Never Melt

Chapter Two: Sugar to Kindness

Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptor Sakura.

AN: This chapter is based on the Valentine's Day treats from the manga.

Not using contractions is too hard, so I'll leave them in. Also, there is no magic in this fic, except for the magic of love.

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Sakura sat in the kitchen of the big castle, watching as her best friend and cousin Tomoyo cooked up something delicious. She did not know what her friend would make, but since it was Tomoyo cooking, it would always be good. She passed her the ingredients she called for.

"What kind of cookies are you making?" Sakura asked.

"I don't know what shape they will be," said Tomoyo as she tasted the batter, "but they will be very sweet. You like sugar, right?"

"And honey," Sakura added. "I want to cut the dough!"

When they finished, there were a dozen palm-sized cookies; each was in the shape (or somewhat in the shape) of stars, hearts, and random teddy bears with icing for eyes.

"How many will you take?" Sakura asked.

"Five, for my mother and some friends at home."

"Then that would leave me with…" Sakura's face contorted in concentration. "…seven?"

"Yup!"

"Okay, so that means there will be one for Father, Big Brother, Kero… but Kero will want extra, so that's… hang on… If I give three to Kero and one each to the visiting old man and Syaoran, that would be perfect!"

"Don't you want any?"

"Um… I hadn't thought of that…" Sakura raked her brain for more possibilities.

"Why don't you give two to Kero? That way, you can have one, too."

Although Tomoyo's reasoning was superb, Sakura felt that Kero couldn't handle having just two. She was sure Kero felt that way, too.

"Ah! I have it! Here, give Kero this!" And the brilliant Tomoyo pulled from her dress pocket something wrapped in delicate paper. It was a nice, round sweet bun. "I don't really need it, and since he's always hungry… Here."

Sakura was sincerely touched. "Aw, thank you, Tomoyo! You're the best!" Tomoyo beamed.

"Let's hand these out before they get cold!"

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It was dark in the room Syaoran was in. The sun was already out, and there was a huge, tall window, but someone had come in and drawn the curtains. Someone had also secured them together with a ribbon. There was no way a little kid could have reached the knot, never mind undone it.

The room was filled with tall shelves that snaked along each wall. They held the most impressive-looking books. Syaoran wondered whether it was possible to read them all. He selected a random volume and opened it. Its title read, "Clow."

This must be the Clow Sakura was talking about, he thought. He began to read it.

The Clow told of the adventure of a cardcaptor whose only goal was to bring happiness to the people around her. The Cards she had to capture were modeled similarly to the folklore of his old home. For some unknown reason, the cardcaptor reminded him of Sakura.

In her world, there was no one right way to do things. And people became happier after meeting her. In fact, the everyone around her seemed to be touched by her sweetness in one way or another.

But maybe he was over-thinking things. No one could be that unassuming, kind-hearted, perfect.

"Hello?" a muffled voice asked. "May I come in?"

"Go ahead."

The object of his curiosity stepped in, completely oblivious to the cold and dark. "The old man said you would be in someplace like this. Do you want a cookie? Tomoyo and I made them this morning. Well, actually, Tomoyo made them. I just picked their shapes."

"I don't need it," Syaoran replied icily. In reality, he didn't like cookies or anything with high sugar content. He didn't see refusing the offer as impolite, either. He was simply honoring his taste buds.

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"I see." Tomoyo had said the same thing, but the meanings were completely different. Something in Syaoran's tone chilled her. Yesterday, he had been enjoyable and friendly, but today he proved he could be just the opposite. Syaoran's attitude mystified her. Couldn't he be one thing and stick with it?

Yet to Sakura, this only meant he was a new thing to understand. Everyone had their differences. It was her job to respect those differences. If everyone were the same, that would be boring, wouldn't it?

"Um, why don't you want it?" she couldn't help asking.

"I don't like sweets," he said not unkindly. "But since you went through the trouble of making it…" He felt his inner resolve collapse. "But since you made it, I guess I'll like it." Sheepishly, he accepted the cookie. "…Is that all you came to say?"

Sakura smiled. "Yes, so I'll be out of your hair in no time! Ah, have you seen Kero? Kero is a pig, so I have to give him two cookies and a bun." She pouted a little and shook her fist in a teasing way. Then in a flash, she disappeared.

Syaoran couldn't remember when she left. The occurrence seemed so abrupt; he was left wondering if she really was a magical cardcaptor, like the girl from The Clow.

"Sakura…" But she was gone before he could say anything. What would he have said, anyway?

He looked at the book that still rested on the oak table. Why didn't he like sweets? He really didn't know…

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AN: Augh… Too many ellipsies or whatever the "…"s are called. -- Old habits die hard.

Does anyone know what food or what kind of food Syaoran likes? Should I put an ET pairing, too?

To lovendreamz: Thank you for reviewing! You're my first reviewer for this fic. Thank yooooou! hugs

To SnowNekoGirl aka Yuki Shirogane: Thank you so much! I was so thrilled somebody else reviewed, I went right back to the laptop to write chapter two! --

Thank you for reading:) Please leave a review!

(And for those of you that don't review… A plague on all your houses! o Just kidding. Er… I don't own Romeo and Juliet, either… --')