PLEASE READ THE AUTHOR NOTE!
A/N: As promised(though it's a month later, sorry! Real life is mega-crazy right now with school, practicum, working, the pandemic...the list could go on), I have added the scene of the dinner with her family, but I made it much longer than planned, so it's kind of a semi-chapter, but not long enough to stand alone, in my opinion. Plus, after the dinner, the time is going to pick up a bit in the story, so I didn't want the next chapter to be super short. Anyway, let me stop rambling and let you guys get to reading.
Hope you enjoy!
"Brother Dearest"
Syaoran paced back and forth in his living room, phone against his ear as the phone rang for the umpteenth time that night. He had gotten home over an hour ago and Sakura still had not arrived yet.
After the call where Akinari had answered the phone, Syaoran considered going back to the hospital to look through his files to find out what the man address was. He knew that would be taking it too far, so he forced himself to sit tight.
The way she sounded breathless on the phone had been ringing in his ears since she ended the call 30 minutes ago. He had only heard her that breathless when they had made love passionately.
A rage of jealousy tore at his heart as images played in his mind of Sakura being underneath the other man. She had said he had been drinking too, so there really was no telling what they could have done together. Especially with her lack of response now.
He thought back to all the times where they had been intimate and found that they lacked nothing in the department. He was always sure that Sakura got hers first before he had. Syaoran had always been open to new things in the bedroom and he had certainly brought a lot to the table as well. So, what Sakura could possibly want from the other man, he had no clue. And nothing had ever unnerved him this much. The unknowing.
Click.
Syaoran froze in his spot, eyes locking on the doorknob as he heard keys rattling before the door opened. His breath caught in his throat, heart beating faster at the sight of Sakura. He had seen her this morning before leaving, but still felt like it was the first time he had seen her today.
Sakura stared at him with a flush on her cheeks from the cold weather, no doubts, but Syaoran could not help but assume the worst.
He raised a brow, waiting for an explanation. He had promised her and himself that he would keep his composure no matter how he felt.
Sakura walked in the house fully, closing the door behind her and locking it. "I saw Eichii tonight," she said.
Syaoran nearly gasped but suppressed his surprise. "Excuse me? Who? How? And why?" he asked, sounding offended by that name being mentioned. He knew something else had occurred today. His gut kept telling him.
"He came to my practice and... just wanted to talk—"
"Just wanted to talk?" Syaoran heard the edginess to his own tone but found it hard to maintain any rationality right now.
"Syaoran," Sakura called softly, reaching to touch him, but he pulled away immediately. He did not want to fall under her spell like he normally would.
"Don't call my name like you fucking..." He stopped, closing his eyes to calm himself. Sakura cared. He was not even sure why he felt that she did not care about him in this moment.
"It wasn't planned. He just wanted to talk about forgiveness and—"
"Forgiveness? What the hell is the fucking point of talking about forgiveness? You've moved on, so it sounds like he needs to move the fuck on to—"
"He couldn't move on without my forgiveness—"
"To hell with the bastard holding on to the past then! That has nothing to do with you. Sakura, I love you, okay? I love you so fucking much that it hurts so much, but I..." Syaoran shook his head, closing his eyes tightly. "I can't take you seeing exes, going to guys houses at night, ignoring my texts and calls. Sakura, I can't do that," he said in a frustrating tone.
"And you aren't going to have to," Sakura said in a caring tone. "I respect you—"
"Clearly not enough if you had a merry time with your ex and then followed after that with going to a man who's drunk out of his mind house! Sakura, I wish I could make sense of things that you do, but it's so hard. It's hard trying to put puzzle pieces together that aren't apart of the same puzzle—"
"I wouldn't have had to go to Aki's place if you hadn't bullied him!" Sakura interrupted. "And I didn't have a 'merry time' with Eichii." She put air quotes of that statement. "He wanted closure just like I wanted closure too—"
"If you're over him, you shouldn't care whether or not he gets closure or not. Who cares what that fucker wants? He ruined your life, Sakura, so you really shouldn't care about what he has going on," Syaoran tried explaining, hoping she would see things from most people's perspective.
In the end, he already knew she would not. She had been the most caring and loving person that he had ever met, so he knew they would not see eye to eye with this. This was one of the reasons he loves her so much, so he was not too mad at her for being this way. He just wished she directed this energy everywhere else but to her abusive ex.
"I told him to move on and not ever come to my practice again because you wouldn't be okay with that. I wouldn't be okay with it either and you know that. If there was something more there, I wouldn't have even bothered telling you that he showed up tonight again. Syaoran, you said that you trust me—"
"Before you pulled this little stunt tonight at Akinari's place. How many times do I need to call you to know if everything's okay? That you aren't doing god-knows what with that fucker?" Syaoran found himself asking, glaring at the wall now.
"What do you have against Aki? Please, you're real about everything else, so be real about this too. Why do you hate him?!" Sakura bellowed, surprising Syaoran with her increase of volume. "You had one thing to do—cooperate so we can be together safely, yet you've blown the opportunity! Why do you hate him so much!?"
He fell silent at that question, not expecting to be the one attacked tonight. Not when she had been the one doing questionable things.
He could give her leeway about her ex since he had been the one to show up. But her best friend? Not answering his calls? Sounding so breathless on the phone as if she had just been intimate with another?
"No, we aren't doing this tonight, Sakura. We are going to talk about what you did tonight—"
"I'm sorry I didn't pick up the call, but Aki really needed me, okay? I let you know where I would be, didn't I? I kept absolutely nothing from you. I was not going to pick up the call because we were busy talking, but he picked the phone up...which I fought to get it from him because he was drunk..." Sakura moved closer to him, which he did not move back this time.
He felt ready to cooperate now that he got an explanation because he believed her.
"You hurt him, and I want to know why and how. Why do you hate him so much, Syaoran? He's our ally, not our enemy. Just...why would you ruin that for us? Our relationship? Don't you want to be with me?"
Syaoran looked away, feeling his cheeks warm in embarrassment at his upcoming explanation. He hated seeming so weak to her; so insecure, so desperate for her love. "Because...he has an advantage over me—he's let me known from the start. He's known you longer...you feel more for him than you do for me...you would choose him over me because of the connection that you guys have. I don't trust him because he...makes me feel how I felt when I was little. He feels like the twin that was never born..." He looked down, feeling ashamed of his feelings and actions towards the man. "I want to be with you because I love you so damn much, but it's a constant slap in the face when I look at him and remember that you'd choose him over me because you guys have something special..."
Sakura let out a quiet sigh and then grabbed Syaoran's hand, pulling him to the kitchen after she slipped her shoes off. They settled at the kitchen table, his hand still in hers as she sat at the end of the table and him in the chair beside her. "Syaoran... I would never...I mean, never choose Aki in a relationship over you. Just tonight, we were telling each other that we just don't see each other that way. If I wanted to be with Aki, I would be with him. Aki or no other man has an advantage over you because I want to be with you, Syaoran. There's no number of times I can tell you that for you to believe it. You're going to have to realize it yourself eventually if you want us to work. I can keep telling you that as many times as you want me to, but..."
He interlocked their fingers together, glad to hear the absence of annoyance in her tone. She sounded genuine. He could tell that she understood him and that felt comforting. "I do trust you...I just don't like that he has an advantage because he's known you longer—"
"That doesn't mean anything. Yes, he's known me longer, but he doesn't have what me and you have. He doesn't have my affections like you do. He doesn't have an advantage over you..."
"But..."
Sakura slowly stood from the chair, keeping her hold on his hand. "Do you really think there's any other man I'd rather be with? After how many years of being single, I chose you to be with intimate with." She walked over to him, making him turn towards her in the chair so she could rest between his parted legs.
His breath caught in his throat when she released his hand and dropped them in his disheveled hair. "Do you really think I'd want anyone else to touch me the way you do?" she asked, sliding her hands down to his neck and stepping over to rest on his lap as she straddled his waist on the chair.
Syaoran swallowed, dropping his hands to her hips to hold her against his growing arousal. "I'm the only man you want to kiss? To touch? To be with?" he asked in a husky tone, leaning forward to brush his lips against her skin teasingly.
It was rare when Sakura would initiate any sexual activities, so Syaoran was not against this. He noted himself already fully erect and ready to take her on the table.
"The only man's touch and love I need is yours," she said before crashing her lips to his in a passionate, searing kiss that made him forget any worries he had.
Sakura clutched the steering wheel tightly as she concentrated on the road, despite her mind being elsewhere.
She was on the way to the airport to pick her brother up, but she was too worried about how things would be this weekend with her brother, Syaoran, and her father.
Her father would not be meeting Syaoran as a well-known doctor who was working on a project, but as her significant other.
She was not sure how things would pan out with Syaoran's past. Had her father heard about it in the media too? What was she thinking? Of course he had! Her brother had even heard about it.
She had not received a call from her father since she had started to publicly date Syaoran. Thinking about her father calmed Sakura's nerves.
Her father was such a kind, gentle, and understanding man, so she knew she had nothing to worry about with him. Touya was a bit different though, which is why she had decided to invite Yukito for the weekend as well. Yukito normally kept her brother under the wraps.
Syaoran had taken the idea of coming to her family home this weekend well. That may have been because she had just finished riding him into oblivion before asking if he could come this weekend to talk with her family about her departure at Tomoeda.
As soon as she pulled up to the airport, she took a deep breath and released it. She could do this, she tried convincing herself. It had already taken a lot out of her when she told Syaoran that she would have to be staying at her own place for the weekend. The man had acted as if she had been staying with him for a lifetime with the way he moped around the house all week about her not being there for the upcoming weekend.
She smiled, thinking about the way he had tried negotiating when she could come over and the times that would be convenient.
Sakura headed inside the airport and waited for her brother to arrive.
She hoped her brother would play nice for the weekend. She already had a hard week between juggling Eichii showing up at her practice, Syaoran, and Akinari. She had talked with Akinari the next day for a little bit after she had visited him that night.
He had not gone to work because he was hungover, which had been no surprise. He had apologized for anything he had done wrong the night before, though he could not remember much when she had arrived. She had been more than happy about that. Especially with him trying to come on to her to see if she would give in.
She had always thought her best friend to be attractive, but she knew that they would never be happy together. He had been the one to tell her that when they had tried.
He still had not told her what Syaoran had done, and it seemed like Syaoran would not be telling her either, so she left it alone. For now. She figured it would come out eventually from one of the two. She just had to be patient.
"Look what monster showed up on time."
Sakura looked up, seeing her brother with his luggage in hand. She smiled, making her way over to the older man. She decided to ignore his rude remark for now. It was too early in the morning for them to go back and forth like they used to. "I left early."
"You shouldn't be in the middle of the airport looking like an airhead though," Touya said, looking around the place as if he were looking for someone.
"Onii-chan, I don't want to hurt you in front of all these strangers," Sakura said sweetly.
Touya raised a brow, looking her in the eyes. "I don't remember you caring about that in the past."
He began looking around again, making Sakura do the same. "Are you looking for someone?"
"That gaki isn't here, is he?"
Sakura rolled her eyes at that. "He is not a gaki...but no, Syaoran's not here. He's at work, which doesn't matter right now. We should head to my place because I have patients to attend to this morning."
"He's not getting off easy this weekend if that's what you're thinking—"
"Play nice," Sakura said sternly as they headed out of the airport.
Sakura placed the napkins on the table before neatly placing the fork and knife on it.
Touya had decided to do the honors of cooking dinner for them to show his gratitude of her hospitality. Sakura thought it to be quite rare for her brother to openly express any type of nice behavior towards her, so she was a bit skeptical. She had constantly checked in on him to make sure he had not slipped any poison into the food to rid of her. She knew it to be silly, but her brother was acting weird.
"I can feel your lasers burning through my skull," Touya said, his back turned to Sakura.
She jumped at the sudden sound of his voice, not even realizing she had been staring at the back of his head as he stirred the beans in the pot.
She glared at him a little. "I'm just trying to figure out where this generosity is coming from," she said as a look of concern crossed her face.
"That bastards out, isn't he?"
Sakura froze at that question, not expecting him to say anything about her ex. But more importantly, how did he know?
She swallowed, shaking her head, though he was not facing her to see. "Why?"
"I'm no fool, kaijuu," he said, turning towards her with a serious look in his eyes.
"Hoee..." left her mouth at the patronizing tone in his voice.
He raised a brow, clearly waiting for her to tell the truth.
"Y-yes..." she stuttered.
"I fucking knew it—"
"But nothing's going on. I haven't run back to him—"
"Yeah, and that's what you said when he constantly threatened your life and you kept running back to the house," he said bluntly.
She winced at the memories her brother vehemently tossed at her with little care.
He seemed to notice the look on her face because his eyes softened for a brief moment, showing regret. "Where is he if he's out?"
Realization struck her like lightening. "You knew about him still being alive for all these years too?" she whispered in disbelief. "You were part of that?"
"Yes," Touya said with so much pride that showed he held no regrets for keeping it from his little sister. "I wish it had remained unknown too."
Instantly, angry tears gathered in her eyes at the betrayal from her older brother. Him, of all people, she did not expect to do something like that to her.
"If you're feeling any ill-emotions towards me, then it must mean that you are not over the bastard and just using the gaki as a rebound," he said.
"I'm not! I would never do that to Syaoran-kun. I'm over Eichii, but what I can't understand is why you'd keep something like that from me? Do you know how...broken I was over that?" she whispered the last part, feeling the stab of pain from all those years she had to endure without Eichii.
Touya remained quiet, but Sakura could feel his deep eyes penetrating her; waiting for her to look at him. How could she when she knew she would break if she did? She was over crying about the same things. But it felt a little different to be betrayed by her own blood.
"You wouldn't even be alive if that bastard had still existed in your life at the time. Sakura, do you not remember your last encounter with that bastard? Do you remember that damn near being your last day living?"
Sakura fell silent, remembering every single detail about that day. It was almost impossible to forget when she dreamed of it every night for years.
"Of course I remember," she whispered.
"Would you still have been with him if he hadn't disappeared?"
Sakura thought about it for a moment, though she knew the answer to that question. And evidently, so did Touya.
Instead of furthering the conversation, he took it upon himself to fix both of their plates and set them on the table as Sakura stood there, thinking of the yesteryears.
"Sit. Let's eat," he said, snapping her out of her thoughts.
She nodded and sat in the chair across from him. "Itadakimasu," she said quietly.
"Kaijuu," he called, making her pause. "Have I ever done something that I didn't think was the best for you?"
Sakura looked up at him and smiled a little, knowing that's the best she would get out of her brother as an apology. "You would know not to call me a monster then," she said.
A brief smile crossed his lips before it disappeared as if it had never been there. "You are a monster, so that doesn't count."
She took a deep breath and then released it. "I know it was good that Eichii disappeared. I would probably be dead by now if he had not disappeared, so...thank you," she said softly.
"Hm."
"But Syaoran is not a rebound. Syaoran is...different." She could feel her cheeks warm a bit. "I didn't even feel this way about Eichii..."
"It's the sex. It's what he's known for."
Steam almost blew from her ears at her brother's statement. "O-onii-chan!" she exclaimed, suddenly stuffing her face with the food to distract herself from that conversation. She hoped he would take the hint and talk about her monstrous ways erupting to the surface with her eating.
"Hm. You just don't learn your lesson with men," he said before diving into his own food.
When she swallowed the food she had stuffed in her mouth, she shook her head vigorously. "It's nothing like that with Syaoran! He's sweet and kind and... he treats me right. He respects me more than you believe, and he's the most honest person I know. He would never do anything like that because..."
"And what of the news articles on him? His image in this town? What he's known for when it comes to women? How do you think father would feel about that?"
"He would understand. He's not judgmental in the least bit. I'm sure he would see that Syaoran is a changed man and in time, you will too," Sakura said confidently.
Fujitaka had never been a judgmental man, and he always treated others with the utmost kindest. Even with her Aunt Sonomi who had always said mean things about him. Sakura noticed that he always treated her kindly. And she had only heard briefly about her great grandfather who had disowned her mother for being with her father. He had still only said nice things about the man, so Sakura knew that her father would not bash Syaoran for his history in the least bit.
Touya said something under his breath that Sakura could not catch, but she knew it to be an insult, so her foot met his shin.
He yelped, leaning down to rub the sore spot, making her smile in triumph. It almost felt like old times when she was in grade school, with the exception of her father being absent.
For the rest of dinner, they caught up with each other and talked about the latest projects Touya had been working on at the firm. They winded up going to the living room to watch a movie together, though they paid little attention to it. They had been too engaged in conversation with each other.
It was only when Sakura yawned that Touya decided to call it a night. She knew he were just being considerate of her being tired though.
As soon as she closed her door, humming a soft tune, her phone rang that was on her bed on the charger. She walked to it, looking at the caller ID and picture on her phone. She smiled, heart beating faster in her chest. She hit the green icon. "Syaoran-kun," she answered.
"How's things with your brother going?" he asked.
Sakura sighed, falling back on her bed once she took her phone off the charger. "They're going. I'm just going to warn you that he's a big meanie," she said, pursing her lips at the thought of all the teasing he had thrown at her all day.
She heard the foreign sound of his chuckle through the phone, causing a warm, fuzzy feeling in her stomach. She had been the cause of that sound and nothing had ever felt any better than knowing that. "I remember how he was at the hospital," he said.
"Well, we are seriously involved now, so it might be worst," she said teasingly.
"I used to do martial arts, so I can take him on," Syaoran said, making her giggle at the playful threat.
"Play nice," she said in a stern tone playfully like she had told her brother earlier.
"Will I get a treat if I do?" he teased.
She smiled, adjusting so she could lie her head on her pillow. "What kind of treat are we talking about?" she asked, deciding to entertain his teasing.
"You know...a little something with that sexy mouth of yours wrapped around something hot and hard," he said huskily.
Sakura glanced at her door, feeling her cheeks warm at the vulgar language coming from her boyfriend. She hoped Touya were not standing outside her door listening in on their conversation.
She had never had phone sex before, but Syaoran sure had tried to initiate it many times.
"I was thinking something like candy," she said, giggling at his groan that followed that response.
"Hmm…" He went quiet for a moment on the other line as if he were really thinking about it. "Candy...I could watch your mouth do something with that. How about a big, hard lollipop? I'd love to watch you eat that."
Before Sakura could respond, he asked, "Where are you right now?"
Her cheeks warmed even more, wondering if she should lie to him about her whereabouts so he could stop before things escalated. "My room."
"Oohh...alone?"
She rolled her eyes. "Aren't you at the hospital?" she asked instead, looking at the time. It was past 10, and she was sure that he would be staying late at the hospital if she were not at his place.
"Decided to call an early night. I wanted to catch you before you would be sleeping. We haven't really talked all day."
"Well, my brother's been down my back all day, watching my every move," she said, remembering how Touya had been watching her all day. It was as if he were looking for something she could do wrong. Or be wrong with her. It was a little weird until he finally brought up that he knew Eichii was out and she were possibly not over him.
She shook her head at the thought of her brother thinking she were still not over Eichii after all these years.
"Well, he's not now, is he?" he asked.
"Thankfully."
"Good, because I wouldn't want him knowing how hard I am right now for his little sister," Syaoran said, making her blush at the sudden change of conversation again.
"Syaoran," Sakura called in a chastising manner.
"Come on, baby. I didn't even get to get my fill of you this morning or any this week after the whole incident. And now, you're not here when I want you so bad..."
Sakura could feel this overwhelming sense of power rise in her chest at hearing how desperate he sounded for her right now. She glanced at her door again before clenching the phone against her ear tighter. "How badly?"
He let out a sigh of relief before she heard ruffling on the other end of the phone. Her heart nearly exploded, not exactly sure what to expect of this. She figured, if they were going to do long distance when she left for Hong Kong, she would have to get used to this.
"You remember the night of Christmas?" he asked, making her wince at the painful thought of how she had treated him and then he kicked her out.
"Yes..." she said, waiting for him to further explain how much he wanted her.
"I fucked you so hard into my bed because I needed you. I couldn't get enough of you that night after having you in my bed again."
The painful memories suddenly disappeared and were replaced with thoughts of the way Syaoran had taken her so many times that night. Even the last time he had taken her that night, nothing had ever made her orgasm as intensely as she had that night as he violated her body in the best way possible. Her toes curled as she felt a sudden ache between her legs at the thought of that night.
"I had never felt so...desperate to be intimate with anyone until that night. That's exactly how I feel right now. I wish I could sneak in to your place right now, right under your brothers nose and fuck you so hard into the bed in the room next to his," he said huskily, his breathing picking up.
Her cheeks warmed at the thought of Syaoran actually doing something so dirty and naughty, yet she felt turned on by the prospect of that happening.
"Y-yeah?" she said, unable to form the correct response to that. She was not good at this at all.
"Tell me, what are you wearing right now?"
Sakura looked at her appearance, wishing she were wearing something a lot sexier than what she had on. "Unfortunately, my cat pajamas...Touya and I were watching movies before you called," she said shyly. She was not sure why she felt the need to explain her lack of sexy attire. It was not like she wore sexy attire around him either when she was with him. Unless they were undergarments, of course.
"Mmm, no panties and bra?"
Sakura rolled her eyes at that question. Leave it up to Syaoran to make whatever she had on sexy. That had been one of the reasons she had been so head over heels for the man; he made her feel like the most attractive woman alive. "Who wears undergarments under pajamas?" she asked teasingly.
Syaoran ignored that question. "Did you have a blanket over yourself?" he asked.
Sakura was not sure why he had asked that. "Yes..."
"That's fucking perfect because if I were there with you guys, I would have slid my hand underneath the blanket so he wouldn't see when I slipped my hand down your pajama bottoms to toy with your pussy. I would have loved to see if you'd be so naughty to feel hot and wet for me in a room where your overprotective brother is."
Sakura could almost feel the steam blowing out of her ears, not believing what came from the other end of the line from Syaoran. She had known him to have rather odd fantasies, but they had never actually put them into action. She was not so sure that she could live up to them either.
"I'd watch your face so closely to see how hard it'd be for you to not make a sound as I rub your soaking wet—"
A bang on her door caused her to sit up immediately, eyes landing on the door to make sure no one had been listening in on their conversation.
"Kaijuu, did you let dad know I'm coming tomorrow?"
"G-gomen, Syaoran-kun, I have to go," she whispered into the phone, quickly hanging up before he could even respond.
Nothing had ever been more embarrassing than this moment. She straightened her hair and rubbed her cheeks vigorously, hoping to calm herself down. "H-hai! I talked with him earlier this week about it," she said.
She heard Touya hum before he said, "Get some sleep, Kaijuu."
She heard his footsteps become distinct as he walked away from her door. She placed a hand over her racing heart, not believing she had almost subjected herself to Syaoran's sexual ways again.
Her phone buzzed on the bed, making her jump and scramble to check it.
'Your brother walked in on you touching yourself? ;)'
Sakura almost laughed at the text, though a blush appeared on her cheeks in embarrassment of that happening. She knew she would die if her brother were to discover that she was heavily sexually active.
She knew that her brother and father knew her to be a grown-up now, but for some reason, they still treated her as a child who needed protection. She certainly did not want her brother to discover her to be a grown-up that way though.
'I'm sorry. Get something to eat and then some sleep. I'll send you the address to my dad's in the morning.'
'After I finish getting myself off to thoughts of me getting you off in that living room ;)'
She actually did laugh at that text. 'Goodnight Syaoran'
'Love you, babe. Goodnight ;*'
"How's Mr. Reed?" Sakura asked their father as she helped him chop the celery, while Touya sat back and watched the two in silence. "Is his daughter responding well to the treatment?"
Their father offered her a kind smile when she scooped up the chopped carrots and put them in the boiling water on the stove. "He's doing well. He says that his daughter is responding positively to the medication the hospital has her on right now, but he's still a bit fearful that things could go wrong at any second," Fujitaka explained and then moved over to the sink to wash his hands.
Touya saw a look of disappointment flash across his little sister's face briefly before she forced a smile on her face. "I heard that some things had gone wrong with the trial, so I hope everyone's okay," she said.
Touya forced down a frown at how sensitive his sister sounded speaking on the topic. He wondered what else she had heard about what went on with the trial. He thought things were supposed to remain confidential, but he supposed that the brat had not given too much away if Sakura felt the need to ask their father.
As if their father sensed the rising negative emotions in Sakura, he turned to her with a gentle smile on his face. He rest a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It's a clinical trial for a reason, honey. That means that it's an experiment, so some people may get hurt. But that's apart of discovering great things. It may be a lot of people, but if it's a success, far more people will be cured than harmed, and that's why people take that risks as researchers," he explained.
Suddenly, her eyes warmed, and a genuine smile crossed her face. "I guess you're right."
"Aren't you the mental health expert here, Ms. Psychologist?" Touya interjected, leaning back in the kitchen chair with his hands clasped together behind his head.
Sakura whipped around in his direction with a glare on her face. "That doesn't mean I can't care about people getting hurt," she retorted.
"No, but you should understand that there are consequences behind things."
Yukito, who had been sitting beside him, chuckled. "Touya, why must you be so mean to your sister?"
"Is it not true?" he asked, raising a brow at his best friend, who he rarely saw these days since he moved. He could felt a slight hint of guilt for criticizing his sister and Yukito calling it out. He had always done so growing up, so it was like Yukito was his moral compass, in a way.
"Oh, Touya, don't be a spoil sport for your little sister's caring nature," Fujitaka said gently.
Touya scoffed, shaking his head slowly. "Not like I have to be when she has that maniac behind her," he murmured under his breath.
At the thought of the doctor, Touya could feel his bitterness increase at the man. And maybe at his little sister a bit too. He could not understand what she saw in the doctor. The man was known for breaking hearts. Touya could not see himself ever accepting the man as Sakura's significant other.
Touya had not even accepted the first guy, already knowing that he had traits about him that were not okay. Those traits may have flown right over Sakura's head, but Touya had seen all the signs with her ex-boyfriend.
As much as Sakura did not want to admit, Touya knew that she had seen the signs in the beginning of their relationship. Or his sister really had to be that dense.
Touya had known from the very first moment he met the man and noticed the temper he had. He could admit, he had been a bit of an asshole when he first met Eichii, but it was just to see what type of man he was. Instead of Eichii taking it out on Touya like a man, he had taken it out on Sakura. Touya had overheard them in the living room arguing about something minor Touya had said.
Okay, maybe it was not minor to them, but Touya saw nothing to get upset about for telling the man he would not be around for long. It was an empty threat that almost held promise.
And then, there was another incident where he heard how controlling the man was of what Sakura wore and did. Though he was never a snooper, he could not help but listen in on their argument in her room when he had gone off on her and told her she was trying to get attention from other men with the clothes she had worn.
Touya knew his sister like he knew the back of his hand, and Sakura Kinomoto had never been one to put herself out there like that when it came to men. If anything, Sakura had been shy and too scared to because of how Touya had scared her growing up. And then there were other instances too that screamed red flags. How Sakura had missed it? Touya had no clue.
And now, his sister was trying for another man who Touya knew for a fact was not deserving of his little sister. He had not been around the doctor enough to pick up on the signs enough.
All he had to go off on was how upset Sakura had seemed that day at the hospital when he had woken up from his coma over six months ago. And what the media had said about the man. He knew the doctor could never be worthy of his sister. Her heart was too big for anyone.
His eyes landed on her, still seeing the pouting look on her lips and glare she threw his way weakly. What was his sister thinking?
"What time is Dr. Li planning to show today?" Fujitaka asked.
Touya had to stop himself from rolling his eyes at his father's enthusiasm about the man showing.
"Touya you shouldn't let yourself get so worked up," Touya heard his best friend's gentle voice beside him.
"I have every reason to feel how I feel right now," Touya said grumpily.
He knew he was sounding like a child, but what could he do? His sister was making another mistake with another man, though he was not sure how yet. Despite those thoughts, something in Touya's heart told him that the doctor was a little different. At least, a little. He had seen the way the man had taken care of his sister when she was sick back in December for the holidays. The man had even called their father to inform him of Sakura's absence.
Sakura had been back to her old self before her ex had arrived in her life. Albeit, something had been off recently, because somehow, Touya always had this sixth sense when it came to Sakura. He would not even have to be close to her or in the same country as her to feel that something was wrong with his little sister. He always just knew. And that had been the reason he had decided to come down and visit to figure out why he felt...off in the states when he thought of her.
And then he found out that the man had been released from the in-patient hospital when he arrived.
"Please try to behave yourself when he arrives, Touya," his father said kindly, though he gave Touya a pointed look that said there would be consequences if he would not.
"Whatever," Touya grumbled. He knew he was acting a bit childish, but he found every reason in the book to be. His sister's heart and health was on the line again.
"So, I take it that the news is true, Sakura-san?" Fujitaka asked, reverting the attention back to the host of this visit.
"Yes," she said shyly. "Only recently..."
"He seems like a nice young man."
"Of course he is," Touya said under his breath, biting his tongue to hold himself back from commenting about the reason why.
"I know he...has a reputation in this town, but...he's good. He has a good heart that was kind of hard to see in the beginning, but...once you get to know him and see the real Syaoran... you know your instincts are right about him, despite his past actions," Sakura explained. "His past is not the present Syaoran. He has redefined himself through change."
When a blush graced her cheeks, Touya did roll his eyes this time. "And what of his scandalous acts? All those women he screwed over? Half the fucking town—"
"Touya," their father called sternly. "Language, especially at the kitchen table. And try to trust your little sister when she speaks on what she feels passionate about. She usually has good judge of character."
"And that showed with the last bastard," he said sarcastically.
"Touya, don't give Sakura-san so much trouble," Yukito said. "She's grown and learned from her past, like all of us has. She seems really happy about her new relationship."
They just would not understand how he felt. Maybe it was because they had not seen or noticed the signs like he did with her last boyfriend. For years, he blamed himself for letting Sakura stay with that man. He would be damned to let another man slide in and hurt her again.
"Thank you, Yukito-san," Sakura said shyly as her cheeks colored even more. "You know how mean he can be. Thank you, Oto-san, for being so understanding."
"Touya might just need to spend a little time with the boy to see how happy he makes you," Fujitaka encouraged. "I certainly see it in the way you're glowing these days. I haven't seen you this happy since before."
Touya did not have to spend time with the doctor to know he made his little sister happy. He had seen it too since coming here. He just did not want to admit that out loud. Instead, he reasoned that anyone could make her happy because she was too trusting of people.
He partially blamed himself for keeping her protected from other men all her life growing up. The veteran had been her first boyfriend after all when she had gone off to college, away from the protectiveness. Still, his stubbornness would not let up on the idea of another man truly making her happy.
"No thank you. When is that brat planning to get here anyway so you can announce this news you have for us?" Touya said, deciding to change the subject from the doctor. He felt beyond uncomfortable when the thought of the doctor truly making his sister happy had started to make sense.
He was known to be one of the most stubborn men, so you know what he did? Pushed that thought away and stuck with believing that no one deserved his sister.
When his eye caught Yukito's, there was a knowing look in the pale man's eyes that he decided to ignore.
Syaoran held a fist to the door, trying to mentally talk himself into knocking on the door. He found that his nerves were telling him to run for the hills and forget all about this. Why had he agreed to this again? Oh yeah, Sakura had been on top, riding him like her life depended on that orgasm when she had asked him to come here. She had never looked so confident and radiant that night that Syaoran knew she could ask him to do anything and he would have done it for her.
His eyes closed, a violent shudder attacking his body at the vivid image. He shook his head vigorously, hoping it would get rid of image. He would hate to be thinking such things with her father so close. Surely, the scholarly man would know that he was thinking lewd thoughts about his daughter. That was the last impression that Syaoran wanted to make.
He had already made a fool of himself when he first met the man at the hospital. He had to revive his character; his intelligence by showing that he was a man of education and treated his daughter the way a man should treat a woman. And speak coherent sentences. He just had to...get past this hard part. And that was knocking on the door to announce his presence.
He took one more deep breath before letting his knuckles connect to the door of the little yellow house.
As if they had been expecting him, the door was opened not too long after his announcement.
There Sakura stood in skinnies and a nice, oversized grey sweater. He could not help but smile when he saw the fluffy socks on her feet. Unable to stop himself, he closed the gap between their bodies and placed a loving kiss on her lips, being sure to not place any sexual feelings in the kiss. He was here to impress; not seduce the daughter and sister.
She smiled in the kiss and then returned it briefly.
"How was work? Everyone's been waiting for you," she said.
He loosened his hold around her and shrugged a shoulder nonchalantly. "Work was...work. I would have rather been here with you guys than there though," he answered honestly, giving her one last squeeze around the waist.
She smiled at him shyly, making him peck her nose teasingly and releasing her finally. She grabbed his hand, interlocking their fingers. "That's fair. Come on."
"Do they have a clue what you're going to tell them?" he asked, letting her lead him further in the house.
It was interesting to see the house she had grown up in. Even though there was no one in the living room with them, he could feel the warm, love and care in the home. He could almost hear the laughter remitting in the room that he knew had to be there in her childhood.
The atmosphere hugged him like he knew the family had probably done a lot of. He almost felt this sense of...covetousness towards the woman beside him, remembering that he had none of that.
He felt jealous. But Syaoran knew those feelings were outrageous to have. He was being crazy right now. He should feel happy that she had such a loving family. That meant they cared for her. That meant that she had people she could turn to when she needed comfort and love.
One part of him felt happy about that, but another felt sad for some reason.
A hand squeezed his gently, snapping him out of his trance of envy. "Hey, it's going to be okay," Sakura said.
They had stopped walking at some point he had not known. He nodded. "Yeah."
"What's wrong?" she asked worriedly.
He shook his head, forcing a smile on his face. "It's nothing. Just...your childhood home is so...warm," he decided to settle with.
She nodded with a content smile on her face, clearly missing his false one. Syaoran did not know if he felt happy or sad about that.
"It is. Dad is here and...despite how mean Touya is sometimes, he brings warmth here too."
He nodded before they continued their journey to where, Syaoran assumed, everyone else would be. Soon, they were standing in the entrance and walking in a dining room where he saw her brother and the grey-headed man he had seen at the hospital months ago to visit Sakura's brother.
And then, he saw the man he had made a complete fool of himself in front of at the ball. He looked a lot like Sakura's brother, but a bit older and he had a full tan apron tied around his body. The gentle smile on the man's face caused Syaoran's cheeks to warm a bit for some reason before he returned the smile.
He would not make a fool of himself this time. He would not make a fool of himself again. He chanted this over and over in his head a few more times before he realized nothing calmed his nerves.
"Dr. Li, we are glad you could make it," Fujitaka said, untying the apron from his back and pulling it off. He made his way over to Syaoran, making Syaoran freeze up in his spot again.
When he felt Sakura's hand squeeze his, some of the nerves alleviated before she released his hand.
Composing himself, Syaoran nodded and returned the smile and met him half way. He shook his hand firmly when it was placed in front of him. "You don't have to address me so formally, sir. Thank you guys for having me," he said politely. "I-I know we've met before, but it was a bit, uh..."
"It was quite pleasant to meet you in a setting that you are most comfortable in," Fujitaka finished for him.
At hearing that, Syaoran felt himself relaxing more as they released the other's hand. "I appreciate the donations you made to the clinical trial, sir," he said, stiffly bowing his head out of respect.
Fujitaka nodded to show his appreciation of the respect. "How about we dig in to this delicious meal my sweet Sakura aided in cooking this evening?"
After that, they all settled at the table, Yukito introducing himself to Syaoran once again for good measure. Somehow, Syaoran found himself seated in front of Touya who nearly glared fireballs through Syaoran's skull the entire dinner. Sakura had sat beside him and Yukito had sat beside Touya, and Fujitaka at the head of the table.
Not knowing how to respond to her brothers patronizing glare, all Syaoran could really do was stare back at the man with the same amount of intensity.
He had met Touya as a patient who did not necessarily show his appreciation of Syaoran doing his best to save the man's life. Granted, Syaoran knew that not everyone had to reverence him for his hard work because he did this job because he wanted to. He would save a life for free in a heartbeat. However, that did not mean that he would appreciate being trash-talked after helping the man.
But now... things were different. This meeting was different because he was not here as Touya's doctor. He was here as Sakura's boyfriend. He saw Touya as his future in-law now, so he felt no bitterness towards the man anymore.
He had an idea why Touya glared at him right now, but at the same time, Syaoran knew he had not done anything wrong to the man's sister. He briefly wondered if the brother knew he was trying to dirty talk to his sister on the phone the night before, but knew better than to believe that.
So, throughout dinner, Syaoran just stared the man down when Touya would catch his eye and engaged in conversation with Sakura's father about his job.
Syaoran found that he was more engrossed in conversation with her father as he educated them on the topic of archaeology and ancient pieces being dug up and found. For a moment, Syaoran reconsidered switching his profession to archaeologist, but remembered the withdrawal symptoms of not cutting and fixing.
Dinner had gone great, no awkward moments as they all seemed to engage with one another—aside from her brother—but Syaoran began to feel this... warmth in his chest. Almost similar to the one that he felt when he came home to Sakura being at his place. This warmth was a lot more...calming, welcoming...as if he belonged there with them.
He had never really known what a normal family dynamic felt like, but if he had to guess, he knew it would be this family.
They were so accepting of him as if they... wanted him there with them. With the exception of Touya, of course, but even there was this unconscious acceptance from the older brother now. Especially since he had laid off on the glaring as the evening went on. They would still have the intense stare down contests, though Syaoran was not sure why they did. There was no more glaring, so that felt nice.
Now, they were sitting in the living room with a movie on the TV; something they called "family movie night". Syaoran had heard of this before, but he had never really experienced it himself. When he asked why they did this sort of thing to Sakura quietly, she explained what it meant to her family and how special it had been for them whenever they got together. And nothing had been more tear-jerking and heart-wrenching for Syaoran at the thought of them wanting to share that with him. He almost felt a part of them but knew not to let himself get too ahead. He had not even thought of getting Sakura's ring finger size yet.
He wanted to pull his hair out for feeling so emotional today. But he could look at the bright side to feeling so emotional. He had been handling his emotions in a healthy manner. All the techniques and skills Sakura had provided when it came to controlling how he reacted from his feelings, he was finally seeing the progress of therapy working. He had even been controlling how he reacted when he felt angry and that had been one of the more difficult emotions to work through.
His eyes fell on the woman who had been slightly leaning against him just enough to let him know she was there for him. There was not a doubt in his mind that she would be the woman he marries.
"So, I know everyone's on the edge of their seats about finding out why I wanted everyone together," Sakura's voice brought him back to reality.
"I believe it to be good news," Yukito said gently, almost a hint of something behind his tone that he knew something.
Yukito had been the last man to be a threat against his relationship. Syaoran had quickly realized that when he had gone to the bathroom and come out and ran into Yukito. It had been a bit awkward, but when Yukito said, "I approve, and so does Touya, but he just has a harder time accepting and processing things when it comes to his little sister. He has a bit of a brother complex." He knew there was nothing there. He could see him more as an ally than enemy.
"So... there's a research about treating addiction that I'm going to be the lead researcher for," she started slowly.
"What?!"
"That's wonderful, Sakura. I always knew you would spread your wings further," Fujitaka said, sounding like a proud father.
Unconsciously, Sakura leaned against Syaoran, which he dropped a hand down to rest on hers to encourage her.
"That is great, Sakura-san," Yukito said, sounding equally as proud of her.
"Honestly, I really have Oto-san to thank for...teaching me how to speak Chinese because otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to receive this opportunity," she said cheerily.
Almost immediately, a silence fell over the room.
Of course, Touya was the first to break it. "You're going to China?" he asked incredulously.
"Hong Kong, to be exact," she said softly. "I thought it would be a good start with my research career. I haven't—"
"Have you lost your mind?!"
"Touya, pipe down," Fujitaka interjected gently, though you could hear the sternness in his tone. "Are you sure about this, sweetheart?"
Syaoran admired the worry, yet encouragement in his tone. He was instantly reminded of Wei, who had basically been his only supportive figure growing up.
"Yes, I've been collaborating with this group for a few years now. I want to have something of my own and I'm finally going to get that," Sakura said confidently.
Syaoran had never heard her sound more confident and surer about anything as he had now. There was no way in heaven, hell, or earth that he could never support her when like this.
"How long will it be?" Yukito asked.
"Six months to a year, but... depending on how many participants we get, it could be prolonged. We have over 300 so far willing to participate. I am planning to come back here though. This is my hometown... everyone I love is here, so there's no way I could stay away forever," she said.
"And we will always be here," Fujitaka said gently. "If this is truly what you want, I'm happy for you. I will stand behind your decision every step of the way. I do want to be ensured of your safety though."
"So, you aren't...mad?" she asked timidly.
"Of course he's not going to tell you how he feels, but I will. You aren't going anywhere by yourself. Hong Kong? You know absolutely nothing about that place or the people there," Touya said, folding his arms under his chest as he leaned back on the couch.
Hearing the concern for Sakura's safety in both their father and Touya's voice, Syaoran cleared his throat to get the attention of the room. "Actually, I'm from Hong Kong. I have a lot of family and...acquaintances there who I can connect Sakura with when she gets there."
"That would be wonderful, Li-kun. It would make me feel a lot at ease," Fujitaka commented before Touya could.
Instead, Touya just sighed.
"It's not like you aren't always in the states anyway," Sakura said, sticking her tongue at him childishly.
Syaoran had to bite back a chuckle. It was a side of her that he had not seen before. It was refreshing to see.
"At least I know you're near so many people who care for you though," Touya said.
"I won't be gone forever, and I'll still visit when I have the time."
After that, she provided them with more information about the project and her living arrangements before her father stood, grabbing everyone's attention after she finished. He cleared his throat and turned to leave the room and head in the kitchen direction.
Syaoran raised a brow, looking at Sakura and she shrugged her shoulders. He came back a few minutes later with five wine glasses in hand and a wine bottle resting under his arm and against his ribcage.
He sat the fancy glasses on the table in the middle of the room and filled the cups halfway before turning to everyone in the room with a warm smile on his face. "How about we all make a toast to our favorite girl for her new journey?"
Syaoran could feel himself grinning inside at Sakura's bashful, "Aww, that's your most favorite and expensive wine, we don't have to do that."
However, everyone else agreed and grabbed a glass from the table.
"To Sakura's success?"
They all tapped their glasses together.
"To Sakura's success!"
A/N: I'm working on the next chapter. Don't forget to leave a review! I need something pushing me here with everything happening in real life :). Maybe as a little birthday present since my birthday is this week too? :P.