Slowly, Sweetly Chapter 11: Laying Foundations
absolutefluffiness says: Warnings! One, long long chapter. Consider it my make-up gift for the long absence. Two, mild lime is in this chapter. And if you dislike limes, I'm afraid you'll have to stop reading next chapter because limes will abound and rating will go to M. I'm sorry but upon advice of my writing sensei, I won't interrupt the flow of the story by inserting warnings where the limes and lemons are. No offense meant to those who don't want the story to go M. (To those who have secretly pervy hearts like me, go to my LJ for a steamy preview! LOL!) Not saying when the lemon will take place, though I can assure you everything is written with the purpose of developing the story and with as much good taste as possible.
My thanks to Sensei C, who helped me through a lot and who has agreed to keep beta-ing the story; 'Mei Ling' of ECRS for guiding me through the limes and the lemon, 'Rika' for helping me with the plot, and 'Tomoyo' for being my more than co-author for the companion story "The Heart Has Seasons," which is soon to be updated. And of course, to everyone who's reviewed! You make me happy! Complete thank you list at the bottom; review responses are in my LJ!
I know this update is long overdue, but like I said in my LJ, it was hard to get back in the groove after my grandma died. Please be patient; to those who posted their sympathies, thank you so much. We're still waiting for the 40th day, and since classes have started, expect updates to slow down to once every two or three weeks. I don't want to split chapters for faster updates; the flow gets ruined, and you'll probably kill me anyway 'cause that will result in cliffies every chap, LOL!
I must note this here: All the names on the Loraina/Yue invitation are Chinese, NOT Korean. My mother's surname is Lim, and millions of Chinese are Lims. I am of Chinese ethnicity, and the names there are from friends and relatives. You can google Penk Ching (a Fil-Chinese cakemaker), Bruce Lee's first Chinese martial arts master Yip, thousands of Dengs and Engs, and even Chinese celebrities with those names. As for Noribo and Arika Satoshi, those are Japanese names because Loraina is Japanese and those are her parents.
I want to thank Inuyashangel for catching an embarrassing error in ch 10: Eriol should say that Yue visited SYAORAN, not Sakura. EEK! Thank you so much! I really appreciate the catch!
So—boring rant is over, story starts…NOW!
Her Only Son's Heart
"So he's finally coming home," Yelan Li said as she watched the flames in their fireplace leap merrily. The Li mansion was one of the few that had one in Hong Kong, and the late March weather was unseasonably chilly.
Yelan missed her only son Syaoran—Xiao Lang, in her mind. He was talented, handsome, and independent—and it still rankled with her that he had divorced his first wife before even introducing her to them. She knew he was the type to commit for life, and the divorce—and his refusal to speak of it and his first wife—were a cause for concern.
"With his new wife," Fuutie said. "Sakura Kinomoto." She handed over a photo of a pretty, smiling young woman to her mother.
"And you suspect it might be a marriage of convenience?"
"Yes," Fuutie said. "They were friends before this, and they arranged their marriage just days before it was held—I got hold of his credit card records, and they made their purchases for wedding items within a week before his deadline."
Yelan sighed. First was the whirlwind wedding to Loraina; she had known that would end badly when Syaoran kept putting off introducing Loraina to them. And now he'd married someone to secure his share of the family fortune. What other explanation could there be? How could his marriage to Sakura be a love match? It was the only kind of marriage Yelan believed could work.
She had always trusted Syaoran's instincts; he was a well-behaved boy growing up, and a level-headed man. But his sudden marriage, and divorce, to Loraina had thrown all of them off. Fuutie had quickly hired a private investigator to check Loraina out, and to their relief, she had no criminal record, no scandals to her name, nothing.
So what had gone wrong in that marriage? The papers they had managed to get copies of showed that Loraina had filed for a quick divorce, not even asking for spousal support, or for any of the joint properties she and Syaoran had owned. In fact—and this disturbed Yelan—she seemed to be in a rush to leave Syaoran's life. The home she shared with Syaoran, which Syaoran had signed over to her ownership, Loraina had placed in trust for Syaoran, and she had refused to claim it. And according to the investigators, they had had no further contact, not even in court.
What had happened? Had Syaoran done something to her? No, she refused to believe Syaoran could scare a woman off that badly; Loraina had to be at fault somehow!
Yelan worried about her only son; she loved him very much. It had been a wrench to let him go off to Japan with his best friend Eriol after high school, but she knew he had always loved music, and had not stood in his way. Her reward came when Syaoran succeeded as a composer, but then it meant his visits home to Hong Kong became fewer and fewer. Since his marriage—and divorce—to Loraina, in fact, he had not been home.
Three years without him, with only phone calls to sustain her. And now he was coming home, bringing his new wife with him. She could not bring herself to think of the young woman as Sakura Li, not when they knew nothing about her except for her short-lived affair with the Lim clan heir Yue, and the death of her family. Her family's debts had been shouldered by Syaoran after their marriage, and that fact bothered Yelan no end. Sakura—could she be a gold-digger who chased rich heirs? Yelan shuddered at the thought. She wasn't sure how well Syaoran handled women like that.
But then she chastised herself. Syaoran had surely learned his lesson from the failed marriage to Loraina. And he was smarter than that. Sakura had to be a special woman—a good friend, at the very least—for Syaoran to ask to marry her. Or so she hoped. Doubts continued to assail Yelan, and she forced herself to remain calm.
She had to hope, because if Syaoran's heart were broken again, Yelan's would break along with it. And she decided to test this Sakura Kinomoto very, very carefully. She would not permit the young woman to break her son's heart again.
"Have Wei pick them up at the airport then," Yelan said. "I'll arrange for a little reunion so everyone can meet them." And so that everyone can see what kind of a woman Sakura is, she added in her mind.
"Should I call for a caterer?" Fuutie asked.
"No," Yelan smiled. "Wei, Shiefa, and I will do the cooking."
Fuutie smiled, knowing it meant that her mother had not given up hope on her little brother finding happiness.
"I think he'll be okay," she said.
"He has to be," Yelan said. "My dearest Syaoran has to be all right."
Playful Past
As the plane took off, the two pairs in first class began exchanging stories. Eriol and Tomoyo kept their eyes on their married friends. Syaoran, they noted, could not keep his eyes off Sakura, and he kept touching her: brushing his hands against hers, holding her hand, kissing her hair, even seizing her by the waist and placing her in his lap when the "Fasten Seatbelt" sign was off. Sakura happily responded to his kisses, and liked to retaliate by poking a finger into his side, tickling him, and playfully slapping his arm. Both were clearly smitten with each other, and new love had obviously been born between them.
"So tell us how you two became best friends," Sakura said to Syaoran with an evil grin. Eriol and Syaoran both groaned.
"Shall I start the story, or will you?" Eriol asked.
"I will. You might distort it," Syaoran said with a sigh. He told a fascinated Sakura and Tomoyo of how he and Eriol were pitted against each other in class since the first grade for the top honors in their school, and how Syaoran learned to detest Eriol as a result of their seesaw battle: one semester, Syaoran would come out on top, another, it would be Eriol. The others in their year level in school had given up competing against them. In the fourth grade, Eriol became Syaoran's seatmate, much to Syaoran's annoyance. Eriol had delighted in tormenting him with whispered snide comments such as, "Loser Li, there should be an adverb like, 'Loserly' just for you!" And that was where Syaoran, as a boy, had been weak: comebacks. By the time he'd met Sakura, he'd learned; but back in the fourth grade, he was helpless against Eriol's trashing.
So one day Syaoran snapped and dumped his pencil case, full of pencil shavings, on Eriol's head. Eriol spent the entire period in the bathroom trying to get the shavings out; he'd been forced to wash his hair twice. Later, in P.E., Eriol retaliated by pretending to block Syaoran's shot during basketball, but angling it so the ball hit Syaoran's nose. The resulting fight had brought kids cheering from all grades, and they were quite evenly matched, thanks to their martial arts backgrounds. It had finally been broken up by a vastly amused teacher, and they spent a month in detention—together. Their Conduct grades had suffered, and a girl had beaten them both, for the first time, in the class standings.
But during detention, where they'd had to cooperate to clean the school pigpen, and the boys' toilets, they had discovered identical senses of humor, a love for music, and how their personalities complemented: Syaoran could be rash, impulsive, hot-tempered, and stubborn, while Eriol was calm, diplomatic, and charming. They'd formed an alliance which created ties for first place in school events just about every semester—and was responsible for some of the most memorable pranks in the school.
"So as you can see he pretty much browbeat me into being his friend," Syaoran said airily.
"Pardon me, but you threw the first punch, you uncivilized oaf," Eriol teased.
"Yeah right. You missed when you punched," Syaoran retorted.
"Ah, dear Syaoran, at least I didn't hit the teacher with my water bottle."
"That's only because you, cowardly fake four-eyes, dodged!"
The two men stopped their playful bickering when both women began to laugh heartily.
"Photos!" An evil glint was in Tomoyo's eyes. "I demand to see photos of you two as kids!"
"Absolutely not," Eriol stood firm.
Syaoran began to snicker, and Eriol missed the danger sign; his best friend never laughed that way unless potential humiliation for Eriol was involved. He passed over a photo from his carry-on to Tomoyo—and for the first time, he saw Tomoyo burst into tears of laughter.
"Eating…toothpaste!" she choked.
"SYAORAN!" Eriol bellowed, trying to grab the photo from Tomoyo, who passed it to Sakura quickly. Sakura only had time to register a small boy with short dark hair and glasses who looked like a tiny Eriol chewing happily on a tube of sparkly toothpaste before Eriol snatched it from her.
"Who was holding the toothpaste?" Sakura asked.
Syaoran raised a hand, and Sakura began to giggle. "You force-fed it to him?"
"Hell no. He begged me for it. 'Oh please Syaoran I'll be your best friend forever if you let me have your toothpaste," he said in a high pitched boy's voice. "My sister Shiefa took the photo. Obsessed with cameras, that one is," Syaoran said.
"Must meet her," Tomoyo grinned.
"Ah, so humiliation is the name of the game now?" Eriol grinned, his eyes glinting evilly. "Then I insist on telling you this, Sakura-san. Did you know that a little girl named Ying Fa—which means 'sakura' in Chinese, by the way—threatened to commit suicide when Syaoran refused to go out with her for Valentine's Day in the seventh grade? She stalked him for the rest of the year and offered me a hundred dollars for his locker combination."
Syaoran snorted. "You gave her Aris' combination!"
Eriol continued, "Then in eighth grade, two girls fought in the corridor over who would get to put chocolate in his locker; they both lost a lot of hair as a result—then they wound up hating Syaoran who never acknowledged their chocolates! In ninth grade, he was named 'Handsomest Freshie' and he didn't show up for the awarding ceremony…"
"Shut up!" Syaoran began to scrabble for Sakura's ears, trying to cover them. Sakura fought him off, pushing his hands away, eager to hear the rest.
"And that's not all. One day in high school—senior year—another girl named Gao Ke appeared in Syaoran's bedroom in the Li Mansion—stark naked on his bed." Eriol was chuckling now, and Syaoran was beet-red. "When the door opened, she said," and Eriol assumed a girly voice, " 'I love you Li Syaoran, and I offer you my virginity for you to take and use; only, give me tonight with you and I shall never bother you again. I have studied sex manuals and am ready to please you!'—only, it was our other friend Aris, who was more than happy to yank Syaoran in the room and lock them in together!"
"Oh my God!" Sakura screeched with laughter. "Is that how you lost your virginity? Lucky you!"
Syaoran shook his head furiously, turning red as a result, but when Eriol continued to laugh, he snarled, "Shut the fuck up, Eriol!" When his best friend chortled with glee, he stomped off to the bathroom moodily.
"He gets sex handed to him on a platter and he gets mad?" Tomoyo snickered.
"Yeah, and she was one of the prettiest girls in class, too," Eriol smiled. "Quite a body on that one; Aris suggested that if Syaoran didn't want the job, he'd happily take over. Of course he slammed the door in Aris' face. Gao Ke kept her promise too; she never spoke about it to anyone, and neither did Syaoran."
Sakura was surprised that she felt no anger or jealousy; it was a funny part of Syaoran's past, that was all there was to it. She loved who he was now…no one said she had to love his past, however crazy it was—because she loved him. She smiled.
"A hint, Sakura-san: when we get to Hong Kong, look for Mei Ling's—Syaoran's cousin—fiance Aris. He has even worse stories to tell about Syaoran," Eriol stage-whispered.
Sakura laughed; oh, this trip was going to be so much fun! She knew Syaoran wasn't truly angry—just annoyed—and would probably take his revenge on Eriol later.
When Tomoyo and Eriol turned to the designs they were working on, Sakura picked up the bag Tomoyo handed her at the airport, hoping against hope that a second look would show her tamer costumes. No such luck. Some were downright scandalous, in her opinion.
"If you want to try them on now, I won't mind helping you into them," Syaoran whispered naughtily in her ear; he'd returned to his seat. Sakura blushed; Syaoran's ear-to-ear grin wasn't helping matters at all. He had his own package of costumes, much to Sakura's amusement, even a scabbard for a sword.
"Do I even want to know what all this is for?" she asked cautiously, looking around the cabin of the plane they were in. They were the only passengers in first class, and Tomoyo was busy sketching new costumes for Eriol at the executive table provided for them.
In response, Syaoran grinned and pulled out several scarlet and gold cards. "Here. Your delightful best friend helped me by designing and printing these out."
"Obviously…" Sakura raised an eyebrow. How Tomoyo had found time for mischief was not that much of a surprise anymore; what did surprise her was how Syaoran had managed everything. She peered at the cards. "Clow cards," she read.
"I'm supposed to be descended from one of the most powerful magicians in the world," Syaoran said cheerfully, "and Daidouji says you liked to pretend to be a magical girl when you were little…so I figured," and he grinned, "you might want to turn back time while we're in Hong Kong."
"How do you mean that?"
"By going back to what we missed out on when we were younger," Syaoran said as he pulled some photos out of his package. "Here. It's not fair for only me to have ammunition." He handed Sakura a photo, and she stared at it, then giggled. A ten year-old Syaoran was in a cute green costume with long sleeves and bells on the tails. He was looking annoyed at the camera as he clutched a little green hat.
"Aww! You were such a cute little boy!" Sakura turned a large smile on Syaoran, who almost blushed. "Oh…just look at you…that green costume is adorable…and it has bells and such a cute hat…"
Syaoran pulled out another photo. "Oh quit it. You were cuter." He showed her a photo of her in her Tomoeda grade school uniform, little boater hat tilted at a rakish angle, her pink elbow guards the same shade as her rollerblades.
He laughed when Sakura turned completely pink. "Come on, I'm sure you made a cute little fairy or cat or whatever…like this one?" He raised another photo, earning a screech in his ear when Sakura realized what it was: a photo of her in a pink and white tutu, clutching a star wand, ribbons trailing around her.
"TOMOYO-CHAN!"
"It seems she's discovered the photos you gave Syaoran," Eriol said calmly.
"Wait till she realizes what I've done to her costumes," Tomoyo said, not pausing as she sketched out a futuristic battle uniform for Eriol.
"Dare I ask?" Eriol's eyebrows crooked.
"Body hugging. Gets transparent when wet. Easy to remove—and I told Syaoran how to take those costumes off her—sexily," she said with a tiny smile.
"You truly are determined to see this relationship through, aren't you?" Eriol teased.
"Her firstborn is mine," Tomoyo raised her head and her eyes glinted.
"Ought I to warn Syaoran then?"
"Only that he had better be the father, and if he isn't, I'll cut something vital off him," Tomoyo said, glaring at Syaoran, who was watching his wife staring wide-eyed at Tomoyo.
"That sounds positively painful," Eriol grinned.
"Better be." She turned her head away from Sakura and Syaoran, giving Eriol a slightly bigger smile.
"She's ignoring me," Sakura said indignantly. She pulled out a costume and examined it. "How am I supposed to fit in this?" she asked Syaoran as she held up a slinky white body-hugging leotard embellished with shiny black lines that emphasized her curves. It looked strangely familiar though. "Goodness, imagine the panty and underwear lines under this!"
"That's because you don't wear underwear under it," Tomoyo suddenly called out.
"What?" Sakura spluttered. "Naked?"
"How else do you think those anime babes got all the boys?"
Sakura opened and closed her mouth, her ears on fire. Syaoran calmed her down by whispering in her ear, "Same with this one for me," and he held up a matching white costume lined with green and black with matching gloves. "Luckily it feels good against my skin."
Thinking of Syaoran's naked body under the stretchy, clingy fabric made Sakura blush. "Why are you willing to do this?"
"Because Tomoyo said you quite enjoyed certain manga and anime when you two were younger…and this is your favorite Code Geass character Suzaku Kururugi's battle costume," he replied, blushing slightly himself. "Tomoyo says I look like him—and she says you had such a crush on him before…so…" and his voice trailed off in embarrassment. "I know he wasn't popular with fans because they thought he was a betraying, lying jerk…"
"He wasn't! He was a complex character who needed understanding…he always took the hard way…" Sakura protested.
"I know," Syaoran smiled as he pulled Sakura's head to nestle against his chest. "I watched the series whenever you were out, to get a handle on the character. I think I'm ready to play him with you." He kissed the top of her head, loving the fact that he could now freely express affection with her.
"Oh my…" Sakura had once confessed that Syaoran looked like a brown-eyed version of a favorite character…and Syaoran in that character's costume…Oh God!
"The costume comes with green contact lenses," Syaoran grinned, "and you may have noticed I haven't cut my hair for a while and now it sort of is as long as his…" and he tousled his hair so that it would look piece-y and wavy. "So—will I pass?"
Sakura took one look at Syaoran, shrieked then hugged and kissed him hard—kisses he happily returned with equal fervor. When she calmed down, she whispered, "I can't be held responsible for what I do to you in that outfit."
"I won't hold whatever you do against you," he grinned, "if you wear this for me." Syaoran held up another costume.
"But this is a schoolgirl uniform!"
Syaoran leaned in towards her, almost brushing his lips against hers. "That's the uniform of my old high school."
"Your girl classmates wore skirts this short?" Sakura raised a brow. "And goodness, this blouse is…tight!"
"No, no," Syaoran laughed, "Daidouji altered the uniform after I told her about my high school life."
"What, when you played around or something?" Sakura raised an eyebrow.
"I never had a real girlfriend in high school," Syaoran said in a low voice as he pinned her against her seat. "But I've always fantasized about making out with my girlfriend in various places on campus—too bad that came when I was an adult," he smiled as he rubbed his nose against hers.
"A pervy one," Sakura tried to needle him, but he merely grinned.
"Not my fault you turn me on," he whispered, then caught her lips with his. They kissed again, slowly and tenderly; Sakura tangled her fingers in Syaoran's hair as he pulled her closer.
Tomoyo grinned as she watched the loving couple. "He can't keep his hands off her, can he?"
Eriol rolled his eyes and kept his back turned to them. "Neither can she, Tomoyo-san. Pardon me if I don't watch; he's my best friend, but I still do not wish to see him engaged in…hmm…acts of lasciviousness," he grinned, enjoying his joke.
"It's not lascivious when it's love!" Tomoyo hissed angrily.
He raised an eyebrow. "Have I said something offensive?"
"Are you averse to sex?"
"No," Eriol raised a hand to clean his glasses then discovered they weren't there. "But why are you upset?" He confronted her anger head-on; her moods had been unpredictable since Loraina had been at her apartment.
Tomoyo sat there, feeling mortally embarrassed at her loss of control. What was wrong with her?
"I'm not," she said softly and turned back to her sketching.
"Just because I don't want to see them expressing their affection doesn't mean I'm averse to sex. Just not with everyone," Eriol said quietly. "Besides, I understand why they're that way. It's the same with new lovers everywhere—and I should know, I make my living catering to them," he smiled. "So let Sakura-san and Syaoran make out in peace. We can bother them later. I can tell they haven't made love yet though. They're being as frisky as teenagers because it's all new for them. Their hearts have both been badly broken, and now they're in a relationship knowing everything in their respective pasts. Of course they're happy."
He rarely says these observations out loud, Tomoyo thought, then realized he'd deliberately changed the topic so as not to upset her. And yet…the thought of his courtesy and consideration upset her as well.
What is wrong with me? she wondered again.
You want him to claim you, a coldly logical voice in her head said.
No! Tomoyo bent down to her sketches, angrily pushing the voice out of her head. I am not some salivating fangirl!
Eriol changed the topic, sensing Tomoyo didn't want to talk about it yet. But once they were alone, at the hotel, he intended to press her about it.
Syaoran, having kissed Sakura almost senseless, was feeling a little dazed himself. Sakura giggled upon seeing his expression. "You had better not make us join the 'mile-high' club in front of my best friend," Sakura teased.
"No," Syaoran whispered, "I know you and I want our first time to make love on silk sheets and all the romantic trappings." He stroked her hair gently as he nuzzled her nose with his; she blushed and smiled. "But," and his eyes twinkled, "that doesn't mean we can't get up to other things."
"I married a pervert," Sakura said affectionately.
"A creative one," Syaoran said cheerfully. "Now. Choose a card," he indicated the Clow cards.
"Do I get a prize?" Sakura teased.
"Yep. Me."
"That's it?" Sakura joked. "Lousy prize. At least you should be accompanied by chocolate!"
For once Syaoran didn't have a witty retort. "Just pick," he said.
"Okay." She browsed through them, finally selecting one card. "What does this do?"
Syaoran smiled as he looked at it. "It means we're going back to my high school as soon as we can get rid of our two companions."
All too soon, the 'Fasten Seatbelt' sign came on, and reluctantly, the group retired to their respective seats. One couple was destined to fall deeply in love in Hong Kong, and the other, to begin a tortured, sexually charged, and emotionally difficult relationship.
Sakura's Next Husband
Eriol and Tomoyo had insisted on taking a cab to their hotel, and Syaoran was gloating as he handed them the paid-up one week reservation form, knowing he'd gotten them the honeymoon suite. Eriol was too cheap to pass up free accommodations, and Syaoran had had the sofa removed from the room, just to be sure.
He would be half satisfied and half dismayed at the results of his meddling later.
Syaoran then introduced Sakura to the manservant Wei, who had helped raise him and his sisters. Sakura quickly won the old man over, and they chatted as he drove them to the Li Mansion.
Sakura gulped when she saw how many Lis were arrayed along the large curving driveway to greet them.
"You okay?" Syaoran asked, pulling Sakura close.
She nodded, and he leaned in to kiss her tenderly. Sakura was beginning to think she could not, would not ever be tired of his kisses; they brought her elsewhere, somewhere far away where everything was all right.
The old manservant Wei watched them in the rearview mirror. How could this be a marriage for convenience? he wondered. The way Syaoran and Sakura looked at each other, it was like newborn love, and they could barely keep from kissing and touching each other.
He opened the door for the young couple, and the first thing Yelan thought was, Heavens, if he bought her, she's worth the price. Sakura was quite beautiful, and her health and sunny disposition shone through; she was in a pretty yellow dress with spaghetti straps, and the color enhanced her smooth skin. She was a bit shy upon seeing so many people, but a smile readily came to her face as Syaoran introduced her to his sisters, their husbands or significant others, his cousins, and other relatives.
A woman with eyes that were almost brownish red threw her arms around Sakura. "Oh God you have no idea how so, so grateful I am to you!" She hugged Sakura tight, and Sakura collapsed to the ground when the woman threw her weight on her. When she lifted her head, Sakura saw the beautiful raven-haired woman, with impossibly long, silky black hair, was weeping for joy.
She shot Syaoran a look, and Syaoran picked them both up, laughing. "Sakura, sweetheart, this is my cousin Mei Ling, whom you have just saved from a lifetime of being tethered to me."
"Hoe?" Sakura clapped her hand over her mouth quickly; how had that slipped out?
"Oooh, that was so cute!" Mei Ling squealed.
Someone picked Mei Ling up in strong, muscled arms, and Sakura looked up to see Mei Ling kissing a very handsome blond man. He kissed her back tenderly then set her on her feet.
"Sakura, this is my fiancé Aris," Mei Ling said, her eyes sparkling with joy. "We're getting married in June!"
Aris, who had startlingly silver eyes, bowed and kissed Sakura's hand. "And for that Mei Ling and I owe you so much. Thank you for taking Syaoran out of the picture," and he grinned teasingly.
Syaoran had reached Sakura by then, with a tiny boy clinging to his leg. "Come on, Ming, let go of Uncle Syaoran, that's a good boy…" But he tousled the boy's black hair affectionately, and the boy looked up at him adoringly. "This is your Auntie Sakura, my wife."
The little boy eyed Sakura curiously then nodded gravely. "Pretty. Good choice, Uncle Syaoran. Too bad I'm going to have to grow up fast and then make her divorce you so I can marry her."
Syaoran, Aris, and Mei Ling began to laugh, and Sakura bent down to examine the cute little boy. "Your nephew?" She shook hands with the boy, who had extended his hand.
"Yeah. Too precocious for his age," Syaoran rolled his eyes. "My sister Fan Ren overdosed him on baby vitamins, I think."
Ming, having decided he liked Sakura, leapt into her arms, and she laughed; she loved children, and boosted him on her hip as she held him. Mei Ling gave Syaoran a significant glance and made a loud "Ahem!" Syaoran glared at her halfheartedly.
"What?"
"You two have been married almost a year now. When are the babies coming?" Mei Ling asked naughtily.
"When she wants them," Syaoran smiled.
Mei Ling glanced at Aris and they smiled, each knowing what the other was thinking. Syaoran was watching Sakura with a loving expression on his face—one Mei Ling had almost never seen in him before.
"And where did you find that angel?" Mei Ling grinned as they watched Sakura. "Are you sure you deserve her?" she teased.
"She's my best friend," Syaoran said as he watched Sakura talking with Ming. Ming had wriggled out of Sakura's grip and was leading her into the large gardens surrounding the house.
"You love her," Aris said. It wasn't a question.
"That I do," Syaoran smiled.
"Not that I blame you," Mei Ling said, as she slid one arm through Syaoran's, and the other wound itself about Aris' waist. "But how long have you two known each other?"
"Several years," Syaoran said. He knew he could trust Mei Ling; they had grown up together, and were as close as siblings.
"What took you so long? What happened to Loraina?" Mei Ling asked.
"In the past. It's a long story, and part of the reason why Sakura and I got together."
"Mmm." Mei Ling let Syaoran go; his attention was clearly on Sakura, who was happily petting Ming's overweight black cat Koko. "Go on, go to her. We'll be fine," she said. Syaoran cast her and Aris a grateful glance, then went over to Sakura
Aris turned to Mei Ling and asked, "Why do I feel I've seen this whole Ming versus Syaoran thing before?"
Mei Ling rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes, you of the many clichés in his life," she chided him. "What do you think?"
Aris knew Mei Ling meant Sakura and Syaoran. He watched the other couple; in the sunshine, Ming's dark hair seemed brown, and the illusion of him, Syaoran, and Sakura as a family was quite lovely. "I think this is for real," he said presently, "but why do I get the feeling this is a recent development?"
"Same here," Mei Ling said. "We'll get the story out of them sometime. If not them, then Eriol."
"He's here too?" Aris' eyes sparkled.
"Oh great. A three musketeers reunion," Mei Ling pretended to groan. "Hee, hee, listen to Ming," she said.
Aris turned to watch, then laughed. Ming was earnestly 'convincing' Sakura that he would make a much better husband than Syaoran, and Sakura was trying to explain that no, she was married to Syaoran and could not marry Ming.
"But there's div…divow…divorce," he said solemnly, enunciating his words carefully. He was young enough to still be struggling with the letter "r".
"But I can't divorce Syaoran. I…" and Sakura smiled, "I care so much about him."
"Oh but me you will love," Ming said. "I'm gonna be handsome, you just wait."
"Your Uncle Syaoran is already very handsome," Sakura blushed, then squeaked when the person in question kissed the back of her neck. Ming made a sound of annoyance.
"Don't kiss her. Only I can kiss her," Ming protested.
"Yes, well I know how to kiss her to make her melt," Syaoran bragged, and Sakura slapped his arm.
"Stop browbeating the boy!"
"What? He's trying to take my woman!" Syaoran defended.
His woman. Sakura smiled slowly. Soon, she knew, she would be his in every sense of the word. She shivered with a small thrill.
"You can just live apart from Uncle Syaoran," Ming pressed.
"Stop putting ideas in your Auntie Sakura's head," Syaoran said, though there was a glint in his eye.
"No! I wanna pw…play with her!" Ming looked thunderous, and Syaoran sighed as he signaled to his sister, who grabbed her son, laughing. "I wanna play with Sakura!" he screamed as his mother hauled him off.
"So do I," Syaoran muttered.
"Oh really?" Sakura grinned. Syaoran put an arm over her.
"Stop having an affair right in front of me," he grumbled.
Sakura's brows lifted mischievously. "But he is such a gentleman, and you're such a boor."
"Really?" Syaoran's eyes glittered. "Care to test that theory of yours?"
"And how do you propose we do that?" Sakura replied, looking straight into his amber eyes. He grinned, then began dragging her into the mansion. Loud cries of "Hoe!" and "Syaoran!" filled the air, much to the amusement of those watching, as the young couple struggled playfully.
"I wonder if Aunt Yelan will give them a break," Aris said.
"Aunt Yelan? Never," Mei Ling said as she let Aris wrap his arms around her. "But from what Syaoran has told me, Sakura will be fine. You were, when that will surfaced, remember? And…I think she's the best match for him."
"What makes you say that?"
"Remember how Syaoran looked a while ago?"
Aris thought of it. He'd met Eriol and Syaoran in high school, when he'd transferred in and become their third friend, although once he'd met Mei Ling, they'd become a group of four. Then it hit him. "He looks happy…is that it? Because, I think she loves him just as much."
Mei Ling smiled. "Syaoran never smiled or laughed in this house much. He was rather cold and arrogant growing up, remember. And yet, look at him being playful with his wife. She's changed him—and for the better."
"I hope your aunt sees that—for her sake," Aris said.
"Not for her sake," Mei Ling said. "For his." She shifted, then smiled. "Are you ready for what Eriol asked us to do?"
Aris grinned. "Of course. I love insanity, as you very well know, darling. And besides," he leaned closer to her, "I look great in that costume."
Mei Ling rolled her eyes. "Fine. Now why didn't you come up with something like this for me?"
"Oh, would you like me to?" Aris' eyes glinted evilly. "I can think of other uses for the costume Sakura's friend sent for you."
"On second thought—no," Mei Ling rolled her eyes. "Pervert."
"I love you too."
"Same thing," Mei Ling responded affectionately as she kissed Aris.
Deeper
"So this is was your bedroom as a child?" Sakura stepped into the large room with a porch of its own, and dropped her backpack (and the bag containing the costumes Tomoyo had given her) on the floor. It was the size of a studio-type apartment by itself, and she grinned as she faced Syaoran.
"What?" Syaoran asked.
"Green! I knew it!" She grabbed him and poked his sides, making him chuckle. "See, I was right about you and green."
"When you're a kid you pretty much have no choice about how your bedroom looks like," Syaoran, vastly amused, said.
Sakura flopped onto his large bed and rolled around like a child in it. "Hah. I decorated my own room."
"Must have been a pink mess then," Syaoran teased.
"Hey!" Sakura sat up. "Just because you're this obsessive compulsive neat freak…"
"Am not." Syaoran went over to the small refrigerator and grabbed some soymilk. "Oh, chocolate. Want one?" He tossed a plastic bottle at Sakura, who caught it easily.
"This is yummy," Sakura said after taking a sip. Then, "Is this the bed where you lost your virginity?" she asked curiously.
"Sakura!"
"I'm just curious!" Sakura smiled.
"Look, I…" Syaoran ran his hands through his hair. "I was seventeen, okay? Don't take it against me."
Sakura lay back, smiling, enjoying being able to tease Syaoran. "Did you two stay in bed the whole day?"
"Well…there was nothing else to do after we were locked in…"
"Why didn't you make her your girlfriend?" Sakura asked curiously.
Syaoran blushed. "I wasn't in love with her, and she was willing to just make love to me. I know it sounds like I was such a jerk, okay? But she offered willingly, and kept her promise never to say anything afterwards. And, boys that age are walking hormones."
Sakura thought of Kito, and said softly, "I know."
Syaoran suddenly joined her in the bed. "Stop thinking of Kito," he said sternly.
Her eyes widened in surprise. "How did you know I...Symphrn!"
He'd tackled her on the bed and kissed her. Grinning, he broke off the kiss. "Think only of me. After what we've got planned this week for you, I bet you won't remember the bad."
"Do I want to know?"
"Just go with the flow," Syaoran grinned impishly. "I have a question," he said.
"Sure," Sakura smiled up at him.
"This is a new place for both of us," he said as he caressed her cheeks. "It sounds a bit strange but I believe this is a new chance for us. Do you agree?"
"I know," Sakura said softly. "And I…I…" She was dying to tell him she loved him, but she couldn't find the words—and it felt wrong to do so at the moment. Instead, she pulled his mouth onto hers, kissing him tenderly. He took control of the kiss, his tongue like velvet on hers, and she let him have access to her neck. His butterfly-like kisses trailed down to her collarbone, and Sakura gasped in pleasure; he was patient and gentle, sweetly slow in his kissing her. Then Sakura felt him move even lower, parting her thighs with a knee; she let him, and he settled between her legs, moving to let her feel his desire for her as he kissed her neck, moving back to her lips every now and then, and then she felt his hand gently cup her bosom through the dress. He was slow and careful, and she sensed he would pull away if she refused the caress or hesitated in any way, so she grabbed Syaoran's cheeks and pulled him back to her lips, gasping, "Don't stop!"
And he obeyed her, fondling her intimately for the first time since they had married. When his hand slid under her dress, touching flesh he had never touched before, Sakura gasped and smiled at Syaoran. Her hand moved downwards boldly as well, and Syaoran hissed when she cupped him through his jeans, marveling at his size and hardness. They continued to kiss, exploring each other through their clothes, taking the first step towards sating their mutual desire for each other.
"Oh God I…Sakura…" Syaoran groaned. He slid one set of spaghetti straps off her shoulder, sliding them off and pulling one cup of her bra aside, the small mound within crowned with a tiny pink peak holding his gaze. He began to lavish her skin with kisses as he continued to fondle her, his tongue blazing a trail of warmth Sakura had never felt before.
But just as his hand slid up her skirt, between her smooth thighs, they were rudely interrupted. "Syaoran! Where are you?" a female voice yelled.
"Shit!" Syaoran pulled Sakura's bra and straps back in place. "I forgot to lock the door!" He bolted for the door and locked it just before the knob twisted.
"Locked? Why? Mom's calling for you two!"
"Go away, Fei Mei!" he yelled.
"Ooh, are you two making love?" the voice called teasingly.
"Go away!" Syaoran yelled in an even more vehement tone.
"Oh-kaaayy, but Mom said for you to go down immediately!"
Syaoran turned to Sakura and hung his head. "I'm so sorry, sweet Sakura."
She shook her head and smiled; she looked dreamy and so thoroughly kissed, Syaoran was sorely tempted to ignore his mother and find out just what it was like to feel Sakura's naked skin on his own. But he didn't want to embarrass her, so he reined himself in and helped her up. Then he kissed her again, wishing he could tell her how he loved her.
"Come on, let's go see what the Lady of the house wants," he smiled.
Hand in hand, they came down the stairs and into the study where Yelan Li awaited them.
Plots and Plans
"Scripts—check," Tomoyo said as she finished snapping fasteners on the cosplay scripts for Sakura and Syaoran. "Did you call your friend Aris yet?"
"Yep," Eriol said as he sauntered back into the room they shared. "He says the school is free for a week, and he's reserved the laser tag playroom at the mall. And Shiefa lent us her office for one night."
"Good," Tomoyo smiled. Syaoran's idea of trying to recreate Sakura's memories in a good way was such a sweet one that she had gone all out in helping him, even dragging Eriol into the project she had dubbed, "Sakura Reboot," much to Eriol's amusement.
"Have you always liked games?" Eriol asked curiously as he tried on the costumes Tomoyo had created for their parts in Sakura and Syaoran's little play.
"I like making Sakura-chan happy," Tomoyo said.
"And what about yourself?" he asked pointedly.
"Don't start," Tomoyo warned. "Stay focused on them."
The day is young, Eriol smiled; he let her win this round. But tonight—there would be an accounting.
And in the meantime, making sure he played his role to the irritating hilt for Syaoran was Eriol's priority—one he looked forward to.
END of Chapter 11