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Disclaimers: I don't own CCS. Eriol and Tomoyo don't really belong together, but I say otherwise! Hope CLAMP realizes that they are made for each other. I do!
I know I don't have any originality regarding the title. But I really like the way it sounds. Sorry to the one who originally thought of it.
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/There are things you can want and yet never get. There are things you think are yours that you never really had./
Everyone envied Daidouji Tomoyo. She had everything anyone can ever want. She was the sole heiress to a vast business empire, a member of the student council, a straight A student. She also possessed one of the loveliest voices in the entire of Tomoeda with an equally lovely face to match. She had been asked a number of times to model for a number of magazines, which she turned down every time. She had everything anyone could ever want. But she never had what she wanted.
/Everyone wants to be happy. But not everyone knows how to be happy. People may be happy without knowing it. While some think they are happy when they're not./
Everyone thought Daidouji Tomoyo was happy. Everyone including her. She had her music, her camera, her needle, her thread. She had her best friend, her classmates, other people. She was always busy, smiling, laughing, lending a hand.
/The only time you are truly alone is when you are lonely even when not alone./
But there was something missing. There was this empty hole inside her that waited to be filled. Filled with something she knew not what...
Until He came.
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He was doing it again.
He was watching her, staring the deep black of her hair, the music of her movements. He never really understood his fascination for her. His other self was also interested in those around him, the ordinary people who went about their daily tasks and lived their lives. And yet he always saw them as a unit rather than an individual. A piece of the puzzle that he was methodically putting together. He did as his other self did, believed as he used to believe hundreds of years ago1. Until he found himself finding one of those puzzle pieces much too interesting.
Yes, she was pretty. No. She was beautiful... breathtakingly beautiful. She moved with infinite charm and grace and seemed every bit like a princess than a mere girl. She was also very talented. Everything she set out to do she did well. But there were many like her. Some, with even more gifts than she possessed. Yet she outshone them all. For she was like no other.
"Tomoyo-chan?" A bright smile, honey colored locks tossing with the slight incline of her head. "You going?"
A soft shake of the head. "I'm afraid not Sakura-chan. You and Li-kun go ahead." A smile goodbye.
"See you Eriol-kun!" Another bright smile.
Sakura was beautiful. She was the card mistress, special and powerful. He watched over her for some time, amused with her antics, concerned with her welfare and yes, fascinated. And yet he never watched her the way he did Her...
Somehow, even her name held some fascination for him. It seemed so right and the words felt so good.
Daidouji. Tomoyo Daidouji.
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She finally stood up, returning the books she used to their shelves. She had sat there in the library a long while and he watched, studying her movements. He watched the lovely pale hand gently turn the pages of a book or write notes in a neat precise handwriting. He watched a sliver of black fall against her cheek and lie there as if held in place. He watched, drinking in the lovely picture she presented. It didn't matter where she was or what she was doing. It all became her.
After a while, he too stood up, following her. She paused near the gates, adjusting the straps of her school bag, dropping a book in the process.
"Oh, thank you Hiiragizawa-kun."
"It's nothing Daidouji-san. May I walk you home?"
"Of course, Hiiragizawa-kun."
He took his place beside her and they walked on in silence. It was a nice afternoon, made even better by her presence. There was a soft breeze moving through the trees and playing with her hair. An occasional smile as their eyes met was all that passed between them and yet he enjoyed himself immensely.
At her gate they parted ways. Another smile, a wave and then she was gone.
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A work of art.
She sat there, skirt spread neatly around her, her lunch box cradled in her lap. Her friends were sitting about her like a lady holding court. They were laughing and smiling and she was in the center of it all. She wasn't really saying anything to the others, merely nodding her head at the quips of her friends.
She looked up and their eyes met. Beautiful amethyst eyes that spoke of unknown secrets waiting to be told. He felt a wave of unknown emotion surge through him as Tomoyo gave him a polite smile. He smiled in return, giving a small nod.
"Eriol-kun!" Sakura called out to him. "Want to join us?"
"I think I'll pass. Some other time perhaps." he said smiling at the small group before moving away.
---
He was following her. Again. Another pasttime to add to his growing list of activities that concerned Daidouji Tomoyo. Somehow, after walking her home, merely watching her has lost its appeal. Now he had to follow her around.
These are the times that he was thankful that he was no ordinary 17 year old. Being the incarnate of Clow Reed sure has its advantages especially when his activities included stalking the nightingale of Tomoeda High School.
Eriol looked around him, surprised that the raven-haired lass wasn't following her usual route home. Instead, she passed by the park.
Penguin Park had been a frequent venue for her Sakura videos back in the card capturing days. A lot have happened since then. Li Syaoran was back in Japan and was now with Sakura. The whole group was now in highschool. They all have found something new to keep them busy. Li had soccer practice, Sakura had cheerleading. Tomoyo had her choir activities and student council meetings. They still met after school but trips to the park had become few and far between.
Tomoyo headed to a clearing at the edge of the park. There were fewer people here, mostly couples totally preoccupied with each other. No one paid attention to her as she sat on a stone bench. Tomoyo was just as oblivious to her surroundings as she arranged her skirts around her and stared at the dark gray sky. She just sat there for a while looking very much like a beautiful portrait.
Eriol stood, partly hidden by the trees, watching her, admiring her. Somehow he caught a glance of her eyes and his heart seemed to stop as he saw the sadness and loneliness that her smiles usually hid from view.
After a while, Tomoyo stood up and continued on home. Eriol just stared at her retreating back, deep in thought.
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A/N: Rearranged everything and edited a word here and there. Am I reviving the fic? Maybe. We'll see. It won't do to force it. If the force is not with you, then try as you might, it is not with you. ;;