from skybluescramble:
Hello fellas :)
It`s now three at the morning and I`m just back from my jitty-wiggy summer camp! ;D
Tired, yeah. I`m bloody hell tired and I think I`ll catch a flu by tomorrow (something`s wrong with my body, I know it), but I`m so happy that my reviews reached the number 100 :D
Now, I`m going with the names, as usual, to thank my awesome reviewers: Haine-91, James Birdsong, otan, cheng, Seirin, asga, tomoyo-amethyst, RanKoudou, krazypig91, Krissy (whoa :O you left me three reviews in a row ! BIG hug !), KiNoMoTo18, XxsTrInGz N' kEyZxX (your name is so difficult to re-type -_-" , but I was surprised that you left so many reviews :)) love you ), grahamcracker-xx, shinigamiotaku, and coolbound.
Then, for my beta-reader: Irrevocable Truth. Okay, so my biggest problem is verb tense. Give me some lessons, girl *ducks head on the desk
Still, maybe it isn`t the kinda update you`d expected from me, but...
Please read. And leave some reviews, if you please.
You know I`m not forcing :))
DISCLAIMER:
As usual, me skybluescramble didn`t - don`t – won`t own Card Captor Sakura.
How pitiful =_="
::The Proposal::
::::::::::::::
SUMMARY:
"You just admit that actually you like our little conversations?" He asked her, failing to hide the teasing sign in it.
.
.
CHAPTER #10: Pushing Luck
"I`M AFRAID I can promise you nothing, Tomoyo-chan," Sakura said apologetically on the other side of the phone. "Staying for one night is fine with everyone, but for months… I`m not sure Syaoran`s family will be alright with that."
"I know it`s difficult," Tomoyo sighed, her free hand brushing away the bangs which had grown a bit too long and block hereyes. "But please, Sakura-chan, could you—at least—give it a try? Ask Mei Lin first; if she shows no sign of rejection you can put more effort into it. I suppose they're the type of family who spell things out from the beginning."
Tomoyo felt the Cherry Blossom nod. "Thanks. I`ll call you later, Tomoyo-chan! We are going to go to the church soon!"
Click.
Today was Kaho Mizuki`s big day. Li Syaoran, Tsukishiro Yukito, Kero and The Kinomotos had taken their flight to England days before. Tomoyo, on the contrary, had decided not to come along; instead she wrote a congratulatory letter and left the rest to Sakura. Lately she didn`t feel good. Her morning sickness came every ten minutes, and it wouldn`t stop until noon. Eriol hadn`t contacted her again since the unpleasant incident at Hiiragizawa manor`s library—not that she minded. Had it not been for Nakuru who visited her everyday and chatted about anything, everything, like there was no tomorrow, she could even say the days were quite peaceful. A bit too plain, though, seeing that she now had no job. Nevertheless, Nakuru always came at ten o`clock sharp with a small backpack, which Spinel would fly out from later, fuming as it stumbled in the air because of dizziness. She was annoyed by the fact Eriol didn`t want to talk to her—and to Spinel, too—and she told Tomoyo that Hiiragizawa manor was as gloomy as a graveyard (at this, Spinel interrupted by saying as though it was possible to make a place where Nakuru lived quiet and gloomy, and the Moon Guardian gave an exasperated shriek).
However, Nakuru`s constant visits still left them many things to talk about, and yesterday she pointed out a thing that surprisingly didn`t even pass Tomoyo`s mind before.
"Ng… it is only Sakura-chan in the Kinomoto family who knows about your pregnancy, right, Tomoyo-chan?" Nakuru put a curled palm under her chin, eyes unfocused. "You didn`t tell Touya or whoever else, ne?"
The raven-haired Daidouji nodded. "Can`t. Don`t have enough courage to do so, I suppose."
"Are you planning to let them know by themselves?"
"No, I will tell them. But not in this kind of condition." Her forefinger pointed at her stomach. "Maybe after I give birth…" she paused there, as if thinking over the possibility to cover her pregnancy that long.
"Then you need to hide," Nakuru suggested as she gazed at the ceiling, misty-eyed. "Or stay away as far as you can from them."
"Did you just say I should be a caveman?" Tomoyo blinked in disbelief. Although chatting with Nakuru sometimes annoyed her because she was usually slow on the uptake, it was three times better and relaxing compared to the conversations she had with the Hiiragizawa man.
"If Touya-kun or Li-kun sees you with a bulging stomach, they need no less than three seconds to grasp the fact behind your sudden relationship with my master. It won`t do any good, will it?" Nakuru said as she remembered how Tomoyo told her yesterday that maybe Touya and Syaoran didn`t really believe Eriol`s word, and was still having their nose upon it. This sentence was welcomed by a small clap given by Spinel`s tiny front legs.
"I wonder how your brain works just now."
However, Tomoyo couldn`t see the funny side in that comment. Her stomach plummeted right after Nakuru mentioned the `stomach bulging` thing, which would be an inevitable change in her appearance by a few weeks. She felt panic rise up through her veins.
"So…" Tomoyo said in a mere whisper, "I have at least two options."
"I`m afraid it`s only two."
"Hang on, hang on!" Nakuru bugged in with a confused look. "I don`t get it. What options? Why suddenly there are some of them?"
Spinel fell down from a mountainous pile of books in a comical way, and when it got up, it gave Nakuru a very strange look. "You`re impossible, Ruby Moon." It muttered in disbelief before climbing its way back to the top of the book mountain. Turning back attention to Tomoyo (and ignoring Nakuru who pouted and puffed her cheeks in annoyance), Spinel said, "What will you do, then, Miss Tomoyo?"
Tomoyo shifted backward, leaning her back against a huge pillow as she ran a hand through her unruly hair. She then stood up, approached the window and drew the lacey thin curtain to get a clear view of the street below (her room was at the second floor of her two-storied small rent house). "I need to hide from Sakura and her family… or make them stay away without knowing anything, right?"
"Something like that," Spinel nodded.
She reckoned hiding from the Kinomotos—plus a Li and a Tsukishiro—with them roaming in Tomoeda was almost impossible, so she had to set an alternative plan. She turned around to face Spinel and Nakuru, and said with decisive tone, "I`ll call Sakura. I want her to try asking Li`s family whether it`s okay if they stay in China for a while… or not."
Tomoyo ran to her desk to grab her planner. She scribbled `calling Sakura` on the list.
"She`ll help. She has to."
Nakuru and Spinel exchanged glances.
SNAPPING her phone shut, Tomoyo took a deep breath. She hoped everything would go well. If it didn`t… she'd have to squeeze her brain once more. And the prospect of thinking hard but bearing nothing unpleased her. She was about to prepare for the worst when her stomach churned for the fifth time this morning. Cursing silently, Tomoyo dashed to the washstand, puking. She rubbed her mouth with a damp hand, staring at the clock as she pushed her hair backwards. Three minutes to ten o`clock. Nakuru would come soon… as usual.
Ting tong.
Nah, the doorbell.
Grumpily, Tomoyo marched towards the front door. A thought flashed through her mind: perhaps she should give Nakuru a copy of her key… if she was planning to continue this daily visit.
"You really come every—" Tomoyo spoke as she opened the door, but her sentence was left unfinished. Instead she stared aghast, her jaw dropped. There, before her, stood Eriol Hiiragizawa, far more disheveled than ever (Tomoyo could see his eyes were red and drowsy, his clothes wrinkled—with sleeves rolled up to his elbow, two buttons undone, and only half of his shirt tucked in—and his hair tousled). Not to mention he looked extremely tired. Not knowing what best to say, the first thing that blurted out of her mouth after recomposing herself from shock was…
"What are you doing here?"
"It`s a free country."
"That`s not even called an answer, Hiiragizawa." Tomoyo protested, but he gently pushed her aside and entered the house. She fell silent, her eyes tailed his movement as he walked across the living room. Her heart magically lightened as she watched his stiff back relax, and Eriol turned around to face her.
"Let`s go."
"What?" said Tomoyo in confusion. "Go? Where to? Look—I have no idea why you were standing on my doorstep and now you're asking me to go—oh…"
Tomoyo gasped, realization hit her hard, maybe with the same force that she used to slap her forehead seconds later. Her checkup schedule. Today. She almost forgot it. She stared at the man standing four meters in front of her, wide-eyed and without blinking. According to the routine reports—or maybe those were supposed to be lamentations—Nakuru told her, he was still on the state of `Isolating Himself` until yesterday. How could he come here by any chance?
And then she remembered the wedding.
"Are you alright?" Her asking voice was only a bit higher than whisper.
"What?" he said, brows twitching.
A blush crept up Tomoyo`s cheeks and she hoped it wasn`t clearly noticeable. "Well—you didn't seem good a few days ago, so I was wondering whether you`re alright or not…"
His chuckling voice startled her.
"That`s it?" he said. "Come on, Daidouji-san… you know me."
But the only thing she knew very well about Eriol Hiiragizawa was he was just as bunged up as her whenever it comes to revealing feelings. That was why, even though deeply embarrassed, she wasn`t going to believe his words. She knew he wasn`t okay in the slightest. And she couldn`t understand why he was here right now, picking her up.
"I promised to take care of you. We had a deal about it."
Tomoyo went rigid. Did he read her mind? Could he do such thing? For real?
"Go change," he said again, this time his tone sounded commanding. "We`ll go in fifteen minutes. But I`ll be happy if you can make it ten…"
As she got dressed, Tomoyo wondered why her heart sank when she heard him say it was because they had a deal that he came.
THEY walked side by side, taking the fresh air of Sunday afternoon at the city park, a twenty- minute ride from the hospital. Doctor Rokuonji told them she was in good condition, but she needed some exercises to strengthen her pregnancy. Eriol asked him what`d he reckon about it, and the answer came casually.
"There are some classes given by professional trainers, but I think a simple daily walk will do. It`s much cheaper, isn`t it? Plus, you could always find something interesting as you watch other people doing their activities."
So, without dilly-dallying Eriol took Tomoyo to the city park nearby and they strolled together, enjoying nice breezes sweep over them, playing with her long, dark locks. She stopped walking when they passed a group of children creating a sand castle. A smile formed on her lips automatically.
"They`re so carefree," she murmured.
"Yeah," Eriol agreed. He was tracing back his steps after recognizing that she no longer walked beside him. "I wonder if we ever had such innocence like them."
Tomoyo laughed. "You wonder if you ever had one."
He just smiled at her response and didn`t argue. This made Tomoyo feel guilty… and uneasy. "Sorry."
"What for? Chill out, maybe you`re right after all."
"You didn`t sound like yourself," Tomoyo turned on her heels, facing him as she finally let out what was inside her mind. She held up her head to meet his stare, and for a moment she faltered after seeing those eyes glazed. "What`s wrong? Why don`t you say anything back? You are weird today, Hiiragizawa. I know it."
"I`m okay."
Geez. He was as persistent as her.
"No, you are not," she snapped. "Usually you will retort with the same—maybe more—annoying word and cocky tone which makes me wish to stomp on your face, and then we`ll end up in forever arguments. Where did that exasperating man go?"
Eriol blinked several times before cracking a broad grin.
"You just admit that actually you like our little conversations?" He asked her, failing to hide the teasing sign in it. Tomoyo sighed. He was back into his `normal mode` again but…
"Don`t blow up your ego, Hiiragizawa."
"When will you stop lying?"
"When will you stop teasing me?" She glared at him, although not seriously, because—believe it or not—she was glad he wasn`t glum anymore. "Sheesh… we give those kids an improper kind of show."
He smiled as he took her hand in his. "Come on. I`ll buy you ice creams…"
"Ice creams?"
"One for each," he said lightly, pointing to her stomach with his free hand. Tomoyo was about to say something when her cellphone buzzed. She hurriedly dug inside her bag, flicked the phone open and said hello.
"Sakura?" Her eyes grew big with anticipation. Tomoyo could see Eriol move closer, leaning down as if he was trying to hear the conversation. "What`s the matter?"
"Tomoyo-chan! You`re safe! You`re safe!" Sakura cheered merrily on the other side of the phone. Her voice was a bit low, though. Was it because of the poor connection or something else?
"What do you mean? Of course I`m safe, it`s not like I`m a target of terrorism or what…" she said confusedly. "And by the way, why is it your voice is so weak? I cannot hear it well."
"Apparently, I`m whispering. It`s because I`m afraid of someone here overhearing my call," Sakura replied, a bit too quickly. "Really, Tomoyo-chan, you`re going to be safe from my brother and Syaoran`s interrogation… and Eriol, from their tantrums."
It was as though someone clicked a lamp in her brain.
"Hang on—they say you can stay? You asked them?"
"There`s a small difference, though."
"Tell me."
"You won`t believe me."
"Just… spit it out."
"Syaoran proposed to me."
Surprised, Tomoyo couldn`t think of an answer. Instead she turned her face to look at the Sorcerer beside her, whose eyes glinted with unreadable meaning and lips pursed into a trademark smirk of his.
"Wow," she said, reverting her attention to the phone call. "Congratulations. It`s just… wow. Amazing."
"I know," Sakura said with a clear hint of happiness. "Can`t believe it either. Touya-nii-chan looked pissed, matter-of-fact. Yet he showed no rejection or similar kind of thing at all! I know he doesn`t like Syaoran that much, but—but…"
"I got the rub, Sakura-chan. Calm down, don`t bob up and down like a child begging for her red balloon." Tomoyo giggled at her best friend`s overexcited voice.
"I don`t—hey! How could you know I`m bobbing up and down?"
"No idea. I was just picturing you talk on the phone."
"Okay, whatever," Sakura gave up, letting out a fake sigh of annoyance. It wasn`t the first time she ran out of words when involved in arguments with Tomoyo. "My brother is amazing, though. Always putting my happiness on the top of his list…"
Yeah, that sounded very Touya, Tomoyo smiled, nodding her head even though she knew Sakura couldn`t see her reaction.
For a moment both of them fell quiet.
Later, Tomoyo decided to break the silence. "When did that happen?"
"Huh?"
"His proposal."
"Five hours ago or so," the Card Mistress said after some pause. Perhaps she just checked her wristwatch. "You know, I need to calm down myself before telling you this news… otherwise I could suffocate. My heart's beating like crazy."
Tomoyo couldn`t help but feel aslight touch of jealousy. Receiving aproposal from someone who loved you the most was too good… yet for her it maybe was only an empty dream. Who will be brave enough to ask a Daidouji for marriage, anyway? Although she was no longer staying in the Daidouji mansion… people still treated her overly for her name. And those rich blokes usually saw her only as another source of money. No love. As long as they got the pride of marrying a Daidouji, anything would do.
Sheesh. What a life.
"Then? Why did you say I`m going to be safe?"
"Ah… that`s the later part!" Sakura chirped. "Listen, thanks to Mei Lin, Syaoran`s family seems so eager to have us get married soon. So, they asked us—all of us—to stay here in order to prepare our Big Day and choose the right date! We`re not coming back to Tomoeda until everything`s settled!"
Tomoyo found her unable to name anything as coincidental as this.
.
.to be continued