SN: No SN today! Happy? -_-*

.:: Winter Wonderland- Chapter 5 ::.



Key:

"--" talking

'--' thinking

_--_ enforced words/italics

***--*** scene change

~*~--~*~ flashback

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The stars all began to move in one direction....into Eriol's direction. Sakura stared at Eriol in shock. The stars were returning to Eriol's body. The stars returning to his body made Eriol look like he was glowing. (SN: I know, guys. That sounded SO retarded, but I'm trying to get you guys to visualize what's going on. ^^) In a matter of minutes, it was daylight out again. Everyone stayed quiet for a while.

"Okay, Eriol. What the _hell_ was that?" Syaoran asked, holding Sakura's hand. "A second ago, it was dark out, and now all of a sudden, it's daylight! What the hell is going on?" He gently squeezed Sakura's hand. Sakura glanced at Syaoran. He had an angry expression on his face. Eriol stood there, looking at Syaoran emotionlessly. Tomoyo subtly tugged at his shirt, trying to hint that he should tell them. Eriol sighed.

"I guess my magic didn't last as long as I thought it would." Eriol said flatly.

"What?!?" Syaoran exclaimed.

"Did you just say....magic??" Sakura asked.

"Yes, I believe I did." Eriol said.

"Wait a sec. Why did you use magic?" Syaoran asked suspiciously. Eriol gave an evil grin. "You were up to something, weren't you?" Eriol had that same grin on his face and crossed his arms.

"Hmm....let's see. The last time I checked, I think I _was_ up to something." Eriol said.

"What the hell was your plan?" Syaoran yelled out. Tomoyo suddenly cried out.

"Stop it, Syaoran!! Don't get mad at him. It was me too." Tomoyo said, blushing in embarrasment.

"Tomoyo?!? You too?" Syaoran asked.

"Yes. Me too. I just had to." Tomoyo said, feeling a slight guilt.

"Tomoyo....you? Scheming with Eriol? But...why?" Sakura asked, a confused expression on her face. Tomoyo kept her gaze away from Sakura's. She hung her head and looked at the glistening snow on the ground.

"Come on, guys. What were you up to?" Syaoran asked, calming down a little. Tomoyo took a deep breath. But before she could say anything, Eriol cut in.

"Isn't it obvious what our scheme was? It was to get you people to admit your feelings for each other and get together!!!" Eriol said. Sakura and Syaoran slightly blushed.

"Yeah. We meant well." Tomoyo said.

"Care to explain how this all started?" Syaoran asked. Tomoyo sighed. "Let's sit down first." Syaoran suggested. Everyone did just that. "Okay, now. Let's start all the way from the beginning."

"Well, it all started one day...." Tomoyo began.

~*~Flashback~*~

Eriol was on the phone with Tomoyo. They had been talking about Sakura and Syaoran and had been trying to come up with a foolproof plan to get them together. Finally, after an hour on the phone, they had finally figured it out.

"Okay, Tomoyo. This is the plan. You're going to Sakura's house on Christmas Eve, right?"

"Yeah."

"And I'm going to Syaoran's house on Christmas Eve too."

"Okay."

"Okay. Then, you suggest to her that you go ice skating. Then, when she agrees with you, you wait awhile. You'll then suggest that you invite me and Syaoran to go ice skating with you guys. Then, I'll use my magic to make it seem like the Tomoeda Ice Rink is closed when it's really not. When we get there and see that it's supposedly closed, I'll suggest that we go somewhere and that we take a shortcut through the woods. Then, that's where the real magic will begin." Eriol said, satisfaction clearly present in his voice.

"Great!!" Tomoyo said happily. Soon, they hung up the phone. Tomoyo gushed with joy. 'Finally!! Sakura will be able to admit for feelings for Syaoran!! This is perfect!!' Tomoyo thought. That night, she slept like a baby.

~*~End Flashback~*~

Sakura and Syaoran were both dumbfounded. They couldn't believe their ears. They had mixed feelings. They felt happy because they finally admitted their feelings for each other, but then again, they were mad because Eriol _and_ Tomoyo had planned this out. But how could they stay mad at them? After all, if it weren't for Eriol and Tomoyo, Sakura and Syaoran might not have admitted their feelings for each other by now. A slight silence fell upon them.

"So....are you mad at us?" Tomoyo asked in a quiet voice. Sakura got up from her seat and hugged Tomoyo. "Sakura? What...."

"Thank you." Sakura whispered into Tomoyo's ear. Tomoyo loosened up and smiled. She hugged her best friend back. They separated. Tomoyo stood up.

"I knew I was doing the right thing." Tomoyo said proudly. Sakura and Tomoyo hugged again. They sat back down. Sakura took hold of Syaoran's hand again.

"Well, Syaoran. I guess that for once, they actually did us a favor." Sakura said. She giggled.

"Yeah. Hard to believe, isn't it?" Syaoran said. He gave a soft laugh. Eriol glared at him.

"And I also see that not only did it bring us together, but it also brought two other people together." Sakura said, eyeing Eriol and Tomoyo. They blushed. Eriol changed the subject.

"Okay. Enough talk. Let's get home." Eriol said, standing up.

"But, Eriol....how are we supposed to get home?" Sakura asked.

"You'll see." Eriol said, smirking. He then said an incantation. Suddenly, a pathway unfold through the woods. "Now...just follow the path and we'll get home." Eriol said, smiling. Soon, they had walked back to where they first started out....in front of Tomoeda Ice Rink. With the magic already worn off, everyone saw the ice rink open.

"Hey, guys. Let's go ice skating!" Tomoyo said excitedly.

"Again?!?" Eriol said whiningly. (SN: hehee...can you imagine Eriol whining?)

"Yeah! And you're coming with me!!" Tomoyo said, taking Eriol by the hand, leading him into the ice rink.

"You wanna go skate, Syaoran?" Sakura asked.

"Sure, why not?" Syaoran said. They walked into the ice rink, hand in hand.

*** Later that day ***

Mother nature had laid her blanket of darkness upon the world and had set the fireflies of heaven free. (SN: For all you ppl out there that are slower than me, the "fireflies of heaven" are stars.) They blinked in the sky while Sakura, Syaoran, Eriol, and Tomoyo gazed at them. They all sat on a park bench. Everyone sat quietly, staring out at the stars. Tomoyo spoke.

"I know I sound like a broken record, but this really was a magical day."

"Yeah, I couldn't agree more." Sakura said.

"And it was all thanks to me..." Eriol said with satisfaction in his voice.

"Oh, shut up, Eriol." Syaoran said.

"Well...it's true!!" Syaoran rolled his eyes at Eriol. It was silent again. Then Syaoran spoke. "Hey, guys. You don't need to get me anything for Christmas anymore."

"Why's that?" Tomoyo asked, curious to find out.

"Because, I already got the gift that was number one on my wish list."

"And what was that?" Eriol asked, although he already knew the answer.

"A cherry blossom. _This_ cherry blossom." Syaoran said, looking into Sakura's eyes. Her emerald eyes began to water. She hugged him and cried tears of happiness. She never knew happiness....or love....like this before. They separated from their hug. Syaoran wiped away her tears. Sakura spoke softly.

"It really is true....this really is a winter wonderland."

*****

THE END

*****

SN: *takes a bow* Thank you! Thank you! Thanks to all who read and reviewed my fic!!! I appreciate all of your reviews!!! Thank you soooo much. I don't know how I would've been able to go on without them! Hope you guys enjoyed my fic!!!! Thanks for reading! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!! Luv Sapphie!!! Jaa!! ^.~