The Wedding Planner:
Disclaimer: I don't own Card Captor Sakura, so don't sue me, y'all…not that I have any cash, anyways.
Authoress' Note:
I would like to thank Raquel, for helping me with this and many other fics (some of which I've yet to write…) and for just being an amazing friend and person.
Everyone, go read everything by Musette Fujiwara.
Right now.
Chapter 1:
Beginnings And Bust Ups
Touya sat on the edge of his bed, his cell phone ringing yet again.
However, as he checked the display, he came face to face with a name he hadn't encountered for a very long time.
The words 'Yuki calling' flashed brightly across the screen, illuminating his whole body in the otherwise dark room.
"Bastard." And, without another word, he threw the phone as hard as possible against the adjacent wall, causing it to shatter on impact, and the room grew familiarly silent.
Despite his better judgement, Touya allowed memories that he'd attempted to bury one too many times to come flooding back to the surface of his emotionally-scarred mind.
Everything he'd loved about Yukito, all their dates, even moving in together for the first time, all memories seemed tainted now, and no matter how much he wished he didn't hate his former lover so, he knew there was no other way he could have made it through these past months and still loved him.
He couldn't stand anything that reminded him of Yukito, now; couldn't stand anything related to England, the place where Yuki had sought refuge, when Touya refused to let go of their once intimate relationship.
Touya sighed.
Whether he'd loved Yukito or not, and however, angry he was at the other man, there was only so much he could blame him for; unfortunately, this did not extend to Touya's agreeing to marry Nakuru.
That, he was ashamed to admit, had been entirely his own doing.
He hadn't even seen it coming.
And he certainly hadn't proposed to her.
However, he had convinced himself it was all destiny – all meant to be.
Nakuru had turned up on his doorstep the day after Yukito had left, and at first, he'd used her as an excuse to forget Yukito;
Spending the nights with her meant he had no time to think of his ex, no time to pine, or mourn their relationship.
Although, soon, enough, he'd found himself dating Nakuru – a girl he'd never been able to stand, a girl whom, until recently, he could have lived without.
But she'd pretty much taken control of him, made decisions when she knew he was too weak to make any of his own…
In fact, in that sense, their engagement had been like the rest of their relationship:
Nakuru's whim, yet another demand he was made to fulfil, too tired to argue.
Flashback – Two Hours Ago
They'd been walking back from another of their senseless dates, when Nakuru had paused, staring at something, across the road.
A black BMW, with a bright banner, flashing 'Just Married' collected a beaming bride and groom, speeding away to the applause of an intimate gathering of friends and family.
"We could do that. We've been going out for like, a year now." He hadn't been paying much attention up until them, but now she had his full attention.
"Do what?"
"Get married." Her tone was light, and something about it had lulled him into a false sense of security – just one of her many talents.
"Yeah, we could, one day."
"How about a month? Let's get married next month, right before Christmas."
Present Day
He had just barely been paying attention, but he knew that somehow, they'd decided to get married on December 20th, exactly one month from today.
And now he was being bombarded with texts and phone calls, from people he barely remembered as Nakuru's friends at high school, or confused friends of his that Nakuru had called on the warpath.
People who he wasn't even sure he wanted at his wedding.
Of course, Sakura had been shocked.
Touya had always made a point of playing down his relationship with Nakuru, so this sudden commitment had been almost as surprising to her as it had to him.
Sakura and Li's Place
"Or maybe these orchids, but with a midnight blue tablecloth, and then we could have red bridesmaids' dresses?" Nakuru shoved a sample of red satin right under Sakura's currently dozing face, causing the younger woman to jump guiltily.
"Umm…yeah…" Sakura muttered, but her usually bright tone was subdued with an uncharacteristic boredom.
"How about red tulips and blue dresses?" Nakuru cried, with a great air of self-importance, and began searching for another scrap of fabric on the too-crowded kitchen table.
Just as Sakura run the risk of falling back into the sweet abyss that only sleep could provide her with, however, there was a knock on the kitchen door.
"Umm, sorry, I just need to find my car keys…" Meilin tip-toed carefully over a pile of bridal magazines, and Nakuru glared at the intrusion from someone whom, since it had been seven years since she'd seen her last, she no longer recognized.
"Oh, Nakuru, you remember Meilin, right? Syaoran's cousin?" The red head merely tilted her head to one side, as though it might jog a memory.
"Oh yeah – Syaoran's fiancée!" Meilin and Sakura both grimaced at this, although Nakuru didn't appear to notice.
"Ooh, Sakura! I've got it – I'll have roses for the centrepieces, and gold tablecloths!" Nakuru added this to her long list of possibilities, while Meilin shook her head disapprovingly.
"Uh…Nakuru? You don't wanna do that. If you have gold tablecloths, that means you'll have to have someone wearing gold – it'll make the bridesmaids look fat, and gold waistcoats will make guys look washed out. You're much better off with red flowers and blue tablecloths, coz then you can have red dresses and blue waistcoats, which just happen to be perfect for a winter wedding, and you could even use a sort of snowflake theme and use white lights, too." Nakuru gazed in awe at the young Chinese woman now, and the questioningly towards Sakura.
"Oh! Did I forget to mention that Meilin was a wedding planner? Silly me!" But tact had never been Sakura's strong point, and both the other women found themselves eying in the auburn haired girl with nothing but suspicion.
A Week Later
Touya's POV
I kick the dirt with my sneakers, cursing under my breath.
I had just had to escape from my apartment – Nakuru had been working on a guest list at my coffee table, and had told me she was putting Yuki's and Eriol's invites in the same envelope to save on postage, seeing as Yukito's new place was only across the street.
She might as well have punched me, for the way I'd reacted.
Luckily, she'd been too busy with wedding crap to notice the shock that I know must've shown on my face.
In the realm of consciousness, I'm vaguely aware of a stumbling in to someone, but quickly manage to find my balance again, making to continue my one-way journey to the centre of my frustration.
However, before I can continue;
"Hey, watch it, will you!" I turn back to face the young woman I clashed with, scowling in a way that I pray will make her back down, but it doesn't.
She merely flicks her long, inky hair over her shoulder and glares.
"Watch what?"
"You can't just walk around, face like thunder, kicking dirt at innocent people! If you're angry with your fiancée or something, you're better off taking it easy!" She flicks the ash from her half-smoked cigarette to the ground, and I find my mood steadily worsening.
"How d'you know it's my fiancée?" She laughs, a quite laugh that almost seems sinister, too.
"She's a typical bride, wants everything perfect, and the time frame you're working in makes her even worse…I should know, after all, I've met her."
She's speaking in what seem like riddles to me, and it's doing nothing for my temper.
"Huh?"
"I'm assuming she told you that I'm your wedding planner?" She rolls her eyes, taking a place on the nearby bench.
"Look, I don't have time to stand around and chat to someone who's clearly got the wrong guy."
"As if I could get Touya Avalon confused with anyone else! You killed to kill my cousin enough times!"
And then it dawns on me…
The beautiful woman standing in front of me is no other that Meilin Li.
Normal POV
Meilin tossed her cigarette to the ground, stubbing it out with the heel of her shoe, and reaching for another.
She offered the carton to her companion, but he shook his head disdainfully, taking a place beside her on the bench.
"It's a bad habit, you know." She smiled once more at his tone, and Touya found himself yearning to smile along.
"Yeah, I know. And I'm a bad human being for smoking, in case some poor bystander may have to breathe in my second hand smoke." He arched an eyebrow at this.
"Someone like me."
"Yes, well, the woman you're choosing to spend the rest of your life with is a frequent smoker – so I'm not doing you too much damage, am I?" She deliberately took an extra long drag, wiping a small amount of ash from her skirt as she went, leaving a slight mark on the dark grey viscose.
Not that she seemed to care.
"Doesn't it bother you that you're wrecking your body?" Touya couldn't keep the authoritive edge from his voice, and he immediately commanded her full attention.
"You know what? I'm not your sister, Touya Avalon, and I won't be lectured by someone only four years older than me. What would you know about smoking, anyway?" Her tone wasn't aggressive, but it did have a certain harsh quality to it.
"Our mother died of lung cancer." Touya muttered, longing himself not to let on his real emotions.
"Oh. Sakura never told me that." And, to his surprise, she stubbed the half-smoked cigarette out, leaving a trail of ash to billow into the cold night air.
They both sat there for a moment, watching as the remainder of the cigarette slowly rolled away, blown by the bitter winds that only late November could bring.
"So, you and Nakuru, huh?" She muttered, bringing her gaze to meet his.
"Me and Nakuru." But, no matter how many times she said it, it still wouldn't ring true.No matter how he thought of it, he just couldn't see himself waking up to her face every morning, sharing her bed every night.
"Have to admit, I thought I'd be planning Sakura and Syaoran's wedding next." He grimaced at this, always did when his sister was mentioned alongside the gaki.
Luckily, a group of drunken teenagers stumbled past them at that precise moment, wolf-whistling at Meilin and creating just enough of a diversion that Touya needn't respond.
"Don't you ever get sick of Japan?" She nodded towards the gang, who'd managed to leave one of their members behind in a supermarket trolley, asleep.
"Na, any country has its problems – I'm sure even Hong Kong has drunks." He folded his arms, allowing the warmth of his black jumper to envelope him.
"Yeah, but I bet somewhere like England doesn't. The letters Tomoyo sends just make it sound so…idyllic."
"Mhmm." But the conversation was getting a little uncomfortable for Touya, to the point where he could no longer respond.
"Hey, didn't Yukito move there, a few years ago?" Touya's body tensed, his vision clouded.
He needed an escape.
"Umm…"
"Did you two have a bust up or something?"
"That's none of your business." He snapped, unintentionally, but he could see her features harden at his tone.
"Fine."
"I'm going." And he slouched off, leaving Meilin to wonder where on earth she'd gone wrong.
So, what d'you think of my new story?
Stick with it, okay?
And go read everything by Musette Fujiwara!!