A/N: hello! Sorry for the delay and thanks everyone for your reviews, now, this is one of the chapters I love. I remember that cake… It was awful and hard and tasted like… well I can´t remember but it was certainly not good hahaha… enjoy.

Chapter 3 Sugar and Spice

“…and then you pour the milk…careful miss…”

Tomoyo was trying very hard to bake a cake. She had just started her lessons with the house cook but she was not exactly good at it. They had both spent at least 3 hours and she had ruined three cake mixes by now.

“Good…good…” Carlotta was a big, kind and funny Spanish woman who had been the cook in her house ever since she could remember. She was very patient with her even when she knew it was hard to teach Tomoyo.

“All right… Now I have to pour a little bit of flour…”

“No miss, wait!...”

Too late… Tomoyo had ruined it again.

“I’m so sorry…” said Tomoyo for the 10th time that afternoon.

Carlotta sighed and looked at her.

“Listen miss, cooking is an art. You have to be patient in order to learn. What you have just poured into the mix is powder sugar not flour…”

Tomoyo felt stupid. How could she not tell the difference when it was written on the box…POWDER SUGAR… in big red letters. She didn’t know why she was quite nervous of having Touya coming… if he was ever coming.

“I can’t do this…” said Tomoyo dropping herself in a chair.

“Of course you can miss…” said Carlotta, then she looked at the clock. “Listen miss, You have the recipe here…” she said handing her a paper. “Remember what we have been practicing and just read before pouring anything into the mix ok?”

“Wait, wait… are you leaving me here?”

“I have to go and see if they have all the ingredients for dinner miss...”

“But I can’t even tell the difference between salt and sugar…” she stayed quiet for a moment. “All right… that made me sound so stupid…”

“Miss…”

“All right then…”

Carlotta chuckled.

“You will be fine…” she said looking at Tomoyo. “I’ll be back in a while all right?

Tomoyo nodded and Carlotta left her alone in the kitchen.

“Come on Daidoujii…” she said to herself. “How hard can this be?... ok… here we go again.”

Touya had decided to go to his father’s house before going with Tomoyo. He wanted to wash his clothes and get some books. When he entered the house he saw his fathers suitcase and shoes in the doorway.

“You know I’m glad to have you here son but please next time try not to blow the kitchen off…”

Fujitaka had come into the kitchen looking as calmed as always and was looking at Touya with his arms crossed.

“Hey dad! How was your trip?” he said smiling at him.

Fujitaka smiled back but there was something else. Touya knew his father and also knew that he never showed his emotions even if he was mad at something but he knew that smile of his.

“What is it dad?” he asked a bit nervous.

“Son…” Fujitaka walked towards him. “I would like you to explain me the reason why I received a call from Sonomi Daidoujii, this morning, apologizing for not calling earlier to thank me for the attentions to her daughter two days ago… in my house…”

Crap…

Touya was absolutely speechless. He now understood why Sonomi had been so calmed when he took Tomoyo back, she thought his father was at home.

“So…” Fujitaka kept looking at him not imagining the reason why Tomoyo had been at his house with his son when he was out of town.

Touya took a deep breath.

“Ok dad… I know this will sound awful but please wait until I finish…”

“Well son, you better start now you’re making me nervous…”

Touya tried to explain everything to his father in the best way it could occur to him.

“…and well, I took her up to my bedroom and I slept in yours…”

Fujitaka didn´t say a word. He was still processing the fact that his son had spent the night alone in his house with a drunken girl who happened to be Sonomi´s daughter.

“We woke up, had breakfast and took her home… I guess her mother supposed that you were here.”

Fujitaka kept looking at him.

“Dad, come on…” Said Touya smiling nervously at him. “Don´t look at me like that…”

Fujitaka shook his head.

“I´m sorry Touya but…” he sighed. “It´s just that I´m impressed by all this. First Tomoyo drunk in a college party and YOU having to bring her here unconscious just… I just can´t believe it…”

“So, you´re not mad at me?” he said hesitating.

“Of course not, Touya…” he said laying a hand in his shoulder. “Though I still think that you should have told me, but I´m glad you could help Tomoyo in time, who knows what could have happened if you hadn´t entered the room…”

The simple thought of it made Touya angry, how could there be people wanting to hurt a young innocent…

…beautiful…and completely…

“Touya?” his father talking to him receiving no response from him “….Touya!”

“I´m sorry dad…”

“Are you all right?” he said looking suspiciously at him.

“Yeah… yes…”

“I´m just concerned about that guy… I mean I´ve seen you fight, are you sure you didn´t brake any bones? The nose perhaps?” Fujitaka loved teasing his son like that.

Touya smiled then looked at his watch. “I have to go dad…” he said rushing to the door.

“Oh…Any important appointment?”

“Yes!.. I mean no…” he wasn´t looking at him. “Tomoyo invited me for a cup of tea and some cake she is baking…”

And in a second Fujitaka was looking at him walking rapidly in the street.

“Kinomoto, Touya….” He said chuckling. “Oh my…”

Meanwhile in Tomoyo´s kitchen…

“All right…” said Tomoyo taking a cake carefully out of the oven and placing it on the table. “Well, it doesn´t look that bad…”

The cake in fact didn´t look bad at all and it smelled pretty good too. She took a stick to check if it was ready and then he placed it in a clean plate to let it cool down.

“…the tea…” she prepared hot water for the tea and also the frost for the cake.

She then heard the doorbell ringing and hurried up to the kitchen monitor, there he was, standing in the front door talking to the guard.

“Oh gosh….”

She was very excited though she didn´t know if it was because of the fact that Touya was in the front door or if what she was really feeling was fear for her mother to find out she had invited him when she was way beyond being grounded. She took a deep breath and walked out of the kitchen into the hallway and then to the living room where Touya was already waiting. The moment she entered the room he stood up and couldn´t help to smile at her.

“I see you´re alive…” said Touya which made Tomoyo smile.

“Yeah…” she bit her lip. “My mother wasn´t that hard on me…”

“So everything is… good?”

“Oh sure...” She said making a gesture with her hand. “ …except, of course, for the fact that I´m grounded for the rest of the month.”

“Ouch…”

“And that I have two extra bodyguards who will follow me until I marry or die… whichever happens first according to my mother.”

“Hey come on Tomoyo!” he said walking towards her and taking her hand. “See the bright side, you only have 26 more days on the month and I bet that if you behave your mother will consider again the extra bodyguards thing.”

She sighed.

“You don´t know how thankful I am that you were there Touya…” She looked at the floor. “Well, the cake is waiting! ”

They both started walking out of the living room but Tomoyo stopped for a moment.

“Um… listen, I´m sorry I´m taking you to the kitchen but It´s the only place where we won´t be disturbed as the cook arrives in another two hours or so…”

“No problem, Tomoyo.”

She smiled. “I can´t believe I was wearing that blouse I…” she shook her head at the memory.

“You kind of looked sexy…”

Did I just say that out loud?

Tomoyo turned towards him with a half shame half surprised look. She was flattered by the comment and it wouldn´t have bothered her that much except for the fact it was coming from Touya. It wasn´t exactly the comment but the way he had said it. He gave her the slight hint he was having a flashback of her in that blouse which made him smile mischievously.

…say something!! Say something!! No, no… stay quiet Touya you tend to say stupid things at this hour in the afternoon…

Touya kept fighting with his inner self while Tomoyo was still looking at him without moving. It might have been a few seconds but Touya thought of it as an eternity, he was so ashamed that he decided not to talk fearing he might say another related comment so he started scratching his head instead. Tomoyo then looked at the floor before speaking again.

“I….” she was trying to find the right words. “Did… I didn´t say… or… do anything I should know about of… I mean with…" she pointed at him while speaking. "I mean….”

No, you just threw your arms around me and kissed me gently…

Though Touya was having flashbacks but he just smiled at her and shook his head.

“Good…” she sighed half relieved as she didn´t completely believed him but she was satisfied with the answer by the moment.

Touya was watching Tomoyo while she was pacing around with the cups and cake spoons. She looked so lovely in that pink blouse and white skirt. She was not anymore that little girl who used to spend her afternoons at his place playing with his sister. He could hear his roommate´s voice telling him that she was only 15 and he was 22 but, so what, it's not like he was going to date her or be something else... they could be just friends.

“…here´s the sugar or honey for the tea…” she said placing a recipient on the kitchen table. “What is it?” she said as Touya was looking at her.

“Nothing…” he said pouring some honey into his tea. “It´s just that I remembered the first time you came to my house…”

Tomoyo smiled at him.

“I remember I opened the door and you were standing there with your blue dress. With those big beautiful amethyst eyes of yours.”

He made Tomoyo blush and smile at the same time. He was telling her this memory as if speaking of his own cute little sister.

“You were so shy and nearly spoke to anybody, even to my sister.” He then took a sip of tea. “Now look at you, you have grown up…”

“Stop it Touya…” she said smiling. “You´re starting to sound like my mother.”

They both laughed. Then Touya took the cake spoon to give a try to the cake, he cut a little piece and started chewing.

“How is it?” Said Tomoyo nervously.

“It´s… good…” he said hardly swallowing.

“Good?…” she looked at him suspiciously.

“Yes well, it´s like…” he made a gesture like trying to find the right words to describe it. "...like a bit of..."

“It is awful isn´t it?” she said looking at him.

“No!... no…”

"...liar…”

After a few seconds of looking at each other they started laughing like silly.

“I´m sorry…” said Touya still laughing. “But it tastes like a lot of, well, flour…”

Tomoyo couldn´t do anything but laugh at her failure.

“Oh gosh…” said Tomoyo sighing. “You know I spent half the afternoon trying to bake a decent cake…”

“Well, maybe you just need some practice again I mean, you used to be so good at cooking class in elementary, I remember Sakura used to tell me about your perfect pastries and cakes and also her crappy ones…”

They chuckled.

“I know but… I could only do it because there were people helping me and also I was always asking the teacher a thousand questions. Also I hadn´t bake anything since fourth grade.”

“As I said, you need to practice again.”

They stayed silent for a moment then Touya looked at his watch.

“I better be going now, I´m supposed to meet some classmates to finish an essay due tomorrow.”

They both stood up and Tomoyo walked him to the front door.

“Are you sure you don´t want to take a piece of cake for later?” she said teasing him.

“Oh no please…” he said taking a step back. “I rather survive the night.” He said smiling.

Her jaw dropped.

“You are so mean…” she said pushing him gently. “I will recover my “baking-the-most-wonderful-cake” gift and YOU will beg me for a piece of my delicious cakes…”

“Take care Tomoyo.” He said and then left.

Tomoyo closed the door behind her and climbed up the stairs.

“You look so happy mistress…” said one of her maids who Tomoyo had passed walking without even noticing.

“Oh… really?”

“Yes, miss. I hadn´t seen you smiling like that for a long time.”

Tomoyo smiled back at her and then went into her room.

A/N: thank you all for reading! I hope you enjoyed this particular chapter, and just for the record, I burned two cakes before that one. R+R bye!!