The Day I "Fell"
By: SoulSister
Rated: PG
Disclaimer: CCS belongs to CLAMP, Kodansha and *gags* Nelvana but not to me.
Inspiration: A funny, short story in ' Chicken Soup for the Romantic Soul. '
Warning: OOC? Depends on your point of view.
Wow, it's been quite a while since I've been able to pull off writing a one-shot but I'm determined to have this end in one go. Let's hope I can pull it off ^^.
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The Day I "Fell"
Now, I'd been working in this office building for quite some time (5 years to be exact) and I'd seen a lot pretty, young women walk by my cubicle everyday. But as I look back now, I can tell you for sure, none of the others were as pretty as her.
She stood at a height of approximately 5'4" (ten inches shorter then I am), though a little taller in her high heels, and was just the right weight. Not a total blob but not a tooth pick either. She was curvy in all the right places and walked with the grace of an angel.
She had shoulder length auburn hair that she usually pulled back into a ponytail and it was so glossy that it honestly let off it's own light everytime she walked by. I'd have given anything to run my hands through it just once.
Her eyes were the color of polished emeralds and the only thing that lit up her face more then them was her "million dollar" smile. Her lips were tiny, pouty in a way, and were a natural, rosy pink. I tell you, she really should've been making money with that smile.
Everywhere she went men's heads would turn and it was impossible for me not to notice everytime she walked by. I admit it; I was completely fixated with her. The problem was I never had the guts to talk to her. She walked past my cubicle everyday like clockwork at 12:25 on her way to lunch and everytime all I could was stare.
My work buddies, Hiiragizawa and Yamazaki, would always laugh and make fun of me everytime I watched her leave but never made my move. They found the whole predicament quite amusing.
" You'd better hurry up and make your move soon Li. A beautiful woman like that won't stay single forever, you know, " Yamazaki would chide me.
" Yeah. You're lucky that we're both taken or one of us might've picked her up by now, " Hiiragizawa added with his trademark grin. And believe me, I didn't doubt those words for a second. If there was one thing that I envied about Eriol Hiiragizawa it was that he was a total ladies man.
I'm telling you, the guy was smooth. The fact that his current relationship was managing to last five months so far was something that still astounded the rest of us. But right now I was grateful.
But still, the guys did have a point. I wasn't the only man with eyes in this building. If I didn't say something to her someone else certainly would. There were a lot of braver men in this building then me and I really didn't want to be beat out by them but I just couldn't do it. I was in some serious trouble.
But one day somebody up there obviously got tired of watching what an idiot I was being and fate decided to intervene. And on that fateful day of April 21, I, Syaoran Li, fell head-over-heels in love (literally) with, the girl I later found out was named, Sakura Kinomoto.
It had been a lunchtime like any other. It was 12:25 and as per usual I was not so secretly waiting for the exact moment when Sakura would walk by my office cubicle. The guys all knew by now that it was that time of day again and they were all nudging each other and snickering behind their hands as they watched me wait for her to walk by. God, this had gotten embarrassing.
Just as I was about to turn around and tell them all to shut up and mind their own business, *she* appeared. In all her sun-kissed hair, rosy cheeks, angel-walking glory, the earthbound goddess that was known as Sakura Kinomoto was once again walking by my office space.
Everything else around me just seemed to stop and all I could see was her. I was a man hopelessly in love and it was all I could do to stop myself from proclaiming it to the world.
I have absolutely no idea what made me do this that day, and although I'm not really complaining, it was a pretty stupid thing to do.
As soon as I knew she couldn't see me, I leaned back in my computer chair, in plain sight, and just stared at her disappearing back. And I kept staring and leaning back at the same time, which I must say right now isn't the best combination but I kept on doing it.
In fact, I leaned back so far that before I knew what was happening, the chair was sliding out from under me and I was soon on my back, legs in the air, landing with a loud crash.
This was just too much for the guys and they started howling with earnest as I laid there on the ground, the color of a ripe tomato, too dumbstruck to even pick myself up.
Just as my senses were coming back to me, and I was getting ready to pick myself up off the floor, a beautiful face suddenly appeared in my view. I sucked in my breath as a realisation came over me.' Holy crap! It's her! '
And indeed it was. My earthbound goddess, the one I thought I'd never in a million years be able to ever look upon up close, was standing over me and holding out her hand.
For a moment all I could do what stare at her dumbly, causing the guys to laugh even louder. Seeing my hesitation, she smiled graciously at me. God, I loved that smile of hers. It was just... perfection.
" Here, let me help you up, " she said with a voice that seemed to ring of a silence laughter. Did I mention yet that her voice reminded me of that of one of the lovely sirens of Greek legend? I could listen to her talk all day.
(A.N.: Lol! I think I've taken this lovesick puppy thing a bit too far here and I apologize to anyone who's totally freaked out by now. It's just so funny though *grins*.)
As I grasped her baby-soft hand and allowed her to help me up, I couldn't help but marvel once again at how beautiful she seemed, even in this cheap florescent lighting. What a sap I was becoming.
" Uh... thanks. Thanks a lot, " I stuttered, nervously tugging at the collar of my shirt. It suddenly felt a whole lot hotter in there.
Tilting her head to the side a bit, she flipped a piece of hair out of her face and smiled brightly." It's no problem really. Are you alright? " She asked me sounding concerned.
" Oh yeah! Don't worry about it! " I said in an attempt to brush it off." My pride was hurt more than anything else, " I admitted, blushing a little more.
She giggled at this, a sound that reminded me of wind chimes, and grinned at me slyly." Well, that's good. I hate it when one of my admirers get hurt because of me " she said with a wink.
By now my face was so bright I could've been directing traffic and the guys weren't helping at all. Their laughter was so loud that they probably could've been heard all over the floor. I was *so* not going to be able to live this down.
Trying to keep my composure, but failing miserably, I desperately tried to explain myself." Umm... yeah. You see... About that, Miss...? "
" Kinomoto, " she said with a slightly intimidating kind of look in her eyes.
" Umm... yes. Miss Kinomoto. You see... the fact is I... I, umm... I wasn't actually staring at you at all, " I said before I could stop myself. ' What am I saying! '
Miss Kinomoto cocked a delicately shaped eyebrow at me in disbelief." Oh, really? But then just what *were* you staring at? " She asked with a voice of innocence curiosity, though she totally wasn't buying it.
" That's a damn good question Li. You sure that's your final answer? " One of the guys cracked in the background and I had to fight off the urge to throw the middle finger up behind my back. My composure was definitely slipping here.
" I was staring at... at... the, uh... " I faltered for a moment, desperately searching the area with my eyes. Miss Kinomoto just stood there, patiently waiting for me to continue.
" I was looking at the, uh... The... the ceiling! " I shouted as a last resort. The guys gave a mutual groan of disappointment and Sakura, the angel that she is, was trying her hardest not to laugh.
" The ceiling? That's what you nearly broke your neck over? " She asked in between giggles. I shrugged, trying to seem cool about it.
" Yeah, well... It looked like it had, uh... cracks in it! I was just checking " I replied, wanting to hit myself more everytime I spoke.
I could tell she still didn't believe me but she shrugged in return." Well, that's too bad then. I *was* going to ask you to come to lunch with me but if you're not interested, that's okay " she said, starting to walk away.
Me? Not interested? That *so* wasn't the case. If I didn't tell her how I felt, or a least accept this lunch date with her, I may never get a chance to talk to her again. She might even stop walking to lunch this way! I couldn't let that happen.
" Wait! " I cried, reaching out to grab her arm." Just... hang on a second. "
" Okay. " Turning back towards me, she crossed her arms in front of her and gave me a look of triumph." Does that mean your excepting? Cuz you know it's really mean to get a girl's hopes up like this; especially after all the times I've walked past here. "
I nodded." Yeah, I guess so... Wait. You were doing this on purpose?! " I couldn't believe it! This being of total perfection actually wanted to see me?
She blinked in surprise, realizing what she'd just said. Blushing at her mistake, she nodded." Yeah, I guess I sort of let that slip... I'd been trying to work up the nerve to say something to you but I never could. I guess today the gods were working in our favor, huh? "
Scratching the back of my head, completely dumbfounded, I nodded." Yeah, I guess so. " I still couldn't wrap my head around the idea that this auburn haired beauty was interested in me.
She flashed me that "million dollar" smile once again and held out her hand to me." So, how about that lunch date now, Mr... ? "
" Li. Syaoran Li, " I answered her, taking her hand in mine. It scared me just how well it fit there. It was like it was meant to be.
" I'm Sakura Kinomoto. It's nice to finally be introduced after all this time, " she said with a giggle. I couldn't help but grin back at her.
" You have no idea, " I replied happily, as we walked off to the lunch date that would change our lives forever.
Now, a marriage, two kids and three promotions later, we both still work at the same office building and as we walk past my old cubicle everyday, we can't help but reminisce about that special day, on April 21, when I literally fell for the woman of my dreams.
The End.
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*Sighs happily* Oh, how I love a happy ending. A really made Syaoran into a romantic sap though, didn't I? It was just too easy though. He's always such a goof when he's around Sakura. I just made it a little more... extreme *giggles*.
I hope you all enjoyed this. If you did let me know. If you didn't I still wanna know why but constructive criticism only. You'll be flaming at your own risk. Well, until next time, ja ne! ^^;