Disclaimer: I still don't own the following characters: Akizuki Nakuru, Daidouji Tomoyo, Hiiragizawa Eriol, Mizuki Kaho, and Spinel. I also don't own Heathrow Airport. I'm too lazy to look up who does own these things. If it's you, let me know. I'll put ya in, 'kay?
Dedication: Tsuin Circe.
Notes: Obviously, the day after. You'll note that I did something odd to Nakuru. I know it's not right, don't bother to correct me. I like it the way it is. No songs, unless by accident. The reason they broke up? Truly, it does not matter. Any reason at all. The point of this is that they are apart and finding their way back to each other. Make up your own reason. I can't think of anything good enough.
By This Day's Light
Mizuki Kaho realizes when she wakes that he didn't come to bed at all last night. Sometimes he comes very late, or leaves in the middle of the night. He wanders the house during those nights. Or goes to sleep with Nakuru-kun and Suppi-chan because he says that Nakuru-kun will have his nightmare if he's left alone that night. Suppi-chan sleeps on the light fixture. He refused his own room when she offered it to him, though. He said he wouldn't know how to sleep without "the moron" in the room. The moron in question immediately tried to swat him, but only halfheartedly. It was right after they returned from Japan. She never asks what happened there. She doesn't really care, because they're back in England with her now.
More truthfully, they're asleep in the casual living room now. She finds them there when she finishes showering and dressing. Nakuru-kun is curled up on the sofa with the comforter from his bed; Suppi-chan is asleep on Eriol, who's asleep in the rocking chair he insisted on buying. Strangely enough, Suppi-chan is sleeping on his face. One paw behind his ear, his head on Eriol's cheek, the other paw curving beneath Eriol's eye.
It's adorable, she thinks, but they need to wake up. They have to get moving if everyone is going to be on time. So she turns the light on and calls out loudly, "Good morning, sleepy heads! It's time to get up!"
Both men hit the floor. Spinel utters a muffled yelp as Eriol lands on top of him. Nakuru-kun swears loudly. Eriol doesn't say anything at all. Just moves to let Suppi-chan up and lays there with his eyes closed. He fell asleep with his glasses on. A moment more of silence, then:
"Do I have time to make toast?" His voice is rough this morning, quiet as he scrubs his hands over his face. Poor Eriol, she thinks, he's probably sore from sleeping like that.
"I'll make it. Why don't you go take a shower?"
All three of them blink in confusion. She thinks about that, but doesn't fully realize that she's never made them toast; Eriol does it, unless he's ill or gone. Then Nakuru makes it, even though he has a tendency to leave it in too long and burn it.
"I've got it. I need some tea to wake up, anyway." Nakuru lurches to his feet and weaves unsteadily down the hall to the kitchen.
Eriol merely nods and heads for the master bath. He doesn't look even marginally awake. He doesn't stop to give her a good morning kiss either. He must have been up very late.
She packs Nakuru-kun's school things while he makes toast and tea. He has chosen, so far, to remain young looking and stay in high school. Not for the classes, of course. He likes to chase the other boys. They think he's a girl, which only frightens them more. Nakuru-kun has played both genders, and claims neither of them. Eriol and Suppi-chan use male pronouns simply because they are both male. If Nakuru-kun decided once and for all to be female, they would probably change to suit.
Nakuru hands her a cup of tea in passing; two others are on a tray as he heads upstairs to get ready himself. One for himself, and the other cup for Eriol. Suppi-chan is in the kitchen having breakfast and reading the paper. They are both rather subdued today. It probably has to do with sleeping in cramped positions all night. She tells herself that a few times without realizing it.
She has Eriol's notes and research neatly arranged in his bag before he comes back down. He spends mornings doing research, his afternoons and evenings writing. Books on the arcane, on magic. Sometimes he makes them fiction. Mostly, they're academic works. Nakuru is only moments behind him.
"Ready to go? Great! See you tonight, Suppi-chan!" Mizuki calls out, as the two men wander out to the car. The only reply is a quiet "Hmmm." That's all it ever is, when he's reading. He doesn't like to be disturbed.
Nakuru-kun is dropped off first; he's not in her school. He looks at Eriol strangely as he gets out, like he's troubled. But he doesn't say anything. A moment later he catches sight of his favorite senior and is gone is a swirl of long, deep red hair.
Eriol is next, even though he is the first to go home. He walks when the weather is nice, takes a taxi when it's not. That way, Mizuki can pick up Nakuru from school. It saves a trip.
"Goodbye, Eriol. Have a good day, all right?" Preoccupied, he only nods and goes inside. He hasn't said anything more to her since he asked about the toast. Something isn't right with him. That bothers her. She doesn't want to think what it might be. The phone hadn't been far from where he'd slept. Things like this used to happen a lot, back in the second beginning. It hasn't for a very long time, but maybe that's a problem, too.
He has no idea when he lost control of his life. But it doesn't seem to matter much right now. Because, Eriol discovered at the library, he's lost control of himself, too. Sometime around the third or fourth hour of reading the same line of the same book, he's sure. He got there at 7, like always on Monday. Kaho has a staff meeting every Monday, so he and Nakuru are always early to school and the manuscript library that day. Other days, they don't arrive until nearly 8. It's after11 o'clock now, though, and he's in a taxi. But he's not going home. Or maybe he is. He can't tell anymore.
"Are you sure you want to take the noon flight, sir? It'll be very expensive." The pretty girl at the ticket counter is staring at him like she's afraid he may be a little crazy. She isn't far off the mark.
"Positive. Money isn't an issue." He can't believe he's saying this. Can't believe he's doing this. He shouldn't be doing this, he knows. Once he's on that plane, there isn't any turning back. But he can't turn back now, either. He doesn't want to. Everything in him is screaming for him to act.
"Okay, sir. The plane boards in ten minutes." Uncertainly, "Would you like me to check your bags?"
His bags? Eriol doesn't have any luggage. He doesn't even have a carry-on. He left all of his research materials sitting on the table in the library. He's lucky that he remembered to grab his coat - containing his wallet and passport - as he ran for the door. Certainly there was no time to go home and pack. Spinel Sun would have been there, anyway.
Spinel and Nakuru are going to be furious when they find out he's left them behind. They're his guardians, they've pointed out on more than one occasion. How are they supposed to keep him safe if they don't know where he is? He's sure, though, that they'll figure it out when he doesn't come home. They'll be able to sense him moving away from them, and his feelings as he does. What they'll do about it, he doesn't know. Or care.
"No luggage. It's an emergency." He smiles slightly, grabs his ticket, and runs for the gate. He can feel her staring at his back as he goes, but ignores it. She, and everyone else, can think whatever they want. They don't matter. Only making his flight out matters. Only her.
Tomoyo hasn't gone to her studio. She knows that she won't be able to do anything worthwhile there today. Not after his voice, pleading with her for…something. She's not sure if either of them knows what he was looking for. She wonders if they should even try to find it. Probably not.
Instead of working, she cried in her armchair for a while, then went back to bed. Which is where she is now. She's awake, though she did sleep for a little while. He didn't come back to her dreams. Which is for the best, Tomoyo tells herself. She shouldn't dream of him. He's not hers and she's not his and she should only dream of him as the friend he is.
But she's never been one to hide from the world. She's not going to start now just because Eriol called to say he missed her. So when her mother calls to suggest dinner out with her and some friends, she accepts, knowing that her mother has at least one nice young man with her that Tomoyo really should meet. Someone related to one of the board members of Daidouji Toys, no doubt. The company will stay in the family, of course, but it wouldn't hurt for Tomoyo to marry someone who is actually involved in the running of it, right?
She'll go. She'll meet some nice young man, have a good time, and forget all about Hiiragizawa Eriol. That's the plan, anyway. She just hopes it will work. Maybe.
She tells herself that, repeating it like a mantra, all afternoon, all through the very pleasant dinner party, and all the way back home, where she can't seem to fall asleep.
Eriol isn't back yet when Mizuki and Nakuru arrive home. They don't worry, though. He's forgotten the time before, and come home only when he realized he hadn't eaten since breakfast.
But as dinner comes and goes, and the night begins, Kaho can tell that Suppi-chan and Nakuru-kun are getting edgy. She's a little worried herself, but he's a grown man who can take care of himself. She wishes he would call, though. He was acting so oddly this morning. And the phone was so close to him.
When Nakuru-kun suddenly yelps and bounds out of the room, followed by Suppi-chan like a little purple-black arrow, she feels the panic begin to come round. With a trembling hand, she calls the phone company and asks for the last outgoing call from their number. She didn't hear the phone ring last night, and she's not a very heavy sleeper.
He thinks about calling her. It's a long flight, nearly 21 hours, and he's got nothing to do. He sleeps some, but not well. He's too wound up for that. Too busy making plans that he really should have made before his feet left the ground. He has no idea what to expect when he lands. He's got his hopes and his fears, and each tells him to prepare for something different. Have they ever agreed?
He's not quite sure which "her" he's thinking about calling. He should call both of them. Kaho will be worried, and Tomoyo will probably kill him for appearing on her doorstep with no warning. He won't call either of them, though. One he doesn't want to face, the other he's afraid to…well, to face her before he's there to see her face. He doesn't know what he's planning, but he's sure it involves the both of them in the same room, at least at some point.
He checks his watch and knows that he won't have to call Read Manor. It's late enough that she'd be worried, and he has just felt Ruby Moon emerge. If Kaho didn't see or feel that - and he suspects she hasn't - she'll still have checked where the last few phone calls came from, or went to. He's seen her do it often enough; she's terrible with phone numbers, and by checking with the phone company she doesn't have to admit to anyone that she's lost their number. He used to think it was funny.
Kaho will have several ideas of what may be happening. A few phone calls will show her which it is. She won't call Tomoyo, though. She never does. She'll talk when Nakuru passes the phone around, and she'll add bits to the letters he sends, but she does not initiate contact. Mizuki Kaho is still afraid of Daidouji Tomoyo.
So he doesn't have to call one, and he won't call the other. And there's still time to figure out what he's going to say when the time comes. He frowns suddenly. He should probably book a hotel room before he gets there. Chances are, he'll need it.
She pauses in the doorway of the master bedroom. There is no proof that her suspicions are correct. They have, after all, been just good friends for years now. It's well and truly over between them; Eriol and Tomoyo-san have both said that. Perhaps he called to say good morning, and she mentioned some kind of problem, emotional, spiritual, something. And he went. He's rather impulsive at times.
Kaho wants to believe this lie she's telling herself, but she knows it for what it is. If it was a problem that he felt he needed to be there for, he'd have left last night. He would have called when he decided to go today. Whenever he went. She has no idea. She'd have to call every airline flying out of Heathrow, and then try to decide which flight he might have taken. Because they won't tell her anything over the phone. Not unless she shares his last name. They don't, because he's never asked. Neither has she, but she didn't want to rush him. He's so young, yet. She hasn't wanted to do anything that might scare him away from her again.
He's supposed to be hers. She let him go chasing after another love; one she believed wouldn't last. That old saying "If you love something, set it free. If doesn't come back to you, it was never yours." He came back to her. She was his first love. She'd taken him back. Didn't that show him that they were ready to be together forever? What was it that he was running to, or from? Kaho believes that he loves her. She believed that it was enough. She's starting to worry that it's not.
And she wonders if she should pack.
Panic does not hit him until he's signing for the rental car. It's entirely possible that she really will kill him for this. At the very least, she will throw him out of her house, lock the door, and never speak to him again. If all he can have is her friendship, that's what he'll take, right? So why is he risking it? He really must be as crazy as the London ticket girl thinks.
He can tell Kaho that he was here because Tomoyo mentioned some problems Touya-san was having. Or Yue-san. He thinks they'll cover for him. Neither of them is exactly fond of Mizuki Kaho. Touya-san had been happy enough to tell him that, though he was drunk at the time. They both were; it was at Xiao Lang's bachelor party. Eriol hadn't minded, to each his own. He knew that Kaho had hurt Touya. That Touya-san was happily awaiting the day she got her comeuppance didn't bother him at all. Not much did that night. So they might tell Kaho he was with them, and he doesn't have to risk having Tomoyo throw him out of her life forever.
Then he remembers. That night had ended with Tomoyo taking him in because he'd shown up, drunk and grinning and possibly starting to fall in love, at some ungodly hour and saying that he couldn't remember how to find the hotel he's staying at and please don't drive me anywhere, because I feel really sick. That wasn't true. The truth was that he'd gone looking for her, to see if she'd give him That Look. She had, and that was all he'd really wanted. He might have left then, too. But, as mad as she was at him, she'd taken care of him that night instead of sending him out into the world, which was exactly what he'd deserved.
Remembering that calms him. From minute to minute she changes, and when had she ever been what he'd expected? He'll go to the hotel first, anyway. Because it's been so long and there is still Kaho. Besides, he needs to at least brush his teeth before he goes to see her. He's also got no cloths but the ones he's wearing. He really should have planned this.
And he really should have planned this, because he finds himself going in just long enough brush his teeth and shave before he's driving again. To her. He's supposed to stop and buy a change of clothes, or several. His head reminds him that it is no longer in charge, hasn't been since sometime yesterday morning, and he probably shouldn't be surprised by anything that happens. Clearly, he is insane.
Traffic is light; it's early here. His watch says it's almost midnight. Back in London. Less than a day has passed since he called her. Almost one full day. Almost. He drives a little faster.
She's barely awake when she hears the knock. She's only had a few hours of sleep. Something inside her insisted that she needed to be awake, something was happening. If this was it, it'd best have a good reason for coming so early. It's only eight in the morning. It's Saturday. Who in the world is up at that hour? Sadists, that's who. She has happily kept to her routine of sleeping until noon on the weekends. Those were the days that Eriol made breakfast, because he could almost never sleep that late. Sometimes he did, though. Just once in a while. She loved those mornings best.
And that's not answering the door, which the someone on the other side seems to have it in for. If only to save her door, which hasn't done anything to anyone (that she knows of, anyway), she flings back the sheets and blanket and staggers into her sunlit front hall. She doesn't care that she's in her pajamas. She doesn't care that she's probably a mess. She cares that she wants to be asleep and she isn't. Tomoyo looks a little irritated when she whips that door open. And stares. And thinks, inanely enough, that they haven't been alone together, even once, since they broke up.
All the things he'd been planning to say, the little speeches he'd rehearsed in his mind, are gone. All the soft words, the pretty ones that would have made her smile and not kill him for waking her - because of course she's going to be asleep when he gets there, he knows she will be - have left him for some other lovesick moron. Not that he could have said half of it anyway. Not when he's kissing her like this.
Which, he thinks as she kisses him back while pulling him inside, is okay. Whatever it was he'd thought of saying couldn't have been nearly as meaningful as kicking the door shut behind them and following her down the hall without losing touch with her mouth.
And nothing could have been as important as falling across her bed, just big enough for two – unlike the bed in England, which was always too big and too empty - and finding that the sheets smell exactly like her. He loves the way she smells. The way she looks, and breathes, and moves, and tastes, and sounds. And anything else about her that he can't remember right now because there are definitely more interesting things to think about at the moment.
It's later, and much later, when Tomoyo hears yet more knocking on her door. Eriol sleeps soundly behind her, mussed and adorable in her old clothes that used to be his old clothes. She's tempted to ignore the door. She knows who it's not, after all. He's exhausted from the flight, she's tired, and they haven't had much time to themselves yet. They haven't spoken much at all, really. They probably should, soon.
As it turns out, she doesn't need to answer the door. She hears it fly open and then footsteps marching down the hall. Another door opens. Closes. And then the door to her bedroom opens just a hair. Cat-like green eyes hesitantly crack open, peer at her sitting up on her side of the bed, then disappear. At which point, the door opens the rest of the way.
"Your guest bedroom is full of boxes, Tomoyo-chan." Nakuru slips in and drops a carryall onto the floor. Spinel is on his shoulder, obviously tired. But he manages to glare meaningfully at the man asleep in the bed.
"We're going to have to sleep with you." Nakuru continues, blithely. "It was a really long flight, and Master" he, too, glares at Eriol, "didn't give us any time to make plans. I'm lucky that I managed to pack at all." So saying, Nakuru shucks his jacket and climbs into bed beside her. Spinel takes the little space between her and Eriol, and falls asleep in an instant. When Tomoyo looks over her shoulder, Nakuru is out like a light as well.
Gray lavender eyes slit open to take in the scene. "I guess we're all home now," he yawns. Tugs her closer to him. "Aren't we?" Hopeful, pleading.
"Guess so." Honest. She kisses him lightly, settles down beside him, and drifts off to sleep again, surrounded and warmed by the unexpected love filling her house. Home. They can talk later.
Toast is the only English food that Tomoyo has ever really mastered. Eriol used to tease her about that. She'd tell him to shut up; he was lucky she didn't force him to eat traditional Japanese food for breakfast, seeing as how he was in Japan. And he always kissed her and whispered that he loved her for trying. Then he would make breakfast and she'd make toast.
Which is exactly what Eriol is doing now. Making breakfast for the four of them, waiting for Tomoyo to come in and make toast. If she can get out of bed. Nakuru was draped like a blanket over everyone else when he woke up early this morning. Eriol, being on the far side of the bed, was bearing the least weight. But the other two looked comfortable, so he let them be.
"Master?" Spinel, sprawled on top of Eriol's head, is a little confused, and maybe worried, too. "What were you thinking?" Spinel slips forward so that he and Eriol are eye-to-upside down-eye. "What about Read Manor, and Mizuki-sensei? I know you've been unhappy, Master, but why didn't you tell us about this?"
"I didn't know, Spinel."
"That's not an answer."
He sighs deeply. "I don't care about Read Manor. It can burn down right now and I wouldn't care. Kaho…I don't think Kaho will understand, and I'm sorry for that. I didn't set out to hurt her. But I was hurting us both by staying with her. She deserves to be more than half-loved."
"And as to why we left in the first place? That might be of some importance." Spinel flew down to be cradled in the crook of Eriol's arm, looking up to see his face. Spinel has never understood what happened to tear them all apart.
"I don't remember why I made us leave." He smiles faintly, sadly. "But if it comes up again, I'll know that nothing is more important than being with her. We're both different people now - we'll be able to handle it. I think we can handle anything, if it's us at stake."
"If she lets us stay. I know that you two have made…ah, some amends, but that doesn't necessarily mean that we'll still be welcome tomorrow."
"I know, Spinel." He sighs again. "I'm hanging my life on hopes."
"And mine and Nakuru's, Master. We love her, too." Spinel blinks up at him. "You were never the only one hurting for her." The little creature rises, pressing his face gently against Eriol's, and flies off to the bedroom to wake the others.
Eriol watches him go, idly wondering if Tomoyo will come screaming awake like she used to when Spinel woke her up. He's never seen the cat-like creature do it. Which is probably for the best, he thinks, as Tomoyo's shrieks echo down the hall.
Mizuki Kaho stands by the phone in the living room - the casual one, not the formal. Written on a slip of paper are the eleven numbers that will probably bring her life crashing down around her. She doesn't really need the paper anymore. She's got those numbers memorized. She's been staring at them since the kindly operator repeated them to her. The only number called that night. No incoming calls at all. She's never dialed them before, but she knows who will answer the phone. Because it's early there, and Eriol almost always wakes early.
But does she want to talk to him? Mizuki isn't sure she wants to hear what he'll say. He should have called her by now, even if it was just to say goodbye. And what, she wonders, would she do if Daidouji-san answers? These two women have never spoken of their strange relationship through Eriol, how he binds them together. He went from Kaho, to Tomoyo, to Kaho, and now he's back in Japan with Tomoyo. Love you, love you not. How long is this going to go on? Will he just keep bouncing back and forth between them? Or has he finally made his decision? Did he ever really come back to her, to love her, at all? She knows the answer, though. He's never left Japan. None of them had. It was why she never spoke of the time they'd spent there. Why she's never made the toast.
Tears rolling down her face, Kaho turns and leaves the room. The phone stays silent as she cries.
"Hi! You've reached (Suppi-chan! Come back here!) the home of (Get away from me, you madman!) Tomoyo, Eriol, (Tomoyo, I think we need a bigger house.) Nakuru, and – Quiet, guys! - (What are you talking about, Eriol? It's already bigger than the apartment.)(How much space do you need?) Spinel. We're not in…hey! – Or we're (Eriol!) in the middle of (SUPPI!) what you've been hearing in the background. – Hold still, Tomoyo. - So leave a message (Put me down!) and we'll return your call. (Noooo!) Now hit the button, Tomoyo, and lets you and I (Eriol…) find a place to hide from those two. Beeeeep.
Click.
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BONUS ENDING! (Otherwise titled Or Else Circe Will Kill Me In My Sleep.)
Yes, kids, Circe has demanded a different ending. It really doesn't fit in with the story, as Tomoyo and Eriol insist that they'd like to remain friends with Kaho-sensei. Still, I don't like her either, so here it is!
He watches the flames dance recklessly through the house. It's hypnotic, really. Pretty as well. He smiles and turns to see the other pretty thing here tonight. Tomoyo stands at his side, head tipped slightly to the right, eyes curious.
"Are you sure she's in there? I don't hear anything."
"Positive. I tied her to the bed myself. Then I poured petrol all around the room. She can't have gotten out. Probably the smoke's already gotten to her."
"It's sweet that you're so thorough." She smiles back up at him, love shining in those ultra violet eyes. She wraps her arms around his waist, watching the fire reflected in his glasses.
"I had to be. She was evil, Tomoyo. We had to do something before she snared some other love-starved little boy. And it goes without saying that I love you, love you, love you and want to make you happy." He turns back to the house, content. The sirens approaching add their music to the snapping of the flames.
"Shall we go, then? Before anyone sees us here?" Tomoyo takes his hand in hers. "If we're sure it's done, there isn't any reason to stay." Her smile is the rising sun.
"We should. It's unseemly to exhibit glee in the presence of the recently deceased. No matter how gleeful we are." He takes one last long look, then pulls out a Card made just for this event. "Take us home, Revenge Card."
(And darling Circe's tiny addition)
And Circe, far away in a different land, wept with joy and cried out 'Woo-hoo!'
(and sweet Chelle's small addition to darling Circe's addition)
as Chelle said: "She deserves to be more than half-loved." (O.o)? Yeah. Yeah she does. I'll tell you what she deserves! She deserves to burn Burn BURN!!!! A ha ha ha …um, oops. Better delete that….