Hello, ERJ here, and I wanted to say a bit before I start this chapter..as
in: HIYA!!!!
Lol, I have some reviews to acknowledge:
Zidane~~ Konnichi wa! Like so far? Yes, I tell you who the lady is in this chapter, and OF COURSE S+S get back together! I'm not that cruel!
Nekoi~~ lol I like your crazy side. A bit scary but..oh well! Hello Soujiro! Nice to meet you! Thank you for reviewing. Actually, about chapter 9, that was the longest one yet and you said it was short...whatever, you were right about chappie 7, and I apologize for it. I really just wanted it to be with Meiling and Sakura there though. It seemed like a good place to stop. Again, Arigatou gozaimasu and keep reading! You're a very good reviewer (honest to a tee ^-^).
Sam~~ Hello! Hmmm..are you confused about who the girl is or what's going on in the story? I think the latter is fairly obvious, but I'm sorry if I'm doing a bad job here! Thank you for taking the time to review! ^-^
Melly L~~ Yeah, it would kind of be weird for it to be Kero, but then again, as you said, cool. It isn't him though, as you'll find out in this chapter. I would picture him as more of a tomboy too. (What with all of the video games and stuff) Sorry! Arigatou for reviewing!
Jenna-chan~~ Umm...hmmm..tough Sakura..can't change the plot now! Sorry doll! But I would otherwise. Thanks for the review! I'm really enjoying 'Song of the Fairies' so update soon!
Well that's it for reviewers!
ON WITH THE FIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!(I just LOVE saying that every once in a while!)
Chapter 9- Just a Random Snogging Session
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The Sense Card stumbled into the room. Her face was flustered, and she looked a bit panicked like she had just run a long way.
"Hey Sense. Come in, have some water."
"Thank you Mistress," it said. Its voice was now soft and high-pitched, but not too high. The hint of a Southern accent was gone, and it was replaced with an English one, its natural one, as Sakura made it while she was visiting Eriol there.
It walked over to the bedside table where Sakura was, and picked up the glass that Sakura had been drinking from just a minute ago. It drank deeply and, with a normal person, half of the clear liquid would have landed inside of them; but when the Sense set the glass down, there was the exact same amount inside of it there was before.
"Ah, that was very refreshing," it said, and sat on Sakura's bed.
"You know I don't need hydration, Mistress. Why are you so kind?"
Sakura sighed and swung around to the edge of the bed next to her card.
"I don't know, maybe because people have always been so kind to me and it makes me happy to see others happy..." Sakura had a sad look on her face as she said this. All those times she had let Syaoran and Meiling go off together when they were younger so Meiling would be happy, she had just been denying fate. And now, look where it had brought her. She had been alone for 5 years because she hadn't acted on her feelings, and tried to make others happy before herself.
And while Sakura was thinking about this, another thought struck her, one that she hadn't realized until now. Why hadn't Syaoran ever told her his marriage with Meiling was staged?
"But Mistress, I'm not human."
"Yes, but I'm sure you have feelings, and, whether we like it or not, it'll all just come right back at me if I'm unkind. 'Treat others the way you would want to be treated'."
Sense nodded, and Sakura stared straight ahead, her mind wandering in circles about the situation. After a few minutes of just sitting there because Sakura hadn't dismissed her card, she asked, "So, what did he say?"
Sense smiled sadly. "He WAS at a bar, but he couldn't talk. He was too busy with some woman by the name of...what was it again? Oh, Katrina, and they were having a whole bunch of drunken...fun."
Sense smiled mischievously, and looked over at Sakura as her emerald orbs widened and then narrowed.
"Tell the truth Sense, or I'll have to make an image of the moment with Illusion myself."
Sense, remembering that kiss at the end of the conversation, hurriedly opposed this and spoke of what actually took place.
"No, no, that will be quite all right. Don't get your panties in a twist. He says he loves you, and he can't stop thinking about you. He says he's mad at himself for lying to you, and that he never wanted this to happen. Oh, and he also went on a whole bunch about Mina and how beautiful she is once he said everything possibly good about you over a hundred times." Sakura laughed at this.
"Thanks," Sakura said, smiling. "I needed that."
"No problem, doll-face."
The gold-clad creature stood, gave a peace sign, and turned into yellow strands of light until it was back in the Star Card it had originated from.
The auburn-haired girl knew perfectly well that Sense was exaggerating, and that his was a sad, drunken tale, but she also knew that he HAD said he was sorry, and that was the important part. The problem was that Sakura decided she still needed to know why he never told her. Maybe...maybe she just never really gave him a chance to explain himself. She hadn't had the guts to sit down and just talk as if she was a normal human being. What would she have said, anyway? How had it all begun?
Well, she had handled a daughter single-handedly (with Tomoyo's camera and baby clothing on the side) for five years. She had juggled a crying, yelling, learning, running, eating, speaking, screaming, tantrum-throwing, spaghetti-mess-making baby girl with a low-paying job. She had turned an infant into a young girl, and taught her how to be kind, gentle, courageous, understanding, and witty, even without the love of her life: that child's father.
He did nothing. He didn't call, didn't write, didn't visit, nor sent gifts. And now... How had she even found herself in Hong Kong, China in the first place?
Oh yes, that's right. Her daughter, her brilliantly stubborn and heart- following daughter, ran off to find her father. But didn't she say she had won a contest of some sort? The only reason she wanted to go was to see him.
And then, she saw so much of Syaoran in Mina's eyes too. There was the powerful magic, the determination, the stubborn need to protect their loved ones, and the thirst for battle. Minako had loved action-adventure books since she had learned how to read.
But Mina also held all of the kindness and simple enjoyment of life that Sakura had. She could fall asleep in a bed of flowers, smiling whilst she dreamed. She could find the best in every situation, and make the most boring times extremely fun.
Mina had inherited so much from both Sakura and Syaoran, but Sakura was surprised she hadn't learned anything from her Aunt Tomoyo (Aunt because, as Tomoyo put it, Godmother made her 'sound like a grandma'). Little did she know...
~*Mina, with...guess who. :)Z) *~
"But Aunt Tomoyo, she'll never fall for it."
"Fall for it? Oh Minako-chan, my darling, there is something I believe your mom hasn't let on to you yet."
Mina gave her a confused look.
"Sakura-chan, as wonderful as she is, is extremely naïve."
Eriol just sat in his huge comfy chair behind them and sighed, wiping his face with his hands and rolling his eyes.
"Women..."
*~Back to Syao-chan ^-^~*
Syaoran thought about the strange woman's words.
'She loves you, you know. Clean yourself up and go back. She's waiting.'
What had THAT meant?
He kicked an empty cola can on the cement in front of him, his hands in the pockets of his tan jacket. He had left the bar fifteen minutes ago, and was thinking about that night's weird happenings.
Today was definitely...different.
As he was walking Syaoran noticed something in front of him. It was a small piece of paper, and something was typed on it in red ink. Normally, he never picked up dirty pieces of paper on the ground, but something drew him to it, and he felt like he was meant to see what it said.
So he bent over and retrieved it, wondering why the heck he was doing it. He realized it was one of those 'Chinese fortunes' the tourists bring. They get them from restaurants in America somewhere.
On the front, in English letters, it read:
Fear is the enemy of true love.
Syaoran raised an eyebrow at it. What was THAT supposed to mean?
He turned it over, hoping to find an answer. The other side said:
Cherry blossom~ Sakura- pronounced 'Sah-koo-rah.'
And then the Chinese characters for cherry blossom were at the bottom.
Ironic, and fitting...
Syaoran knew just what was happening. Life was screaming in his face, and he didn't want to hear it. It was like your mom telling you to go to bed early, and you know you'll be tired in the morning, but, right now, all you want to do is stay up and play video games. Well, Syaoran was playing Super Mario Brothers, and losing. What was the point of doing what you shouldn't do if you're not getting anywhere?
The point was he was scared. He didn't want to go to bed, because there were monsters under the bed, in the closet, making shadows...
Sakura was the comfy bed, and the monsters were his apology. The shadows were his guilt and her anger and sadness that would form.
He would have to go to sleep some time.
Syaoran folded the paper, put it in his back pocket, and went back to his car.
He would sleep soundly tonight and dream of an angel.
~*the palace/mansion/thingy where Syao-kun lives...*confuzzled**~
"PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAASE MOMMY? I wanna see you swim!"
Sakura sighed. She had been on the swim team as a teenager, and when 'Aunt Tomoyo' had told little Minako of this, the young girl was determined to witness her mother's skill.
"Mina, I'm not all that great..."
"Oh shut up Mommy, and get in the pool!" Mina was getting angry.
Sakura raised her eyes, a bit shocked at Mina's exclamation.
"Well, if it's that important to you..."
"Thanks mommy!"
Sakura smiled and began taking her bathrobe off, revealing her bare shoulders and the straps of one of Meiling's swimsuits.
"Oh wait!"
Sakura quickly pulled her robe back on. It was cold out, and if she could get out of this...
"I forgot to get you a towel! I'll be back in a few minutes, you just go ahead and start, ok mommy?"
Sakura sighed, defeated, and nodded.
Unknown to the emerald-eyed woman, Mina wasn't really getting a towel, but heading behind the bushes to talk to her partner in crime.
"Now, all we have to do is wait for the Little Wolf. Nice one, my little prodigy," Tomoyo said slyly behind a nearby bush as she pulled out her camcorder.
"I know I'm wonderful, Aunt Tomoyo, I learned from the best." Mina grinned wickedly and pulled out a smaller, identical video camera of her own.
~*~
Syaoran parked his car and got out, running a nervous hand through his hair. He walked through the front door and into the bathroom, where he washed his face and shook his head to wake up from his inebriated night. The pain in his head had faded about an hour before, and left him very tired. He brushed his teeth and sighed, then began towards the stairs.
But, out of the corner of his eye, Syaoran saw something move to his right, outside of the large sliding glass doors. A silhouette of a woman taking off a long bath robe was seen. He couldn't see her features clearly, but it was enough to take his breath away.
He snuck closer, wondering who it could be. Was it Meiling? Tomoyo? They were too slim to be one of his sisters...
He snickered at the thought. Those four nuisances really were getting old...
He shouldn't have gotten any closer...what if he was caught?
Caught? Where had that thought come from? He was just innocently finding out who was in his backyard...right?
Well, it was a good alibi.
He watched as the figure turned and walked towards the clear-blue water in the pool, illuminated by lights underneath the surface.
Who the heck would swim at such a late hour? She dived in, her movements perfectly controlled, and he watched the water encase her in a silvery-blue rush. She swam deeper, her face away from him, and her long hair flowed like silk in the water. He was fascinated by the graceful, mermaid-like movements.
And then Syaoran thought of something. He concentrated on the figure before him, and he found himself reading her aura easily.
It was Sakura. Why hadn't he seen it before? It was so obvious.
She began doing fast laps around the pool. She wouldn't see him.
He walked to the edge.
So what should he do now? He had to say something to her...anything.
"S-Sakura?" he called tentatively. She didn't hear him.
"Sakura"
..... ... ...
"SAKURA!"
He spoke as loud as he dared in the night, but by then she had dipped underwater and was diving into a handstand.
'Wow, she has nice legs...'
Syaoran felt his jaw drop slightly as he watched her.
'AHH!!! What am I doing?' He thought. 'Ah well, we WERE married.'
He sighed, running a hand through his hair. He really needed to talk to her, and the only way to get her attention was to wait until she was tired or stop her physically...
Syaoran went upstairs to change into his bathing suit.
~*~
Once back by the pool, he grinned evilly. He had been thinking of just what to do, and this seemed appropriate. Sakura was one to forgive easily, but he still wanted to make his point well.
Slipping a water ofuda (Thankies again, Nekoi!) into his swim shorts' pocket, he slowly slid into the cool, clear-blue liquid and paddled to the edge where Sakura would end up sooner or later.
She was doing laps underwater, holding her breath for as long as possible, and wondering what Mina thought of her swimming abilities. She was unaware of the muscular bare chest in front of~
OOMF
Sakura lost the hold on her breath as she hit Syaoran's chest and her eyes opened wide in shock as she resurfaced. What could have~
"Hello, my Cherry Blossom. I see you've been taking a midnight swim. Did I startle you?" he asked in a tempting voice. Sakura felt herself loving it as shivers ran up and down her spine. His fingers traveled to her bare back and up her spine, increasing the shivers to small jolts of wonderful lightning. She was dizzy with his touch and closed her eyes, when she realized what was happening.
"Wha-what are you d-doing here...Li?" She couldn't trust herself to call him Syaoran at the moment.
"I came to apologize."
Sakura was a bit surprised, but she was so glad this was happening.
His strong hand left her back and reached into his pocket for his ofuda.
Her skin suddenly felt extremely cold under the water.
"Water," he whispered near her ear, for they were by now extremely close, and, in Syaoran's hand beneath the surface, the water worked together to form a flower, where it froze in a perfect rose position. He revealed the element's masterpiece slowly, and gave it to Sakura as he placed his arm around her waist so that she could hold it.
Her breath caught in her throat. She had no idea he had this much gentle, detailed power over the ofudas.
"I've been practicing since I left so many years ago and arrived in Hong Kong. I knew I would have to make it up to you. For five years with out a father, husband, or soul mate with you, a simple flower won't fix anything, but.." He bit his lip. He didn't know how she would react to this. "I was hoping that you would accept me again, to fulfill that role..."
She smiled, her eyes dancing with love and happiness.
"You wouldn't..." Sakura was so amazed that she didn't know what to say.
He gulped, worried that his gallant apology wasn't working. If only he knew...
"OH SYAORAN THIS IS BETTER THAN ANYTHING I'D EVER HOPED FOR!!!!!!!"
His look of concern broke from his face and a crazy, love-struck smile overcame his features. Sakura, in her ecstasy, flung her arms around her beloved. And then, after burying her head in his glorious cinnamon-brown hair, she pulled her head back, her mouth lost its smile, and an almost curious look of longing replaced it.
Syaoran was grinning, no, smirking, as her soft pink lips reached his. It was so gentle a kiss, but held so much passion. Time had seemed to stop, and Syaoran felt his lips tingle with a fire that had been dormant in his heart for way too long.
Sakura pulled back, lost for words.
"I.."
He silenced her with his lips.
And then it deepened, and Syaoran noted that Sakura still tasted like fresh- picked strawberries after a rainstorm.
Her fingers entwined themselves in his hair as were his in her chocolate locks. Oh, how she had been longing for this for so many years! It was as if she was being filled again, as if the part of her that she left back in Tomoeda Elementary school when she first fell for Syaoran was returning to her. When she opened her eyes and broke from the man in front of her the stars shined brighter, the moon cast a more brilliant, silver light, and Syaoran's eyes shone with a brilliance that had also been left with their 12-year-old selves.
(A/n: ok, please don't ask me how they stayed floating. Let's just...say they were in the shallow end! Yeah, that's it! Ack, I'm sorry. I tried to fix it but they kind of needed to have their hands all over each other to make it the way I wanted it to be, lol.)
~*~
"OH SYAORAN THIS IS BETTER THAN ANYTHING I'D EVER HOPED FOR!!!!!!!"
Meiling, Eriol, Feimei, Fuutie, Fanren, and Shiefa sat up straight in their respectable beds, eyes wide.
"NANI?!?!!?!?"
Each was thinking their own thoughts about the yell coming from the pool area, and soon every one of them had rushed to the aforementioned place.
Each woman's eyes glazed over and sparkled as they sighed, "Kawaii!!" simultaneously.
Eriol just mumbled, supposedly too tired for this sort of thing, "Mou, it's just a random snogging session. We knew they would get together soon enough." But he was smiling and there was a glimmer in the azure depths of his eyes.
Tomoyo and Minako were rolling on the ground, laughing until they were in tears at the way Sakura had presented her feelings. Good old Sakura: always cheerful.
~*~
Eventually, the two camcorder-wielding blackmail-taping fiends popped from the foliage and ran over to the friends and family still happily witnessing the two lovebirds staring into the other's eyes.
And then, Sakura heard something from the corner of her mind.
Was that...clapping?
Both she and Syaoran looked up simultaneously to find almost the whole mansion (save the elders) standing before them and applauding them in the middle of the night.
"H-HOOOOOOOOEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE?!?!?!?!"
~*~*~*~*~**~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
YAY! Next chapter Tomoyo, Eriol, and Mina reveal to everyone how they plotted and got Syaoran and Sakura together!
Plus, everyone faces the evil ELDERS!!!
DUHNDUHNDUHN!!!!
It'll prob. be the last chappie though! *cry*
Love forever,
~*ERJ & Fiend
PS: My Rabid Mongoose Dog (MRMD) says "Hi!" and reminds everyone that flames shall be used to toast marshmallows! (But you can yell at us for not writing cause that means you like the story and were sad a chapter wasn't up. Just don't be too harsh. ^-^;;;)
Lol, I have some reviews to acknowledge:
Zidane~~ Konnichi wa! Like so far? Yes, I tell you who the lady is in this chapter, and OF COURSE S+S get back together! I'm not that cruel!
Nekoi~~ lol I like your crazy side. A bit scary but..oh well! Hello Soujiro! Nice to meet you! Thank you for reviewing. Actually, about chapter 9, that was the longest one yet and you said it was short...whatever, you were right about chappie 7, and I apologize for it. I really just wanted it to be with Meiling and Sakura there though. It seemed like a good place to stop. Again, Arigatou gozaimasu and keep reading! You're a very good reviewer (honest to a tee ^-^).
Sam~~ Hello! Hmmm..are you confused about who the girl is or what's going on in the story? I think the latter is fairly obvious, but I'm sorry if I'm doing a bad job here! Thank you for taking the time to review! ^-^
Melly L~~ Yeah, it would kind of be weird for it to be Kero, but then again, as you said, cool. It isn't him though, as you'll find out in this chapter. I would picture him as more of a tomboy too. (What with all of the video games and stuff) Sorry! Arigatou for reviewing!
Jenna-chan~~ Umm...hmmm..tough Sakura..can't change the plot now! Sorry doll! But I would otherwise. Thanks for the review! I'm really enjoying 'Song of the Fairies' so update soon!
Well that's it for reviewers!
ON WITH THE FIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!(I just LOVE saying that every once in a while!)
Chapter 9- Just a Random Snogging Session
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The Sense Card stumbled into the room. Her face was flustered, and she looked a bit panicked like she had just run a long way.
"Hey Sense. Come in, have some water."
"Thank you Mistress," it said. Its voice was now soft and high-pitched, but not too high. The hint of a Southern accent was gone, and it was replaced with an English one, its natural one, as Sakura made it while she was visiting Eriol there.
It walked over to the bedside table where Sakura was, and picked up the glass that Sakura had been drinking from just a minute ago. It drank deeply and, with a normal person, half of the clear liquid would have landed inside of them; but when the Sense set the glass down, there was the exact same amount inside of it there was before.
"Ah, that was very refreshing," it said, and sat on Sakura's bed.
"You know I don't need hydration, Mistress. Why are you so kind?"
Sakura sighed and swung around to the edge of the bed next to her card.
"I don't know, maybe because people have always been so kind to me and it makes me happy to see others happy..." Sakura had a sad look on her face as she said this. All those times she had let Syaoran and Meiling go off together when they were younger so Meiling would be happy, she had just been denying fate. And now, look where it had brought her. She had been alone for 5 years because she hadn't acted on her feelings, and tried to make others happy before herself.
And while Sakura was thinking about this, another thought struck her, one that she hadn't realized until now. Why hadn't Syaoran ever told her his marriage with Meiling was staged?
"But Mistress, I'm not human."
"Yes, but I'm sure you have feelings, and, whether we like it or not, it'll all just come right back at me if I'm unkind. 'Treat others the way you would want to be treated'."
Sense nodded, and Sakura stared straight ahead, her mind wandering in circles about the situation. After a few minutes of just sitting there because Sakura hadn't dismissed her card, she asked, "So, what did he say?"
Sense smiled sadly. "He WAS at a bar, but he couldn't talk. He was too busy with some woman by the name of...what was it again? Oh, Katrina, and they were having a whole bunch of drunken...fun."
Sense smiled mischievously, and looked over at Sakura as her emerald orbs widened and then narrowed.
"Tell the truth Sense, or I'll have to make an image of the moment with Illusion myself."
Sense, remembering that kiss at the end of the conversation, hurriedly opposed this and spoke of what actually took place.
"No, no, that will be quite all right. Don't get your panties in a twist. He says he loves you, and he can't stop thinking about you. He says he's mad at himself for lying to you, and that he never wanted this to happen. Oh, and he also went on a whole bunch about Mina and how beautiful she is once he said everything possibly good about you over a hundred times." Sakura laughed at this.
"Thanks," Sakura said, smiling. "I needed that."
"No problem, doll-face."
The gold-clad creature stood, gave a peace sign, and turned into yellow strands of light until it was back in the Star Card it had originated from.
The auburn-haired girl knew perfectly well that Sense was exaggerating, and that his was a sad, drunken tale, but she also knew that he HAD said he was sorry, and that was the important part. The problem was that Sakura decided she still needed to know why he never told her. Maybe...maybe she just never really gave him a chance to explain himself. She hadn't had the guts to sit down and just talk as if she was a normal human being. What would she have said, anyway? How had it all begun?
Well, she had handled a daughter single-handedly (with Tomoyo's camera and baby clothing on the side) for five years. She had juggled a crying, yelling, learning, running, eating, speaking, screaming, tantrum-throwing, spaghetti-mess-making baby girl with a low-paying job. She had turned an infant into a young girl, and taught her how to be kind, gentle, courageous, understanding, and witty, even without the love of her life: that child's father.
He did nothing. He didn't call, didn't write, didn't visit, nor sent gifts. And now... How had she even found herself in Hong Kong, China in the first place?
Oh yes, that's right. Her daughter, her brilliantly stubborn and heart- following daughter, ran off to find her father. But didn't she say she had won a contest of some sort? The only reason she wanted to go was to see him.
And then, she saw so much of Syaoran in Mina's eyes too. There was the powerful magic, the determination, the stubborn need to protect their loved ones, and the thirst for battle. Minako had loved action-adventure books since she had learned how to read.
But Mina also held all of the kindness and simple enjoyment of life that Sakura had. She could fall asleep in a bed of flowers, smiling whilst she dreamed. She could find the best in every situation, and make the most boring times extremely fun.
Mina had inherited so much from both Sakura and Syaoran, but Sakura was surprised she hadn't learned anything from her Aunt Tomoyo (Aunt because, as Tomoyo put it, Godmother made her 'sound like a grandma'). Little did she know...
~*Mina, with...guess who. :)Z) *~
"But Aunt Tomoyo, she'll never fall for it."
"Fall for it? Oh Minako-chan, my darling, there is something I believe your mom hasn't let on to you yet."
Mina gave her a confused look.
"Sakura-chan, as wonderful as she is, is extremely naïve."
Eriol just sat in his huge comfy chair behind them and sighed, wiping his face with his hands and rolling his eyes.
"Women..."
*~Back to Syao-chan ^-^~*
Syaoran thought about the strange woman's words.
'She loves you, you know. Clean yourself up and go back. She's waiting.'
What had THAT meant?
He kicked an empty cola can on the cement in front of him, his hands in the pockets of his tan jacket. He had left the bar fifteen minutes ago, and was thinking about that night's weird happenings.
Today was definitely...different.
As he was walking Syaoran noticed something in front of him. It was a small piece of paper, and something was typed on it in red ink. Normally, he never picked up dirty pieces of paper on the ground, but something drew him to it, and he felt like he was meant to see what it said.
So he bent over and retrieved it, wondering why the heck he was doing it. He realized it was one of those 'Chinese fortunes' the tourists bring. They get them from restaurants in America somewhere.
On the front, in English letters, it read:
Fear is the enemy of true love.
Syaoran raised an eyebrow at it. What was THAT supposed to mean?
He turned it over, hoping to find an answer. The other side said:
Cherry blossom~ Sakura- pronounced 'Sah-koo-rah.'
And then the Chinese characters for cherry blossom were at the bottom.
Ironic, and fitting...
Syaoran knew just what was happening. Life was screaming in his face, and he didn't want to hear it. It was like your mom telling you to go to bed early, and you know you'll be tired in the morning, but, right now, all you want to do is stay up and play video games. Well, Syaoran was playing Super Mario Brothers, and losing. What was the point of doing what you shouldn't do if you're not getting anywhere?
The point was he was scared. He didn't want to go to bed, because there were monsters under the bed, in the closet, making shadows...
Sakura was the comfy bed, and the monsters were his apology. The shadows were his guilt and her anger and sadness that would form.
He would have to go to sleep some time.
Syaoran folded the paper, put it in his back pocket, and went back to his car.
He would sleep soundly tonight and dream of an angel.
~*the palace/mansion/thingy where Syao-kun lives...*confuzzled**~
"PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAASE MOMMY? I wanna see you swim!"
Sakura sighed. She had been on the swim team as a teenager, and when 'Aunt Tomoyo' had told little Minako of this, the young girl was determined to witness her mother's skill.
"Mina, I'm not all that great..."
"Oh shut up Mommy, and get in the pool!" Mina was getting angry.
Sakura raised her eyes, a bit shocked at Mina's exclamation.
"Well, if it's that important to you..."
"Thanks mommy!"
Sakura smiled and began taking her bathrobe off, revealing her bare shoulders and the straps of one of Meiling's swimsuits.
"Oh wait!"
Sakura quickly pulled her robe back on. It was cold out, and if she could get out of this...
"I forgot to get you a towel! I'll be back in a few minutes, you just go ahead and start, ok mommy?"
Sakura sighed, defeated, and nodded.
Unknown to the emerald-eyed woman, Mina wasn't really getting a towel, but heading behind the bushes to talk to her partner in crime.
"Now, all we have to do is wait for the Little Wolf. Nice one, my little prodigy," Tomoyo said slyly behind a nearby bush as she pulled out her camcorder.
"I know I'm wonderful, Aunt Tomoyo, I learned from the best." Mina grinned wickedly and pulled out a smaller, identical video camera of her own.
~*~
Syaoran parked his car and got out, running a nervous hand through his hair. He walked through the front door and into the bathroom, where he washed his face and shook his head to wake up from his inebriated night. The pain in his head had faded about an hour before, and left him very tired. He brushed his teeth and sighed, then began towards the stairs.
But, out of the corner of his eye, Syaoran saw something move to his right, outside of the large sliding glass doors. A silhouette of a woman taking off a long bath robe was seen. He couldn't see her features clearly, but it was enough to take his breath away.
He snuck closer, wondering who it could be. Was it Meiling? Tomoyo? They were too slim to be one of his sisters...
He snickered at the thought. Those four nuisances really were getting old...
He shouldn't have gotten any closer...what if he was caught?
Caught? Where had that thought come from? He was just innocently finding out who was in his backyard...right?
Well, it was a good alibi.
He watched as the figure turned and walked towards the clear-blue water in the pool, illuminated by lights underneath the surface.
Who the heck would swim at such a late hour? She dived in, her movements perfectly controlled, and he watched the water encase her in a silvery-blue rush. She swam deeper, her face away from him, and her long hair flowed like silk in the water. He was fascinated by the graceful, mermaid-like movements.
And then Syaoran thought of something. He concentrated on the figure before him, and he found himself reading her aura easily.
It was Sakura. Why hadn't he seen it before? It was so obvious.
She began doing fast laps around the pool. She wouldn't see him.
He walked to the edge.
So what should he do now? He had to say something to her...anything.
"S-Sakura?" he called tentatively. She didn't hear him.
"Sakura"
..... ... ...
"SAKURA!"
He spoke as loud as he dared in the night, but by then she had dipped underwater and was diving into a handstand.
'Wow, she has nice legs...'
Syaoran felt his jaw drop slightly as he watched her.
'AHH!!! What am I doing?' He thought. 'Ah well, we WERE married.'
He sighed, running a hand through his hair. He really needed to talk to her, and the only way to get her attention was to wait until she was tired or stop her physically...
Syaoran went upstairs to change into his bathing suit.
~*~
Once back by the pool, he grinned evilly. He had been thinking of just what to do, and this seemed appropriate. Sakura was one to forgive easily, but he still wanted to make his point well.
Slipping a water ofuda (Thankies again, Nekoi!) into his swim shorts' pocket, he slowly slid into the cool, clear-blue liquid and paddled to the edge where Sakura would end up sooner or later.
She was doing laps underwater, holding her breath for as long as possible, and wondering what Mina thought of her swimming abilities. She was unaware of the muscular bare chest in front of~
OOMF
Sakura lost the hold on her breath as she hit Syaoran's chest and her eyes opened wide in shock as she resurfaced. What could have~
"Hello, my Cherry Blossom. I see you've been taking a midnight swim. Did I startle you?" he asked in a tempting voice. Sakura felt herself loving it as shivers ran up and down her spine. His fingers traveled to her bare back and up her spine, increasing the shivers to small jolts of wonderful lightning. She was dizzy with his touch and closed her eyes, when she realized what was happening.
"Wha-what are you d-doing here...Li?" She couldn't trust herself to call him Syaoran at the moment.
"I came to apologize."
Sakura was a bit surprised, but she was so glad this was happening.
His strong hand left her back and reached into his pocket for his ofuda.
Her skin suddenly felt extremely cold under the water.
"Water," he whispered near her ear, for they were by now extremely close, and, in Syaoran's hand beneath the surface, the water worked together to form a flower, where it froze in a perfect rose position. He revealed the element's masterpiece slowly, and gave it to Sakura as he placed his arm around her waist so that she could hold it.
Her breath caught in her throat. She had no idea he had this much gentle, detailed power over the ofudas.
"I've been practicing since I left so many years ago and arrived in Hong Kong. I knew I would have to make it up to you. For five years with out a father, husband, or soul mate with you, a simple flower won't fix anything, but.." He bit his lip. He didn't know how she would react to this. "I was hoping that you would accept me again, to fulfill that role..."
She smiled, her eyes dancing with love and happiness.
"You wouldn't..." Sakura was so amazed that she didn't know what to say.
He gulped, worried that his gallant apology wasn't working. If only he knew...
"OH SYAORAN THIS IS BETTER THAN ANYTHING I'D EVER HOPED FOR!!!!!!!"
His look of concern broke from his face and a crazy, love-struck smile overcame his features. Sakura, in her ecstasy, flung her arms around her beloved. And then, after burying her head in his glorious cinnamon-brown hair, she pulled her head back, her mouth lost its smile, and an almost curious look of longing replaced it.
Syaoran was grinning, no, smirking, as her soft pink lips reached his. It was so gentle a kiss, but held so much passion. Time had seemed to stop, and Syaoran felt his lips tingle with a fire that had been dormant in his heart for way too long.
Sakura pulled back, lost for words.
"I.."
He silenced her with his lips.
And then it deepened, and Syaoran noted that Sakura still tasted like fresh- picked strawberries after a rainstorm.
Her fingers entwined themselves in his hair as were his in her chocolate locks. Oh, how she had been longing for this for so many years! It was as if she was being filled again, as if the part of her that she left back in Tomoeda Elementary school when she first fell for Syaoran was returning to her. When she opened her eyes and broke from the man in front of her the stars shined brighter, the moon cast a more brilliant, silver light, and Syaoran's eyes shone with a brilliance that had also been left with their 12-year-old selves.
(A/n: ok, please don't ask me how they stayed floating. Let's just...say they were in the shallow end! Yeah, that's it! Ack, I'm sorry. I tried to fix it but they kind of needed to have their hands all over each other to make it the way I wanted it to be, lol.)
~*~
"OH SYAORAN THIS IS BETTER THAN ANYTHING I'D EVER HOPED FOR!!!!!!!"
Meiling, Eriol, Feimei, Fuutie, Fanren, and Shiefa sat up straight in their respectable beds, eyes wide.
"NANI?!?!!?!?"
Each was thinking their own thoughts about the yell coming from the pool area, and soon every one of them had rushed to the aforementioned place.
Each woman's eyes glazed over and sparkled as they sighed, "Kawaii!!" simultaneously.
Eriol just mumbled, supposedly too tired for this sort of thing, "Mou, it's just a random snogging session. We knew they would get together soon enough." But he was smiling and there was a glimmer in the azure depths of his eyes.
Tomoyo and Minako were rolling on the ground, laughing until they were in tears at the way Sakura had presented her feelings. Good old Sakura: always cheerful.
~*~
Eventually, the two camcorder-wielding blackmail-taping fiends popped from the foliage and ran over to the friends and family still happily witnessing the two lovebirds staring into the other's eyes.
And then, Sakura heard something from the corner of her mind.
Was that...clapping?
Both she and Syaoran looked up simultaneously to find almost the whole mansion (save the elders) standing before them and applauding them in the middle of the night.
"H-HOOOOOOOOEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE?!?!?!?!"
~*~*~*~*~**~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
YAY! Next chapter Tomoyo, Eriol, and Mina reveal to everyone how they plotted and got Syaoran and Sakura together!
Plus, everyone faces the evil ELDERS!!!
DUHNDUHNDUHN!!!!
It'll prob. be the last chappie though! *cry*
Love forever,
~*ERJ & Fiend
PS: My Rabid Mongoose Dog (MRMD) says "Hi!" and reminds everyone that flames shall be used to toast marshmallows! (But you can yell at us for not writing cause that means you like the story and were sad a chapter wasn't up. Just don't be too harsh. ^-^;;;)
