Disclaimer: I do not own CCS.
Note: Hello readers! This is it! The final chapter! I am glad that you have enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it! It has been a pleasure and I hope that you leave me a last review or comment :) Thank you so much for the following readers: sadistprincess, cheng, hikarihayashi-chan, cainat06, mysticalphoenix-avalon, and candycat30! Once again enjoy and hope to see you soon in another story!
Welcome
When a beautifully glamorous young lady, dressed in a sophisticated cream dress with matching cream heels stepped out of the terminal gate, all eyes were on her. Her rare amethyst eyes scanned her surroundings as men gauged at her beauty and women either envied or admired her poise look. She stepped forward with her purse clutched on one of her delicate hands and her red lips opened to speak. Everyone stopped to hear what the goddess had to say as they waited patiently.
"I AM BACK IN JAPAN! I almost threw up riding the airplane! I am so happy we made it safe! I thought I would have died!" Spinel cried in happiness and he was about to kiss the ground when Sonomi came and linked her arms with her daughter.
"Tomoyo you don't have to be so loud." Sonomi whispered as she saw how everyone was staring at them in surprise and shock that the outcome was unexpected.
Spinel looked back at Sonomi, who smiled at her gently as they walked towards a secluded area in the airport. Sonomi made sure Spinel didn't trip and fall while he awkwardly walked alongside her. She still had her arms linked with Spinel and kept him steady. He was, once again, forced to use awful heels that Sonomi had bought and insisted him to wear. Spinel wished that heels never existed. Even though he complained and wanted to throw it out, Sonomi had told him that they were Loius Vuitton. Whatever that meant, Spinel didn't care, all he knew was that Loius Vuitton were killing his feet right now.
"Mother I think here is fine." Spinel insisted to stop walking as they had reached an empty place, without anyone staring at them any longer.
Sonomi stood before Spinel with a soft smile. "Did you have fun? Even though we had to cut our trip short?"
Spinel nodded his head, "Of course I did." He truthfully admitted and was surprised to have actually enjoyed his vacation in Hawaii. Sonomi was a very warm person, to which he was grateful in being patient with his antics and weird habits. He just hoped that Sonomi wouldn't think that her real daughter had changed too much or was becoming somewhat weird.
"Unfortunately dear, I have to catch my next flight in thirty minutes. I am so sorry that I am leaving you like this, but I have an important meeting scheduled for this afternoon in Shanghai. Would you forgive your mother?" Sonomi asked with a sad smile.
Spinel nodded his head fondly, knowing now how dedicated and hard working Sonomi was. Even though she was a workaholic, Spinel found out that everything she did was for her family's sake. Spinel understood her motivations. "Have a safe trip mother."
Sonomi brought Spinel into a warm and tight hug. Spinel smiled and hugged her back naturally, feeling at ease at how he got used to Sonomi so quickly. It was funny that he saw some of his personality in Sonomi. The way they planned, how they cared for a person, and especially their temper were very similar. He would miss having her around.
"I will call you once I get there in Shanghai, alright? Be safe dear." Sonomi spoke with teary eyes as she managed to push away to look at Spinel.
Sonomi kissed Spinel's forehead before turning around with her two bodyguards and waving goodbye. Spinel watched as the elegant woman made her way through the crowd and towards the terminal gates once again. With a smile and a last glance, the first thing Spinel did was take off the heels.
"Mistress, would you like these instead?" Asked her servant as he presented her with a pair of flat sandals.
Spinel smiled and placed them on, thankful that these were much more comfortable. With that solved, Spinel knew where he had to go and quickly.
"Take me to Eriol's house!" He demanded.
Tomoyo woke up with a start as her big blue eyes sprang open and she was greeted by the familiar high ceiling of Eriol's bedroom. She sighed as the sound of the clock ticking made her aware that it was the start of another day, which also reminded her that she had exactly a week until the end of summer vacation. Her time was coming to an end and she was dreading to leave the house. Tomoyo didn't want to leave Eriol's side, not when she had gotten so close and familiar with him. Tomoyo smiled as she felt the rhythm of Eriol's chest lifting up and down. Her favorite part was to lean her ear against his warm chest to hear his heart beating. Tomoyo sat up and found her eyes gazing around the bedroom fondly as memories flashed through her mind.
"Click." Tomoyo whispered as she blinked. This would be a mental picture for her to keep safely inside her heart. She didn't want to forget anything.
Her eyes then fell upon Eriol, who was still peacefully sleeping without any care in the world. "Click." Tomoyo whispered again as she lingered her eyes for a minute longer before carefully standing up and heading towards the door.
"Click." Tomoyo went again as she looked around the long hallway that led to the staircase.
"Click." Tomoyo walked around the living room, gazing at the furniture and especially at the red armchair that was Eriol's favorite place to sit.
"Click." Tomoyo whispered with a broad smile as she entered the kitchen and remembering all the cooking that had taken place in this area with Nakuru.
"Spinel!" Nakuru walked in cheerfully.
"Click." Tomoyo spoke as she turned her gaze towards the giddy girl and smiled at her friend.
"Click?" Nakuru asked as she quickly picked up the feline creature and settled her inside her arms. "Hey Spinel! I just remember this awesome bakery down the block that sells delicious pies and cakes! I am going to to there now!"
"Sounds great, but is there any special occasion today?" Tomoyo replied curiously as to why Nakuru was in a hurry, she then took notice the pile of mail on the kitchen counter, and a flyer that was on the top of the stack.
Nakuru noticed what she was looking at and she brightly smiled. "Well that is one of the reasons why I want to go to the bakery." Nakuru announced as she settled Tomoyo onto the countertop and took the flyer to show her.
"Grand opening of the new water park." Tomoyo read. "You want to go?"
Nakuru nodded her head. "Of course I do! We need to be extra nice to Eriol today."
Tomoyo laughed at her reasoning. "So you want to persuade Eriol with pies and cakes?"
Nakuru vigorously nodded her head. "Yes! Sweets are the ticket to everything, second to love of course."
Tomoyo smiled. It would be very nice to go to the water park. "I think it is a brilliant idea."
"You think so?" Nakuru eyes sparkled. "I knew you would agree with me Suppi!" Nakuru replied. "I better get going then! I want to surprise Eriol first thing when he wakes up!"
Tomoyo watched as the cheerful teenage girl grabbed her purse and zoomed out of the house in a flash. She couldn't help but to laugh. Tomoyo would definitely miss Nakuru a lot.
It was a cloudless sky that morning as Tomoyo was looking outside the window and smiled to see the sun shine brightly down at them. She then looked at the colorful flyer that advertised the grand opening of a new water theme park. It had been days since their trip to the beach, and Tomoyo wanted to take Eriol out for more fun trips while their summer vacation wasn't over. She wished that summer would never end.
Tomoyo looked outside the window again, waiting for Nakuru to arrive from the bakery. Tomoyo knew that Eriol would say yes without any bribery. He would go because they wanted to go and because he cared.
"You are always so kind." Tomoyo found herself whispering as she recalled the fond memories she had created with Eriol.
"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that." Spoke Eriol as he stepped inside the living room.
Startled, Tomoyo quickly came up with an excuse. "I was just saying how nice the weather is today."
Eriol gazed outside the window and nodded his head in agreement. "Yes, it is very pleasant indeed."
Tomoyo softly blushed as she watched him carefully. He was very handsome even wearing casual clothes. She noticed how innocent he looked without his glasses on and how much bigger his eyes seemed without the frame around his face. Eriol looked less like the powerful mage he was and more like a normal teenage boy. Tomoyo found herself being drawn into him as Eriol approached and took her in his strong arms that was always warm and welcoming. She shivered to his touch that caressed her head gently and a purr would always involuntarily sound without fail. There was no denying that Eriol had a great affect on her and she wanted to tell him the whole truth, hoping that the outcome wouldn't change anything they had right now.
Eriol took Tomoyo along with him to his favorite red armchair in the room. He was about to sit down when suddenly the front doors burst open. Startled Tomoyo stood on her guard, wondering who had broken in without even knocking or ringing the doorbell. What came next shocked her. Tomoyo saw her human body appear and then run towards them with a big smile and teary eyes.
"ERIOL!" Cried Spinel as he dashed to his master without any second thoughts and flinging his arms around him.
"Tomoyo." Eriol voiced in surprise as he watched Spinel carefully and amused.
"MASTER! It's me Spinel! I am the real Spinel!" Spinel explained rapidly as Eriol managed to push Spinel onto the nearby sofa before detaching the lady's arms around his neck. "That is the real Tomoyo!" Spinel then declared as he pointed towards the feline creature still settled on Eriol's arm.
"I can explain!" Tomoyo suddenly spoke in guilt as she was being stared accusingly by Spinel and feeling very strange that she was looking at her real human body.
Eriol chuckled. "Spinel."
"What?" They both answered, but then Tomoyo quickly closed her mouth.
"I am the real Spinel!" Spinel argued. "Master, do you remember the explosion that night in Tomoeda High? That very night I had suddenly swapped bodies with the real Tomoyo Daidoujii. I don't know how that happened, but up until that day the real Tomoyo had been living inside by body! She has been fooling and tricking you all this time!"
Eriol slowly placed Tomoyo next to Spinel on the sofa. By now she was feeling very wretched and guilty that she couldn't even bring herself to gaze up at him. She was afraid that everything was ruined and that Eriol might possibly hate her for keeping up this farce. It seemed that the Hawaii trip was cut a few days shorter than the intended date and Tomoyo had ran out of time to truly confess the truth to Eriol. What hurt more was that her time with him was coming to an end, but if it had to end Tomoyo was determined to explain herself right now.
Tomoyo suddenly felt a strong gust of wind. She then realized what was happening as her eyes darted up and saw Eriol holding his staff. He closed his eyes and began chanting some unknown words and Tomoyo felt her heart squeeze. Once he was finished she would have to return home. The Clow crest appeared beneath them and it started to glow brightly, blinding them, as Tomoyo was forced to close her eyes. She felt a strong force pull her soul out of her body and in less than a minute she could feel that the transition was over. The Clow crest was gone and the gust died down.
Tomoyo opened her eyes and she felt her human hands touch her porcelain face and found that it was wet. She was crying and she knew why. Feeling embarrassed, she quickly wiped her amethyst eyes before looking at her reflection on the window and confirming that she was truly in her human body. Tomoyo was not entirely sure she was relieved that her body was no longer a feline creature. It was a bitter sweet moment, and she could see the sadness and anguish etched on her face. Her eyes then fell upon the second figure on the reflection and knew she had to confront him. Tomoyo stood up and faced Eriol.
"I can explain." She started as her eyes looked upon him and found Eriol looking back expressionless.
Startled that he showed no emotions, Tomoyo was beginning to feel scared that he was already indifferent towards what happened between them. She didn't want him to forget the memories they created together. It might not have meant anything special to Eriol, but it was significant for her. Her time together with Eriol and Nakuru was very special for her even though they lived together for a short period of time. For the first time, she was wanting something and someone very badly. Tears erupted once again.
"I'm sorry. This is silly." Tomoyo tried to explain as she wiped her tears from her eyes, but they seemed to never end. She tried to smile as she continued. "I didn't want to trick you or Nakuru. I didn't want to go this far without letting you know the truth. I never meant to cause any harm pretending to be Spinel. I learned so much about you Eriol. I actually love being here in this house. I love being part of your family. I love our memories together."
Eriol still stood there unchanged, as he watched Tomoyo silently, while she stood there very vulnerable. Her lips trembled as her tears still flowed.
"I especially love you." Tomoyo finally confessed.
"I never asked for an explanation." Eriol finally spoke.
Tomoyo watched as he strode towards her and cupped her face with his hands. He then pressed his lips against hers. She shivered and stared in disbelief, as Tomoyo watched a smile spread across his face widely. His azure eyes glowed differently from before as he kissed her again, sending little electricities all over her body.
"Forgive me Tomoyo, I might have been the one playing tricks on you." Eriol explained as he brought her into his arms and embraced her tightly.
Tomoyo rested her head on his chest and heard, to her surprise, his heart beating fast. That brought a smile to her face as she shivered to hear his voice against her ear while he continued speaking.
"The explosion that occurred that night was unexpected. My intentions and plan was to attract Syaoran and capture him in order for Sakura to rescue him. You came into the wrong room at the wrong time."
"You knew I was Spinel?" Tomoyo asked as she pushed slightly away to gaze up at him.
Eriol felt guilty as he nodded his head. "I did."
"When?" Tomoyo asked. "When did you know?"
"When I picked Spinel up from the ground after the explosion. I felt your presence inside of Spinel's body." Eriol explained.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Tomoyo then questioned.
"You never confessed you were not the real Spinel. I would have gladly switched you back if you had asked, but I found it unnecessary to trouble myself when you were trying so hard to keep the charade." Eriol grinned back, he then looked at her concerned. "Are you mad?"
Tomoyo smiled. "No." She truthfully answered. "There is no reason for me to be angry. It was an accident and I believe it was meant to be."
Eriol smiled back at her adoringly, making her surprised to see his raw emotions. She gasped as Eriol was willingly pouring out the truth through his azure pools, making Tomoyo blush and her heart pound violently. When have he felt this way? Why couldn't she see it before? Tomoyo unconsciously touched his face as her fingers traced the outline of his features, while her amethyst eyes were transfixed with his eyes. It was hard to deny what she saw, but Tomoyo voiced her question, even though the answer was already there.
"Are you in love with me?"
Eriol chuckled at her question." Yes." Tomoyo blushed and felt her heart skip a beat. "I loved you ever since the day I heard you sing."
"That long." Tomoyo realized very surprised. She then smiled and asked. "Does this mean I don't need to leave here?"
"If you wish not to." Eriol replied as he brought her closer to him, making her tears appear again.
"I want to be with you from now on." Tomoyo admitted as Eriol softly kissed her tears away.
"Anything you say." Eriol smiled before he closed the gap between them, catching her lips.
"Ahhhhh! So sweet!" Nakuru greeted them with her chirpy voice as she interrupted them.
Tomoyo and Eriol looked up at Nakuru who came dashing towards the couple and quickly hugged them into a tight embrace, disregarding that her hands were carrying numerous bags.
"This is the best day ever!" Nakuru rejoiced. "We got Spinel back and now we have Tomoyo as a new member of our group! Plus I have cakes and pies!" Her hands then presented the bags she carried, by the looks of it, Tomoyo knew Nakuru must have gone overboard.
Tomoyo then remembered about Spinel as her eyes found the feline creature sleeping on the sofa after the switch. She looked at Eriol who winked back at her, and she knew that Spinel hadn't woken up because it was Eriol's intention in providing them some private time alone together.
"You're cunning." Tomoyo teased as Eriol kissed her cheek, making her blush.
"Look who's talking!" Nakuru accused, grinning at Tomoyo. "You were trying to pretend to be Spinel all this time, but you couldn't fool anyone!"
"You knew about it too?" Tomoyo asked in shock.
Nakuru laughed. "Of course! I knew the minute you called me Na-chan! Something was definitely wrong when you also didn't go hyper when eating sweets." Nakuru confessed.
"Hyper? Does anything weird happen to Spinel when he eats sweets?" Tomoyo questioned in wonder.
"You want to know?" Nakuru asked as she mischievously eyed Spinel and quickly went to grab him from the sofa.
Tomoyo watched as Spinel woke up to find himself being held by Nakuru. He then eyed the cake Nakuru had in her left hand. Alert, Spinel quickly bit her hand and freed himself from her grip. Nakuru cried and tried chasing him again, as both of them began to nosily fight each other. Tomoyo laughed at the comical scene before her. Her eyes then settled upon Eriol as she softly blushed and felt very joyful. He felt her gaze upon him and he looked back at her just in time to receive her kiss upon his lips. Tomoyo pulled back smiling.
Eriol boyishly smiled back at her. "Welcome to the family, my love."
p.s.
It was the start of a new school semester and Tomoyo was looking forward in seeing her friends after their long summer break. She then started walking up the steps of the school building along with numerous students that were arriving. Tomoyo then noticed Sakura by the locker and she quickly made her way to greet her best friend.
"Tomoyo!" Sakura greeted cheerfully as she smiled to see her approaching. "How was Hawaii?"
Tomoyo grinned, "It was fun." She spoke knowing that if she told the truth about her real summer vacation Eriol's mission would be jeopardized. "What about your summer?" Tomoyo changed the subject.
"It was great!" Sakura replied back happily. "But I am glad to be back in school too. I missed seeing everyone."
Tomoyo smiled at her sweetness. "Yes. It seems like it was forever."
Sakura nodded her head. "Yes. I hope this semester will be fun."
Tomoyo then went ahead and opened her locker. She stretched out her right hand to grab her books from inside when her amethyst eyes fell upon the bracelet around her wrist. She smiled fondly. It was the same bracelet Nakuru had bought for Spinel's birthday and Spinel had decided to give it to Tomoyo, making an excuse that he hated to wear a necklace around his neck. The gold bracelet fit perfectly on her wrist and there was the sun pendant dangling on it with three additional pendants added. There was a heart given by Eriol, a butterfly given by Nakuru, and a small cat that she bought herself. Whenever she looked at it, Tomoyo would always remember about her time in the mansion with her new family. It made her smile every time.
"Good morning ladies." Eriol greeted as he appeared by their side.
"Morning Eriol!" Sakura greeted.
Tomoyo's eyes then gazed away from her wrist towards Eriol's charming face. She smiled back and couldn't help but to glow in happiness to see him there beside her. "Good morning." She greeted.
Unexpectedly, Eriol brought Tomoyo into his warm embrace and snuggled closely. Tomoyo fervently blushed, remembering that this was the same way he would have snuggled with her when she was still in a feline body. Tomoyo had found out to her great shock that Eriol never snuggled this closely to the real Spinel. They would occasionally hug and he would pet Spinel's head, but never to the extent he had shown towards Tomoyo when she was in Spinel's body. So in other words, Eriol was freely showing his affection towards Tomoyo when she had no clue about his true emotions and feelings back then.
"Eriol I am not Spinel anymore." Tomoyo whispered blushing, noticing that Sakura and the others students were now looking at them.
"You're right. You are not Spinel, you are even better." Eriol whispered back as his lips brushed against her already warm cheek.
Tomoyo managed to blush even more as she could hear her own heart pounding against her chest. Eriol chuckled, he liked teasing her, but he knew that Tomoyo loved when he showed her his affections without any hesitation.
"Don't tell me you are a couple!" Sakura gasped as she pointed towards them in great surprise.
Eriol slowly pulled away from Tomoyo and smiled nonchalantly. "Yes we are."
"Oh this is awesome!" Sakura cheered happily as she grabbed Tomoyo's hand. "I didn't know you liked each other."
"Well it was fate." Tomoyo replied back remembering the accidental explosion and how she had switched her body with Spinel.
"Tell me how it happened! How did it start?" Sakura curiously asked as she jumped up excited for her friend.
Tomoyo giggled at Sakura's giddiness. She herself didn't know how to reply to that. How would she explain to Sakura that she had fallen in love with Eriol during the summer when she was stuck in a feline body. There was no way Tomoyo could reveal the truth without having to explain to Sakura that Eriol was really a powerful mage and the reincarnation of Clow Reed. Wouldn't Eriol's mission be ruined? Tomoyo looked up towards Eriol, whose eyes were amusedly looking back at her.
"Well, I leave this part to Eriol." Tomoyo suddenly replied.
Eriol smiled as he stepped forward. "I will gladly explain."
Tomoyo watched him carefully hoping that he had some sort of explanation that wouldn't sound too unrealistic. Sakura gave her attention to Eriol, who had by now gotten the attention of the other students that were gathering around him closely to hear the story.
"It all started when I had stayed after school on a Wednesday evening. Distracted with my own inner thoughts, I ended walking to the east side of the school building. I was trying to figure my way around the area, when I happened to hear this beautiful voice singing. Enchanted and curious, I followed the voice and found myself standing in front of the music room. It was there that I saw her practicing singing." Eriol spoke as his azure eyes gazed at Tomoyo adoringly.
Tomoyo blushed, but what made her heart skip a beat wasn't the way he looked at her right at that moment, it was that fact that his story was close to the truth. Eriol then slowly gazed back to the crowd and addressed them once again.
"Tomoyo was very dedicated to her practice. She had never skipped or failed to appear in the music room. All I could do was stand outside the music room and listen to her sing. Her voice was soothing, calming, it touched something deep inside of me. I knew I had fallen in love." Eriol admitted.
"Ahhhhhh!" Gushed the girls in the crowd as they listened carefully and pressed closer to hear him better.
Eriol continued. "I wanted to be some help to Tomoyo but I didn't want to intrude in her training, so I left her notes and occasionally a drink and a snack. I continued to come for about 2 more weeks and soon after, not being able to contain my emotions any longer, I confessed and she agreed."
Everyone cheered and applauded, especially the girls, who were now looking at Eriol in different eyes. The school bell suddenly rang loudly, startling the students as they realized that classes had started. Quickly they dispersed and ran down the corridor to their classroom, hoping that the teacher would forgive them for their tardiness. Eriol was about to head to his class when he felt Tomoyo's hand hold his wrist and keep him from going. He looked back at her and saw her blushing. He smiled and brought her into his arms.
"Eriol." Tomoyo whispered in realization after hearing his story. "It was you who left me encouraging notes and all those gifts. I thought they were from Sakura or from my other friends. All this time you were watching over me. Thank you. They meant a lot."
Eriol gently lifted her chin up with his finger as he kissed her lips briefly. "It was the least I could do."
Eriol leaned his forehead against hers as she looked in his eyes. "Why didn't you tell me before?"
He grinned, "Believe me, I would if I could. I happened to be in the east side of the building planning for my mission and I found you." Eriol spoke as he brought her closer. "I couldn't confess because you happened to be Sakura's best friend and if you knew about my true identity, you would have warned Sakura. I couldn't take that risk."
Tomoyo now understood the reason as her hands cupped his face. "So this was really fate." Tomoyo whispered as she gently stroke his cheeks.
Eriol smiled as his eyes glowed and she blushed. "Yes. I think it is my dear."
Tomoyo smiled beautifully at him. He watched her carefully as his heart pounded violently with the same rhythm he heard coming from Tomoyo's heart. His lips then leaned forward, slowly to close the gap between them.
"Hey you two!" Called a teacher as he spotted the two students. "School has started! You better hurry up to your classroom before I give you both detentions!"
Eriol nonchalantly waved his hand and suddenly time stopped for them. Tomoyo watched in amazement as the teacher was still in his movement and looked like a comical statue.
"Where were we now?" Eriol asked, as he gently pushed her face back towards him.
Tomoyo softly laughed before leaning forward and kissing him gently, while her arms circled around his neck and brought him closer to deepen the kiss.
THE END
Thank you for reading :)