Epilogue

So much had changed in three days, Touya thought as they reached Yukito's house and went through the gate. And yet nothing had. His heart still ached with longing when it was time to part. He still wanted to wrap his arms around the other boy, drag him home and just plainly announce to his father that Yukito was going to stay with them for good. But now he was sure of his best friend's feelings and he felt uncharacteristically giddy.

'I've enjoyed our trip. Thank you, To-ya,' Yukito said, beaming. 'You will give the souvenirs to Sakura-chan, won't you?'

'I will.' Touya took his hand gently. The street was empty and, honestly, he didn't care anymore. He felt like he would flaunt their love happily at the moment. 'See you tomorrow at the shop?'

Yukito nodded and stood on tiptoe in order to kiss Touya's cheek quickly. 'I'll be there at ten. Don't be late. Or I'll miss you…'

Touya was pretty sure that the undertones in Yukito's voice would carry him through the night and right into the next morning.

'You know, you can come in. Unless you really enjoy perching on branches like a bird.'

Touya leaned on the windowsill, looking out at the moon guardian. A few days had passed since the end of the trip and he hadn't seen Yue at all, although he had often felt him watching through Yukito's eyes, studying him, waiting.

'I didn't think I was so conspicuous.' Yue looked around, as if the surrounding darkness held the answer to some unspoken question, before gazing back at Touya.

'You glow beautifully.'

There was no reply for some time.

'So what now?' The branch creaked a little under Yue's weight. He had been sitting on it instead of hovering like he usually did.

Touya stretched out his arm, offering his hand. 'You are too far and I don't have wings. And it's not fair that I can't spy on you unseen.'

Yue sprang forward and glided to Touya's window, then stopped and floated in mid-air, his face just inches away, silken hair catching the evening breeze and trailing behind him. His face was not a perfect mask of composure anymore. He looked uncertain, curious. Eager.

'Come in?' Touya said softly for fear that he would scare him away.

His and Yukito's moments of intimacy had been few and far between since they became a couple. Touya thought it was alright. It would make things all the sweeter when a perfect opportunity arose.

But it thrilled him to think that someone was getting impatient. Yue flew into the bedroom but still stood next to the open window, watching Touya intently.

'This may not be a good idea. I shouldn't keep you up if you are tired,' Yue said, frantically looking for excuses.

Touya grinned. 'If you are here to keep me up, I'd say it's a very good idea.'

That seemed to do it. Yue's lips curved into a rare smile and he didn't flinch when Touya took a step forward and brushed them lightly with his finger.

'I'm not made of glass. Don't touch me as if I could break.' Yue said it matter-of-factly but there was a plea hidden somewhere in those words.

'That's not the reason I do it,' Touya said, and reached out to brush a silver strand that had come loose away from the beautiful face. 'I still don't know if you want to be with me or keep your distance. I'm not poisonous.' He feigned annoyance.

It happened preternaturally fast and before he knew it Yue's lips were pressed against his own, warmer than he had expected. Touya lost track of time as they kissed, slowly at first and then more eagerly, leaving little room for doubt. Yue's eyes shone like diamonds when they parted, and he let out a small sigh before speaking.

'Not poisonous. I needed to make sure.'

The Guardian's attempt at humour made Touya chuckle, but he sobered when he saw Yue look around nervously again. 'What is it?'

'It's the house. I like it but they are here. I can't let my guard down.'

Touya thought of Mirror. 'The cards will gossip.' It was an amusing idea, but Yue didn't seem to find it all that funny.

'They can be pretty judgmental.'

'You could think that I am telling you this for my sake because I want to get my hands on you,' Touya said with a lopsided smile. 'But I have a feeling that the cards and everyone who knows you wish for your happiness.'

'I still prefer the outdoors,' Yue answered. 'If you are not too tired. Give me your hand.'

Touya obeyed immediately. Exhaustion was unimportant now. He easily pushed it to the back of his mind to focus on the glowing being before him and the soft touch of their fingers.

A draught brushed past his skin, giving him goose bumps, and when he looked beyond his companion their surroundings had shifted. They were in some sort of clearing in the woods, and Touya could hear the sound of streaming water, his own breathing, and very little else.

'How...?'

'I'm stronger now. Partly thanks to you,' Yue said gently.

It was a moonlit spot, and Touya thought he would have been able to see clearly even if Yue had not been standing there like a beacon in the night. He would have been awed even if Yue had not unclasped his garments and let them slide down his shoulders, revealing white, flawless skin. As it was, Touya was flabbergasted, blood rushing through his body as Yue shot him a different kind of smile now –bold, knowing.

'No one can see us here, not even by chance,' Yue said. Touya got closer and stood right behind him, and leaned forward to kiss Yue's neck because it was only sensible thing to do. He touched the spot between Yue's vanished wings, pressing the tips of his fingers ever so slightly against it.

'You knew to do that. A few weeks ago too.' There was some suspicion in his voice.

'Um-hum,' Touya mumbled, too busy to speak. His heart was racing as he undid the belt that held the rest of Yue's garments together. 'You know even more about me,' he said eventually. 'Who has the upper hand here?'

Yue stepped out of his clothes gracefully and grabbed the hem of Touya's t-shirt, meeting his eye with a devious smile on his lips. 'Who do you think clued Yukito in?'

Touya was almost surprised when his heart tugged at him a little, as if bracing itself for a pang of guilt that never came. There was so much that was different about Yue and Yukito. But what mattered the most was not, and he had just realized this was not some half truth he had been telling himself, but a fact.

'Show me,' Touya said, throwing caution to the wind.

They fell down on the soft grass in a tangle of limbs and silvery hair and Touya felt like he was the luckiest man alive to have made it through the icy shards of Yue's crumbling barriers and into his heart. They made love –the three of them, for he somehow knew that Yukito wasn't totally asleep this time, that the connection between him and Yue was a window left ajar. There was a telltale sweetness in the Moon Guardian's light eyes, as real as Yue's desire had been, glinting through Yukito's brown irises.

They lay side by side on Yue's white garments, Yue's head nestled on his chest, and Touya stretched out an arm to frame the stars with his fingers. There was such a strong light it was almost uncanny. He held his breath when he realized it was his hand that glowed in the dark.

'What is this?' he asked. But he knew because he could feel it, coursing through his body: something that had once been his but had now been transformed, improved.

Yue sighed contentedly, running a hand over Touya's chest. 'My… our graduation gift.'

Touya closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, he grinned from ear to ear, and drew Yue's lithe body into a hug. He could sense so much more now, as if his body was connected to their surroundings, some of the magic he knew existed in the universe resonating within him.

A/N: I know this took me a very long time to write, but I wanted to do my very best because Yue deserves to be written properly. I have included an old headcanon of mine, that of Touya partially regaining his powers through -ahem- another kind of physical contact with Yue. I won't bore you longer. This is my gift to the fandom, hoping that it will come alive with the new anime and that I will be right here to see/read it! Thank you for reading!