Disclaimer: I do not own CCS, though one day when I become rich and famous, I am going to try to forcibly take over all of CLAMP's assets. Just watch me. But don't sue me now

Soundtrack: Frou Frou- Let Go (watch garden state, it's freaking awesome)

Author's Notes: the final chapter. Dum dum da dum. Notice something different? No title… alas, nothing has emerged from the depths of my mind, so I'm setting up a contest- title this chapter for me! If you have the best title, well, your prize is that it becomes the title and that you get recognized in a paragraph up here.

Much thanks to Mizufaia and Leia for reading this, helping me make sense of it, and catching my silly mistakes.

Part Seven: Untitled

The day arrived.

Tomoyo had slept over at Sakura's house, a sort of close-friend bachelorette party with all of their old classmates from elementary school in a party that had included lots giggles, lots of sexual innuendo, and lots of reminiscing about old crushes.

She knew her part well; she smiled quietly in the corner, carrying out her façade perfectly, as usual, and with everyone focused on Sakura-chan (though this was hardly unusual, in itself), nobody noticed her.

The girls woke early and were one by one shooed out of the house, leaving Tomoyo and Sakura alone. Tomoyo did her hair as Sakura chatted, pondering if that boy would be at the wedding, but was unwilling to voice her thoughts. Therefore, while Sakura gushed and squealed, Tomoyo wondered how she could possibly be thinking about that boy on the day of her beloved Sakura-chan's wedding, then wondered inanely why she was questioning her own thoughts, and ultimately gave up wondering altogether, letting her mind wander as it would.

Underneath her cheery and incessant chatter, Sakura could sense Tomoyo's unease and confusion. But Tomoyo-chan would have to work this out on her own, she decided. She would give her the time to do so, by continuing to talk about anything that came to her mind – she doubted Tomoyo-chan would notice anyway – and hopefully giving her best friend time to mull over her words from last week. On this day, there was nothing left for her to say. She wanted Tomoyo-chan to find her own happiness, but that sort of happiness wasn't something she could give her. Not true happiness.

Syaoran would be so annoyed with her, she thought with a smile. He really didn't like Eriol-kun, but she had finally gotten him to admit yesterday that Eriol-kun seemed genuinely interested in Tomoyo-chan and his actions had been completely gentlemanly. What she hadn't managed was a promise not to beat up Eriol-kun if he showed up at the wedding, which she had a hunch he would, but she trusted her ability to keep Syaoran distracted if such a situation did arise.

With a smile growing on her face, she licked her lips.

Yamakazi-kun leaned against the doorway and smiled down at Tomoyo.

"Are you ready?"

The walk down the aisle.

The female members of the wedding party were assembled in a back room of the church, visible just behind Tomoyo, the bridesmaids, in their light pink gowns, scattered across the room, each fixing last minute hair and makeup problems, scrambling to get ready for the line of groomsmen waiting outside the door. Tomoyo was dressed in lavender. Her dress had a halter top and was long and flowing, with the slightest hint of a train. Pink sakura blossoms were embroidered along the bodice, and a larger flower was pinned along the very bottom of the dress, just before the short train. The dress was form-fitting but not clingy, flowing along her slight curves instead of hugging them. Her black hair poured down her shoulders, clipped up against her temple on either side of her head with bobby pins so her hair would frame her face.

Simple. That was how she would have described herself.

Yamakazi, though he had a steady girlfriend, could have told anyone otherwise. Even Chiharu would agree, he knew. Daidouji-san was not the type of girl of whom other girls were jealous, fearing that she would steal their boyfriends. She was the type of girl whom males and females alike admired for her statuesque, unreal beauty; they saw a perfect girl with the most beautiful smile and complexion and eyes and hair.

"Yes, I am," the girl replied.

So few saw her as anything but perfect. Only Sakura-chan, Li-kun, and… that boy.

Again, her thoughts brought her to him. No. She would not think of him, not now, not during the ceremony, and certainly not during the reception.

There was another boy offering her his arm, and in this moment she needed to perform her duty – her final duty, perhaps, to her best friend.

She took his arm, and they walked to wait in front of the closed double doors, waiting for their cue.

"You look very beautiful, Daidouj-san," he said.

"Thank you, Yamakazi-kun," she replied.

The doors opened, and they began their slow walk to the altar.

The ceremony had been a blur.

She remembered bits and pieces, especially the final sequence:

"I do."

Sakura's eyes shone, her face beamed, her entire body, swathed in lacey white, seemed to emanate brilliance as she looked into Syaoran's eyes.

"I do."

He looked tenderly down at her, cinnamon brown eyes full of love.

"You may now kiss the bride."

She watched with a sort of fascinated horror, bracing for the deluge of hurt and pain she was sure would come at that moment.

But it never came.

It nagged at her. She could have sworn she felt relief. A strange feeling, at Sakura-chan's wedding.

She sat at the long table alone, everyone else having gone to dance. Couples swarmed over the dance floor. The song was slow, now, and they had their arms wrapped around each other as they swayed slowly, gently, the girls looking so contented, the boys looking so gently protective.

She could feel people watching her. Single girls at weddings were always singled out, either with sympathy or veiled contempt, though she supposed this wedding was a bit different since the bride and groom were still young. Still, the stigma was there, and she saw older women whispering, listened as the occasional older lady told her kindly that she would be next, and ignored the drunken men leering at her.

"May I have this dance?"

For a split second, she thought it was him. That he had come, completely disrupting her goal not to think about his arrival, not to look for his tall, dark figure in the crowd. But then the voice registered; a voice not quite as low as his, not quite as mature, and she looked up.

Li-kun stood in front of her, hand extended. Sakura-chan slid into the seat next to her, gratefully sipping water. She smiled encouragingly at Tomoyo.

"Yes," Tomoyo replied, standing. "Of course."

They stayed along the edge of the dance floor. The song was slow but not sensual or romantic, a perfect song for a gentleman to dance with a lady with no implications.

"Thank you," he said.

Their eyes met, and both saw in the each other the millions of words of appreciation that never needed to be said.

She gave him a small smile.

"I'll be good to her."

"I know."

Silence reigned.

The song ended and she inclined her head in thanks, then moved back towards the table – but he caught her hand.

"One more."

His eyes pleaded with her.

Another song began, and she put her arm back around him in silent consent.

"Were you happy with him?"

Startled, she missed a step. He righted her gracefully.

After a moment, she said, "Sometimes." And it was the truth.

He was silent. She glanced at his face, meeting his considering gaze, allowing him to find the words he wanted to say.

"If you can be happy with him," he said finally, "It would mean the world to me and Sakura."

"I know."

Another silent minute, then, "You're up next, aren't you?"

"Yes."

Then the second song ended and he gave her a brief hug before letting her go, and as the DJ began his string of banalities before he introduced Tomoyo, she made her way back to the table for a sip of water.

As the groom had done, the bride also caught her in a tight hug.

"I love you," Sakura whispered into her best friend's jet black hair, her voice muffled but her meaning absolutely clear.

Tomoyo's eyes welled, but the dull ache she had always felt when Sakura expressed any type of love for her did not appear.

"I love you too, Sakura-chan." The moment seemed to last a lifetime.

She broke from her best friend in the world, in her life, just as the DJ announced her name.

"Daidouji Tomoyo!"

And with the tears still in her eyes, the strange relief still in her heart, and butterflies in her stomach, Tomoyo made her way onstage. Distantly, she felt herself turn on the microphone, stand up straight, and take a deep breath.

She sang.

She pushed the double doors open gently, her steps determinedly steady as she walked down the hallway.

She had done it. She had sung at Sakura-chan's wedding alone.

She had sung at Sakura-chan's wedding without tears.

She had sung at Sakura-chan's wedding without that faint feeling of betrayal that had haunted her for so long.

Pausing for a moment in front of the gorgeous, blown-up picture of Li-kun and Sakura-chan labeled with the words "Li Wedding" in gorgeous calligraphy, she reached out with two fingers, delicately placing them on Sakura-chan's face.

There was still something inside of her that brought the sting to the corner of her eyes.

"It's a beautiful picture," came a low voice.

Somehow, despite everything she tried to tell herself earlier, she wasn't surprised.

"You're a little late," she said, without turning.

"Not that late," he said, coming closer. She could feel him, mere steps behind her.

"I saw you."

What did he mean? She pulled her hand from the photograph, her hand clenching.

He came closer.

"I saw you sing, Tomoyo. I saw your eyes as you sang, as you looked at her." He swallowed, as if he were nervous.

Hiiragizawa Eriol, nervous?

"I thought it would be enough for me to come and see you once more," he continued. He gave a short bark of laughter. "Maybe you would see me."

She bit her lip.

He's trying to tell me something. He's talking to me again, not like a stranger after I said –

After what I said.

She knew what he felt. Of course he was nervous. He might have been half the reincarnation of Clow Reed, and in so many ways worldly and otherworldly, but his other half, the inexperienced, teenage half, grounded him in humanity.

And human emotions were… tricky.

How did I sing tonight? she asked herself again. Could she really be that selfless? She always thought she could be, but she remembered a hallway just like this, so many months ago.

Her eyes had found him so many times earlier. Her eyes searched for him, for the reassurance that he was there, and maybe something more. Something inside had her told her that he was here tonight – was what he said really a surprise?

No.

She was still human, in the end. Not a robot. Not a martyr. She was alive, and breathing, and feeling, and… no longer wanting, not that way.

"I don't…" she started quietly.

He tensed behind her.

"I don't love her," she murmured, her eyes never leaving the picture of Sakura's shining face, her words so soft she wasn't sure if she actually said them aloud or not. "Not in that way." Words that were a revelation to her. "…not anymore." Words that at the same time amazed and explained everything to her.

She sensed him move behind her, then stop. Turning to face him, she stopped to gape at him.

More exactly, to gape at the massive bouquet of flowers he held in one hand.

"Are those…?"

He handed them gently to her, and she breathed in their scent. Emboldened, he stepped closer, one hand reaching out to cup her face. His thumb brushed a tear from below her eye – a tear she hadn't known was there. It all washed over her, in that one moment; apparently all that she felt on the inside had been mirrored on the outside.

He put his arms around her, gently, and she relaxed into his embrace, the veritable maelstrom of feelings and thoughts slowly settling.

She loved Sakura.

She loved Sakura, and she knew Sakura loved her as best she could.

She loved Sakura, yet she knew it was no longer – had it ever really been? – that kind of love.

She loved Sakura, and yet, there was this boy – no, she thought with a smile – this man holding her, understanding her, comforting her with his own way.

"Tomoyo," Eriol murmured into her ear, "I want to see you smile."

She brought the bouquet back up to her nose, adoring its scent and hiding the grin that grew on her face behind the blossoms.

"Why?" she asked impishly, eyes sparkling as they met his, knowing what his answer would be.

"Because," he said, pushing the flowers gently down, "I think I love you." He bent his head down, clearly intent on a kiss, but she stopped him with a finger across his lips.

"You think?"

His hand came up to thread his fingers through hers, pulling her hand away from her mouth, leaving it open for his.

His lips met hers – and she knew what to expect this time.

When they finally broke apart, he looked at her very seriously, and she wondered what he could possibly want, after that.

"Would you like me to take you home?"

He remembered. She smiled.

"Yes, thank you, Hiiragi-"

He stopped her with a kiss.

A delighted peal of laughter rang down the hallway.

My prince.

"Eriol."

"Tomoyo."

Author's Note: Oh, my blessed gods, I am done, I am done, I am done! (hyperventilates) I have NEVER finished a multi-part fic in my life… Please review if you read it, even if you don't like it- I really appreciate any feedback I get… I'll love you all forever and ever… Ultimately, if anyone was watching the POV change, I decided to stick with an entirely Tomoyo ending, since the story, I've always felt, is her story, and Eriol is merely a prominent supporting character. I had written a bit of Eriol POV for this last bit, but it didn't work at all. The Cheese Factor is strong at the end here, but well… I can't help it. It's the end of an angsty romantic fic. shrugs

Much love to everyone who has followed this two-year work and reviewed.

Anybody interested in beta-ing my CCS and RK stories (especially RK, right now), let me know with an email, a review, or im me through AIM: anamotari.