rlm@0: 
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: Sakura-chan is Coming to Town
rlm@0: by Amazoness Duo
rlm@0: amazonessduo@hotmail.com
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: “Isn’t Santa Claus supposed to be fat?” Kero asked skeptically.
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: “Sakura-chan can be a cute, skinny Santa Claus,” Tomoyo offered,
rlm@0: pulling her camcorder down for a second.
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: “Hoe...” stated the jolly Cardmistress in question, dressed up like
rlm@0: Father Christmas himself. Once again, she knew this was Tomoyo’s
rlm@0: idea. And just like always, she wasn’t quite sure how the dark haired
rlm@0: girl had talked her into it. But Tomoyo always did, somehow. The fact
rlm@0: that Sakura couldn’t say no to her best friend also played a part in
rlm@0: it. So now she found herself outside of Tomoyo’s house in the dead of
rlm@0: night, dressed up like Santa Claus while Tomoyo watched on in barely
rlm@0: concealed bliss.
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: The Seal Beast nodded thoughtfully, his arms crossed. “Yeah, I guess
rlm@0: so. But if Sakura-chan is Santa Claus and I’m Rudolph,” he paused for
rlm@0: a moment to show off the cute little antlers and shiny nose Tomoyo
rlm@0: had gotten him for a costume, “then who are you supposed to be?”
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: “I’m Mrs. Claus, of course,” Tomoyo said matter of factly. 
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: Sakura’s face went a bright shade of crimson. She waved her arms
rlm@0: swiftly. “To..Tomoyo-chan!” she whined in embarrassment. The
rlm@0: implications of that were blatant enough that even she got it. Her
rlm@0: cheeks burned as she busied herself with picking up the large bag of
rlm@0: presents near her feet. 
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: Tomoyo giggled at Sakura’s embarrassment, pulling up her camcorder
rlm@0: to catch Sakura’s scarlet blush on videotape. “And if I’m Mrs. Claus,
rlm@0: then I want nothing more than to videotape my dashing husband’s
rlm@0: midnight ride.” She sighed dreamily, a hand on her cheek. 
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: The flustered Cardmistress could only blush under the loving gaze of
rlm@0: Tomoyo and her camcorder. She shifted about, trying to find a
rlm@0: comfortable way to carry the bulky bag, but failing. “So.. Tomoyo-
rlm@0: chan, what are we doing again?” Sakura asked in confusion, blinking
rlm@0: off her earlier embarrassment. “You said you wanted me to come and
rlm@0: play Santa for some kids. Shouldn’t you get onii-chan or someone
rlm@0: who’d make a better Santa for this? I don’t think they’ll believe I’m
rlm@0: Santa.” Looking down at Tomoyo’s take on the Santa Claus costume that
rlm@0: she was wearing, she shifted a foot around, hearing the slight jingle
rlm@0: of bells attached. 
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: “But Sakura-chan’s the perfect Santa Claus!” Tomoyo insisted,
rlm@0: letting the camcorder fall gingerly to her side for a moment. She
rlm@0: stepped closer, helping adjust Sakura’s hat, moving the fluffy ball
rlm@0: on the tip over her shoulder. Her fingers brushed back some of
rlm@0: Sakura’s hair back underneath, lingering there for a moment. “You’re
rlm@0: sweet and giving and adorable. And you have so much energy. I can’t
rlm@0: think of anyone else who could handle Santa-san’s job.” She smiled
rlm@0: brightly at the Cardmistress, her heart aflutter. Sakura made a
rlm@0: darling Santa Claus. This was the perfect way to spend her Christmas
rlm@0: Eve, out amidst the snow and moonlight with Sakura. It was so much
rlm@0: better than unwrapping a present or even watching the Christmas
rlm@0: lights. It was her very own Sakura, all dressed up festively and
rlm@0: about to make children’s dreams come true. As well as her own.
rlm@0: “Besides, the children probably won’t even see you. So you don’t need
rlm@0: to look the part.” Tomoyo brought her pink gloved fingers up to
rlm@0: Sakura’s ear, tracing the intricate snowflake earrings that she’d
rlm@0: given Sakura as both a Christmas gift and a part of the costume. She
rlm@0: should’ve waited for Christmas day, but she wanted Sakura to have
rlm@0: them for their trip that night. She had such cute ears. The heiress
rlm@0: sighed dreamily.
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: Sakura’s mind had gone blank, her emerald eyes lost in the stormy
rlm@0: blue eyes that were gazing deeply into her own. Tomoyo definitely
rlm@0: wasn’t like any of her other friends. And no one could embarrass her
rlm@0: the way Tomoyo did. But then, no one made her feel the way Tomoyo
rlm@0: did. All warm and fuzzy and dizzy inside all at the same time. She
rlm@0: knew she should say something, but words failed her. Her mouth
rlm@0: opened, but little more than a tiny sound came out. She could feel
rlm@0: the soft cloth of Tomoyo’s gloves caressing her ears. She felt weak,
rlm@0: as if she might collapse against Tomoyo if she kept this up. And part
rlm@0: of her wanted to. She knew Tomoyo wouldn’t mind. She’d hold her there
rlm@0: as long as she wanted. “I...” Sakura finally tore her gaze away,
rlm@0: staring down at her feet. Her cheeks burned even against the cold
rlm@0: wind that raked past them. Just what had that been all about? She
rlm@0: shook her head, her auburn hair getting thrown out from under the cap
rlm@0: despite Tomoyo’s earlier efforts to tuck it in. She could hear the
rlm@0: heiress giggle, almost in her ear with how close they still were. 
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: Looking up at last, Sakura tried to fight off her blush, but it
rlm@0: stubbornly refused to go. She smiled weakly. “So you really want me
rlm@0: to play Santa Claus? To give these presents to some children?”
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: “Hai. There are so many sad children without much for Christmas. I
rlm@0: went singing to lots of them with the choir. I thought that we could
rlm@0: bring them a bright Christmas after all. With Sakura-chan as my Santa
rlm@0: Claus.” The dark haired girl sighed dreamily, clasping her hands
rlm@0: together. “And they’ll wake up on Christmas morning to find wonderful
rlm@0: surprises.”
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: Sakura nodded determinedly, balling her fists up. She wouldn’t have
rlm@0: even thought of that on her own. It was so sweet of Tomoyo to want to
rlm@0: help those poor children. And if she could help her best friend with
rlm@0: it at all, even as a substitute Santa Claus, she would do her very
rlm@0: best. “They’ll have a beautiful Christmas, Tomoyo-chan. I promise!”
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: Tomoyo took a step forward, hugging Sakura warmly. “I knew I could
rlm@0: count on you, Sakura-chan!”
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: Sakura wrapped her arms back around Tomoyo, standing there with the
rlm@0: other girl pressed against her for a long moment. They both knew
rlm@0: Sakura would have agreed to practically whatever idea Tomoyo had. But
rlm@0: she was still glad to have made the heiress so happy. She hugged her
rlm@0: friend tighter as snow fell slowly around them. This was so nice and
rlm@0: warm.
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: Tomoyo stayed that way for a long time, reluctant to leave the
rlm@0: glorious embrace of Sakura’s arms. After a moments thought, she
rlm@0: rested her head on Sakura’s shoulder, her long dark hair spilling
rlm@0: across Sakura’s back. She knew they had to go start delivering
rlm@0: presents soon, but if she could just stay this way a little longer...
rlm@0: But Christmas would not wait for them. She slowly, gently pulled away
rlm@0: from Sakura. 
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: They stood there for a moment under the stars, silence enveloping
rlm@0: the two girls. Sakura shuffled her foot in the snow for a moment
rlm@0: before looking up. “Where did you get all of the presents?” she asked
rlm@0: curiously, trying to break the silence. 
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: “From my mother. She runs a toy company, after all. She thought it
rlm@0: would be a wonderful idea to give out presents this way,” Tomoyo
rlm@0: explained. “And she was delighted to hear you’d be Santa Claus.”
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: Sakura blinked rapidly. “Sonomi-san knows I’m doing this?”
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: Smiling and nodding, Tomoyo continued. “She loved the thought of you
rlm@0: delivering all those presents. She just made me promise to let her
rlm@0: see the videotape and she gave me all the gifts we’d need.”
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: “Sonomi-san’s going to be watching this, too? Hoe...” Sakura
rlm@0: clutched the bag nervously as Tomoyo pulled up the camcorder again. 
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: “Like mother like daughter, I guess,” Kero added.
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: Tomoyo giggled, stepping to the side. “We’re going to watch it
rlm@0: together when I get home. ‘Sakura-chan’s White Christmas’. It will be
rlm@0: much better than any Christmas specials.”
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: Sakura blushed. This was going to be a long night.
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: Meanwhile, their not-so-mysterious benefactor was finishing a few
rlm@0: last minute decorations at the Daidouji mansion. 
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: “There.” The businesswoman hopped off of the stepstool she had been
rlm@0: on, stepping back to admire her handiwork. “Much better.” Her eyes
rlm@0: followed the string of mistletoe. Mistletoe was placed at just about
rlm@0: every convenient spot in the house. She’d picked it up as much as she
rlm@0: could on the way home and had spent the next few hours putting it up
rlm@0: personally. She had to make sure it was perfect. It had to cover
rlm@0: every possible way Sakura could go through the house when she and her
rlm@0: daughter got home late that night. 
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: “She’s going to kiss my little girl,” Sonomi said determinedly. One
rlm@0: of the maids sweatdropped as she passed, but said nothing. Such
rlm@0: things were typical in that household. Both Sonomi and her daughter
rlm@0: were rather eccentric, after all. Just to be safe, the maid hurried
rlm@0: out from under the mistletoe. 
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: Sighing, Sonomi sat down in the couch. Her daughter would be out at
rlm@0: that moment with Sakura, giving gifts to a lot of needy children. She
rlm@0: was glad to be able to help, and they way the two girls were going
rlm@0: about it was even better. She couldn’t wait to see her daughter’s
rlm@0: videotape of the evening. It would be so cute. Seeing Nadeshiko’s
rlm@0: daughter play Santa, watching her own daughter’s eyes light up at the
rlm@0: sight.
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: In the meantime, she’d been working on a gift for Tomoyo. Or, more
rlm@0: accurately, a gift from herself and Sakura to Tomoyo. Sakura just
rlm@0: didn’t know she was involved yet. But all she had to do was get the
rlm@0: brunette under the mistletoe with her daughter. Which shouldn’t be
rlm@0: too difficult with how much she had put up. She thought the world of
rlm@0: Sakura, but Nadeshiko’s daughter could be so dense sometimes. She was
rlm@0: just going to give her a helpful push in her daughter’s direction. 
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: Closing her eyes, the auburn haired businesswoman rested on her side
rlm@0: on the couch. She was exhausted. It had been a long day at work. This
rlm@0: was the busiest time of the year for her, after all. But she’d made
rlm@0: absolutely sure to get all the gifts she could for Tomoyo’s little
rlm@0: Christmas endeavor and had hurried home as soon as she could. Her
rlm@0: sweet little daughter had been very grateful. So sweet and polite,
rlm@0: just like Nadeshiko. 
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: A smile crossed Sonomi’s lips as she lay sleepily on the couch. Her
rlm@0: thoughts were drifting back to a time long ago, back when she had
rlm@0: been able to spend this time of year with her very own Christmas
rlm@0: angel. And in her tired mind, she forgot about the present. Nadeshiko
rlm@0: was alive again. Shimmering radiantly, excited by the prospect of
rlm@0: Christmas. Sonomi sighed, hugging herself. Yes, her dearest Nadeshiko
rlm@0: had loved this time of year so much. Nadeshiko had even kissed her
rlm@0: under the mistletoe once. It was still Sonomi’s favorite present of
rlm@0: all. “Nadeshiko-chan,” Sonomi whispered, curling up like a child.
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: Sakura crept quietly through the silent house. She squinted to try
rlm@0: to see better in the darkness. The only light came from the Christmas
rlm@0: lights twinkling on the tree. She could barely hear Tomoyo tiptoeing
rlm@0: behind her. How Tomoyo could walk in this darkness and videotape at
rlm@0: the same time was beyond Sakura. 
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: “Cookies!” Kero’s eyes widened hungrily. The little mock reindeer
rlm@0: zipped over to the plate of cookies left for Santa. This job wasn’t
rlm@0: so bad after all.
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: “Shhh!!” Sakura chided the Seal Beast. But he was already too busy
rlm@0: munching on the cookies to care. Sighing, she made her way to the
rlm@0: Christmas tree. He was going to wake someone up on one of these
rlm@0: trips, she just knew it. She was lucky he hadn’t already. 
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: Kneeling down, Sakura rummaged through her large red bag, searching
rlm@0: through the presents. She squinted to see the nametag on it. “Which
rlm@0: presents am I looking for, Tomoyo-chan?” the Cardmistress whispered,
rlm@0: holding up two different packages. 
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: "Megumi-chan,” Tomoyo replied, zooming in on Sakura. She made such
rlm@0: an adorable Santa, sitting there underneath the tree. Oh, how she
rlm@0: wished she could be sitting there with her under the pretty lights.
rlm@0: But they didn’t have time for that even if she could.
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: Sakura crawled forward with the gift, trying to find a good place to
rlm@0: put it under the tree. She finally placed it behind one of two gifts
rlm@0: that had already been there. “How’s that?” Looking over her shoulder,
rlm@0: she saw Tomoyo still videotaping her. She slowly followed where the
rlm@0: camcorder was pointing. Her face red, she sat back quickly. 
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: The camcorder immediately went back up to Sakura’s face. Tomoyo
rlm@0: smiled brightly, covering her embarrassment. She must have been out
rlm@0: of it that night. Sakura usually didn’t catch her when she’d catch
rlm@0: little glimpses like that. “That’s perfect, Sakura-chan,” the heiress
rlm@0: reassured the still embarrassed brunette.
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: ‘It’s dark. She didn’t see anything. She didn’t know she was
rlm@0: recording up my skirt,’ Sakura rationalized, though the excuses
rlm@0: sounded lame even to her. She blinked, slowly realizing that Tomoyo
rlm@0: was holding a hand out to her. She took the pale girl’s gentle hand,
rlm@0: getting to her feet. ‘She didn’t really..’ Sakura was thinking.
rlm@0: Distracted by her thoughts, she didn’t realize her foot was around
rlm@0: the cord to the Christmas lights, stepping forward, she stumbled into
rlm@0: Tomoyo, the two girls falling together. 
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: Tomoyo opened her eyes slowly, having shut them instinctively as
rlm@0: they had been falling. “Are you okay, Sakura-chan?” she asked
rlm@0: quickly, worried about the brunette. She sighed inwardly in relief as
rlm@0: Sakura nodded into her shoulder, giving a muffled ‘hai’. She squeezed
rlm@0: her hand, making sure the camcorder was still all right as well.
rlm@0: Having checked the important things, she finally went about seeing to
rlm@0: her own condition. Sakura had landed on top of her, her head buried
rlm@0: against her shoulder. The back of her shoulder hurt, but it would go
rlm@0: away soon enough. She simply laid there with Sakura for a moment,
rlm@0: looking down at the auburn hair spilling our of Sakura’s red Santa
rlm@0: hat.
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: “What was that?” a girl in a nightgown asked, stepping out of one of
rlm@0: the back rooms. 
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: “It was probably nothing, Kumiko-chan,” a blonde girl replied,
rlm@0: hugging the other girl from behind. “Let’s go back to bed. Tomorrow’s
rlm@0: Christmas. You just want to sneak a peak of the present I got you.”
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: Kumiko raised an eyebrow. “You mean you want to sneak a peak of me
rlm@0: wearing your present. I still can’t believe you bought me lingerie.
rlm@0: My parents will kill me if they find out.”
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: Giggling, Megumi nodded. “Can I? It is Christmas Eve, after all. You
rlm@0: can open one present. And then you could wear it back to bed,” the
rlm@0: blonde suggested, nuzzling Kumiko’s neck. Kumiko blushed darkly, but
rlm@0: that just brought a delicious sigh from Megumi. She was so happy to
rlm@0: have Kumiko over for Christmas. Her parents were both gone, working
rlm@0: again. To afford her treatments that didn’t seem to work anyway. She
rlm@0: was just getting sicker and sicker as it was. But at least she could
rlm@0: spend Christmas with the one she loved. 
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: Kumiko blinked, ignoring Megumi’s warm and insistent nuzzling. No
rlm@0: small feat considering how she usually melted under such an assault.
rlm@0: But something seemed wrong. The Christmas lights on the tree were
rlm@0: out. She walked over, Megumi still hanging onto her. What she didn’t
rlm@0: know was that Megumi was having trouble standing on her own at the
rlm@0: moment. 
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: Tomoyo lay there, still stuck underneath Sakura. Sakura had frozen
rlm@0: against her, unsure of what to do. If they stood up, they’d be
rlm@0: caught. But if they stayed where they were, the two girls would
rlm@0: probably find them, too. They weren’t in a very good position. Well,
rlm@0: they were, Tomoyo had to admit, holding Sakura closer. But it
rlm@0: wouldn’t be good if they got caught. She could feel Sakura blushing
rlm@0: against her. Apparently she had heard the girls’ conversation. But it
rlm@0: wasn’t anything new. She dressed Sakura up all the time with her
rlm@0: costumes, including matching undergarments at times. But then, Sakura
rlm@0: had never thought about it in that context before.
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: “Kumi-chan, can we go back to bed?” Megumi asked quietly, resting
rlm@0: her head against the braided haired girls back. She suddenly wasn’t
rlm@0: feeling very well at all. She would drag Kumiko back to bed, but she
rlm@0: didn’t think she could even keep standing if she let go for a moment.
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: “Just a second, Megumi-chan,” Kumiko replied distractedly, following
rlm@0: the unplugged Christmas light cord in the dim light. Her eyes went
rlm@0: wide as she spotted a boot. And then a shadowy figure lying on the
rlm@0: floor. “Ahhhhh!” she screamed, reeling back. There was a dead body on
rlm@0: the floor! In Megumi’s house. 
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: Sakura stood up quickly, her heart pounding in her chest. “No, wait!
rlm@0: It’s all a mistake!” She waved her arms in front of herself, trying
rlm@0: to stop the braided girl’s scream.
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: Following Sakura’s lead, Tomoyo got to her feet as well. She bowed,
rlm@0: smiling softly. “We’re sorry for the trouble. We were just dropping
rlm@0: off a present. Now If you’ll excuse us, our sleigh is waiting. Right,
rlm@0: Santa?” She wrapped her arms around Sakura’s, pulling her gently
rlm@0: towards the chimney. 
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: “Santa?” Megumi asked, watching the two from over Kumiko’s shoulder.
rlm@0: Well, they were certainly dressed the part. And they didn’t look like
rlm@0: they were here to cause any harm. Just two girls their own age. It
rlm@0: didn’t make any sense why they were here, but she didn’t feel like it
rlm@0: was a bad thing.
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: “Hai...” Sakura replied, laughing nervously, a hand behind her head.
rlm@0: “Merry Christmas!!” She waved quickly, pulling out a Sakura Card to
rlm@0: make a hasty retreat. Tomoyo hurried back to her side after plucking
rlm@0: Kero away from the cookies.
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: Blinking, Kumiko shook her head. “But..!” A finger pressed against
rlm@0: her lips, silencing her. 
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: “Shhh... Just ignore it, dear,” Megumi whispered. “Now go ahead and
rlm@0: open your present.” 
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: “Megumi-chan...” Kumiko blushed. Maybe Megumi was right. She should
rlm@0: just ignore any of this had happened. Even if she did want to know
rlm@0: who those two girls were. And why they were in her girlfriend’s house.
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: Megumi giggled. “I love you, Kumi-chan.” She kissed the other girl’s
rlm@0: cheek. 
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: Tomoyo slid her window open as she hung in the air, held aloft in
rlm@0: Sakura’s arms. The Cardmistress was holding onto her waist tightly,
rlm@0: her angelic wings flapping to keep them up. The window finally open,
rlm@0: Tomoyo slid inside before helping Sakura follow. Sakura’s angel wings
rlm@0: dissipated in a burst of feathers. She let go of the empty sack that
rlm@0: had held the gifts, stretching tiredly. It had been a long night. She
rlm@0: saw Tomoyo smiling sweetly at her as she yawned. She covered her
rlm@0: mouth quickly, blushing faintly. 
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: “Thank you, Sakura-chan. You made tonight a perfect Christmas. For
rlm@0: all of those girls. And for me.” Tomoyo stepped forward, taking one
rlm@0: of Sakura’s hands in both of her own. “It was the best Christmas I’ve
rlm@0: ever had. Thank you.” She kissed Sakura’s hand gently. She was so
rlm@0: happy. She didn’t want the night to end, but she knew she could go
rlm@0: right back and watch it all over on videotape. Her beautiful
rlm@0: Christmas Eve with Sakura. She sighed contentedly.
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: “It was fun, Tomoyo-chan.” Sakura replied, shifting about. She
rlm@0: wanted to say more, but the whirlwind of feelings inside of her
rlm@0: refused to translate into words. She bit her lip in frustration.
rlm@0: There had to be some way to explain, to say something, to let it all
rlm@0: out. Now was the time where they said goodbye and she left for home
rlm@0: to have Christmas the next day with her father and brother. But she
rlm@0: didn’t want to go. She felt like she’d regret it if she didn’t say
rlm@0: something, if she left now. 
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: Tomoyo stroked Sakura’s hand gently, comfortingly. Something was
rlm@0: obviously bothering the Cardmistress. Sakura almost looked ready to
rlm@0: cry. Tomoyo’s heart broke at the sad look in Sakura’s eyes. The
rlm@0: Cardmistress was so intent, but she was having trouble with
rlm@0: something, as if it refused to come to her. Sakura had looked so
rlm@0: happy before. What had gone wrong? All she could do was be there with
rlm@0: her. She squeezed Sakura’s hand gently.
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: Her mind a swirling mess, Sakura took a shuddering breath. This had
rlm@0: been such a perfect night. So why was she on the verge of tears? It
rlm@0: wasn’t fair. Not to Tomoyo. But such a perfect Christmas Eve deserved
rlm@0: a perfect ending. But nothing she could say sounded right. Something
rlm@0: up above finally caught her eye. She looked up, trying to discern it
rlm@0: in Tomoyo darkened room. Mistletoe, she finally decided. But what was
rlm@0: it doing in Tomoyo’s room? It didn’t matter. She shouldn’t be
rlm@0: thinking about such things right now anyway. She should be thinking
rlm@0: about how to say goodbye. Blink. She looked back at the mistletoe and
rlm@0: back at her Mrs. Claus. She swallowed nervously. She shouldn’t. She
rlm@0: should. She was too embarrassed. But it was the best way to end the
rlm@0: night. Their beautiful Christmas night, sealed with a kiss. ‘Hoe...’
rlm@0: she thought. Steeling herself. She closed her eyes, wrestling with
rlm@0: her embarrassment at the idea and the burning need within her. It
rlm@0: finally one out, burning away her reluctance. Blinking, she looked
rlm@0: back into Tomoyo’s worried blue eyes. Leaning forward, she kissed her
rlm@0: best friend. Her lips inexpertly brushed against Tomoyo’s taking a
rlm@0: moment to finally press against them in a kiss. The world seemed to
rlm@0: tilt and tumble around her, her cheeks ablaze. 
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: Tomoyo was for once completely taken by surprise by her beautiful
rlm@0: Cardmistress. She didn’t always know exactly what Sakura would do,
rlm@0: but she was rarely surprised by it. Now she was completely thrown
rlm@0: off, the delicate balance of all of her careful planning sent
rlm@0: spinning. For a moment, she had no idea what to do. But she quickly
rlm@0: pushed past her disorientation, returning the kiss. Sakura’s delicate
rlm@0: lips were softer than freshly fallen Sakura blossoms that Tomoyo has
rlm@0: so often kissed, imagining this moment. Her arms wrapped around
rlm@0: Sakura’s shoulders, pulling the auburn haired Santa Claus close. Her
rlm@0: heart was near bursting with the love eager to get out to her friend.
rlm@0: I love you, she tried to say through their kiss.
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: Sakura finally broke the kiss, blushing furiously. Tomoyo was still
rlm@0: rubbing her back. She couldn’t work up the will to pull away. She
rlm@0: didn’t want to be apart from Tomoyo. Resting her head on the other
rlm@0: girl’s shoulder, she sighed happily. “Merry Christmas, Tomoyo-chan.”
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: 
rlm@0: