Disclaimer: I don't own CCS

MMS

"Say cheese!" Nakuru yelled inside the small library of the Hiiragizawa manor.

It was too late to pretend nothing happened for a tiny flash had already flickered at their faces.

Nakuru paused for a moment waiting for the picture to form in his camera phone's screen. Pride welled up inside him as he exclaimed, "Aww! You look so cute together!" and turned the phone to them so the couple could see the product of the moon guardian's scheme. It was a candid shot of Eriol and Tomoyo caught in a lip-lock, instead of studying for an upcoming exam. Both had their eyes closed as if savoring their kiss. Eriol had cupped Tomoyo's cheeks with a gentle hold while she clung on to his wrists as though feeling his pulse beat beneath her fingers.

Blood vessels in their faces obviously dilated since both were red in acute embarrassment especially now that they've been discovered.

"Nakuru-chan, I do recall of a primary rule we three agreed upon about knocking before entering a room." Eriol reminded her and tapped the eraser tip of his pencil against a sprawled textbook.

"Oh stop being so uptight, Eriol-sama! I'm here to give you some snacks while you take a break!" a hyperactive Nakuru beamed while nudging Eriol in the ribs with her elbow. "But it looks like you've got a better way to spend it, don't cha? How come you didn't tell us that you and Tomoyo-chan are a hot item now?" she whined.

Eriol gave an exasperated sigh and just let Nakuru set down the tray of tea and scones at the corner table.

Tomoyo in the meantime was still gazing at their photo. It was rather embarrassing getting caught red-handed; on the contrary Nakuru captured a beautiful moment there. Not just with technical aspects of photography but by the essence of the shot. What was that cliché again? Oh yes, A picture paints a thousand words. Then a tingling sensation suddenly crept up her spine as she continued to look at it.

She giggled when she returned Nakuru's phone.

Both master and guardian looked at her curiously.

"What's so funny Tomoyo-chan?" Nakuru asked.

"Oh it's nothing really." She lied.

Eriol continued to stare at her profile waiting for her to crack, which was rather immediate. "Very well then." Tomoyo gave up. She was never good in holding up a staring match with Eriol anyway. "Nakuru-san, I quite like it. Could you send it to my phone?" and quickly dug out her phone from her pocket.

Nakuru squealed with glee while he began setting the picture as a message. "You know what Tomoyo-chan, this would make a good wallpaper, don't you think so?" He suggested.

"You just read my mind, Nakuru-san."

Eriol teased, "Are you sure, Tomoyo-chan? He might send it to the wrong number."

"Eriol-kun, I sometimes wonder how you three get along when you clearly don't trust each other." She sweetly mocked in return.

The boy added sugar to both their cups of tea and calmly defended, "It's not an issue of trust, my dear but a matter of knowing how a person operates on daily basis. Take Nakuru-chan for example, he's a good guardian but he could be clumsy at times. I asked him to prepare the noodles for the ramen I'll cook but he boiled the spaghetti noodles instead or the time when I told him to buy a stamp first before mailing a letter for me." Tomoyo suppressed another giggle and mentally predicted the outcome, "True that he did buy the stamp and mail the letter but he didn't stick the stamp in the letter envelope."

"Now, I think you're exaggerating." The heiress refused to believe. Taking the cup Eriol offered, she began to stir to dissolve the sugar he added.

"I? You must be mistaken, To-chan," the magician reincarnate drawled. "I don't exaggerate. I only speak of the truth." He reached out to Tomoyo to tuck a stray lock of dark hair behind her ear.

"So you say."

As the couple continued to converse, the cross-dressing guardian was still busy sending the picture. "It's almost done Tomoyo-chan. I'm just looking for your number." He assured. "Let see here," he said to himself as he scrolled down the names in his phonebook,

"Sakura-chan, maybe I could convince her this time to give me Touya-chan's number! Syaoran-kun, hehehe! It sure is fun teasing this kid!

Ah here it is! Tomo—"

He was about to click on Tomoyo's name when a black tail suddenly slid between his nose and upper lip. He yelped, "Ack!" He zeroed in on the tail's owner and tried to smack it with a fist but failed. The black plushie was quick enough to dodge Nakuru's retaliation.

"Hey! Watch where you stick that thing, plushie!" The annoyed guardian warned. "It's disgusting enough as it is."

Ah, life's little pleasures! Flying Suppi snickered under his paw and landed at Tomoyo's lap comfortably. That's only a down payment for all the sweets you've force down my throat. The heiress massaged the black guardian's back while talking with Eriol.

Nakuru was rubbing the base of his nose to get Spinel's scent off his skin when he noticed his phone. "Nani!"

"What is it now, Nakuru-chan?" Eriol inquired.

The three occupants waited for his reply.

Pallor began to invade Nakuru's face. "O-oh don't mind me. It's- it's no big deal. Just go on, enjoy your tea! Ahehehe…"

Spinel flew to the other guardian's side to check what the fuss was about. Nakuru quickly flipped the phone close to keep Spinel from discovering his latest mishap but was too late.

"Hmm, it said on the screen, 'Sending picture to,' " Spinel bluntly supplied, " 'Syaoran-kun' " The plushie's wings continued to flap as he thought, What's so bad about it?

Then the guardians heard the cups crash to the floor.

Spinel faced teary-eyed Nakuru, "Oh, I get it." He flashed his companion a wicked grin.

Beads of sweat dripped from the cross-dresser's forehead. "G-gomen, E-Eriol-sama, Tom-Tomoyo-chan…" It was pretty obvious he was trembling in fear of the magician.

A fluffy paw patted Nakuru's brown hair. "Tsk, tsk, tsk." And exhaled, "I give you my condolences," before flying out of the library.

Nakuru cried, "Suppi-chan! Don't leave me!"

Fin