Disclaimer: CCS still belongs to CLAMP. Yeah, I know.
Author's Notes: I'm not abandoning Now and Forever, promise. I just don't know how to continue it without being too rash so I'm settling, for the meantime, with one-shots since they're awfully cute and fluffy.
Summary: We all know (or wanted) that Eriol loves Tomoyo. But wouldn't it be interesting to know when he started loving her? E&T Fluff all the way.
Pizza Crust
by Hidden Tala
It was Saturday, almost dusk, when she felt Eriol's aura in Tomoeda. Sakura immediately contacted him and told him to meet them (herself, Syaoran and Tomoyo) at the King Penguin Park. Five minutes later, they were sitting under a big cherry blossom tree, wolfing down the pizza that Eriol bought.
"Can you please pass the hot sauce, Syaoran-kun?" the thirteen-year-old Sakura said, not looking up from her pizza.
Her boyfriend silently obliged, handing her the sachet in her outstretched hand. He watched her tear it by teeth hurriedly, her grip on it tight, and he was thoroughly amused when it splashed on her face.
"Aaaa!"
The girl on his left emitted a soft, melodic 'ohohoho' that was very audible.
"Sakura, you don't really have to pig out," Syaoran said gently or rather exasperatedly, wiping her catsup-splotchy face with his tissue. "No one's taking your pizza away."
She pouted then scowled at him. "I was not pigging out. I was just excited to eat an Italian food!"
"You've served me pasta before," he pointed out. "That's Italian too."
"But I've never eaten pizza before!" she cried, pouting cutely. The she turned to Eriol and gave him a very grateful smile. "Arigato, Eriol-kun, for buying the pizza. I was really intrigued when Yukito-san told us it tasted good."
Feeling slightly possessive, Syaoran hooked an arm around her making the two dark-heads chuckle at his antic.
"So, Hiiragizawa, you're really staying here for good, huh? And, with your guardians too, yeah?" Syaoran asked, taking a bite on his slice.
"Hai," Eriol answered in his deep baritone voice.
"Where will you stay? Your house has been demolished a year ago," Sakura said, eating the crust first before the pizza itself.
"I talked to Mizuki-sensei and she told me that I can stay at the shrine."
"What made you come back?" It was Tomoyo's turn to ask. "Do we still have magical cards to worry about?"
Eriol shook his head to negate her assumption. "No. I just had to come here. It was a rash decision, yes, but I felt like I just had to go back…"
Then they were all silent. The sun descended from its high and mighty position in the sky. They watched the as heavens dim with the moon and the stars sneaking up its way upon it. A lovely sight.
How awfully romantic.
As if it had life on its own, his hand was suddenly touching Tomoyo's shoulder and she was looking at him in complete puzzlement. "What is it?" she asked, an eyebrow raised.
He opened his mouth and closed it. Then he looked on his other hand and found the crust of his pizza, his most favorite part. Unwittingly, he gave it to her to compensate for his lack of anything to say.
He saw the question in her eyes but she took it without hesitation.
Eriol felt utterly stupid for a moment. What a silly move, that was. Why give to her anyway?
But later had he realized that that was why he came back.
Seven years later…
"Happy Third Anniversary, Eriol!" Tomoyo greeted, giving him a sound kiss when she opened the door to her apartment.
"Well, well, well, aren't we chirpy today?" he said slyly, his eyes dancing in amusement.
She playfully slapped his arm then helped him with the goods. "What do we have here?"
"I rented "Ever After" as requested," he began, showing her the DVD of the film. "And an order of lasagna, carbonara and pizza."
They settled on the dinner table and unpacked the foods. Tomoyo frowned when she hadn't found what she's looking for. "No ice cream?"
Eriol chuckled and brought two pints of ice cream out of nowhere. "There, cookies and cream, duchess."
Tomoyo swatted a pint on his hand and brought the pizza box to the living room.
"Come on, let's watch the movie!"
Thirty minutes later…
"Do you still remember when you asked me to be your girlfriend?" she asked as they cuddled on the couch, munching on the pizza together.
Eriol sighed, making circle patterns on her shoulder. "Yes, sweetheart. That was rather an unforgettable experience."
Tomoyo giggled, looking up at him. "Oh, yes. It was unforgettable, wasn't it?"
"Yeah, yeah."
She clasped her hands happily as she remembered what happened that day. "You screamed like a girl!"
"I did not!"
"You did too!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
"Oh, shut up," he said sulkily, taking his hands off her.
Tomoyo laughed at him and kissed his cheek. "Oh, Eriol, don't be such a spoilsport! Sakura-chan and Li-kun were just playing with you. Remember, you trapped them too in the elevator, right?"
"Yes! But-"
She nodded solemnly. "Yes, Li-kun did not scream like a girl."
"Knock it off. I did not scream like a girl. I'm claustrophobic."
"Oh yeah and I'm the queen of the world," she muttered under her breath.
"What?"
"Nuthin'."
He grumbled to himself making her laugh harder.
"Oh, you were really nervous then," she said, loving the memory of him inside that elevator. "You were stuttering and babbling like an idiot. Really. So I just said yes to keep you from making a fool out of yourself."
"Brbrbrbrbr."
A pregnant pause.
"But I just want to know… How, I mean, when did you know that you loved me, Eriol?" She raised her head to be leveled with his, her eyes wary. "When, Eriol?"
His forehead creased in thought. Yeah, when? he, too, asked himself that.
Then he shrugged and took a bite of his pizza.
"Oh c'mon, you just can't forget about it!" She poked his ribs and slapped his arm, very violently.
"I really can't remember, Tomoyo," he answered wearily, prying her hands away.
Tomoyo was giving him the 'looks'. She was getting annoyed at him, he can tell.
Then out of habit, he left the crust of his pizza uneaten and gave it to her.
She huffed in full blast of annoyance. "I hate it when you give me the leftover part! Why'd you always give me the crust instead of the whole pizza?"
He looked startled for a moment and it turned into a sheepish smile. "I'm sorry, love. I thought you liked it too since you're taking it every time I give it to you."
"Yeah, so?"
Eriol sighed. "It's my favorite part of the pizza, duchess. And because I love you, I want you to have it. I'm sorry if you thought I was giving you my leftovers."
She blinked, a couple of times. Confused and bewildered.
Then a memory of one afternoon suddenly came flooding back to her…
As if it had life on its own, his hand was suddenly touching Tomoyo's shoulder and she was looking at him in complete puzzlement. "What is it?" she asked, an eyebrow raised.
He opened his mouth and closed it. Then he looked on his other hand and found the crust of his pizza, his most favorite part. Unwittingly, he gave it to her to compensate for his lack of anything to say.
He saw the question in her eyes but she took it without hesitation.
Her hardened features softened, and she gazed at him lovingly.
"Kiss me, Eriol."
Author's Notes: Okay, that was weird but I like it. So, how was it? Review! Review! Review! Thanks for reading! (",)