After Acts

Author's Note: Act 306 might not make sense if you haven't read the CCS manga. The manga ended differently then the anime, I think. Never saw all the Japanese epis.

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Act 305

Scene 1

He smiled as Dômeki slid their door closed. "The new temple maidens finally give up."

Dômeki smirked as he turned to him, "I still don't believe it."

"What?" he replied nonchalantly, "I told you we could be completely moved in four hours. Just have to ask enough spirits to help out."

The smirk was still there as he started past Dômeki to the living room. "I guess it helps when you're a neat freak."

He jumped, "It's easier when the girls already have a room," he radiated smug, "And everything you own needs replaced."

Those strong arms wrapping around his waist didn't surprise him at all. His heart raced as he felt him smiling into his hair. He gave a happy sigh before pulling away, drawing Dômeki outside. Turning to him, the old eye-quirk made him nervous. "Do you really want to?"

Staring into those mismatched eyes, he knew. "Yes."

This sigh wasn't happy at all. Those eyes lowered as he pulled the little swirling ball from his pocket. He just stared at it as he held it between them. Dômeki jumped just as he anticipated. "What...?" he left it hanging at the look on his face. It was the same one he'd seen on Yûko's.

A strange range of emotions passed all around them. Fear, hope, confusion, defiance, reluctance, guilt. That strong hand covering his told him everything Dômeki felt, all he ever expected; iron resolve, total love and devotion. Still he couldn't quite shake the guilt as Dômeki took the sphere into his hand, "You don't have to," he whispered.

"I never have," the reply was soft-spoken and heartfelt. He only nodded as Dômeki held it up between them.

He pushed it towards Dômeki's face, "You have to swallow it."

All he got was a nod before it was popped in like a cherry.

There was no gust of wind, no flare of power; but when Dômeki blinked he felt it. The bond was there again, only it was different, stronger.

"It reacted to emotions, remember," he started, his gaze bashfully falling between them. "And since we... I finally stopped fighting it, the bond's gotten stronger. I... I can teach you how to control it too. If you want -- "

Dômeki's lips pressing gently against his told him everything.

Scene 2

She couldn't help smiling as she stopped leaning against the gate. They were walking up the street holding hands. No big surprise Dômeki noticed her first, or that Watanuki had that I-should-know-you look on his face. "Umm, do you need help Miss...?"

She chuckled, "Almost three years Watanuki-dono, and this is the first time we meet. You must be doing remarkably well Steward."

The tension was suddenly obvious. Dômeki let go of Watanuki's hand, stepping closer and glaring at her. She bowed her head, "There's no need to worry, Dômeki-kun," she couldn't help smiling at the smugness in Watanuki's eyes, "I'm not here to hurt you or ask for help. Actually, I hope to talk with both of you."

Watanuki stepped closer, placing his hand on Dômeki's shoulder, "I'm sorry Miss; do I know you? You seem familiar."

"Where are my manners," she started, bowing, "Forgive me. My name is Samantha Rutherford. I'm an old acquaintance of Yûko's."

It suddenly came back, "You - you're the one that Yuko owed... you made her swear she wouldn't stop you..."

She nodded, "It's nice to hear you remembered me. What I have to tell you is delicate, it'd be best if we went inside."

Watanuki blushed at his own rudeness, "Of course." He walked by, Dômeki right on his heels, as he lead her towards the house.

She patiently followed, calmly waiting with Dômeki's fierce glare as Watanuki returned with the tea. "I felt this initial visit would be best when the girls are at school," she started as Watanuki poured the tea.

He froze briefly before handing her a cup. "What are you talking about?"

"Do either of you know about Amoromnia?" she asked right back.

Dômeki coolly picked up his cup. "It's some kind of agency."

His cup stopped at his lips when he caught sight of Watanuki's pale face. "It finds homes for lost and abandoned spirits..."

She nodded, "And humans like yourselves. But you have no need to worry about that Watanuki-dono. You would know if there was a child that needed you."

"Wh-whadda ya mean? Why would I...?" he sputtered as he sat back, Dômeki taking his hand.

"We place the children with parents who can train them as well. With your powers, how strong they are, you would know no matter where the child would be." She finished as she set her tea down. "But as I said, I'm not here to place a child with you."

"Then why are you here Miss Rutherford?" Dômeki practically demanded.

"Please call me Samantha, we'll be seeing a lot of each other in the future," she said, "I'm here to give you a heads-up Dômeki-kun. There's another reason Amoromnia exists."

"What do you mean... Samantha?" Watanuki's voice quivered.

"My grandmother started the agency centuries ago. She traveled extensively back then, and was amazed at the sheer number of orphaned and abandoned spirits and wizards. So she started by finding other relatives, people willing to raise and train them. Over the years, some of the children, the families started helping. It was about that time that Grandma made a surprising discovery," she paused, sipping her tea.

"Centuries..." Dômeki said.

Of course, Watanuki was more used to it, "What did she find?"

"That almost half the infants were from relationships like yours." She answered, trying not to smile at the looks she was receiving.

Dômeki was staring blankly at her. Watanuki was sputtering, "What?!? But-but... how? It's not possible!"

She calmly shook her head.

"It can't happen!"

"Oh, but it can Watanuki-dono."

"No! it's impossible Sam!" he almost yelled at her, crossing his arms and turning away in defiance.

"But it's true. I've been in the house when it's happened Watanuki-dono," she paused as they both jumped, "It might be anatomically impossible, but you forget anything's possible with magic."

Following her gaze, they found her watching Mokona sleeping in the sunlight. "But how's it possible?"

She smiled at Dômeki. "There's a big difference between the magics; no one knows all the details around the births. The Magic won't let anyone in until the child starts crying."

"The Magic?" Watanuki was just as confused.

"The universal magic, the boundless magic all around us. From what the parents have told us, it only seems to happen if you loose control of your powers... at that moment," she continued, fighting the smirk again at the bright cherry-blush on Watanuki's face, the slight pink on Dômeki's. "It's not every time that happens either. But once it's happened, they say they fall into a deep dreamless sleep. That's when the Magic starts gathering, you can feel the powers mixing together. Then the baby starts crying, the Magic dissipates, and the parents wake up with a baby in bed with them."

Watanuki was suddenly speechless, so Dômeki got inquisitorial, "So the child's a newborn?"

"No, they've been anywhere from four to nine months old. The baby will have one obvious physical similarity to one of the parents: same eyes, nose, that sort of thing."

"So it's always been only one child?" Dômeki kept asking as Watanuki's gaze just fell to his lap.

"In the 206 years since the Agency was created, Grandma started keeping track, there's only been three cases of multiples, all twins. One or both of the parents have been spirits that normally have litters." She calmly told the facts.

The bowed head turned slightly to her, "How did you know...?" he whispered.

She smiled softly, placing her hand on the floor beside his knee. "It's not what you think Watanuki-dono. No one or thing has been spying on you. Grandma came up with a simple love spell: you can sense true love between, in anyone with powers. If we concentrate hard enough, we can find out who they are. The energy we sense from them change after the first time together." She paused at his soft nod.

"So you came to tell us," Watanuki said as he turned back to her.

"Yes, we try to make sure everyone's aware before it happens." She smiled as she sat back. "And to keep up appearances to other humans."

Both men turned to each other, Dômeki nodding, "A baby out of nowhere would look odd."

"That's why the Agency was legally created. So anyone that doesn't know just sees it as you're hoping and planning to adopt. And with all the paperwork done, any situation that comes up is easily handled." She explained before finishing her tea, "Even the name is a spell."

Watanuki nodded, "If it sounds familiar, you can help."

She wasn't surprised at all at the confusion and unease on both faces. "I realize I've upset your life in many ways," she added as she pulled her card from her pocket, holding it out to them. "I'll be by whenever I can to check on things. Don't hesitate to call me for anything," she smiled as Watanuki took it, "Even emergency babysitting."

Standing up, she hummed as they sat there, eyes moving from each other to the card. "Don't worry, I'll show myself out."

Watanuki jumped at her words, hopping to his feet before she could even turn away. "No, let me." Dômeki stood up behind him, following as they started to the door.

"Don't worry, the closest the children have ever come is seventeen months apart," from the looks she got, she'd guessed right, "And the biggest family on record was nine, with four adoptions, and the couple was together for almost four hundred years."

You could almost see one weight lifting off their shoulders.

Stepping onto the porch, she couldn't stop the caring smile. "Remember, I'm here to help," she added before bowing, "Thank you for the delectable tea. I hope to repay you soon."

They bowed in return before she turned and left.


Act 306

Scene 1

She'd just sat on the fountain edge as the pork-bun hopped up out of nowhere. It landed on her knee as he stepped up beside her. She turned to the gate as he asked, "So they're coming?"

"Moro-chan and Maru-chan begged and begged," Mokona replied as he turned to her with a smile, "Should we?"

She laughed at Fujitaka's suppressed smile, "Let's."

The pork-bun turned to the gate before his eyes started opening, the beam of light projecting between them and the path. Yuko appeared within the circle, chin deep in bubbles, "Samantha, why are you calling?" she turned to him, "It's Kinomoto-san, right?"

"No need for the formalities Yûko," he replied with an all-too-familiar grin.

To which, Yûko glared evilly at her, "Samantha Rutherford! Don't you dare tell me you corrupted him too!"

"I had nothing to do with Eriol," she snapped back, "I teach whoever asks Yûko, Fujitaka was already regaining memories before we met."

"Then why the sudden call?" arms popped up out of nowhere, folded on a suddenly revealed ledge.

"They're here!" Mokona called out as everyone turned to the gate.

Moro was pushing the empty stroller through the gate, Maru carrying the diaper bag. Watanuki came quickly, calling Maru back just as Dômeki walked through, a baby asleep at his shoulder.

She chuckled at the look on Yûko's face, "You wait a whole year before telling me this?!?"

"You could have called anytime Yûko. It's not all our fault." Fujitaka coolly replied.

She stopped laughing, "He's ten months old Yûko, and he was six months when he was born. I felt they could use a few months to get used to him being here before I called."

Yuko only hummed as she watched Dômeki sit on a nearby bench, the girls bringing the stroller as Watanuki started digging through the bag. "Blonde...?" she could only shake her head.

"Oh? This coming from the woman who gave his sisters blue and pink," she responded.

Fujitaka added, "On purpose."

Yuko sighed, "Touché, touché, I get it."

She only smiled as she turned back, watching as Watanuki helped shifting him into his lap. "He's got Daddy's eyes though."

"You mean..." Yûko turned that crazy smirk on her.

"Left one's sapphire and his right's gold," she replied as Dômeki wrapped his free arm around Watanuki, both of them watching their son sleep. Covering the hand on her shoulder with her own, she couldn't help smiling again before turning to him.

Yuko had a satisfied look on her face before asking, "And his name..."

"Guess," she replied with the pork-bun.

She laughed softly before reaching out of view, a full champagne flute in her hand. "Here's to you, little Haruka," she raised a toast, "May your life be easier than Daddy's."

Clow's smile returned, "It won't be as bad; Haruka's got his own obstacles to overcome."

Yuko growled as she and Mokona laughed. The pork-bun started hovering as she stood, "Now, if you'll excuse us Yûko. We've got a lunch date to keep."

Mokona landed on Fujitaka's head as Yûko replied, "Of course, tell my old employee to call me soon. I wanna see that little cutie up close."

"Will do," she replied as the connection died off, holding his hand as they joined the happy family.