Here is the next chapter. Sorry about the slow-burn.
Tomoyo sat in the library with an open book before her, and turmoil raging through her mind. Across the table from her, Yue was focused on his reading. They had not met in the library for nearly a month, as Tomoyo purposely avoided coming there for two consecutive weeks after Yue remained absent himself for the prior two weeks, in order to allow Yukito to be there for Toya while he was ill and recovering. Tomoyo had nurtured a small hope that if she did not see Yue-san long enough, the strange feelings that she had been having would go away on their own. Unfortunately, that did not happen, and she went about spending the previous weekends in a listless and unproductive manner. Quite contrarily, the very sight of Yue-san after so many days gave her a strange feeling of calmness somewhere deep within her, even though her rational mind kept screaming at her. Her mind had to constantly remind her not to look in his direction, not to take notice of the slight sheen of his long silver hair, or the shade of his buttoned shirt, which on that occasion matched perfectly with the color of his eyes, not to pay any attention to the way his long pale fingers turned the pages of the book at regular intervals. Yue-san continued to read, unperturbed of her inner struggle and hopefully unaware of its very existence.
Tomoyo closed the book before her and lowered her head on top of it. I should leave , she told herself, and yet it seemed that she had lost the will to even get up. How pathetic, she rebuked herself.
Yue watched the girl before him out of the corner of his eyes. She seemed to have fallen fast asleep. Many people liked to take short naps while reading, including himself whenever he read at home at least, so at first he did not think much of it. However, the young lady had way exceeded the limit of an usual napping break. She had not opened her eyes for almost an hour by that time, as her head rested on top of a thick book, her wavy hair framing her pretty and composed face. Yue had observed that the screen of her phone which lay at an arm's reach from her had flashed several times, but she was yet to notice it. He wondered if she was feeling alright.
"Daidouji-san," Yue called in a low voice, finally deciding to rouse the sleeping princess. At least, she seemed like one in that state. There was no answer. He could not call any louder since they were inside a library. So, he extended his hand, and tapped her head lightly with the knuckle of his forefinger.
Tomoyo raised her head slowly and looked at Yue. "Yes?" she said in her usual poised manner.
"You should go home if you are not feeling well," Yue said.
"Gomen ne, I must have distracted you. I am not unwell," Tomoyo said, but decided to leave anyway.
Yue had turned his attention back to the page of his book. While Tomoyo was collecting her things and putting them back in her bag, he told her to check her phone. "Someone was trying to reach you," he said, without looking up from his book. Tomoyo thanked him and lifted her phone from the reading desk. A few moments later, Yue looked up at the sound of a soft thud to find that Tomoyo's bag had fallen from her hands and she had collapsed back on the chair. She seemed to have turned very pale, and Yue thought he saw the shadow of fear in her deep violet eyes which were usually clear like crystals. He immediately rose from his seat and moved beside her.
"Daidouji-san what's the matter?" Tomoyo heard Yue-san's voice as he leaned over her, his arm resting on the back of her chair.
"I need to get to the hospital," Tomoyo answered in a slightly shaky voice, holding up her phone for Yue to see the screen.
Yue saw and processed all the required information in a flash. There were notifications for numerous missed calls and messages. The latest message was from her mother's personal security staff, urging her to immediately come to a hospital halfway across the town where her mother had been rushed to following a medical emergency.
"I need to leave," Tomoyo picked her bag, and for the first time in her life she turned away from him without a proper bow. She proceeded to the counter to return the books in her bag. There was no time to get them issued. Unfortunately, there were three other folks waiting in the line before her.
"Sumimasen,-," Tomoyo tried to get the attention of the young guy before her, but the fellow had earphones plugged in his ears, and did not hear her. She felt a light touch on her shoulder and turned to see that Yue-san was beside her.
With a firm step, Yue cut the line and stood before the young fellow, who opened his mouth to protest. "She has an emergency situation, so please excuse us," Yue-san said politely, but firmly, bowing slightly. The one at the front just got done, and the only other person in front of them in the queue had also heard his words, and stepped aside voluntarily for them.
"Good afternoon," the young assistant named Hana, greeted them (especially Yue-san) with her best smile. "Can I see your card please?" she extended her hand to Tomoyo. She seemed to not have heard Yue-san's words a moment ago.
"Not needed as she's returning everything," Yue-san swiftly opened her backpack and took out the two volumes inside it, placing it on the desk. "Please return them to the shelves along with this," he placed the one he had been reading on the counter along with the ones Tomoyo had selected.
"What?" The staff seemed shocked. "But wait, this counter is for book loans only. You have to place them back in the shelves yourself if you don't wish to loan them. I can't do that –," she stuttered at the cold stare from Yue's piercing blue eyes.
"Daidouji-san," Yue was not willing to waste another word or second with the assistant girl. "Come with me," he took Tomoyo's hand firmly and started walking away from the front desk. People turned their heads at them, but he paid them no heed.
Once they were outside the library, Yue took his phone from his pocket and turned the screen on. "Yue-san?" Tomoyo called anxiously. The soft hand that he still held trembled a little.
"There's no time to walk all the way to the station and take the train. The hospital is not near the station either, so I have requested a cab online. It should be here in a minute or two," Yue explained calmly.
"You already did? What about the address?" Tomoyo asked.
"I have it," Yue answered. "I shall take you there," he added.
Tomoyo did not let go of Yue's hand even when the cab arrived. So, Yue sat in the back seat with her, reminding the driver once of their destination address. Tomoyo's fingers curled around his hand tightly, and they felt cold to the touch. Yue realized that the poor girl was doing her best to be brave. But when the traffic signal turned red at the crossing, she started to get agitated, and fidgeted with her phone in her other hand.
"You should call them if you are anxious," Yue suggested.
"Hai," Tomoyo said, but Yue noticed the tremor of the dainty fingers that were held his hand, as well as the ones that operated the phone. She is scared to find out , he realized. Unlike his easygoing young master, the young lady beside him was a proud person, and did not easily confess to needing help even when she really needed it.
"Let me talk," Yue held out his hand. It seemed to him that Daidouji-san was relieved and quickly thrusted the phone onto his palm. Yue dialed the number on the screen and waited,
"Daidouji-san is presently with me, and we are heading there," Yue said on the phone when a female voice answered the call.
"Yokatta!," the voice on the other end of the line exclaimed. "My colleague and I have been trying to reach Miss Daidouji over the past two hours. Since we did not know her location, we could not send a car," Sonomi's security employee said on the phone.
"I understand," Yue said. "Please tell me everything," he requested. He listened in silence for the next few moments, feeling Tomoyo's anxious eyes fixated on his face the entire time. "We expect to reach within twenty minutes approximately," he said before disconnecting the call and handing the phone back to its owner.
"It is not the worst, is it?" Tomoyo's voice trembled audibly this time. She was looking down at her feet.
"No, it isn't," Yue pressed her hand gently to assure her that he was telling the truth.
Tomoyo shifted in her seat to move closer to him. "Please tell me that it is not a road accident, Yue-san," she said.
"No," Yue sighed. Why would she think of a road accident out of all the things that could have happened? . He was not sure if he should be the one to break the bad news about her mother to her. While texting her, her mother's employee had not mentioned what type of medical emergency it was, probably because she did not want the young girl to start panicking before she reached there. However, playing guessing games was also not doing any good to her mental state at that time. Yue decided to tell her. Whatever her reaction was, he would protect her with everything he had. That was the reason why he was there for her. "I was told that your mother suffered a heart attack on her way back from work," he told her.
For a moment, Tomoyo became completely still. Her breath, the slight tremor of her hands, the motion of her eyelids, everything stopped for an instant. "Oh," in the next moment, Yue felt the girl turn her head, and bury her face between his neck and shoulders. She released her hold on his hand, and brought her other hand up to clutch the fabric of his shirt near his collar. "Sixteen missed calls and twenty-three messages!" she said in a muffled voice.. "I am such a fool. I would have been there beside my poor mother already if I had not allowed myself to go astray," she said.
Yue could only place an arm around the distressed girl's shoulder. She had taken a nap for almost an hour, and probably even before that she had not checked her phone for some time. It was not an unforgivable error by any means, and could have happened to anyone, especially inside a library. So, Yue did not get why she described it as going astray, but kept quiet knowing that telling her to be gentle to herself would not be of much use at that point. She was polite, disciplined, a model student, a gifted singer, and above all possessed a pure heart that had selflessly cared for every other person she had met on her path. She was the type of girl every parent would wish their child to become. Why would she go astray? Yue was clueless. Even at that moment, Daidouji-san did not cry. Yes, she was holding onto him, but she was trying her best to compose herself. She was taking heavy breaths, and Yue could feel the rapid palpitation of the pulse in her throat.
"Thanks for trusting me, Yue-san," Yue heard her say after a while when her breath had steadied. She probably referred to the fact that he deemed it fit to not hold back the information from her until they reached, but nevertheless, it was a strange way to put it.
"That can wait. For now, we have arrived," Yue said.
At the hospital, Tomoyo was able to quickly meet the two ladies who worked as her mother's personal security staff. They told her that Sonomi collapsed while leaving the office, and was rushed to the hospital immediately. The doctors had already taken the required diagnostic tests, and determined it necessary to conduct an emergency surgical procedure. The unconscious Sonomi was taken in for the surgery a short while ago, before Tomoyo arrived. So, there was not much to do but to wait for the medical procedure to complete and hope for the best.
Tomoyo was sitting in the waiting area, her body and mind quite numb from stress. She was leaning against Yue's arm with her eyes closed, lightly resting her head on his shoulder when Touya arrived at the scene.
"Oye Tomoyo," the dark haired young man called his second cousin taking the empty seat beside her.
Tomoyo opened her eyes and straightened her posture at the sound of the familiar voice. "Touya onii-san?" She seemed surprised. "How did you,-?"
"Yue messaged me and told me everything," Touya answered before she could finish. Tomoyo's eyes were filled with gratitude for the two men. "Touya onii-san, Yue-san, you didn't have to -,"
"I thought you might need some help," this time Yue cut her off, his face passive as always. From folks that are actually humans, unlike me , he thought to himself.
"How is Sonomi-san?" Touya asked gently.
"She is in surgery now. She will be alright. Okaa-san is strong," Tomoyo said, keeping her hand over her heart.
"Tomoyo, is there anyone else that you would like to inform?" Touya questioned.
Tomoyo thought for maybe two seconds and shook her head. "I will be alright," she tried to smile faintly. Touya closed his eyes for a moment. She had heard from Sakura that Tomoyo's family did not have many close relatives.
After the surgery was complete, they were allowed to speak to the surgeon. Tomoyo could not speak much, and Touya did most of the talking. The cardiac surgeon informed them that he expected his patient to recover, though he could only confirm after conducting more tests once the patient recovered from the effects of the anesthesia. Tomoyo saw her mother briefly when she was shifted to the ICU after the surgery. Yue kept an eye on the girl, but as expected, she conducted herself with composure. The nurse in charge of her mother for the night informed them that the patient might regain consciousness early the next morning.
"Yue, can you take Tomoyo to our house, so she can rest for the night? I have informed Sakura already," Touya approached Yue and touched his shoulder lightly," Yue nodded, but his eyes did not leave Tomoyo who stood nearby, leaning against a wall.
"I want to stay with Okaa-san," she protested, having heard Touya's words.
"Tomoyo, it is late, and you seem to be quite on the edge. Besides, dad is heading here right now. He insisted on it when I called, so I just gave him the location. Dad and I will stay here for the night. Come back tomorrow morning with Sakura," Touya said.
"Touya onii-san, please –," Tomoyo started protesting once again.
"Oye Yue, Tomoyo calls you her friend right? Make her understand what is good for her," Touya interrupted, speaking to Yue instead.
Yue quietly walked over to Tomoyo and stood before her, "Daidouji-san, I too think that you should let the elders handle things here for now. You have had a long day," he said calmly.
Tomoyo looked up to find that piercing stare in Yue-san's pale blue eyes. There was something in that gaze due to which she could not protest. "Wakarimashita," she said. "But I have already let go of my mother's car for the night as it was past the normal duty hours for her staff," she informed.
"I shall ensure that you get back safely," Yue said. Tomoyo nodded and approached her cousin.
"Thanks for helping out my mother and me, Touya onii-san. Please give my thanks to Fujitaka-san," she bowed. Touya placed a hand on her lowered head. "Go home and rest," he said. Even in this state, she never forgets the pleasantries , Yue thought.
"It might take a while to get a cab at this time of the night," Tomoyo remarked quietly once they were inside the elevator. Yue leaned back, with his hands inside the pockets of his trousers. He did not reply immediately.
"I can take you to the master's home faster, if you want," he said once they were outside the main building of the hospital.
"Are you going to fly us there?" Tomoyo asked. As expected, she guessed Yue's intention right away, and also seemed to be fine with the idea. So, Yue led her to a secluded spot on one side of the building. Tomoyo saw the large wings appear on either side of his back and envelop his form. When they unfurled, Yue-san stood there in his splendid white attire instead of the formal clothes he was wearing a moment ago.
"Daidouji-san, do you trust me?" Yue asked, a bit of hesitation evident in his blue eyes.
"Mochiron," Tomoyo answered taking a step towards him
The beautiful winged guardian took another step towards her. The two of them were standing very close when Yue-san placed his hands on her shoulders, and taking the cue, Tomoyo placed her hands on the armor on his chest. "If you feel any fear or discomfort for any reason, you are to tell me immediately," he said in an instructive voice.
Tomoyo nodded, as she felt her feet lose contact with the ground below them. One of Yue-san's strongest powers was his ability to locally manipulate the gravitational force. Tomoyo of course had no magic of her own, but was experienced with its usage. She had flown on Sakura's magical key wand several times. Flying with Yue-san was hence not a big deal to her. In fact, the way he held her was more comfortable than trying to balance herself on Sakura's wand. However, if it had been an usual occasion, and her mind had not been so numb with worry and fear, she would have had very different thoughts and feelings about being flown by Yue-san. But it was not likely that Yue-san would have flown her in an usual situation anyway.
Yue carefully ascended to the tops of the trees and the buildings. He felt the girl in his arms lean in and place her face on the armor on his chest. "Are you feeling alright?" he asked, wanting to make sure.
"I am not scared," the answer came in a muffled voice, but a light arm looped itself around his neck nonetheless.
For a while, Tomoyo heard no sounds but the flutter of Yue-san's strong wings cutting the air as they headed in the direction of her best friend's house.
When Sakura opened the front door of her house at the sound of the doorbell, she saw her moon guardian standing on the porch with a protective arm around her best friend's shoulder. Tomoyo's face was expressionless, but she looked like someone returning from a battlefield.
"Tomoyo-chan," Sakura said softly, her countenance hardly concealing the concern that she felt.
Tomoyo walked into the living room and sat down. Keroberos hovered around her. "Oi Tomoyo, you don't look good. Do you want something to eat? Or to drink perhaps?" he asked in a worried manner.
"I think I would like to go to bed, if that is alright," Tomoyo said, getting up from her seat.
"Of course it is. I have laid out the futon in the bedroom. But Tomoyo-chan, since you haven't had a meal -,," Sakura started.
"I think it is better to let her be for now," Yue intervened.
"Wakatta," Sakura said. Tomoyo had started climbing up the stairs that led to Sakura's bedroom on the second floor. "Yue-san, thanks for taking care of Tomoyo-chan today, and for bringing her here," she bowed to him and proceeded to ask him about her aunt Sonomi's medical state. Yue told her whatever he had heard at the hospital.
A while later, Sakura went up to her bedroom to find Tomoyo laying on the futon, her face pressed against the pillow. She had pulled the sheets up to her face, so only her pale forehead was visible.
"Ah, poor Tomoyo," Keroberos came and sat beside her, patting the girl's head with his soft paw.
"Yue-san, will you stay here for the night?" Sakura asked Yue who had followed her upstairs, and was quietly watching Tomoyo from the doorway.
"Iie, I should go home. Yukito has a paper to write tomorrow morning," Yue answered.
"I thought onii-chan asked you to stay," Sakura looked somewhat disappointed.
Yue thought for a moment. He understood that his young master was also worried, and if Tomoyo's mother's condition were to become worse, it might be too much to handle for her by herself. He entered the room and knelt beside Tomoyo to place a hand on her forehead. "Fine, I will leave in the morning," he said.
"Arigatou, Yue-san. Please use onii-chan's room to rest for the night," Sakura said, evidently happy that he changed his mind.
"The couch downstairs is fine for me," he said as he left the room to allow the girls to rest.
Tomoyo woke up from a stupor-like state after some time, and sat up on her futon. The room was quiet and dark. Sakura was asleep on the bed, and Keroberos was in his own little bed in one of the dresser chests. The back of her throat was scorching with thirst. Tomoyo quietly slipped out of the room and descended the stairs to make her way to the kitchen to get a drink of water. On her way, she caught a glimpse of Yue-san's lying form on the living room couch. She walked inside the kitchen as quietly as possible, and retrieved a glass from the shelf. As she moved to fill the glass with water, her elbow hit something on the kitchen counter in the dark, knocking it to the floor. The sound of smashing glass shattered the silence of the night, and Tomoyo froze at the spot.
"Daidouji-san?" Tomoyo heard a somewhat sleepy voice as Yue-san's tall silhouette drew closer to the entrance of the kitchen. "What are you doing in the dark?" he flipped the light switch, illuminating the kitchen of the Kinomoto household. Tomoyo saw a pale finger rubbing at the corner of an eye as he gazed at the shattered pieces of glass between them, which had once been a pudding cup.
"I am really sorry," Tomoyo bowed low in embarrassment. "I just came to get a glass of water and,-"
"It wasn't your fault, but an act of mischief performed by Keroberos to leave his unwashed dessert cup at the edge of the counter," Yue narrowed his eyes spitefully towards the pieces of the broken cup on the floor. If it was another day, Tomoyo would have giggled at his facial expression and the interesting choice of words. "You should have turned the light on though," Yue added.
"I was afraid that I might awaken you if I did that," Tomoyo said. She placed the glass in her hand on the counter. "I can clean this up quickly," she knelt and extended her hand to pick up the shards.
Yue moved quickly and caught the girl's arm before her fingers could come in contact with the pieces of broken glass. His fingers tightly clasped Tomoyo's wrist, their arms forming a bridge over the space of the floor where the broken pieces had scattered. "Are you out of your mind? You don't clean broken glass with your bare hands, princess!" Yue snapped.
"Yue-san," at the sound of Tomoyo's pained and low voice, Yue felt that he ought to have been gentler with Tomoyo, considering the stuff that she has been going through since that evening. He realized that although the young heiress to the fortunes of the Daidouji family excelled at tasks like baking and sewing, growing up in a house full of maids and attendants, she perhaps never had to do any cleaning and dusting.
"I mean it is dangerous," the moon guardian's eyelids fluttered when he looked at Tomoyo's face. "Hold my hand and try to step over this part of the floor," he held her hand, to guide her step across the area where the sharp pieces of glass stuck out menacingly. Tomoyo took a long stride and crossed the area, almost bumping into Yue. He steadied her with another hand on her shoulder and stepped aside. "Wait in the living room till I clean it," he said. Tomoyo did not have the usual energy to argue with him that night. She gave a curt bow, and left the kitchen.
Tomoyo dragged her weary body to the couch in the living room. She could hear Yue-san cleaning up the floor in the adjacent kitchen. A while later, Yue came to the living room, carrying a small tray in his hand. He quietly placed the tray on the table before Tomoyo and moved away to turn on a light. Tomoyo eagerly grabbed the glass of water from the tray and gulped down the cool liquid inside. The burning sensation in her throat subsided, but her eyes continued to burn.
Yue came over and seated himself at the edge of the table before her, his blue eyes fixated on the pale countenance of the distressed young girl before him. "Daidouji-san, you are hurting yourself. I will not allow it," he finally said after a short sigh.
"What do you mean," Tomoyo asked quietly.
Yue did not respond verbally. Instead, he extended his hand and caught Tomoyo's chin between his thumb and index finger, tilting up her face. "The tears that you have been fighting back since this evening have made your eyes bloodshot," he observed. "It would be easier on your mind and body to just let them fall," he added.
"I don't want to -" Tomoyo started.
"It's not about what you want, it's about what you need at the moment," Yue sounded annoyed. "It is not like I haven't seen your tears before, but if my presence makes you uncomfortable to express how you really feel, I shall leave you alone to do so," he withdrew his hand from Tomoyo's face and was about to get up.
"Matte kudasai," Tomoyo finally found the resolve to reach out and catch hold of Yue-san's right hand with both of her own. "Matte, Yue-san," she said as she lowered her face on the armor of the moon guardian, her hands grasping a fist full of the fine silken cloth that draped his right shoulder and upper arm, its length trailing down to his feet. Finally warm tears ran down Tomoyo's dry cheeks and fell on the blue stone embedded in his intricate armor. They fell unrestrained like drops of rain on a scorched desert.
Yue said nothing but placed an arm lightly around Tomoyo's shoulders and a hand over her head. Tomoyo too did not speak or sob, but silent tears continued to flow from her eyes. Yue stayed very still and held Tomoyo like that. During those moments, he felt as if he was truly living, and not merely alive, as Tomoyo had once wanted him to. Since his awakening, the world had never felt more real to Yue than the feel of the soft texture of Tomoyo's dark wavy hair beneath his fingers, the light weight of her forehead leaning against his chest, and the soft but firm grip of her fingers on the cape at his right elbow. It seemed that his purposeless existence was a comfort to the distraught girl at that moment. Even though the situation was hardly something that Yue would rationally describe as pleasant, the knowledge that a person from the real world needed him, even if it was for a short while, filled the ever present void within his heart. It seemed the real people around Daidouji-san did not really understand her well enough for whatever reasons even though they cared for her. They just expected her to be an impeccable character who was strong-willed and sensible against all odds, and she simply succumbed to the pressure of that expectation every , she had held his hand and had asked him to stay with her in a moment like this. She trusted him to see the real her that was scared and sad, along with those tears which no one else could see hidden behind her eyes.
When all the tears had escaped Tomoyo's eyes, Yue drew back very slowly. Watery violet eyes that seemed to resemble the bottomless depth of the ocean to Yue momentarily looked into his icy blue ones, before drifting their gaze downwards. Tomoyo felt a little bashful for being so vulnerable around Yue-san, but somehow she was glad that it happened. What she just did certainly felt a lot better than crying to herself on her pillow, which was what would have happened had Touya not insisted that she spent the night at Sakura's home instead of returning to her own.
"You might need some replenishment in the form of food," Yue remarked quietly, pointing to the tray that he had brought earlier. "Have something if you can," he added.
Tomoyo finally noticed that the tray contained a glass of milk, some cookies, and a neatly arranged stack of tissues. Tomoyo took a few tissues and wiped the streaks of tears from her eyes and face first. She realized that after that catharsis, she felt both hungry and sleepy at the same time. The man who was passively sitting before her, looking straight ahead at the wall, seemed to be a perfectionist in the way he had arranged and brought everything for her. It seemed that Yue-san knew exactly the things that she needed most at that hour. Tomoyo quietly started to finish the food on the tray.
When she had finished the small snack, she was about to pick up the empty tray and glasses from the table, when Yue told her to leave them there. "I am extremely sorry to bother you like this," she bowed in apology before the angelic being. She felt Yue rest his hand momentarily on her head before pulling it back.
"Your rest would be more beneficial than your apology," he said in his formal taciturn manner. Tomoyo bowed again and went to the stairs to go up to her best friend's room for the remainder of the night.
"Dad, can you drop me off at Yuki's place?" Touya asked his father who was driving the car, while they were returning from the hospital early in the morning. The father and son had left after Sakura and Tomoyo arrived there in the morning.
"Of course," Fujitaka smiled kindly, understanding that after a long day, like the one they just had, people wanted to return to the ones they loved the most. When he was of his son's age, he was already married, and looked forward to returning to his dear Nadeshiko each evening. "Poor Tomoyo-chan looked troubled, I hope she and Sakura-chan will be alright by themselves," he said with fatherly concern, as he drove carefully.
"Tomoyo seemed worse last night, so it was still better than I expected," Touya replied.
"Yeah, Sonomi-san could open her eyes this morning, so that must have cheered her up a bit," Fujitaka replied. "I was glad that your friend came along to help her last night though," he said.
"Yue is more like a friend of Yukito," his son answered nonchalantly, yawning softly.
"Yue? It is strange that I have never met him before even though Tsukishiro-san spends so much time with you," Fujitaka remarked.
"That's because he is a recluse and does not want to come out often," Touya said. There was nothing untruthful in that statement. Dad, you have no idea, he thought about his clueless father. It seemed like several people want to meet Yue these days, he pondered.
"If that is the case, then Yue-san must really care about Tomoyo-chan," Fujitaka said. Touya saw the small smile, in the corner of his father's lips as he pulled up before Yukito's house.
Touya got out of the car. "I shall be back by afternoon. Get some rest, dad," he said.
"You too, Touya-kun. See you later," Fujitaka drove off.
"Toya, I was expecting you," Yukito said after he answered the door.
"Sakura had called you?" Touya asked as he entered the room, and sat down.
"I called her a while ago, since Yue-san had left me a note before transforming back," Yukito sat down beside him and showed him a writing pad. Touya knew that it contained short exchanges of words between Yukito and Yue. He did not pay much attention to it.
"Yuki," Touya's head slumped on Yukito's shoulder as he wrapped his arms around the young man he was in love with.
"You must be tired, Toya. Do you want some coffee?" Yukito asked kindly.
"I want to get some sleep for a while," Touya's head fell on Yukito's lap, and his eyes closed. His handsome face looked serene. "Too bad you have that paper to complete soon, or else, I wouldn't have to let you go," he said.
"I can give you ten minutes," Yukito laughed a little bit.
"That won't do, for I want you forever. You know that, right?" Touya said casually.
"Toya," Yukito sighed. "I will give it to you the day I have ownership of it," he said. Touya pulled his hand and pressed his lips on the center of the pale skin of his palm. Yukito closed his eyes momentarily.
"Sonomi-san seemed like a strong person, so it must have been a shock to poor Tomoyo-chan. I hope she gets better soon," Yukito said after a while, brushing the stray hairs that fell on Touya's forehead. "I am glad that Yue-san was there with Tomoyo-chan though," he said.
"Yuki, you know Yue seemed to have changed a bit. For the first time, I did not see him showing that bratty attitude he has. It was almost like he was being mature and responsible," Touya said slowly.
"I always told you he was kind, didn't I? Also, people change when they truly care for someone. You were also a hot headed and cynical high schooler when we met, remember?" Yukito smiled.
"I am serious Yuki," Touya threw a light punch towards his friend, in protest of the adjectives Yukito just used to describe his earlier self. "Yuki, you said you can feel Yue's heart. The change seemed too good to be true," Touya said.
"Toya, I have always lived with feeling his pain, but still there are things that I can't tell. I doubt if Yue-san himself understands everything completely yet. The same might be true for Tomoyo-chan as well," Yukito stated. "But Toya, Yue-san, is definitely returning to the present from his painful past, thanks to Tomoyo-chan," he added.
"Is it alright that we are discussing this?" Touya asked with a bit of concern.
"Don't worry. Yue-san seems to be asleep at the moment. I don't remember if he had ever been this calm before," Yukito's sweet smiling face made Touya want to pull him into a kiss then and there, but that would probably mean waking Yue, so he did not act on that impulse.
"Hmm," Touya said. "If Yue regains his lost purpose, it will be so much easier to solve this problem once and for all," he remarked pensively.
A review will be great if you liked the story so far. Until next time.