This is my 2nd fanfic. Feel free to read, enjoy, laugh, cry, hate, throw rocks, and maybe even review.
Summary – Eriol's love for Tomoyo has gone unrequited for far too long! With the help of Sakura and a little bit of ice skating, can there finally be a happy ending for both of them?!
Disclaimer: I don't own CCS, sadly.
As Fate Would Have It
"A COUPLE'S SKATE?" cried a bewildered Tomoyo, whose sonorous voice mercilessly shook the halls of the school. "Sakura!" she protested in a more restrained tone, a little more conscious of the indignant stares the other teachers and students threw at her.
"A couple's skate!" her green-eyed friend repeated, smiling brightly. "It'll be good for you! Pleeease!"
"Look Sakura, I don't think that'd be such a good -"
"What if I promised that you'd have a good time!"
"Sorry, but I think I promised my mom I'd—"
"Oh, you're just making up excuses! I'm actually quite hurt that you're rejecting our friendship like this. I mean, after all we've been through! It just really hurts to know that you don't take our friendship as seriously as I do. But I guess if you feel that way about it, there's nothing I can do…." Sakura retaliated, feigning a slightly amused, slightly anguished look.
Moaning at her friend's melodramatic imitation of her recent television addiction, Hokkaido Beach, "Sakura, you know you're my best friend, it's just that—"
Not willing to be turned down, Sakura pressed on. "TOMOYOOOO!!"
Tomoyo sighed hopelessly. "You're relentless." Sometimes she wondered about her best friend, "Honestly Sakura, I hope you haven't forgotten that I'm currently single. Unattached. Independent. On my own. Not tied down. No strings attached. Straight up boyfriendless." If it weren't a "couples" skate, she'd be a little more supportive of this idea. However, that was currently not the case. Lately, she hasn't been feeling all too keen about carrying on with her usual activities; in this case, it was going to a couple's event alone.
"Tomoyo, that's not even a legitimate excuse, and you know it." Taking her hands in her own, "Any guy at Tomoeda High would give their left—well you know what I mean—to go out with you!" Sakura stated as a matter of fact, giving her a knowing wink. After all, Sakura wasn't quite as dense a girl she used to be in matters of the opposite sex.
Ah yes, ever since Syaoran mustered up the courage to finally ask her out a year ago, Sakura's never quite been the same. She's more "educated" in the way that boys and girls act if you want to put it simply.
Feeling the heat rise to her cheeks at how bluntly her friend had put it, she remained unmoved. "Still Sakura, I'm really not looking for a boyfriend. Besides, all the guys here are jer-"
Absentmindedly glancing down at her watch, emerald eyes flittered open. "Wait!" A pause. More or less counting to herself, Sakura continued to confused the already baffled Daidouji, "Five… four… three… two…"
"TOMOYOOOO DARLING!!!"
"OH, I HOPE YOU'RE HAVING AN ABSOLUTELY MAGNIFICENT DAY!!"
An all too familiar figure gradually grew larger and larger in the distance. "Your ethereal, rapturous face is more radiant than the goddess of love hers–AGH!!"
"Ohh…" the two girls winced simultaneously.
"I'm okay!"
Tomoyo, face flushed with embarrassment at the bold proclamations of affection, though not for the first time, rolled her eyes at the clumsy boy. This had been going on just long enough. About six months, fourteen days and seven hours long enough. Never missing a day, rain or shine, and with renewed exuberance after being shot down each day, Eriol was just something else. A flirt maybe? Definitely. The quintessential embodiment of the word.
The boy bounded up to where the girls stood, "I guess I never realized there was an extra step there… But I must say! You look lovelier every day, my Tomoyo darling!" winked Eriol, who managed to slink his arm around the waist of the already red, frozen, fuming Tomoyo. "Good morning, Sakura!"
'Ohhh! Every day he causes such a scene! In public! One of these days, all this embarrassing harassment will drive me over the edge! And when that day comes, if I get my hands on him I'll…' These were the thoughts that swirled in the head of our amethyst-eyed beauty.
Busy with her murderous rambling…
"Good morning, Eriol! I hope that fall wasn't too bad," Sakura replied cheerful as ever. "You really should watch your step though; we wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you now."
"Ah, ha-ha… thanks for the concern Sakura," goofily scratching his head for an invisible itch. Catching himself he replied, "I was only blinded momentarily by Daidouji's majestic grace and perpetual beauty," he assured, fully taking Tomoyo into his arms in a sweeping motion. Impervious to variety of ways Tomoyo was planning to mutilate him, Eriol expertly cupped her chin and gazed at her with such passion that would melt the hearts of any normal teenage girl. Such emotion radiated from his essence, half serious and half not.
Sakura sweatdropped at the would-be romantic scene: the suave Eriol obliviously fondling her hair, and the limp, devilishly smirking Tomoyo absorbed in her own murderous fantasy. Though she loved them both, sometimes she wondered about those two.
Realizing his impropriety, "Excuse me for forgetting my manners, but I hope I wasn't interrupting you two," he directed at the emerald-eyed girl.
"Oh no! That's okay. Tomoyo and I were just discussing how she should come with Syaoran and me to the couples skate tomorrow! But she refused claiming that she had no one to go with." She was a little depressed that her friend didn't want to go.
'This was his chance! Tomoyo wanted a skating partner and he wanted Tomoyo!' Eriol thought smiling to himself. 'You smart dog, you. This was an ingenious idea that you came up with! There's no way it can fall through! Impossible!'
"Sakura, I've got the perfect solution to your problem."
Eyes shimmering, "You have a friend who'd go with Tomoyo?"
"Sort of… keep guessing though."
"Hmm…" she crinkled her nose thinking hard.
"Well, let's see…"
"Um… Ahh… This is a tough one…"
"Can you give me a hint?"
It was Eriol's turn to sweatdrop. Sometimes he wondered how his little descendent ever managed to snag such a unique one. Though it wasn't hard to understand why she's so dear and precious to him. Something so fragile, yet frustratingly adorable only comes once in a lifetime. Plus, only the cherry blossom could bring the little wolf to his knees. Eriol smiled to himself. His little descendent had grown up so quickly; he's glad that at least someone's found true happiness. Him? He's still waiting for that special girl to blossom.
"Sure thing," he gave a small smile and pointed, "me."
A moment.
Finally getting it and looking over to her practically hypnotized friend who, for only God knows why, was still muttering about all the terrible and gruesome things that she could do, Sakura murmured, "Oh! Oh Eriol…"
It all made sense now. The months of embarrassing outbursts, the endless flow of compliments that would induce blood to rush to the cheeks of any average girl faster than you could say "potato", the weekly bouquet of flowers, the poem, the cards, the lavish boxes of Pierre Marcolini truffles (which run for $102.50 per pound you know)…. There was just no end to it all. Yes, to any normal girl the attraction would've been obvious from day one. With any normal girl, she'd realize that Eriol Hiraigaziwa was the most sincere, honest, loving and patient man that any girl could ask for. But this wasn't any normal girl that we're talking about.
Her name: It's Tomoyo Daidouji.
Sakura's relationship with Syaoran had really lifted the veil and enabled her to evolve from that dense little girl who was inexperienced with true love, pain, and genuine happiness. Therefore, it didn't take her long to see how real Eriol's feelings for Tomoyo truly were.
"For how long?" she asked. "How long have you felt for her?" Her voice had come out softer than she'd wanted as understanding dawned… For some reason, she was afraid of what she might hear, of how badly Eriol had been affected, hurt even. "How long has this gone on for?" This game of cat and mouse? Yes.
He slightly loosened his hold on Tomoyo's lifeless, unnatural shell for the time being. For the duration, he never removed his arm from Tomoyo's small, delicate frame. Aware of how Tomoyo occasionally checks out, he dauntlessly replied. "About a year and a half." He heard her stifle a gasp but he continued. "In the beginning, I was so unsure of how I felt though. I didn't know how to act whenever she was near me. So I disregarded the feelings and tried to repress them, but then when you and Syaoran confessed your prolonged feelings for one another I started thinking. I wanted to say it too, to feel what you two felt. That's when I decided that I'd do whatever it took for Tomoyo to notice me, to understand me. She has always been popular with the male population and has been courted by countless suitors, so I needed a way to stand out to her. Therefore, I caused scenes and openly expressed my undying love for her time after time, all in hopes that she'd hear me."
He was serious. All this time he'd been secretly hurting inside. This wasn't right, she hated seeing her friends like this. There was one person who needed to hear this; she needed to understand his feelings. Tomoyo had to take him seriously.
Nothing but compassion and determination filled her eyes as she look at him, "Eriol, we will fix this. You deserve to be with her, and so I will do everything in my power to make sure you have your happiness." Her words rang with such conviction and determination that Eriol couldn't help but smile at her kind spirit.
"But why?"
"Because! You're my friend and I never want my friends to be sad as long as I can help it!" she said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. And to her it was. "Don't worry," she punched his arm and smiled smugly, "I have a plan."
And as fate would have it, the sound of a bell resounded throughout the school, signaling that students had 7 minutes before class started.
"Huh?! What!?" Like the trigger that releases a victim from a magician's hypnosis, the abrupt ringing snapped Tomoyo out of her daze unaware of the unrestrained confession that just took place.
Releasing his love, Eriol stepped back and turned to go to class. "Oh, by the way Sakura, do you mind keeping this between the two of us? I know this seems like such a heavy topic to deal with in the morning, but I'm really okay." She nodded. With that, Eriol glanced at both the confused girl and the sympathetic girl, and then headed off quieter than usual.
"What was that about? Did I miss something?" asked Tomoyo.
Sakura just smiled and said, "Nothing important really." Not yet at least. "Let's go to class! I don't want to be late again!"
To Be Continued.
Whoo! I know Tomoyo kind of disappeared in this chapter, but she'll return in the next one. I guess you could say chapter 1 was about setting the stage for what will happen with ExT in the future. So things are JUST starting up! Good? Bad? What do you think? All criticism welcome!