I know I said I wasn't continuing this, but it appeared in my head one day. I didn't get it out sooner because I didn't want to force the story, rushing through it until it sounded completely different. I hope all of you like the second chapter as much as the first.

It is spring now, and many years later. Not much has changed for anyone. All have grown older, although some, like Kero-chan, had not matured. Clow and his creations are back at their summerhouse in England, and most are using this time to relax. We go to find one in particular, named Yue. The twenty-year-old is outside, leaning against a tree. Cuddled up against him, in between his legs, is his best friend, Ruby.

Well, who he tells himself is his best friend.

He doesn't want to admit the truth.

Because he's afraid she doesn't feel the same.

Yue has trust issues.

I can't imagine why- it's not like his friends ever shoved him in a mud puddle or threatened to cut off his hair. Oh wait- they did. My mistake.

Anyway, back to the story I was trying to tell…

"Yue?"

"Hmm, Ruby-chan?"

"Do you ever watch the clouds?" The seventeen-year-old asked her older counterpart.

"What is so interesting about the clouds?" he asked, puzzled.

"Silly! You watch the clouds to see if they make shapes." She leant backwards so her head was resting against Yue's chest and pointed out a particular cloud. "See, that one up there looks a little like a bear. And that one looks like two lovers dancing."

Yue peered at the clouds she was pointing to, but didn't see it. One out of the corner of his eye caught his attention, and he directed Ruby's attention to it.

"You're right!" she exclaimed. "It does look like Suppi-chan!"

Ruby is quite pretty, and tall for a girl. She had finally managed to grow her hair down to her feet as Yue has, keeping it in a single braid down her back to keep it out of the way. Her eyes were still the same red they had been when she was younger, and the mischievous sparkle was still there. Of course, now most of that energy was directed towards Kero and Suppi. She sighed happily as she leaned farther back against Yue, enjoying the warmth that his chest provided. He was now reading a poem out loud, and her eyes slowly drifted closed under the spell of the warm summer day and Yue's melodic voice.

Yue blinked in surprise as he glanced down at Ruby, having wondered why she had said nothing in the past half-hour. The answer was quite apparent after looking at her. She was breathing softly and her eyes were closed, clear indications that she was asleep. He thought about moving but decided that maybe Ruby had the right idea. He let himself be lulled to sleep by the warm summer air and the bird's songs.

A few hours later, Kero rudely awakened them. He'd decided that the fastest way to wake them up would be to yell in their ears, because they weren't allowed to eat until everyone was at the table and he was hungry. Not that this is unusual, of course. Ruby got up slowly, complaining the whole time about stuffed animals who couldn't let people get a few decent hours of sleep. Yue just got up without a word and followed them. Again, not that unusual. Dinner passed quickly, with Ruby launching some mashed potatoes at Kero and knocking him out of the air, and Spinnel desperately hiding behind Clow as Kero tried to get him to eat sugar. Yue got up after and quickly cleared the table before flying off.

Yue flew thorough the corridors of the house and landed in the one place he didn't let anyone enter- his room. He sank onto the bed and thought about the dream he'd had earlier that day. The setting had been the same as before he'd been dreaming, but when Ruby leaned back she had tilted her head up and he had bent down and kissed her. It wasn't a brotherly kiss, or even a friendly one, but a lover's kiss. He shook it off. It was just a dream and he should treat it as one. There was no deeper meaning, to read into dreams so much was to be absolutely ridiculous. Why ruin a good friendship over a silly thing like that? That decided, he pulled out a paperback and sank down into his armchair to read it.

Ruby was perched in the branches of the tree above Yue's head, sketching a family of birds that was nesting on a branch to the left of her. Yue was wedged between two roots reading a philosophy book he'd found in the library. Ruby had looked at it, but found it dull and boring. Finishing the last tiny nestling, she pulled out her pencil crayons and lightly coloured them in, to finish later if she felt like it. Looking around for inspiration for another sketch, she decided on Yue, as he wasn't moving and therefore would be the perfect model. She quickly sketched the shape of the tree and his body before starting on the details, paying particular attention to his face. She giggled as she saw Kero and a drugged Suppi dragging a huge water balloon full of dye towards him. The light giggle alerted him and he glanced up, having just enough time to grab the book and take a few flaps of his wings before the bomb hit. He was mostly out of range by then, although the bottom of his robe was spotted green. He flew down and gave his book to Ruby before flying swiftly towards Kero and Suppi and managed to grab them before they could get too far. Taking them to where the dye had landed, he dunked them in the puddle a few times and then took them to the stream. After rinsing the excess dye off, he left them go, which was then that Kero discovered permanent green dye and golden fur don't go very well together. The same goes for Suppi and his black fur.

After Clow had used the Bubble to clean the dye off of Kero and Suppi, and used a simple spell to get rid of the spots on Yue's robes, the creations were allowed to run off again. Yue glared at Kero and Suppi before sinking back against another tree. Ruby, still laughing in sporadic bursts, settled above him and continued her sketch. Kero and Suppi were left to their own devices, although the sugar was now securely locked up.

Ruby floated down after a while and showed Yue the sketches; all of which he said were very good. She hugged him enthusiastically, which he returned hesitantly. He pulled back and stared- was it just him or were her eyes extra bright today? Before he knew what he was doing, he had bent down and kissed her gently. He stopped when he realised what he'd done, and looked for the entire world like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car.

"I have to go." He said shakily, pushing with his wings until he was a speck in the sky. Ruby stared after him, her hand touching her lips.

Let me know what you think if you want to, don't if you don't. Not everyone will like the story, and I understand that, just understand that some people do like it and respect that if you don't.

Cammi

xoxo