Japan International Airport, 4.32pm

"Where's Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo murmured as she scanned the sea of faces in the crowded airport. She told me to meet her at the pot of flowers next to the bench outside the west wing toilets… where is she? Tomoyo thought.

Tomoyo wheeled her luggage bags right next to the pot of flowers. The only other person there was a man with a shock of dark-blue hair and frameless spectables which hid deep, sapphire-blue eyes. Tomoyo stared, captivated. He was one of the best-looking men she had ever seen. And it wasn't just that. He seemed… familiar, somehow. Reminded her of someone she knew… where had she seen him before? She vaguely remembered such a person from her past. Wait, wasn't he--

"Eriol-sama!" A tall, thin brunette in a tight red shirt with a mega-watt smile bounded over to the man and plopped down in the seat next to him. Pouting, she indicated the small dark blue "stuffed animal with wings" that was held in a death grip in her hands. "He wouldn't let me buy him any sweets! He said that if I wanted sweets, I should…"

The man smiled, looking amused, and gently pried the "stuffed toy" out of her clutches.

Tomoyo approached them cautiously. "Excuse me, but you look like someone I know. Do you happen to be… Hiiragizawa-kun?"

The trio looked up at her. Light dawned on them; it showed on their faces.

Nakuru was the quickest to react. "Tomoyo-chan! Kawaii!" She enveloped Tomoyo in a tight hug, momentarily cutting off her supply of oygen. "

"Let her go, Ruby Moon." Spinel said inconspicuously from his spot on the bench.

Nakuru ignored him.

Tomoyo coughed. "Nakuru.. I can't… breathe…"

"Oh! Why didn't you say so earlier?" Nakuru let go and beamed at her. "You're so pretty!"

Tomoyo smiled modestly. "Why, thank you. You're really pretty too, Nakuru- san."

Nakuru ignored the compliment and turned to Eriol. "Isn't Tomoyo-chan pretty?"

Eriol gazed at Tomoyo, absorbing her profile. He hadn't seen her since sixth-grade, which was about ten years ago. She was now… wow. Long raven- black curls, large sparkling amethyst eyes, a delicate chin and a curvy figure met his gaze. She had also since developed a certain elegance, and radiated a unique aura. He was too awe-struck for words.

"Eriol-sama…" Nakuru prompted, nudging him in the ribs. "Is Tomoyo pretty or what?"

Eriol was jolted back to reality. "H-hai. Daidouji-san, you've grown a lot since the last time we met." He stammered, trying not to blush as he met Tomoyo's eyes.

Tomoyo grinned. "I see you've done some growing yourself." She commented coyly. Eriol was now towering over her petite 5 feet 4 frame at 6 feet 2. "By the way, we've known each other for so long yet still call each other formally. Please call me Tomoyo."

Eriol smiled. "Only if you call me Eriol."

Tomoyo returned the grin, and Eriol felt his knees go weak all of a sudden. "Then I guess it's settled, Eriol. So, what're you doing here?"

At that moment, a voice rang out. "Tomoyo-chan! Eriol-kun! Nakuru-san!"

A few moments later, Sakura emerged from the crowd, dragging a somewhat- reluctant Syaoran behind her.

Sakura and Tomoyo squealed excitedly and hugged each other. "Tomoyo-chan! I haven't seen you for more than 2 years and LOOK AT YOU! You're so beautiful now!"

Tomoyo smiled warmly at her friend. "You say that everytime we meet!"

Sakura grinned. "Yes, because you get prettier each time! Isn't she pretty, Eriol-kun?"

Eriol concealed his blush. Why did everyone have to ask him that? Was this Let's-Pick-On-Eriol Day or what? "Hai. She's very beautiful. I'm sure you have a boyfriend, don't you, Tomoyo?" he added, in an attempt to make conversation.

Tomoyo blushed. "No, I don't. I've been very busy, so I really don't have much time for social stuff." She explained.

"I see." Eriol was surprised. He would have thought that a smart, beautiful, elegant and warm-hearted girl like Tomoyo would have many suitors after her heart. In fact, he didn't mind… wait! What was he thinking?! He shifted his eyes and looked up to find Syaoran glaring at him.

Eriol put on his best I-can-irritate-you-as-much-as-I-want voice. "Good to see you too, my cute-but-not-so-little-anymore descendent." Syaoran was only about one inch shorter than him.

Syaoran scowled at him. "Don't even think of trying it." He said, loud enough only for Eriol to hear.

Eriol was genuinely confused. "What?"

Syaoran glared. "Tomoyo is Sakura's bestfriend and she's my friend too. If you think I'm just gonna stand aside and watch you play with her and hurt her, well-- you're wrong."

Eriol raised his eyebrows. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "What the hell are you talking about?! I have absolutely no intentions of hurting her. Why would you-- wait. You think I'm…?"

Syaoran just continued glaring at him.

"Wait. A. Minute. Tomoyo-san is my friend too, you know. I don't know what you're thinking, but trust me. It's not going into anything further than friendship.

Syaoran gave him a you-don't-fool-me-one-bit look. "I saw you look at her. I saw you stare at her like… like… "

Eriol smirked. "The way you used to stare at Sakura?"

Syaoran blushed. "Well, yes, but I do not allow you to go anywhere near Tomoyo, is that understood?"

Eriol turned serious. "Firstly, you don't tell me what to do. Secondly, since when did you turn into Touya, Mr-Overprotective? And thirdly, I DON'T EVEN LIKE HER!"

At his sudden outburst, Tomoyo, Sakura, Nakuru, Spinel and the rest of the airport turned to look at him.

Eriol grinned sheepishly. "Er… hehehe…"

Author's Notes: An abrupt stop, I know, but the homework's really piling and I gotta start studying chinese and doing my history homework… sorry about the short chapter… please read and review! Thank you so much!