AN: Hey everyone! Oh. My. Gosh. I have over 80 reviews... do you how incredibly crazy that is? I never expected to get more than 10 to be perfectly honest with you. You guys really like this story this much? Awwwww, you have no idea how flattered I am, I'm literally sitting here with my mouth open, shaking my head in disbelief. Wow.
Oh, and I'm quite sure Syaoran wouldn't mind going back with Sakura, he kinda has to stay there and rule an entire country/empire/whatever you want to call it. And nope, the last chapter wasn't the last chapter, although sad to say this is the last chapter. I kinda don't want it to end, I've liked this but oh well... life must go on, and so must the story.
My goodness, you know, I never thought I'd get so many reviews... see what my original plan was - I was going to thank everyone individually for reviewing but I have so many reviews and so many people... But I do appreciate every single review I've gotten from everyone; I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Now, I think you'd much prefer if I stopped all the "thank you, thank you" business and get down to the story correct? So, here you go.
Always & Forever
Loving You Always and Forever
"Hi daddy, hi Touya," she said as the two people rushed to her, squeezing the life out of her in their bear sized hugs. She felt tears fall down as she hugged them back, not believing they were with her. "I'm so sorry, so sorry," she whispered to them, her voice shaky from all the emotion that had its sudden outburst. Her father moved back and looked at her, his face streaked with tears as well; he stroked her hair lovingly.
"Where have you been, Sakura? We were both so worried," her father said. Sakura apologized to them once again, but this time Touya put a hand over her mouth and shook his head. Sakura felt her heart break at the sight of her big brother, who was tried and looked pale and incredibly skinny. She nodded, then took both of their hands, leading them to the living room.
"Sit down, both of you - it's a really long story." She said taking in a deep breath to begin. She told them everything, how she got there, how Agnes had planned everything from the start, meeting new and old friends, her encounter with ghosts. It was especially hard for her whenever she mentioned Syaoran's name; and struggled when she got to the part where they confessed they were in love with one another. Touya and Fujitaka exchanged glances before letting her continue. When Sakura got to the part about her mother, her father and her brother fought back tears.
A few hours later she finished and looked at their faces. She leaned back against her couch and tears threatened to spill again, but they didn't get the chance to because she fell asleep instantly. Touya picked her up and carried her to her room, placing her gently on the bed. He stood there, staring for a second, then pulled the chair and placed it in front of her bed and sat there, watching her sleep. He knew his sister well enough to know that she was hurting, but she wouldn't leave them. He stayed like that all night, protecting Sakura as she slept.
Their father came upstairs after a while to see what was taking so long. He saw Touya and walked quietly in, and put a hand on his shoulder. Sakura's disappearance had been horrible and took a lot out of them, now she was back home with them, unharmed in any way. But although she was there with them, her heart was elsewhere. "Maybe we should go back with her," Touya suggested to his father, not looking away from his sister. There was no reply, and Touya didn't expect one, but what he did get was only a sigh.
"Let's wait and see how things go," was the only reply received. Touya nodded his head slowly. He hoped Sakura would be able to live with them, and that things would go back to normal, but he highly doubted that.
Sakura arose in the morning with sunlight warming her face. She kept her eyes closed as she stretched in her bed, smiling. That was when she remembered that she actually was in her bed, at home. She opened her eyes and saw her room exactly the way she left it, with no dust on it either. They must have kept it clean for me , she thought as she looked around. Her gaze stopped on her brother, who had fallen asleep in the chair. It as actually quite funny, he was sitting on the chair with his head resting on his hand. Sakura giggled and when she did, Touya's eyes opened. He squinted for a moment then yawned. Sakura got out of bed, walked over to him, as he stared at her, smiling crookedly. She kissed his forehead, surprising him. "Go back to sleep, I'm not going anywhere, I promise."
The next few weeks passed by in a blur for Sakura. She felt that whatever she was doing, she didn't do it whole-heartedly. Everyone was so happy to see her back, and she too was overjoyed to see them, but the pain in her heart didn't go away. She walked around depressed and sulking by herself as often as she could, missing Syaoran and her friends more than ever. She certainly didn't want anybody to worry about her, not after they had spent all that other time worrying. She wanted them to be happy, and it wasn't that she was unhappy, she felt as if part of her had died. The sparks in her eyes were no longer there, and her smile wasn't as bright and cheerful as before.
Although she tried to hide her feelings around her family, they knew exactly what was going on. Often when she'd go walking or up to her room, her father and her brother saw clearly that she was missing her friends. They thought maybe with enough time, she could forget the other world, but they both knew that it would be impossible for her to do that. This especially bothered Touya, he often heard her crying at night till she fell asleep, but she kept on her act for the sake of them. His happiness was in that of Sakura's, and he was willing to go back to wherever it is she came from, if only to see her smile a true smile, with all her heart. But it was his father he was uncertain about; only he could make that decision.
Then one day the doorbell rang and she suddenly heard Touya yelling at the top of his lungs. She ran downstairs to see what the big fuss was all about. "Why the hell do you want to see her? I've never seen you around, how do I know you're not just sick hentai kid?" Touya raged. There was no reply from the person at the door, just silence. Sakura sighed and pushed Touya out of the way, immediately feeling sympathy towards the poor person.
"Touya, I told you not to be rude to my friends," she scolded him then she turned to see who was at the door and froze. Her heart seemed to be beating so fast and so hard; she couldn't believe what she was seeing. Maybe this was another dream, yes - that had to be it, she was just dreaming. Was it possible that this guy standing in front of her house had a twin, there's no way that's possible. The person in front of her door had brown messy hair; liquid amber eyes and was giving his death glare to Touya.
"Syaoran?" she whispered, thinking that she was most definitely dreaming by now. He stopped glaring at Touya and when his eyes fell on Sakura, they softened almost immediately and he smiled. He smiled only for her, and that was when she knew she wasn't dreaming. "Syaoran!" she yelled and hugged him, praying she'd never have to let go of him. He hugged her back, not ever wanting to let go either.
"Hey you gaki! Get your hands off my sister!" Touya yelled at them. Touya knew who it was before Sakura had even whispered his name, and although he loved his sister, he still couldn't help being just a bit over protective. But Sakura, not knowing about this, turned around and looked at him, trying not to glare at her older brother. Then again she was so happy that Syaoran was here with her.
"Touya!" she told him, her voice getting dangerous and he stopped. He turned around and she knew he went to call their dad. "Come on in," she said, grabbing hold of his hand and dragging him inside. She brought him into the living and sat down on the couch. "Tell me everything!" she said and he laughed, then she pouted. "Stop laughing at me!"
"No pillow this time, huh?" he commented and she just stuck out her tongue at him, making him laugh more before he put his arms around her. She closed her eyes, enjoying every moment. "Everyone is ok, I mean they're still sad about you not being there anymore, but they're getting by. Tomoyo misses you a lot though, more than the others." He told her and she grew silent.
"What about you?" She asked quietly and he looked around her house instead of looking at her. "Syaoran," she said when she heard no answer, moving away to look at his face, only then did he look at her. She looked in his eyes and knew he didn't have to say anything. She hugged him again, taking him his scent of autumn before moving back. "I've missed you too," she told him and before he could say anything, she kissed him.
"Um, should I come back later?" Fujitaka asked interrupting them. They quickly stood up very red, and instead of trying to hide his smile, he smiled very brightly. So this was the guy who had stolen his daughter's heart. This was a rather interesting way of meeting him, but nonetheless, his daughter was smiling again and it was because of this man.
"Uh, dad, this is -," she started but knew she didn't need to continue. She had talked on countless occasions about Syaoran. Syaoran bowed, still red resisting the urge to laugh nervously. This wasn't exactly how he had wanted to meet Sakura's dad... so much for a good first impression , he thought.
"Nice to meet you sir," Syaoran said, feeling himself starting to sweat. He knew he might have trouble with Touya, Sakura's brother, but he definitely didn't want any trouble with her father. He seemed like a nice enough guy, although he still didn't want to take any chances, he made sure he wasn't standing too close to Sakura. After being away from her for such a long time, it took every bit of strength not to hold her and kiss her that very second.
"And it's nice to finally meet you, Syaoran," he replied. Things went good after that except for the fact Syaoran and Touya kept glaring at each other. They spent the entire day in the living room talking; Syaoran wanted to know as much about Sakura's family as possible. At the end of the day, Syaoran stood up and Sakura looked at him confused.
"It was really nice meeting you, but I'm afraid I have to leave now," he said, sadness obvious in his voice. Sakura felt her heart break into tiny little pieces all over again, she hadn't even thought about that. He bowed to both her dad and her brother and made his way to the door, Sakura following behind.
"I'll walk you to the park," she said, knowing that's probably where he came from. He nodded at her, and then bowed once more towards her family as he stepped out of their house. He looked back once more and saw her dad and her brother there, watching them go and he smiled. Fujitaka smiled back, while Touya growled. They both walked silently, hand in hand to his destination. When they reached where he was supposed to leave, he stopped and let go of her hand.
"You have a really nice family, Sakura," he told her, avoiding looking at her again. Neither one of them said anything for a while then Sakura put her arms around him and let her head rest on his shoulder, blinking back the hot salty tears that threatened to fall.
"Yeah, and they like you too," she told him sadly. "Do you have to leave, Syaoran?" she asked him and he sighed. He knew that when he decided to come, that leaving would be just as hard as the first time, if not harder. He now cursed himself for hurting her like this, but he didn't regret coming to see her - as selfish as the thought may seem.
"Yes, I do," he said, his voice full of regret. "Do you have to stay?" he asked her this time and she honestly thought about it, not for the first time though. She looked at him and he gave her a small sad smile. "Ashiteru my cherry blossom," he whispered to her.
"Ashiteru my little wolf," she whispered back. He cupped her face, and got lost in her deep emerald eyes, feeling a heavy lump rise in his throat. He kissed her and let go of her and walked through the portal. She felt the tears fall down again and scowled for letting herself be too soft. She walked back home slowly, thinking about the day. It was so much fun, her father really did like Syaoran, and they got along perfectly fine. If only they would come back with her then everything would be perfect.
The next couple of days Sakura had given up on trying to be happy for her family. They knew she was depressed as it was, so there was no point on pretending to smile and laugh. She knew it was wrong, but every night she wished on a star that she'd somehow get to be with Syaoran and all of her other friends again. But doubt had blinded all the hope that she had; she knew how likely something like that would happen and every night she would dream of Syaoran and herself being together. That only made things harder for her.
She was walking through the park and suddenly stopped at where the portal was supposed to be. She didn't know how long she stared at that one spot, debating on whether to just jump through it and into Syaoran's arms or not. When she finally realized what she had been thinking, guilt filed through her. She couldn't just leave her family here! She ran home, tears escaping and she slowed down only when she saw the door of her house. She opened the door and heard her dad calling her to the living room again.
She quickly dried her tears as she entered and saw that he and Touya had serious looks on their faces. She sat down and wondered what was going on, but asked no questions, she'd find out soon enough. "Sakura, we know that you have been miserable here and you're my daughter, I want to see you happy. When Syaoran came, you had such a happy look, a look I haven't seen in such a long time. That's why your brother and I have decided that you go back." Her father said, and Sakura just stared back at them, not understanding. "And we, will go with you. We know that is the reason why you chose to come back. So I suggest you go pack if you want to surprise your friends tonight."
Sakura still stared at them trying to comprehend everything that her father just said to her. She looked at their faces, and saw them smiling, even Touya was smiling at her. She stared now in disbelief and jumped up excitedly all of a sudden, yelling for joy. She hugged her father first and then her brother, showering them with thank you's and kisses and hugs. They laughed at her silly happiness, knowing they had done the right thing and watched her run upstairs to start packing all of her stuff.
Later that night she had everything all packed and so did her family. They left the house and waited for her outside. Sakura walked through the house; memories' coming back to her and felt tears come. She nearly laughed; she was going to miss something one way or the other, whether she decided to stay or go. She walked slowly out of the house and she took one more last look, feeling a bit of sadness wash over her.
Then she led her family to the portal and standing between the two of them, she grabbed a hold of their hand. She looked at them and they nodded, then they all stepped in and when Sakura opened her eyes, she found herself right back in Syaoran's room and a bright smile slowly crawled across her face. Her father and brother looked confused, but she led them to where her room was and they all got ready.
"I miss her," Tomoyo sighed as poked her food; she didn't know how many times she had said that. She had gotten so angry when she found out Syaoran was going to see Sakura and that she wouldn't be able to go. She threw such a fit; Eriol had to use a spell to keep her still from damaging any other furniture they had. She too, had cried almost every night since Sakura left; Sakura was - after all, her best friend.
Everyone eating dinner in the Li dining room was sad and depressed ever since Sakura had left. She had always brought a smile to everyone's faces and made the place happier. Eriol put his had on top of hers and she turned to look at him, her face still sad. He smiled and she smiled back, no matter how sad she was, she still couldn't help but smile back at Eriol.
"I know you do, we all do," he told her and she gave him another sad smile before returning to poke her food. Eriol rolled his eyes then picked up his fork, took some of her food and held it in front of her mouth as if feeding a baby. Tomoyo's eyes held a bit of amusement, and opened her mouth for him to feed her. A laugh erupted from her, and Eriol felt himself sigh in relief knowing she was laughing again. She quieted down and leaned her head against him, not caring if everyone saw.
"I just want to see her again," she said breaking the quietness that surrounded them and Eriol kissed her forehead, telling her that it was ok. Suddenly the entire place turned dark, and then a light pink shade filled the room. Everyone looked around wondering what was going on and suddenly through the doors. Eriol shook his head at himself, wondering how he could have missed her aura like that while Tomoyo's face brightened up.
Sakura came walking through with a huge smile on her face with her father and Touya behind her. "Miss me much?" she asked no one in particular as her friends ran up and hugged her one by one. Yelan walked up to Sakura and embraced her.
Syaoran, who had not moved from his seat when he saw Sakura walk through the doors, backed up just a bit when he saw his mother hug Sakura. Then the next thing Yelan did was she went on to start a conversation with Fujitaka. Syaoran just watched everything Sakura did, before slowly pushing his chair back and walking towards the woman he loved. Sakura on the other hand, hugged Tomoyo tightly and put something in her hand and when she saw what it was - she jumped up and down, screaming.
"Oh Sakura! I love you, I love you, I love you!" she said still jumping and showed everyone her new toy. "This is great, now I can really tape you and Syaoran together!" she exclaimed as Sakura wondered if getting her friend that video camera was such a good idea. She rolled her eyes, and that was when she saw Prince Yukito and walked up to him.
"Hello," she told him and he smiled gleefully at her.
"Sakura! You're back!" He said, glad she was here, and then surprised her by hugging her. She laughed and hugged back, nodding - or trying to.
"I was wondering if you could do me a favor, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind talking to that person over there," she said pointing to Touya. Yukito smiled at her and nodded. "You see, he's my brother and he doesn't know anyone here, so if perhaps you could talk to him..."
"Sure, no problem Sakura. Anything else I can do for you while you're at it?" He said cutting her off, and she thought for a moment, then shook her head.
"No, that's all. Arigatou Yuki," she told him, bowing and he walked over to where Touya was. Sakura watched as the two engaged in a conversation and smiled knowing that her brother wouldn't be lonely living here. She suddenly felt two hands cover her eyes and she smiled. She turned around although she didn't need to know who it was.
"Hey! That's cheating!" Syaoran said as she saw him. They didn't say anything, instead he took hold of her hand and they headed towards his garden. The sun was setting and they sat down against a Sakura tree together. For the longest time they didn't say anything to each other, he was just there holding her and Sakura was more than fine with that. "I'm happy you came back," he told her softly and she smiled.
"I'm happy I came back too," she commented. "Dad and Touya said they know I've been miserable and that I should come back and that they were coming too. It was great, I couldn't wait to see you all again." she said, not bothering to hide the excitement in her voice. Syaoran's arms tightened around her. "I couldn't live without you," she told him softly and he kissed her forehead.
"I couldn't live without you either, not when there are so many Sakura trees in my own garden," he said making her laugh. She looked at him and gave him a smile that showed pure love. "Sakura -," he started then paused. Sakura stared at him, smiling to encourage him to go on.
"Yes Syaoran?" She asked, hoping nothing was wrong, although right now at that exact moment, that idea seemed impossible. Syaoran gulped then made her stand up with him. She looked at him curiously, wondering what he wanted to talk to her about. He cleared his throat; he was never really very good at this.
"Sakura, you're the only girl that's ever made me feel this way. Since that day when you fell into my room, I had been trying to hide any feelings I had towards you. But then, the more I got to know you and spend more time with you, I fell deeper and deeper in love with you. You truly are an angel; I would die for you over and over again if only to keep you safe and see you smile. There isn't a second that goes by when I'm not thankful for you being in my life. I love you Sakura, more than I've loved anything before. I love you with all my heart and soul and everything that's in me and I can't live my life without you next to me. I love you always and forever," he said in the softest voice Sakura had ever heard. She felt tears come to her eyes and she gasped when she saw Syaoran go down on one knee, taking her hand and slipping a ring on her finger.
"Sakura, will you please do me the honor of being my wife?"
Sakura stood there, with one hand over her mouth in shock, her other hand being held by Syaoran's. Syaoran looked up at her, fear and doubt ripping him to shreds at that very second. He had originally planned on asking her to marry him before, but then when she decided to go back, he erased the thought. Now that he had her back, he didn't want to lose her ever again. He waited patiently although every second silently killed him.
Sakura looked at him, then at her ring, still not moving. The ring was exquisite; shaped like a cherry blossom, a rather large diamond in the middle of the flower was surrounded tiny little pink zycons and green emeralds in the shape of the petals and little leaves. She was speechless; she had no idea how to react of what to say. She looked at Syaoran, seeing his eyes filled with hope and reflecting his love for her. She smiled shakily as she said in a voice a little higher than a whisper, "Yes."
Syaoran stared at her for a moment, not being able to take in what she said. He looked away, making sure he understood her correctly. Maybe he didn't hear her right, or maybe because he wanted her to say yes so badly he imagined it. He looked up at her and when he saw her eyes shining bright with tears, the smile that made her glow and he saw her nod. He ran his hand through his hair, smiling. Yes, she had said yes! She wanted to marry him, she said yes!
Sakura giggled at the look on his face, the disbelief then the joy. He stood up and lifted her in the air, both of them laughing in complete happiness. He spun her around and then placed her down, hugging her and burying his face in her neck taking in her scent. They were both excited and were laughing and finally somehow they both managed to calm down a bit, or at least stop the laughing. Syaoran looked at his soon to be wife, and she smiled at him.
"I would be honored to be your wife," she whispered to him, a tear sliding down her cheek. He raised his hand and wiped it away as she smiled. "Ashiteru Syaoran," she said, this time not sad - but smiling.
"Ashiteru Sakura," he said, and this was by far his biggest and cutest smile.
"How kawaii!" Tomoyo whispered as she taped the two lovebirds. She couldn't believe her luck; not only did Sakura get her a video camera, but also she managed to get Syaoran proposing to Sakura on tape. Suddenly Eriol pushed the video camera down and she looked at him. "What?" she asked, wanting to know why he was stopping her from taping them?
"Nothing," he said and kissed her before she could say anything else. When he moved away, she was a little shocked and pleased. "Marry me," he whispered in a husky voice, close to her face. Tomoyo held her breath, thinking she heard wrong. "I may not have the words to describe how much you mean to me, hell, I don't even think there are any words to express how much I love you and care for you. But I do know that I can't live my life without you, you are my everything Tomoyo. Without you, there is no me, and without you, there is no life. Say you'll marry me, love, be my wife."
Eriol stared into her eyes and before he knew it, she had practically jumped on him and kissed him. He laughed and heard her laugh too. "I'll take that as a yes," he said before kissing her again.
Tomoyo pulled away and then with her head faced towards the sky and her arms pumped up in the air she yelled, "Yes! Yes Eriol Hiiragizawa, I'll be your wife!" She continued to laugh as Eriol hugged her, lifting her feet off the ground. When she moved away to see his face, trying to control her breathing, she moved his bangs away from over his eyes. "Yes," She whispered to him. "More than anything in the world, I want to be your wife." She told him, smiling, tears of joy also present on her face. Eriol smiled at her then kissed her once more.
Syaoran and Sakura noticed and heard (AN: yet again might I add) that same noise they heard in the woods and smiled at each other. But instead of scaring the couple again, they decided to leave them be. They were too happy in their own little world to go scare off their best friends. Sakura smiled happily as she closed her eyes, leaning on Syaoran. She was finally happy after all this time; she was back to a place where she called home, she had her family with her, her friends surrounded her, and she was going to marry the man she loved. She looked up into his amber eyes; and Syaoran pulled Sakura into a kiss and the rest of the world disappeared except for the soft cherry blossoms falling all around them.
AN: So... what do you think? Well? Well? Well? Wow, I must say I'm quite pleased with myself for getting this done, especially with all the romance. Jeez, you should have seen the first time I tried to write a romance story but that's another subject. Actually – I had lots of help writing this – I would never be able to write this on my own… too much romance! Tell me what you think please, I went and hurried to put this up for you guys since I was getting so many great reviews. Let me know if there was too much fluff, not enough, sequel or no sequel... I need your ideas people. It's kinda sad actually, that I've finished this... hmm... oh well, don't forget to check out my new fanfic I have up although I must admit it isn't the greatest, check it out sometime ok? Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed, once again; it's greatly appreciated. Hope you're happy with this story. Bye!