A/N: No comment… This is what comes out of my mind when I'm bored and too rusty to write my longer stories, at the moment…

This takes place before the manga starts, though not far from it, when clone Syaoran and Sakura are still best friends growing up in Clow.

Enjoy at your own risk!

…

Two weeks. Syaoran hadn't been home in two weeks.

She'd been asking her brother every day, but it was always the same smug reply. He wasn't home, and he could be busy for a long time if they really had found a potential way into the ruins. It could be a false alarm – they'd had those before, but she couldn't bring herself to hope against something so important to her friend.

The midday heat was particularly bad and Sakura was in the mood to pout about it, lying on her back for the good part of an hour. The bedding was dampening her already sweaty back and making her more uncomfortable than necessary, but she didn't care enough to get up and do something to take her mind off it. She was lonely, and sick of being lonely.

She'd stayed sane by helping everyone in the palace do something, from the cleaning crew to the cooks – that was a disaster if she'd ever seen one – all the way up to helping Touya write out documents and treaties. It mostly just ended up with her keeping him company or straight up falling asleep, but he was being strangely patient with her since her moodiness started.

As if on cue, there was a soft knock at her door before it slid open after a few seconds of silence from her. Touya poked his head in, looking so disgruntled that she was roused out of her stupor enough to lift her head at him in concern. Was something wrong…?

"Get up, little monster. It's time to stop brooding."

Realizing nothing bad had happened, Sakura huffed her disagreement and flopped her head back down.

Touya narrowed his eyes. "That brat's team got back a few minutes ago, but I guess you're more interested in staring at the ceiling… I'll be sure to tell him that when he gives his report."

Sakura was up in a flash, stumbling around on one foot at a time as she pulled her shoes on and grabbed her cloak.

"I'll be back, later!" she called as she flashed past the perturbed king and down the hall.

…

Syaoran stretched his sore muscles and sighed to himself. He wanted to see Sakura, now that he was back. He'd missed her so much while he was gone – that palace so close and yet so far away from his dig site.

But he was so tired, and he needed to catch up on sleep before preparing to go out again the day after tomorrow. He'd have to see her in the morning, if she was awake in time for his group's report. She'd never been a morning person, even as a small child, and he smiled fondly at the memories of a little Sakura running down to meet him when he and his father gave their report, hair mussed and desperately trying to wipe the sleep from her eyes.

He couldn't deny that work often kept him too busy to focus on how much he actually did miss her, but her face would pop into his mind whenever he wasn't deciphering something for the crew or flipping through history books. The digging part wasn't very mentally stimulating, after all, and his thoughts always seemed to be full of her during those times.

A soft knock at the door surprised him, and he wondered if one of his workmates had come to tell him something. Had they decided to report to King Touya, right now?

"Coming!" he called, running his hands through his sweaty bangs and hoping he didn't look as bad as he felt.

Syaoran wasn't quite sure why seeing her on his doorstep floored him so much. After all, the king was privy to any goings on in the area, and Sakura lived with him. It made sense she would have heard about his return, already. But still, he found himself unable to do anything but gape.

"Sya-o-ran!" she chirped, bounding forward to wrap her arms around his neck, as was her ritual when he'd been gone a while. At least he hadn't fallen over under the force of her affections, this time. "I didn't know you'd be gone so long! You never tell me… I missed you, though! How was it? Did you find a way in this time? You remembered to eat properly, right? You're so obsessive… You're okay, aren't you?"

"Uh… Yes."

He wasn't even sure which question he was answering, but she seemed satisfied and smiled warmly.

"That's good."

Letting go of him, she skipped back a few steps to clasp her hands behind her back merrily. Syaoran stepped to the side with a wordless smile, welcoming her in. He hadn't been planning to see her, yet, but that didn't mean he wasn't happy she'd come.

Sakura beamed and came in, moving to sit on his bed like the two of them always did. There wasn't much place else to sit and talk in his little home, after all. He sat beside her, and the small bed creaked under the strain of double the weight. The atmosphere suddenly felt more cozy than stifling, with her in it.

"Hot, huh?" she asked, as if reading his mind.

"Yes. It was unusually warm yesterday, as well. I think we're getting some backlash from another country's heat wave. It was almost unbearable further out, at the ruins."

He regretting saying it the instant it passed his lips and Sakura leveled him with a worried look.

"Was it… really that bad out there?"

"Ah… No, that is… I was okay, really!"

Her green eyes searched his quietly, almost suspiciously. "Are you lying?"

"N-no! I drank plenty of water and rested in the shade! We all did! I didn't mean to worry you…"

After a moment, she seemed to come to the decision to believe him, and smiled again. "Good. Because you know I'm good at getting my way with Onii-sama… I don't want to have to postpone your next expedition until the heat wave is over because you and the other diggers aren't taking care of yourselves."

It was more a joke than an actual threat, and he smiled briefly, before it fell away. Joke or not, it served as an uncomfortable reminder that he had to break it to Sakura about his leaving again in a day. She never complained about his work or asked him not to go, even once, but anyone with eyes could tell how forlorn she was when they had to separate.

His expression must have given away his train of thought, because she tipped her head to the side to regard him solemnly.

"That soon, huh?"

Syaoran was silent for a minute, rubbing his thumbs together absentmindedly and not meeting her eyes. "The day after tomorrow…" His voice sounded soft, like a confession of guilt.

She said nothing, and he worried it had upset her enough that she was thinking up an excuse to leave. However, after a moment, she sighed and shifted, leaning towards him until her head came to rest on his shoulder. Normally this would far from upset him, but he was still grimy and sweaty from working.

"Prin-…" he stopped himself before she could even tense in disapproval, "Sakura, you shouldn't do that… I haven't washed since getting home, and I…"

"You look and smell fine to me," she replied matter-of-factly, making him blush. "In fact you're perfect, right now."

She sighed again, as if in great bliss, which had his face darkening further, though his serious expression from breaking the news to her remained firmly in place. In response to this, she poked him in the ribs, lightly.

"Your face will stay like that if you keep it up."

He flinched from her hands, but it wasn't from discomfort. She must have known this because she giggled and shifted to wrap her arms fully around him. Making a sound of embarrassment, Syaoran wiggled self-consciously and Sakura poked him again to tease him into stopping – in the belly, this time.

He did stop, but only to release a breathy sound, somewhere between a giggle and a gasp like he was trying to cover the prior up. He blushed yet again when Sakura's head shot up to look at him. Her lips pulled up into a grin that he could read all too well; one she got when she was determined to make him laugh or smile.

He felt her weight come forward and press into his body, and not wanting to turn this into a wrestling match – as he knew it would, if she had anything to do with it – he let himself fall backwards, only grunting in surprise when her weight happily pressed his back into the bed.

When Sakura spoke again, her breath was entirely too close to his lips for his propriety's comfort, "I'm the one who's supposed to look gloomy. It's you and your father's dream to be out there, right? So cheer up!"

Her fingers drifted dangerously over his covered stomach – his ticklish spot ever since they were kids – and she smiled playfully again. "Or do I have to make you cheer up?"

"Sa-…"

Not waiting for him to talk his way out of it, she pounced.

Syaoran's wiggling increased by several folds as her skilled fingertips fluttered over his stomach. He choked out a laugh when those clever appendages bunched up his shirt to get better access, and she giggled in response.

She'd always loved the rare occasions he laughed, but she hadn't tickled him like this since they were little. The fact that she could have so much power over his simplest of moods was sobering, but not in a frightening way. She was the one person he trusted in such an intimate way.

His thoughts were interrupted by her weight leaving him and her hands coming away from his belly, but his reprieve only lasted a few seconds before the fingers were replaced by lips. He wasn't given any time to be staggered by this fact before they were blowing rough raspberries into his exposed stomach. He had seen kids receive these before, but never had one done to him. The feeling was alien, but he found it was a good one, as warmth spread across his skin from where her lips touched, and the vibrations tickled and made him laugh breathlessly.

"St-stop!" he cried pitifully through the smiles, pushing at her shoulders but not using any real strength.

Surprisingly, she did, and moved her body back over his with a dazzling grin in place.

"If you don't smile more often, I really will have to attack you," she stated simply, kicking her feet in the air joyfully.

Her dogged attempts were getting to him, and Syaoran gave an airy laugh that made her eyes light up.

"If you do this every time I'm home, I won't ever want to be," he joked softly.

"So you do want to come home, sometimes?"

"Of course I do."

He didn't have to say why for her to brighten up until she was positively glowing. He didn't protest when she tightened her arms around him, this time.

"Syaoran?"

"Hmmm?"

"I think you like my attacks, after all."

Sakura buried her face against his sweaty neck, and he felt her smile wickedly against the skin. He had all of two seconds to be suspicious, before his eyes were widening comically as she resumed her wet torture in this new area. He yanked away with a helpless chuckle – it tickled there, too.

She beamed at his positive reaction, wriggling closer to entangle her limbs with his as her fingers began working their magic against that sensitive spot on his still-exposed belly that only she knew about.

As the girl tickled him and happily blew the rough affections into his skin, giggling all the while, Syaoran found he couldn't help the grin that pulled at the corners of his mouth, even as he pathetically begged her to cease his torment. When she playfully refused, he rolled on top of her with a laugh; watching her eyes as they sparkled with merriment, her face flushed with innocent excitement from their activities.

Two could play at this game…

Sakura squealed loudly when his calloused hands shot under her armpits, knowing that it was her weak spot. His ears took the abuse in stride, as he fought to keep his advantage while she struggled and flailed in joy against him.

Green eyes shot open, shimmering with mirthful film when his lips pressed to her throat and blew loudly, vibrating wetly against her flesh with the force.

"N-no fair…!" she gasped between elated screeches, arms locking around his neck as if to press him too close for a proper assault, "Th-that's my special attack!"

"An archeologist is always striving for new discoveries…" he recited with mock patience.

"You… You're just a mooch…!" she laughed, and saw him grin in a quick flash of teeth before his face disappeared into her neck, again.

No more words were spoken between the two teens. Instead, their ears were filled with harsh squeaks, unified laughter, and the intense sounds of uneven breath and rustling clothes. Lost in their own world, the sounds thrilled him, her efforts to writhe closer to and away from him at the same time caused his blood to heat and beat thickly through his veins, as the boy tried not to focus on how very unlike raspberries his mouth's actions were becoming; how her laughter was slowly dying away to leave just the halting breaths – though the happy smile still remained firmly in place. How he had no conscious control over the way he squeezed her hips to restrain her weakening struggles as her body now began yielding to his every move. And especially not how her face's innocent flush transformed while her lips parted and she began to twist her head to the side upon hearing his own hot and choppy breathing, as though encouraging his mouth to claim more skin.

The urgency in her movements excited him, her thin fingers coming up to his hair, nearly flat with sweat. She shifted and they both startled when the fabric of her shirt came up, pressing her warm belly to his, still exposed from under his own disheveled top. With a sharp, shaky inhale, his hands moved without his consent again. Her jade orbs were fixated on his and she did not pull away when his damp palms moved from their place on her hips, to slide up her familiar curves.

Her anticipatory gasp had him freezing, as he finally realized the full notion of where his hands were heading. Recoiling as if slapped, Syaoran stammered unintelligibly and felt his face turn redder than it was with shame and embarrassment at his loss of control.

His stuttering finally slowed to a halt, and in its wake the room was left with nothing but a heavy blanket of silence. Sakura's dreamy look slowly faded, but as she felt the bed shift and groan, his intent to leave clear, her shaking hands shot out to grasp his and press them right back where they were. They both froze.

"… Do that again?"

She didn't sound ashamed in the face of their slip of intimacy, and against his better judgment he found himself relaxing under her soft, happy smile. Her cheeks were dusted with pink like the flower she was named for, and her green eyes shone with nothing but earnest affection.

Still, he had a duty as her friend and her subject to rein this situation back in before they fully crossed the line, and so he smiled down at her – a little sadly, he knew – and moved his hands to a safe position beside her head, though he did allow her to pull his body back against hers. No longer a feverish entanglement of limbs and clothes; just a simple resting embrace.

"No… I'm sorry, princess."

Her eyes flicked away from him. Briefly, but enough to show him exactly what she was thinking. He knew it had always been her unspoken desire to be cherished by someone – not as a princess, or a sister, or even a best friend… but really cherished. And on days like these, he knew exactly by whom she wanted to be cherished. As their relationship began to constantly drift between deep friendship and something more, he'd come to realize just why it hurt her so much to be called by her title by him.

"Oh…" she breathed, and the loss of her usual scolding for his distant term for her weighed heavily throughout the room.

Able to do nothing but give her an apologetic look, Syaoran only slid his arms around her to roll them both over so they were laying side by side on his rumpled bed and leveled her with an even gaze that she matched. Slowly, the smiles returned to both their faces, and she sighed enigmatically before bringing her face forward to rest on his shoulder.

Her cheek was cool against his, despite the heat, and he echoed her exhalation. His arms tightened around her again and he murmured into her hair. "I'm sorry."

Sakura only shook her head against him, knowing right away everything he was apologizing for. Not being able to be what she wanted – needed; knowing the fact that he couldn't and still letting this incident happen; for calling her what she was to everyone instead of who she was to him.

"Don't apologize… I'm the one who, um… I just wanted…"

"I know. I'm sorry," he said again.

She huffed out a laugh – a mere puff of air, but a laugh, nonetheless. "If you say that one more time, I really will get mad."

He chuckled back, wisely biting his tongue against the reflexive 'yes ma'am' that he knew would only upset her. She had forgiven him for everything in the last couple minutes, and he had no intention of tossing that away and giving up their easy intimacy. Noticing she was still breathing hard, he brought a hand up to touch her arm. Alarmed at the unusual way the desert heat seemed to be affecting her, he shifted and moved to a sitting position.

Sakura watched in confusion as he twisted slightly away from her to lean across the short distance between his bed and the table where he kept the books he read at night. Realization set in when she heard the heavy sound of water being wrung out of a cloth into the basin of liquid he kept around on hotter days.

Syaoran turned back to her, damp fabric in hand, and Sakura couldn't help but smile as he swept it attentively over the arm that had caused him distress in the first place, leaving a cooling trail of moisture against her skin. The water was almost the temperature of the air by this point, but it still felt heavenly. Smiling back when he caught her expression, Syaoran shifted back into a comfortable position lying beside her, bringing the cloth up to her face, next.

He obviously tried to keep it professional, but she still caught the hint of a blush on his cheeks when she leaned into his attentions, and the utter adoration in his eyes. Sakura closed her own eyes dutifully when the smooth cotton ran over her slowly drooping eyelids, where much of the sweat had collected. As soon as she felt it trail carefully over her neck, where the ghost of his lips still lingered, her eyes snapped back open and she pressed against him with a shudder – nerves on overdrive from the memory.

He stopped, "Did I… make you cold?"

"No," she whispered, taking the rag from him slowly, "I'm perfect."

She knew it wasn't even very wet, anymore, but still he sighed and gave her a dreamy look when she began dabbing his skin with it. He was always like this when she attended to him – no matter how minor the scenario – as if he wouldn't trade her simple touch for anything in the world. The notion made her cheeks heat a little, as she found her eyes ended up drifting to his more often than they focused on what she was supposed to be doing.

The silence in the room was heavy again, though not uncomfortably so. Both let it soothe them before scrounging up the courage to speak again.

Sakura was braver. "Thank you."

His amber eyes blinked at her in silent question, and she blushed a little before dropping her hand that still held the rag and elaborating, "For… for always coming home, in the end."

His face shifted into a heart-melting smile and his forehead came forward to rest against hers. "Always, Sakura."

She pressed closer to him with a sigh. "I should attack you more often when you're here."

Syaoran jerked in surprise at the implication, and she looked up at him, biting her lip when she saw his shock. "No?"

"No…" he answered, "I mean, no – not no – but… I…" Sakura watched the flash of his throat as he tried to find the right answer.

If she let him try and think of something to satisfy himself, her, and everyone else in the country – which she knew he was doing – he'd sit there stuttering forever, and so she rested her hand gently on his chest, over his rapid heartbeat, to get his attention. "My role isn't to reign over you, or anyone else."

Syaoran opened his mouth to respond, but snapped it shut when she continued, "Everyone in Clow has hopes and needs, and it's my job to make sure they get to live those out – as the people they are, not because they are my subjects. If… If I really do belong to the people… I belong to you, too."

His throat tightened, forming a lump that he didn't know if he could speak past if he tried and he stared at her with wide eyes.

"So please… Try to stop feeling like you're doing something wrong, okay? You aren't."

Her words were somehow dreamlike, and the warmth from her hand on his heart expanded, seeping into the skin to spread through his entire body with every skipping beat. As if in a daze, his own hand came from its place around her, to cover her small appendage and hold it there to prolong the wonderful feeling.

He still didn't believe that her reasoning meant he could be selfish and hoard all of her attention from those people she watched over, but it was still a drugging feeling to actually hear her say they belonged together in some way, and that she wanted it that way.

That feeling rose, surged forward against his throat until he felt words he really shouldn't say coming up. Words about how much she really meant to him, how much he really did want them to belong to each other, and how much he wanted to cherish her the way she desired him to.

He couldn't stop them in time. His mouth opened, forming the syllables of her name, and she looked at him attentively.

"I…"

BONG… BONG…. BONG…

Freezing immediately, eyes widening like a child caught with their hand in the sweets jar, Syaoran's mouth clicked shut at the familiar sound of those bells, realizing that he'd almost lost control for the second time that day.

Sakura's brow was furrowed in frustration, her eyes practically begging him to ignore her brother's announcement of the time and keep talking.

He couldn't say if it was with relief or disappointment that he shook his head, managing a smile for her. "It's late, Sakura. You should get home. I'll see you tomorrow, when we all give our report to the king."

She bit her lip, making her thoughts on the matter clear, but nodded and sat up when he did. They both righted their clothes, Sakura making especially sure hers were as wrinkle-free as possible before combing her fingers lightly through her hair. Syaoran was again painfully reminded of how King Touya would react if he knew about today, and paled a little.

She caught his expression and smiled soothingly, but said nothing until she was heading out the door. They exchanged soft goodbyes, the different feelings hanging unsaid and stale in the air. Sakura refused his offer to walk her, saying she knew he was tired, and Syaoran's eyes followed her back as she began her trek back to the palace.

He swallowed hard, feeling bad for letting their time end on such a solemn note. But suddenly she stopped, standing there for a few moments, and he wondered if something was wrong. Before he could even move to go to her, however, she whipped around with a brilliant smile on her face.

And then, as if reading his earlier thoughts, she waved enthusiastically and called back to him, "Syaoran! See you tomorrow!"

In spite of everything, Syaoran's face broke into his own smile, and he waved back.

She dropped her hand and twirled back around on her toe, before saying in a slightly quieter voice, "If you don't show up, I'll come here and attack you again."

He almost tripped over the doorframe going back in.

…

A/N: That awkward moment when friends realize that puberty sucks… Especially when your social statuses are that gaping. Hah hah, well, I hope at least someone out there was entertained! At least I managed to get some characterization in there, albeit irrelevant to the manga's plot, since Sakura loses her memories, anyway…

Thank you so much for reading my drivel!