Warnings: Severe OOCness for Eriol and Syaoran acting like a bastard.
A/N: Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far. I checked my statistics page today after school and saw reviews, I was so happy! I felt all warm and fuzzy inside! I didn't think anyone would review! Thank you so much! You made my day!
Askani Blue- Thanks for the review. I'll try to get to the Toya/Yuki stuff soon! Maybe next chapter, I can't promise anything, but I'll try to work it in.
Moonlightmask- Thanks for the review. I'm glad you like my story. I'll try and put more Yue/Sakura in for you. You should like this chapter, though.
Nena the Moogle- Thanks for the review. I'm thinking about doing a sort of prequel to this story, to tell why Yue and Yuki are separate and how he and Sakura got together. It might not be for a little while yet cause I'm busy with school and this story, but I'll start on it as soon as I can!
Disclaimer: I, of course, do not own CardCaptor Sakura, CLAMP does. I am not making any money off of this story so please don't sue. I don't have any money, I'm already in debt to myself!
Chapter 2
Syaoran looked up as the three entered the room. 'I thought she said that Hiiragizawa was coming over," he thought to himself as he looked at the two newcomers. He recognized Tomoyo immediately. Suddenly his eyes widened almost imperceptibly. 'That's Hiiragizawa? Well Sakura did say he'd changed.' Syaoran shook himself from his thoughts and stood up to greet them. "Hello Tomoyo-chan, Hiiragizawa." There was a noticeable difference in his tone as he greeted them. He greeted Tomoyo warmly, but greeted Eriol coolly. "It's good to see you again."
"Hello Syaoran-kun, it's good to see you too," Tomoyo said with a smile and a hug.
"Hello Li-san," Eriol said softly, voice subdued and lacking the confidence it had always carried when he was younger.
"Hello Yue," Tomoyo said, smiling at the guardian.
"Hello Tomoyo-san, Eriol-san," Yue said with a nod of greeting towards each.
"Hello Yue," Eriol replied, snapping himself out of his thoughts.
"Well, everyone sit down. Would anyone like something to eat or drink?" Sakura asked, looking at her friends. When she received replies of no, Sakura sat back down next to Yue. Syaoran was sitting back in his chair and Eriol and Tomoyo were seated on another couch.
As they talked Syaoran watched Eriol. The blue-haired teen had hardly spoken and seemed to be off in his own little world. "You know Hiiragizawa," Syaoran said suddenly, causing Eriol to look at him in confusion, "just because you think you're so much better than everyone else doesn't mean that you can just sit there and ignore everyone. Although I should have expected you to act like this." Eriol's eyes filled with shock, confusion, and pain. Syaoran blinked when he saw the pain in the other boy's eyes, suddenly feeling guilty. 'Wait, why should I be feeling guilty? It's Hiiragizawa we're talking about, he's probably just faking it.' Syaoran thought, trying to convince himself that there hadn't been pain in Eriol's gaze, but he just couldn't shake the feelings of guilt.
"I-I think I should leave," Eriol whispered, on the verge of crying, "I have some things I need to do. So I'll just leave. Ja ne minna." With that he got up and left.
"Eriol! Wait!" Sakura called, getting up to go after her friend.
"No Sakura, let him go. He needs to be alone right now," Yue said, catching Sakura's wrist and gently pulling her to sit back down.
"I guess you're right," Sakura said with a sigh, still obviously worried.
"What's with Hiiragizawa?" Syaoran asked.
Sakura glared at him angrily. "Why'd you say that Li? He didn't do anything to you. He's had a lot on his mind lately and you just made things worse! You said you'd be civil to him! Is that what you call civil!?" by the time she finished, Sakura was yelling at Syaoran.
Syaoran blinked at her. "Why are you acting like this is my fault?"
"Because it is!" Sakura said angrily.
"What!? He was sitting there ignoring everyone else, being mister high and mighty. He didn't even answer half of the questions he was asked. All I did was tell him that he was being rude. And he acted all upset and left! I fail to see how any of this is my fault!" Syaoran said indignantly, glaring back at Sakura.
"He's had a lot on his mind lately, he wasn't trying to be rude. And he wasn't acting upset! He was upset!" Sakura would have said more but was interrupted by her brother clearing his throat and muffled sobs. Sakura looked up to see her brother in the doorway glaring at Syaoran and Eriol standing behind him a little ways, just barely visible, with his face buried in his hands, sobbing.
"Sakura, take Eriol upstairs and talk to him. I'll talk to the brat," Toya said, stepping into the room.
Sakura nodded and walked over to Eriol, wrapping an arm around her friend's waist and leading him to her room.
"C'mon Yue," Tomoyo said, "let's go to the kitchen and sit."
Yue nodded in agreement and stood, following Tomoyo into the kitchen.
Once they had left, Toya walked up to where Syaoran was sitting and glared at him. "Why did you do that?" he had been standing in the doorway long enough to hear the conversation between his sister and Syaoran. "Eriol's really changed over the years. And right now he's dealing with a lot. He doesn't need you yelling at him and upsetting him even more than he already is."
"Why do you care?" Syaoran asked suddenly, "after what he did to Sakura? Why do you care if he's upset?"
"Because he's my friend," Toya replied. "You still hold a grudge against him for what he did when Sakura had to change the cards? He wouldn't have let her get hurt and didn't do anything to her that she couldn't handle. I've forgiven him and Sakura's my sister, don't you think it's time you showed some maturity and forgave him?" Toya finished, glaring at Syaoran. "In any case you do owe him an apology."
"You're right," Syaoran said, surprising Toya, "I do owe him an apology and I guess I should forgive him for what happened when Sakura was changing the cards. But that doesn't mean that I'll like him. I still can't stand him." /You're lying/, a voice in the back of Syaoran's mind said. /You do like him, you just don't want to admit it/. 'Shut up! I don't like Hiiragizawa. You don't know what you're talking about,' Syaoran thought angrily. The voice didn't say anything.
Toya sighed and shook his head. "Fine suit yourself," he said sitting down on the couch.
In Sakura's Room…
Sakura opened the door to her room and ushered Eriol in. Kero, who had been sleeping on Sakura's bed, looked up when they came in. "Kero can you go downstairs please? I need to talk to Eriol alone."
Kero got up. "Sure Sakura, but what's wrong?"
"Go downstairs, Yue and Tomoyo are probably in the kitchen, they can tell you if it's all right with Eriol." When Eriol nodded Kero left and went downstairs. "Sit down," Sakura said, pushing Eriol towards her bed. Sakura closed her door and sat down next to Eriol, pulling her friend into a hug and holding him while he cried. When Eriol stopped crying Sakura pulled away slightly, or at least attempted to. As soon as she started to move away Eriol clung to her and tucked his head under her chin, curling up against Sakura. Sakura let him cling to her; she had learned that Eriol was very clingy when he was upset.
"Don't go 'Kura," Eriol murmured, voice slightly muffled.
"Don't worry Eriol I'm not going anywhere," Sakura reassured her friend.
"Sakura, why does Syaoran hate me?
"He doesn't hate you, Eriol," Sakura replied.
"Fine then he can't stand me. All I want is for him to like me as a friend. Sure, it would be great if he loved me like I love him, but that won't ever happen. Having Syaoran as a friend would be better than nothing though," Eriol said before breaking into sobs again.
"Shhh… it'll be okay Eriol. Just give it some time. Let Syaoran get to know you better. He'll realize that you're a good person and a good friend. Just give it some time," Sakura whispered to her friend, trying to comfort him. She held Eriol and let him cry until he fell asleep. After waiting a few minutes to make sure he was asleep, Sakura extracted herself from Eriol's grasp and headed down stairs.
Sakura entered the kitchen to find Tomoyo, Yue, and Kero talking. They all looked up when Sakura entered the room.
"Where's Eriol? Is he all right?" Tomoyo asked, voice and eyes filled with concern.
"He's upstairs sleeping," Sakura replied, "I think he'll be fine after some sleep."
Everyone in the room looked a little relieved.
"Is Toya still talking to Syaoran?" Sakura asked her friends.
"I don't think so," Yue replied, "maybe we should go see."
Everyone nodded in agreement and they headed into the living room.
Toya and Syaoran looked up as the group entered the room. Kero glared at Syaoran as he walked past him.
Toya looked at Sakura curiously when Eriol didn't enter the room. "Eriol's sleeping," Sakura said in response to her brother's look.
Everyone sat down and they started to talk softly. Syaoran sat quietly in his chair not talking much. He felt kind of bad about the way he had acted. They had been talking for nearly an hour when Eriol padded into the room. His hair was loose and his eyes were still a bit red and puffy. Syaoran stared at Eriol in awe. 'He's beautiful,' he thought to himself. 'Wait a minute, what am I thinking he's a guy and he's Hiiragizawa, he's not beautiful.' But Syaoran couldn't tear his gaze from Eriol.
Eriol stood awkwardly in the doorway; he could feel Syaoran's eyes on him. 'What's he going to do now? Make some remark about me looking like a girl?' he thought bitterly. Syaoran stood up and walked over to Eriol, who looked down and prepared himself for more insults. Eriol looked up, startled when Syaoran placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry about what I said earlier," Syaoran said nervously, shoving his hands into his pockets, "it was rude and uncalled for, and I'm sorry."
Eriol blinked at Syaoran in surprise and shock. "I-it's al-all right," Eriol stuttered. He couldn't believe it; Syaoran had apologized to him. He would probably go back to being cold towards him, but it was a start. Maybe Sakura was right. Maybe Syaoran would become his friend or perhaps even more. A glimmer of hope filled him and Eriol smiled slightly, his lighting up a bit, some of the sadness lifted. "It's all right Li, I forgive you."
Syaoran nodded and sat back down. Eriol sat down next to Toya on the couch. Sakura smiled at the change in Eriol, maybe things would work out after all. They had been talking for a while when Toya glanced at the clock. "Is anybody hungry?" There was a chorus of yes's in response. "Is take out all right with everyone? 'Tou-san won't be home for a couple of days because he's one a business trip, so we don't have to wait for him." Forty-five minutes later they were sitting in the kitchen eating dinner.
"So, Li are you going to be going to school with us next year?" Eriol asked, voice still slightly subdued.
"Yeah," Li replied coolly.
Every time Eriol asked Li a question, he was given a monosyllable answer. Eriol sighed and stopped asking Syaoran questions, his hope fading slightly.
Syaoran glanced over at Eriol, his gaze was locked on his food and he was hardly speaking or eating. 'He needs to eat, he's way to thin,' Syaoran thought. 'Wait, why do I care? It's not like I like him or anything.'
"Eriol, you need to eat. I know you haven't been much lately, so eat!" Sakura said, causing Syaoran to look at Eriol. The blue-haired teen was just staring at his food. He'd hardly eaten anything.
Eriol looked up and blinked at Sakura. "Oh… sorry Sakura, I was just thinking," Eriol said and started picking at his food. He really wasn't all that hungry but he didn't want to worry his friends anymore.
The rest of dinner passed without incident, and soon they were all back in the living room watching a movie. When the movie was over Toya looked at the clock. "It's late, you guys can stay here tonight if you want." After Tomoyo had called her mother they brought blankets down to the living room for Eriol and Syaoran. "Syaoran we're going upstairs since we're not really tired yet, you can come if you want," Sakura told Syaoran.
"I think I'll lay down, I'm kind of tired."
"Okay, well you're welcome to join us if you can't sleep," Sakura said as the three teens headed upstairs. "Goodnight."
"All right," Syaoran said as he lay down, "goodnight."
Sakura, Eriol, and Tomoyo went upstairs and into Sakura's room. Sakura flopped down on her bed with Eriol next to her and Tomoyo sat down on her blankets.
Toya stuck his head into Sakura's room. "Good night, don't stay up too late."
"Good night Toya. We won't stay up too much longer," Sakura said.
"Good night," Tomoyo and Eriol chorused.
"I'll be right back," Sakura said after Toya left, "I'm going to go say good night to Kero and Yue." Sakura got up and headed down the hall to Yue's room, Kero was probably with him, and knowing Kero, he was probably driving Yue up the wall. Sakura knocked on Yue's door and waited. Yue opened the door and stepped out into the hall. "I just came to say goodnight," Sakura said.
Yue smiled at his mistress/girlfriend. Stepping close to her, Yue wrapped his arms around Sakura, pulling her close. Sakura sighed and nuzzled her face against Yue's chest. "Good night Sakura," Yue said, pulling away slightly. He slipped a hand under Sakura's chin and tilted her face up towards his. Leaning down he gently pressed his lips against Sakura's briefly before pulling back and resting his forehead against Sakura's. "I love you," he said before kissing Sakura again.
"Good night Yue," Sakura said once the kiss broke. "I love you too." Sakura looked at Yue curiously. "Is Kero in there?" she asked, nodding towards Yue's room.
"Yes, unfortunately," Yue said with a sigh. "Did you want to say good night to him as well?"
"Well, I was planning on it," Sakura said with a grin.
Yue smiled slightly and motioned for Sakura to go into his room.
Sakura walked into the room, followed by Yue.
Kero looked up from where he was sprawled out when Sakura and Yue entered the room. "Good night Kero," Sakura said, walking over to him and giving Kero a hug.
"G'night Sakura," Kero said, nuzzling Sakura's face.
Sakura stood up and walked to the door, Yue following her. "Good night Yue."
"Good night Sakura," Yue said, leaning down to kiss her one last time. Sakura smiled at Yue as they pulled away and then headed back to her room. Yue watched Sakura until he she went into her room, before going into his own room and closing the door.
"Finally," Tomoyo teased as Sakura entered her room, "we were starting to think that you'd forgotten about us."
"Yeah," Eriol agreed, looking forlornly at Sakura, "we were starting to think that you didn't love us anymore." Eriol was acting more like himself now that Syaoran wasn't around. It was hard for him to be around Syaoran.
Sakura smiled, "Don't worry I still love you guys." She was happy that Eriol was acting more like normal now. "So… we need some ideas on how to get Yuki and 'nii-chan together. And how to get Syaoran to like Eriol," Sakura said brightly.
"I don't want to force Syaoran to like me Sakura," Eriol said.
Sakura looked at Eriol. "What if we just invite Syaoran with us when we go places so that he can get to know you better. Would that be okay?"
Eriol nodded. "Yes, that'd be fine."
"Okay now onto Yuki and 'nii-chan," Sakura said, "anyone got any ideas?"
The three brainstormed ways to get Toya and Yukito together for nearly an hour before they fell asleep.
Syaoran had been trying, quite unsuccessfully, to fall asleep for an hour. With a sigh he got up and headed upstairs to see what Sakura, Tomoyo, and Eriol were doing. Upon reaching Sakura's room, Syaoran knocked on the door. When he didn't get an answer he opened the door and went in. Looking at the scene before him, Syaoran smiled slightly. Tomoyo was curled up on the floor under her blankets and Eriol was lying horizontally on Sakura's bed with his feet hanging off the side of the bed. Sakura was stretched on the length of the bed using Eriol's chest as a pillow. Syaoran shook his head and turned out the light as he left. Back down stairs he curled up on the couch under his blankets and tried to fall asleep. But whenever he closed his eyes he saw Eriol sleeping peacefully. 'He really is beautiful,' Syaoran thought, 'especially when he's asleep. He looks like an angel,' he angrily shook his head, trying to rid himself of thoughts of Eriol. 'What am I thinking? This is Hiiragizawa I'm thinking about. Why can't I stop thinking about him?' Syaoran sighed rolled over trying to fall asleep. 'He really does look like angel when he sleeps,' was the last thought that passed through Syaoran's head as he fell asleep.
This chapter was my first attempt at writing something that was fluffy. It wasn't pure fluff, but I'll eventually get around to writing one that is. I hope it didn't turn out too awful. I'll try to get the next chapter up soon. Please R+R! It'll make me write faster! Thanks!
Fallen Angel