Ad Finem('til the end) by Michelle Thatcher ------------------------------------------------------------------- All characters used in this story are the exclusive property of CLAMP. My rights to any characters in it are laughable. This story contains SPOILERS and Shonen ai and sap. This is a romance, which means that the end in particular is going to have lots of goopy sweet moments. You have been warned. This story is archived at http://www.akane.org/michelle ------------------------------------------------------------------- =============== Chapter Seven =============== Beautiful white wings kept the cold of the world from her as they encircled her; brushed against her skin; cradled her in their intimate embrace. She wished for a moment that morning would never come to take away the memory of being enfolded; protected; loved, but knew that even now the urgent business of her life was working its way up through her sleeping mind like bubbles in a champaign flute. She knew that this dream like the ones before it would leave its gift of hope, encouragement, and comfort, and would then evaporate from her memory leaving her happily puzzled, but stronger for having been here, like this, with him, even for a moment, even in a dream. She instinctively clung to the warmth, pulled it tight around herself and concentrated on the sensation until she couldn't keep herself from quietly moaning. The need to wake retreated for a moment resigned to give her the chance to take what pleasure she could, but there was much to be done. Much to be done because today was the day. Much to be done because it was time. It was time. Her eyes opened abruptly. She closed them again. Why was it so bright in her room? Slowly she stretched. Something good must have happened in her dream because she was smiling despite the unnaturally white state of her bedroom. This time she opened her eyes more cautiously. The light said it was time. She squinted, but rose and made her way courageously to the window and looked out at the glory of the year's first snow. The woods were startling white against the black skeletons of trees. A thick, deep blanket grew thicker and deeper as the slow downward waltz of countless flakes went on. Winter had been coming to these hills just like this for thousands and thousands of years, and would, no doubt, continue to do so for thousands more. Today, though, the snow was the final messenger of what she knew with greater and greater certainty with every moment that passed. An outward sign that the world was remaking itself today. Because it was time. Was today the day that Yue would return to her? A shy tremulous joy took root inside her. Yue. Yue who had been her constant companion for nearly two hundred years. Yue whose deep purple eyes could calm her in the midst of any crisis magical or personal. Yue whose place in her life she was only now beginning to really admit to herself. She felt a stab of guilt over the pleasure this hope gave her, but Yukito had promised to come back, hadn't he? It wasn't as if she were trading one for the other. It would be so good to see Yue again. And it was time. *** Placing Yukito carefully on a chair in the middle of her study, she leaned over to give him a friendly kiss on the cheek. "Don't be a stranger," she whispered. He looked up at her and smiled. "Thank you for your help, Sakura-chan. I ... I won't run away again." Much was communicated silently between them for a few moments, then she stepped clear of her magic circle, and began to gather her power. "Shouldn't we wait until moonrise?" Keroberus asked. "It's almost full again." Sakura brought her hands out in front of her and held her palms toward the subject of her spell. "That won't be necessary. This won't take much of his power." Her aura flared around her for a moment and she closed her eyes. "Appear before me," she commanded. "Yue." Moments passed and she felt Yukito look up at her self consciously, but she didn't open her eyes. Keroberus made a worried grunt. Sakura frowned, then reached for her mystical connection to Yukito and allowed herself to fall into a minor spell trance. She consciously traced her power from her own soul into the one it supported and wasn't surprised to be met there by a familiar presence. 'What now?' she asked him silently. 'I know it's time for Yue to come back. Did I miss something?' Touya's spirit brushed up against hers gently. 'No,' he admitted. 'Just wanted to say hi.' Sakura mumbled something about brothers who hadn't been this talkative for the *last* couple of centuries, but she was pleased. 'Are we doing alright?' she asked. 'Okay, I suppose,' but his pride was evident. 'He's feeling a lot better now, and I think it'll make Yue a little easier to live with.' Smugness radiated from him and if she hadn't been an ethereal expression of her pure spiritual being, she may have blushed. He could be so ... 'Sakura,' he whispered kindly. It surprised her out of her embarrassment and her irritation. 'Yes?' 'Thank you. He's ... he's kind of important to me.' 'I know, Onii-chan.' 'Now,' he said, all business for once. 'Call him.' As his presence retreated, she probed Yukito's magical field once more. His power flowed gently around her, but his physical form hadn't changed. There was still no anomaly she could detect. No clue to where she might look to find how Yue had been sealed away. Call him, Onii-chan had said. Call him. The words touched something deep inside her, a desperate longing to see him; hear his voice; let him know that she had missed him. _Yue,_ her soul called out. _Please Yue! Come back to me! I need you, Yue! Return to me!_ And every trace of her heart's longing echoed through herself and through Yukito, and she thought she heard a brief responding echo before a surge of light and power drove her physical body back a step and she stumbled and fell to her knees her hands going up to shield her eyes. All was very still in the room for a very long three seconds and then she was aware of the sound of wings above her and her arms came down and she slowly opened her eyes. "Are you alright, master?" Yue asked, kneeling beside her. She took the arm he offered and let him help her to her feet. It was Yue. It was her Yue, and she knew she shouldn't, but it had been weeks and weeks and she threw herself into his arms and hugged all the breath out of him. And he hugged her gently in return. *** Yue let the feelings of his master wash over him. He only had vague recollections of the time he'd spent in his other form, but it was good to know that he'd been missed. Very good. Giving her a gentle squeeze, he gave in to the spirit of the moment. He took a bit of guilty pleasure in savoring her emotions as they filled him. They were an appealing mixture of joy and relief and love. He waited for them to settle; to fade a little so that he could greet her without their distraction. They didn't seem to be going away. "Please never worry me like that again, Yue." "Forgive me, master." His hand came up and he began to gently stroke her hair. "I don't really understand what happened, but ..." He was touching her. Against all reason and good sense, he was touching her. His arm around her waist; his hand in her beautiful soft hair; her face pressed hard into his chest. Her feelings resonating through him. Ye gods. He couldn't push her away. Not this time. But something was different. Something was shining and exquisite and pure. Something that on a very fundamental level left him terrified. Deep in his soul, he felt a familiar spark grow a little hotter. This was an unforseen happening. He knew his own strength. He knew the height and breadth and depth of his own feelings. He knew that he could keep those feelings under complete control for any number of centuries. Provided nothing changed their dimensions or the strength of their pull on his heart, he knew he'd be safe. Free to stay as detached and objective as a proper guardian should be. As long as she continued to feel to him like a charge; a sister; an innocent in need of his support and protection. As long as her desire never matched or exceeded, or -- heaven help him -- outshone his own as a sun to a sparkling of fireworks. If nothing ever blew on that tiny spark within him, if no one ever added fuel or oxygen, as long as he never had a reason to believe that she could return his feelings, add her own powerful emotions to his, love him from the very depths of her perfect and fiery soul, then ... then he would never be in danger of losing control of his desire for her. He clung to her a little more tightly. If his feet had been touching the ground, he might have gone a little weak in the knees. It was too much. Her feelings for him had changed greatly since they'd been together last. He wished he knew what had caused it. For whatever reason, he felt her intense and innocent desire as clearly as he felt her arms around him. He considered his options. She didn't have to know that he'd noticed. He could pretend that nothing had changed; that he too was happy for their reunion and leave it at that. He felt he needed time. Time to be alone. Time to reassess the spark before it slipped any farther from his control. Time to think about the possibilities and make sure that he would make a good decision. What could he do? An appeal to Touya was followed immediately by a strong impulse to kiss her. He repressed it savagely. But there she stood. Loving him. She clung to him demanding nothing; glad to be in his arms. He sensed no expectation in her; no nervousness or need. She was content just to be near him and know that he was well. Ah, Sakura. Always and forever more concerned with the happiness of others than her own happiness. Always strong inside and out even through her tears. She was so beautiful. She sniffed, overwhelmed by his return, and he smiled even as a tremor ran through him. She loved him. She loved him with the most pure devotion it was possible to feel. Affection, passion, adoration, and a longing that made him ache for her. _Peace,_ he told his beating heart, lest it betray him. _We must go carefully._ Carefully for the sorrow in his own soul. Carefully for all the loss she'd known in her life. Carefully because he knew that if he hurt her, Touya would come back from the grave and personally murder him. He pulled away slowly, found her tears and softly brushed them from her face. And after two hundred years, he noticed, perhaps for the first time, her perfect skin; her radiant green eyes, her clear expression. Such things had never been important to him before. Lately his heart had been pulled so many different ways. He'd felt confused and angry for reasons that, even now, he didn't fully understand. Now, an almost alien clarity let him look at his master with new eyes. Would it be so terrible? Would it be so wrong to give in to the wild and sweet desire that radiated from her? To throw himself into the passions she kept so carefully from showing in her eyes? The spark was a flame, and it was growing and growing, and if he wasn't careful it would go beyond his control and it would be too late. He wouldn't be able to stop it. He'd love her with that same abandon. He'd love her for all of his long long life. It should have mattered that he was her servant. It should have mattered that someday she would die and leave him with an eternity of sorrow. It should have mattered that nothing he ever did would make him worthy of her. But somewhere seas were being set ablaze. Somewhere stars were being pulled down from the sky. Nothing mattered. Nothing but the fire raging through him. Nothing but the need in her heart. They needed to talk about this. They should sit down like two rational adults and they should discus it. Once she knew that her feelings were clear to him, they could ... they could ... they really should ... Yue's hand slowly brushed her jaw, then came to rest on her cheek. She jumped, suddenly anxious, then stared up into his eyes. What she saw there filled her with a terror and excitement that almost undid the last of his control. He forced himself to take a deep breath, then whispered her name. Sakura trembled in his arms. Her fear was undeniable, but so was her desire. He might yet have escaped, but then she smiled. Slowly. Uncertainly. With all the love in her beautiful heart. He had to know the secret of that smile. ------------------------------------------------------------------- End Chapter Seven Please send any comments you have about this story to: Michelle Thatcher misha@cybergal.com Thankyou for reading.