A/N: Thank you all SOOOO much! To my usual supporters, you guys know who you are! Oh, and Ping, has anyone ever told you what a splendid reviewer you are? I'm going to answer some of your insightful inquiries. By the way, I didn't even notice the "Beauty and the Beast" parallel, but it becomes even more fitting later.
I know I made the relationship between Nickoli and Yue develop fast, but that was to give Nickoli a reason for going to Clow's home and talking about himself, getting him to be a bit more comfortable and open. I also wanted to illustrate the fact that they're both innocent at this point in time, and were sheltered from the cruelties of normal life. They have no reason not to trust each other right off the bat, because they cannot think why they should be suspicious. Not having the instinctual caution towards others that many humans do contributes a lot to this. Also, they're both magical beings, which gives the advantage of insight into a person and a different way of thinking. If you want to classify this as love at first sight, go ahead. I'm not sure if I believe in such a thing, but it may be possible between two people who aren't holding back from one another.
Chapter 6: Nickoli's Secret
The carriage ride back to the mansion seemed to take no time at all. They chatted, Kero asking Nickoli a million questions, and finally coming around to his favorite subject: food.
"I hope you're not like Yue. Do you like desserts, and good food, like pudding?" The question was odd, and Nickoli gave the lion a funny look.
"No." He said quite simply. Keroberos was shocked.
"You and Yue have no idea what you're missing. How can you not like sweets? They're probably the world's greatest creations."
Nickoli smiled at the lion, saying, "Why would I eat that human made confectionery junk when nature has already produce things that are sweet on their own?"
"What do you mean, natural stuff? Are you talking about things like... fruit? WHO WOULD EAT FRUIT?!" exclaimed the irate lion when Nickoli nodded. Clow began laughing and quickly found himself unable to stop as these little arguments continued throughout the entire ride. Apparently the magician's laughter was contagious, and Yue began having to cover his mouth to stifle his own. The two creations didn't seem to agree on much, from the best season and type of weather to the best way to spend time.
They were beginning to get in another little squabble, Kero and Nickoli, or Nikki as Yue had started calling him. Nia had acted as though she was offended that the angel would let Yue use the name when he would not tolerate it from anyone else. Keroberos was going on about how Nickoli didn't know that much, and Nickoli became bored at hearing the lion speak. With a wave of his hand, Kero couldn't make sounds anymore. For a minute, everyone sat in the carriage as mutely as the sun guardian, staring at Nickoli.
The dark angel looked at them innocently and said, "What? Did I do something wrong?" Clow was then in yet another bout of laughter, and this time Yue couldn't stop himself either. Kero was trying to jump at Nickoli, but Clow told him to be polite.
Luckily for the sun lion, the driver came to a halt at the front gate of the Reed mansion. Nickoli revoked his little spell, and Keroberos gave him a grand lecture on how rude it was to vocally disable one of your hosts. The two angels and Clow exited the carriage, and the Master silenced the guardian with promises of special desserts. Kero's voice was immediately quiet.
As they entered the house, Nickoli looked at everything with interest. He put his bag in a guest room he was shown to, and that's when Yue decided to confront him.
"Nikki, I have to confess something to you. I know it was wrong of me to do it, and then keep it from you, but-" Yue began. Nickoli didn't give him a chance to finish.
"You did not really wait in a hall for me, you followed me and saw the front chamber of my rooms," the angel interrupted calmly, sighing with mild despair.
"You knew?" Yue felt foolish for expecting he'd gotten away undetected. Nickoli nodded. "Why was it destroyed? Who would do such a thing?"
"Me." Nickoli saw the look of shock on his love's face, and reluctantly decided to tell the whole truth to someone for the first time. Nia didn't enter his rooms, no one did, so at the house they had no idea what state things were in. "It's confusing.... Lately, I've been having these strange feelings. All of a sudden there's power in me I didn't even know about, and neither did Nia. She seems to know about what's going on, or at least suspect something, but she refuses to tell me. I would usually be pleased to discover I had such strength but it feels *wrong*. Dark, or evil. And that damn picture..." Suddenly rage took over Nickoli's face, "You must have seen it. I asked her to take it down, or if I could, but she forbid it. 'No, we have to leave it.' What care I for her dead brother? Maybe he was her family, but I never knew him, he never affected my life, so why should his portrait be located in one of my rooms? And every time I looked upon it, seeing that smirk on his face, it chilled me to the bone, and that feeling would come back... That sensation made me feel destructive, I didn't even know myself anymore. One night I just lost it, and trashed the room. But since then, those weird feelings haven't returned."
Nickoli hung his head, worn out and ashamed of himself, despairing and thinking Yue wouldn't understand. The moon guardian felt horrible that Nickoli had been going through these strange emotions with no one to turn to, that he was caught in this mystery. Wrapping his arms around his love's waist, he pulled the dark haired angel to him. Nikki rested his head on Yue's shoulder, until he couldn't stop himself and pulled the angel into a deep kiss. While his tongue explored the moon angel's mouth, Nickoli ran a hand up the back of Yue's thigh. The guardian took in breath sharply, and caught himself fidgeting with the sash around the taller man's waist.
Standing by the doorway, Clow cleared his throat. The two nearly jumped apart, bringing laughter from the magician. "In all sincerity, I hate to interrupt, but would you like to come downstairs? I've got a surprise, and where it's food, it'll be gone within the next five minutes when Kero discovers it."
"Master, you know I don't eat."
Nickoli sighed, grabbed Yue's hand and began dragging him to the door. "Yue, just try it! Come on, whether you like it or not, I'm making you eat something." Clow laughed as he watched Yue, who again was more cooperative with Nickoli's pulling than expected and ended up pressed against his beloved. Nickoli, somewhat breathless, said, "You do that on purpose, don't you?" Yue gave a smile that Clow had never seen before, filled with mischief and something else...
Smirking, the sorcerer followed the two angels down the stairs. He noted how Yue was teasing, placing himself close to the other's body, accidentally turning his head he right way so their lips almost met, but pulling away before Nickoli could do anything about it. That would be unheard of under normal circumstances. His moon guardian was never completely cold, but purposefully maintained the semblance of naive innocence in front of people, never letting on that he felt emotions like anger, jealousy, love or lust. The last two he was obviously feeling now though. Clow was glad that Yue was happy at least for now, because he had experienced a vision from his next life, where he saw Yue as indifferent and forbidding, pushing everyone away. He knew this was inevitable, that his guardian would for a time separate himself from the people that could possibly give him love, but he also knew it wasn't permanent. So for now, Clow watched his humanoid creation tease the being that would soon become his lover in all aspects of the word. With this thought, Clow felt jealousy scraping at him, but easily pushed it away. The happiness of his guardian greatly outweighed his own physical attraction to the creature.
Reaching the kitchen, the three made a great attempt to stay quiet. Kero had very good hearing, and none of them wanted him to come running in and devouring whatever amazing treat Clow had procured. Walking over to the counter, the magician unwrapped a package of an unusual looking food. Yue had never seen anything like it, but it actually looked tempting. The moon guardian realized that they were strawberries, but covered in some sweet smelling creamy brown coating.
"Chocolate?" Nickoli asked Clow. The sorcerer smiled and nodded. Nickoli returned the smile. "I've never had any, but I heard it's very good. Wasn't it expensive?"
"Don't worry, it was a gift from friend. Try one," Clow knew Yue wouldn't eat food without some very persuasive convincing, and he wanted to see what exactly Nickoli would do to get him to try the delicious treat.
First Nickoli picked one up and took a small bite. As he chewed he smiled, and held out the rest of the strawberry for Yue. Trying not to blush, the moon guardian shook his head. Nickoli glared at him playfully, becoming a bit more insistent. Again, the angel shook his head, this time smiling as well. Nickoli sighed and bit into the chocolate again. Unexpectedly, he grabbed Yue and pressed his lips roughly against the guardian's. Yue gasped, and Nikki pushed the piece into his mouth. Clow laughed uproariously.
After much longer than necessary, Yue pulled away and licked his lips, blushing. "Mmm... that was good," he whispered, still in Nickoli's arms. Yue took the other's hand, licking the melted chocolate off the taller angel's long fingers. Smiling in a way that could only be described as wicked, Yue said quietly, "Still hungry?"
Nickoli stared at him, and whispered in a husky, quiet tone, "Very." It was obvious from the intensity of his gaze though that he wasn't talking about food. Trying not to grin, Yue picked up another strawberry and pushed it into Nickoli's mouth, and Nickoli mimicked the movements he preformed last time, kissing the other angel. After the strawberry was gone, the two didn't part, even though they both knew Clow was right by the door. Quickly grabbing a few strawberries, Clow went off to deliver the snack to his sun guardian, smiling at his very busy moon guardian before leaving.
Pushing Nickoli against the table, Yue began to kiss the other's throat. Nikki sighed and held Yue close to him, breathing in the moon angel's scent. Yue stole Nickoli's lips once again, but this time Nickoli felt Yue's hips grind against him. Gasping loudly, the dark angel ravaged his love's mouth with his tongue.
"Umm, Gods, where did that come from?" Nickoli choked out while the moon guardian hummed as he kissed his ear lobe. Repeating his earlier action, Yue pressed his hips into Nickoli's, hearing strained moans from the other. The silver-haired angel licked his love's cheek and pulled away.
Laughing, Yue said, "Come, I'll show you the rest of the house," and began walking out of the kitchen.
Behind him, Yue heard Nickoli groan, "Yue... that is so, so very mean."
The moon angel stared at Nickoli hungrily, walked up to him and pulled him close again. Tracing the line of the taller angel's cheek, he allowed his fingers to trail lower, across one perfectly full lip and down his neck, over his chest and a little beyond his stomach. The Yue stopped when he felt the muscles in Nickoli's lower stomach tense up and moved his hand to the dark angel's thigh. "I could be so much worse though, don't you think? Let's go see the house and surrounding grounds."