They were watching somewhat stiffly on the bed when Sakura absent-mindedly leaned her head against his shoulder

Author's Note: Hi minna! Is everyone ready for the next chapter? (Dodge's tomato) Alright already, here it is!

They were watching somewhat stiffly on the bed when Sakura absent-mindedly leaned her head against his shoulder. He adjusted his arm, putting it around her shoulders as if it was the most natural thing in the world. And so they watched in peace, their auras mixing, content being in each other's arms. Sakura sighed happily and began to doze off with a slight smile on her face, being lulled into slumber by the comfort and warmth beside her. Outside, the rain had stopped, and the sky was clearing.

Summer cont'd

By: Shayna

Sakura woke with a start. She had just had a terrible nightmare. It wasn't a premonition, she could tell that, but it was a nightmare nonetheless, and it had shaken her. A thin layer of perspiration gleamed on her brow as she took in her surroundings once more. This time, she was where she had been before, just under the covers. To her left was Tomoyo, who must have snuck in earlier that night so she wouldn't wake her. Sakura then glanced at the clock. It was 2:30 in the morning.

Perfect time for a flight, she thought to herself. She felt that she needed to get some fresh air to clear her mind from that horrid dream. She headed for the double French doors and opened them gracefully. She took a breath of the fresh night air and sighed aloud. The clouds had cleared and left everything crisp and new. She then noticed a slight tugging from her magical senses. It felt…green.

She turned her head quickly and was met by the surprised gaze of Syaoran.

"What are you doing here?" they both asked simultaneously. They then chuckled slightly, amused at their same train of thought.

"I'm never asleep at this hour. I usually come out for some fresh air," spoke Syaoran.

"I needed some air, too" said Sakura, "I had a troubling dream."

"A premonition?" His expression was more serious now.

"No, just a stupid nightmare. I wanted to come out here and try to forget about it. I was going to take a short flight." She paused for a moment and then added, "Would you like to come along?"

"Me?"

"No, the other Syaoran standing next to you," she answered sarcastically, "Of course you!"

"I guess. I mean, if you want to be alone, I can just go inside."

"No, it's okay. I could probably use some company. Anyway, you most likely haven't been flying for quite some time now. It's about time you get back off your feet." She then took out her key and summoned her wand and "The Fly" card. Soon enough, she was ready to go. She reached out her hand, silently asking Syaoran to come with her.

What else could he do? Her presence alone made him bend to her will. He was powerless when it came to her. So he reluctantly took her hand and boarded the wand. Without warning, she kicked off the ground and gathered some serious speed in a matter of only a few short seconds. He was caught off guard and gripped her waste lightly on instinct. She jumped a little, surprised by his touch.

"Gomen, ne," he muttered, blushing.

"It's okay. You're just not used to the speed."

He slowly eased his grip, but was still impressed at her flying. She was pulling all kinds of stunts that he had never before witnessed while battling a Clow Card.

She must do this pretty often, he thought to himself. He was amazed at how well she was doing. And she was loving it!

"It really is beautiful," she murmured.

"Yeah."

After she made a few rounds, she descended slightly, right over the lake. The full moon reflecting off of the water gave the two a silvery outline. To him, it was as though she radiated pure beauty. She descended ever closer to the water, and then turned the front of the wand up slightly. The back of the wand dragged over the water slowly, creating a cascade trailing out behind them. She sighed blissfully, which made him smile. Then, she made her way back to the balcony and landed them down gently.

"That probably wasn't the most exciting thing that you've ever done," she started, "but I'm glad you came with me. You're the only one that's ever flown with me before other than Tomoyo."

"I feel honored," he said and mock-bowed to her. She hit him lightly.

"I was just making a point. I don't see you with the power to fly."
"Aw, that was below the belt," he pouted, trying shamelessly to make her feel sorry for him. Of course she didn't, but he was expecting that. "But I really did have a good time, even though we didn't say much."

With that, the two leaned their weight against the balcony, side by side, staring out at the forest, the lake, the sky, the stars, the moon. The moon was especially bright that night, and it cast a warm glow upon them. Syaoran looked up at Sakura and was met by her eyes. She had already been staring at him.

"I like being with you, Syaoran."

"Me, too."

They both realized that they were getting dangerously close to each other, but neither of them cared.

This is it, Sakura, she thought to herself. It's now or never. Just tell him!

They both began to lean slightly closer to each other, their lips mere inches away.

This is it, Syaoran, he thought to himself. It's now or never. Just do it!

They were both looking straight into each other's eyes. The moment seemed to last for an eternity. Neither wanted to move, but just to stay like that, gazing at each other. Syaoran was sure that Sakura could hear his heart beating a thousand times per second, and Sakura was sure that Syaoran noticed how much she must have been blushing.

"Syaoran," she started hesitantly, "I need to tell you something. I…"

But before she could go on any further, he closed the gap between their lips. The kiss was short, but tantalizingly sweet. When he pulled away, she was just staring at him.

Baka! What have you done! What if she never wants to speak to you again?

"I…um," he started. But he couldn't finish before she leaned into him and kissed him the same. It was the identical feeling as before. Brief, but perfectly appealing. When she pulled away, they stared at each other once more.

When he leaned in again, she did as well. And this time, the kiss was much more passionate. His arms snaked around her waist and she clutched his shirt to keep her legs from falling underneath her. It was as though the whole world exploded into some brilliant light and the two were the only ones left on earth standing in it. Their auras burst to life with brilliant color, blending and mixing with one another. The warmth of it all was absolutely incredible, and both felt it equally as strong. It was like heaven on earth. Complete and utter bliss.

They eventually pulled away for some air, and were left gasping slightly from lack of oxygen.

"That was nice," breathed Sakura.

"Yeah," he agreed. Then, couldn't hold it back any longer. He had to tell her.

"Sakura, I care about you more than I care about anyone in the whole world. Ever since I met you, you have been the one right thing in my life. I get up in the morning just to see you. I don't know what I would ever do without you…I…I love you, Kinomoto Sakura."

She just stared at him. Surprised by his sudden display of emotion. But then her own emotions took over.

"Syaoran…I…don't know what to say. I had no idea that you felt like that. But…I'm so glad…because I love you too, Li Syaoran."

And with that, they kissed again; a long, fervent kiss.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, Tomoyo awoke to find that she was in an empty bed. Strange, she thought, Sakura's never usually awake early by choice. And yet, there was no Sakura there, as there had been the night before.

Curious, Tomoyo wandered downstairs to find Eriol on the couch reading a book. Wonderful smells were coming from the kitchen.

"Is Syaoran cooking us breakfast again?" she asked.

"Well, good morning to you, too, my love!" Eriol greeted her. "And yes, Syaoran is in the kitchen cooking breakfast with Sakura."

"Oooh! Where's my cam…" but before she could finish, Eriol held up her camera, fully loaded and charged. She scurried over to get it, pecked him lightly on the lips and murmured a simple, "Ohayo!" before hurrying off.

When she arrived at her hiding spot by the swinging door, she peeked through and saw Syaoran and Sakura standing side by side over the stove. Sakura was giggling about something and Syaoran poked her side. She burst into another fit of giggles. Tomoyo could hardly contain herself.

Suddenly, Sakura stiffened slightly and bent over to whisper something in Syaoran's ear. He grinned widely. At this point, Tomoyo was practically falling over. She only wished she knew what they were talking about. I shall call this little episode, 'The Secret.'

While talking with Syaoran, Sakura had, of course, sensed Tomoyo's presence, so she formulated a quick plan in her head. She leaned over to Syaoran and whispered to him.

"Tomoyo's over by the door spying on us like yesterday," she started. "You know how she's always bothering us with her camera? Well why don't we keep the fact that we're together a secret and absolutely agonize her?"

Syaoran grinned widely. He liked the sound of that. After all that Tomoyo had put them through, it was time for her to get a taste of her own medicine.

"Breakfast is almost ready, Eriol! Is Tomoyo up yet?" Syaoran called carelessly into the living room.

"She probably is now that you've woken all the other forest creatures with your deafening voice!" Eriol half-lied, covering for Tomoyo who was rapidly tromping away from her spying grounds.

Sakura shot Syaoran a smirk. Knowing fully well that they had scared Tomoyo from her hiding place, Syaoran pulled her in for a quick kiss. She grinned. Sakura then got all the plates out and set the table. Syaoran served equal portions of scrambled eggs, waffles, bacon, and toast to everyone. Sakura poured the orange juice. (AN: Yes, I know, it's completely an American breakfast, but I'm not quite sure what they eat for breakfast in Japan, and the above food happens to sound quite appetizing to me at the moment.)

A few minutes later, Eriol and Tomoyo sauntered into the kitchen and took their seats.

"So," Tomoyo began, "what brings you up so early this morning, Sakura?"

"Do I have to have a reason to want to see the sun rise?"
"You were up at dawn?!?"

"Don't act so surprised, Tomoyo. It's not everyday that I'm up in such an area as this!"

"I know, I just never thought that you'd ever willingly wake yourself before the sun!"

Sakura then stuck her tongue out at Tomoyo and proceeded with the meal. Of course, she was thinking of a few hours earlier when she sat snuggled in Syaoran's arms, watching the sun peek above the horizon and cast it's reflection over the lake. It had been the most peaceful moment she could remember in a long time. They didn't say anything to each other, they just sat together, cozy in the other's arms, in the company of nature.

"So, what do you guys want to do today?" asked Eriol.

"I actually thought it might be fun to go out on row boats," suggested Syaoran nonchalantly. Tomoyo raised an eyebrow at Eriol, whose expression matched hers exactly. It seemed suspicious to both of them that Syaoran suggest such a…well…sappy thing to do.

"We can all fit in one boat, right?" asked Sakura, pretending that she didn't want to be alone on a small boat with Syaoran.

"Um…we'll see," said Tomoyo, now only thinking about getting some more alone time with Eriol. She brushed aside the fact that Syaoran had suggested the boat ride and was now solely concentrated on putting it into effect.

Yes, I know, it's not the longest chapter I've written, but it's eventful. I just wanted to get this out to you before I lost any readers, as it may be the last chapter I get out for a while. I'm going to be extremely, super-duper, totally, fully, absolutely, thoroughly, completely, and utterly busy for the next week and a half or so (I'm involved in waaaaaay too many activities) so don't expect very much for a while. I have like a bajillion school projects and I'm up to my head in after-school events, so my free time is going to be non-existent for a little while. (Kami-sama, I can't wait for summer!) But I do hope you enjoyed this installment, and I would LOVE some reviews. Thanks again to all those who have been faithful readers! I appreciate every comment! Bye for now!