With You
Tomoeda was sweltering. Children played in the spray of water hydrants opened by the city to cool off the young inhabitants. Public pools were packed with people desperately trying to cool off from the mid August heat. In the distance, the roads looked as if they were waving as heat radiated off the blacktop. It was quite possibly the hottest summer the town had ever experienced.
Inside the apartment, Sakura busily rushed from the kitchen table where her wedding plans lay to the coffee table in the living room where still more plans were sprawled. Tomoyo cranked up the air, waving her hand in front of her face. In her playpen, Cadence slept comfortably, her thumb stuck in her mouth.
"Tomoyo, how many people did I have invited to this?" The brown haired woman called into the living room where Tomoyo stood ready.
"Including Syaoran's family and friends, a little over two hundred should be coming. Why?" Tomoyo asked, pouring over notebook papers covered in Sakura's loopy scrawl.
"Well, I think I'll need another table, but I have no idea where to put it!" Sakura answered, resting her hand against her forehead. Tomoyo walked out to look at what Sakura was looking at, her violet eyes perplexed.
"I thought we had it all worked out. Twenty tables of ten, right?" Tomoyo asked, taking out a calculator and making certain she was right.
"Well, I keep counting, and I'm getting twenty one!" Sakura cried, staring at her crude drawing of the setup for her reception. Tomoyo looked for a moment, then grinned at Sakura.
"You're counting the head table as well. Honestly, woman!" Tomoyo giggled, gathering her coal colored hair into a ponytail as she laughed. Sakura thought about it for a moment, then shook her head and closed her eyes as she smiled.
"Wow. . . "Sakura muttered. She set the paper down and searched through the mess until she found an older looking paper.
"Okay, the master list of accomplishments I need to get accomplished. We've got the invitations picked, addressed, and sent. We've got the cake order in and ready. We've got bridesmaid dresses and the tuxes, Cadence has her flower girl ensemble. We've got the flowers for the reception, and the flowers for the church picked out. The church itself is picked out. We've got the limo taken care of, and the caterers lined up along with the reception hall. What are we missing?" Sakura said to herself, reading the list aloud.
"Dress. It's seven weeks before the wedding, and you don't have your dress picked out!" Tomoyo pointed out. Sakura groaned and slapped her hand against her forehead.
"That would be a good thing. I almost completely forgot about it!" Sakura cried, grabbing a catalogue and searching the pages for the dress of her dreams.
"Mommy!" Nineteen month old Cadence cried, rising to her feet in her playpen. She rubbed the sleep out of her green eyes and stared at her mother intently, as if demanding her attention. Sakura picked the child up, untangling a curl as she walked back to Tomoyo.
"I don't think I'm ever going to find one I like, Tomoyo." Sakura said wistfully, turning some pages as Cadence played with her hair happily.
"Leave it to me, then. I'll make one for you that's elegant but simple. It'll be perfect." Tomoyo offered. Sakura tried to decline, saying it was too big of a job and there wasn't enough time.
"I'll hear nothing of it. Give me the next five weeks to work on it, and then we'll be all set." Tomoyo stated firmly, closing the argument. Sakura sighed and smiled gratefully before setting the book aside and gathering her papers.
"We're ready then!" Sakura piped cheerfully, reciting some baby talk to Cadence as she giggled.
Meanwhile, Syaoran was on a mission to find a wedding band for Sakura. The engagement ring he had given her was just a simple silver band with a small diamond embedded in the heart of it. Now he was looking for something small and simple, the kind Sakura liked. He and Eriol had been searching the jewelry stores of Tomoeda all day in the scorching heat, but had turned up empty handed at every location.
"Syaoran, this is the last store in Tomoeda. If you want to order one from out of town, we can hop on the internet at the office and find something." Eriol complained as they sauntered down the street slowly, their blazers draped over their shoulders.
"We'll stop after this place, I promise. I'm ready to get home." Syaoran said, his voice showing his exhaustion. Sweat glistened on his brow as he wiped it away with the back of his hand.
"Okay, here goes nothing." Syaoran muttered as they opened the door to the last jewelry store in Tomoeda.
The blast of cold air made Eriol and Syaoran imagine they were in heaven as they entered the quiet store. Jewelry cases lined the walls and showcases highlighted the middle of the sales floor. Syaoran walked along every case, examining all the various cuts and sizes of stones available.
"They're all too big. Sakura doesn't like huge diamonds." Syaoran said to himself, walking to the rear of the store.
"I don't think you'll find what she'll like here." Eriol whispered, running a hand through his bluish hair with frustration. Syaoran nodded, until his amber eyes caught sight of something in the very top corner of the last case.
"Maybe I will. . . "Syaoran murmured, moving to the case and looking inside with interest. He pointed out the ring to the jeweler, who took it out and handed it to Syaoran.
"Perfect." Syaoran said, showing Eriol the ring he had found. It was a simple silver band, but had hearts cut into it. The finishing touch was what looked like a ribbon cut into the silver that seemed to tie the hearts together.
"That's definitely Sakura." Eriol stated, smiling as Syaoran nodded. He handed the ring back to the salesman to ring up. They'd accomplished their task.
"I just want to get home to our air conditioned apartment and relax." Eriol said wearily as the two of them drove back to the apartment, ring in hand. They opened the door to find Sakura, Tomoyo, and Cadence all sleeping soundly at the table, papers strewn about like a ticker tape parade.
"They must have been working hard." Syaoran said, smiling softly. He gently lifted Cadence out of her mother's arms and placed her in her crib before going to take a quick shower. When he returned to his room, he found Sakura curled up on their bed, her eyes half open.
"I see how it is, Li Syaoran. Put the baby to bed, but not the fiancée?" Sakura said sleepily. Syaoran smiled lightly and curled up beside Sakura, letting her rest her head against his chest.
"You looked like you had a rough day, so I didn't want to jostle you twice." Syaoran whispered, his amber eyes meeting Sakura's emerald ones as she looked up at him and smiled.
"It was a huge day. But we're all set now. In less than two months, we're going to be married." Sakura said as she smiled softly at Syaoran. She turned over onto her stomach, and Syaoran grazed the skin on her shoulder with his fingers tenderly.
"I can't wait." Syaoran whispered, kissing Sakura's lips quietly. The kiss began to pick up heat when the sound of Cadence babbling stopped them. Syaoran sent Sakura a 'guess we'll have to wait' look before getting out of the bed and getting Cadence out of her crib. He returned to the bed, letting Cadence snuggle up in between Sakura and himself.
'I've got the best family a man could ask for.' Syaoran thought after Sakura and Cadence had fallen asleep. They looked so peaceful as they slept, two similar looking angels calmly resting. Syaoran moved a curl from Cadence's face and some stray strands from Sakura's before settling down beside them and draping his arm around them both.
"Tomoyo come look at this, and bring your camera." Eriol called quietly, motioning for Tomoyo to come look into Sakura and Syaoran's room. Tomoyo walked over and brought her hand to her mouth as she kept in an 'awwww'.
"This is the perfect photo opp!" Tomoyo whispered, snapping a couple pictures of the sleeping family. She leaned against Eriol as she looked on with him at the happy couple and their child.
"Will that be us someday, Eriol?" Tomoyo asked quietly as they turned and walked back to their room. Eriol let Tomoyo walk in, watching her as she sat down at her vanity and brushed her hair.
'Sooner than you think, Tomoyo. Sooner than you could ever imagine.' Eriol thought as a smile flooded his face.
Hey guys, thanks for reading! I think I lost a lot of my reviewers from the whole absence and all, but it's all good, because I know a few cool people are still reading and enjoying the fic, and to me that is all that matters. Have a great day!