The next afternoon was a Sunday, so none of the four had work. Syaoran watched in the living room while Tomoyo was using the bathroom. Sakura had been doing something in her room and Eriol was sleeping on the couch. The sun was brightly shining through the balcony doors. The curtains were pulled from the middle to the sides to get the sun in their cozy apartment.
Once Tomoyo left the bathroom, she walked over to Sakura's room and locked the door behind her. Sakura looked up in fear and felt relief wash through her as she saw Tomoyo. Thank god it wasn't Syaoran, she thought.
"Where will you get the chords?" Tomoyo asked, leaning on the door.
"First thing I have to do is listen to it and maybe I can figure out the chords of the song." Sakura explained.
She nodded. "So do you know where Syaoran put the CD of it?"
Sakura shook her head. "Let's go and find it."
"Ok." Tomoyo grinned. "This'll be fun. I'll watch the door while you search."
"Great."
The two girls left Sakura's room and went in Syaoran's sneakily. Tomoyo looked through the hallway and saw Eriol sleeping on the loveseat. She could hear a talk show from the TV. Sakura pushed Tomoyo in and started searching for the CD. She started with the closet. It was full of suitcases and clothes, so she knew it wouldn't be there. Moving onto the drawers, she gave Tomoyo a look and was returned with a thumbs-up. She let out a breath of relief and continued her search.
It had been almost 15 minutes and she still couldn't find the CD. Tomoyo still didn't say anything, so it meant that Syaoran wasn't coming anytime soon. Sakura felt like it was a lost cause, so she walked over to the girl and they went back into her room. Sakura tried to remember how the song went, but it had been so long since she heard the tune. Tomoyo tried to help, but she wasn't successful either.
"I guess we'll just have to do it some other time." Sakura mumbled, biting her bottom lip.
"Don't worry honey." Tomoyo smiled and patted her head affectionately. "It's not like his birthday is tomorrow. We've got a long time."
"Yeah I know."
--
Syaoran watched the TV lazily. He felt so sleepy, but whenever he'd close his eyes, he wasn't able to sleep. He'd always have thoughts stuck in his head and they wouldn't get out of his head. Insomnia was taking its toll on him and he didn't even know the reason why. Then Eriol woke up.
"Hey man." Eriol smiled faintly as he sat up and adjusted his eyes to the light. "How long have I been sleeping?"
"Couple hours."
He nodded and yawned. "I'm so tired…"
Syaoran smirked.
"Aren't you?"
Syaoran sighed. "Yeah I am, but I can't sleep. I got insomnia or something."
Eriol snorted. "No one gets insomnia."
"Well I got it."
"No you don't. You're probably just…you probably just got a lot of thoughts in your head right now."
Syaoran shrugged. "I think you're right."
"Uh-huh." Eriol closed his eyes tightly and then opened them.
"Let me ask you something, man." Syaoran said.
"Yeah all right." Eriol replied.
"What happened back there in the car?"
"Oh…" Eriol sighed and rested his back on the couch. "Just something that Tomoyo and I talked about."
"Which was?"
"She asked me some questions that freaked me out." He admitted softly.
"What were the questions?" Syaoran pressed. 'Anything's better than this stupid show.' He thought. Then he turned off the TV.
"Well," Eriol felt embarrassed to say, "uh, I guess…just some…personal stuff."
"Ohh all right." Syaoran backed off quickly. "If it's personal, don't tell me."
Eriol broke into a smile. "Thanks, Syaoran."
"Hey, I respect your privacy."
A few minutes passed between them.
Eriol started. "But…I think…I want to tell you."
"Why?"
"I gotta talk to you about it." He walked over to Syaoran's couch and sat on the edge. "I know you told me that you don't talk about stuff that's going on between you and Sakura, but is it all right if I talk to you about some stuff I'm going through with Tomoyo?"
Syaoran hesitated. "If you feel comfortable talking about it…sure."
"All right, thanks." Eriol looked down and then glanced at the black screen. He paused for a minute and then spoke. "She asked me if I was husband-material."
Syaoran's eyes widened. "What?"
"Yeah." Eriol nodded uneasily. "And honestly…it freaked me out."
He frowned. "What'd you say?"
"I got back with a question…like why she wanted to know and stuff, but at the end, I think I said 'I guess'." Eriol said silently.
"So you're scared?" It sounded more like a statement rather than a question.
"I thought about it and hell yeah, I'm scared. I don't know if I'm ready for marriage, you know? I think she is…and probably she's waiting for me to pop the question."
"What are you scared of?"
Eriol took off his glasses and wiped some perspiration from the side of his face. "When we get married…I don't wanna get a divorce. I don't want what almost happened with my parents happen to Tomoyo and me. I love her, man…and I don't want to end up like my dad and mom; miserable and depressed. I mean, they stayed together for me, but I know they weren't happy. Losing them was the worst thing that ever happened to me. But they died not loving each other."
Syaoran rubbed his friend's shoulder. "I'm going to tell you something."
"Ok." Eriol listened.
"Remember this, man. You're not your dad. You're a different person and you make different choices in your life." He stated. "I don't know what to say about Tomoyo, but if you guys really love each other, I doubt you'll get a divorce. As long as you're in love with her, you're fine."
"You think so?" Eriol asked quietly.
Syaoran nodded. "And if it helps, man…if Sakura asked me that, I'd probably act a lot worse than you."
Eriol laughed. "I don't see that happening, but thanks Syaoran."
Syaoran smirked. "No big deal."
----
After dinner, Eriol walked to Tomoyo's room and lied down on her bed while she pampered herself in front of her mirror.
"Hey." He greeted, crossing his feet.
"Hi." Tomoyo smiled. "What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to talk to you about…the thing we talked about earlier at the cabin." He said nervously.
"Oh ok." She looked calm, which scared Eriol a little bit.
"When you asked me if I was…husband-material, I got real scared, Tom." He admitted with guts.
She spun in her chair with surprise. "Really??"
"Yeah." He sighed and placed his hands under his head. "And I really need to tell you something."
She walked over slowly and sat herself in front of him. "What is it?"
He took her smooth hand in his and looked deep into her eyes. "I don't think I'm ready to be a husband yet."
Her eyes widened.
"But that doesn't mean I don't want to get married to you." He continued. "It's just not the right time."
Then Tomoyo nodded slowly, leaning down. "I didn't mean to scare you, Eriol. And I didn't mean that I wanted to get married yet. I just wanted to know if our relationship's going somewhere." She smiled. "And I'm glad that it is."
He grinned. "Really?"
"Yes, honey."
He pulled her down to him and kissed her deeply. "I love you, Tom."
"I love you, Eriol."
--
Sakura and Syaoran went out the balcony late that night and watched the stars in the clear night sky. They were sitting on a patio bench with a blanket over them. She cuddled closer to him and rested her head on his chest. Syaoran gave a small sigh and kissed her forehead lightly. He couldn't believe how lucky he was to have her in his arms, while she thought the same. He was afraid of one thing, though. He was afraid that she would get through and look deep into his heart, where he felt most vulnerable.
"What are you thinking of?" Sakura asked in a small voice.
"A lot of stuff." He murmured.
"What stuff?"
"How I'll take you out for our first date." He teased.
She blushed and giggled and buried her face in his shirt with modesty. "What else?"
"Work." He said in a more serious tone. "Work just sucks sometimes."
"Mm-hmm."
"But I'm really glad that I got a week off. Except the hard part comes in, 'cause there's a lot of work waiting for me." He looked at the stars and squeezed Sakura's shoulder, pulling her closer. "How about you?"
"I think about our relationship now." She whispered. "I still haven't gotten used to the fact that you're my boyfriend now…and not my best friend."
Syaoran looked down at her and held her face in one hand. "Sakura, I'm always going to be your best friend, no matter what happens."
She smiled up at him with glossy eyes. "Really?"
"Yeah." He bent closer to her face. "Let's seal it." He breathed faintly.
She nodded.
When he got close enough, she kissed him softly and he responded with a gentle kiss. And that's when he realized that he wasn't scared anymore. She trusted him enough and let him in her heart and it was only fair to let her in his.