A/N: Sorry for the delay! Now that my brothers are home too, my computer time is getting shorter. _ Oh well. Enjoy!

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Disclaimer: CCS belongs to CLAMP

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Young and Old

By Amethyst Beloved

Chapter 3: Together

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"Welcome Mina! It's so good to see you again!" gushed Mrs.Sasaki as Mrs.Terada arrived as a guest. "And who is this young man? My, my! You certainly look dashing in that suit of yours."

"Thank you, Mrs.Sasaki," Yoshiyuki replied politely.

After speaking to his mother about wanting a change in environment, Mrs.Terada suggested for him to attend a garden party. So he had nothing to lose as he got dressed up for the occasion.

"My daughter is around here somewhere," continued the host. "But because she's only four, she's still too young to entertain. So feel free to walk around the grounds."

"Thanks you," he repeated before slipping away.

At least for the time being he could feel free to do what ever he pleased without being worried about running into anybody he knew and starting problems he didn't want. No one his age would be caught dead at a garden party, so he was able to relax.

Now all he had to do was find something to do!

~*~(Front porch)~*~

All though Rika was dressed up for her mother's party, she didn't feel like joining in. Sure she had on her favourite white dress that flowed down to her ankles and moved freely with the breeze. But all she wanted to do was sit quietly with her hands folded on her lap like any lady would, and think about how she could get her father to stay home for good.

"Lunch box, teddy bear, dessert," she listed out loud, ticking every idea so far on her fingers. "What haven't I done yet? Maybe I'll pick flowers for him!"

Rika looked over to her mother's prized flowerbeds. There was a wide assortment, such as petunias, tulips, roses, marguerites...

Wait! She wasn't the only one looking at the flowers. Someone else was there too. All Rika was able to see was the back of the person, but she felt that she already knew who it was. That suit, that hairstyle, that person. It just had to be her father!

Rika ran up to the person admiring the marguerites, and wrapped her arms lovingly around his waist, and pressed her cheek against his hip.

"Oh father! I can't believe you're back so soon!" the child cried out in bliss.

Of course Rika's assumed father was no other than Yoshiyuki himself who was taken back with surprise with the girl's outburst. But surprise was quickly replaced with heat on his face and a fluttering sensation in his stomach. What was he feeling? He never experienced something like it before.

"Father? Why aren't you saying any-"

Rika was at loss of words when she lifted her head and saw that the person who she thought was her father was in fact someone who looked like him, and who was much younger.

"Oh please forgive me!" exclaimed Rika as she bowed in apology. "I thought that you were someone else."

For the first time, Yoshiyuki studied the youth standing in front of him. She looked so young, yet her vocabulary and her behaviour was much more mature for anyone her age. She surly was a beauty. She looked like an angel in her white dress, which radiated purity. Her cheeks were flushed with the recent events, and her head was bent down in embarrassment.

"There, there. It's just a mistake," he said quietly as he crouched down in order to get down to her height. Gently he used the tips of his fingers to lift up her chin so he could look in her eyes.

He was taken back with the deepness of her twin orbs. He didn't know why, but he could swear on the moon that her eyes were filled with both the innocence of a child and the maturity of a women.

"I-I thought you were my father," she said as her eyes began to well with tears. "I just w-wanted him to come home!"

"Shh, it's all right," he murmured. For some reason, it was paining his insides to see such a sweet child going through so much hurt.

Before the tears overflowed, Yoshiyuki leaned forward to kiss them away. All though the gesture was harmless enough, it made his lips tingle and it brought blushes to both their faces.

"Who are you?" she asked with her head tilted to the side.

Yoshiyuki chuckled at the level of cuteness displayed in front of him.

"Today I'll be your friend," he replied as he got up and outstretched his hand.

"Would you like to take a walk?"

Rika smiled as she slipped her little hand in his big one. Despite the sizes, it was a perfect fit.

"Now what happened to your father, little one?" he asked as he led her down the rows of flowers.

"He's always on business trips, and I hardly ever see him," she said sadly. "Sometimes I think he doesn't love me."

"Of course he loves you," insisted Yoshiyuki. "Why do you think he works? He does it to earn money to send you to school."

"I'll be going to school?" she asked as her eyes lit up in wonder. "I always like to learn new things."

"Well, I'm sure if you try your hardest, you'll be the best."

"You think so?" she persisted as she used both of her hands to cover his.

Yoshiyuki's breath was caught in his throat. Why was her little gestures enough to feel flustered inside?

"I know so," he replied.

In the distance, a wild daisy caught his eye. Without thinking twice, he bent down to pluck the flower from the ground and gently tucked it behind the little girl's ear because it suited her dress perfectly.

"You're so pretty," he said softly to himself as he stroked her hair. "If only you could be a little older. Then I'll never let you go."

Meanwhile, Rika was enjoying the attention that the older boy was giving her. It made her feel as if she was worth something to someone. To express her gratitude, she leaned forward, and planted a kiss on his cheek.

"What was that for?" he asked with a lopsided smile.

"For liking me," she simply replied.

Yoshiyuki could have spent the entire afternoon with the young girl, but he heard his mother calling him.

"I have to go now," he sighed as he reclaimed his hand from her soft hair.

"Will I ever see you again?" she asked.

"I don't think I'll be back anytime soon," he confessed. "After meeting you, I finally know what I want to do with my life. I will make sure that I'll see you again. I promise."

At first Rika was stunned with his promise, but then she beamed. He seemed sincere, and she felt that she could trust him.

"I will never forget this day," she admitted with eyes as bright as the stars.

Giving her hair one last stroke, he smiled and turned to walk away.

'Neither will I, Miss Sasaki,' he thought to himself. 'Neither will I.'

The End

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A/N: I'd like to thank EcuaGirl, white cherry blossom, Dana Daidouji, sally, Angelic, KawaiinessPnay, Anime Queen, kawaii*berry, Lttlwings, ultimecia (thanks so much for the suggestion!!!), MEME, Shattered Midnight Dreams, emerald wolf, Jin, and last but definitely not least, the mysterious ?????????????????. Who are you? I left you a message in my bio because I'm too curious for my own good.

Even though I said I wouldn't do it, I'm thinking about doing a one shot sequel for my prequels. In other words, I want to write about what happened before they actually met for the second time. For example, for S&S I'll right about Syaoran arriving to Japan while Sakura dreams about him. For R&T, I'll write about Rika being a new student in Terada's class of something. This is all hypothetically speaking. If no ones interested, I might not write abut it. If I do, it will be out (as usual) some time next week.

PLEASE REVIEW EVERYONE!!!