Disclaimer: I don't own CCS.
A/N: I don't usually write ET stories, but this is for my friend. Hope you enjoy!
Tied by Fabric
Tomoyo was sitting on the bench by the mall's entrance. She let out a tired sigh. She wasn't surprised that her best friend was late, she always was. Tomoyo takes out her camcorder and watches her latest footage. It was a video she captured when she threw their School's Out! Party. Most of her shots were of Sakura, aforementioned best friend. Tomoyo stared at the footage wistfully, because every time Sakura was on the screen, so was her boyfriend, Syaoran.
Tomoyo wasn't attracted to Sakura, as many people seemed to think. She was just obsessive when it came to her friend. She had collections upon collections of photos and videos of the other girl as they grew up. Tomoyo was simply a believer of capturing as many moments as possible. She even planned on putting it all together for Sakura's wedding, whenever that may be. No, she stared at her tiny screen wistfully because she wanted a love like the one Sakura had with Syaoran. One that started off as an accidental meeting which, blossomed into a friendship, and then at the most unexpected moment, became something more.
"Tomoyo!" Sakura called out, breathing heavily, breaking Tomoyo's attention. "I am so sorry I'm late. My alarm didn't wake me up, and Touya wasn't home. It was a miracle I got up at all!"
"It's okay, Sakura," Tomoyo replied softly. "I'm just happy you got here less than an hour late."
The statement caused Sakura to blush. She hadn't meant to oversleep, but she was glad that Tomoyo forgave her so easily. Immediately, she linked her arm with her best friend and pulled her to a small china shop that she wanted to go to but never had the chance.
"You know," Tomoyo says slowly. "You're never this excited to go shopping with me. What's the change?"
"I really want to see some of the new stores!" Sakura bounced excitedly. Tomoyo laughed at her friend's childishness. If she didn't know better, she would think that Sakura's a five year old, not the seventeen year-old that she really was.
"Sakura, do you mind if I go to the fabric shop while you look at the china?" Tomoyo asked hesitantly. The two of them hadn't had much time to spend together, and she didn't want to sound unappreciative of Sakura's efforts find time for them.
"Oh that's totally fine," Sakura encouraged. "I was going to look for something for you in the shop anyway. You not being next to me makes it so much easier!"
Tomoyo shook her head in disbelief before unlinking arms and walking to the fabric store two shops away. She was an aspiring designer. Her model of choice was usually Sakura, but she wasn't opposed to using some of her other friends like Chiharu, Rika, Naoko, and Syaoran. At one point she tried to get Yamazaki to be one of her models. Unfortunately, it didn't work all to well. He kept squirming and wouldn't shut up about the history of sewing, fabric, and dyes—anything that popped into mind. So, Tomoyo purposely stuck him with pins every time he spoke. By the end of that one session, they agreed it would be better for their friendship he never helped her out again.
She arrived at the shop and noticed that there were a lot more people present than normal. Usually the shop was deserted, sometimes Tomoyo wondered if it stayed in business because of the amount of fabric and accessories she bought. She even got a VIP card for the store because she spent so much there. Her mom was not too pleased, but in exchange to paying for Tomoyo's fabric expenses, Tomoyo made dresses for the dolls for her mom's toy company. She squeezed her way into the overcrowded shop and went straight for the pastel pink fabric. She was running out, and she found that that color matched Sakura the best, and so, she needed to have it in stock.
"Oh my gosh! Did you catch a glimpse of him?" Tomoyo heard a girl squeal.
"Yeah, he looks nothing like in the magazines!" someone who Tomoyo assumed to be a friend replied.
"I can't believe he's here! I mean Tomoeda is such a tiny place, and this fabric shop is nearly abandoned!" the first voice continued. Ignoring them, Tomoyo continued on her destination to the pink cloth. She wasn't the least interested in whatever celebrity who may have walked into her fabric shop. Maybe I should get some more buttons and cherry blossom petal prints too. Tomoyo thought as she surveyed the shelves she could see passed the hoard of ogling girls. She made a detour and headed to the counter, which seemed fairly open.
"Hi Tomoyo," the girl on the other side said cheerfully.
"Hey Maggie," Tomoyo greeted. "Would you happen to have any more of the cherry blossom prints?"
"Let me check," Maggie answered before typing away at the computer. "We only have about a yard of it left. The rest was put on reserve."
"Oh, could I get that delivered?" Tomoyo asked.
"Uh, we could do that, but you might want to check it out," Maggie suggested. "It's not your usual one."
"Okay, do you know where it is?" Tomoyo asked. She was very particular about the material she used.
"I couldn't with the throngs of people crowding the store," Maggie said in annoyance. "I don't see what the big deal is."
"Who came in anyway?" Tomoyo inquired from curiosity.
"Eriol Hiirigizawa," Maggie replied indifferently. "He's supposedly some experienced English designer."
"Never heard of him," Tomoyo replied, wracking her brain for familiarity. "Do you think you could lead me to the fabric?"
"No can do. There's too many people to leave the register unattended."
"Alright, I'll go into the danger zone and look for it myself. Be on alert if I never return," Tomoyo joked before pushing through the girls that blocked her way. Accidentally, she bumped into someone examining emerald green fabric. Huh, that would be perfect for Sakura's prom dress! Tomoyo thought.
"Are you alright miss?" a man with a British accent asked in concern.
"Oh I'm sorry," Tomoyo replied demurely. "I bumped into you. Where did my manners go?"
"It's quite okay," he smiled. "No harm done."
"Is it alright if I took a quick look at the fabric you're examining?" Tomoyo asked.
"Feel free," he offered her the cloth before stepping back, watching her. Just as I thought, it's too flimsy to have it hold. It would be perfect for a shawl though. Tomoyo took out a notepad and pen from her bag and wrote down the number of the fabric.
"I see it fits your liking?" the man asked.
"Not quite, it's too thin and light for what I originally had in mind," Tomoyo expressed. "However, it makes for a great accompaniment."
"I see," he nodded in understanding. "What were you planning on using it for?"
"My best friend's prom dress," Tomoyo answered. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name."
"Oh, how rude," he said. "I never introduced myself. Eriol Hiirigizawa, at your service."
"So you're the reason for the hoard of girls in here," Tomoyo thought aloud. "Oh, I did not mean for that to slip out. My name's Tomoyo Daidouji." Her cheeks turned warm, she was positive she was red with embarrassment.
"No," Eriol said. "I like honesty, it's refreshing."
"Well, I'll be on my way," Tomoyo said. "I'm on a quest to find a print."
"I could help," he offered.
"No, you have a task at hand. I don't want to be a bother."
Tomoyo quickly walked away, and after going into the next aisle she found what she was looking for. She inspected the fabric and took a step back; a frown etched itself on her face. It just wasn't what she had in mind. She wasn't opposed to change; in fact she loved experimenting with fabric. She just couldn't imagine Sakura wearing anything with that design.
"That's a lovely print," Eriol said from beside her.
"You think?" Tomoyo responded, debating whether or not she should just get it to experiment with.
"Of course," he assured. "I only left a yard of it for a reason. It's going to be the center of my spring collection next year." Tomoyo's eyes widened. She momentarily forgot that this man was a famous English designer.
"It just doesn't seem fitting for the person I have in mind to wear it," she replied.
"It would look fabulous on you."
"I don't particularly like flowery clothing."
"That's quite a shame," he expressed. "Well, I must be going, I'll bring the hoard with me. Enjoy your shopping."
"Thank you," Tomoyo answered. Eriol extended his hand to her and she took it. He brought it up to his lips and kissed it, before slipping his business hard into her hand. Tomoyo waited until after he left the shop to look at the card and put it in her pocket. Well that was interesting.
She went back to the front and told Maggie she wanted the yard of the cherry blossom print, half a yard of the green cloth she looked at previously, and four yards of the pastel pink fabric. She signed for it to be delivered and exited the store, right in time to bump into Sakura.
"That took you longer than expected," Sakura commented. "I thought you were going to come back to me as I was paying, as usual."
"Yeah, there were a bunch of people in there," Tomoyo explained. The two girls look at the now empty store.
"That's strange," Sakura said. "It doesn't look disheveled. You could've fooled me."
"Yeah, I couldn't believe it either," Tomoyo replied, her hand reaching in her pocket to make sure the business card was really there.
"Well, let's continue shopping!" Sakura exclaimed excitedly. "Syaoran's asked me out to dinner tonight. I was hoping you'd let me buy a dress for once."
Tomoyo laughed at her friend's statement. Normally she would be morally opposed to the idea, but something about today changed her mind.
"You can get whatever dress you want," Tomoyo said. "But, this is the only time I'm letting you buy one, so make it count." Sakura nodded eagerly as they continued on their shopping adventure.