Chapter 8: The Big Finale

"YAAAH!" Yukito whined as the girls pulled him into Nakuru's dressing room with great force and proceeded to ripping off his clothes. His face turned bright red with embarrassment. "What in heaven's name are you doing?"

"We need you, Yukito-kun!" Yoko cried. "You're the only other one who knows all of the lines."

"Wh… what on earth-" He stammered, completely at a lost. "You haven't even told me what part-"

They yanked the dress over his head. It fit surprisingly well, but that probably had a lot to do with Nakuru being flat-chested.

"Get the wig!" Yoko demanded her helpers. They zoomed off.

"Yoko!" Yukito cried, clawing at the air in a futile attempt to escape. "Could you explain why you're cross dressing me?!"

"It's Nakuru! Her voice is gone!"

"EH?! JUST NOW?!"

"YES!"

They returned with a wig that looked almost exactly like Nakuru's hair. As two girls fitted it onto Yukito's head, two others took his glasses and went to work on putting stage makeup on his face. Blind without his glasses, his pupils searched frantically around for something to prove this wasn't actually happening.

My God…They're making me play Juliet… and Touya is…!

-

"Touya, you're on," Yoko called, knocking on his door.

Touya lifted his head off of his dresser, bleary eyed. "Heh?"

"Let's go!"

Touya rubbed his eyes clean of sleep, despite the fact that he had only been out for about five minutes, and groaned. He had definitely not been looking forward to smooching with Nakuru, but there was no getting out of it now.

Yoko's assistants laid Yukito on his 'bed', and commanded he lay still, eyes closed.

Yukito's heart was pounding. He felt like he was about to have a panic attack. Oh, what cruelty fate has handed me! He thought, dismayed. I never agreed to this!

Touya sighed, broken. Oh, well…He thought to himself. I'm not very lucky in love, so I might as well let this be.

He approached the edge of the stage, ready to go on.

Oh, my GOD! WHY ME?! Yukito thought in a panic. He felt almost like he could cry. Our friendship is already screwed up enough because of me…what will THIS do to it?!

"Tell me…if you didn't care about him, then why would it matter?" Yue.

Touya's voice rang out as he, "Paris", "Page", and "Balthasar", spilled out their lines.

Yukito noticed how depressed Touya's voice sounded.

Yue… is right…He thought, amazed at his sudden revelation. It's so obvious…

"Do you get it yet? I've known it about you for the longest time. You're in love with him, you dimwit."

"In faith, I will. Let me peruse this face. Mercutio's kinsman, noble County Paris!" Touya recited flawlessly. "What said my man, when my betossed soul
did not attend him as we rode? I think he told me Paris should have married Juliet:
said he not so? or did I dream it so? or am I mad, hearing him talk of Juliet, to think it was so? O, give me thy hand, one writ with me in sour misfortune's book! I'll bury thee in a triumphant grave; A grave? O no! a lantern, slaughter'd youth, for here lies Juliet, and her beauty makes this vault a feasting presence full of light. Death, lie thou there, by a dead man interr'd."

To-ya…Yukito thought, feeling his heart aflutter with a new feeling, similar to panic, but not quite the same.

"How oft when men are at the point of death have they been merry! Which their keepers call A lightning before death: O, how may I call this a lightning? O my love! my wife! Death, that hath suck'd the honey of thy breath, hath had no power yet upon thy beauty: Thou art not conquer'd; beauty's ensign yet is crimson in thy lips and in thy cheeks, and death's pale flag is not advanced there. Tybalt, liest thou there in thy bloody sheet? O, what more favour can I do to thee, than with that hand that cut thy youth in twain to sunder his that was thine enemy? Forgive me, cousin! Ah, dear Juliet, why art thou yet so fair? Shall I believe that unsubstantial death is amorous, and that the lean abhorred monster keeps thee here in dark to be his paramour? For fear of that, I still will stay with thee; and never from this palace of dim night depart again: here, here will I remain with worms that are thy chamber-maids; O, here will I set up my everlasting rest, and shake the yoke of inauspicious stars from this world-wearied flesh. Eyes, look your last! Arms, take your last embrace! and, lips, O you the doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss! A dateless bargain to engrossing death! Come, bitter conduct, come, unsavoury guide! Thou desperate pilot, now at once run on the dashing rocks thy sea-sick weary bark! Here's to my love!" He drank the 'poison'. "O true apothecary! Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die."

Touya knelt and kissed Yukito, oblivious to the fact that it indeed was him. Yukito felt almost like he was melting. Yue's right…I'm a fool for not seeing it sooner.

Touya collapsed next to Yukito, 'dead'.

Yukito barely heard the lines of the other characters, his mind and heart lingering on what sweetness he had just tasted, what love he had refused the first time, foolishly, and now wanted nothing more than to taste it once more.

Finally, his line arrived. He rose from his bed and recited as beautifully as possible while his heart swelled with the guilt of refusing his love and the happiness of finally realizing what gift he had. "O comfortable friar! Where is my lord? I do remember well where I should be, and there I am. Where is my Romeo?"

That's not Nakuru's voice…Touya thought as "Friar Lawrence" recited his line. Her voice doesn't sound like that at all…

"What's here? A cup, closed in my true lover's hand? Poison, I see, hath been his timeless end; O churl! Drunk all and left no friendly drop to help me after!" Yukito cried passionately.

Hold up now…I know that voice…

"I will kiss thy lips; haply some poison yet doth hang on them-"

That's…

"-to make die with a restorative."

Finally, Yukito took his sweet taste in return to his love's, placing his lips against Touya's.

"EEEEK!" All of the girls backstage squealed.

"T-Thy lips are warm," Yukito stammered, managing to recover in time to say his line without making it seem awkward.

Touya couldn't believe what was happening. Yuki! His mind scream. He felt like his heart was about to burst through his chest. When had this happened? What on earth was going on?

"Yea, noise? Then I'll be brief. O happy dagger!" Yukito cried, taking Touya's fake dagger from his belt. "This is thy sheath." He stabbed it into his chest. "There rust… and let me die…" Finally, dramatically, he collapsed on top of Touya's chest, 'dead'.

Touya still couldn't believe what had just taken place. Yukito… dressed up like Nakuru, well Juliet actually… kissed him… and it was nice… "What-" He whispered, stunned.

Yukito let out a little sigh, moving his fingers ever so slightly so that they touched Touya's fingers, and the taller of the two boys felt his face flush. "Shh…" Yukito whispered back to him. "It's almost over, and we can talk more after that."

"Ah…"

Yukito allowed his head to rest more heavily on his lover boy's chest, and in his very slight movements, Touya understood completely. There was no fight anymore.

"A glooming peace this morning with it brings; the sun, for sorrow, will not show his head: Go hence, to have more talk of these sad things; some shall be pardon'd, and some punished: for never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo," The boy playing the Prince proclaimed, and then the stage darkened and the curtains fell closed.

Touya and Yukito rose from their 'death bed' as the crowd roared with glee beyond the curtain that sheltered them from view.

"Yuki, I-" Touya started, but Yukito placed a finger on his lip and smiled.

"Don't ruin this for me, Romeo."

Touya smirked and got to his feet. Yukito took his hand and stood as well, just in time for the curtain call.

The entire cast took hands and bowed, and the crowd went into another uproar.

"You guys did great!" Yazamaki exclaimed to them.

"That was so beautiful!" Sakura sobbed from the first row in the audience and clutched to her father.

"That's odd," Tomoyo whispered to Syaoran.

"What is?"

"I thought Juliet was played by Nakuru, not Yukito-san."

"EH?!"

-

Yukito exited the dressing room, fixing his glasses. Touya stood outside, and Yukito had to fight back the urge not to laugh. His usually so confident friend looked so… VULNERABLE!

"Yuki… I… I'm…"

"I'm sorry," Yukito said, interrupting him.

"Sorry for-"

"I shouldn't have… run away from you like that… I was just scared, I guess… and confused…and I'm sorry… for that…"

Touya smiled sheepishly. "I… don't know what to say…"

Yukito looked up at him, smiled, and lightly pecked him on the lips. "Then, I'll say it. I love you, To-ya."

Touya blushed, always the one who was helpless when it came to feelings of love. "I… I love you too."

Yukito took his hand. "Let's get out of here and get something to eat. I'm STARVED!"

"Okay, but you're buying!"

Eriol stepped out of the shadows, beaming his usual Cheshire Cat grin. "Well, once again, things went as planned."

"OHHHH!!!! ERIOL!!!!" Nakuru whined, "The last scene is the best part and you took my voice away and made me MISS IT!!"

"Calm yourself, Ruby Moon," Eriol patted her head. "I did what needed to be done."

"Yeah…" Nakuru sighed. "And… well…" A goofy grin grew across her face. "THAT KISS WAS HOT!!!"

Eriol face-faulted. "You are a strange one, Ruby Moon."

"I'm gonna start a TouyaYuki club! I'll make t-shirts! It'll be great!"

Nakuru danced off to prepare her club for its opening.

Eriol leaned his back against the wall and sighed. "For never was a story more tenderly so than this of Touya and his Yukito."

Fin

A/N: FINALLY!!! I finally finished something else! AT LAST! It was a great run, and the story came out a lot better than I thought it would when I started it. I can't believe this took me around 2 years or more to finish! Wow… I kinda feel bad now… Anyway, I'd like to thank you for sticking with irresponsible me, and I hope that you won't give out on me when I slip up and fall into another major writer's block next time. If it weren't for you guys, I probably never would have finished this at all. I love you guys.

Li'l Yahiko