Happy Birthday to Me?

by Tella

FINISHED! Sakura has been dreading her twenty first birthday for most of her life and when it finally comes she’s not to sure what to make of the person who will change her life forever. Classic S.K. and S.L. coupling.

4. Chapter 4

Happy Birthday to Me?

AN: I do not own Card Captor Sakura.

Chapter 4

Sakura's P.O.V.

I sighed at the sight of the apartment door welcoming me home. My feet and body was aching from the long walk and train ride home. I fumbled with the keys and finally managed to get the door to click open for me. Finally, no more walking, no more riding, no more stuff I don't want to do and best of all no more Mrs Li.

I let my forehead press against the cold wooden door and closed my eyes. Heavenly bliss… My mind was tired and my body ached from the continues strain on my muscles. I had to practically bite my tongue and clench my fists to keep myself from either shouting at or strangling Mrs Li.

The damn woman did not know when to quit. At least she got the message and stopped hinting about my look and having pink at my wedding. Pink for crying out loud! Do I look like some kind of Barbie doll? NO! I wore beat up sneakers to my prom and twenty-first for crying out loud. Does she really think she's going to get pink at my wedding? I don't think so. So there! No pink for me!

Jippy!

But venues are another thing all together. Up and down, up and down the whole damn city in search for the 'perfect location'. Please add sarcastic voice and fake optimistic face at this stage.

URG!

Tough bleeding luck if the damn place doesn't serve caviar or if the swimming pool is to close or what ever! I don't want fish eggs, I am not going to swim and neither are the guests… Speaking of, I still need to 'discuss' the press matter with her. I opened my eyes and my vision fell on a big pair of neat black shoes.

Li.

I groaned and closed my eyes again. I've been avoiding him like the plague for the past week and I was able to get away with it thanks to Mrs Li, but I will have to face him sooner or later. I swallowed hard. Hopefully later.

"You can stop hugging the door, you know." Damn it. I gave a rather weak laugh at the situation I found myself in. So damn typical. Nothing can ever go my way. I turned around and smiled at him, but it only made him raise an eyebrow at my small "hi". Damn it!

"Sakura, we need to talk." What? Talk. Talk about what? I don't want to talk. Why else would I be avoiding you like crazy for the past week? I think the shock and fear showed on my face, because his frown deepened. "If you can haul some slut down a hallway you can talk to me."

My eyes immediately fell to the ground and I found my fingers fiddling with my T-shirt's hem. I don't want to talk. I'm a coward. I avoid emotional conversations of any kind unless it involves anger. I bit my lip as I tried to find the courage to ask him my question. "About what?"

"About us. You and me." His voice was gentle and slowly coming closer to me. "There is no need to be nervous." He brushed my hands off my shirt and took one in his own before leading me to the couch and sitting me down with him next to me.

"Sakura, I know you are not particularly impressed with this entire situation, heaven knows I'm still adjusting myself. But I would like for us to try." What? I looked up at him and found the serious flicker of gold playing in his eyes. "I enjoy your company and our conversations on the rare occasion you decide to talk to me. Please let us try, even if we can't be lovers… at least friends."

Lovers…

I averted my gaze down to my hands on my lap. I've never really thought of us in that way. Will I be able to love him in that way? Do I want to love him in that way? I bit my lip. Maybe…

Maybe I can turn this into my own fairytale. Maybe I will fall in love with prince charming, a.k.a. Li, and then maybe we can live together happily ever after. Is that possible?

No.

This isn't some stupid fairytale I can loose myself in for a while only to be woken up to face reality once more. This is reality. This is important. This will change everything. Will I be the selfish little brat I promised myself to be when I packed my things or will I take a chance on this man and maybe be happy?

"Please Sakura…"

"I'm sorry."

Syaoran's P.O.V.

Sorry?

After a week of her avoiding me I finally get the chance to sit her down and tell her how I feel about this situation. How I would like us to handle this situation and she says 'sorry'. How the hell am I suppose to respond to that? What does it mean in the first place? 'Sorry I'm not going to try' or 'sorry for not trying in the first place'?

Not that I'm angry at her. Maybe a little disappointed, but I suppose her reaction is to be expected. She's not a very out going girl to begin with, so to with draw from our world and to try and avoid me must seem natural to her. It's her way of protecting herself. I watched her as she bit her lip slightly and I somehow got the idea that she wasn't finished with what she wanted to say.

"I'm sorry I haven't been trying. I… I'll try from now on." I smiled down at her and gave her hand a thankful squeeze. She's going to try. We are going to try and if we work together, if we try hard enough then just maybe… Just maybe this will work out.

"Li?" I frowned down at her and sat myself back down. Tea can wait. "Do you think I'm pretty?" I smiled down at her, her eyes were still focused on her hands. "I… You don't have to answer. It's just that your mother said that I look like my mother and…"

I let my thumb brush over her flushed cheek and tilted her chin so she would look me in the eye. "You are beautiful." Our eyes met and I could feel her searching for the truth of my answer. Her eyes quickly adverted to the kitchen and I couldn't but help grin at her reaction.

"Do you mind takeout? I'm too tired to cook."

"Takeout is fine."

"Okay. I'll call." I leaned back on the couch and watched her get up. I blinked when she stopped halfway and looked at me. Her lips brushed against mine for a brief moment before she pulled away and made her way to the telephone.

It was short and sweet. Too short, but just sweet enough and I longed for more.

Rain beat in anger and frustration against my window as I lay watching the sky light up in an aggressive display of power and will. Thunder roared in the clouds, muffling all city sounds and lightning burned temporary images into my mind.

I frowned when the sound of a door clicking open sounded between the roars. I turned to look at my door and found the girl standing there. Her hand nervously rested on the door knob and her eyes searched for me in the dark room. "Sakura?"

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…" Thunder crashed down to the earth and her attention snapped to the window and the rain beating against it. Resisting the urge to shake my head at her I moved to the opposite side of my bed and pulled the covers back, indicating for her to get in. She silently obeyed and I wrapped my arms around her cold body after pulling the covers over her.

"Couldn't sleep, hu?" She nodded and curled closer to me. Another flash lit up the cloud covered sky and I smiled down at the girl's sleeping face. All she needs is someone to be close to her, to hold her when she feels lonely, but she is too darn stubborn to admit this. To herself maybe, but not to me or anyone else.

I suspect as a little girl she would crawl into bed with her father or brother when she felt alone or scared. Probably with her brother, she once told me that she does not like making her father worry about her. Mr Kinomoto had a heavy weight upon his shoulders. Having to care for a little girl and her brother alone after his wife's tragic death could not have been easy.

He told me that she was much more open when she was younger, before her mother's death. She did not hide in herself so much; she did not shy away from the world as much… Life and death has a way of changing people, sometimes for the best other times for the worse. In the girl's case I would say it was a bit of both.

She lived her life in the fantasy worlds created by great authors, seeking treasure on far off islands or swimming with mermaids on the quest to find young lost love. She danced on the clouds with boys who can fly and glanced at the gorillas living in Africa with adventures young women while she helped the fairy godmother to create Cinderella's dress for the ball.

Even now I can see her loose herself in the fantasy worlds of others and become part and live the story printed on the page. Dwarfs, elves, dragons, fair maidens and handsome knights… I felt jealous knowing that she will always loose herself in the words of others, but I was grateful as well.

It helped from the person she is today. Smart, reserved, a keen knack for detail others fail to notice. I muffled the laugh trying to escape my lips. She was the only person till this day who noticed. She is the only one who caught up on my own game of cat and mouse I play with others.

She is also the only one who was able to beat me at my own game. She refused to allow me to hide myself away in my study and drown my thoughts with work. I remember the first Sunday I tried to hide myself from the world. I was not allowed to be left alone. She came in and curled herself up in my easy chair with her book on her lap.

We did not speak a word, but her presence made all the difference. I am not alone anymore. I was never lonely, not truly, but she filled that empty space I was always aware of. She filled the void that was once part of my life. I am glad it is gone, I am glad I do not have to live with it anymore.

I smiled as I closed my eyes and held her in my arms.

I hope she will stay with me always.

Sakura's P.O.V.

There it is again.

It's faint, but penetrating at the same time. A couple of notes repeated over and over again. Piercing through the walls, through my skin down into my bones… Drilling into my exhausted mind.

My eyes burned when I tried to open them and my body urged me to stay down, to sleep some more. My body wants to obey the wait pressing me down…

BUT THAT DAMN SOUND!

I groaned as I sat up and Li's arm fell down to my lap. I glared at his sleeping form. How come he can still sleep and I got woken up by some shrill sounding noise that now seems oddly familiar now that I'm awake. I frowned as I listened to the sound blaring through the silent apartment.

"My cell phone!" Pulled myself from under his arm's wait and fell to the ground before rushing through the hallway to find my phone. My room! I turned a sharp corner and slid into my room, tripping over my sneakers and landed stomach flat on the ground. Groaning I pulled out my phone screaming at me from inside my bag. "Hello, Sakura speaking."

"Morning dear, where are you? We've been waiting for twenty minutes."

"What?" Twenty minutes? We? This makes no sense and my damn knee is bleeding. Who the heck are we and waiting for wha… "AH! Mrs Li, I am so sorry! I totally over slept!" I hastily walked to Li's room only to find him still sleeping. Irritated I shook him violently only to get a pair of dark eyes glaring at me with Mrs Li's voice blaring in my ear. "You talk to her."

I tossed my phone at Li, his glare was still fixed on me when he answered the phone. I did not bother to stay to listen. I needed a shower and fast. If I hurry I can be there in about fifteen, maybe twenty minutes. Damn blood. I pressed my hand over my knee as I hopped to the bathroom.

I think that was one of the fastest showers I took in my life and when I opened the bathroom door I found Li leaning against the pane. I lifted a brow at him and he let my phone drop into my hands. "Be ready in ten, I'll take you. Apparently mother dear wants a word with me as well."

"What ever, just hurry."

"Yes your highness." I glared at the shut door before me. Oh, he is so going to pay for that cheap little remark.

"Move your ass. You are slowing us down." I glared at Li as he took his royal time to lock the car. I mean, how slow can you be? You have to press a button for all the doors to close. A button for crying out loud!

Your highness… indeed. He's the one who's walking around like he has all the time in the world. No, I am not enthusiastic about seeing my mother-in-law to be, nor the other person who is with her. All I want to do is to get this over and go back to sleeping.

"Run ahead then."

"So I get all the rap and you don't? I do not think so!" I grabbed his hand and started to pull him through the parking lot to the café's entrance. There is no way I'm going to let Mrs Li blow her top on me and then he comes along without getting scolded. It's his fault too.

I spotted Mrs Li sitting in the corner with another woman and started to drag the bulk of a man though the 'rows' of tables. "Xiao-lang dear, if you walk any slower you are going to stretch Sakura's arm. Come sit down." YES! He got the scolding and not me! Yes! Yes! Yes! "Morning dear."

"Morning ma'am." I moved in on the bench like seat and sat myself down across the unknown woman with Li next to me. Her ruby like eyes were quite unusual and calculating, but I could not help but smile at the warmth they held and she smiled back at me. Red gloss highlighting a perfect calculated smile with natural warmth and sincerity.

She reminded me of one of those fair ladies from ancient China, dressed in a lavish black silk gown trimmed with red and gold thread. A wise woman, blooming a wondrous picture of strength and kindness, like Mrs Li.

"You must be the lovely Sakura everyone keeps telling me about. Though I have to say, their words do you no justice." Her ruby eyes flickered with mischief as she quickly glanced Li's way. I held back my frown when I found him glaring at her. Did he talk about me? "My name is Meiling Rae, Xiao-lang's cousin."

The Meiling Rae? She is one of the most successful business women in Asia. Tomoyo idolises her. "It is an honour to meet you Mrs Rae."

"No need to be so formal. Meiling is fine. Besides, Mrs Rae makes me sound so old." I laughed at her remark. In pictures she always seemed to be above the rest, untouchable if I remember correctly. Yet in life she is… normal. "Well Aunty Yelan, when you said she was a piece of work I did not think you meant a work of art."

Li snorted at her remark and I found myself glaring at him. "Don't let her exterior fool you dear cousin. She has quite the temper hidden beneath that placid face."

"Yeah, a temper you will find turned your way if you don't cut your crap." His face faltered slightly and I grinned in victory as I read my menu. Told you I was going to get him back for his remark.

"So tell me Xiao-lang, why are you late? Did you two have a late night?" Meiling gave us a suggestive smile and I could feel my face threatening to burn up if another word of this is going to be mentioned.

"No!"

"Yes." I could feel my face burning as I glared at him. We did nothing of the implied sort, nor do I intend to do anything of the implied sort very soon. My heart raced when his grin grew. My integrity, my honesty and my virtue is on the line here. His eyes softened and the rapid beating of my heart slowed to a slightly more normal pace. "We watched an interesting movie last night and it went on a little longer than we thought it would."

"Are you sure the movie is the only thing that kept you up?"

"Don't be vulgar Meiling. She's only twenty one."

"What's that suppose to mean?"

Syaoran's P.O.V.

Oh for the life of me. I am not in the mood for this nonsense, not at this time of the morning and not before I even had my breakfast. "What's it suppose to mean? It, Sakura, is suppose to mean that Meiling should keep her mouth shut and not to involve you…"

"So just because I'm younger than you all it is automatically assumed that I know nothing, that I'm not experienced in life."

"Sakura…"

"No! I've had it! Really I have. With this entire family! With everyone trying to tell me what I want and what I don't for my own damn wedding. How I should behave and look and how I shouldn't. Constant questions about why I'd rather keep to myself and implications about my relationship with Li made by nosy doormen… And guess what. It is none of your damn business. Good day!"

I watched her jump over me and march out of the café. "Thank you very much. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to get through to that girl?"

This is just perfect, exactly what I need. I finally get her to open up a bit; I get her to stop ignoring me… Everything was perfect. Everything was wonderful for an entire week and then my dear mother and cousin come along and screw everything up.

Shit!

She trusted me. She trusted me enough to seek my company when she felt alone and now… And now everything is damn well ruined.

I cannot see why mother insists on forcing venues, menus and flowers onto her. It is her wedding after all, let the girl get what she wants. Let her be happy for a little while… I don't want her to be miserable, really I don't. I want her to be happy, to belong and to be loved.

I want her to let me love her.

"Sakura?" I searched the parking lot with my eyes. She was sitting up against a wall next to my car with her legs pulled up to her body and her face hidden behind her knees. Sighing I made my way to the girl. "Sakura, are you alright?"

My heart nearly broke when her tear stained face looked up and her green eyes shimmered with unspoken words of misery. "Sakura, I am so sorry. I am so sorry." I felt my knees drop to the ground before I pulled her against me. Her tears soaked my shirt as I held her close. "Please forgive me, I didn't mean to…"

"It's not you." Her voice was broken and soft. "I shouldn't have taken my temper out on you. I just…" Her body shook slightly. Slowly I let my fingers glide through her hair to comfort her, to reassure her.

"You can tell me. What's wrong?"

"I miss my family."

"I know honey, I know." I pulled her away from me and pulled my handkerchief from my pocket before wiping the tears from her pretty face. "I'll always be here for you. Remember that. No crying on your own, okay?" She nodded at me and I gave her a reassuring smile. "How about we go look for our rings?"

"But your mother…"

"My mother can wait. Today it's just you and me. What do you say?"

"I would like that very much."

AN: HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAKURA!

Hey! Poor Sakura is so confused she doesn't really know what to do or what to feel. And Li is trying his best, I mean, asking someone to try to love you must be difficult. He is trying to understand her, where she comes from and why she is the way she is.

Thank you for the great reviews! I noticed a lot of new names, thank you for reading and the encouragement and sometimes threats to continue with my story. Also thanks a lot to the loyal fans. Some of you have been following my stories for some time now and I appreciate your support.

See you all next month!

Tella

PS. To Zyric, thank you for your very long review. The reason why my English is good, is because my mother made us (my brother and I) speak English for one day a week since we were very little. So I've been bilingual most of my life (Afrikaans being my home language and English my second). My grammar is good, but thank your lucky stars Bill Gates invented something called the Spell Check. My spelling is another story altogether!

And KayaprideI'm so glad you are okay! Cars can be fixed and new ones can be bought, but friends can't. I'm so glad you didn't get hurt in the accident. Good luck!