Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN CARDCAPTOR SAKURA NOR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS - THEY BELONG PURELY TO CLAMP

NOTE: The only characters that belong to me are the OC's mentioned in the fic. Not that I actually care about owning them, but I thought I should just mention it. ^_^

Review Replies:

mochiusagi: Yeah, this fic seems to be really taking off now. I've had it planned out for some time, but when actually writing it I wasn't aware just how dramatic it actually was until I read it through again. And now it seems to be getting even more dramatic. Thank you so much for reviewing! I always appreciate your comments!

JBubbles: Yay! I'm back, thanks! I'm glad that you like the exploration. I know that a lot of fics that feature homosexual relationships in the media always seem to be taken too well, so I wanted to be more realistic without going over the top. It's going to be a bit more intense as the story progresses so if I go a bit over feel free to tell me and I'll tone it down. Thank you! I hope that I didn't put too much into this and that you were okay with re-reading the fic again (I know you said you enjoyed re-reading it, but I'm sure you were brought up to be polite ^_^) Thank you once again!

snoopygirl11: Yes, I'm here again! And no, I'm not about to abandon this fic, I like writing it too much although it has taken some time for me to actually get this posted I have gotten the next lot of chapters written. I'm glad that I managed to get the funny bits to be funny and that the characters have stayed relatively in-character as it can be hard to do when concerning these types of storylines. Thank you so much for staying with me and for reviewing!

A big Thank you to all of my reviewers as they always make my day!

NOTE2: These chapters will be going up quicker as I am actually ahead (for once). So expect quicker updates and I do hope that you continue to enjoy them. This is a bit shorter than the last one, but it still contains quite a bit. At least, I hope it does. ^_^

"Blah blah blah" is speech
"Blah blah blah" is the person talking on the other end of the phone
####### is a time cut, but with the same people at the same place

Gypsy Dance
by Brooding Darkness

Part 11

Tip-toeing around the small bedroom, Meiling tried to be as quiet as possible while she collected her previously discarded clothing. The previous night had been filled with wine, take-away and way too much flirting – so much so, she had ended up at Cleon's place despite telling herself that she never slept with anyone on a first date. So, here she was, trying to dress as silently as possible so that she could sneak her way out and hopefully avoid and morning awkwardness.

"Meiling?"

Turing at the sound of a deep voice, the red eyed woman smiled humourlessly at the sleep-fuddled blonde who was now sitting up in bed.

"Hi, sorry, but I've got work. Syaoran and I still have a lot to do on this small business and we're both doing overtime, so... sorry."

"That's okay. I'll see you later tonight though, right?" Standing up now, Cleon came over to her brushing one hand against her upper right arm.

"I don't think so. I'm sorry, Cleon. You're a nice guy and all, but this type of thing never works out when the first date ends like it did last night," she explained trying to reason the situation out.

"That's not good enough. I pick you up tonight and we can have dinner and maybe I'll bring you back here again." Grabbing her arm now, the blonde spoke with a dark undertone which promised pain if she wasn't careful. Not that that had ever stopped her before, mind you.

"Well, tough it out, because I'm not interested and when I say 'no', it means no." Wrenching her arm away she took a step back away from him, staring him head on practically challenging him to act on his unspoken threat.

"Bint. You will do what I tell you to do," Cleon snarled slapping her full on her left cheek. "And if you even try to leave me I'll find you and no amount of money or any of your friends will help you."

"Get stuffed," Meiling hissed back.

Slapping her once more, Cleon's face darkened with fury. He wasn't usually so possessive, but when he wanted something he always got it, no matter who or what he had to destroy in the process.


Glaring at the phone, Syaoran wondered just why he had even bothered to get out of bed that morning. His whole life had been thrown up in the air and he was once again partially single with so much business piling up on his desk concerning the small company that he was trying to help and who were refusing to just see the light of day on the fact that he could save them and keep them going. On top of all of that he had the competition which he was starting to believe was a waste of time – he loved dancing, but he had other higher priorities.

"Damn that pervert!" he muttered to himself. It was all Eriol's fault. He had received an email that same morning giving him further details about the quarter-finals and where they would be held – apparently there was a much bigger warehouse somewhere which had been refurbished to a slightly better degree than the first one. The email had noted the other contestants that had passed the first round and who would be competing against him for a spot in the semi-finals. Syaoran as amused to notice that the weird salsa-come-dancing couple had gotten through along with two others which Syaoran had not actually paid much attention to when he had been there.

"Syaoran, Yamazaki's on line four," Meiling called through the open door from her desk.

"Thanks," the brunette called back. He was slightly worried about her as she had come in that morning bruised – explaining that she had fallen in the shower which was just plain ridiculous – and slightly subdued, which wasn't as subdued as one would think, but he noticed.

Picking up the receiver, Syaoran sent a worried look at the door before speaking.

"Hey 'Zaki, thanks for this."

"No problem, man. I've called Sakura and she's fine with everything so far, but I'd like you to speak to her to make sure that she's really okay with it all."

"Okay, I'll do that, thanks. Do you mind if I tag along if I can make it? I want to support her as much as I can, but I don't want to get in the way if I can help it," he asked.

"As long as she's happy to, I'm fine with it. And if you're there it might calm her down enough for her to answer properly. And we can talk off record too." Yamazaki's voice was full of humour and he even laughed when he recalled their last conversation.

"What could you possibly want to talk off record about?" Syaoran asked, incredulous.

"You, of course! Our talk last time was good, but you left out details!"

"For a good reason, Yamazaki. Oh, and we're on a break, though why is still beyond my knowing," the brunette sighed.

"A break? I thought you hadn't been seeing him for all that long? When did this happen?"

"The day after we spoke. And yes, a break. I don't think we've been seeing each other for that long either, but he thinks that we took it too fast and I have to agree. I like him, but I'm not sure if I like him that much."

"Yeah? Well... Hang on...Sorry, Ran, but my boss is gonna kill me if I don't get this article finished and my desk buddy is crawling my eyes out with his glare, so we'll pick this up at the interview, yeah?"

"Yeah, okay. You get back to work and try to hold down that job. You'll have little tall talers running around soon enough so you need to be in a position to provide for them," Syaoran teased. He could practically feel the blush Yamazaki had on the other end of the line when they said their goodbyes. He had been good friends with the man for quite some time now, and he always enjoyed the fact that they were comfortable enough to have nicknames for each other. 'Ran' was a name only 'Zaki' was allowed to call him by.

It was nice having male friends, Syaoran concluded to himself as he put the phone back down.

"Graham, the senior staffer of Brookindales is on line two, Syaoran," Meiling said, placing a yellow file on his desk.

"When did you switch from blue to yellow?"

"Today. You were the one who kept saying that we had too many blue files."

"Okay, thanks. Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine! Stop worrying! You have enough going on as is. And I want to know what happened with Eriol later on, okay?" She grinned.

"At lunch, I promise," he grinned back.


The last few days had been a small kind of Hell for the green eyed model as the papers had done nothing but rant about her sexuality and were naming her, any of her associates that she may or may not have had past relations with – all of which were untrue – and they were even calling her family. She had managed to keep Tomoyo out of the news but Sakura felt like it was only a case of time before they went hounding after the poor woman. Sakura was just glad that she had made friends with Syaoran again. The man had yet to leave her alone, keeping her spirits up and making sure that she had all the support and love she felt that she didn't deserve after their past together.

Sinking further into her cream coloured chair she held her mug of herbal tea with both hands, putting her feet up so that she was well and truly cuddled and away from the world at large.

"You don't look like you're holding up well," Touya said from his place across from her. He had come around as soon as he could – what with living in a different city and trying to get through to her phone through all of the journalists and bad-mouthers.

"I'm fine, Touya. Syaoran gave me a new phone so only five people have the number – including you. He's been great about everything," she said sadly.

"He's a brat."

"Mou, Touya! Don't call him that! Especially after everything I put him through and everything he's doing for me now."

"I know, I know. But he's always been a brat and he'll always be a brat. Not that that isn't a good thing in this case – and you better not tell him I said that!"

Giggling, Sakura sipped from her tea enjoying the company of her brother since it had been a while since the two of them had gotten together, what with the wedding and her modelling job which took her all over the world.

"I won't, but you better be nice to him when he comes. He's helping me with an interview for a newspaper so that everything gets clear up, and he's even put one of his assistants – one of Meiling's too, I think – to sorting out my mail so that any hate-mail gets burned before it even gets to my managers office."

"Oh? Well... that's nice," he answered not quite knowing what to say in the light of this new information. He knew that Syaoran still cared for his monster of a little sister, but to go this far... "Are you sure he doesn't still love you?"

"He's gay."

"Oh... Wait, what?"

"He's gay," the green eyed woman repeated.

"Since when?!" Touya blinked back.

"According to Meiling... about a year after I left him. Anyway, he's no longer interested in women, so you don't have to try to scare him off every time you see him," Sakura smiled. Touya's and Syaoran's rivalry had been going on for years so it would be weird if they suddenly started acting civil to each other, but it would be nice if they could have at least one conversation that didn't involve them both getting rallied for a fight. "So, how are the wedding plans going so far?"

"Yukito is insistent that the flowers aren't quite right so he's getting them re-ordered, again. But we've managed to get all the suits fitted and paid for, so that's something," he sighed sounding exhausted.

"He's not got any problems with the food, then?"

"Yukito never has problems with food, and just so long as there is some, I don't really care either," he intoned, smiling slightly. "Yue's getting a little agitated though. On the one hand, he seems to be giving off the aura that he can't wait for us to just move in together and on the other hand he seems to be giving the aura off that he doesn't want to be alone."

"No one wants to be alone. And besides, Yue's a twin so it's probably a little harder than it would be for brothers. I mean, I'm a little worried and we're not nearly as close," she shrugged giving out some rarely seen insight.

"Ah, we're close enough," he shrugged.

"Just be nice."

"Fine," he sighed.


The boardroom was actually quite cosy to be in considering he was being sued. The fine chestnut table that covered the centre of the room was furnished with a light polish and the chairs that accompanied it were soft but firm. The Mayor's budget was obviously well used. And Eriol said as much.

"Well, when the last Mayor practically demolished three of the conference rooms we felt that it was only pertinent that we get them rebuilt to be as comfortable and as practical as possible," the Mayor's PA, Jessica O'Hara answered from across the table.

"I think that you should be focusing less on my taste in decor and more on the fact that you have publically named my son a 'gay'," said Mayor John Marbury¹. He was sat next to Jessica and three different lawyers. On Eriol's side was one lawyer plus himself. Not that the bluenette felt deterred in any way or form.

"First, there is no such thing as 'a gay'. That's just bad English. Second, your son is already out publically and just because it hasn't been mentioned in the papers before doesn't mean that no one knows. Third, your son is twenty-seven and a friend of a friend. I doubt he minds that I mentioned him in reference to both myself and one Sakura Kinomoto," pushing his glasses up his nose so that the light was reflected to the rest of the room, Eriol smiled secretively clasping his hands over his lap.

"I am well aware of my son's current disposition. You, however, had no right to mention him – or any others for that matter – when deflecting a question addressed to yourself," one of Marbury's lawyers spoke up.

"Yet this country has always allowed the freedom of speech and there is no law or legal action that you can take in which you can pursue that is legally relevant to my client," Eriol's lawyer, Philip Jonson, responded.

"Except the fact that you publically involved this office with some scandalous fiction in which you have no proof, and that is what we are suing you over," a second of Marbury's lawyers said.

"And what would you like to offer to end all of this now?" Philip asked, raising one eyebrow at the other mans tone.

"£16,000,000 plus a statement refuting the comments previously made and one Eriol Hiiragizawa's resignation."

"Absolutely not," Eriol answered immediately. "We'll see you in court where these allegations you are trying to sue me for won't hold up. Thank you for your time today my lady, gentlemen."

Standing, Philip quickly followed suit as Eriol gracefully stood and began to leave the room.

"The deal is only being offered until next Friday, Mr. Hiiragizawa. You have until then," Marbury spoke from his seat.

"Thank you, John. But that won't be necessary."

##################################################

"Was that wise?" Philip asked as he stood in the Lady Yelan's foyer.

"Probably not. But they can't win, and even if they do I'll have to suffer far less terms," Eriol pointed out. "Besides, I have an 'ace-in-the-hole', so to speak. Well, I hope I do, anyway."

"I hope you know what you're doing, Eriol. I don't work for just anyone, you know."

"I know. Thank you for all of this, Philip. I hope I know what I'm doing too."

Nodding to each other, they parted ways with Philip leaving the building and Eriol making his way to the elevator. He knew that he had no right to be asking Syaoran for any favours, but he also didn't want any of this falling on Sakura.

Stepping out of the lift after a few short minutes, Eriol walked as casually as possible down the floor and to the large office at the end. Coming to a stop at the desk in front of the door, Syaoran's beautiful secretary and cousin was sat with her head over a small stack of files. Clearing his throat to catch her attention, his Cheshire-cat smile dropped immediately when he caught sight of the large purple bruises covering one side of her face.

"What happened?"

"Nothing. Who are you?" She asked sharply, eyes slanted in a suspicious glare.

"Eriol. We've talked over the phone on several occasions. It seems strange that this is the first time we've met," he replied, bring an easy smile to his face to try to reassure her. Her face immediately lit up at the sound of his name and his smile got a little easier at that. "So, what happened?"

"I fell in the shower."

"Do showers have knuckle-shaped bumps in them?" He quirked an eyebrow.

"What are you talking about?" She asked, eyes wide.

"You can tell me. I know how to get things done under the radar," he pushed.

"I fell in the shower. End of story," she insisted with so much gusto that he couldn't argue.

"Okay then. Is he in?"

"Yeah, but I'm not sure that he wants to see you right now," she replied leaning back over the stack of papers. "You can go in anyway."

"Thanks. I'm here if you need me though."

Knocking lightly on the closed door, Eriol didn't wait for a reply before entering. When he did, he was almost knocked over by how beautiful Syaoran was. Even though it had only been a few days, it was like Eriol had forgotten those smooth cheek bones, those large, bright and intelligent eyes and those wonderful delicious lips. Licking his own at the thought, he had to swallow back a spurt of words that were certainly not appropriate at this point in time.

He really was a hentai.

"Yes?"

"Syaoran."

Watching those beautiful amber eyes meet his own blue-grey ones, Eriol wondered for a moment just what he had been thinking when suggesting a break.

"What are you doing here? Is something wrong?" Syaoran worried placing the files in his hands down and standing back from leaning against his desk.

"Not with me, no. But I've just come from the first of a few meetings pertaining to the lawsuit. With what they are trying to charge me with, it might reflect badly on Sakura. I was actually hoping we could work together to prevent that from happening," the bluenette responded. Shutting the door behind him, he pushed his previous thoughts on the lean figure in front of him and tried to focus on the reason he was here in the first place.

"You'll be fine, though?" He queried.

"Yes, thank you."

"Okay. I'm more than happy to use whatever connections I have to help. And if you ever need it, I want to help you too. Just because I'm mad at you doesn't mean that I want to see you in a bad way," the brunette replied. Syaoran licked his lips and shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

"Of course."

Before a second had even gone by, Eriol felt those soft lips press against his. Surrendering immediately, Eriol wrapped his arms around the others slim waist and slid his tongue into Syaoran's mouth. Humming in pleasure, he realised suddenly that he had missed this.

Pulling away after a few moments, Syaoran's face was bright red in front of his own pink tinted one.

"Sorry."

"That's okay."

"This doesn't mean that we're back on, you know."

"I know. It was very nice and I thoroughly enjoyed it," Eriol said, grinning mischievously.

"Hentai."

"Of course."


Putting the finishing touches on the last of her twenty-three designs, Tomoyo smiled with the happiest sigh passing her lips. She knew that she should have been supporting Sakura, but her job was slowly taking a nosedive and she had to use everything she had to pull it back up. So, here she was with her beautifully finished designs and she decided to just take in the moment. Finally, the first of three of her lines was complete.

"Okay, ladies, gents! Well done on helping me complete the first fashion line this year!" She addressed the room in general. The small room erupted into cheers and clapping. Holding her hand up to calm the room down, she continued: "This line is going to be presented at this year's London Fashionworks² and you should all have a large glass of champagne when you get home. Until then, we have two more lines to start and complete by the end of next month, so let's get to work on those. Thank you!"

Walking back into her office, Tomoyo rubbed at her temples again. Giving into her inner urges, the young designer took out a packet of pain killers from her bag and popped out four. It was two over what she should actually be taking, but her headache had just been upgraded to a migraine and she wanted it gone. Unscrewing the top of her bottled water, she quickly swigged back the pills before replacing the bottles lid.

Rubbing her head once more, she moved to the large filing cabinet at the back of the room and pulled out the second largest folder which held the next twenty designs which she and her team were going to bring to life within the next month.

Glancing back at her bag she wondered at how long the pills would take to come into effect and when she would be able to let herself have the next lot. Four hours was a long time off.

"Sorry, boss!" Gypsy panted as he dashed into the clubs changing room.

"Just, Gypsy! You're on in six minutes so get to it!" The club owner yelled from across the room.

"Yes, boss!"

Shoving his bag into his locker, Gypsy removed his coat and dashed behind one of the dressing screens after grabbing his costume. Tonight he was wear a black leather corset-style top and matching leather hot-pant-shorts. Shimmying into the costume he spend a minute slipping on knee high leather boots and ruffling his hair before placing a police-mans-style cap over it.

"Ready and with two minutes to go! That's pretty impressive, Gypsy," one of the other dancers commented from her mirror.

"Thanks Rogue. You're looking good tonight. You're boyfriend propose or something?" Gypsy smiled at her, walking to the curtain which separated the changing room from the stage.

"Nothing like that. Although he did treat me to a very nice dinner at one of the ritziest places in town," she smirked.

"Nice," he laughed. Gypsy had always gotten on with Rogue. She wasn't an exotic dancer because of her past or because she wanted to practice. She had this job because it was what she did, and she didn't care for anyone else's opinion on the matter. He quite liked that.

"Oi! Gypsy! I want a word with you when you get off that stage," the boss yelled.

"Okay!"

Stepping out to take his place on the stage, the brunette had to wait only a few seconds before the next track began. Twisting and turning, Gypsy gracefully stepped and moved in time to the vibrations running throughout the club. Most of the men and women there had their eyes fixed on him and this sent a slight chill up his spine. What sent a delicious shiver up his spine was when his eyes met with dark blue-grey ones while he knelt with his right leg splayed to the ground. Smoothly standing and wrapping his other leg around the pole, Gypsy let his eyes stray to the bluenette sat at the bar at the back of the room.

It was another two hours before he left the stage, and Gypsy was well aware of a set of stormy eyes following his every movement.

"You wanted to see me?" the dancer asked once he was past the curtain.

"Yeah. Is it true that you're competing in a dance competition? That wins you quite a bit of money?" His boss asked.

"Yes. But it won't take any time from here!"

"Doesn't matter. I'm sorry, Gypsy. Really. You're a good dancer and you've brought me in a lot of new customers, but-"

"I don't want the money," Gypsy stated before the man could continue. Smiling sadly at the dancer, his boss shook his head.

"Doesn't matter. It's in your contract, Gypsy. You get paid cash in hand and you don't have to give any form of identity provided you dance at this club alone. I'm sorry but once you've finished your shift... you're done."

Nodding, Gypsy understood where the man was coming from. He had literally walked in off the street a couple of years before and he had wanted to keep his identity completely secret. His soon-to-be ex-boss was a great guy, and he had been good enough not to ask questions.

"Thanks, Boss. I really appreciate what you've done for me. If you need anything, just come and find me. I'd be happy to help where I can," smiling back Gypsy shook the Bosses hand before changing into his next costume for the last part of his shift, and his last dance in the club.


¹A reference to 'Lord John Marbury' from 'West Wing'. I love the guy and his eccentricies, but Mayor Marbury isn't going to be anything like him.

²I made this up. If there is actually anything out there by this name, I would love to know!