Chapter 18

There are a lot of moments that I will never forget. Hearing Sakura say my name for the first time made it's way to the top of the list. All the worries that I felt melted away in that moment, and all that remained was pure bliss. What I wouldn't give to stay in this moment forever.

Sakura started to get up, but I held her by the hand. She looked over to me, sitting back down on the bed. "Should I have refrained from saying that?" No, God no. I want to hear you say that every day for the rest of my life.

"No, I just wanted to say something before we went back down." A deep breath in and out. All the times in the past few days left my mind, the quick sweet responses leaving me in my time of need. Damn, she got me good.

"I know we've had our ups and downs,and we'll probably have more in the future. But no matter what happens, I want to be by your side." Sakura looked as though I was saying something foolish. "Of course you'll be, I wouldn't want you anywhere else." She doesn't get what I'm trying to say.

But what was I trying to say? The years of social self-isolation had taken it's toll on me, that's for sure. Now, when I needed the right words, they danced out of my reach, taunting me. This experience, dating, I was completely out of my comfort zone.

Not that dating Sakura was bad, in truth it was so wonderful that I constantly had to remind myself that this was real. But while others may find it easy to say the right things, I had managed to skate by on mostly luck and intuition.

"It's just, sometimes I wonder if I'm really enough for you. Even when you say how happy you are, part of me still wonders if I'm doing enough." I looked down again, ashamed to even say such things. But I had to, the feelings had been eating away at me ever since we first took the step into this uncharted territory.

"You think I don't worry too?" Sakura's reply was so soft I almost didn't hear her. I looked over to see her looking down as well. "I was nervous about meeting your parents today. I kept thinking what if they don't like me? What if you get bored of me, or don't want to be with me if this procedure doesn't work?

I didn't want to say anything, because I didn't want you to worry. But I'm just as scared as you are."

I was shocked, I could never have imagined that this had been on her mind the whole morning. I tentatively reached my hand over, afraid that she might draw away from me. But she reached out as well, our hands forming the purest of connections.

I swore I could feel the emotions swirling inside her as we touched, and I wondered if she could feel the same from me. "I thought the same thing at first before I met your parents, especially when I met your father." I could still remember the unnerving conversation we had at first.

Sakura let out a small laugh. "You know, despite being complete opposites, we really are alike." I laughed too, remembering the day in the library when we had that discussion. "You know what they say, opposites attract and all that."

Sakura looked over and smiled. "I guess that means you're back to your usual self, if you can say such cheesy things." It had simply slipped out, but I smiled back. I realized that it was important to talk things out, for all I knew Sakura might have the same worries as me.

"Thank you for being able to put up with me. I'm sure you probably think it's easy but it really means a lot to me that you've been so patient." Sakura gave me a smug smile now. "Oh it's definitely not easy, but it's worth it." I placed my hand over my heart, pretending that her words had wounded me.

She rolled her eyes and laughed. The sound of her laugh touched the very depths of my soul, to me it was the most beautiful sound in the world. Not that I could ever say something so embarrassing. Well, maybe one day I will.

"Should we head back down? Lunch should be almost ready." I started to get up, though Sakura stayed seated for a moment. "Okay, just one thing really quick." I looked over to her, puzzled. She leaned over, her eyes closed as her lips pressed against mine. It's really not fair when you don't give me a warning.

I marveled at how amazing each kiss felt, and how every single time felt even better than the last. She started to pull back, but I wrapped my arms around her. Please forgive me, but I just can't get enough of this. I half expected her to make a fuss, but instead our lips locked once again.

The taste of her lips had a faint flavor of strawberry, and I knew that anytime I had strawberries in the future they simply wouldn't match up to this moment. As we finally pulled away, I could see that her eyes were misting up.

"Is something wrong?" Sakura simply shook her head and smiled. "Nothing is wrong dear, these are tears of joy." That one hit deep, definitely did some damage. Not fair at all Sakura. She quickly wiped her eyes, a faint blush on her cheeks. "We shouldn't keep your mom waiting too long, it would be embarrassing if she came up and saw that."

We headed downstairs just in time, as my mom was heading towards the stairs. "Great timing, I just finished up." Taking a seat at the table, we dug in. We both gave our compliments on the food, and my mother was pleased to hear it.

"You'll have to come over more, I've always looked forward to this moment." I hope there can be more moments like this. She wasn't aware of Sakura's medical condition, and I wasn't going to be the one to bring it up. "That sounds wonderful, I'd be happy to come back again." Sakura smiled, pausing in between bites.

After the meal, Sakura joined my mom on the couch as I took care of the dishes. There was some fussing at first, but it only felt right for me to take care of it. As I dried my hands off, I paused before leaving the kitchen, hoping to hear some of the conversation before I came into the room.

"So what are your plans after high school?" I heard my mother ask. Oh no, any question but that one. "Well I think I'd like to travel a bit, see some of the outside world. Then go to college afterwards." If I didn't know the truth, I would have believed Sakura.

"That sounds lovely, any places in mind?" "I was actually thinking about a trip somewhere up North in the winter." I recalled that she had mentioned that at the end of our last trip. "Make sure the two of you dress warmly then, I'd hate for either of you to get sick and ruin the trip."

Part of me was surprised, I didn't expect her to be so willing for us to go on a trip together. I wonder if she knows the truth about that last trip we took together. I took that moment to join them in the living room, taking a seat on the same chair as before.

"Perfect timing, how is your winter clothing selection?" I quickly thought about what I had upstairs. "I could probably use some new clothes, why?" My mother took a sip of her tea before responding. "Sakura was just saying that she'd like to take a trip in the winter, so you should be ready for it."

I looked over to Sakura who simply smiled. "You did say you'd be looking forward to it, but I'd hate if you got sick because you weren't properly prepared for it. We can go shopping one of these days, I'm sure I'll need to pick up a few things too."

Another date? I have no problem with that. I nodded, thinking over my upcoming schedule. "Maybe we can go sometime this week then, get it out of the way early." Before I could say anything else, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket.

It was a message from Rio, opening it up I saw that it was short and to the point. "Two days from now." Underneath that was an address. I forwarded the message to Sakura, putting my phone back away. "Oh, so soon?" Sakura said as she checked her phone.

I could see my mom had questions, but I couldn't think of an excuse to use. "It looks like I have some family coming to visit, a little earlier than expected." Good catch Sakura. "That reminds me, I do have some things to take care of before they arrive. I'm sorry to have to cut this so short, but I'd love to come back sometime."

I got the message, standing up with Sakura and my mother. "It was lovely to meet you, feel free to come back anytime." My mother walked us to the door, pulling me to the side before I could walk out. "Sorry, this will only take a moment." I waved to Sakura, who went to the end of the driveway to wait.

"I just want to say that I'm very proud of you, she's a wonderful girl. I do hope you'll bring her back over again, your father would love to meet her." I nodded, happy to hear that she was pleased. "I will, it might be a little tough with her family visiting but I'll definitely bring her back over."

Before I could walk away, she pulled me into a quick hug. "Now go have fun, the day is still young and you have a beautiful girl waiting for you." I smiled and waved goodbye. Sakura was pacing back and forth, ever restless, but quickly stopped as she saw me coming.

"So it's happening soon." I nodded. "Are you nervous?" Why did I ask that? But Sakura nodded. "Yes, but at the same time I'm not. I want this to work, but I'm trying to stay realistic and not get my hopes up in case it doesn't." She smiled sadly. "No matter what happens, as long as I still have you I'll be okay."

You say that on purpose, don't you? I took her hand in mine, and we headed towards the city. "Well what do you want to do for the rest of the day?" Sakura thought it over, shrugging. "I'll leave it up to you, though I don't want to stay out too late tonight. I think I should have a talk with my parents about what I'm planning to do."

I had assumed that she had already told them, but I nodded in understanding. At the very least, they deserved to know. I just hope that they agree to it, if it's what she wants to do. I had no idea what they had already attempted to do, but I couldn't imagine that they'd say no to the possibility of her being cured.

We ended up just walking around the city, peeking into a few clothing stores for ideas of what to get for the winter trip. I was impressed by Sakura, being able to plan for a future that might not even happen, but she didn't let that faze her. Hours passed by, and soon it was time for her to go back home.

"Thank you for today, it was wonderful." We were locked in an embrace as we stood along the wall that stood outside her neighborhood. "I wish we could have spent more time together, but I should have that talk with my family and spend some time with them too." I nodded, understanding why we had to cut the date short.

We let go of each other, heading towards her house. "I'll be sure to text you though, I'd hate for you to get lonely." I know I would be, but would you be lonely without talking to me too? "I always have my books to keep my company, but I much prefer yours."

Sakura started to open the front door of her house, but stopped and turned around. "Get home safe, okay?" I nodded, waving goodbye as she entered her home. I made the walk back as quick as possible, not wanting to linger outside for too long.

When I made it back to my room, I sent her a quick text to let her know I was back home. I half expected to get a reply back with her usual quickness, though realized she was probably talking with her family. Shrugging, I sat at my desk and started reading to pass the time.

Hours flew by before she finally responded, apologizing for taking so long. "My parents were a little upset that I made the decision alone, but they agreed that I should try it." That must have been a long talk then. Though I wasn't surprised, they would have wanted to discuss every detail of something so important.

"Sorry, I am a bit tired from today so I'm gonna get some sleep. But thank you for everything, I can't wait to see you again." I smiled, sending back a text wishing her a good night. I looked forward to the next time I would see her, though I didn't know at that moment that I wouldn't see her until the day of the operation.

The Author's Desk

And that's a wrap on the home visit arc. We are ever so close to the end of this story, now comes the hard part of wrapping it up. Will the operation be a success? Will our lovebirds get to take that winter trip? We will just have to wait and see.

Honestly, I still haven't decided how it will all go down. Part of me wants to say it'll all work out and everyone gets a happy ending, but that's not how life always works. Who knows, maybe I'll write two different endings, leaving it up to you to decide which one you want to follow.

This is a shorter AD than usual, since I honestly don't have much else to say. So I'll wrap this up by saying thanks for coming along this journey, and I'll see you in the final arc.