Disclaimer: Cardcaptor Sakura belongs to the wonderful CLAMP, not me. (And how I wish...)

Sensei, I Love You

Chapter 24

Sakura's phone clattered onto the floor and lay forgotten as Syaoran squeezed the life out of her. It was as if he was trying to ascertain that she was truly there, not some illusions that he had conjured in his mind.

"You're here," he murmured into her ears, pulling her even deeper into his embrace and nuzzled into the crook of her neck. "You're really here."

Sakura was lost in his embrace. It took her a few moments to collect herself and to remember where she was and why they weren't together anymore. She mustered up her strength to push him away and had to make herself look away from the pained look in his eyes when they parted.

"I shouldn't be here," Sakura said, looking at her shoes.

"Muffin…" Syaoran took a step towards her and she backed away immediately. He froze, eyes widening at her reaction. "Sakura…"

"You hurt me." Sakura whispered brokenly as she put more distance between them. She didn't dare to look up for fear of her reaction to him. "You pushed me away."

"I pushed you away?" Syaoran asked. His voice ended on a sharp note of disbelief. "I'm not the one who ran away!"

"Don't come any closer!" Sakura warned when Syaoran tried to go nearer to her, to hold her in his arms again. She couldn't have that. She'd break down and bawl like a little kid if he did that again. Once was enough. She still could manage it once but if she were to feel the comfort of being in his arms again, she'd lose it all. "Just stay where you are…"

"Why are you doing this?" Syaoran asked. He sighed and Sakura heard him ruffling his already messy brown hair. "Why are you doing this to me? To us?"

"There is no us!" Sakura screamed. "There can never be a us! Don't you get it? Kaidou-Kouchou won't permit it! Yukito-san won't permit it! Everyone is against us being together!"

Syaoran's jaw hardened at the mention of Yukito. Ignoring Sakura's warnings, he was in her personal space in the next instant and was gripping her arms, preventing her from making her escape. She gasped and looked up at him in surprise.

"I told you before that I don't care what other people think of us," Syaoran said, gritting his teeth in frustration. How could he phrase his words such that Sakura could believe in what he said? "I don't care what people may say about us, as long as we stay together. Forever."

Tears welled up in Sakura eyes and she tried to blink them away. She knew Syaoran saw them from the way his grip on her slackened and she was once again pressed against the front of his suit jacket. She made no effort to push him away this time round, not when this was what she wanted.

"What will happen to us?" Sakura's voice was so soft that Syaoran had to strain to hear what she was saying in between her sniffles.

"Everything will be all right," Syaoran said, rubbing soothing circles on Sakura's back. "I'll make it right. You'll see."

"Over-confident idiotic teacher." Sakura's comment had Syaoran cracking up.

"Does this means I'm forgiven?"

Sakura smacked him on his chest and he winced playfully in response. "Not that easy! You put me through lots of agony for the past two weeks!"

Syaoran's expression turned solemn at that. He tipped Sakura's face up with a finger and gently rubbed away the tear stains on her face with his thumb. "I'm really sorry about that. I panicked when I heard that Meiling was actually coming over for a short stay." He sighed and cupped Sakura's face. "You know it's never my intention to cause you any pain."

"You said you didn't know me."

"I know. I'm such an idiot, aren't I?"

"And Meiling is—"

"My cousin," Syaoran said, interrupting her sentence because he knew for sure what she was going to ask him. "She's stationed in our headquarters in Hong Kong but comes over from time to time. I didn't have the chance to warn you about her. She's was already in our house by the time your classes ended that day."

"So you threw me to Hiiragizawa-san…" Sakura frowned, thinking about Eriol and his barbed words. "He's really your friend?"

"And cousin and colleague."

Sakura's eyes grew as wide as saucer. She could guess that they were colleagues seeing that the both of them were in the same office building. Cousins? There's no obvious link between the two of them. "I'm… surprised."

Syaoran chuckled. "I can understand that. The two of us are totally different. You must have known by now that he likes to talk to himself? He grumbles a lot too. You should listen to him talk about why I shouldn't pass on the CEO responsibilities onto him."

"Why did you do it then?"

"Let's just say that it has got something to do with you," he said and pressed a quick kiss to her forehead. She blushed instantly and looked away before Syaoran caught it. He leaned down and nuzzled her cheek. "I like the way your cheeks turn pink when you are embarrassed."

"Stop teasing me." Sakura shoved him away but he pulled her back, engulfing her in his embrace once more.

"But it's fun!" Syaoran mock whined, batting his eyelashes at her in a ridiculous fashion that had her laughing in seconds.

Sakura knew she should be feeling offended for being treated like some fun toys. "I can wait to have a go at this," Sakura said, rolling her eyes at his grinning face. "I'll make sure you have a taste of your own medicine."

"Ohhhh... I definitely look forward to that day." He just had to throw in a wink to complete his statement. There was a pause where he was just observing her. "So, are we okay now?"

"Okay as in?"

He rocked her gently on her feet and Sakura giggled at his childish antics.

"You, me, boyfriend and girlfriend?" He sounded uncertain on the last word. Sakura could feel how his arms tensed around her and knew how anxious he was for her answer.

"Boyfriend and girlfriend?" Sakura repeated, the corners of her mouth turning up at the thought of the two of them. Her mood dampened immediately when she thought of the secrets he was holding from her. "Can we be truthful to each other? No more secrets?"

Syaoran stiffened in her arms and she knew her question hit somewhere critical. She raised a brow at him in inquiry. He sighed and gave in, prepared to answer whatever question she might have.

"I'll try."

Sakura was satisfied with his answer. She gave him a quick squeeze around his waist and sent a brilliant smile up at him. She'd not press him for answers but at least he'll tell her on his own accord when the time comes.

"Please take good care of me, boyfriend," she said and stood on tip toes to press a kiss on his cheek, near to the corner of his mouth.

Syaoran grinned and his eyes lit up mischievously. "That's no way to kiss your boyfriend, muffin."

"Are we back to name calling again?"

Syaoran chuckled. "Probably."

Now that the big bulk of her concern was gone, so did her headache. What was left was just exhaustion. She yawned despite her efforts to suppress it and giggled a little at Syaoran's worried expression. "Sorry, I didn't sleep well."

"Let's get you home now," Syaoran said and stepped away from her to make a call using his desk phone. "Be ready in five," he barked the order.

Sakura stared at him, so unaccustomed to the serious CEO side of him and couldn't help but wonder why he secretly took up teaching. He said it has got something to do with her but she felt that he was leaving out some important point. Why would he be a teacher for her? Did he know her prior to joining her school? Her mind couldn't connect the dots together.

"Come," he said when he was at the door. Sakura was too busy with her internal monologue to notice his movement. He chuckled when Sakura gave him the clueless look. "Now I really knew how tired you are." He shook his head in wonder and came back to her to hold her hand in his. With a gentle tug, he pulled her with him and they make their way down.

"Where are we going?" Sakura asked, ignoring how wonder his hand felt.

"We're going home."

"Your house?" He gave her a deadpanned look and she had her answer. "But your cousin's there!"

Syaoran looked as if he forgot about it and looked at her apologetically. "Where are you staying right now?"

"Yukito-san's... But you can't go there! He's going to be really angry if he sees you.

"You're living with him?" Syaoran's voice had a hard edge.

"Well, Kaidou-kouchou approved it..." Sakura waited anxiously for the angry outburst that she knew would spill forth from Syaoran. She was thoroughly surprised when he merely sighed. "You aren't angry?"

Syaoran steered her into the elevator and pulled her into his arms again. "How can I not be angry that you're living with another guy? If I didn't know him so well, I'd have just marched to his place and plant my fist into his wretched face.

Sakura was appalled. She pulled back slightly so that she could see his face. "No violence!"

"Are you worried about him or me?"

His thumbs were tracing circles on her upper arms, distracting her from her train of thoughts. "W-what?"

"Are you worried about me?" He asked softly, leaning down and nuzzling her neck.

"Um... Sensei... We are in public..."

"Don't call me Sensei when we're out of school." Syaoran admonished gently, his breath fanning the side of her neck.

Sakura flushed hotly at their intimacy but she did not move away. "You're not afraid that your colleagues will see us together?"

Syaoran shurgged. "Well, I'm not officially working with the company now."

"Why are you here then?" She realized she wanted to-need to-know the answer to that, to solve the mystery of Li Syaoran.

"Well..." He looked uncomfortable with the topic and shuffled a little on his feet. "You know I become a teacher?"

Sakura rolled her eyes at him. "Of course I know that! Otherwise, I would have called the cops to report a suspicious figure in the school."

"I'm so glad that I'm an official staff there," he said with a teasing grin. "I wouldn't want you to be sad, seeing me with the cops."

"Why are you so sure I will be sad?" Sakura tried to sound nonchalant but her teasing grin gave it all away and Syaoran affected by her grin for he was smiling down at her.

"Because-" he leaned down slowly towards her. Sakura's lids fluttered shut and she fought the blush creeping up her face as he pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead. He seemed to love doing that. "-if our roles were reversed, I'd be much sadder and devastated if you were to be manhandled by the cops. And that's because I really love you."

Sakura inhaled sharply at his unexpected declaration. Syaoran gently tugged a loose strand of hair behind her ears and cupped her cheeks, tilting her face up slightly. Sakura suddenly felt that she had difficulty in breathing, totally absorbed in his gaze and touch.

"Sen-sensei..."

Syaoran chuckled and shook his head ruefully. "Not the name I want to hear from your lovely lips-lovely kissable lips." His thumb traced the outline of her lips and she opened her lips slightly, totally unaware that she was doing it.

Sakura's melting under the steady gaze of Syaoran. His thumb on her lips was driving her crazy. He was staring down at her-at her lips-and he made no move to kiss her there.

"Wanna try again?" He asked, his voice husky.

The pull was just too strong for her. She didn't even have time to even blink before her toes tipped on their own and she was closing the distance between them to press her lips to his. Her eyes widened when she realized what she'd done. Even Syaoran was stunned into speechlessness.

"I'm... uh... not going to apologize for that," Sakura said, looking at everywhere but him. She removed her hands from his shoulders, where she used to balance herself earlier.

A slow grin spread across Syaoran's face. He was about to tease Sakura even further when the doors opened and his eyes widened in surprise.

"What a pleasant surprise to see my son in the office building," the woman standing outside said. Her voice was laced with thinly veiled sarcasm. "Aren't you going to introduce the young girl in your arms to me?"

To be continued

I'm feeling evil at the moment! But then again, 3 updates in 2 weeks! I'm left with nothing to update for a while because work kept me really busy and a little demoralized. Meanwhile, I'll squeeze in time to write whenever and wherever I can. Just to let you know that Chapter 24 is purely written on my phone via the app My Writing Spot. It's cool!