For Chelle-sama
Eventide
He dreams of her sometimes, faint, fleeting things he can never really remember. Just a flash of red hair, the scraping of fingernails on white skin, and the scent of mothballs lingering on clothes. Sometimes, he wakes up with traces of tears on his face, but he never knows why; he never remembers his dreams.
It is times like these that he reaches out to fumble for his glasses. Clumsily, he puts them on, then stumbles onward to the library, his library, to bury himself into his red chair and drown in words.
In the morning, it is his guardians who find him, curled up next to a mountain of books, muttering incoherent words.
They have often suggested to him to leave England—at least for a short time.
"Please, Eriol-sama," Ruby Moon often pleads, but they never say why. It has to do with those dreams, he thinks. Though he has held out for some time, in the end, he has to go; Sakura-san sent an invitation to her wedding a few days ago.
Japan is the same as ever, he thinks, as they step off the plane. Ruby Moon can barely contain his excitement.
It is Spinel Sun that sees the sign first, but Eriol already knows where she is. All he has to do is close his eyes, and a wave of power surrounds him, and he knows it is Sakura. Ruby Moon shrieks in delight. "Eriol-sama! Look, there they are!" And sure enough, the large sign appears, with ERIOL-SAN in big, bold letters.
He recognizes Sakura only because of her magic, although she does bear a faint resemblance to the small, cheerful girl of ten. He is a bit relieved that he is still taller than she is; she has grown quite a bit. He looks around for Xiao Lang, but he doesn't see him. He is appalled; Xiao Lang would let Sakura come by herself?
"Eriol-san!" The poster paper crumbles to the floor as Sakura crushes him with a hug.
"Sakura-san, you're looking well," he manages to choke out. She lets him go. "Xiao Lang didn't come with you?"
"Oh no, he was busy," she says absentmindedly. "Something about…I don't remember, but it sounded important."
"So you came alone?"
She laughs. "Eriol-san, you're so funny sometimes!"
A dark haired girl is standing behind Sakura, smiling benignly at him. He's not sure who she is, but manages a valiant smile. "Er…Hello…"
"Forgotten me already, Hiiragizawa-san?" she says to him.
It is a voice he recognizes, and he smiles broadly. "Daidouji-san! It's good to see you!" He presses his hand on hers affectionately, and she smiles back graciously.
Ruby Moon draws all of them to him in another crushing hug. "Eee…! I'm so happy! Sakura-chan, Tomoyo-chan, you're both so cute! Did everyone miss me? Did Touya-kun miss me?"
Tomoyo laughs, and Sakura says breathlessly, "Yes, of course!"
"Maybe you should go get our luggage, Ruby Moon," he suggests.
He does, after giving Eriol an annoyed look.
Tomoyo laughs again, and Eriol turns to look at them both. Tomoyo is taller than Sakura, more slender too. She has a look in her eyes that he can't quite place, so his attention focuses on Sakura. She is still the same.
"…so we arranged a nice room for you in that hotel…"
He realizes with horror that Sakura had been speaking to him while he was scrutinizing the two girls. He glances at Tomoyo; like always, she has not missed a thing. She is trying to repress another laugh, he sees with some embarrassment.
They drop him off at the hotel with directions to the wedding. Tomorrow, he thinks, it's tomorrow.
[]
He finds himself sitting in a vast audience, of which half consists of the Li family, with a stupid grin on his face. By chance or fate, he sits next to Li Yelan, the groom's mother.
He does not recognize any of the people there, and only vaguely knows that slender bridesmaid with the dark hair and beautiful eyes.
"People change," Li Yelan says to him in an undertone. "People move, die, or just fade away."
The other person he recognizes, he wishes he would forget, but her red hair distracts him from time to time.
He nods absentmindedly. "Sakura and Xiao Lang are lucky then."
"And Daidouji?"
He looks back at the bridesmaid with the tragic smile and does not answer.
[]
There was a small reception after the ceremony, to be followed by the big official reception at night.
"This is just for us," Sakura explained, hardly able to contain her happiness. "Close friends, family…"
Judging from the Sakura's cordiality and her happiness, he was surprised to find relatively few people beyond the immediate family range.
He does not want to miss this opportunity to tease Xiao Lang—he is delighted to see that he is a mere centimeter taller than Xiao Lang is—but his arm is taken confidentially. He turns to see who it is.
"Daidouji-san," he greets politely.
"Hiiragizawa-san," she says crisply. "Could you do me a favor?"
"Sure," he replies, looking at her curiously. "What is it?"
"Can you sit with me tonight? As an escort, you know…" she says softly. "My mother…" They both glance at Daidouji Sonomi who is arguing with Fujitaka-sensei. "Well…you know."
He did. "She wants grandchildren ne?"
Tomoyo gives him a withering look. "Hiiragizawa." Then, "She keeps setting up blind dates…if I tell her that I have a date tonight, then…"
"She'll leave you alone?" he completes. She nods. "Well then, of course. I," here he grimaces and his eyes glance towards the woman with red hair, "have no date either."
[]
He feels rather honored that he is sitting on the 2nd table. The 1st, of course, is reserved for the immediate family.
"You're only sitting here because you're my date," Tomoyo says with a wicked smile.
"Daidouji-san! You wound me!" he mocks.
"It's true," she shrugs.
She
is not at their table. Sakura is more perceptive than he gives her credit for, and for this small favor, he is grateful. He is also grateful that Daidouji Tomoyo is his date, at least for tonight. He finds that watching Tomoyo keeps him from watching her."You look lovely tonight, Daidouji-san," he says.
"Yes, Hiiragizawa, you've already told me," she answers, patting his hand, "and you've been staring at me the whole evening." He is not embarrassed in the least.
He does not realize what he's doing, until she says, "You really should stop drinking, Hiiragizawa."
"I'm not drunk," he says automatically.
"No, but you will be," she takes the glass from his hand. For a moment, he sees Tomoyo's eyes flicker at her. Seeing her smile so beautifully at him though, he thinks it may have just been his imagination.
[]
They stay until the bride and groom retire.
"I can take you home Tomoyo," he murmurs, taking her hand and pressing it to his lips.
She laughs, and her laugh is pretty, so pretty. "Ah, Hiiragizawa-san, you better let me take you home."
"No, no," he protests, "I want to come home with you."
She agrees, and even in his current state, he is surprised, but does not say anything after.
He is not sure what he expected, but certainly not a small apartment flat in the obscure corners of the city.
"You live here?" he breathes into her ear, and she does not move away.
"Yes," she says easily, "surprised?"
He nods as they stumble through the door. "I always thought you would live in a large mansion or whatnot."
She laughs at this, and he is a little hurt. "You know, Tomoyo, I've heard you laugh at me tonight more than I ever heard you laugh when we were children."
"Ah, Hiiragizawa-san," she takes his white wrist in her hand, whiter, "we are children."
He presses her wrist to his mouth. "You're so beautiful."
She takes in a sharp breath. "Of course."
He moves, and suddenly she pulls away, her face in her hands.
"Tomoyo?" He is confused. "Tomoyo, what…?"
"Oh God," she murmurs. "What are we doing, Hiiragizawa-san?"
He blinks; still, he is confused. "Tomoyo…"
She doesn't answer, just sighs and settles into the sofa, her head back, bare shoulders and neck bathed in the moonlight.
"Tomoyo," he pauses. "Why don't you call me Eriol when I call you Tomoyo?"
Her lips curl, almost a sneer. "Well, Eriol…does it really matter?"
It does, it does
, he thinks wildly, and wildly, he takes her into his arms, presses his lips to hers. "Tomoyo," he sighs into her soft lips."Eriol," she whispers, so softly, "we're just like children."
Why does she keep saying that? He doesn't understand. "I don't care," he says, just as soft, softer. "Can I stay with you tonight?"
She looks at him, eyes wide and calm.
Her eyes close.
"Yes."
/end