PART ONE: Phobia

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She feared loneliness but lived with it all her life. There was that dull, twisting pain that bore deep into her body and lingered for a while. Tomoyo sat listlessly in her tidy apartment contemplating her lonely state, with no pest or single dustbunny to keep her company. She had moved out to Tokyo for college while her friends decided to stay in Tomoeda, and she could only imagine with some heat of jealousy all the weekend bonding they shared and the comfort that could come with close proximity. Even at home there wouldn't be much to go back to besides the few butlers and maids that kept her mother's large home neat and running.

The coldness of a large metropolis made it easy for her to further alienate herself from everything else. She found a strange comfort in the pain of being alone; or, as she decided to understand it, she began to realize the thrill of being liberated from everything else and became accustomed to it.

Tomoyo had joined clubs at her university but did so just to please her mother. She participated in group projects but did disdainfully so. She was developing sociopathic tendencies during a period of her life where she should have been acting quite the opposite.

A knock at the door pulled her from her thoughts.

She opened the door to see a familiar face.

"I was feeling terribly lonely, and you know I hate being alone." Eriol smiled as he stepped into the room.

"Couldn't you have gone to the park or a bar?" Tomoyo asked with impatience in her voice. She realized it was too late when he took off his shoes.

"You're too cruel, my lady. Why don't you admit that you hate being alone as well?"

She rolled her eyes and pulled her hair from her face. He smiled at the gesture, taking a step to stand closer to her and placing his hands on her waist.

"Admit you at least missed my touch?"

"You should leave now. I'm busy."

Eriol carried a light, wistful scent of the brisk autumn air outside. His eyes seemed to indicate that he knew she really had nothing productive to work on.

He leaned forward and pressed his lips against her cheek. She couldn't help but smile at the warmth.

"You have to admit you missed my kiss."

Her previous fears seemed to melt away at the timbre of his voice and the softness of his touch. A strange relief washed over her, and she smiled at his handsome face.

"Never."