By SibylSofiana
Chapter 3NY Cabbies and Hotdogs
Tomoyo spotted him at the reception counter in the lobby.
"Hiiragizawa-san!" For some reason she was breathless and excited. Tomoyo didn't even get much sleep in anticipation of the day ahead – and she was a sound sleeper!
Eriol turned and gave her a smile that turned her legs to jelly.
"Good morning, Tomoyo!" he said cheerfully. Even the way he said her name turned her thoughts to mush. Aaaargh! What is wrong with you? Tomoyo thought to herself exasperatedly. It's only Hiiragizawa. Why are you becoming so obsessed?
Because he gave you your first kiss and...because he's so handsome, a voice in her head said clearly. And Hiiragizawa was indeed handsome – he had grown so tall, but his body was well-proportioned. The eyes behind the glasses were good-natured, his profile perfectly aristocratic, his hair occasionally falling accross his face where he impatiently would brush it aside, and his lips...don't think about his lips!
Eriol thanked the receptionist and came forward to meet her.
"Any plans for the afternoon?" he asked her.
"Um, I haven't thought that far ahead..." Tomoyo began.
Eriol nodded at her outfit approvingly. She was dressed warmly for the outdoors.
"Good. I hope you don't mind a change in mine – say we forget about a formal hotel lunch and brave the cool New York air with an authentic New York cabman to tour us around? You're not hungry yet, are you?" Before she could answer, he said, "Good ol' American hotdogs, that's the answer!"
And with a whoosh, he escorted her into the cab parked out in the kerb (courtesy of the receptionist) and away they went. The cabbie, whose name was Ernie, proved garrulous, and he regaled them with stories of all his former passengers. And Tomoyo found out the hard way that as NY cab drivers went, Ernie was the real thing – at every intersection he yelled at the other drivers, blared his horn, and moved in and out of traffic with a squealing of brakes.
Throughout all this, Tomoyo sat wide-eyed in the backseat, only to clutch at Eriol's leg whenever Ernie the cabbie narrowly missed another car. After some time, even Eriol finally had to say something.
"Tomoyo, you're cutting off my circulation," he said plaintively.
"Ah, gomen, Hiiragizawa-san!" And she would let go, but only until the next near-encounter. Eriol could only sigh, keeping his pain (and pleasure) to himself.
~o~o~o~o
Tomoyo took pictures of the cabbie against the backdrop of the Statue of Liberty.
Eriol whispered behind her. "Ah, so it was in the bag. I had wondered where the perpetual videocamera had disappeared to..."
"Stop teasing, Hiiragizawa-san. It's still a hobby of mine."
"Well, since Sakura-chan isn't here, who's your subject nowadays?"
"I like taking shots of Touya sometimes, but he's a little camera-shy." She suddenly pointed the camera at him. "Do you mind, Hiiragizawa-san?"
"Not at all. How is Sakura, by the way? I really felt bad to miss her wedding."
"Oh, she and Syaoran are currently busy trying to make babies," she giggled. "He being The Li and all."
"I'm sure he's manfully fulfilling his duties to the Clan," Eriol chuckled.
After grabbing some hotdogs Ernie swore to, they went to visit the Empire State Building, then left some flowers at Ground Zero Memorial. Later that afternoon, after much cajoling, Tomoyo finally agreed to go ice skating. It had been a while since she'd had the time to skate, but once she put on the skates she glided on the ice naturally. And just as naturally, Eriol slid in beside her.
As they skated companionably, Tomoyo finally voiced out her thoughts regarding the night before.
"A-arigatou for last night, Hiiragizawa-san..."
Eriol turned thoughtfully to her. "Hmmm, I've never been thanked for a kiss before," he dared tease her, and she blushed.
"You know what I mean, Hiiragizawa-san."
He chuckled. "Oh, I'm all for saving damsels in distress. And please, call me Eriol. You've been calling me Hiiragizawa-san all afternoon. They're not that formal here."
"Alright, Hii—Eriol-san."
"That's better."
After executing a simple twirl, Tomoyo asked something that had been nagging her.
"So what have you been doing lately, Eriol-san?"
"Oh, aside from being half the reincarnation of the most powerful sorcerer of all time? I teach at the University now." He laughed at her incredulity. "What, the sorcerer can't be a professor?"
"Well, I never thought of you being one..."
"Magic doesn't put food on the table, Tomoyo-san."
"As if you need to work," she snorted daintily.
"Like YOU need to slave away as a fashion designer."
"It pays the bills." She smiled. "Mother has finally agreed to let me do it on my own without her help. But I'm sure she still keeps tabs on me."
"So, all this from your own hard work? I'm truly impressed."
"Thank you."
They talked more about their personal lives as the afternoon progressed, and Tomoyo was as impressed of Eriol's accomplishments as he was with hers. When they finally got hungry, Eriol proposed another round of hotdogs for dinner, to which Tomoyo laughingly agreed. Ernie approved heartily.
It was past eight when Ernie deposited them back to the hotel. They both thanked him profusely, and Eriol gave him a huge tip.
Tipping his hat in farewell, Ernie drove off, thinking to himself They're quite a good-looking couple...
~o~o~o~o~
To Tomoyo's dismay, they met Ted Whitaker in the lobby.
"Ah, Tomoyo!" Ted took her hand and kissed it, holding her hand lingeringly as she attempted to reclaim it. "Just in time, I see. May I have the honor of inviting you to dinner?" he said, totally ignoring Eriol's presence.
Tomoyo managed to pull her hand away from Ted's grip.
"Thank you, Mr. Whitaker, but Mr. Hiiragizawa has already treated me to dinner."
"Ah, probably not to the best French restaurant this side of New York," Ted looked askance at their casual attire.
"No, just the best All American hotdogs at the Central Park sidewalk." Eriol deadpanned. After a slight nod to Ted, he placed Tomoyo's hand on the crook of his arm and guided her away to the elevators.
Once they were safe inside, Tomoyo let out a giggle.
"That was horrible of you!" But she soon turned sober. "He's being so persistent."
"Forget him. He'll soon take the hint." The elevator opened to Tomoyo's floor and Eriol escorted her to her suite. Once they got to the door, Tomoyo turned around to face Eriol.
"Thank you for the lovely day, Eriol. I really enjoyed myself." Tomoyo stood against the wall, cheeks ruddy from the cold and her eyes a lively contrast to her dark hair.
Eriol found himself staring, but he roused himself and managed to say lightly, "Considering that you saved me from another shopping expedition with Nakuru, I should be thanking you."
Both were quiet, sensing undercurrents between them that they didn't dare to go deeper into just yet. Tomoyo finally broke the silence.
"Um, how long are you staying in New York, Eriol-san?"
"Mmm, just two more days – I have to get back to the University. How about you?"
"Same as you, my flight back to Japan leaves on Wednesday." A slight pause, then, "What are you doing till then?"
"I don't really know... Nakuru hasn't mentioned any of her plans yet –"
"—If you're free, you can come to my photo shoot tomorrow," Tomoyo let out in a rush. "Then we could go out to dinner, my treat!"
She wanted to see Eriol again tomorrow.
Eriol considered. He'd have to find an excuse not to go with Nakuru anywhere tomorrow. He wanted to see Tomoyo again.
He finally said, "Well, if I won't be getting in the way..."
"No, I'm sure it will be alright with Anne," she assured him.
"Agreed, then." Tomoyo gave him the address of the shoot, and he filed it somewhere in his memory.
Again the dreadful silence. But this time, Eriol found himself moving closer to Tomoyo, until mere inches separated her face from his. Her back was pressed against the door, and she licked her lips nervously. Eriol's eyes were drawn to her mouth, and he was lowering his head oh so slowly...
They heard the sound of the elevator arriving at the floor at the same time.
Tomoyo recovered enough to squeak out, "Mata'ash'ta, Eriol-san!" before rushing into the room and closing the door before he could even speak.
~0~0~0~
The whole day had been a test of Eriol's willpower. He had been so very aware of Tomoyo – the way her hands grabbed his leg, the way she brushed back her hair, the way she bantered with Ernie after overcoming her anxiety over his driving skills, the way her teeth bit into the hotdog with the mustard dribbling over the side – even the way she laughed was such a turn-on. He couldn't remember a time in his life when he'd been so aware of somebody. (There had been Sakura, of course, but then that was different.)
Ah, what a day!
Nakuru was draped over the sofa.
"You were so close, Eriol-sama."
"So close to what?"
"That was the closest thing to sucking face with Tomoyo."
Eriol groaned. "You have an abominable penchant for pre-pubescent terminology. And you peeked."
"I'm still you're guardian, you know – I can peek if I want to." Nakuru smiled evilly.
"Be nice to your poor Master, Nakuru." Eriol sat down beside her, feeling drained yet aroused nonetheless. I need a cold shower.
"Then go get one, silly."
Eriol just glared at her as he stood up and headed off to his bedroom.
@@@@@@
Hello again! Hope you liked this latest chapter. We'll try to update as soon as we can :)
Authors' Replies to some questions re: Chapter Two:
1. Where's Mizuki Kaho in all of this? She might figure in a later chapter – we're not sure yet. (If Sibyl had her way there's be no mention of her at all! But we'll see!)
2. How Touya gave up his Kaijuu to Wolf Boy? Not easily! Syaoran had to prove himself millions of times just to satisfy Sakura's Big Bro. Well, Touya had to give in – it was true love and all :) Touya isn't a bad guy, just overprotective.
3. Why is Sakura not with Tomoyo and Touya? She's on her honeymoon!
4. And where is "yummy" Yukito? Touya hasn't even told us yet! (And we're supposed to be writing this story?!? Talk about secretive men.)