times, Li-kun."
"Why…?" was the distant whisper.
"Because sometimes your feelings are so strong, they contradict everything you believed in," Yukito murmured, resting his pale hands on the lost boys shoulders. "You swear that you'll always be independent and not get attached to anyone so tightly, that you know you'll die slowly if you were ever separated… But it happens, Li-kun. It happens no matter how much you guard yourself. And then, you either run from it, or you embrace it and realize that this is your other half."
Syaoran stared at Yukito wonderingly. And his eyes burned as he looked at the object of his… obsession. Because that's what it had been.
"… Kinomoto, ne…?"
"Hai, Li-kun," Yukito nodded slowly, his eyes bright with emotion. "Toya-kun has been… the only stability in my life, and his love for me is what kept me from drifting." Yukito smiled gently and his gaze went to Eriol who was a few feet away, out of earshot and leaning back against the lockers. His stance was relaxed but his eyes were focused on them, ready to pounce if need be. "I don't know much about the relationship between you, but from what I've been able to see… and feel… he'll stay by you no matter what."
Syaoran's brow furrowed in confusion.
"Think about it, Li-kun," Yukito murmured. "He's stood by you for years already, and from what I've noticed, you two weren't the best of friends or even the most cordial. But you two stayed together despite that. I think that shows something."
Syaoran stared at Yukito with a distant frown, his mind not registering what the TA was telling him. But he turned to look in the direction Yukito was looking and as soon as his eyes landed on the dark-haired, spectacled, pale figure in the navy blue uniform, he felt the blood rush to his face and his lips burn again.
Despite that, though, he kept his eyes locked on Eriol's grayish-blue ones, and he felt his heart lighten and jump to his throat when Eriol's eyes flickered with emotions he only thought he'd imagined before.
"Hiragizawa-kun seems like a good match for you."
Syaoran started, having forgotten that Yuki was still there. He turned back to the TA and smiled nervously.
"You… you really think so?"
"Hai. Ying to your yang."
Syaoran blushed further and scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah, well, we'll see."
And Syaoran was completely surprised that he actually meant it.
Continued…
A/N: As thou can see, Hoshizora-chan, we've tried to keep the expletives out of the fic. Nonetheless, we loved working on it. ^.^