Baby Steps

shika hiiragizawa

shika: Hey y'all! Another fast update for you, because I love you! Since you guys are wondering why I can give you chapters this early, it's because I'm in between jobs at the moment. So instead of resting, I give you this.

ulq4schiffer : Thanks for reviewing! As for how long, I'm not really sure yet. Based on what I've written, it won't be more than 15 chapters? Not sure yet. But thanks for asking! I'll update you as soon as I'm sure with the length of the story.

prilly55: Thanks prilly55! I know it's heartbreaking, even my heart wrenches as I write each chapter. I hope this chapter wouldn't be that heartbreaking for you. Happy reading!

XxThe-Crest-Of-AnubisxX: Tada! Here's another one, for you. And thanks! I think I'll need that luck for this story, and for finding work. Haha

Tina: I'm glad you're happy about the plot. I hope you read on and see stuff about Eriol… soon. Thanks for reading!

Cris Elladan : Thanks! We'll see about that. As I said to ulq4schiffer, I could end up with about 15 chapters. Just stay with me and we'll do something for ExT!

EuroCuttie : Thanks for reading this and I'm sorry about My Playboy. It's NOT on hiatus, I'm actually writing it. I wrote several different versions already, but something's missing. I just can't put my finger to it. I'll update once I stop this…err… inconvenience. I hope you also love this story and thanks for being a loyal reader and reviewer!

Bunearygirl: Thanks, dear! Feel free to comment on the storyline. I'm glad you loved it. I love writing it, too.

Shika: I appreciate all the golden reviews, and hope for more to come! Without further ado, please scroll down for chapter three!

OoO

Chapter III: Peeping Toes

For the nth time, Tomoyo stared at the blank screen of her cell phone, pondering whether she should hit send. It was a text to meet-up with the only man who broke her poor heart, of course. She buried herself beneath the sheets, discarding the message in the process.

It had been days since she made her decision to leave, but she did not have the heart to take one step to achieve her goal. Why should she be the first one to make contact, anyway? It was like she was running after the guy, even if her motivation for meeting him was completely the opposite (e.g. divorce matters and NOTHING else).

Furthermore, what would he do once he finds out she bears his child? Would he accept the divorce? After all, they are still married, so it is still a decision between two people. Besides, no matter how many women he may sleep with (and the thought burned a hole through her already hollow heart), that can never change the fact that his blood runs deep in the miracle she nurses in her belly. In short, for the divorce to be considered legal, she needed his consent through written proof, by way of his signature on the said papers.

Tomoyo didn't want to admit it, but what scared her most was Eriol's reaction to the divorce. She had a huge feeling he would just let her do it; after all, he never made a move to contact her ever since that day. If Eriol didn't even try and ask her back because of his new girl, then it would hurt her more than anything else. It was like he discarded for some new toy, after having all the fun he wanted with her.

Fresh tears leaked from her eyes as she buried her face in her pillow, trying hard to stop her tears. She had just started getting out of bed, and now she had to find some ounce of strength to get up again. For some reason, even if she made a resolve, she could not find the strength to reach her goal.

She didn't want a divorce, of course. She loved Eriol with all her heart and soul, even after everything that happened. She had made a promise to love him forever. Tomoyo didn't make such pledge on a whim. She didn't treat marriage as something that could be refuted, no matter how their generation seemed open to the idea.

However, she knew she had to let go because it was the right thing, and she wept bitterly over this fact. Maybe Eriol was happier with his new girl, Kaho Mizuki. But… how could he do that after all his promises? After the wedding vows? After… everything?

She remembered the night when Eriol proposed to her, which she considered one of the best nights she had ever had in her whole life.

It started off as one of the worst days in her life, when a huge clothing company rejected all her designs for new dresses. She worked damned hard for so many months - staying up all night, drinking gallons of coffee while she sketched her fingers off - and all her hard work was thrown to waste in the span of 10 infinitesimal minutes.

She had even worn a lilac silk dress she especially created for the day that could possibly change her fortune. After presenting the designs, because of some stupid power play with the higher-ups, she was rejected, even if almost all, except the said officer (who had quite the high rank and reputation) liked – no, loved, all her designs.

Who could not, after she had poured all her heart and soul and blood to it?

She had half a mind to excuse herself from her date with Eriol after the said meeting. She knew he would understand if she needed time to mend her heart after such a fiasco which she didn't even cause, for the most part. She didn't even know what grudge the person held against her.

Even before her fingers skimmed the phone to create her message, she saw him waiting outside the building, wearing a smile on his face that was reserced only for her. Usually, his smiled would make her feel like Christmas had come early. Because of her dilemma, however, she could only feel like it was a few weeks before Christmas.

Eriol noticed her miserable exterior, of course, and gave her a long, sweet kiss that turned her knees into pools of lilac jelly. People around them wolf-whistled and shot them looks of pure envy, but Eriol couldn't care less. He even smirked a little as his hands encircled her waist and pulled her closer to him, claiming her as his. In response to his ministrations, Tomoyo's hands found his neck, her slim arms pulling her to him.

He knew what had happened before she said anything, because it was obviously stamped on her face. He could feel it in the sorrow she made him feel through their kiss. He said nothing, offered no words of consolation, because he knew she hated exactly that. He knew that phrases like "it'll be alright" or "everything's gonna be fine in the end" meant nothing to Tomoyo. At situations like this, she craved touch more than anything else.

And so he caved in to her needs, lacing his hands through hers, because he also needed to be close to her.

He led her to his car, opening the door for her. She barely smiled at his gesture, and thanked him all too politely for what he did. Trying to keep his concern at bay, and his anger at the company, he went inside his car before thinking of throwing a bomb at the company. He knew how long Tomoyo worked for it, and she had cancelled numerous dates for the day. Breaking her heart is not an excuse for him. But he could not kill the President of the company just for Tomoyo. It would also break her heart. He decided to just be with her.

Once on the road, Eriol handed her the iPod, telling her to choose the song for that day, a cocky smile on his face. Tomoyo giggled, despite her pain. They had this thing of fighting over the iPod, because the two had different tastes in music. Eriol preferred hard rock and emo, which Tomoyo thought was far from the "mysterious" air her had. Tomoyo, on the other hand, listened to pop songs and English bands, which, in Eriol's opinion, was a very bad combination. Nonetheless, because of their endless love for music, they put all the songs they wanted into the old but trusty 64 gigabyte gadget.

They had a lot of similar music tastes as well, but that did not stop them from bickering and fighting over the iPod, even if Eriol was driving. Actually, it happened especially while Eriol's hands were on the wheel. Tomoyo used these moments because she knew Eriol had to keep his eyes on the road. But of course, Eriol hated losing, and so the road was long forgotten. They had gone through a lot of near-death experiences because of it, but it didn't stop them from their not-so-loving game of tug-of-war.

Therefore, Eriol handing Tomoyo the iPod willingly meant a lot. It certainly lightened Tomoyo's mood for a bit, as she chose an XX song for the occasion. Eriol fought the urge to bang his head on the steering wheel because he disliked the song. He knew it was his fault, since he gave her the iPod without so much as a snappy retort.

When he saw the smile on her face, however, he chuckled to himself, feeling that he could bear even the whole album with that bright expression on her face over her gloomy disposition moments ago. Tomoyo suspected that Eriol did this because of what happened earlier, but when his dark blue Porsche slid out the highway onto unfamiliar roads, she began to get suspicious.

"Are we dating in some jungle? Is this my punishment for choosing the song today?" she jokingly remarked as they passed a dirt road filled with trees, which was the opposite of the cemented city.

"Trust me, this'll make you feel better." Their conversation ended there.

Eriol smiled mischievously at her puzzled face as he maneuvered his baby expertly through the pebbled road, leaving Tomoyo to speculate for herself. Tomoyo was usually keen, but because of the, well, very bad episode earlier that day, she could not even smell the aroma of food wafting deliciously from the backseat. She had honestly thought he wanted to cheer her up. Well, partly, of course. Eriol had other, bigger agendas on his list.

If you expected Eriol Hiiragizawa to prepare a candle-lit dinner with an orchestra in the first restaurant he and Tomoyo ever dated in, you're pretty much wrong. Eriol brought out much, much bigger guns to win his girlfriend's heart. Even though Tomoyo looked pretty much like a disaster that day, that didn't hinder him from continuing his plan. He was that confident, of course.

Or that's what he'd want everyone else to think. Eriol Hiiragizawa, like most strong men, hid his anxiety perfectly. He had years and years of practice, after all. Only Tomoyo could see through his enigmatic dominance, but with the given circumstances, Tomoyo had too much on her mind to notice how his jaw tightened and how his fingers tapped the wheel as he scooted towards the unfamiliar road.

Instead of a well-known restaurant, Eriol chose a secluded part of a white sand beach in another town. Who would've thought someone could find a small c-shaped shore that was sheltered from the public by lots of trees? It was a strip of virgin land wherein no one has ever settled yet. The venue alone took a long time for Eriol to find, but if it were for Tomoyo, he knew it would all be worth it.

True enough, she hugged him tight and kissed him lovingly, tears springing from her eyes.

"Thank you, Eriol," she whispered gratefully, "you definitely know how to cheer me up."

Eriol only kissed her again, careful not to let slip anything about his plan.

As for the food, no chef other than Eriol Hiiragizawa prepared all the courses, including his and Tomoyo's favorites in the menu. He brought out a huge, wicker picnic basket from the backseat, complete with a tent and some pillows.

Eriol had to gasp for air when Tomoyo kissed her again, chuckling as he put his finger on her lips to stop before he initiated their next kisses. After a long while of kissing, Eriol had to move things around because the basket looped in his arm was not something he would want to get caught holding. He set up the tent beside red checkered picnic blanket, in case they got tired and needed to sleep… what else would they need it for? He laid the food gently on the cloth. As he did this, he watched Tomoyo take off her shoes and run against the waves. The wind tickled her pale cheeks, coaxing some color into the pale petals.

Tomoyo did not care if the silky material of her dress got wet and weighed upon her. She ran around the ankle-deep waters, because Eriol did not want her to help out with the food. She breathed in the warm, salty air, but the weight of the day pressed her heart, unable to make her smile her sweetest, even if she was in her element.

As fatigue got to her because of too much running, she began to remember vividly why Eriol brought her to the sea in the first place. Her eyes watered at the thought of the company she dreamt of rejecting her, not because of her lack of creativity, but because of some stupid manager, official, whatever.

"FUCK YOU, YOU STUPID MANAGER!"

She was even surprised at her own outburst, her hands fisting at her sides as she screamed her heart out into the wide sunset. She was about to shout out other curse words in her vocabulary, if not for something cold that pressed against her knee. She yelped in surprise, thinking it was some sort of sea animal, but then gasped when she saw a long, navy blue bottle. A small roll of paper was inside, along with something else she could not see through the dark glass.

A message in a bottle! She thought excitedly, taking the said article with trembling hands, almost forgetting her own dilemma, for the meantime. She craned her neck to call for Eriol to come to her, but suddenly, he was next to her, looking at the sunset.

His pants were rolled up, but the tide still found a way to moisten the fabric. His azure eyes, framed by glasses, were looking straight at the horizon. She had always wondered how he had azue eyes, and not the baby blue ones she was used to seeing. As far as she can tell, Eriol was the only person who possessed such dark depths. His pale hand raked his dark bangs, but he did not look at her. A small smile was on his face.

With Eriol beside her, Tomoyo began to open the cork on the bottle. To her surprise, it came off easily, like it had only been closed recently. And that was when she began to notice everything. She noticed how Eriol's muscles were tensed slightly, obviously trying to hide from her. She noticed that everything was too much, for something to just "cheer her up."

She shook the bottle, and a slip of paper landed on her palm, along with a – her heart could not even process everything. Her eyes began to water. Suddenly, Eriol was in front of her, kneeling. He did not even care that the water reached his chest and soaked his dark blue shirt. He had more important things to think of.

As Eriol spoke the words Tomoyo always wanted to hear, she suddenly jumped and wrapped her arms around him as she gave her answer, engulfing them both in the salty waters.

"Ahhh!"

Tomoyo let out a loud, pained cry as she remembered what she had just done. For the past month, she had tried her best not to think of anything related to him, and she just had to remember one of her most cherished memories with him.

She felt like the memories of him likened to water being held by a dam, and with one single hole, the whole dam shattered and all hell broke loose. Everything she tried to hide about him resurfaced the darkness of her mind.

With tears running down her gaunt face, she ripped open her bedside table and took out a small chest. She yanked the top open, and gazed at the same roll of paper he gave her on that fateful day. She opened it with trembling hands, staring at the blank paper.

"I promised myself that I would only tell you and show you how I felt. No texts, no novels, no letters. You deserve more than that, Tomoyo," it was what he would always say before he crossed the air between them and kissed her.

True enough, when he missed her, he would never call her just to say so. He would definitely come to her, no matter what the circumstances were. He would climb trees and buildings, or drive a million miles just to see her smile. He cancelled important meetings and events just to stay by her side when she needed him.

He made Romeo seem like such a pathetic lover.

There were also downsides to this behavior. After all, he wasn't perfect. When Eriol made a mistake, he was never the one to admit it. Even if Tomoyo called him to rant, he said nothing on the phone. Tomoyo didn't even know if he was listening, or if he just left his phone somewhere before taking a jog or something.

He would come apologize to her in his own sweet time. And that "sweet time" of reconciliation was almost always initiated by the one who could bend her pride, believing that relationships were more important than the worst fights. In short, Tomoyo.

Tomoyo used to hate waiting for weeks for him to apologize. That's why she would always be the one to cave in. The tension would always be unbearable.

One time, though, when she saw Eriol at his weakest point in his life, he admitted that he was scared of apologizing. He had pride that ran deep through his veins, making him unable to find the will to even admit his mistakes. That trait of his, no matter how distasteful, ran in the Hiiragizawa household, so Tomoyo held no grudge against him. It was something he grew up with, something he had the moment he was born. When she met his family, and she understood completely.

When you love someone, you could accept them even at their worst.

Tomoyo crushed the paper in her hand, realizing the answer to the question bugging her for quite a while. Even if she waited forever for him, he would not come. She would come, but not because relationships were more important than the worst fights. She would come, because some of the worst fights can mend no relationships - not even those held with a contract to Him from above.

She muttered a silent apology to He who watched her from above, but she did not push the call button. Not yet. She needed some more time to be strong enough to face him.

OoO

Shika: So, how did it go? Wasn't much action, more of a flashback, actually. I wanted you guys to know a bit about Eriol. So, review, lovely people! And thanks for reading!