rlm@0: First Date rlm@0: A Tomoyo and Sakura story rlm@0: by G. P. rlm@0: rlm@0: Comments can be sent to the author at: treeandleaf2002@yahoo.com rlm@0: rlm@0: Note: This story is s part of a series, but does not have to be read rlm@0: consecutively. The first story was, "Love is the Crooked Thing". rlm@0: rlm@0: rlm@0: That first night Sakura only just barely got to sleep before the sun rlm@0: rose. Thank goodness for Sundays with nothing to do! But sleep ended rlm@0: early with pounding at the door and a terrible voice bellowing, rlm@0: "Monster! Phone call!" rlm@0: rlm@0: "Ehhhhhh.....?" rlm@0: rlm@0: Sakura staggered out of bed, blinking blearily at the alarm clock. rlm@0: rlm@0: "Hoooeeeeee! I'm late!" In a mad dash, Sakura threw on her uniform rlm@0: and rushed down the stairs to breakfast. Except, instead of a hot, rlm@0: steaming meal, there was an empty table. There sat her dreadful rlm@0: brother, calmly sipping coffee. Sakura shot a glance at the schedule rlm@0: board, nervously thinking, rlm@0: rlm@0: "Was I supposed to make breakfast?" rlm@0: rlm@0: No, there was Oniichan's name, grrrrrrrr....in a furious windmill of rlm@0: arms and fists, Sakura roared towards her brother, who kept her at rlm@0: arm’s length while regarding her with amused detachment. rlm@0: rlm@0: "Where's my breakfast I'm late for school why didn't you wake me up rlm@0: if only I was bigger than you...." rlm@0: rlm@0: Touya interrupted her with practiced ease, "Fridge, Sunday, you're rlm@0: not, phone." Sakura froze in mid-flurry, staring at the phone. With a rlm@0: sheepish look, she picked it up, rlm@0: rlm@0: "Sakura here". rlm@0: rlm@0: "Ohayo, Sakura-chan" The sweet, musical voice of her best friend. rlm@0: rlm@0: "Ohayo, Tomoyo-chan!" A pause, and then she remembered- remembered rlm@0: it all: The fortune telling, the maze, the song, Tomoyo....the kiss. rlm@0: Sakura felt a crimson blush on her neck and cheek, as she stood rlm@0: dumbstruck with her mouth open. rlm@0: rlm@0: "I thought we might go on a picnic to the park today? Would you like rlm@0: to go, or are you busy with schoolwork and chores?" Tomoyo's bright rlm@0: and sunny voice only made the blush deepen. rlm@0: rlm@0: "H-h-h-h-hai", Sakura managed to stutter out. rlm@0: rlm@0: "I'll make o-bento. Shall I be there in an hour?" rlm@0: rlm@0: "H-h-h-h-hai" rlm@0: rlm@0: "Bye-bye, I'll see you soon!" rlm@0: rlm@0: "H-h-h-h-hai", replied Sakura to the dial tone. Slowly she put down rlm@0: the phone, closed her mouth, and stared at the floor. Just what had rlm@0: happened the night before? Was it a dream, or had she really *sweat rlm@0: drop* confessed her love to Tomoyo-chan? She staggered back to the rlm@0: bedroom, her mind all awhirl… rlm@0: rlm@0: Mechanically Sakura changed out of her uniform and into a yellow rlm@0: blouse and a pleated, light brown skirt. Brushing her red-auburn rlm@0: hair, she struggled to remember. Finally, she plopped on the bed with rlm@0: a sigh and stared at the ceiling until she heard the knocking down rlm@0: below. She rushed down the stairs, beating her brother to the rlm@0: hallway. Nervously she reached for the handle, turned it, and opened rlm@0: the door. There, smiling as always, stood Tomoyo. Dressed in a rlm@0: beautiful, be-ribboned white dress with red trim, picnic basket in rlm@0: hand, Tomoyo bowed and sang out, rlm@0: rlm@0: "Ohayo, Sakura-chan". rlm@0: rlm@0: "Ohayo, Tomoyo-chan. Oniichan, I'm going to the park with Tomoyo- rlm@0: chan". rlm@0: rlm@0: "Don't forget you're cooking dinner tonight- something better than rlm@0: last time, I hope", came the laconic reply. rlm@0: rlm@0: Tomoyo covered the giggle with a white glove as Sakura gritted her rlm@0: teeth in impotent rage. Remembering Tomoyo, she suddenly put her hand rlm@0: behind her neck and laughed, rlm@0: rlm@0: "Ha-ha-ha...um, should we go now?" rlm@0: rlm@0: Tomoyo nodded happily, and the two friends slipped out the door. rlm@0: rlm@0: Wordlessly the pair walked to the park, Tomoyo glancing up at the rlm@0: occasional cloud and twittering bird, Sakura staring at the sidewalk, rlm@0: deep in thought. The day was bright and alive, with a cool breeze rlm@0: that whispered of the end of summer. At last they entered the park, rlm@0: where Tomoyo broke the silence, rlm@0: rlm@0: "Would you like to eat by the lake? I know a quiet spot under the rlm@0: trees" rlm@0: rlm@0: "Yes", nodded Sakura, a little too vigorously. rlm@0: rlm@0: Tomoyo opened one of the picnic basket lids and took out a rlm@0: delicately folded orange and brown cloth, decorated with a maple leaf rlm@0: and pumpkin print. With easy grace she spread the cloth on the grass, rlm@0: placed the basket to one side, and sat, legs tucked demurely rlm@0: underneath her. Sakura dropped down quickly, looking at her hands in rlm@0: embarrassment, finally holding them tightly in her lap. She was aware rlm@0: of Tomoyo's lavender eyes regarding her with measured care. Never had rlm@0: Sakura felt so ill at ease with her best friend. Her mind continually rlm@0: wandered to the previous night, or rather, to what she thought she rlm@0: remembered of it. Tomoyo looked on in concern as she set the table rlm@0: with beautiful little white China plates, and delicately filigreed rlm@0: Western silverware. Finally, she smiled and whispered, rlm@0: rlm@0: "Sakura-chan, are you all right?" rlm@0: rlm@0: Sakura didn't know what to say, so she blushed instead. She had rlm@0: always liked Tomoyo as her best, most special friend. The dark-haired rlm@0: girl was always there for her, someone to talk to, to share rlm@0: adventures with, and to ask for help and advice. For the past month, rlm@0: since learning about Yue, Sakura had been battered by a storm of rlm@0: emotions. Finally, after reading the Clow Cards, she had followed the rlm@0: maze deep within her own heart and, to her surprise and joy, had rlm@0: found Tomoyo within. And last night, they had shared a kiss- a rlm@0: lover's kiss. Her heart burned and ached with the thought of it, her rlm@0: very first. rlm@0: rlm@0: But what if it was not the same for Tomoyo? Had Sakura presumed too rlm@0: much? Had she rushed in unbidden and unwelcome? Had she taken from rlm@0: her friend what Tomoyo had been too startled or kind to refuse? She rlm@0: knew now that her friend had professed love a year ago, though Sakura rlm@0: was too dense to have known it then. Only in the past day had she rlm@0: realized what Tomoyo had tried to tell her. And only now did she know rlm@0: her own heart, overflowing with a fierce, ecstatic love for her rlm@0: friend. rlm@0: rlm@0: But what if Tomoyo had changed? What if her love, unrequited for so rlm@0: long, had grown old and faded? What if she loved someone else, still rlm@0: treasuring Sakura as a friend, as someone she liked...but not like rlm@0: that. The auburn-haired girl felt her stomach knot at the very rlm@0: thought. Tomoyo, ever and always kind, would be loath to say that her rlm@0: love was no more. Had she realized Tomoyo's feelings, and her own, rlm@0: too late? Oh, what if she had missed her chance for Tomoyo's love, rlm@0: forever? Sakura clenched her fists tightly, and felt her body tremble rlm@0: with each halting sob. rlm@0: rlm@0: Tomoyo looked at her friend in silent agony. Sakura's pain tore at rlm@0: her heart. Nothing was worth this, nothing. She was certain now that rlm@0: Sakura had come to regret her words of last night, but did not know rlm@0: how to take them back gracefully. Gently, Tomoyo took her friend's rlm@0: hands in her own and spoke in an even voice, rlm@0: rlm@0: "Sakura-chan...Sakura-chan" rlm@0: rlm@0: The Mistress of the Cards turned her tear-stained face away, trying rlm@0: to yank her hands from Tomoyo. But the dark-haired girl had strong, rlm@0: nimble fingers from countless hours of sewing, and held on with a rlm@0: vise-like grip. rlm@0: rlm@0: "Sakura-chan, please look at me". When the wet, shimmering green rlm@0: eyes turned to her, Tomoyo nearly stumbled. It had taken hours of rlm@0: torment to fashion the words, and now she hesitated. Had she lived a rlm@0: hundred lifetimes, she never, ever would have thought she could say rlm@0: this. How easy it would be to quietly live her life with Sakura's rlm@0: sweet words ever in her ear, even if she no longer meant them. But rlm@0: what she was going to say now was right, and Tomoyo knew it. rlm@0: Composing herself with the greatest difficulty, she smiled and spoke rlm@0: in a calm, even tone, rlm@0: rlm@0: "Sakura-chan, I wanted to speak with you today. I wanted to tell you rlm@0: something, about what you said to me last night". Sakura sat rlm@0: motionless, like a fragile crystal statue. Tomoyo took a deep breath, rlm@0: and continued, rlm@0: rlm@0: "Sakura-chan, if you did not...really mean what you said last night, rlm@0: it's all right. I will always like you as a friend, no matter what. I rlm@0: want you to know that". rlm@0: rlm@0: Inside her, a voice screamed, "Liar!" It's all right? If Sakura rlm@0: really did not mean what she had said, if she had said, "I love you" rlm@0: out of pity, or kindness, or confusion, it was not "all right"- it rlm@0: was a black agony that Tomoyo dared not face. But better that than rlm@0: her friend, no, her one, true love, should be bound by words she did rlm@0: not mean. Breathing deeply, unburdened by the words that were so hard rlm@0: to speak, Tomoyo looked with a start at Sakura's reaction. Like some rlm@0: terrified animal, Sakura was slowly shaking her head back and forth, rlm@0: a look of utter terror upon her. rlm@0: rlm@0: Sakura's ashen face reflected her worst fear: that Tomoyo was gently rlm@0: trying to untie the tangled knot that bound them. She was nearly rlm@0: certain that Tomoyo no longer loved her, but was too kind to hurt her rlm@0: by saying so. Never had she felt such a hopeless despair. She knew rlm@0: she should let it all go, and walk away for Tomoyo's sake. But she rlm@0: could not. Her overpowering love forced her to speak the words she rlm@0: knew were wrong. Choking back a sob, Sakura blurted out, rlm@0: rlm@0: "Don't you...Tomoyo-chan, don't you love me?" rlm@0: rlm@0: Stunned, Tomoyo stared into Sakura's frantic eyes, felt hands rlm@0: painfully gripping her own, nails digging into her palms. This was rlm@0: not at all what she expected. Now, dancing on the precipice, she felt rlm@0: a breathless, suspended hush, as though all the cosmos listened for rlm@0: her reply. For the first time she sensed the presence of the Clow rlm@0: Cards, watching her and waiting. Blinking back the tears, she gazed rlm@0: into Sakura's emerald eyes and drew a deep, steady breath. She knew rlm@0: she could never lie, even if it was the right thing, even if it was rlm@0: for her beloved's sake. Carefully taking her hand away, she gently rlm@0: brushed back the girl's auburn hair, and tenderly caressed the pale, rlm@0: teary cheeks. With a sweet, soothing voice, Tomoyo spoke, rlm@0: rlm@0: "Sakura-chan, I loved you when I first saw you, love you now more rlm@0: than words can tell, and will always love you, and only you, forever rlm@0: and ever. I was never so happy as when you said you loved me, and rlm@0: never so afraid as when I thought it might not be true. I was rlm@0: worried that you might have regretted what you said last night. I rlm@0: didn't want you to suffer for my sake, for the sake of my love for rlm@0: you". rlm@0: rlm@0: Crying again, Sakura buried her face in Tomoyo's chest and sobbed on rlm@0: the soft, white of her dress, rlm@0: rlm@0: “Tomoyo-chan, I love you! I..I didn’t think you loved me anymore…I rlm@0: didn’t think…” She broke down, weeping incoherently. rlm@0: rlm@0: With soft, loving strokes, Tomoyo smoothed the girl's beautiful rlm@0: hair, touched by fire from the afternoon sun. Nestled in Tomoyo's rlm@0: black-gray tresses, Sakura remembered crying like this before, rlm@0: remembered the comforting solace of her mother's bosom. She hugged rlm@0: her friend fiercely at the memory, rlm@0: rlm@0: Looking down at the trembling, vulnerable girl, Tomoyo felt a sweet, rlm@0: painful ache wash over her. She knew now that Sakura truly loved her, rlm@0: and that her love was freely given. Tomoyo felt a deep, glowing rlm@0: peace. Despite the terrible fear of losing Sakura's newly found love, rlm@0: she had been honest and fair. It seemed odd that as the Cards had rlm@0: tested their Mistress, so too was she tested by Sakura's love. Last rlm@0: night was like a fairy tale, where her dearest wish had magically rlm@0: come true. Today, like a story from long ago, she was tested by a rlm@0: dark, terrible riddle: to take Sakura in silence, or speak, and risk rlm@0: losing her forever. Tomoyo spoke, and now, in a miraculous, unlooked rlm@0: for happy ending, she cradled the beautiful princess in her arms. Her rlm@0: falling tears glistened in Sakura’s hair. rlm@0: rlm@0: Tomoyo softly sang her Mother's favorite lullaby, gently rocking her rlm@0: exhausted friend to sleep. Sakura dreamed of lavender-eyed angels in rlm@0: glowing robes, dark tresses swirling as they floated slowly to Earth. rlm@0: Tomoyo too grew drowsy in the afternoon sun as the song worked its rlm@0: maternal magic. Dark lashes fluttering, she closed her eyes and soon rlm@0: fell asleep in Sakura's arms. rlm@0: rlm@0: There Sonomi found them, bathed in the orange-purple of the setting rlm@0: sun. Hearing the song, her song, as she jogged through the park, she rlm@0: came upon them, like two angels fallen to Earth. She stood and rlm@0: stared, marveling at the fairy spirits entwinned in sleep. The rlm@0: evening wind seemed to whisper the voice of Nadesico, soft and sweet rlm@0: and approving. Finally she roused them from blissful slumber, rlm@0: giggling to herself as they stretched and smiled and blinked rlm@0: themselves awake. Laughing and singing, her loneliness forgotten, rlm@0: Sonomi led the two girls home.