Disclaimer: I do not own Card captor Sakura or any of its characters and places. It's all Clamps'. I just own the story I made up.
-
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It All Began With A Dream
§---§
Chapter Eight: A Happy Birthday
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
It has been nearly a week since Sakura had discovered Syaoran in the river
Since there was only a bed in the auburn-girl's cottage, they had to go back to Tomoeda to buy another one. Meanwhile, after many protestations from Sakura, Syaoran had slept in the sofa.
No memories of the boy's former life had come back, to the princess disappointment.
She was burning to know his identity, but somewhere, deep in her, it was something she apprehended, like a bad omen.
He was now well accustomed to his new environment, and had proven himself very capable for things such as hunting, cooking, or craftsmanship.
On the other hand, he was lame with the house work, as if he had never held a broom in his entire life. Sakura had had a good laugh, when, tired of doing all the cleaning, she had put a broom in his arms and had asked the boy to sweep the porch. He looked so funny with the broom in his hands, not knowing what to do with it and gazing at his hostess with a desperate look, waiting for her instructions.
Luckily, he was a very fast learner, and within a few minutes, he could sweep as if he had been sweeping for his entire life.
When the princess woke up, this morning, she felt happy. Today was the day she had waited for the entire year long.
Her birthday.
She sat on her bed and looked at Syaoran's. It was empty. The boy must have awakened a bit earlier.
His behaviour lately had been curious.
He would always disappear at a certain moment of a day and come back a few hours later, without giving Sakura any explanations.
The way he acted saddened the girl a little, since it meant that the boy didn't trust her enough to tell her where he went and to do what.
One day, while she was wandering around in the forest to collect fruits, she had found a hammer and some rocks remains.
When she told him about her discoveries, he had looked uneasy and avoided her questions.
Sakura entered the kitchen to find a delicious breakfast waiting for her on the table, as always. But today, it seemed even better than all of the others.
'Did he remember my birthday?' she wondered 'After all, I only told him once about it and he wasn't well at this point…'
When she had finished, she washed her plate and placed it in the cupboard before going outside for a walk.
There she found Syaoran, kneeling on the ground, gardening.
It was another quality of the boy.
"Good morning!" she declared, making him jump.
He smiled at her, in a way that brought butterflies in her stomach.
"Good morning to you." He answered "Did you sleep well?"
"Very well, thank you. What are you planting today?"
"Strawberries."
"Strawberries?" she jumped in delight "I love strawberries."
He smiled warmly, his eyes sparkling with happiness.
"I thought you would. That's why I planted them."
Definitely, that day was beginning well for the young maiden.
She walked closer to him and gave him a hug, making him become ripe strawberries' colour.
Carried away by the moment, and by her perky attitude, she didn't realise what she was doing and gave him a peck on the cheek.
This action would have been fine if, at that very moment, Syaoran hadn't had the sudden idea of looking at her.
The kiss landed on his lips.
Both of them were so surprised, that they stayed in that position for a few long seconds.
Realizing what just happened; they broke the kiss and jerked away from each other as fast as possible.
Both faces were crimson.
"I…i…i…I'm so-sorry." Mumbled Sakura, not looking at him.
She then ran in the cottage and closed the door behind her. She leaned on it and slowly slipped on the floor.
She passed a hand through her hair, and then touched her lips.
She couldn't believe what had occurred right now.
She had kissed Syaoran!
"No. It was not a kiss." She tried to reason herself "It was just an accident. Yes. That's it. An accident."
She licked her lips.
They had the weird taste of…chocolate?
Outside, Syaoran stayed there, still as a statue, looking at the door where Sakura just ran.
He couldn't believe it.
He had kissed Sakura!
This idea should have disgusted him, but in a way that frightened him, he was pleased.
The way her soft pink lips pressed against his made him feel… complete. It just felt so right to just stand there and kiss her.
For a second, he wished that the kiss wasn't an accident.
But that was what terrified him.
What in the world was happening to him?
§---§
At the beginning of the afternoon, they had returned to normal.
Even though the memory of the kiss was still fresh in their minds, they acted as if it had never happened.
The house was clean, the dinner had been eaten.
"Are you going to town today?" asked the amber-eyed boy to Sakura.
"Umm… No, I don't think so. Why?" she answered.
"Do you think you could? I need some…umm…edelweiss to make that special thingy."
Sakura didn't hide her surprise.
"Edelweiss! What are those?"
The boy was slightly sweating under her interrogative glare.
"It's something essential for the preparation of… of… Estragon beef stew!"
She was not fully convinced. Further more, she didn't want to go to town on her birthday!
She melted while seeing his face.
He was making the puppy-dog face.
"Fine. I'll go, but you owe me one." She sighed.
He smiled brightly.
She prepared her basket, wondering why he couldn't go to town by himself. And what on earth were 'edelweiss'? Was it some kind of a spice?
She would ask to the merchants.
On her way, she remembered something.
He hadn't wished her a happy birthday. Had he forgotten? Well, she couldn't blame him for that.
All day long, she had tried to make him remember by making allusions on birthdays, but he wouldn't.
She was a bit saddened by that.
At least, while she was in town, she would be able to pass to the post office and see f she'd got mail from her family.
They wouldn't dare forget her birthday.
She started to hum a song her mother taught her when she was little. It would always brighten up her day. And it worked.
When she arrived in town, she started to look for that… edelweiss Syaoran had asked her for. But wherever she went, no one had ever heard about that plant.
Was the boy playing a trick on her? Did that plant even exist?
Not willing to quit, she continued to ask the people around if they knew about it. After three hours, her efforts were finally rewarded.
In an apothecary, an old man with a long beard told her that he might still have one left in his back-store.
Two minutes later, Sakura exited the store with the flower (because it was a flower) packed up in plastic sheet.
Happy, she looked up at the sky.
It was getting dark. The sun was disappearing behind the mountains of the Li kingdom, in shades of oranges, pinks, purples, reds… It was very pretty.
The princess sighed in contentment.
"This day hasn't been so bad after all." She declared aloud.
It was pitch dark when she reached the cottage.
Awkwardly, there were no lights on.
Where could Syaoran be?
Sakura began to feel panic rising in her chest. What if he had been kidnapped? He was under her responsibility after all.
In her head already, images were forming. She could see distress, blood, cries. Tears filled her eyes and she hurried in the house.
She stopped in front of the door, panting from the running. Maybe he was alright, playing a trick on her again. He loved to tease her. Yes, that was it. He was just playing an old bad trick.
She calmed herself and slowly opened the door.
She could not see anything in the dark, so she waited until she grew accustomed to it.
There were shadows in front of her.
Three tall shadows.
What could it be?
She stretched her hand to get a candle, but before she could do so, the shadows moved.
They lit candles in front on their faces.
Their skeleton like faces scared Sakura to death and she closed her eyes, not wanting to look at them.
The shadow in the middle stepped forward, and clapped in his hands.
Two times.
Sakura waited for an impact, but it never came.
Instead, all the lights lit up.
The princess opened an eye, then the second, and she saw the shadows now revealed in their true nature.
It was Syaoran, Eriol and Tomoyo.
Throwing confetti at her, they all shouted:
"Happy birthday Sakura!"
The girl smiled at once, before hugging her friends thanking them for the surprise.
"Oh my goodness! You scared me to death!" she tried to scowl them, but her happiness overwhelmed her and she hugged them once more. "Thank you! I'm so happy you remembered!"
Eriol, who was the shadow who had clapped in his hands, interrupted her.
"As a matter of fact, Syaoran is the one you owe this surprise. He organised it all by himself and invited us today."
"Really?" she smiled, before looking at a blushing Syaoran. "I thought you wouldn't remember."
"I started planning it since the day you told me when it was. That's why I would disappear for a few hours from time to time. And it was hard not to remember, with all the allusions you said today."
He winked at her, making her flush.
"By the way" he continued "did you have fun in town?"
"I found the edelweiss" she said proudly.
"That's good. Especially that I don't need it…" He giggled guiltily as he saw Sakura's eyes widen with anger.
"What!" she screamed. "You made me make all the shops of Tomoeda for Nothing! Ugh! I'm gonna kill you Syaoran"
And she started to run after him as he tried to escape.
"Hey! I needed you to leave so I could prepare this." He showed the dishes that were waiting for them to eat.
Everything looked delicious.
There was roasted turkey, fried rice, carrot salad, and a huge chocolate cake with whipped cream.
The emerald-eyed girl calmed herself down a bit.
"I guess that I could forgive you eventually." She smiled mischievously "But I will have my revenge!"
The supper passed calmly, in the joyful conversation the friends were having.
After the dessert, Syaoran cleaned the table and, bending down to Sakura's ear, whispered:
"Time for the gifts"
She turned her head so fast that she couldn't avoid the boy, so she gave him an accidental blow on the nose.
"Ouch!" he cried
"Oh, I'm sorry Syaoran." She stood up to check on him and seeing he would live turned to Tomoyo and Eriol "There are gifts?"
"Of course there are dear." giggled Tomoyo, seeing Syaoran holding his hurt nose. "Here is mine."
She handed her an average sized package.
It was soft.
Hesitantly, the young princess opened it.
Inside was the most beautiful dress she had ever seen in her entire live. It was midnight blue, with sparkles, and was foot long.
Tears welled up in her eyes. It was her first gift from a true friend. She hugged the raven-haired girl.
"Thank you Tomoyo. I love it. It's perfect."
"Why don't you try it later on?" she answered softly, patting her friend's back.
Silence filled the room. Eriol broke it.
"Here is mine Sakura."
He gave her a package a bit smaller than Tomoyo's.
It was a book with a sun and a moon on its cover.
It was called 'The Clow book'.
Inside, instead of pages, were cards with drawings on it. It was beautiful.
Sakura gave Eriol a huge grin.
"Thank you! I've always wanted a tarot deck, but my father wouldn't let me. He says it's rubbish."
Syaoran coughed a bit to attract the auburn girl's attention.
She looked at him with sparkling eyes.
He turned his head to avoid her gaze and handed her a small gift, wrapped in leaves.
Carefully, she opened it and she saw a delicate pendant.
It was amazingly beautiful. Its form was a cherry blossom, a Sakura. The petals were made of pink quartz, and the leaves of emerald.
No detail had been neglected.
It was breathtaking.
The princess searched for the boy's amber eyes and locked them.
"How…" she was whispering, as if she would break the jewel if she talked to loud. "How did you get it? The only time you were in town, you were with me and you don't have money. And god knows how much such a beauty costs."
"I didn't by it" he answered, making her wonder. "I made it by hand. It's another reason why I've been in the forest alone. I've bee searching for stones" Sakura remembered the hammer and the remains. "It took me a while to finish it, and I hope you'll like it"
"I don't like it…" Sakura said. Syaoran's face dropped a bit, but she wasn't done yet. "I… I love it! It the most pretty piece of jewellery I've ever seen! Thank you so much Syaoran! Thank you so much."
But she didn't hug the boy. Only smiled at him. It was the best smile he would ever get from anybody. There was something special about it. An emotion he couldn't describe.
Tomoyo and Eriol, who had watched them silently looked at each other and giggled lightly.
They knew what was happening to their young friends. It had happened to the two of them as well. But they would let them discover it by themselves.
Sakura and Syaoran kept silent. They looked in each other's eyes and got lost in it. Syaoran could not control his body, and he felt himself leaning toward Sakura. Their faces were dangerously near, and it kept going nearer. Sakura could feel the boy's breath on her lips.
They were now only a few centimetres away from each other…
"Hey guys!" Eriol suddenly said.
The princess and the chestnut-haired boy came back to reality and moved away from each other, blushing madly. Tomoyo threw an angry glare at Eriol.
"Why don't you go and try Tomoyo's dress Sakura-san?" continued the blue-haired magician.
Sakura nodded. Emotion caused her to be unable to speak. She stood up and went to her room to change, followed by Tomoyo.
Eriol turned to Syaoran.
"Sakura sure is captivating" he said teasingly, smiling like a madman
He received a cold glare and laughed.
Five minutes later, the two girls came back in the living room, Sakura in her dress.
Syaoran's mouth almost fell on the ground.
She looked astounding. He looked at her from head to toes, and saw her blush as he did that.
Eriol whistled in admiration.
"I recognize here my Tomoyo's handy work. Congratulations Sakura. You just turned into a goddess."
Tomoyo punched him friendlily on the arm.
Later that night, after Eriol and his fiancée left, after they cleaned up the house, Sakura went outside on the porch and sat on the front steps.
It was a beautiful night. The moon wasn't full, but was bright enough to light the garden and the cherry blossoms tree in silver. Thousands of stars sparkled in the cloudless night sky.
It was nearly midnight, but the air was still warm.
The emerald-eyed princess sighed as she remembered the day's events.
Tears of happiness started to fill her eyes. She felt so good here, surrounded by her friends. She didn't want to leave, but she knew that when the war would be over, she'll have to. Maybe she could ask her father to stay here some more.
The wind blew, throwing shivers at the girl.
She had goose flesh on her arms, and she felt a warm blanket being posed on her shoulders.
She looked up and saw Syaoran. He sat beside her and they stayed silent, watching the stars together.
The pendant the boy had given to Sakura rested on her neck.
After a while, the princess stood up and started to walk towards the Sakura tree. Petals were falling on the ground.
A hand on her shoulder made her stop, but she didn't turn around. She didn't want Syaoran to see her tears. But he had already seen them.
He forced her gently to face him, but she would look on the ground.
He lifted his warm hand under her chin and lifted it.
Their eyes met, and like earlier in the evening, they got lost in each other's gaze.
They both fell in a sort of a trance, where nothing mattered, except for the other's presence.
A last crystal tear fell from an emerald eye. The amber-eyed boy stopped its course by sweeping it with his thumb, but his hand didn't leave the girl's cheek.
He traced her jaw line lightly, before arriving to her mouth. He caressed her soft lips and cupped her chin, making her rise on her toes.
He leaned forward, closing little by little the space between their faces.
They both closed their eyes.
A wolf cried to the moon.
Their lips met.
Under the moonlight, at midnight, April 1st, a boy and a girl kissed for the first time intentionally.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(A.N: And there it is, chapter 8. It's the longest I've ever written! 10 pages, can you believe it? I'm sorry, if the kissing scene is a bit short, but it's difficult for me to improve it, since I've never kissed or been kissed, so I don't know how it goes. (It's quite embarrassing…ahem…).
So, I hope you liked the birthday party, and thanks for the birthday wishes you sent me in the reviews. It made me very very happy. Ummm… What else? Ah, yes… Sakura is now 17, the same age as Syaoran, and I think you guessed Syaoran's real identity Nanie-san (it was quite obvious too wasn't it?). Tell me if you like the chapters that long, and I'll try to make the next about the same (I personally doubt it, but it costs nothing to try). I'm waiting for your reviews! So, 'till next time. See ya! This has been Suohfei.)