Agent08 Reporting for Duty!

"..." - talking
italic font - thoughts

Now...on with chapter twenty!

Mother Knows Best, Right?

After everyone had left the other night, Yelan was more proud of her son than any other time she'd been in her life. More proud than when he had walked his first steps, more proud than when he had gotten high honours when he was being home schooled. What she felt back then did not compare to what she felt the other night. Such pride was filled her body. And some people may ask, "Why would she feel that way when her son only announced his engagement to a whole bunch of people?" And that answer would be, that she had watched her son, not only announce his engagement to a lot of important people, he had proclaimed his love for the woman that would be the most important person in his life.

Of course she knew that Syaoran was only accepting the engagement because of her, and all the other people that want him so badly to be married to the Princess of Japan. But, being his Mother, she knew him inside and out. Even when she was pregnant with him, she knew it would be a boy. She knew him like no one else - even better than Sakura. So she knew, not just by the look in his beautiful amber eyes which he had inherited from his Father, but she knew deep down in her heart that he truly loved her. Not just as a friend, but as something more. Something so much more.

When all the guests had filed out of the room, Yelan ran up to Syaoran in a fast pace. He was in the middle of saying goodbye to all of the guests when she threw her arms around his neck, and began to kiss him all over his face. His groans of protest were muffled by the sound of her big, wet kisses. Everytime her lips made any contact with his face, she would make a big smacking noise, and Syaoran hated it when she did that.

"Mother!" Syaoran whined, grabbing a hankerchieft from his pocket, "What was that for?" and he began to wipe all the lipstick stainds from his cheeks.

Yelan gave him an angry, and displeased look. "Xiao-Lang, are you using a tone with your Mother? What have I told you about doing such things? I told you that..."

"If I ever do any of those horrible things, you'll be making yourself look bad, not just yourself, but your entire family. I know, Mother. I know! And I'm sorry, I just wanted to know why you were kissing me to death. You know you almost cut off my air supply with your grimy hands all over my face?" Syaoran said, mimicking his Mother's voice in the beginning of his sentence.

Yelan looked at her hands, and inspected them thoroughly. "Why, Xiao Lang...My hands don't appear to be grimy..."

Syaoran smacked himself in the forehead. "Nevermind, Mother. Now, do you mind explaining to me what your death kisses were all about?"

Yelan smiled and kissed him once more on the cheek. "Oh, son! I was so proud of you up there! When you were on that platform, you captivated the eyes and hearts of everyone that was listening to you! You really gave it your all, and everyone was just so pleased with your performance! Honestly, my idea was just terrible! I'm glad you went with your own thing," Yelan paused, and shuddered at the thought of her horrible idea. "Ugh, just handing Sakura the bracelet and showering her with all those cherry blossom petals? Pathetic! That 'I love you this much' part was absolutely fantastic!"

Syaoran snorted, and looked at his Mother disbelievingly. "Mother, you're speaking as if I were an actor in a play. But then again, I kind of am." He added thoughtfully. "It's not like I actually love Sakura..." and he trailed off, caught up in his many thoughts.

Was what he said true? Yelan didn't seem to think so. She smirked at her son's poor knowledge of his own heart and feelings. Even she knew that he would come to love her as a wife eventually. But just like loving Sakura as more than a friend would take time, so would realizing it.

Suddenly, someone came up from behind Syaoran, and covered his eyes. He could definitely recognize the softness of the fingers, and the cold feeling he had against his cheek. The cold feeling came from the pink cherry blossom carved petals dangling from the bracelet he had given to Sakura that evening. He instantly knew it was her.

"Sakura," he said, placing his hands on top of hers, and removing them from his eyes. "What is it?" After her tiny hands were off of his eyes, she expected for Syaoran to let them go. But he didn't. He held onto them, as if he'd never let them go. Was she just looking too much into how Syaoran held her hands, or was he really holding them the way she thought he was?

"Oh," Sakura said, "I wanted to give you my present now...I'm sorry to interrupt whatever conversation you and your Mother were having," Sakura added politely, looking to Yelan's direction. She walked towards her, and held a small, velvet case before her. "I'm sorry, Queen, I forgot to give you your present. I would have given it earlier, but I was attacked by everyone wanting to know details about the wedding," she said apologetically.

Yelan smiled. She knew she always liked Sakura. Even though she called Syaoran such crude words, she knew that underneath it all, Sakura never really meant any of it. She took the box from her, and said, "Why, thank you so much, darling! It's absolutely sweet of you to do such a thing," and she wrapped her arms around Sakura's shoulders into what was no doubt a warm hug. "I have a present for you also,"

"Oh really?" Sakura said, eager to receive her gift, "May I have it now?"

Yelan shook her head. Syaoran could've sworn he saw a mischeivous look in his Mother's eyes. And that was never good. "No, darling. Not now. But maybe sometime later tonight. I'm sure you'll like it...Perhaps even love it."

Sakura smiled sweetly. "I'm sure I will!" And without a moment of hesitation, Yelan left the two where they were standing as quickly as she could, so they could spend as much time together as soon as possible.

Sakura dragged Syaoran into his bedroom, where they could be able to have a little privacy. The room was dimly lit, and only two candles were shining brightly through the darkness, flickering wildly as the wax began to melt. The beautiful stream of light provided by the night stars shone through the three windows in his room, giving a shadow to everything in there was.

The room was so cosy and quiet, that both Syaoran and Sakura felt the need to speak quietly. Neither of them spoke in a tone higher than a whisper when Sakura had finally handed her present to Syaoran. "Here," she said shyly, handing him a small, cutely wrapped box. He could tell she wrapped it because it was quite messy around the edges, and Sakura wasn't exactly the best when it came to wrapping gifts.

It wasn't until Sakura had told him to do so that he tore the wrapper off. The pieces of wrapping paper fell to the floor without a sound, and without hesitating; Syaoran opened the tiny brown box, only to reveal before him a cyrstal. Not just an ordinary crystal, but also a wolf carved into one. The wolf was on it's hind legs, his upper body and nose, rising upward. It was suppose to be a wolf, howling towards the moon. Syaoran was speechless.

"Sakura...I..." Syaoran began, but was cut off with Sakura's shy and quiet whisper.

"I understand if you don't like it. I mean...I only bought it just yesterday after my visit with Martha. It was kind of last minute, really. But I thought it looked so beautiful on display that I just had to buy it for you! Can you believe that the guy at the counter forced me to pay in cash? I had to run back to the castle, and back to the shop because of him!"

Syaoran chuckled. The way Sakura had bough his gift for him was kind of the way he had bought his gift for her! "Sakura, I wasn't going to say I didn't like it. In fact, I love it. Thank you so much," he said, wrapping his arms around her small, fragile body.

Caught off guard with the feeling of Syaoran's arms around her body, Sakura shuddered at first. But when she realized what he was doing, she kept her hands to her side, and leaned lightly against his chest, and breathed in his intoxicating scent of peony blossoms. He lifted her from his arms, and smiled from ear to ear. "I love it," he said once again, before pulling her in once more into a tighter hug. A hug in which Sakura hoped would last forever.

xxxxxx

From behind the door, Yelan knew exactly what was going on. She wasn't one to normally eavesdrop, but a Mother has to do, what a Mother has to do. Even if it meant doing something she's never done before...Like eavesdrop on her one and only son.

She giggled at herself, and remembered when she had a love like that. She had only experienced being in love with one man, and that man was Syaoran's Father. Always so strict, and serious about being discpline. Yet, behind his rough and cold exterior, was a gentle, loving man. Syaoran seemed to inherit everything from his Father. Yelan was glad about that also. Not only did he receive his intensity of his lovely amber eyes, he received his astonishingly good looks, and athletic ability. Not to mention a love for sports and fencing.

She was walking back to her room as fast as she possibly could so she could get Sakura's gift ready, but then she remembered Sakura's gift to herself. She was so caught up in all her thoughts and memories that she forgot about the small, red, velvet case in her pocket. Without any hesitation, she plucked it from her pocket, and sat down in the nearest chair. She couldn't help but run her fingers over the soft material before opening it to see what was inside. Her eyes shone with shock when she realized what was in the case.

Shining as if it had just been bought the other day, (which it wasn't, might I add), was Sakura's Mother's engagement ring. As if Fujitaka was predicting the eye colour if his second child, the ring was emerald, and in a circular kind of shape. The light from the hall bounced off of it, casting a green kind of shadow against the wall. Yelan loved it, and promised to herself, right in that seat, that she would never wear it. Not because she didn't like it, but because it wasn't her ring to wear. It was Nadeshiko's, and forever it will be.

She plucked a handkerchief from her breast pocket, and dabbed at her eyes, than blew her nose. It was hard to keep a solemn face when she was being attacked by so many good memories all at once. Dabbing here and there for a final time, Yelan stood up, determined to make Sakura's Christmas gift the best it could be. Sakura seemed to deserve it in Yelan's eyes, after giving up one of her Mother's only prized possessions.

xxxxxx

Sakura tucked herself in bed, and sighed comfortably underneath the warm and silky covers. Her thoughts loomed over to the subject of Syaoran, and how he had been treating her for the last few months. Her heart seemed to lift whenever she thought of that, and suddenly, she came to an idea that just couldn't be possible.

Sakura suddenly sat up bolt up straight in her bed, the covers dangling off the side of the bed. "It can't be!" she said in amazement. "I...I can't! No, Sakura. Calm down," Slowly, she placed herself down onto the bed, into her former position, and began to give herself a pep talk. "Calm down, Sakura. He's just a friend. You're mind is just suffering from the heat, that's all!"

And then another thought struck her, and something from the back of her head had scolded her. "It's winter, you moron!" it screamed. Sakura shook the thought all the way to the farthest part of her mind, and let it rest there, until she finally fell into a deep sleep. A deep sleep, which she didn't know, wouldn't last very long, because someone would come later that night to wake her up.

xxxxxx

By his study table, Syaoran was staring blankly at his Christmas gift from Sakura. The wolf on it seem to be exactly like him. Cold and hard, but when you look closely, you'll be sure to find something beautiful. He sighed, and placed it on a table near the window, where it stayed for the rest of the night.

He changed into his pajamas, and lay quitely on his bed, staring at the black ceiling. He'd never been more bored in his life. Well, maybe he had, but he didn't seem to remember during that time. All he could think about was Sakura, and the present she gave him. The more and more he thought about it, the more and more this preposterous idea seem to be more believable in his mind.

"No," he firmly told himself, "Stop thinking that stupid idea. It's...the heat that's all," and a new thought suddenly bulged from his head, reminding him that it was winter, and there was absolutely no heat at all. But, he ignored the fact all the same, and it wasn't long for him to close his eyes, and drift into a peaceful slumber.

Perched quietly on the table was the crystal wolf, howling at the moon. From behind it was the actual moon, making it look like it really, really was crying out towards it.

xxxxxx

Sakura made a noise in her sleep. It sounded like a, "Mmm...what!" but no one could really make out what she actually said. She tossed and turned underneath the silky blankets, getting them so terribly tangled within each other. She had knocked over the glass of water on her bedside table, causing the glass to shatter.

"Miss Sakura!" someone hissed, shaking her.

Sakura answered with a grunt. "Miss Sakura," the person said a bit louder, shaking her harder than ever, "Please, wake up!"

"Zzz...Zzz...Hmm? Ne?" Sakura half snorted, waking up from her sleep. Though her eyes were barely open, the maid could see that her eyes were quite wary, and she did not get much sleep. She could understand why, because she'd only got into bed three hours ago.

"What is it?" Sakura asked once more, a little bit more aware of what was going on.

"Miss, Queen Li wishes to speak with you. She says it's quite urgent, and that you must meet her in the gardens. Something about a Christmas gift that she needs to give you,"

Sakura gave the maid a puzzled look. "The Christmas gift? By God, it can't be past three am in the morning! Can't the present wait?"

The maid shook her head. "No, Miss. She says it's absolutely urgent and you must go as quickly as possible."

Reluctantly, Sakura got up, and uttered her thanks to the maid. She was such in a hurry to go to the gardens, get her present, and go back to sleep that she didn't even remember to put her robe on. She'd only realized that halfway down to the garden, but she didn't care. It'd only be a quick little meeting for her to receive the gift, right?

xxxxxx

Sakura wandered the gardens aimlessly. It was very dark, and she could only make out the shape of the rose bushes, the many trees, and the beautiful fountain, which had cupid holding an arrow, carved into it. She shivered, as she stopped abruptly to stand infront of the fountain. She was getting very cold, and Yelan wasn't there yet. What was going on?

Suddenly, she heard a twig snap. Her head automatically flew to where she had heard the noise, almost giving herself whiplash. She squinted her eyes, to adjust to the darkness, but she could not see anything. She was starting to get creeped out, so in a shaky, and nervous voice, she asked who was there.

"Sakura?" she heard someone say. She instantly knew who was talking to her.

"Syaoran?" Sakura replied, shock written all over her face.

At that moment, everything in the garden lit up. The fountain suddenly awoke from it's rest with water, streaming out of the bow that cupid was holding. All that could be heard throughout the entire garden was the sound of the night time wild life, the flickering of the candles, and the water, trickling slowly from the tip of the bow, down into the bottom part of the fountain.

"What are you doing here?" Sakura asked.

Syaoran arched his eyebrow. "Excuse me? I should be asking you the same thing!"

Sakura folded her arms. It seemed quite odd to her for doing so, because she'd only done that with Syaoran when they were in an argument. She hoped that they wouldn't be getting into one right now, because they're relationship as friends had gotten so much better.

"For your information, I'm here because your Mother wants to give her Christmas gift to me! What's your excuse?" Sakura replied, satisfied with her answer.

Syaoran raised his eyebrow higher, almost disbelieving her. "What are you talking about?" he asked, looking at her with confused eyes, "A servant came to my room and said something about my mother wanting to speak to me. But apparently, she's not here yet." He paused before continuing, "Anyway, what I was going to say was that I just realized that my Mother is sound asleep in her bed! There was no light coming from her bedroom,"

"...Well, that's quite odd," Sakura said, now shivering and clacking her teeth together. "I...I'm so cold! I've been waiting for your Mother for about twenty minutes! If you say that she's sound asleep, they I believe you. I'm going back inside to get whatever sleep I can get. Are you coming with me?"

Syaoran nodded. "Sure, I guess," and he followed her up the steps onto the terrace, and to the big glass double doors which was the only thing keeping them from warmth.

"Let me," Sakura said, reaching her hand out for the knob. The last thing she wanted that night to make her believe in her stupid idea was to brush hands with Syaoran again.

She turned the knob of the door, and it wouldn't budge. She shook them with all her might, but she just couldn't seem to get the big double doors to move. "I - can't - get - these - stupid - doors - to - move!" she said gruffly with a frustrated tone, in between pushes and shoves. She watched as Syaoran rolled his eyes.

"Let me do it," Syaoran suggested, placing his hands on top of the cold and cool handles. "You're supposed to pull, aren't you?" Syaoran asked, beginning to pull on them. Sakura shrugged, but she knew that they opened inwards, not outwards. She knew her own castle like the back of her hand.

"Urgh!" Syaoran screamed, pulling, shoving, and pushing as hard as he could. He began to bash his back against the door, but Sakura stopped him from doing anything else, before he permanently damaged the glass. "Why won't they open?" he asked, frustrated and cold.

"I don't know!" Sakura replied. Now, after being just barely thirty minutes in the cold with a silk nightgown on, and nothing else, Sakura couldn't feel her fingers. She couldn't feel her arms, legs, and she could barely roll her hands into fists. Her cheeks and nose became as pink as cherry blossoms, and everything but those certain facial features seemed to be getting paler by the second.

Syaoran seemed to notice, and quickly walked her over to the bench by the fountain. "Oh hell," he said, "Sakura, you're getting so cold! Here, wear this," and he placed his thick red robe on Sakura's shoulders. He patted them down, and made sure every bit of cloth was wrapped around all of Sakura. Suddenly, she shook her head, and took it off.

"I can't, Syaoran," she said, giving the robe back to him, "You'll freeze if I wear this,"

Syaoran protested and handed the robe back to her, "No, Sakura. We don't want the same thing that happened to you when it was raining to happen again, do we?"

Shyly, Sakura suggested an idea. "Syaoran, I can't wear it, not if you are. But...This seems big enough for the both of us, no? Why don't we just...Share it?"

"Share it?" Syaoran questioned.

Sakura nodded, and threw the robe around Syaoran's shoulders, while half of it was still covering hers. She pulled them together on both sides so they were both covered by the huge robe, and pulled her knees up to her chest, while Syaoran crossed his legs. Syaoran had to hand it to Sakura her idea was pretty good. By doing that, they were both protected from the winter's rough weather.

"Er...Syaoran?" Sakura asked, "You wouldn't mind if I...leaned against you, would you?"

Syaoran shook his head. "No, not at all!" and so with his permission, Sakura leaned her back against his chest. It was a beautiful sight, just the two of them, sitting under the moon, the fountain standing write infront of them, and a robe, keeping them warm, but even better, closer to one another.

Sakura sighed, and let her head fall carelessly onto Syaoran's left shoulder. Syaoran smiled at her cuteness, and let his chin drop onto her right shoulder. Neither of them could've imagined each other in such a position, but then again, it felt good, so what did it matter?

"Syaoran?" Sakura said, her eyes beginning to droop, "Promise me something?"

"Sure," he replied.

"Whatever happens," she began, as she lifted her head from his shoulder and looked into his amber eyes. He looked back into her emerald ones, and waited patiently for the rest of her sentence. "Whatever happens, after we get married...Things won't change between us?" she cast her gaze downwards, as if afraid to look into his eyes. "You know...we'll still be the same?"

Syaoran thought before he agreed to this. He admired the thought of Sakura, not wanting anything to change between them. It showed him how much she actually, really cared for him. And then, he nodded. "Of course,"

And before either of them knew it, they're faces were slowly inching towards the other. Neither of them knew who started it, but they didn't care. And just when their lips were only millimetres apart, they heard a sudden noise erupt from the terrace. They're gaze into each other's eyes was suddenly ripped apart, and their heads flew into the direction of where they heard the noise.

"Hello?" Syaoran said.

A tall, feminine figure stood up from behind a big plant pot, and they both realized that it was Yelan. "Oh, hello there!" she said nervously. "I wasn't...spying or anything, I was just looking for - for my - um, my lucky coin! Oh, what do you know? Here it is!" and she bent down to pick up what Syaoran and Sakura thought from their point of view, was a rock. "Please!" Yelan said, after pocketing the small object, "Don't let me interrupt. Finish whatever you two were doing,"

Syaoran shook his head, and removed the robe from around Sakura. "That's alright, Mother. You weren't interrupting anything. I'm going back to bed. Goodnight, Mother. Sakura," he said, as he kissed her lightly and quickly on the forehead, as if it was a now or never type of thing. "Sleep tight,"

Sakura nodded, and watched as Syaoran walked up to the terrace. Coincidentally, Yelan had the key, and reluctantly opened the doors for him. Sakura, suddenly warmed by the robe, and the goodnight kiss, was joined by Yelan, who had a huge grin on her face, and an odd sparkle in her eye.

"Hello," Sakura said.

"Hello," Yelan replied.

And then, she remembered the reason as to why she was out in the gardends in the first place. "Oh!" Sakura said, "I thought you wanted to give me your Christmas gift?"

Once again, Yelan plastered on her mischievous smile. "Why, darling..." she said, "You've already received it!"

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Anyone care to guess what the gift was? Read and Review, please!

Signing Off,
Agent08 - My life as a secret agent xD