The Dream Chaser

By Ekai Ungson

DISCLAIMER: Card Captor Sakura copyright CLAMP/Kodansha. Characters used without permission. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made.

Obligatory Author's Note: This has been a very refreshing thing to write, actually. And I still haven't figured out why. This goes out to my beta, my sister, the lovely, inimitable Chelle-sama, and her sister, Ciircee-sama, whom I love and adore and cherish. XD

"Her body seems to be everywhere,

like a wild dance taking up space, accented

with pirouettes that waft

summer scents that fill my face, completing

the hollowness, making my head whole

and the sadness that clings

to my skin blown asunder."

"Calling"; Donna Mae Arriola

III: Slivers of Sky

It could be compared to looking at two bright shards of ice cold diamonds—the flawless, colored bright blue ones.

She closed her eyes and pulled her mask over her face. She drew the foil and stood ready for battle. "En garde, Eriol."

He merely grinned at her, the cad. There had always been something very annoying about that grin since they were children, and she remembered now exactly what it was. It mixed indulgent, conceited, amused and mischievous so well, yet conveyed innocence at every angle. No wonder he kept getting out of trouble.

That train of thought was discontinued when suddenly, in two quick motions, he drew down his mask and picking up his foil, thrust at her. She parried, reacting by instinct more than by skill, and cursed. Dammit—he's fast.

He easily defended himself from her counter, and then maneuvered himself into a position that forced her to take three very quick steps back. Even more annoyed now, she quickly reclaimed the space she'd backed down from and attacked him at full force.

They were very evenly matched, but he was too fast for her. She was soon overpowered, Eriol's foil pointing directly at her throat.

"You lose," he told her.

"Yes, I'm aware of that," she replied, pulling off her mask and letting it drop to the floor along with her weapon.

He lowered his own weapon and pulled his mask off as well. Again, that grin, and again those eyes. Fuming at having lost, and at that impudent, unapologetic grin, she launched herself at him, met his lips as they both toppled to the floor. He made a sound like the wind being knocked out of him, but otherwise did not complain. Tomoyo felt as if she'd hit two birds with one stone—this way she didn't have to see him grinning, and certainly there was nothing bad about kissing Hiiragizawa Eriol.

When she pulled back, her hair had fallen about them like a dark curtain. Her view of his eyes were unobstructed by the glasses he'd removed before they began, and she saw herself in them, drowning in them. She held up a hand to touch his cheek; he leaned into it with a slight smile.

She had to smile herself.

Eriol didn't know what made him happier—the fact that Tomoyo was lying on top of him, or that she had been kissing him only moments ago. He pulled her face down to his and decided that kissing definitely made him happiest.

He felt like he was falling with nothing to hold on to. As a sorcerer that was very disconcerting—to suddenly lose all sense of control. Eriol had been able to control most everything in his life, until now. In his soul he felt it, deep, when Clow had lost control as well—when he had fallen for Madoushi. The memories were blurred but the feelings were not, and so these feelings were a new sort of old, or maybe an old sort of new? He didn't know, and largely didn't care much.

Feelings like joy, elation, utter desperation—they came flooding into him without a sign of ever stopping. He was falling, propelled only by gravity to her—he was falling for her, he had fallen for her, and this loss of control was… awesome.

And so he clung to her as a falling man grabs something to cling to—with his dear life. Tight, because he never wanted her to leave, and close, because he wanted her to be his, now, forever. She broke the kiss, but he never let go. She rested her head on the crook of his shoulder, and he let out a breath.

"So. This is the slightly smaller flat you were talking about?" she asked. "How many small flats have their own fencing room?"

He laughed. "Well, it is slightly smaller than Reed Manor."

She punched him lightly. "Sure. By a few centimeters, maybe." She laughed with him. "That's so Japanese of you, being self-deprecatingly humble." Tomoyo raised herself up on her hands and looked around. "What is this place, really?"

"This is my parents' house," he told her. "Well, it's my house now. They left it to me."

She looked down at him as he drew himself up to a sitting position. "Then why move to Reed Manor at all? This place… practically the same thing."

"It was Kaho-san's idea," he replied. "Reed Manor stands on an endless conduit of magic that can be utilized at will. Given the circumstances, it was only logical. It helped me… reach out to Sakura-san. Know when it was time."

"And now… you have no more need for magic?"

"… Magic will always be a part of me," he said, conjuring a rose in his palm and tucked it behind her ear. Tomoyo was not surprised at all, having seen Sakura-chan do such things before.

"What I don't need anymore is that amount of power," he continued. "My work is done. I just want to be…"

"Normal?" she prompted.

"Human," he corrected her. "That's probably why I didn't sense you were here. In electronic terms, my batteries are low." He chuckled.

She smiled. "I'm glad."

"What about?"

"That you didn't sense me," she kissed his cheek. "I'm glad I was a surprise."

"You do seem to be full of surprises now," he observed. "What happened to Daidouji Tomoyo, Miss Polite, Prim and Proper?"

"I still am polite, prim, and proper."

"You sneaked away from a guided tour and went into restricted areas," he pointed out.

"Please," she scoffed. "I've been sneaking away and going into restricted areas since I was eleven. I videoed Sakura-chan, remember?"

"You kissed me. On our first date."

An eyebrow rose. "Would you rather I didn't?"

He shook his head furiously, and then kissed her on the mouth to make his point. "I'm just saying… the Daidouji-san I knew from Tomoeda would never do something like that."

"You don't know anything about the Daidouji-san you met ten years ago," she said softly. He wondered what she meant, but couldn't ask, as she went on, "And even if you did, would it matter? You wouldn't have wanted her then. Who I am now… very different from who you knew. That girl you met was afraid to take chances. I'm not." She turned to him. "I figure life's too short to spend waiting. For instance, do you know that I love you?"

He blinked at her, never expecting that one.

"I'd thought that." She smiled, but it was different from her usual—this smile was almost… bitter. "I've loved you since… well, I don't remember. But I was afraid. I used to be afraid. But Fate gave me a chance when I walked into that bookshop and found you there. I try not to let such opportunities pass."

"But… what about… Sakura-san?"

Her brow furrowed with her frown. "Why does everyone seem to think that I'll never get over Sakura-chan? It doesn't make any sense." She leaned into him. "I'll always love her, it's true—she's been in my life so long that it would be strange not to. But… I do have room in my heart to love someone else. To love you."

She turned her head to look out at the sky from the large windows on the east wall. It was a clear, bright blue—no clouds, only pure sunshine. "I want… to give away all the love in my heart. I want to love every chance I'm given. Loving is a privilege. It should be given freely. So I love you. I want it to be you."

He could do nothing else but hold her close and thank her.