The insane musings of the authoress: I should really be writing "Butterflies" chapter three right now looks guilty but I just decided to write "Glass Roses" instead.

Special thanks to: My lovely reviewers! Blows kisses

Disclaimer: Me? Own CCS? Only in my dreams. And as for Norah Jones's beautiful song 'Come Away With Me', it's not mine.

Glass Roses

Chapter four What Happens When: Tomoyo Makes Things Clear

Last night at Tomoyo's house had been… Enlightening, to say the least. They hadn't got their cocoa in the end as it had gotten so late and Eriol had to go home to Nakuru. But… He was glad he had gone in with her. Glad that she had said she cared about him. Glad that he had been able to comfort her. Glad that he had the opportunity to hold her like that…

He gulped. That was not an appropriate thought. Tomoyo was lovely, but he didn't need a girlfriend. Just a friend would be nice. And he was pretty sure he'd found that in Tomoyo.

It was morning, and, after checking his watch, he made it to be ten A.M. Tomoyo was probably in work by then, but he wasn't going over to see her. He wanted to surprise her later.

God, but it was boring by himself. Nakuru was out, doing God-knew-what, and Suppi appeared to be deaf to his master's persistent calling, wherever the feline was. He checked his watch again. Ten-o-two.

'Come ON!' He thought angrily. Surely he should be able to occupy himself? Lifting his sketchpad, he walked out of the house.

Fortunately Tomoyo made it on time to work that day. She watched out for Eriol all morning as she stood behind her counter, watching the cars go up and down the street and serving the occasional customer. She hadn't seen Eriol, or Akizuki-san, for that matter. She was bored out of her mind, as she was alone, Ms Chase having left her alone while she went to tend to a friend who wanted to bake her own cake but had done something horribly wrong in the attempt…

Ms Chase should be returning soon, and that thought comforted her as she drummed her fingers idly against the countertop. Her eyelids were drooping and the bakery was slipping out of focus, black rapidly crawling over her vision…

Eriol checked his watch and folded up his easel. He had to go now to surprise Tomoyo, and although it meant he had to leave his painting unfinished, he felt that it was worth it.

Eriol walked down the street towards the bakery, having stopped to leave his easel off at home. He picked up the pace a little, wanting to make sure that he caught Tomoyo in time for his surprise to work.

He turned the corner and smiled when he saw the bakery. Jogging to the door, he opened it and went in, but stopped dead when he saw Tomoyo, slumped across the counter, asleep.

It was a good thing she had been sitting on a chair at the time she fell asleep, he thought as he walked towards her, or else she would have fallen on the floor. He wondered where Ms Chase was as he slipped off his coat and laid it over her.

Slightly disappointed at having his plan spoiled, but satisfied to see her looking so relaxed and peaceful, he pulled a chair up to be level with hers and sat, not wanting to leave her alone.

After a few minutes of simply looking out the window and listening to her deep breathing, Eriol had no longer to wonder as the tinkling of the bell announced Ms Chase's return.

"I'm sorry that I was away so long, Tomoyo!" Ms Chase exclaimed as she stepped over the doorway of the store, so busy unbuttoning her coat that she didn't realise anything odd about Tomoyo, or indeed, the person who was with her.

"Oh!" she said surprise, standing stock still when she saw Eriol, and a Tomoyo who was now waking up.

"I'm sorry for waking her… I didn't realise…" She mumbled.

Eriol thought that Ms Chase would have been angry as her assistant had fallen asleep while she was supposed to be watching the store, but Ms Chase was proving to be an odd person, and an even stranger employer.

"I'll tell you what, Ms Chase, since you woke Tomoyo up, how about letting her have her lunch break now? I was wanting to ask her to have lunch with me," Eriol suggested. Ms Chase smiled delightedly.

"That's a lovely idea!" she exclaimed.

"What's a lovely idea?" Tomoyo asked, suddenly wary as she had a feeling she was being volunteered for something.

"Well, Hiiragizawa-san suggested that you go to lunch at his house, and I really, really think you should do that," Ms Chase explained.

On one hand, Tomoyo wasn't sure about having lunch with him after her emotional outburst last night. But, on the other hand, Ms Chase hadn't yelled at her for falling asleep…

"W-well… I-I don't know…." She stuttered, fully aware that she sounded idiotic.

"It's just that Nakuru made this beef casserole thing, and I know that she would be delighted to have an extra taste-tester," Eriol said.

Now there was another complication. She liked Nakuru, and that made her want to go so that she could help Nakuru with her cooking.

"You two kids go and have fun," Ms Chase winked.

"Take an extra-long lunch break, Tomoyo, you earned it after watching the store for so long," she continued, and simply smiled when Tomoyo glared daggers at her.

Eriol, like the perfect gentleman that he was, extended his hand to Tomoyo in order to help her out of her chair.

As the pair walked out the door and into the mid-September sunshine, Tomoyo hissed to Ms Chase as she passed:

"And of course, Ms Chase, you're not being obvious at all!"

They had been walking for a few minutes when Tomoyo finally plucked up the courage to say something.

"Listen, about last night, I'm sorry I was so emotional-"

Eriol cut swiftly across her.

"Don't worry about it. We all get like that sometimes. I have to ask one thing though- did you mean it when you said you cared about me already?"

Tomoyo simply stared at her feet and said nothing, but he took her fierce blush to mean that she meant every word.

"I meant what I said, too. I really will sit with you in the darkness forever. I would never abandon you, Daidouji-san, if you just… Just let me in. Just let someone get close to you. You let me, last night. You let your guard down. It scared you, though, so you pushed me away again. But didn't it feel nice to have someone else with you for once? Wasn't it comforting to know that there was someone who you could depend on, even though people have hurt you in the past?"

"How do you know that people hurt me? I never said anything…"

"You didn't have to. It's written in every expression that crosses your face, and in your eyes, it's that haunting shadow…" he trailed off, his gaze trained on the amethyst eyes of the girl standing less than two feet away, almost uncomfortably close…

She tried to tear her gaze from his azure eyes, as she didn't want him to see into the violet of her own. It was too dangerous as he seemed to be able to use them as a window in which he saw all the secrets and things she worked so hard to hide. But, try as she might, amethyst remained locked with sapphire, and she cursed herself.

"You just don't want to admit that it was nice to know that someone else gives a damn about you. And I give more than a damn, Tomoyo. I want to banish the shadows from these eyes…" He drew a finger across her cheekbone and she stopped breathing.

In the village square where they currently were, a young lady was standing next to a CD player. Without warning she began to sing- obviously she was a busker.

Tomoyo still hadn't moved, and Eriol still hadn't lifted his finger from her face.

"Listen, Daidouji-san, I don't know why you have this irrational fear of abandonment, but when I say I'll never leave you, I mean it. Just let me prove it…" He had now busied himself with tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"No! No, dammit!" Tomoyo said angrily, stepping away from him.

"What? Was it something I said?" He asked. She shook her head violently.

"No, no, it's just that… We keep ending up in these romantic situations! I mean, look!"

The busker, who actually sounded rather like Norah Jones, began to sing again, as if to illustrate Tomoyo's point.

"And it looks like someone agrees with me!" Tomoyo exclaimed, referring to the busker.

"Look around, Hiiragizawa-san. We're in a quiet little village square; there's a fountain over there in the background, there are a few people feeding pigeons, the sun is shining and a girl has just begun to sing a love song. Not to mention Ms Chase's attempts to matchmake us, the evening walk and candle-lit conversation… But Hiiragizawa-san, I don't need a boyfriend. I need a friend."

Eriol blinked.

"I know that, Daidouji-san. I know that. And I don't need a girlfriend, but I could sure as hell do with a friend."

Tomoyo then threw herself on him in a hug; her eyes shining joyfully, his smile answering hers as he held his arms out and caught her form.

Eriol smiled and, as he walked away with Tomoyo, he threw a coin into the collection box at the feet of the busking-girl.

To be continued….

A.N. Short, but hopefully sweet. I just couldn't resist ending on that line, as it was such a nice wrap-up that wouldn't end up feeling forced. This is going down rather a dramatic turn I fear, but it should lighten up when they know each other better and all the events of their lives have been uncovered.

It's fun writing something slower where little details actually do matter, which is probably why this is coming much more easily to me than "Butterflies". Well, it could also be because "Glass Roses" is an ExT where "Butterflies" is an SxS, and anyone will tell you I prefer sapphires and amethysts to cherry blossoms and wolves.

See you next time!

Shattered Midnight Dreams