Sorry for the delay...

Over the next couple of weeks, things were slowly getting back to normal for them. Now that they were near the end of the semester, they were busy with finals. Eriol had missed three weeks' worth of classes, but his grades were enough to pull him up and he had no trouble catching up. Needles to say, he was kicked out from all group projects and had to make do with what was already there.

"Eriol!" Sakura ran to him when she spotted him walking along the pathway. He stopped and waited for her to catch up. It was the last day of classes and everyone had a week off before finals. "It's the last day of classes! Let's go to the mall!"

"We're supposed to study, Saku, It's called study week, not vacation week." Eriol said in amusement as they started walking.

"You don't need to study and I don't have any test. Just a presentation and I'm ready for it!" She pumped her fist in the air excitedly. "Well, I still need to practice, but it won't take the whole week." Sakura was skipping beside him. Being a design student, most of Sakura's class assessments came from projects, not tests, which suited her well because she didn't do well with tests, but excelled in projects.

"Hiiragizawa!" Someone called his name and they turned. Sakura stiffened up slightly upon seeing the girl. The girl approached them and seemed to recognize Sakura. "Oh, aren't you the girl at the bakery store?"

Sakura nodded and pasted a smile on her face. "That's me. Nice to see you again."

The girl nodded, but then turned her attention to Eriol. "I'm thinking that since you've missed some classes, maybe we can study together."

"Thank you for the offer, Ikeda. But I prefer to study on my own." Eriol declined politely.

"Oh, okay. Well, how about we go to the library then?" She asked again.

"Actually, my fiancé and I are about to go on a date, so maybe next time?" Eriol said.

The girl looked shocked at his words, but quickly covered it. "Next time then." She then turned around and left.

"She really likes you." Sakura commented after Ikeda was out of earshot.

"I'm not available." Eriol said simply. "Shall we go then? Since we're going to the mall, there's something that I want to buy."

"Oh, what is it?" Sakura asked curiously.

"You'll see…" Eriol smiled mysteriously.

They took the train to the mall. Once they got there, Eriol led her to a jewelry store. "Here, Saku. Let's go in here."

"Huh?" Sakura looked puzzled. While he would usually buy her jewelry for special occasions, he never actually took her to the store.

"Good afternoon. How can I help you?" The shopkeeper asked politely.

"I'm looking for men's ring." Eriol told her. Beside him, Sakura was even more puzzled.

The shopkeeper led them to a display case. "These are our collections for men's ring."

"You want to buy a ring?" Sakura asked in confusion.

"You will buy me a ring, or at least, choose one for me." Eriol told her. "I thought about couple rings, since it's popular. But you already have an engagement ring, so I thought I'll get myself an engagement ring too. It's a little late, but that's okay. And since I chose your ring, it's only fair if you choose mine. I'll pay for it, of course. So, which ring do you want me to wear, Sakura?"

Sakura blinked. She looked at the display, and back to him. He looked serious. "But, why would you want to wear a ring?"

"So that people know that I'm taken." Eriol said as if that was obvious. He leaned in to whisper to her, "That I belong to you."

Sakura blushed furiously at his words.

He pulled back and smirked. "Choose away, dear."

Sakura was speechless. "You're really serious, aren't you?"

"Of course." Eriol said.

Sakura looked at the display. Her first thought was looking for something that matched her ring, but he had bought her a simple white gold band with pink diamond as the centerpiece and she doubted that there would be any men ring with pink diamond. She glanced to the side and saw that he was looking at them too, but didn't say anything. "Um, so, which one do you want?"

"No, it doesn't work that way. You're supposed to choose for me." He told her with a wide smile.

Sakura turned back to the display. One ring caught her eyes. It was silver in color, with a blue strip in the middle surrounding the ring and there was a small blue sapphire piece. "Can I look at that one?" Sakura asked and the shopkeeper took the ring out.

"This is white gold with sapphire." The shopkeeper handed the ring to Sakura, who turned it in her hand.

"What do you think?" Sakura turned to Eriol.

"I like that." Eriol nodded. It was simple, not flashy, but elegant.

"Can he try it on?" Sakura asked and the shopkeeper said yes.

The ring fit him perfectly and it did look good on him. The blue sapphire matched his blue hair and complimented his eyes, which got her attention in the first place.

"It looks good." Sakura said happily.

"We're taking this one then." Eriol said. He returned the ring to the shopkeeper so that she could take care of the paperwork. In the meantime, he turned to Sakura. "Look around. See if you'd like to buy something else."

"What? No!" Sakura liked jewelry, but she couldn't afford them in her salary. She still had to pay her share of the rent.

"What's wrong?" Eriol asked.

"They're very expensive, Eriol. I can't afford any of these." Sakura told him.

"I'm buying them for you, Sakura." Eriol told her. Did she really think he'd let her pay?

"No, you're not. I'm okay. Let's just get your ring." Sakura said and went to the register.

Eriol sighed. Once they got married, he hoped she'd be more generous to herself.

Eriol paid for the ring and they walked out from the store. "Where to next?" He asked.

"Let's just walk around and se if anything is interesting." Sakura suggested and they walked around. They had dinner there before going home.

Once they reached home, Eriol handed the ring box to her.

"What? You want me to propose?" Sakura asked as she took the box from him.

"I'll save you the trouble. Yes, I'll marry you. Now please put it on my finger." He held out his left hand.

Sakura shook her head. "So demanding." She took the ring out and slid it on his finger. "I like the blue. It matches your hair and your eyes." She said as she held his hand in hers, admiring the ring. "I still don't understand though, why are you doing this?"

"I told you, it's so that people know I'm not available." Eriol told her.

"Is this related to what happened?" Sakura asked.

"No, actually. I've been thinking about this for a couple of months now. That day when you saw me at the mall, I was there to look around for rings, to see which stores have them before taking you there. But I ran into Ikeda instead. Then you know the rest."

"You said you were going to a group meeting." Sakura recalled.

"I couldn't tell you I was going to the mall to look for a ring, could I? Although I should have." He mused. They wouldn't have gone through what they did if he had told her.

"It's just, we've been engaged for two years and you never mentioned anything about wearing a ring. So, what made you want a ring now?" Sakura asked curiously.

"I'm aware of Ikeda's interest." He admitted. "She's not the only one. There are others too. So I thought I'd get myself a ring to let them know that I'm not interested. As a bonus, we both get to wear rings."

Sakura was surprised. "Um, what?"

"I've gotten a few... confessions from he ladies. Mostly my juniors and well, some seniors too. Women nowadays are very upfront and direct." He said in amusement.

Sakura's jaw dropped to the floor. "And you never thought of mentioning this?"

"Would you like me to tell you from now on?" Eriol asked.

Sakura thought about it for a second. "On second thought, I don't really want to know. But, just out of curiosity, how many of them have confessed to you?"

Eriol frowned. "About four of them, not including Ikeda, since she never actually confessed..."

"Oh my god…" Sakura didn't know what to think. "I didn't realize you're so popular with the ladies…"

"I told them that I'm not interested." Eriol showed her the ring. "Now, with this, hopefully there will be no more confession."

"You might want to take it off for lunch tomorrow. Touya would think we eloped or something." Sakura reminded him.

"Don't worry. I'm sure he'll understand."

"Did you elope?!" Touya asked loudly when he noticed Eriol was wearing a ring.

"What did I tell you…" Sakura said to her fiancé before turning to her brother. "No, we didn't, Touya. He's wearing an engagement ring."

"Men don't wear engagement ring!" Touya said pointedly.

"So if you and Yukito get engaged, neither one of you would wear a ring?" She asked.

"That's not… Don't change the subject!" Touya glared at his sister.

Sakura sighed. "Think about this, Touya. Why would we elope? We have no reason to. We can just get married. And if we were married, at the very least, Dad would know."

Touya turned to Fujitaka. "Are they married?" He pointed at the couple.

"No." Fujitaka said. "As far as I know." He added with a grin.

"Dad!" Sakura yelled. "Not helping!" Her father just laughed.

Eriol spoke up. "Men can wear rings too, for various reasons, including an engagement ring. Otherwise, the jewelry stores wouldn't have a whole section for it."

"That's true." Yukito said and Fujitaka nodded in agreement.

Touya grudgingly admitted that Eriol was right.

They never told their family about the breakup and what had transpired between them. It was over and they'd moved on. They didn't see the need to rehash it all over again.

They'd be staying in Tomoeda for a few days, since they had the week off. Sakura had brought her materials with her so that she could practice for her presentations. Eriol, however, didn't bring anything with him. Truth was, Eriol knew more about literature than all of his professors combined. He wasn't arrogant about it, but it really did make things that much easier for him. He chose to major in literature because he liked it and found it refreshing to see other people's take on the various books. He thought of doing something that he wasn't familiar with, to add to his knowledge, but there was nothing else that he was interested in.

Sakura practiced her presentation in front of different family members separately. That way, she could practice it several times without them having to listen to her repeating the same thing over and over again. But she practiced more often in front of Eriol, who was still being an enthusiastic listener even though he had listened to the same thing for at least five times now.

"And that concludes my presentation for today. Thank you." Sakura said and bowed.

"That's a good job, Saku. You're ready for the presentation. Just stay calm and don't be nervous." Eriol told her from his seat. They were in his kitchen. He was sitting on the kitchen chair as she did her mock presentation in front of him.

Sakura nodded. "I hope so. Thanks for listening. Again."

"I'm here to help. I don't have to study anyway." Eriol smiled and picked up a cookie as Sakura started packing up her materials.

"Let's go get some ice cream." Sakura said. "My treat because you've been listening to my presentation for like seven times now."

"Okay." Eriol easily agreed. He certainly wouldn't say no to ice cream.

"I walked by their place yesterday and saw the monthly special. Guess what? Your favorite is back! Oh, can you pass me that paper, Hii… Eriol?" She quickly corrected herself, but he had heard her.

"You haven't called me that ever since we got back together." Eriol said quietly.

"I'm sorry. Won't happen again." Sakura busied herself with her things. His words were still ringing in her head, she had no right to call him that. Not anymore.

Eriol got up and went to her. "Why?" He asked.

"It's just a slip of a tongue. Force of habit, old habit. I'm sorry." Sakura said, refusing to meet his eyes. "I'll be more careful next time."

Eriol grasped her wrist gently, stopping her movement. "Look at me." He said and she looked at him. To his surprise, he saw tears brimming in her eyes. "Sakura…?"

"I'm sorry." Sakura apologized again. Just how many times was he going to make her apologize for this?

"Stop apologizing. Why are you apologizing?" Eriol asked.

"Because you told me not to call you that anymore." Sakura lowered her gaze. "That I have no right to call you that anymore." She added in a whisper.

Eriol let go of her wrist. "I was… I was angry when I said that."

"That's okay. I understand." Sakura quickly assured him. "You're right. I have no right to call you that. I lost that right when I walked away from you."

"But you're here now." He said.

Sakura didn't say anything.

"That name… It means a lot to me. It's the name that you gave me, your own special name for me. When, that day, when you said it, I got angry because I didn't want, I thought you didn't love me anymore, and I didn't want to, to taint the memory of that name. I thought I've lost you, and that name, it was the only thing, the only link that I had with you." Eriol told her.

Sakura was surprised. She gave him that nickname because he gave her one and she wanted something that only she could call him too. She thought it was cute. But she had no idea that the name would mean that much to him. "I'm sorry. I didn't know that name means so much to you. I'll be more careful next time."

"No, I want it back." Eriol took her hand. "I want that name back."

"Um, sorry. I'm afraid I don't understand." Sakura said confusedly.

"I want you to call me that again." Eriol explained.

Sakura shook her head. "No."

"Well, would you rather someone else call me that?" Eriol asked.

"No!" Sakura quickly said. "That's not…"

"Then what's the problem, Saku?" He put an emphasize on her nickname.

"I just, I thought…" Sakura didn't know what to say.

"Fine." Eriol said. "Then I'll ask Ikeda to call me that."

Sakura narrowed her eyes. "You will do no such thing!" Now she sounded angry. "I gave you that name. It's mine as much as it is yours. I acknowledge that I might have lost the right to call you that. But nobody else has the right to call you that either."

Eriol smirked. "There she is…"

"What… What are you talking about?" Sakura was so confused. He was acting very strangely. "You're being weirder than usual."

"You've been walking on eggshell around me since we got back together. You never scolded me once like you used to do." Eriol said. "I know some things might change, that things could be awkward at first. What happened between us wasn't just a small argument. But I want you back as my partner, Sakura."

"I don't want to hurt you again." Sakura looked down to the floor.

"I know. But we're going to share a life together. You can't do this forever, can't keep treating me like this." Eriol said softly. "I want us back, like we used to be, Saku. When you don't put up with my bullshit, when you don't let me get away with everything."

"But what if I said something wrong? Something that would hurt you?"

"Then we'll talk about it. There's going to be problems, but we are going to talk about it and we'll be okay." He said.

Sakura looked unsure.

"Let's just take it one step at a time, okay?" Eriol suggested. "Starting with my name."

Sakura nodded meekly. "Okay."

"Okay… What?" He asked, his smile teasing.

"No, not going to say it." Sakura said and busied herself with packing her stuff.

He wrapped his arms around her and started tickling her.

Sakura laughed. "No! Eriol, stop!"

"Not the right name, Saku…" He said as he continued.

"No!" Sakura said stubbornly as she laughed. "Stop! Hii, stop!" She finally yelled.

He stopped immediately. "Not so hard, isn't it?" He said and then he kissed her.

"Do you really think we can go back to how it used to be?" Sakura asked after they broke their kiss.

"Maybe, maybe not. But as long as we both work on it, I think we'll be able to, or even be better than before." Eriol wrapped his arms around her waist loosely. "We're going to be okay."

Sakura nodded. "We're going to be okay." She smiled at him.

Sakura was restocking the shelf when a guy came in. He looked around for a while, but couldn't seem to find what he was looking for. He spotted Sakura and approached her. "Hi, I'm looking for this." He showed her a piece of paper. "Sorry. I'm not familiar with this kind of thing, but my girlfriend sent me here." He looked sheepish.

"No problem at all. Here, let me see." Sakura said and he handed her the paper. "Hm, I think we've got it in stock. If you could wait here, I'll go and check."

"Sure thing." He nodded and Sakura went to get the item. "Here you go." She gave the item to him. "Is there anything else?"

"No, that's all." He followed her to the register and paid for his purchase. "Have a nice day!" Sakura bowed to him as he left.

"Busy today, Kinomoto?" Mr. Oda asked when he showed up a few minutes later.

"Not so much, Mr. Oda." Sakura said.

"Well, it's your last day today, right? Why don't you go home early?" He suggested.

"Ah, but I'm not done yet." Sakura looked at the clock. She still had an hour left till the end of her shift.

"Don't worry about it, Kinomoto. I can take it from here. Here, this is your pay for this month." He handed her an envelope.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Oda." Sakura bowed and received the envelope.

"Thank you for your help, Kinomoto. Enjoy your vacation. See you in the fall!" He said.

Sakura packed up her stuff and left. She decided to stop by the store to buy a box of chocolate for Eriol.

"I'm home!" Sakura announced.

"Welcome home!" Eriol said from the living room. Sakura took off her shoes and stepped inside. She found him on the couch watching TV. "You're home early."

"Mr. Oda let me go me home earlier and gave me my pay too. I got something for you." She took out the chocolate from her bag and showed him.

"Chocolate!" He was always happy when she got him sweet or chocolate, something that she found endearing.

Sakura handed the chocolate to him and kissed his hair. "I'm going to cook dinner. What do you want to eat?" She asked. Ever since they got back together, she'd been trying to get him to eat more and had made him a lot of his favorite meals. They both lost some weight during their breakup and now she was trying to get him back to his original weight.

"Anything's fine." He said, already busy with the chocolate.

"Don't finish all of it at once." Sakura reminded him as she went to the kitchen to start dinner. She had just started the prep work when the doorbell rang.

"Are you expecting someone?" Eriol asked from the living room.

"No." Sakura went to the door and looked through the peephole. "It's Tomoyo. Put on some pants." She told him. He was wearing old T-shirt and a pair of boxers.

He left to go to the bedroom as Sakura opened the door. "Hi, Tomoyo!"

"Hi, Sakura. I'm just dropping these off." Tomoyo said and gave her a bag.

"Huh? What is it?" Sakura asked curiously.

"It's some of my most recent designs for you. Try them on and bring them next week." Tomoyo told her cheerfully and winked. They had been invited to Daidouji family beach house next week together with Chiba, Rika and Ayumi.

"Um…" Sakura had a bad feeling about this.

Tomoyo giggled and then left.

Sakura sighed and closed the door. She dared not look into the bag, afraid of what she would find.

"What? I put on pants for nothing?" Eriol said from the doorway. "What's that?"

"I don't know. She said it's some of her designed clothes and told me to bring them to the beach house next week." Sakura said as she brought the bag to the living room. "Must you strip here?" She said when she saw him taking off his pants.

He shrugged.

Sakura ignored him and took out one of the clothes. "What the hell…" She held it on her hand. It was the skimpiest bikini she had ever seen. Calling it a bikini was actually very generous.

"You're NOT wearing that." Eriol said firmly when he saw it.

"No, I'm definitely not wearing this." Sakura agreed. She picked up the next item, a summer dress. "This one's not bad." She held it and let it open fully. "Not bad at all." She put it aside and inspected the rest of the items. There were a couple of more dresses, in various models and designs.

"Well, most of them are surprisingly okay." Sakura said. "Except for the first one." Her phone dinged and she checked it to see a message from Tomoyo.

'What do you think?' The text read.

'Thank you. They're nice, except for this one thing… What on earth, Tomoyo?' Sakura took a picture of the bikini and sent it to her.

'That one is not meant to be worn outside, Sakura. That particular piece is for a more private setting *wink*' Tomoyo's reply came in a few seconds later.

Sakura sighed. 'You're unbelievable!' She typed. Sakura put down her phone and went back to the kitchen to resume her dinner preparation.

On Friday, after the exams were over, the group went to celebrate by having a hot pot dinner together.

"Oh, exams are finally over. I'm so relieved!" Rika said as the six of them sat around the table.

"Daidouji and Kinomoto didn't even have any exam. How nice." Ayumi commented.

"I'm so looking forward to next week! We'll be going there by plane. I've made all of the arrangements. It's going to be so exciting!" Tomoyo said.

"Ah, Tomoyo, about the tickets. We haven't paid you back." Sakura said. Tomoyo had bought all of the air tickets and they intended to pay her back.

"I'm the one who invited you all, so you don't need to pay me back." Tomoyo told them.

"No, we can't do that." Rika said. "We should pay you back."

"No, you really shouldn't. Don't worry about it, ok?" Tomoyo insisted, so they relented and thanked her.

"What can we do there, Tomoyo? Other than the obvious, of course, like relaxing on the beach and swimming." Rika asked.

"Well, it's a private property, so that's pretty much it. But there's a public beach nearby. You can do some watersports there." Tomoyo said.

"Nice." Eriol commented. He'd been wanting to try watersports. "Any chance they have surfing? Or jet ski?"

"I'm not sure. But we can check out the place when we get there." Tomoyo told him.

"So, it'd be like a private all-in beach resort vacation." Chiba said. "That's really nice."

Sakura briefly wondered if Chiba knew about Tomoyo's family. It was kind of hard not to though, seeing that the Daidouji was a pretty well-known name.