AN~Now this part was just fun and I had to keep pretty much as is...finally my mistakes are fixed! Anyway on with the show. ~k~
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Can't Keep Up Part Two
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At the cold tone, a new power or strength seemed to eclipse the fear that had resided in her heart since that night. It was then that a new fire lit her eyes as she turned to finally face the very one who had shattered her heart and nearly darkened her soul. Her own tone came out cold in an almost Yue-like manner as she answered formally, "Li-san."
An oddly dark light glinted in his eyes for a moment as he looked into her fearless ones and then it was gone to be replaced with a smile that didn't quite reach his. "It is good to see you, Sakura. I am glad you could come."
She frowned at the change and the strange undercurrent she felt from the one who had once been considered her 'true number one'. 'There is something wrong here. Shaking the feeling off, she felt the need to clarify that "I am here for Meiling and I would prefer that you would not address me so familiarly. For what you have done, I cannot trust you again. Do not take this as forgiveness for I do not feel I am capable of such at this time."
Li's expression darkened the moment she turned her back on him when the butler announced that "dinner would be served shortly".
It was a relief to the others as the strange tension between the host and his lost love suddenly dissipated as if it had been mere mist. Only a select few noticed the soft silvery glow of the crescent moon that now laid against the card mistress' chest. Even those few individuals had no idea exactly how this particular piece would fit into the puzzle that even now had begun to fall into place…
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"Oh, Kami, do I even want to know what this?" Meiling gasped as she was still trying to recover from her last gift.
Tomoyo chuckled at the memories of what some of the other girls had dreamed up even as she tried to reassure the bride. "Don't worry, Meiling, that one is safe."
It was comical to see her expression as she looked at her friend cautiously. "How could you possibly know?"
"Because she brought it, you dope." Nakaru fairly crowed which caused Sakura to slowly push the bowl of chocolate further away from the already-too-hyper guardian's reach.
"I believe you've had enough chocolate, Nakuru."
"And alcohol." Tomoyo chuckled at the deepening pout as the disguised butterfly huffed "party poopers".
Meanwhile, Meiling's eyes fairly glistened when she finally got the smaller box opened. "Ooooh monogrammed notes and pens! Now I definitely have no excuse to not stay in touch with my friends! And a journal too!"
"For your own thoughts on married life and such." Dark eyes shone happily for her one friend despite her current choice. She could only hope that Meiling would be alright and that her dreams were more than just dreams. After all, just because one friend was nearly destroyed by him did not mean that another would meet the same fate. A bear hug tore her from her worries as Meiling thanked her endlessly. "Open Sakura's next!"
"Do I want to?" She asked teasingly, but she complied as she went to work on the narrow box that was wrapped in sparkly pink paper. Her soft gasp piqued the other girls' curiosity until she pulled a dark blue fan from the tissue then opened it. On the fine, heavy paper was the scene of a moonlit waterfall with pink and white blossoms that floated on an invisible wind. "Oh, Sakura, it's beautiful."
Sakura fidgeted slightly on her cushion with a smile on her lips. "When I saw it I thought of you, Meiling. I really do wish for your every happiness."
"As I do for yours. It means so much for me to have you here as my friend."
"Alright enough of the mushy stuff; let's have cake!" One of Li's sister's suggested which was answered with a loud chorus.
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"It was a beautiful wedding." Tomoyo sighed as she thought of all the possibilities should a certain moon guardian and his star move in the direction she dreamed of. "Now that would be the pinnacle of my career."
Nakuru shot the black haired girl a nervous glance then stood suddenly. "I better go check on Suppie and Kero-chan."
Eriol laughed at his butterfly guardian's antics then offered the starry-eyed girl of his dreams his hand. "Care to dance, Daijoubi-san?"
"Hm?" She asked distractedly, then noticed his hand and blushed. "I would be happy to, Hirigazawa-kun."
Still sitting at the white table in the garden, Sakura shivered slightly when she caught Li's heated glance even as he danced with his bride on the dance floor. It was strange how they still managed to make a perfect picture with the cherry blossoms softly falling around them. However, she couldn't shake the foreboding promise of darkness to come. A gentle hand touched her shoulder and she looked up to see the concern in those beloved silver/violet eyes. "Doubshite, Sakura?"
Determined to not worry those who cared for her the most, Sakura smiled brightly and grabbed Yue's hand to squeeze it reassuringly. "Hai. Dance with me, Yue?"
"If you so command it." He answered with a smile. Perhaps it was best to just let such worries slide for once considering what this day was and all. After all, time is fleeting even for a star and he was going to enjoy every moment he could with his beloved mistress.
"I do." She giggled in response until she felt another niggling sensation, but this one was born of not seeing her smaller guardian in awhile. "I wonder where Kero-chan is?"
Yue drew her to him with his usual grace and settled his chin on her head. "Nakuru went to check on him and Spinel Sun so I wouldn't worry about them. After all, what can go wrong?"
It wasn't until later that his words were to come back to haunt them as they looked on in horror as the massively ornate cake met it's doom on the hapless couple in their attempt to cut it. Unfortunately for two small cat guardians, their white paw prints led Nakuru right to them. She knew she should scream at them, but the sight of them licking the frosting off of each other was too much a temptation. Sakura blinked when two dizzy large cats ran after a laughing Ruby Moon…or tried to as they had been blinded by the camera flash. Eriol shook head as he chuckled. "It is a good thing everyone here knows about Clow and the guardians or this would take a while to explain."
"You said it."
Touya's eyes shone in amusement as he joined them with his arm slung across Yukito's shoulder. "That was classic. Remind me to give the plushie a treat when we get home for making things interesting."
"To-ya." Yukito admonished softly…or tried to since he couldn't keep the corners of his mouth still.
"Oh come on, Yuki. You can't tell me it wasn't worth it to see the brat and the bastard covered in cake."
His only answer was soft laughter and a simple kiss on the cheek. Taking the initiative, Touya grabbed the pale hand and proceeded to drag him off to parts unknown. "Later."
Tomoyo giggled. "I never thought I'd see the day that Touya would willing leave his sister with Li-san still in the area."
An almost evil light glinted behind shiny glasses. "It is because he knows that Yue is just as protective of Sakura as he is, if not more so. Anyway it's not like my cute little descendant has much of a choice in the matter but to leave her alone."
"What did you do, Eriol?"
He patted the soft hand that was still on his arm. "Nothing to worry about, my dear, just a simple magic spell."
Yue shook his head although it was Sakura who said with a grin "With you, Eriol, there is no such thing as a 'simple magic spell'."
"Nonetheless, I suggest we see the happy couple off. I am certain there will be more surprises to come."
By the end of their honeymoon, both Li and Meiling would feel as if they truly had been cursed by a certain magician of darkness. First their was no room in the hotel for the night, so they had to sleep in the car, then their flight was cancelled and they had had to wait several hours for another flight. If that wasn't bad enough, their 'wedding suite' in Hawaii had double beds that they had to push together and Li discovered that he was allergic to nearly all of the island cuisine. There were also other 'incidents' that they both refused to comment on which included a strip search made by the border patrol. To top it all off, the airport even managed to lose their luggage on the trip home.
Deep maniacal laughter echoed in the dark room after the light from the red magical seal faded away. Light glinted off round glasses when the wooden door creaked open and a cautious redhead peeked in. "Is it safe, Suppie?"
The black cat sighed from his master's lap. "As if you couldn't tell by the laughter, Ruby Moon?"
"Un. Master, I just wanted you to know that they have arrived and tea is ready."
"Very good." Eriol grinned as he stood. "I have quite the story to share."