Disclaimer: CLAMP still owns CardCaptor Sakura. And I'm just a little girl with chickenpox.
Author's Notes:I was really trying to get it together with Now and Forever but this popped up instead. So if you're bored waiting for N&W, you can read this one. I would just like to remind everyone that I'm not following canon so I'm sorry if anyone feels offended or insulted by my fiction. Thanks for reading!
Could It Be?
by Hidden Tala
x. moving out
Li Syaoran was walking leisurely with the last box of his things when he heard the loud cry inside the girls' room. Usually he would come running with a bat on hand or a whack to save the girls but today he decided to leave the job to the masters: Kleenex and Godiva bars.
"Sakura, do you still have boxes you want me to carry?" he called to the bedroom.
The answer was a wail, a whimper and an incomprehensible garble.
"I can't believe you're moving out," said a tall young man standing in one of the doorways. "And I can't believe you're taking Sakura-chan with you."
Syaoran merely stared at him. "Is that your way of telling me you'll miss me? Because if that's what it is, you suck."
The man chuckled in good humor. "Ah, but I'm going to miss you, cute little cousin."
Syaoran rolled his eyes.
"What are you girlies doing there?" Tomoyo teased, her eyes twinkling. "Bawling your eyes out and confessing your undying love for each other?"
"Yeah, I was getting on to that until I was rudely interrupted."
"Oh, sod off, Eriol. You're making Syaoran-kun ruffled," Tomoyo admonished him playfully. "You need some help with that, Syaoran-kun?"
"I'm fine," Syaoran grunted. "Do you think you could get Sakura ready? The moving van's waiting outside."
Tomoyo pouted and quickly went in the room to fetch the wailing and uncooperative Sakura.
She still couldn't believe that her best friend since time immemorial is finally tying the knot with Li Syaoran. It's not that she's against the pair because she's all for it since elementary school but it's still too early to get married. They still have a year left in college.
"Sakura-chan, the moving van's waiting for you outside," she told her gently. "Come on up. Syaoran-kun asked me to get you."
Sakura sniffed and wiped her tear-clogged eyes. "I know how you feel about this, Tomoyo-chan. I know you think that I'm about to make a mistake because we're still not through college…"
"Sakura-chan-"
Sakura, surprisingly, gave her the prettiest smile she's ever seen. "But I really do want to be married to him. He's everything to me, Tomoyo-chan. If he had proposed to me in elementary, I would have said yes and I know I would not regret it."
Sakura laughed through her tears, her eyes shining. "I know I don't sound credible with all this fluid pouring down my face… but I'm just sad because I'm leaving the place I lived in for three years. And I'm sad because I'm leaving my roommate alone with the guy she can't stand the most!"
It was Tomoyo's turn to laugh. She wrapped her arms around the crying girl.
"Oh, Sakura-chan, I know how much you love Syaoran-kun." She patted the girl's back. "And I know how long you've waited for this. So don't cry anymore, okay? Whatever decision you make, I will always support you. You're my best friend and I love you."
"I thought it was just me who would be confessing for an undying love today," Eriol said, watching the both of them cry together.
"Bugger off, Eriol!" Tomoyo threw an empty vase at him which he avoided, barely.
"Now, there's no need for violence, Tomoy-o. I just want to give my favorite girl a hug." Eriol joined the two girls and enveloped them in a tight hug. "Ah, what joy."
Tomoyo elbowed him. "I thought you only wanted to hug Sakura-chan? Let go of me, pervert!"
"God, you're spoiling the moment!"
She grudgingly stopped struggling and silently studied the bespectacled man. Eriol Hiiragizawa still looked like his former self – laidback, Cheshire cat-like and annoying – but she could tell by his countenance that it was marred by a tinge of loneliness, of something that is completely foreign when you're talking about Eriol. Yeah, she hated his guts and the mere thought of her living alone with him would send her to fits of hysteria but he had one quality that would redeem him despite his many faults: his love for his best friends.
"Now, Sakura-chan. If my little cousin does anything bad, you know I'd come back from the dead to beat him to a bloody pulp for you, don't you? Don't cry anymore, all right? We're only a few blocks away and we can still see each other in the university."
Sakura squeezed his side and smiled. "Thank you, Eriol-kun. But can you do me a favor?"
"Sure."
Sakura shifted and looked at him in the eye. He stared back.
"Won't you look after Tomoyo-chan for me?"
Eriol shifted his gaze to the girl in his other arm and laughed. "Sakura-chan, are you sure? She might even smother me in my sleep!"
Tomoyo rolled her eyes. "Come on, Sakura-chan. This pretty little girl can't even do his laundry! Don't give him another chore; he couldn't handle it!"
Sakura giggled and left the two in their semi-hug state. "You guys are so right for each other! I just wish you'd confess already!"
Eriol and Tomoyo immediately took their hands off each other, as if burned, and eyed Sakura as if she's a madwoman on the loose. Eriol was the first to gain composure.
"You know, I would have said yes if you asked me out on a date," he teased and put an arm around her but got shoved by a very annoyed Tomoyo.
"Hey, what's taking you guys so long?" It was Li Syaoran at the door, waiting for them. "Sakura, are you ready to go?"
Sakura Kinomoto, soon to be Mrs. Li, excitedly ran to her boyfriend and took his hand in hers. "I was just saying goodbyes, Syaoran-kun. Oh, I will really miss this house! I can't believe that it's been three years already!"
Syaoran smiled that one smile that was only reserved for her. "Yeah, I'm going to miss this place too."
Eriol was smiling suggestively. Syaoran caught on. "And Tomoyo too."
Tomoyo laughed and hugged the boy who stole her best friend's heart. Eriol looked dejected.
"Eriol-kun! Come here! Group hug!"
"We're just three blocks away, so if there'd be a problem just call me on my phone," Syaoran instructed, looking intently at his roommate.
"I can handle it," Eriol said breezily. "I'm the man of the house now."
Syaoran suppressed the desire to roll his eyes. "Yeah, whatever. Just watch over her. And torture any guy who would dare take advantage of her."
Eriol Hiiragizawa smirked and crossed his arms. "Yes, I know the standard procedure. I can handle it. God, stop being a mother hen."
He could see the vein pop in Syaoran's forehead and the fist was getting ready to blow.
"Syaoran-kun!" Thank god for Sakura. "Come on! We're still buying furniture in the mall! Hurry up!"
He could see Syaoran composing himself after the near outburst. And the Chinese boy suddenly glared at him that made him twitch in its intensity. "Hiiragizawa, if you hurt her, I swear I'd hunt you down to the last of your reincarnation and I'd make sure you get killed by me in the most inventive, excruciating, sadistic way."
Eriol was surprised but he understood. He, too, loved the girl like any brother to his little sister. "I would never hurt Tomoyo. You shouldn't worry about that."
He could've sworn that his dear little cousin muttered 'baka' but chose to ignore it.
"Syaoran-kun! And you, pretty little girl, what are you so gloomy about?" Tomoyo was suddenly between them, brows creased in worry.
"Nothing," Eriol answered, smiling down at her. "We were just discussing where to go for their honeymoon."
Syaoran cuffed him this time. "I was just telling him to be responsible since he's the only guy left in the house. Call me if you've got a problem with him. I would gladly rearrange his body parts for you."
"I could take him," Tomoyo said confidently. "After all, what harm could a pretty little girl like him do to me?" She sent the man in question a condescending look.
Syaoran shook his head in amusement. "Anyway, we're off. We'll call you once we get there. Jaa!"
Both of them watched Li Syaoran run to the moving van and sat beside Sakura in the front seat. They waved at the couple and remained at the front porch until the truck was out of sight.
"They're gone," she murmured, slowly tearing up.
Eriol fondly took her in his arms and let her head rest on his chest. "There, there, no more waterworks. I have had my quota for crying women today."
"You're such a jerk!"
"Yeah, well, you still love me anyway."
"Ugh! I can't believe I'm stuck with you! My life is going to be so miserable!" she wailed, hitting his chest lightly.
"Yes, yes, and I love you too." Eriol kissed her raven hair, a gesture worn out of habit, and led the weeping girl inside the silent apartment.
Author's Notes: This story is set on their 3rd year in college at Tokyo University. This is an AU where there'd be no cards, no magic, no guardians or anything strange like that. Some would say that the characters are OC, especially Eriol, but I like him like that so I'm keeping him that way. I'm not following the manga or the anime, so the pairings are non-canon. This is an Eriol and Tomoyo fan fiction. I hope you enjoyed reading. Please review!