A/N: Let's just get right into it shall we?
Chapter Nine.
Sakura stroked her stomach as she stared at the hotel's ceiling, sleep evading her completely. Besides Syaoran's light snoring besides her, she felt that it was just too quiet in the small room, especially compared to what was going on outside. They were on Kauai again, but this time it was storming heavily. Palm trees were bending, anything not secured down was being blown away and she hadn't heard a rooster crow since she had gotten there. The wind howled loudly and Sakura heard something slam around her. Though she felt perfectly content in the arms of her lover, it wasn't now that she was worried about. It was tomorrow.
Michael Woodland had signed Syaoran up for a surf competition that was being held on Kauai the very next day, but with this weather, Sakura was a little nervous for him. Yes, the thought of huge waves and continuous swells excited Sakura, but there was a cutoff point in which she started getting nervous, and this storm was approaching it really fast. A huge clap of thunder lit up the room and Sakura pulled the covers over her head and snuggled into Syaoran's side. She had never liked thunderstorms. Though he didn't fully wake, Syaoran rolled over and gathered her into his arms, mumbling something incoherent. Sakura looked at the face of her boyfriend sleeping peacefully, but the dread of the next day wouldn't leave her.
.
There was no sun to wake up the sleeping couple in the morning, nor the crow of a rooster, but the thunder had dissipated, and the weather was certainly getting better. Not good enough to calm Sakura's nerves though.
As Michael and Syaoran were jumping out of the car so they could check in, Sakura held her boyfriend back for a moment.
"Syaoran," she said softly.
"What is it?" he said, signaling to Michael that he would be a few steps behind him. Sakura looked up into his amber eyes, noticing that now that he was outside of the car he was getting soaked with rain.
"I know you'll think this is just hormones talking," she said playing with his shirt, "but just be careful out there today?"
"Sakura, there's nothing out there that I can't handle. Don't worry, I love you, and I'll expect to hear your cheers ok?" Sakura nodded, but was worried over how flippant the young surfer was being. "Hey," Syaoran said a little more gently, "I do do this for a living." His smile was infectious and as he gave her a kiss, she felt a little better.
A little while later, Michael came back and sheltered Sakura as best he could as he got her to the Quicksilver tent and some cover. He noticed Sakura hug herself, and went over in worry.
"Syaoran will kill me if you get sick," he said, making sure she was bundled up alright. Sakura smiled at his antics. "Are you ok?" he asked looking into her eyes. Sakura nodded, but the smile dropped as she looked out to sea where the contestants were paddling out through the huge swells.
"I'm just worried. These waves are bigger then he's surfed in awhile." Sakura's voice was almost drowned out by the sound of a huge wave crashing on shore.
"He'll be fine. And you know he always does his best when he knows your watching," he said with a wink. This got Sakura to smile again as she watched the competition begin.
The hours passed by after the competition got underway. Michael had gotten a chair for Sakura, mostly to get her to stop pacing, and because she was tired, though she still sat on the edge of her chair. However, her worrying seemed to be for nothing. In all three of his runs, Syaoran had done excellently, and was currently in first place. He only had one more run and his part of the competition would be over. A horn sounded off to Sakura's right, which meant the start of timing on Syaoran's run. She watched as her boyfriend started watching for a good beginning swell to catch and ride. When he started paddling, Sakura stood up and was almost blown back down due to a strong gust of wind. Off balance, Michael came to her rescue and helped her stand up straight.
"Thanks," she said taking a breath. This weather was nasty.
"He's going for it," Michael said, watching Syaoran. Sakura watched as the wave Syaoran had picked kept growing and growing, gaining more water every second while Syaoran tried to ride it's pipe. Sakura gasped as a realization hit her.
"He's not going to make it," Michael said, right as the pipe closed on top of the Li surfer. Sakura's grasp tightened on Michael's arm as she saw her lover go under and the wave crash down. When everything leveled out, she looked around for Syaoran's reemergence.
"Where is he?" she said, her voice rising. Michael didn't answer as he also looked for Syaoran's form. Sakura searched desperately for any sign of him. "There!" she yelled, pointing. Michael saw Syaoran's head for only a second, before another huge wave crashed on top of him, sending him out of their sight again. "Syaoran!!" Sakura yelled, as Michael ran towards the safety team, Sakura now hot on his heels, barely aware of the announcer talking with a slight panic.
Safety jet-skis dispersed, riding over the waves trying to get to the fallen rider as Sakura also searched frantically for her love on land. Minutes had gone by, and she hadn't had another sighting of him. Michael wrapped her in a hug as she began to cry, wind whipping into her face and sheets of rain falling on her small form.
It seemed like an eternity until she finally heard the announced yell, "There he is!" Sakura looked up, and sure enough, a safety guy was hauling Syaoran onto the back of his jet-ski. For a second, Sakura forgot to breathe, but as they got closer, she ripped herself from Michael's arms and ran towards them.
Medics flocked the surfer, but after a bit of coughing up water, Syaoran stood up and took a few steps.
"Syaoran!!" he heard someone yell from his left. He looked up, and was met with the site of a soaking wet, disheveled, frantic Sakura running towards him. He almost fell over when she barreled into him, burying her face in his chest. Instantly he could tell she was crying. Everyone around them gave the two space, as Syaoran wrapped his arms around her shaking form.
"Shhh, its' ok. I'm right here," he said as her hold on him tightened. He briefly heard her mumbling something into his chest.
"Don't ever…ever… don't…" he pulled her back to arms length, brushing her sopping wet hair out of her face and his heart broke at the sight of tears streaming steadily down her face. "Don't ever scare me like that again." Ignoring their small audience, and cameras going off in the distance, Syaoran kissed her lightly. She responded immediately, making sure he was really ok. Still trying to catch her breath from crying, Sakura pulled back so that she could breathe. Syaoran was also trying to catch his breath, for he himself was also very shaken from the fall.
"Alright," Michael's voice sounded. "Let's take Syaoran to the medical tent and make sure everything is ok, shall we?" Sakura nodded, stepping back so that the medical personnel could help Syaoran walk to the tent. Sakura followed behind, held by Michael Woodland, still completely shook up from the events, but Syaoran turned to wink at her and she felt herself relax a little more.
It wasn't until they had been in the medical tent for a few minutes, when Sakura realized she was soaked to the bone, cold and not feeling very well. Once she realized that Syaoran was really ok, she felt all of the energy and strength zap right out of her. She tried to shake it off, just thinking she was coming off of her adrenaline rush, but the feeling remained and her dizziness got worse. Michael, who was still supporting her as they watched Syaoran get checked up, felt Sakura lean into him more and more.
"Saku?" he said his nickname for her in question. "Are you alright?"
"I think so, just a little tired," she said quietly. Michael switched positions so that he could look at her and put a hand to her forehead.
"Sakura! You're burning up!" he exclaimed. He looked at Sakura and saw her look at him guiltily and then whipped his head around in Syaoran's direction. "Syaoran!" he yelled.
Syaoran, who was talking to one of the event staff, turned his head in the direction of where his name was being yelled from. His smile quickly disappeared off his face when he saw how worried Michael looked. He quickly jumped off the medical bed and ran over to his manager and girlfriend. "Quick, Sakura's got a fever." Michael said, handing her off to Syaoran. "I'll go get the car, but she needs to get out of this stormy weather."
"I'll be alright," Sakura said, relaxing into her boyfriend's arms. "The competition isn't over yet." Syaoran bent down to look at her at eye level. Her bright emerald eyes were glossy and her breathing was quicker than normal. He also put a hand to her skin, and was surprised at how warm it was.
"No Sakura, we need to get you inside and in bed."
Michael brought the car around, and Syaoran gently loaded the pregnant woman into it, getting in behind her. As soon as they were settled, Sakura fell fast asleep in his arms. At first the young Li was worried, but her breathing was normal so he just tugged her tighter.
.
A few hours later, Sakura was safely inside and under the covers of the hotel's luscious bed.
"Are you sure? Ok…ok… Thanks again. Yes, we'll make an appointment as soon as we get back. Thanks, ok, bye." Syaoran sighed as he hit the end button on his cell phone, disconnecting the call. Placing the phone on the table, he walked over to the queen bed where his lover currently rested. He put his hand on her head, and felt the heat still there and frowned as she moaned. He quickly kissed her, and her face relaxed once again. Syaoran sighed again. A few minutes later a knock came from the door. Syaoran stood and went to open it. It was Michael.
"How is she doing?" he asked quietly, placing some food on the table.
"I just got off the phone with Dr. Hotele. She said Sakura would be fine in a few days and that it was probably a mixture of the weather and stress caused by the accident. She also gave me a list of medicines that Sakura could take that wouldn't hurt the baby. I had some in my bag for emergencies, so I gave Sakura some." Syaoran sighed, and ran a hand through his thick, now dry, hair. "Man, I feel like this is my fault."
"Don't." Michael said, placing a hand on the surfer's shoulder. "Syaoran, she is not sick because of you."
"I know, but…" Syaoran looked over at Sakura. "She told me she was worried, and I blew her off and then I almost get myself killed, and if that's not stressful for a pregnant woman, I don't know what is," he rambled.
"Syaoran, if Sakura heard this she'd probably strangle you. Buddy, she'll be fine. And I'm glad you're alright too. That was a pretty nasty wipeout. I was really worried for a minute there." Syaoran nodded thinking back to a few hours earlier. In truth he had been pretty scared, and only until he felt Sakura in his arms did he truly calm down and realize he was ok. "By the way," Michael said, lifting Syaoran from his thoughts. "You got second place. If you hadn't wiped out, you probably would've taken first." Syaoran smirked at his manager. "Well, I've gotta go handle all of your PR from this. Call me if anything changes, good or bad."
"Hey Mike," Syaoran called, before he could walk out the door.
"Yea?" Syaoran placed a hand behind his head.
"Thanks for taking care of Sakura while I was…yea. I know you're my manager, but I want you to know, that Sakura and I already think of you as family. So, thanks." Michael blushed madly, for he felt the same way around Syaoran and Sakura. Syaoran was like a best friend and Sakura the love of his life he had never had. Michael smiled, words couldn't express the gratitude they both felt, and headed out the door.
When the door closed Syaoran immediately returned to Sakura's side and checked her over. Her face was still flushed pink, but her temperature seemed to have gone down. The medicine and rest must be helping. Syaoran was beginning to feel the fatigue of the day's events, and laid down next to her, pulling her as close as possible in their spooned position.
"Syaoran?" a small voice asked, and the boy in question looked down to find Sakura awake.
"Shh, go back to sleep." He cooed, brushing her bangs from her eyes. If it were possible, she snuggled into him more, bringing his hand to lay underneath hers and her stomach.
"I love you…" she murmured, before sleep took her again. Syaoran smiled, rubbing her belly.
"I love you too."
.
Syaoran was glad that he and Sakura had made the decision to stay a few days on Kauai for vacation, because even though it wasn't going to be vacation time per say, Sakura could take the days to recuperate before she had to get on a plane again. Syaoran had never been happier to wait on Sakura hand and foot over the next two days either. The storm was still raging outside, and Syaoran would've gone stir crazy with boredom inside the small hotel room (especially when the power, and thus TV kept flickering on and off). It took Sakura's body the full first day to start feeling better from her small flu. Syaoran had played the part of the caring boyfriend, and Michael even brought her some chicken noodle soup to make her feel better. The second day Sakura was feeling much better, but with the storm outside the couple rented movies from the hotel lobby and snuggled in bed. When their fourth movie was finishing up, Syaoran's cell phone rang on the bedside table. Syaoran unwrapped himself from Sakura's form and looked at the caller ID, it was Bo Kalani, their real estate agent. Sakura paused the movie, and Syaoran was on the phone with Bo for about 20 minutes. Sakura was just about to snooze off, when Syaoran clicked his phone shut.
"What did Bo want?" Sakura said holding out her arms, beckoning her boyfriend. Syaoran smiled.
"He was just finalizing the papers for buying the apartment." Sakura smiled too, excited at the news. They had decided to go with the Paradise place, however, a slightly bigger unit a few doors down that had an extra bedroom. This was bringing them one step closer to owning their own home. "He just finished up with the contractors, and was calling the building managers after we finished talking. If everything goes well, when we get back we need to sign off on a few things and we can start moving in possibly as early as next week."
"I don't know if we'll be ready by the time my dad and brother get here!" Sakura exclaimed. Originally, Sakura and Syaoran were going to fly to Japan the week after the competition on Kauai, however, Fujitaka, Sakura's father had a change of plans and was needed on a dig that weekend. The Kinomotos had then decided that they would love to visit Sakura and Syaoran on Oahu, and maybe extend it to a few days vacation as well. Sakura was thrilled at the idea, but now she was worried they wouldn't have the new apartment ready for their guests by that time, which would be at the end of February.
"Don't worry love, I'm sure your family would love to help paint the nursery." Sakura smiled even wider at this as she kissed her boyfriend.
.
Tomoyo and Eriol were there to meet the pair when they got off their plane. To the surprise of Sakura and Syaoran, Tomoyo pounced on Syaoran as soon as they met.
"Oh Syaoran! We watched the competition on TV! I'm so glad you are alright!" she yelled. Finally she detached herself and turned to Sakura. "Sakura! You're positively glowing! And you look even bigger then when you left!" she yelled. Everyone sweatdropped at her antics.
"Tomoyo, it's only been four days." Syaoran smiled at his wife, and shook Eriol's hand in greeting.
None of the guys were there when the couple returned home, but the two were grateful for it. After they had both made their respective phone calls- Sakura's to Dr. Hotele and Syaoran's to Bo, they sat down on the couch, Syaoran giving his girlfriend a much needed foot massage.
"Hey," Sakura said, looking outside at the sunny weather. "You wanna take a walk on the beach?" Syaoran pouted.
"But I just rubbed your feet, won't that defeat the purpose?" Sakura laughed and stood up, knowing he was just joking around. "I'd love to go on a walk on the beach with you. It'll be like a romantic date," he said, walking over to her and putting his arms around her. "A nice, long walk on the beach, romantic dinner and maybe some…" he wagged his eyebrows at her. Sakura giggled and playfully hit his arm.
"Maybe, let's just start with the walk first, ok?"
"Alright, but put on a jacket. It is winter, even if we are in Hawaii, and you're still sick." Sakura mock saluted him, and went to grab her jacket.
Sakura was in heaven as she walked along the beach barefoot, her little hand engulfed by Syaoran's big one. She laughed happily as the water lapped at her ankles until Syaoran got an evil glint in his eyes, dragging her towards the water.
"No! Syaoran don't noooooooo! Oh just wait until I'm not pregnant!" she laughed as water hit above her knees, soaking her and her beau. "You're such a meanie!" she teased as she wrung her skirt out.
"If I'm such a meanie, then why do you love me?" he said, also teasing. She walked up to him and put her arms around his neck.
"Because you're my meanie," she said, a little seduction in her voice. Syaoran raised an eyebrow.
"Really now?" Sakura nodded and kissed him before he could get another smart-aleck remark in. The kiss soon became passionate as Syaoran tugged Sakura closer to his body, his hands running over the curves of her body that were only amplified by her pregnancy. He moaned as Sakura ran her fingers in his hair, pulling him down towards her. Life was great…
"Hey guys!! There you are!" a voice yelled from behind them. Sakura and Syaoran froze at the sound.
"Was that…?" Sakura started to ask. Syaoran nodded.
"JimRay. As always." They pulled apart and looked up to see JimRay, Chris and Jeff walking towards them, waving. Syaoran looked at the ground, slightly dejected and Sakura gave the trio and embarrassed wave.
"Hey! Tomoyo and Eriol said you'd gotten home!" JimRay said as they reached each other. They all greeted each other, each giving Sakura a hug and Syaoran the same. "How was the trip?"
"Man Syao, you took a nasty wipe out!" Jeff said, putting the Li in a friendly headlock.
"Yea, we were watching from the tube. Totally gnarly." Chris added. "JimRay was really worried." He said, and Jeff nodded.
"Was not!" JimRay yelled, but everyone just laughed as they walked back home.
.
A few days later, a six month pregnant Kinomoto Sakura was standing outside that same house with a look of melancholy on her face. All the paper work had been finalized, and the Paradise apartment now belonged to her and Syaoran and today was the last day of living in the beach front, boy infested, crazy party house. Syaoran came up from behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"The last of the boxes are in the Jeep and I think this is the last load. Are you ready to go?" he asked. Sakura sighed.
"It's not like we'll never be here again right?" she turned to him. Syaoran laughed.
"Sweetie, we're coming back for dinner tomorrow night." Sakura blushed, having completely forgot about that, then smiled.
"Well then, I'm ready." He took her hand and led her to the Jeep. Tomoyo and Eriol were already at the house, unloading one of the earlier carloads of boxes from Sakura's apartment.
When they arrived, they were met with the hilarious sight of Tomoyo and Eriol trying to fit a box through the front door, that was not going to fit.
"Tomoyo, if you just let me-"
"No Eriol! I've got this!"
Syaoran raised an eyebrow at the two as Sakura started giggling and hopped out of the car.
"You know Tomoyo, for a budding designer, your spatial abilities are lacking," Sakura joked to her friend as she walked up.
"If you just turn the box 90 degrees…" Syaoran said making a flipping motion with his hands. Tomoyo and Eriol looked at the box. Sure enough, they were trying to fit it through the door horizontally. Tomoyo and Eriol blushed with embarrassment and Syaoran and Sakura doubled over with laughter.
As Sakura entered the house she smiled at the thought that it was hers and Syaoran's. She stole a quick glance at her boyfriend who was carrying what seemed to be a heavy box into the living room. She walked over to where he was as he dropped the box onto the kitchen table.
"Are you sure I can't help?" Sakura asked guiltily as he wiped some sweat from his brow.
"Sakura, while you're pregnant I don't want to over exerting yourself," he said like a true over protective lover. "And that most definitely includes carrying heavy boxes. I thought we could save the unpacking until tomorrow, but if you want you can start now." He kissed her and went to go help Eriol unload more of the car. "But don't lift anything!!" he yelled back. Sakura smiled and heard Tomoyo laugh as she came over.
"When does the furniture arrive?" she asked, handing Sakura a water bottle. Sakura glanced at her watch which read 2pm.
"I think they said around 4:00 today," she looked around the room. "We'll have to move some of these boxes before they get here though, so they can put the couches somewhere." The girls watched as Eriol and Syaoran carried Syaoran's broken down bed frame up the stairs.
"I never knew our men were such strong hunks." Tomoyo teased and they broke into laughter.
"I might as well start reassembling that so we have somewhere to sleep tonight," Sakura said, starting to go after them. "Surely Syaoran can't find anything "strenuous" about that."
Later that night Sakura and Syaoran were finally in bed, getting ready to go to sleep for the first time in their own place.
"It's going to be so strange not falling asleep to JimRay's television shows," Sakura said snuggling into her boyfriend.
"Yea, and not hearing the thumps of Jeff and Chris being crazy, and worried that something would break," Syaoran added as Sakura giggled.
"You know…" Sakura said coyly. "They say that a house isn't fully broken in until you've had sex in every room." Syaoran rolled on top of her gently.
"Really? Where should we start?" he said huskily.
"I think this is as good a place as any," she responded with a kiss.
.
When Fujitaka and Touya arrived that weekend, the Paradise apartment was finally starting to look like home. The furniture had arrived and the living room was starting to resemble an actual living space, most of the kitchenware had been put away and a few pictures were even on the walls, but there was still a fair amount of boxes here and there. When the Kinomoto family arrived on their front step and rang the doorbell, nothing happened. They rang again.
"Sakura, that's not our doorbell is it?" Syaoran said, looking up from the box of movies he was unpacking.
"Do we have a doorbell?" she asked, while she went over to the front door, puzzled.
"Jeez! We've been ringing that thing for five minutes!" Touya yelled as soon as she opened the door.
"Onii-chan!" Sakura yelled and went to hug her brother. "Sorry, we didn't even know we had a doorbell! The only ones who visit us are the guys, and they just let themselves right in," she exclaimed as she received another hug from her father. "Come on in!"
As soon as Syaoran had realized who was at the door, he walked up and joined the group, slightly nervous.
"Kinomoto-san," he said, taking Fujitaka's hand in his in greeting. Fujitaka smiled at the young man.
"Really now Syaoran, its Fujitaka. After all, you're a pretty big part of this family now," he said happily. "Speaking of which, Sakura let's have a look at you. "Ah yes, you have that motherly glow. Nadeshiko had that same look when she was pregnant with you and Touya. You both were beautiful at that stage." Sakura blushed deeply at the compliment of her father.
Syaoran was still facing Touya. He had met Sakura's overprotective brother before, and although he had eventually won him over, that was before he got Sakura pregnant. While unmarried. He was currently getting a stare down by the other man.
"Li." Touya said, not in the best of tones.
"Kinomoto." Syaoran said back, a little lighter, but nervous.
"Oh you two," Sakura said coming back over with her father, a blush still lingered on her features. "It's about time you two got along." She watched as the two eyed each other warily.
"Touya…" Syaoran tried, sticking his hand out in a truce like form.
"…Syaoran," Touya answered gruffly with a quick handshake. Sakura sighed.
"At least it's a start!" she said.
'At least I'm in one piece,' Syaoran thought.
"Well Sakura, Syaoran, why don't you show us around the new place? It seems like a wonderful first house," Fujitaka said breaking the silence. Sakura's face lit up and she grabbed her brother's arm to lead him around the house.
The downstairs, the upstairs, the deck and the beach later, Sakura plopped herself down on the chairs they had on their porch overlooking the ocean.
"Why don't you three sit and catch up, while I start on dinner?" Syaoran suggested, noticing his girlfriends fatigue.
"Sounds wonderful, let me know if you need help," she answered as he went inside. The family of three was quiet for awhile, enjoying the light breeze and the sounds of the ocean.
"You seem pretty happy with the gaki," Touya said, nodding his head towards the kitchen where Syaoran was. Sakura glared at her brother, but it quickly became a smile.
"I am. He treats me wonderfully, and really cares about me and the baby," she said, rubbing her stomach. Touya snorted.
"Yet he won't marry you?"
"Touya! It's obvious that Syaoran loves your sister very much-" Fujitaka said, appalled at his sons behavior but he was cut off by Sakura.
"It's ok, Touya's just being an overprotective brother." She looked at Touya fondly, even though his comment had stung a bit. She should've known that if Syaoran's sisters would ask about marriage, then her own brother would too. She looked in at Syaoran through the glass, working away at dinner. "When I first found out I probably felt the same way as you do. I seriously doubted that Syaoran would want to stay with me and raise a family. But, he did. Syaoran has…" she spaced off a bit, thinking of Syaoran's life before Hawaii and her. "Has had an interesting life in which he's never committed. But if anyone doubts him and his love for me, just look at how he's changed just for my sake." She turned back to her brother. "Syaoran loves me, and I love him. If he wants to get married I would say yes in a heartbeat, but if he doesn't that's fine too. I'm content to just be here besides him."
Touya looked at his little sister.
'Although, I guess she's not so little anymore,' he said after hearing her little speech. He studied her face as she looked out at the ocean once again.
The ocean, it had called to her at such an early age. When their mother was still alive, the four of them would go to one of the many beaches in Japan for a weekend and just have a blast. Sakura would usually come back completely sunburned because they couldn't pull her from the water. In high school she had discovered surfing through a fieldtrip with her school, and from that day on it was all she could ever talk about. It was hard for her to surf, their family not living very close to the ocean, but she had found friends that shared her passion and would take weekend trips to various locations. In her junior year of high school she decided that she would go to the University of Hawaii, Minoa to study oceanography. Touya had thought she was crazy to go to a foreign country just to study oceanography, but she had told him that her good friend Tomoyo would also be accompanying her and that it would only be for four years.
Four years and a degree later, Sakura and Tomoyo had fallen in love with Hawaii, and decided to make Oahu their permanent home.
Touya looked at his baby sister again, like light of the sunset making pretty shadows across her face. His eyes moved to her hand where she was stroking her stomach.
'Not so little anymore indeed.' Touya said, with some sadness. "Well, I guess if he makes you happy then he's alright with me too." He said, trying to still sound gruff.
Sakura's face lit up with a huge smile as she threw herself into Touya's arms. A little startled, Touya slowly wrapped his arms around her as well.
"I love you Onii-chan," Sakura said. Touya blushed as he heard this accompanied by his father's soft chuckles.
"Yea, yea, now let's go help Li-" he stopped and sighed, "Syaoran with dinner." Sakura smiled again and lead him into the house, a bounce in her step he didn't think six month old pregnant women could have.
.
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A/N: OoOoOoh, some drama in this chapter! Hope you enjoyed!
And don't forget to press the 'Review' button and post, purdy please!