Sakura laid flat, chin up on her pillow, with her arms loosely folded around the little bear Syaoran. She'd been taking care of him all this time, but she'd never looked at him the way she did now. Now that Syaoran was gone. She was still wearing her pink dress, even now that it was 7 hours later. She didn't know what she was waiting for, but she didn't find herself wanting to do anything else. Even Kero had tried and failed to summon a genuine smile out of her since she'd come back. Every expression she made just looked tired. Kero suspected that there were only two people who really had a chance of lifting her spirits, and neither of them had called in yet. It really surprised him that Tomoyo hadn't called; normally she would be here in an instant with an arsenal of tea and advice at the ready. But she hadn't. Had she decided that Sakura needed time alone? Maybe that was what she needed right now. But it was 6 o'clock, if she stayed any longer she'd miss dinner. He wafted out of his desk and hovered over to her, tentative in how he flapped his wings so he didn't distress her.
BZZZ BZZZ
Kero was stunned by the phone ringing and fell out of the air, but Sakura was instantly on her feet running over to her desk where she left her mobile. She snatched it up and couldn't contain herself.
"Syaoran!" she squeaked.
"Sakura?" replied a male voice over a crackly line. "It's Eriol."
"Oh, Eriol," sighed Sakura, clearly disappointed as she slid to the floor. "Hello."
"My, my, don't you sound happy?" His smile, as ever, was present in his tone.
"I'm sorry, Eriol," repealed Sakura. "I didn't mean-"
"It's quite all right, I know." Answered Eriol. "I know today has been hard for you. And you had to think about what I asked, yes?"
"You knew." It had long ceased being a question whether Eriol knew these things or not. "But yes, I did. You were right."
"And?" encouraged Eriol.
"Syaoran and I… we feel the same about each other," she confessed.
"Excellent, I'll open up the phone line," said Eriol, clipping into the end tone.
"Hoe?"
"Sakura?" a new, familiar voice called. "Are you there?"
Sakura's heart leapt up and down. "Syaoran?"
There was tiniest of pauses until he said. "Yes, it's me."
"Syaoran!" burst Sakura, grinning and laughing and crying just a little bit. She could see the shocked face he was probably making at her exclamation, but she was just so happy to hear his voice. She reigned herself in enough to continue talking. "Are you okay? How was the flight? Are you tired? I miss you."
"…" Syaoran was definitely as red as a raspberry, but Sakura couldn't help but fret that his silenced equalled his disappearance.
"Syaoran?" peeped Sakura. "Are you still there?"
"Yes, I'm here," he replied, settling her poor heart. "I miss you also."
She beamed at nothing. "How's Hong Kong?"
"It's nice to be back home," he answered. "My sisters picked me up from the airport and my mother was there when I got home. I tried calling after I unpacked, but the line was busy."
"Oh, that must have been Eriol. He called," explained Sakura.
"Hiragizawa?" repeated Syaoran. "What did he say?"
"He…uh…" Sakura's face glowed pink at the thought of having to verbalise what Eriol knew. "He wanted to know how…if…you and I…felt about…each other."
Syaoran froze at her words. "He…knew?"
"Yeah," said Sakura.
Syaoran stopped and chuckled a little. "Of course, Hiragizawa knew."
At that, Sakura laughed too. She'd thought about what her days would be like if she never heard Syaoran's voice again or was able to turn around and see him in the desk behind her, and even now that there were no Cards or big problems she realised that they may never fight alongside each other again. And the thought broke her heart. To never see Syaoran again… It would be like never seeing Tomoyo; never been shot on camera, never dressing up, never holding hands as they walked. She couldn't bear the thought of being without either of them. And yet, even with Syaoran so far away, the sound of his voice felt like it just might be enough.
"Sakura!" hollered her father. "Dinner's ready."
"I'll be right down!" she called back. She returned to the phone. "Syaoran, I have to go, but I'll call you later! I promise!"
"Okay, I'll talk to you soon," said Syaoran. "Good night, Sakura."
"Good night, Syaoran."
Ladies and gentlemen, I ask you all a question. Guess who's back? That's right! I'm back on that Fanfic scene! Now, I ain't promising a lot, I still got my business, but I wanted to do a little something something. So, whilst you review and tell me how much you liked my work and how much you're glad I'm back, I will keep working. And as always, I'll see you next time.
Ja Ne