No one seemed to want to be the first one to move. Meilin wanted to hug her cousin again, but he still had a somewhat glazed and lost look about him—he was just different from the boy she used to know. She knew it was just going to take time for them to all get used to each other again. Or at least that's what she hoped in any case. "Let's return to the airport," her aunt suddenly said, not surprising Meilin in the slightest by being the first to recover.

Almost as one, the group began to troop across the battle-scorned yard, back to the gate where the cars were waiting for them. The sky was clearing back up into its sunny brightness that had reigned before Rain and Cloud had caused the change in the weather, and as their power was no longer in effect, nature was retaking the reins.

Soon, everyone was piled mostly into the same cars as before, with the exception of Sakura and Syaoran now riding in the same car as Tomoyo and Meilin. Meilin could tell that Sakura's family had wanted her with them, and it was clear that the Li daughters wanted to stifle their younger brother among themselves again, but the matter had been quickly resolved when Sakura had smiled at all of them brightly and said, "I'd like to sit with Syaoran, please."

Well, no one was about to argue with that (though Toya looked about to try before his mother and father gently forced him into their car), and it was the easiest solution to just keep with the same seat assignments. With the exception of switching Misaki and Yelan for Tomoyo (because once her place beside Syaoran was assured, Tomoyo was the second person Sakura asked to ride with back to the airport).

After they had driven for some time, Meilin glanced over her shoulder at her cousin, who was leaning against the window with his head resting in his hand. He didn't appear to be listening at all to what Sakura and Tomoyo were chatting about next to him. He also didn't appear to be quite aware that Sakura was idly playing with his free hand, either. Suddenly, Syaoran's head lifted up and he met her gaze as he asked, "What is it, Meilin?"

Meilin started slightly and Sakura and Tomoyo's conversation ceased. She felt the heat flood her face as she felt flustered by the sudden question, and she realized that she didn't really have anything to say—mostly she had just wanted to make sure he was still there, silly as that sounded. She shook her head quickly and said, "Nothing."

He looked at her for a moment more before turning his gaze back out the window. Meilin thought that would be the end of it, and was about to turn back around in her seat to face the front again, disappointed and almost angry at herself and at the situation at general, but Syaoran surprised her by speaking again. "Meilin, where—where's my father?" he asked quietly.

"Oh," Meilin said, dropping her gaze and suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. She hadn't been expecting that question, but obviously the subject would have come up eventually by the man's complete absence. The thought hadn't really crossed her mind yet, but now that the subject was at hand, Meilin realized that she kind of thought this would have been something her aunt would have to explain. "Um…he died a little over six years ago," Meilin said quietly, knowing that there was no point in hiding the truth.

She heard a gasp, probably from Sakura, as the other girl, quickly and almost breathlessly with her heartfelt empathy, said, "Syaoran, I'm so sorry."

It was then that Meilin finally looked up again and, she didn't know what she was expecting Syaoran's reaction to be, but she knew that it wasn't the small nod he gave, almost like resigned acceptance. His gaze returned to the scenery outside the window as he said nothing else.

There was a moment of silence before Tomoyo made some comment about the garden in Hong Kong, to which Sakura replied, and the car returned to what it had been before. Meilin turned back to the front and passed the rest of the car trip without saying another word, only half listening to Tomoyo and Sakura's conversation. She bit her bottom lip and choked back her tears.

Syaoran was alive, but he wasn't her Syaoran anymore.

Feimei got up from her seat and, as she moved along the aisle of the plane, she glanced around at the occupants, most of whom had fallen asleep in the lull of the plane's engines and the aftermath of using so much magic in battle. Her mother, of course, was awake and typing away on her laptop at the table. Toya, too, was one of the few awake, pretending to read the newspaper, but Feimei could clearly see that he was actually watching his sister. Feimei was only mildly tired, as her two sisters had already created the clouds and moisture for her to use her own Clow. So, as she was plenty wide awake and there was now an opportunity, she slid into one of the chair across the table from where Syaoran and Sakura sat.

The group had to break up at the London airport as the Li business jet was not large enough to carry all of them nor was the Amamiya one (being even smaller in size). Since Sakura was not inclined to leave Syaoran any time soon, her family seemed to understand that the one month they had been separated from her could not really compare to the seventeen years the Li Dynasty lost of Syaoran's life, so it was agreed that Sakura and Syaoran would travel with them. However, Yelan offered to set up the entire Amamiya Family in her home, so they (minus Toya and Tomoyo who were traveling in the Li jet as well) took their own jet, expecting to all meet up in the Hong Kong airport again.

Now, they were hours into the flight back to Hong Kong. Sakura, who had only lasted about ten minutes after take-off before falling asleep, was lying shamelessly against Syaoran's shoulder, her breath peaceful and even. Syaoran had turned his gaze to Feimei almost the same moment she had stood up from her previous seat. He said nothing as he was clearly waiting for her to speak. "You can sleep, too, if you want," Feimei said casually but really concerned underneath. She was probably…no not probably, she was the one who used to fuss over Syaoran the most out of her family—it had been natural to her as his closest sibling and as her parents had been away from home often. "I know you used just as much magic as she did," she continued.

For just a moment, he bit his bottom lip underneath his teeth. "I was…trained to deal with it," he replied somewhat hesitantly and Feimei got the impression that "trained" was not the word he had been going to use. She had to wonder exactly what her brother had been put through all these years away from them. She had to wonder if she really wanted to know.

Feimei looked over at the girl sleeping beside him, deciding that for the moment she'd leave that subject for now. "She seems quite attached to you," Feimei commented with a smile. She felt like Sakura was a safe enough topic of conversation—truthfully, she just wanted to talk to her brother some more and it wasn't like she was digging for information…much.

Was it a crime to want to know her brother's relationship with the pretty young woman he seemed so attached to at the moment?

Too her great surprise (and immense pleasure), a soft redness flushed across his cheeks as he glanced down at Sakura, who remained blissfully unaware in deep sleep. His eyes shot wildly around the enclosed space for just a few seconds before dropping down to the ground. "She…well…um…she said she…er…loves…me," he practically stuttered very quietly. Feimei was almost certain that no one else had heard (or at least Toya hadn't heard due to the lack of reaction to the information and if her mother heard, she gave no indication of it). It was also clear to Feimei that he had no idea what exactly he should do about it.

"Well?" Feimei prompted as she arched an eyebrow, relishing in seventeen years of lost time teasing her brother, but a little uncertain how far she could push just yet.

"Well, what?" he barked almost angrily. Feimei's heart soared as she recognized the familiar expression on his face. It was the same one he used to have when he was (or at least pretending to be) annoyed at any one of them. She didn't even care that it meant he was irked at her—she'd take anything that let her know that the boy she loved was still somewhere left in the still distant man in front of her.

Suppressing a grin of glee, she asked, "Well, how do you feel about her?"

There was the slight sound of newspaper rustling and just the tiniest falter in her mother's typing that indicated to Feimei that—even if they hadn't been listening before—Toya and her mother were listening now. But instead of the flustered reply Feimei was expecting (given his reaction from before), Syaoran merely shrugged his free shoulder and turned his gaze out the window into the clouds beyond. "I…don't know," he admitted quietly.

"You don't know," Feimei repeated somewhere between stunned and wondering why she was stunned in the first place. Sakura had given them all a brief overview of what had happened to him (his memories erased, his essence sealed by his Clows, the detached treatment of the Reed Clan, and how she had only just restored his heart and memories to him). So she shouldn't really be surprised that he couldn't even figure himself out at the moment. But, given how he had acted around her and seemed to cling to her like a lifeline, Feimei had just sort of thought he was in love with Sakura…and that he knew it.

Another half-shrug was all the reply that she received from him this time. He didn't look at her again and Feimei rather thought that this was his blatant way of telling her that he didn't want to talk about it anymore. So, Feimei just gave him a reassuring smile and instead said, "At least try to get some sleep, okay?"

The briefest of nods came from him now, so it was with an almost inaudible sigh that Feimei stood up to leave the pair alone again. As she looked at the other table, she found that her mother was watching her. Feimei tilted her head in an unspoken question, but her mother only mouthed the word "time" at her. Feimei nodded in understanding before moving on to her previous seat across from Toya, who wasn't even pretending to read the newspaper anymore as he glared in the direction of Sakura and Syaoran.

Her mother was right—it was just going to take some time for everything to work out.

"I believe that we have all had quite the harrowing past few days and it would be in our best interests to retire for the night," Yelan spoke out through the incessant chattering that flowed through the room back in the Li house in Hong Kong. Silence fell for just a moment as they all turned their attention to their host, but Yelan's eyes locked onto Syaoran as she said, "Wei and I would like to take you to your room."

Syaoran only nodded, but Sakura saw her chance and spoke up. "I'll come, too," she said almost instantly as she snaked her arm around his. It wasn't just the fact that she loved him that caused her not to want to leave him. She was just afraid of what would happen to him if she abandoned him now, still trying to reconcile two very different pasts together. She knew that he was still overwhelmed by all the attention, though she could tell that his family was trying really hard to keep the distance he needed.

Yelan only nodded and the two of them left the room behind as they followed Syaoran's mother and Wei through the hallways of the house. The trip was silent, but Sakura could feel Syaoran steps slow slightly as Yelan and Wei stopped in across the hall from a door. They only watched as Syaoran approached the door, clearly waiting for him to open the door first rather than do it for him.

Syaoran's hand rested on the handle for only a brief moment before he turned it and stepped inside with Sakura only half a step behind him. The room didn't look familiar to Sakura, but it was clear Syaoran knew exactly where he was, even though his expression was nearly unreadable. Sakura turned as the quiet footsteps behind them indicated that Yelan and Wei had followed them inside. "You don't have to sleep here, if you don't want to," Yelan suddenly said, which Sakura didn't really understand.

But he took in a deep breath and shook his head just once, as he said, "No. I'll be just fine, Mother."

Realization dawned on Sakura as she realized that this must have been Syaoran's old room—the one he had stayed in before he was kidnapped…no doubt the one that he had been kidnapped from in the middle of the night. It made sense, given the amount of decorating was green (Sakura remembered that Feimei had said it was his favorite color).

"Very well," Yelan said in an indifferent tone, but Sakura could have sworn she saw just the hint of a smile on her face.

"Is there anything else you need, Master Syaoran?" Wei asked.

"No."

"May I show you to your room, Miss Sakura?" Wei asked as he bowed slightly.

Sakura looked over and Syaoran, who was now trailing a hand across the top of the wooden footboard of the bed. She looked back at Wei with a smile and gently but firmly said, "No, thank you."

Yelan raised an eyebrow at this, but she said nothing as Wei—whose expression hadn't changed in the slightest—said, "Very well. Good night," he finished as he bowed and left.

Yelan stayed a moment more, but when it was clear that Sakura was not going to leave, she said, "Good night." Then, she left as well.

Sakura turned hesitantly to Syaoran, who was still silently purveying the room. "I can leave if you want me to," she said quietly.

"No."

A little surprised by the answer—she wasn't going to leave him until he wanted her to, but still she had expected him to want her to leave for the night—Sakura floundered for a moment as she said, "Oh…um…okay. I guess I'll sleep on the couch then."

"No, Sakura," he said a little more gently.

Extremely flustered now and feeling her face flame completely red, Sakura hastily said, "Syaoran, I…I mean…um…I do love you but…well…I don't think…"

Syaoran cut off her nonsensical rambling by finally turning to face her and reaching out to take her hands. Shocked (since this was the first time he'd initiated contact between them since regaining his heart), Sakura stared up at him with her mouth hanging slightly open. "I don't know how I feel about you, Sakura," he said, repeating what she had already heard before, and Sakura once again could not help the slice of disappointment that ran through her. "I've got myself back, but I can't just throw out what I'd been. Everything is…very confusing right now. And you are probably the most confusing thing, but at the same time, you are the only one that makes sense to me."

Sakura smiled at him as she understood what he was really saying: she was his anchor right now. Like it or not, he'd been through a traumatic and terrible experience, and she knew there was a chance he would not recover from it—others had not. Sakura would help—they all would help—but ultimately it would be up to Syaoran to heal. But that was all for another day. Right here, right now, he didn't want anything else but for her to be with him.

"All right, Syaoran," Sakura acquiesced. She waited another moment and allowed him to break the contact between them. He let her fingers slip through his grasp and stepped ever so slightly back. "Now, if I know Wei—which, admittedly, I don't really, but he just seems like the type, you know? Anyway, he should have everything ready for us," she finished as she walked over to the dresser. After opening a few drawers, just as she expected, she found pajamas for Syaoran. A little bit more unexpected was finding some for herself as well; she'd been planning on just borrowing some from Syaoran or having Wei bring her some in a few minutes. She pulled them from the drawers and pushed Syaoran's into his arms. "Change out here. I'll go into the bathroom and get ready."

After closing the bathroom door, she took quick stock of what was there and had her suspicions confirmed when she found two toothbrushes and the plethora of products—face wash, scented lotion, a brush, etc.—that had been in her bathroom when she was here last time. Someone (she suspected Yelan) had expected her to stay with Syaoran. She had wondered why she hadn't had to put up more of an argument to stay with him, but Yelan had said nothing as she left them.

Wondering slightly, she quickly slipped out of her clothes—and, seeing no hamper, kicked them into a corner—and pulled the nightgown over her head before finishing her preparations for bed. Cautiously, she slowly opened the door and peeked out, but she was confused when she did not immediately see Syaoran. Stepping out of the bathroom, she called his name but received no response. She panicked for a bare moment until she saw the door that she had suspected lead to the garden slit open just a crack.

She walked over and pulled it open finding Syaoran dressed in the simple sleeveless white shirt and gray sweatpants she had given him. He was sitting against the wall with his head leaning back and his eyes closed. For a moment, Sakura thought he was sleeping before she realized that the lines on his face were not quite relaxed enough for it. She slipped down next to him, pulling her feet to the side.

After another few seconds, he opened his eyes and pulled his head back up straight but didn't look at Sakura. Instead, he kept his gaze staring at the garden before him. "It's warmer here than there," he said quietly. "I…didn't remember that."

Sakura didn't know how to reply to that, but she didn't have to as Syaoran continued a moment later, "I remember Meilin and I used to play out here a lot. We weren't allowed in the outer areas by ourselves."

Sakura smiled as she reached up to turn his head towards her and said, "Then you remember the important things. That's what really matters." He didn't speak for a long moment before he nodded just once.

After that, they sat in silence. Slowly, Sakura could feel herself growing more and more tired and slipping sideways toward him along the wall. Eventually, she leaned up against him, resting her head against his shoulder and allowed herself a small smile when he didn't flinch or shy away from her.

Upon only the precipice of awareness, she heard Syaoran speak her name softly, but she wasn't awake enough to answer. She felt Syaoran gather her in his arms, but at that moment, her only instinct was to just snuggle closer to him. She was vaguely aware of the sound of rustling blankets as she was slipping ever more into the realm of sleep. When her head hit the pillow, she curled herself into a ball to protect herself from the cool sheets. Then, she could have sworn she felt warm fingers brush her cheek softly before she finally slipped into sleep.