Disclaimer: I don't own Sakura or her friends, they are the property of CLAMP, I just own the story :)
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Expiry Date
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Chapter One
Dating in the Dark
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-"What is wrong with me? Here he is, infront of me, a perfectly beautiful specimen of a man and all I can do is wonder if I let the cat in today... Ugh! Mom was right, I -will- die like one of those old ladies that has way too many cats... When I die, it will take a whole three months for someone to notice and by that time Kero would have already devoured half of my body. That damn greedy cat, I should have never taken in a stray! No good deed goes unpunished... But just look at those beautiful honey brown eyes, his hands are so manly and he has the most devilish, sweetest smile... What was I doing thinking of that ungrateful cat? I just hope he has the decency to leave my face untouched when that day comes. Not that it matters, there's no one coming to my funeral anyways. Touya? Naah, Touya won't even travel one station down to visit his one and only sister while she is still alive, let alone once she's dead, half-chewed and penniless... I should move out, it's the house... It must be the house, it might be cursed... Ever since my parents passed away, none of my dates have gone well. Pay attention, he's talking to you! By the way, how much -can- he talk about himself? God! This is the reason why I told Tomoyo that I did not want to meet her boyfriend's friends... So what if they are getting married? Who said that the bride's maid of honour had to get along with the groom's best man? Damn that Eriol, he is going to pay dearly for this one... First he steals my tenant away and as if getting her out of my house wasn't bad enough, he goes and kicks -me- out of her heart too. And that is not all, no, no, Mr. Heartless grows a guilty conscience so now he tries to switch one of his self centered, obnoxious friends for my precious, kind hearted Tomoyo... Eriol is the worst! Just like a sneaky, greedy cat! So many years of friendship and this is how he repays me; He comes from England and forces me to take him in for a month. A WHOLE MONTH! I can't believe I was even happy to see him once again! And just as soon as he lays his eyes on my precious, he steals her away?! What kind of human being does that to a childhood friend?
-"Is there something bothering you?" Asked Syaoran Lee looking at her with worry. He had been trying to get her attention for half an hour now.
-"Eriol can just die! I'm going to get Tomoyo back, It's pay-back time!" Yelled Sakura completely forgeting where and with whom she was.
-"Wow! Great enthusiasm, bad timing." Laughed Syaoran. When Eriol had first asked him to go on this blind date, his first reaction had been to utterly destroy all hopes of it ever taking place but Eriol could be very persuasive. Actually, that was Eriol's only quality, it was the reason he was getting married... Syaoran didn't know if he was sorry he had agreed to meet Sakura or not but at least she wasn't unhumanly ugly like he had imagined she would be when Eriol had told him all about her beautiful personality. In fact, she was exactly his type: Deep green eyes, sunny-light auburn hair, great fashion sense yet not over the top, natural makeup and he could tell she was naturally fit. Yet, the great personality was nowhere to be seen, unless Eriol had been talking about another kind of personality 'cause -that- she had... "Get your head out of the gutter" He thought to himself. It didn't matter what she looked like, he wasn't there for romance, he was looking for a place to rent. His boss had transferred him to the Japan's branch without warning; since he was her [the boss] only son, she could allowed herself to move him like a pawn on a chess board... He had never seen the house but Eriol always spoke wonders about it and Syaoran was desperate to find a cheaper and cozier place than his hotel's room. So, despite his aversion for blind dates, he had agreed to meet Sakura solely for the purpose of finding a landlady.
For the first thirty minutes he had tried in vain to win her over with his charming smile and his outstanding academic achievements but Sakura was so deep in thought that he wouldn't have had more success by hopping on one foot while tapping his head with one hand and rubbing his stomach with the other. Now, looking at Sakura resume her seat with a beautiful shade of pink over her cheeks, Syaoran was more convinced than ever that he had found his home for what would be the next twelve months more or less.
-"The wedding is in less than a month." Syaoran reminded her.
-"I know." Sighed Sakura with sorrow.
-"You really are mad at him, Eriol I mean." Observed Syaoran with amusement. Eriol had begged him for three straight days to meet the woman sitting across from him, all because Sakura had unfriended him on Facebook... If he had just showed him her picture, he wouldn't have had to plead so much.
-"No..." Confesed Sakura. "I'm just being selfish, Tomo is like a sister to me and Eriol is... Eriol is a stray cat. Yeah, that's what he is: Eriol is a sneaky, greedy, ungrateful stray cat. This is what I get for picking him up when we were five, that sneaky bastard! With his freakishly bluish black hair and weird accent, I should have just bullied him like everyone else did..." Complained Sakura finishing with a sigh of resignation. "I -am- happy for them, at least happy for Tomoyo... It's the first time I've seen her so in love with a good guy but now that she is gone..."
-"I'm guessing you need a new tenant." Finished Syaoran knowing full well of her financial situation. Her parents had passed away leaving all the house expenses to her, her older brother had a family of his own and could not help her pay any of the debts that came with the house so Sakura had had to balance a great number of jobs with her classes at the University. Even then, it hadn't been enough and she had ended up renting part of her parents' house.
-"No." Answered Sakura without even noticing the surprised look on her date's face. "I just offered Tomoyo a place to stay 'cause she's my best friend and she didn't have anywhere else to go."
-"What about Eriol? Don't you always...?"
-"Eriol?" Asked the young woman with indignation. "He is the only one that has to pay to stay 'cause if not, I might never get rid of him. On the first place, the only reason why I let him visit is because the last time I refused, he drowned my inbox with emails saying 'please'. It took me over a month to sort it all out..." Remembered Sakura out loud with a furrowed brow. Syaoran smiled with pity, that was the Eriol that he knew... "And everytime he comes, all he does is pick fights with my neighbour accross the street, as if I didn't have enough problems without him causing more."
-"So, you are not taking another tenant?"
-"I just don't want strangers in my house but I feel lonely without Tomoyo." Explained Sakura.
-"I-I guess..." Said Syaoran trying to think of a way to make her change her mind, it didn't seem like an easy task. "Well, you are right, it is very dangerous to take up strangers nowadays, especially for someone as beautiful as you." He decided to sweet talk her first but was surprised to see her face turn a perfect shade of cherry pink. Syaoran was intrigued, he hadn't lied; she was beautiful but surely she had heard it a million times over. How could she still blush at a compliment that even him found ordinary?
-"A-And are you here just for the wedding? Y-You must be really good friends with Eriol... hahaha Eriol never talks much about his other friends." Continue Sakura pretending she hadn't heard what he said, she was way too embarrassed to even thank him.
-"No, I mean, Eriol is my cousin and we are close but the real reason I'm here is work. Actually, I had not seen Eriol -live- for six years before I received his wedding invite." Confesed Syaoran.
-"Six years?!" Exclaimed Sakura."What is your secret?" She joked and both of them laughed at their friend's expense.
-"I live in China and Eriol in England and we both have a demanding work or should I say an overly demanding boss... Though, I guess if he really wanted to, he would have visited from time to time but Eriol is terrified of my mother. We keep in touch though, he talks a lot about you and the house."
-"And I suppose he sent you here today to try and convinced me to befriend him on fb again..." Sighed Sakura.
-"There was that." Smiled Syaoran with a hint of mischief.
-"What else was there?" Asked the young woman, her alluring emerald eyes opening in surprise.
-"I won't quote him 'cause he will kill me if I do and just thinking about it makes me want to hit him again but all in all, he thought that we could both use some loving." Explained Syaoran.
-"Ugh that is just like what Tomo said. Their kids are going to be such a pain in the x..." Laughed Sakura. "And why did you agree to come?"
-"Why did you?"
-"Tomoyo forced me to." Admited Sakura with yet another sigh. "She said that if I didn't show, she would be the one unfriending me on fb... Not that I really care about fb, I only unfriended Eriol cause I know -he- cares." While she spoke, a mischievous smile spread over her sweet rosy lips. Syaoran looked at her with amusement, so she had a naughty side to her too. "But Tommy is my best friend, for her to threathen me like that... I'm sure Eriol had something to do with it..."
-"Eriol is capable of anything and everything." Agreed Syaoran, He knew full well that his cousin was capable of anything to get what he wanted but he was never cruel so eventually everyone forgave him. "Well, I agreed because he followed me everywhere for three whole days and when I say everywhere, I mean Eriol randomly bursting into my bathroom without warning holding a camera on his hands..." Confessed Syaoran making his date laugh. Her laugh was so addictive to him... "I'm glad he convinced me to come though, and I rarely am when it comes to doing Eriol a favor." Said Syaoran and he was pleased to see her blush again, so he was getting accross to her.
-"Then I am too." She smiled sweetly at him. "But I'm still not befriending him on fb again cause if I do he'll keep thinking that he can get away with anything."
-"That's fine, it's good for him to learn boundaries." Agreed Syaoran. Strangely enough, he felt as if they were discussing their child's upbringing instead of his cousin's terrible habits. "Speaking of boundaries, I could use your insight for Eriol's bachelor party. I haven't the slightlest idea of what I should do, he isn't the type to party hard to begin with."
-"Do not take him to a boobs buffet." Threathen Sakura.
-"A what?" Laughed Syaoran.
-"You know a boob feast? no?" She said while putting her hands around her breast sugestively and one second later realizing where she was and what she was doing, she blushed furiously and tried to hide from the dignified, scathing looks that came from the other clients of the restaurant. This only made Syaoran laughed harder.
-"I promise I won't, he probably won't like that anyways. He is not a great drinker either so no chance of getting him drunk. Where are you taking Tomoyo for her bachelorette?"
-"Well, it's fairly simple. We are getting together with some girlfriends from Uni, you know, to do girl's stuff: Paint nails, give gifts, dance in underwear." Joked Sakura.
-"Can I come?" Joked Syaoran back.
-"No boys allowed! Then we are going to a karaoke place to get a little dizzy and sing our lungs out, we'll probably stay there all night or go dancing if we get bored. Then we'll head back to my place and watch a movie if we are not too tired."
-"Yeah... I just don't see myself singing love songs with Eriol." Sighed dramatically Syaoran making her laugh again.
-"What do you guys normally do when you go out?"
-"We don't go out and I am not about to take my cousin slow dancing." Joked Syaoran.
-"Be serious, poor Eriol will never be single again after that night." Said Sakura failing to be serious herself.
-"He was never much of a single guy ever. We have partied before, I guess. But when we each went our own way, things changed. I can still go out for a drink but he rather stays home and reads."
-"Well, he is ready for marriage." Smiled Sakura.
-"I don't believe marriage would be so boring." Replied Syaoran looking her in the eyes. "I'm sure you would still ditch the kids once in a while and take me dancing." He joked, he just couldn't get enough of her rosy cheeks.
-"I never said I would marry you." She answered wittingly despite her burning cheeks.
-"Ouch! Turned down before I even ask. You my lady are a first."
-"Why, thank you sir. Then why don't you guys just do something simple? Get together with friends and do whatever it is boys do when they get together."
-"Usually we just get rowdy and play games." Laughed Syaoran. "Ha! that doesn't sound so bad... It would do Eriol some good to do some sport."
-"There you go, take Eriol for a walk." Said Sakura amused by the easy way in which he had decided what to do. She had thought about it for days before deciding on an activity; knowing her friend would only be grossed out by unknown men rubbing themselves onto her, she had easily taken strippers out of the list yet any other ideas seemed too everyday-ish... As opposed to Eriol, Tomoyo did like to party. When they had lived together, saturdays usually started with a hangover and oaths to never do it again yet every friday night when their phone rang -a friend asking them out, they were already half way though applying makeup... In the end she had chosen something she knew Tomoyo would enjoy: Singing. They had never gone karaoke before cause it was too damn expensive but what the hell! It was her BFF's last single-ladies-night-out so she had gone into full tyrant mode and had pushed all the other bride's maids to pitch in on the funds, it wasn't fair for her to pay for their fun too. After all, the only one that matter was Tomo.
-"Do you want to go somewhere else after? It's still too early to go home." Proposed Syaoran. Sakura hesitated, she was having fun but going somewhere else meant spending money she didn't have. "Eriol's paying." Chimed in Syaoran sensing his date's hesitation. "Come on, you did say you were gonna make him pay, right? Let this be the occasion."
-"ooh...mmmm... fine, ok. I'm in, where are we going?" Asked Sakura deciding on a whim. It had been so long since she had allowed herself to have fun without checking her bank account first, Syaoran did know how to bend one's resolutions... "Guess it runs in the family." Thought Sakura and her heart thumbed when he smiled at her in victory.
It was the most fun she had had on a date in a long, long time. He was clever, charming and funny... "How did he ever end up on Eriol's family tree?" She kept asking herself. "Well, they are both stubborn men." She resumed her thinking while he took her by the waist and changed sides with her so that she would be on the safe side of the skating ring, away from the other careless skaters. She blushed and was glad it was cold outside so that her flushed cheeks covered her embarrassment.
-"Are you cold? Maybe an outside skating ring wasn't such a good idea on this weather." He apologized.
-"N-No, I really like it. I used to come here often with my parents and my brother as a kid.'
-"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to remind you..."
-"it's fine, it's been four years, you know?" She smiled but he could tell she was not being completely honest.
-"Should we go warm up somewhere inside? I am not as used as you are to this kind of winter." He half lied. It was true that he wasn't so thrilled about the cold weather but he had been having too much fun to even notice how cold his hands and face really were. However, he had had time to notice how red her nose was and it wasn't so much fun if he couldn't see the blush underneath her flushed skin.
-"Do we have too?" She complained cutely.
-"It's getting late and your nose is shining red, Rudolf." He poke fun at her and without thinking he leaned in and kiss her nose. She pull back and she almost fell on the ice, she managed to hold onto him and they both held each others arms to stay in balance. They stayed frozen for a minute, neither of them knew what had happened. He hadn't planned that, he hadn't planned anything, which was very unlike him.
-"Y-You are right. We should- probably go." Sakura was the one to break the silence. "The ice is getting slippery."
-"Y-yeah, let's go, I'll take you home."
-"That's not necess-..."
-"Come on, I've already made you stand on the cold for too long for one night, I'm not gonna let you wait for a bus too." He insisted and she gave in to his plead.
"This family has dangerous powers." Thought Sakura while Syaoran opened the passenger's car door for her.
They relaxed on the way home, forgetting all about the kiss and the nose, they listened to the radio making comments about the songs and artists as if they actually cared. Sakura was still trying to slow down her heartbeat and Syaoran was conscious that he had stepped on a dangerous line, he was losing focus. "The house, this is all about the house. She is just my futur landlady." He kept repeating to himself but when they finally got to her place, he could not stop himself from walking her to her door.
-"W-Well, good night." Said Sakura turning around to see him. "Don't tell Eriol but I had lots of fun."
-"Yeah, me too. Er... Good night."
-"Yeah, good night." They both hesitated on the door steps, she finally reached for a kiss on the cheek but caught the corner of his mouth instead. "Eeek, sorry I-..." Syaoran leaned in again and closed her mouth with his own. He hadn't planned that either. The kiss was getting out of control.
-"S-Syaoran..."She called between kisses and he push her against the front door with his own body, trapping her in his arms. "Syaor-... want to come in?" She asked trying to catch her breath.
They stopped and looked deep into each other's eyes...
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TO BE CONTINUED...