"Bending the Rules, Just A Little"
Syaoran picked up the clipboard, viewing Kinomoto Touya's charts.
He would be lying if he claimed that he was not shocked that the man had awakened so soon. If he were truly being honest about his own opinion, he would admit that he did not believe that the man would wake at all. Not for a very long time, at most.
The accident was one that almost seemed impossible to survive from. A school bus smashing into a small vehicle and people surviving was almost surreal. But his personal opinions never mattered in the hospital.
As a doctor, it was his job to give his medical opinion, nothing else.
A doctor should never become personal with the patient. The rule was always something that he abided by. He was the one who pressed that rule in his hospital the most, so of course, he lives by that rule.
And then he paused, eyes stopping their scanning at that thought, as he began to realize the importance of that statement.
It was wrong, inappropriate even, to try and become personal with a patient. Things always turned out a mess when that happens. Doctors would begin to do irrational things for the patient, unable to do their jobs due to worrying, and so much more. And here he was, trying to make the psychologist do the exact thing.
Did that make him a hypocrite?
No, of course not. It was different with her, she is a psychologist. A doctor, but not a real doctor; so she did not matter. Besides, she was an attractive woman, obviously attracted to him, so why would her occupation matter?
"What did you do to my sister?" A voice snapped him out of his reverie.
Syaoran turned to the bed to see that Touya had awakened from resting.
He nearly forced Touya's family and friends out the room after they had talked and showered him in love for over five hours, nonstop.
When Syaoran had sensed the man's exhausted state, he convinced them to leave to allow him to rest a bit. He did not think that he would wake after 15 minutes of sleeping though.
"How are you feeling?" Syaoran asked, instead of addressing the man's direct question.
"You didn't answer my question," Touya said, almost icily.
A brow arched on Syaoran's face, shocked that the man was demanding answers from him. Nonetheless, he shrugged, wanting to avoid conflict. "Nothing," he said simply.
Touya sat up on the bed abruptly with a glare, but immediately fell back down, due to his fatigue.
"You shouldn't push yourself so much. You've been out for over a week," Syaoran said coolly.
"Answer the damn question, gaki," Touya spat angrily.
Almost immediately, Syaoran's defensive walls rose, offended by the insult. "I think you should watch the way you speak to the doctor that just saved your ass," he said, almost calmly, but there was an edginess to his tone.
"Oh, because you did your job, everyone should 'all hail Dr. Li'?" Touya said, slowly sitting up on the bed this time so his body would not give out on him again.
Syaoran slammed the charts down loudly, and almost grabbed the man to pummel him into the bed, but stopped himself.
Instead, he unclenched his fists and took a deep breath before letting it out. "Why would you think that I have done something to her?" he asked.
"I'm not stupid. She has never been that upset in anyone's presence before today. Whenever your name was brought into discussion, she acted uneasy and brushed it aside. She's not very good at hiding anything. Now, I need to know what you did so I have a reason to beat your ass into this hospital ground," Touya spat through clenched teeth.
The man really was mad.
Hiding his aghast state, Syaoran let out a humorless laugh. "You're just going to automatically assume that it's something that I've done? Maybe she just doesn't feel comfortable being in the presence of an influential man," he said arrogantly.
"Why, you little son of a—"
The door opened, interrupting the glaring battle that was occurring between the two. Both heads snapped to the direction of the door to see that it was said person.
Sakura stared at the two, almost questioningly with a raised brow. "Uh...I..." she trailed off awkwardly, seeming to sense the tension in the room.
She cleared her throat and then pointed to a chair in the room while slowly walking in. "I forgot my bag," she said with a nervous giggle.
Syaoran's body instantly became aroused at that sound, eyes gluing themselves on her figure, stripping her naked.
"Out," Touya said suddenly.
Both amber and emerald eyes shifted to the man, confused. "What?" they said simultaneously.
"Get the hell out, you lousy excuse of a doctor!" Touya barked.
"Onii-chan!" Sakura exclaimed, in a scolding tone.
Syaoran laughed darkly before shaking his head unbelievably. "You're one ungrateful son of a bitch," he said and left the room, leaving no room for either of them to respond.
The last thing his ears registered was the psychologist scolding her brother about his behavior or something along those lines. He did not care though. Her brother owned no kind of rights to declare something like that. Kinomoto, Touya's life was saved because of him, and he wanted to insult him.
Syaoran's eyes scanned the hall, looking for one of his employees. He did not care about this 'streak' of no sex anymore.
The psychologist never even told him that he could not have sex anymore, so that meant that he still could.
Four days...
It had been four days that has passed and the only gratification that he had been getting was from his hand. It was not enough, it was never enough for him. He needed to be inside of a woman to feel fully satisfied with himself. He lacked more control since he stopped, and that was never a good thing.
He needed to have sex, so he could maintain at least some form of control in his life. Four days was too long for him and he had enough of the waiting. If the psychologist would not sleep with him, then he could find someone else.
And then he spotted her, the widow. What was her name again? Akari?
It had been too long that he began to forget the name of the women he fucked almost regularly before he decided that he needed a break from sex.
"Akari," Syaoran called.
She turned to him, wide-eyed. "D-Dr. Li," she said, a little shyly.
He slowly walked towards her with intent, remembering the façade of innocence she always put up. "You're in need of a good fucking, aren't you?" he asked seductively in her ear.
His hand slid up to her waist, almost gently, before it changed its mind and grabbed her roughly, pulling her towards him.
Lust instantly fogged her eyes, staring at him before a sexy smirk crept to her lips, but he could still feel the depressing aura that always surrounded her. She nodded and rested her hands on his shoulders.
Closing his eyes, he imagined it was the psychologist submitting her body to him like this. He leaned down, ready to capture her lips, but stopped when he heard someone clearing their throat.
His eyes fluttered open slowly to see that it was the psychologist standing in front of him and he instantly let the widow go, almost pushing her away.
"Another time," he murmured to her before motioning her to leave, which she did.
And then it was just them. Alone, again. For some reason, the feeling was not pleasant this time. He almost felt disgusted with himself for being alone with her now after he almost placed his lips on another.
He cleared his throat, hoping that it would relieve some of the tension between them, which it did not.
"I...uh...just wanted to apologize on my brother's behalf. He can be a bit irrational too, and he's very protective..."
"He wasn't out when we were in the room earlier," he said.
"Oh...that's not a problem. It wasn't like..." she stopped and then shook her head. "Nothing. I just wanted to apologize. I'll go and—"
Before she could escape, he grabbed her wrist, stopping her. "You never answered my question," he whispered.
She snatched her wrist from him as if he stung her. "What question?" she asked, extremely calmly.
She almost sounded like she practiced that tone of voice repeatedly until she could master getting her emotions in check.
He looked around, making sure that no one could see or hear him. "Is sex something I can't engage in anymore?"
She laughed humorlessly. "I don't know, Dr. Li. I'm sure you shouldn't be engaging in sex with any of your employees though."
He blinked once before his eyes widened, shocked by her statement and cold demeanor towards him. "Excuse me?" he asked.
"You don't want help, do you?" she asked testily.
He glared at her and then grabbed her wrist again, dragging her into one of the empty rooms on the hall. He closed the door and was shocked when she snatched her arm from him again.
"I would feel less threatened if you keep your hands to yourself," she said.
"Threatened? You feel threatened by me?" he asked incredulously.
When she did not respond, his hands slammed against the wall a little loudly.
She did not flinch or even grimace at him one bit.
"You are permitted to answer when I ask you a question," he demanded.
Her eyes widened, head tilting to the side, shocked by his statement. "I am...permitted?" she asked disbelievingly.
He moved dangerously close to her, invading all her privacy. "Answer the damn question," he demanded.
"You're a man, I'm a woman. You're bigger than me, aroused out of your mind right now, and you expect me to feel safe around you?"
And that was when he felt the painful ache, poking through his scrubs at her. His entire face probably turned beet red, embarrassed out of his mind.
"If you want to have sex, by all means, do whatever you want. Just know this, it's going to forever control you," she said and then stepped to the side of him and opened the door.
Immediately, he closed it back. "Stop it..." he said, head dropping low to cover his face from her with his bangs.
"You know that I..." He stopped, clearing his throat. "Help. You know that," he said.
He could not even admit out loud that he needed help. He was being pathetic.
"Surely you can wait less than 24 hours, Syaoran," she said softly.
His heart raced at hearing her call him by his first name. She was not angry with him, thank God.
Maybe she was just disappointed in him. And that was the last thing he wanted. Why though? Did it even matter what she thought about him?
Of course not.
"Okay," he said quietly.
He froze when he felt soft, feminine hands caress his face, forcing him to lift his head.
She offered him a kind, sweet smile. "You're going to be okay, Syaoran," she said.
And he believed her.
"O-okay," he stuttered before shrinking back from her touch, afraid of the emotions she was stirring in him. And not just in his loins this time.
He moved back and opened the door for her to walk out.
"Tomorrow, same time," she reminded, walking down the hall to her brother's room.
When she disappeared in the room, he released the breath that he was holding in her presence. When had he even done that?
He took a deep breath and released it again. He would be okay – she said it. All he could really do was hold onto her words and last until he saw her tomorrow where things would really begin to get serious.
Syaoran pushed the doors opened to her practice and walked in with a confidence that he does not normally have. He was trying to play it cool, but on the inside, there was a battle taking place in his nerves.
He did not know what would happen today, but he was willing to play along with whatever the psychologist had planned.
This was out of his comfort zone, but he would be sure to keep everything in his control today. He would force her to do whatever he wanted her to do and say, while going along with whatever she had planned.
"Mr. Li," she greeted him at the desk.
She stood up and walked from behind the desk, presenting her sexy outfit to him. It was a black pencil skirt this time, and a pink sleeveless blouse that she had tucked in to her skirt. It was a good thing that she did not have the fuck-me heels on, or his control would have been sure to snap.
He was snapped out of his trance when he saw her waving something in the air. "Is this okay today?"
"No," he said immediately.
"No clipboard," she confirmed.
He did the necessities before he settled himself on the couch comfortably. She sat in front of him, legs crossed at the ankles.
When he felt his body react to her slim legs, he looked away.
"Well, how are you doing today?" she asked, giving him a warm smile.
He swallowed. "Good."
"That's good. How are you feeling right now?" she asked.
He unclenched his fists, feeling the palms of his hands grow damp. "Nervous."
"Oh? Why is that?"
"Because I don't know what's going to happen here today," he answered truthfully. "That's out of my comfort zone because I always have everything in control around me."
"That's nearly impossible," she said.
"It's not."
"I would love for you to teach me how to have everything in control around me then," she said, smiling at him.
He hardened in his pants at that statement, mind taking it somewhere far from where she meant it to be. There was an image painted of her in a black leather lingerie set, fishnet stockings, as she commanded him to pleasure her.
Gods, why was it so easy to picture her sprawled out in front of him, fingers tangled in his hair while he feasted on her as if he had before? Had he ever even thought about a woman controlling the sex before?
Not able to erase the image, a smirk crept to his lips. "Oh, I could show you," he said in a suggestive tone.
He regretted it the moment it came out because the sexual tension built itself between them.
"W-well, tell me about the same control that you had in the elevator, then," she said.
He froze, surprised that she had brought that up so soon. He was not ready to answer that yet, so there was no way in hell that he would.
"Take your time," she said after he remained silent for a minute.
"Ask about the control that I have during sex," he stated boldly.
She bit her lip before releasing it "Mr. Li—"
"Syaoran," he commanded. He had enough of her calling him that now.
"I will oblige to that command if you answer my question," she negotiated.
"At my pace, psychologist," he spat angrily.
She was making this so difficult for him. Why does he always find himself running back to this place with this woman?
"Why are you becoming angry, Mr. Li?"
Oh, she was just playing with him now.
"Syaoran," he corrected.
Could she not see that he was trying to make himself feel like he had control over this session with her plan? She was making this so hard for him.
"Explain," she said.
His fists clenched before he thought of something better. "A kiss."
"No," she said quickly.
"I'm leaving then," he threatened, though he made no move to get up.
"You're not," she said, almost confidently.
He swallowed the large lump in his throat, at a loss for words.
"I don't want to have to force you to talk today," she said softly.
"Don't, then...I thought this would be about you today anyway," he said after remembering their last session. "I'm supposed to make you understand how I feel."
He just did not want that to come up. He was willing to do anything to not talk about the elevator incident right now. He still was not even able to explain his own behavior.
She clasped her fingers together, emerald eyes staring deeply into his, almost determinedly. "And how do you plan to do that?" she asked.
"By making you feel vulnerable...embarrassed...stupid..." he trailed off. What was he trying to get at again?
"Did I make you feel all those things the other day?" Her soft-spoken voice, snapped him out of his daze.
"Well...yes. You reminded me of...her with the facade you kept up...and then Dr. Akinari—" His fists clenched, thinking back on the day with that man's hands on her.
"Syaoran." Her voice interrupted his thoughts before they could get any more vulgar than they already were.
Clearing his throat in hopes of recollecting his sane thoughts, his burning amber eyes locked with emeralds. "When I realized..." He shook his head. "No, assumed that you were like her...I lost it. I didn't even know what was going on in the moment—I still don't know what went on. Everything was spinning, my heart felt like it was being ripped out of my chest over and over again...everything burned and..." He stopped, sighing before shaking his head. "I lost it."
"Lost what?" she whispered.
"Nothing. I just...lost it," he said.
"Lost what, Syaoran?" she pressed.
She was testing his patience. That never set well with him, and it always pissed him off.
"I don't fucking know!" he exclaimed angrily. He felt guilt when her face faltered.
"My sanity, maybe..." he said a lot calmer.
"Let's talk about her then."
His breath caught in his throat, heart clenching. "Her?" he asked quietly.
"Yes, this 'her' that you have been mentioning lately."
"She's...just a her. I don't want to talk about her," he said.
"'Her' may be the answer to some of the questions that you've been having lately," she said.
"Oh, so she will answer whether I can ever have sex again?" he asked, annoyed.
"Syaoran, why is that what you're worried about right now?"
"Because I love sex. It makes me feel great, secure, and safe—all those things you asked me last time. In the bedroom, on-call room, and bathroom—anywhere that I am having sex...I feel in control because it's something that I can really control, you know? The other things that I feel are just the result of me feeling the control. So, if you sit here and tell me that I can never have sex again, then I want to stop this now."
He took a deep breath, and then released it after laying that all out on the table. This was what bothered him the most, and now, he was waiting for the moment of truth.
"Right now, I would tell you to refrain from having sex, until everything is figured out, but I wouldn't find it quite appropriate. I don't know anyone who's completely stopped doing that before," she said.
"But, what about after everything is figured out and better? Then what? I know alcoholics can't drink anymore, but what about me?" he asked, almost desperately.
Why could she not just be bold and straightforward with him? Beating around the bush was really killing him.
"When you're ready," she said.
He sighed in relief, feeling much better about this now. That was all she had to say instead of leaving him in so much suspense.
"Okay. What do I have to do?" he asked.
"You know what you have to do..." she said softly.
He closed his eyes tightly, regretting he even asked.
"What do you want to know...?" he asked, quietly.
"Who is 'her'?"
"It doesn't matter who she is. She's gone—dead and I couldn't be happier about that," he said coldly.
"Syaoran..."
His eyes closed, chills running down his body at her soft voice calling his name. He knew what she was waiting for, but he needed a little more time.
"I know that sounds terrible, but who the hell are you to judge anyone?"
"I'm not—"
"No, you are. That's all you people are good at," he spat.
Her brows furrowed together, confusion plastered on her face. "Who? Just who are you referring to when you say, 'you people.' I can't follow along with you," she said calmly, but he could hear the annoyance in her tone.
"Psychologists," he said with so much disdain for the word.
"What do you have against this occupation?"
"You're shitty people, that's what. You don't help anyone, and all you do is make matters worse. You try to fix people, but you can't. You couldn't help her, and you certainly can't do anything for me."
"That's what it is then," she said quietly, but he heard her.
He stared at her oddly, confused by her sudden statement. "What?"
"You don't like psychologists because of 'her,' right?" Sakura asked before a sad smile formed on her lips.
Syaoran glared at her, feeling furious about that voiced assumption. "That bitch has nothing to do with my distaste for your kind. You're an arrogant son of a bitch, aren't you? Why am I not surprised though?" he asked, laughing humorlessly.
"I don't know. How about we make outrageous, inconsiderate assumptions about your kind? I heard that you guys are also heartless beings. You've been playing the role quite perfectly, so is that really an assumption?" Her tone contradicted the venom in her words, so soft and calming, that it took him by surprise.
He had not even expected her to respond to his rude statement, but she did, nearly landing a low blow to his stomach. Anger coursed through his blood, but he decided not to have an outburst on her, because she was right about her assumptions of him. Not only about him though, but everything else that she had said.
He wanted to apologize, but could not bring himself to do it because he noticed that he had been doing that a lot lately to her. He rarely used the word, 'sorry,' because it felt like he was being drained of...something. 'I apologize', was by far much easier to say, less personal, and less smothering for him.
"Shall we get back on topic now that we have cleared the air about our assumptions of each other?" she asked.
Eyes sliding up her body until they locked with hers, he gave a short nod.
"You don't like psychologist because of her, right?" she asked again.
Heart tightening in his chest, he took a deep breath. "No. Psychologists did nothing to help her, but..." He closed his eyes tightly, nails piercing into the palm of his hand, hoping that the physical pain would overcome the emotional.
"She has nothing to do with the way I feel about anything or anyone. She never..."
He froze when he felt a familiar feminine hand on his own. Looking down, he encountered the psychologist's hand. He immediately released the piercing grip, only to see that he had torn his skin. There were a few blood lines, surprising him. He did not even realize that his nails had dug harder into his skin the more he talked about her.
Feeling overwhelmed with too many different emotions at once, he turned his hand over to grab her outstretched one. He gently gripped her hand for support, or anything that could make him feel less trapped in a box of emotions.
Her touch made matters a little easier, so he continued, "She never loved me...not the way that I..." He closed his eyes tightly, letting out a choked breath. "Why would she keep me around if she didn't love me?" he asked brokenly.
Here he was again, spewing out words all over the place, not making sense of any of it, but the thoughts that had been tormenting him for years were finally trying to be released from their cave. They had been gnawing at his heart for years, begging him to let them out, but he denied them for so long.
He could not do it anymore.
"No sane person would do that. If I didn't love you, I would get rid of you. That's how that works, right?" he asked her, fingers clenching around hers, almost painfully tight.
Despite all of his manhandling, she still did not flinch, cower or shrivel from him. Not a single sound of pain even escaped those succulent lips. She just let him, and that caused his heart to warm a bit, some of the constricting feelings fading away.
"Right, Dr. Kinomoto? That's how that works, right?" he asked again, longing to hear her beautiful voice.
"That's how it's supposed to work," she said cautiously, as though he would explode on her for it.
"Why didn't it work that way for me? She loved everyone else, but me. Why would anyone even allow it to be that way?"
His fingers gripped her hand tighter, almost cutting the circulation with the way it began to turn pale. Afraid that he was hurting her, he loosened his grip. "It wasn't fair," he said quietly. "It isn't fair, Kinomoto. Why couldn't it just be fair? I always got the backlash. I—"
His breath caught in his throat, unable to speak anymore on the woman.
"That's enough for the day about her," Sakura said.
He released the shaky breath that he was holding, relieved that she sensed his discomfort.
"Breathe, Syaoran," she said softly.
He let out another breath, having not noticed that he held his breath again.
"You're okay."
Was he okay?
He massaged her hand, rubbing gentle but firm circles in her hand to get rid of the discomfort that he caused in them. Afterwards, he let them go and looked into her eyes, studying her expression.
No judgement, pity, or fear. All the things he did not want her to have on him.
"My favorite food is omelets and noodles with seafood," she said suddenly.
His brows scrunched together in confusion, but he said nothing, waiting for her to explain herself.
"I love pancakes too, so it's kind of debatable with the omelet. It's my dad's fault for being such a great cook though," she said with pride filling her voice as she spoke about the man.
"Onii-chan often teased me about the way I ate when I was little, so you shouldn't take the things he says and does personally. He's a bully," she said, and then giggled.
"Bully is an understatement," Syaoran said under his breath.
"Most of the time, he means well though. I don't know what came over him to treat you that way. Especially after you and your staff saved his life," she said.
Syaoran swallowed, heart swelling at the attention that she was giving him about his hospital.
"Either way, he will apologize to you on his own because you deserve one. Even if I have to threaten him by telling Otou-san."
There was triumph in her eyes that almost made Syaoran chuckle, but he suppressed it.
"Are you coming to the hospital today?" Syaoran asked as a thought crossed his mind.
"Yes, but it will only be for a little while. I have a few more patients to meet with," she said.
And the thought was crushed. She just had to remind him that she was a psychologist.
"Alright," he said quietly.
She glanced down at her watch. "Do you have to get back to the hospital right now?" she asked.
"N-No. I was just wondering..." he trailed off before shaking his head. "No, it's nothing."
"Are you sure?" she asked.
He nodded, unsure of what was to come of their conversation.
"I think I'm hungry. That's why I brought up my favorite food," she said conversationally.
A small smile crept to his lips. "I would offer to take you to breakfast, but I already know the answer before even asking," he said.
She shrugged. "What about the hospital?"
"What about it?"
"Don't you have patients?" she asked.
"Normally, it's calm in the mornings. I don't want to jinx it though," he said the last part quickly.
He could barely believe that she was sitting here, talking out a plan to get breakfast with him. All the woman ever talked about was her occupation, his problem, or anything that had to do with him getting help.
Was this out of pity?
"Well, how about you keep your...pager?" She looked at him questioningly. He nodded, verifying her correction before she continued with, "And we could get breakfast. There's a small cafe down the street from here that I drive past every day to pick up coffee at."
His heart swelled, stomach lurched at that and he nodded mutely.
This felt like it would be the first date he had ever been on, thanks to the jittering sensation coursing through his veins.
Sakura threw her head back, bursting into a fit of laughter at the boy sitting in front of her with that smug look on his face.
"Are you serious?" she asked between giggles.
"Does this face portray a liar?" he asked, attempting a serious face, which only caused her to laugh harder at the failed attempt, due to the small curve that played on one side of his lips.
"I mean, I've heard of people having never-ending orgasms, but I never expected it to like…really happen, you know? Her husband must have really been well-equipped with skills," she said with a smile. She picked up her coffee and tried to take a sip, but her laughter stopped her again.
"Well, it's true as day and night. That shit was hilarious, but you know, as a doctor, you can't let your patients see you acting out like that. I nearly dropped the case, due to the hilarity of the situation. No one would take it seriously, so I had to be the bigger person and get the job done. Besides, I didn't want any bad reviews on my hospital. I plan to stay the best," he said with much pride in his voice at the mention of his hospital.
Sakura smiled and shook her head, good-naturedly at him. "Do you know how embarrassed I would be if I were that woman? I honestly wouldn't even go to the hospital," she said.
His laughter came to an abrupt stop at that, causing her to wonder if she said the wrong thing.
"That wasn't meant to be personal, or anything. I was just saying…" she trailed off, feeling awkward for her ridiculous slip of the tongue.
How had they even gotten on this subject again?
Oh yeah, she had started telling him stories of some of her patients, and in turn, he started sharing funny stories with her too.
"Well, Kinomoto, I think that if you were her, you wouldn't have much of a choice," he said with amusement in his tone.
She inwardly let out a sigh of relief, glad that she had not created any awkward tension between them. Coming to this café with him was already something that should have been awkward, but for some reason, it was the last thing that was awkward.
She had always felt uncomfortable seeing her patients outside of her practice, unless she already knew them, but it was different with him. She felt overly comfortable in his presence now, and that was not a good thing.
She had only accepted his offer for breakfast so she could get to know him better, because maybe he would slip up and tell her something that she could find useful in helping him. Or maybe that was what she had convinced herself it was about.
She did want to distract him from his earlier thoughts on the woman he spoke to her about. He may not have thought that he did any progress today, but he had done so much. Baby steps at a time was what could heal him from this problem.
"I don't know, Syaoran. The way you described her facial expressions and her husband's amusement in it, I probably wouldn't make it a foot out of the door," she said with a wide grin on her face.
"Trust me, Kinomoto. After the first few, you would probably run for the hospital due to exhaustion," he said, eyes sparkling with mirth.
She liked this Li, Syaoran much better than the angry, bitter man who hated humankind. This Syaoran was much more attractive than the latter, especially when he laughed—even just his smile, melted her insides into mush. Everything about this man's physical appearance was perfect, and if she were not careful, she would fall into the trap that he set for all these women here.
After seeing him almost kiss that beautiful nurse at the hospital, she was slapped by reality of it all. He was a man addicted to sex, or…the control that he had during sex—whatever it was. She had almost expressed her disappointment in him by chastising him, but knew that she was in no place to tell the man what to do. She just wanted him to get better, and thought that he had been progressing, even a little bit, but seeing that only proved her wrong.
"Fair enough," she said after realizing she did not respond.
"So, do you normally do this?" he asked, motioning with his hand between them.
"Do what?" she asked, confused.
"You know, let your patients take you out," he said.
Her heart rate picked up at that question. "Of course not."
"Why…with me then?" he asked.
She shrugged, hoping that she appeared nonchalant about this. "I was hungry, you offered me company, and…I'm sure you needed a bit companionship right now," she said, after practicing that line repeatedly in her head.
"I was expecting you to say pity," he said, quietly.
"Pity?"
"Yes, because of…" he trailed off, and then shook his head. "Well, thank you. I needed this…companionship. It's always nice to have someone to talk to outside of work," he said.
"You don't have any friends outside of the hospital?"
"I mean, I know a few people, but I wouldn't necessarily consider them to be my friend. I don't see them unless they come to the hospital," he said, shrugging his shoulders.
"If I'm remembering correctly, you're always at the hospital, so how will they see you outside of your hospital?" she asked, giving him a pointed look.
"Well, that doesn't count."
"You should hang out with those few people that you know, and not just when they go to the hospital. It will do you some good, trust me."
He shrugged. "I don't know. I don't really think that it matters whether I do or don't. I would probably just be a buzzkill if I did see anyone outside of the hospital. Besides, in that hospital, that's the only time I matter," he said.
Sakura frowned, hearing him disregard his existence as though it was nothing. "What do you mean by that?"
"Exactly that," he said.
"You don't matter outside of the hospital? Are you saying that you're only useful as a doctor?" she asked, sadly.
He shrugged and shook his head with a smile. "Haven't we heard about me enough for a day? Let's focus more on you now."
He was trying to change the subject. "But—"
"Kinomoto," he called in a stern tone that meant that he was not taking no for an answer.
Sighing, she nodded. She had already drained enough out of him today, so she could give him a rest for a bit. "You know my favorite food," she said, offering him a brighter smile.
"Well, you know that I'm addicted to fucking," he said.
She felt herself glowing at that statement. He was admitting without any anger that he was addicted to sex, which only meant one thing; he was finally accepting it.
"You know that I have an overprotective brother," she stated, challengingly.
"A bastard," he murmured under his breath.
"Hey, my brother was mean, but you can't talk down on him," she softly chastised him, with a smile.
"Fine, but my view of him still stands the same."
"Fair enough, but you can't voice your insults about him to me," she said.
"Well, the point is, you know more about me, than I of you," he said.
"Alright. What would you like to know?"
There was a mischievous glint in his eyes, causing the hair on her body to stand. She should not have asked that.
"How many people have you had sex with?"
Her entire face heated up, cheeks turning red as blood. "Syaoran!" she exclaimed, flabbergasted by his question. She did not think that he would ask something that personal.
"What? You know that I have sex with any woman who lets me, so why can't you tell me that?" he asked with a serious expression on his face.
"That is none of your business," she said, face flaming hot.
"But my business is yours?" he asked, testily with a soft glare.
"I am not telling you that," she said in a concluding tone.
"You're not even my therapist right now, so what is wrong with the question?"
"I'm not answering that question, Syaoran," she said, finalizing that topic.
He sighed, eyes closing. She took a deep breath, ready for the backlash of his anger as he sat in front of her. He really was like a little child, throwing tantrums when he could not get his way.
"Fine."
She blinked a few times, making sure that this was the same short-tempered man, sitting in front of her, calmly agreeing to her resistance to tell him that.
"Are you dating anyone, right now?" he asked suddenly.
"Syaoran," she said softly.
"What the hell can you tell me then?" he asked, voice raising a little.
"Anything that has nothing to do with my love life. That is too personal for our situation," she said.
"And this little outing isn't?" he asked, with disgust in his voice.
He was right though. The outing could be considered personal, but it was not like they were doing anything inappropriate.
"You agreed to this out of pity, didn't you?" he asked, glaring at her now.
"No," she said, almost immediately. "Agreeing to come here with you, has nothing to do with pity."
"Then you should be able to answer the damn questions," he said.
"I'm not answering those questions, Syaoran. Now, lower your voice before you draw attention to our table…" she said.
They were sitting in one of the corners in the little café, away from eye and ear shot to avoid raising questions about them. Since they were both influential people in the town, nosy prying people would surely become ready to stir something in the media.
She had specifically chosen this café because it was never crowded in the mornings and the manager and staff there were nice and it is quiet for the most part.
Syaoran sighed, running a shaky hand through his hair. "Kinomoto, I'm—" He stopped.
"Since I call you Syaoran, it's alright for you to call me Sakura, if you would like," she said, after noticing that he had still been addressing her by her family name.
He nodded and then sighed.
"What is it?" she asked, curious with his shift in mood. She wanted to ask him if he had any history of bipolar disorder and anger management, but decided against it. His behavior would be much worse if it were the two, though the latter could fit into his more.
"It's nothing…" he said, shaking his head.
"Are you sure?" she asked. She wanted him to be as open to her about everything. She needed to know as much as possible about him.
"Positive."
"So, when can my brother and his family leave the hospital?" she asked, changing the subject so he would not feel uncomfortable.
"Well, Mrs. Kinomoto will be discharged today, Aika, was it?" She nodded. "She will be too. The basta—your brother, we need to run a few more tests to make sure that he is fine. He still needs to be on bed rest for a few days or so, due to recovery."
Sakura smiled, feeling her heart warm at that information. Her brother was finally awake after what seemed like an eternity. She had even made exceptions to hear him calling her a 'kaijuu' as much as he wanted to. It had never sounded so appealing as it had when he spoke his first sentence to her in that raspy, unclear tone.
"That's good…I'm so glad…" she said quietly while looking at him appreciatively.
His cheeks turned a bit rosy before he pushed his chair back from the table. "I-I should go," he stuttered.
Not wanting to keep him any longer, she nodded with a smile at his sudden frantic behavior. "Have a good day," she said.
He nodded mutely and left the café immediately.
She looked down at his abandoned food and giggled. He had forgotten about his own food, obviously more engaged in the conversation with her. She picked up her cup, drinking down the rest of her coffee before she emptied their trays and headed out of the café.
Maybe underneath that thick layer of skin, he was not just a bitter man who hated everything around him besides sex. Perhaps he was much more than that, but a great deal of work would have to be taken place to bring it out of him.
With that thought in mind, she headed to the hospital in high spirits to reunite with her family and friends. When she arrived, she nearly skipped to her brother's room, exciting to see him again. Hearing the many voices in the room, she knew that it was visiting hours, so she pushed the door opened and walked inside.
She looked up and gasped, heart racing at the sight of the person in the room.
I barely made it to post a chapter this week, but here it is! I wish I could have posted it earlier, but my week ended up being busier than planned. I had a test, four quizzes, along with homework(these professors are getting crazy, right? :P), and work at my job lol. I managed to write the chapter though and upload it now, thanks to my beta theDeviantMe. She took the time out of her own busy life to reread and edit mistakes for me, which I can't thank her enough for! If any mistakes are spotted, that's from my own doing because I did go back and add a few things after she edited it.
Anyway, I can't remember if I replied to reviews from the previous chapter, but thank you guys so much for the reviews anyway! Also, just to let everyone know, Meiling is not going to be an antagonist character here lol. Her character will probably be more like the one in the later episodes of CCS when she was manageable, if she will appear in this story.
I will try to respond to reviews when I find extra time, but for the meantime, don't forget to leave a review about your thoughts on this chapter, because I do still read them when I get the emails. I know this chapter probably wasn't to your expectations, but it is part of the build up to the moment that I'm almost sure that everyone is waiting for lol.
I am going to get some sleep though because it's in the AM's again(shocker, right?) and I have work in a few hours.
Ja ne!