Being pregnant was not at all what Sakura had imagined. Not only did she feel sick for a majority of the day, but her mood kept swinging back and forth and she was often exhausted by the end of the day.
And she was only four and a half months pregnant.
And Summer was just making it worse.
"Sakura, are sure you're ok the be out of the house?" Syaoran asked as they walked together through the shopping centre.
"I'm fine. Besides, it's air conditioned in here, so it's not too bad." She answered.
Syaoran eyed her with worry. She wasn't coping well with the heat and was quite sick some days. She seemed to be doing a bit better today, though. "Alright. Just tell me if you need fresh air."
Sakura smiled up at him, "I will."
They entered a clothing store and Sakura carried on towards the maternity wear. It wasn't terribly urgent, but she wanted to be prepared, just in case.
Syaoran was mildly confused as he realised what the things Sakura wanted to have a look at were.
"Isn't Tomoyo making you some things to wear?" Syaoran asked.
She nodded, "Yes, but don't want to bother her with too much."
Syaoran smiled to himself. He knew perfectly well that for Tomoyo, this was probably the most exciting thing that had happened since the incident with the Clear Cards. 'She's probably more excited than we are...'
"Once we're done here, do we need to go anywhere else?" Sakura asked as she browsed through the clothes.
Syaoran broke away from his thoughts and looked to Sakura. "Asides from buying ingredients for dinner tonight, no. Unless there's somewhere you want to go?"
She shook her head, "Well...I was thinking..."
He waited patiently for her to answer and she just smiled. "I was thinking it might be nice to have afternoon tea somewhere, is all."
Syaoran smiled. "Sure."
Sakura felt her heart warm and she couldn't help but let her happiness show, her face bright. Yes, that was the smile he loved to see. Sakura never really asked for much, but when she did, he liked to be able to grant her wishes, no matter how small or simple they were, all to see that smile.
There wasn't much Sakura really liked the look of, but she managed to find a few tops she liked in the end. After purchasing the tops, the couple left the store and decided on having afternoon tea before buying any groceries.
They sat at a quiet little cafe that had an assortment of cakes and drinks. Sakura decided on a cup of lemon iced tea and a fruit tart, while Syaoran had a chocolate milkshake.
He watched her with adoration as she enjoyed her snack and iced tea. She picked up a piece of strawberry and nibbled on it as she seemed to be sitting in thought.
"What are you thinking about?" Syaoran asked.
Sakura's emerald eyes made eye contact with his gentle amber. "I was just thinking about what the future might be like." She replied. "The house will be a lot livelier."
"It will, won't it?" he smiled in thought.
"And we'll be sleep deprived..." Sakura groaned.
Syaoran laughed. "We knew from the beginning that it would be hard."
She nodded. "Yeah, you're right. I just hope our child will be healthy."
He smiled softly, "me too."
Sakura ate a piece of pineapple, once again lost in thought. Syaoran picked up a strawberry and ate it, receiving a small but playful glare from Sakura.
"Are you stealing my food again?" she asked with a smile.
He put on his best innocent smile, "I have no idea what you mean."
She laughed and so did he.
When they had both finished, they made their way to the grocery store and meandered over to the fresh fruit and vegetables.
Sakura pulled the list of what they needed out of her skirt pocket and unfolded the paper. Syaoran glanced over at the paper, "Alright, so we need eggs, spring onion, carrots..."
"Meat and pasta." Sakura finished off.
He smiled, "let's go then."
They walked through the store, finding the items they needed and picked up a few extra things for Sakura to snack on including icy poles and some crackers.
As they approached the check out, Sakura was starting to show signs of fatigue and feeling unwell, which Syaoran noticed immediately.
"Do you need to sit down?" he asked.
Sakura shook her head quickly, "No."
He stared at her and she stared back, the two of them locked in a silent battle.
"Um...can I help you two?" the cashier asked awkwardly.
Sakura broke eye contact and smiled brightly at the younger woman, "Just these things, please." She said as she took their groceries from his hands and placed them on the counter.
Syaoran followed after her and waited patiently to pay for the items, watching Sakura closely as she got paler and paler. He paid quickly and took her hand after picking up the bags, carefully leading her from the shopping centre.
Once they were outside, he knelt down with his back to her and Sakura looked at him quizzically. "I'll carry you home. You're not feeling well, right?" he murmured.
"Well, no, but...I'm heavy." She mumbled.
"I'll be fine." He reassured her.
She blushed a little and gave in, climbing onto his back. He lifted her with ease despite the bags he was carrying as well and started the walk home.
They got a few stares, but Syaoran didn't particularly care. Sakura rested her head on his shoulder and breathed in his scent, feeling somewhat calmed, barely noticing anyone else's prying eyes.
"I'm sorry. I should have sat down when you told me to." She apologised.
He smiled, though she couldn't see it. "It's fine. What's done is done." He said gently.
Sakura closed her eyes and hoped the nausea would go away, allowing the breeze to brush over her skin.
"Thank you for this." Sakura said softly.
Again, Syaoran smiled. "Anytime."
When they reached home, Sakura got herself a bottle of cool water and sat down on the couch to rest while Syaoran put everything away and started on making dinner.
It didn't take long for Kero to appear after having smelt cooking food. "What's cookin'?" he asked.
"Dinner." Sakura replied.
He made an annoyed face, staring at Sakura. "You know what I meant."
"Syaoran's making omelettes." Sakura answered.
"Oh, I see." Kero sighed with disappointment. "How'd the shopping go?" he then asked.
Sakura smiled. "It was ok."
"Did you find anything interesting?"
Sakura shrugged. "Just a few tops."
"That's good." Kero smiled. "Suppi messaged us some photos from over in England."
Sakura smiled, "How is Spinel?"
"He's still as stuck up as ever." Kero muttered. "Oh-they also send their congratulations."
"I'll send Eriol and Miss Mizuki a text thanking them later." Sakura smiled.
"Good idea."
Sakura sipped at her water for a while until Syaoran walked in, "Just letting you know that dinner is ready." He smiled.
Sakura nodded and stood, "Great!" she beamed.
Dinner was quiet. Sakura was quite full afterwards and didn't really feel like eating anything else. "You look a lot better compared to before." Syaoran mentioned.
She smiled and nodded. "I feel a lot better too."
"That's good to hear." Syaoran gathered the dishes and took them over to the sink to wash them. He filled the sink with warm soapy water and started on cleaning the dirty plates.
"You have a conference coming up soon, don't you? When is it?" she asked.
He nodded, "Yeah, it's two weeks from now. I'll write it on the calendar."
"I hope it goes well." Sakura smiled, "for you and everyone else, too."
Syaoran couldn't help but smile. "Thank you, Sakura."
She stood and walked over to his side, picking up a dry cloth and started drying the dishes before putting them away, and when they had finished, the couple went and sat in the lounge room.
Syaoran turned the tv on until he found a channel with something vaguely interesting on it.
"Do you want to watch a movie?" he suggested.
Sakura smiled, "Sure. Do you want to pick one this time?"
"Ok." He stood and walked over to the shelves, looking through their DVDs and pulled out a fantasy movie to stick on.
"Is Lord of the Rings ok?"
"Sounds great. We haven't watched it in a long time." Sakura smiled.
"Cool." He moved to place the disc in the DVD player before sitting back down beside Sakura, who leant into his side as he placed an arm around her shoulders. He nuzzled her hair affectionately and rested his cheek against her hair for a little while, enjoying the comfort he received from having her with him.
By the time the movie had ended, Sakura was almost half asleep. Syaoran turned off the TV and DVD player, followed by the lights throughout the house, while Sakura sent a quick text to their friends in England and got ready for bed.
When he entered their room, she had already changed and slipped beneath the covers. He peeled off his shirt and reached for the draws with his sleep wear in it, changing quickly before switching off the light and slipping into bed beside Sakura.
"Goodnight, Sakura." He said as he kissed her softly.
She smiled, a small blush dusting her cheeks. "Goodnight, Syaoran."
A/N: Hey everyone! Thank you to all who have reviewed, followed and/or favourited this story. It means the world to me. I'm not sure how many chapters there will be. Remember, if there is something you would like me to write about for this story, let me know! I've started on chapter four, so I'm hoping to upload that either this coming weekend or late this week. We'll see.
Please review~