Right Here Waiting
by brokenshadow23
Disclaimer: Cardcaptor Sakura belongs to Clamp.
Chapter 7
Beside you
"Good afternoon, Master." Wei greeted with a smile as Syaoran entered the apartment. "And you too, Kinomoto-san." He added, seeing the familiar girl in her school uniform.
Sakura bowed her head a bit to show respect, which Wei was grateful off. Even though it had been years since Syaoran let his apartment be her second home, she was still careful of moving inside it.
"Wait for me here." Syaoran said, letting her sit in the living room. He wanted to go to his room first to change and to arrange some of his things before he tutor her. Once he saw her nod, he turned to his butler and said, "Wei, can you please give her something to eat?"
Wei nodded and disappeared into the kitchen.
Sakura sat on the couch for a moment, but chose to follow the old man. She entered the kitchen, seeing him preparing the cups and small plates he needed. "I can do it, Wei-san." She offered.
"But-"
"It is okay." Sakura smiled at him. "I know you have other things to do. After all, this may be a little way for me to repay Syaoran for his time."
With that, Wei understood. "As you wish, Kinomoto-san." He said, stepping back to give her way. Based from Syaoran's stories, he knew that Sakura was a great cook. She was the opposite of Meiling Li in that aspect, since the latter constantly struggle in order to please Syaoran.
Sakura smiled gratefully. "Hey, can you please just call me Sakura? You saw me and Syaoran grow anyway, and I treat you like a father already."
Wei gave a short laugh. "As I have thought, Meiling is so different from you. Now I understand why the young Master is drawn too much on you."
"Hoe?" Sakura gave a confused look, not knowing what he meant. She gazed at him, but the old man chose to remain silent and simply smiled. She wanted to ask him, but Syaoran entered the kitchen.
"Is that chocolate?" Syaoran said, smelling the familiar scent. He found his butler on the side, watching Sakura pour the hot liquid on three cups.
"Yes." Sakura answered, taking one cup to give it to Wei. She turned to him and smiled. "I know how you prefer hot chocolate more than tea."
Syaoran smiled, glad that she remembered how chocolate could make him happy. Although this time, his happiness was not fully on the drink, but the fact that she was doing it for him. 'At least for a short time, Eriol left her mind.'
"Shall we go up?"
Syaoran nodded. He walked beside her. "I'll take this." He said, getting the tray away from her. "You can go up now; I'll follow you for a moment."
Sakura nodded and did what she was told. Syaoran then looked at Wei, who had a grin written on his face.
"What's with that look?" the younger man said. Wei shook his head. "I am just happy, young Master."
Raising a brow, Syaoran waited for him to speak. He knew very well that Wei got something on his sleeve and he wanted to know what it is.
"It's just that," Wei began. "I am glad to see that you and Sakura are doing well. And, it's nice to see someone taking care of you besides Lady Meiling."
Syaoran scowled. "That issue again." He said, receiving a short laugh from the older man. He sighed, simply wanting the issue to leave that place. "I'll go up now. And please prepare a dinner for three."
"I will, young Master."
After dinner, Syaoran and Sakura decided to lock themselves in Syaoran's room to do their homework for the following day. Syaoran helped her first with Chemistry and Math, which gave him a lot of challenge since Sakura was having a hard time grasping the techniques he was sharing.
"Seriously," Sakura muttered, still looking at the numbers in her notebook. "How did that happen?"
If it was not Sakura whom he was talking to, Syaoran would normally scowled and lose his patience. However, he could not resist laughing because of her innocent childish expression. "You look like a kid who is lost in the park or something."
Sakura looked at him, having the very intention to smack him in the head, but she was unable to. She watched him, joining him on the process.
Hearing her laugh, Syaoran stopped and stared at her. "What?"
"It's just that," Sakura said, "I can't believe that until now, I am fascinated every time I hear you laugh. You rarely do that you know."
With that, Syaoran felt his cheeks heat up. He was not sure why, but her simple words caught him of guard. Suddenly, he turned away from her and cleared his throat. "I..." he said, softly. "Do you want to stay for the night? I found out that your father went on a trip yesterday and he will not go back until Sunday."
Sakura blinked. "How did you know that?"
"Your brother told me this morning." Syaoran said. Finally, he managed to retrieve his normal self. "And, he also told me that he would be having an evening shift for his new part time job."
"He gave you permission?" Sakura asked, not believing what she was hearing. Of all people, she knew very well that Touya would do everything just to take her away from Syaoran. It was because of his sister complex, plus, Touya could not forget her and Syaoran's first encounter when they were on the fourth grade.
He nodded.
"Thank you!" Sakura said, throwing her arms around him. She was so happy, that she would not be alone that evening.
Syaoran blushed once again, not expecting her reaction. He went stiff, but tried his best to relax. Smiling, he knew that his plan was right. It took him a lot of guts to open the offer to Touya, but he needed to
because he knew Sakura needed to stop herself from thinking of the strange things that was happening frequently and of course, Eriol.
"But what about Kero?" Grabbing the black phone receiver, he handed it to her. "Give him a call if he wants to come." Sakura dialed the right number and waited. "Hello, Kero?"
"SAKURA KINOMOTO!" Kero answered angrily, that Syaoran could even hear his voice. "WHERE ON EARTH ARE YOU? DIDN'T YOU KNOW IT IS ALREADY TEN IN THE EVENING?! WHAT KIND OF GIRL ARE YOU?! YOU SHOULD BE HOME BY THIS TIME!"
Sakura flinched, distancing the phone on her ear. "I am at Syaoran's. I forgot to tell you that I will be studying with him tonight, and he just told me that Touya allowed him to let me stay for the night."
"WHAT?!" The guardian continued to shout.
"Enough shouting, Kero." Sakura said then sighed. She noticed that Syaoran was looking at her so she gave him a reassuring smile. "You can go here if you want to. Just fly here, no one will notice now anyway."
"Fine." "And can you bring some clothes?" Sakura said, but her guardian suddenly hung up. She sighed.
"I thought, it was only Touya who kept on worrying about you, but I guess I am wrong." Syaoran commented, and then stood up. "Anyway, I'll make him stop talking, don't worry."
Sakura gave a confused look. "How?"
Syaoran smirked, but did not answer. Instead, he went out of the room and went straight to the kitchen. He grabbed the excess pudding Wei made this morning and went back. "You are here already?"
"No, I am not." Kero responded sarcastically.
Syaoran groaned inwardly, but remained calm. He wanted a quiet evening, so arguing with the little guardian was out of his mind. He gave him the food without a word.
"Wow!" Kero's expression brightened. He immediately grabbed the small spoon. "When did you become so nice?"
Syaoran ignored him and opened the door to his balcony. He leaned on the door frame as looked at Sakura, who was telling Kero that he was committing gluttony.
Then Sakura turned to him, this time with a sad look. "Umm..." Syaoran looked at her worriedly.
"Kero, do you remember Mizuki-sensei?" The guardian put down the spoon and wiped his mouth.
"Mizuki?"
The girl nodded. "Do you remember her, Kero?" He shook his head.
With that Sakura turned her emerald eyes to Syaoran and both of them exchanged confused expression. It did not make sense. How can a guardian of Clow, who knew almost everything before regarding his magic, forget another accessory of Clow Reed?
"Who is she anyway?" Kero asked, noting the silent conversation between the two friends.
"Nothing." Sakura answered, being confused more than ever. "Nothing at all."
-Syaoran's POV-
"I am going to sleep now." Kero said, rubbing his eyes as he lie down on one corner of the bed. He closed his eyes and did not even mind to ask if I would be sleeping there or not.
"Sleep tight, my guardian." Sakura gave a small smile and focused back on her notebook. She was finalizing her answers for her homework now, while I was taking my advance reading.
I stared at her, still not forgetting about the incident earlier. "It's already late. Are you sure you still don't want to sleep yet?"
"I'm fine."
I sighed as I realized what she was doing. I stood up, letting her alone for a moment to get some things from my wardrobe. I pulled out a small white shirt, some excess pillows, blankets and a sleeping bag. "I only have this for you to change on. Plus this short that Meilin left."
"That would be fine." Sakura said as she closed her notebook. She turned to me. "But are you sure it's alright for me to borrow that? Some girl might kill you once again, and glare at me for wearing the shirt she bought for you."
I chuckled, knowing what she was referring too. "Please," I said. "It's only Meiling who does that. Besides, I bought this shirt alright?"
Sakura giggled and grabbed the clothes. She disappeared for a moment to change, so I decided to set things up. She returned after a few minutes.
"I'll take the floor tonight. You sleep on my bed." I said, knowing that she did not want to sleep in a separate room simply because of the stories Touya was telling her about ghosts.
"But—"
"Ha!" I interrupted, smiling. "You are a girl and it wouldn't be nice if I won't sacrifice a little bit. Besides, Kero is already dreaming. I don't want to sleep with that little monster."
She smiled. "Want to sleep now?"
I shook my head, but lie down and faced the ceiling. "Not really. I just want to lie down."
Sakura remained silent, but then she turned off the lights and opened the lampshade on my table instead. Suddenly, she jumped on the other side of my bed and nearly fell.
"Careful." I reminded her as I pushed her petite body into the bed. "Klutz."
"I heard that."
I laughed.
"You should have this." She said as she faced me and gave me a pillow.
I took it and mumbled thanks. I kept silent, waiting for her to start a conversation.
"Ummm..." Sakura began with voice softer than the usual. She did not look at me, but instead, chose to look at the ceiling like what I was doing. "Did you see how Eriol is acting?"
"I have not seen him these past few days." I told her.
"I think he's avoiding me."
I raised a brow. "What for?" I asked, trying to get a grasp on what happened between them these past few days. Sure, I was not fond of talking things about him, but it's about time to know what was happening between them.
"I don't know." She said.
"Do you want me to confront him or kill him for making you suffer like this?" I offered, hoping to lighten up things.
Sakura stared at my amber eyes and smiled. "Sure, but I'll kill you next."
Laughter.
"Seriously," I said in a calm voice. "You know I can easily do that. A sword will be enough."
"Thanks..." She murmured.
"Hey, Sakura." I called her after a piece of silence. "What would you do if—" I sat up to glance at her, but I found her with eyes closed. I smiled at this. Slowly, I put my hand on her cheek. "Oyasumi-nasai, Sakura."
"Sakura." Syaoran whispered as he sat down on the bed. He looked down at her sleeping face, amused with her calm expression. "Wake up now. You don't want to be late, do you?"
Sakura slowly opened her emerald eyes upon hearing the familiar voice. She smiled sweetly.
"Morning, sleepyhead." Syaoran teased her.
Sakura sat on the bed and realized what he was wearing. "Why are you already in school uniform? What time is it anyway?"
Syaoran glanced at the clock on his study table. "An hour before class starts. So if you don't want to be late again, you should start moving."
Sakura smirked and grasped his messy hair.
"Hey!" Syaoran said as he tried to remove her hand on his head. "Stop that. What's this for?"
"Nothing." She giggled when she saw him scowl. "But probably for calling me sleepyhead."
"It's because you are!" Syaoran pointed out. He started to chuckle, for he did not expect that this would happen.
"Little wolf." Syaoran shook his head, and simply smiled. He stood up. "Enough talk, you should start moving now."
"Alright, already!" Sakura said, removing the green blanket away from her body. "I didn't know you're worse than Touya."
He smiled. "Just move..."
"Hiiragizawa?" Mr. Tanioka called him as he dropped his things on the table.
The English man put down his hand and stood up. "Sir, can I request to have an exchange of partners for the next projects?"
'What?!' Sakura stopped scribbling on her notebook and looked up. She gazed at her right, seeing Eriol in full determination. She was not sure what he was up to, but she was surprised with the sudden request.
"Is there something wrong with you and Kinomoto?" The teacher asked.
Eriol shook his head, but did not mind to look at the auburn haired girl. "No, Sir. However, I think it's better for me to help Takashi as of the moment."
Sakura stared at Mr. Tanioka as he scanned his notebook. She watched him, hoping that he would say no. "I can see your point." The teacher said, to Sakura's disbelief. "Kinomoto, please pair up with Saiko."
Groaning inwardly, Sakura could not believe with the decision. She wanted to talk to him, but it seemed that Eriol was trying his best to stay away.
'What am I going to do now?'
