FARSIGHTED

By SibylSofiana

Chapter 6

Spinel's Revenge

They all spent the next three days going around London for Tomoyo's benefit. Nakuru and Spinel provided loud and noisy but welcome company as they bickered everywhere they went. Eriol provided a calm oasis, only to dangle a sweet in front of dear, dear Spinel Sun and start the uproarious laughter all over again.

Tomoyo laughingly took videos of them, Nakuru preening, Spinel spitting mad. Even Eriol wasn't spared.. He was quite disconcerted with the fact that Tomoyo was now following him around with her videocamera.

"Now I know how Sakura feels," he quipped.

*Like a goldfish in a bowl...* "Why are you taking videos of me now?" he asked Tomoyo curiously.

"I like taking shots of my favorite people. Since Sakura-chan and Syaoran-kun aren't available, you're the next best thing, Eriol-san!" And you're so kawaii! Tomoyo didn't say the last out loud, thinking how embarrassing it would be to say it to his face. He looked so cute! He was wearing a dark blue shirt with a sports collar, khaki pants and loafers. Wayward dark locks fell across his forehead while his eyeglasses framed luminous blue pools. She was glad she wasn't prone to blushing - her face felt warm already. She, Daidouji Tomoyo, of all people - blushing! Even during those moments with Sakura-chan, she never blushed. Her eyes might sparkle, yes, but never a blush.

~o~

The thing was, ever since that day by the garden she had looked at him with new eyes. When they were still in the sixth grade, he was just the new boy, who was nice to her Sakura-chan and who irritated Li-kun so. He was nice, mannerly, but quite mischievous when he felt like it. When he had left to go back to London, she had only felt regret at the fact that a friend was leaving.

She had only started writing him to give him updates about Sakura and Syaoran. Besides, who else to talk to about Sakura and Syaoran except him? He was the only one who could appreciate her affection for those two. In the process, they really got to know each other better and had become good friends. At the time, she had been feeling a little bit lonely as Sakura had been devoting most of her time to calling Syaoran and her Oniichan. She felt a little guilty over the fact that she might have been using Eriol to fill the gap, but he proved so willing to take their acquaintance further that she soon forgot about it. And he had come to her birthday! She had been so happy he had made it, that for the first time her powers of observation failed her. She would have noticed the sorrow in his eyes earlier.

When Nakuru called her, she hadn't hesitated at all. She never could turn down a friend in need. And she was shocked at the state he was in, and mad at the fact that he could change so much over two days. She had been tempted to have Rei and Akiko hunt down Mizuki-sensei - she was that much concerned over him. But then, that morning at the garden, he had opened up to her. And she had held his face in her hands and looked up into those beautiful, sorrowful eyes and told him he was only human.

Tomoyo never looked at boys the same way she looked at Sakura-chan. At best they were a funny nuisance, like Yamazaki-kun. But when she became friends with Syaoran, she could see his heart. Beneath the gruff exterior was a fierce, loyal and loving young man, and she did not wish Sakura for anybody else.

Now, when she looked at Eriol-san, she could see an attractive young man, who was gentle and kind, naughty and mischievous, funny and sweet. When she looked at him, all she could think of was that he shouldn't be lonely for too long. Because underneath all the smiles, he needed somebody who would make him feel he was complete. That he didn't need to hide under an alter ego. A somebody who would love him for himself, not because of what he had been in a past life. And that was what she wanted for him. Then she'd be happy.

A nagging thought that this was somehow familiar crossed her mind, but she casually dismissed it and concentrated once more on filming Eriol-san, who was now cradling a saccharine-high Suppi.

~o~

They were walking along the cobblestone walkway, watching street artists perform. Eriol had been accomodating, and with droll humor told her about certain historical landmarks and their colorful history. He was already deep into Big Ben's history at that particular moment.

"...the bell for the great clock weighed 16 tons and had to be dragged by 16 beribboned horses to the tower. Then Parliament had a debate on what to name the bloody thing. After a long oration by a Sir Benjamin, somebody shouted out, 'Why not call him Big Ben and have done with it? It was probably so funny that the name stuck...."

He glanced over at Tomoyo, who was holding the camera in one hand and trying to cover her giggling with the other.

"And so that, my dear Tomoyo-san, is the story behind the name of that big old clock..."

Well, so much for giving a history lesson, he thought wryly. He wasn't even lying, but Tomoyo probably didn't believe him. What a way to name a clock. He grinned. He was glad she was having fun, anyway.

While they were walking, he took her free hand and held it. He was getting used to holding her hand, he mused.

"I'm glad," Tomoyo smiled at him, squeezing his hand in response.

*Huh? Did I say that out loud? * Before he could say something in reply, a voice suddenly called out.

"I say, Hiiragizawa, that you, mate?"

At that strange English voice cutting through their conversation, Tomoyo glanced to her right, where a tall and fair-haired young man strode easily through the crowd towards them. She drew back as that young man clapped a hand on Eriol's shoulder.

"Hey, Eriol!" The man then spoke in rapid fire unintelligible English that Tomoyo could not catch up, but she heard him mention something about a party.

"And you have to be there!" he gesticulated. He happened to glance at Tomoyo, then he did a double take. Brown eyes did a rapid assessment, and he liked what he saw.

"Eriol, quick, introduce me to your fair companion or I might get silly in the head!" he grinned charmingly.

Eriol gave him a grin.

"Charles Terrin, meet Tomoyo Daidouji, a good friend of mine from Japan."

"She taken?" Brown Eyes quipped, grinning unrepentantly.

"Charles, you're hopeless." Eriol shook his head. "And before you ask, get Yoko Ono out of your head." He smiled at Tomoyo and mouthed *big Beatles fan* while she giggled and held out her hand.

"How do you do?" she said politely in English. Her hand was immediately taken and kissed, to her surprise. She thought it was an oddity that only Eriol practiced with Sakura, and lately with her.

"Ah, she speaks! Speak again, bright angel!" Tomoyo blushed as she recognized the lines from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. "Miss Tomoyo, is it? Are you here for a visit? How long are you staying?" At the last, Tomoyo uncomfortably felt Eriol's eyes on her.

"I haven't really decided yet." She couldn't really say out loud that she'd leave once she made sure Eriol was alright, now could she?

"Fantastic! You can go to the party with Eriol then - Eriol, make sure she comes, mate!" Charles then looked down at Spinel in Eriol's arms. "What's wrong with the kitty?"

"Nothing major, just a sugar high."

Charles suddenly sees Nakuru coming up, and eyes wide, he made a quick gesture. "I'm running late for an errand, so I'll see you Friday next. We can talk then," he glanced nervously in Nakuru's direction, then running off. But not before giving Tomoyo another appreciative glance.

While Tomoyo gazed at the disappearing figure, Eriol looked at her. Yes, Tomoyo would certainly turn Charles' head. She would always turn heads wherever she went.

She had grown taller since he'd seen her at her birthday party last year, but she was still half a head shorter than he was. Her ebony hair, which was Daidouji Sonomi's pride and joy, was loose on her shoulders. But when she pushed her hair back, she showed a long, graceful neck and fair, white shoulders. And when she smiled, her exquisite eyes would light up and brighten her already pretty face.

Nakuru came running up, only to haul a now awake and thoroughly disgruntled Spinel Sun by the ruff.

"Drat, I missed him! Charles-san always runs away quickly. It's Suppi-chan's fault!" At this she glared at Spinel, who looked ready to roast her with his laser breath.

"You should have made kawaii eyes at him, Suppi-chan!"

"Just seeing you coming near made him decide to make tracks, moron."

Tomoyo just laughed.

@@@@@

They were browsing through the shops as Tomoyo wanted to buy some souvenirs for Sakura and their friends. As usual, Eriol was already laden with Nakuru's purchases - although he firmly vetoed another trip to the toy store. While they were walking, Tomoyo had been taking videos of him, to his chagrin.

"You're not going to show the videos to Li Xiao Lang, are you, Tomoyo-san?" he asked somewhat plaintively, while Tomoyo grinned.

"Only if you're good, Eriol-san," her eyebrow waggled behind the camera. Tomoyo suddenly spied something in a store window.

"Speaking of Syaoran..." She led the way into the store and pointed at something in the display window.

"How much is that please?" she asked the store person. After a few minutes of goodnatured haggling, the saleslady gift-wrapped her purchase and wished them a good day.

Tomoyo was still looking down at the small box in her hand, lost in thought. She had even forgotten to point the camera at Eriol, to his relief.

"Is that for Syaoran, Tomoyo-san?" he asked quietly.

"Hai. A thank you gift." Her voice was small and Eriol thought he saw tears in her eyes. After a while, she looked up at his concerned face. "It's alright, Eriol-san. He deserves her, and she loves him. I'm happy."

"But you're lonely."

"Yes, sometimes. But talking to Meiling and Nakuru make me forget. And your letters helped, Eriol-san..." Beautiful tear-bright eyes looked at him. "I came here so I could return the favor. I hope you're still not mad at Nakuru for calling me over."

"Of course not," he replied, then brushed his hair roughly with his hand. He was doing that more and more, Tomoyo noted. He was still a quiet person who kept his own counsel, but lately he was also filled with nervous energy, and a certain restlessness that you wouldn't associate with the old Eriol. And he kept brushing back his hair unconsciously that lately it often stood on end. What was strange was that it was Tomoyo who sometimes wanted to muss up his hair when he was looking much too neat. Strange.

Eriol took one look at her tear-bright eyes and decided to lighten things up. "Gods, we're being absolutely pathetic! We should be bright and cheerful while the good weather holds, don't you think so, Nakuru?"

The ever-bubbly Nakuru could only shout her agreement, while clutching Tomoyo's arm.

"Eriol-sama is always right!"

And Tomoyo thought, *Yes. A bright and cheerful Eriol-san would be nice*

And for the rest of the day, he was.

@@@@@

When they got back home, Ruby Moon had gone out to patrol the surrounding area, while Tomoyo went straight to bed. But Eriol couldn't sleep. It had been a long day, and he had been driving and carrying parcels all day and he was tired, but he couldn't seem to close his eyes. Sighing, he got out of bed and put on a dressing gown.

He went down to the library where he found Spinel stirring milk into two cups of tea. Spinel handed one cup to Eriol, who accepted it gratefully.

"Thank you, Spinel." He reclined in his favorite chair. "I can't seem to sleep even though I'm so tired. It was a wonderful day wasn't it, Spinel?"

Surprisingly the past three days had been wonderful. He had fully expected to mope, but here he was, gadding about London with his motley crew of guardians, Tomoyo included. And he had laughed and hollered with the rest of them. That was what was so strange. He felt normal. Getting over a breakup wasn't supposed to be this easy, he mused as he sipped his tea. Had he been paying more attention, he would have seen an unholy gleam flash through Spinel's eyes before it was replaced by a mild expression.

"I am glad you're feeling better, Master. And more like your true self..." Eriol quickly looked up at the hovering guardian, whose eyes were quietly assessing.

"Yes." Eriol sighed. "A lot of things has happened in such a short time." He sat back in his chair and contemplated the cup in his hands. "

"Were these changes in me really a bad thing, Spinel? So bad that Kaho had to go?" Even saying her name no longer gave him a pang. Had it only been a week?

Spinel ignored the question and decided to scold Eriol instead. "You shouldn't brood overmuch. It really doesn't suit you. Clow Reed maybe, but then again, you aren't him. Are you?"

"No, I suppose not. Not anymore." He had already told Spinel about his dream about Clow, and Spinel had only given him a smug I-told-you-so look before returning to the book he was reading.

The door suddenly opened and in walked Tomoyo, who was surprised to see Eriol still awake. She looked from one to the other.

"Oh, my. Am I interrupting anything?"

"Ah, no, Mistress Tomoyo. Here, have some of this tea." Spinel quickly offered Tomoyo the other teacup.

Eriol had a sneaking suspicion that Spinel Sun knew Tomoyo would come down and join them in the library, but he couldn't be sure. He couldn't for the life of him remember whether Clow Reed had given the cat the gift of premonition.

"Arigatou, Spinel-san," Tomoyo replied gratefully.

Because she was thinking about something else, Tomoyo missed Spinel's address, but Eriol didn't. He gave Spinel a quick look --- Spinel settled himself on the armchair near Tomoyo's elbow before deigning to return his master's look with a bland one.

"I couldn't really sleep, I'm still too excited." Tomoyo sat down on the plush-covered sofa in front of the fireplace and drank the tea. "You too, Eriol-san?"

"Ah." Not to be outdone by a cat, Eriol nonchalantly got up from his chair and walked across the room to seat himself on the sofa beside Tomoyo.

"So, what do you think of Charles?" *Did I just blurt that out?* Nonetheless, he held his breath as he waited for Tomoyo's reply.

Giggle. "Your friend seems cheery. He reminds me of Nakuru for some reason. Very charming. Are all the English like that?"

*Charming? She thinks Charles is charming?!?"* Confused at the inner turmoil he felt at her reply, he took another sip of his tea to calm himself before addressing her.

"Charming? Oh, you mean the English? Of course we are. My friends say I'm the most English of the lot."

"Fishing for compliments, Eriol-san?" Tomoyo barely suppressed a giggle at his earnest expression. "Oh, all right then. You are the most English of them all." Another giggle.

She stretched and yawned.

"You haven't met a lot, Miss Tomoyo," he said dryly, slightly mollified. At seeing her yawn he added, "I must be poor company. Am I boring you, Tomoyo-san?"

"Oh no, not at all!" She hastily reassured him. "I just feel relaxed. The tea is very delicious. I don't think I've tried this blend before."

"Thank you. I blend it myself. You see, I have it imported from Sri Lanka and..." He stopped when he felt Tomoyo's head resting on his shoulder, her hair covering half her face. His hand instinctively moved to tuck the tendrils behind her ear, his fingers deliberately brushing her cheek. *Soft,* he marveled. He caught the scent of magnolias as he leaned his head towards her hair.

He was jerked into reality a few minutes later when he became conscious of Spinel's presence. *Bloody hell. I forgot about him.* He looked up from his silent scrutiny of Tomoyo's face and met Spinel's amused glance. His eyes narrowed.

"What was in the tea, Spinel?" He said suspiciously.

"What do you mean, Master?" An eyebrow lifted.

"Did you put something in the tea?"

"Of course not. Do you think I would do such a thing?" Came the calm reply.

Silence.

No response from Eriol was evidently forthcoming.

~o~

Spinel, Eriol's Sun Guardian smirked as he watched the sleeping figures in front of him.

Tomoyo snuggled contentedly against Eriol. A sigh escaped Eriol's lips and formed into a small smile. Spinel flew away but soon returned with a blanket to cover both of them.

"Sweet dreams, Master." He then walked away and headed for the door, but not before turning his head back.

"You too, Mistress."

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Authors' drivel:

Our apologies for this coming out so late. Major, major writers' block. You don't know how many times we almost gave up! We weren't happy with what we had initially written, so we had to do a major rewrite. This after two weeks of strangling each other to try to come up with something that felt right. Whew! Hope you like this one, guys. Spinel gets his revenge, hahaha!

Thank you for the reviews!