Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ What's The True Meaning of Christmas? ❯ The Party ( Chapter 4 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Disclaimer: For the ladies at CLAMP, I have kidnapped the CCS characters and plan to use them for my fic and plan to hold them for ransom!!!!!!!! BUA HA HA!!!!!!! Well, actually, I'd rather keep the characters than the ransom money. Really, CLAMP owns CCS, I'm SO jealous!!!!! Some of the Sakura Cards sure would have come in handy, not that they're the only things I would have wanted around!

AN: I LOVE E+T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 'Nuf said.

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What is the True Meaning of Christmas?

Tomoyo was walking around the quiet and peaceful park. It looked beautiful. The trees were carefully dusted with the usual cold, pure white powder of winter. She was so busy looking admiringly at the trees and the way they were glittering in the sun that she bumped into somebody.

"Oof! Tomoyo-san? How nice to see you here!" exclaimed a familiar voice that Tomoyo didn't even need to look up to recognize.

"Eriol-kun! Good to see you! Where are Spinel and Nakuru?" she asked politely. It was her nature, like Eriol. Always so polite to others. Thank you. You're welcome. Pardon me. I apologize. Nice to meet you.

"Last time I checked, right before I left, Ruby Moon was laughing like a maniac and planning a trap for Sakura's brother, Touya, not chasing Spinel for once, and Spinel Sun decided he would look much more intellectual if he had glasses, so he was wearing fake ones while he read." Eriol finished. Tomoyo giggled. She could just imagine the scene: a pair of glasses far too big for a creature like Spinel, a cackling heard throughout the house that was unquestionably Nakuru's, Eriol smiling gently and fondly at them like he always did, but sometimes with regret, not at making them, but just plain regret before he left.

"No completely destroyed house and patches of black fur and red hair around the house when you return then?" Tomoyo questioned, sounding mockingly disappointed, pouting slightly, "Darn!" She and Eriol had fallen into identical steps across the pure white field which used to be green. Tomoyo got an idea as she smiled evilly. She bent down, as if she dropped something and was picking it up, and naturally, being the gentlemanly person he was, Eriol waited. Tomoyo got up nonchalantly, and equally nonchalant, she grounded some snow into Eriol's face, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. She couldn't keep up that attitude much longer because she couldn't help herself and burst into peals of laughter looking at Eriol's shocked face, dripping with half-melted snow.

"Oh, that's it, you're going to get it!" Eriol playfully growled at her. Tomoyo squealed, and still cracking up, took off, with Eriol chasing her. Quickly catching up to her, he grabbed her arm and smashed his own bit of snow into her hair. Tomoyo shrieked with laughter, and the chasing went back and forth, back and forth. It was nice, being able to forget all their problems in their lives that 10 year olds shouldn't have. Eriol, being the reincarnation of Clow Reed, and Tomoyo, having unrequited love from her best friend. It was nice to relax, even if it was just for a little bit, and to forget their troubles and act like normal 10 year olds would, should act. But they weren't normal 10 year olds, and nothing could change that. But why not forget that for a few moments? After much running around, they finally slowed down.

"Okay! Okay! I surrender!!!!" Tomoyo managed to squeak while Eriol was rubbing snow into her hair.

"Ha! Teaches YOU to mess with me!" Eriol pretended to look all mighty, when a snowball hit him in the face. "Hey! That wasn't fair! You surrendered!!!" Tomoyo merely giggled, and the war started all over again. Finally, after much more running around, they finally collapsed, resting a bit.

"Eriol-kun, what's the meaning of Christmas?" Tomoyo asked suddenly. Eriol shrugged.

"The birth of Jesus." he replied.

"Well, yeah. I know that. But I keep thinking there has to be something more than that."

"Well.... there's always presents." Tomoyo smacked his shoulder.

"You greedy person!" And that started the fight all over again. They began to wear out after a while.

"So, Eriol-kun, are you going anywhere for Christmas?" Tomoyo managed to ask, panting for breath.

Looking startled, as if caught off guard, he regained his composure quickly. "Yes, I am. I'm going to visit England again with Ruby Moon and Spinel."

Tomoyo's face fell. "Oh, I've never been there. I heard it was beautiful."

"It is." Eriol murmured.

" I'm just going to be stuck here for Christmas. Sakura is going to go to visit her relatives, Syaoran to Hong Kong, and now you to England. My mother is going to have all her business colleagues over that are SO boring."

Eriol, seeing Tomoyo's sad look, smiled secretly, but from Tomoyo's POV it looked like a sympathetic smile, patted Tomoyo on the shoulder, and said, "Oh don't worry, it'll be alright, you'll survive." Tomoyo, too busy wallowing in self-pity and Eriol's supposed pity for her, didn't even notice the slight smirk of secret knowledge with a slight tinge of evil left from the old days on his face. Even if she had, she wouldn't have understood the meaning of it.

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"Hoe???!!!! You will? YES!!!" Sakura screamed into the phone. The person on the other winced at mumbled something.

"I don't CARE if you don't want to be 500 miles near onii-chan!!! You both live in the same town, you'll survive being with him for 15 minutes!!!"

She heard moere grumbling over the phone, but she didn't pay attention. She went into hanyaan mode. "You will get along GREAT with onii-chan!! I know you will!!! It'll surprise Tomoyo-chan SOOOOOOOOO much!!! She'll be so happy!!"

She heard more grumbling. "NOOOO!!! Don't back OUT!!!!! You promised!!" She sniffled for effect. "Please come with us?" she asked in her best I'm-so-cute-and-you-can't-resist-me voice. "You will?? YEEEEEEEEES!!!!!!!!!!" She happily hung up the phone. The person on the other end regretfully hung up.

Sakura looked happily at the phone for a while. The person she called had been Syaoran.

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Tomoyo sulkily adjusted her dress. It was a beautiful dress, like her. It was made of a deep, rich purple velvet with a long bow at the back that swept into the back of her dress. It was sleeveless. There was an embroidered violet on the skirt part of her dress. It had the same style as Sakura's. Her long hair was pulled back into a French braid, and she had a violet in her hair that matched her dress perfectly.

She hated it. She wouldn't have hated it if her friends had been there with her and laugh with her together. But no, none of her friends were here and so she hated the dress.

Yamazaki wasn't here. No absurd but hilarious lies tonight. Naoko wasn't here. No lecture and gushing about ghosts like they were movie stars tonight. Rika wasn't there. No maturity in a child tonight. Chiharu wasn't here. No injuries to Yamazaki tonight. Syaoran wasn't here. No subtle hinting to him about his love tonight. Sakura wasn't here. No best friend to laugh and talk with tonight. And... no Eriol tonight.

What wouldn't be here because of that fact? There were no other words for it, no matter how hard she thought. ERIOL wasn't going to be there. And in her mind, that was MUCH worse than Sakura not being there, or Chiharu not being there. 'Why do I feel that way? He's just a friend!' In her heart though, she wasn't ready to give up on her hopeless love for Sakura and admit her deeply buried feelings for Eriol.

She WANTED to give up her love of Sakura. There was no point in having your heart broken over and over again. Everytime Sakura saw Syaoran, everytime she daydreamed about Syaoran. It was unbearable, but, Sakura's happiness was her happiness. Right? Wrong. It hurted so much, but of course, she was in pure bliss every time she saw Sakura and Syaoran near each other.

She wasn't ready for it. She just wasn't ready. But maybe, just maybe, with the right circumstances and the difficult bravery, she could face it. Maybe, just maybe, she could face the fact that she no longer loved Sakura and loved Eriol now.

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Tomoyo went outside for a quick walk outside, partly to get fresh air, partly to try and forget the loneliess, and partly to get away from all the cheek pinching and "OH!!!! You're so GROWN-UP!!!! You look JUST like your mother!!!". She didn't think she looked like or acted like her mother at all. But hey, it was a traditional 'friends-of-the-mother-talking-to-daughter' saying. No one really cared anymore if it was really true or not. Of course, they were always the FEMALE friends who ever said that. She had yet to see a male say that anywhere, no matter how sensitive or feminine they were.

She turned around and started to walk back to the house. She didn't know what she had been looking for outside, but whatever it was, she didn't find it. Maybe she had been looking for that face, warm, kind, mature, gentle, or that voice, saying amiably, "Tomoyo-san?" She whirled around. The voice had been real. How could it have been possible...? Eriol was in England! Not here!

"Eriol-kun?" Eriol smiled. Tomoyo noticed he was wearing the suit she gave him for Christmas.

"You sound like it's impossible to see me here."

"I-I-I thought you were in England! How-how could you be here at the same time?" Eriol chuckled as he watched Tomoyo, who was supposedly the one who never missed anything, the one never let anything get pass her, trying to puzzle it out. She looked so innocently puzzled.

"You didn't think I would leave you behind, would you?" Eriol closed his eyes and smiled innocently. "Besides, your mother said it would be a big party. I just couldn't miss it."

"But you... and Spinel and Nakuru-san.... but.... and.... England.... Hong Kong... Sakura..." Inwardly, Tomoyo cringed. Had she really just said that name? She didn't mean to. It just came out.

Eriol's sweet smile faded. Of course. Stupid him. How could he have thought Tomoyo-san would think of him as anything more than just a friend? She still loved Sakura. "Oh. Of course. Sakura-san." He turned around and started to walk away.

Tomoyo jogged to catch up with him. She tapped his shoulder tentatively. "Eriol-kun?"

He turned around. Hopefully? Sadly? She couldn't tell. It didn't matter. Tomoyo leaned forward and kissed him softly on the lips. "Thank you, Eriol-kun."

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Sakura sighed. Being in a car with Li-kun and onii-chan was definitely NOT a good idea. They were glaring at each other, as if willing the other to burst into flames. Sometimes she could almost swear there were sparks and electricity in the air between the two.

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Tomoyo slowly drew her lips back away from Eriol's. "Wow." was all Eriol could think of to say. Tomoyo slowly smiled, leaned in, and kissed him again, for a short second, and drew away again and leaned closer so their foreheads were touching.

"Eriol-kun?"

"Yes?" he whispered.

"I think I found the meaning of Christmas." she whispered back, before kissing him again.

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Sakura stretched her legs. Finally! Out of the car. "Huh?" She could see two people standing outside. Who were they? She crept closer, and had to stifle a gasp. It was Tomoyo-chan and Eriol-kun! And they were kissing! Syaoran crept up next to her, and softly whistled.

"Go, Daidouji-san!" he whispered. Sakura jabbed his stomach with her elbow. She didn't want anything interrupting that moment. She could almost feel tears coming to her eyes. She was so happy. Her best friend had found happiness at last.

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Bad? Stupid? Good? This is the last chapter for WitTMoC. I'm sorry it took so long for this to come out. I had my finals, 9 projects, etc. Sometimes I just plain forgot. Sorry. Please review, and thank you to the people that did review, though they aren't much. PLEASE!!!!!!!!!! REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!