DISCLAIMER: I don't own ccs, if you don't realize that by now, your weird.
a/n: behold! my return to fanfic-dom.
She looked up to see him standing in the door way, a manila envelope and two dresses in hand. She dropped the paper she was holding. "Oops," she smiled wryly. "I forgot to go to the dry cleaners."
"Not a problem," he said. "Tomoyo said you might have forgotten. I..eh...just need you to tell me which belongs to whom."
She smiled at him and went over to look at the clothes. "Tomoyo's, and mine," she took the one that was hers. What's in the envelope, Syaoran?" she asked.
"The pictures from the other day."
Sakura pulled them out. It was beautiful.
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"What's this?" she had asked, pointing to the papers that had come in the mail for her.
"They're papers?" Syaoran responded.
"No, silly, what do they mean?"
Syaoran read the first line and stopped. What was he going to tell her? "We kinda joke about this, Sakura," he started. His throat felt dry. They were only 16, and he was forcing her to make a decision that would change the rest of her life. "You know how my family is."
"Do I?"
"They still follow the old ways. You remember, when you visited them, everyone still followed the old traditions to a certain extent?" Sakura nodded. "I can choose, or they can choose for me...."
"Syaoran, you aren't making any sense."
He sighed. He knew she didn't like him the way he liked her. This was wrong, even talking about it in a serious manner. They had talked about their respective futures; Syaoran's had always included a certain green eyed girl, but he never told her so. "I turn 18 in two years."
"What then?"
"I need to choose...I need to choose someone to be with..." he ended with a question in his eyes.
Sakura blinked. "You do? So what do these papers have to do with anything?"
"It's to show you, the kind of life I lead. In Hong Kong. I get a lot of attention. If you...are...if you..say...I mean. If I take you home...that's the kind of life you'll lead...."
"Take me home?"
Sakura wasn't understanding. "Look, Sakura, when I turn 18, I need to tell everyone else who I want to spend the rest of my life with. Who I want to marry."
"Oh," she commented. "OH!" she repeated, realizing that her best friend was asking her to marry him. "You want me to marry you?"
"I - "
"Syaoran, I'm sixteen. I didn't exactly plan on making any kind of decision like this for another decade."
"I know, I - "
"It's not fair to you..." she added quietly.
"They are already being generous by letting me choose."
"And Syaoran? I'm touched that you're asking me but let me point out that we're 16. What if I'm not the one you want?"
"It's better than having them choose for me."
She looked at him. Her best friend. She had never expected anything like this, even though, in the back of her mind, she knew something like this would happen. After all, she knew his family. "What does this mean?"
"Sakura, you...I..."
"Syaoran..."
"Sakura, you already own everything I have to give..."
Sakura's eyes widened, and she looked away from Syaoran's intense gaze. It was a love confession he had just given her. Had she realized before? Had she known that he had loved her? She owned everything he had to give... Syaoran, realizing he was making her uncomfortable, offered to leave. She wanted him to leave her alone, but she needed him there to anchor her to reality.
"No, don't leave," she whispered in an almost inaudible tone. He touched her arm. Sakura cringed. "Don't touch me..."
He sat down, hurt. "Do you hate me?"
"I don't know."
"Did you read the papers?"
"Yes."
"Oh."
"I'm sorry," he offered after a long pause.
"What's there to be sorry for?"
"Your answer will change the rest of your life."
Syaoran watched Sakura closely. He couldn't tell if she was angry or irritated, or what? He left her that day, not knowing an answer to his question. And for the next year and a half, they pretended nothing happened that day.
Then she turned 18. She watched Syaoran closely, knowing that the day was soon approaching when he would ask for an answer. "Syaoran? Who would you be marrying if I say no?" This was the first time they had referred to that day since that day.
Syaoran looked at Sakura, whose face was a mask. "I don't know," he started slowly. "Meiling possibly?"
"You don't like her much do you?"
"Not particularly."
"Can I say yes then?"
"You what?" he was taken by surprise.
"Yes. I'll go home with you. Yes. I'll stay with you. But I have to ask you a question first."
"What?" he whispered, breathless.
"Do you love me?"
"Yes."
"Will you respect me?"
"Yes."
"No lovers on the side?"
"Yes."
"Do-"
"Hey, that's more than one question."
She grinned. "Last one. Can I kiss you?"
"Do I get to choose where?"
"No," she answered, kissing him heartily on the lips.
"Was that out of love?"
"I don't know. It felt like the right thing to do."
"So now it's my turn to ask questions," he stated. "Do you love me?"
Sakura hesitated. "I'm not sure yet."
Syaoran nodded. "But you're still willing to say yes?" Sakura nodded. "What if you find someone else?" he asked.
"If I told you I was saying yes to save you from an arranged marraige would you believe me?"
"Is that the truth?"
"I don't know."
So Syaoran made the announcement to his family. Two years later, they wed , and moved to Hong Kong. Sakura realized how much influence she had in Hong Kong. It was a great responsibility, but she handled it well. And to the outside world, it seemed as if the new Mr. and Mrs. Li were a courteous couple, reality was that they were shy of each other. Syaoran had promised Sakura that he would not force her in any way.
For five years, they danced a fragile dance, each trying not to overstep the boundaries that they set for each other. She went back to Japan one day. Her father passed away. Syaoran offered to go with her, but she wanted to go alone. Her best friend, Tomoyo meet her at the airport, Sakura flew there for intending to stay a week, but stayed a month instead. "I'm trying to find myself, Syaoran," she told him over the phone.
"You never call each other by pet names, you never say you love him, what's going on Sakura?" Tomoyo asked.
"I think I love him, but I'm not sure."
"Why did you marry him in the first place then?"
Sakura wanted to tell Tomoyo, but she couldn't bring herself to. One day, after a month, Tomoyo had left Sakura alone. Boredom over took her quickly. She looked at the phone. "I miss you," she whispered. She had always missed Syaoran, but had never told him, or even said it to herself. They had promised each other that they would be friends first. Love would come when they were ready for it. And some mornings, when she woke up finding herself snuggled against her husband in name, she would wonder if that ticklish feeling in her chest was love.
Sakura picked up the phone and slowly dialed the number for home. "Syaoran left on a business trip," his mother answered. So, he had left on a trip and not told her. Her heart hurt. He hadn't told her where he was going. She hung up without responding. A tear slid down her cheek. He had gone away without telling her.
The door to the apartment opened. "Sakura! I'm back. Look at-"
Sakura looked past Tomoyo to the figure standing behind her. He looked stricken. Sakura wiped away the tears. Tomoyo stepped aside. Syaoran, jerkily moved to Sakura's side. "Why are you crying?"
"I missed you," she stood up and whispered in his ear. Tomoyo slipped out of her apartment, recognizing a private moment when she saw it.
"I missed you too. Is that why you're crying?"
"You left and didn't tell me where you were going."
"I wanted to surprise you."
"I love you."
Syaoran looked at Sakura. She returned his gaze with a quizzical look. "What?"
"I never took you on a honeymoon."
She laughed. "Is that important?"
"Do you want to go home?" He kissed her and tightened his arms around her.
"Now?"
"Let's stay awhile." He let his hand wander slightly.
Understanding what he suggested, she led him to her room. "Tomoyo would kill us if we were in the living room and she walks in."
He chuckled. "Did you know we still own the apartment I lived in all those year ago?"
"Then really, let's stay here for a while," Sakura scribbled a note to Tomoyo and pulled Syaoran out the door.
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Sakura fingered the black and white printout Syaoran had handed her. They had been in Japan for half a year, and Sakura was visibly pregnant. They would have flown back to Hong Kong, but the mere thought of stepping on an airplane now made Sakura empty her stomach, so their baby was going to be born in Japan.
The papers told everyone at home before they even told their family.
a/n: Review! Look for updates of my other stories in the next two weeks. ;p