Guardian Angel

by

Sakura-chan Master of the Clow

A One-shot for water-phoenix-hime

Summary: Syaoran didn't know how he could have lived without her. His best friend, his true love . . . his Guardian Angel.

Disclaimer: I do not own any original characters from CardCaptor Sakura. All belongs to the wonderful members of CLAMP. The story line for this fanfiction, however, is all mine so please no copyright.

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"Ah, Syaoran! Put me down!"

The messy brown haired teen laughed as he continued to carry his girlfriend further into the ocean water. She was pounding his back mercilessly as she couldn't do much with her feet. He had them restrained with only one arm. "Stop struggling so much, Sakura."

Her green eyes glared at him momentarily before resuming her energy to get free. "If I'm struggling it's for a good reason. You know I hate being picked up!"

He laughed. She loved his laugh.

"For the last time, you're not that heavy."

"Still! Put me down, Syaoran, or I swear I'll—"

"Okay, okay," he chided. "I'll put you down."

She was about to thank him when she noticed a smirk play on his lips. She looked at the surrounding water which came up to his waist and she immediately knew what was coming.

"No, Syaoran, I changed my mind! I— Ahhh!"

And with a big splash, she hit the salty water. When she surfaced she found her dearly beloved laughing at her misery.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Ha ha, very funny."

"It was hilarious," he responded, laughing once more.

She retaliated by splashing a wave of water in his face, immediately halting his laughter. His golden brown eyes darkened as he stared down at her, accepting the challenge. Not a second later were they both splashing each other, trying to get the upper hand. Sakura stopped only when she noticed he had disappeared.

"Syaoran? Syaoran!" she called, frantically looking around her. "Syaoran, where ar— Ah!" She screamed when she felt herself being lifted out of the water.

Syaoran had dove underwater while she had been repeatedly splashing him and swam to her. At just the right moment, he encircled her legs and lifted before sending them both crashing into the water. Sakura took in a big gulp of air upon resurfacing.

She saw his brown hair come into view and was just about to yell at him when he sprang out of the water and his lips assaulted hers. The familiar taste and feel of him washed over her like the waves of the sea around them, and she leaned into him. His hands had cupped her face and she immediately melted into the kiss. She could taste the saltiness of the water on his lips but she didn't care and knew he didn't either, and he opened her mouth with his, carefully, gently. Her hands took hold of his bare arms to steady herself, pulling him closer to her and for a spilt second, her thoughts of revenge subsumed in her body's blind, unreasoning recognition of the need to keep him close—just as someone yelled, "Cut!"

Syaoran let go of her. Sakura instantly jerked away from him, scrambling to pull down her now—technically Syaoran's—soaking wet t-shirt. Looking up, she saw her best friend's amethyst eyes twinkle like stars and her boyfriend grinning behind her. "Tomoyo! You recorded everything? And Eriol, you let her?"

The navy haired boy gave her a half apologetic half mocking shrug. The long raven haired girl spun around in happiness, momentarily blurring the image on her camera.

"How could I miss it? You both are too cute together!"

"You better turn that thing off before I toss it in the ocean," growled Sakura. She loved her best friend too death but sometimes it was a bit too much.

Syaoran laughed beside her. "I still can't believe you said that to her."

Sakura looked over at him and smiled. They were sitting on his living room couch, watching past videos of themselves together. "Can you really blame me? We were having a private moment . . . in a public beach . . ."

Syaoran laughed as he pushed a button on the remote and the images on the flat screen TV reversed. "Oh, if only she could've recorded her face when you said that to her, Sakura."

Sakura laughed and agreed.

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Sakura held on to her hat with both hands and posed. Her lips were pursed as she stared into the camera. And stared. And stared. And—

"Syaoran, take the stupid picture already!"

Syaoran laughed. "I'm just focusing the lends to get the most perfect picture possible."

"Just take the picture."

"Hey, Tomoyo entrusted me with this job and she'll make my life a living hell if I screw it up."

Sakura sighed and relaxed her arms. "Oh come on, she's not that ba—"

"Wait! Hold it, the lighting is perfect!" Immediately Sakura resumed her pose. ". . . And the light's gone."

Sakura groaned and let her arms fall. "You can't keep doing this. Just take a bunch of pictures and we'll choose the best to give to her." Sakura walked over to her dresser and picked up a green teddy bear. "You get it, don't you, Syaoran?" she said to the bear.

"I'm way smarter than that bear," exclaimed Syaoran.

Sakura smiled and turned to her boyfriend. "Says the guy who took two hours to take three photos."

"Three perfect photos, thank you very much." He stuck his tongue out at her.

Sakura laughed and held up the bear next to her face. "Can we take some pictures of me and Syaoran? I'm sure Tomoyo wouldn't mind him being in a few shots of her designer portfolio." She pouted, giving him the puppy dog eyes.

"No way. He seems to be getting fat." Syaoran poked the bear's belly. "Right here, see?"

Sakura huffed and playfully hit his arm. Syaoran feigned being hut and rubbed his arm. "You gave him to me remember? And he's a stuffed bear, he can't eat anything!"

"Well, I'm way cuter than that bear." Syaoran slid next to her and pointed the camera to face them, keeping it at arm's length. "So why not take a few pictures with this Syaoran instead?"

He snapped the picture just as she smiled at his comment.

Syaoran touched that picture affectionately through the clear plastic of the scrapbook as he remembered the scene. "And to think, Tomoyo got the job because of this picture, huh, Sakura?"

Sakura leaned forward and looked at it too. They looked so happy in it. "Oh yeah." She smiled as she noticed the one next to it was of the two of them kissing. Syaoran had surprised her lips with his and snapped a picture of it just after the former one was taken. "It's a good thing I forced you to wear the clothes from her men line that day, too."

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"Li-kun?"

Syaoran looked up from his paperwork to find one of his dear long friend Daidouji Tomoyo standing before him. He forced himself to give her a weak smile.

"Hey," he greeted. He sounded even more tired than he looked.

"Li-kun," Tomoyo started. She looked at him with cautious eyes, her amethyst ones searching his amber brown ones. "Li-kun," she said again. "How have you been?"

"I've been great," he responded with a smile.

Tomoyo shook her head silently. "No, how have you been?" she asked again, slowly.

"Never better," he responded.

Tomoyo could feel tears threatening to spill out. "No!" She hadn't meant to raise her voice. "Don't toy with me, Li-kun. I know you're probably feeling worse than I am. How could you lie to my face like that?"

His smile disappeared. His expression changed to a somber one. "What are you talking about?"

"You know damn well what I'm talking about."

"Tomoyo—"

"You know she'd be very disappointed if she knew." Her voice lowered.

"Well she doesn't and she never will, so why don't we leave it at that." His eyes had turned cold, just like when they first met.

Tomoyo's lips straightened to a thin line. "So that's it?" she whispered, her voice shaking. "You're giving up just like that? You never even fucking visit her anymore! You send someone else to change her flowers for you! And now I see you draping your arm over some other girl who looks just like her? Wake up, Syaoran, it's not her and you cannot replace Sakura!"

"Don't you think I fucking know that?" He looked at her with unflinching eyes.

"No, I don't, because if I did I wouldn't be here right now. I thought you loved her. How could you stop even visiting her? I know five minutes would mean the world to her."

"Do I even have a right?"

Tomoyo stiffened. Is this what all this was about? Her gaze softened as she sat down and placed a warm hand over his. "You can't blame yourself for what happened," she said softly.

"I can because it's all my fault. If I hadn't started that stupid argument she wouldn't have left and—" He stopped. He couldn't bring himself to say it. He sighed as he put his free hand over his eyes to cover them. "If I weren't a Li this wouldn't have happened either. That bullet was meant for me, not her."

"If you weren't a Li you two would've never met."

Syaoran gave a short, dry laugh. "Then at least she'd still be safe. She'd still be with us."

Tomoyo's hand tightened her hold on his. "She's still with us . . ."

Syaoran scuffed. "Maybe you should wake up, Tomoyo. It's been a year. A whole damn year!"

"So what? If it were the other way around Sakura would've waited eternity for you, not give up after one lousy year!" Tomoyo sighed and recomposed herself. "Look, everyone is very grateful to you for paying the medical expenses and for putting that bastard in prison for life, but she wouldn't want to see you like this. You don't need to bury yourself in your work, you need to see her, spend time with her."

"I can't," he whispered. "I can't show my face to her. Just face it, Tomoyo; the doctors even said that if she didn't wake up in 3 months she could may as well be like that forever. Well it's been a year and she's still in a coma. She might as well be dead."

"So you'd rather she died or that you two never met?"

Syaoran's head snapped to meet hers. He wanted to say no so badly but his throat suddenly felt extremely dry. He could feel her sharp eyes search his. After a moment or so Tomoyo broke the gaze first and stood up.

"I see," she whispered. "It's good to know you love her so damn much."

Syaoran could only stare at her retreating figure. If her intention was to make him feel like shit, Daidouji Tomoyo succeeded.

Once he was sure she had left, he banged his fists on his desk, causing all the loose items to rattle. He heard a crashing sound and looked over his desk to see a fallen, shattered picture frame. Slowly he picked up the picture from all the rubble and dusted off any excess glass. A lone tear escaped his eye as he stared a picture of himself and Sakura.

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It was late at night, the stars twinkling above the cloudy sky. Syaoran decided to walk home and dismissed his driver, Tomoyo's words had continued to ring in his head and even now. He knew deep inside that he was running away, but he couldn't stop himself from feeling the way he did.

His phone rang, bringing him out of his thoughts. He retrieved it from his jacket's pocket and answered the call without looking at the screen.

"Syaoran!" A high squeak voice greeted from the other side.

"Hey, Saki," he greeted back, hoping to sound as normal as possible.

"Love, I don't think I'll be able to make it to our date tonight. Something major came up at work."

"Oh," Syaoran said. "All right. I hope everything goes well."

"Thanks so much for understanding! I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"

"Yeah," he managed to say, but she had already hung up.

He knew what Tomoyo said was true. He was using Saki as a means to replace Sakura in his life. They looked alike, with the same hair color but hers a bit longer, and her eyes were a hazel brown, not the dazzling green eyes he was used to. They had the same personality, though Saki was more materialistic than Sakura ever was. She greatly accepted any gifts he bought her where Sakura used to go to all ends if he even bought her a cup of hot chocolate.

Syaoran sighed as he out away his phone. When he looked up, he saw a wisp of auburn hair bobbing up and down between the crowd. As if in a daze, he followed it. The person turned her head to the side and smiled. It was then he noticed the girl had her arm linked around another's. A man's, with straight black hair and gray eyes. The man leaned down to kiss the girl's forehead. And it was his current girlfriend, Saki.

He knew he should've felt hurt, deceived, but he didn't. He felt empty. For a whole year he felt nothing but emptiness inside. He took out his phone and took a picture of the two of them. Clicking away for a moment longer, he put his phone back in his pocket and started walking the opposite direction, not bothering to see if she had received his message it not.

He didn't know where he was headed, he just wanted to go somewhere and shut the world out.

"Sir!" He heard someone call out, but he paid no heed. "Sir, watch out!"

Syaoran looked up and saw a blinding white light headed his way.

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"Syaoran?"

He knew he had to be dreaming. It's been so long since he last heard that sweet voice.

"Syaoran, you have to wake up now."

Obediently, he opened them, and before him was the person he longed to see for a year now.

"Sakura," he said exasperatedly.

She smiled down at him. "Hey, Syaoran. It's been so long."

"Am I . . . Am I dead?" he asked.

Sakura laughed. How he missed her laugh. "Not quite," she answered.

"Am I dreaming, then?"

She shook her head. "No, you're wide awake."

He smiled and leaned back, closing his eyes. Realization hitting him, he opened them once more and looked up. He was sitting under a large cherry blossom tree in the nearby park, the gentle wind blowing the petals to glide around them.

He looked back at Sakura lovingly. "I can't believe you're here with me," he said.

Sakura's green eyes turned somber. Before he could ask what was wrong, she quietly said, "He wants me with Him."

Before he could ask, two large white wings emerged from behind him. It was then that he took a good look at her. The wings folded from behind her, she was wearing a pure white dress which flowed with every breath the wind took, a glowing gold halo floated just above her head, and he realized just then that her bare feet didn't touch the ground.

"Sakura . . . Don't tell me you're—"

"I'm not. But He wants me with Him," she said again. She tilted her head and bent down, cupping his cheek. He couldn't believe it; he could feel her warm, gentle touch. "Why are you crying?" she asked, caressing his cheek with her thumb.

Syaoran touched the side of his face and found it wet with tears. He smiled softly and leaned more towards her hand, and placed one of his over hers.

"You can't leave me, Sakura," he said. "You can't."

In response, she wrapped her arms around him and instantaneously he did too, and broke. "I said some terrible things to you, Sakura. You have no idea how much I've regretted that night. And you can't leave now; I never got to tell you that I—that I'm sorry."

Sakura stroked the back of his head and listened.

He pulled her closer to him, never wanting to let go. "I'm sorry," he said in a muffled voice. "I'm so sorry, Sakura."

She stopped stroking his head and cupped his face with both hands. "It's okay, Syaoran. I don't blame you."

"You should."

"But I don't," she said softly. "I never did. You don't have to feel guilty anymore."

"I should have died. That car was coming towards me earlier, right?"

Sakura nodded. "But I saved you."

"Why?" he asked.

Sakura smiled. "Because I love you, silly. I've been with you all this time and I knew if I didn't do something, you would've let that car hit you."

"You've—been with me?"

Sakura nodded. "Mm. I was there when you were watching videos of us together, and when you were looking through our old scrapbooks, and in your office with Tomoyo-chan just now. I never left you, Syaoran, I've been watching over you this whole time."

He smiled. "Then you should know how pathetic I am without you." Sakura laughed and he pulled her into a tight embrace once more. "So please, don't leave me again."

Just then her halo glowed brighter. Reluctantly, she pulled away. "I have to go now."

He grabbed her hand, not willing to let her go. "No, please, Sakura. You can't leave."

She smiled softly down at him and ran her fingers through her hair. "Don't worry. I'll always be with you." Her wings flapped once, twice, and she was out of reach from him, the petals around them swarmed around her. "You should visit me some time, okay, Syaoran?"

And she disappeared before his eyes. A lone pink flower petal landed on his outstretched hand.

"Okay, Sakura."

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He hated the smell of medicine and despair. But he told Sakura he would visit her so here he was, inside the lobby of the hospital she was admitted to a year ago. He had a bouquet of flowers and felt the need to dress up a little, though he didn't know why.

"Excuse me," he asked the front desk nurse. "Can you tell me which room Kinomoto Sakura is in?"

The nurse nodded and clicked away on the computer. "She's in room 1139."

Syaoran nodded and made his way to the elevator. When he found the correct room, he hesitated before entering after knocking. "Sakura?"

He dropped the flowers. The bed was messy and bare; no one seemed to be in sight. He turned to leave the room and get help when he bumped into someone else.

"I'm so sorry," he said without looking at the person and rushed out the door.

"Wait! Syaoran?"

He stopped and looked back. "Tomoyo! Thank goodness. Sakura's not in her room. I have to find her, what if someone kidnapped her? She's still in a coma she could be in danger."

To his surprise, and annoyance, Tomoyo was laughing. "She's fine. She just went out to get some air. She woke up just a few minutes ago."

Syaoran blinked. Sakura appeared to him just an hour ago. Had she woken up after she left? "What? Where is she? She's still recovering, Tomoyo, how could you leave her alone like that?"

The raven haired girl laughed again. "She's fine. She's been cooped on here for a year now, it's natural that she'd want some fresh air. She's out in the hospital's garden."

He thanked her and rushed out. "Wait!" He heard her call. He turned around to find his bouquet flying toward him and caught it. "Give those to her, all right?"

He smiled and continued running. Not having asked for much directions, he found the hospital's gardens and looked around for any sign of Sakura. He spotted her looking up at the starry sky, wearing the white hospital gown given to the patients. No longer able to contain himself, he sprinted to her and hugged her from behind.

"Sakura," he breathed out.

Sakura turned herself to face him, still in his arms, and smiled up at him. "You came to visit me," she said, her green eyes sparkling.

Syaoran smile and stroked her auburn hair. "Of course. I'm sorry for not coming sooner."

She embraced him, returning the hug. "It's okay. You're here now and that's all that matters."

Pulling away, he awkwardly held out the bouquet for her to take. "These, uh, are for you. They're kind of smushed though."

Sakura laughed and gratefully took the flowers. "They're perfect," she said, smelling them.

"Sakura, I thought you were—" He stopped, considering how to properly word it. "I mean, when you appeared to me before, I actually thought you had . . ."

Sakura giggled. "No, but I was about to," she replied. "For a year now, I've been on the brink of death."

"Then . . . what kept you here? What kept you alive?"

She smiled as she answered him. "You."

He couldn't help but smile. "Really?"

She nodded and started walking, he followed. "I've been watching you all this time. I felt like I was there, but I wasn't; like a ghost. I saw you completely shut yourself out from our friends, your family, and everyone else. I wanted to wake up right then and there so you wouldn't be in despair anymore, but I couldn't." She sat down at a nearby bench and he followed, watching her every move as she spoke. "It was really hard seeing you like that, Syaoran. But there wasn't anything I could do, so I remained by your side.

"Then you started seeing Saki." He cringed; he was hoping she wouldn't have been through all that. "And I was happy for you. I thought perhaps she could help you bounce back to how you used to be. But instead you seemed to bury yourself into work more and more with each passing day. The reason why she left you, Syaoran, was because she could see you were still hung up on me, and she needed someone to be there for her too. She was going through some rough times of her own. But then she met Akira, the guy you saw her with, and he helped her get through it."

She looked at him and smiled. "I think that was your breaking point though. I know you felt like it you had enough and that it wasn't worth trying anymore. But I couldn't accept that path you chose so I saved you from that oncoming car. I've been fighting to wake up for a year now, but if you died before I could wake up, what would've been the point? I needed you to see that there was still more to life, and He made it so you could see me for those few minutes. He saw how much you loved me and I you and told me it was time to wake up. And I did. Because I got to see you again, and hold you and feel more alive than I ever felt in a year, He gave me another chance to live here with you. And I've never been so grateful in my life."

Syaoran smiled and leaned over to give her a soft, sensual kiss. "Me too," he said, leaning forward to kiss her once more. He missed her soft lips on his, but he knew she was still recovering and pulled away. "I love you so much, Sakura."

She looked back at him, her eyes sparkling with happiness and love. "I love you too." He pulled her close as she rested her head on his shoulder. "I've missed you," she said quietly. She could feel sleep consume her despite her yearlong hibernation.

He kissed the top of her head and rubbed her arm softly. "I've missed you too, my little angel."

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Hello! This one-shot is dedicated to water-phoenix-hime from deviant art. She won a contest and one of the prizes was me writing a one-shot for her! I'm so sorry for the wait, girl. I promise it won't happen again, so please don't hate me! . Thank you for reading!

Sakura-chan Master of the Clow