Sup peeps. I got the idea while working on the other fic I was doing, and I guess I wrote this down quicker cuz it's a one-shot. Standard Disclaimers apply (aka CCS is not mine, I wish it was, and so on.)
A Different Evening
by mlugia
It was around eight at night when the doorbell to Sakura Kinomoto's house rang. When she opened the door, there stood a grinning young man with messy brown hair and dark eyes leaning by the doorbell. "Mind if I come in?" He asked with a smile.
"Oh, sure," Sakura replied, graciously allowing Syaoran to enter the house. "You're lucky Otou-san and Onii-chan are out tonight, Syaoran."
"Oh, of course. But it's not like Touya hates me that deeply anymore anyways, so there," He rationalized as he plopped down on the sofa. "But guess what?" He asked excitedly. Sakura raised an eyebrow questioningly. "I'm finally free!" Exclaimed Syaoran.
"I thought you were going on a date with... oh!" Sakura said as a light bulb appeared over her head. "Well it's about time, Mr. Syaoran Li!" She mocked. "You wanted to break up with her for how long now?"
"Oh, only a month and a half," Syaoran replied carelessly. "She said I was a little too serious at times and my mind seems to be wandering whenever we're talking."
"Hmm, sounds a little familiar, doesn't it?" Sakura teased. "Oh wait, that's what the last girl said, and Mina and the rest of them!"
"Well, it's hardly my fault, girls are so darned hard to understand to begin with!" Syaoran complained.
"I'm sure it isn't. So those girls all decided to break up with you for no reason, huh?" Sakura rolled her eyes.
"Well you know me, Sakura. If I knew anything about girls I'd have my dream girl in my arms right now," Syaoran stated while turning on the TV and flipping through the channels. "So do you have any food? I'm kinda hungry." Sakura playfully poked him in the arm.
"Didn't you just go for dinner with Aiko...?"
"Yeah, but she dumped me before we got to the restaurant," Syaoran said helplessly. "I was kinda hoping to get a meal first."
"Fine, I'll make some pancakes. I was planning to make some anyways for Kero when he comes back from Tomoyo's," Sakura sighed, exasperated. "Tomoyo's got cake today, you know. Sometimes I wonder if Kero would just want to live with Tomoyo instead because of her cake."
Sakura stood up and walked into the kitchen, and Syaoran followed. Sakura opened up the fridge door and got out some of the ingredients required, and then searched the cupboards for the remainder of the ingredients. She placed the ingredients into a bowl and began whisking.
"You know..." She started while whisking, and Syaoran looked up from the bowl at her. "Why do you even bother waiting for so long? You didn't really like Aiko to begin with, and you don't break up with her even though you know you want to. I really wonder what's going on in that head of yours."
Syaoran shrugged. "I dunno. It's just that I don't feel right dumping anyone, or just saying no to them, I guess."
"And then there's Eriol, whom you say no to every chance you get," Sakura pointed out with a wink. Syaoran puts on a disgusted face.
"Well, I meant girls, is that better?" Syaoran explained. Sakura giggled at his frustration.
"But still, Syaoran. If you don't like the girl, why do you bother going out with her in the first place?" Sakura grumbled. "You're just going to end up breaking her heart, you know."
Syaoran nodded. "Yeah, I realize that. Notice how I never dump anyone, but I wait for them to dump me instead?"
"But wouldn't you feel like you're just a toy that's being used?" Sakura asked, biting her lower lip.
"Eh, I guess you're right. But it's not like they're the girl I dream about..." Syaoran explained, but was cut off by Sakura.
"Oh, so you do like someone, Syaoran!" She exclaimed, dropping her bowl on the counter. Syaoran's eyes went wide as he realized what he just implied.
"E-Err?"
"So who is it?" Sakura asked excitedly. "Is it someone I know?"
Syaoran backed away a little from the excited Sakura. "Hey, hey, wait a minute. Who said I'd tell you about her in the first place?"
Sakura pouted at this. "Mou, I thought we were good friends, Syaoran. Good friends are supposed to tell each other things!"
'Yes, just good friends...' flashed across Syaoran's mind, but he quickly shook it off. "Tch, Sakura, nice try. If we're such good friends how come you haven't told me about the guy you dream about?" Syaoran accused, grinning. This time, it was Sakura who tried to avoid the question. She quickly turned back to the pancake batter, and oiled up the pan on the stove.
"Pancakes first," She reminded. Syaoran grinned, knowing that he had scored a victory. He walked over to Sakura, who was working with the stove, and placed his hands on her shoulders.
"So, it's someone you don't want to tell me about, huh?" He whispered into her ear. "Now who's not being a friend?" His soft breath on Sakura's earlobes caused shivers to go down her spine.
"I-It's no one, really!" Sakura replied quickly, hoping he wouldn't catch the uncertainty in her voice. Unfortunately, Syaoran had already caught it, and planned to use it.
"Oh really?" Syaoran whispered again, his head over Sakura's shoulder. It felt good to him, just to be able to stand there holding on to Sakura. He wished they could be there forever, but Sakura suddenly declared, "Pancakes are done!" And moved. Syaoran let loose a sigh, which luckily was missed by Sakura.
Sakura carried the plate of pancakes to the dining table as Syaoran brought out plates and forks. The two sat down across from each other and Syaoran dug in almost immediately. "Oh my, this is good," He said between mouthfuls of food. Sakura giggled.
"Whoa, slow down there, I wouldn't want to choke you to death now with food," Sakura cautioned playfully. Syaoran looked up from the food.
"Man, I'm starving. Besides, I'd be a pretty happy guy if I can die by my favorite things, right?" Syaoran replied, and continued his pancake devouring.
"Aww, you want to die by pancakes now? That's a new one," Sakura observed, a smirk on her face.
'Yeah, pancakes, that's it...' Syaoran thought to himself, finding it harder and harder to swallow his mouthful of food. 'Why do I feel like this? Could it be that feeling never died to begin with?'
They sat there in silence, each feasting on a plate of pancakes. For a complete five minutes, the only sound in the room was the clinking of forks on plates, and the occasional look Syaoran sneaks at Sakura while she's not looking. After they were done, the dishes went in the sink and the cleanup began. Sakura poured some detergent into the basin and scrubbed on the dirty plates under the running tap and then passing off to Syaoran to dry with a cloth.
Sneaking a quick look at Syaoran's serious face, Sakura wondered what he was thinking about. A smile crept onto her face as she thought of something to do, as she gently collected a handful of suds from the detergent and flung it at Syaoran's face. Syaoran had a look of total shock as the ball of suds hit him square in the cheek. Sakura giggled at his blank look until he realized what happened, and laughed.
"Ha ha, good one, Sakura, but..." He trailed off as he grabbed a handful of suds and retaliated, getting Sakura right on her nose. Sakura squealed, not expecting the retaliatory attack.
She folded her arms and pouted. "Meanie!"
Syaoran, who always melts when Sakura does something cute like that, could not make an exception here. "Oh, I-I'm sorry, Sakura," He said, reaching out his left hand for her shoulder. That was when the pout on Sakura's face turned into a smirk. She quickly grabbed another handful of suds and threw them at Syaoran when he least expected it. Syaoran let out a cry of surprise, which then turned into a playful growl. "Grr, I'm going to get you for that one, Sakura!"
Sakura let out a shriek amongst her laughter as she ran out of the kitchen, trying to escape from Syaoran, who wasn't too slow himself. She ran behind the Sofa, drawing a stalemate with Syaoran. "Oh, you are so dead. Sakura!" Syaoran said with fake anger as he proceeded to chase Sakura around the sofa, drawing another shriek from Sakura.
Catching her chance, Sakura faked to the left and then ran to the right, eluding Syaoran, and hurried up the stairs with Syaoran still in pursuit, laughing all the way. She made a right turn up the stairs and found herself in her own room. Behind her, the footsteps of Syaoran got louder, and just as she turned around, she heard Syaoran exclaim "Got ya!" before he pounced on her, which resulted in both of them falling onto Sakura's bed.
After the laughter subsided, Syaoran noticed that he was lying on top of Sakura and facing her on her bed, and his face was mere inches from Sakura. Sakura's emerald eyes stared right at him, a mix of emotions running through them. Syaoran could swear that he heard their pounding hearts, but he was paralyzed with shock. "Um... Syaoran?" Sakura said softly, bringing Syaoran back to reality.
"Oh, huh?" He said as he quickly climbed off and stood up stiffly. "I-I'm sorry." Sakura sat up on the bed, thoughts flooding through her as well.
Sakura waved her hands. "It's ok, Syaoran. I wasn't hurt or anything," She replied. "Hey, let's go downstairs and watch TV instead." Syaoran nodded, and followed her downstairs. The two settled on the couch and Sakura picked up the remote. "Any requests?"
"Well, no, not really," Syaoran replied, so Sakura flipped to a random movie. "What movie is that?" He asked.
Sakura shrugged. "I dunno. But it looks interesting, right?"
"I guess so."
The pair watched the movie until Sakura broke the silence by turning to Syaoran and whispered. "Syaoran?" He turned to her.
"Hmm?"
"Are you gonna tell me about the girl you like?" She asked innocently. Syaoran shook his head stiffly. "Aww, why not?" Sakura said with a hurt tone.
"Because... Just because" was the response from Syaoran, who had turned back to the movie. Sakura lowered her head, a pained expression on her face.
Syaoran sighed inwardly. 'Should I tell her? She looks so sad that I'm not. Does it seem as if I don't trust her or something? But... What would she say? Probably make things awkward between us... Well, now's as good a time as any, right? If she hates me afterwards, it'd have to have happened eventually, and I might as well find out now...' With his eyes remained fixated to the TV, he cleared his throat.
"Sakura..."
"Yes, Syaoran?"
"When did Daidouji and Hiiragizawa hook up?"
"About a year ago, why?"
"I dunno, it just gets me thinking whenever I think about Hiiragizawa."
"You think about Eriol?" Sakura asked with mock surprise.
"Ha ha, very funny," Syaoran replied sarcastically. The pair went silent again as they turned their attention back to the movie.
"Sakura..."
"Hmm?" She hummed as she turned to look at him.
"Do you ever think about us?"
Sakura nearly choked, but caught herself in time. "What do you mean?"
"Well... You know how Daidouji's always trying to set us up, right?" Syaoran asked, and Sakura nodded slowly.
"Hai..."
"Well... There's actually a pretty good reason she's doing it, aside from being annoying."
"There is?" Sakura asked, her eyes widening. 'Could it be that he knows that I...?'
Syaoran nodded. "Well, you know how every girl says that I seem to be thinking about something else and such? I know you wouldn't believe this, but um..." He gulped. "I seem to be always thinking about you, Sakura..."
Sakura gasped. This was one of those things that she'd never have expected. "W-Wha... No... Really?" She wasn't sure which word to use, and thus gushed out somewhat of an incoherent sentence.
Syaoran leaned forward towards Sakura, until their faces were barely a foot apart. "Sakura... You're the girl I dream about... I really am in love with you." He finished his sentence with a gulp, not sure of how she would react. His could see confusion in Sakura's eyes, as she searched within herself for a suitable response. 'Well, I guess I tried...'
He broke out of the trance that they were in first by standing up. "I... I think maybe I should go now..." He said.
"But..." Sakura responded. Her mind hasn't completely comprehended what had just happened, and because of that, she couldn't formulate the response that she had wanted to give. She watched as Syaoran walked to the door, and called, "Wait a minute, Syaoran!"
He turned around to look at her. She got up and walked up to him. "Well, Syaoran... The truth is..." She leaned in and gave him a hug. "You are the person I love most as well."
'She... what?' Ran through Syaoran's mind. "You... do?" He asked quietly.
"Yeah..." Sakura replied. "I guess Tomoyo wanted to set us up because she knew?"
"I guess so. I never thought it'd turn out this way though." Syaoran mumbled.
"Well, it did, and that's all that matters to me," Sakura stated, her head resting on Syaoran's shoulder.
"Right, that's all that really matters," Syaoran agreed.
--------------------Fin-----------------------
So, what do you think? Comments and criticism appreciated, flames are... well, not so much. Hope you enjoyed it...
~ M.