The Cold and the Cardcaptor

Chapter Nine: For the love of Mike…Kiss her already!

Finally…the last chapter…the big Tamale, and I'm not talking about a Mexican food made of corn meal and ground meat, seasoned with red peppers, wrapped in cornhusks and roasted or steamed, as my World Book dictionary was so kind to point out. It's the big finale people!!!! 'The Cold and The Cardcaptor' is coming to an end! ::people stand up and shout 'And it's about bloody time!'::

Anywho, as I mentioned at the end of the last chapter, this ones gonna be sappy…but perhaps not as sappy as I had intended when I actually wrote that little comment….I was in a weird mood at that point, but it's still going to be pretty damn sappy by my standards.

So, on with answering a few Q's…

Little Cherry Blossom: Q: Is it going to be serious romance or just tiny little fluff?

Hmmm…well, firstly I'm gonna try and make it a little funny…as is my style…then…well then I have no idea. I generally figure that out when I actually write it, but I think it's going to be a bit of a mixture of serious, fluff, sap and all that. (Diabetics beware, and have your buckets, pales and assorted liquid holding implements on stand-by…)

SueHime: hehehe Syaoran woulda been squished!! Thanks for answering Evil's Toughpreacher's Q. for me ^-^.

There were a few reason's why I used the Illusion instead of The Mirror.

A: (as SueHime had pointed out) Syaoran woulda been squished because the mirror is solid, and the illusion is not.

B: because the illusion can't talk, and therefore couldn't say anything stupid that would make people suspicious.

C: well…it's also due to the fact that I kinda also forgot that The Mirror could talk, but then again, I still couldn't use it because of the above two reasons…

I've noticed the a couple of people wanted to know where I get the inspiration for my stories…and well, I'm not sure I can answer that. I think it's due to a lot of things…my sick and twisted imagination playing a major part. My sick and twisted sense of humor…I generally day dream quite a lot…you'd be surprise what you're mind can come up with when you stare at a wall and let it just wander. Or maybe it's just coz I'm a freak, a nut, and an all round crazy person…but that sure as hell makes life interesting. Anywho, enough about me crapping on, I bet you just want to read what I have written right!!

Well you can't just yet because I have to write a disclaimer!!!!

YAY!!

Umm…well I'll just say what I usually say, I don't own nuthin, I never will, CCS belongs to the geniuses at CLAMP and ::cough:: the umm ::censored!!:: at NELVANA!!!

HEHEHEHE anyway, enough of my yabberings!! On with the show!!

~~~~~~~~

Sakura's POV:

We had decided to start taking turns on Syaoran's 'dream watch', Eriol and Tomoyo one night, then Kero and myself the next.

It seemed like a good, logical, thing to do…at the time. But I suppose everything seems a good idea, at the time. One night, on Tomoyo and Eriol's turn, I had woken up, thirsty and in need of a drink, and thought I'd just pop in to see how things were going…only to find Tomoyo and Eriol…well, to put it simply, they were making out.

I actually seemed to be getting a lot of bad ideas lately. I suppose sleep deprivation does that to you.

I was tired, I was grumpy, and I was getting more than a little frustrated at Syaoran's attitude. For one thing he hadn't eaten properly in days, something I'm sure was not doing him any good both in a physical and mental sense. Especially since we had no choice but to tie him to a chair and force-feed him via a tube and funnel.

…It was not pretty…if the poor boy ever actually remembers any of this when he's normal; he's going to need a whole lot of therapy.

And meals just never look good puréed.

Then I had the bright idea of letting Kero watch him for the night. Kero, having been reassured that Syaoran would not, and could not remove any articles of clothing whatsoever, agreed to the duty, giving the rest of us a chance to catch up on some much needed sleep.

Not that we actually ended up getting any…

We had all been woken up at about midnight only to find Kero, his face and paws covered in chocolate, being chased by Syaoran around the room. Now let me remind you that Syaoran was still tied to the chair at this point in time…so I suppose 'running' isn't exactly the best word to use…'hopping' would be far more accurate.

Kero had decided on a little revenge in the form of torture. Syaoran seemed to still remember his absolute love of chocolate and Kero had decided to sit right in front of him and slowly, very slowly make his way through a whole 1Kg block of chocolate.

Kero had been about half way through when Syaoran had snapped, and had lunged forward, his hunger obviously clouding his trepidation of the food containing any 'drugs'. So in we came, roused by the rapid 'THUNKTHUNKTHUNKTHUNK' of Syaoran's chair across the floor and Kero's maniacal laughter as he zipped around just in front of him. It was just lucky I had used the Silent card to block out any noise coming from this area of the house, otherwise we would have a lot of explaining to do.

In the end we had to tie Kero up, and I was by myself for the 'dream watch'.

And now I was bored.

Having watched the dreams for a few hours, nothing out of the ordinary seemed to be happening. Some were weird, some were funny, and some were just plain boring. So boring, in fact, that I fell asleep.

I snapped awake with a jerk, feeling myself panic as I looked through bleary eyes around the room, lit by the pre-dawn gloom. I swore under my breath then got up from the cushy chair I had fallen asleep in to check on Syaoran. He seemed okay, but then I looked up at the mirror to see if he was still dreaming.

I blinked.

As far as I could tell, Syaoran was still dreaming, but it appeared that someone had hit the fast forward button. Images were flashing by so fast they appeared only as a multi-coloured blur on the glass. I frowned, panic gripping the pit of my stomach, and was about to call out mentally for Eriol, when the whole mirror started to glow green. The images sped up, and the green got brighter until it blocked out the rapidly flashing images completely. It got to a point where I could barely even look at it anymore, it was so bright that it was almost hurting my eyes. But I refused to look away, a second later the green light flashed its' brightest, and the mirror broke, shattering into dust.

~~~~~~~~~~

Syaoran's POV:

My eyes felt like they were weighed down by lead weights, but something didn't feel right. I could sense something in the back of my mind, something was wrong…or someone was worried, I couldn't really tell. Then I heard a soft feminine voice call out my name, just above me.

*…Sakura…?*

I forced my eyes to open, the early morning light streaming through the window almost blinding me. My eyes adjusted to the brightness and a figure came into focus right above me. It was Sakura, her face so close to mine that her shoulder length hair was tickling my cheek. My lips twitched up in a sleepy smile as my eyes started to droop again, and I groggily said "Mmm…I'm having that dream again…"

~~~~~~~~~

Sakura's POV:

I blanched.

That wasn't what I had been expecting him to say.

"Who are you" maybe, or 'Get out of my face Unholy Queen Wench of the Harpies' even…but not "Mmm…I'm having that dream again…"

A million questions whizzed through my head in the space of a few seconds. "Was he back? Was this just another freaked out version of Syaoran? And just exactly what the hell did he mean by 'that' dream?

Excitement and fear welled up in me is I leaned forward and shook him on the shoulder.

~~~~~~~~~~

Syaoran's POV:

You know that feeling you get right before you've said something completely stupid but you just can't stop yourself from saying it? Well I was experiencing that right now.

It had become frighteningly aware that I was not in fact having 'that' dream again, but was experiencing the cold merciless actuality of real life, even before Sakura shook my shoulder and called out my name again.

My eyelids shot open and the world once again came into crystal clear focus. Sakura was hovering above me, plainly worried, and it seemed, plainly worried about me.

* …yeah right…it's nice to dream… *

"Syaoran…are you alright?"

* I rephrase that, it's nice to dream, but reality is a whole damn lot better…*

I tried to sit up, but found it difficult for some reason, so I looked up at her, holding back a blush, and replied, "What's wrong Sakura? Has something happened?"

Her eyes seemed to go all shiny, like she was going to cry, which only made me feel even more concerned.

Her eyes welled up even more, and her voice came out as a choked whisper. "Oh please tell me it's you…"

My eyebrows crinkled in a frown, confused by the question "Yeah…it's me…Syaoran Li…why…?"

She didn't answer, instead replying with another question, her voice almost panicky "When you first came to Tomoeda, how did you try and get the cards off of me…?"

* Ohh…she had to bring that up…*

I felt my face grow hot. "I umm…err…tried to ::nervous cough::…force…them off of you…you already know that Sakura…tell me what's going on!"

She simply choked back a sob, then quite literally launched herself at me, her arms wrapping around my neck in a stranglehold grip, that I hoped was a show of affection, not an attempt to remove my head…

"It is you!!"

I was so shocked that I wasn't even blushing, even though I was very much aware that this was Sakura, face nuzzled in my neck, arms hugging me so tight that I was almost finding it hard to breathe.

In fact, I was finding it hard to breathe…

"Uhh…Sakura…can't breeeaathhhee…"

She looked up, her eyes shiny with fresh tears. Her face went a pretty shade of pink and she loosened up her grip, but didn't let go. "I'm sorry Syaoran…I-I-I'm just so happy you're back…". She sniffled again, then buried her head back into my neck.

Now I started to blush.

Something instinctual must have kicked in at some point, because conscious thought just wasn't going to happen, and my arms rose to return the gesture and comfort her.

They got about an inch off the bed…

"Umm Sakura…"

She sniffled again, "Yeah…"

"Why am I hog-tied to the bed?"

"…"

"This isn't Eriol's sick excuse for a joke is it because if it is I am going to cause so much-"

"You mean you don't remember?"

I turned my head so I could look at her face. "Remember what?"

She sat back, and I instantly regretted saying that. "What happened on the Ski trip…with Maiomi…and The Ice…you don't remember any of it?"

I frowned, slightly confused, as random images flashed into my head. …Going on the ski trip…staying in a cabin with Tomoyo, Eriol and Sakura…a lady…Maiomi?…that name was familiar…then the others…snatches of conversation, an image, a face, a thought, but I couldn't make sense of it. It was strange, but I had this gut feeling that these were things that had happened.

I noticed for the first time that I was in one of Tomoyo's spare rooms, which only helped to confuse me even more.

"The ski trip finished a couple of days ago, we're staying at Tomoyo's for the rest of the holidays…don't you remember anything?"

"I remember going and the first few days…then everything is kinda fuzzy but-" I paused, one image coming clear. "Did I really call you the Unholy Queen Wench of the Harpies?"

"That was one of you more imaginative ones yes…"

"Oh God, I'm so sorry Sakura…I-" I had tried to run my hand through my hair with frustration, but obviously couldn't due to my current predicament. I scowled.

"Oh wait, I'll get those off…"

She quickly untied the ropes and I rubbed my wrists to get some feeling back into my limbs. I was going to ask why I had been hog-tied to the bed, but guilt was eating me up like Kero eats a pudding.

"I'm so sorry Sakura…"

She cut me off with another hug. "Don't worry about it, you weren't yourself…"

My face continued to go red.

"So just what exactly happened…"

Sakura sighed then sat up. "You might want to get comfortable, it's a long story…" I followed her order and sat up against the headboard. She hesitated for a second, then sat back next to me, and leaned on my shoulder. I made it a point to concentrate on what she was saying, not on the fact that she was in such close proximity.

~~~~~~~~~

Sakura's POV:

I talked until my throat was dry, explaining just about everything that happened. Tomoyo and Eriol came in at one point, took one look at us sitting next to each other on Syaoran's bed, and grinned identical happy yet oh-so-evil grins, I could practically hear the little cogs turning in their heads. Eriol then made some comment along the lines of giving us some 'alone-time', which resulted in both of us getting completely embarrassed. Syaoran grabbed the rope and said something about a noose…Eriol and Tomoyo were happy to have him back.

So then my voice was a little spared as we all proceeded to explain the happenings of our so-called holiday. Tomoyo brought in a few video's to 'help explain things' but the panicked expression on my face was enough to get Tomoyo to only show the tapes that weren't too embarrassing for both Syaoran and I.

For a while anyway…

Syaoran's face seemed to be stuck in a blush, and only seemed to get worse, especially when he was shown the segment, however short, of when he hijacked a snow mobile and…you know the rest.

Tomoyo's excuse was that 'she forgot it was on this tape.'

Yeah…right…

Syaoran was utterly embarrassed, most likely traumatized and still looked a little confused, but seemed generally take things fairly well.

~~~~~~~~~~

Syaoran's POV:

I'm going to need therapy.

I will be very surprised if I don't actually need therapy some time in the near future.

I had been taken over, possessed if you will. I had attacked Sakura, I had led them all into a trap, and they had almost been killed had it not been for Sakura getting very very angry. Then, when there was at least a small shred of hope, I had gone all psycho, and had done more things in the span of a few days than I would never have thought myself capable of in a whole lifetime. And I got the distinct impression that there was more to the story than what they were telling me.

I had a feeling that I just didn't want to know.

It was about midday when Ms. Daidoji came in suggesting we all went outside for lunch. Sakura offered to go down and help set the lunch things up, so I was left in the room with Satan and his mistress.

It had come as no surprise that they had gotten together.

"So, when are you going to tell her?"

I tore my gaze from the door where Sakura had just left and gazed wearily at Tomoyo. "Going to tell who what?"

Tomoyo's expression didn't change, as if she was stating a question that she already knew the answer to. "Tell Sakura that you love her."

"WHAT?"

Her expression still hadn't faltered as she calmly retorted. "You heard me"

"I-I-I-that's not what I meant. I…" I scowled and ran a hand through my hair. There was no point jumping around the obvious anymore. "Never…I don't deserve her…how can she possibly like me at all after what I did to her…"

There was silence.

That was until Eriol, who had been sitting in the chair next to the bed I was sitting on, calmly but painfully smacked me on the back of my head.

"OW! What was that for?"

"Are you blind or just stupid?"

Tomoyo quipped before I could answer, "Or both?"

I rubbed the back of my head and glared at them. "What the hell are you two talking about?"

Tomoyo rubbed her temples and muttered under her breath, "Looorrrrrd…give me strength…" She looked up at. "Eriol?"

Eriol nodded, clicked his fingers, and a bouquet of flowers, cherry blossoms to be exact, appeared in his grasp. He shoved them into my hand and explained. "Here, you will give her these."

Tomoyo stood up and started to pace and continued. "Then you will shower her with compliments. Be poetic…be a regular Romeo." She paused and looked sternly at me.

* Jeez…What is this? 'Dating 101?…*

Tomoyo continued "And, if you haven't actually managed to stuff up in some way you will use these…" she paused, and emphasized the point by grabbing my mouth in a tight grip, causing my lips to pout and my cheeks to hurt. "and you will kiss her…and it will be romantic and unforgettable and something you can tell your grandchildren about when they come to visit you in an expensive but tasteful nursing home…got it?"

*…Grandchildren?? *

I glared at her, my face blushing considerably and said. "Or ur-ing 'y ae…" (Translation: You're hurting my face…)

She dropped my face and I rubbed my jaw, trying to get some circulation back into it.

"And what if I haven't 'got it'?"

"Then we will have to hurt you." Eriol generally creeps me out, but he can be just plain scary when he says things like that. You should just never look that calm when you say things like that.

Sakura bounced in at that point and happily said, "Lunch is served…" She looked at me, then at the bouquet of Cherry blossoms in my hand. "Oh they're pretty, who are they for?"

I blushed and looked down at the flowers in my hand "Uhh", I held them out. "They're for you"

She smiled that smile I love so much to see and took the flowers delicately from my hand. "Oh thank you Syaoran, you're so sweet." She giggled, kissed me on the cheek then trotted out of the room to find a vase.

Tomoyo just covered her eyes and shook her head.

Eriol smacked me on the back of the head again.

"What?! I gave her the flowers!"

"You do not have a romantic bone in your body do you?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sakura's POV:

I smiled again as I placed the flowers Syaoran had given me into a vase. Kero popped out of his hiding spot and fluttered over to me. "Who are they from?"

"Syaoran"

"The brat gave you flowers? Hmm…" His tone changed from questioning to disbelieving. "I didn't think the kid had it in him…"

"He does, it just takes a bit of encouraging from Tomoyo and Eriol…"

"Ooh…'Dating 101' huh?"

"Probably" I smiled again, but sighed.

"You're still worried aren't you…about what will happen if you two…" he paused and seemed to struggle with the word. "..date…" His nose screwed up cutely, as if the word alone left a bad taste in his mouth.

I smiled sadly and nodded.

He glanced up at my sad face, then sighed deeply. "Look Sakura, you can't close yourself off from the people who care for you. Unfortunately bad stuff will come after you, but it happens regardless of what you do..."

"But I don't want anyone to get hurt just so that the bad stuff can get to me."

"I know, but unfortunately it's your destiny to have the cards, and all the annoyances that goes along with it. It's just you. People can't help but try and protect you, even if it means putting their lives on the line." My expression remained sad, so Kero continued. "Look, just talk to him at least or something, I hate it when you're unhappy…" He sighed dramatically, and replied dryly. "It's going to take a while to get used to the fact that it's the kid that makes you happy…ughh…and now he's going to be around more often…::another dramatic sigh:: the things I do for you…"

I smiled and gave Kero a hug. "Oh go on, you know you have fun when he's around…you even told me before that you missed him when he was gone."

Kero crossed his arms and pouted, "I said I missed teasing him…there's a difference…"

"Sure sure…"

~~~~~~~~~~~

Syaoran's POV:

My head hurt, both from the fact that Tomoyo had been cramming 'dating tips' into my head for the last couple of minutes, and also due to Eriol smacking me on the back of the head whenever I said something that he deemed as 'stupid'.

Then we went outside for lunch, and as if the situation couldn't possibly be any more uncomfortable, I was seated next to Sakura. My furiously blushing face was not helping the throbbing lump on the back of my head either. Most of lunch consisted of polite conversation, Ms. Daidoji commenting on how much Sakura looks like her mother when she was Sakura's age as she so often does when Sakura visits, among other things. She was also very happy to find out that Eriol and Tomoyo were now a couple, causing the conversation then to turn to me and when I was going to find someone 'special'. I wasn't too blind from embarrassment to catch the little glance she sent at Sakura when she mentioned the word 'special'.

* …Great, just great, now I have Tomoyo's mum playing matchmaker too… *

But it didn't stop at lunch. Tomoyo and Eriol were quick to volunteer to help bring the things inside, saying 'that they didn't want to have to call for the maid, and it was no trouble so they might as well do it themselves.'

And of course there were only enough things for Tomoyo and Eriol to carry. Ms. Daidoji left because she had work to do, but I didn't buy it. I saw the little smile she sent Eriol and Tomoyo as they left. So there we were, Sakura and I alone in a garden hidden from the house and the outside world by the flowering trees and bushes.

I was so nervous I felt like I was going to see my lunch all over again in reverse.

We were walking in silence, me alone in my thoughts and Sakura content to gaze up through the falling petals to the blue sky above that peeked through the leaves.

~~~~~~~~

Sakura's POV:

I knew what was going to happen, but I kinda wish I didn't.

Knowing ruins some of the surprise…but hey, beggars can't be chooser's. I glanced up at Syaoran's face; it was an interesting combination of pale white and bright red. He didn't seem to be able to decide whether to be embarrassed and blush or be nervous and throw up. He shouldn't be either. I mean, we've known each other for years, but I suppose that's Syaoran for you.

I sat on a small bench that overlooked the pond; he hesitated at first, then sat down next to me. The setting was perfect, like a scene from a romantic movie. A little corny, but hey, I'm not about to start complaining now am I?

I looked up again at the tree that grew behind the bench. Its branches were thick with flowers, the tiniest gust of wind sending thousands of petals to rain down onto us. A bird landed on a branch, the movement causing a full flower to dislodge and fall softly onto the top of my head. Syaoran chuckled quietly next to me and reached over to pluck the bloom from my hair.

Our eyes met, the bloom was forgotten, but he didn't move. His arm slowly dropped, but our gaze didn't break.

He leaned in…I followed.

I could feel his breath on my face.

It was just like a scene from a movie…

Until I almost jumped out of my skin when my cell phone rang.

Damn technology. Making life easier my ass.

Damn me for forgetting to take the damn thing out of my damn pocket.

Damn damn damn.

I sat back and fumbled in my pocket, cursing under my breath as I tried to locate the shrilly-ringing phone. Syaoran sat back and ran a hand through his hair, and muttered something in Mandarin that I was pretty sure was rude.

"Hello?"

'Hey Squirt, how was the trip?"

Damn Touya…

"Uhh, it was…uhh great…"

" ::pause:: Okay, I can tell something happened…what happened Sakura, the brat didn't do anything to you did he?"

Technically, Syaoran had done something, but I wasn't about to tell him that. If I had, it would be like I was willingly signing Syaoran's own death warrant. I stood up and started to pace at the edge of the pond as I talked. "No Touya…look I'll tell you all about it when I get home later okay?"

"Yeah, whatever squirt, I'll see you tomorrow okay?"

"Okay, see you tomorrow…AND DON'T CALL ME SQUIRT."

There was a chuckle from Touya as he said goodbye, before he hung up.

I put the phone back in my pocket, making sure to turn it off, and turned around.

The bench was empty.

Syaoran had gone.

"Damn…"

~~~~~~~~~~~

Syaoran's POV:

My heart was beating so fast I could clearly hear it thudding in my chest as I quickly made my way to Tomoyo's house again. My mind tried to think up an excuse for why I had bolted. 'I wanted to give Sakura some space'…'I didn't want to ease drop, so it's the polite thing to do by leaving….',

But I knew the truth, I bolted because I wimped out.

I was also beginning to think that Touya had some crazy sixth sense when it came to situations involving Sakura and I. Maybe this was a sign saying we were not meant to be…

I walked inside, closed the door and leaned up against it. I shut my eyes to try and make sense of everything…as I was smacked smartly on the head again.

"OOWW! Would you stop doing that!"

Eriol was standing in front of me, arms crossed, an expression on his face that I could only describe best as withering. Tomoyo was behind him, glaring slightly at me, clutching her camera in a white knuckled grip.

"We will only stop when you actually do things right…"

"Hey, it's not my fault…Touya called…and…"

"And you ran away like a coward."

"Hey, I couldn't hang around…it's rude to ease drop on someone else's phone conversation…"

"That may be true, but you didn't have to come back here…"

Eriol grabbed me by the shoulder and spun me around, as Tomoyo reached forward and opened the door. I was forcibly pushed outside and Eriol's voice spoke through the door. "Now you will try again, and you will do it right."

I stumbled…and almost fell on a startled looking Sakura.

"What's going on Syaoran, what was Eriol talking about?"

" Uhh…::Blush:: oh nothing…" I scratched the back of my head and nervously asked. "Umm do you want to go for another walk?"

She looked at me suspiciously, but smiled and replied. "Sure…I' love to."

Operation Ask Sakura Out, Take Two…

Once again we were walking along. Once again we didn't say anything, because there just wasn't really anything to say.

Once again I was alone in my thoughts, and that is never a good thing. Especially when you can hear Tomoyo and Eriol's voices repeatedly chanting 'do something romaaaaannnntic…'

I willed myself block of my mind, and instead looked over at Sakura. The dappled sunlight graced her smiling features, making her look like a vision, a Goddess, but I suppose I always thought that. Her eyes in the shadowed light, sparkled deep green, eyes you could get lost in, eyes that show the very fibre of her soul. Her hair, auburn, soft to the touch…

I realised with the start that when I let my mind wander…I get pretty damn poetic.

It was kinda nauseating…

It was then that I came to the conclusion that I didn't have to think anymore…

I had to do.

I stopped walking. Sakura paused and turned around, a confused expression on her face. I simply stepped forward, rested my hands onto the side of her face, and gently brought her face up to mine. I hesitated, my mouth a bare-inch from hers, then closed the distance…and our lips met.

I was very much in heaven…

She seemed a bit startled at first, but didn't pull away, instead wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling us closer together, and kissed me back.

I could hear cheering, at first shrugging it off as my conscious, until I heard two distinct pitches.

Eriol and Tomoyo.

Damnit.

I reluctantly pulled away, and rested my forehead on hers. She looked up into my eyes questioningly, but the look was gone in an instant when a high pitched squeal echoed from the house. "Oh don't stop now!!"

"::scowl:: is absolutely nothing sacred?"

She smirked slightly and replied. "Just consider it payment for the lessons they gave you…"

I blinked, startled. "You knew about that?"

She smiled again, and nodded, "Uh huh, how else do you think they knew what I wanted to hear?"

"You mean all this time you…"

She nodded and smiled before I had even finished.

"I-you…you could have saved me a lot of trouble if you had just said something in the first place…"

Her smile turned a little sad. "I know…but I had a few things to sort out with myself…but look on the bright side, at least you know what to do when we go out…"

"So we're really…a couple now?"

She smiled at my dubious expression and answered. "Of course, I love you too much to let you go…"

I would be lying if I said that didn't catch me a little off guard. "Really?"

She nodded, and smiled her eyes gazing up into mine.

"You just made me a very happy person Sakura…You do know I love you don't you?"

She pouted cutely and replied, "How could I, you haven't told me yet."

I chuckled a bit, then my expression turned serious. "I do, I love you so much that it hurts."

She smiled again, looking like she was going to cry, but quietly replied, "And whoever said you weren't a romantic."

I laughed quietly at that, and was about to lean forward again for another kiss when hysterical giggling filled the air, followed by the same high pitched voice from before, 'THAT'S SOOO SWEEETTT, HO HO HO HO HO!'

I pulled back again, and glared at the general direction of the house, as I couldn't see it through the trees. I frowned as a thought occurred to me.

"How can they see us if they are in the house?"

Sakura blinked and frowned. "I-I don't know." She turned her head and looked around us suspiciously, then held out her hand and clicked her fingers. A camera appeared in her hand, a black cord attached. She glared at the lens, then pressed a button on the side. The side flipped open, but there was no tape inside.

Her eyes followed the cord as it snaked over the ground, and disappeared into the trees, going towards the house.

Then she smirked.

She pulled the cord out of the camera, and there was a surprise squeak form the house, then Sakura placed the camera on the ground, and flicked her fingers again. This time a videotape appeared in her hands.

A scream of outrage filled the once peaceful air. "MY TAPE!! WHERE DID IT GOOOOO!!"

Sakura, a satisfied smirk on her face, tapped the tape on her hand.

"You should burn that you know"

She shook her head and flicked her fingers again, another tape appeared in her hands. "Nope, I've got a better idea…"

I looked at her smirking face, to Tomoyo's tape, to the other tape in her hand, then at the camera.

My expression mirrored hers as I came to a realisation.

Isn't revenge sweet…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eriol's POV:

I tried to transport the tape back, but Sakura was blocking the transportation spell somehow. Tomoyo was sitting on the ground balling her eyes out at the loss of her now most sacred tape. I sat next to her and pulled her into a hug, trying to comfort her. "It's okay my love, we will get it back…"

"But-but-but, what if they do something to it…I haven't had a chance to make copiiieeessss…::exaggerated wail:: waaaaaaaaaaaaa…."

I reached over and pulled out a tissue and was just handing it to her, when a black tape appeared out of thin air and slid into the VCR in front of us. Tomoyo stopped sniffing and we both blinked as the TV screen flicked back on.

We both looked down at the VCR, the word 'Play' suddenly appearing on the display screen.

Sakura and Syaoran appeared on the TV, looking down at us, both with identical slightly merciless expressions on their faces.

"Hello Tomoyo…Eriol…" Sakura held up her hand so we could se what she was holding, "I presume you are looking for this?"

It was Tomoyo's tape.

This was going to get real ugly real fast.

"If you want to see your precious tape again, you will do what we say, no objections…otherwise…" She glanced over at Syaoran, who raised his hand. A small fireball appeared above his palm, and he moved it over next to the tape.

Tomoyo squeaked.

Syaoran clenched his hand, the fireball extinguished, as Sakura continued. "In case you were wondering Eriol, you can't call the tape to you because I've put a blocking spell on it. The only way you are going to get it is if you follow our demands." She smiled sweetly and turned to Syaoran, whom returned the look and as he continued.

"You are no longer allowed to tape us unless we give you our consent."

Tomoyo squeaked and quietly said, even thought they couldn't actually hear her. "No longer allowed…to tape…them?"

"Not when we do stuff together, or when we talk to each other or anything like that. Nothing…Otherwise we will know, and your precious little tape will be no more."

Sakura, nodded continuing, "Don't ask how we will know, we will just know."

They can both be really scary when they want to be.

"And another thing…"

Tomoyo and I looked at each other, then back at the screen were Syaoran was looking particularly smug. "Eriol, you get to tell Touya about everything that has happened, and you also get to be the lucky one who gets to tell him that Sakura and I are now a couple." His smirk turned predatory. "I'm sure that he'll be really happy to hear that, and take his 'joy' out on you."

*…so much for a long and happy life…*

"And Tomoyo…Sakura and I have decided to go out tomorrow night, but you are not allowed to make her any new outfits, no matter how Kawaii you think she'll look in them. Those are our demands and your punishment…" He paused, looking thoughtful. "For now…"

With that they both smirked again and the screen filled with static.

All was silent, until all hell broke loose in the form of Tomoyo bursting into tears again.

A part of me was actually proud of them in a scary kind of way. They were finally learning, but whether or not that was, I was just starting to learn, a good thing, is another matter entirely.

Tomoyo's camera and the cord still attached to it appeared in front of us a second later, a post-it note stuck to it that simply read, "Remember…"

I said it before, but I will say it again, they can be very scary when they want to be.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Sakura's POV:

We both burst out laughing after I sent the camera and cord up to Tomoyo's room. I flicked my fingers again and transported 'The Tape' to my bedroom at home; the blocking spell only worked on Eriol's magic, and hid it in the secret hiding space that only myself, Kero, and now Syaoran knew about.

I wiped the tears of laughter away from my eyes and pulled Syaoran into another hug. He blushed a bit, but returned the gesture and wrapped his arms around my waist.

He leant forward and kissed me on my nose before mumbling. "You do realize that they will probably just take this as a challenge and find a way to get us on tape anyway don't you?"

"Hmm…I know, but it will be fun to keep them on their toes for a while."

We smiled at each other and both leaned forward once again to kiss, when another voice came over the trees. "Hey Sakura, where are ya…AAARRRGGGHHHH MY EYES!"

I pulled away and looked ruefully up at Kero who was hovering in mid air covering his face with his paws.

"::Sigh:: it's okay Kero, we've stopped."

He hesitated, then took a peak from behind his paw. He sighed in relief then hovered up to Syaoran and stared at him right in the face. "Look kid, I can't stop Sakura from being with you, and because you make her happy I'm gong to leave you be…for now. BUT…if you hurt her in any way I will not only sick Touya on you, I will use you the next time I feel like sharpening my claws…got it?" Syaoran blinked and I pulled Kero back by his tail. "Kero! Leave him alone, and don't be so mean…"

Kero shot Syaoran another look, but turned to, me and sighed. "Fine…" His expression brightened. "So! Any reason why Tomoyo is balling her eyes out?"

"Oh we just took away her most prized possession…"

"You took away her camera?"

"Not quite, just a tape that she desperately wants…"

Kero glanced at Syaoran, then at me, and replied. "I don't really want to know what's on the tape do I…?"

"It's not bad, but probably not…"

"Aah…"

~~~~~~Later that night~~~~~~~

It was late, the full moon the only source of light in the spare room. I was tired, but I had a lot of things on my mind. For one thing I realised that Syaoran is an awfully sweet person when he was embarrassed or blushing or being actively humiliated. He was a little uncomfortable at first, but seemed to settle in well with our new found and now public displays of affection.

I was sitting on my bed, the Sakura book next to me, I had one card in my hand. The newest addition…The Ice. It had already been changed into a Sakura Card, enabling me to dissolve any feelings of hate, anger or mistrust the card had previously held for me. It was now peaceful, and was now a part of me. The card was still The Ice, still a fairly malevolent spirit, but I would be able to control it. I looked at the picture of the spirit on the front. The ice blue hair, the scythe, the cat-slit eyes, it still brought a chill to my spine, but I wasn't about to destroy the card just because of what had happened. I would never use the card though…and so I was trying to decide just what to do with it.

I flicked open the book and pulled out The Freeze card, the card that she had created from her own unique magic.

I smiled, as an idea started to form.

I placed both cards in front of me, and started to call upon my magic. The two cards responded and glowed pink.

I heard my bedroom door quietly open and soft footsteps. A second later, the bed tilted as Syaoran came and sat next to me. He seemed to understand what I was doing, and asked, "Do you need any help?"

My eyes still closed, I shook my head and replied, "Not yet…" then continued to concentrate.

I raised a hand and held it over the two cards, willing them to co-operate, my magic filling the room with a bright pink light that intensified and centered on the cards.

I could feel the cards resisting, so I dug deeper into myself to urge them accept what I was doing.

I frowned in concentration, but felt myself relax as I felt a hand rest on my shoulder. Magic, warm and green flooded over me, and joined with the magic I was summoning in front of me.

There was a surge and our magic dissipated. I blinked open my eyes and looked down. The two cards now one, flickered pink and green for a second before returning to its' usual appearance. The Ice and the Freeze were once again one, as they were meant to be, but although originally it had been The Ice, I had made sure that it would now stay The Freeze.

I turned to look at Syaoran, who had picked up The Freeze to look at it. "Thank you…"

He placed the card back in the book, looked at me, an unreadable expression on his face, before leaning forward for another kiss.

We were too preoccupied to notice the small flashing red light that winked from the bedroom door.

Tomoyo and Eriol are not very fast learners.

~~~~~~~~~~~

::looking green:: ooooohhh….the sap…::holds mouth in an attempt to stop self from seeing breakfast again:: I'm now officially a diabetic…::brightens up::

Anyway…So end's the tale, 'The Cold and The Cardcaptor'! It's been fun, but all good things (hey, I'm allowed to be optimistic ^ - ^ ) must come to an end.

So, what do you think? Too sappy? (Everyone gets up and yells YES!!) But hey, it had to happen eventually, although I think I'm much better at humor than I am at romance, but I don't think I could ever just do a humor fic. Romance humor is just so much more fun.

Anywho, that's enough of that yabbering… on with some more of a slightly different topic.

NEW STORIES!!

That's right my dear reader's StarDragon hasn't finished yet. I've got a lot more to come.

Here's a few hints:

One is going to probably follow the basic story line of CCS, but it's going to be completely au.

Another is going to be slightly au…but I'm not going to say anymore about that one, it's not going to be written for a while.

Another, more of a one shot, much shorter than my previous stories, (i.e. probably not much longer than two chapters…I'm really just trying to keep it down to one.) It going to be mainly humor (as is my style) but with a little S + S and maybe some E + T…(I haven't decided what to do with them yet). It will probably be the next story I post. Anyway, I'll give you a hint of the plot. You've read stories where Syaoran and Sakura tangle with The Change card right? Well I was inspired reading one of those stories… be prepared for another story, but done Stardragon style…hehehehehe ::evil smirk:: (just for the record, it's not actually going to involve The Change…) Anywho…that's about it for now, I'll probably keep you posted through my biog. that isn't a biog. but more a place to put my thoughts and rants and such, so keep an eye out on that and for the next stroies!!

Anywho, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and the story on a whole, and please review!!!!!

Thanks Muchly, and ciao till next time peoples!!

^-^