Title:  E t e r n i t y

Author:  Yih

Written:  December 2001/January 2002

Disclaimer:  All rights are Clamp. 

Visit my websites at http://www.seiki.f2s.com (did I mention in the fanfic section there's a drawing of Dangyun!?) and http://devoted.to/hanakimi

1: Escape into Dreams

The black and white contrast of her milky skin to the dark mystery of her eyes sent a spark of pure desire down his spine.  There was only one perfect soul and he was staring into her loveliness right now.  The beauty of her physical glory made him yearn, but the sheer sweetness of her sensitive spirit made him ache.  There wasn't anything that he wouldn't do for her given the chance. 

Now there just had to be a way to express the raging emotions trapped within his outer façade of cheerful contentedness.  Yes, there had to be a way to tell her just how he felt about her.  But the question was how?  Did he tell her directly how he felt, or should he try for a more subtler approach?  How should he go about telling the objection of his affection his undying adoration of her?  Especially when she was the ever optimistic and totally clueless Sakura.

"Sakura…" he whispered her name romantically, the deep intonation vibrating a particular kind of warmth.  "I… I…" his voice trailed off as his words were sucked away by the captivation he had with the purity of her aura.  "I like you. 

"No—no," he rushed, "I really like you.  No that's not right either.  I—I love you, Sakura."

After a moment of unbearable pausing, someone began to clap softly.  "Bravo!  Bravo, Master!" exclaimed Ruby.  "Now that would have been an absolutely great confession of your passionate feelings for the lovely sorceress if that likeness of Sakura hadn't been a photograph you took of her on the sly.  But I must admit, Master, you need to brush up your technique quite a bit.  You're nothing like you normally are around her.  She'll think you've been struck by Cupid's arrow of clumsy love." 

"Ruby!" admonished Spinel. 

"Oh, stop being a drag Suppy," she retorted.

"What did I say about you calling me 'Suppy'?  It's Spinel!" raged the black cat. 

"Suppy!  Suppy!  Suppy's angry!  But Suppy's got such a cute name!  Suppy!  Suppy--"

"Ruby…" began Eriol in a low voice, "that's enough." 

Spinel smirked at Ruby and turned to his Master.  "You really should tell the girl how you feel, Master.  It would be for the best.  You've been talking to that photo for way too long.  It's time that you stopped holding off the confrontation.  It's going to have to happen sooner or later." 

"Now that's the spirit," cried out Ruby.  "I think I suggested that, oh let's say several weeks ago.  Really Suppy, you've got to get with picture.  I mean, really you're way behind the groove.  I thought you were suppose to be a slick cat." 

"No, I'm not that low," Spinel growled. 

"And I suppose that I am?" 

"Precisely," he confirmed. 

"Why you little--"

"Suppy!  Ruby!" reproved Eriol. 

"AHAHAHAHHAH!" Ruby pointed at Spinel, laughing her eyeballs out.  "Master called you 'Suppy,' that is your name!" 

"I'm Spinel.  I'm Spinel Sun!" 

"You two, give it a rest," he muttered, "before you give me a bigger headache than I already have." 

"We were only trying to help, Master," responded Spinel. 

"Yeah!" injected Ruby in agreement. 

"I know you both are," replied Eriol kindly, smiling that sweet smile of his.  "But could you please leave me alone for a few moments?" 

"Sure Master," answered Spinel, throwing a hinting look at Ruby to leave the room with him. 

"But Master, you aren't going to go looking for Sakura without us, are you?  Promise me that?"  begged Ruby.  "It's been so long since I've gone anywhere.  It's been really boring actually.  All I do is sit here, cook here, and sleep here.  There's nothing to do." 

"Now, if you hadn't added anything after that tear jerking opening, I would have thought you were being considerate for once," quipped Spinel, "but you had to continue and prove me once again to be utterly correct.  I knew you could never show true concern without gaining a little." 

"But I do show concern," she protested, watching Eriol heave a tremendous sigh before leaving the room.  "I do want Master to get together with Sakura, I just don't want to be the one left behind.  And sometimes, I worry what will happen to us when he actually does get together with Sakura.  I mean they both don't really need us for guardians anymore besides the grunt work.  Together, they'd be unbeatable." 

"Don't be silly, Ruby," responded Spinel.  "Sometimes you are ridiculous." 

"Am I really?" she asked, her eyebrow rising.  "He did abandon Yue and Keroberos after all.  Why couldn't he do the same to us?  I mean we aren't even the originals.  They were.  He might have perfected the guardian creation in us, but that doesn't mean he's more fond of us.  Sometimes I think he doesn't like us at all." 

"If he didn't like you, I wouldn't be surprise," he retorted. 

"Shut up, Suppy.  I'm trying to be serious." 

"Yes, for once." 

"Suppy!" she exclaimed, throwing her fist in front of his cute face.  "You're going in the wrong direction!" 

Spinel narrowed his eyes.  "If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times, it's not Suppy… it's SPINEL.  Do you want me to spell it out?  S-P-I-N-E-L.  It's not that difficult, even for one your intellect." 

"Are you referring to me as…"

"Yes." 

"Why you little…"

"Really," Spinel replied with a yawn, "you are going to have to be quicker or just concede defeat." 

Ruby's face glowed with her anger and her skin became flushed with her rage until she almost resembled the jewel of which she was named.  But as in the case with Ruby, nothing perturb her for long.  And there were other important matters of which she wished to discuss, namely the guardian issue.  "Okay, Spinel," she began, surprising even him who normally expected everything, "for once, I don't care about teasing you or tormenting you, but try to be serious, okay?"

"Okay."  She had nearly rendered his speechless.

"What I said before about Kero and Yue, that does pose a probability doesn't it?"

Spinel heard a trace of worry in the normally exuberant voice of a carefree Ruby Moon.  Now, that was a rarity which he believed he had never heard before and that caused him to react in quite a different way than he usually acted around a Ruby question.  He would given the opportunity make fun of her anyway he could, but this was somehow different, that and the fact he'd given his word.  And he was always one to keep his word, even one such as she. 

"I doubt it.  He did have a purpose before, I would gather he saw that Yue and Kero would find one as special as he was to her, which is well visible in their extreme loyalty to her.  He wouldn't do something to us blindly as he is now since half his magic is gone, and he is no longer forced to see the future," responded Spinel thoughtfully. 

"But still…" Ruby's voice trailed off with a hint of uncertainty. 

"No, it's not," he reaffirmed. 

Ruby flashed him a smile.  "Thanks, I needed that." 

"I still think you're foolish." 

"I still think you're a cute, cute little Suppy!" 

Spinel rolled his eyes, thinking it was starting all over again. 

Eriol sighed deeply, sitting down on the armchair—almost collapsing into it because he was so weary and tired.  At these times, he missed the calm Yue's continuously quiet presence.  His lips curved up into a slight smile as he thought of how Spinel was to Yue as Ruby was to Kero, a queer switching of reversal roles. 

But even though Spinel's and Ruby's advice was sound, and he should take it… he didn't know how to go about taking it.  He wasn't sure if he really wanted to approach Sakura with his feelings for her just yet.  Especially since he was pretty sure she didn't feel the same way about him.  How could she?  He had at a time been her enemy, in her eyes—though all along it had been for her own good. 

"Oh, Sakura," he murmured to himself, "how do I tell you my feelings for you?  How do I go about telling you that 'I love you'.  I can't even confess it with confidence in front of a resemble of you—a mere photograph.  I'm hopeless in love with, but I'm unable to express it where it counts… in front of you.

"I feel incompetent trying to express myself to you.  But if love wasn't awkward, it wouldn't be so elusive and searched for, I suppose.  That still doesn't stop me from wanting my confession to you to be pure and smooth, infinitely lovely.  I want perfection when I tell, so that I can look back on the day and remember ever sweet moment when my dream will finally be realized." 

He sighed as he took out the picture he kept of her in his pocket.  He traced the beauty of the much worn out photo, he had had Ruby take on the sly.  It was Sakura smiling, her eyes wide after just laughing at something ridiculous Kero had whispered into her ear.  Yes, this was the way he imagined Sakura in his dreams.  This was the way he imagined she'd be like if he was ever to be with her when he closed his eyes. 

"You've come," he whispered in amazement.  "You came." 

"Of course I came, did you think I wouldn't?" 

"But you and Syaoran…, aren't you two together?"

"That ended long ago, you should know that I've been missing you," she told him with a sweet smile.  "Why didn't you ask me to come sooner?  I would've come at the first word, but you waited so long.  Don't you know how much I want to be with you?"

"I never knew," he answered, regret tinged in his voice.  "If I had known…"

"You would have asked me to come sooner?" she inquired hopefully, finishing his trail off for him. 

"Yes."

"I'm glad to know that."

"Yes, but I should have asked sooner.  I should have not waited.  I should have…" he stopped speaking when she put her fingers over his mouth. 

"It's enough that you asked me to come."

"It will never be enough.  We've lost time in which we could have spent together." 

"It's okay.  I'm here now." 

"Yes, you're here now.  Finally, I can be here with you," he said achingly. 

"I'm happy I'm here.  I'm overjoyed  I came," she murmured. 

"I'm overjoyed you came too," he echoed her words, reaching down to clasped her hands into his.  "I've wanted to tell you something for the longest time.  Actually, maybe this began longer than when this existence existed.  I'm not quite sure of when my feelings for you became apparent, but they've been here for a while and have only grown over time. 

"I've wanted to tell you that I love you, Sakura.  I always will, and I want to be with you into the eternity.  I don't want to ever be without you."

Tears filled her eyes as she wrapped her arms around his tall, slender form.  "I've missed you too.  I've been wanting to hear these words as well.  I've… I've loved you for the longest time.  I think it began when I first saw you as Clow Reed when I went back into time.  I didn't know then because I was too young that my emotion for you was true love." 

"That long?" he queried, surprise in his voice. 

"Yes, that long."

"I love you."

"I love you."

And she lifted her head up to be kissed by his own precious lips.  She licked her lips waiting for his own delectable lips to lower down onto hers and for him to taste the love in her very being with that sweet, simple kiss.  The moment his lips touched hers, he knew he had tasted eternity…

"It was just a dream." 

Author's Note: You know the drill, leave an email so I can send you an email to keep you updated.  That's about it… I'm tired.  I have to go volunteer at the hospital now!  Ja ne!