~A change of heart~
Disclaimer: CLAMP owns CCS not me!
SwEeT LiL AnGeL: Thankyou for all the reviews!!!!!!! And a special thankyou to kat for telling me about those Japanese terms!!!! Thankyou, thankyou thankyou!!!!
*****
Chapter 1: Meeting again
Tomoyo managed a smile in return, and then breathed a sigh almost of relief as they moved away. A beautiful, elegant woman was approaching her, and she turned to greet…
*****
Chapter 2: Tomoyo's dilemma and her past
A beautiful, elegant woman was approaching her, and she turned to greet Sakura's mother with real warmth. (a/n: yes, she's alive in this fic)
"Oh, Tomoyo-san," said Mrs Kinomoto, patting her arm. "I haven't had a minute to talk to you since this morning. How did it go? Did you enjoy yourself? Did everyone have enough to eat and drink, do you think?"
Tomoyo relaxed. "Oh, of course they did. The meal was delicious. And everything went off perfectly. Sakura-chan looked like a dream, didn't she?"
"Do you think so?" Mrs Kinomoto beamed with motherly pride. "I must say, I thought she looked really lovely. She and Syaoran-kun have gone back to the house to change. I'm hoping they'll be able to slip away unobserved. You know how it is."
"That's what I'm planning to do, too," remarked Tomoyo dryly, indicating the hat in her hand. "My hair's coming loose, and this dress is beginning to annoy me."
"Oh, but you look lovely, dear. You have such pretty colouring. And your hair always looks nicer, loose around your shoulders." She gave an encompassing look around her. "You are coming over this evening, aren't you? I'm expecting you to. Eriol's coming over too, have you seen him yet?
"Oh – y-yes." Tomoyo slightly blushed and her fingers tortured the brim of the boater. "I was talking to him a few moments ago."
"Were you, dear?" Mrs Kinomoto wasn't really listening to her. She clicked her tongue impatiently. "Oh – there's Kaho-san sitting over there. Why doesn't she try to join the fun? She's done her best to spoil the day!"
"I expect she feels out of place," murmured Tomoyo, unconsciously allaying a little of the guilt she felt about her attraction to Eriol, by defending his wife.
"Her father's an important man in London, and the family owns some estate in Wiltshire. Thinks herself too good for the likes of us."
"Oh, Kinomoto-san…"
"Don't you think so?"
Tomoyo shrugged awkwardly. "It's not my place to say."
Mrs Kinomoto's sniff was expressive. "Well, how about you coming over and having a word with her? Perhaps she'll take you – you being that you once knew her and lived near the same town as she."
Tomoyo wanted to demur, but Mrs Kinomoto was already moving away and she had, perforce, to follow her. Kaho looked up languidly at their approach, her expression mirroring her boredom at the proceedings.
"There now, Kaho," exclaimed Mrs Kinomoto comfortably. "I've brought someone to see you. Remember Tomoyo Daidouji? She's Sakura's best friend."
"Isn't that nice?" Kaho drawled sardonically, looking up at Tomoyo without enthusiasm. Close to, Tomoyo could see the fine lines of dissipation about Kaho's eyes, and a certain nervous agitation in the way they darted about. "We met earlier, didn't we?"
Tomoyo nodded. "Yes. At the house, before the wedding."
"Ah, yes." Kaho's lips curled as her mother-in-law moved away. "You don't live around here do you?"
"Yes, I do actually. But I just moved here from London."
"Don't be afraid to tell anyone, my dear. Who'd want to come from around here anyway?"
"I like it," defended Tomoyo at once. "It's so much – cleaner for one thing."
"Cleaner! Tomoeda?" Kaho shook her head pitying. "You can't be serious!"
"I am. You don't get the diesel fumes up here that you get in and around London. Besides, there's more room to breathe – to live!"
Kaho's mouth twisted cynically. "I can see they've got to you all right."
Tomoyo slightly blushed. "No one's got to me. I mean it. I really like it here."
"Well, sit down," Kaho invited, patting the wooden seat beside hers. "At least we can talk about somewhere else, even if you don't find Tomoeda a pain in the neck."
"Gomen, but I'm afraid I can't do that." Tomoyo had no desire to prolong the conversation. "I'm leaving now. I want to go home and change. Mrs Kinomoto has invited me over to the house this evening."
"Oh, lord!" Kaho uttered a groan of dismay. "The family get-together! Oh, God, why can't Eriol take me back to London tonight?"
There was no answer Tomoyo could make to this and with a faint smile she began moving away as fast as she could before Kaho could say anything else.
That was close, she thought to herself. When arriving inside the marquee, to her intense relief, she saw Eriol, Chiharu and Yamazaki chatting away. Tomoyo noticed how Eriol moved with indolent grace through the thronging groups of friends and relatives, exchanging a word here and there, laughing at some remark passed to him, and making some equally amusing comment in return, judging from the loud guffaws that followed him. Tomoyo guessed they were the usual lewd jokes made at weddings everywhere, but Kaho was looking distinctly out of humour.
"So there you are, Tomoyo," Chiharu exclaimed. "Yamazaki-kun has been looking for you. We're leaving now, okay?"
Tomoyo nodded with relief.
(a/n: Tomoyo still has her mansion and is still rich, but both Sakura and Tomoyo decided to live in a flat together after Tomoyo came back from London and now Sonomi is living in the mansion alone…)
The flat was cool, and felt abnormally empty, which was ridiculous because it at least had not changed. Two bedrooms, living room, kitchen and bathroom, it sounded spacious; but as the two girls had learned the two bedrooms were in effect one large bedroom converted into two, the kitchen was an alcove off the living area, and the bathroom was big enough to turn around in. Still, in spite of the indifferent furnishings provided by the owners, it was home, but now without Sakura it felt so empty.
Tomoyo stripped off the lavender-coloured gown, and examined the hem, determinedly keeping her thoughts on the mundane matters. Apart from several mud stains which would probably brush off when they were completely dry, it was in reasonable order and she was relieved. Her mother had bought her the dress for her last birthday, and she would have hated to have faced her wrath if the dress had been permanently marked.
Pulling on a housecoat, she went into the tiny kitchen and switched on the kettle. A cup of tea was what she needed after all that wine. A cup of tea and several quiet minutes to compose herself for the evening's festivities ahead of her. Perhaps she could ring and excuse herself, she thought doubtfully. She could always invent a headache. But the recollection of Kaho's attitude towards the Kinomoto family made her think again. Mrs Kinomoto would be terribly disappointed if she failed to put in appearance. The Kinomoto's had always made her feel so welcome, encompassing her in the kind of atmosphere she had never experienced with her own parents.
The kettle boiled and she made the tea, carrying the tray through to the living room and setting it down on a low table beside the couch. As she poured the tea, she reflected that it was hardly surprising that she had never known what it was like to be part of a family. Her parents had divorced when she was seven years old, which at the time had come as a blessed relief after years of listening to her parents quarrelling. Her father had been the blame, or that was her mother's story and the fact that her father had married again within a year of obtaining the decree had seemed to bear out that theory. Tomoyo had been too young to judge at that time, and it was only as she had grown older she had begun to appreciate that there were always two sides to every situation. Her father's second wife was young, younger than her mother had been, and within a few years they had produced two sons who might well have been brothers to Tomoyo, if her mother had let them. But throughout her childhood, she had jealousy guarded her daughter, allowing her to visit her father only rarely, and consequently, by the time Tomoyo was old enough to judge for herself, her half-brothers had formed their own opinions of her. Delia, her stepmother, had hardened, too, and Tomoyo did not really feel at home with them. She knew her father regretted this bitterly, but he was naturally more inclined to be loyal to the family he had made.
Tomoyo's mother, Sonomi, who had been a designer working for a large toy company at the time of her marriage, had picked up the pieces after the break rather well. She had opened her own toy manufacturing business, travelled around the world, and was now much sought after her wealthy clients. That was why Tomoyo had found the Kinomoto's ebullience and generosity so warming and appealing. She had responded to the teasing and bantering and good-natured arguing that went on within the family circle, and she often wished that she could have had that kind of background instead of being a part of two beings who had each in their own way chosen to live their own lives of which she had no part.
She sighed. Weddings were always a time for sentimentality. She was allowing the emptiness of the flat to get through to her. It was foolish. Sooner or later she would have to find someone else to share the place with her, and that was a prospect she did not relish. She and Sakura had got along so well together, and the fact that Sakura had been instrumental in finding the flat and suggesting they shared it, had made it more of a mutual arrangement somehow.
Finishing her tea, she got top her feet and walked to the window. It had begun to rain again, and the sky hung grey and overcast over the houses opposite. She then collected her tray and carried it back into the kitchen. Tomoyo then made a sandwich for herself, and then went to change. She decided to wear a spaghetti strapped dress with an overcoat that matched it. Her outfit was cream-coloured and toned well with her complexion. She considered calling a taxi, but it seemed extravagance, so instead she picked up her umbrella and ran to the end of the road to where the bus stop was and fortunately caught the bus almost immediately.
It was just after eight by the time she was walking up the road to the Kinomoto's house, but she could hear the sounds of merriment before she reached their door. There was the sound of raised voices and laughter. The door then opened and Mrs Kinomoto was standing smiling at her, and Touya jostling for a position behind her.
"Come on in, Tomoyo-san," she exclaimed, stepping back on to Touya's foot and grimacing at his agonised protest. "We were beginning to wonder whether you were going to make it. Take your coat off. You're soaked!"
Within minutes, Tomoyo was engulfed into the family circle, a glass of something strong and warming was pressed into her hand and she was thrust into the lounge, which seemed to be overflowing with people.
Touya limped after her, rubbing his ankle. "I'm glad you came, Tomoyo," he said, and she knew he meant it.
"Did Sakura-chan and Syaoran-kun get away without too much fuss?" she asked, trying not to be aware that there was no sign of either Eriol or his wife while Touya rambled on about something. Noticing that Tomoyo was in a trance-like state, he started to wave his hands in front of her. When Tomoyo snapped out of it, he asked, "Tomoyo-san, are you okay?"
"Gomen nasai Touya-kun, I guess I just spaced out." Slightly embarrassed.
Touya nodded, finishing the can in his hand. "Come on, let's dance."
A space in the lounge had been cleared at the end for dancing, and several couples were already abandoning themselves to the beat of the music when Tomoyo allowed Touya to propel her to join them.
"Where's Kaho-san?" she managed to ask Touya after all that dancing. He shrugged, glancing round indifferently.
"I don't know," he replied. "She wanted to go with Eriol and the others, but there wasn't room in the car and she wasn't suited."
"There wasn't room in the car…? Tomoyo looked confused.
"Yeah, some of the kids wanted to go, and Eriol-kun said they could."
"I see," Tomoyo nodded.
"Anyway, they should have been back by now. They'd have been here already, but the flight was delayed an hour."
There was a lot of good-natured chaffing going on and Tomoyo turned away, raising her arms to tug her fingers through her tangled hair. The effort tautened the material of her dress revealing her chest and the feminine curves of her body, although she was unaware of it, but as she stood there straightening her arms into a stretch she became aware of the group of young people just entering the lounge, and over their heads her eyes encountered the dark azure eyes of Eriol Hiiragizawa. There was a disturbing moment when he held her gaze, and then she turned abruptly away, catching Touya's arm and saying: "I thought you asked me to dance!"
*****
End of chapter 2!!!!!!
SwEeT LiL AnGeL: Yay!!!! I finished it!!!!! This chapter is much longer than the first one but I kinda rushed it this time; so if anyone doesn't understand anything, please don't hesitate to email me at lil_sweet_angel_9@hotmail.com. Anyways, please review!
Btw, I apologise to all those kaho lovers who may have been offended with the way I made her in this fic. It's not that I hate her, it's just that she seemed perfect for that part! So…. please don't kill me!
Disclaimer: CLAMP owns CCS not me!
SwEeT LiL AnGeL: Thankyou for all the reviews!!!!!!! And a special thankyou to kat for telling me about those Japanese terms!!!! Thankyou, thankyou thankyou!!!!
*****
Chapter 1: Meeting again
Tomoyo managed a smile in return, and then breathed a sigh almost of relief as they moved away. A beautiful, elegant woman was approaching her, and she turned to greet…
*****
Chapter 2: Tomoyo's dilemma and her past
A beautiful, elegant woman was approaching her, and she turned to greet Sakura's mother with real warmth. (a/n: yes, she's alive in this fic)
"Oh, Tomoyo-san," said Mrs Kinomoto, patting her arm. "I haven't had a minute to talk to you since this morning. How did it go? Did you enjoy yourself? Did everyone have enough to eat and drink, do you think?"
Tomoyo relaxed. "Oh, of course they did. The meal was delicious. And everything went off perfectly. Sakura-chan looked like a dream, didn't she?"
"Do you think so?" Mrs Kinomoto beamed with motherly pride. "I must say, I thought she looked really lovely. She and Syaoran-kun have gone back to the house to change. I'm hoping they'll be able to slip away unobserved. You know how it is."
"That's what I'm planning to do, too," remarked Tomoyo dryly, indicating the hat in her hand. "My hair's coming loose, and this dress is beginning to annoy me."
"Oh, but you look lovely, dear. You have such pretty colouring. And your hair always looks nicer, loose around your shoulders." She gave an encompassing look around her. "You are coming over this evening, aren't you? I'm expecting you to. Eriol's coming over too, have you seen him yet?
"Oh – y-yes." Tomoyo slightly blushed and her fingers tortured the brim of the boater. "I was talking to him a few moments ago."
"Were you, dear?" Mrs Kinomoto wasn't really listening to her. She clicked her tongue impatiently. "Oh – there's Kaho-san sitting over there. Why doesn't she try to join the fun? She's done her best to spoil the day!"
"I expect she feels out of place," murmured Tomoyo, unconsciously allaying a little of the guilt she felt about her attraction to Eriol, by defending his wife.
"Her father's an important man in London, and the family owns some estate in Wiltshire. Thinks herself too good for the likes of us."
"Oh, Kinomoto-san…"
"Don't you think so?"
Tomoyo shrugged awkwardly. "It's not my place to say."
Mrs Kinomoto's sniff was expressive. "Well, how about you coming over and having a word with her? Perhaps she'll take you – you being that you once knew her and lived near the same town as she."
Tomoyo wanted to demur, but Mrs Kinomoto was already moving away and she had, perforce, to follow her. Kaho looked up languidly at their approach, her expression mirroring her boredom at the proceedings.
"There now, Kaho," exclaimed Mrs Kinomoto comfortably. "I've brought someone to see you. Remember Tomoyo Daidouji? She's Sakura's best friend."
"Isn't that nice?" Kaho drawled sardonically, looking up at Tomoyo without enthusiasm. Close to, Tomoyo could see the fine lines of dissipation about Kaho's eyes, and a certain nervous agitation in the way they darted about. "We met earlier, didn't we?"
Tomoyo nodded. "Yes. At the house, before the wedding."
"Ah, yes." Kaho's lips curled as her mother-in-law moved away. "You don't live around here do you?"
"Yes, I do actually. But I just moved here from London."
"Don't be afraid to tell anyone, my dear. Who'd want to come from around here anyway?"
"I like it," defended Tomoyo at once. "It's so much – cleaner for one thing."
"Cleaner! Tomoeda?" Kaho shook her head pitying. "You can't be serious!"
"I am. You don't get the diesel fumes up here that you get in and around London. Besides, there's more room to breathe – to live!"
Kaho's mouth twisted cynically. "I can see they've got to you all right."
Tomoyo slightly blushed. "No one's got to me. I mean it. I really like it here."
"Well, sit down," Kaho invited, patting the wooden seat beside hers. "At least we can talk about somewhere else, even if you don't find Tomoeda a pain in the neck."
"Gomen, but I'm afraid I can't do that." Tomoyo had no desire to prolong the conversation. "I'm leaving now. I want to go home and change. Mrs Kinomoto has invited me over to the house this evening."
"Oh, lord!" Kaho uttered a groan of dismay. "The family get-together! Oh, God, why can't Eriol take me back to London tonight?"
There was no answer Tomoyo could make to this and with a faint smile she began moving away as fast as she could before Kaho could say anything else.
That was close, she thought to herself. When arriving inside the marquee, to her intense relief, she saw Eriol, Chiharu and Yamazaki chatting away. Tomoyo noticed how Eriol moved with indolent grace through the thronging groups of friends and relatives, exchanging a word here and there, laughing at some remark passed to him, and making some equally amusing comment in return, judging from the loud guffaws that followed him. Tomoyo guessed they were the usual lewd jokes made at weddings everywhere, but Kaho was looking distinctly out of humour.
"So there you are, Tomoyo," Chiharu exclaimed. "Yamazaki-kun has been looking for you. We're leaving now, okay?"
Tomoyo nodded with relief.
(a/n: Tomoyo still has her mansion and is still rich, but both Sakura and Tomoyo decided to live in a flat together after Tomoyo came back from London and now Sonomi is living in the mansion alone…)
The flat was cool, and felt abnormally empty, which was ridiculous because it at least had not changed. Two bedrooms, living room, kitchen and bathroom, it sounded spacious; but as the two girls had learned the two bedrooms were in effect one large bedroom converted into two, the kitchen was an alcove off the living area, and the bathroom was big enough to turn around in. Still, in spite of the indifferent furnishings provided by the owners, it was home, but now without Sakura it felt so empty.
Tomoyo stripped off the lavender-coloured gown, and examined the hem, determinedly keeping her thoughts on the mundane matters. Apart from several mud stains which would probably brush off when they were completely dry, it was in reasonable order and she was relieved. Her mother had bought her the dress for her last birthday, and she would have hated to have faced her wrath if the dress had been permanently marked.
Pulling on a housecoat, she went into the tiny kitchen and switched on the kettle. A cup of tea was what she needed after all that wine. A cup of tea and several quiet minutes to compose herself for the evening's festivities ahead of her. Perhaps she could ring and excuse herself, she thought doubtfully. She could always invent a headache. But the recollection of Kaho's attitude towards the Kinomoto family made her think again. Mrs Kinomoto would be terribly disappointed if she failed to put in appearance. The Kinomoto's had always made her feel so welcome, encompassing her in the kind of atmosphere she had never experienced with her own parents.
The kettle boiled and she made the tea, carrying the tray through to the living room and setting it down on a low table beside the couch. As she poured the tea, she reflected that it was hardly surprising that she had never known what it was like to be part of a family. Her parents had divorced when she was seven years old, which at the time had come as a blessed relief after years of listening to her parents quarrelling. Her father had been the blame, or that was her mother's story and the fact that her father had married again within a year of obtaining the decree had seemed to bear out that theory. Tomoyo had been too young to judge at that time, and it was only as she had grown older she had begun to appreciate that there were always two sides to every situation. Her father's second wife was young, younger than her mother had been, and within a few years they had produced two sons who might well have been brothers to Tomoyo, if her mother had let them. But throughout her childhood, she had jealousy guarded her daughter, allowing her to visit her father only rarely, and consequently, by the time Tomoyo was old enough to judge for herself, her half-brothers had formed their own opinions of her. Delia, her stepmother, had hardened, too, and Tomoyo did not really feel at home with them. She knew her father regretted this bitterly, but he was naturally more inclined to be loyal to the family he had made.
Tomoyo's mother, Sonomi, who had been a designer working for a large toy company at the time of her marriage, had picked up the pieces after the break rather well. She had opened her own toy manufacturing business, travelled around the world, and was now much sought after her wealthy clients. That was why Tomoyo had found the Kinomoto's ebullience and generosity so warming and appealing. She had responded to the teasing and bantering and good-natured arguing that went on within the family circle, and she often wished that she could have had that kind of background instead of being a part of two beings who had each in their own way chosen to live their own lives of which she had no part.
She sighed. Weddings were always a time for sentimentality. She was allowing the emptiness of the flat to get through to her. It was foolish. Sooner or later she would have to find someone else to share the place with her, and that was a prospect she did not relish. She and Sakura had got along so well together, and the fact that Sakura had been instrumental in finding the flat and suggesting they shared it, had made it more of a mutual arrangement somehow.
Finishing her tea, she got top her feet and walked to the window. It had begun to rain again, and the sky hung grey and overcast over the houses opposite. She then collected her tray and carried it back into the kitchen. Tomoyo then made a sandwich for herself, and then went to change. She decided to wear a spaghetti strapped dress with an overcoat that matched it. Her outfit was cream-coloured and toned well with her complexion. She considered calling a taxi, but it seemed extravagance, so instead she picked up her umbrella and ran to the end of the road to where the bus stop was and fortunately caught the bus almost immediately.
It was just after eight by the time she was walking up the road to the Kinomoto's house, but she could hear the sounds of merriment before she reached their door. There was the sound of raised voices and laughter. The door then opened and Mrs Kinomoto was standing smiling at her, and Touya jostling for a position behind her.
"Come on in, Tomoyo-san," she exclaimed, stepping back on to Touya's foot and grimacing at his agonised protest. "We were beginning to wonder whether you were going to make it. Take your coat off. You're soaked!"
Within minutes, Tomoyo was engulfed into the family circle, a glass of something strong and warming was pressed into her hand and she was thrust into the lounge, which seemed to be overflowing with people.
Touya limped after her, rubbing his ankle. "I'm glad you came, Tomoyo," he said, and she knew he meant it.
"Did Sakura-chan and Syaoran-kun get away without too much fuss?" she asked, trying not to be aware that there was no sign of either Eriol or his wife while Touya rambled on about something. Noticing that Tomoyo was in a trance-like state, he started to wave his hands in front of her. When Tomoyo snapped out of it, he asked, "Tomoyo-san, are you okay?"
"Gomen nasai Touya-kun, I guess I just spaced out." Slightly embarrassed.
Touya nodded, finishing the can in his hand. "Come on, let's dance."
A space in the lounge had been cleared at the end for dancing, and several couples were already abandoning themselves to the beat of the music when Tomoyo allowed Touya to propel her to join them.
"Where's Kaho-san?" she managed to ask Touya after all that dancing. He shrugged, glancing round indifferently.
"I don't know," he replied. "She wanted to go with Eriol and the others, but there wasn't room in the car and she wasn't suited."
"There wasn't room in the car…? Tomoyo looked confused.
"Yeah, some of the kids wanted to go, and Eriol-kun said they could."
"I see," Tomoyo nodded.
"Anyway, they should have been back by now. They'd have been here already, but the flight was delayed an hour."
There was a lot of good-natured chaffing going on and Tomoyo turned away, raising her arms to tug her fingers through her tangled hair. The effort tautened the material of her dress revealing her chest and the feminine curves of her body, although she was unaware of it, but as she stood there straightening her arms into a stretch she became aware of the group of young people just entering the lounge, and over their heads her eyes encountered the dark azure eyes of Eriol Hiiragizawa. There was a disturbing moment when he held her gaze, and then she turned abruptly away, catching Touya's arm and saying: "I thought you asked me to dance!"
*****
End of chapter 2!!!!!!
SwEeT LiL AnGeL: Yay!!!! I finished it!!!!! This chapter is much longer than the first one but I kinda rushed it this time; so if anyone doesn't understand anything, please don't hesitate to email me at lil_sweet_angel_9@hotmail.com. Anyways, please review!
Btw, I apologise to all those kaho lovers who may have been offended with the way I made her in this fic. It's not that I hate her, it's just that she seemed perfect for that part! So…. please don't kill me!