Destined

Author's Note: For those of you who weren't aware, I lost my files late last year (Deeper and Destined included). That's the reason why it took a lot longer for this to come out. I was actually done re-writing this chapter more than a month ago, but I lost it. Again. So yeah, it was pretty frustrating. But finally, here it is.

I want to thank you guys for being so patient. Thank you so, so much! This is, like, the third completed version and I think only around half of what's written here was similar to the original chapter, but I still hope you guys like it.

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS.

Chapter 8


"G'morning Sakura."

Sakura paused on her way to her corner office desk. "Oh hey, Naoko." She readjusted the folders in her arms as she wondered out loud, "Didn't hear you leave this morning."

"You looked so tired when you came home from your trip last night so I decided to let you sleep a bit more."

"Thanks." Sakura smiled sweetly. She appreciated the gesture. "I was tired, but it was fun. I'll tell you about it later. Lunch?"

"Of course." Naoko rubbed her stomach absent-mindedly. The gesture brought Sakura's focus to it and her smile widened.

"How's the baby? How are you?"

"Good. Great. Wonderful." Naoko beamed. "We actually have an appointment with the doctor later. We're going to try and find out the gender of the baby."

"Really? That's so exciting!"

"I know! By the way, did you get the article you were asking for?"

"Yeah," Sakura nodded. "I'll send it right back after I'm done with it."

"Okay. Oh wait – before I forget, Chiharu is looking for you."

"She is?" Sakura turned to look at Chiharu's cubicle. It was empty. "She's not there. I'll look for her later. I'm going to drop these at my desk first." She lifted her arms to gesture at the files she was carrying.

"Let me help you with that." Naoko made a move to stand up, but Sakura already stepped out of her reach.

"Nah, I've got this. You just stay there."

"Fine, fine." Naoko rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

Sakura just smiled at her again before continuing her trip to her desk. After arranging and sorting out the papers she needed, she proceeded to the office pantry. She immediately spotted Chiharu by the coffee maker. "I knew I'd find you here. Naoko said you were looking..." Sakura trailed off when she noticed that they weren't alone. A tall, silver-haired man was standing next to her friend.

Chiharu barely looked up. "Sakura, this is our new editor, Yukito. Yukito, this is my friend, Sakura. She's the one I was telling you about."

"Hello." Yukito smiled kindly.

Sakura tried to return it, but it probably looked like a grimace. She heard how Chiharu emphasized that she was telling Yukito all about her. "Um, hi."

"I've heard great things about you."

"Oh." Sakura glanced at Chiharu. She was obviously taking her time pouring coffee. "Um..."

Yukito took it upon himself to politely continue the conversation. "We'll be working closely together, so I hope we can get along."

"Uh..." Sakura shifted her weight nervously. "Yeah... sure..."

Ugh! She always turned into an uncomfortable, bumbling idiot when she was being set up. She just couldn't help it! This was what happened between her and Eriol. Thankfully, they got past that. This time, however, Yukito didn't seem to be aware that Chiharu was trying to set them up.

After an awkward silence, someone above finally decided to take pity on her. A colleague called Yukito outside.

"So I guess I'll see you later?"

"Uh... okay."

The moment Yukito was out the door, Sakura smacked herself. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Monosyllabic answers? Really? That was all she could manage? "Stupid..." Her muttering was interrupted by Chiharu.

"Hot, right?"

Sakura instantly shot her friend the evil eye. Chiharu was trying to hide her smile behind her mug, but it was useless.

"His first day was when you took your vacation leave so you didn't get to meet him," Chiharu explained as she placed her mug down.

"Whatever you're trying to do –"

"I'm not doing anything," Chiharu stated, convincing no one. "Oh, come on, give it a shot."

"You know how I feel about that." Sakura frowned as she leaned against the wall next to Chiharu. "And besides, were you not here the last couple of minutes? Did you not see me make a fool of myself? I doubt he wants to come close to me after that."

"Oh, please." Chiharu narrowed her eyes at her friend. "I saw the way he looked at you. So trust me, he does." She continued to urge, "If you talk to him, you'll see that he's nice and smart, too. I mean, when I first saw him, I just knew you'd be good together."

Sakura chose not to answer. She just crossed her arms in front of her chest. What she knew was that as long as Chiharu was pushing it, she wouldn't be able to properly get to know Yukito. It was the type of pressure she couldn't work under. She didn't want to work it, honestly. When it came to these things, she didn't want anything to feel forced. The connection should just be there.

"But admit it, he's hot." Chiharu sighed dreamily. "That unique-coloured hair... those glasses..."

"You have a boyfriend."

"Who I love, thank you very much. But that doesn't mean I can't look."

Sakura just shook her head helplessly. "Let's go back to work."

"But –"

"Chiharu."

"Oh, fine. This isn't over."

"Yes, it is."


"I expect the final drafts on my desk Thursday morning." The speaker stopped talking when a loud vibration echoed throughout the room.

Sakura quickly snatched her phone off the table before shooting everyone an apologetic look. When the meeting resumed, Sakura took a glance at the screen.

Li Syaoran calling...

Huh?

She rejected it only to have it vibrate against her hand a few seconds later. After making sure that no one was looking, Sakura rejected the call again and typed a quick message. Can't answer. In a meeting.

Is it almost over?

She rolled her eyes. What an impatient man. What do you want?

I'm already free for lunch.

Her brows furrowed. So?

What do you mean so? We're meeting up, remember?

Oh... right.

Sakura could already imagine him running his hand through his hair in frustration, thinking that she forgot. Well... she did. After a couple of minutes with no reply from her, Syaoran started calling again. See? Really impatient.

"Come on."

Sakura was startled when a hand was placed on her shoulder. She looked up and saw Chiharu staring at her expectantly. "What?" She glanced around and saw that people were leaving. Oh. The meeting was over.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah." Sakura stood up.

"So we were thinking of trying that new restaurant that opened down the street," Chiharu continued talking as they walked out of the room. "The others already went ahead, but Naoko is waiting for us by your desk."

"Yeah, about that... I don't think –" She paused when her phone vibrated again. "Let me just get this."

"Sure." Chiharu met up with Naoko while Sakura lingered behind. She took a deep breath before answering.

"I admit, I forgot," Sakura launched on immediately. "I already made plans with others, but I'm –"

"How can you forget?" Syaoran's irritated voice came from the other line. "You're the one who insisted we meet today."

"I know, I know. It just slipped my mind, okay? But you reminded me, not so kindly, so –"

"I didn't reschedule for nothing."

Sakura was also starting to get infuriated. "Okay, first, stop cutting me off. Second, I only insisted on doing this today because you'll be gone the next few days. Third, I'm not cancelling on you. I gave you my word –"

"Which you forgot."

It took a lot from Sakura not to scream right there and then. Even if they weren't face to face, he knew how to get under her skin. He interrupted her intentionally while rubbing in, yet again, the fact that she forgot.

"I'm picking you up."

"What? No!" Sakura controlled herself. Did he really think she was going to ditch him? Didn't he believe in her at all? "You know what, forget it! You can go pick that ring by yourself!" She didn't give him a chance to reply as she hung up right away. She was lying, though. She was still going to meet him at the jewelry shop.

Sakura calmed herself for a minute and rearranged her facial expression before walking towards her friends.

"Is something wrong?"

She must not have done a good job from the concerned look Naoko and Chiharu was giving her.

"No, no. Everything's fine." She gave a dismissive shrug. "Listen guys, I'm not going to be able to come with you today."

"Why not?" Chiharu asked. "Yukito is going to be there."

"I just remembered that I have something else I need to do."

"We can help you," Naoko offered.

"No, it's okay. Thanks, though."

"But Yukito is going to be there," Chiharu repeated.

Before Sakura could respond, Naoko cut in.

"Who is that eye-candy?"

Both Chiharu and Sakura followed their friend's gaze. Their mouths dropped open but for completely different reason.

"Eye-candy? Try man-meat," Chiharu whistled lowly.

Sakura continued gaping. Syaoran was standing there and searching around the almost empty office. Their eyes met and Sakura instantly tensed. They just got off the phone less than five minutes ago! That meant Syaoran was already on his way to get her even before he told her.

"Yukito made me want to look," Chiharu continued. "Whoever that is made me want to touch."

"And lick," Naoko added.

"Yeah, definitely lick – hey wait!" Chiharu shot her a mock-scandalous look. "You can't say that while you're carrying another man's baby."

"Oh, please." They wriggled their eyebrows at each other before laughing over their silliness. "How about you, Sakura? What do you want to do?"

Honestly? She wanted to hit him. His vote of confidence in her was really touching.

'Jerk!' Sakura stood straighter, ready for a new round with him. So imagine her shock when, instead of dragging her out, he flashed a charming smile.

"Ladies."

Sakura swore she heard a breathless sigh before her friends answered. "Hi. Can we help you?"

"Yes, actually, you can." Syaoran stood closer to her and placed a hand on her elbow. "I was wondering if I could borrow kit- I mean, Miss Kinomoto for the lunch hour?"

Naoko and Chiharu gave her a surprised look, but they promptly got over it. "Sure! Of course!"

Sakura was confused over the turn of events. But when the grip on her elbow got tighter, she realized what was happening.

"Are you sure it's not a bother?" His voice was deep and husky, not betraying anything. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

"No, no! Of course not!"

If Sakura didn't know any better, she, too, would fall victim to his allure. However, she caught on and that pissed her more. He was still annoyed with her, but he was charming the shit out of her friends so that her friends would be the one forcing her to go with him. Unfortunately for Sakura, it was working.

"What are we still doing standing here? Let's go!" Chiharu stated after flashing Sakura a discreet I-want-to-know-all-the-dirty-details look.

Sakura tried to shake her head, telling her that it wasn't what she thought it was, but Chiharu and Naoko were already walking away. She was forced to move when the hand on her elbow pulled her. She glared at him, hissing, "I can't believe you'd do this!"

"I didn't reschedule a conference for nothing."

She shoved her hands inside her pocket to prevent herself from assaulting him. She sighed heavily. "Don't you trust me?"

"Whether I trust you or not has nothing to do with this."

Sakura opened her mouth only to shut it close again. She didn't want to, but she understood what he didn't say. He couldn't help it either. He was just making sure that, like always, everything was going according to his plan. When a problem occurred, he went and fixed it himself.

Their conversation was put to a temporary hold when they arrived in front of the elevator. Naoko was holding the door open for them. Sakura managed a small smile. "Thanks."

Syaoran's hand slid from her elbow to the small of her back as he guided her inside then to the corner.

When her friends were busy discussing food options, Sakura took the chance. "You didn't have to do this." She tucked a few loose strands of hair behind her ear. "I wasn't going to bail out on you."

"That wasn't what you said earlier." Syaoran brushed some imaginary lint from his suit. Their casual actions revealed nothing of the tension between them.

"I only said that because you were –" She stopped herself, not wanting to draw it out. "Okay, I'm sorry about that. And I'm sorry for hanging up, too." Sakura looked up at him, but he said nothing. "It's your turn."

He gave her a sideway glance. "For what?"

"I said sorry. Now it's your turn."

"Didn't ask for it."

Sakura's lips formed into a tight line. Of course. How could she even expect that from him? This man never apologized for anything.

It was a few moments when Sakura spoke again. "You could trust me you know." Her shoulders slumped as she went back to their previous topic. "At least have a little faith. I thought I showed you how committed I am to this by now."

The rest of the elevator ride was spent in silence. Chiharu and Naoko waved goodbye before going ahead. As per habit, Syaoran grabbed Sakura's hand as they went out. When they were finally out of the building, Sakura felt a light squeeze on her hand. She looked up, but Syaoran was staring straight ahead. She didn't know what it was, but she decided to take it as his way of apologizing. She squeezed back.


"I like the cut you did on this. The pattern suits the fabric –" Eriol clamped his mouth shut. He couldn't believe he was making a comment about this. Slowly, he stepped away from the unfinished dress worn by the mannequin.

Tomoyo gave a soft laugh beside him. "That's what you get for always hanging out around here."

He gave a quick look around Tomoyo's workroom before resting his eyes on her. "Well, yeah, I pity that you're always locked here so I decided to accompany you whenever I'm available." He shrugged. "Although, let's not forget that you were the one who asked me to come today."

Tomoyo gradually turned solemn. "Yeah, I did." She walked towards the sofa situated near the wall. She took her time to gather her thoughts while Eriol sat across from her. After awhile, she asked, "Did you talk to Syaoran lately? Did he tell you anything?"

Eriol's brows furrowed. The last time Syaoran and he talked was about the car he wanted to buy and the game they missed last night. He doubted Tomoyo was asking about that. "No. Why? What's wrong?"

"Anything? Anything at all?" A hint of desperation was present in her voice when she asked again.

He frowned. There really was nothing. "Is there a problem between you guys? Do you want me talk to him about it? I'll talk to him –"

"No, no." Tomoyo stopped him when he was halfway out of his chair. "There's no... I don't think... no, there's no problem. At least, I don't, I mean..." She trailed off, struggling for words.

Eriol leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees. "What's wrong?"

She played with her fingers that were on her lap. "Nothing. It's just... he's..." She breathed out heavily. "He's distant."

He regarded her for a moment. Sad to say, they had this conversation a few times before. "You know how he is," he started softly. "He likes his space. He's not the type to share his every thought. We know that more than anyone."

"I know." Tomoyo let out a defeated sigh.

"Maybe he's just busy with work," Eriol tried to placate her. "I know he's about to start on his current project soon and he's getting everything and everyone else ready."

"Yeah, maybe," Tomoyo allowed. She also knew about that. Not wanting to over think things, she decided to just accept that explanation. "Maybe you're right." And maybe they just needed to talk. Glancing up at the clock, she realized that Syaoran was probably on break. "Know what, I think I should visit him." Not giving Eriol a chance to respond, she dug through her purse and took out her phone.

Eriol stood up, giving her privacy. He went over to her work table and scanned her drawings. She really was talented.

"Hey Syaoran. I'm going to drop by your office. Do you want – where are you?"

His head shot up at Tomoyo's sudden change in question.

"Oh... Well, I'll get you something else then. How about – oh... okay... I see. Bye."

After hanging up, Eriol waited for her to say something. However, a couple of minutes had passed and she still hadn't moved. "Tomoyo?"

Though his voice was gentle, she was still startled. She forgot that she wasn't alone. "He's on his way home. He's not feeling well. He didn't want me to come," Tomoyo repeated almost robotically.

"Maybe he just doesn't want you to catch whatever it is he has."

"Yeah, that's what he said." Tomoyo loosened the grip she had on her phone. "Hey, didn't you say you have a meeting later?"

Eriol didn't say anything like that. It hurt that she was sending him away... but he understood what she needed. He knew that Tomoyo wanted to be left alone. "Yeah. I should probably get going."

Tomoyo walked him towards the door. She gave him an apologetic look. "Thank you for being here today."

He just nodded as he stepped out and closed the door behind him. "Anytime, Tomoyo. Anytime."


Syaoran returned his phone back to his pocket. He didn't like to lie, but Tomoyo's phone call caught him off-guard so he used the excuse Sakura suggested from before. Not wanting to dwell on it, he followed Sakura inside the shop.

"I can't believe you closed the store for the entire day when we're just going to be here for an hour at most." They easily slipped back to their usual banter.

"Then stay here for the rest of the day if that makes you feel bad."

"Hmp." Doesn't matter. Sakura let it go as a bright smile lit her face. She had been waiting for this for days! They were going to pick out Tomoyo's engagement ring! "Hey, how come I never saw her previous one?"

"She stopped wearing it after the almost-wedding."

"Oh." Sakura nodded. "So what does it look like?"

"Uh... Gold?"

"And?"

"With stones?"

She stared up at him, waiting for him to elaborate, but he stared back blankly. Sakura sighed. He did warn her that he knew shit about this stuff. He wasn't the one who chose Tomoyo's previous ring.

"What color?"

"What?"

"The ring."

"Yellow?"

This would get them nowhere. "Okay. I usually see her wear white gold or platinum. Can we go we that?"

"Sure. Whatever."

Sakura turned to the manager. "Can we see the timeless pieces? The more vintage ones?"

"Of course, follow me please." The manager led them further inside, where rows of classic looking jewelries were on display.

"Wow..." Sakura's face was full of wonder she gazed at the rings behind the glass. They were all breathtakingly nice. And sparkly. She liked sparkly things.

"How about that one?"

She moved closer to see what Syaoran was pointing at. She gave him a dry look less than a second after. Did he really expect to just pick the one with the biggest stone and call it a day?

"Ah, yes. Good choice," the manager interjected.

Sakura just shook her head. "No, I don't think that's the one." She couldn't see Tomoyo in that ring.

The two of them started pointing out what they thought looked good while the manager took it out for closer inspection. He stayed quiet after Syaoran, in not so many words, made it clear that he didn't care about his personal opinion.

Incidentally, they also used Sakura's finger as a dummy. Syaoran made a jab about her fingers being fat. She knew he was just trying to get a rise out of her, but she still fumed. Admittedly, Tomoyo had those cartoon princesses' white, long and slender fingers, but that didn't make hers fat. She pinched his side as a form of retaliation.

"This is nice. A little flashy, but still lovely." Sakura held her hand out. It had a center princess cut diamond with flawlessly matched pear-shaped blue sapphires as side stones. The band was also paved with little round diamonds.

"Hmm... yeah, it's nice. How about that?"

Sakura gave him a quick glare. She wasn't done admiring the ring yet. With a huff, she started removing it. Apparently, she wasn't moving fast enough for him because he finished the job and slid the new ring on her finger.

"Oh... this is beautiful." She stared in awe. It was just a simple solitaire diamond on prong setting, but it truly caught her eye. Sakura adjusted her hand and marvelled at the way the round brilliant cut reflected the light. It didn't need any side stones to enhance its beauty. It just stood out on its own.

Syaoran remained silent as he studied the ring on Sakura's finger. She didn't care that he was taking longer. She kind of liked how the ring looked there anyway. After a while, Syaoran finally spoke. He addressed the manager, "We'll get the other one."

Oh. Sakura turned to him. He didn't like it? "You didn't like it?" She returned her attention to the ring before taking it off and handing it carefully back to the manager.

"Yeah, no, it's beautiful, but..." He finished with a shrug, as if that explained everything.

Okaaay. Sakura just looked at him weirdly before waiting by the side as the purchase transaction was executed. Syaoran wouldn't be able to take the ring with him today since it wasn't the right size. He would pick it up once he returned from his trip.

"Let's go," Syaoran waved for her to follow him. "I'm starving."

Sakura glanced at her watch as they stepped out of the shop. "Okay, but we have to make this quick."

"Don't worry about it."

She raised a brow. She was just an employee, not a boss. Unlike him, she didn't exactly have the luxury of extended breaks. Before she could bring it up, he dismissed her again, telling her that he'd deal with it.

They walked inside the first restaurant they both mutually agreed upon. They could have been waiting for their orders by now if they didn't spend it arguing over the first four they passed by.

Even though Sakura asked that they make it quick, she still ordered a full meal. Might as well stuff herself so the rest of her body can catch up to her already fat fingers. Fat fingers. Pft. 'Seriously, who says stuffs like that?' Sakura forced herself not to glare at the man seated in front of her. Instead, she thought of happier things. "You're gonna propose soon!" She grinned widely. "Are you excited?"

Syaoran just shrugged, but it didn't dampen Sakura's spirit. She was used to his less than enthusiastic responses. She could show excitement for the both of them.

"Everything's almost ready. All you have to do is get the ring when you get back then get Tomoyo there. It's going to be perfect!"


AN: There you go. I'll try to post the next chapter next week. :) Don't forget to review! Please click below and review!