Rune's heart thaws at last

Syaoran was awake and for some reason, couldn't get back to sleep. This was because a certain Fortune-teller was on his mind. He couldn't stop thinking about her, no matter how hard he tried. He decided to go out for a walk to clear his thoughts. He went into the garden and walked among the flowers which glistened like jewels in the light of the full moon.

He was approaching the fountain when he stopped. Someone was out there, and he intended to know who it was. He crept around the bushes nearby and then looked at the person near the fountain. He almost gasped when he realized who it was! He stood there, staring at the person near the fountain.

It was Rune.

She was sitting near the fountain, gazing at the stars as if she were trying to find patterns. Her hair glistened as it became wet with the spray from the water splashing. Syaoran was transfixed and couldn't help but stare at her in wonder. He noticed idly that Rune had something in her hand and he dismissed it.

Suddenly Rune took the rock she had picked up and threw it directly at Syaoran snarling, "Show yourself, you peeping tom!"

The rock hit him dead on and he nearly blacked out. His legs finally obeyed his command to move and he stepped into her line of sight so she could see him clearly.

"Syaoran?!" she exclaimed in horror and shock.

"Sorry about that Rune. My legs refused to move until the rock you threw snapped me out of it!" laughed Syaoran nervously.

"What were you doing walking around the garden?" she asked.

"I took a walk because I couldn't sleep…" he answered vaguely. He neglected to mention why he couldn't sleep.

"Why don't you come sit next to me and star gaze?"

"Okay…" he said as he sat down next to her.

The two sat there in silence as they tried to pick out the constellations in the night sky. At some point they had gotten up off the fountain's edge and sat down on a clear grassy spot instead. Syaoran and Rune didn't know when they fell asleep, but when they woke up the next morning they were in for a real shock!

They woke up in each other's arms. Syaoran was the first to awaken and he noticed very quickly that they weren't in the garden anymore! He was about to sit up when he finally noticed the weight on his chest. He looked down in shock as he realized that Rune was asleep on him, her hair splayed around her. He decided to wait until Rune woke up on her own; she looked so peaceful that he didn't want to disturb her.

He laid there in the bed for over half an hour before she finally woke up. He had noticed idly that they were in her room. When she woke up completely, however, she was horrified. She demanded that Syaoran explain how they both ended up asleep in her bed! That was when Dark finally came in the room.
"Sis, that wasn't his fault."

"What do you mean?!" she said angrily.

"You two fell asleep next to each other in the garden last night. I was walking by and saw you; so I carried both of you into your room. I couldn't remember where Syaoran's room was so I placed him in the bed next to you. You must have curled up next to him in your sleep," Dark explained.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you…" she growled.

"Because you two had already curled up next to each other when I found you anyway…"

"WHAT!" said Rune and Syaoran in unison.

Both of them had a hard time talking to one another without being embarrassed about what happened that morning. The family didn't know what had happened, but they weren't going to interfere. Nearly a month passed before they had to confront each other in the garden one night. This time it was Rune who had a hard time falling asleep.

She was walking past a certain statue when she stopped cold. It was Syaoran, and he appeared not to have sensed her presence. At first she didn't want to bother him, then she finally mustered the courage and walked up to him. He didn't hear her coming; his heart skipped a beat from shock when she lightly tapped his shoulder.

"Hello Rune. Let me guess, couldn't sleep?" he smiled.

"Hai…" she replied nervously; she remembered at little too well what happened the last time they met in the garden at night.

"You might as well sit down then. I was just thinking while watching the moon anyway," he said.

"What were you thinking about?"

"Random things, mostly."

"Syaoran, about that night…" she started.

"I know. It was an accident that happened between us. But it wasn't so bad if you stop to think about it…" he said vaguely. Rune could tell that that was what he had been thinking about while gazing at the moon.

They sat next to each other in silence; until Rune couldn't stand it any longer.

"Syaoran…"

He turned toward her, and she gazed into his eyes. She was lost amid the depths until Syaoran spoke.

"Rune…we need to talk about this."

"Talk about what?"

"About this! About us!"

"What about us?" she asked, still lost in his eyes.

"We can't keep denying that there's something between us any longer," he said quietly.

"I know…" she said in a whisper. She laid her head on Syaoran's shoulder and he looked at her in shock.

"Rune…" Syaoran said as he wrapped his arm around her, and laid his head on her own. They fell asleep and once again Dark brought the two of them inside; though this time he put them in Syaoran's room.