A/N: *begs* Review! Please! It'd make me so happy! Also, I need to see if this fic is worth continuing. Please be free with your opinions! Not so free if they're horrible, of course... ^_^ Review!
Disclaimer: CCS doesn't belong to me, although they're on my Christmas list.
Chapter 1
"Tomoyo-chan! You're here!"
"Well, I can hardly miss my best friend's wedding reception, ne?" Tomoyo gave a wan smile. She really should have stayed home tonight. Emotional trauma can hardly be good for her.
Sakura hooked her arm with Tomoyo's. "Let's go in! It's cold out here."
Tomoyo let Sakura pull her toward the brightly lit ballroom. "Well," Sakura chattered happily. "When you said that you had a headache after the wedding, I thought, 'oh no, Tomoyo needs her rest'. But you came!"
Tomoyo chuckled. "I'm sure I can last a couple of hours for you."
Their high heels clicked briskly across the marble floor. Tomoyo and Sakura entered a incredibly large golden room. "It's beautiful." Tomoyo said politely. "You chose a wonderful place to hold the reception."
Sakura blushed. "Meilin said her friend held a reception here and it was lovely. So Syaoran and I came to look at it, and we both agreed that it was perfect. Come on, you sit with us."
Tomoyo was met with delight by the groom and his best man. "Daidouji-san!"
"Hiiragizawa-kun, Kaho-san." Tomoyo greeted. "Congratulations, Li-kun."
Syaoran blushed as Sakura reattached herself to his side. "Thanks."
* * * * *
Tomoyo rubbed her forehead, making sure no one saw her pained expression. The evening seemed to drag on, and if it hadn't been unseemly for the bride of honor to leave so early in the reception, Tomoyo would be in her apartment by now, happily taking sleeping pills. But, as it was..
"Daidouji-san, can I trouble you for this dance?" Tomoyo looked up and pasted a smile on her face. "I'd rather not, Hiiragizawa-kun."
"Call me Eriol," he said, frowning slightly. "Are you feeling alright, Daidouji-san? You look rather pale. And really, you haven't danced with anyone all night. Surely you can manage one for your old friend?" Tomoyo sighed inwardly. To refuse a second time really would be rude. "Of course."
He was a very good dancer, Tomoyo mused as they spun across the dance floor. She supposed that a hundred year's practice could do that for you. "Well," she said conversationally. "My congratulations on you getting back together with Kaho-san." Eriol raised an eyebrow. "And what gave you that idea, my dear Daidouji-san?"
"She is your date tonight."
"That's a mere technicality. We seperated a few months ago, and that was final. We are just.. friends now."
"And you're not happy with that." Tomoyo phrased it as a question, but her tone implied it was a statement.
Eriol smiled wryly. "Her happiness is my happiness." he quoted. Tomoyo could make no reply to that.
* * * * *
The door swung open on a darkened apartment. Tomoyo flicked on the hall light and dropped her small purse by the door. Though she was a neat person by nature, and her single apartment was immaculate, tonight she was in no mood to be perfect. Her high heels soon joined the purse, and Tomoyo padded barefoot to her bathroom. She filled the large bathtub with water, and dumped half a cup of bubbles in. Quickly undressing, Tomoyo sank into the scaldingly hot water, relaxing for the first time in weeks. She mused over the past month as the steam from the water rose up. Half a year ago, Syaoran had proposed to Sakura on one of their vacations to the mountains. Sakura had come back, beaming and showing her engagement ring to her congratulating friends. And of course, Tomoyo got the honor of being the first to find out. From then on, the next sixth months had been a flurry of activity, and, to Tomoyo, a bloody good preview of Hell. There was the wedding to plan, the all-important guest list, the reception, and of course, the honeymoon. The last subject had been a rather sticky one. If you mentioned it to Syaoran, he'd immediately become suspicious that he was being mocked. If you mentioned it to Sakura, she'd turned a bright enough color to rival Syaoran, and stutter for the next few sentences. And, of course, if you were unlucky and foolish enough to mention it to Tomoyo, you'd get a icy smile and a stony silence. Eriol, in one of his more mischevious moods, had tried all three, and become more than paid back for it when Li had punched him, Sakura had given him one of her extremely rare looks, and Tomoyo became coldly polite to him for the next week or so. It was hard to have your partner in crime ignore you so subtly.
* * * * *
The ringing of her cell phone woke Tomoyo the next morning. Muttering some rather unladylike words under her breath, Tomoyo's hand reached out from her warm covers and grabbed the subject of her irritation. "Hello?"
"Daidouji-san?"
"Eriol-kun? What do you want?"
"Is that any way to greet someone who wants the pleasure of your company?"
"Did you have to want it now? What time is it?"
"It's 9:30 in the morning. Did I wake you?"
"Yes." Tomoyo replied crossly.
"Well, good." Eriol answered cheerfully. "It's about time you awoke. Were you planning to spend the whole morning sulking?"
"Who's sulking?"
"You are, my dear." His tone became considerably gentler. "Sweetheart, you are grieving over Sakura-chan, and it's understandable. But you can't waste your life away longing for her."
"You mean, the way you yearn for Kaho-san every day of your life since she left you?"
A chilly silence. "That was uncalled for, Daidouji-san."
Tomoyo sighed. "Well, it's something to think about, isn't it?"
"If you say so, Daidouji-san. Go back to sleep."
"Eriol-kun?"
The dial tone was her only answer. Tomoyo sighed. Just another bother to add to her actively growing pile. This was shaping up to be a great day. Tomoyo threw her phone out and buried herself deep in the comforting blankets.
* * * * *
The atmosphere of the building radiated busyness and importance. Daidouji Tomoyo fit perfectly into the place. Wearing a gray business suit and carrying a sleek black suitcase, the young lady made an impressive figure. She grabbed a mug of coffee of the tray a passing waitress was carrying and made her way to her private office. Once seated, she began the day's work. "Sophie!"
"Yes, Miss Tomoyo?"
"I've decided on a design for the new set of dolls. Would you mind taking them down to Daidouji-san's office?"
"Right away, ma'am."
Working at her mother's company had brought up some unexpected problems, the least of which was the name. Having two top executives with the same name was bound to cause some confusion, so Tomoyo became Miss Tomoyo, Designing Executive, and Sonomi was to remain Daidouji-san, CEO of the Daidouji Toys. It worked out fine, and all involved were reasonably satisfied with it. Tomoyo was buried deep in a new design featuring a young doll with a familiar looking stuffed animal. Kero-chan had been absolutely thrilled that he was going to have his own toy line. He had given Tomoyo hundreds of "helpful" tips before she was forced to hang up on him and then, later, blame a power outage that went through the neighborhood. Sophie poked her head into Tomoyo's office. She was middle aged and motherly looking. The latter was an accurate description. On the days, and there were many, where Sonomi was overworking herself and much too busy to think of her only child, Sophie was the one who gently urged Tomoyo to get some sleep. "You have a visitor, Miss Tomoyo." Sophie announced with a twinkle in her eyes. Tomoyo studied her curiously, but Sophie refused to give away anything else. Tomoyo sighed. "Send them in."
* * * * *
Tomoyo wrapped her slim hands around a steaming cup of coffee. They were sitting in her outer office, Tomoyo's back to a wall sized window. She gave Eriol a hard look, but he was busy stirring cream and sugar into his cup. "Eriol-kun," she said finally. "I thought we agreed not to visit each other at our workplaces." Eriol smiled at her over his cup. "Wrong, Miss Tomoyo." he replied smoothly. "You agreed for me not to visit you at your workplace. We never said anything about you not coming to visit me."
"Still," she argued. "The point stands. You're here now." 'The thing was a little unfair,' an annoying voice said sorrowfully. 'After all, it's not Eriol-kun's fault that for weeks after he took you out to lunch that one day, everyone in the office was abuzz with gossip and your own mother thought that you two were romantically involved. And it didn't help that Eriol just smiled maddingly when anyone asked about his relationship to Miss Tomoyo.'
Tomoyo sighed and gave Eriol a stern look. "May I assume that you've come for a reason?" she asked politely.
"You may." Eriol allowed. "I wanted to ask how you're doing." Tomoyo's hands shook, but her voice was carefully steady. "I'm fine, Eriol-kun. Why wouldn't I be?"
"Sakura-chan is on her honeymoon with Li-kun right now."
"I'm perfectly aware of that, Eriol-kun."
Eriol sighed and put his cup down. "Miss Tomoyo, when people hide their feelings, they have mental and emotional breakdowns."
Tomoyo stood up, a not-so-subtle gesture that she was tired of the present company. "In that case, Hiiragizawa-kun, I advise you to stop hiding your feelings."
Ending Notes: To be continued... if the reviews come in ^_^
C
Disclaimer: CCS doesn't belong to me, although they're on my Christmas list.
Chapter 1
"Tomoyo-chan! You're here!"
"Well, I can hardly miss my best friend's wedding reception, ne?" Tomoyo gave a wan smile. She really should have stayed home tonight. Emotional trauma can hardly be good for her.
Sakura hooked her arm with Tomoyo's. "Let's go in! It's cold out here."
Tomoyo let Sakura pull her toward the brightly lit ballroom. "Well," Sakura chattered happily. "When you said that you had a headache after the wedding, I thought, 'oh no, Tomoyo needs her rest'. But you came!"
Tomoyo chuckled. "I'm sure I can last a couple of hours for you."
Their high heels clicked briskly across the marble floor. Tomoyo and Sakura entered a incredibly large golden room. "It's beautiful." Tomoyo said politely. "You chose a wonderful place to hold the reception."
Sakura blushed. "Meilin said her friend held a reception here and it was lovely. So Syaoran and I came to look at it, and we both agreed that it was perfect. Come on, you sit with us."
Tomoyo was met with delight by the groom and his best man. "Daidouji-san!"
"Hiiragizawa-kun, Kaho-san." Tomoyo greeted. "Congratulations, Li-kun."
Syaoran blushed as Sakura reattached herself to his side. "Thanks."
* * * * *
Tomoyo rubbed her forehead, making sure no one saw her pained expression. The evening seemed to drag on, and if it hadn't been unseemly for the bride of honor to leave so early in the reception, Tomoyo would be in her apartment by now, happily taking sleeping pills. But, as it was..
"Daidouji-san, can I trouble you for this dance?" Tomoyo looked up and pasted a smile on her face. "I'd rather not, Hiiragizawa-kun."
"Call me Eriol," he said, frowning slightly. "Are you feeling alright, Daidouji-san? You look rather pale. And really, you haven't danced with anyone all night. Surely you can manage one for your old friend?" Tomoyo sighed inwardly. To refuse a second time really would be rude. "Of course."
He was a very good dancer, Tomoyo mused as they spun across the dance floor. She supposed that a hundred year's practice could do that for you. "Well," she said conversationally. "My congratulations on you getting back together with Kaho-san." Eriol raised an eyebrow. "And what gave you that idea, my dear Daidouji-san?"
"She is your date tonight."
"That's a mere technicality. We seperated a few months ago, and that was final. We are just.. friends now."
"And you're not happy with that." Tomoyo phrased it as a question, but her tone implied it was a statement.
Eriol smiled wryly. "Her happiness is my happiness." he quoted. Tomoyo could make no reply to that.
* * * * *
The door swung open on a darkened apartment. Tomoyo flicked on the hall light and dropped her small purse by the door. Though she was a neat person by nature, and her single apartment was immaculate, tonight she was in no mood to be perfect. Her high heels soon joined the purse, and Tomoyo padded barefoot to her bathroom. She filled the large bathtub with water, and dumped half a cup of bubbles in. Quickly undressing, Tomoyo sank into the scaldingly hot water, relaxing for the first time in weeks. She mused over the past month as the steam from the water rose up. Half a year ago, Syaoran had proposed to Sakura on one of their vacations to the mountains. Sakura had come back, beaming and showing her engagement ring to her congratulating friends. And of course, Tomoyo got the honor of being the first to find out. From then on, the next sixth months had been a flurry of activity, and, to Tomoyo, a bloody good preview of Hell. There was the wedding to plan, the all-important guest list, the reception, and of course, the honeymoon. The last subject had been a rather sticky one. If you mentioned it to Syaoran, he'd immediately become suspicious that he was being mocked. If you mentioned it to Sakura, she'd turned a bright enough color to rival Syaoran, and stutter for the next few sentences. And, of course, if you were unlucky and foolish enough to mention it to Tomoyo, you'd get a icy smile and a stony silence. Eriol, in one of his more mischevious moods, had tried all three, and become more than paid back for it when Li had punched him, Sakura had given him one of her extremely rare looks, and Tomoyo became coldly polite to him for the next week or so. It was hard to have your partner in crime ignore you so subtly.
* * * * *
The ringing of her cell phone woke Tomoyo the next morning. Muttering some rather unladylike words under her breath, Tomoyo's hand reached out from her warm covers and grabbed the subject of her irritation. "Hello?"
"Daidouji-san?"
"Eriol-kun? What do you want?"
"Is that any way to greet someone who wants the pleasure of your company?"
"Did you have to want it now? What time is it?"
"It's 9:30 in the morning. Did I wake you?"
"Yes." Tomoyo replied crossly.
"Well, good." Eriol answered cheerfully. "It's about time you awoke. Were you planning to spend the whole morning sulking?"
"Who's sulking?"
"You are, my dear." His tone became considerably gentler. "Sweetheart, you are grieving over Sakura-chan, and it's understandable. But you can't waste your life away longing for her."
"You mean, the way you yearn for Kaho-san every day of your life since she left you?"
A chilly silence. "That was uncalled for, Daidouji-san."
Tomoyo sighed. "Well, it's something to think about, isn't it?"
"If you say so, Daidouji-san. Go back to sleep."
"Eriol-kun?"
The dial tone was her only answer. Tomoyo sighed. Just another bother to add to her actively growing pile. This was shaping up to be a great day. Tomoyo threw her phone out and buried herself deep in the comforting blankets.
* * * * *
The atmosphere of the building radiated busyness and importance. Daidouji Tomoyo fit perfectly into the place. Wearing a gray business suit and carrying a sleek black suitcase, the young lady made an impressive figure. She grabbed a mug of coffee of the tray a passing waitress was carrying and made her way to her private office. Once seated, she began the day's work. "Sophie!"
"Yes, Miss Tomoyo?"
"I've decided on a design for the new set of dolls. Would you mind taking them down to Daidouji-san's office?"
"Right away, ma'am."
Working at her mother's company had brought up some unexpected problems, the least of which was the name. Having two top executives with the same name was bound to cause some confusion, so Tomoyo became Miss Tomoyo, Designing Executive, and Sonomi was to remain Daidouji-san, CEO of the Daidouji Toys. It worked out fine, and all involved were reasonably satisfied with it. Tomoyo was buried deep in a new design featuring a young doll with a familiar looking stuffed animal. Kero-chan had been absolutely thrilled that he was going to have his own toy line. He had given Tomoyo hundreds of "helpful" tips before she was forced to hang up on him and then, later, blame a power outage that went through the neighborhood. Sophie poked her head into Tomoyo's office. She was middle aged and motherly looking. The latter was an accurate description. On the days, and there were many, where Sonomi was overworking herself and much too busy to think of her only child, Sophie was the one who gently urged Tomoyo to get some sleep. "You have a visitor, Miss Tomoyo." Sophie announced with a twinkle in her eyes. Tomoyo studied her curiously, but Sophie refused to give away anything else. Tomoyo sighed. "Send them in."
* * * * *
Tomoyo wrapped her slim hands around a steaming cup of coffee. They were sitting in her outer office, Tomoyo's back to a wall sized window. She gave Eriol a hard look, but he was busy stirring cream and sugar into his cup. "Eriol-kun," she said finally. "I thought we agreed not to visit each other at our workplaces." Eriol smiled at her over his cup. "Wrong, Miss Tomoyo." he replied smoothly. "You agreed for me not to visit you at your workplace. We never said anything about you not coming to visit me."
"Still," she argued. "The point stands. You're here now." 'The thing was a little unfair,' an annoying voice said sorrowfully. 'After all, it's not Eriol-kun's fault that for weeks after he took you out to lunch that one day, everyone in the office was abuzz with gossip and your own mother thought that you two were romantically involved. And it didn't help that Eriol just smiled maddingly when anyone asked about his relationship to Miss Tomoyo.'
Tomoyo sighed and gave Eriol a stern look. "May I assume that you've come for a reason?" she asked politely.
"You may." Eriol allowed. "I wanted to ask how you're doing." Tomoyo's hands shook, but her voice was carefully steady. "I'm fine, Eriol-kun. Why wouldn't I be?"
"Sakura-chan is on her honeymoon with Li-kun right now."
"I'm perfectly aware of that, Eriol-kun."
Eriol sighed and put his cup down. "Miss Tomoyo, when people hide their feelings, they have mental and emotional breakdowns."
Tomoyo stood up, a not-so-subtle gesture that she was tired of the present company. "In that case, Hiiragizawa-kun, I advise you to stop hiding your feelings."
Ending Notes: To be continued... if the reviews come in ^_^
C
