syaoran's birthday: epilogue

Syaoran no Tanjoubi (Syaoran's Birthday)

Epilogue: Hello, Hangover AKA Show Me The Video Of Being Jealous

On 14th July, Li Syaoran was *not* feeling good.

The sun was throwing brilliantly gold bars of late morning light into his bedroom with merciless aim. They landed smack on said Syaoran's face, giving it a hefty dose of dazzling heat that finally prompted one squeezed-shut eyelid to crack open a hair-width.

There was a muffled moan, and the eyelid slammed shut again.

Syaoran slowly lifted a hand to cover his face, biting back another groan as his body made a sluggish return to consciousness. His eyes were sore and gritty, his mouth tasted vaguely of rotten fruit, and to cap it all off his head was feeling like a bullet train had run through it. Two bullet trains. Maybe if one more passed by it would be merciful and make him black out again.

He fought back a slight wave of nausea, trying to remember what he'd been doing to get into this state. He recalled the party in his apartment, and Yamazaki offering him something to drinkand it had tasted goodhe'd drunk a lot

And then it got somewhat fuzzy after that.

"Syaoran-kun?"

He squinted at the person who had opened the door. The petite girl was slim, auburn-haired, and had two large green eyes that were gazing at him worriedly.

"Sakura," he croaked.

"Yokatta ne," she breathed, coming to sit beside him. "Are you feeling all right?"

His stomach roiled sharply, and he winced. "Not particularly."

"Do you want anything--" She was rudely cut off as Syaoran suddenly jumped from the bed and stumbled into the bathroom. The sounds of a 13-year old teenage boy ridding his gut of fermented wine reached her ears with a lot more clarity than she was comfortable with.

"Hoee!"

~~~~

When Syaoran was sufficiently recovered to have a shower and a change of clothes, they sat in the kitchen and had a light breakfast. Or Sakura did, anyway. Syaoran refused to touch anything but plain water.

He was finishing off his second glass when he looked up to see a blushing Sakura holding out a small package to him.

"It's my birthday present to you," she said hesitantly.

He smiled. "Can I open it?" She nodded, and he carefully took off the wrapping and folded it before opening the box it covered.

"I remembered you told me once it got a little too quiet in your home for your liking, so I thought maybe this would help"

"It's beautiful," he said quietly, holding up the wind chime that the box had held. It was a delicate thing of porcelain glazed in pale green. Strangely enough, its shape was strangely similar to his compass board. The metal chimes themselves were made to look like miniature swords, and as he swung it experimentally, they collided and produced a shower of tinkles that rippled in crystal-clear waves.

He looked at Sakura, letting his eyes say what words could not. "Thank you."

The relief in her emerald eyes was evident. "Thank Eriol-kun. He brought me to a shop where they sold all sorts of these Chinese curios. And he was the one who came up with the idea of the party in the first place." She stopped as she noticed the particularly hostile look that had plastered itself on Syaoran's face. "Syaoran-kun?"

"Thank him for me," Syaoran muttered shortly.

"Mou, Eriol-kun is really a nice person! You don't need to" she cut herself off, blushing hotly. He looked at her, puzzled.

"It's nothing!" she said emphatically, still flushed. "I just want to tell you_Syaoran-kun_ ga suki yo! Not Eriol-kun, not anyone else."

In the following silence, both of their faces would have made tomatoes jealous.

At last Syaoran spoke, not meeting her eyes. "Un."

And she smiled. "Thank you."

~~~~

In school next Monday, Yamazaki sidled up to Syaoran with an enigmatic look on his face and beckoned him into the small darkroom next to their class.

"What is he up to *now*?" Chiharu wondered aloud, brow furrowing.

Eriol smiled. "I'm sure he has his reasons for calling Li-kun out."

Ten minutes later, there was a howl from the darkroom that sounded amazingly likean enraged wolf.

"Li-kun?" Tomoyo said in surprise.

The sounds of something being ripped apart followed, accompanied by Yamazaki's wail of "Li-KUN! That was *my* copy!" There was a muffled growl, and they heard the sounds of a door being slammed open in time to pounding footsteps.

Sakura and the rest hurried to the door to be greeted with the sight of a Syaoran breathing smoke and gasoline hot on the heels of a Yamazaki fleeing for his life. The remains of a broken video tape were clenched in his hand.

"What was *that* all about?"

"Yamazaki-kun got Li-kun's birthday performance taped down on his pocket V8 last Thursday," Eriol said calmly.

"_What_?"

"Hoeee!"

"And actually showed it to Li-kun just now."

"Oh, that idiot," Chiharu mumbled in frustration. "Serve him right. I hope Li-kun bashes him up properly."

Sakura wrung her hands in distress. "I'd better find them before anything bad happens to Yamazaki-kun!" Before they could blink, she had bolted out of class and into the corridor. Her cries of "Syaoran-kun!" gradually receded into the distance.

As the rest drifted back to their laces, Eriol slipped a hand under his desk and grinned in a most unholy manner.

Apparently Yamazaki had neglected to tell his cute relative that the original tape was with him.

And what a beautiful tape it was, tooespecially the part where Yamazaki had taped him in Syaoran's bedroom.

He leaned back in his chair and hummed tunelessly.

Life was *goood*.

~~~~

Notes:

  1. Syaoran's hangover might be a little extreme to some, but I'm merely speaking from personal experience. I was on an exchange student program in Australia 2 years ago and got similarly inebriated one time (don't ask), and was so, um, incapacitated the next morning. &.&
  2. I really am not satisfied with this story, but it's the best I can do right now. I'll be rewriting this at a later date*_* Once again, forgive any OOC-ness, plot dumbness, weird stylisation and etc.
  3. Comments? ;_;

--Syaoran no Miko