Who Loves Who
(Disclaimer: I don't own Cardcaptor Sakura or anything related to it. It's all property of CLAMP.)
Prologue: The Boy is Back in Town
It had been eleven years since Sakura, Syaoran, and Tomoyo had seen him last. Ever since he had left Japan, the only way they kept in touch was via letters and the very occasional phone call. That was why they were so surprised when a letter arrived that he would be in Japan on the twenty-fifth.
Syaoran had only given Sakura her engagement ring the day before the letter arrived, and they hadn't even gotten the chance to tell him about it. Tomoyo supposed that he was looking into the future to find an excuse to take a vacation, but it didn't really matter. They were all quite happy that they were getting to see him again… That is… until they met.
The group of three had all waited at the Tomoeda airport on the twenty-fifth with a sign welcoming Eriol. His plane arrived from England at about four-thirty, and Tomoyo mentioned the butterflies in her stomach were driving her insane. After all, excitement sets in when you see someone you haven't seen in years.
Sakura whispered excitedly to Syaoran, "What do you think he looks like?"
"I don't know. I'm more interested in how he's doing," Syaoran had replied. "After all, he never talks about his personal or financial life. He's too mysterious."
"Eriol has always been that way," Tomoyo said. "After all, he IS the reincarnation of Clow Reed… well half-reincarnation anyways."
"Oh, here they come!" Sakura exclaimed, pointing to the crowd heading into the luggage area.
"Do you see him?" Syaoran asked.
"I don't know! What are we supposed to look for?" Tomoyo asked, trying to eye him out of the mass of people.
"Oh, yeah…" Syaoran said. "I keep thinking of the little guy with the bowl-cut and glasses."
"He's twenty-one now too, Syaoran," Tomoyo giggled.
"I'm sure he hasn't changed all that much," Sakura said, glancing over her shoulder at the two of them. "We haven't changed a lot."
"We've probably changed a lot more than we noticed," Tomoyo said. "Things can happen so gradually that it goes by completely disregarded."
"That's true," The lovebirds said, smiling at her. Tomoyo beamed back at them.
"Well, well, well… What do we have here? A little welcoming party, I see? Well, how special am I?" A handsome, velvety voice…
The three froze and turned in the direction of the voice.'
"ERIOL!" All three of them said in unison, a stunned expression on their faces.
Before them stood a boy in his early twenties with a long, thin, dazzling face. His deep violet eyes were framed by a pair of glasses, and his long black hair was tied loosely at the nape of his neck. He was dressed very nicely in a three-piece, black suit with a white button-down underneath. Strangely enough, the top four buttons on the shirt were undone, and he looked a bit frazzled, despite the quite peaceful look on his face.
"Oh, you are awfully good," Eriol said, smirking his Cheshire cat grin. "My dear affianced friends Sakura and Syaoran… Oh, and you've brought Tomoyo too! How delightful."
"Eriol!" Sakura cried. "You look---" Suddenly, she seemed at a loss for words.
"-like you've been through the ringer," Syaoran finished, snickering.
"Syaoran! That's awfully rude!" Tomoyo yelled.
"Oh…" Eriol muttered, looking himself over. "Oh! Oh, that!" He then chuckled, buttoning his shirt back up. "My mistake. I was having a go with one of the beautiful flight attendants in the bathroom and she thought we could go a bit farther than we could in that little tiny space."
"E…excuse me?" Tomoyo asked, taken aback by the response.
"Define 'having a go', Eriol," Syaoran said, almost as shocked.
"Oh, you know," Eriol said, laughing. "Having a go! Giving her something to remember me by!"
"Oh, dear," Sakura said, covering her mouth with her hand.
Tomoyo looked at him for a moment. "Come here, Sakura!" She cried, dragging Sakura away from the other two until they were out of hearing range. "Oh my God, can you believe this!"
"Maybe he was just joking," Sakura suggested. "Eriol always did have a strange sense of humor."
"That was no joke," Tomoyo said, frowning in their direction. "It's men like that that made me not date. It's men like that that infuriate me more than anybody else!" She seemed to become more infuriated with every word.
"Oh, Tomoyo-"
"What can you not say in my presence?" Eriol asked, popping up between them.
"AHH!" The two girls cried out in surprise.
"Syaoran suggested that we go get something to eat, my treat!" Eriol said proudly. "Let's go to a nice place and have some lunch, eh?"
"Um… Okay," Sakura said happily. Tomoyo just glared at him.
Eriol smiled back at her. "All right then. Let's go!"
-
Apparently, Syaoran's worry about how Eriol was doing financially was rather pointless, since he had enough money to take them to the nicest Italian restaurant in town after stopping by and placing his luggage at his five star hotel room.
After being led to their seats and given their menus, Tomoyo glanced up at Eriol, glowering once more.
"So," Syaoran said. "What have you been up to lately, Eriol?"
"Eh… I've been around…" Eriol said simply.
"Around?" Sakura asked. "Oh, have you been traveling?"
"A bit. I own a cruise line now," Eriol said.
"WHAT!" Sakura cried. "H-how did you manage that!"
"I was in the right place at the right time," Eriol replied openly.
"Seriously," Syaoran said.
"Well, I knew someone who helped me get into the business. I worked well, and it was given to me when my boss retired," Eriol said.
"Who was this 'someone'?" Tomoyo asked over the top of her menu.
"A lovely little miss I met on vacation. She turned out to be my boss's best friend's sister's husband's daughter," He responded. "Ooh, I think I'll have the fettuccini al-"
"How did this boss's sister's best friend's husband's daughter get to know you so well?" Tomoyo asked rather angrily, slamming her menu down upon the table.
"Actually, I said it was my boss's best friend's sister's husband's daughter," Eriol said. "-and I told you, we met when I was on vacation. We both met on a cruise line, and she invited me up to her room after a day of fun."
"Eriol!" Tomoyo screamed.
"Oh, look, the waitress is here!" Sakura interrupted nervously. "Eh-heh! Let me have the uh-- I'll have spaghetti!"
"Uh… me too," Syaoran said rather uncomfortably.
"I'll have Risotto alla Milanese," Tomoyo said heatedly.
Eriol took the waitress's hand and pulled her up next to him, whispering in her ear.
She giggled. "If that's what you want…"
"Thanks, dear," He said, kissing her cheek and letting her go. He gave a wink to her as she walked away, then turned back towards the table, smiling.
"What did you say to her?" Tomoyo asked.
"Hum?" He asked, taking his glasses off and cleaning them with a cloth he had retrieved from his jacket.
"Why was she giggling?"
"It's all in the way you say things, I suppose," Eriol answered, putting his glasses back on.
"How did you say that, per se…?" She asked, her voice becoming dangerously calm.
"I ordered and gave her my room key," He said. "That's why I had five made, you know."
Tomoyo stood, her chair scraping against the floor. "I-am-out of here!" Tomoyo yelled.
"Ah- Tomoyo!" Sakura cried.
"No, Sakura, I'm not going to take this!" Tomoyo retorted, looking at Eriol as if he was scum.
"Surely, he was just joking," Syaoran said, staring at Eriol for assistance.
…but apparently, he wasn't getting the hint. He stared at Syaoran blankly.
"Goodbye!" Tomoyo said, walking away quickly.
It seemed to finally dawn on Eriol why she was so angry.
"Why is she so mad at me? I do it all the time!" Eriol said, looking a bit confused.
"Well, Eriol, people aren't supposed to do that all the time!" Syaoran exclaimed. "What are you thinking?"
Eriol sighed. "I'll go talk to her…" He stood and left the two lovers to wait for the food.
-
Eriol found Tomoyo outside the restaurant, waiting for a taxi to call, looking very frustrated.
"Tomoyo," He said, running up to her.
She turned on him like a vicious dog glaring at a piece of meat. "What?" She hissed.
"I… err… I didn't mean to upset you. Please come back in and eat," He said.
"No. I will not share a table with someone like you! You used to be different!"
"I haven't changed that much, have I?"
"You're a ladies' man! You take all respect away from women to please your own selfish problems! You sicken me!" She turned her back on him.
"It's not like that! They just fall for my boyish charm. It's not my fault that I'm wonderful," Eriol shrugged.
"Oh, I can't believe you! You're so pompous and obsessed with yourself! I don't even know WHAT a woman would want in a jerk like you!"
"My, my, my…" Eriol said, stunned. "You're feisty. What happened to the adorably sweet, camera-toting girl?"
"SHE GREW UP!" She screamed. "Now you need to do the same…"
There was silence for a few minutes.
Eriol seemed at a loss of what to do, when it hit him. "Tomoyo…?" He asked, a grin spreading across his face.
"Go away!"
"Suppose we could lay a wager?"
"Excuse me?" She turned towards him, looking bewildered.
"Let us make a bet with each other," He replied.
"What kind of bet…?" She asked suspiciously.
"Starting tomorrow, you spend seven days with me."
"WHY WOULD I WANT TO DO THAT!"
"Ah, ah, ah, hear me out," He said, placing a finger in her face. "You spend seven days with me and not fall desperately in love, and I'll give up my lifestyle and go home. If you do fall in love, you can no longer tell me what to do."
"Well, that would be easy because I refuse to fall in love with players," Tomoyo said. "The only problem with it is that I'll have to spend seven days with you."
"You haven't said whether we have deal or not yet, Miss Tomoyo," Eriol said, holding out his hand.
She stared at him for a few seconds, but all he did was smile, leaving no hidden intentions in his mischievous eyes.
"Fine," She said, taking his hand and shaking it. "You have a deal… Get ready to lose, Hiiragizawa."
"You wish, Miss Daidouji," He responded all too politely. "Now, shall we go back in for dinner?"
"Lets," She said. "-and don't forget. Tomorrow, you'll be picking me up at my house."
"-but of course. I never make a woman come to me. They usually make that decision on their own."
"Oh, this bet is sounding easier and easier," Tomoyo said.
"I'd bet," He said, smirking. "I'd bet indeed, Miss Tomoyo."