VIII – Just Plain Milk !
A week after Annette was sent home, not without some recommendations from her pediatrician, the Hiiragizawa family went on Christmas shopping to get some things to decorate the house. It was Eriol's idea to invite the new family friend to spend the holidays with them like they had planned but with a change of location.
In the mall, the girls' eyes were shining brightly at the sight of so many marvelous things the stores held inside their showcases. They gladly could and wanted to buy everything but had to decide against it in order to preserve the general guidelines of the idea they had in mind to decorate the full house. Buying beautiful things that had nothing in common would look discordant; the thing is not just to buy but to know how to buy. They bought several boxes of different kinds of lighting, a huge artificial Christmas tree given that Annette pitied the poor pines; yards of garlands, lots of ornaments and candles, fabric posters, Christmas figures, tablecloths, bedspreads and towels along with many other Christmas' paraphernalia. The thing was that they had never spent the holydays at home, because for poor Eriol and Annette, it was painful to be in such a large house all alone. Nevertheless, things now were different because someone else was among them, and it was quite amazing how just one person can make the difference.
The group reached home at nine in the evening. The cars were neatly parked in the garage and with some help of the sorcerer's help and his creations, the bags and boxes were immediately sent inside the stately house.
"When are we going to start decorating Tomoyo?" asked the little girl with her eyes full of excitement, clasping her hands in front of her chest.
The raven girl was tired for they had spent little more than six hours walking from one place to another, picking things, thinking how it would look like here or there, carrying some bags and all the things that come with an intensive shopping day. But she saw the light in those childish clear gray-blue eyes, and the wide smile those lips with cherry flavored gloss held that she couldn't help herself but sight and say "Whenever you want honey."
"Really?" was the surprised but joyful answer of the British young lady. "Can we begin right now?" she asked still not believing her luck.
Nakuru, who was near them and had eyed Tomoyo had become aware of the barely noticeable tale-tell signs of tiredness and being moved by the kindness of the amethyst eyed woman she made a tempting offer. "What about we all go upstairs to freshen up, then have a nice dinner and begin decorating?.
Tomoyo thanked the gods for such a wonderful idea while turning her head to where the Moon Guardian stood, flashing a "thank you" smile. All she needed was a shower to recover her drained energies. "It's a splendid idea Nakuru!"
Eriol also saw all this and turned to his daughter, placing a reassuring hand on top of her nicely arranged hair. "Why don't you go and take a shower, change into more comforting clothes and come down to have diner?… You'll need all the energy you can get if you want to go through the full house," he said lovingly, stealing a glance at Tomoyo's smiling face.
The girl nodded while smiling brightly and with an "Ok daddy!" she disappeared through the porch door.
"You know, you don't really have to do this just now Tomoyo-san… I can go and talk to her," said Eriol placing a hand on her right shoulder with a comforting smile.
"It's okay Eriol-kun, I myself want to start decorating just to see how it's going to turn out. Besides all I need is a nice shower and all the help I can get from you guys." Spinel floated and perched his tiny self in Tomoyo's left shoulder. "And from you too Spinel, you'll be of great help!" she said caressing him under his chin, making him purr in contentment.
"Are you sure Tomoyo?" asked Nakuru concerned.
"Of course! You two also have to regain energies, decorating is not as easy as it seems to be," a joyful smirk played on her soft cherry red lips. "Now, if you excuse me, I have a shower to take!" and she also disappeared trough the porch wooden doors.
The handsome dark haired young man stood there, watching the recently closed door as if it was the most interesting thing in the whole world. His lips formed a goofy smile and his cheeks held a cute pink shade in them. Both of his guardians watched him with a knowing smile. Nakuru cleared her throat to make him aware of their presence. "Master Eriol, why don't you take a shower yourself? You seem somewhat distraught," said Spinel flying towards the door followed by a grinning Nakuru.
Thirty minutes later a feminine figure stepped out the bathroom dressed in a light blue cotton body-shirt that had written "Angel" in blue glitter and had a SD angel on it. She had on a pair of tight, blue jean shorts that ended just a few inches below her hips, black flip-flops in her petite feet showing perfectly polished toes and a silver ankle-band in her right leg. She rubbed her wet and shiny black-purplish hair to then arrange it in two loose pig tails so that it won't fall down in front of her face.
"Dinner is ready everybody!" Nakuru's voice was heard all over the place.
Tomoyo just smiled contently, went to the bathroom to hang the towel and then exited her room. In the hallway she found Eriol walking absent-mindedly and feeling like playing she increased the speed of her steps to catch him and patted him on his shoulder. "Hello there!" she said playfully, giggling at the expression his face showed.
Eriol who was deep in thought did not feel her coming and got caught off guard, so he almost jumped while his heart skipped a beat and he stopped breathing. "Oh my! Are you alright?" was what his ears registered when his senses came back to him. "What an evil thing to do Tomoyo-san… You scared the hell out of me!" he said holding his chest with his right hand to make his statement the more plausible.
Tomoyo was about to laugh her head off at the sight of Clow Reed's reincarnation. She could have paid all her fortune merrily just for that moment to be taped. The scared face of the almighty sorcerer was priceless and she knew it was almost impossible to see that face again, so she decided to enjoy it while she could. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." Devious words accompanied by an innocent smile.
The British man couldn't help but stare at his guest's far too innocent smile and a smirk formed itself in his perfect lips. But then his deep blue eyes wondered from her smiling face to the rest of her presence, becoming aware of a pair of marvelous legs that were left uncovered by that ridiculously short garment of hers and swallowed hard. "I'll get you for this Tomoyo-san," his voice sounding menacing. The girl in front of him kept her smile but stepped back. "I don't think so…" and began to run the rest of the hallway and down the stairs with Eriol closely behind.
A running Tomoyo entered the kitchen surprising Nakuru who was placing the dishes on the kitchen table. Feeling safe there, the purple princess was about to take a seat when Eriol came in. "I caught you!" he said making her jump behind the Moon guardian, grabbing her by the woman's shoulders. "Please stop it Eriol-kun! I told you I didn't mean to… I apologize," she said looking her surroundings for a better place to hide. Eriol approached Nakuru slowly but firmly, "That's not good enough darling… You must pay" his voice dangerously low. "What's going on here?" was Nakuru's question at their sudden behavior, but no one seemed to pay attention to her. "Onegai Eriol-kun!" Tomoyo made a move towards the kitchen counter but Eriol was faster enough to catch her and began tickling her mercilessly.
"Please…" she giggled, "stop!" laughing lively, turning and tossing to get herself out of his deadly embrace. Tears forming at the corners of her beautiful eyes now shut down like crescent moons.
Annette entered the kitchen with Spinel perched at the top of her head with a curious look in their faces product of the sounds they heard in the hallway. "What's going on here Nakuru?" the childish voice asked just loud enough for the brown-reddish haired woman to hear. "I don't know Ann… Tomoyo came in running followed by your father and then he began to tickle her," a slender index finger against her chin. "Is that so? They look so cute!" squealed the little girl.
"Please… Stop it!" more laughter made its way out from the lips of the dark haired woman. "I can resist no more… Onegai Eriol-kun" she pleaded still tossing, kicking and turning around, trying to hit him in his wonderfully toned chest with her fisted hands in the process. "I've discovered you're so very ticklish and I want to make the best out of it, suits you fine for scaring people half to death" he said, not paying attention to her request. His mind was so intoxicated with her merry laughter that he couldn't stop, he wanted to hear forever that heavenly sound of hers. It just felt so good. "Pretty please! I won't do that never again! I promise!" his mind registered her sweet soprano voice again within laughter, interrupted each now and then by some hip-cups. He forced his body to do what his mind didn't want to and stopped, letting her go free.
"Thank goodness! I thought I was going to die!" she said, calming down. Her face felt warmer than usual and her pale cheeks were flushed. "My stomach hurts so much…" she tried to get support from the kitchen counter since her legs couldn't do that on their own. "I hope you are satisfied…"
The guardians and Annette were watching the entire scene wide eyed. They had met the child in them. "What was going on daddy?" the little girl found the opportunity to ask. "Well, Tomoyo-chan here scared your poor old father to death and I've punished her…" answered the still grinning handsome man. "Why don't we start eating? The food is going to cool down you know" said Nakuru seating herself at the table.
Twenty minutes later, they were all seated on the couches at the lounge, near the fireplace.
"So, how are we going to begin?" asked the Hiiragizawa heiress.
"If we want to be organized, I suggest to give out the tasks" the man in 'charge' said.
"I agree… So how about Nakuru-san changes the bedspreads and towels, Spinel helps Annette and me with the inner decorations while Eriol-kun puts the lights outside…" eyeing everyone in the spacious room, "You might use your magic, it would be helpful and besides, there's no need worrying of somebody peeking because is very dark outside." Her voice calm and sweet as if dealing with a child. "Then, when we're done, we'll get together to decorate the Christmas tree!" clasping her hands with childish anxiety. "So, raise your hands if you agree with me!" she said lifting her own.
Nakuru and Annette raised their hands and Spinel's paw emerged, leaving poor Eriol alone, who could do nothing but smile. "Very well, I suppose is settled then… Now if you excuse me…" walking towards the bags with the lighting boxes. He didn't want to freeze to death outside so he cast a spell upon him to keep him warm. Walking through the big French doors he turned to glance at the raven lady seated Indian-style on the creamy beige couch, talking to those who accompanied her, arranging the last details. "I'll get you for this…" and he left, not forgetting to grab a coat before closing the front door behind his back. No matter if he had a spell on, he wasn't about to be careless.
Nakuru exited the room moments after with all the bags that contained the duvets, towels and stuff; floating behind her towards the many rooms. Annette opened the packages of the tablecloths, candles, Christmas figures and ornaments, while Tomoyo and Spinel began to remove the "everyday" stuff, wrapping them in a special protective paper and placing them neatly in some boxes the creature like cat made appear out of nowhere. They went all the way through the large house until it looked like they were going to move out. Though all the paintings and the grandfather clocks, some chandeliers and things like that remained the same.
"Whoa, we're done with this… I thought we weren't going to end… Are you tired Spinel Sun?" asked kindly the young woman taking the petite winged cat in her hands.
"Not at all Daidouji-san…" replied the guardian with his tiny head raised, clear sign of dignity and pride.
"That's good because this is just the beginning!" and she headed to the lounge with Spinel still in her hands.
When they entered the place, it was all covered in plastic wrapping paper and a huge quantity of things piled up on the couches, nearby tables and floor. The "thing" that was actually missing was the lovely figure of Eriol's daughter.
"Honey? Where are you?" asked the raven beauty making her way trough the papers.
A small hand appeared below the many things. "I'm right over here!" she said letting herself to be seen. "I've organized everything in different categories, see? So it would be easier for us to find the things we want!" a tiny bit of pride in her voice.
"That's good! So let's do this… I'm going to put all the tablecloths on while you take the candles and set them in the chandeliers" a soft smile playing on Tomoyo's lips, walking to a sofa and taking what she needed.
"Okay!" exclaimed Annette excitedly, rushing over the boxes that held different kinds of candles.
"Spinel, could you please help her with those upstairs that are so high?" turning to the winged creature, concern displayed in her beautiful orbs. She was worried that, Annette to fulfill her task would try to put the candles there no matter what and get hurt.
The false form of the guardian beast understood her unspoken worries. "You needn't worry mistress" was all he said.
Tomoyo was taken aback by his last word but when she turned to face him, she found herself standing alone in the big room. Annette was walking through the hallway with a tiny smirk. The little girl had also heard the comment of her father's magical guardian who was floating beside her. She knew what it meant. He had approved of her.
The Japanese woman did what she had intended on doing while wondering Spinel's reasons to say that, concluding that in all the unlikeness it was a lapse. She smiled brightly at how wonderful the beautiful pieces of fabric, with their fancy but not overdone design, looked on each one of the many tables all over the house. "Thank goodness I wasn't mistaken when I chose them in that store" she thought continuing with her work.
"We're done with our chore!" said the clear gray-blue eyed girl when she met Tomoyo in one of the many hallways, placing what seemed to be the last tablecloth.
"I'm done here also! Let's do the other arrangements!" she said placing a warm hand on Annette's head. "Have you seen Nakuru-san?" She asked thoughtfully and Spinel shrugged at the mention of his nemesis.
"Somebody called me?" was heard from the center of the staircase.
"Yes Nakuru… We need your help!" announced Tomoyo waiting for her to come down the stairs to then grab her hand and Annette's heading them to the lounge once again.
Nakuru's presence was needed because if they ever wanted to decorate the Christmas tree after all the house was done and just before Christmas Eve, they were in need of her help. The Moon Guardian placed the figures of snowmen, Santa's, angels, reindeers and so; over the entire manor. The dark haired girls were in charge of the inner decorations like what to put in the tables, some arrangements made with flowers of the season, other figures, some garlands, etc.
Eriol, outside, had planned in his mind a design to put the lights that were lying, for now, on the snow covered floor of the porch. With the help of his magic and a levitation spell he managed to plug in all the lighting sets which looked like tiny rain drops. He decorated de windows, the edge of the roof, the balconies, and the nicely pruned bushes that were at the sides of the path that goes from the front gates to the garage. He also had decided to put some garlands on the fence in a wavy style, also adorned with lightings bulbs that were as small as rice so it seemed like the ornament glowed by its own. Two round garlands also with lights and decorated in silver and blue tones were hanging at the very front gates. With a satisfied smile he walked to his house, leaving the empty boxes behind, forgotten.
When the British young man entered what for two lifetimes has been his home, he was very surprised. It had nothing to do with the house he used to see everyday, it was absolutely changed. Full colored things were everywhere in the medium sized receiver whose main utility was the coat closet and a kind of sitting room for occasional visits. The couches had red and green tartan blankets casually laying on them, lots of cushions with Christmas' patterns were spread out taking the place of the usually champagne cushions. At the top of the fireplace was a nice large tablecloth with tassels at its ending points while Christmas boots were hanging at the edges of it by decorative hangers. Eriol noticed that the boots were filled with something, so he approached one of them and then placed his hand inside. "What are these? Candies?" he thought and got one of the wrapped things. "How lucky, I got a milkyway!" he smiled unwrapping the chocolate and putting it inside his mouth.
"Hello?" he greeted once he entered the lounge that was all decorated like the rest of the house he had seen so far but in a more elegant way. He became aware that they had re-organized the room to leave some space for the huge Christmas tree. He exited to room and was about to head to the kitchen when somebody called him.
"Daddy, are you done?" asked eagerly the little girl rushing her way down the staircase. "We have just finished now, Tomoyo is giving the last touches to the last floor" wrapping her arms around her father's neck who had taken her in his arms.
"Yeah, I'm done… Go to your room, put on a warm coat, your mittens, the scarf and then I'll take you outside" looking fondly at his beloved child, his azure eyes lost in hers. "Remember what the doctor said…" patting her back, putting her down and off she ran.
Annette almost bumped into Tomoyo and the elder girl smiled, moving aside. "Hi Eriol-kun!" she greeted from foot of the stairway.
"I've seen you have done a marvelous work here, is amazing!" he complimented smiling.
"Flatterer… You must also congratulate your daughter and Nakuru, they were of great help" she said fighting down a blush while fidgeting with a lock of silky hair that had escaped from the grasp of one of the hair bands. "How's everything outside?" she asked with a smirk.
"Fine… I came here to take all you girls outside to be the first watchers of the official first light-up" he replied, smirking as well.
"Dad I'm ready!" exclaimed a little voice.
"Nakuru, where's Spinel?" the handsome man asked, looking at the woman that stood behind the child.
"I'm right here" the creature replied flying towards the other guardian with caution.
"So let's go outside! You'll be shocked with my wonderful decorative skills" Eriol said grinning. "Come here darling, you can't step on the snow" he said, lifting Annette in the air, sitting her comfortably in his arms.
Tomoyo smiled at the kawaii picture they made, and followed everyone else outside, making a halt to take her coat like Nakuru did. They walked through the drive way, went out the garden, closed the front gates, crossed the street and stopped at the sidewalk.
"Ok, ladies and gentleman, be prepared for the most magnificent work anyone can do with an outrageous quantity of lightening sets" he said, half mockingly. Everyone just turned their heads to look at him at which he smiled and snapped his fingers. Milliseconds later, the entire manor came to life.
It's hard to describe with words how wonderfully lit was the Manor. Centenaries of lightened rain drops hanged from the edge of the roof and windowsills along with garlands that had silver-plated and navy blue ribbon forming an intricate design all over it with round ornaments of the same color held together remembering a small bunch of grapes.
"Kirei na! It's wonderful Eriol-kun" whispered Tomoyo aghast.
"You certainly out did yourself Eriol-sama…" commented Spinel Sun, sitting in Tomoyo's head.
"Oh my God! Is so cool! I love it!" squealed the brunette woman in delight.
"You made me run out of words dad… can't wait to show the pictures I'm going to take to my classmates" a mischievous smirk played in her delicate lips and her eyes twinkled in delight.
"I must congratulate you Eriol-kun… you did a wonderful job!" the raven girl wrapped in a beige long coat said seemingly recovered from her dazzled state.
"Thank you very much, I must appreciate that coming from a guru in the matter" he said smiling proudly at her. "Let's go inside, is freezing here and Annette can't be exposed to winter cold for too long".
"What time is it?" wondered Tomoyo out loud taking off her coat and placing it on the hanger, rubbing her hands to get some extra warmth as soon as the front door clicked close.
"It's two thirty in the morning… about time to decorate the tree and finish this up!" answered Nakuru. "I'm going to make some hot chocolate okay?" and then left.
"So, let's unpack the tree and assemble it while we wait for Nakuru" was the turn of Eriol to command. Everyone just obeyed and followed him.
The tree was divided in three parts: bottom, middle and top. They quickly read the instructive and began to build it up, with a little bit of magic of course because it was too big. Then slowly they opened each one of the leaves to make it look like a natural fresh pine, and truth to be told, that was a very hard and pretty painful task because the "leaves" often brushed against your skin in the process, leaving little scratches. Half an hour later Nakuru came holding a silver tray with tree cups of steaming chocolate and a cup with hot milk… this time she felt indulgent enough to her partner.
"Wow, it's really huge!" she exclaimed, placing the tray in a nearby tea table and then began to deliver the cups.
Spinel looked at his white beverage in disbelief and then looked at Nakuru with narrowed blue eyes, then back at the drink to then look at Nakuru again and so on for like a minute. "Did you, by any chance, dropped poison in my drink?" he asked calmly.
"Mou, you are so mean Suppi-chan!…do you really think I am capable of such thing?" she said with a hurt expression in her face, a hand against her chest and a shaky voice to deepen the effect.
"Do you want the truth? And for the last time, my name is not 'Suppi-chan'!" he said, emphasizing his hated nickname, glaring coldly at her.
"But it sounds so kawaii and it fits you" her face now showed a thoughtful expression with her index finger against her elegant chin.
"You're helpless… what about the milk?" he decided to change the topic before he gets a headache.
"Oh! It's just plain milk… I didn't add anything to it" she said cheerily.
"How many times I've heard that before? I don't trust you" he simply said.
"Stop being so childish Suppi-chan! You can ask anyone to try it if you want, so that you'll be convinced!" she half yelled.
That sounded congruent, so he eyed everyone else in there besides the Moon guardian and his face changed when his dark eyes landed on someone. "Daidouji-sama, could you please try my milk first?" He really couldn't trust his master that much; he had betrayed him so many times before. Annette?, well she was a little girl, but despite her innocent looks, she can be as mischievous as her father and on the other hand, he knew his future mistress wouldn't turn him down, she is so good-natured to do that.
"It's alright Spinel Sun" she said smiling reassuringly and took the warm cup within her delicate hands, sipping the beverage and tasting it carefully. "There's nothing to worry about, as Nakuru said, it's just plain milk" she said placing the cup on the table. "You know I wouldn't betray you" and then smiled sweetly at him.
Spinel decided to trust her… but the "danger" alarm was still off in his mind, after all, Nakuru being "nice" to him was not something he experienced everyday. His tiny pink tongue tasted the liquid and then proceeded to drink it freely realizing that it was, indeed, just plain milk.