Hello, everyone! ^-^ I’d like to dedicate this story to Reisz

 Fenrir, without whom I would never have written this story. ^-^

 Remember to never stop dreaming. ^-^ This story has two girls in love

 and some adult situations, so please read responsibly. CCS and its

 beautiful characters were created by CLAMP. 

 

 I Love You, I love You Not

 by Amazoness Duo

 amazonessduo@hotmail.com

 

 

 	“Everything will always be all right,” Tomoyo whispered, imagining

 Sakura’s voice giving life to the dead words. But even that couldn’t

 bring back the magic to them. Like a magician’s chant, it only worked

 for those with the power. What power? That fiery determination that

 burned in beautiful emerald green eyes within the girl known as

 Sakura. Tomoyo had tried to make Sakura believe in them, to put forth

 her determination into making those words a reality. But for Tomoyo,

 the words were meaningless, hollow. They carried with them no magic,

 no sparkle. They were simply what they were. A messy collection of

 words. They alone had no magic power, no abilities. It was Sakura

 that unlocked their magic. Because the magic was within her, not

 within any saying. And so they hung in the air painfully, sounding

 brittle in the cold air.

 	Hugging her dark blue jacket closer, Tomoyo continued walking along

 the nearly frosty sidewalk. Her long dark hair trailed behind her

 like a shadow. Her pale skin glistened like the falling snow, making

 her look like a snow angel that had been brought magically to life to

 all who crossed her path. She wore long, thick black stockings and

 large boots. Her dark skirt shifting as she continued walking, lost

 in her own thoughts. Despite her warm apparel, she felt frigid

 inside, as if an arctic wind had blown bitingly across her soul. 

 	Shuddering, the dark haired girl hugged herself tightly. It offered

 little warmth. She had the sudden thought that Sakura’s arms would

 warm her instantly, much stronger than her own self-embrace. She

 tried not to let the thought linger, knowing it would only be

 painful. Thinking like that was selfish. Sakura’s happiness was the

 important thing. Much more important than her own happiness. Sakura

 was her best friend. She should be happy with that. Thinking of

 Sakura in such ways was painful, taunting. Sakura didn’t belong with

 her, but with another. Someone else, probably Syaoran, would be the

 one to make Sakura happy. That thought was so much easier to deal

 with as a child. Back then it had seemed so much easier. Sakura would

 fall in love with someone and she would be happy to watch after her

 beautiful Sakura. But as she grew older, her feelings grew as well.

 Her love for Sakura only became stronger as the years went by. And

 the thought of watching Sakura with another cut into her like a

 jagged icicle. 

 	Telling Sakura of her feelings would only be selfish. Tomoyo knew

 Sakura better than anyone. Sakura could never bear to hurt her. She

 would never be able to simply reject her. It would only confuse

 Sakura, hurting the one Tomoyo loved more than life itself. And

 hurting Sakura was the last thing the young heiress wanted. Better

 she suffer than Sakura. Yes, that was right. She could handle it. For

 Sakura. But sometimes the love in her heart wanted so badly to get

 out, to touch Sakura’s heart. She wanted to feel loved, to feel the

 love in her heart returned. But it was an empty dream. One she had

 given up on as a child, as a sacrifice so that her beloved Sakura

 would find her own happiness. 

 	Sometimes it just felt too lonely. Knowing she would have to give

 up Sakura was the most painful thought imaginable for the dark haired

 girl. She had seen what losing one’s love had done to her mother.

 Sometimes she wondered if she could survive it. Her mother was so

 much stronger than she was and it had crushed her. Sonomi still

 hadn’t recovered, and she probably never would. Tomoyo knew that she

 had to. For Sakura’s sake. But sometimes that was all that kept her

 going. As her heart inside wept, she smiled serenely at the brunette,

 never letting her know the pain that was growing inside of her. She

 knew what was awaiting her. Forever alone. She would have her love

 for Sakura, but no Sakura. And sometimes that just didn’t feel like

 it was enough. She knew she would never give up that love, but it was

 so deliciously painful that it nearly consumed her. She was starting

 to worry that cracks might begin to show through her masks. She could

 only smile so much. It was beginning to hurt now, smiling for Sakura

 when she just wanted so badly to cry. But she couldn’t let Sakura see

 her pain. Sakura had to be happy. Sakura needed to smile. Sakura

 needed to fall in love. She couldn’t be held back by her best friend.

 	Tomoyo had been crying herself to sleep more often lately. She

 tried to be quiet, so as not to let her mother hear. She didn’t want

 her mother to worry about her. She was always so busy with work as it

 was. So she would cry quietly at night, watching her videos of Sakura

 through a haze of tears. And during the day, she was all smiles. It

 was what everyone expected of her, so no one questioned that the

 smile was anything but real. She was eccentric. Everyone thought so,

 even Sakura. So no one noticed that her smile never disappeared.

 Until she was alone. Then it would leave her, replaced by the

 emptiness that spread throughout her. It was cold and desolate, a

 taste of the life that awaited her. The few times that she had tried

 to envision her future, she had quit soon after. There was nothing in

 her future. She could take over her mother’s business. She could grow

 old, alone, always loving Sakura from a distance. That was all that

 awaited her. Much better to imagine Sakura’s future, to hope for the

 very best for her dearest Cardmistress. That was what had kept her

 going over the past few years, the thoughts of Sakura’s beautiful

 wedding, her many children, and her bright smile. That was the future

 she was working for, not her own. She always had to keep that

 beautiful vision in her mind. She loved Sakura with all her heart.

 She would do anything for the athletic brunette, even if she would

 never know of the feelings Tomoyo had for her.

 	Stormy blue eyes blinked rapidly as tears threatened to spill from

 them. Tomoyo wiped at her eyes with the sleeve of her jacket. She

 would have plenty of time for tears later. She just had to hold on a

 little longer for Sakura. Once Syaoran got back from Hong Kong,

 Sakura wouldn’t need her anymore. Syaoran would be able to help

 Sakura through all of life’s intricacies. But for now, Sakura still

 needed her. That was a bitter relief. It would be over all too soon,

 but at least there was still a place for her in the brunette’s life.

 With what precious little time she had left, she would do all she

 could for Sakura, to ensure her gloriously beautiful future. It was

 the least she could do for the girl who had so easily stolen her

 heart. 

 	A faint smile crossed Tomoyo’s lips as she watched two young girls

 run past. Her mind busied itself with other things, trying not to

 dwell on the pain. Cupping her hands, she caught a gently falling

 snowflake in her palms. The beautiful crystal lingered for a brief

 moment before it began to melt and fade away. It reminded her of

 something her mother had told her long ago. ‘The most beautiful

 things in this life are gone before we know it, Tomoyo-chan. We have

 to cherish them while we can.’ Her mother had been talking about

 Nadeshiko then. As she often did. Tomoyo’s smile brightened slightly.

 ‘Mother still loves Nadeshiko-san even after all this time. I’ll

 always love Sakura-chan. I’ll always cherish her,’ she thought to

 herself. 

 	And the snowflake was gone. Tomoyo silently thanked it for it’s

 swift moment of beauty before gingerly closing her hands. Her mind

 was already planning out a snowflake costume for Sakura, one just as

 pretty as any snowflake out in the skies. Her heart still hung heavy

 in her chest, but her thoughts helped her to focus elsewhere, to

 things she had always enjoyed. And these invariably led back to

 Sakura. Who led back to her lonely thoughts. It was a vicious cycle,

 but one she found herself caught in. 

 	A thought struck the pale girl as more snowflakes fell around her.

 Pulling her camcorder out of its carrying case, she began to

 videotape the slow descent of the glittering snowflakes. The footage

 would help when she finally started on Sakura’s new costume. Sakura

 would look gorgeous in it, like a Snow Princess who had fallen from

 her home in the sky above. Tomoyo sighed dreamily at the thought, a

 hand going to her cheek, playing the lovely image of Sakura over and

 over in her head even as she videotaped the falling snow. Her hand

 felt cold against her warm cheek, sending a chill through her.

 Shuddering visibly, she went back to her camera work. Each lonely,

 frozen teardrop from heaven slowly made its way to the earth around

 the pale girl, all alone despite the people passing by. 

 	“Tomoyo-chan!” a voice called from across the street. 

 	Pulling her camcorder down for a moment, Tomoyo quickly spotted the

 source of the voice. A bright smile lit up her face, her earlier

 thoughts quickly forgotten as Sakura waved to her. Her heart

 brightened at the sight. Sakura made her happy. The brunette lit up

 her heart. She waved back warmly. “I love you, Sakura-chan,” she said

 quietly. Yes, this was exactly why she would never be able to shake

 Sakura’s spell. Even if it was painful at times, she could never give

 it up. Her heartbeat quickened as she saw Sakura smile at her. She

 was so absolutely perfect. A dreamy sigh escaped Tomoyo. There was

 nothing more painful than love. But there was also nothing more

 beautiful. Taking a quick glimpse in either direction, Tomoyo hurried

 to be with her beloved.

 	No one saw the car. It closed on the small girl like a terrible

 beast stalking its prey, a dragon snatching away a princess. It was

 all a blur for Sakura. One moment, Tomoyo was hurrying to her side,

 smiling sweetly. The next, Tomoyo was nowhere to be seen, a car

 screeching to a halt where the heiress had been moments before. There

 was a sickening thump and then silence. Tomoyo’s cracked camcorder

 lay at Sakura’s feet, staring up into the sky like a curious eye.

 With shaky fingers, Sakura reached down and picked up the broken

 camcorder. This was wrong. Tomoyo was supposed to be holding it.

 Still in shock, Sakura looked up from the item, glancing around for

 her best friend. The woman who had gotten out of her car was

 frightened about something. Sakura followed her towards something

 crumpled in the snow. It was deathly pale, almost the same color as

 the snow itself. But there was something else in the snow, sparkling

 and red. Blood. Sakura collapsed in the snow next to the crumpled

 figure, her heart beating furiously in her chest. Her cold fingers

 clutched the camcorder like a lifeline, her emerald eyes watching the

 tiny shape unmoving in the snow. “Tomoyo-chan..? Tomoyo-chan? Tomoyo-

 chan!?!” Sakura burst out into tears, huddling over her broken

 friend. Tomoyo didn’t reply, only lying there like a shattered China

 doll in the street. “Tomoyo-chan!!” Sakura cried, trying to hold onto

 her battered friend. Her bitter tears fell onto Tomoyo’s pale skin,

 Sakura’s body shaking painfully as she was wracked with sobs.

 	“I... I didn’t see her there,” the driver said quickly, as if it

 would somehow magically fix the shattered girl. 

 	Sakura didn’t hear anything. She held Tomoyo’s hand, crying

 anguished tears. She didn’t even notice the blood beginning to stain

 her own dress as she held onto her broken friend. “Tomoyo-chan,

 please wake up. It’s okay. It’ll be okay. Just please wake up.

 Please? Please, Tomoyo-chan?” Her only answer was the wail of sirens

 in the distance. “Please..?”

 

 	Standing in front of the large, imposing gate, Sakura felt her

 heart falter in her chest. She took a heavy breath, blinking away the

 tears that threatened. The image of the accident was still vivid in

 her mind, even though it had been more than a week before. Whenever

 she was in the shower, she could still see the blood on her hands,

 even though there wasn’t anything there. She shuddered at the

 thought. She still felt exhausted from that day, her soul feeling

 drained from it all. She had never cried so much, not even when her

 mother had died back when she was a small child. The thought of being

 without Tomoyo, of losing her very best friend, was just too much for

 her. She couldn’t think of life without the dark haired girl. 

 Sakura managed a weak smile when she saw Sonomi herself coming out

 to fetch her. Tomoyo’s mother was eccentric, much like her daughter.

 The older woman always made Sakura feel special. She was always so

 warm and affectionate to Sakura, treating her like a visiting

 princess. She knew that part of the reason was because their mothers

 had been close when they were younger, but didn’t know exactly what

 had happened. Whatever the case, she always felt nice around Sonomi.

 And with Tomoyo’s normal loving care, Sakura felt very happy at the

 Daidouji home. 

 	Her smile faded as Sonomi drew closer. Did Tomoyo’s mother blame

 her? Did she think it was her fault that Tomoyo had been hurt? That

 thought frightened her. What if Sonomi hated her now? Could she blame

 her? If Tomoyo hadn’t been coming to see her, then... More tears

 glistened in Sakura’s eyes. She rubbed the away insistently. She felt

 like a little girl again, hoping that Tomoyo’s mother wasn’t mad at

 her. She never knew her own mother. Sonomi was like the one she never

 had. She felt like she had disappointed the older woman, failing to

 protect her daughter.  

 	Sonomi sighed with relief as she opened the gate, ushering Sakura

 in. “I’m so glad you’re here, Sakura-chan.” Hugging the younger girl

 tightly, Sonomi smiled before leading Sakura further inside.

 A sigh escaped Sakura. At least Sonomi wasn’t mad at her. That was

 something. She felt a little better at that. But the pit in her

 stomach still remained. She still felt awful, the blur of the

 accident burnt into her soul. She shuddered as a maid took her coat.

 	“How’s Tomoyo-chan?” Sakura asked quickly, turning her earnest eyes

 to Sonomi. She could feel her anxious heart fluttering in her chest

 like a caged bird. 

 	Shaking her head, Sonomi gazed towards the stairs. “She hasn’t been

 doing well, Sakura-chan. She doesn’t want to come out of her room

 anymore. She barely eats anything unless I’m there. And even then I

 know she’s only doing it so I won’t worry. Her eyes don’t sparkle

 like they used to. She’s broken, Sakura-chan. Not just her body, but

 her soul. And I don’t know how to help her. Maybe you can cheer her

 up. Tomoyo-chan always loves to see you. You mean the world to her.

 I’m so glad you could come on such short notice.” The weary mother

 looked back to her daughter’s friend and smiled. “I’m sure she’ll get

 better now that you’re here.”

 	Sakura sweatdropped, placing a hand behind her head. “I’m not sure

 what I can do.” She looked back into Sonomi’s stormy blue eyes and

 nodded determinedly. “But I’ll do whatever I can to help Tomoyo-chan.

 She’s my best friend. I want her to feel better.”

 Sonomi grinned, watching Sakura for a long moment. “You’re so sweet.

 Just like your mother. I know you’ll be able to help Tomoyo-chan.”

 Sakura was her last hope. She didn’t know how else to bring the life

 back to her beloved daughter. Tomoyo had survived, but the life had

 disappeared from her. Sakura was the only one that could re-ignite

 the sparkle within her. Sonomi would do anything for her daughter,

 but there was only so much she could do. The rest was up to Sakura. 

 Sakura bowed to the older woman before hurrying up the stairs. She

 had to make it up to Tomoyo. It was her fault Tomoyo had gotten hurt

 in the first place. All because Tomoyo had been coming to see her.

 There had to be something she could do to help the heiress, to make

 things better. It wasn’t right for Tomoyo to be so hurt. She had to

 do something. 

 	Sonomi watched as Sakura slowly disappeared up the stairs. Making

 her way into the living room, the older woman collapsed into a chair,

 closing her eyes. This whole incident had left her feeling weak and

 helpless. She had always been overprotective of her lovely daughter,

 but it had all been for nothing. In an eye blink, she had almost lost

 her dearest treasure. In some ways, Tomoyo was too much like

 Nadeshiko. It was part of why Sonomi was so worried about her.

 Nadeshiko had always wound up getting hurt. And she had died a young

 death. Sonomi didn’t want the same thing to happen to her daughter.

 She had already lost Nadeshiko. She couldn’t stand to lose Tomoyo. 

 Waiting there at the hospital while Tomoyo was in surgery, the

 auburn haired businesswoman would have given away her entire company

 if she could know that her daughter would be all right. She had

 stayed by Tomoyo’s side through the next few days, even though Tomoyo

 hadn’t been conscious for much of it. Somehow she had pulled through.

 Sonomi could only believe that it was because Nadeshiko had been

 looking out for her daughter. As soon as Tomoyo had recovered enough

 to be moved, she had taken her daughter back home and hired a nurse

 to keep an eye on her. The doctors had suggested keeping Tomoyo in

 the hospital, but Sonomi didn’t trust hospitals. Nadeshiko had been

 there for her final days and they hadn’t been able to save her. She

 didn’t want to leave Tomoyo there either. She had hoped Tomoyo would

 feel more comfortable at home.

 	But now Tomoyo was still empty, her body mending while her heart

 remained splintered. Now Sonomi had to hope that Nadeshiko daughter

 would fix her own daughter’s soul. “Get better soon, Tomoyo-chan,”

 Sonomi whispered.

 

 	It was snowing outside again. Tomoyo watched out her window as white

 snowflakes drifted past. Her room was silent, the only noise coming

 from the restless wind outside. She was still bedridden from her

 injuries. She couldn’t even get up to put on one of her Sakura

 videos. Not that she was in the mood to. It would only remind her of

 her darling Sakura, of the lonely love in her heart. So she simply

 watched out her window. There would be no snowflake costume, after

 all. It had seemed like such a pretty idea, too. But like most

 beautiful things, it lasted for but an instant. 

 	Except Sakura. Sakura was timeless. No matter what happened, she

 would always be beautiful. Tomoyo had little captured moments of

 Sakura’s life frozen forever on videotape, always a testament to the

 beauty that was Sakura, as if it all existed simply to state that

 Sakura had been there, that she wasn’t just a dream. 

 Part of her wondered why she hadn’t died. Wouldn’t it have been

 easier that way? Then she could watch over Sakura as her guardian

 angel. She wouldn’t have to slip away when Sakura fell in love. She

 wouldn’t have to watch from afar. She could be right there, right

 along with Sakura, could stay close to her forever. She found herself

 disappointed that that wasn’t the case. Instead she was still here.

 And sooner or later, Sakura would be gone, off with the one she

 loved. And Tomoyo wouldn’t be a part of her life anymore. Instead of

 watching all of Sakura’s life as her angel, she would simply have to

 hope for the best, trusting that it would all work out. It didn’t

 seem fair. She had lost even her last hope. She wouldn’t even be able

 to watch Sakura’s beautiful future as her guardian angel. 

 Dying in Sakura’s arms, it had almost been blissful. It was terrible

 to see Sakura so sad, but Tomoyo had wanted her to know that she

 would always watch over her, that everything truly would always be

 all right. Everyone has to die. So if she couldn’t be with the one

 she loved, why couldn’t she at least die in the arms of the one she

 loved? Then they could be together forever, even if Sakura forgot

 about her. Because Tomoyo would never leave her side again. But

 someone had kept her from dying. Someone with long, liquid silver

 hair and the same emerald green eyes as her Sakura. She could only

 vaguely remember the woman now, as if it were all little more than a

 dream. ‘You can’t go yet,’ she had said. ‘Sonomi-chan needs you. And

 so does my little Sakura-chan. She’d be lost without you.’ She seemed

 so kind, so loving. But Tomoyo still didn’t understand. Sakura was a

 big girl. She didn’t need her anymore. Especially when she fell in

 love, which was only a matter of time now. Syaoran would be returning

 soon. He would take Tomoyo’s place at Sakura’s side. Tomoyo couldn’t

 help but feel that the angel had been wrong, that she should have

 died then, broken in Sakura’s arms. Better to have died then than

 years later when she was all alone. At least she could have died

 happily. 

 	A knock on the door pulled Tomoyo from her thoughts. She slowly

 looked to the door, trying to focus on it. “Hello?” she asked

 curiously, her soft musical voice even quieter than usual. The door

 slowly opened, exposing a nervous looking brunette. Tomoyo brightened

 visibly, smiling at the welcome visitor. She really didn’t see anyone

 besides her mother and the maids. It was so nice to see Sakura again.

 “Sakura-chan, please come in. I’m so happy to see you.” The pale girl

 struggled to sit up, her body aching as she did.

 	“Tomoyo-chan...” Sakura held back a gasp. She watched Tomoyo for a

 long moment, guilt eating at her with each passing second. Tomoyo was

 lying in bed in a pink nightgown. She had bandages all down both of

 her legs, disappearing up under her nightgown. She had a cast on one

 arm. Bandages wrapped around the back of her head. Another square

 cloth of bandage was taped over her right eye. She had always known

 that Tomoyo was fragile, but seeing Tomoyo like this struck the point

 home. But even then, a beautiful smile lay across Tomoyo’s lips as

 she entered. Sakura managed to return the smile herself after a

 pause, closing the door behind her. “Are you okay? How do you feel?”

 The brunette hurried to her friend’s side, looking down at her from

 the side of the bed.

 	“I’m all right, Sakura-chan. It still hurts a little bit. But I’m

 feeling a lot better.” Which was remotely true. She still hurt a lot

 and she was only feeling a little better. And she was only feeling

 better because Sakura was there. But it was best not to worry Sakura.

 It wouldn’t do to have Sakura crying for her. That would just make

 her want to cry as well. If Sakura was happy, she felt much better

 about life in general. “I’m just glad to see you,” she said softly,

 looking at Sakura with the one uncovered stormy blue orb. She felt

 her heart skip a beat as Sakura took her free hand in both of her

 own. She squeezed softly to reassure her friend, smiling gently up at

 her. Sakura seemed deep in thought about something. Tomoyo tilted her

 head to the side quizzically, but stopped that when an icy pain shot

 down her back.  She simply watched, deciding it was best not to

 disturb Sakura while she was busy with her thoughts. 

 	A slow smile crossed Sakura’s lips, a determined look glowing in her

 eyes. It all managed to set Tomoyo’s heart a flutter, though Sakura

 didn’t know it. All she knew was that Tomoyo held onto her hands more

 warmly, watched her even more intently. But none of that seemed

 important. She knew what she was going to do. “I’ve got it! Tomoyo-

 chan, I’m going to make up for this, I promise!” Sakura smiled

 happily, squeezing Tomoyo’s soft hand with both of her own. “I’m

 going to make you feel better. I finally know how.”

 	Tomoyo blinked in surprise. What was Sakura thinking? If she wasn’t

 so lost in Sakura’s greatness, she might be able to piece it

 together. Okay, Sakura was excited and determined. She wanted to make

 Tomoyo feel better. Hmm... So she had some idea on what she wanted to

 do. Something that she thought would make things better. Probably

 something to do with the Cards. The pieces slowly fell into place as

 Tomoyo kept watching Sakura. She found it ironic that Sakura was

 trying so hard to fix things for her when all she wanted was to be

 there with Sakura. That alone was enough for her. Sakura didn’t have

 to do anything. She just had to be there. That was more than enough.

 But it was so sweet of Sakura to want to help her. “But Sakura-chan,

 you really don’t need to do anything. I’ll be fine,” Tomoyo promised.

 	Sakura shook her head, dismissing the silly idea that she didn’t

 have to. She still felt like it had been her fault that Tomoyo had

 been hurt in the first place. And even if that wasn’t the case,

 Tomoyo was her best friend. She couldn’t simply sit by while Tomoyo

 was hurting. And Sonomi had seemed so worried. So she had to fix

 things. Giving Tomoyo’s hand a last squeeze, she rested it back on

 Tomoyo’s stomach. Invoking her staff, Sakura took a step back. “I’m

 the world’s most powerful mage now, right?” 

 	Tomoyo nodded, smiling. “Hai, no one’s stronger than Sakura-chan!

 You can do anything if you put your heart to it!”

 	Normally one to be embarrassed by Tomoyo’s statements, Sakura was

 too excited to be embarrassed at the moment. “And right now, there’s

 nothing more my heart wants to do than to make you feel better. So

 I’m going to use all my magic for that. To make you happy.”

 	“To make.. me happy?” Tomoyo repeated. Her heart spun at the

 thought. Those words were so beautiful. Even if Sakura was attempting

 to make her happy through magic, it was simply that she wanted to

 make her happy. Tomoyo felt her heart soar. “Arigato, Sakura-chan.

 But you do make me happy. You always make me happy.” 

 	This time, Sakura did blush faintly, but she was glad to hear

 Tomoyo’s words nonetheless. “But I want to do something special for

 you. To make you feel better about all this. I want to help. So I’ll

 use all my magic to grant your one strongest wish for one week. I

 don’t know if I could keep it up any longer than that anyway. But I

 know that I can make your wish come true for a little while at

 least.” Magic was a tricky thing, and though Sakura had grown rather

 proficient with the Sakura Cards, she was still having trouble

 getting used to being the strongest magician alive. But that wouldn’t

 stop her from making Tomoyo’s dream come true. She had to try. 

 	Tomoyo blinked, slowly shaking her head. “Ano... I don’t think

 that’s such a good idea, Sakura-chan,” she warned, sweatdropping. She

 could see where this was going and she was already worried. Sakura

 was the strongest mage on the planet. She could only imagine what

 this would do. Sakura didn’t know that she was what Tomoyo wanted

 most of all. It didn’t seem like a good idea to rush into this

 without knowing how it would work. Sakura still didn’t even know

 about Tomoyo’s love for her. She had a bad feeling about this. 

 	“Please don’t worry, Tomoyo-chan. You always help me so much. I want

 to help you this time.” Sakura smiled brightly at her bedridden

 friend, pulling up her staff as she summoned her magic. “What’s the

 one thing you wish for more than anything else, Tomoyo-chan?”

 	“For Sakura-chan to be happy,” Tomoyo responded simply. 

 	“Tomoyo-chan...” Sakura shook her head. That couldn’t be it. But she

 should have known Tomoyo would say something like that. Oh well.

 She’d just have to grant Tomoyo’s one wish even if Tomoyo wouldn’t

 tell her exactly what it was. So she would use all the Cards and all

 of her power. Surely that could handle her wish for one week. “Sakura

 Cards! Please hear me! Make Tomoyo-chan’s most heartfelt wish come

 true for this next week!” The pink Cards swirled around Sakura like a

 cyclone, magic lighting the dark room with burning intensity. All of

 the Cards lent their magic to Sakura’s command, each adding to the

 final spell. 

 	And with a last flash of light, it was over. The Sakura Book

 clattered to the floor, the Cards tumbling down to Sakura’s feet.

 Sakura herself nearly stumbled at first, her magic drained from the

 spell and the use of all the Cards at once. She shook her head,

 trying to clear her thoughts. She felt... strange. What had just

 happened? She felt so dizzy. The brunette quickly took a seat on the

 edge of Tomoyo’s bed, trying to get her bearings. She’d been working

 some kind of magic spell... But what had happened? She glanced around

 the room, but she couldn’t tell any noticeable difference. Something

 soft rested on her hand, drawing her attention back to the bed.

 Tomoyo held her hand, looking up at her concernedly. Nope, Tomoyo

 wasn’t any different. She was still just as pretty as always. Even if

 she was injured. Sakura smiled brightly at her friend. For some

 reason, she just felt... happy. Everything seemed perfect. Her

 emerald eyes sparkled as she looked deeply into Tomoyo’s stormy blue

 orb. Tomoyo always did have such lovely eyes. Even if she could only

 see one of them. And Tomoyo was always so sweet and gentle and

 loving. And she always made Sakura feel so wonderful. And she was

 always there to help her when she needed her. And she always said

 such sweet thing to her, even if it was embarrassing sometimes.

 And... “Hanyaan...” Sakura said at last, sighing happily.

 	Tomoyo could only watch for a moment, trying to work out just what

 had happened herself. There didn’t seem to be any noticeable

 difference except for Sakura herself. She was just staring into her

 eyes with a dreamy look and a faint blush on her cheeks. Tomoyo’s

 eyes went wide in sudden realization. “Sakura-chan...” It suddenly

 made sense. The wish... Tomoyo had been so lonely lately. She loved

 Sakura so much. Did this mean... 

 	Things were slowly beginning to make sense for Sakura as well. Bits

 and pieces of a puzzle that she hadn’t even known was there began to

 fit together. It all made a whole picture that she had missed for so

 long. Sakura leaned closer, holding tightly onto Tomoyo’s hand as it

 became crystal clear. “Tomoyo-chan... I understand now! You said

 you’d explain when I was older, but I never understood. All this

 time, you’ve been trying to tell me, but I never knew.” A faint blush

 colored Sakura’s cheeks as her heart lifted up. Swooping forward,

 Sakura hugged her best friend tightly, almost forgetting that she was

 still hurt. “I love you, too!” Sakura giggled happily, relishing the

 newfound freedom her realization gave her. It was true. She knew

 that. And it made sense as she played it over in her mind. Tomoyo had

 loved her all this time, and she had never known. But she had loved

 Tomoyo as well, only she hadn’t understood her feelings. But now they

 were open to her. She felt excited and tranquil and loved all at the

 same time. She felt Tomoyo’s good arm rubbing up and down her back

 peacefully. Making a small happy sound, Sakura hugged Tomoyo closer.

 How could she have missed it for so long? But it didn’t matter. She

 knew now. That was the important thing.

 	Tomoyo quickly tried to figure out the situation as she found

 herself in Sakura’s arms. Was Sakura in love with her for the next

 week? She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. What an exquisite form

 of torture. To have Sakura’s love, albeit magically induced, for one

 week. And then she would have to give it up again. But she had to

 admit, it felt so wonderful in Sakura’s arms, to hear those words,

 even if they were only caused by magic. She sighed softly, resting

 her head against Sakura’s shoulder. It felt magical, so soft and

 relaxing. Sakura smelled wonderful. But everything about Sakura was

 wonderful. She nestled into the crook of Sakura’s neck, her soul lost

 in Sakura. “I love you, Sakura-chan.” This would be one tough week.

 

 

 	“Is it done yet?” Kero asked impatiently, his face hovering near

 the oven. “I’m so hungry,” he pouted, trying to emphasize his point.

 	“It’s not for you anyway,” Sakura said absently, checking over the

 directions once more. She wasn’t the best cook in the world and she

 knew it, which is why she was trying so hard to follow the directions

 precisely. Because although she wasn’t a wonderful cook, Sonomi was,

 and the older woman had given her the recipe. And on top of that, she

 wanted it to be perfect. And Sonomi has said that Tomoyo hadn’t been

 eating much lately, so Sakura had decided to bake something for her.

 With Tomoyo stuck in bed, it seemed like the perfect time to bring

 her a treat. Tomoyo always brought over such tasty things, obviously

 inheriting her mother’s cooking abilities. Sakura paused for a

 moment, wondering whether or not her own mother had been good at

 cooking. Probably not, she decided. Why would she need to be when

 Sonomi made such great things?

 	“But I’m HUNGRY,” Kero reiterated, working up some tears for good

 measure. “And it smells so good. Just like one of Tomoyo’s mom’s

 cakes.” He grinned hungrily, delving back into memories of the

 different treats he had tried over the years. But that just made him

 hungrier. 

 	“You aren’t getting any of it. It’s for Tomoyo-chan,” Sakura said,

 holding up a wooden spoon as if to ward Kero away from her precious

 cake. Satisfied that she had followed the recipe exactly, Sakura

 stepped away from the counter, wiping her hands off on her apron. “It

 is one of Sonomi-sama’s cakes. She gave me the recipe yesterday when

 I asked what Tomoyo might like to eat.” Smiling happily, she took a

 quick glance at the timer and nodded to herself. So far so good. As

 soon as she was finished, she could go take it to Tomoyo-chan. She

 sighed, placing both hands on her cheeks. She felt so warm inside,

 and it had nothing to do with spending so much time in the kitchen.

 Finding out how Tomoyo felt about her had brightened every aspect of

 her life. She was no longer so confused about her feelings and her

 own heart. Before, she had listened to others about what her heart

 wanted, unsure of what she wanted herself. But now it all made sense.

 She just wanted to be with Tomoyo. More than anything. “Hanyaan...”

 she whispered joyously. 

 	Everything just made so much more sense now. She had always felt so

 good around Tomoyo, but now she knew what it all meant. And the

 thought that she’d been so close to the one she loved all this time

 left her heart spinning. She wanted to be with the dark haired girl

 all the time. She never wanted to leave her side. When she would lie

 in bed at night, her last thoughts would be of Tomoyo before she

 slipped into a peaceful sleep. Tomoyo was the first thing she thought

 about when she got up, usually while hugging her pillow. It was a

 poor substitute for her best friend, though. But she had to hug

 something, to imagine Tomoyo was with her. And she certainly wasn’t

 about to hug her mean older brother. 

 	It was amazing how things had changed so quickly. But at the same

 time, it didn’t feel like much had changed at all. Tomoyo was just as

 warm and loving as she had always been, because she had always loved

 her, which Sakura now realized. And Sakura’s feelings were still the

 same. She just understood them now. Tomoyo always brought a blush to

 her cheeks with some of what she would say. She always made her feel

 good inside. She’d always been the most important person in Sakura’s

 life. So in many ways, it just felt natural. As if things had finally

 taken their proper course. 

 	“How long do you plan on letting that thing burn?” Touya asked

 curiously, his arms crossed. He watched his little sister blush

 furiously and hurry to the oven, nearly dropping the cake as she

 pulled it out. 

 	Embarrassed, Sakura tried to salvage her slightly burnt cake. Just

 how long had she been out of it? Things like this always happened

 when she was distracted. But it was so easy to get lost in the

 different thoughts and feelings that swept through her heart! At

 least Tomoyo understood. And she thought it was cute when Sakura

 would daydream like that. Shaking her head, Sakura fought back her

 blush as she concentrated on the cake. Of course Tomoyo thought it

 was cute. Tomoyo thought everything she did was cute. Her blush

 darkened as she realized that line of thought wasn’t helping. She

 just hoped Touya would leave the kitchen soon. Being embarrassed was

 so much worse when people were around. “Hoe... Now it’s ruined.” 

 	Stepping up to the cake dutifully, Kero took a nice long sniff. He

 looked at it thoughtfully for a moment before shaking his head. “No,

 it’s not ruined. It’s just a little burnt. Put some extra topping on

 it and it’ll be fine. It won’t be as good as Tomoyo’s mama’s cakes,

 but I still won’t mind having a nice big slice or two,” the Seal

 Beast said hopefully.

 	Sakura pulled the cake away from Kero, shielding it with her body.

 “You still can’t have any of it. I already told you I’d make you

 something later.”

 	“Then who is it for?” Touya asked, raising an eyebrow. 

 	Shaking her head quickly, Sakura sweatdropped. “No one,” she said

 quickly, busying herself with lathering on a thick layer of icing on

 top of the cake. She shot Kero a glare when she saw half of the

 strawberries already eaten. Sighing, she started placing the

 remaining ones on the cake. 

 	“It’s for Yuki, isn’t it?” Touya asked, grinning. Though he’d been

 dating Yukito for some time now, he still teased his younger sister

 about him. Besides, he thought, it’s better she have a crush on him

 than on the brat. It was easier for him to keep an eye on her that

 way. 

 	“No, it’s not for Yukito-san,” Sakura said, raising her head as she

 continued to place the strawberries in a pattern across the cake. She

 felt a happy trill resonate through her heart. She didn’t just have a

 crush on somebody. This wasn’t some schoolgirl crush. It wasn’t her

 going after someone she couldn’t have. She was making a cake for her

 girlfriend. This was for her special someone. And she really, really

 wanted to tell Touya that, to wipe that smirk off his face, to show

 him that she was dating, too. She bit her lip before she could say

 anything, trying to focus on the cake. “It’s for someone very, very

 special,” she said, smiling. “It’s to show much I like them,” she

 added, her cheeks warming. 

 	“It’s not for the brat, is it? Is he back in town?” Touya asked,

 trying to mask his concern. 

 	“No, it’s not for Syaoran,” Sakura replied, putting the finishing

 touches on her cake. “There,” she said proudly, taking a step back to

 admire her handiwork. It wasn’t perfect, but it looked pretty. And

 maybe Tomoyo wouldn’t taste the burnt part with all the icing she put

 on it. She wanted to get it to Tomoyo as soon as possible. Then she

 could try to get her to eat. But that was just her ulterior motive.

 She just wanted to be with Tomoyo again. Giving her the cake was just

 a happy plus.

 	“Sugoi!” Kero said excitedly, his beady eyes growing as he looked

 at the cake. “It looks so good!” His paw went forward to touch the

 icing, but before he could get a hold of it Sakura had pulled it away.

 	“Kero-chan, you can’t have any of Tomoyo-chan’s cake,” Sakura

 scolded.  She held the cake, ignoring the Seal Beast and his pleading

 eyes. It took her a moment to realize two other sets of eyes were on

 her as well. She turned slowly, noticing her brother and Yukito

 staring at her. Yukito must have entered while they were talking. He

 did spend a lot of time over with Touya. Her cheeks darkened quickly

 as the sudden realization hit her. She hadn’t meant to say that. She

 stared back down at the cake, blushing a deep scarlet.

 	“That’s great!” Yukito exclaimed. “Isn’t that cute, To-ya? I knew

 you’d find someone special, Sakura-chan. It looks like To-ya had been

 right all along. I’m still a little surprised. I didn’t know you

 liked girls.” He tilted his head to the side, still smiling. 

 	“Thank God,” Touya said in relief, his hands on his face. “I was so

 sure you were going to marry the brat. Then I’d always be worrying

 about you. I don’t have to worry about Tomoyo-chan. I know she’ll

 actually take care of you.”

 	Blushing even deeper, Sakura began making her way to the door. It

 would’ve been easier if they hadn’t said anything at all. But then,

 she had accidentally blurted it out. She hadn’t quite expected Touya

 to be so thrilled by the whole thing. But it’s better to have your

 family like the one you love, she decided. Whatever the case, she

 just wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible. “I’m gonna go

 take Tomoyo-chan her cake,” she said quickly, heading for her roller

 blades near the front door. She ignored the rest of their comments as

 she slipped them on and hurried outside.

 	“I guess I won’t have to worry about her giving me a heart attack

 after all,” Touya said thoughtfully. It wasn’t what he’d been

 expecting, although he had known Tomoyo was in love with his sister.

 And though Yukito thought Syaoran was good for Sakura, he didn’t. He

 had always thought Tomoyo would make a much better significant other

 for his overemotional younger sister. He looked at the other two in

 the kitchen when he got no response. Both Kero and Yukito were

 staring at him.

 	“I’m hungry,” Kero whined.

 	“That cake really did look good,” Yukito added, nodding his

 agreement.

 	Touya sighed as the two continued to stare at him. Preheating the

 oven, he wished Sakura had picked something less edible as a gift for

 her sweetheart.

 

 	“Hi, Tomo...” Sakura cut herself off, a hand going to her mouth as

 she watched Tomoyo’s sleeping form in bed. She quietly closed the

 door behind her as she stepped into the room. One of the maids had

 let her enter. She had been disappointed to find out that Sonomi was

 still at work. She had hoped that she could thank her for the recipe.

 But there would always be time for that later. She smiled as she

 walked to the side of the bed, watching Tomoyo. The pale girl was

 beautiful, even in her sleep. Long lavender hair lay spilt about her

 pale frame. Bandages still adorned much of her injured body. The

 large blankets were pulled up around her, either by a worried mother

 or an attentive maid. 

 	Setting the cake down on an empty spot on Tomoyo’s desk, Sakura sat

 down. The desk was cluttered with all sorts of costume designs and

 several sheets of music. But even then, it was organized chaos.

 Everything was placed somewhere for a reason. Tomoyo always did have

 a good eye for details. It looked like the objects on her desk hadn’t

 been touched since the accident. Which made sense because the heiress

 couldn’t even get to her desk at the moment. 

 	Sitting at the desk, Sakura tried to lay out her options. She could

 wake Tomoyo up, but the other girl probably needed her sleep. She

 could always go home, but that thought was instantly rejected.

 Leaving Tomoyo’s side wasn’t an option she wanted to consider. She

 could always just wait for her to wake up. Deciding that was the best

 course of action, the brunette looked back to the sleeping girl,

 smiling. Tomoyo looked so peaceful now, lost in her own beautiful

 dreams. Not at all like the scared, distant look her sleeping face

 had held during her stay at the hospital. Shuddering, Sakura rubbed

 her shoulders. Tomoyo was better now. That was the important thing. 

 	Turning back to the desk, Sakura glanced through some of the sheets

 of paper on top of it. Emerald eyes skimmed over some lyrics to a

 song Tomoyo was practicing for choir. She probably wouldn’t have the

 chance to sing it with the rest of the choir now, though. But maybe

 she could still sing it sometime. Sakura always loved to listen to

 Tomoyo singing. It was so entrancing to listen to her best friend’s

 ethereal voice. She would be the pale girl’s audience. That thought

 lifted her mood considerably. Tomoyo had such a gorgeous voice. 

 	Setting the music sheet aside, Sakura began to look through

 Tomoyo’s costume designs. It was strange looking at pictures of

 herself in different costumes. Tomoyo really was a good artist. Each

 picture looked just like herself, decked out in some imaginary outfit

 that Tomoyo would bring into existence with her own form of magic.

 Occasionally she would see Kero in the picture as well, with little

 matching outfits to go along with Sakura’s. The brunette was

 surprised that Tomoyo could make so many varied costumes. And even

 though Sakura had caught the last of the Cards years ago, she still

 found herself modeling the costumes for Tomoyo. Which always sent a

 certain thrill through her, being Tomoyo’s very special model. She

 couldn’t model the way her mother did. She was too embarrassed for

 that. But if it was for Tomoyo, then it was okay. Because she felt

 safe with Tomoyo. Because she knew that Tomoyo enjoyed it so much.

 Because she liked being the center of Tomoyo’s attention. 

 	‘Kawaii!’ Sakura thought, pulling up one of the costume designs. It

 looked like some sort of living rainbow, something belonging up near

 the clouds. She would gladly wear it for the heiress when she

 finished it, twirling about it in just as she always did. She could

 already imagine Tomoyo’s voice praising her as she hurried to get

 shots from different angles. Sweatdropping at the thought, Sakura

 continued. The next one was of some kind of fairy. She saw herself in

 a small, cute sleeveless dress, with tiny little shoes on and

 beautiful butterfly wings. Two little antenna hung from a hair band.

 Her ears were a little longer and pointed, giving her an elven

 appearance. Now that she looked at it more closely, the antenna

 weren’t part of the hair band after all. So maybe not all of Tomoyo’s

 costume designs were based in reality. Glancing over to the dark

 haired girl’s bed again, Sakura smiled at her. It was sweet to think

 the other girl would draw her as a sprite. 

 	Flipping to the next one, Sakura could see that it wasn’t quite

 finished yet. Parts of the costume were missing. There was only one

 thigh high stocking, with plenty of lace at the end. Her other leg

 was bare. The skirt was short and looked like it was made of several

 layers. Ribbons raced up from the skirt over her bare stomach,

 leading up to a large bow at her neck. She had long, frilled gloves

 leading up past her elbows. Beautiful ribbons hung from her hair.

 There didn’t seem to be any blouse except for the ribbons, and they

 didn’t even cover up anything. Sakura blushed at how... detailed it

 was. It took her a moment to realize the costume wasn’t half-finished

 at all. This was exactly how Tomoyo had planned the costume. She

 certainly hadn’t ever worn anything like _that_ before. At first she

 didn’t know what to think. It was a surprise to know that Tomoyo

 thought about that. About her like that. It gave the thought of

 modeling for Tomoyo a new twist. Sakura’s cheeks darkened

 considerably. ‘Don’t think like that!’ she chided herself. ‘Tomoyo-

 chan probably just... just...’ Her thoughts trailed off. Even if she

 could be rather naïve about things, this was rather self-evident. It

 really was flattering, in an embarrassing sort of way. And that

 really wasn’t new at all, coming from Tomoyo. That helped Sakura get

 some sort of grip on the situation. 

 	What would it be like to actually wear that for Tomoyo? Somehow she

 didn’t think it would be all that different from when she modeled

 other costumes for Tomoyo. The heiress would want to take pictures

 from every angle, sighing happily and telling Sakura how great she

 was the whole time. It was what happened afterwards that would

 probably be different. Blushing a cherry red, Sakura pushed the

 thought aside. This was no time to be thinking about such things,

 while poor Tomoyo was stuck in bed. Or maybe that was the perfect

 time to be thinking about it. Sakura shook her head quickly. “Hoe...”

 Besides, Tomoyo had been the one to draw it, so it wasn’t like she

 was completely innocent there. Glancing back at the bed, Sakura

 looked right into a silent, stormy blue orb. Bolting upright, Sakura

 stumbled backwards, her ankle catching on the chair leg. Her arms

 pinwheeled as she tried to maintain her balance, her heart beating

 rapidly in shock. The paper fluttered out of her hand, landing slowly

 on the floor between the two of them. Sakura barely managed to keep

 her balance, grasping onto the chair. “Tomoyo-chan!” she said

 quickly, her eyes wide. The other girl had been completely silent,

 leaving Sakura completely unaware to her presence. “You’re awake!”

 she stated obviously. Laughing nervously, she put a hand behind her

 head. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

 	The dark haired girl bent down, wincing slightly as her injured body

 moved. Reaching down, she picked up the piece of paper, being careful

 not to crumple it. She still wanted to finish it one of those days.

 Sitting back in bed with the paper, she simply smiled at the

 Cardmistress. “I like watching Sakura-chan,” she said matter-of-

 factly. “When I woke up, I saw that you were here. I was so happy to

 see you. I just wanted to lie there and watch you for as long as I

 could. You’re much better to watch in person than in any of my

 videos. I can only capture your image and your sound. I can’t capture

 that wonderfully genki spark that is Sakura-chan.”

 	“Arigato, Tomoyo-chan,” Sakura said, blushing from the praise. She

 cast her eyes down for a moment, standing in silence. Her eyes slowly

 returned to the paper that Tomoyo had on her lap. “Ano...” she began

 nervously. “What’s that costume for?” 

 	“This one? I have a cat one that I’m working on, too. It’s from

 the ‘Sekushi Sakura-chan Collection’ I’m working on,” Tomoyo replied

 excitedly, as she always did when talking about her Sakura costumes. 

 	“But why?” Sakura asked, sweatdropping. 

 	Tomoyo smiled happily. “Because Sakura-chan’s getting older. So

 someday she’s going to want to do more adult things. And when you do,

 I want to have costumes ready for you to use. Costumes are for

 special occasions. Catching Cards aren’t the only good occasions for

 them,” the heiress explained, watching Sakura’s growing blush.

 	“That sounds like you’d need to take videotape, too,” Sakura

 replied, her cheeks red.

 	“Lots of videotape,” Tomoyo agreed, nodding. 

 	“Oh, I almost forgot!” Sakura turned, grabbing the cake. Whether she

 was just changing the subject or if she’d honestly gotten caught up

 in something else wasn’t certain. “I made this for you. It’s from

 Sonomi-sama’s recipe.” She held out the cake for the dark haired girl

 to see, walking closer to the bed. “I left it in the oven a little

 too long, though. I hope it still tastes all right.” She sighed,

 still a little disappointed that she had made that mistake. She had

 so wanted it to come out perfectly for Tomoyo.

 	“It’s lovely, Sakura-chan!” Tomoyo stated happily, taking a long

 look at the cake before looking up to the even more lovely cake

 bearer. She smiled sweetly. “I’m sure it will be great. Even if it

 isn’t perfect, I wouldn’t trade it for a cake made by the world’s

 best pastry chef. Because it doesn’t matter if things are perfect.

 What matters is that you made it. Even those little imperfections are

 filled with your love and care. That’s what makes it so delicious.”

 She could see that Sakura didn’t completely believe her yet, so she

 continued. “It’s like when you made that yukata for Li-kun. You

 didn’t know how to sew very well, but you tried your hardest anyway.

 Even though it wasn’t perfect, it didn’t matter. Because you had gone

 through all that trouble to make it. Everything we do, we leave a

 piece of our hearts in. Everything we touch has a little bit of us.

 So something that you put your heart into means the world to me.

 Because it has little bits of Sakura-chan’s soul mixed in.”

 	Sakura thought this over for a moment before nodding. “Like your

 costumes,” she said at last. Tomoyo had always put so much loving

 care into her costumes, making each and every one for Sakura to wear.

 But the costumes weren’t important alone. It was that Tomoyo had made

 them specifically for her, that she had spent all that time on them,

 just so she could wear them. That made Sakura feel a lot better about

 the cake, even with the imperfections. It suddenly didn’t matter so

 much that she had made the mistake. She smiled brightly as she set

 the cake back down. “Let me go get some plates.”

 

 	The two girls sat together on Tomoyo’s bed, eating slices of

 Sakura’s cake. They had decided to leave a slice for Sonomi to try

 later, as a thank you for the recipe. To Sakura’s delight, it had

 turned out pretty well, the frosting masking the slightly burnt

 parts. She was glad to see Tomoyo eating. Sonomi had been very

 worried about her daughter not eating, so Sakura was glad to do her

 part to get something in Tomoyo’s stomach.

 	The pale girl took a small bite of Sakura’s beautiful cake, her eyes

 never wandering far from the girl she loved. She let the sweet flavor

 roll across her tongue. She hadn’t been very hungry lately, but she

 couldn’t resist having a piece of Sakura’s cake, especially if Sakura

 was right there with her. She sighed happily, taking a small bite of

 one of the strawberries. The knowledge that it was made for her by

 Sakura followed every delicious bite. Sakura scooted closer to her on

 the bed, eating her own slice of cake. She could tell that Sakura was

 watching her. It was like a beautiful dream to have Sakura’s eyes on

 her. “It’s very good, Sakura-chan.”

 	Sakura smiled at Tomoyo’s comment. Finally seeing Tomoyo eating the

 cake, hearing that she liked it, it made the whole process of making

 it worthwhile. It had all led up to this point. Just like her life

 had led up to this point, as if everything had built up to this

 moment in time with Tomoyo. Sure, it had taken a few twists to get

 there, but everything had worked out in the end. And she could have

 her fairy tale ending. They both could. She took another bite of her

 cake, feeling excited about the future, the possibilities, and most

 importantly, the here and now. 

 	‘Please don’t look at me that way. Please don’t taunt me like this,

 Sakura-chan. Because I don’t know if I could ever resist you. And

 when this is all over, when that look fades from your eyes, the sun

 will stop shining on my world,’ Tomoyo thought desperately. Sakura

 was looking at her with such love and adoration in her eyes, an

 unbridled passion that she had never seen before in those emerald

 gems. It was exactly what she had always wished to see, a love as

 deep and endless as her own. But now it was frightening. It would be

 gone before she could ever fully taste their depths. It would be

 taken from her in the blink of an eye. 

 	Which left Tomoyo with a very difficult decision. How should she

 take this? Sakura had given her the most precious gift she could

 imagine, her warm and beautiful heart. But soon she would have to

 give it back, to part from it. And that seemed unbearable. But she

 would have to. She understood that. But in the meantime, Sakura loved

 her. For now, she had the love she had always longed for. Could she

 give in to it? Was it right to? Sakura’s love was only magic, a work

 of Sakura’s Cards. Would she be taking advantage of Sakura if she

 allowed herself to get closer to the Cardmistress while she had this

 chance? Or should she just wait it out, not allowing anything to

 happen in the next week for Sakura’s sake? It was a maddening

 question. Her heart and mind were torn in completely different

 directions. She didn’t want to give in to Sakura’s love only to have

 it taken away. She didn’t want to use Sakura’s well intentioned wish

 to fill her own lonely heart. It didn’t seem right to be in a

 relationship with Sakura when it was all simply done by Sakura’s

 magic. On the other hand, the brunette had given this gift to her,

 wanting her to be happy. It would be a shame to not accept Sakura’s

 gift. She had always known that one day Sakura would fall in love

 with another. At least she could have a week full of memories of

 their time together, memories of being loved by Sakura, right? And so

 her heart continued its tug of war as she finished her slice of cake.

 It had been delicious, but now it was all gone. Just like this would

 be. She set the plate to the side, folding her hands on her lap.

 	Unaware of Tomoyo’s troubled thoughts, Sakura finished her own slice

 of cake. She went back to watching Tomoyo, trying to decide what to

 say. Her heart moved this way and that, swaying about. There were so

 many feelings inside of her, all meshing and struggling to come

 forth. She wanted to tell Tomoyo, to explain them all, to hold them

 out to her, but she couldn’t find the words. After a moment of

 hesitation, she leant forward swiftly, hugging the pale girl tightly.

 Tomoyo seemed surprised by Sakura’s sudden move, but Sakura just

 continued to hold onto her. “Tomoyo-chan!” She could feel Tomoyo’s

 soft lavender hair brushing past her cheek, tickling her. “I love you

 so much!” She closed her eyes tightly, blushing a bit as she held

 onto the heiress. It was the best way she could think of to express

 the feelings surging through her heart.

 	Tomoyo felt a thundering heartbeat against her breast, but she

 couldn’t tell if it was Sakura’s heartbeat or her own. She could feel

 Sakura’s arms holding her tightly, encircling her in their warmth.

 This was where she had wanted to be for so long, in Sakura’s arms.

 She closed her eyes, giving in, at least for the moment. It was too

 much to fight off both her own love and Sakura’s, no matter how

 magically induced the latter may be. Leaning into the brunette,

 Tomoyo curled up against her beloved. Her head slid down against

 Sakura’s chest, her hands resting against Sakura’s stomach. She

 listened intently to the beat of the Cardmistress’s heart, her stormy

 blue eyes closing. Her concerns faded away like a child’s bad dream

 when in her mother’s arms. “Please don’t ever let me go,” Tomoyo

 pleaded quietly.

 	Resting her chin on the top of Tomoyo’s head, Sakura sighed softly.

 All the chaotic feelings in her heart were still there, but Tomoyo

 soothed them, calming them, bringing them all together. She suddenly

 wasn’t so worried about trying to describe them to Tomoyo. Tomoyo was

 always so good about understanding her heart. She felt that she

 didn’t need to say it all out loud. It was there. They could both

 feel it. “I won’t,” Sakura promised, wishing with all her heart that

 she could prove it, prove that she would hold onto her forever and

 ever. 

 

 	“It’s so beautiful,” Tomoyo whispered. It was snowing lightly,

 small white crystals dancing their way through the air around her.

 Some settled in her long, lavender hair, others dropping gingerly

 onto her lap. She felt Sakura’s hands on her shoulders from behind

 and turned to smile at the Cardmistress. Sakura had come over earlier

 that day and Sonomi had suggested that Sakura take Tomoyo outside for

 a bit. Tomoyo still couldn’t get very far on her own, so Sakura was

 pushing her in a wheelchair. The heiress didn’t mind relying on

 Sakura for her mobility. It meant she couldn’t be far from the girl

 she loved. And that was perfectly fine by her.

 	Returning Tomoyo’s smile, Sakura watched the snowflakes falling

 about her dark haired friend. ‘She’s so beautiful,’ Sakura thought to

 herself, her fingers trailing through some lavender curls. She sighed

 happily her arms wrapping around Tomoyo’s shoulders. 

 	Tomoyo blushed faintly, her heartbeat quickening in her chest.

 Having Sakura so close, holding her so lovingly, it was a dream come

 true. Despite the snow surrounding them, the heiress felt warm

 inside. Reaching up with her good hand, she rested it on one of

 Sakura’s arms. She held onto it as if to keep Sakura from ever

 releasing her hold on her. She felt so peaceful like this, alone with

 Sakura. If only it could always be this was... She closed her eyes,

 ceasing that thought. There was only now. There was only Sakura. She

 rested back into the brunette’s loving embrace. 

 	“Tomoyo-chan, when you get better, let’s go rollerblading together,

 okay?” Sakura asked suddenly, her eyes lighting up. She shifted

 against Tomoyo, leaning over enough to see the other girl’s pale

 face. It seemed like such a good idea. She wanted to do everything

 with Tomoyo, to spend every moment with her, to share everything with

 her. Rollerblading had always been fun for her and it seemed even

 better with Tomoyo. And why not? Yukito and Touya were always off on

 long bike rides together. Or so Touya said. 

 	Tomoyo’s stormy blue eyes met Sakura’s shining emeralds. A sad

 smile crossed her lips. That was so sweet of Sakura to want to share

 that with her. But by then, it would be too late. They wouldn’t be

 going together as a couple. They would just be two friends again by

 the time Tomoyo was better. But nonetheless, she found herself

 nodding. She couldn’t bear to disappoint Sakura. And it would still

 be fun to skate with her, even if it wouldn’t be the same. “Hai, I’d

 like that, Sakura-chan,” the dark haired girl replied softly.

 	Sakura smiled brightly at Tomoyo’s response. “Sugoi!” She hugged

 the wheelchair bound girl even tighter. “That will be fun! I’ll teach

 you how to rollerblade. It’s really not that hard. And you’re always

 so good at everything, so you’ll pick it up in no time.”

 	“But now I have incentive not to learn how. If I don’t learn to

 skate on my own, I have to keep holding onto Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo

 reasoned thoughtfully, her bandaged head tilted to the side. Why

 would she want to learn how to skate when it was so much more fun to

 have Sakura skate around with her? It was like learning how to dance

 on your own. Why let go of your partner?

 	Blushing profusely at Tomoyo’s words, Sakura looked down. That

 didn’t help avert her gaze from the dark haired girl, though, as the

 heiress was so close to her, taking up all of her attention. Still

 blushing, she rested her head against Tomoyo’s soft shoulder. “Ano...

 We.. we can still hold hands... Even if you do learn.”

 	Resting her head against Sakura’s, Tomoyo nodded slowly. “Learning

 to skate, with Sakura-chan as my beautiful teacher... Watching you

 move about so gracefully in your rollerblades, trying to help me

 learn how to use them, it sounds so cute!” The heiress sighed

 dreamily, already imagining it. Of course, the idea of rollerblading

 was far from her mind. It was simply doing anything with Sakura hand

 in hand that left her breathless. She could feel Sakura’s heart

 beating against her back. Listening to its lovely rhythm, Tomoyo

 began to breathe slowly along with it, their hearts beating in

 tandem.  Tomoyo’s heart called out to Sakura’s with each staccato

 beat. She could feel Sakura’s warm cheek against her neck as Sakura

 blushed. That only managed to lift her spirits even higher. Sakura’s

 blush felt as cute as it looked. She rested into it, blushing

 herself. The hot skin against her neck sent a shiver through her

 body. She held her breath, almost afraid the moment would end if she

 made any sudden moves. She wanted to hold onto it as long as

 possible. 

 	Still a little embarrassed, Sakura finally pulled away. She didn’t

 notice Tomoyo’s soft sigh as she stood back up, brushing away her

 auburn hair. Smiling enthusiastically, she stepped in front of

 Tomoyo’s wheelchair. “Do we have all the things for our snowman?” she

 asked curiously. 

 	“Hai!” Tomoyo responded, lifting up the small bundle she had with

 her. “But we could always just dress up Sakura-chan instead. You’re

 much cuter than anything made of snow.” She simply smiled as the

 blush returned to Sakura's cheeks. How could she possibly not love

 the auburn haired girl? She was just so perfect. 

 	“Tomoyo-chan...” Sakura got out nervously, a hand resting behind

 her head. She didn’t know if it was more embarrassing that Tomoyo

 said such things or that she honestly meant them. But it was way too

 cold out to let Tomoyo dress her up instead of a snowman. Not that

 she would choose that option anyway, right. ‘Hoe...’ Sakura shook her

 head, closing her eyes as she tried to clear her thoughts. When she

 opened her eyes, she saw Tomoyo still smiling at her, watching her

 with that loving gaze she always had. And Sakura wasn’t so worried

 anymore. “We’ll make the cutest snowman we can.”

 	Nodding her agreement, Tomoyo began to shift through the small bag,

 pulling out little articles for their snowman. She sighed sadly,

 placing a hand on her cheek. “Our poor little snowman won’t be able

 to be on video with Sakura-chan. And worse yet, I can’t record Sakura-

 chan making a snowman in the first place.”

 	Sakura laughed nervously. “It’s all right, Tomoyo-chan. I don’t

 think the snowman will mind,” she said reassuringly.

 	“But you look so cute playing in the snow!” Tomoyo insisted,

 watching her friend kneeling in the snow in front of her. That would

 make such a cute image on videotape, something to play over and over

 again. What sweet torture this was! She had Sakura’s love for a whole

 week, but she couldn’t record a single second of it because she had

 yet to replace her camcorder. In the end, it would be like one long,

 beautiful dream. It was probably better that she couldn’t have

 videotape of it. It was brought about by magic. It wasn’t really her

 Sakura to have. So it would only be recording a charade. But if it

 was just a charade, it would be so much easier to ignore Sakura’s

 affections. It didn’t feel like that. Sakura felt so genuine, as if

 it was really her and not some magic spell causing this. ‘So this is

 what it would be like to have her love? It’s better than I could have

 ever imagined,’ Tomoyo thought to herself. ‘Sakura’s love is magical.’

 	Sakura, meanwhile, was getting over her embarrassment by starting

 the snowman, scooping the snow together into some vague shape. She

 looked up to see Tomoyo still watching her from her wheelchair. This

 didn’t seem right. She knew that Tomoyo liked to watch her, but she

 wanted to do this together. Looking from the beginnings of her

 snowman and back to Tomoyo, she thought for a moment. Standing up,

 the auburn haired girl wiped her hands off on her skirt. The snow

 continued to drift around them, beautiful pieces of clouds falling

 from above. Sakura took a step forward before pausing, trying to

 decide exactly what to do. She reached forward and paused again,

 still unsure of herself. Tomoyo’s eye caught her own, looking at her

 with a look of complete faith. That strengthened her resolve.

 Reaching forward, Sakura gently wrapped her arms around Tomoyo’s

 waist. She could feel Tomoyo so close to her, could feel her breath

 against her cheek. Tomoyo felt so soft, so fragile. Sakura was almost

 afraid she would break the heiress if she moved wrong. Getting a

 better grip, the Cardmistress lifeted her best friend, walking back

 to the start of her snowman.

 	Tomoyo’s breath caught in her chest as she felt Sakura holding her

 tightly, carrying her. Her cheeks flushed as she rested in Sakura’s

 arms. For a moment, she worried that Sakura would feel the frenzied

 beating of her heart. But then it dawned on her that Sakura’s heart

 was beating just as rapidly against her. Sakura’s arms protected her

 from everything in life, shielding her from everything but the warmth

 of her heart. She held on as well as she could with her working arm,

 feeling dizzy with the joy bubbling over in her heart. She didn’t

 want it to stop ever, to ever be anywhere else but Sakura’s warm

 embrace. There was no place sweeter in Heaven or on earth than that

 wonderful spot nestled between Sakura’s outstretched arms. 

 	Sakura paused for a long moment, Tomoyo held tightly in her arms.

 She pulled her closer, her eyes falling closed. The heiress’s long,

 beautiful hair fluttered around her like a cloak. “Tomoyo-chan,”

 Sakura thought she whispered. She slowly sat down in the snow with

 Tomoyo, not letting go of the pale girl in her grasp. She couldn’t

 bring herself to pull away. It felt so nice to be so close to Tomoyo.

 To know that Tomoyo was right there with her, that their hearts were

 beating together. She didn’t want that to stop. Blushing, she brushed

 back some of Tomoyo’s silky hair so that she could see her face

 better. Tomoyo looked back at her, little strands of lavender framing

 her pretty face as their eyes met. Sakura brushed more hair away,

 Tomoyo still cradled against her. This time, her fingers lingered on

 Tomoyo’s soft cheek. They stayed there for a long time, reveling in

 the feel of her friend’s warm skin. She swallowed, trying to stop the

 spinning of her heart. It did little to help. She was drawn in my

 Tomoyo’s beautiful features, by the feelings in her heart.

 	Tomoyo gazed into Sakura’s eyes, her cheeks scarlet under Sakura’s

 touch. She breathed slowly, simply watching her green eyed goddess.

 Her soul swirled inside of her in a cacophony of emotions, wanting to

 entwine with Sakura’s beautiful soul.  Was she really awake? Was she

 dreaming? Did it matter? For so long, she had dreamt of this moment,

 of being this close to Sakura, of being together. This single moment

 made those dreams feel like nothing. She could feel Sakura’s warm

 breath against her skin, her fingers still pressed against her cheek.

 Her heart cried out in joy. This was it. This was her what she had

 been wishing for through the years of their friendship. Sakura was

 almost upon her, their lips inches apart, their bodies together in

 the snow. Tomoyo could barely move, though whether that was from her

 injured body or the spell Sakura held on her, she couldn’t say. Her

 cheeks darkened as Sakura finally cupped her cheek, leaning in. 

 	Sakura leant in, her heart pounding inside of her as she kissed

 Tomoyo. She felt lush hair under her lips, shifting against her. She

 blinked curiously, pulling back slightly. Tomoyo was looking to the

 side, her cheeks crimson and her hair shifting around her. “Tomoyo-

 chan?” Sakura asked sheepishly. She had been about to kiss her best

 friend. But she loved Tomoyo. She did want to kiss her. She felt

 disappointed that she hadn’t been able to. She wanted to feel

 Tomoyo’s lips, to pull her close again. ‘Hanyaa...’ she thought,

 blushing.

 	“So shall we get started?” Tomoyo asked her friend, smiling

 sweetly. But inside, she felt very different. Her thoughts spun

 around in circles, relief mixing with deep regret. She had missed out

 on a dream she had carried with her for years, to kiss her beloved

 Sakura. But she just couldn’t bring herself to take advantage of

 Sakura like that. The auburn haired girl had wanted to make her feel

 better. She hadn’t known that she would fall in love with Tomoyo

 because of it. Tomoyo didn’t feel right taking a kiss from Sakura if

 the brunette was a victim of her own magic. But still, her heart

 longed for that sweet kiss, the feel of Sakura near her again. As it

 is, she could barely move away at all anyway. So she was stuck right

 next to a very loving Sakura. That wasn’t fair. It was so tempting to

 just give in, to immerse herself in Sakura’s love for the week. But

 she just couldn’t do that to Sakura. She sighed inwardly.

 	The Cardmistress slowly nodded in agreement, still confused. Hadn’t

 they been about to kiss? What happened? Sakura felt as if she was

 missing some vital link,. It was like she had seen some pictures out

 of order. It didn’t make sense. Maybe it was just Tomoyo being

 eccentric again. But that didn’t really fit. Tomoyo’s eccentricity

 always had to do with being closer to her in some way, especially in

 loving ways. Like kissing. Sakura came back to the present as she

 felt Tomoyo shifting on her lap. Sweatdropping, she slowly helped the

 other girl to her side. “Un!” she responded, nodding. Trying to

 ignore the past few moments, which was incredibly hard to forget, she

 began to shovel more snow onto the snowman with her gloved hands.

 Tomoyo slowly began to help her with her free hand, adding to their

 snowman. 

 	The two worked together quietly on their snowman, both girls

 concentrating on it. Every once in a while, their hands would touch

 and linger before one or the other would slowly pull away. They

 shared warm smiles and long glances, soft giggles and comments on

 their snowman as it progressed. The snow slowly began to take shape

 under their collective hands, forming into a cute little snowman

 before them. 

 	Looking through the little bag next to her, Tomoyo began to cloth

 their little snowman. She wrapped a shawl around it, tying red

 ribbons around the arms. Sakura busied herself with the shiny buttons

 Tomoyo had decided on for the eyes. Finally satisfied with their

 work, Tomoyo sat back in the snow, smiling. She gazed over at Sakura,

 brushing some dark hair from her eyes. “It’s so kawaii. Our little

 snowman, formed from our hearts coming together. It’s like having a

 baby with Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo said delightedly.

 	“Tomoyo-chan!” Sakura blushed a deep crimson, both hands going to

 her cheeks. A baby? She wasn’t ready to think about babies yet. She

 looked down, blushing. A weight rested against her side, something

 long draping across her back. Forgetting all about her embarrassment,

 she looked over to find Tomoyo leaning against her side. Smiling

 softly, Sakura’s arm went around the pale girl, pulling her closer.

 She felt Tomoyo sigh happily against her, sending a trill through her

 soul. Together they sat there, watching their snowbaby, holding onto

 each other. Snowflakes fell around the two, showering them with

 beautiful crystal gifts for their baby shower.

 

 	Sakura sighed softly as she slid into the warm water of the bath.

 She nearly started at the nearly unbearable heat scorching her skin,

 but slowly relaxed into it. “I was out in the snow longer than I

 thought,” she said aloud to no one in particular, her voice echoing

 through the otherwise empty bathroom.  

 	Closing her eyes, she slipped deeper into the water, its soft caress

 lapping over her shoulders. She would be lucky if she didn’t catch a

 cold from all the time she spent in the snow. But it had been worth

 every moment. Her cheeks darkened slightly at the thought. She had

 lost track of time with Tomoyo by her side. Just how long had they

 sat out there together, anyway? It could only have been hours, but it

 had felt like it stretched on for days. Even then, it still wasn’t

 enough time for the Cardmistress. She pouted, resting her head back. 

 “Tomoyo-chan...” Sakura whispered longingly. Whenever they were

 apart, Tomoyo was all that she could think about. But then, Tomoyo

 was all she could think about when she was with the heiress, too. It

 was like Tomoyo’s touch had been imprinted on her soul, leaving its

 mark in everything Sakura did. 

 	How she could have missed these feelings for so long, she didn’t

 know. But now that she had uncovered them, they were almost

 overpowering. 

 	As she lay there, immersed in the warm water, she could see Tomoyo

 in her mind’s eye. The sweet, angelic girl so close, her stormy blue

 eyes sparkling, her pale skin so soft, her dark hair framing her

 beautifully. Without realizing it, Sakura leant forward, her lips

 puckered as if to kiss her pretty best friend. Blushing and blinking

 rapidly, the auburn haired girl gave up her attempt. A sigh escaped

 her as she sunk lower in the water. They had been so close! Just a

 few more inches and she would know what those cute lips felt like

 against her own, what it felt like to kiss Tomoyo. If only she could

 go back in time and get those extra few inches... The love in her

 heart was glowing with a singular intensity, nearly ready to burst.

 She felt like that love had nowhere else to go but through her lips,

 right into Tomoyo, as if she could use that to show the other girl

 the raging feelings inside of her. 

 	Well, there would always be other times. But she didn’t want to

 wait for some other time! Patience wasn’t Sakura’s strong point. Her

 mind delighted in the sweet torture of imagining kissing a slightly

 surprised Tomoyo over and over again. She sighed again. So close, yet

 so far away. Those inches might well have been miles. 

 	All she wanted to do was to hold Tomoyo close, to kiss her

 repeatedly, to feel the pale girl against her again, to experience

 every unique little thing about her, to take it all in and immerse

 herself in it all. 

 	The only thing troubling her was that she still couldn’t understand

 why Tomoyo had withdrawn from her when she had been about to kiss the

 heiress. Tomoyo was usually so warm and affectionate with her. She’d

 almost expected the pale girl to kiss her instead. So what had gone

 wrong? Maybe Tomoyo had just been too shy. But that didn’t seem like

 the other girl at all. Tomoyo certainly didn’t shy away from showing

 her love in any number of other ways.

 	Sakura couldn’t get her mind off of the thought. Her mind spun with

 possibilities. But none of them adequately explained why Tomoyo would

 have turned away from her. None of them seemed quite right. None of

 them really fit Tomoyo. 

 	Unfortunately, there didn’t seem to be anything she could do about

 it from where she was. But maybe if she tried again, whatever had

 gone wrong the last time wouldn’t be present. Or maybe it would and

 Sakura could actually figure out what it was. It felt like some

 complicated puzzle, but the answer shone brightly in her mind. She

 would kiss Tomoyo soon, sealing their love with a soul binding kiss.

 “Hanyaan...” she said aloud at the thought. 

 	The reason that it was getting to her the most was that she truly

 did want to kiss her dark haired friend, to be next to her, holding

 her, feeling her delicate skin against her own. She wanted to hold

 onto Tomoyo and to never let go again. To experience every little bit

 of her eccentric best friend.

 	Her eyes closed, Sakura slid deeper into the water. A hand slid down

 her leg, hesitant. But her insistent thoughts were getting the better

 of her. She could already see herself kissing Tomoyo in her mind,

 could practically feel the pale girl next to her. She could see

 Tomoyo’s pale skin as clothes seemed to melt away, their lips meeting

 again and again. Tomoyo’s costume design returned to mind, her cheeks

 warming at the thought. She could see Tomoyo watching her excitedly,

 videotaping her, telling her how cute she was. And she could see

 Tomoyo coming closer, setting the camcorder down, kissing her again,

 her hands going across Sakura’s barely clothed body.

 	Sakura made a small sound, shifting in the water. Her legs spread

 apart, water splashing about her. Her hands were moving in time with

 her thoughts, making it almost like Tomoyo was actually with her for

 a split second. She could almost feel Tomoyo's hands caressing her

 skin, Tomoyo’s soft voice echoing in her ears as the heiress became

 more insistent. She held herself open for a moment, almost expecting

 Tomoyo to accept the invitation. And the Tomoyo in her thoughts did

 just that, Sakura’s fingers mimicking her friend’s imaginary

 movements. 

 	Hunched over in the bath, Sakura took a quick breath, still lost in

 her fantasy. The water lapped around her body, but she could hardly

 notice it. All she could think about was Tomoyo. Everywhere. Always.

 Tomoyo. Her eyes were clenched tightly, painfully. She shook slightly

 and then slumped in the water, breathing heavily. Her cheek lay

 against the surface of the water, wet and warm. She tried to catch

 her breath, feeling almost feverish in the bath. The Cardmistress

 tried to collect her thoughts, but they were distant, fragmented. All

 she knew was that Tomoyo smiled back at her from every one of them.

 “Tomoyo-chan...” she whispered. She felt like she had been caught in

 a tsunami, torrents of emotion buffeting against her soul again and

 again. But she was slowly releasing their was no release from that

 feeling. It was still wrapped tightly around her heart. And Tomoyo

 was at the center of it.

 

 	“Kawaii!” Tomoyo watched excitedly as Sakura stood before her in

 one of her costumes. The Cardmistress had visited again a short time

 ago and had agreed to try out several of Tomoyo’s costumes while she

 was there. This was the fourth costume she had worn. Only three more

 to go and Tomoyo would be all out of new costumes for Sakura to wear.

 She wanted to slow down time and speed it up at the same time. If she

 could slow it down, she could have even more time watching Sakura

 model her costumes. But she wanted to see what Sakura looked like in

 the others as well. 

 	One of the reasons she had so many costumes was that there simply

 wasn’t as much a reason for Sakura to wear her costumes anymore.

 Before when Sakura had been catching the Cards, she had needed a new

 costume for each of her adventures. Now that it was over, Tomoyo had

 to find a good time for her friend to come and model for her. So the

 costumes weren’t as necessary anymore, but Tomoyo did like being able

 to have Sakura wear them personally for her. And Sakura was sweet

 enough to do just that for her.  

 	Sakura still looked a little embarrassed, but she was starting to

 forget her nervousness. Everything affected her easily, but she moved

 on to other thoughts just as quickly. And it was hard not to get

 caught up in Tomoyo’s exuberance. The pale girl was usually so quiet

 and thoughtful, but when she was interested in something, like Sakura

 herself for interest, she made it abundantly clear. The Cardmistress

 wondered how she ever could have missed it before. 

 	Twirling in the long, multi-layered skirt she was currently in,

 Sakura could hear Tomoyo clapping. A smile lit up Sakura’s lips as

 she turned to face the heiress again. Taking the long skirt in her

 hands, Sakura curtsied to her audience of one.

 	Back when Tomoyo had first made costumes for her, she had always

 worn them when she was busy with the Cards. She hadn’t had time to

 really appreciate them. Or the attention Tomoyo gave her when she was

 wearing them. After the whole debacle with the Cards was finally

 over, she had thought it would be the end of silly things like

 costumes. But Tomoyo kept making them regardless. Sakura had been a

 little baffled at first, but if her eccentric friend wanted to see

 her in them, she couldn’t refuse. If Tomoyo spent so much time on the

 costumes, it seemed only right to wear them. So she had begun

 modeling them for Tomoyo back then. It had been embarrassing at

 first, and still was to some extent, because she wasn’t busy with

 other things while wearing the costumes. It made her self-conscious

 knowing that she was being videotaped in the many different designs

 like that. But Tomoyo’s obvious excitement when she would wear them

 for her began to make her worry less. Tomoyo loved it so much when

 she would. And there was something about that that Sakura liked. Just

 knowing she had all of her friend’s attention, that Tomoyo’s eyes

 were on her and only her then. Though she had trouble admitting it,

 she did enjoy modeling for Tomoyo. In a way, it made her feel closer

 to her mother. But unlike her mother, she only wanted to model for

 Tomoyo. She was too shy to do that for anyone else. And she knew how

 happy it made the heiress. So slowly she began to do more in the

 costumes, actually modeling them, letting Tomoyo direct her where she

 would, taking snapshots and videotape of her in whatever costume came

 out next. It became a fun little thing they did together, an excuse

 to stay over for the weekend or to stop by after school. 

 ‘Sakura, I have a new costume finished. Could you wear it for me?’

 	‘Sure, Tomoyo-chan! Just let me drop off my things at home.’

 	And so it went. Days and weeks and months and finally years of lace

 and ribbons and videotape. Sakura looked forward to it more than the

 soccer practice she had been taking lately. Part of that was just

 seeing the smile and starry eyed looks Tomoyo gave her. But it was

 just fun. She loved being with her best friend, and dressing up for

 her was exciting. Slipping into a new outfit, anxious to see what

 Tomoyo thought, to hear her words on it, to see what poses she would

 want to see her in. It was exhilarating. And now it seemed to make

 more sense. Of course she liked Tomoyo watching her. Of course she

 wanted to model for her. Because Tomoyo’s never wavering love and

 attention meant everything to her. And she wasn’t taking it for

 granted anymore. And she could feel it so strongly when she would

 dress up for her. 

 Her cheeks a little red, Sakura put a hand behind her head.  “So

 what do you think?”

 	“I think you look gorgeous in it, Sakura-chan. Like a beautiful

 dancer who wants to let go of everything and dance the night away,”

 Tomoyo stated dreamily, a hand on her cheek. Sighing contentedly, the

 heiress was in Heaven. What could possibly be more wonderful than

 Sakura modeling specifically for her? The athletic young girl was

 already so beautiful. Seeing her all dressed up in the costumes she

 made for her was stunning. And watching her pose and move about for

 her eyes only... Tomoyo sighed again, her stormy blue eye never

 leaving Sakura. 

 	The Cardmistress blushed at Tomoyo comment. Tomoyo always said

 rather complimentary things to her, but she always accepted them

 shyly. Part of her just couldn’t understand how Tomoyo thought so.

 The other part was just flattered to hear the other girl say it.

 Nonetheless, she always loved hearing her. It was like a puppy doing

 tricks for its mistress to hear loving words of praise. But with

 Tomoyo she never even had to do anything, or at least not knowingly.

 The dark haired girl seemed to find everything about her wonderful.

 “Which one should I wear next?” 

 	Tomoyo looked towards her desk where the other costumes were

 waiting. Placing her hand on her chin, she thought carefully. She

 would eventually see Sakura in all of them, but she still treated it

 like an important decision. It was all a matter of what would look

 best after the one Sakura was currently wearing. “I think you would

 look very pretty in the red one with the ribbons,” she said at last,

 indicating one near the bottom of the small pile of clothes. She

 watched Sakura walk over to claim the costume. “You are so cute in

 that,” she breathed happily, gazing at Sakura.

 	The girl in question blushed again at hearing Tomoyo’s soft voice.

 It made her happy to know Tomoyo thought so. It sent warm waves

 lapping all across her soul. Quickly sifting through the costumes,

 she came about the red one in question. Turning to Tomoyo, she held

 it closely to her chest. “I’ll be right back, Tomoyo-chan!” she

 promised. The thought of being gone for too long was something she

 didn’t want to deal with. More than anything, she just wanted to be

 there with her dark haired girlfriend. Tomoyo merely smiled at her

 promise as she hurried out the door to change. 

 	Standing in the rather luxurious bathroom, Sakura began to pull off

 the costume she was wearing. She wanted to hurry up and return to

 Tomoyo, but she was afraid of ruining Tomoyo’s costume. ‘Each costume

 is stitched with love,’ she could remember Tomoyo saying. So she was

 always very wary about getting a stitch out of place. She didn’t want

 to ruin anything Tomoyo worked so hard on. Finally slipping out of

 the long skirts of her previous costume, Sakura examined the new one.

 It did look cute, like everything Tomoyo designed. It was very soft

 to the touch, and very pretty. It looked almost like something she

 would wear out on a date. Well, nothing she could afford to have in

 her own wardrobe, but something she could see herself dating in. She

 shifted around on her feet as if she were dancing, holding the dress

 tightly. Yes, it would be beautiful to wear out on a date with

 Tomoyo. It was a beautiful red dress with a large red ribbon in the

 back. It had black stockings and black gloves that went along with it

 as well as a red ribbon for her hair. The small red shoes had small

 ribbons on them as well. She smiled at the details. Tomoyo and her

 ribbon fetish. But it was very cute. She couldn’t wait to wear it for

 her. 

 	Tomoyo waited patiently in her room, staring at the spot where

 Sakura had been moments before, swishing about in the twirling skirts

 she had made for her. It wasn’t fair that her camcorder had been

 broken. This little fashion show would have made such a lovely tape!

 The type of thing she would watch again and again late at night and

 with her mother when she had some time away from work. But all she

 could do was try to remember every beautiful detail. Closing her

 eyes, she could imagine Sakura posing for her again, right there in

 front of her. 

 	This was her last night with Sakura. The next day was the end of

 their week together and her wish would be over. A bittersweet smile

 crossed her lips. She may not be able to have Sakura for forever, but

 she did have one beautiful week together with her. Even if she

 couldn’t be with Sakura, she got to experience her love, got to have

 a taste of the heavens. And she would never allow herself to forget

 that taste. 

 	Tomoyo had to admit that if she had to decide on an ending for

 their short-lived relationship, this was certainly a good one. A

 sparkling all-Sakura fashion show all for her. It was much better

 than watching Sakura on her videotapes. It was Sakura Live! It was

 the brunette in all of her amazing glory, right there for her to

 behold.

 	The pale girl sighed, resting back in her bed. Soon this would all

 be over. Nothing but memories and dreams. But what was life without

 dreams? The heart can’t live without beautiful dreams to sustain it.

 She would miss this terribly. It would be unbearably difficult to

 just let go of Sakura’s love. But she would have to. And it would

 hurt. But she would always have these memories to fall back on. It

 wasn’t just a dream anymore. She now knew what it was like to have

 Sakura’s love. And it was more amazing than she had dared to imagine.

 Now when she saw Sakura married and in love, she would know exactly

 how lucky that other person was. And she would still have that little

 sliver of when Sakura had loved her that way. That would sustain her

 soul. It had to. 

 	The door opened, pulling Tomoyo’s attention away from her thoughts.

 In the doorway stood the athletic Cardmistress, resplendent in the

 red dress. It fit her perfectly, the ribbons making her look like a

 beautiful present. The heiress couldn’t say anything, transfixed by

 the image of her love. “You look lovely, Sakura-chan,” she said at

 last. 

 	Sakura blushed, stepping further into the room. She looked down,

 getting a different look at the outfit now that she was wearing it.

 “Thank you, Tomoyo-chan.” Looking up again, emerald green eyes met

 intense stormy blue. She was suddenly very glad Tomoyo picked this

 dress. It really was pretty and the heiress seemed to like it quite a

 bit. She turned to her side, posing for her friend. If Tomoyo still

 had her camcorder and wasn’t bedridden, now would be the time that

 the dark haired girl would be directing her, coming up with different

 positions for her and what she should be doing. So for now she just

 posed as best she could, wanting to do the best she could for her

 friend. 

 	Tomoyo wished more than ever that she still had her camcorder as

 she watched the Mistress of the Cards before her. She could always

 get Sakura to wear them again after her wish, but that just wouldn’t

 be the same. Sakura wouldn’t be wearing it the same way, with the

 same loving look in her eyes. It would just be disappointing. No, she

 would just have to remember this one. So her eye never wavered for a

 second, wanting to imprint the image forever in her mind. 

 	As if drawn by Tomoyo’s deep gaze, Sakura found herself nearing

 Tomoyo’s bed. Her heart was pounding in her chest more fiercely than

 during any of the trials she had faced. It took her a moment to

 realize that she had already come to a decision. It was that decision

 that had her so nervous. But it held her bound like a magic spell,

 pulling her forward. She couldn’t stop now if she wanted to. Sitting

 on the edge of the bed, she looked down at her bedridden friend, the

 injured girl staring back up at her. Slowly, she reached out and took

 Tomoyo’s hand where it stuck out from her cast.

 	Watching Sakura, Tomoyo felt her cheeks flushing. Sakura was so

 close to her, gazing down into her eye. There was something there in

 those emerald orbs, something she was struggling to make out. They

 were warm, passionate. She could see a hint of nervousness in them as

 well. She squeezed Sakura’s hand with her own, trying to assuage the

 brunette’s worries. She always wanted to support Sakura, to be there

 for her. Even right now. Especially right now. Her fingers laced with

 Sakura’s, holding the gloved fingers tightly to her stomach. Her

 heart skipped a beat as she felt Sakura’s grip on her hand tighten.

 “Sakura-chan...” she whispered.

 	The Cardmistress hesitated for a moment, a hurricane of thoughts

 swirling through her, all struggling for dominance. Should she? Could

 she? And then, a moment of calm. The eye of the storm. Everything was

 suddenly clear. Leaning down slowly, she held tightly onto Tomoyo’s

 hand, ready to kiss the dark haired girl. None of her thoughts

 mattered. This was what she wanted. Her shimmering first kiss with

 her one, true love. She could feel Tomoyo’s breath against her lips

 as she drew near, their hair teasing each other. She could only see

 into one of Tomoyo’s eyes, but it was a deep pool of adoration. That

 only spurred her on. Their noses touched ever so briefly, sliding

 across as she sought out Tomoyo’s lips. Her heart pounded in her

 chest as she rested half on top of Tomoyo, trying not to place too

 much weight on the injured girl. Their lips brushed lightly. Sakura

 felt sparks tingle through her, the feeling of petal soft lips

 blanketing her thoughts in a warm bliss. 

 	Tomoyo shuddered at the feeling of Sakura’s lips brushing against

 her own. Even that brief contact went straight to her heart. It felt

 so nice, so enticing. She pursed her lips, watching Sakura above her,

 her heart beating against Sakura’s chest. Feeling Sakura so close to

 her, against her, smelling her hair, seeing those large emerald orbs,

 it all coalesced around her into a real life fairy tale. But this

 wasn’t her fairy tale. No matter how much she wanted it to be.

 Closing her eyes, she sighed. Every bit of her wanted so much to give

 in, to let this kiss happen. But that wouldn’t be fair to Sakura. She

 could feel Sakura’s breath against her cheek and her resolve

 faltered. She already had a taste of Sakura’s love. Why couldn’t she

 have this? Why? Just this little bit of Sakura... In her love clouded

 mind, it all made so much sense. Just a kiss. Their first and last

 kiss. No one would ever have to know. Not even Sakura. So it wouldn’t

 be betraying Sakura. It would just be one, soft, lovely kiss...

 	“Sakura-chan, please don’t,” Tomoyo whispered softly, reluctantly.

 She prayed that Sakura would stop in time. She prayed that Sakura

 wouldn’t listen to her and wouldn’t stop at all. She simply prayed

 with all her heart.

 	“Tomoyo-chan?” Sakura asked, blinking slowly as if fighting off a

 haze. Why didn’t Tomoyo want to kiss her? Why didn’t she want to be

 close like that? Why didn’t she want to share their first kiss? Was

 something wrong? Sakura slowly sat up, disentangling herself from

 Tomoyo. “Tomoyo-chan, what’s wrong? Are you... not ready?” It was a

 silly question. Tomoyo didn’t seem to mind anything as long as it

 involved Sakura in some way, shape or form. Sakura couldn’t imagine

 her best friend not being ready to kiss. Tomoyo was already more

 mature than she was as it was. And if Sakura herself was ready...

 	“No, it isn’t that, Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo replied, her eye slowly

 opening. She sighed softly, not wanting to continue. There went her

 chance. And it was her own fault for it. “It’s that I don’t want to

 take advantage of you.” Explaining things was the only way out now.

 If she didn’t, it would only hurt Sakura’s feelings. She wanted

 Sakura to know that she wasn’t rejecting her. 

 	“Take advantage of me? No, it’s not like that at all. I want this,

 too, Tomoyo-chan! I do. With all my heart.” Sakura took Tomoyo’s hand

 in both of her own, holding it tightly. “I thought about this for a

 long time. It’s what I want. I want you to be my first kiss.” A blush

 crossed her cheeks when she finished. 

 	Tomoyo smiled sadly, looking up at the mistress of her heart. “And

 I would love to be able to do that for you, Sakura-chan. I want you

 to be my first kiss, too. But I can’t do that. I can’t take that away

 from you. I want your first kiss to be special. I want it to be with

 the one you really love.”

 	“But I love you,” Sakura argued, not understanding. What was Tomoyo

 saying? Her heart began to beat in fright. She didn’t like where this

 was going at all. She held onto Tomoyo’s hand tighter, holding it

 like a lifeline. 

 	Squeezing Sakura’s hands back, Tomoyo felt her heart shiver within

 her. She didn’t want this to end. But she couldn’t hurt Sakura. She

 could never allow that of herself. “You don’t really love me, Sakura-

 chan. You granted me a wish last week. You didn’t know what it was.

 It made you fall in love with me,” Tomoyo explained quietly.”

 	“No, that wasn’t it. It was...” Sakura blinked, trying to think

 back to that day. She had granted a wish for Tomoyo. She had

 forgotten what the wish was. And then she had realized her love for

 Tomoyo. A sudden pain shot through her heart. “No!! That’s not it! I

 do love you! It wasn’t a wish. It wasn’t...” Sakura sobbed weakly,

 tears falling onto the injured girl below her. The world had been

 pulled out from underneath her. She was falling, unable to grasp onto

 anything to slow her descent. This past week had been the best week

 of her life. This newfound love had meant everything to her. How

 could it only be a wish? Her hands clenched tightly onto Tomoyo’s,

 not letting go.

 	Tomoyo held onto the other girl with her free arm, rubbing her

 back. “Please don’t cry, Sakura-chan. It makes me sad to see you

 cry,” she said softly. “You made my fondest wish come true. For this

 past week, you have given me the greatest happiness I could imagine.

 I would never want to give that up for anything.”

 	“But I do love you!” Sakura insisted, sniffling. “It’s not just a

 spell. I never knew how I felt. But I do now. I love you, Tomoyo-

 chan. I love you so much. It’s not just magic. It can’t be. I love

 you too much for it to be. I don’t want it to go away. Ever.”

 	“I love you, too, Sakura-chan. With all of my heart. That’s why I

 can’t go through with this. It’s only a charade. It was a beautiful

 charade, but I can’t betray you with it. Because it’s not what you’d

 really want. It’s only my selfish spell that made you love me. And

 it’s over tomorrow. Then you’ll be free to fall in love for real with

 someone else,” Tomoyo explained, trying desperately to smile for

 Sakura. Tears threatened to overcome her, but she couldn’t stand to

 cry in front of Sakura, not when the auburn haired girl needed her.

 	“Then I’ll fall in love with you as soon as the spell wears off,”

 Sakura replied, wiping angrily at her eyes to get the tears away.

 Frustration and helplessness surrounded her, leaving her feeling lost

 and lonely. “You aren’t selfish for wanting someone to love you. We

 all want that Tomoyo-chan. And you deserve it more than anyone I

 know. I want you to have it.” Her voice broke, more tears spilling

 down her cheeks. “I want you to have it with me. I love you.” She

 held onto the pale girl tightly, not daring to let go. 

 	Closing her eyes tightly, Tomoyo kept rubbing Sakura’s back. Her

 own tears were silent, a quiet backdrop to Sakura’s sobs. ‘I’m so

 sorry, Sakura-chan. I want it to be with you, too. More than

 anything,’ she thought sadly. 

 

 	“But I do love her, Kero-chan! She just doesn’t believe me. She

 thinks it’s all some spell. But it can’t be. I know it can’t. I

 really do love her.” Sakura squeezed her pillow tightly, wishing it

 was Tomoyo. She hated this. She felt sick. Ever since she had heard

 that her love might all be a dream she might wake up from, she had

 felt weak and brittle. If something so strong could be fake, then she

 had no idea what was real. But she couldn’t believe that. She

 couldn’t allow herself to.

 	“...” Came Kero’s reply. He didn’t know what to say. It could very

 well be a spell for all he knew. Clow Reed had been rather

 unscrupulous with some of the spells he had worked in his day. And

 Sakura was even more powerful than he was. It sounded likely. But

 telling Sakura that didn’t sound like a good idea. He wanted to help

 his Mistress, but he didn’t know how. 

 	“I just have to prove it to her,” Sakura went on, ignoring her

 plush sidekick. “If I can make it past tomorrow afternoon, she’ll

 have to believe me. Because the deadline was only one week. And I

 know I love her. Because this wouldn’t hurt so much if I didn’t.”

 Resting her head against the pillow, she felt her tears soaking into

 it. She had thought that she had shed all of her tears at Tomoyo’s

 house, but they just kept coming. She sighed shakily. 

 	“I do love her. It’s not some stupid spell. Because she means

 everything to me. Because she makes me happy. I want to be with her

 forever. I want to hold her forever, just like I promised. When I

 close my eyes, I see her. I can hear her singing to me when I listen

 closely enough. When I’m with her, I’m the happiest girl in the

 world. When I’m away from her, I just want her to be there again.”

 Sakura held the pillow in a death grip, slumping onto her side in

 bed. “I’ve never felt this way before. Not even about Yukito. And not

 about Syaoran. She makes me feel better than I am. She makes me

 stronger, better, braver... I need her...” Her voice cracked again,

 her eyes shutting tightly. 

 	Sitting up, she clenched her fists tightly, blinking away her

 tears. Determination burned in her eyes. “I’m gonna prove it to her,

 Kero-chan. I don’t care if it was a wish or not. I love Tomoyo-chan.

 And I’ll love her even after tomorrow. I’ll love her forever.” Sleep

 would be long in coming that night, but Sakura focussed completely on

 her thoughts, on Tomoyo, on the feelings inside of her. She would

 overcome any spell. She wouldn’t let her love die the next day.

 

 	“Please, Tomoyo-chan, you need to eat,” Sonomi said worriedly,

 holding out a bit to her daughter. The girl in question simply lay in

 bed, the life once again faded from her eyes. What had happened to

 her precious daughter? She had been so vibrant for the past week, so

 alive. Even if her body was having trouble recovering, Sonomi had

 been thrilled to see the sparkle in her daughter when they would

 talk. And now it was all gone again, as if it had never been there at

 all.

 	“I’m sorry, okaa-sama,” Tomoyo said quietly. “I can’t. It hurts too

 much.” She closed her eyes tightly, trying to hold back the tears

 inside. She wanted to eat to appease her mother, but it was too

 difficult to work up the strength to eat. The last she had seen of

 Sakura was her wiping at her tear streaked cheeks before leaving.

 That image, her sad and lonely Sakura, remained with her. She would

 lose her the next day and it would all be over. And now Sakura was

 hurting because it. All because she wouldn’t kiss her. Tomoyo

 sniffled, closing her eyes tighter until they hurt. It was all her

 fault. Now she would be alone forever and her last memories of her

 time with Sakura would be that she ruined it. 

 	“What’s wrong?” Sonomi asked, suddenly concerned. “Where does it

 hurt, my little girl?” She set the plate aside, scooting closer to

 her daughter. Her heart cried out for Tomoyo, wanting some way to

 take away her pain, to wipe away those tears. 

 	“Everywhere,” Tomoyo replied, trying with all her heart not to cry,

 not to worry her mother. But it was no use. She felt herself being

 cradled in her mother’s arms, could hear her mother’s soft

 reassurances. Giving up, she burst into tears against Sonomi, crying

 in her arms. Those arms were her only solace. Sakura would soon be

 taken away from her and her memories would be marred with the pain

 she inadvertently caused. She cried against her mother until all her

 tears were gone. Sonomi would not leave her that night. Eventually,

 she fell asleep in her mother’s arms. 

 

 	Tomoyo lay in bed silently, staring up at her ceiling once more.

 She felt drained. Her whole body felt weak, empty. Her mother had

 finally gone to work only after Tomoyo had promised her that she was

 feeling better and that she would try to eat. And it was true. She

 was feeling a little better. The night before she had felt hopeless.

 Now she could at least be thankful that Sakura would probably forget

 all about her pain in just a few short hours and would be back to her

 normal, genki self. And her love would be gone forever. She closed

 her eyes, not wanting to think about that. A knock at her door drew

 her attention. At first she thought it was a maid, but she quickly

 changed her mind. The knock was soft and shy. “Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo

 whispered. “Come on in, Sakura-chan,” she said louder. The door

 opened to reveal her friend. 

 	Sakura gazed over at Tomoyo for a long minute, feeling a little

 awkward. After the day before, she wasn’t quite sure what to say. She

 entered the room, closing the door behind her. Walking over to the

 bed, she sat next to Tomoyo. Her thoughts swirled around her, but

 they weren’t the same pleasant thoughts that had assailed her the day

 before when they had almost kissed. But she was here for a reason.

 She didn’t have much time left before the wish ran out. She took a

 deep breath, mustering up her motivation. It wasn’t over yet. “I have

 something for you,” she said at last. 

 	“You didn’t have to get me anything,” Tomoyo said quickly. She

 offered a small smile. “You’re all I ever really wanted. I’m glad

 you’re here.” She reached over, taking one of Sakura’s hands in her

 own. Sakura returned the smile briefly, making her feel a little

 better.

 	Digging around in the bag she had brought with her, Sakura pulled

 out a new camcorder. She looked at it for a moment before handing it

 out to Tomoyo. “I got it with the money I have saved up. Well, and

 I’ll be doing onii-chan’s chores from now until I move out because he

 helped with it. But I wanted to get you something.”

 	Tomoyo put a hand on the camcorder, running her fingers over it.

 Her old one was gone now, but Sakura had gone to get her a new one.

 That meant so much to her. She looked up quickly, meeting Sakura’s

 anxious gaze. “Thank you so much, Sakura-chan. It’s wonderful!”

 	Sakura smiled back, obviously pleased. “I know you could buy

 another one, but I wanted to get it for you.” She reached out, taking

 Tomoyo’s hands. “When you get better... Please use it a lot. To make

 up for all the time you’ve been stuck in bed. Whenever you videotape

 me, I feel so special. I feel like I’m your movie star. And that.. it

 really makes me feel happy. Seeing you smile when you’re watching me,

 it makes me want to do everything I can for you in front of the

 camera.”

 	Nodding solemnly, Tomoyo looks up at Sakura. “I will. I’ll

 videotape as much as I can of you. So I can capture all of the

 beautiful moments in your life.”

 	“In our life,” Sakura corrects, squeezing Tomoyo’s hands. “I’m not

 going anywhere. I love you. I’ll always love you. This isn’t going to

 change anything. I want you to videotape all of the wonderful things

 in our life. Our first real date. Our first baby. Our wedding.

 Everything. I want to sit with you when we’re all grown up and watch

 these tapes together. I want to be able to look back and blush at

 seeing us together through all the years. And I want to say, ‘See,

 Tomoyo-chan? I told you I’d hold you forever.’ And I want you to

 smile and..” Sakura closed her eyes, trailing off as tears fell down

 her cheeks. 

 	Tomoyo gently brushed Sakura’s tears away with her fingertips. “I

 love you so much,” she whispered. “And I will always love you.

 Exactly because of things like this. Because Sakura-chan has the

 biggest heart I know. And I know I’ll always have an important place

 in your heart, even if it’s just as your best friend.” Her heart sung

 at Sakura’s devotion, at the hopes and dreams Sakura held for them.

 She wished those dreams could come true, that they could spend an

 eternity together.

 	“I will love you!” Sakura shook her head, tears flinging from her

 cheeks. “Even if I have to use another magic spell. I’ll always love

 you. I need you. I don’t want to lose you after all this.”

 	Smiling softly, Tomoyo trailed her fingers through Sakura’s hair.

 “But then you wouldn’t be the Sakura-chan that I’m in love with. You

 wouldn’t be able to shine. Because you would be lying to your heart.

 And I want your heart to be free. I want you to fall in love with the

 person who can make you happiest, whoever that may be. Because I love

 you.”

 	“How can you say that? How can you let that happen? Because I don’t

 ever want you being in love with someone else. I love you so much. I

 couldn’t let you go. You do make me happy. You make me more than I

 am. That’s why I don’t want to ever let you go,” Sakura argued, tears

 still falling past her chin.  

 	Tomoyo sighed, her eyes closing for a moment. She felt so tired. If

 only they could live happily ever after... “If Sakura-chan couldn’t

 let me go... That would make me very happy. And I’ll always love you.

 I’ll always be yours, Sakura-chan. Whether or not you know that.” It

 was hard for her to keep seeing this as magic. Sakura genuinely

 seemed to be in love. With her. She really seemed to want to spend

 forever with her. It was hard to write it off as just the spell.

 Because she knew Sakura. And Sakura was fighting desperately to hold

 onto her right now. And she didn’t want to fight against Sakura.

 Maybe Sakura really did love her. Her heart skipped a beat at that

 thought. Maybe she had been wrong all along. 

 	“I love you, too, Tomoyo-chan. And I always will. No matter what

 some stupid spell says. I love you,” Sakura insisted. As if to prove

 her point, she leant forward. Her tear-filled eyes closed as she

 leant over her best friend. Her hands held onto Tomoyo’s sides as she

 came closer. ‘I love you!’ she wanted to scream with every fiber of

 her being. She wasn’t going to let that die. Nothing would kill that.

 It may have just been a spell at first, but it was more than that

 now. She did love Tomoyo. And nothing would ever take that away from

 her.

 	Tomoyo could feel Sakura against her, the Cardmistress’s chest

 shaking slightly as her body shook from crying too much. The heiress

 held onto the auburn haired girl as best she could, wanting to take

 that all away. Her dearest Sakura should never have to be marred by

 tears. Her own heart swelled as she saw Sakura leaning towards her.

 She didn’t want to betray Sakura. But she wasn’t betraying Sakura.

 This really was Sakura. These were her feelings, her hopes and

 dreams. Tomoyo met Sakura’s lips as they reached hers. That silky

 soft feeling melted against her lips, drawing away her breath in a

 sensuous kiss. She kissed Sakura back, her working arm going around

 Sakura’s waist as they did. Each kiss was like a declaration of love,

 a prayer that things would work out, that this wasn’t the end. 

 	Sakura finally felt Tomoyo lips against her own. This time there

 was no resistance. Tomoyo was kissing her back softly, sending a

 shiver through her body. It felt so nice. ‘I do love you,’ Sakura

 thought again, kissing back with all the strength she could muster.

 Tomoyo seemed a bit surprised at first, but quickly matched her.

 Sakura never wanted their lips to part. It felt intoxicating, like

 being bathed in pure love. She snuggled closer to Tomoyo, embracing

 her as they kissed again. If only she could keep kissing her until

 the deadline, until it was all over. She felt safe with Tomoyo, in

 her arms. She felt a dizzying mix of warmth and wonder at each

 additional kiss. She would prove to Tomoyo that she would hold her

 forever. That they would be together forever. She would make Tomoyo

 happy. They would always.. always... They would always what?

 	Their lips met in kiss after kiss, turning Tomoyo’s world into a

 sea of cherry blossoms. Each lingering kiss felt like a brush of

 angel wings against her soul. For once, Tomoyo could fully express

 her love for the brunette, and she did so as best she could. She

 kissed back with all the love in her heart, trying not to think about

 tomorrow. There was only now. And now would last forever. She could

 slowly feel Sakura lessening the kisses, could feel less coming from

 the other girl. Sakura seemed bewildered, out of place. Tomoyo

 stopped immediately. Looking up at her friend. Her heart cried out, a

 sharp blade slicing through it. She wanted to deny it, to believe

 that it wasn’t true. But Sakura just looked at her in confusion. It

 was over. Her blissful week was gone. Sakura’s love was gone. Her

 most treasured gift was now no more than a memory.

 	“Tomoyo-chan? What happened? I can’t remember anything. It’s all

 blurry. Hoe...” Sakura shook her head, trying to focus. But the

 harder she focussed, the further away it all got. Like a dream upon

 awakening, it all began to fade from her mind as if it had never

 been. She shook her head, sitting up. Had she fallen asleep on Tomoyo

 or something? “Did I make your wish come true?” she asked hopefully.

 That was the last thing she could remember, trying to make Tomoyo’s

 wish come true.

 	Tomoyo forced a smile, blinking quickly. “Yes, you did, Sakura-

 chan. You did it wonderfully. It was the most beautiful wish I could

 ever hope for. Thank you so much for this week,” she said with all

 her heart. All her broken heart. Sakura’s love was gone forever now.

 Only her memory remained of it. She didn’t even have videos of it to

 relive it all. Only the time they shared. Now she would have to give

 it all up. And for Sakura, she could. At least Sakura wasn’t scared

 about losing her love anymore. Because for her, it had never been.

 But for Tomoyo, it would always live on in her heart. 

 	“Tomoyo-chan, are you crying?” Sakura asked worriedly.

 	“Everything will always be all right,” Tomoyo whispered.

 

 Several Years Later:

 

 	Tomoyo knelt before Sakura, sewing up a few last modifications on

 her best friend’s wedding dress. The wedding was only a day away and

 Tomoyo wanted everything to be perfect for her dearest Sakura. She

 had tried her hardest to help Sakura and Syaoran get together. They

 really did make such a cute couple. And seeing Sakura about to get

 married gave Tomoyo something to latch onto, to pour all of her heart

 and soul into. Sakura had given her practically a free reign over the

 wedding to do with as she pleased. So the heiress was putting her all

 into making sure it was the best wedding ever. She wanted it to be

 something Sakura would never forget. It was supposed to be the

 happiest moment in Sakura’s life, so it had to be absolutely perfect.

 	Suppressing a yawn, Tomoyo went back to work on Sakura’s dress. She

 had barely gotten any sleep at all in the past week and a half. There

 was so much to do and she wanted to finish all of it in time for the

 wedding. Her life had been dedicated completely to the wedding, to

 the realization of her most cherished wish for Sakura to be happy.

 There would be no sleep that night either. She still had to make the

 wedding cake and finish the last few modifications on the wedding

 dress, which she was doing now. Sleep didn’t matter. Sakura’s wedding

 did. There would be plenty of time for sleep when Sakura was off on

 her honeymoon. And plenty of time for crying. But that was all for

 later. For now she had Sakura’s wedding to look forward to. In many

 ways, she had been hoping for it even more than Sakura. Because it

 had always been something she fantasized about, Sakura’s gorgeous

 wedding. So she had to strive to make that dream a reality.

 	“Tomoyo-chan, are you okay?” Sakura asked concernedly. “You don’t

 look so well. You look sick.” She held her hands together in front of

 her as she waited for Tomoyo to finish. She felt so nervous. 

 	Smiling weakly, the young businesswoman shook her head. “I’m fine,

 Sakura-chan. I’ve just been very busy lately. It will be better after

 the wedding. Then I can watch my tape of Sakura-chan’s Happy Wedding

 over and over and over again.” Tomoyo sighed dreamily, returning to

 the task at hand. 

 	“But.. Tomoyo-chan, aren’t you lonely?” Sakura asked curiously,

 looking down at the beautiful heiress kneeling before her.

 	“The best happiness is knowing that the one you love is happy. If

 they’re happy, that’s all that truly matters,” Tomoyo replied, not

 looking up. Of course she was lonely. But that was all right. Because

 Sakura wouldn’t be. 

 	Sweatdropping, Sakura continued to stare down at her friend. “I

 must be selfish, then. Because I want to be happy, too.” She sighed,

 waiting patiently for her friend to finish. She was used to being

 Tomoyo’s model for dresses by now, but the fact that this wasn’t just

 some normal costume sent a fresh wave of butterflies through her

 stomach.

 	Tomoyo stopped her work, looking up at last. “You deserve to be

 happy, Sakura-chan. That’s not selfish at all. You want to be loved,

 to be happy. And that’s what I want for you, too.”

 	“I hope so.” Sakura sighed, her eyes closing for a moment as she

 tried to relax. Kneeling down, she looked over at Tomoyo. Reaching

 into midair, she summoned a small ring with her magic. Looking into

 Tomoyo’s eyes, she took another nervous breath. “Tomoyo-chan, will

 you marry me?” she asked, holding out the ring in her hands. 

 	Tomoyo could only stare in shock for a frozen moment. This didn’t

 make sense. It didn’t compute for Tomoyo. Sakura plus Syaoran equals

 happiness. This wasn’t anything that she had planned. “But.. what

 about Syaoran?” she asked desperately, trying to make sense out of

 the situation. Her heart was thundering in her chest as she met

 Sakura’s gaze. Watching Sakura in her wedding dress, hearing her

 propose, she felt weak. 

 	Sakura looks down before answering. “I called it off a few nights

 ago. He’s already back in Hong Kong. My heart just wasn’t in it. You

 wanted this wedding more than I did. That’s why I couldn’t tell you.

 I didn’t want to break your heart. I didn’t want this wedding dress

 you worked so hard on to go to waste.” She pulled at the dress in

 emphasis. “I couldn’t let you do all that for the wedding and then

 just call it off. But my heart didn’t belong to him. I didn’t love

 him. I’ve been feeling more and more lately like I was just going to

 marry him because everyone wanted me to. Like I didn’t have a choice

 in the matter, that it was all expected of me. And more and more...”

 she sighs, looking back up into Tomoyo’s eyes. “I’ve been missing

 you. You’ve always been there for me, Tomoyo-chan. But sometimes I

 forget that I need to be there for you, too. And I want to be there

 for you. Through everything. Because I love you. I finally realized

 that. You’re the one who always makes me happy. Not him. Not anyone

 else. You do. Making this dress for me, working on my wedding, you

 were trying to give me something beautiful. You were trying to make

 me happy. I love you, Tomoyo-chan. I want to have this wedding. With

 you. It’s just as much your wedding as it is mine. You spent so much

 time on it. You deserve a little happiness, too.”

 	“Sakura-chan...” Tomoyo was taken aback by the sudden turn of

 events. Sakura’s words had her heart melting. She swallowed back

 tears, holding her hands to her chest. Her eyes were lost in emerald

 pools. It wasn’t even a question. “Of course I’ll marry you, Sakura-

 chan!” Tomoyo watched as Sakura breathed a sigh of relief and giggled

 herself, the tension draining from her weary body. Sakura reached out

 and took her hand, sliding the small ring on her finger. Such a

 delicate act sent ripples through Tomoyo’s heart and soul. Sakura’s

 hand didn’t leave hers when it was done, instead settling on her

 palm. She gazed at Sakura adoringly.  This wedding had been all about

 Sakura’s happiness. It had been the goal she had striven for. And now

 Sakura was sharing that with her. “I’ll need to have someone use my

 camcorder to record it all,” she said thoughtfully.

 	“I’m sure we’ll always remember it, even if it’s not on tape,”

 Sakura reassured her eccentric fiance. 

 	Tomoyo smiled at the other woman. “I made a promise a long time ago

 that I would. And years from now, we’ll sit together and watch it,

 those beautiful times we’ve spent together.”

 	Returning the smile, Sakura nodded. “Un! And we’ll always be making

 plenty of new memories together, too.” She leant forward, a little

 shyly. Tomoyo met her halfway, kissing her. Sakura relaxed into the

 kiss, her fingers entwining with Tomoyo. The wedding seemed far off,

 like a distant happening. This was what she really wanted. Her

 fingers gently brushed through Tomoyo’s beautiful hair, feeling the

 strands between her fingers. She could feel Tomoyo’s warm hand on her

 cheek. She sighed happily as she sat back.

 	Tomoyo watched Sakura, entranced. Her head was still swimming from

 their kiss. The wedding she longed for, the girl she loved, the

 happiness she didn’t think she could have had all managed to find

 their way onto her lap. It was almost too much to bear. Sakura hugged

 her tightly, the wedding dress clad woman snuggling against her.

 Tomoyo sighed deliciously, melting against the auburn haired girl. 

 	“I’ll never let go, Tomoyo-chan, I promise,” Sakura whispered, her

 eyes closed. Her fingers trailed absentmindedly through Tomoyo’s

 silky hair. For the first time in months, she wasn’t worried about

 her wedding. Now she couldn’t wait. She didn’t know how she would

 explain the change of plans to everyone, but it didn’t seem to

 matter. Tomoyo would be there with her. She could do anything with

 Tomoyo by her side.

 	“That’s all I could ever wish for,” Tomoyo replied, resting her

 head on Sakura’s shoulder. There was still much to be done for the

 wedding. She still needed to finish Sakura’s dress. And she hadn’t

 even started on the cake. But all of that paled in comparison to

 Sakura herself. Tomoyo finally had her wish. Sakura was happy. And in

 a beautiful miracle, she got to be the one to make Sakura happy.

 There would be time for a big, noisy wedding soon. For now, she just

 wanted to be with Sakura. And Sakura felt the same. Sighing happily,

 Tomoyo nuzzled Sakura’s neck, her eyes falling shut. “I love you,”

 she whispered, her voice muffled in Sakura’s dress. She had finally

 found the magic. It was there. Everything really would be all right.

 Because Sakura brought out that magic. And she could believe that

 with Sakura. Because their happiness was intertwined, two beautiful

 red ribbons tied together into a bow. “So what do we name our baby?”

 Tomoyo asked curiously.

 	“Tomoyo-chan..” Sakura sweatdropped. “Don’t you think you’re

 looking a little too far forward?”

 	“I’ve been planning Sakura-chan’s wedding since I was ten years

 old. I like to have everything nice and worked out so that it can go

 smoothly,” Tomoyo explains. “And you’ve already granted one of my

 wishes. And wishes usually come in threes. My next was to see Sakura-

 chan with a beautiful baby.”

 	Sakura giggled softly, nodding. “Hai, I’ll see what I can do about

 that one. But later. And what’s your third wish? It has something to

 do with ribbons, right?”

 	Tomoyo blinked. “How did you guess?”

 	Sakura blushed, holding closer to Tomoyo. “I should have known. I

 think I can make that one come true on the honeymoon.” 

 	“See? It’s fun to plan things ahead. And I think Sakura-chan’s

 getting good at it.” The pale girl giggled, resting against Sakura.

 Their hearts beat in tandem. And the two held each other, listening

 to their very own melody.