Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura
A/n: Hello everyone, it's been a while since I've actually wrote a sappy story like this so, bear with me. I would like to dedicate this story to my two online sisters KyteAura and Dana Daidouji as well as my darling boyfriend, Ryan. Thanks for being there for me and have a Happy Valentine's Day. That goes to everyone who is reading this as well, Happy Valentine's day.
They said that when you love, you love forever. I never quite understood the same words until I met him, the one guy who swept me off my feet and yet, kept me in the cold and hard world. My feelings for him never changed although the times have. I still remembered the days when we were still together and how we would comfort each other in words as well as our physical touches. He loved me as I did for him. How we ended was another story and how we started was another. It's been years since I've last seen him. I stand now the owner of the Daidouji fashion design label as well as the sole heir to the Daidouji fortune, a corporate bitch as most would call me if they have worked for me. This was my present and my wish from when I was young.
"What do you see in your future, Tomoyo?"
"I'll be a corporate bitch just like the career quest quiz results have set me as"
"Are you so willing to follow the results of a silly computer programme?"
"I've always wanted to be the top of the corporate line just like my mother"
His dreams and his world were far different from mine. He despised the corporate world and the multinational companies which lived in corruption. He hated the fact that commercial workers benefit from everything the world has to offer and yet, those who worked hard for their jobs get nothing such as those in the medical line. He felt that the people who deserve the financial recognition were those who really poured their soul out to the world to really help people out there, not those who benefits from share markets and gamble them all out just to get the money back out of luck. The last that I heard of him was that he did become what he had always wanted to be, a doctor.
"What do you want to be?"
"A doctor"
"Why?"
"I want to heal people and help them"
"That's very noble of you"
"I hate to see people suffer from pain"
We began our relationship in High School when we were young and wild and free. It was not him who sought after me; it was I who went for him. Starting our platonic friendship with a simple touch of a letter, we grew fond of each other. Sure, I knew him beforehand but I was never close to him and he was what I would consider an acquaintance. He left for England then but returned to Tomoeda after Mizuki sensei left him for another man. He was not easy to approach then despite his friendly and social side which masks his hidden depths of pain and loneliness. I broke through that. I pulled him out of that pain that he was in. At that time, I was just as lonely as he was. Sakura-chan was intimately oblivious to her surroundings and her mind had only one person in it, Li-kun. Not that I don't understand her, I felt neglected.
"So why don't I see you around Sakura-chan anymore?"
"She's with Li-kun"
"Ah, you feel neglected"
"Perhaps I do, what are you going to do about it?"
"Well, first I'd give you a hug and then I'll sit here with you every lunch time and share my bento with you"
Our relationship began when he forced me to reveal my emotions to him. At first, I was just a rebound until he realized that I was not Mizuki sensei. I remember the things that he did to hurt me, to push me away from him and to warn me off. Those many times which he left me in the rain and how his heart seemed so cold at that time. Then, he would come after me and warm me up before apologizing for his immature behavior. I must have loved him to let him continuously hurt me for no reason at all. You may say that I'm stupid or that I'm oblivious but I'm not. When you love someone, you would throw away everything you have to be with them. You would allow yourself to be stepped on and stabbed just for that person you love to know how much you feel for them. That was what I did and eventually, things turned around. He became true to his feelings and improved himself for our sake. Words of love that were never shared between the both of us at our early stage started flowing as if it was just natural.
"I love you"
"You do?"
"Yes, I do"
"Really now? To what do I deserve my fair maiden's love?"
"For being here with me in this relationship"
"Must I return the words?"
"Not if you don't feel the same way, Hiiragizawa-kun"
"I love you too, Tomoyo-chan and why am I still Hiiragizawa-kun? Shouldn't I be Eriol already?"
"Yes, Eriol"
It lasted for 6 years just for it to end. No, it didn't end in misery or perhaps it did. Everything ended when we stopped the most vital part of our relationship, communication. It was graduation for me and it was 2 more years for him before he could obtain his medical degree. I would have waited for him if we had not ended out relationship then but it did. I was heartbroken and it took awhile for me to really get over it. He did not end it. I did not end it. Time did. It became mutual and everything just stopped when I left for Australia to work with my mother's company branch there. I never knew how he felt about it. He seemed to be too busy to care about anything else. If I had known him well, he would have just pushed it to the back of his mind where it would subconsciously hurt him in his sleep. I knew him well and I was not wrong. He came to bid me farewell at the airport and he gave me a present in the form of a diamond bracelet which had the words 'Love is forever' engraved on it. I left on the 14th of February, knowing that I left my heart behind with him.
"Take care of yourself, Tomoyo"
"I will"
"You know that I still love you right, even now that we're not officially together anymore"
"I know, Eriol. I love you too"
"Don't for get me, alright?"
"I promise that I won't"
"Goodbye, Tomoyo"
"Never say goodbye. Goodbye means forever"
"Farewell then and see you again"
"See you again, Eriol"
"Oh Tomoyo, before I forget, Happy Valentine's Day"
I never saw him again. I hear news of him every now and again from Sakura-chan but it was vague information. For all I knew, he could be married with a dozen children. I would not be surprised; he is pretty banging in bed. As for me, I'm still single and well, very extremely occupied with business to indulge in relationships. Sure, I have my sexual needs every now and then but I don't go round screwing males for the sake of pleasing my needs, I have more class than that. Perhaps it is not because of that. Perhaps it is because I know that no other man can make me happier than he did. I find myself reminiscing in the past, wishing that I was still in his arms, smelling his familiar scent and just being there with him. I still wear the bracelet and I've worn it ever since the day he gave it to me. I still wonder what he meant with the words, 'Love is Forever'. Does he still think of me just as I do for him? Why do I put myself in such a place?
Knock Knock!
I am disconnected from my thoughts as I said, "Come in" to whomever that had just knocked. The door open and my secretary carries a large box. I asked her what was in it and she had a mischievous glint in her eyes. She seemed a bit too hyperactive for my likings. She just left me an envelope and left me with the things. I looked at the box, it was just strange. I opened the envelope and read the card in it. My eyes widened as I saw the words.
Happy Valentine's Day and 8 years of it.
-E.Hiiragizawa
I opened the box and saw the content. My jaw fell as my eyes were filled with the sight of hundreds of long stemmed red roses. 8 years of it. There must be at least two thousand stalks in there. I looked up at my personal organizer and saw the date. It was indeed the 14th of February. It was Valentine's Day and I had not noticed it to be even when the streets is painted red and cupids are everywhere. I must have been ignorant of everything that reminded me of love. It was obvious who the sender was but how had he known where I was when I could never locate him. Frustrated with questions, I placed the box at the very corner of my office. I continued on with my work for the day and ignored any thoughts of him that I had beforehand not that it was easy. I looked out the window for an eye calmer to relax my mind of the confusion that I had just received in my mind. That was when I noticed that there was an aeroplane flying with a banner saying
Tomoyo Daidouji, will you go on a date with me tonight- E.Hiiragizawa
I blinked my eyes and rubbed it again just to make sure that my eyes weren't deceiving me. It wasn't. There was an aeroplane flying with the banner which asked me out on a date. Not that the aeroplane asked me out, the person who paid for the banner. He was really back and he wanted to see me. Do I really want to see him do? Or so, how do I? He asked me to go but he did not leave a message or a venue or a time to meet him. Just at that time, the phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Miss Daidouji, we have a reservation for two under the name of Eriol Hiiragizawa at the Concorde Restaurant at 8 tonight. We would like a confirmation if you will honor us with your presence at our humble restaurant so that we can send out a limousine to pick you up as our restaurant is very exclusive and hidden to the public eye"
I sat on my chair, the receiver near my ear, shocked.
"Miss Daidouji, are you there?"
"Yes I am"
"Will you be coming?"
"Yes, I will"
"There is a dress code here and it is a black formal wear only venue"
"Is there anything else that I should know?"
"No, Miss. Thank you for your cooperation. A limousine will arrive outside your condominium at 7 tonight. We look forward to seeing you"
Time passed quickly after I hung up the phone. When I arrived home, there was a package on my doorstep. I took it in to my condo and opened it just to see an elegant black dress in it. One would have thought that I would be smitten by now but I'm not. I'm being lavished and romanced and yet I do not appreciate any of it. Don't get me wrong, I'm honored but this is beyond spoiling. I see invitations and sweet materialistic things but where is he? I looked at the time and realized that I did not have much time. I took a shower and made myself all pretty before slipping into the black dress that was in the box. I checked myself out in the mirror just to notice that the dress had a plunging line down my back. Just to add more elegance, I put one of my sapphire necklaces which hung down my cleavage. I contemplated with the bracelet and ended up wearing it. That was the moment that the doorbell was heard and I went straight to the intercom. It was the limousine driver. I put on a pair of my most comfortable Jimmy Choo's and left. Somehow, everything that he has done reminded me of a conversation that we once shared while eating sushi at one of the stands.
"So tell me, how do girls like to be romanced on Valentine's day?"
"I don't know"
"What do you mean you don't know? You're a girl! You have all those dreamy and sappy things imbedded in your brains"
"Isn't that a stereotype?"
"I guess but do tell me, what tickles your fancy for a Valentine's day special?"
"Personally, I would like to be spoilt but not in the materialistic way. Sure, I'd love to have a bouquet of my favorite flowers and a nice dinner at somewhere I can be alone with the one whom I love. Other than that, I don't really care. I hate those love heart shaped candies; they are too cheesy for my likings"
"Is there anything else that you like?"
"Of course there is but I'm not going to tell you everything. You need to work it out or else I'll be telling you all of my little sappy dreams"
"How bout marriage proposals? What would your ideal one be like?"
"Eriol, you are impossible you know that"
"No I'm not, I'm just asking out of interest"
"Are you planning on asking me to marry you, Eriol?"
"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. Come on, amuse me with your thoughts"
"Eriol, if you were to propose to me. You would have to know me really well for me to say 'yes' to you"
"A-ha! Romance and lots of it"
"Think what you like Eriol, when the day comes, I'll let you know if you're right or wrong"
"Is there something that must be there?"
The limousine driver stopped at the venue which did amaze me when I first saw it. It was up in the hills where there was a little house that had a sign outside which says, Concorde Restaurant. It did look like a classy place although it reminded me more of a homestead than a restaurant. A young man dressed in a suit came out to greet me.
"You must be Miss Daidouji. Welcome to the Concorde Restaurant. I am Phil and I will be your host this evening", the man said.
I smiled and let him lead me to wherever I was meant to meet up with the one man that I have not seen in 8 years. The one man that I am supposedly still dead in love with. Time changes people but does it change what we used to have? I don't know. I began to feel restless as Phil led me to wherever that he was taking me. I began to scratch my wrists, an old habit of mine. Finally he opened the door to a balcony which led me to Eriol. I had so many questions for him but when I came face to face with him, I went silent. There in front of me, stood not the boy who stole my heart back when I was in high school but it was a man who had grown so much in life that you could see it in his eyes. He had the same blue eyes that I fell in love with but he had grown taller and he definitely isn't that scrawny anymore. I smiled at the sight of a grown man, the one man that I thought would never ever change in sight.
"Tomoyo", he said.
That was all that it took before I went straight to his arms and tears started streaming down my face. All of those emotions just came out and he held me close, kissing my temple and whispering sweet nothingness into my ears. For awhile, I stayed in his arms, recalling those moments when I had been in his arms. It felt the same as always. He held my hand to his heart and kissed the back of the other.
"I missed you", he whispered.
I nodded my head.
"Me too", I chocked.
Then, I felt him slipping something on my finger. I looked at what it was and my eyes widened as I look from the ring to his face, back and forth. I was speechless; all that I knew was that it was going too fast. Everything that he has done was just way too fast. I stepped away from him and looked at the ring and back to his face again. I must have had the most confused look on my face.
"What's this supposed to mean?" I asked, showing him the ring on my finger.
His eyes began to work its magic to my heart, melting me all over again.
"Marry me, Tomoyo", he said.
I took a deep breath and slumped down to the nearest chair where I sat to comprehend what he had just asked me. After 8 years of separation and of no news, I did not expect this to happen. Did he expect me to say yes immediately? I looked at him, he was still that rash decision making boy who acted on impulse rather than thought and I was still that girl who longed for security and everlasting fairytale love. The one that I never had. He stood in front of me then went down on one knee and took my hand into his.
"For a while, I was selfish in allowing myself to let you go but I thought that I would have been even more selfish if I had asked you to stay and wait for me to finish my degree. Not that 2 years really mattered but how our relationship was going at that time, it was only fair that we had a break. Then, when I realized what I had really missed in life, it was already fast forward to 8 years later", he said.
I listened and then I asked.
"What did you miss?"
"I missed you, the one person who changed my life forever. The one who is perfect in every single way. The one person who always put everything else in front of her and goes round pleasing everyone else first before herself. The one whom I love with all of my heart and the only one whom I want to be with for the rest of my life. Tomoyo, that's you"
Still overwhelmed, I took another deep breath.
"Marry me", he pleaded.
I did not answer him. He did not force me to answer him but he stood up and asked for my hand which I held as he held me up. Then, I heard music, a tune that was very extremely familiar. He took my hand and in his silence, asked me to dance with him. He held me close as we swayed to the tune of our song, not quite our song, our piece as he would say it. It was Pachelbel's Canon in D and it had been our piece from the first time that we got together. He waited for the perfect moment before looking into my eyes and hypnotizing me with them. Those dark azure eyes were just too irresistible. He lowered his head and claimed my lips in a gentle touch. Then, he slowly took his time to savor the taste of my lips as I did the same to him. It was a familiar touch which I had missed very much. His lips continued to seek mine as we danced. When we finally broke apart for air, I said yes. He smiled as he kissed me again and again.
"Happy Valentine's Day, Tomoyo", he whispered in between kisses.
So, you may want to know if Eriol got his proposal right? I guess you can say that he did. How can a girl not fall for that kind of sappy romantic thing that he did. If you wanted to know, we got married the next year on Valentine's day and we're now happily married. Sure, we have our disagreements in our careers because well, we both got what we wanted. He is a neurosurgeon and I'm the owner of a fashion design label. At least, we still spend time together to work our problems out and we communicate with each other everyday in our little language of physical and mental touches. Oh yes, before I forget, I bet you wanted to know what it was that must be there in a Valentine's Day and a marriage proposal in my books.
"You'll need to have a breathtaking kiss to seal the deal on Valentine's Day and in a marriage proposal or else, all will be lost"
Happy Valentine's Day Everyone