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Butterflies

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Finally

Sakura and Tomoyo were currently travelling to the church in style, seated side-by-side in the horse-drawn carriage. It was a gorgeously fabulous day, the late-morning air was crisp without being cold and the only clouds in the sky were pure white and complimented the rich marine perfectly.

The sunlight kissed them gently, warm but not overpowering. It was as if the sun was smiling down on them, Tomoyo mused.

However, Sakura's subdued expression was giving Tomoyo cause for concern.

"Sakura, you're very quiet, is something wrong?" Tomoyo asked worriedly. Sakura was quick to shake her head, making her honey-coloured curls bounce.

"No, everything's great, Tomoyo-chan. Thanks for coming with me - I didn't want to ride to the church alone," the bride said, fixing on a smile as she looked at her best friend.

Tomoyo's violet eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"You're not really fine at all, Sakura-chan. Don't forget that I know you like I know the back of my hand, and I know when you're lying."

Sakura sighed, suddenly becoming interested in her feet.

"Okay, so you got me," she said, lifting her head to look back up at Tomoyo. "I guess I'm a little uneasy about all this. I mean, Syaoran and I, we're lying, aren't we?"

Sakura's green eyes were wide, pleading and… Frightened?

"I am quite certain," Tomoyo said, with a reassuring little smile, "that everything will be okay. You are, after all, Sakura-chan. Now stop looking so worried! Cheerful little Sakura-chan isn't supposed to worry!"

Sakura managed a tired smile.

"Now now, Sakura-chan, this is your wedding day. You'll have to do better than that," Tomoyo chided gently.

"Oh yes, because we have to put on a show for the cameras," Sakura said quietly. Tomoyo sighed.

"Sakura-chan -" she began, but Sakura cut her off with a shake off her head.

"No, Tomoyo-chan, I'm sorry for being like this. I brought all this upon myself, after all," the bride said, giving a sad smile.

There was silence for a few moments, broken only by the steady, rhythmic clop of the horses' hooves against the road. Children would look out at the carriage from windows, and point excitedly. Sakura waved at all of them.

A little girl with red pigtails, walking along with her mother, stopped and pointed at the carriage with the hand that her mother wasn't holding.

"Look, mommy, look at the horsies! And look at those ladies' pretty dresses!" she exclaimed. The mother laughed.

"Yes, aren't the horses lovely? The lady in the white dress must be getting married - doesn't she look beautiful?"

The little girl nodded fervently as Sakura waved at the two of them. The little girl and her mother waved back.

"Mommy, she's getting married in a pretty dress, but she doesn't look very happy," the little girl said seriously, gazing up at her mother.

"No, she doesn't," the mother agreed, sounding sad.

"I'm sorry things ended up like this," Tomoyo whispered to Sakura.

"Okay, everybody's here," Yelan said to Sakura when she and Tomoyo arrived at the church. The steps outside the main door to the church were a hive of activity, with everyone running around like lost headless chickens.

"Everybody, line up in the right order! Sakura-san, you need to be with your father at the back of the line!" Sonomi called.

"Good luck, Sakura-chan. I'm sure everything will be fine. Just think of this as a big party, okay? Everyone's going to have a fantastic time, and isn't that great?" Tomoyo whispered to Sakura, squeezing her shoulder reassuringly.

Sakura broke out in a genuine smile.

"Thank you for that, Tomoyo-chan," she replied. She felt better now that Tomoyo had put the matter that way - wasn't it great that, because of her, everyone she cared about would have a fantastic day?

Many people wished Sakura good luck as she passed them on her way to her father. When she got to the end of the line, she smiled up at her father. Then she blinked, looking worried, when she saw that her father's eyes were filling with tears.

"Otou-san? What's wrong?" she asked. Her father shook his head, smiling.

"Oh, it's nothing. Just an old man being silly, that's all."

He paused for a second.

"I hope you know, Sakura, that I am very proud of you. I have been, all your life, and I love you very much. And I'm sure your mother would have said something much more fitting, if she was here," he finished with a smile.

Sakura laughed.

"Thanks, otou-san. I love you too," Sakura replied, and they embraced each other quickly.

"Okay, is everybody ready?" Sonomi asked excitedly. There was a cry of "yes!"

"Well then, let's get this thing on the road! After the disasters we've braved this morning, surely things can only go right! So, I wish you all good luck only as a precaution," Sonomi continued. Everybody laughed.

Sonomi and Yelan sneaked quietly through a small side door of the church and crept back to their seats in the main church. The massive line of people outside the main door, on the stone steps, looked at each other.

"Okay, so we all proceed down the aisle slowly and, hopefully, elegantly, then stop at the front of the church. Sakura-chan and Kinomoto-sensei wait outside the main door, in the entrance hall, until all the rest of us are at the front. Okay, everybody clear on what they have to do?" Tomoyo called from her position.

Everybody cried "yes!" again, and Shiefa and her husband, Yuki, who were at the front of the line, bravely pushed open the main doors. The whole congregation of people immediately turned to look at them and the pianist began to play music.

"Okay," Shiefa muttered to her husband, "here goes."

And they proceeded down the aisle, arm-in-arm.

Following them was Meiling with her husband, Satoshi.

Then Fan Ren with her husband, Kyo.

Then Fei Mei with her husband, Daisuke.

And Fuutie with her husband, Hideki.

Then, Chiharu and Yamazaki.

Followed swiftly by Lei and Naoko.

Then followed not-so-swiftly by Rika and Terada-sensei.

It was at this point that there was a ripple of panic among those who were still outside - they had just realised that there wasn't anybody free to walk Touya down the aisle.

"He can walk on my other side!" Sakura hissed quickly, and everybody sighed in relief.

Then they realised that nobody had gone up the aisle in a while, and everybody inside the church was looking puzzled. Tomoyo blinked and snapped back to attention, saying quickly, "Minoru and Rina, go!"

After the two eldest children came brother and sister Kotarou and Tohru.

Then more flower girls in the form of twins Alice and Riku.

Then, the maid of honour (Tomoyo) and Eriol walked up the aisle after a (planned) pause.

Then, finally, it was Sakura, Fujitaka and Touya's turn. Touya looked down at his sister and said, "here we go. I can't believe you're getting married… But hey, we don't have time for a big, emotional thing, so I'll make this brief - 'Tou-san and I love you, okay, Kaijuu?"

Sakura laughed.

"For once, I don't mind the nickname. Thanks, onii-chan."

"And now," Fujitaka said, smiling at his daughter and remembering his own wedding so many years before, "for the longest walk of your life."

Sakura nodded and tried to compose herself. The butterflies fluttering in her stomach were so severe they felt like seagulls.

The pianist changed his music to the bridal march. The congregation was looking more and more excited.

For a wild, insane second, Sakura felt like bolting.

However, the moment passed and Sakura smiled up at her brother and father, then they walked through the doors, slowly, gracefully, and together. Sakura wouldn't have had it any other way.

The congregation turned and gasped over how beautiful the bride was. Sonomi was weeping already in her seat beside Yelan, and Wei, who was on her other side, was awkwardly comforting her.

"If it's possible, Sakura-hime 1 looks even more beautiful with the church as a backdrop!" Nakuru squealed to Arisa beside her. "And, of course, Touya-kun looks as glompable as always…" she added as an afterthought.

Arisa grinned.

"You're gonna pounce on him after the service, aren't you?" she asked wickedly. Nakuru sprouted a grin almost identical to Arisa's.

Kenji, on Arisa's other side, muttered something like "poor man". Sasuke gurgled happily from his position on Kenji's lap.

"Yes, that's your mommy and daddy up there, isn't it?" Kenji cooed at Sasuke.

When Sakura set eyes on Syaoran, waiting for her at the front of the church, all her butterflies disappeared. It was strange, but she didn't feel nervous any more. He was standing there, waiting, looking more certain than she could ever have felt in a million years, and suddenly, she felt certain.

She wasn't afraid any more.

Actually, that thought scared her a little. The thought that she was really ready to say 'I do.' And, she was.

It occurred to her that really, the church was beautiful. The pale grey stonework was brightened by the sunlight streaming through the large windows dotted along the walls. The arch-shaped windows were highlighted as they had flowers attached to the stone around the outside of them - white roses and pink lilies on green vines.

It looked as though the flowers were growing along the stone.

Syaoran, waiting at the front, was bathed in the coloured light of a magnificent stained-glass window.

The flower-girls had done their job well - the aisle was dotted with the Sakuras and Nadeshikos they had chosen for confetti. The whole effect was that it was as though there had been Sakura and Nadeshiko trees 2 planted in the church, and there had been a breeze, which had knocked the blossoms off.

It was breathtakingly beautiful.

"Oh. My…" Syaoran gasped to Eriol when Sakura came into view. Eriol grinned.

"She does look rather amazing, doesn't she?" he said happily.

"I can't believe she's marrying me," Syaoran said, sounding bemused. "When she gets up here, the minister's gonna look at her, then at me, and go "okay, you're kidding me. You want me to marry these two? There must be some mistake - there's no way he could get her.""

Eriol continued to grin, then wiggled his eyebrows at Syaoran.

"Well, you can't see yourself, but believe me when I say you look pretty good, mister," he said. Syaoran looked skeptical.

"If you don't believe me, then ask any female at the reception later," Eriol said.

"You look hot - Sakura-chan's a lucky girl," Tomoyo said, right on cue, from behind her video camera. Eriol's eyes narrowed.

"Okay, I meant he could ask any female except you. You know, you're a real flirt, Tomoyo," Eriol said.

Tomoyo grinned.

"Oh, sweetheart, you know I only do it because it irritates you. You look even hotter - I hope you realise that tonight you're going to wear that tux to be-"

Syaoran, shuddering violently, interrupted at that point.

"Okay, Tomoyo-san, that's quite enough. I really don't want to know," he said.

Sakura kept her eyes on Syaoran, waiting for her at the front of the church. Her feet moved perfectly well in a straight line despite her doubts over how obedient they would be. She ignored the faces all around her, for she was sure she would trip if she lost sight of where she was going.

Of course, she wasn't sure she wouldn't trip just looking at Syaoran. Tomoyo had made his tux, so at least Sakura knew who to thank. It was black, of course, but it shone green in the light. There was a Chinese-style dragon stitched on the back of it, its tail curling over one of his shoulders…

Which, of course, got her to thinking about how well the tux showed off his well-built shoulders, and after that, she was gone.

Sakura decided that her father hadn't lied. That walk had seemed like the longest one of her life - probably because she'd spent the whole thing wanting to get closer to those amber eyes…

She finally arrived at the front and took her place opposite Syaoran. All her bridesmaids and groomsmen huddled around her smiled and mouthed words of encouragement and for the first time today, she was happy.

She was truly blessed to have so many people here for her today.

"You look amazing," Syaoran muttered out of the corner of his mouth.

"Thanks, so do you," was Sakura's hasty reply.

Then the minister cleared his throat to signal that he was ready to begin. The piano player stopped playing and all the wedding party and the congregation fell silent.

"Well, may I just begin by saying that this is the biggest wedding party I've ever seen!" he joked. "And now, on to the serious part - dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join Kinomoto Sakura and Li Syaoran in holy matrimony…"

"And do you, Li Syaoran, take Kinomoto Sakura as your wife, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer -"

"For better or worse!" the adults in the wedding party added.

The minister smiled.

" - for better or worse, until death -"

(Or divorce, Sakura thought)

"-do you part?"

Syaoran, laughter shining in his amber eyes, said, smiling at his bride, "I do."

Sakura's heart stopped. How could he look so confident when lying in front of a church full of people?

And yet, she was about to do the same thing.

"And do you, Kinomoto Sakura…"

How dare he look at her like that? How dare he gaze upon her with a look in those eyes like he… Like he…

Like he wasn't lying anymore. Like he… Loved her.

"take Li Syaoran as your husband, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, better or worse, until death do you part?"

Sakura's mouth was dry. The church was silent - not even Sasuke was making a sound. However, it was a joyful, calm silence - not a tense one, but a gently respectful silence while the people just waited. They just waited for an 'I do' they were sure would come.

Of course, the two other people who knew the marriage was faux were looking distinctly worried. One of the hands clutching Tomoyo's bouquet had white knuckles, and on the other hand, clutching her video camera, the tendons were sticking out.

One of Eriol's hands was wrapped around the hand Tomoyo had on her bouquet, trying to offer some semblance of comfort.

Can I lie, in front of all these people? Sakura asked herself.

What else can you do? the rational part of herself asked. And won't it hurt them more if you don't lie now?

I'll try my best to honour the vows I make, Sakura thought determinedly. I will try hard not to murder Syaoran for the six months we're together. I'm sorry for lying, in front of all these people. I'm sorry…

Her gaze found its way back to the face of the groom, and, for some reason, her heart gave a great lurch. He was standing there, looking at her, smiling, not looking the least bit afraid that she might not answer the way they had agreed she would.

He trusts me, Sakura thought.

And, for some reason, that thought was comforting. And, somehow, it made her search herself for the strength to do what she had to do.

She gave a smile, and said, "I do."

There was a great sigh from the congregation, as they finally stopped holding their breath. Tomoyo began to cry in relief (and also, probably, in exhaustion). However, Tomoyo and Eriol looked worriedly at each other, Tomoyo squinting at her fiancé through her tears. They had a big problem here.

"Well, then, I pronounce you husband and wife! You may now kiss the bride!"

Syaoran looked at Sakura, uncertain, perhaps even asking her permission. Sakura rolled her eyes, smiled, and gave the faintest of nods.

Only then did he advance slowly and gently place his lips against her own, his large hands coming to rest on her bare shoulders.

A great cheer rose from the congregation of the church as everybody hugged and kissed each other, some crying and babbling incoherently. The bridesmaids and groomsmen hugged each other, all the women in tears. Touya and Fujitaka looked at each other and smiled proudly.

That's our girl.

Sakura's heart gave that lurch again. Why was this wedding starting to feel so real? Why wasn't she feeling regretful or scared any more? Was it because Syaoran kissed her like this? Was that enough to drive her fears away?

The kiss ended and Sakura and Syaoran looked at each other, before smiling.

We did it. It wasn't easy, but we did it.

"Hold this for me a second, will you, Chiharu-chan?" Tomoyo asked her fellow bridesmaid, handing her the video camera. "Just keep filming everyone congratulating Sakura-chan and Syaoran-san, okay?"

Chiharu beamed happily and said that of course she would, not noticing the crispness of Tomoyo's tone, the slight sheen of worry in her eyes.

Eriol caught Tomoyo's eye and the two of them moved a little away from everyone.

"Did you see what I just saw?" Eriol asked his fiancée in an urgent whisper. Tomoyo nodded.

"They weren't lying, were they? There was definitely… A light shining in Sakura-chan's eyes. A glimmer of something…" Tomoyo said.

"Dangerous. I noticed the same thing about Syaoran-san - it was his eyes, too. They looked…" Eriol began.

"Different. Warmer," they said together.

"This is bad news. When we heard Sakura-san was going to do this, we said that we would endeavour to get her out of it as safely as possible - as unhurt as we could after the six months," Eriol said, sounding worried.

Tomoyo looked weary.

"But if they fall in love -"

"Or if one falls in love with the other, but the other doesn't reciprocate," Eriol pointed out.

Tomoyo rubbed her temples with her fingertips.

"This whole thing has just been one big headache," she moaned. "Why do I have a funny feeling that this is all going to end in tears?"

Eriol looked grim.

"This could destroy her."

It was at the reception that Syaoran's numerous relatives began to swamp the happy couple. Syaoran had caught Sakura's hand in one of his own and was introducing her to Li after Li after Li. Sakura had been told 'congratulations!' more times than she could count.

However, the most memorable chat had definitely been the one with Syaoran's great aunt. Of course, it wasn't memorable in a good sense…

"Sakura, this is my great aunt, Bo and my great uncle, Jin," Syaoran introduced his new bride to the middle-aged dark-haired woman and her husband.

"How are you? It was lovely of you to come here today," Sakura said politely, bowing to Bo. Bo laughed.

"My, isn't she sweet? So polite!" Bo said, before grabbing Sakura and kissing her on each cheek. Syaoran gave a fake, uneasy laugh, but Sakura wasn't even fazed. She'd been kissed numerous times today.

"You two look amazing! Sakura-chan, that gown is simply fantastic! Where on earth did you get it?" Bo asked.

"Oh, my friend's a fashion designer, she designed it for me - it's a one-of-a-kind Daidouji creation," Sakura said, proud of her best friend's talents.

"Well, it's gorgeous, and you two look fantastic," Bo said, but then she adopted a look of concern. "However, you look a little tired, Syaoran-kun."

Then she shook her head, seemingly at herself.

"Oh, wait, how could I be so tactless? Last night was the night before the wedding - I guess you two didn't sleep a wink! Enjoyed yourselves, did you?" she added conspirationally, winking.

Syaoran choked and spluttered.

"Aunt Bo!" he coughed.

Sakura had to pound him on the back to allow him to breathe normally again.

"Well, I, uh, you see, we, um…" Sakura began, her face on fire, her eyes meeting Syaoran's. She wanted nothing more than to die on the spot.

"Oh, don't worry, I'm not going to tell anyone! I know stuff like that's personal," Bo replied.

You could have fooled me! Sakura thought.

"Really, Aunt Bo?" Syaoran asked. His eyes were still watering from the all the choking he'd done.

"I know Syaoran-kun's uncle and I had great fun as newlyweds!" Bo said cheerfully, oblivious to the fact that her great nephew and his wife wanted the ground to swallow them up.

Sakura had to fight to keep a strained smile on her face. Syaoran seemed to have given up completely, and Sakura had a feeling he was about to make a feeble excuse and leave, so she gripped his arm tightly, thinking, oh no, dearest husband, you're not getting out of this one!

Still the uncle said nothing, just continued to smile blandly.

"Well, you two have… Fun… On your honeymoon!" Bo said with a wink as she waved and left with her husband, who could distinctly be heard muttering, "woman, you have absolutely no tact! I've never seen two more embarrassed people!"

"Do you have to hold my arm quite so tightly, dear?" Syaoran asked with a grimace. Sakura released him and he immediately began to rub his sore arm.

"So, have you got any other sex-mad relatives I should watch out for?" Sakura asked pointedly. Syaoran looked apologetic.

"I am so, so sorry about that…"

Sakura shook her head, trying not to smile.

"Nah, it's alright. It was kind of funny, actually," Sakura said, then she paused. It was her turn to look apologetic.

"I'm sorry I squeezed your arm so hard - I thought you were going to say something like 'oh, there's -insert random family member-! I must ask him/her about their kids/ jobs/ pets/ new house/ new face etc.' and leave me!" Sakura explained, the corners of her mouth twitching.

"You know, darling wife, you can be quite funny when you want to be, I did think abut making an escape, but I was going to make an excuse for both of us - as if I would ever leave you alone with one of my crazy relatives!" Syaoran exclaimed.

At that moment, Nakuru and Arisa, giggling madly, ran up behind them and dumped a bucketful of glitter and confetti over the couple.

"Hey!" Sakura yelled playfully. "You guys!"

But the two of them had run away by the time that Sakura managed to clear her vision of the Nadeshiko and Sakura flowers they had chosen for confetti.

"I think," Syaoran said, smiling, "that those two may be a tad… Er, how shall I put this…"

Sakura and Syaoran turned to follow the progress of Arisa and Nakuru around the room. Nakuru had jumped on a very surprised Touya, while Yukito looked on. And tried not to laugh.

"Drunk," Sakura and Syaoran said together.

"That's surprising though," Sakura pointed out, "the reception has only been going on for a half hour. We haven't even had dinner yet."

"Well," Syaoran said, "if they're this drunk right now, I shudder to think of the state they'll be in by the end."

"I just feel sorry for whoever has to drive them home," Sakura said, laughing. Syaoran laughed along with her.

"Yeah - their car's going to stink!"

When their laughter died down, Sakura and Syaoran looked at each other again. Sakura giggled.

"What?" Syaoran asked, clueless as to what was so funny.

"You have…" Sakura murmured, "Glitter… On your nose."

"I do?" Syaoran muttered. Sakura nodded.

"Mmm hmm…"

Damn it! Syaoran thought. Why does she have to sound so seductive?

"And on your… Eyelashes, too," Sakura couldn't breathe properly. She realised she shouldn't be feeling so… Shocked, since she'd initiated this, but he was coming closer and…

"Really, Sakura?" he asked softly. His hands were coming up to frame her face.

Sakura gave a squeak.

"You have glitter on your face, too," he murmured, and there was just a hint of something rougher in his voice that thrilled along her spine.

"Where?" Sakura asked shrilly. Hey, look at that, she'd managed to speak! Okay, so she sounded like she had swallowed helium, but still!

"On your lips… How about I get that for you?" Syaoran asked, his lips lifting in a charming grin.

Sakura's useless brain only managed to shriek, 'MEEP!' She felt that that wouldn't really be a worthy response, so she simply closed her eyes.

His breath was on her face and suddenly, her hands tangled in his hair of their own accord. He was coming closer, closer, her heart banged a nervous tattoo against her ribcage and those butterflies/seagulls were back in her stomach, she felt dizzy…

"Oh, sorry, looks like we caught you two at a, um, bad time," Chiharu said nervously when she and Yamazaki came up to Sakura and Syaoran.

Sakura opened her eyes slowly - for some reason, her eyelids felt heavy. When she saw her two friends standing there, she blushed and it took everything she had not to shove Syaoran away and act like an embarrassed schoolgirl caught red-handed kissing someone in the PE supply closet.

Instead, she gracefully disentangled herself from her husband's embrace (although she was fairly certain she heard Syaoran give a faint grunt of protest) and smiled at them.

"No, not at all. We weren't busy," she said. Syaoran gave her a Look.

"Weren't we? I was under the impression that we were in the middle of something, myself," Syaoran said. Sakura narrowed her eyes at him.

"Hey!" Tomoyo yelled, sounding anguished as she ran up to the four of them, Eriol trailing her.

"Why did you have to interrupt them?" Tomoyo demanded of Chiharu and Yamazaki. "I was filming it!"

She waved her camcorder for emphasis.

Sakura, Syaoran, Yamazaki and Chiharu sweatdropped.

"You were filming us, Tomoyo-chan?" Sakura asked. Tomoyo nodded, looking smug.

"Yep, I got all that went on before you were interrupted," she said, pausing to glare daggers at Yamazaki and Chiharu, who withered under her killer gaze.

Then she seemed to remember something particularly funny, for she stopped glaring and grinned.

"Including 'you have glitter in your eyelashes…'" she said in a stupid, falsetto voice, fluttering her eyelashes outrageously. Tomoyo realised that it wasn't very nice of her to snigger, but she couldn't help it.

"Oh, and 'well, you have glitter on your lips…'" she said in as deep a voice as she could manage, in a poor imitation of Syaoran.

Sakura and Syaoran turned flame red.

"Tomoyo-chan/Tomoyo-san!" they cried as one. Tomoyo laughed her evil laugh.

Eriol sweatdropped.

"I am really sorry for my fiancées immature behaviour. I think it's all the stress of today," he apologised.

"Sorry for teasing you two," Tomoyo apologised sheepishly, once she had got herself under control. "I actually thought it was really sweet - you looked so awkward."

"That's okay," Sakura said gracefully. Then she turned to Yamazaki and Chiharu, looking every bit as sheepish as Tomoyo.

"Oh, I've just remembered - did you two want something?"

Yamazaki and Chiharu laughed.

"Oh, I totally forgot!" Chiharu exclaimed. "It's just that dinner is about to be served, so everyone has to go and sit down at the table."

Everyone nodded at this and followed Chiharu and Yamazaki to the massive glass tables that had been laid out in the centre of the room where the reception was being held.

Syaoran grabbed Sakura's wrist as they walked and leant down to whisper in her ear, in a low growl, "I guess we'll pick up where we left off later."

Sakura tried not to shiver, failed, and didn't care.

A.N. 1 'Sakura-hime' is the same as 'Princess Sakura'.

2 I know Sakuras grow on trees, but I honestly have no idea about Nadeshikos. Sorry if I made a mistake with saying that they grow on trees.