"Kaho, where is Sakura?" Touya asked as he sat at the dinning table with Yukito.
"She isn't joining us for dinner dear." Kaho gave a shrug as she laid the food on the table.
"But she hasn't joined us for any meals for three days." Touya said, with a worried frown.
"Today is her lost, because Naruku is cooking and I must say it is simply mouth watering."
"Yes, it usually is." Yukito smiled. "That is why I fear as the years go by; I will get a pot-belly."
"Nonsense!" Naruku walked to the table and took her place beside him. "You will still be the same. After all, not many guys except Touya will wake up at six in the morning to spend one hour running around the neighbourhood."
Everyone smiled as they started eating. "It's not a crime to go out in the morning for a nice morning walk." Touya said.
"Yes it is, when your absence will leave a cold spot in the bed and make us ladies very lonely." Naruku protested.
"But usually that spot is taken up by Spinal after I leave." Yukito added. "Am I right?"
When Naruku blushed and nodded, Touya can't help but asked. "Who is this Spinal?"
"Oh, did I forget to mention?" Yukito laughed. "It's is not a person, but rather our black spaniel." When he heard a sigh of relief, he grinned. "What were you all thinking?"
"Nothing pal!" Touya gobbled down his chicken.
"So how is the wedding plans coming about?" Naruku asked Kaho.
"Fine, the dresses are coming up and most probably completed on Christmas Eve. The grooms will settle the tux. The menu has been confirmed and most of the expected guests will be arriving on the day itself. A small minority will be staying at the nearby inn." Kaho started blabbering.
"How about your bridesmaid?" Touya slyly slid the question in.
"She is… fine. She is most probably hanging out with Syaoran, Tomoyo and Eriol." Kaho grinned at the memory of her cousin's account on each shopping trip. "They will enjoy themselves.
"Sakura!!! This is the third day in the row you are dragging me from bridal shops to bridal shops trying to pick out a matching tux for me! Quit it!"
"Stop whining Syaoran! You complained that none of them is your style. Let's try this one!" Sakura dragged unwilling Syaoran into another shop.
"My, that is the tenth shop already." Eriol smiled at Tomoyo.
"Yes. It is amazing that Syaoran hasn't gone crazy yet." She smiled back. "After all, I wouldn't be able to handle it."
"How about the dresses? Have she settled all three of them yet?"
"I have finished designing Kaho's and hers."
"How about yours?" Eriol asked.
"Well, mine… Eriol let me ask you. Are you sure you want to get married together with Kaho?"
"Of course. It isn't meant to save money. But it is more memorable. One does not usually have the opportunity to get married together with your relative right?"
"Yes. But still…"
"Tomoyo, are you okay?"
"Yes Eriol, but…"
"Why are you hesitating then?" Eriol asked, looking straight at her. His eyes were expressionless, not allowing Tomoyo to gauge his feelings, leaving her unsure and worried.
"I am not hesitating. It is just that, I think I want more time before we get married in front of our friends and relatives that's all."
"Is that really all Tomoyo?" Eriol said, looking away.
"Yes." Tomoyo said softly.
"If you say so." He accepted the answer before breaking into a smile when he saw the pair emerging out of the shop. "So Syaoran, have you found the tux that you like?"
"Yes."
"NO!" Sakura said louder. "The tux he likes is horrible, horrible to be even considered for a best man suit. Come on, let's go!"
"Eriol, help me." Syaoran croaked, being dragged by Sakura.
"Syaoran, you are going to become Eriol's best man. You need to look your best! Come on!"
Eriol just laughed at the plight of his cousin and followed the couple, leaving Tomoyo behind deep in thought. 'How can I ever tell him?'
"Eriol, how did you ever meet Tomoyo?" Syaoran asked him when they were sitting at the fountain, while waiting for Tomoyo and Sakura to try on shoes for the big day. Both of them held on to the bags that contained their suit for the wedding.
"Hmm?" Eriol absent-mindedly grinned. "Not the way you expected it."
"You definitely met her at England didn't you?"
Eriol nodded.
"At her fashion show?"
Eriol nodded again.
"How did you get her to go out with you?"
"Well, I charmed her to come and meet me straight after the show."
"Serious?" Syaoran laughed. "You rascal!"
"I am perfectly serious." Eriol adjusted his spectacles. "And she came."
"And?"
"And we enjoyed ourselves tremendously." Eriol was already recalling the incident.
---Flashback---
"What the hell am I doing?" Eriol muttered to himself as he sipped a glass of Martini. It has been two hours since the show ended and she was nowhere in sight. "Perhaps she wasn't interested."
His attention turned to the door when he heard the familiar jingle of the bell placed at the corner of the entrance, alerting the owner that a customer has entered the bar. When he saw a young couple walking in, he sighed and drank down the remainder of his drink.
"Pete, I will take over the bar duty." Eriol said to the bartender in front of him.
"Yes Sir." The young man replied. "Have a nice night." He bid farewell as he bundled a scarf around his neck and wore a black coat and walked out of the bar.
Eriol shook his head. "I doubt that is possible." He went to the back of the kitchen to wash the cups. After a while, he heard the bell ring again. His heart sped for a moment before he brushed it off. "Most probably another customer with his girlfriend." He carried on washing. However the nagging feeling won't go away, prompting him to abandon his chore and go to the bar.
As soon as he stepped out, he looked straight at the eyes that haunted him for days. "Hey." She said softly, in between chatters.
"Hey, are you alright?" Eriol said.
"Can you have something to warm me up?" She smiled back, even though she was rubbing her arms furiously, trying to keep warm.
"Come to the kitchen, its warmer." He led her there. "Wait for a moment." He rushed out again and gotten a brandy bottle. All the while, he wondered what caused her to be so cold.
She nodded thanks when he poured her a cup before gulping down a mouthful of the liquor. "Eriol right?"
"Yes." He smiled. "Are you alright?"
"Feeling much better." She smiled back. "Tomoyo." She stretched out her hand.
He grasped her hand and immediately felt the connection between the two of them. To him, the name was music to his ears. "Eriol."
"I know you card you sent with the bouquet provided the information. Thanks for the flowers. They are heavenly."
"For a beauty like you, it only fits if you receive a bouquet of that standard." He flirted back effortlessly.
He saw hesitation in her eyes before it lit up with laughter. "You are hopeless!"
"My cousin said once that any father should keep me five feet away from their daughters because I will be able to charm them off their feet!"
"I totally agree with him." She laughed.
"That cousin is a she." He laughed.
"I see." She looked at his attire and watched him scrubbed the dishes. "You own the bar?"
"Yes." He turned to her. "How you know?"
"If you work here, you won't be wearing a suit and leave your tie and coat hanging at the entrance of the kitchen and doing the washing."
"You are an observant one."
"Yes." Her smile widened. "And I can't help but feel that you have called me to meet you here for a purpose."
"Why yes." He turned to her momentarily, stopping the washing. "Let me finish this and then we can sit down and enjoy a drink."
"Alright." She looked around the kitchen as he rushed through the last few cups.
After that, the conversation they had was the most interesting one he had with a lady for a very long time.
---End Flashback---
"What did you all talk about?"
"Politics, history, art, literature, just to name a few."
"I see." Syaoran said. "But I was wondering, how come she was freezing cold? I never knew London have harsh winters."
"Yes they do. But that day, it wasn't so bad." Eriol smiled at the memory. "She saw a lost puppy and she went and returned it to the owner."
"Are you kidding?" Syaoran slapped Eriol's back hard and started laughing. "Man! No wonder you are a goner!"
"Well, I sunk when I first saw her in the pub a few days prior to the meeting. But when I heard what she did that day, I knew that she was the one." Eriol's eyes dulled as he rested his chin on his palm. "But I don't know whether she feels the same way."
Syaoran saw the look in his eyes and sighed. "I know my friend. I know.
"How about you? How is Sakura?" Eriol queried. His eyebrow lifted when his cousin sighed harder. "Not going well I guess."
"Not really, she seems happy, but she is hiding something and she refuses to tell me anything." Syaoran shook his head. "I wish she will open up like last time. She changed you know."
"I don't know. I never met her. But if I recall your letters that you sent me, she lives up to the expectation- she's an angel."
"She is still an angel. But she is keeping something away from me. I can't figure it out. But it definitely has to do with Yukito." Syaoran frowned.
"Who is he?"
"Her crush, until now I believe." Syaoran's frown deepened.
"Man, you have a competition Syaoran!"
"Shut up you moron!" Syaoran snapped back.
Eriol was about to retaliate when he heard people approaching them. "What are you two arguing about?" Sakura interrupted the argument.
"Nothing!" The two men chorused together, causing Sakura smile.
"Nothing my foot! Anyway, we have to go already. I overheard the weather report in one of the shop that the snow will fall harder. Apparently, they are predicting that this year will have a freak blizzard here."
"Oh?" Eriol said. "So that means the wedding…"
"The wedding will go as planned I think unless Kaho-chan says otherwise. So, Tomoyo, don't you try to worm your way out of it!" Sakura pointed her finger at her friend. "After all, I love the dresses and want you to wear them!!"
"But Sakura…"
"No but Tomoyo! Let's go now, before it starts snowing harder!" Sakura dragged Syaoran along. "Syaoran, remember, please to hang out your tux when you reach home."
"Yes I will mother!" Syaoran said in a singsong voice.
"Shut up!" Sakura whacked him once, pulling him away from Tomoyo and Eriol.
"Tomoyo, are you alright?" Eriol asked again.
"Yes Eriol, I am fine." Tomoyo stared at the couple in front of them, as if she rather join them than talking to him.
"Alright Tomoyo, if you say so." Eriol walked side by side with her. What the hell is wrong with her?!
I have no idea how to finish the Christmas edition before the day itself but i will certainly try. Anyway, three days to Christmas, take care and enjoy!! Do me a favour and give me reviews as my Christmas present please. Thanks