She bows her head gently toward her knees as the Li clan elders take their leave through the door at her side. She receives few whispers of acknowledgment, and the small smile on her lips is genuine. Sakura was welcomed into this clan with open arms. Her family has grown by leaps and bounds since marrying Syaoran. Clan dynamics and politics engross her new life, and with their leader at her side, she wouldn't live any other way.

Syaoran's apprehension buzzes in the late autumn air. She can feel his gaze on her from across the room, but she doesn't move her eyes until the last of the elders cross the threshold. The last sounds of shuffling feet pause a bit closer to her. Meiling's soft floral perfume accents her next breath, and Sakura allows her shoulders to relax.

"I'll speak to the aunties and give you two a moment," Meiling says in her softest voice, the one that she rarely uses around anyone other than Sakura, "Should I bring some tea on my way back?"

Sakura nods with a flush, not entirely trusting herself to keep her voice level and calm. Her own anxieties spike as Meiling closes the door behind her.

I can do this, she lifts her head at last to look at Syaoran. Everything will be alright.

He rises from his place at the head of the long wooden table. His movements around the edge are nothing but graceful and poised, but his brown eyes betray his worry. She tries to dispel that concern with another smile, but his lips only turn down into a slight frown.

"What's wrong?" he reaches for her, and she lets him pull her to her feet.

"Nothing," she answers easily, "I just wanted to speak to you about something, as soon as possible."

She grips his hand as they walk back toward the table. She knows that Syaoran can feel her tension just as she can feel him hold himself back from interrogating her. Her next breath is deep and calming. Their arms brush together comfortably, and Syaoran wordlessly leads her to sit at the head of the table.

Their hands are still linked as he takes the seat to her right, where Meiling would usually sit, as his most trusted adviser. Sakura can feel the blush returning to her face in full-force, but she powers through her tiny speech despite the warmth.

"Syaoran," she says softly, pouring every bit of emotion and love into each syllable. He flinches in her grasp, but she soothes her thumb against the back of his hand in small circles.

"Do you remember last week, when I mentioned the congratulations I received from those aunties so suddenly?"

Syaoran draws a quiet breath and thinks. Sakura's thumb stutters against his skin, but she doesn't dare to look away from his face.

He frowns, "The ones who wished you and the child you carried well? But Sakura, you're not…"

She bites her bottom lit into a hesitant smile. His eyes widen impossibly at the gesture, his dark brows disappearing under his messily swept bangs. His frown falls away to an open gape.

"Y-you're…?" he stutters breathlessly. The pressure building in Sakura's chest leaves her helpless to do anything but nod shyly.

His arms encircle her in an instant, pulling her growing grin into the crook of Syaoran's neck. She feels his chocked laugh more clearly than she hears it, and she draws a shaking breath before loosing a laugh of her own. In that way, they compound laughs off each other until they choke on the tears threatening to spill from their eyes.

Syaoran pulls away first, cupping her face delicately in his grasp. Her name escapes him nearly like a plea, a prayer with every hope and dream he could ever fathom. The tears finally fall when he smiles, love and awe and affection pouring out of his gaze unimpeded.

"I love you, Sakura," he whispers on his next breath.

Her hands encircle his wrists, her thumbs continuing their gentle circles, "I love you too, Syaoran."