Chapter 4 – Only Two Hours

Syaoran found Takashi bent over a table, staring deeply at a large drawing with sketches and scribbles everywhere. Deciding not to bother the guy, he walked to a lone desk with a bunch of paperwork. He picked an envelope up and saw that it was a payment check to be accounted in the 6th floor. He groaned. It was almost 1pm and he still didn't eat anything. He'd remembered the lunch he bought when he was more than halfway from the place, choosing not to go back and get it. Sakura would be there. And she made it perfectly clear she had no intention of seeing him again.

"You're back already?" Takashi's voice asked from behind.

Syaoran glanced up and nodded.

"Thought you'd be gone the rest of the day."

"No," he retrieved the map from his back pocket and gave it to his friend. "I saw her."

"And…?"

"Nothing," Syaoran replied dismissively.

"Nothing else happened?" Takashi leaned on the table and looked at his friend with question. "Why not?"

"Uh…" he massaged the back of his neck. "She wasn't exactly keen on seeing me again."

"Ah," his friend looked down.

"Yeah, but at least I got to see her. That's all I wanted to do anyway," Syaoran said and started taking the paper folders. "Anyway, I'm going back to the hotel to finish this off, but I'll come back later tonight."

"Sure, yeah," Takashi stood up. "I'll see you later, man." He patted Syaoran's back.

He gave a nod to Takashi and went off.

Syaoran's stomach growled lowly in the elevator. He was glad nobody was around to hear that. Damn, he should've just gone back and taken the food, and now he was paying the price for his foolishness. Actually, it wasn't just his foolishness that made him not do it; Sakura had to show up. Of course, the reason he went to Tomoeda was to see her. He was just…surprised that she found him first. Syaoran shook his head as the elevator bell dinged and let him out. There were few people in the lobby. The receptionist was smiling at him as he passed. He managed a small smile and looked away. And just like that, his gaze shot to an auburn-haired woman who just entered the building.

Frozen in spot, Syaoran stared. She was looking around with a lunch bag in her hands. Why was she here?? He swallowed a few times and found his stepping once again. With a thudding heart, he walked slowly to her. "Sakura," he called with a slightly strangled voice. He cleared his throat.

Her eyes met his in an instant. "Sy-Syaoran," she uttered as they stopped two feet from each other.

"What are you doing here?" He asked with a raised brow. Man, what a good liar he was. Hell, he didn't care why she was here… She was here!

"Uh," her face flamed. "Your lunch." She shoved the bag to him. "You forgot it."

Surprise cleared his thoughts. "Oh. Thanks," he replied, taking the bag. "Why'd you…give it? I thought you didn't want to see me." His eyes began to show a little question.

Her eyes widened. "I didn't-don't. Uh, I mean, I do, no wait. I don't. Uh…" she shook her head from the stammering. "I thought it only… considerate to give you back something you paid for…and forgot." She finished lamely, looking away.

Syaoran gave into an amused grin as he watched emotions flit across her emerald eyes. "Well, thanks."

"No problem," her answer was quick. "Anyway, I-I'm going to go." She turned quickly and began to walk out.

"Wait," he called, almost reaching out to her.

Sakura turned, hesitating in her spot.

"Have lunch with me," he said simply, a serious glint in his eyes.

She faltered in her place. Why did he still have to be so handsome? "No thanks," she managed. "I've…got to go…somewhere," she couldn't think of anything. Dammit!

"Come on. For old times' sake," he urged. She didn't look like she'd give in. He looked away. "Let me treat you out…and I promise I won't bother you again."

'Don't promise me that…' her mind whined. "Um…" Sakura let a careful glance to his eyes. He looked sincere. "You said you were busy with work," she tried to get away with that.

"Turns out I'm not," he answered just as swiftly.

He was relentless. "Well…ok, then," she gave in. After a hundred times of giving in to him, Sakura didn't bother breaking that record.

Light shone his chestnut eyes. "Great," he smiled with gratitude and a little bit of relief.

Her heart skipped yet another beat.

"Let's go." He began to walk out of the building, looking back to make sure she was following.

Without a choice in the situation, Sakura followed the tall, broad-shouldered man.

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The drive was excruciating for the both of them. With a large history like they had, it was impossible to sit in a car, awkward tension filling the small space, and not being able to talk like normal people. Syaoran wanted to start a few times, but found the words would not come out. Sakura couldn't even sit still, always fidgeting and moving around, giving the impression that she was suffocating in her seat. She'd always been like that when she was uncomfortable. Fortunately, Syaoran knew that about her. At least he wouldn't be offended, or so she hoped. Syaoran mentally hit himself on the head. It was a big mistake inviting her for lunch.

"Where are we going?" She piped up, her voice sounding a little too squeaky.

Syaoran glanced at the traffic and beat the red light. "I was thinking Penguin Park. Is that all right?"

Surprise shone through her eyes. "You want to go to Tomoeda?"

He nodded. "I haven't gotten a chance to go around and visit some places."

"But it's more than an hour from here," she turned to face him, clutching onto the seatbelt. "Syaoran…"

"I like the way you say my name," he interrupted with a grin. "I've always liked that sound."

She reddened. No. She would not give into his charms a second time. "Stop playing around. I'm serious. Can't we go somewhere local rather than drive all the way there?"

He looked at her questioningly. "Why so uptight about it?"

"I'm not," she answered defensively, retreating to her seat. "I just…I just don't want to go all the way to Tomoeda and then come back again."

"Is there something you find irritating about going back to that old town? I thought you lived there," he said, pinning her with a very confused look. "Something wrong about Penguin Park?"

"No. There are just too many memories." She revealed with a firm, but very low voice. "I don't want to go back there with you."

Surprised pain filled his gut. He licked his dry lips and looked away. "All right. Fine."

"Wait, I'm sorry-"

"I'm glad we're finally talking like we used to," he interrupted her and turned the car around. "It was awkward minutes ago. This is better."

Sakura stared outside again. "Syaoran," she started again.

"For a moment there, it felt like we were back in college, you know? Just fighting like we always used to," he said with a wry grin. "I'd have liked it to stay that way… but I guess the past catches up with you anyway, right?" He glanced at her. Silence passed through them. He spoke up once more. "We're only going to be with each other for the next two hours. All I'm asking is that you forget what happened years ago in that span of time. After that, you won't see me ever again and you'll have the rest of your life to think about the past." He looked at her again.

She was fighting her own battles inside. Pain filled her eyes. She looked down at her fingers and then back up to his face. "Fine."

"Good." He said with an indifferent smile. "So tell me about you," Syaoran began, his tension and nervousness slowly fading away. "What do you do?"

"I'm a teacher in Tomoeda Elementary School," she replied softly, still feeling her heart thud loudly. How could he think she would ever forget the pain she felt when he walked out that door? "And you?"

" A very busy businessman," he said as he parked in the parking lot of a beautiful garden forest park. "I'm the owner of the Li Corporation in Hong Kong and here. It's a lot of pressure on me so I can't wait to get at least some of it off my shoulders when my sisters get married."

"And how are they?" Sakura asked as she got out of the car.

Syaoran joined her with the lunch in his hand. "They're happy and crazy as always."

"And your mother?" The memory of the elegant, icy woman brought shivers down Sakura's spine.

"Uh…" he looked away. "She's…" he hesitated. "She's dead."

Sakura stopped. She looked at him in disbelief. "What??"

"Yeah…she passed away 4 years ago," he muttered, continuing on.

Her stunned heart wouldn't stop beating erratically. "Oh my god…"

"We're holding up, though. It's sometimes hard to get through when it's close to her death anniversary."

"Oh Syaoran…" she couldn't offer him comfort; merely words. That realization hurt. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I never knew something was wrong with her."

"Me neither," he bit his tongue. He would not mention why he had to leave Japan 6 years ago. He'd never tell her. "It was sort of…just sudden." He paused. "But I'd rather not talk about that now."

She nodded.

"Tell me more about you now," he said as a change of subject. "I know all about your childhood…and past."

"That's true," she nodded. "Well…I guess, I'm different now. I'm not exactly a changed person, but a lot of traits that I had when I was younger have been replaced." She thought of an example. "I was a crybaby, wasn't I? Back in college?" She asked with a frown.

He chuckled. "I remember that, yeah."

"I don't cry anymore. At least not as much as I used to. I've learned how to control my emotions."

So that's why she never looked like she'd break down in the car when Syaoran knew she felt like she was. "That's interesting."

"What else? I'm independent. I don't depend on others anymore. I haven't talked to my family for more than five months now. I don't depend on friends for money or help. Not usually, anyways."

"And what about men?" He asked. He couldn't help but ask about her love life.

She stopped and looked at him. "What about men?"

He shrugged. "Any man in your life? Husband, boyfriend, friend? At least one person of the opposite sex taking care of you?"

"Oh," his question surprised her. For a moment there, she thought he was asking because he wanted to find out of her marital status. Not if a man was taking care of her. Not because he cared about her. "No…no husband, boyfriend. But I do have men friends. They…don't exactly take care of me. Just…flirt with me."

He nodded, feeling jealousy seep into his veins at that comment. Men flirting with her? With his woman??

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Back up there. Syaoran blinked at that. This woman standing before him was no longer "his woman." She was her own woman and she would never be his again.

Biting her bottom lip, Sakura intertwined her fingers behind her back. "And what about yourself?"

Now it was his turn to be surprised. The jealousy slowly started to fade. Sakura interested in his relationships? That got a grin out of him. "What would you like to know?"

She shrugged, trying not to be obvious. "Being very busy with work and all, I'm guessing you have no time for family?"

He shook his head. "I may be busy, but I always make time for family. My sisters get most of my attention since we live in the same house, but…yeah, there's the occasional woman."

Heat flared in her cheeks. Other…women? That disgusted her. Sakura stiffened. She acted as if she was observing the beauty of the forest when really, that sentence stirred indescribable jealousy and the familiar pain through her body. "How many occasional women have you been with?" The question slipped out of her. A hand jumped to her mouth. Trying to cover it, Sakura pretended to wipe something from her lip. "If-if you don't mind my asking."

Syaoran frowned as his gaze traveled to her sensuous pink lips. He'd never felt as much desire as he had now just staring at her lips. "A few."

She nodded and looked away, cutting off his gaze. Syaoran felt a hint of disappointment. "Where should we go now?"

"Uh…" he pushed the thoughts away and concentrated on the park. "These are just sandwiches, right?"

"You ordered the special?" She glanced at the bag.

He nodded.

"Yeah, three different types of sandwiches." She answered.

"Then we don't need to sit down. Let's just walk around," he suggested. "What do you want?"

Sakura, startled, looked up at him. "Oh, no thanks. The lunch is yours. I…I don't want any," she looked away once more.

And the last response she expected from him, she got. He laughed. "Three sandwiches, Kinomoto. Pick one."

At the sound of her last name, she reddened. "I said I don't want one."

"Come on," he urged.

She shook her head. "I said…I don't want any," she pushed the bag to him.

He rolled his eyes. "Are we gonna do this the whole two hours? If you ask me, I'd rather not spend it doing this."

"Then stop offering it to me when I already said no," she firmly said again, frowning.

"I won't when you clearly want one but won't take one because it's me offering it," he said bluntly. "Now come on. Which one do you want?"

Sakura glared up at him. "Li…"

"Take one," he matched her glare with one of his own.

She bit her lip and almost growled. "Choose yours first."

He sighed. "Fine." He grabbed one and passed the bag to her.

"I'm not going to say thank you, if that's what you're looking for," she muttered and took one. "I didn't want one and you offered."

"I wasn't looking for a thank you," he replied amusedly.

She opened the sandwich bag. "Good." He chuckled.

A moment passed between them.

Syaoran breathed in a sigh. "This feels nice."

"What does?" Sakura took a small bite.

Syaoran took a huge one. "Being back in Japan, with you, talking. Like the world doesn't exist; it's just you and me," he glanced at her with a smile. "It feels good."

Surprised at the confession, she looked off, not knowing what to say. Then a minute later, "It does," she replied, her voice quiet.

"I'm glad, babe." He resisted the urge to put his arms around her. Her small words made it all the more harder for him to pull away now.

The nickname startled Sakura, and made her heart just jump a little more. She looked up at him, noticing that he didn't even know he'd called her that. She thought to herself, a realization hitting her. Without even trying, Syaoran took her heart before she could even put up a fight.

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To be continued...