BISHLOV NOTES:
Before you read on I want to clarify that the time setting is a few months after the Void Card incident. Syaoran stayed on in Tomoeda while Eriol decided to go back to train Sakura, among other things *wink wink*.
This must be the shortest AN I've ever written since I know that you're itching to read the story. All that's left for me to say is enjoy and please drop in a review. THANKS!!!
P.S. This story will just be three chapters long.
Inspired by Lizziechan's E+T fic. Thought it was about time I made a fluffy one myself.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own CCS or any of its characters. CLAMP does. This plot is a product of my imagination. Any similarities to other fan fictions are unintentional.
ERIOL-BEARBy bishounen lovah
Step 1: How to pick the bear
I wonder which one she'll like best.
I must have been standing in front of the display case for at least fifteen minutes now. This was harder than I thought. I was expecting to be in and out of the store within 30 seconds flat. But there were so many choices that I was having trouble deciding which pattern to get.
The stuffed bear that I should buy must be perfect. A perfect gift for a perfect girl. But the tall shelf was full of boxes with cute bear pictures on them.
And here I thought that bear making and giving are passé. Apparently teddy bears are timeless.
I sighed as I pushed some boxes aside. It doesn't matter if I get a migraine just by picking a pattern. Once I see that radiant smile on her beautiful face when I give her the stuffed bear I will painstakingly make, it will be worth it.
And that's when I saw it.
Hidden at the back of the shelf was the most adorable bear I had ever seen. It suited her perfectly. It was quite small but that was what made it so cute. Its white fur was thick and soft. Sure it would take a great deal of effort to keep it pristine clean but it reminded me of her skin.
Soft, creamy white skin.
And the color of the glossy ribbon tied around its neck in a perfect bow reminded me of her eyes. Rich, warm, lustrous purple orbs that almost made me blush every time they would gaze at me. Almost. But not quite. Fortunately, my Clow Reed half keeps me quite calm and appear emotionless.
Emotionless? Ha! If only she knew how my mind muddles whenever I would see her. How my breath hitches whenever she would smile. How my heart sings whenever she would talk to me with that sweet, melodious voice of hers.
And when she sings…Kami-sama! She makes me want to melt to a puddle and wish with all of my being that someday I would hear her sing for me. Just for me.
I excitedly reached for the box but just as I was about to pull it out, the bell on the door tinkled announcing the arrival of new customers. Taking a small peek at the door, I realized that the thing that I had been dreading for the whole day had happened.
There by the door was Syaoran and Sakura accompanied by the girl whom I had been crushing over…Tomoyo Daidouji.
Just great! I knew something like this would happen. The reason why I took off as soon as the dismissal bell rang was to avoid this exact scene. But as I said, it took me quite some time to find the perfect bear.
I would just have to come back later when they're gone.
I shoved the box back and hid it behind the other boxes. I wasn't about to let anybody else purchase it. Then I crouched behind the other shelves and tried to sneak out without them noticing.
I should have known that it wouldn't work considering the bad luck that I seem to be having.
"Hiiragizawa-kun."
There it goes again. Even as my whole body stiffened at being caught, I could hear the choir of angels in my head singing Halleluiah in time with the forceful pounding of my heart.
"Daidouji-chan! What a surprise!" I straightened from my crouching position.
"Hai. What were you doing down there?" She asked with a quizzical smile.
Breathe, Eriol, breathe!
"I, uh, was looking at this," I took the first thing my hand touched from the shelf where I was crouching.
"You're planning on buying that?" Syaoran appeared out of nowhere, his voice loaded with barely contained amusement.
I glanced at the thing in my hand and inwardly winced. I tried hard not to sweatdrop when I realized that I was holding out a very pink and very girly stationery pad.
"Anou…yeah! Um, Nakuru asked me to buy some for her. She, uh, used up all of her stationery from writing letters to Touya Kinomoto." I sighed in relief at being able to think of a plausible excuse even though I stumbled through it.
"That's something that Sakura would buy, not Akizuki-san. If I were you I'd choose this one."
I felt my face start to redden when Tomoyo leaned closer to me and reached over my shoulder. For a brief moment I was able to smell the fresh fragrance of her unbound, luscious, dark mane.
"Here. This is more of her taste." She pried the pink pad from my death grip while holding out a new one. I slowly reached for the one she held. Then my hand accidentally on purpose brushed against hers.
Wrong move. The blush that I had fought down suddenly returned in full force. I knew that my face, as well as my neck, held a deep shade of crimson that would put Syaoran's blushes to shame.
"Hoe? Eriol-kun? Daijoubu?" Sakura appeared behind Syaoran, making my smirking, currently-not-so-cute little descendant flush too.
"Aa. Must be the heat. I guess I'm still not used to Japan's weather. It was always cold and raining back in England."
"Poor Hiiragizawa-kun," Tomoyo replied with a frown. "I hope you're not coming down with something. Being sick can be quite unpleasant."
This time I got my blush under control, especially when I saw Syaoran shoot me a knowing look. It was quite irritating because half a year ago I was the one who was shooting him such looks.
Has he realized how I felt about Daidouji-chan?
Maybe. Maybe not. One thing's for sure though, I'm not going to stand around here any longer and risk another blush. With a murmured 'daijoubu' and 'arigatou' to Tomoyo and Sakura (and a well concealed death glare to Syaoran), I strode towards the counter.
But as luck would have it, Syaoran followed me like an irritatingly persistent fly.
"Are you sure that's all you're going to buy," he asked with a very smug tone.
"Bloody hell, you're right!" I slapped my forehead in mock realization then turned to the smiling woman behind the counter. "Could you add three bobbins of threads with that? One black, one white and one purple."
As I predicted, the smirk on Syaoran's face was instantly wiped off.
"What are you going to do with those, Hiiragizawa?" A suspicious look crept on his face. No doubt he was remembering the last time I bought threads here. Threads that I used to magically string him up like a puppet.
"You tell me," I shrugged nonchalantly. "You're the know-it-all."
After shooting him one of my smiles that never fails to get on his nerve, I walked out of the store with a brief nod to the girls, forcing my smile to not change into a silly grin as I passed her. I crossed the street and looked inconspicuously around to make sure I wasn't followed. Certain that nobody was looking and following, I slipped in the alley and hid in the shadows, hoping that the three would leave soon.
Ten minutes later, I saw them walk out of the store and head the opposite direction to where I was hiding. I waited for a couple of minutes to make sure there wouldn't be any more accidental meetings before going back to the store.
The woman smiled in welcome. She knew I would be back. After all I had been standing in front of a certain shelf earlier for quite a long time.
I wasted no time in retrieving the box that held the bear, which I fervently hope would have the same name as mine. Walking out of the store for the second time around, I clutched the paper bag against my chest as I tried to tame the fast pace of my heart that shouted my anxiety and excitement, as well as my love for the raven-haired, amethyst eyed beauty.
TBC…
NEXT TIME IN ERIOL-BEAR…
Step 2: How to make the bear