Disclaimer- See Chapter 1
Warnings- See Chapter 1
Author's notes- ~sighs~ I can already see the marathon story this is gonna be....Anyone have any ideas for the proceedings? If I make any mistakes, be kind and let me know. I'm not perfect, so...~shrugs~ Ja ne!
Chapter 2
Keroberos, who was laying downstairs in the living room, heard the crash of Yue's body hitting the floor. He leapt to his feet and raced up the stairs, Sakura following him, yelling his name. Touya raced out of his room, hearing his sister's cries. He heard Keroberos's anguished growl. There on the floor lay Yue. His pale, silken hair lay wild about him, his thin limbs a tangle on the floor. Touya rushed towards him, pulling Yue up against his chest. He checked the pulse, holding Yue's delicate bird-like wrist in his fingers. His pulse was strong, yet slow.
"He's alive, it's ok. He's just passed out." Touya looked into Keroberos's and Sakura's expectant faces. Keroberos nuzzled Yue's leg. Touya picked the man up and carried him out of the library and into his room. He covered Yue with a blanket, then turned to his little sister.
"I don't know what he read to make him this upset, but I think we should leave him to rest awhile. He'll wake up when he's ready to." Touya steered his little sister to the door, then looked back for Keroberos. The lion had jumped up on the bed and lain down next to Yue with his massive head pillowed on Yue's arm. Sakura smiled at the scene of brotherly love, and grasped her own brother's hand.
"Thanks for watching him, Kero-chan." Sakura whispered. Keroberos nodded and closed his golden eyes.
Touya pried his hand loose from his sister's and smoothed her hair. She smiled tiredly up at him, and followed him as he went to retrieve the journal from their father's library. Sakura stood on her tiptoes to glance at the page her brother was poring over. He held the book further down so she didn't have to strain to see it. He gestured at the page.
"It fell face down, so I'll assume this was the last page he read. It's an entry about Christmas. Man, it must've been hard for him to read. It sounds like he, Keroberos, and this Clow Reed were a real family. I mean, think about it. Poor Yue, even Yuki, don't have anyone to spend Christmas, or any other holiday with. He's got to be one lonely guy." Sakura smiled at the sorrow and concern in her brother's voice. She knew that his feelings weren't born of pure sympathy, but of a healthy dose of empathy as well. She was well aware of how much her brother still missed their mother. She wrapped her arms around as much of his waist as she could muster and squeezed tightly. He smiled down at her, full of warmth and love for the child who had helped ease his heart of his mother's passing. Her green eyes peered up at him and he felt hot tears prick his own eyes. Those jade orbs were identical to Nadeshiko's. They even held the same look of unabashed love and adoration as hers. Sakura's look turned to one of sorrow and concern as she her brother's eyes swimming with unreleased emotions.
"Touya-kun?" Her little voice quaked and he knelt to quickly gather his sister in his arms, actually picking her up and giving her a cuddle, something he hadn't done in an extremely long time. She buried her head in his shoulder, and her rubbed her back, each garnering mutual comfort from the other. He moved over to his father's large chair and sat, cradling his sister. Sakura felt tears stinging her own eyes. Touya simply held her and let her cry, being careful not to let her see the tears running down his own cheeks.
Keroberos lifted his head and yawned, his mighty jaw opening wide, exposing a mouth full of razor sharp teeth. He settled his head on his brother's should with a weary sigh. The little moonchild, as Clow had been so fond of calling the moon guardian, had yet to wake. The sun guardian had to admit that he was feeling worried. To say that Yue had been strongly affected by the loss of Clow would be an understatement. The moon guardian had been beyond devastated. He had been beyond unconsolable. Their wasn't really a word that would, or could, wrap up all the grief that Yue had felt. Clow had been a father, mentor, protector, teacher, and the greatest love of Yue's life. He'd been one of the only humans Yue had been in contact with all those long years, and he'd been the only human that Yue let get close to him, and get to know him. Besides Keroberos and the cards, and few other spirits Clow had conjured up, he'd been the sole focal point of Yue's attentions and affections. That had been Clow's number one mistake. Yue was a shy, soft creature. He had never been keen on social interactions because he'd had so little of it.
That had made for one extremely antisocial, emotionally closeted individual. But Clow had been there for Yue. He'd represented so much to Yue. The child had clung to Clow with a vicious tenacity, throwing many a tantrum when Clow would leave on business, until finally Clow would have to use the Sleep card on the child and slip out the door before he awoke. Yue would be the most melancholy person until his beloved master returned.
Then, Yue grew up...and as was the way of all young people as they grew, Yue matured. Along with the physical changes, his feelings changed. Keroberos was still the playmate he'd been, but now instead of their games being entirely rough and tumble, Yue and Kero, in his false form, played chess. He also became even more of a book worm as he'd been in childhood, which pleased Clow greatly. Conversations with Clow no longer culminated in the fantastical stories which had once enchanted Yue, but now went into philosophy and political strategies and great intrigues. Yue proved the perfect intellectual counterpart for Clow. Yue quickly grew to love Clow. And it was the brotherly love he'd held for Keroberos, but instead something both innocent, yet needy, and filled with a strange longing. Clow had spurned it though. He felt it would've been grossly inappropriate. That left Yue to forever watch Clow with his heated gaze. The secret had been, of course, that he had loved Yue. But at the same time he felt it a great moral crime. Keroberos had been the pitying witness, left to watch the dramatic tragedy to play out, offering a consoling word and shoulder, as well as a sympathetic ear and logical confidant.
Keroberos lifted up his head to glance at his brother's face once more, finding the same pale skin, closed eyes, the dark lashes touching his cheeks...and dried tear tracks on those angular planes. Keroberos sighed. His breath blew some of those silvery strands right across the angel's face, effectively curtaining his features. Cursing softly, Keroberos returned to his false form and proceeded to move towards the offending hair, prepared to bat it away. Hovering over Yue's face Kero reached down to grab at the hair, and was met with a swat from one of Yue's hands that sent him sprawling across the mattress. Kero picked himself up off of the mattress, ready to chew out his little brother until he heard Yue murmuring softly. Picking out the name 'Clow', Kero flew up to perch himself on the moon guardian's thin shoulder and proceeded to wake him up.
"Yue! Come on little brother. Time to get up, lazy. You've really worried everyone!" The little creature tugged on his brother's bangs. He grinned, relieved, when two eyes, brimming with annoyance, glared at him. Sitting up quickly, Yue put a hand to his head, desperate to relieve the pressure he felt building there. Kero left his perch on his brother's shoulder and turned into Keroberos with a flash.
"What's wrong Yue? You aren't yourself, my brother. What happened to upset you so?" The sun guardian pushed at the moon guardian's hand, wishing his brother would at least look at him.
"Kero?" Yue's voice was so soft Keroberos wasn't sure he'd heard it. "Did Clow ever..yell at me?" Yue's eyes were so soft when he finally gazed at his brother. The lion looked beyond shocked.
"Why do you ask, little one? Was it in your dreams?" Yue merely nodded. "Then that is what has upset you. Honestly, I don't remember him ever raising his voice. Most certainly not at YOU. You were his treasure. His finest creation. His little moonchild." Keroberos kept his voice calm and kind. This was quite strange. He knew for a fact that Clow didn't dare raise his voice to Yue. He was always so sensitive. Infuriatingly so, in fact. Keroberos couldn't help but stare at Yue. What was wrong with his brother?