Coffee and Tea

Written by: Ciuline Ihmenjo

Card Captor Sakura does not belong to me. The characters in Card Captor Sakura do not belong to me. CLAMP owns CCS. Besides, even if you do try and sue me, I have no money.

Pre-fiction…

I've been writing this story on and off for about a year now. Every time I got a little writer's block, I tapped away at this for a little while and then closed it. Really, I never expected much to come out of it. It was a little ditty that I thought would sound remotely nice. So, after months of writing, I finally sat down and banged out the rest of the story. It wasn't pleasant in the least, but I finally finished. Please enjoy the end results of my – somewhat pained – labor.

Oh, if you don't like any hints of yuri whatsoever (and if you are able to watch the REAL version of CCS – not that Nelvanna BS – and you can't handle that… I find something fundamentally wrong with that argument), don't read this.

If you have any questions for me… just add them to your review and I'll try and answer them as soon as I can.

Italicized words are thoughts. Bold words are emphasis. CAPS WORDS are shouting.

o()o Coffee and Tea o()o

We were currently seated at a café. It was a favorite locale when in the company of friends. Now that the company was only two, we were content to share drinks and stories with each other than with the others. Our little group of friends had slowly turned to nothingness. Although it had tried to stay afloat over many years, slowly people trickled off to do their own thing. Sakura and Syaoran were busy with Li Clan business or trying to keep Sakura on track for her college. She often showed up on my doorstep – poor Syaoran in tow – begging for me to give her a little help with the latest problem that had arisen in her quest for her education degree. Sakura was made to be a teacher, regardless of whether or not she was most qualified for the prerequisites. The girl had some sort of charm that just made you want to hug her.

The dress was entirely casual then and still remains so. I chose to wear a red t-shirt and khaki pants. She wore a simple dress in tones of somber black and grays and white. I think her colors weren't bright enough to match how much she shined in each of our lives.

"So," Tomoyo began, "you got a wedding invitation yet?"

"Of course," I nodded, stirring some milk into the ceramic cup before me. "It's hard to believe that he finally worked up the courage to ask her to marry him."

"Not really." Tomoyo smiled. "We all prodded them in the right direction, no? It took him long enough." A pregnant pause followed. The only sound was that of two people sipping on warm liquid. "After all, Sakura is happy now, and that's all that matters."

"Yeah, I guess so." I set my cup down. "So much has happened lately, right? And here we are, in the middle of everything, sipping on drinks in this old café."

"You say that like it's a bad thing." Tomoyo flashed a slight smile and closed her eyes. After a moment, she looked at me and the smile returned. "It seems like just yesterday that we were sitting here reviewing for Terada-sensei's class." She still had her camera running. It was sitting at the edge of the table, propped at an upward angle with a stack of napkins. The lens was focused in our direction. I really didn't know where this little event would go in her video diaries.

She didn't tape so much of just Sakura anymore. It usually carried videos of Sakura with Syaoran. Sometimes it was just Tomoyo walking around and talking about things that were going on in her life. She looked so lonely. I wanted to comfort her.

At one point, I considered loving her instead of all the guys who I had tried to date after Syaoran, but that idea didn't sit well in my head… or my stomach. I abandoned it and became friends with her. In the end I think that worked out the best. After all, we had some of the best conversations over her tea and my coffee.

She looked towards the window, then back at me. Her shoulders sagged and she sighed. Finally, she bit her lower lip. I'd come to recognized that she would do so only in deepest thought. After a moment more, her head turned to the side, and her hand fumbled for a spoon. The utensil was then dunked into her tea. Her gaze was focused on a group of fluffy white clouds drifting lazily past the portal provided by the café's large front window. Her hand was supporting her chin as she idly stirred her tea. Finally, she turned back to me.

"Why do we keep doing this?" she said softly.

I didn't know, but I supposed some answer would be better than none. "I… you… we like the company, that's all. I mean, it's become almost a ritual for us, no? Sunday afternoons Meilin and Tomoyo go for a drink in the old café." I forced a smile.

"Do you know that…" She trailed off and began gnawing on her lower lip again.

"What?" I asked, reaching out to tap her on the shoulder. "What were you saying?"

"I like these moments," she replied. She took a sip of her tea and the spoon tapped her on the nose. Her nose crinkled and her eyes narrowed before she dropped the spoon on the table. The cup never left her mouth.

"I like them, too." It was dead truth. Each time we met, I felt like I really wasn't alone. As long as I could drink in the company of friends, I would not be alone. I wouldn't have to think about all the guys who abandoned me.

"You know," she began, "we haven't really done much since Terada-sensei and Rika got married two summer's ago. Although, Yamazaki and Chiharu have their ceremony scheduled for sometime near the end of this year." She paused and cocked her head slightly. "I mean, Sakura and Syaoran finally got engaged. Everyone seems to have someone else they are usually preoccupied with, yet here we are with no one other than ourselves." She swept her hands out before her body as she spoke.

"You have Eriol," I pointed out. The slight scowl on my face did not disappear as quickly as I thought it had.

She noticed it instantly. "Eriol has Kaho," she muttered, staring into the murky surface of her tea, "he doesn't need me for anything other than an advisor."

But I don't have anyone who really acknowledges me other than a general nuisance. The words were sticking in the back of my throat, and I knew that I would not dare to utter them in her presence. "Even then, I'm glad that you two keep in touch." I closed my eyes to fight the tears that were beginning to well up in them.

"We don't really." The wan smile on her lips struck home as something resembling the look I usually saw in my mirror after talking to Syaoran on the phone. It reminded me so much of my own expression that I found myself gasping softly in surprise. She arched an eyebrow in response and continued without a pause. "Well, he usually just calls to ask about what he should do with or about Kaho." Her smile turned into a smirk. "Although, I find that usually he ends up resolving it on his own while we talk, but I'm sure that he doesn't realize it at all. He'd probably stop calling if he did." Her tone was almost wistful towards the end of her words.

"And I'm sure that there are times where he likes nothing more than the conversation of a non-magical human being." Sometimes, I wish my own family would seek that kind of conversation out of the blue instead of just when it became a necessity. Maybe it was why I liked sitting in this old café. The memories were warmth for my cooled heart. Every little memory that I had of my past was able to take a little more ice from my heart. I liked that warmth, that melting; it was my motivation to live.

I looked up when she coughed softly. I think it was more to get my attention that anything else. She smiled and rested her chin on her hands. Her elbows were at the edge of the table and the cup of tea had been neatly set aside while I had lost myself in my thoughts.

"How's Syaoran been doing?" she asked suddenly.

"Huh?" The question surprised me.

"Syaoran. You don't talk about him too much any more. I mean, you barely say 'fine' and that's all that I get out of you. So, how is he doing?"

I stared at my coffee, into the black murk that had been emitting a steady thread of steam until a few minutes ago. "Sakura doesn't tell you enough about him?"

"She only talks about what they do together. Stories of long walks in the park and deep kisses in the moonlight are all that I get from her. Although, I think that she's dramatizing the events a little. Knowing Sakura, that little dramatizing is probably quite a lot." She giggled and beamed as she remembered some pleasant memory.

"Syaorn really doesn't tell me that much. He's usually too busy with her and doing things for the clan to pay much attention to me."

She smiled and shook her head. "You're really worth paying attention to, though," she said softly. I cocked my head to the side and watch the room tilt. Tomoyo just kept surprising me, and I wasn't sure which direction to go afterwards. I was about to open my mouth in response when a loud beeping cut me off.

My attention turned to her camera just as she glanced over at it. The little red battery light flickered a few times before fading to black. I shook my head and drew my focus back to her. She was packing the electronic device back into its square bag, muttering something about recharging. Finally, she sat up and folded her hands on her lap. Her tea, by now, was undoubtedly too cool for her usual tastes. The little trail of steam had long ago faded away into nothingness. Nevertheless, I was snapped out of my trance when she audibly took a sip of it.

"I thought you hated cold tea."

"So did I." She looked up and grinned, placing the white porcelain back onto the saucer. "You know, you never got around to telling me how you're love life has been going."

"It hasn't," I replied. I don't think there was anything to say other than that.

"Oh." It was all she said at first, but when I tried to speak, she continued. "What happened to all those guys that you were dating? I mean, you sounded really happy about that Isao guy."

"He wasn't as good as I thought he was." I remembered leaving his apartment after I had crumpled him on the floor. I had thought he was different, but the temptation of his bed and my nude body had proved far too great for him to overcome. Of course, he hadn't really managed to do much about removing my clothes, nor was he all that successful with his attempts at it. All I had done was raised my knee and felt him lift off the ground. Then a loud thump that sounded suspiciously like a body bouncing off the floor echoed through his apartment. The next day, he had apologized – profusely – which had at least managed to keep our acquaintanceship intact.

Sometimes I wondered why I kept allowing myself to be so easily fooled by these guys. It wasn't like I didn't know what they were thinking. It was more that I just didn't care. The temptations of companionship can do that to a person sometimes. I sought companionship like a druggie searching for his fix.

"You seem to have that problem a lot," Tomoyo commented.

"Excuse me?" I said, slightly confused.

"You seem to have the problem with finding a good guy," she answered. Her tea cup was now full, leaving me with no recollection of how it had gotten that way. I looked down and saw that my coffee was now sending out a little dancing column of steam.

Grabbing the cup, I took a quick sip and looked back at her. I grimaced as the bitter taste flooded my mouth. Needs more sugar. "It's not like I can do much about that. Once you've dealt with someone for such a long time, you begin to search for others like him."

"So, the reason you can't find a boyfriend is because they aren't like Syaoran?" She snorted. "That has to be the most brick-headed thing I've ever heard." She scowled and shrugged. "I guess it can't be helped, but there are plenty more fish in the ocean. You just have to find the one you like and bait it right. Someday you'll get the right guy."

"Well, I just happened to like that fish," I said with a slight smirk. She rolled here eyes and put her palm to her forehead.

"I can't believe you."

"Nor can I."

We shared a giggle and sat back to contemplate the conversation. I finally looked up and closed my eyes. When I opened them, she was a handful of centimeters away from my face. I jumped in surprise, colliding with her skull in a dull thump. She winced and rubbed the spot with her fingers and the looked up at me as I was doing a credible imitation of her at the moment. Finally, the tiny ache disappeared from the center of my forehead and I leaned over the table, fully intending to slap her playfully over the head. That wasn't the plan my brain seemed to be following. I don't know what came over me at that moment, but I moved closer to her. "You have some sugar on your lips."

It was corny and stupid, but it was all I could think of before I felt her lips on mine...

Post-fiction…

I have no clue what came over me when I started writing this story. Really, I think it was a desperate effort to do something other than stare at the same three words on me screen for the past two-and-a-half hours. Really, I suppose this story is my salvation from constantly looking at Fallen Neo. Please don't judge it too harshly (and if you do end up getting to this little closing remark section… do send a review my way!).

See you next update: Ciuline Ihmenjo