People are going to kill me for this....I really, really have to apologize for taking so long
on this!! Everyone, I know you're ready to slaughter me, but the epilogue's finally up,
so please don't shoot! *cringes* I had really bad roadblock for what to do as an
epilogue -- considering they never really had one in the Disney movie. But this isn't
exactly canon to the movie anyway, so...here it is! Warning: there are many different
cultural mentions in this fic (I was doing a project on Europe, and the information kinda
stuck ^^*), it's pretty fluffy in some cases, a little more serious in other places, and
just a _teensy_ bit limey at the very end -- you judge ;p. Also, the theme has changed
slightly, to fit the Amy Skye song...you'll understand if you read. It may seem a bit long
and boring at the beginning, but I really think that it fits together well and relates to the
entire story, so...hope you enjoy! And it's finally done!

And one other thing...um, Priya-chan brought to my attention that some of my chaptering
system is messed up at Fanfiction.Net (though I don't know HOW that happened)...
does anyone know how I can fix it? Please tell me if you do, okay, and thanks!




Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura, Celine Dion's 'Beauty and the Beast', nor
Amy Skye's 'I Believe in Us'...which is really too bad, because all these are
wonderful, and you all need to see/listen to them. *sobs*











TALE AS OLD AS TIME:

~I Believe In Us~







(Eight Years Later)






A single young woman strolled along the Promenade de Anglais in Nice, on the French
Riviera, watching and examining the people around her with casualty. Nice was a very
popular tourist attraction, and people from all kinds of nationalities: Spanish, Russian,
English, French, and in her case, Japanese, came to walk along this famous walkway and
simply enjoy the warmth of the sun and the Mediterranean Sea.

This young woman technically was no different than any other person there. She
appeared to be between eighteen to twenty years of age, just old enough to be walking
alone like this and not arouse any suspicion. Yet somehow, she stood out among all
others there; male heads would turn like steel attracted to a magnet when she did
nothing but pass them by. It was for a reason, however. This lady was incredibly
beautiful, a beauty that seemed to have been passed down from the angels. Long,
violet black hair pulled back from glistening amethyst eyes that seemed so much older,
and more worldly than her years, set in a creamy pale face, she walked with practiced
ease and moved with natural elegance, dressed in a powder blue dress which matched
the ribbon that held her hair back. The lady was stylish, as her dress was obviously
Parisian and high fashion.

Yet she paid no attention to the stares she was beginning to draw; indeed she looked
all too used to it. Stopping at a cafe, she sat down at one of the outdoor patio tables,
crossed her legs, and waited for somebody. For a moment, she stared transfixed at
the shimmering sea that was not far away, then she opened one of the notebooks she
had been carrying, ordering a small drink in flawless French when the waiter came over
briefly.

Daidouji Tomoyo smiled softly as she pulled the latest letter of Hiiragizawa Eriol out of
her notebook, skimming over the page yet again. He had written it from Spain, where,
to her knowledge, was the last place he'd been for one of his mysterious business trips.
That had been almost a month ago. She sighed as he mentioned it; his business was what
had made him leave eight years before, and she hadn't seen him since.

And would never see him again, her ever-rational mind reminded her yet again. And a
wave of sadness threatened to sweep over her, but she firmly battled against it; she
would _not_ allow herself to be like this. Not today.

A carefree laugh, almost like a child's, caught her attention; immediately, she looked up
with a brighter smile aimed at her two best friends. "Li-kun, Sakura-chan, hi," she
greeted. "Did you enjoy yourselves?"

A small, yellowish thing partially popped out of Sakura's handbag with an impish grin.
"Tomoyo-chan, forgetting about me?" it asked in an injured tone. "I never knew you
could be so rude."

Tomoyo wrinkled her nose playfully with a teasing smile toward the Guardian Beast of
the Clow Seal. "And Kero-chan, how could I ever forget about you? Please forgive
me?" She laid it on thick, wickedly trying to make him feel guilty.

The cinnamon haired young woman that was her best friend gave another trill of laughter
at something her husband had said, and sat down at the table next to her. "Tomoyo-
chan!" she greeted exuberantly, the way she did everything. "This is great. I love Nice,
it's so beautiful, isn't it? The sights, the people, the sea -- the sea! I can't _wait_ to
go swimming in the Mediterranean!"

Li Syaoran sat down across from Tomoyo, rolling his eyes teasingly at her as his wife
continued to enthuse. Tomoyo just had to laugh lightly at her friend's manner; it didn't
matter whether she was nine or nineteen, Li Sakura's innocence hadn't faded in the
least.

"It was _so_ nice of Sonomi-san to invite us along with you, even though it's your
birthday!" Sakura went on.
Tomoy pulled a shocked face as the waiter came back, and setting her own drink on
the table, took the order of the other two. Or rather, she ordered for them -- Sakura
and Syaoran weren't as familiar with the language. "Why Sakura-chan! How would I ever
have a happy birthday without you two around?" she asked when the waiter had gone.
"I could never!"

The waiter came back again, and left just as quickly. Syaoran simply rolled his eyes again
at the antics of the two women. "Well, I have to hand it to Daidouji-sama; she did an
admirable job of convincing the Li Clan. It wasn't half as hard as I thought it would be.
Then again, it could be that they've all gone softer because of the charm of the little
Cherry Blossom here." He teasingly pulled Sakura toward him to tickle her, and she pouted,
giggling as she struggled to pull away. "Syaoran!" she protested. Kero rolled his eyes in
disgust at the antics of his mistress and his new master, and he took a sip from both of
their drinks.

Tomoyo smiled in exhilaration, getting out of her chair for a moment and pulling out her
camera to take the snapshot -- a perfect Kodak moment. How she had missed this when
they were in Hong Kong. Her mother had sensed this, of course; it was part of the reason
they were here together.

Sakura managed to escape from Syaoran without resulting to a big scene, and shooed
Kero away from her glass. "So Tomoyo, what did you do when you decided to go off on
your own?" she enquired curiously.

"Just wandering around, sketching some of the sights and getting some ideas for new
fashion lines for the French branch of Mother's corporation," Tomoyo told her, sitting back
down. "In a way, I was basically touring around the way you guys were, but I know
where there are a lot of nice places here; I've been here before, a long time ago. Mother
knew that the French Riviera was my most favourite place -- I suppose that's why she
chose this as the place to spend my actual birthday."

Sakura grinned happily. "I can imagine; it's really so beautiful! I'd say it's prettier than
the other places we went to, but all those places were really nice too. What are all
the places we've been to again?"

Kero checked off on his tiny paws. "St. Petersburg, Russia; London, England; Austria --
don't remember the name of the city--"
"Vienna," Tomoyo supplied with a wry smile.
"Whatever," Kero brushed aside. "Then to Paris and Notre Dame, France, and now here,
Nice -- wherever it is." He didn't even look the slightest bit daunted.

"Geography check: Nice is still in France, sponge toy," Syaoran told the intensely smug
Kero-chan. Kero scowled at him. "Shut up."
"And Notre Dame is a part of Paris, Kero-chan," Tomoyo added hesitantly, giggling at
his injured expression.

Sakura quickly intervened to stave off an incoming battle. "Where did Sonomi-san go?"
she asked, pulling over her best friend's notebook to look at a sketch of Castle Hill that
she had done.

"She had to go to Monaco for the day," Tomoyo informed her. "Something about business;
she said she'll be back in time for the party at the hotel this evening."
Sakura glanced at her watch and gasped. "Oh yeah!" she exclaimed. "And that's in a few
hours; should we start heading back?"

Tomoyo noticed the way that Li-kun cast her a brief glance before nodding, looking up
at the sun. "Evening _is_ approaching," he pointed out in agreement, as Kero finished
off his drink; Tomoyo pushed hers toward him -- she wasn't that thirsty anyway.

"Then we should go," she decided, standing up and gathering her belongings. "The hotel's
not that far away, we can walk."
Sakura suddenly pointed down the street, to something that Tomoyo couldn't quite see.
"Oh wait, I want to go look at something," she quickly mentioned, turning to them. "The
Church of St. John is down that way, isn't it? Sonomi-san recommended that I see it.
Can I catch up with you guys later?"

Syaoran shrugged. "Sure, go ahead," he agreed. Sakura handed Kero over to Tomoyo.
"Make sure Syaoran doesn't murder him," she whispered to her best friend. Tomoyo
nodded, still noting on the fact that Sakura was staying behind, when it had been she
who had mentioned how late it was getting. Sakura waved and took off; Tomoyo took
Syaoran's arm and they left the cafe.

People once again turn heads and noticed as the stunning violet haired woman strolled
past yet again, this time on the arm of a young man who was quite handsome as well.
Perhaps there would have been a touch more disappointment in the air, had most of
them not seen that same young man along the walk with a charming, jade eyed lady.

Once again, Tomoyo paid the observers no mind; knowing people, they would just make
up their own assumptions anyway, which would no doubt be ridiculous -- Li-kun was
just as close to her as Sakura-chan was, like a favourite brother, and one of the world's
greatest people, because he had kept his promise to her to always keep her Sakura-chan
safe and happy. As well as always being there for her whenever she had any problem.
Not once in the past decade had Syaoran ever given her a reason to regret her decision
to give Sakura up to him. Those two were so in love, it was impossible to be jealous.
Tomoyo spent half her nights dreaming in a secret chamber of her heart that she would
one day have a love just as strong as theirs. Or more accurately, she'd wish she'd have
such a strong love with a very certain somebody.

Of course, when she was completely awake and back in her rational state of mind, she
would sweep off those thoughts and deny everything. They were ridiculous, dreamer-like,
and would only hurt her more.

Like now, Tomoyo quickly dismissed the whole thing from her mind and brought it back
to reality, marveling at her mother's efforts with this whole idea. "It was very sweet of
Mother to go through all this, just for my birthday," she mentioned idly as they turned
down the boulevard to the Alexandra Hotel. "Even though she was so busy. It was
artful for her to turn this into both a pleasure trip for all of us, and yet a business trip
of sorts for her. So many surprises..first the idea of touring Europe, then finding out
that you three were coming along too.."

Syaoran looked at her. "Why wouldn't she do this?" he asked. "You're supposed to have
fun on your birthday, right?"
Tomoyo nodded enthusiastically. "And I am, the entire thing is wonderful, although it's
a shame that we couldn't go to Italy. It just makes me wonder what else Mother's got
up her sleeve?"

Kero poked his head up from her cream coloured purse, his smile strangely secretive. "Oh,
I'm sure Daidouji-san's got a lot more surprises in mind," he muttered.
Tomoyo raised an eyebrow inquisitively, but sensing that she wasn't supposed to know
about it, she wisely decided to keep quiet. It was probably some kind of birthday
surprise, and she wouldn't want to spoil everyone's fun by finding out early.

But she just wondered what it was.






In the late afternoon, the Promenade de Anglais continued to bustle with tourists as
the evening approached. Just moments after the departure of the beautiful amethyst-
eyed woman, there was another arrival to the Promenade that once again turned heads
as he sauntered coolly down the walk, his gaze partly mesmerized by glimmer of the
Mediterranean sea which matched his own eyes to an extent -- the bedazzling sapphire
stare flecked with hints of gray and violet much like the Mediterranean would appear at
night. It was unfortunate that they were sometimes blocked by the locks of midnight
blue that fell into them, although it just added to his effect, poise and the aura of
enticing mystery and aloofness about him.

He, too, seemed oblivous to the intensely admiring and hopeful stares he was getting, as
if he recieved them all the time. The young man brushed it all aside with an easy elegance
that made many hearts flutter, his eyes only looking around at the sights around him,
although the steady looks he was now giving the sea did sometimes falter as he cast
a glance now and then at a cinnamon haired young woman in pink.

She didn't realize he was there at first, for she really _had_ gone to the Church of St.
John to take a quick looksee. When she came back to the Promenade, Sakura sat down
at the same table she had been at before, for all of three seconds before a smile lit her
face and she stood up again, making her way over to the tall, dark haired man.

"About time you got here," she murmured, and when he turned around, she flung her
arms around his neck in friendly joy, forgetting all about their past. It had been mended
a long time ago, anyway. "Great to see you again, Eriol-kun!" she greeted cheerfully.

The navy haired man smiled down at her, hugging her briefly before pulling back to take
a look at her. "Likewise, Sakura-san," he replied. "I was wondering when you would
recognize my aura and realize I was here."

"You mean you were here before?" Sakura giggled apologetically. "I'm sorry, Eriol-kun. I
had to go to the St. John church for real, so that Tomoyo-chan wouldn't get suspicious."
He grinned back at her. "Then don't apologize," he waved off. "So anyway, how is she
doing?" he asked casually -- as casually as possible.

Sakura blinked at him, then instantly realized who it was he was referring to, and gave
a smile, a serious but soft one. "You really _do_ love her incredibly, don't you?" she
asked. "It's wonderful!"

Eriol nodded without missing a beat. "I do. Very deeply, because I loved her from the
moment I knew her, and even after so long, I never found it wavering at all, so..it's
different."

"Like my situation with Syaoran," Sakura said happily. "Eriol-kun, don't worry at all.
Tomoyo-chan says it with everything but her mouth -- she loves you just as much."

Eriol smiled, glancing away for a brief moment. It was a tender smile, rather touching to
see on Eriol-kun's face, thought Sakura. "Tomoyo-san can be stubborn that way," he
murmured, remembering.

"She hasn't changed," Sakura told him brightly. "But be careful...I'd better warn you now,
she started to lose hope of you coming back a while ago, and she's been saying for the
past little while that she's stopped believing altogether..." Her bright smile returned at
Eriol's slightly remorseful look. "But hey, you're proving her wrong...for once, Tomoyo-
chan's gonna be wrong!"

Eriol chuckled, and Sakura pressed on. "Eriol-kun...I hope you don't think me
rude, but I am very curious. Just to make sure -- how did you fall in love with her? Why?"

Eriol blinked at her, then looked away over the Mediterranean thoughtfully. "I think that's
the one question that I never completely found the answer to," he said quietly. "But I
think...I think there was something there in her, even though I didn't really know _what_
it was. It was just something..that made her my match and equal in every way and so
much more," he continued. "But even with all that, she still saw something in
me that I didn't even know, or think ever could exist in me..but she somehow brought it
out..and I'd say I'm a much better person because of her."

Sakura smiled encouragingly. "I'd say so too," she agreed. "You're not evil anymore!"
Eriol smiled faintly again. "You know, she's part of the reason that I stopped attacking
you."

"You mean besides the fact that I'd already transformed all the cards?" Sakura demanded
dryly.

"I was going to continue, just to make sure you really _could_ use them," Eriol told her
with another smirk. "But then I knew that if you ever got seriously injured or killed...
Tomoyo would hate me for life--"
"--and you couldn't bear to live with that," Sakura finished, her eyes shining as she
slipped into a brief "hanyaan" mode.

Then she looked at him inquisitively again. "But why didn't you write to her very often?"
she asked, now sounding fairly annoyed. "You wrote to Syaoran and I a lot, and Akizuki-
san wrote to Touya-'niichan and Yukito-san all the time, but Tomoyo-chan missed you
very much, and it hurt her a lot...."

Eriol winced briefly. "That's exactly why I did it -- I just wanted to make sure she knew
what she was doing. Because I care about her so much...but I think she was still
confused. And I was the one confusing her, so I had to step back a little so she could
figure things out on her own."

"You're very wise, Eriol-kun," Sakura praised, eyes wide. "A little cruel, but wise."
"Maybe because I'm centuries old?" Eriol asked her teasingly. Sakura just stuck out her
tongue. "You wrote to Sonomi-san sometimes, too," she mentioned.

"Mostly just to apologize for kidnapping Tomoyo," Eriol shrugged. "But isn't it a good
thing? If we hadn't communicated for this long, then the two of us never would have
come up with this plan now, would we?"

"It's very sneaky and devious," Sakura commented, then beamed. "And I'm so glad!
Because it has your imprint all over it...and for once, it's not being played upon me -or-
Syaoran." She hugged him, and Eriol laughed in amusement. "Enjoy it while you can,"
he told her.

Sakura took his wrist and began leading him away. "We should go now, Eriol-kun, or we
might be late -- and besides, people are starting to undress you with their eyes," she
whispered sarcastically. He just gave her a smirk. "Are they? I hadn't noticed," he
replied.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Of course, whatever you say, Eriol-kun," she said as they
headed back down the walk. "How are Akizuki-san and Spinel, by the way?" she
wondered.

Eriol smiled. "They're...alright, I suppose. Although Nakuru has been running wild on our
trip abroad."
"She's always wild, though," Sakura said.
"Worse than usual," Eriol responded dryly. "She tried to drag Spinel to the local Jungle
nightclub when we were in Geneva, Switzerland. It wasn't until he practically amputated
her wrist with his claws that she decided to go alone. And stayed out until three am, I
might add." He shook his head as Sakura laughed merrily.

Then she turned large, curious eyes on him. "Are you going to ask her to marry you?" she
wanted to know.

Eriol, for what had to be the first time --at least in her knowledge-- actually blushed.
Syaoran would be so proud of her for this! "Sakura-chan!" he admonished, slightly
flustered. She looked at him with disguising innocence. "What?" she asked. "How many
times did you ask me and Syaoran that, when he came back from Hong Kong?" She
waited, then pressed on. "Well? Sonomi-san approves of you, I approve of you, and
Syaoran.." she trailed off, then giggled. "Well, Syaoran -does- approve of you too, even
though he'll cut out his tongue before he ever admits it outright."

Eriol crossed his arms and pouted cutely himself, not replying. Sakura giggled again and
pulled him down the Promenade faster, hardly being able to contain herself and her
impatience. She couldn't -wait- until Tomoyo's birthday party that night -- her best
friend had gotten a lot of surprises lately, and there were still even a few more to go...

...but this would be by far the best of all. Hopefully, she would see it that way too.






On the sixteenth floor of the hotel, Tomoyo released her arm of Syaoran's when they
got to their seperate suites -- although Sakura would usually share with Syaoran, since
this was her best friend's birthday, she'd decided to room with her.

"I guess I'll see you in a few hours," Syaoran remarked, rolling his eyes. "Knowing how
long it'll take -you- to get ready."
Tomoyo grinned at his teasing and shook her head innocently. "Not me," she said, smiling
a slightly wicked smile as all innocence was tossed aside. "But I _do_ have this outfit
that I made Sakura-chan, which would make a fabulous debute at tonight's ball party --
I'm sure you'd enjoy it, Li-kun."

Syaoran's face took on a faint red hue; she was doing it again, her torment. He swore
that she made those barely-passable-for-public dresses for Sakura _just_ to see how
red he could get, even after they were married.

He scowled and dragged her in the direction of her own room while she squealed in
laughing protest ("Wait, I didn't get 'Li-kun's kawaii blush for Sakura-chan' on tape, or
even on camera!" to which he replied, "As if it matters, you've already got over a million
tapes of that."). Just as he left her at the door, however, her expression turned slightly
wistful with the faintest touch of sadness. "You two are really lucky, you know," she
murmured. "To have been together for such a long time and still love and react to each
other the same way you did when you first fell for each other."

He nodded quietly, just looking at her. "I know," he said. Syaoran knew that the best
thing to do when the otherwise unruffled younger woman got like this was to simply let
her talk and do her thing, to remain silent until it was necessary to reassure her, and
always listen.

She turned dark lavender eyes on him, a slightly resigned, yet hopeless look in them.
He hated seeing that look on her. "But he won't come back, will he?" she asked, with
a small humourless laugh. "That would be a bit too much to hope for -- like a dream.
There's no reason for him to come back. He only really knew me for two weeks."

Syaoran winced inwardly, for many different reasons, knowing exactly who she was
talking about. Hiiragizawa. No matter what happened, even after a few letters now and
then over the years, Syaoran still didn't like him at all. And personally, he thought that
Hiiragizawa and Tomoyo together would be such a dangerous combination -- her
resemblance to him had already gotten far too uncanny for his comfort. But still..he knew
that Hiiragizawa was the only one who made Tomoyo happy, even if she still refused to
believe that at certain times, like when he wouldn't write to her for four months. Even
though when she would finally recieve a letter, she'd be in near blissful spirits for a week.

And then there were times that his letters were the only thing that shone through like
a ray of sunshine through dark clouds, on days where everything just seemed wrong
for her. Like Syaoran and Sakura's wedding day...although Syaoran knew that Tomoyo
would have never allowed herself to feel jealous or bitter on the happiest day of their
lives, he had still been surprised when he'd not only seen true happiness for them in her
eyes that day, but also a type of happiness for herself. Of course, he'd found out later
that she had gotten a letter from Hiiragizawa that day, which was exactly the way he
must have planned it. So Syaoran had to admit that he wasn't all bad, since he wanted
nothing more than to preserve Tomoyo's happiness as much as possible. Even if she
didn't always see that.

That still didn't mean he liked him. After all, he had hurt Sakura.

"Li-kun?" Tomoyo's voice broke him out of the reverie. "I'm right, aren't I? He wouldn't
come back," she repeated insistently.
"He gave you that jewel, and told you what would happen if he didn't return."
Tomoyo looked down at the sapphire which hung around her neck, a blank expression
on her face. "You know," she mused sadly. "I don't even think that he really -did- put
his magic in this thing...so what is it about him that stops me from forgetting all about
him?"

Syaoran thought about this, or rather, thought about the plan that had been set for that
night. A smile crossed his face, one of his own rare (though becoming more frequent due
to a certain Card Mistress), genuine ones.

"Maybe because you saw something in him that no one else would have ever thought to
look for...not even Sakura," he told her quietly. "He'll be back. As much as I hate him, he's
not one to break a promise as important as that."






Tomoyo stared out of the window of the suite which overlooked much of Nice on the
French Riviera. The view was wonderful, as the horizon began to glow with faint, telltale
streaks of orange in preparation to the oncoming sunset, the entire procedure reflected
surreally in the sea. Beautiful...yet she felt so lonely. Of course, it was because of -him-,
and she knew it...and she missed him dreadfully, but..

Was there something wrong with her? _Why_ couldn't she just admit it to herself? Even
Sakura-chan hadn't taken this long -- eight years! Eight years that he hadn't been
present. She had begun losing hope a while ago...if he had indeed put his magic into
that necklace he had given her on the night before he left, he was certainly cutting it
a bit close on the ten-year pact.

Miss him. But love him?
Her heart said yes. Her mind said no.
Such a wonderfully clear situation, Tomoyo thought sarcastically.

Why can't I let him go? she wondered. What Syaoran said rang through her mind one
last time, and she had to smile softly in remembrance. Yes, that was true -- where
everyone had seen the cool, manipulative reincarnation of Clow Reed, she had seen the
very special person under that exterior, she had seen the warm sapphire gaze where
everyone else had seen carefully masked icy blue...and she liked to think that she had
touched that person underneath, at least once..

Catching herself, she rolled her eyes in self-reproach. So back to the question -- did
she love him or not?

It was about an hour later when the sun started to set -- she had to turn away from
the display, because the sun was still bright.

She had to start getting ready for tonight. Tonight was the actual party for her birthday,
and it was special -- even if it was partly a business party as well, and many people
there would be associates from her mother's firms from all across the Eastern Hemisphere.
Very formal dress of course; her mother's parties were always like that. Tomoyo took
off her day dress, folding it neatly, and then went over to the closet. The room's door
suddenly burst open.

Tomoyo peeked around the wardrobe door at her best friend, who had just bounced
into the room. "Tomoyo-chan, where are you?"
"Here, Sakura-chan," Tomoyo stepped out from behind the door, still sifting through
garments in the wardrobe and the closet.

Sakura came over to her, eyes alight in excitement. "Tomoyo-chan, tonight is going
to be fantastic!" she near-squealed. "You're twenty! You're actually in your twenties,
not a 'teen' anymore! I'm so jealous!" Sakura was only nineteen.

Tomoyo giggled lightly as her friend bounded over to the closet. "Tomoyo-chan, wait!
We've got the perfect outfit for you." After a moment, Sakura emerged, carrying a
cloud of creamy satin and silk, embroidered artfully with pearls. She handed it over to
Tomoyo with pride, and the dark haired girl took it, staring at it in surprise. "Sakura-chan,
what..."

"Another birthday present," Sakura told her casually. "Sonomi-san and I decided on it
for you in Vienna, for the party."
"Really, Sakura-chan--" Tomoyo began, but Sakura just frowned stubbornly. "You made
me a dress, Tomoyo-chan, so it's only fair that I get to dress you up this time."

Tomoyo sighed with a smile and a shake of her head, and then the two ladies proceeded
to get the dress onto Tomoyo.
It was incredibly lovely, accenting her pale shoulders, arms and skin tone fabulously and
the deep, black-violet of her hair against the white material created a wonderful effect.

"You're beautiful, Tomoyo-chan," Sakura said in admiring awe, quickly putting something
around her wrist. It was an amethyst-jeweled bracelet, and on anyone else would have
clashed horribly with what she was wearing -- but the colour matched Tomoyo's eyes
and therefore made ends meet very satisfactorily. Sakura stepped back. "There, you're
perfect!" she breathed. "Cream is a very nice colour on you too."

Tomoyo fingered the sapphire necklace she had been wearing around her neck every
second for eight years. The one he had given her. She never took it off, never. Although
sometimes, she didn't even know -why- she kept it. Those were the times when she
decided to face reality. It only hurt her to see that sapphire at those times.

Looking down at the sparkling blue stone for a moment with a small, reminiscent smile,
she turned her eyes back up to the jade eyed girl. "I suppose I should tuck this under,
right?" she mused, already carefully hiding the sapphire under her dress's neckline.

Sakura beamed. "It -did- clash a bit with your effect..but it's okay." Then she went
behind the other woman, grabbing a brush and comb from the dresser, and began to style
Tomoyo's hair the way Tomoyo had once taught her to. She deliberately took her time,
glancing at the clock nonchalantly; technically, the party had already started, but
her job was to bring Tomoyo down late, so that a certain someone would have time
to remain inconspicuous.

When she was done, her best friend's hair was done up stylishly in a crown of violet
coils, held back with a few pearl studded pins. Sakura jumped back, her emerald eyes
bright. "_Now_ you're perfect! You're the belle of the ball, without question, just like
you should be!"

Tomoyo rolled her eyes to the ceiling, though she had to admit that Sakura had done
a remarkable job. But still...this was supposed to be _her_ role. With that in mind, she
turned to Sakura, her own eyes lighting up. "Then now it's your turn, Sakura-chan," she
told her, taking both of her hands and guiding her efficiently over to the closet.

Fifteen minutes later, Sakura was dressed in a spring green and pink concoction made
from Tomoyo's hand. Her hair was curled and twisted up into two buns on the sides of
her head -- two pigtails, technically, but the way Tomoyo did it made it seem as un-
childish as possible. Tomoyo thought she looked simply darling.

Just as Sakura was fighting against Tomoyo about the idea of letting her put cherry
blossoms up in her hair, ("But you would look _sooooo_ kawaii in it, and I bet Li-kun would
still drool, even after two years!") a yellowish streak darted in through the window,
startling Sakura momentarily until they realized it was Kero-chan.

"Kero-chan!" Sakura scolded as Tomoyo shook her head reproachfully. "How many times
do we have to warn you--"
"--even after you've already witnessed the consequences," Tomoyo finished for her;
it was true. That was how Daidouji Sonomi had found out about the entire Clow Card
saga, when Kero had flown into the room unexpectedly. Her mother had taken it so much
better than Tomoyo had ever thought she would, thankfully.

"I was careful," he told both women carelessly. "No one was close enough to see what
I was, anyway."
Sakura gave a long suffering sigh, and Kero frowned. "Hey, I only came in here to tell
you two that Daidouji-sama requests your presence in the Alexandra Hotel Ballroom now,"
he said defensively. "If I'm gonna get bashed for relaying orders--"

Tomoyo giggled and tapped her finger against his cheek. "You know we didn't mean
anything by it, Kero-chan," she told him. "You can head back now, just make sure no
one sees you. And tell Mother we'll be right down."

Giving a two-fingered salute, Kero took off out the window again; using absolute no
caution, by the way.

Sakura shook her head, deciding not to let it get to her, and after a final glance in the
mirror, she started bounding toward the door, but stopped abruptly, remembering that
she was wearing a long dress, and she was no where near as graceful as Tomoyo-chan
was. Speaking of which...

"Tomoyo-chan?" Sakura enquired, looking over her shoulder and wondering why her best
friend wasn't behind her.
Tomoyo had been glancing out the suite window, watching the brilliant display of splash
colours that was the sunset. She looked up with a sheepish smile. "Sorry, Sakura-chan.
I'm right behind you," she reassured her best friend, sailing out the doorway.

Sakura watched her best friend for a moment behind her, before she shook her head
ruefully, with a secretive smile. "Tomoyo-chan...if you only knew," she sighed, then
ran off after her best friend






"Hiiragizawa."

Eriol turned with a happy smirk at the familiar, cold tone that the name was spoken in.
"Why, cute little descendant!" he exclaimed joyfully. "What a pleasant surprise. It's so
good to see you."

"Excuse me if the feeling's not mutual," Syaoran muttered, still glaring nonstop at him.
Eriol had to laugh at that. "Yes, I'm doing fine too, thanks for asking," he continued in
a conversational tone.

Syaoran rolled his eyes to the ceiling and gave up; Hiiragizawa was too weird. But then
he became serious, glaring at the other young man with dark cocoa eyes that showed
he wasn't messing around, threatening to burn a hole through his head. "You do know
why you're here, don't you?"

Eriol blinked. "I should certainly hope so, since it was mine and Daidouji-sama's idea,"
he pointed out, becoming slightly cautious with the little wolf's tone.

Syaoran glanced toward the ballroom doors; Eriol could feel just as well as he could that
Sakura had just stepped out of her hotel suite -- meaning Tomoyo was with her. They'd
be coming soon. A faint trill of...something, ran through Eriol, he couldn't quite tell what
it was. All he knew was that, after all the long years...Tomoyo-san..

Syaoran turned a glare back to his arch-nemesis. "She started to lose faith in you. She's
Sakura's best friend, and my best friend too," he said, a warning in his steely tone. "You
hurt her anymore, and I'll kill you myself."

Eriol stared at him in mild surprise. "_Really_, descendant," he admonished.
"I'm serious," Syaoran told him coldly.
"And so am I," Eriol replied just as levelly, all sarcasm or teasing gone from his voice.
"I know I've hurt her already, and I'm still hating myself for it...but never again, and if
anything else is going to try it, they'll have to go through me. And I'm not willing to go
through myself again."

Syaoran stared at him a moment, before glancing away, a smile --or smirk, one of the
two-- crossing his face. "I know," he said quietly. As Eriol just watched him calmly, he
glared at him again; Eriol almost laughed, thinking how he was more familiar with Xiao
Lang giving him a glare than a smile. Unnerving.

"The warning still stands," Syaoran told him firmly.
Eriol smiled. "Of course," he said smoothly. "I'll keep it in mind."

Mihara Chiharu came running up to the two young men, giving them each a quick,
friendly hug. "Hiiragizawa-san, it's so great to see you," she greeted with a smile, then
turned to Syaoran. "Li-san, Tomoyo-chan doesn't know that we're all here yet, right?"
she asked quickly. "Because Daidouji-sama says that she's coming, so--"

Syaoran nodded, glancing over at the "home group" gathered at the side of the ballroom
closest to the door, with another little smile. Takashi Yamazaki. Terada Rika.
Terada-sensei. Yanagisawa Naoko. And finally Tsukishiro Yukito, Kinomoto Touya (who
was glaring heatedly at Syaoran and Eriol alternately, when something else wasn't keeping
him occupied), and Kinomoto Fujitaka.

And of course, two very important additions to the group: Spinel Sun, carefully hidden
in the chestnut tresses of the girl who held Touya's attention --his full attention was
needed to get her off his back and escape from the gleeful death grip she held him in--
Akizuki Nakuru. All of them smiling mischeviously, waiting for the double doors to open
and reveal the young hostess.

"She doesn't know you're here yet," Syaoran told Chiharu. "And she's not supposed to
know that Hiiragizawa is here until a little later on."
"Oooh," Chiharu nodded in understanding. "I'll get the others ready then, 'cause she's
not supposed to see us right away, correct?" The peach haired girl turned to go, but
then glanced back over her shoulder to give Eriol a quick wink. "Good luck, Hiiragizawa-
san," she wished him.

Eriol sighed, as Syaoran smirked at him. Then Nakuru came bouncing over, taking Eriol's
arm urgently. "Hi Li-kun," she trilled at the chocolate haired man. Ignoring Syaoran's
ever-suspicious look, she turned back to her master. "Eriol-sama, we have to hide.
Tomoyo-chan's not supposed to know we're here just yet."

"We'll go stay in the back room for a while," Eriol told his descendant, already being
led away by his guardian. Just moments after they reached their destination, the
ballroom doors swung open.






Entering the ballroom, Tomoyo remained unruffled as heads turned appreciatively again.
"Oooh, you're getting so much attention, Tomoyo-chan," Sakura informed her with a
grin, pulling her over to her mother. "I told you you were beautiful!"
"Thank you, Sakura-chan," Tomoyo replied simply.

Sonomi was talking to a business partner when her daughter approached her. Politely
introducing Tomoyo and Sakura to him, one of the company spokesmen, and then
excusing herself, she kissed the violet haired girl on the cheek with happiness. "Tomoyo-
chan, finally! Happy birthday, darling."

Tomoyo glanced around the large ballroom, decorated with soft lights and candles,
simple designs and beautiful paintings on the wall, and the large open windows which
let in the night air from the Mediterranean. As well as a yellow, plush toy lying oh so
casually right next to the dinner platters on the table.

She turned back to her mother, eyes shining. "Mother, this really is a lot...you didn't have
to, really--"

Her mother scoffed, brushing aside the comment warmly. "Please, Tomoyo-chan. This is
your twentieth birthday, have fun!" She took the young woman's hand and began leading
her through the throngs of people, Sakura right behind them. "There are some other
people would like to see you, and they really wanted to wish you a happy birthday too."

Tomoyo sighed inwardly again; most likely, "they" were more firm partners, perhaps even
suitors. But it was her birthday, and technically her party, though she hadn't planned
it -- so she had to be polite.

Although naturally, there was nothing polite about the way Tomoyo, after pushing past
a few clots of people, suddenly froze in her tracks and stared at the group of people
gathered just in front of her, smiling warmly. Sonomi let go of her daughter's hand,
relishing with satisfaction the look of utter shock on her face.

"Happy birthday, Tomoyo-san." Fujitaka was the first to speak up. Tomoyo's face
brightened considerably, and rushing at them with squeals of delight, she hugged
each and every one of them, cries of "I can't believe this! I can't believe you're actually
here! It's so wonderful to see you!" escaping from her. She really had missed many of
them, though it had only been a few months since she'd last seen them all. This was
incredible..

It didn't even seem to matter that the person who counted most wasn't there, she was
just in complete shock. She whirled to face her mother. "Mother, how on earth
did you manage to plan all this?" she asked incredulously. "It's so much--"

"You deserve it, Tomoyo-chan," Rika told her with another hug. "Besides, you're twenty
today!" She pulled back to look at the birthday girl. "You're so beautiful.." she sighed
blissfully. "And I'm sure he'll notice too." After a hard poke from Chiharu, Rika froze
slightly, realizing her tiny slip. Tomoyo was watching her curiously. "Who'll notice?" she
enquired.

"All your suitors," Naoko pulled off smoothly. "As if you don't have enough problems with
them, am I right?"
Tomoyo sighed and nodded in agreement.

Reunions kept on for a while, and then Tomoyo felt a prod on her arm; Sakura-chan
gesturing for her to follow. Tomoyo tailed her best friend through the crowds again in
piqued curiousity, before letting out a loose giggle, realizing what had commanded her
friend's attention so abruptly. "Kero-chan," she said in a mildly reproachful tone, the
two women staring down at the diminuitive Guardian Beast now consuming large amounts
of food, and somehow still managing to be discreet about it.

"You know you're supposed to wait 'til supper," Sakura scolded him again. Kero sat up
and looked imploringly at them. "How can I?" he protested. "Look at all the stuff they
have here -- I've never even seen half of it, but it tastes _so_ good--" He stuck his
paw in some type of mousse, and then licked it off. "See? Like this."

Tomoyo studied the dessert item. "That's Ricotta mousse, Kero-chan," she informed the
stuffed animal. "Mostly Italian though...amazing, Mother thought of everything." She
let her gaze drift over the meal arranged on the table in the form of a buffet -- her
favourite kind of meal. Mixed culture. Cheese, baguettes, pates, duck, escargots,
lobsters, and cheese soufflees from France, shrimp cocktails, shellfish, swordfish and
rice salad from the Mediterranean, and then stuffed avocados, scallops and lasagne
from Italy -- along with an assortment of desserts that seemed to have been pulled
out of Kero's best dreams. Sakura shook her head as she watched her sun guardian
flit from the white chocolate sauce to the apricot and pomegranate tarts, to the
orange sherbets and vanilla souflees...Tomoyo met her eyes and sighed yet again.

"Maybe we should wait this one out," she suggested. "For sure, he'll get full on most of
this stuff eventually."
Sakura nodded. "Kero," she told him. "Make sure you don't eat too much, though -- you'll
never be able to explain to people where the food just disappeared off to."

If Kero heard her, he gave no real acknowledgement except a twitch of his tail.






The music started up, just as Tomoyo knew it would; it would always go dancing, dinner,
more dancing, dessert, etcetera, etcetera.

Sakura was soon swept away by Syaoran; Tomoyo pulled out her video camera to record,
although then found to her surprise that she really didn't feel like it. She actually didn't
want to tape Sakura-chan...what was -wrong- with her? Tomoyo put the camcorder
away, musing over a few things. Her friends had all been acting so strange that evening,
although she was sure that she was the only one who'd picked up on the fact.


~I believe in hope
I believe in dreams~


The dancing had started, ballroom dancing. Tomoyo cast a small smile toward the sight
of Sakura-chan sweeping around the dance floor with her husband, already in their own
world. Their marriage was so romantic, it had even charmed the entire Li clan. Kawaii...

Over on the other side of the room, Tomoyo could see Yamazaki and Chiharu getting
into the elegant dancing as well; they made a somewhat funny sight, considering that
Yamazaki had never actually danced before...but it was still adorable, seeing as how
Chiharu didn't seem to care at all. The two had been engaged for the past three years..
still hadn't gotten married though..


~After all these years
These sweet and bitter tears
Do you believe in me?~


Pity...this was one of her favourite songs, but she had turned down every offer to
dance, although she was very good at it. Most of the people who'd asked were just
sons of partners from Mother's firm anyway. And besides, this song shouldn't be one of
her favourites, since it usually caused her pain every time she heard it.

It was too reminiscent of him...


~I believe in time
And I believe in trust~


That was it. Tomoyo wandered slightly away from the corner, slipping through the
curtains at the edge of the ballroom, where there was a type of secluded nook, just
for anyone who wanted peace and quiet...and beauty. The rest area actually opened
up into a balcony that overlooked another part of the Riviera..it was open, and the
Mediterranean breeze was coming in up from the sea. The sun had long since set...
leaning slightly against the window, Tomoyo had to marvel at the sight; yes, though
she agreed with Sakura-chan that the Riviera was beautiful in the sunset, it was even
prettier at dusk, in her opinion.


~So darling don't let go
'Cause really, all I know
Is I believe in us~


The music was still coming in through the thick scarlet curtains. Tomoyo frowned briefly;
at least she was cut off from all the annoying suitors back here. Problem was, she was
also cut off from her friends, and seeing them dance...seeing how happy they were
together. So she had been living in the happiness of her closest friends...that wasn't a
crime, was it? She had done it once before, and she was okay doing so again.


~All the things you are to me
Are all the things that love should be
And I bless the day you came to me~


Tomoyo rubbed her temples; she was starting to get a headache. Perhaps I can ask
Mother if I could go back to the room, she mused, but then shook her head. No, it
would disappoint her mother terribly if she missed half of her own birthday party.
Especially after all the obvious work that had gone into it.

But this song...she really SHOULD hate it...yet it always got to her this way, and for
some reason, she still wanted to hear it now, even though she was sure that it was
the cause of her headache.

Sighing, she sat down on one of the vinyl padded benches in front of the open balcony
and simply waited, hoping that no one would get worried.


~I know sometimes we lose our way
And say things we don't mean to say
You hold my heart within your hands~


Or DON'T say things we mean to say, Tomoyo corrected absently, before shaking her
head in frustration. Great, all she needed now was for the guilt to come back to her.
And she always hated it -- why should she feel guilty for anything? That was most
puzzling. Although sometimes, she really did have to think about it.

Why hadn't she at least told him how she felt about him before he left? Why COULDN'T
she? That was what usually plagued her mind late at night. He had told her what he
felt for her, hadn't he? Even though he had been young, and it had been many years
ago, and it was just an empty promise now..still..

Maybe...maybe if she'd said something, he wouldn't have gone away...

But she had been so confused, the feelings had sprung up so suddenly and crashsed
with how she felt about Sakura-chan...not long after he'd left, however, she had
realized that Sakura, though she still held a special place in her heart, was not the one
for her anymore.

Yet the one who was didn't know that he was, she was sure...
And she doubted that he would care anymore.


~And I believe that life
Is full of twists and turns~


And she suspected that was part of the reason he'd left, to let her sort things out for
herself. And why he wrote so seldomly to her...

He's not coming back, said her rational mind again. She just had to accept that, no
matter how long it took. She would be okay again...someday..

Tomoyo sighed, fingering her necklace yet again..however, in the darkness of the
twilight, she couldn't quite see the colour of it.

But that's silly -- you know that the colour will be sapphire, she chided herself. It was
a little strange though..the jewel usually blended with the deep blue darkness of the
night, but this time it seemed to somehow stand out, almost shining a faint different
colour.


~And all this pain
Is just like summer rain
It's the only way we'll learn~


She shrugged it off; maybe it was just dirty tonight. She'd have to polish it immediately.
Peeking around the corner, all the while being careful that she remained out of sight, she
watched the dancing couples with a happy sigh. It was all very kawaii..but where
had her friends gone? The only ones she could see on the dance floor that she recognized
were...Mother and Fujitaka-sensei?!

Tomoyo blinked, and rubbed her eyes...but they were still there. She smirked; well of
all the--


~And I believe that faith
Will lead us back to love
So darling don't let go
'Cause really all I know
Is I believe in us~


"Excuse me, Mademoiselle, would you care to dance?" The voice which had popped the
question had a silky quality, a faint hint of teasing, and a sort of worldly air about
it.

Tomoyo sighed in frustration, turning to the window without looking at the person. How
had she been found out? She was sure no one had seen her come in here..although
she couldn't always be sure.

"I'm sorry, I must decline," she replied, politely contrite. "I don't care to dance much."


~Heaven knows
Where the reckless angels go~


"Really, it's such a beautiful song," said the mystery person, persisting. Tomoyo hated
it when men did this -- some of them just didn't understand something about the word
'No'.

Strange...this voice sounded a bit familiar though.

She didn't pay attention though. "Really? I hadn't noticed," she answered a bit sarcast-
ically. "And I haven't danced in a long time," she added, staring out over the region
again; at least that was the truth. She didn't dance anymore, outside of her continuing
lessons..not since he'd left.


~We fall so long
That's what Easter worms are for
Holding close forever more~


"That's a pity," said the man, from behind her. "Such a pretty girl who doesn't dance?"

There was definetly teasing in his voice, and Tomoyo's eyes narrowed slightly; this
was really getting to her. Although she wasn't sure if it was because of annoyance..
or the eerie familiarity of this voice. And such an easy French accent, although it was
obviously not French..

She heard a rustling from the curtains; just what she needed, more annoying courters.
Tomoyo rolled her eyes and sighed in aggravation. "I don't dance," she responded, a
frosty edge now slipping in.


~Do you believe in fate
'Cause the best is yet to come~


She suddenly hear a sniggering sound from the curtains, one she recognized to be...no,
that wasn't possible.

Frowning, she wondered why on earth her friends were all gathered around her and this
annoying man...maybe because it was HER party. That was it; they were probably
looking for her.

"Tomoyo-san...I believe I did once tell you that it would be futile to say that to me."
Now this was laced with great amusement. And Tomoyo didn't know how she could have
missed it before.


~And we have come too far
To let it fall apart
So please don't give up~


It was only in that moment that the beam from the lighthouse just up the coast shone
through the window, reflecting off of her necklace...and allowing her to see what colour
it was. The sapphire was gone; in its place was a glittering amethyst.

Kero's voice came from the corner. "Tomoyo-chan...maybe you should actually turn
around," he suggested, sounding as if he were fighting to hold back laughter.

The first thing she noticed when she did what he requested was that Sakura-chan, Li-
kun, Kero-chan, Touya-san, and Tsukishiro-san were all crowded near the edge of the
small closing with huge, mischevious grins on their faces. And with them was...Nakuru-
san...Spinel-san, with identical triumphant and mischevious smiles.

And that could only mean...


~Well darling don't let go
'Cause really all I know
Is I believe in us~


Tomoyo's eyes were now as huge and round as serving platters, her mouth dropping
open in pure shock as her gaze traveled upward to the person directly behind her -- or
in front of her now..

She gasped; it came like more of a strangled choke.

Hiiragizawa Eriol was smirking in immense amusement as he stared directly at her with
those sapphire midnight eyes that she hadn't stopped seeing in her dreams for eight
years...eyes so full of love..

And Tomoyo was slightly terrified.






Sakura ushered the rest of the group out of the secret nook so that they wouldn't
intrude on any private moments. Because she knew that after all these years..there
would be a lot of extremely private emotions. Although it WAS a pity...Tomoyo
almost never seemed to have many morals on spying on her own private moments
with Syaoran..she'd have to remember that.

"Isn't it the sweetest, most adorable, kawaii, romantic thing you have ever seen in
your whole entire existence?" Nakuru was gushing, skipping and twirling in tight circles
as they made their way back through the ballroom around all the still dancing couples
-- Yamazaki and Chiharu were back on the dance floor. The song had changed again.

"So you've said -- for the sixtieth time," Touya remarked dryly in response to Nakuru's
earlier statement. "Honestly, are you sure that you're twenty-six now?"
"Her maturity level leaves much to be desired," Spinel muttered.
"Spinel-san, really," Yukito scolded, though he secretly agreed.

Nakuru stuck out her tongue at all of them, then glomped Touya...again. "Of course!" she
told them. "Ever since our mission with Sakura-san finished, we've started to age finally."

Sakura was aware of these details -- there was a reason that this whole group was
so close now, even though they had practically all been enemies when the dark trio had
left. Over nearly the past decade, they had exchanged many letters to each other --
that was due to Nakuru's insistence that they should never forget each other. She had
even gotten Eriol and Spinel into it...although Sakura always felt guilty knowing that
while she got a letter from Eriol-kun about once a week, Tomoyo-chan only recieved
one from him about every four months. But it had still kept them close...Eriol-kun and
his guardians had actually known about her engagement to Syaoran before Tomoyo had.

"And it IS the most kawaii thing!" Nakuru continued, insistently, then paused. "Other
than Sakura-chan's and Li-kun's marriage of course," she added with a cheerful smile.

Touya could be heard giving an almost inconspicous growl in his throat; he and Syaoran
started glaring daggers at each other. Sakura sighed; this time, however, she wasn't
going to step in. At least she had the reassurance that they would never hurt each
other, because they knew it would upset her.

"Master is so happy now! Don't they go so fabulously together?" Nakuru sighed blissfully.
"Just like--"

"Cake and turpentine," Syaoran grumbled.
"Syaoran!" Sakura chatised him. "They ARE absolutely beautiful together. Like peanut
butter and jelly."

"Like paper and a pen," Spinel agreed.
"Pomegranate tarts and orange mousse," Kero seconded, obviously still thinking of the
lovely meal he'd just had. "And oysters! Speaking of which, Suppi, you really SHOULD try
some of that stuff." An evil glint entered his eyes.
Spinel gagged at the combination Kero had brought up. "What a positively disgusting
idea," he said disdainfully.

"Like lace and silk," Nakuru put in, ignoring the two sun guardians.
Touya didn't bother to say anything; he approved of this couple about as much as
Syaoran did. Or had before, at least.

Nakuru shook her head. "No, even more accurately, they're like Beauty--"
"--and the Beast," Spinel finished for her with a satisfied smile, after knocking Kero away
from him with a small energy beam. There were very few things that he agreed with
Nakuru on, but this was certainly one of them.

"Hanyaan!" sighed Sakura happily.
Syaoran choked, and his wife glared at him. "They are!" she insisted.

"I still don't understand how they could fall in love in such a short time period, especially
with everything he put her through," Touya muttered darkly. "And how after only two
weeks together, they spend eight years waiting to see the other again -- does any of
this add up?!" he finally demanded in frustration.

"It makes perfect sense," Nakuru retorted. "That's why it's like Beauty and the Beast..
the ever-constant lessons of 'love waits for no one' and 'love has no boundaries'." She
paused and glanced at Touya with a smile. "Right?"
Touya only looked at her for a moment. "No comment."

"And I think it's wonderful that Tomoyo-chan has found someone who'll make her so
happy, after such a long time," Sakura put in. "She deserves true happiness more than
anyone else I know." Her voice went quiet. "Now if only she'll let herself have it.."

"He's still evil," protested Syaoran, although he couldn't really argue with the rest of
Sakura's logic -- yes, he didn't know anyone else who deserved happiness more than
Tomoyo.

But they all stood in silent for a moment, thinking about their purple eyed friend,
and whether she would actually take her chance for happiness...especially since the
one person who could give it to her was the one who was the cause of her sadness all
these years.

But they also knew just as well that Eriol would never give up on her, not even if it took
his whole lifetime.

Syaoran broke the silence, and the heavy mood "They'll be very scary together," he
warned; Tomoyo already had her own evil streak without Eriol to add fuel to the
flames. He shuddered at the concept.

"What goes on between them is none of our business," Sakura said primly.
"Until they make it our business," Syaoran hinted darkly. Sakura sweatdropped; of course,
he still hadn't forgiven Eriol for what happened all those years ago, but..

"Admit it, Syaoran. Tomoyo-chan deserves happiness...and Eriol's the one who gives
her that happiness."
Syaoran glared at the floor; it was true. Damn. But there was no way of mistaking
Tomoyo's look of joy when she realized she had been talking to Eriol, as anything else.

Didn't mean he had to like it, though.

They didn't have any time to say anything else, because then Sonomi ran up to them,
barely sparing the two talking stuffed animal a glance; she knew about them already.
"So did it work? How are they?"

Sakura smiled brightly. "The plan was pulled off perfectly. And I think both of them are
going to be just fine from now on."






The party was still continuing a few hours later, although Tomoyo wasn't taking much
part in it, despite the fact that it was being held in her honour. She was now seated
in the lounge just outside the ballroom, deep in thought. She wasn't hiding from
anyone...

No, of course not.
She was just casually avoiding Eriol-san, that was all.

A shout came from just down the hallway, and Tomoyo made a dry face -- Touya-san.
Tsukishiro-san. Nakuru-san. Enough said. It was a good thing that the hotel had sealed
this area off just for the night's party.

She gave a tiny start when a small, dark stuffed cat suddenly flew into her lap, and then
she smiled, recognizing Spinel. "Spinel-san, it's very good to see you," she greeted him.
"I'm sorry I haven't had the chance to talk to you much tonight." Excluding dinner, she
had mostly gone into hiding right after her brief encounter with Eriol.

The dark blue sun guardian smiled up at her, which was nice to see, since Spinel didn't
smile very often. "It's wonderful to see you as well, Tomoyo-sama," he replied. "May I
ask what's wrong tonight, on what should be the happiest night of the year for you?"

Tomoyo sighed; she supposed she could talk to Spinel. There wasn't anything wrong
with that, was there?
But she didn't even have to say anything, he brought it up himself. "It's Eriol-sama, isn't
it?" he asked gently. At the sight of her widening eyes, he continued. "You're not ready
to see him after all these years, are you?"

Tomoyo shook her head, tears threatening to build. "I really missed him, though," she
whispered. "I thought that it was just a silly fantasy of mine to believe that he was
actually coming back, and that I knew he wouldn't...and suddenly he's here, and I
can't stand to face him!" The last part came out as a half-wail. "And I missed him.."

Spinel listened patiently, and when she was done, spoke up again. "Tomoyo-sama, I'm
not much on human emotions," he began. "Ruby Moon's mostly the expert on that, but
I was created to understand Master Eriol better than anyone..and I've made a few
observations over the last eight years. I know you've been hurt a lot, but trust me, it
wasn't just you. Eriol missed you a lot also, sometimes it was just awful.."

"Then why didn't he just come back?" she demanded.
"I believe you should ask him that yourself," Spinel responded easily. "The second
observation I've made, since eight years ago...I'm no longer the only one who under-
stands Eriol-sama best of all, Tomoyo-sama." And he smiled.

Tomoyo looked at him in confusion. "Why did you just call me 'Tomoyo-sama?" she asked
curiously.
Spinel's smile became secretive. "I have my reasons," was all he said. "But Tomoyo-sama,
you really must believe..Eriol--"

"--Missed you more," came a new voice from directly in front of her; the two shot up
their heads to see Eriol suddenly sitting before them. How he had gotten there without
them knowing was a complete mystery on its own.

Both Eriol and his small guardian saw the slightly frightened look which flashed across
Tomoyo's face, no matter how brief it was.

Eriol was about to say something when he was rudely interrupted by another scream.
The three looked up at the blur that was Touya and Yukito, speeding toward the
elevator. A moment after the doors slid shut, carrying the two men up to a higher level,
Nakuru flew into view, took a quick glance at the elevator, and then lit off for the stairs,
leaving the three in the lounge sweatdropping.

Eriol glanced down at his dark blue guardian. "Spinel, could you please go and calm her
down?" he asked. "I already tried, but it didn't work -- maybe if you threaten to shred
her clothes again..."

Spinel obediently took off after the light-chocolate haired guardian, and left the two
dark haired people alone in the finally-quiet lounge. Slowly, Tomoyo bravely forced her
eyes up to meet Eriol's, which were already trained on her intensely.

They stared at each other for a moment, Tomoyo got trapped in his eyes just like before,
and wanted to cry...this _wasn't_ fair!

He held out a hand to her, getting to his feet. "Will you come with me for a minute?" he
asked her softly, though insistently. Tomoyo couldn't have refused even if she tried to.
Hesitantly, she took his hand and he led her outside. The two walked down the dark
street of Nice, not saying anything. Tomoyo finally summoned all of her courage to at
least make a little bit of conversation. "Where are you staying, Hiiragizawa-san?" she
asked politely.

He looked back at her with an expression of faint amusement. "Such formality, Ms.
Tomoyo," he mentioned.
Tomoyo took a sharp intake of breath at the familiar name, and the familiar emotions it
invoked in her. She tried to just ignore it, waiting for his reply to her question.

"I'm at the Chauvain," he told her. "That's really where we're going -- my room has a
nice view of this part of the Riviera, as well as the Mediterranean."
Tomoyo bit her lip and nodded. "I would like to see that," she said. "The sea is very
pretty at night."

The hotel was really just down the street from her own. Eriol's room was on the
eighteenth floor; upon reaching it, Tomoyo waited patiently while he opened the door,
and then led her inside. She went over to the window deftly -- the sooner she got this
over with, the sooner she could leave, and the safer she would be.

She gasped faintly at the sight of the lights of Nice glistening on the clear waters of
the Mediterranean. "You're right, Eriol-san," she said in awe. "It is such a gorgeous view.
You're very lucky."

Eriol smiled a bit as he came up next to her. "Yeah," he murmured. "Very lucky."
Glancing at him in the room only lit by moonlight, she couldn't help comparing his eyes
to the sea...same colour, she mused. She had never doubted it. He was still incredibly
beautiful, it drove her nuts wondering what he might have been doing in England.

He then turned to her, as if sensing her thoughts -- or perhaps reading them. He never
listened to her. "Tomoyo, I think we need to talk."
Now they were entering dangerous territory. Tomoyo quickly backed away from the
window and headed for the door. "Eriol-san, I really must be getting back -- Mother
and Sakura-chan will wonder where I've gone."

But he was suddenly in front of her, between herself and the door, leaning back against
it and effectively blocking her escape. "Relax Ms. Tomoyo, you'll go back soon...we just
have to talk, that's all." A smirk was playing across his features, and Tomoyo frowned at
him.

"You seem to have a real obssession with kidnapping me," she snapped. "What do you
want from me, anyway? Just hurry up and say what you have to say, and then let me
go -- please." Politeness to the end.
He met her eyes squarely, a boyish look in them. "I missed you."

The words went straight to the core of her heart, and that irritated her -- although it
certainly didn't show as irritation. Tears threatened to spring to her mauve eyes again,
and she took a step backward. "You're the one who left," she whispered.

"I had to," he said quietly.
"Why?" she asked, anger managing to slide faintly into her tone. "And don't tell me it was
because of 'business'."
He smirked again. "Actually, that really -is- half the reason," he told her smoothly. "I've
had to tour much of the Eastern Hemisphere over the past eight years." He suddenly
became serious. "But the other half..was you."

"Oh, so now it's my fault?" she demanded, injured.
He shrugged. "Well, maybe it was partly my fault too," he said. "For falling in love with
you."
She stared at him. "But I already knew that," she said quietly. "You told me." She paused.
"And I..." she then trailed off in faint realization.

He nodded slowly, eyes never leaving her. "You didn't say anything, because you weren't
sure," he told her gently. "I knew how you felt, I figured out after a while. But you
didn't know..and I --my presence-- was making you confused, and it wasn't fair. You had
to figure it out for yourself eventually."

"But why did you have to do it so...harshly?" she wanted to know, still angry. "You left so
suddenly, and you hardly wrote-- that hurt a lot. It almost killed me -- the first few years
were awful.." Her voice broke, and she sighed. "...You didn't know, because you weren't
there."

"Because you weren't ready, Tomoyo," he said calmly. "And I still don't think you're
ready even now...I don't think you know just how you feel."
She glared at him in defiance. "I know _exactly_ how I feel about you, Hiiragizawa Eriol,"
she shot back.

He raised an eyebrow, still incredibly calm. "Oh? How do you feel about me, Tomoyo?" he
asked her bluntly. "Tell me just how you feel about me, right now." He paused. "And
what about Sakura-san?" he asked, just above a whisper.

Tomoyo opened her mouth, but nothing came out as her mind drew a blank. How -did-
she feel about him? And how on earth was it that he'd come to mean more to her than
Sakura-chan? To her surprise, she realized that she didn't even know herself.
Shoot, she hated to admit it, but he was right. This was so confusing..

The placid look on Eriol's face disintegrated into faint pain as he saw the confused tears
streaming down Tomoyo's face. Coming closer, he trailed a finger down her cheek and
wiped away the tears in the process, feeling her shudder a bit beneath his touch, and
had to smirk again. He didn't say a word.

She gave him a skeptical look, and he raised an eyebrow innocently. Still not a word
was spoken, until a tentative smile touched her face. He was here in front of her, no
doubt -- maybe everything would be alright again for sure.
"So are you here..for good?" she dared to ask, very hesitantly. "Or are you going to leave
again, soon? After all, we're not exactly in Japan..were you just here on a 'business'
trip?"

She heard him laugh a bit, before he was suddenly at her back, trailing faint patterns
lightly on her bare arms with his fingers. Tomoyo shuddered again at his touch; a pleasant
tremble.

"Well," he began conversationally. "About two months ago, I finished my business. The
moment I did, I had already begun packing, fully ready to head right back to Tomoeda..
when I got a sudden phone call, from a certain Daidouji Sonomi, reminding me that it
was your birthday soon, and that she had something quite special in mind.." he smirked.
"Your mother is very good at hatching such schemes..I finally see where you get it
from. And Nakuru was most adamant in wanting to see the French Riviera."

Tomoyo turned to face him, eyes naughtily hopeful. "So...you're here to stay?" she asked,
barely above a whisper.
He gave her a gentle smile. "I'm here for forever," he promised solemnly, before his
smile turned the slightest bit wicked. "Or at least, as long as you want me," he added,
evil innocence shining in his eyes. "Do you want me, Ms. Tomoyo?"

"Eriol-san," she said warningly. "You're cheating again--" But her eyes widening slightly
and she fell into silence as Eriol pulled her down to sit next to him on the bed, pressing a
finger against her mouth to quiet her.

Her breath caught in her throat as she met those liquid sapphire orbs again...almost too
fast for her comprehension, he had suddenly captured her lips into a real kiss. Tomoyo
froze, completely losing her ability to do much else except register what she was feeling.

Despite his persistency, there was a gentle question in the kiss: Is this okay?
She would have pulled away...if she hadn't already been lost, drowning in a sea of
blissful emotions and not minding it at all. It was better than fireworks, better than...
anything and everything. It was indescribable; she had lost control over any rational
thought long ago. Somehow, she wasn't surprised -- she'd half-expected this from him
from the moment he'd led her into his hotel room.

So in response...Tomoyo simply deepened the kiss admirably, drawing a bit of surprise
from Eriol...of course, he had no problem in retaliating quickly, cupping his hands around
her delicate face. Pure bliss melted into true passion as the Mediterranean moonlight
poured in through the open window and casting an ethereal shine onto them.

"So, Tomoyo? Are you going to say it?" he persisted.
Tomoyo tried to think -- it was like wading through an undercurrent in the ocean. "I..
don't know what it is you want..." she managed.

Eriol's mouth began to trail down her neck, leaving a blazing trail of passion in its
wake, as well as Tomoyo's breath ragged. He stopped on a sensitive spot right near her
throat; Tomoyo whimpered a tiny moan, of the worst torture: pleasurable torture, and
in response, dug her hands even more tightly through his night blue hair, as she kissed
one of his own sensitive spots behind his earlobe. Her heart was alternately fluttering
and stopping, drawing different reactions to every little thing he did to her.

"Do you know what it is you're feeling? What you feel for me?"
"I.." was as far as she got.

A cool breeze floated in through the window, probably carried up from the sea, and
seemed to mix with Eriol, both caressing her skin. Eriol, somewhere between her neck
and her chest, felt her tremble for the umpteenth time, and he chuckled; the sound was
terribly seductive.

"Tomoyo? ...I don't think you have to answer my question anymore," he murmured
teasingly, his hands running gently down the smooth curve between Tomoyo's neck
and shoulders, taking the straps of her party dress with him. Her neck seemed even
more elegantly long and unreal, shining enticingly with the mixture of pale skin and
soft moonlight, making her seem like an enchanted dream. "You know. But I still want to
hear you say it."

Through the pleasant haze in her mind, Tomoyo was still able to register that he had
spoken, and that she knew what he was speaking about. But she didn't really care,
taking a sharp intake of breath as Eriol began caressing her with his mouth again; she
simply held him tighter, kissing down the side of his neck too. His shirt was in the way
though. "Eriol.." she whimpered.

Her elegant Vienna dress had somehow managed to come partway off; he forgot about
it momentarily as he began pulling the ever-so-carefully-placed pins out of her violet
midnight hair, watching in awed admiration as the glossy coils came tumbling free,
cascading down her back. Like a most divine being...his own personal goddess. He began
running his fingers through the almost satin-like tresses; against his chest. Tomoyo's
spine arched stiffly momentarily as he was also stroking her back. Her own hands were
tentatively exploring his surreally pale chest, having undone one of his shirt buttons. He
really was beautiful...

"You know what you're feeling," he said in a whisper, still trailing shock-inducing fingers
through the violet-raven hair. "I know it too. And Tomoyo, you don't have to ever worry
again, because I'll love you forever...now you've just got to say it though."
Tomoyo kissed the area between his shoulder blades slowly, murmuring, "I...can't.."

"Yes you can," Eriol agreed quietly, now running his fingers up and down her spine.
Tomoyo shivered in evil pleasure, her back arching yet again. Yes, this was evil...Li-kun
had been onto something with his opinions about the two of them. She moaned slightly
again as she dug clear oval fingernails into his back, trying to be careful not to hurt him.

Eriol felt her shudder again as he went back to her weak spot on her throat. "Tomoyo.."
he began, pulling back with effort to look in her luminous mauve eyes, gone a
bit darker in colour. Feeling the intense gaze on her, Tomoyo really had no choice but to
look back up in his own eyes, which had always been somewhat dark and laced with
various other undecipherable colours, but were now nearly darker than the night and
threaded with flashing emotions..passion, desire, need...and Tomoyo could also make
out utter devotion.

"Eriol." Her voice was the softest whisper of a musical bell.
"Yes, Tomoyo-tenshi?"
She paused, her breath catching again. "Why did you call me that, Eriol?" she asked.
He smiled against the ivory curve of her shoulder. "Because you're my angel, Tomoyo-
sama."
Tomoyo closed her eyes, and gave in to his will and to her heart. "I should have told
you long ago. I love you," she finally said, the words he'd been pressuring to hear for the
entire evening, and what felt like much longer. "And I missed you most."

He capturing her lips with his against the dark blue cloak of the night.






The sun was beginning to rise high over the French city of Nice when Hiiragizawa
Eriol opened his eyes the next morning. First thing he noticed was that he was in a hotel
room; he knew this instantly, since he was so used to being in them.

But the next thing he noticed was that the scent of lavender and vanilla was filling his
nose. He frowned slightly; this wasn't ordinary. Although the scent was heavenly, and
one he dreamt about almost each night.

The third thing he noticed was that he wasn't alone; another warm body was pressed
up against him, which led into the fourth thing he noticed -- he wasn't wearing anything.
Uh oh..

He relaxed slightly when he opened his eyes, squinting slightly in the bright sunlight.
His arm was entangled in an impossibly soft tangle of violet tresses; it was the face of
an angel that greeted him instantly. Tomoyo...

She was still asleep.

For a moment, Eriol forgot completely that he had just spent the night with Tomoyo. It
didn't matter; if he had his way, he'd be spending a lot more nights like this with her.
He would love to wake up like this every morning, her face being the first thing he saw
every day.

How had he ever existed without her..?

A soft smile touched his face as he gently brushed a lock of hair out of Tomoyo's sleeping
face, tucking it behind her ear, all the while being extremely careful not to wake her.
Yes, I definetly wouldn't mind waking up like this every morning, he thought, content
with just tenderly watching her sleep. He could stay like this forever.

He thought back to last night; maybe he HAD moved a bit quickly..he seemed to have
a tendency to do so, but..this was real. This was forever, Eriol knew it because it came
from his heart -- very few things managed to make his heart speak out to him.

And he would make it forever.

Tomoyo began to stir faintly; suddenly, he was feeling some sort of subconscious
hesitation, and understood it instantly. He smiled. "It wasn't all a dream, Ms. Tomoyo."

Her eyes opened slowly, revealing the liquid amethyst, before immediately squinting as
she rubbed her eyes. "Damn..."

Eriol's eyes widened instantly in shock. "Ms. Tomoyo, such language!" he chided, trying
to hold back a laugh.
Tomoyo seemed confused for a minute upon hearing his voice next to her. Her eyes
shot open again. "What are you doing here?" she demanded in surprise, before suddenly
noticing where she was. She smiled sheepishly at him. "Oh yeah...last night." Her eyes
suddenly flashed with indignance. "You seduced me! I can't believe I let you--"

Eriol kissed her, effectively silencing her. "Yes, I seduced you last night," he told her,
matter-of-factly and a little sardonically. "But I seem to recall the fact that it takes
two...and you definetly didn't mind being the other half."
Tomoyo covered her face, more than a little embarrased. "Eri-OL," she groaned. "Li-kun
was right. We _are_ evil together."

He chuckled. "Hey, it's a compliment," he reassured her.
"Given by the devil's advocate himself," she muttered, her voice a bit muffled. Then,
lowering her hands, she smiled at him; if there was something he loved more than her
spirit, it was definetly the way she smiled...especially at him. Because it was a real smile,
not a carefully placed mask anymore.

"Mother is going to kill me," she said ruefully. "This was truly awful of me...I was supposed
to wait until marriage to do this." She sat up, a guilty, worried expression on her face.

Well, since SHE was the one who'd brought up the subject... He sat up as well, facing
to her with a slightly mischevious smile. "So then what's the problem?" he asked
innocently.

She turned to him with a frown. "I'm. Not. Married," she pronounced slowly, burying her
face in her hands again, finally beginning to stress out, although she didn't regret the
past night in the least. "Oh, Mother will be so disappointed in me, and Sakura-chan too..
even she and Li-kun were able to wait until they got married."

Eriol had to snicker at that, though he really did try to hold it back. "That's what they
want you to think," he muttered; Tomoyo gave him an annoyed look, to which he replied
with a completely innocent smile. "I still don't see what the problem is," he told her.

"Doesn't this bother you in the least?" she demanded. "Neither of us are married--"
"Well then, why don't we remedy that little problem?" he asked her with a taunting smile.
Tomoyo was about to continue with her minor rant, before what he'd just said hit her
with full magnitude. Her heart jumped and she stared at him dumbly, before sighing.
"Ha, ha, very funny Hiiragizawa," she said in annoyance, actually feeling a bit hurt that
he could actually joke about this..

"I'm glad you thought it so amusing, although it's not meant to be," Eriol replied,
flourishing his hand. Tomoyo's eyes went wide as a small case magically appeared in his
hand; they went even larger as the lid snapped back to reveal a large, shimmering
diamond ring. "Because I'm serious," he finished.

Tomoyo blinked slowly, still in shock, before remembering that he had magic powers..
a frown crossed her face. "Eriol-kun, I won't have you thinking that you have to marry
me just because of one night -- it's really okay. I won't tell anyone about it, and--"

She was silenced as he tilted her head up, forcing her to look straight up at him.
Cerulean met amethyst. "I'm serious," Eriol told her, not an ounce of sarcasm or teasing
in his tone, his gaze never wavering from her. "I would never joke about this. Because
this wasn't just a one time thing for me...I've been planning this for a while now. And I
bought this a while ago. I hope it wasn't just a fling for you either..'cause I love you."

Tomoyo's eyes were huge, and at that last line, tears began prickling at the edges.
"So will you?" he asked, actually sounding a bit tentative.
She flung her arms around him, holding him tight as the tears spilled over. "There is
nothing I want more than to spend the rest of my life with you, Eriol," she whispered,
feeling his own arms around her -- she pulled back with a faint laugh, wiping away her
tears. "I was terrified you were kidding for a moment."

"I told you, Mademoiselle Tomoyo," he replied with his own happy smile, making him seem
like a child. He brushed away one of her tears before kissing her nose gently. "I would
never kid about this." He suddenly chuckled. "So _can_ I take you to Venice now?" he
asked innocently.

Her smile lit her face. "You remember," she said happily, before pretending to consider,
going along with the old game. "How about Milan?"
"Siscily's a beautiful place, also," he suggested.

She held him close to her. "Anywhere," she whispered, kissing him once more. "Just as
long as I'm with you."







~FIN (for real)








A/N: Warned you, didn't I? Very fluffy at the end...*sighs* -_-* I also said I'm not that
great at epilogues, either, as I recall...but I think this was actually good compared
to some of my others. And this officially completes 'Tale as Old as Time'.....weird.
I don't even know how to feel ^^* But one thing I DO know is that I'll never be
able to stop thanking you people enough, everyone who read, everyone who
reviewed, everyone who emailed....ahh! Now you've gone and made me want to
write another fic! =p And I will, just as soon as I get a good idea. But all of you
people who read this are gods...I love you all so much, and I'll NEVER stop thanking
you all! Thanks soooo much!!


~Starchick



P.S. - I still would like to get emails/comments, etc. on this...or just email me for
fun at [email protected], I'd love to talk. Also email for questions
or anything, especially about those various cultural references...and once
again, thank you!