I wanted to dance forever.
I don't dance much. Probably
because I don't know how to dance. But in her arms I knew everything. I felt
everything. And I was one with everything. She smelled of lilac and juniper,
flowers woven into her long, dark hair. Her waves had floated around her and in
her pale ivory dress she had resembled a faerie princess, adorned with the
petals of the garden. Skin creamy and smooth to the touch, soft. Eyes so deep
and dark, glinting purple in their depths.
I would have danced forever, had
you wanted to hold me for that eternity…
Daidouji Tomoyo looked around, searching for the other shoe. Where had she left it? A moment ago she had had it in her hand but Sakura's hair had come loose from the pin and she had had to fix it. Now her shoe was missing and she was going to be late.
"Tomoyo-chan!" came a voice from
downstairs and Tomoyo recognized Kinomoto Sakura's tone. She was beginning to
panic again. Tomoyo sighed and then exhaled in relief as she found the other
shoe on top of the bed. It was the same color as the bedspread. No wonder she
hadn't found it.
"Hai!" she finally called and
she slipped on the other shoe, picking up her jacket and running out of the
room, turning off the light behind her.
Downstairs Sakura was paler than
a ghost. And she paced. She paced across the carpet and she had been doing so
for quite a while because the faint imprints were visible in the floor
covering. She looked up as Tomoyo came down the staircase and her green eyes
were wide.
"This was a bad idea,
Tomoyo-chan. A baaaaaaaaaad idea-" she began, nearing as her friend reached the
bottom.
Tomoyo smiled at her
reassuringly. "Sakura-chan, you're worrying over nothing. I'm sure Li-kun will
be nothing but a gentleman tonight." She said and she checked herself before
slipping on her jacket. "Where are they?"
"I'm not worried about him being
a gentleman, Tomoyo-chan." Sakura continued. "I'm worried about…about the way I
look. About the way I hold myself. About…about everything!" she stared
at her friend and Tomoyo didn't think her eyes could have gotten wider. "I
think I may hyperventilate…"
"You will not
hyperventilate!" Tomoyo ordered and she led her to the couch to sit down.
"You're going to sit here for a few moments and take a few deep breaths. That's
what you're going to do."
Sakura was already gasping as
she did as she was told. She seated herself slowly, grasping the arm of the
chair for dear life. "What if…what if he looks so handsome that I faint?
Because…because Syaoran is always handsome. It scares me that he's
always so handsome…"
Tomoyo, for the first time in
her life, felt the urge to roll her eyes. But she suppressed the need, instead
sitting next to her friend and taking her hand. "Sakura-chan, it's only a
dance. A Valentine's Day dance. You and Syaoran are already a couple, there's
nothing left to establish." She looked at her friend closely and realized the
girl was hardly paying attention. She sighed, squeezing her hand. "If you were
this worried why did you agree to go?"
Sakura looked at her blankly. "I
don't know. I have no idea why." She inhaled, lips glistening with the
lip-gloss Tomoyo had applied to them earlier. "Tomoyo-chan…I don't think I'm
going to survive the night…"
The doorbell rang, causing
Sakura to jump.
Tomoyo rose, taking a step in
the general direction of the front door. It was about time. The dance started
in half an hour and she didn't want to be late-
Sakura yanked her back, nearly
making the girl topple.
"Sakura-chan!"
"Barricade the doors!" Sakura
cried, grip tight on her friend's wrist. "Don't let them in! Tell them I feel
ill, that I can't possibly leave the house!" and she lifted a couch cushion,
trying to hide her entire petite frame behind it.
Tomoyo pulled free, finally
grabbing hold of the girl and shaking her. "Sakura-chan, get a hold of
yourself!" she commanded. She contemplated slapping her friend but then thought
it was just plain rude so with a cautious backward glance she went to open the
door.
Li Syaoran looked like he was
ready to run for the border as well, standing outside in a dark tuxedo. He
looked like he had just crawled out of bed, suit jacket hanging open over a
white shirt, bowtie undone and hanging down both sides of his open-collared
neck. Beside him stood a calm looking Hiiragizawa Eriol, dark eyes sliding shut
as he smiled.
"Konban wa, Tomoyo-san." He
greeted her as she held the door open for them.
"Evening, gentlemen." She said
politely, smiling at them both cheerfully. "Please come in for a moment.
Sakura-chan is trying to escape and I'm trying to trap her in."
"Tomoyo-chan!" came
Sakura's voice from the living room, sounding indignant.
"She's nervous, too?" Eriol
asked and he peeked into the living room. He wore dark clothes as well, a black
shirt with clasps all the way up the neck and dark, loose pants, a dark blue
sash tied around his waist. Tomoyo gazed at him nonchalantly, admiring the
slender waist and lean frame. Then he was lifting his hand and waving at Sakura
in the living room, who was cowering close to the window. Tomoyo looked up to
gauge her reaction and only then realized she had the window open and was
trying to escape.
"Sakura-chan! Don't you
even think about it!" she called after her, rushing into the room.
Syaoran came up behind Eriol who
glanced at him. "Now, now. It's not going to be that bad." He soothed the
auburn-haired boy serenely. "The both of you are exactly the same."
Tomoyo was dragging Sakura, who
was fighting quite violently. "Tomoyo-chan, let go-"
Eriol grabbed hold of Syaoran at
the same time and shoved him into the room.
Sakura and Syaoran both stumbled
to a stop, standing before each other. They both reared up, staring at each
other and both blushed, faces turning tomato red.
Tomoyo skipped to stand beside
Eriol, her smile the slightest bit wicked. "Kawaii, ne?" she asked Eriol,
looking at him.
He was already looking at her, a
very faint blush coloring his cheeks as well. "Beautiful, actually." He
murmured distractedly before snapping back to reality and looking toward Sakura
and Syaoran. "Or rather, cute. Yes, I agree wholeheartedly."
Tomoyo looked at the couple
again, embarrassment shining on her face.
"You…you look…" Syaoran was
saying, one hand lifting to scratch the back of his neck awkwardly.
Sakura stared at him, eyebrows
turning up. "Horrible, I know. The dress is so simple and my hair…" she patted
down her skirt, running her hands over the soft, filmy material.
"You look beautiful."
Sakura came to a stop and
blinked. "Hoeee?"
Syaoran nodded, a small smile
curling his lips. "You look absolutely beautiful." He said again, cheeks
burning red once more.
Sakura slowly smiled, joy
blossoming on her face. "A…Arigato." She whispered and she cocked her head.
"You look wonderful, too."
He shrugged as if the compliment
were too much for him. "Not really. I was so nervous, getting ready. And
Eriol-kun was badgering me to hurry up and I couldn't get the bowtie fixed…"
Sakura reached up toward his
neck, fingers taking hold of the bowtie. He became silent and merely gazed at
her as she made a bowtie out of the ribbon, fastening it perfectly at the
collar. He smelled good, like soap, and his hair was damp. She had noticed it
when tying the bowtie. She smiled, practically melting as he leaned forward the
slightest bit and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, hands lifting to her
waist.
Tomoyo looked at Eriol
knowingly. "Hey." She admonished teasingly. "Keep all that stuff out until
after the dance."
Sakura looked at her over
Syaoran's shoulder and she giggled as Syaoran merely turned his head toward
them.
Eriol chuckled silently and
finally looked at Tomoyo, holding out his arm. "Shall we go?"
Tomoyo accepted it, nodding. "Let's."
Wishful thinking I might be
yours
Drifting on every step
I'm always drawn to the
darkest horse
Sweet sweet, nothing's said
And every dream is just a
dream, after all
And everything stands so
still when you dance
Everything spins so fast
And the night's in a paper
cup
When you want it to last
Eriol looked around, hands
clasping a cup of punch. Sakura and Syaoran danced off to the side, swaying,
with their arms wrapped around each other. How silly they were, he thought to
himself. So in love and so perfect for each other and yet put them together in
a room and they became as tongue-tied as-
"Eriol-kun. Dance with me?"
As he did when faced with
Tomoyo-chan. He stared at her as she tilted her head at him, long wavy hair
cascading down her back and shoulders. She had woven flowers, small baby buds,
into those long tresses and her skin shone with faint glitter. Complete with
the ivory gown and the simple chain around her wrist she was a pixie, glowing
from within.
"Of course." He uttered and he
set down his cup of punch, standing slowly. She came closer to him, taking hold
of both of his hands and pulling him towards her, leading him onto the floor.
The room had been decorated with
streamers and balloons, a live band playing gently in the background. Other
couples circled the floor and he recognized a few of them. But none of them
held his attention the way Tomoyo did then, her hair floating around her slender
frame as she paused close to Sakura and Syaoran. She faced him, her hair finally
coming to rest upon her milky pale shoulders and she came closer still, her
scent surrounding him. Scent of lilac. Like the kind he grew in his garden. Her
eyes and hair shimmering with the same color carefully peeking out through
darkness. He allowed one of his hands to wind around her waist, the other
taking hold of her free hand and trapping it to his heart.
She looked up at him, eyes hooded, lips shimmering.
Her other arm snuck its way under his and curled up around his slender waist,
body pressing up against his. She felt his breath catch the slightest bit and
she smiled at him serenely, seemingly content to gaze at him.
"There is something I've been
wanting to do for a while now." He murmured, breath warm against her cheek.
She felt them sway slowly,
peacefully, to the soft music in the background. "What's that?" she asked him
faintly, eyes traveling down to his mouth for a moment.
It was all the incentive he
needed. With an inaudible prayer and a deep breath he closed the distance
between them slowly, giving her enough time to stop him if she desired.
She surprised him by leaning in
the rest of the way, standing on tiptoe to meet his lips.
And it was the softest kiss he
had ever been given. As soft as her hair and as smooth as her skin. He tasted
her on his lips, and felt her underneath his fingers. She was beauty in human
form and never had he encountered another as she, not in all the lives he had
lived and all the boundaries of death he had crossed.
She ended the kiss, almost
reluctantly, pulling away to gaze at him. She had left him dizzy, having to
focus before finding himself still standing on the earth. She smiled as if
unsure how he would react. And he smiled back, struck by her beauty once more.
Off to the side Sakura and
Syaoran watched, identical smiles on their faces, swaying also.
"Yokatta." Sakura breathed and
she closed her eyes, resting her head on Syaoran's shoulder once more.
We danced all night, you and
I, under a blanket of night and stars. The moon had never looked so glorious,
the stars never so bright. And in all my years never was I so blinded by a beauty
such as yours. I held you then as I hold you now and when the night came to an
end I knew there would be another day where I would hold you still.
And I did so because you wanted
to hold me for that eternity.
Oh
my GOD, someone shoot me. This mush is just choking me! *Sigh*
This
is my life. =)
Oh
and the song mentioned above (the lyrics) was Paper Cup by Heather Nova. If you've
never heard it I suggest you do, it's actually a haunting, soothing song. =)
-Aeslinn