A/N: Hi everybody! I just wanted to say thanks to all the people who read Prince Charming and this is for you lovely people. I originally wanted to make a Christmas story but well, it was the 23rd of December and I only had about 100 words in. =) I stayed up several nights to write this out in time for New Year's, haha. Please enjoy! And Happy New Year, everyone!
Prince Charming – A New Year's Story
Syaoran carefully took a peek, saw that she was sleeping, and let out a phew. Then he leaned back against his chair as he read the newspaper. The woman on the bed beside him was sleeping soundly for now, thank god. Sakura had been in an awful, crappy mood for the last…day and a half and he'd never felt more useless and tired as he did now. He knew he wasn't supposed to get upset and he was supposed to have extra patience at this moment in time. But damn, Sakura could really lay it all out.
Someone knocked at the door. He glanced as soon as Tomoyo came in.
"How's it going?" She asked quietly.
"She finally fell asleep."
Tomoyo laughed at the way he looked so relieved. "Was she that bad?"
"I think she wanted to stab me with her breadknife at one point."
"Regret marrying her now?" She teased.
"Almost." He turned around and glanced back at his wife of two years, who at the moment was waiting to give birth to their first child.
"Think of a name yet?"
Syaoran looked back at Tomoyo. "We talked about it for a while. Every time I brought up a suggestion, Sakura would throw me this evil glare. I'm planning to run out and sign the certificate once she's born."
"Uh…she would kill you."
"I'm willing to see it through. Anyway, since you're here, I'm going to grab something to eat. Want something?"
"I'm good, thanks." Tomoyo moved out of his way.
As Syaoran closed the door behind him, he walked down the hospital hallway and thought about his wife. He couldn't believe it. After two years of marriage, they were finally having a baby. Three years went by so fast. He knew how easy it was for life to change so quickly, but he'd never imagined being married at all. And to think he was going to be a dad by sometime tomorrow.
A nostalgic smile then came onto his face. He could still remember the first day they met. He found her so pretty. That was, until she opened her mouth.
. . . . .
"Sakura, this is Syaoran Li. He will be your new deskmate," Soshi Matsumoto introduced.
Syaoran saw her, immediately flashed a charming smile, and extended his hand toward her. "Nice to meet you."
She smiled platonically and grabbed his hand, firmly shook it. "Hi."
His brow rose ever so subtly, wondering what the hell crawled up her ass.
When they were left alone, Syaoran stood in the same spot, studying her with interest. Sakura, who chose to ignore it at first, finally turned and threw him an expectant look.
"What?"
He shrugged. "What?"
"Why do you keep staring at me? It's rude and inappropriate." With doubt, she looked him over. "Soshi must have seen something to hire you...I can't figure it out though. I'd hate for him to be disappointed."
He shook his head, slightly in disbelief.
"Why did you do that?"
"Nothing. You just…make a very bad first impression." He gave off a laugh and a smirk and sat on his desk. "Your personality doesn't match your face. But I'm glad I found that out right away." Syaoaran then grinned, full of scorn.
She turned back around, visibly fuming.
. . . . .
Syaoran went to a fastfood joint just across the street from the hospital. Sakura liked to eat, well, anything, but since she'd been pregnant, she'd craved for calamari and fried chicken. It was almost gross how much fried foods she'd been eating. But he loved her anyway and kept on feeding it to her.
"Syaoran Li!"
At his name, he turned. A black-haired woman came running at him. Before he knew it, she tackled him to the ground. "What the hell?" He exclaimed, pushing her off of him.
Meilin was smiling from ear to ear as she picked herself up. "I can't believe you're standing in front of me."
"Uh…" He studied her face as he dusted himself off. "Sorry, I don't know y-"
"It's me, Meilin!" She rested her hands on her hips. "From college?"
"Eh?" She did look somewhat familiar, but… Then a faint image of another girl came at him. But the girl was twice as big and had bright yellow hair. His eyes narrowed. "No way."
"Remember me now? I've lost a lot of weight since, and I thought I'd go back to black hair since the blonde was getting harder to maintain."
"Limei?"
She laughed. "Oh yeah, that's what you guys used to call me. How have you been?"
"I've been good. You?"
"I'm doing well. I can't believe it. We haven't seen each other for almost…what, 7 years now? Since Yuki's funeral."
He nodded, remembering that day. "Yeah, 7 years ago. It's been a long time."
"It seems like you've moved on well, though. That's really good," she commented optimistically.
"Yeah, the last 3 years have been good. So…what are you doing in Tokyo? The last I heard of you, you were living in Osaka, right?"
"That's right. I relocated a few months ago for a job. What about you? How long have you been in Tokyo?"
"Five years now, actua-"
She gasped. "You're married!"
He followed her finger, which was pointing at his hand. "Yep. Two years."
"Wow! Congratulations!"
He smiled. "Thanks. I lucked out."
"Aww…I'm getting there myself." She waved her left hand at him. On her ring finger was a sparkling diamond ring. "In about a year or so."
"Congrats to you as well then."
"So where you off to?"
Meilin never used to have such a cheerful, over-excited personality. With a complete change in her physical appearance, the change also came in her personality, he guessed. Happy to see an old friend, Syaoran relaxed.
"My wife's at the hospital," he threw a thumb over his shoulder. "She's been in labour for…" he glanced down at his watch, "5 hours now."
Her eyes were as wide as saucers. "No way! First child?"
Syaoran nodded. "Baby girl."
"I can see the excitement! Oh you must be so excited. I can't wait to have babies, but the fiancé, not too thrilled with the idea. Your wife… oh, what was her name again?"
"Sakura Kinomoto."
Meilin grabbed at his collar. "No way!"
Bewildered, Syaoran jumped back, tense again. "Eh?"
"Sakura Kinomoto is your wife?"
He nodded cautiously. "Limei, careful with the…uh, shirt." He cleared his throat. "You're choking me." Meilin still kept staring at him openly. "Get off."
"Oh. Sorry." Meilin let go and gave out a string of pleasure-filled giggles. "What a small world."
"Do you know her?"
Meilin nodded rapidly. "I went to high school with her!"
Syaoran frowned in confusion. "I thought you grew up in Osaka all your life."
"I did, but the family moved to Tokyo for a few years then I decided to go back to Osaka for college. Sakura was one of the popular girls, really cute and happy all the time. I wasn't exactly, erm, in that category. But she was a friend, sort of."
"Really?" Trying to imagine the younger version of Sakura made him grin.
"I mean, we weren't great friends. But she always used to comfort me when I was sad or angry."
. . . . .
"Hey Meilin." Sixteen-year-old Sakura said as she found Meilin sitting behind their classroom during the lunch break.
With dyed blonde hair and burning red eyes, Meilin barely uttered a greeting in return. She merely looked up, studied the class representative with a glare, then looked away.
Sakura sat beside her anyway. "You okay?"
"I'm great. Who wouldn't feel great after being insulted and bullied like that?" She griped.
"Sorry. That was a stupid question."
"Wow, you do catch on eventually."
Despite the harshness, Sakura remained in her place. "I get why you're so defensive and ready to pounce on anybody, but could you ease on the insults? I came here wanting to apologize for my friends. And to tell you one thing."
Meilin stared back at her disbelievingly. "What's that?"
"I might be dumb and what I say might be naïve…but I honestly believe that someday, when high school's all over and when our classmates don't matter anymore, there'll be somebody who'll take care of you. Protect you from everybody who wants to hurt you." Sakura rested her chin on her knee.
"Are you really that stupid? Get real. There's no such thing as prince charmings, Sakura."
"Whatever. I happen to believe in it."
"I'd rather not believe in lies, thanks." Meilin muttered.
"Suit yourself."
A long period of silence settled. One thought of when she'd meet her prince, while the other tried to imagine just what kind of future she would have that involved a boy who would actually find her pretty.
Meilin then asked with a quiet voice. "Wait, do you really think so?"
Sakura faced her, smiling. "Mm-hmm. If I happen to meet you in ten years and you're married, I'll be saying 'I told you so.'"
Meilin laughed now. "I bet in ten years you'll be married already. To somebody who makes fun of you all the time."
"What? I'm never going to marry someone like that. I can't stand that kind of guy."
. . . . .
"I used to make fun of her all the time." Syaoran admitted as he heard the end of Meilin's tale.
Meilin began to laugh hard. "I knew it! Man. I figured, no guy could put up with Sakura unless he openly made fun of the way she viewed the world. It's rare to find somebody so gungho about princes and fairytales. At sixteen!"
"Yeah. She drove me insane the first moment we met."
"Aww…I bet your love story's just as cute as mine."
Syaoran smiled. "I think Sakura tells our story better than I tell it. Do you want to see her by the way?"
"Yeah! I'd love to!" Meilin clasped her hands together. "I'm supposed to meet Shuu in fifteen minutes…" she pursed her lips then said, "But I don't care! Do you think she'll mind?"
He shrugged. "Anything I do sets her off…but seeing you might calm her down. She can't stand me right now."
Meilin patted his shoulder in comfort. "What room is she in? I'll go see her first…since you were going to buy something?"
"Oh yeah. I'm buying lunch. She's at Room 110A on the 8th floor."
"All right! I'll see you later!"
Syaoran waved as she began to jog across the street. He watched, still in a daze. It was nice meeting an old friend, but man, what were the odds that she knew Sakura too? The only person who really knew her outside of their marriage was Tomoyo.
So Sakura was just as much a princess in high school as she is now, he mused. It's not like she really changed all that much after meeting him anyway.
How many times had she demanded for flowers rather than wait for him to take the initiative since they got married? And how many times had she dragged him to the mall for one of those excruciating 12-hour shopping sprees he'd become all too familiar with?
::::::::::
"Why are you hating on your husband?" Tomoyo scolded.
Sakura tried scooting over to the left. "I'm suffering because of him. He put this baby in me. And where is he now? Having a big fat meaty sandwich."
"But you wanted a baby."
"I can't really see past the pain, Tomoyo. You're not helping ease it."
Tomoyo bit her tongue. "Sorry."
"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow…" Sakura moaned as another wave hit her. "When is this baby coming out of me!"
With sympathy, Tomoyo stood from the stool and wiped the sweat off Sakura's forehead with the towel lying on the table. "Do you want me to get the doctor again? Though she was just here…"
"Are you sure she gave me a shot of painkillers? Because I'm still in pain."
"The doctor said to give it 3 minutes. He left the room not even a minute ago, Sakura."
"Do you honestly think that I give an elephant's as-"
"Excuse me!" The melodic voice came from the hallway. "Is this Sakura Kinomoto's room?"
"Yes it-" Tomoyo began.
"Who wants to know?" Sakura interrupted.
Meilin came into the room, head first. "Hi!"
Tomoyo's brows furrowed.
"Do you guys remember me? It's me, Meilin, from high school!"
Like twins, both Tomoyo and Sakura's eyes widened as far as they'd go. "Meilin?" Their voices cried out in unison.
"YEAH!" She dashed to them and hugged Sakura first. "Wow, you're massive! Congratulations!" Then she sauntered over to Tomoyo and gave her a big hug. "Hey Tomoyo! Long time no see! Ooh you're married too!"
"Meilin? How- who- are…how-" Sakura shook her head. "Uh…I can't seem to make a phrase, Tomoyo."
"Where the heck did you come from Meilin?" Tomoyo swooped in. "It's been too long!"
"I know right! I was just walking down the street across from here and guess who I ran into?"
Sakura stared back at her in bewilderment. Who could she possibly have met? "Who?"
"Your husband! I went to college with him. What were the chances, huh? What a tiny world we live in."
"More…ah…you…eh?" Sakura grabbed at her temple. Too much information was coming in. Her brain couldn't process it fast enough. "Wait, what? Meilin, you…how did you…you know Syaoran. And you saw Syaoran downstairs-"
"Yeah, as he was going into the deli."
Tomoyo held Sakura's hand. "Honey, you just relax and I'll ask the questions." She turned back to Meilin and smiled happily. "It's nice to see you, Meilin. What a crazy surprise!"
"You ladies turned out very beautiful, as expected from the most popular cheerleaders. But what do you think?" She twirled in front of them. "You wouldn't have recognized me right?"
"No, not at all." Sakura admitted with a tired laugh. "I like what you've done with your hair."
"Thanks." She said bashfully, touching the ends of it. "I lost a lot of weight too!"
Tomoyo shook her head in amusement. "Your personality's totally changed. I remember you being very cold to everybody. Is it because of that gigantic diamond ring on your finger maybe?"
"Part of it. A lot has changed for me, only in the past 2 years actually. You should ask Syaoran. Back in college, I became a lot worse."
"That is so strange…you went to Syaoran's university and you guys were friends." Sakura murmured. Then her eyes widened a little. "So you must've known Yuki?"
"Mm-hmm. She was a good friend of mine, actually." Meilin took Sakura's hand. "I'm so happy to know you and Syaoran met each other. He was really torn apart when she died. I was pretty broken myself for a while. It's hard to see someone you care about go through that."
Sakura squeezed her hand in comfort.
Tomoyo put an arm around Meilin. "So what brings you to town? If you went to Syaoran's university then you lived in Osaka for a while after graduation?"
"Yeah, I grew up there and I wanted to go back after high school. I just got relocated for a job this September."
"So I guess this calls for an 'I-told-you-so'," Sakura concluded, touching the diamond on Meilin's ring. "Didn't I tell you we'd meet our prince charmings sooner or later?"
Meilin immediately pulled her close for a tight hug. "Thanks for saying that to me. I almost lost my guy. I had one foot out the door, so to speak, and then I remembered what you said. It took me a while to realize that my prince charming had finally shown up. Though my prince charming didn't exactly come in a white horse."
"Oh trust me. It took me forever to figure out Syaoran was mine. I hated his guts for a long time. Couldn't stand him…he made fun of me every single day."
Tomoyo nodded eagerly. "I enjoyed watching the two of them chase after each other for months."
"Oh really? I wanted to hear how you two met, but Syaoran said you would tell it better!" Meilin sat on the edge of the bed. "Care to share?"
"I'd like to request that too," Tomoyo added, sitting back down on her stool.
With the painkillers starting to work, Sakura leaned back against the bed. Since this baby wasn't ready to come out anytime soon, she decided maybe a storytelling would make time go faster.
"Well…okay, where do I start? Umm…all right. So three years ago, I was really caught up with our boss at work. He's the complete opposite of Syaoran. He was a beautiful man, very elegant and put on this perfect image. I thought I was in love with him, and I have tunnel vision when it comes to men. I saw Soshi and every other guy was like air passing me by.
"When Soshi and I finally got together, I started to realize who he really was. I was duped by it all – how hard he tried to build up this public persona. I got tired of it. It didn't work out well. I was heartbroken and miserable, thinking I'd never find my prince charming at all. I was starting to think there really was nobody out there for me.
"Then Syaoran came in…out of nowhere."
"Awww…" came out of Tomoyo.
"And then?" Meilin urged.
Sakura then got lost in the memories.
. . . . .
"He really tok me for granted. And I was really stupid to believe in… I just… I might end up drowning in my sorrows again before this day is over. Can you keep my mind off it somehow?" Sakura asked Syaoran.
"If I catch you bawling your eyes out or even let one teardrop fall, you have to sing a song. A really, really embarrassing song right there." He pointed to the center of their floor. "And you have to sing it loudly, with passion. I get to pick the song."
"No."
"What do you mean 'no'? You just asked me to get your mind off it. Let's make it a deal. If you go all day, that's eight hours, without crying, I'll owe you."
. . . . .
"It was a ridiculous bet, one that I never thought he would actually honour but he did," Sakura began. "I didn't end up crying that day and he actually…owed me one, he said."
. . . . .
Sakura followed him to the car, feeling exasperated. "You're trying to act mysterious right now, but it's only coming off as annoying. Where are we going?"
"The mall. There must be something you want from there. I might as well stick to my word and get you something. You won it fairly after all."
"I need to pee." Sakura cried, walking with discomfort.
"And what does that have to do with me?" He retorted.
"You're practically kidnapping me right now and I didn't get to go to the restroom like I originally meant to," she snapped back.
"It's not kidnap if you willingly come. Besides, it's your fault. You should've told me you needed to go. How would I have known that?"
. . . . .
"Lots of bickering between you two!" Meilin commented, giggling in enjoyment.
"When they weren't together yet, they had all kinds of lovers' spats," Tomoyo inserted.
"So what did he buy you?"
Sakura smiled. "I picked a watch for him."
Confused, Meilin's brow rose. "Eh?"
. . . . .
"Wait, don't drive yet," Sakura spoke up before Syaoran could start the car.
He rested back against his seat and looked over at her. "What?"
"It's yours." She shoved the box at him. "Take it. You bought it."
"What do you mean it's mine?"
Since he wasn't planning on putting it on himself, she grabbed his arm and forcefully placed the watch on his wrist. "There you go."
"What are you taking about? Why'd you make me buy a watch?"
"You said that money was basically mine. I just thought… Look, what you did for me this week meant a lot. I don't have a lot of people around me who I can lean on, and you were there for me when you didn't even have to be. So…it's not right to say that you owe me. You really don't. If anything, I owe you."
. . . . .
"Was that the beginning of Sakura's love?" Meilin wondered aloud.
Tomoyo laughed quietly. "She won't admit it, but I think she fell in love with him first."
"First? Why? Did Syaoran like you around the same time you liked him?"
"Well…the next weekend, Syaoran did something totally out of character," Tomoyo urged. "Go on, tell the story, Sakura."
. . . . .
"I just spent the whole night on a date with some woman. We had dinner, walked around by the river, and she even invited me over to stay for the night. I was going to stay. I was."
"Why didn't you?"
Syaoran kept on staring at Sakura wordlessly, his eyes intense.
"W-what? Why do you keep staring at me like that? It's making me very uncomfortable."
"It's your fault."
Syaoran walked around the car, grabbed the bags from his backseat, then opened the passenger car door. "Get out. Goodnight."
"Wait a minute." Sakura grabbed his hand inadvertently.
"What?"
The tone in his voice startled her, made her drop his hand. "Look, I don't know what happened between you and Julia, but I had nothing to do with it. How is the fact that you're not sleeping with her tonight my fault?"
"Forget it. Do me a favour and just forget everything I said."
"No! Explain. What happened?"
For a moment, all he did was stare at her. Then, "You were in my head. So when I saw you tonight…it was annoying. I've never been more annoyed that you showed up out of nowhere like that. Look…I don't know what it means, so don't ask me to expain any more than that."
. . . . .
"Eh!" Meilin cried.
Sakura was turning red slowly at every interruption. "It shocked me too. I don't know what came over him. I don't know what came over me. I was so nervous that night. I was thinking about him so much then he somehow showed up out of nowhere, startling me like that."
"Oh wow. Drama…"
"Tell me about it," Tomoyo grinned.
"Hmm. I think…he wasn't talking to me for a while at work after that. That night he went to my house. He was dropping off a co-worker who he'd gone on a date with. I used to live in her neighborhood."
"Wait, wait, wait." Meilin put a hand. "He went to see you after their date?"
"Apparently. He looked sad, so I thought I'd take him to my favorite place in the world and cheer him up a bit. I thought it would help him figure things out."
. . . . .
"You know I'm not prince charming, Sakura."
Sakura stayed quiet until he finished his piece. When he stopped talking, she asked him back, "What exactly do you think it means when I say prince charming?"
"The famous knight in shining armour." He muttered. "Ask any guy out there. He doesn't exist. But damn. All women look for him. You do. Julia. I bet Yuki was looking for that guy too, and since I'm nowhere near him, I got rejected. I'm used to it."
. . . . .
"That was the same night I realized he was it. Not exactly what I had in mind, but…there he was, my prince charming." Sakura rested her palm on the top of her belly.
"What happened after that?" Tomoyo demanded.
"You know what happened next," Sakura retorted.
"Well, Meilin doesn't!"
"Yeah I don't!"
Sakura sighed and smiled. "Mm…what happened next? Oh right, well, Tomoyo told me to figure out how I really felt by getting to know Syaoran better. It was the kick I needed."
"So you asked him out first?"
"Not exactly. She asked him to casual dinner. Then he asked her out later to an actual date, but he didn't ask her ask her-" Tomoyo babbled.
"Let me tell the story," Sakura interrupted.
"Ok."
"One day I was spacing out because I couldn't wrap my mind around the fact that I was falling for this guy whose guts I hated for years. He helped me finish the work I couldn't finish so I bit the bullet and asked him to dinner. He surprisingly said yes."
. . . . .
"So…this is a little awkward, huh? We've…never gone out for dinner together before."
Syaoran didn't say anything, but instead kept on watching her, which made her all the more unnerved. His eyes then darted to her lips. Within a second or two, he was grabbing for the menu.
"I'm hungry. Let's order."
When the waitress came, they gave out their orders quickly and succinctly. As soon as they were left alone, Sakura dove in to the conversation first.
"Thanks again for helping me with my work. I…ah…my mind was on other things."
He smirked. "Clearly. Don't you usually work harder than I do?"
"Yes. Obviously. But people are entitled to days where they just don't function well."
"That's usually how I feel every morning." His smile was weary.
Surprised at his admission, her eyes widened. "Really?"
"I've had insomnia for a while. Sucks like hell."
"You look healthy for someone who's a regular insomniac," she commented in a mumble.
He grinned then. "I'll take that as a compliment."
At the end of the dinner, as they were finishing their dessert, Syaoran watched with amusement as Sakura ate up the rest of the parfait they shared. It puzzled him how someone as small as Sakura could eat so much food. Where she put it, he didn't know.
Wanting to smile at the way she was just looking at him so candidly, he asked, "Done?"
She blinked. "Oh I'll pay, since I invited you out and I made you do my work."
"Next time," he said as he put down his credit card.
Their gazes eventually met, and held. He hoped she got the message. When she still said nothing, he wondered if she could read his thoughts as well as he could read hers.
Then she looked away, her face turning red, as she said, "Okay."
. . . . .
"It's still a nice memory, that first dinner we had together. Lots of nerves and tension between us," Sakura remarked.
. . . . .
"It's almost noon already and you're still in bed?"
The deep voice awoke her from sleep. Sakura shot up out of her bed. "Syaoran? What…"
"Wake up. There's this place I want to take you to. You're free all day right?"
"Yes I'm free today. I-I need to eat breakfast or lunch. But I need to wash up first, I just woke up. I can't find my slippers." She looked around the room in confusion and she began to walk to the bathroom, then stopped. "Wait, where are we going?"
"I'll tell you when I pick you up. I'll be there in half an hour."
Syaoran missed the cries Sakura threw at her phone at the sudden invite. Within half an hour precisely, much to Sakura's dismay, he was downstairs, impatiently waiting for her to come down.
"Sorry I'm late." Her breath was hurried as she reached him. Her mouth had gone dry at how ridiculously gorgeous he looked. "Though thirty minutes wasn't exactly that much time to prepare."
He straightened up and continued to look at her, as though taking his fill. Then he reached over and touched the ends of her hair. "You dressed up just for me?"
"No way. Why would I? This is how I normally look when I go out with friends." Sakura avoided his gaze because she was a bad liar.
Syaoran saw through it.
"This is kidnap, Syaoran. Tell me where we're going," Sakura said as soon as they were settled in the car.
"It's not kidnap if you willingly come with me."
. . . . .
"Oh my god the cuteness is killing me." Meilin claimed, grabbing Sakura's hands. "Syaoran's so frickin' sweet!"
Sakura's lips curved, her eyes smiling in turn. "And that's how it started. He took me to Tokyo Bay Park. We spent the day together. We weren't anything yet at that point…just friends hanging out, getting to know each other, but…"
"But you liked him and he liked you," Tomoyo said with a knowing smile.
Sakura's face turned pink. "Yeah. He kissed me. For the first time in my life, my heart flipped over. I didn't expect it at all, and when he let me go, he looked like he didn't expect it either. I asked him about that after we got married, and he said that he'd wanted to kiss me for a long time before that moment."
"Kyaah!" Meilin cried like a typical fan-girl. "Why isn't my love story as romantic as that is?"
Sakura laughed, embarrassed. "It felt painful and thrilling when I went through it. That part of being uncertain and not knowing if he feels the same way about you…then wondering what to do next."
"Chasing after each other," Tomoyo added.
"I made him lunch one time, as a sort of thank you. For some reason, it put him off, and he pushed me away. Honestly, it was like he was having menopause that day. He apologized to me that same day for being rude. I thought it was my opportunity to make my move, I guess. I asked him to make me dinner, so…he invited me to his place.
"That same night he told me about Yuki."
. . . . .
"Four years ago. She was sick." He was sitting far from Sakura, trying to gather his thoughts.
"What kind of person was she, Syaoran?"
"She was the first person who made the effort to get to know me. I was really anti-social for a while. She just stuck around.
"The only thing was…even when she was sick, Yuki wouldn't lean on me. I wanted so badly to take care of her, but…" As the sense of grief filled him, he lost his train of thought. "I usually try not to remember. Sorry." He closed his eyes and could only sigh.
Then after a minute or two of silence, Sakura gave him a soft kiss. His eyes opened and met hers, catching sight of tear-filled emerald eyes. His heart thudded helplessly."Why?" Was all he could ask.
"You looked like you needed it," she murmured.
Before she could walk away, he stood and yanked her into his arms. "Whatever happens now, I won't stop it. I'm really not what you're looking for, Sakura, and I've got too much baggage. I'm going to end up hurting you."
Sakura remained voiceless, her feelings indescribable at that moment.
He stared deep into her eyes. "Don't misunderstand this time. I'm not sorry for doing this."
. . . . .
"He kissed me in a different way. There were a lot of pent-up emotions in it," Sakura spoke. Even remembering it now made her heart beat harder.
"Wow, what a story."
"Well…it's not as magical as it sounds. There were a lot of ups and downs for us after that. Syaoran had a lot of things in his life he hadn't settled yet at that point."
Meilin nodded in understanding. "Yuki."
"Yeah. Whole other story, which I think Syaoran should tell you instead." Sakura touched her low back. "Tomoyo, could you call Syaoran? I need a massage."
"I'm right here, jelly belly." Syaoran walked in, carrying a paper bag. "Hey, Meilin. I'm glad you found the room all right."
"Yeah! I was listening to Sakura tell us the story about how you guys met and fell in love!"
Sakura looked up at her husband. It was probably just because she reminisced about their story that made her want to hug him. She reached over for his hand. Syaoran tentatively placed his on hers.
"Hi honey."
"You're not mad at me anymore?" He asked slowly.
She laughed a little dry laugh. "I still am, but my back hurts. Massage please."
Syaoran jumped on the bed right behind her and easily moved her down the hospital bed. Before he began massaging her back, he planted a kiss on her neck. "Sorry ladies that you have to see some PDA." He grinned. Tomoyo and Meilin laughed.
Sakura grabbed his hands and put it on her waist. "Shut up and do it already."
"Fine, fine."
"So…come on! Your turn, Syaoran!"
He looked up. "Huh?"
"Meilin wants you to finish the story," Sakura supplied.
"What story?"
"Your love story," Tomoyo answered. "Sakura just finished with that big kiss you gave her at your house when you made her dinner."
"That was a big kiss wasn't it. Ow!" Sakura had elbowed him after that comment. Still not quitting, he added, "I had to make sure she got it the next time around."
"Get to the part when we'd been dating for over 2 months already."
"Uh…" He frowned. "Around when was that?"
"September."
He slowly nodded, recalling the events. "Okay… how do I start?"
"I'd like to hear this actually," Sakura added, sending him a small smile over her shoulder. "It won't bother me, I promise," she reassured.
Syaoran tried to find the right words.
"After 2 months of dating, I thought it was…well, we were doing well. We were, right?" Sakura nodded. "At around that time, it was Yuki's death anniversary. Three years ago I was still in a pretty rotten place when it came to Yuki. I never got closure and it was hard for me to go back to that time."
Meilin watched him, moved with compassion. She'd seen how devastated he was during that first year. It was tough watching him and not being able to do a thing. She was in a horrible place herself.
"I wasn't feeling too confident with myself," Syaoran admitted as he massaged Sakura's back. "I really thought she'd leave me if I told her about Yuki. I hated thinking it, but the fear wouldn't go away. So I made a stupid move, went back to Yuigahama, and lied to Sakura about it."
"Oh no…" Tomoyo murmured.
Syaoran shot her a dry look. "You're the one who told her about it."
Tomoyo waved him off.
Meilin, at the edge of her seat, asked, "Did Sakura find out? I mean, eventually she did, but at that time, did she know?"
. . . . .
"You lied."
Syaoran's heart began to race. "How…"
"Does that matter? Why? At least have the decency to tell me."
When he didn't know what to say, he stayed quiet. He could only stare back at her.
Livid, she punched him repeatedly on the chest. "Answer me! Tell me right now you jerk. Stop staring at me like I'm the one who did something wrong here."
He grabbed her. "I didn't want to hurt you."
"Bullshit. You're hurting me right now. Why'd you go back there?"
"You really want to know?"
"Yes dammit! I'm not in the mood for games, Syaoran. Why would I ask if I iddn't want to know?"
"I went back for Yuki. To be alone with her."
Her voice and her breath shaky, Sakura tried not to cry. "Why?"
. . . . .
Syaoran wrapped his arms around Sakura from behind as the memories came back to them. "It's not exactly a good memory for me." He said apologetically.
Sakura patted his hand lovingly. "Why don't you skip to the part where we make up then?"
Meilin could only watch this interaction with a permanent smile on her face. She was just happy to see how Sakura saved him.
"I can't remember, I think a week or two passed by before we made up. I was going crazy. I knew I had to apologize but I didn't know when to do it. She wouldn't talk to me again. The thought that she might ignore me from then on scared the hell out of me."
. . . . .
Syaoran followed Sakura into the kitchen, not sure what to say. When he came in, her eyes flew to him, as wide and wary as a deer caught in headlights. His mouth opened to say something but no words came out. She didn't know what to say either.
Then the fears came crashing down on him. He couldn't lose her. Not this way.
"I'm sorry. For lying. Sorry for…what I said. I didn't mean anything I said. Sorry for making you cry." He looked up, caught the way a single tear fell on her cheek. "I've never asked anybody this in my life. You're the first one, so…please. Don't leave, Sakura."
One second went by when she said, "Kiss me and I won't."
He'd reached her in half that time and picked her up off of the floor.
. . . . .
"It was another big kiss." Meilin said, sighing happily.
Syaoran grinned. "Yep. I missed her a lot. You missed me too didn't you pumpkin butt?"
"I sure did, Charming."
"Yuki wrote me a letter and put it in this bottle back at Yuigahama beach. I thought I had to read it before telling Sakura how much I loved her. I couldn't have done it if I didn't have you," he said, now pushing away a stray hair from Sakura's cheek.
"What'd Yuki say?" Meilin asked curiously.
Syaoran looked up and met Meilin's eyes. "She loved me this whole time. Just didn't want to hurt me more."
"Mm…that's Yuki for you. Always putting other people first."
"Really?" Tomoyo piped up.
Meilin nodded. "Even when she was suffering. Every time I came by at the hospital, she'd always make me laugh, because I always wanted to cry every time I saw her. All those tubes connected to her. But." Meilin then broke into a smile. "She's in a better place now. That, I'm sure of."
"Sakura was there at the beach, after I read it. I cried a bucket of tears. So embarrassing." Syaoran muttered.
"Four years' worth of tears…" Tomoyo murmured.
"The end." Syaoran ended. He shifted, hearing Sakura start to groan quietly.
"W-what!" Meilin demanded. "How did you propose? We didn't even get there yet!"
"Uh…maybe next time, Meilin." Syaoran slid off the bed and rested his wife against the pillows. Syaoran saw the beads of sweat forming at Sakura's neck. "Could you get the doctor?" He asked Tomoyo.
Meilin stood. "Oh! Oh, is there anything I can do?"
Syaoran threw her a quick smile. "I got this." He wiped Sakura's face then her neck. "Sakura, here's my hand. Squeeze out my blood as much as you want."
"It hurts Syaoran…" she cried quietly, biting the bottom of her lip. "I'm….I want this baby out of me."
The pain in her voice made him kiss her temple. "I know. The doctor's coming. You'll be delivering in no time. Right now just hold onto my hand. That's it. Squeeze."
::::::::::
Meilin hung up the phone and came back to Tomoyo. "Shuu said he'll come pick me up in half an hour."
Tomoyo nodded. "Thank you for staying, Meilin. You didn't have to. Sakura will be happy to know you spent an important day here with her."
"Well, I haven't heard the rest of their story," Meilin countered. "Besides…I want to see their baby girl."
"They're so cute together, aren't they?" Tomoyo gushed, smiling. "Syaoran really takes care of her. I'm so glad they found each other. Sakura needed him as much as he needed her."
"Mm-hmm…it's so sweet."
Syaoran came out of the delivery room in blue scrubs. He took off the mask and the cap. "My baby has 10 toes and 10 fingers. She's got two eyes, one nose, and one mouth. She's…really bloody. I couldn't see like… I don't know, there was so much blood."
"…" Tomoyo sent him a look that said, 'duh?' while Meilin blinked back at him.
"The nurse said they'd clean her soon." Syaoran was in a world of his own. He couldn't describe his feelings. It was beyond words. "She…she looked at me. She blinked." He began to mumble, "her eyes were green."
Tomoyo grabbed his arm. "Really?"
"She's so pretty, Tomoyo. Just as pretty as Sakura."
"Congratulations, Syaoran! You're a father!" Meilin and Tomoyo cried.
"I…I am, aren't I?" He felt numb as the women took their turns hugging him.
"Mr. Li? Mrs. Li is asking for you," a nurse from inside the room called.
Syaoran ran into the room. He stopped just beside her and crouched down, his knee touching the ground. The exhaustion, the relief, the fatigue were all over her face. "You worked hard, Mrs. Li," he murmured, kissing her eyelids. "You took good care of our little girl. She's fine and healthy. She got your eyes."
"Really?" Sakura asked, her voice strained. "She didn't get yours?"
"It's too early to tell but I think she got my face. It's weird."
Sakura still managed to laugh. "I love you Syaoran."
He kissed her. "I love you too."
::::::::::
The next morning, Tomoyo came into the hospital early. "Hurry up, Eriol. You're moving like a damn turtle."
Eriol sighed. "I'm trying to fix up my tie. I want to look presentable for baby Li."
Tomoyo rolled her eyes. Her husband of one year couldn't, for the life of him, do his own tie. She stopped and they both stood just past the entrance doors. She grabbed his blue tie and within 10 seconds managed to do it up for him.
"Thank you honey." Eriol said, taking her hand and purposely slowing her down.
Tomoyo took a deep breath and tugged Eriol's hand. "Honey…don't test me. I want to see the baby, so could you please hurry up!"
"Ah. Ok."
Before visiting Sakura in her room, Tomoyo veered to another direction to the neonatal area. She had gone to too many checkups with Sakura and Syaoran that she memorized where baby Li was going to be placed alongside all other newborns.
When they got there, Tomoyo leaned against the window, looked along the rows of babies, and then cast her eyes on one particular baby girl. She had a very thin mat of hair on her head, her eyes were round and big and green, and the shape of her face was undoubtedly Syaoran's.
Tomoyo's heart sighed. This was going to be her goddaughter. "Hi baby…" she murmured. "Eriol, that's her. Sakura's baby."
"Oh wow. She's so small. Tiny and chubby. Pretty too."
"Isn't she though?"
Eriol put an arm around Tomoyo's waist. "You want one don't you?"
Tomoyo placed her head on his shoulder. "Mm. It'd be nice if I had a baby boy soon. Then I'd play matchmaker with baby Li and baby Hira."
Eriol bonked her head. "You really love Sakura don't you?"
"Of course I do. She's my soulmate."
"Eh? Then what does that make me?"
"My husband. Well, you're the love of my life." Tomoyo smiled at the frown she knew was on his face. "I'm sorry honey, but that's life."
:::::::::
Meilin waited until Syaoran was sitting back down on the stool before she pounced on Sakura. "Did you name her yet?"
"I tried, but Tomoyo kept blocking my path." Syaoran grumbled from behind.
"I have a few names in mind, but unlike him, I wanted to choose one together." Sakura shot him a glare. She then looked back at Meilin and took her hand. "Thanks for coming to visit me again so early in the morning, Meilin. You're a sweetheart."
"Well…I kind of wanted to hear the rest of the story," Meilin laughed. "I'm a sucker for romance. And well, since you guys already went down that road, I was hoping you could help me with the wedding plans. Sort of, lead me in the right direction, I guess."
Sakura nodded. "Sure, I don't mind at all."
"So…" Meilin settled herself on a chair on the other side of Sakura's bed. "What was the wedding like?"
"Wait, wait, wait! I'm here! Don't start the storytelling without me!" Tomoyo cried from the door. She pulled Eriol with her. "Ok you can go."
"Morning, Sakura," Eriol greeted, hugging her. "Syaoran. Congratulations!" He shook hands with him.
Syaoran smiled. "Thanks buddy."
"We just went to go see her. She got your face," Eriol said wth admiration.
"Yeah…I was staring at her for hours. The nurse finally told me to leave when the other babies started crying."
"What a creep." Sakura teased, earning a mocking glare from Syaoran. "Want to tell the story?"
"No. Eriol and I will go have a manly talk elsewhere." Syaoran grabbed Eriol's arm and pulled him out of the room.
"Don't even think about signing the birth certificate, Charming!" Sakura called out just before the door closed.
When the men were gone, both Meilin and Tomoyo gave their attention back to Sakura. Meilin's mouth opened, ready to ask the first question about weddings, when the door opened again. The women began to groan, until they caught sight of two older men, one much older than the other.
Sakura's eyes lit up. "Daddy! Touya!"
"Hey there baby girl," her dad rushed in and gave her a tight embrace. "Sorry I couldn't come earlier. The plane just landed this morning. How are you feeling? Was Syaoran with you the whole night?"
"Yeah, and so were Tomoyo and Meilin. Meilin's an old friend from high school." Sakura explained.
"Hey little sis," Touya planted his head on top of her head then gave her a side hug. "You're a mommy now, aren't you?"
She laughed. "Can you believe it?"
"Not really." Touya grinned as he hugged Tomoyo and shook Meilin's hand. "Morning ladies. Thanks for taking care of my little sister. Where's Syaoran?"
"Out with Eriol, having a 'manly' talk," Tomoyo supplied.
Touya nodded. "Maybe I'll go see what those two are up to. Where's the neonatal care unit?"
"I'll take you there. Meilin, come," Tomoyo urged, taking Meilin's hand in one and Touya's hand in the other. "Come, come."
Left alone, Sakura smiled at her dad. He had light grey hair cut short. His eyes and face were full of wrinkles now, showing off his age. Even when so much time had passed, his eyes still crinkled at the corners whenever he smiled. Sakura always felt a flutter of warmth in her stomach whenever her dad would smile at her like that.
"The day after Shiko had you, she looked just like you do now," Fujitaka murmured. "So beautiful."
"Daddy…"
"Your mom would be so proud of you and Touya, if she could only see you now. Just as proud as I am of you. As old as I am and as lonely as I get without your mom around, I'm very happy. Not once did you or Touya ever give me a hard time. I'm so happy you married a good man."
Sakura felt the tears swell in her eyes.
"Sorry I couldn't be here for you more."
She shook her head. "It's okay Daddy. I know it's still hard for you to be here. You came to my wedding and you came today. That's enough for me."
They hugged each other once more, full of love for the other.
"Well. Do I get to see my granddaughter or what?" Fujitaka demanded lightly.
Sakura laughed. "They said they'll bring her down anytime now. The doctor said I can't move around too much until late in the afternoon, so Syaoran's been keeping me company since. I don't even know where he's off to."
When the door opened minutes later, the nurse came with the tiny little baby. Syaoran followed in tow, watching mesmerized as the baby was placed in Sakura's arms. Touya was walking alongside Syaoran and Eriol, while the girls followed them.
"Time for the first feeding," the nurse announced. "Sakura, do you know how it works?"
She nodded. "I think so."
"All right. Syaoran, would you like to help her get sorted out?"
While everyone left the room for a moment and gave them their privacy, Syaoran helped Sakura out of her hospital gown so that one shoulder and arm stuck out. Sakura moved the baby's head closer to her breast and the most peculiar thing happened. The baby began sucking in a reflex motion until it found the nipple.
The nurse smiled, seeing Syaoran and Sakura's wide-eyed, open-mouthed reaction. "It's a normal infant reflex, don't worry. Looks like your baby girl's doing fine."
"Uwah…" Sakura murmured, awestruck and completely captivated by her own daughter. "Look at your baby Syaoran."
He placed his hand on the top of her tiny head. "Wow. My hand's twice as big as her head."
Sakura giggled. "What should we name her?"
"Himeko."
"Little princess?"
"My little princess. I like it."
"Me too."
"Happy new year, babycakes. And sugar dumpling," Syaoran greeted with a big smile.
Sakura couldn't help the laughter. She watched as he bent down and studied his daughter with the curiosity of a new father. "I feel sorry for Hime. You're going to keep calling her all these ridiculous nicknames until she moves out, aren't you?"
"If she turns out like you, her high school life is going to be one excruciating experience."
Sakura slapped his arm with her free hand.
At that moment, Himeko opened her eyes, blinked several times, her gaze darting from one parent to the other, as though trying to memorize their faces. Sakura felt her heart constrict. Syaoran knew his was already hers for the taking.
"Himeko…," Sakura spoke tenderly. "Happy new year, baby. Happy new year, husband."
Syaoran pressed a kiss on the top of her forehead. "Great way to start the year, huh?"
Sakura turned her head sideways and wiped happy tears on Syaoran's shirt. "Mm-hmm."
The End