Destined

Author's Note: I am so overwhelmed by your responses. You guys are truly the best! Thank you all for the warm welcome! I really didn't expect that. It made me smile so much. Thank you! :) I was actually hesitant to post the last chapter because I thought no one would read it anymore. I'm so glad to be wrong. I'm so happy to see you all again! :) Thank you for still supporting the story. And thank you for bearing with me. It's been too long since I've started with this story. I'm trying to match the tone and the structure of the previous chapters and hopefully, I'm not disturbing the flow. Reviews are always appreciated. Thank you!

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS.

Chapter 21

'This is a bad idea.'

Syaoran had that thought on repeat. He had been thinking that since he came to his senses. It was a bad idea. He should have never told his mother that he was seeing someone. He should have kept his cool and just stayed quiet throughout the conversation. But no. He took a page from Sakura and came up with one of the most ridiculous plan. Ever.

'This isn't gonna work.'

Apparently, he was on a roll on being stupid. He visited Sakura the next day and dragged her into the situation. She should have known that the more she refused, the more he was going to push. That had always been their dynamic. So he pulled out his own trick on her and a part of him couldn't help but notice that she wasn't entirely immune to him after all.

'This is a bad idea.'

"This is a bad idea," Sakura spoke his thought out loud. She stood in front of him, wearing a white full-length evening dress that had black jewel-encrusted straps that curved around the bodice. Her hair was curled and softly pulled back in a knot, revealing the open and low-cut back of her dress. It was a perfect mix of traditional elegance and modern sexiness. "Did I mention how much I hate you today?" Her soft make-up betrayed the scowl on her face.

"If you did, I wasn't listening." In contrast, Syaoran was wearing an all-black ensemble. He looked sleek and sharp with his black suit, black shirt and skinny black tie. He pulled it off effortlessly and the silhouette perfectly showcased his masculine frame.

"What's the event anyway?"

"Birthday," Syaoran answered just as the door leading to the hotel's grand ballroom opened.

"Whose?"

"Beats me." He shrugged, offering his arm. "Ready?"

"If I say no, can we leave?" She asked, placing her hand on the crook of his elbow. His answer was to pull her inside. They were here now; might as well go with it.

Syaoran nodded and smiled politely at the people he knew while Sakura dared not to look at anyone in particular. The plan was to simply appease his mother by showing up together while avoiding interaction with other guests as much as possible. For the first few minutes, they managed to steer clear of people without being obvious about it.

"Aren't you even going to greet the host?" Sakura asked.

"I'm not even sure who the celebrant is." He looked around. "Mother's not here yet."

Before Sakura could reply, a man in his late forties approached them. "Syaoran, my boy, is that you?"

"Mr. Chen." Syaoran shook his hand firmly. "How are you?"

"Good, good. Wife is mingling around." He smiled when he noticed Sakura. "And who's this lovely young lady?"

"Oh, right. This is Kinomoto Sakura." They decided not to use her forced title unless necessary. "Sakura, this is Mr. Chen. He's one of the board members of Li Industries."

"Hello." Sakura bowed politely. The kind look on the old man's face helped put her at ease. "Pleased to meet you."

"How are you enjoying the night, my dear?"

"It's wonderful." She smiled. "It's a very nice birthday celebration."

"Birthday?" He tilted his head in confusion. "It is an anniversary party, is it not?"

Sakura's eyes widened. Syaoran gave her the wrong information. "Oh." Laughing nervously, she tightened her grip on Syaoran. "Oh, yes. Anniversary, right. What I meant was..." Stupid Syaoran. "I mean, birthday – birth of love, so anniversary, you know," Sakura rambled anxiously. She heard Syaoran cough, which she guessed was his poor attempt of concealing a laugh.

Thankfully, Mr. Chen bought her reasoning. "Ah, that's a nice way of looking at it."

Sakura smiled back tightly. She refused to say anything anymore for fear of making a bigger fool out of herself.

"Excuse us for a moment," Syaoran finally interrupted. "I think I see someone calling for us."

After saying their goodbyes, Sakura and Syaoran walked into a quiet corner. She wasted no time hissing in his ear, "You said it was a birthday!"

"I honestly thought it was," Syaoran replied. He put his free hand on top of hers and tried to pry the fingers that were painfully digging on his arm. "My secretary sent the gift in advance so I didn't know what I was attending."

"That doesn't matter. I still didn't see you trying to save me back there."

"You handled it fine. Seriously, birth of love? I would have never come up with that – ow, stop that!"

"Don't provoke me, Syaoran. I'm this close to leaving your ass here. I told you this was a bad idea."

"You can't leave. I'm your ride."

Sakura finally let him go and Syaoran used the chance to subtly shake his arm.

"Let's go back. They'll be serving – whoa! What are you doing?" He stood still when Sakura started touching his waist. With a determined look, she continued downwards until she reached his pants. Syaoran realized that she was patting him for the content of his pockets.

She growled, "I'm looking for the valet ticket."

"Whoa!" He immediately grabbed her hands when they made a move to reach behind him. "Easy, kitten. It's not there. It's on the inside pocket of my suit."

Sakura shrugged him off before attacking his buttons. Syaoran caught them again and trapped them against his chest.

"Okay, okay, wait." He waited for her to look at him before continuing. He noted that she was especially edgy tonight. "No one's leaving, okay? I won't tease you again. Just stay here with me, okay?"

She frowned before finally admitting, "I'm nervous."

"I know." He let her go and positioned his hand on the back of her neck. He lightly massaged it in an effort to calm her. It worked as her muscles relaxed almost instantly.

"And I'm hungry."

He smiled. "I know. So let's go to our table, shall we?" He lowered his hand to her back to guide her. Sakura shivered at the feeling of his warm hand against her bare skin. She could only hope he didn't feel it. No such luck. "Cold?"

"Um, yeah." She bit her lip. "I'm just going to drop by the ladies' room real fast. I'll meet you at the table."

Syaoran nodded his agreement. He walked off after pointing Sakura to the right direction. On his way back, someone stopped him again. This time, it was a loud voice followed by a girlish squeal.

"Oh my God! Li Syaoran!" She flashed him a megawatt smile. "Do you remember me? I'm Tia Park!"

"Oh." Syaoran forced a smile. His mother was going to introduce him to her? She must have wanted to torture him. "Hello."

"We met in passing at the museum opening last year!" Giggle. "It's a shame we didn't get to talk."

He made a noncommittal sound. It was a tragedy that they were talking now.

"How are you?" Giggle. "Oh gosh! We should meet up sometime!" She made a move to touch his arm, but he casually shifted his body away to avoid it. "Did you know that I'm moving back here for good? We could spend lots of time together!"

Syaoran decided that she was either dense or purposefully ignoring the fact that he wasn't participating in the conversation.

"Anyway," Tia turned coy, tucking loose strands of her hair behind her ear. "I can give you my number so you'll know how to reach me."

At that moment, Syaoran spotted Sakura walking back to their table.

"I'll give you my e-mail ad, too so you can –"

"I have to go," Syaoran cut her off. "My girlfriend is waiting for me."

Tia's face dropped. She frowned. "What?" She heard Li Syaoran was single. Did someone got to him first?

"It was nice..." He trailed off, not even wanting to lie for the sake of being polite. "Yeah. Bye." Without waiting for a response, he left her standing.

"Eriol, dear."

"Oh, hello Yelan." He bowed in greeting. "How are you?"

"I'm doing well, thank you." She observed him carefully. "Although I'm afraid I can't say that same to you. Is something the matter?"

Eriol tried to wave off. "Oh, no. No, it's nothing."

She gave him a long look before letting it go. "I didn't see you arrive with Syaoran."

"He's here?"

"With his new girlfriend, yes."

"What?" He asked sharply. His tone held a mixture of shock and agitation.

Yelan picked up on it immediately. "You didn't know?"

"I..." He trailed off, not knowing what to say. How could that be? It had barely been two weeks since that night. How could he parade a new woman so quickly?

"You didn't know," Yelan repeated, this time as a statement. To be honest, any lingering doubts she might have had started to disappear as she watched them all night, unaware of her presence. "I believe her name was Sakura. They seemed quiet... affectionate," she remarked, recalling and misinterpreting the scene she saw earlier by the corner.

"Sakura? She's with him?"

"Oh, so you do know her then." Yelan turned concerned, "Dear, are you alright? You look pale."

"No, yes, I'm –" He stepped back. "I need to go. I'm sorry," Eriol apologized for his abrupt departure before leaving.

"Ahh." Sakura let out appreciatively. The food was so good. She enjoyed it so much that she made Syaoran promise to find out which restaurant catered for this event. Then he would take her there to eat. Speaking of, where was he? She let her eyes roam the room until they finally landed on him standing with a group of men.

Syaoran couldn't afford to avoid other guests anymore without coming off as rude. Sakura decided that it was best to hang back. Introductions to mere acquaintances she could handle, but business associates were another story. She feared she was going blurt out something inappropriate.

"Fuckhot, huh?"

Sakura jumped at the sudden voice. "What?" She turned and saw a woman standing next to her. She was tall and was wearing a red strapless dress that perfectly showed off her figure.

The woman nodded to the direction Sakura was staring at earlier. "Li Syaoran." She sighed dreamily. "So hot, right?"

"Oh. Sure." Sakura shrugged nonchalantly. Syaoran was attractive. Everybody knew that.

"I'm Tia," she introduced herself, smiling brightly. "Future wife of Li Syaoran."

Sakura almost choked. "W-what?"

"Well, not really. We're still getting to know each other." She giggled. "But that felt good to say. It's like practice."

Sakura blinked, unsure of what to make of the situation. She wanted to laugh, but she had a feeling it wouldn't go down so well. She was proven right by Tia's next words.

"So if ever you plan on introducing yourself to him, you can forget about it." Her cheerful persona was now gone.

'And Syaoran thinks I'm bipolar,' Sakura thought dryly. "Actually, I'm –"

"And besides," Tia continued, using her height to her advantage. "You're not his type. He wouldn't waste his time with you."

Sakura's brow furrowed. "I understand." She finally understood why Tia was talking to her. Tia saw her looking at Syaoran and made it her mission to prevent her from making advances. She was marking her territory. Sakura had to wonder how many women Tia approached tonight. "But I heard he has a girlfriend?"

"Please." She rolled her eyes. "He's just playing hard to get." Smirking, she continued, "And I don't mind because it's going to be so much fun when I finally catch him. Rawr."

Sakura slapped a hand over her mouth. Don't laugh. Don't laugh.

"You're weird," Tia told her. "Anyway, even if that was true, he wouldn't stay with her once he sees this." She gestured to her body proudly. "That Daidouji girl was lucky I lived abroad for the past couple of years. Poor girl wouldn't even stand a chance against me." She sighed dramatically. "Guess Syaoran got tired of her. Who wouldn't? Little Miss Prim and Proper. So snobbish and stuck up."

"Hey!" Sakura cut in. Tia could say anything she wanted against her, but attacking her friend was different. "You shouldn't –"

"Oh here he comes!" Tia plastered a wide smile on her face. She shot Sakura a smug look as if saying Syaoran came for her.

His attention was on his watch as he came nearer. "I think we'll probably be here until –"

"Syaoran!" Giggle.

Syaoran looked up, cursing mentally. He didn't see Tia standing next to Sakura.

"What brings you here? Oh wait." Tia gasped, extremely flattered. "You didn't get my number so you're here to ask!"

Both women were startled at Syaoran's next action. "Oof." Sakura stumbled when Syaoran grabbed her. Her back hit his chest a little too ungracefully.

"Hey baby," Syaoran started. "I've missed you."

'What the hell?' Sakura was confused. She tried to look up but Syaoran was holding her so close to him that she was unable see his face properly. "What are you –" She stopped again when he warningly tightened his hold on her.

He lowered his mouth next to her ear, disguising it as an intimate whisper. "Play along, kitten, or I swear to God I'll throw your secret stash of cookies. I know where you hide them."

Sakura's mouth gaped open. She could only nod as his warm breath fanned against her neck. His close proximity was doing something weird to her again.

Tia's jaw dropped. "What is going on?" She demanded, her attitude doing another 180. "Who is she?" Her eyes were so wide it was almost comical.

"My girlfriend, Sakura."

Glaring at Sakura from head to toe, Tia sneered, "Well, the competition is easier than I thought."

That snapped Sakura out of her Syaoran-induced haze. Her brow involuntarily rose at that.

"You set the standard pretty low," Tia mocked. "You're not much of an improvement."

'Oh, fuck this.' Syaoran had enough. He didn't care who Tia's parents were as he stood to his full height. "Look here –"

To his surprise, Sakura laughed. "Did you hear that," she twisted and wrapped an arm around Syaoran's waist, "Baby?" This time, it was him who gave her the what-the-hell look. "Poor girl actually thinks she has a chance," Sakura threw the words back. She was going to let the insults go, but Tia included another indirect jab against Tomoyo. "You should have heard the things she said earlier."

Tia had the decency to look embarrassed.

"And what was it about his type? Oh yeah, I don't think you are either." Sakura gave her a pointed look. "He likes them au naturel."

"Y-you, you!" Tia spluttered, her nose flaring. "I don't know what you're talking about! Stop spouting lies just because you're jealous!"

"Me? Jealous?" Sakura scoffed. "Why would I be jealous when I'm the one standing next to him?"

"You better shut up!" Tia took a threatening step forward.

"Or what?" Sakura tried to match her action, but she felt herself being pushed to the side instead. Syaoran was now standing almost in front of her. Nobody could touch her without going through him first.

To be honest, he had no idea how things turned out this way. He initially intended to use Sakura as a shield but she unexpectedly turned into a weapon. Nevertheless, he couldn't let this continue.

Tia's mouth snapped shut at the cold look Syaoran was giving her. "Never bother us again." She stood frozen, completely intimidated and ashamed. "Let's go," Syaoran murmured to Sakura, leading her away.

Before Sakura was out of earshot, Tia jeered, "You're a bitch."

Sakura turned to her. "Actually, I'm not." She remembered Syaoran's explanation of what she was before. "I'm a kitten." Smiling sweetly, she added, "Syaoran's kitten. Rawr." And with that, she left the other woman fuming.

When they were at a safe distance away, Syaoran started, "Should I even ask?"

"Trust me, you don't want to know." Her eyes narrowed. "Argh! She just makes me so mad!" Sakura almost stomped her foot in frustration. "I know I was mean and I probably shouldn't have said those things, but she just – argh! It was one thing insult me, but to include my friends? The nerve! She even insinuated earlier that you would ditch someone over something as superficial as her surgically-enhanced body. Did she think you're that shallow? The hell!" Her rant came to an abrupt halt the moment she felt Syaoran's hand on the back of her neck. Her whole form relaxed at the calming motion he provided.

"You are aware I didn't actually ask, right?" Syaoran spoke dryly. He should have known that Sakura would still spill the details.

"Yeah, but –" Sakura stopped one more time when she felt Syaoran stop. "What?" She twisted her body and saw Eriol holding onto Syaoran's shoulder. "Oh, hi, Eriol! I didn't know you were coming, too."

Eriol's eyes were trained on Syaoran. The atmosphere changed and it suddenly became tense. The last time they were together, it came down to a fight.

Remembering the same, Sakura wedged herself between them.

"You and Sakura?" Eriol hissed.

"What?" Sakura frowned in confusion before realization dawned. "Oh! You totally misunderstood. We're just putting up an act for his mother."

"Didn't seem much of an act." A touch of malice was in his tone. He saw the entire thing with Tia.

"But I'm not lying." A flash of hurt crossed Sakura's face before she covered it quickly. "We were just pretending." She looked away, not wanting to see the accusation on Eriol's face. "I need to go. Excuse me." She left before either man could stop her.

"What the fuck?!" Syaoran instantly growled. "Where do you get off acting like that, huh? You really want me to pay you for back the hit you gave me? You want it that bad?"

Eriol was taken aback for a moment. He had never seen Syaoran this livid before. Getting his bearings back, he answered, "I know what I saw. You can say it's nothing all you want, but I know what I saw!"

"So fucking what?" Syaoran barked. "I don't answer to you! It's none of your business what I do."

"I made it my business the moment you drove Tomoyo away."

"What?"

"Do you know she's gone now? She left me a fucking message this morning saying she's leaving!" And it scared the hell out of Eriol because Tomoyo's reason for always coming back was no more.

That was news to Syaoran, but it wasn't his first concern at the moment. "You know what your problem is?" He glared at Eriol. "You're a coward."

"What did you say?" Eriol's whispered heatedly. They were in each other's faces now.

"You're a coward," Syaoran repeated his words slowly. He was fucking tired of this. Enough was enough. He refused to hold back anymore. "I admit that what happened with Tomoyo was my fault, but don't you dare put all the blame on me. The entire time, you just sat there without saying anything. You were too busy wallowing in your own self-pity to do anything!"

Eriol grabbed the collar of his suit. "What could have I done, huh?" He shook Syaoran. "Her eyes were only for you. They have always been for you!"

"That's the problem, isn't it? You tried so hard not to resent me over it, but the moment it came crashing down, you were just too ready to hate on me." Syaoran forcefully removed Eriol's hands. "You say you're being like this because I hurt Tomoyo? Maybe there's a part of you that's been looking for a reason to hate me like this all along." He glowered. "Stop this fucking holier-than-thou attitude! Were you even going to tell me that Tomoyo kissed you while we were still technically together?"

Eriol's eyes widened. He buried that memory because it marked the downfall of his relationship with Tomoyo.

"If you want to be angry at me, then do so!" Syaoran continued, "If you want to be miserable, I won't stop you. But don't," Syaoran voiced turned dangerously cold. "Don't you fucking dare drag Sakura into it."

Eriol finally saw the different look in Syaoran's eyes. That sobered him. "It's real, isn't it?" He whispered in stunned realization. "What you feel for her is real."

"So?" Syaoran spat. "My feelings are my own so don't you give Sakura a hard time about it."

"No, I..." Eriol shook his head. Syaoran's words seemed like a cold bucket of water. He should have never acted like that towards Sakura. She had been nothing but kind and supportive to him. She never deserved that kind of treatment. "I'm –"

"Don't. Tell that to Sakura."

Sakura was idling near the entrance leading to the kitchen. Servers who passed her gave her odd looks, but those were better compared to the one she received from the bathroom attendant. 'Better come off as hungry than constipated,' Sakura told herself. Apparently, her visits to the bathroom were already more than usual for one night.

Why was she hiding anyway? She could have easily stood up for herself. All she had to do was explain the details to Eriol. However, his misplaced accusations made her feel guilty. It caught her off guard and stopped her cold. Were they really misplaced after all?

Sakura continued to pace. She didn't know why she was feeling like this in the first place. She didn't do anything wrong. She didn't betray anyone. Right? Yet here she was, hiding away. It wasn't the implication that she was lying that made her feel bad; it was the actuality that she may really be doing something bad.

"Sakura?"

"Oh, hey, Eriol." She bit her lip. "I was, uh, on my way back." Never mind the fact that the washroom was all the way on the other side. She mumbled, "Just got lost."

"I need to apologize," Eriol started contritely. "I shouldn't have been like that to you earlier."

"Oh no, it's okay." Sakura waved it off hastily. Somehow, she felt like she was the one who needed to say sorry. The guilty feeling started to resurface once again.

"No, it's not. I'm really sorry." He meant that. This was Sakura, the first person who he truthfully confessed his feelings to, the same person who tried her best to help him. He couldn't forget that. "I hope you can forgive me."

"Eriol, it's okay," Sakura replied softly. "Don't worry about it. Are you okay now?"

"I'll live." He shrugged heavily.

"How about Tomoyo? Have you talked to her? I haven't heard from her."

"She left."

"What?" Her eyes widened. "When?"

"This morning. I – I don't know when she'll be back this time."

Sakura caught the break in Eriol's voice. "Oh, Eriol..." To be honest, she felt a little hurt that Tomoyo didn't tell her about her departure. She just told herself that there was a reason behind it and feeling like that wouldn't change anything.

"She has no more reasons to come back."

"Then give her," Sakura found herself saying. "You all told me that she always ran away. I didn't think much of it before, but now... maybe, just maybe... she had always been waiting for someone to run after her."

Eriol felt like the wind was knocked out of him.

"You guys always waited. Maybe this time around, someone goes after her."

"But I'm not Syao-"

"You don't have to be," Sakura cut in, gently but firmly.

The two of them stood there in silence. Eriol was letting what Sakura said sink in. Could he really do that? His mind was so confused that he couldn't come up with a decision right away. He knew he shouldn't be impulsive about it either. Was he even ready?

After awhile, he noticed that Sakura was discreetly looking behind him. Guessing that she was trying to look for Syaoran, he gave her an easy out.

"He's looking for you, too," Eriol stated. He knew how much Syaoran wanted to put him in his place for his behavior, but Syaoran left in a haste to look for her. He ran after someone – something he rarely ever did. Sakura was his priority and with that, Eriol realized that no matter how big or small, Syaoran would choose her. "Go ahead."

"Thanks." Sakura was about to walk off, but she turned around again. "Hey, Eriol?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't think you should make a habit of going off on someone without knowing all the details."

"I'm sorry." Eriol looked remorseful again. "I didn't –"

"No, it's not about me." Sakura shook her head. "It's about Syaoran. That's twice now. The last time, your fist was even involved. Please don't do that again, okay?"

He opened his mouth but nothing came out. He simply nodded, silently noting how unconsciously protective they were of each other.

Sakura dragged her feet to where she last saw Syaoran. She was already exhausted from tonight's activities. Her nerves had been gnawing at her from the start, making her extremely nervous and uneasy. She had been fighting an internal battle to keep calm, but those negative external interactions just made her feel drained. It was more than what she could handle for one night. Her main purpose of being here wasn't even fulfilled yet. She didn't know how much longer she could last.

Looking up, she met Syaoran's eyes. He was staring at her so intensely that it made her feel more vulnerable. She didn't know what he saw on her face, but he was suddenly walking towards her.

"Are you okay?" Syaoran asked, holding her arm.

"Yeah." She nodded, looking around them. The party was still in full swing, and she couldn't even find enough energy to match half of it.

"No, you're not." He lifted his fingers and gingerly tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. His hand lingered on the side of her face, barely touching, for a few seconds before he dropped it.

Sakura found herself weaker under his gaze. He was looking at her in a way she couldn't explain. Everything was muddled up and she wasn't quite sure how to deal with it. Everything just seemed all over the place.

"Let's get you home."

No matter how much she welcomed the idea, she couldn't wholeheartedly agree. She made a promise after all. "We haven't seen your mother yet."

"She wanted us to come and we did." Syaoran's other hand slid from her arm to her hand.

Sakura sucked in a deep breath. The trail his hand had taken left her skin feeling ignited.

"So let's go," Syaoran continued, using the hand he was holding to tug and make her move.

She stood still. What Syaoran had done was nothing new. In fact, it was the usual. So what was this surging through her all of a sudden?

"Kitten?" His brows knitted together. "What's wrong?"

"I... uh..."

"Kitten?"

"I won't do this again," Sakura blurted. All she knew was that it was a dangerous situation to be in and she should not repeat it. "We should do this now because I won't pretend for you next time."

Syaoran just gave her a long measured look in return. He seemed to be mulling over something as he studied her carefully. She stood there, refusing to back down. Finally, with a sigh, Syaoran tug at her again. "Let's go home."

AN: This chapter shall set a series of realizations for the next :) Once again, thank you so much everyone!