Moving On

Rain pelted the roof and flooded the streets. Syaoran hurried to the door as the bell rang. When he opened it, Sakura was standing there, soaking wet, in a long purple dress. For some reason, she was smiling.

"Good morning, Syaoran," she exclaimed as he pushed her inside. "I… I came here to help you around the house. I'm very sorry about Meiling…"

"Thank you, Sakura," Syaoran replied as Sakura sneezed. He snatched a blanket from a nearby couch and draped it over her shoulders. "You… shouldn't have come here… you're catching a cold now. Go put on some of Meiling's clothes."

"A-are you sure?" Sakura asked, startled. "I mean, don't you want her room to stay the way it is now?"

"I did, but I don't want you to get sick. Go try something on."

Sakura paused, then finally nodded. She rushed off to Meiling's room, sneezing. She came out of Meiling's room minutes later, sporting a short pale pink spring dress with a sash and a bow in the back with a matching bow in her hair.

"Wow, I didn't know Meiling's clothes were so… beautiful…" she murmured as she went to show Syaoran. When she modeled it for him, he stared, wide-eyed, at Sakura.

"It… it looks… nice…"he stuttered as Sakura twirled in front of him happily. Suddenly she stopped.

"I still… I feel like Meiling wouldn't want me to be wearing this…" Sakura trailed off, as if sucked into a daze.

"She'd be happy," Syaoran smiled, "that her clothes weren't going to waste."

Sakura smiled back. "What should I help you with, then?"

"You don't have to help," Syaoran explained as Sakura went into the living room and started dusting. "I mean, you have chores of your own, right?"

"Those can wait," Sakura said as she changed her course to the lamp on the other side of the room. Syaoran sighed. It was no use arguing with a stubborn Sakura. "You're more important."

"Th-thank you…" Syaoran responded quietly. He helped her as she dusted.

A few hours later, the house was spotless, and Syaoran and Sakura both sat down on the couch tiredly. They were definitely a little closer now, and they had had some laughs as they had cleaned the house.

"That was actually really fun," Sakura laughed as she got up to make both of them cups of tea. Syaoran grabbed her hand.

"Sakura," he answered as she turned to stare at him. "I… wanted to thank you… again. I feel a lot better now after yesterday."

"Anything for a friend." Sakura left for the kitchen and came back a little bit later with two cups of green tea. She and Syaoran talked for hours. Finally, Sakura looked at her watch. "It's already 4:00! Syaoran, I have to go."

"I'll walk you home," Syaoran offered. "That is, if you want me to."

"You bet!" Sakura jumped up and snatched Syaoran's hand. Then they left the house.

"We're here," Syaoran said quietly. "You can come over whenever you want. It's nice to talk to you."

"Same here." Sakura gave Syaoran a quick kiss on the cheek and ran inside. Syaoran stood in his position for a few moments, wondering if she was going to come back outside, but he left anyway.