Hello!!! I'm so sorry for taking so long in updating but school was very stressful for finals and work didn't help. But i hope you guys had great Christmas vacations! Anyways here you guys have the next chapter. i'm already working on the next one so You don't have to wait so much!!!

Eventually the semester was coming to an end so the kids would have their Christmas break. The whole gang was getting ready for final exams and then thinking of ideas to party up after. Everyone was excited about spending this Christmas together, and even more with Meiling and Syaoran joining the traditions.

"Ugh! Can we please stop studying for a while? My brain can't take it anymore!" Sakura exclaimed as she threw her books all over the floor and lay down. They were all sitting in the dance studio doing some studying for their final exam which was the next day. They were all tired since they had been at it since morning and it was now about five o clock.

"Sakura! Come on we have to ace this last exam, girl."

"Tomoyo, we've been at it for almost six hours straight. I need a break, please!" Sakura whined.

"Let's just take a break, Tomoyo. One hour won't hurt us, besides I'm hungry." Chiharu said as she took her cell phone out so she could call for some delivery. After that everyone agreed and put the books aside and just chatted until the food would get there.

Sakura went over to the stereo and put some music on so she could relax for a while. It had been some time since she had dance because of finals taking most of it. She stretched a bit and then Ne-Yo's Mad came out of the speakers. Not loud enough to disturb the others but just enough for her to tune them out. She then started dancing mixing some ballet with contemporary moves and eventually adding some turns and leaps. Sometime during the middle of the song she felt someone grabbing her hand and spinning her perfectly.

When Sakura opened her eyes she was face to face with Syaoran who was grinning at her. She grinned back and started dancing with him. Now he had no trouble following her. Since the day of the barbeque at her house they had become extremely close and they had learned how to read each others movements from dancing together all the time. Even though they still fought all the time, it was more teasing than anything else.

Syaoran followed Sakura step by step. They looked incredibly sexy dancing together. When they finished dancing Syaoran ended up behind Sakura with his hand holding her by the waist and she had one arm around his neck while they both looked at each other breathing heavily.

"That felt good." Sakura whispered while smiling at him. He smiled back and rested his head on her shoulder while still holding her waist, but a little bit tighter and bringing her closer to him.

"Yeah, it did. It's been a while since we've danced." He whispered back still resting his head on her.

"You've improved! You're getting really good Syao…" At this he chuckled and looked at her getting lost in her emerald eyes.

"I had a great teacher." He said making her blush. Even though they got along great now, she still got surprised every time Syaoran let his guard down and said something nice or cute that made her want to jump him. It was just so out of character for him, but she noticed that this side of him only came out when they were alone; he wasn't like this with the others.

"Hey guys! Food's here!" Rika yelled from the other side of the studio as she took the bags of food and set them on a desk.

Syaoran sighed and again rested his head on Sakura's shoulder. Every time he had a moment with her they would get interrupted. He hated it. Even though he wasn't sure yet if he was willing to be in a relationship with her he had admitted to himself that he really did like her. So he hesitantly let her go while she turned around to face him. She smiled at him and grabbed his hand.

"Come on, before Yamazaki leaves us without anything." She told him while dragging him over to the others.

"Hey! I heard that!" Yamazaki yelled with his mouth full making everyone laugh.

"So, are you guys going back to Hong Kong for a while on Christmas or what?" Rika asked Meiling.

"Well Aunty Yelan wanted us to go back for a week. She called a few days ago and said that she wanted us to spend Christmas at a vacation house she has in the mountains and then we can spend new years back here." She explained.

"Bummer! We wanted to spend Christmas together!" Chiharu whined.

"Well… we can!" Meiling said excitedly looking back at Syaoran who just sat resting against the wall grinning. "Aunty said she wanted to meet our friends. She was really surprised when she heard about Syaoran making new friends not to mention how surprisd she was when I told her he was dancing, she almost choked!"

"Wait, wait, wait! So you're saying that you want to take us, all of us, to China? To a house Syaoran owns? All of us?" Yamazaki asked again trying to figure out what Meiling was saying.

"Yeah all of you! You don't have to pay for anything since we'll be flying on a private plane and well we have everything taken care of back home." She explained.

"That is so cool! When do we leave?" Rika asked all giddy already. Everyone laughed and kept talking about how everything was going to go down for this trip.

"So what do you think, Saks? Think your dad will let you go?" Tomoyo asked as she stepped away from the other so she could talk privately with Sakura for a minute.

"Yeah, dad is going to another expedition so I don't think he'll mind, but Touya… now that's another story. I think I'll tell Kaho about it and I'll tell Touya that I'm going over to Meiling's or something. I have to leave Syaoran completely out of the picture or I will never hear the end of it." She said sighing as she thought of her brother. She absolutely loved her brother to death but sometimes he was jus too overprotective.

"Knowing him, he'll probably go ballistic if he knows its Syaoran's house, so go with the story about Meiling and maybe you should take Mat with you too, he knows how to deal with Touya also." Tomyo suggested.

"That sounds like a good plan. I'll have to talk to Mat later then, when we have everything settled for the trip."

"I can't wait! It's going to be so great spending Christmas all of us together. Oh and I have to take my cameras! I can get so much footage of Mat and Meiling, and of you and Syaoran-"

"Tomoyo! There's nothing for you to film about Syaoran and I! There's nothing going on." Sakura said but she couldn't stop blushing.

"Right, right. Whatever you say, girl. But at sometime you're going to have to stop fighting it. Maybe this trip we'll make you guys see how much you like each other, I think it'll be good for you guys. So keep an open mind will you."

"Ugh… let's just go back to studying Tomoyo." Sakura rolled her eyes but smiled at her best friend. She really did hope that something good would come out of this trip. She knew she had become really close with Syaoran lately, but she didn't know how he saw her. If it was just as a good friend or something else, either way she really wanted to know where she was standing with him.

The next day as everyone was leaving the classrooms excited about finishing with the exams, Sakura was over at her locker leaving some books.

"Finally! Christmas break!" Meiling squealed as she appeared next to Sakura along with Tomoyo who was holding her video camera.

"You can say that again, girl! Vacations at last." Sakura exclaimed while closing her locker.

"So, are you ready to tell Touya about our trip?" Tomoyo asked as she zoomed in on Sakura's face making her roll her eyes and sigh.

"I'm never ready to tell Touya anything, you know that. I'm just glad Mat is coming with me and that Kaho will be there to deal with him. I have backup so even though he won't be happy it'll be harder for him to say no."

"But are you sure he won't say no? I mean we're leaving in two days, and you absolutely have to go with us!" Meiling said making her best puppy dog eyes. Sakura laughed and started walking towards the school entrance while adjusting her winter jacket.

"It'll be fine. Have some faith, girls! I've handled Touya before, so don't worry I'll call you tonight to let you guys know how it went"

"She has to go! I mean the whole reason I decided to ask Aunty if you guys could come with us is so Syaoran could spend Christmas with her."

"Don't worry. Touya might be overprotective and everything, but he could never say no to Sakura. Everything will go as planned you'll see." Tomoyo reassured Meiling while putting her camera back in her backpack.

Sakura was walking home while she thought of how to tell Touya about the trip. She had thought about it many times and she knew he would throw a fit about it, but she wanted to tell him in a way that the fit wouldn't be so big. She was so entranced in her thinking that she didn't hear her name being called out until someone grabbed her wrist and turned her around.

Sakura gasped surprised at the sudden intrusion, but was met with a pair of amber eyes with twinkling mischief in them. "Syaoran! Don't do that!" She said as she swatted his arm making him chuckle.

"I was calling your name; it's not my fault you're always in your own little world."

"Shut up" She said smiling and then started walking again with him by her side. "So what's up?

"Not much. I just wanted to know if you had already talked to your brother about the trip."

He saw her bite her lip and already knew the answer. One thing he had learned about her was the fact that every time she was nervous about something she would bite her lips. He found it extremely cute and at times incredibly sexy. He wanted to be the one to bite those pouty lips he always thought blushing.

"I'm going to take that as a no. Sakura we're leaving in two days!"

"I know! Don't put more pressure on me. I already have to deal with my brother I don't need you to make things harder, Syao."

They kept walking towards Sakura's house talking about her dinner tonight with her brother and about how Mat could come in handy. When they reached her house she invited him to go in but he said he had a lot of things to settle before the trip.

"Look, 'Kura, I don't mean to put more pressure on you or anything but… I…I really want you to come with us." He told her while he scratched the back of his head nervously without looking at her. Sakura blushed and smiled a bit to herself. He had said he wanted her to come.

"Don't worry about it; I'm not going to miss it. It's our first Christmas together… um…well…together as in a group." She corrected as she watched Syaoran nodding while he blushed. "And…well… I promise I won't be the one to ruin it. So go home do everything you have to do and I'll call later tonight to let you know how it went, ok?"

Syaoran couldn't help but smile at her. He really was hoping that she would come on this trip. He wanted her to know what his home was like and his family. Even if that scared him a bit since his family was different in so many ways. But the truth was that he was excited about having Sakura over at his house back in the mountains. He wanted to show her everything from the views, to the frozen lake, everything.

"Alright. I'll talk to you later then. And good luck with your bro."

Sakura smiled and waved at him goodbye as he started walking the other way. She then went in and started for her room to see what she was going to wear for dinner tonight. She was walking towards the stairs when she noticed her father was in the kitchen.

"Dad? What are you doing here so early?"

"Oh, I was taking care of some things before I leave for my next expedition. Are you going over to your brother's tonight?" He asked as he started putting away some dishes he had been washing. Sakura walked over to the counter and hopped up on it so she could sit.

"Yeah. Um…Dad, you don't mind if I spend Christmas with my friends, right?"

"No, of course I don't mind. I won't be here unfortunately so I won't stop you from having fun with them; I won't have you sitting here all alone on Christmas."

"Well…you see… the thing is…" She hesitated a bit. Even though she knew her father wouldn't say no she knew he would start asking about it. And that meant he would ask about Syaoran.

Fujitaka noticed his daughter trying to tell him something so he went over to the counter and stood beside her and smiled. "Come out with it, baby. You know I won't say no."

Sakura couldn't help but smile. She sometimes forgot how well her father knew her. "Well Meiling and Syaoran asked us to go to Hong Kong with them for Christmas. Syaroan's family has a house in the mountains so they wanted the whole group to spend it with them."

"Hong Kong, huh? Well…I don't see why not" He saw Sakura's eyes light up and her smile widening. "But you have to let me know the phone number, where the house is and you have to wait for my call on Christmas day so you can open my present, deal?"

"Deal! Thanks Dad, you're the best."

"Now you just have to tell Touya about it. And he won't be to happy to know you'll be spending Christmas away and not to mention it'll be at a boy's house." Fujitaka mentioned knowing his son would blow up if he knew Sakura would be staying at Syaoran's. He had no problem with it because he knew the others would go, plus he thought it would be good for her to get out and see something outside of Tomoeda. And if in the process she could get closer to Syaoran even better.

"Don't worry I have it all figured out…I think" She hopped down and hugged her dad. "I'm going to get ready; I don't want to leave Mat waiting for me when he gets here."

She went upstairs leaving her father to do the remaining dishes. When she got to her room she went over to her closet and picked out her clothes and threw them on the bed. "Well… let's get this show on the road then." She said as she pulled her hair up and walked towards the bathroom so she could shower.

About an hour later she was walking towards Mat's car so they could head down to Touyas's house. "Are you nervous?" Mat asked her as he drove.

"A bit, you know how he can get. But I already called Kaho and told her about it so she'll calm him down if he starts making a scene or something."

"Which we know he'll do. It wouldn't be Touya if he didn't. But don't worry I've got your back." Mat joked as he smiled at her making her laugh a bit.

"So how are things between you and Meiling?"

"Well, they're going well…I think"

"You think? How can you not know? You guys have been going out for a few months now and you still have doubts?"

"No! Of course not. There are no doubts on my mind. I know I like her and that I would like to have a real relationship with her, but it's kind of hard sometimes I mean I don't even know if she's going back to Hong Kong or something. There are a lot of things to think about before we take the next step."

Sakura thought about what Mat had just said and realized they were kind of in the same position. She didn't want to tell Syaoran how she felt because she was scared that he would eventually have to leave. She didn't want to fall for him and end up alone again. She guessed this was what was stopping Mat from asking Meiling to be his girlfriend.

"I know that's what's stopping you from being with him, Kura" Sakura turned her head towards Mat surprised. It was like he could read her mind. "Don't try to deny it, you know I know you like the back of my hand. You're like my little sister, girl, so I have to look out for you. Obviously I've seen how you two look at each other and I know there's more than friendship in mind."

Sakura sighed. She didn't think it was that obvious but apparently it was. Everyone thought there was something going on between them, but of course not Sakura or Syaoran. "I'm scared, Mat. I mean I fall for him and then he'll leave. It's like you said I don't know how long he'll be in Tomoeda. Unlike Meiling, he is going to be leader of his clan, whatever that means. So he has like a million responsibilities that of course are so important. Much more important than some girl he met while he was taking a break."

"Sakura, I'm sure you're more than just some girl to him. And I know you're scared because of what has happened in the past but you have to let it go. Neither your mom nor Omi would've liked to see you keeping your feelings to yourself. Sometimes you just have to takes some risks and hope for the best."

Sakura sighed again. She knew Mat was right just like she knew Tomoyo was right too. But she was scared of losing someone dear to her again. Even if she didn't love Syaoran, love was a big word, she knew he was important to her. He had become her best friend in a weird sort of way, even with all the fighting.

"Ugh! I hate boys." She finally said getting frustrated. Mat couldn't help but laugh. He knew Sakura would eventually figure out that she had to stop hiding her feelings for Syaoran, she always did come to her senses she just needed some time to analyze things.

A few minutes later they finally arrived at Touya's house. It was already decorated with a few lights and through the window you could see the huge Christmas tree.

Sakura and Mat stepped out of the car and looked at each other nervously. I t was hard to imagine what to expect when it came to talking with Touya. He always had a different reaction but it was never a simple yes.

"It's now or never, kid" Mat told her giving her an encouraging smile.

Sakura couldn't help but sigh again, it seemed like she had been doing a lot of that lately. She then started walking towards the house where an over excited Ryu greeted her having been looking out the window when they arrived.

"Aunty!" He squealed as he ran towards her making Sakura laugh. At least when she was with Ryu she could relax.

"Hey baby! How are you?" Sakura asked as she picked him up and hugged him. Ryu smiled and told her he was fine and then started a story about what he had been doing in school. Sakura just kept smiling and then went in the house to greet her brother and Kaho.

After talking and greeting each other for a few minutes everyone sat around the table to eat. They were all talking happily, but Kaho would sometimes throw a suggestive glance towards Sakura as if telling her to get a move on, but Sakura would just look away nervously. That's when Kaho decided to take matter into her own hands.

"So, what are you guys doing for Christmas break?" Sakura started coughing since she had almost spit out her drink when she heard Kaho's question. Everyone looked at her wondering if she was ok but she just waved her hand at them to let them know she was fine.

"Well, actually I'm going to Hong Kong with Meiling for about a week and then I'll be back for New Years." Mat explained letting the door open in the conversation so Sakura to come in anytime she wanted and tell Touya that she was going too.

"Meiling? You're still going out with her?" Touya asked to which Mat nodded. "Well that's good man. It's about time you found someone."

"What about you Sakura? What are your plans for the holidays?" Kaho asked glancing at Sakura again.

"Um…well…you know. I'm…" She started nervously but couldn't seem to get it out.

"Come out with it, monster." Touya said setting his fork down so he could look at her. Sakura did the same but didn't meet his gaze.

"Well, the thing is…that…well…Meiling sort of invited me to go too." She whispered.

"Wouldn't you be kinda chaperoning?" Touya asked as he went back to his dinner.

"Not really. I mean she didn't invite just me. She invited the whole gang and well…"

"Oh now I see. So everyone's going and you're here to sort of ask me about it, right" Touya said getting the picture now.

"Well yeah. I always spend Christmas at home with you guys, but I really want to go." Sakura said finally looking at Touya. He was still calm, but she knew something would make him explode sooner or later.

"Any boys going?" Bingo. And there it was the age old question.

"Well just the guys, Eriol and Yamazaki and of course Mat already told you he was going"

"And the brat?"

"Brat? What brat?" Sakura asked confused. Touya had never referred to any of her friends like that so she really had no idea who he was talking about.

"The Chinese brat, Syaoran I think was his name."

"Yes that is his name so use it! He's not a brat and he's my friend so treat him with some respect." Sakura told him scolding. But Touya wouldn't back down. He knew the kid had the hots for Sakura. He had seen the way he looked at his baby sister the day of the barbeque and he didn't like it one bit.

"Is he going or not, Sakura?"

"Of course he's going, he's Meiling's cousin so obviously it's his family too."

"You're not going." And there it was what everyone was waiting for. Kaho took Ryu and carried him over to his room so he wouldn't hear her husband and sister in law fighting. After a few minutes she came back and cleared the dishes out of the table. She knew she would have to step in sooner or later and it was best if there was nothing in the middle that could get broken or something.

"What do you mean I'm not going?" Sakura asked ready to counter her brother.

"Just that. You'll spend Christmas with us here and then you'll see you're friends on new years."

"Look, Touya I didn't come here to ask for your permission to go I came here so you would know were I was going that's all."

Touya got up from his chair and started walking towards the living room. "You are not going and that's it."

Sakura could feel her blood boiling. This was the side she hated about her brother. He was so overprotective that he forgot he had no right to tell her what to do. "Give me one good reason for me not to go."

"Because it's Christmas. It's a holiday to spend with the family not in another country with people you don't even know."

"Oh please Touya how many times didn't you spend Christmas with your friends and dad never said anything and neither did I. And I know who I'm going with, and you know them as well."

"Touya, babe she's right. I mean you spent a few Christmases with my family before we were even dating and your dad never said no. Besides she's going with her friends, friends she has known since she was a little girl. Not to mention Mat will be going." Kaho said finally stepping in so the fight wouldn't last long. She knew even if Touya said no Sakura would go, but the girl would go sad and angry because of him and that is exactly what Kaho was trying to prevent.

"Yeah man. I'll be there watching over her you know I always do." Mat said as he walked to stand beside Sakura.

"I don't care she is not going specially if that brat is going"

"Syaoran! And what has he got to do with anything?" Sakura blushed a bit but tried to hide it. Apparently her brother thought that there was something going on between them, just like everyone else.

"I don't like the way he looks at you! Look I don't need to tell you what I don't like about the kid so we can just drop the conversation. You're just not going. You'll se your friends later."

"Ugh! You're are so stupid sometimes. I can't stand you when you get like this. Syaoran is just my friend, nothing more nothing less! I don't care if you agree or not I'm going anyway, dad already said I could so that's what matters." With that Sakura stormed off outside so she could relax and have some fresh air. She needed it to clear her mind from her brothers' stupidity.

"You're just driving her away you know that don't you?" Kaho asked as she leaned against the wall while she watched her husband pace around the living room.

"I'm protecting her!"

"From what? From living? From having some fun? Please, Touya you don't even believe what you're saying." Mat added. He was sitting on the floor also leaning against the wall watching his best friend rant. "Sakura has never needed any protection. And most certainly not from us. She has seen more than any of us put together. Believe it or not man, she can take care of herself; she has been doing it since your mom died."

"Touya, it's not like she's leaving forever or something. She's just going on a trip with her friends, that's all. That one of her friends seems to like her, well you're just going to have to deal with it. Sakura is a beautiful girl, so guys will obviously fall for her." Kaho said as she hugged him so he would calm down.

"I know that, Kaho. It's just…" Touya trailed off thinking about how to put his thoughts into words without insulting the brat as he called him.

"You saw the way he looked at her." Mat said knowing his friend quite well.

"Yeah…"

"And it's the same way you looked at Kaho when you fell for her and that scares you because you know this could be the one kid that can win 'Kura's heart."

Touya remained silent confirming that what Mat had said was exactly what he was thinking. He had seen the way Syaoran and Sakura acted together and he was scared of losing his baby sister.

"She's not a little girl anymore, babe. You have to accept the fact that Sakura has a life apart from her family. She's almost eighteen Touya. So if you want to stay in her life on good terms then you have to let her go and I don't mean just on this trip."

Touya sighed and hugged his wife. She was always right. No matter how much he tried he couldn't protect Sakura from everything. The night Omi died had been his second reminder of that, the death of his mother being the first one.

"Fine, she has my permission, but you have to look out for her. If you see that brat trying to make a wrong move or any move at all you stop it." He told Mat who just smiled and nodded. "I guess I better go talk to her then." After that he walked out leaving Mat and Kaho to smile and high five each other.

Touya went outside and found Sakura sitting on the front porch holding her jacket tightly so she could keep warm. "You know it's warmer inside." He said trying to break the tension, but Sakura didn't answer. He decided to sit next to her but even then she didn't look at him so he sighed. "I'm sorry. I know I can be a real jerk sometimes but you have to understand you're my baby sister and I have to look out for you. And I don't feel comfortable with you spending time with the brat-"

"Syaoran!" She said still frowning.

"Whatever. I don't like the way he looks at you because I know he has other interests in you, you may not see it now but you'll get it eventually. But I don't have a choice do I? You'll still go no matter what I say."

"Yes. I'm still going."

"Well then I don't want to be the one to ruin you're trip so…it's ok with me. You can go to China and spend Christmas with your friends, but you have to promise you'll call to let me know how everything is going and New Years we'll spend it at home."

Sakura didn't say anything for a few minutes. She wanted to still be mad at him for always over reacting, but he always made it so hard for her. "Fine. But I'll call only when I get there to let you know I got there fine and on Christmas day. I won't be calling every five minutes so you can check up on me."

Touya debated with it, but he knew he had to cave. Kaho was right, it was time for him to start letting her go.

Well there it is for now. Not much Sakura/Syaoran but i promise in later chapters things will start getting better for them. Anyways let me know what you would like to happen while they're on vacation. Much love people and I hope this new year brings all of you many blessings!!!