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storypaint) wrote2007-10-02 01:52 am
Flight (Yukito/Nakuru)
Oh my god, posting this before I have to rewrite it AGAIN. I lost 1700 words of this a few hours ago, so the ending might be shaky.
Title: Flight
Author: rhap_chan
Fandom: Cardcaptor Sakura
Pairing: Tsukihiro Yukito/Akizuki Nakuru
Table/Theme: #6, all themes
Rating: G
Word Count: 2487 (with themes)
Warnings: none
Disclaimer: Cardcaptor Sakura belongs to CLAMP. This fanfic is a derivative of canon material that is not my property. I do not profit from these writings. The opinions and actions expressed in these stories are not necessarily the views and beliefs of the original author or me.
Excerpt: "Of course I'll help you paint," he says, knowing the colors she'll want to splash all over the walls, the golds and rubies and and sunfire oranges, and when she smiles and hugs him, Yuki finally decides to hug back.
01. Passing fancy
Her fascination hadn't been with Yukito, if she was honest. The part where he didn't realize he was really an ages-old guardian fading into oblivion-- it was somewhat interesting, but...
There was Touya, and she knew Touya would taste good. Eriol had said to her to keep her hands off Yukito.
So he was there, and she noticed him, and yet she didn't.
02. Casino
Nakuru lives by gambling-- gambling she can jump that fence, catch that ball, keep Eriol's secret. To live like that seems wearying to Yukito, and he says so.
"Life isn't fun when it's boring," she says reflectively after a moment. Suddenly, she jumpsto her feet and then she falls on top of him, tickling and teasing.
Whether Yukito agrees or not, he has to laugh.
03. Heat of the day
Yukito doesn't understand why Nakuru chose to visit Japan during the hottest months. He knows that in England it is cloudy, and the heat is comfortable. Here it is one of those blistering August days during which one does nothing except try not to sweat too much.
"Let's go swimming!" Nakuru demands, emerging from the bathroom wearing a bikini that only serves to accent her flat chest.
Yukito wonders for half a moment why he has volunteered to host Nakuru's visit, but before he can figure it out he is maneuvered into his car and onto the highway.
04. Peeling Paint
"You have to see my apartment!" she says, taking his hand easily, and he wants to say, Aren't we waiting for Touya? but they wait for Touya less and less these days. He's always working and doesn't have time for either of them (and he says to Yukito that Nakuru has worn her welcome thin, but if Yukito is honest with himself he admits she is beginning to grow on him, her cheerful exuberance a sweet touch to every day).
She's found a little place not far from Yuki's home, and the paint on the walls is peeling and the rooms are small and dark. Still, she stands in the middle of the living room, a queen surveying her domain, and he can't help but smile.
"Of course I'll help you paint," he says, knowing the colors she'll want to splash all over the walls, the golds and rubies and and sunfire oranges, and when she smiles and hugs him, Yuki finally decides to hug back.
05. Homeward bound
The summer fades away and suddenly Nakuru is homeward bound, her strength and smiles and laughter traveling halfway across the world to delight her brother and her creator. Yuki watches her step onto the tarmac, feeling unreasonably lonely. They have spent the summer together reading magazines, swimming, teasing, playing-- all the things, Yukito supposes, that they might have done the first time around, had she not a duty.
On the way home he calls Touya's cell phone and his dry voicemail picks up: "I'm probably at work, so leave a message." Yuki sighs and hangs up the phone, because the last three messages went unreturned and he's beginning to grow weary.
06. Casting bread
"What are you doing," Touya says when Yukito answers the phone, and it's not really a question, and maybe that's why Yukito snaps.
"I see you've decided you have some time to spend with me, hmm? Now that you're ready," he says angrily.
"Whatever," Touya says coldly, hanging up. Yukito doesn't realize that he's crying until he drips onto his shoulder, startling himself.
07. Ask the question
Yukito doesn't want to ask the question, he just can't, and whenever the phone rings he looks at it like a snake about to bite.
It's about a week after that conversation that he comes home and hits the play button on the answering machine, quite absently forgetting its stigma. He has already wandered into the kitchen when he hears Touya's voice on the answering machine.
And he doesn't have any more questions to ask, or things to say to Touya. He leaves the groceries out on the counter and the milk goes bad.
08. Red threads
Someone told him once that lovers were connected forever, with bright red threads, and Yuki can't believe it anymore, but he goes to Sakura's wedding anyway. He sits on the groom's side, feeling awkward with Syaoran's family, but he can't make himself sit near Touya.
Sakura turns to walk back down the aisle and sees him there, the gray-haired anomaly mixed in with all of that black and mahoghany brown hair, and she falters. Yukito wishes he hasn't come: this is her day, and she should be happy, no matter what.
He dances with her that night, and she whispers apologies into his ears, and he hugs her and tells her that she will be his sister always, anyway.
09. Magic potion
He hates this simple sadness, and Yue does too. It is even harder to deal with his private grief, considering that he has to share it with a bored guardian.
I wish I had a magic potion to fix you, Yue says sardonically, and Yukito wishes that he understood. Considering his hang-ups over Clow, he should, but Yue is inherently selfish, even as he protects others.
"Me too," Yukito says, but then he feels Yue's sympathy and is thankful for once that he is never alone.
10. Wanna be a cowboy
Nakuru watches the way that Yukito acts at the wedding, and she is much more observant than many give her credit for. She talks to Eriol about things that evening and he tells her what he has learned from Tomoyo and their other friends.
She can't stand to think of Yukito being unhappy like this-- he is too much fun for that. She knows what she has to do.
The next day she is on his doorstep at six in the morning, wearing a cowboy hat and pink boots, and she drags him off on another adventure.
11. Lies at midnight
Eriol, Spinel, and Kaho cannot stay very much longer-- they have commitments at home. She goes to the airport with them, explaining and re-explaining her reasons for staying, even though they have never protested her decision.
Eriol puts a gentle hand on her cheek as he leaves, his eyes burning into hers, and he says, "Take care," and she nods.
Then she drives back to Tomoeda, calling Yukito and suggesting that they tell ghost stories tonight in his big lonely house. Luckily he agrees, because she can't sleep alone tonight.
12. Rainy day(s)
On rainy days they play in the puddles and spend the afternoon over hot chocolate, talking, laughing. The days pass on and it isn't long before Yukito's gloom passes quietly away. One cannot be sad when Nakuru is around.
One night she convinces Yue to go flying with her, when the rain has fogged the night and no one can see them. Yukito tags along (of course), feeling his heart leap as Yue's wings spread, and he thinks that she is very beautiful as Ruby Moon.
13. Earn a penny
After a few weeks she gets a job as a cook in a restaurant, and Yukito is amazed by the professionalism she exudes when she puts on the checkered pants and bright white smock. She is quite good at cooking, in fact, and she is constantly bringing home dinner and bits of things she makes for him.
"I think I'd like to own a restaurant someday," she says thoughtfully to him one evening. "Wouldn't we have fun with that, Yukito?"
He nods easily before he realizes the importance of her word "we."
14. Sunflower
In the spring, she moves back in with him, painting his living room in her golds and reds. After all, she says, she sleeps on his couch more nights than not, and there is no reason why she has to go back to that cold apartment when he has such a lovely couch.
But Yukito has a back bedroom which he has never used (my grandparents, a Clow-voice in the back of his mind whispers, but he has learned to ignore it), and when she comes in, dropping her bags to the floor, he leads her there. The room is white, of course, but there are sunflowers everywhere, on the bedspread and the curtains and the walls.
She squeals and hugs him tightly, and he is glad to have her home.
15. Incredible journey
Not long after she moves in, she invites him to England with her to celebrate Eriol's birthday. Her head is in his lap and they have been talking forever, and he has no problem agreeing.
They play handheld game battles on the plane until their batteries die, and if Nakuru is a little too loud, Yukito is used to it by now; he can hardly remember the silent times and would rather banish them from his mind.
When they get off the plane, Nakuru runs into Eriol's arms, practically knocking him over. Eriol shakes Yukito's hand, and in his eyes is a question Yukito cannot answer, but Eriol smiles as if he already knows.
16. Spot of tea
Yukito often sits to have tea with Kaho. They have the moon and Touya in common after all, and it is not as hard to share memories as he thought it would be.
Nakuru runs through chasing Spinelsun with the sugar-free Pocky she bought for him-- Yukito is somewhat doubtful of the sugar-free label, and it seems Spinelsun is also.
She waves and chases her brother, and when Yukito turns back to Kaho she is watching him and grinning.
"You have to tell her, you know," Kaho says, and after a moment Yukito nods.
17. Save a life
Sakura and Syaoran come back for festival of course, and Sakura's kimono stretches sweetly over her pregnancy bump. Nakuru has been cooing over her stomach for the whole visit, promising the child all sorts of mischief once he or she is born.
Yukito is talking and not watching when he steps off the curb, and he does not even hear the car until he is bathed in the harsh glare of its headlights. Nakuru's eyes widen and he turns and she grabs the neck of his kimono, pulling him roughly back onto the sidewalk.
The car does not stop, but time does, and Yukito kisses Nakuru for a long long moment.
18. Secrets
Sakura giggles like she is still a child and says, "It was getting hard to keep your secret, Yuki!" Even Syaoran has an indulgent smile on his face and Yukito gives up the idea of arguing as a bad job.
"What secret?" Nakuru asks curiously, and he gestures weakly at her and at himself, but she doesn't seem to get it.
"I... love you," he says finally, and without hesitation she says it back.
And that is the last secret that he keeps from her.
19. Hat
It starts with the absolutely ugly weiner-shaped hat that she buys him for their "one-day anniversary." He returns her favor with some incredibly tasteless jewelry and the war is on.
Two rules solidifed immediately: each gift had to be worse than the last, and they had to take turns at it. He breaks the tradition only once, but she doesn't really mind.
She wears those ruby earrings for two months straight, and when she gives him an ugly green two-headed dog she wins from a vending machine in Tokyo, he laughs and is glad to continue the game.
20. Seasons of change
The seasons change, the days pass on, and each day is brushed with a little bit of Nakuru magic-- that ability she has to make everything seem new. They set a date for their wedding-- December 31st, the day the whole world renews itself.
The time doesn't pass quickly enough and they get married three days after they set the date, standing in the living room. Nakuru is wearing a plain yellow dress and she is the most beautiful girl Yukito has ever seen.
They keep their marriage a secret until the "real" date rolls by, but they still fall asleep hand in hand, knowing the truth of together forever.
21. Sneaking around
She wants to play spy in Paris and drink heavy lager in Germany and go skinny-dipping in the Meditteranean Sea, so they sneak away from the tour group sometimes and do the craziest things.
They walk along the beach on the island of Capri, hand in hand, and Yukito says, "This is a perfect night," and she indulges his romantic spirit for a moment.
Then she pulls him into the surf, laughing, and they walk home with their feet still dripping, making fun of the bad Greek pop music playing downstairs in the ballroom. The moon is the bright color of honey and Yukito doesn't need to fly to feel the sweetness of the wind.
22. Love is the answer
Life isn't perfect, not at all, even though it seems like that from the outside. Some days he can't pull Nakuru out of bed, and some days he is too melancholy for Nakuru to tease a smile into his face. There are days when they fight over whose turn it is to do the dishes or clean the tub. And the cycles of the moon affect them both, as much as Yukito tries to think of it in less femininine terms.
Still they endure: better yet, they thrive, because love really is the answer.
23. Old fashion
Yukito isn't sure when it happens, when gray begins to sneak into Nakuru's plaits and all he wants to do is watch as Sakura's grandchildren play on his green lawn. They move a little bit slower now, and Yue sleeps more, but they don't feel old.
Perhaps it is when they allow themselves to become Uncle Yukito and Auntie Nakuru that they admit their age, but honestly neither of them mind. Everyone calls Fujitaka Grandpa now and Touya is Uncle Touya too.
The wrinkles of Nakuru's face correspond to smile lines, and he thinks she is just as beautiful as the day they met.
24. Mockingbird*
A mockingbird builds a nest in the tree outside their window and Nakuru loves him immediately. She buys all sort of unusual nature tapes, hoping to teach him something special.
Yukito isn't quite as enthusiastic, throwing the pillow over his head when he hears the creature sing, but one day he wakes to a bird that croaks in a good imiation of a garden frog. He just has to laugh.
25. Never again
Never again is Yukito lonely, neglected, or without family. Never again is he truly quiet or alone. Never again is Nakuru without her love.
They come into each others' lives like a shot and nothing is ever the same. Never again do they have any regrets.
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Yukito isn't quite as enthusiastic, throwing the pillow over his head when he hears the creature sing, but one day he wakes to a bird that croaks in a good imiation of a garden frog. He just has to laugh.
For some reason, it's my favorite part of the fic :).
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I really enjoyed writing this pairing. Talking about stepping out of my box! Glad you liked. ^^