Finally, finally, FINALLY got the chance to write for CCS! I really enjoyed writing this one. I attempted humour for once, and it's quite the lazy attempt, but I really don't think I could classify this oneshot under a different genre, anyway.

Written for TSoS Week 6's alternate prompt: Ally of Inconvenience. Please enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own CCS or its characters.

Friendly Advice

Li Syaoran was many things – a powerful mage, a level-headed warrior, a diligent son, and a responsible brother. But there was one title he was yet to possess; one position he wanted to attain, more than anything else in this world:

The position of the perfect boyfriend.

It was something he had been contemplating ever since his return from Hong Kong. Despite his prior worries, Sakura still returned his feelings, and he knew that, more than anything, he wanted to ensure that she was always content. And he was willing to do anything in order to make that possible.

So, when Sakura suggested a trip to the new Tomoeda amusement park, he could not help but accept. He knew that it would make her happy, but despite the determined smile he gave her, he was a bundle of nerves on the inside.

'What can I do to keep her entertained all evening?' he thought to himself as he paced through his apartment. 'We've never been to an amusement park before...well, we have, but not just the two of us...'

Every possible worst-case scenario began to flit through his mind. 'What if we run out of things to talk about? What if I don't have enough money for the games? What if I take her on a ride and she throws up?'

He was beginning to panic, until an idea hit him. Grabbing his cell phone, he punched in a number and waited, until a soft, feminine voice on the other end answered with a gentle "Hello?"

"Y-yes, uh...is this Daidoji?" he asked, instantly wanting to slap himself for fumbling with his words. The voice responded with a giggle.

"There's no need to be so formal, Li-kun ," she replied, the lingering smile evident in her voice. "Just 'Tomoyo' is fine."

"...right." He cleared his throat. "Dai-um, Tomoyo-san, what does Sakura like to do at theme parks?"

"Theme parks?" She sounded curious. "Does this have anything to do with your date with Sakura-chan today?"

Syaoran almost dropped the phone in shock. "How...how did you–"

Another giggle. "Sakura-chan told me, of course. I'd recommend the game stalls, but other than that, I'm sure she's just content to spend the day with you, Li-kun. Don't worry."

He blushed. "A-anyway...thanks Daidoji." After a pause, he added, "I'll take good care of her."

"To-mo-yo," she corrected. "And I have full faith in you, Li-kun. Do your best."

With that, she hung up. Syaoran heaved a sigh. Her advice had been useful, but he was sure that Sakura would not enjoy playing skill games all evening. With some hesitation, he dialled another number.

"...Li Residence, Meiling Li speaking."

"Meiling, how long will it take you to fly to Tomoeda right now?"

There was silence on the other end for a full minute. Then, "Syaoran, you're an idiot."

As always, her sharp words had no impact on him. "Thanks, Meiling," was his deadpan response, and he moved the phone a few inches away from his ear to avoid the tirade that would surely come next.

As expected, she began to yell. "You just got there, Syaoran! I'm sure you can manage things with Kinomoto-san by yourself! Don't even think about asking for help with your date, because these are things you need to learn how to handle by yourself–"

"Wait–" he cut in. "How did you find out?! You're in Hong Kong!"

He heard her sigh over the phone. "Stupid Syaoran. Daidoji-san and I are always in contact, didn't you know that?"

Syaoran frowned. "No, you never mentioned it until today."

"Well, that isn't important right now." He could almost visualise her waving her hand dismissively. "I've babied you long enough, Syaoran. This time, you're on your own."

The line went dead. With a frustrated groan, he clenched the phone in his fist. He only had one option left, and he had been hoping that he would not be forced to resort to it.

After several minutes of deliberation, he made the call. With each ring, he told himself that no one would pick up, all while tapping his foot impatiently. But at the ninth ring, when he was about to disconnect, a deep, calm voice responded.

"I didn't think I would be hearing from you anytime soon, Li-kun."

The all-knowing tone in his voice made Syaoran want to punch the wall in frustration, but he held back. "Hiiragizawa," he said between gritted teeth. "I...need some advice."

"You should be calling me Clow-sama, my dear descendant," the voice on the other end teased. "But for you, I'll let it slide. What do you need?"

Any conversation with Clow's reincarnation, no matter how brief, always made his blood boil; he despised Eriol with every fibre of his being. 'I'm doing this for Sakura...anything for Sakura...' he silently told himself, before continuing.

"Sakura and I...are planning to go to an amusement park. We'll be there for a few hours, and..." He heaved a sigh. "I want to know what she would enjoy most."

Eriol let out a soft laugh. "Why ask me, Li-kun? I'm sure you know that better than anyone."

He flushed. "That-that's none of your business!"

"I wasn't trying to imply anything-"

Syaoran shook his head frantically. "Just...never mind. Daidoji suggested the skill games and those should be fine, so–"

He heard Eriol clicking his tongue. "That probably won't be good enough, I'm afraid. However..." The smirk in his voice finally became evident. "I do have a few ideas that you could try out."

"...you do?" Syaoran was beginning to regret his decision to ask Eriol for advice in the first place. Nothing good could come from it, after all.

"Hmm...yes. Sakura-san enjoys rides, so be sure to take her on the fastest roller-coaster there. Skill games are good, as long as you definitely win her a prize...but make sure you leave enough money to buy snacks."

His eyes grew wide with surprise. 'His ideas are...surprisingly useful.' He distantly wondered whether Eriol, or even Clow, had had experience with things like this before.

"And to conclude the evening, take her on a ferris wheel ride," he finished, pulling Syaoran from his thoughts. "A bird's-eye view of the amusement park is considered to be quite romantic...according to my informant, anyway."

'Informant...?' He frowned in confusion, and then the answer hit him. "You're asking Mizuki-sensei for advice, aren't you?"

"Ah, it seems I've been found out." The cat-like grin on his face was not difficult to visualise. "Well, I've said enough for today. Good luck, Li-kun."

This time, Syaoran was the one to end the call, punching the 'End' button with a considerable amount of force. He glanced between the now-blank screen, and the notepad on which he had (grudgingly) scrawled Eriol's words of advice. Carefully tearing off the top sheet, he placed it in his shirt pocket as a back-up. Then, he glanced at his watch, expecting to have a few hours before his "date" with Sakura.

Beads of sweat began to form along his forehead when he noticed the time.

"...shit."

xxxxx

Syaoran did not realise how long he had spent on phone calls to his so-called "friends". Sakura was already waiting at the entrance to the theme park when he arrived, nearly 30 minutes late.

"Sorry I'm late..." he panted, desperately trying to catch his breath. "There was...a phone call..."

Sakura gave him an understanding smile. "It's okay, Syaoran-kun. I haven't been waiting for too long."

'Always so kind...' he thought to himself as he stood up to his full height, simultaneously taking in her appearance. Now that their card-capturing days were over, Tomoyo had taken to designing Sakura's outfits for special occasions. She stood before him in a pastel blue dress, complete with matching shoes and a shoulder bag. Her short hair had been left untied to frame her face, and he could see a soft blush upon her cheeks.

"Sh-should we go in?" he asked, politely offering her his arm. She nodded, twining her arm with his, and they walked through the main gate. He glanced down at her and noted her excited expression, and it filled him with relief.

'So far, so good.'

xxxxx

Unfortunately, his being late was not the only thing to go wrong that evening.

The date turned out to be a complete disaster. In his rush, he had forgotten his wallet at home, which left him severely humiliated at the first stall they visited. Sakura ended up paying for their snacks (cotton candy and takoyaki) and he apologised to her profusely, while insisting that he would pay her back.

As a result of his carelessness, they could only try a few games and rides. Still locked in a flustered stupor, Syaoran missed nearly every target at the ring toss stall, and only just barely managed to win Sakura a small goldfish, which he presented to her while refusing to meet her gaze out of embarrassment.

As per Eriol's advice, they rode the fastest roller-coaster they could find. Sakura enjoyed it thoroughly, but they had made the mistake of eating first, and the first thing Syaoran did once they got off the ride was throw up in a nearby trash can.

'That Hiiragizawa...he jinxed this entire thing. I'm sure of it.'

He was absolutely sure that Eriol had something to do with this series of unfortunate events – no doubt he was observing them right now with that stupid smirk on his face. Syaoran threw a string of mental curses at his former classmate, while desperately clinging to a nearby lamp-post for support.

Once he was able to walk straight again, he allowed Sakura to take him by the hand and lead him through the park in search of the next attraction. The bitter taste in his mouth still lingered, and he fought the urge to throw up again until they finally slowed to a stop.

"Can we go on this one next, Syaoran-kun?"

He wrested his gaze from the pavement below and raised his head sluggishly, only to be met by what might as well have been his worst nightmare: the ferris wheel.

"I-um, ah, Sakura..." he stammered, as a very annoying face popped up in his mind yet again. "Are y-you sure you want to ride this one...?"

She nodded. "I thought it would be a nice way to end our...date..." At the last word, she blushed prettily, and Syaoran thought his heart would burst out of his chest.

'She's so cute...'

He took a moment to contemplate his situation. Sakura was watching him with bright eyes, and he did not want to make any compromises when it came to her happiness. 'I've made it this far with Eriol's advice...one last ride couldn't hurt...'

And so they bought two tickets and seated themselves in the closest carriage, waiting for the ride to start moving. Syaoran placed his hands in his lap, twiddling his thumbs in quiet anticipation. He was sure that something would go wrong, but Sakura did not seem to notice his anxiety as she glanced out the window.

Then, the carriage began to move. It shuddered beneath their feet as it took off into the air, and he clung to his seat as discreetly as he could manage, not wanting to alarm the girl seated opposite him. 'It's going to stop any second now...'

True enough, it stopped just a few moments later. Syaoran had already clenched his eyes shut by that point, and now he muttered "I knew it" under his breath, over and over again.

"Waaaaaaaai-!"

Her exclamation nearly made him jump, and his eyes shot open as he leapt across the carriage to sit beside her, grabbing her shoulders in a panic.

"What happened? Are you okay?!" he asked frantically, until he realised that she was not even looking in his direction. Instead, her eyes were trained on the sight beyond the window – it was a stunning view of the entire amusement park, sparkling against the night sky. Sakura seemed to be enjoying herself thoroughly – her eyes were practically filled with stars, and to him, her smile seemed far brighter than the lights in the distance.

"Thank you," she breathed, finally turning around to face him. "I had a wonderful day with you, Syaoran-kun. Thank you so much."

He looked at her in shock. "Y-you did?! Even after I forgot my wallet, and only won you a consolation prize, and threw up after the roller-coaster–"

Sakura giggled. "That doesn't matter," she said, bringing her head down to rest on his shoulder. "Because I got to spend the day with Syaoran-kun, and that's enough for me."

Her words made his face turn beet-red, but he still managed to wrap an arm around her in response. They sat there in silence as the carriage slowly began to move again, and Syaoran gradually found himself wondering why he had been so worried in the first place.

'I didn't need anyone's help...because Sakura and I are just happy spending time with each other. And that's enough for me, too.'

Many miles away, in a secluded room, a certain reincarnation of the great magician Clow found himself smirking triumphantly as he dismissed the magical viewport before him.

"Mission accomplished."

Ah, how I've missed writing fluff (even though there wasn't much in the first place). It puts a smile on my face. Eriol is the main inconvenient ally in this story - I'd originally planned to have him mess with Syaoran more directly, but that didn't end up happening. I guess this is close enough?

Note: this fic ignores the events of the second movie, and assumes that Syaoran returned to Tomoeda without incident. You could say it more accurately follows the manga storyline, but Meiling isn't in the manga, and I forget where Eriol ends up...I'm starting to confuse myself.

Do drop a review and let me know what you think! Also, check out my fellow authors' works over at the Twelve Shots of Summer community! (if you haven't done so already)