The apartment was cozy and warm, even as gusts of snow blew outside the insulated windows. Sakura was curled up in her favorite chair, fast asleep, after eating a good meal and a long day at work. Thankfully, the term was over and the holiday beginning, so Sakura's duties as a teacher would be less pressing. Tomoyo's latest documentary was completed, and she had decided it was time to take a little break between her almost continuous film projects. 'Be honest with yourself,' Tomoyo thought a bit sadly, 'you're taking a break to keep an eye on Sakura.' She leaned back in her own chair, looking across at Sakura. Sakura's business wear looked more like a costume on the young woman, and Tomoyo almost expected her to cast it off to reveal one of her own designs beneath it. Her red/auburn hair fell into her eyes, occasionally shifted by a sleepy sigh. She was tall and thin, but she was regaining all the muscle and flesh she lost under Li's harsh treatment. Sakura shifted, then stretched, returning to the land of the waking. She smiled across at Tomoyo, "You should have woke me up." Tomoyo smiled and shrugged, "But you looked so cute asleep." Sakura blushed, and she laughed softly, "You're cute when you blush, too." "Don't tease me," Sakura protested weakly. "But it's so fun," Tomoyo added, getting up out of her chair and stretching. "Besides," she said a bit more seriously, "it's the truth." "Thank you," Sakura said softly. She quickly tried to change the subject, "Did your mother say who she was bringing to Christmas, tomorrow?" "Not yet, just that it'd be a surprise," Tomoyo said with a little frown. "Good surprise or bad surprise?" Sakura asked curiously. Tomoyo shrugged, eloquently showing her lack of knowledge on that topic. Tomoyo suddenly yawned involuntarily, blushing a bit. "Sorry," she apologized. "I think we'd better get to bed," she said, and began to slowly walk towards her bedroom, "we've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow." "Tomoyo," Sakura started, then stopped. Tomoyo turned, the girl stood there uncomfortably, shifting back and forth. "What is it?" Tomoyo finally asked her. She tried to meet Sakura's eyes, but the woman was looking down at the carpet nervously. "Could I sleep with you tonight?" Sakura asked softly. She looked up, and Tomoyo saw the faint glimmer of tears on her cheeks, "I just don't want to be alone." Tomoyo nodded slightly, moving to Sakura's side and gently leading her down the hallway. They stripped almost silently, and Tomoyo let Sakura climb into bed first. She gave her a moment to get comfortable, then climbed in beside her. Sakura's eyes were wide with fear, and she was shaking slightly. "Shhh," Tomoyo soothed her, reaching out to gently stroke her hair, "I won't hurt you, I'd never hurt you." She gently slipped her arms around Sakura, just holding her lightly. "I know," Sakura answered in a whisper, "I trust you, Tomoyo." She tried to slide her hands down Tomoyo's front, only to feel soft hands grasp her own. 'Trust,' Tomoyo thought sadly, 'not love.' She simply held Sakura, gently, "You don't have to do that, Sakura. I'm here for you, if you need me." She closed her eyes, thinking, 'And I don't think I could bear it, having sex with you without your loving me.' Sakura remained silent, finally relaxing against her breast and falling asleep. Tomoyo lay there awake for a little while longer, silently cursing her more noble instincts. "That was nice," Kaho sighed softly, lying in a sweaty heap on the bed beside Sonomi. "Hmmm," Sonomi agreed wordlessly, sex with Kaho was very nice. No bad scenes, no jealously angry ex-girlfriends, just two grown women with mutual needs meeting to satisfy them. It was her fear of disturbing that overall niceness that held Sonomi back from popping the big question. And she was running out of time. "Would you like your Christmas present early?" Kaho asked her with a contented smile. She wanted to laugh, Sonomi looked so much like a drowsy cat, sprawled out on top of the covers looking so obviously happy. "I was thinking about something tomorrow, actually," Sonomi said softly. Kaho looked at her questioningly, and Sonomi mustered her nerve to ask, "Would you like to go to a Christmas party with me tomorrow?" Kaho threw her arms around Sonomi's neck, kissing her vigorously. "I'd love to," she said, her eyes sparkling. "Where is it?" "Family thing, actually," Sonomi said nervously. "My daughter and Sakura are holding a Christmas party, and she invited me and a guest," she explained. Kaho chuckled softly, "Bringing me home to meet the family?" "I guess I am," Sonomi answered with a shy smile. "You don't mind missing the party at Arisugawa's Locket, do you?" "Maybe we can all go there later," Kaho said thoughtfully. She frowned in memory, "Wasn't Tomoyo always around Sakura?" "Good memory," Sonomi said with a sad nod. "But as far as I know they've never been together romantically." "Poor Tomoyo," Kaho sighed, thinking of the glances Tomoyo had been always giving Sakura when she had been teaching the two of them. She looked thoughtfully at Sonomi, "Do you think we should try and help fix them up?" Sonomi shook her head firmly, "Tomoyo would not appreciate someone interfering with her love life, trust me on that." Mei-Lin stood in the ankle-deep snow, looking quite miserable as she looked out over the busy intersection. Cars rushed back and forth, people bustled about, and Mei-Lin strode to ignore it all as she focused on the past. Her eyes closed, she softly chanted a carefully chosen spell, and the accident ran across her mind's eye, exactly as it actually happened. Li's car was still, him sitting unconscious behind the wheel, as he was carefully placed in the intersection before the truck started up. It started from several streets over, building up speed, before striking with bone crushing force. Mei-Lin's eyes snapped open, and the people nearby scrambled away as she glowed a sullen red. Noticing this, she calms herself, the glow fading. 'A professional team of hitmen,' she thought grimly, 'but who hired them, and why?' Not long after, the police station bustled, as she carefully navigated to the desk she wanted. "Were you the primary officer in the Li Sayoran investigation?" "Yeah, who wants to know?" he asked with a frown. "Friend of the family," Mei-Lin answered him calmly. "I called you earlier, do you have the case files ready?" "Yes, but they're confidential," he answered sullenly, "I can't let you look at them." "I'm so sorry," Mei-Lin said quite insincerely, and walked a few steps away. She drew a metallic disk from her clothes, and her sword appeared in her hands. "Time!" she cried, the sword stabbing at the coin. The letters on the coin blazed as the spell took effect, and time seemed to stop in the station. She snatched the files from the officer's desk, and with a single word copied them, exactly. She hid the copies in her coat, put the originals back, and then released the time spell. "I didn't mean to waste your time," Mei-Lin said with a little bow, before quickly exiting the police station. She didn't want to give anyone the chance to figure out something was going on. Back at the hotel room, she went over the documents carefully, tracking the progress of the police investigation. Ruled an accident, they had only done a cursory investigation of the people in Li's life. She frowned, reading a footnote on the bottom of one file. "Allegations of physical abuse were made by Mrs. Kinomoto-Sayoran, they were investigated and dismissed," it simply read. She involuntarily crushed the papers in her hand as a sudden surge of anger ran through her. "That's a lie," Mei-Lin cursed under her breath. She looked at the papers a moment, calming herself, "Sakura. Could it have been her?" She got up, pacing the small hotel room restlessly. She couldn't believe the sweet girl she had known could have ordered the killing of the man she loved. Still, it had been a long time since she had seen her, and people did change. Mei-Lin looked out the window, at the snow gently falling down outside. Whatever was going on, she needed to see Sakura, to find out what had happened between her and Li before he died. And if Sakura was responsible, she'd make her pay. Tomoyo smiled happily, picking up the phone early the next morning. She was laying in her bed all alone, Sakura had gotten up before her, and she could smell Sakura puttering about in the apartment's small kitchen. "Hello," Tomoyo said into the phone. "Good morning," Sonomi said, sounding quite cheerful, "I'm just making sure you know I'm bringing a guest with me tonight." "Do you want me to get him or her a gift?" Tomoyo asked curiously, wondering if she could run and get a generic gift or two on Christmas Eve. "I'm bringing something for her with me," Sonomi answered cheerfully. Tomoyo looked quite attentive as she asked her, "Is this a date for you two? And are you ever going to tell me who it is?" "You'll find out tonight," Sonomi chuckled, "and yes, I do think it's a date." "Congratulations," Tomoyo said happily. She heard Sakura call her name, "Sorry, got to go!" She put the phone down only to see Sakura walk in carrying a tray loaded with two servings of pancakes, bacon and eggs. They sat down on the bed together, and began to eat. Tomoyo was raising a forkful of pancake to her mouth when she stopped and asked, "Where's Kero?" Sakura chuckled softly, "I gave him his own plate in the kitchen." They shared a quiet laugh at the appetite of the little guardian beast. They ate quietly, enjoying each other's company. Tomoyo felt Sakura's eyes resting on her, questioning, but instead she concentrated on eating. Finally, Sakura spoke up, "Tomoyo, why did you stop me, last night?" Tomoyo blushed softly, "You were so scared. I didn't think you wanted me to..." Sakura's eyes met Tomoyo's for a moment. "I was scared," she admitted, "and I'm not sure about how I feel." She sighed softly, looking away, "I made such a mistake with Li, I don't trust my own instincts anymore." Tomoyo winced at the sound of her former rival's name, even as she searched for the right thing to say. Tomoyo gently put her hand on Sakura's, "Give yourself time, please. I don't want you running to... someone just because you're scared of being alone, or rebounding." "But what if it's love?" Sakura challenged her softly, and Tomoyo sat there, for once at a complete loss for words.
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