Happy Birthday to Me?
AN: I do not own Card Captor Sakura
Chapter 8
Sakura's P.O.V.
My corn flakes complained loudly in mouth as I let my jaw move in a circular motion to grind it. My eyes were fixed on the television set and I watched the funny man and mad woman basically jump up and down as they talked about the event Li and I had attended last night.
"That dress was a spotlight stealer to say the least. But darling, talk about stealing the spotlight… Did you see the ravishing young woman the ever so hot multi-millionaire, Xiao-lang Li, showed up with?" I frowned at the man as he spoke with his co-host.
"Make me sound like some whore, now why don't ya!" I scolded the television and stuffed another spoon loaded with corn flakes.
"Indeed Han-Yu. She looked absolutely fabulous in that vintage Daidouji dress and her make-up complemented her young features beautifully."
"Not to mention a certain Mr. Li."
"Yes, Li's announcement that he is to marry the young lady has come as quite the shock for many. Let's just say some of his fans are not too pleased with his announcement. You have the scoop on who the girl is, don't you?"
"Of course he has! They put some poor fool behind a computer for the entire night so you can tell the entire country who I am. Shies…" I don't know why I was even bothering with this lame brain show, but something kept me there. I kept my eyes locked on the screen and on the images of me flashing up every now and again. Me walking with Li, me talking with Li, me laughing at Li, me without Li…
"She is quite the mystery."
"The way I prefer it." I huffed and stuffed my spoon into my mouth. Why are people so snoopy? And what's the deal if Li is going to marry me? Someone of his so-called stature should have been married years ago. They could have… When I turned eighteen. Why didn't they?
I frowned at the feminised presenter as he smiled brightly at the camera. So fake… "We have absolutely no idea who the girl is, other that her name is Sakura. From where she is and how she met the Mr. Li is a complete mystery to everyone." I burst out laughing. The poor fools. "We did, however, locate photographs of the lovebirds on their way home after a shopping spree for their wedding rings."
My laughter died right there and then and I stared at the screen in disbelief. What the hell was he on about? "Indeed, a person who prefers to stay anonymous saw the couple on the train on there way home."
"A multi-millionaire on a train?"
"The girl's influence, I am sure." I watched in disbelieve as they displayed photos of Li and myself on the screen. One when we entered the train, when we were sitting, one where he is lifting his leg, one where his leg pushed mine off the seat in front of us… "Our source said this little incident made for quite the heated debate amongst the lovers."
"Oh! What is this one?" I was on my feet with my hands pressing down on the coffee table as I stared at the screen. It was us on the train, I was sleeping and he was playing with my hand, my engagement ring clearly visible.
"This one is quite the million dollar shot. The young lady fell asleep as most commuters do and Li was observed playing with the lady's hand. Very romantic…"
Lovers? Romantic? Pictures of us plastered all over national television! Pictures of him playing with my left hand, engagement ring clearly on display, plastered on national television! I fell back in my seat and pushed my hands in my hair. This was bad. "Someone please shoot me now."
Syaoran's P.O.V.
I could here the girl arguing with the television, making random and more often than not, very rude comments. Sighing I lifted myself form my bed and walked to the living area. She was sitting on the edge of her seat, her eyes where wide and filled with a slight fear as she watched the television screen.
On the screen where pictures of us and our little train ride. I grinned as they tried to explain the images. Sakura had convinced me to take the train home since we ended half way across the city with all our walking. She had said something… Oh yes, that a train ride is an adventure on its own. It was quite the adventure by the look on her face now.
They showed a photo with my leg tossed over hers and my grin grew. She had placed her feet onto the seat in front of us like a naughty little school girl and refused to remove them. In the end I forced her to drop her feet to their proper place by letting the weight of my leg do the talking.
When a picture of me playing with her hand was displayed she practically had her nose pressed against the screen. What else is a guy to do on a forty minute train ride home? Playing with her hand seemed like the best option back then, still does now.
She fell back on to the couch. "Someone please shoot me now."
"It could have been worse." She jumped at the sound of my voice and looked at me in disbelieve as I sat myself down next to her.
"How on earth could this have been worse? My face is plastered all over national television and I didn't even want my photo in the school year book!" She glared at my grin. "Stop grinning you moron! This is so not funny!" I burst with laughter and her fist repeatedly hit my shoulder in desperate attempts to quiet me down.
"I think it is extremely entertaining."
"IT'S NOT!" She threw her arms up to illustrate her point and I kept my grin as her hands fell down on the soft material.
"You are just going to have to get use to it." My grin turned into an apologetic smile as I pushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "Sorry, I should have warned you. Our family has a bit of a celebrity status here."
"But why me?"
"Why not you?"
"If you are trying to test the borders of my temper you are doing a mighty fine job of it, so I am warning you Xiao-lang Li…" Her face was serious as she spoke the threatening words. I remember her temper quite well.
"I'm not. Why wouldn't they choose to focus on you? You are beautiful, smart, very imaginative when you want to be…"
"And the fact that you told everyone we are going to get married has absolutely nothing to do with it." I grinned at her and she lifted a questioning eyebrow at me. She wanted answers and she wanted them now.
"I had to brag." Her face told me that she did not expect that for an answer. She was shocked and staring at me with a you-cannot-be-serious face. I left her staring at me as I got up. "Please do it more."
"Do what more?"
"Call me Xiao-lang more."
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I waited patiently for the kettle to boil the water for tea. She refused to talk to me for the rest of the morning and kept her attention on the television, continuously switching through the channels up until the point she decided to take a shower. I watched her in the corner of my eyes as she walked up and down with her towel secured around her body in search of something.
Water trailed down from her hair to her naked skin and I licked my lips as I watched the drop brush down her soft skin and disappear in the blue cloth hiding her luscious body from my sight.
My eyes trailed down her slender legs she always kept hidden in fitting jeans to her small feet moving across the floor with every step. Slowly I let my gaze trail up her body, the hand clutching her towel, the lines of her shoulders, the soft form of her collarbones… Water dripping down from her wet hair to her face…
How I wanted her. How I needed her. How I longed for her to be within my grasp. I needed to feel her shiver under my touch, to let my warm breath stroke her soft skin as I whispered sweet nothings in her ear…
I snapped back to reality when the kettle's button announced the boiling of the water with a small 'click' sound. My face felt hot, my body longing… Somehow I knew tea wasn't going to be able to quench my thirst anymore.
A small 'ha' let me know that she had found whatever she had been searching for. "Found it?"
"Yup." She smiled brightly at me as she held up a silver bracelet. "I suddenly thought of it in the shower and I had to find it before I forgot again." She glanced at the counter. "Make me a cup as well please." I nodded and watched her walk to her room and that's when I knew.
My thirst will never be quenched until I have the girl.
Sakura's P.O.V.
I don't know why on earth I thought of it, but I did and as soon as I finished my shower I went on a hunting expedition for my bracelet. I had worn it three days ago and misplaced it somewhere in the apartment and forgot about it. So now I was poking my head under every chair, couch and table in the room trying to locate it.
My hand was securely locked on my towel just in case Li walked in on me and my search expedition. He was in his study the last time I checked and I could here the kettle boiling the water in the background. He usually does that. Get up, switch on the kettle, go back, come back again to make tea and go back to his study once more.
I told him that it was silly, standing up and walking to and throw when it was much easier to just wait for the water to boil, make your tea and then go back to whatever you were doing. Not that he listened. Something shiny caught my eye. "Ha!" I had found it. I grinned at the silver bangle as I reached down and took hold of it.
"Found it?" I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard his voice from the kitchen. He must have been watching me to have known I was searching for something, then again that seems to be a ritual with me. Find and conquer. Trying to cover my embarrassment I smiled brightly at him as I turned around and held up the piece of jewellery.
"Yup." His cheeks were burning with a warm blush and I suddenly felt self-conscious dressed in only my towel. "I suddenly thought of it in the shower and I had to find it before I forgot again." I let my eyes fall to the counter. "Make me a cup as well please." I didn't even stay to watch his reply, I just walked to my room and all along the way I could feel his golden stare on me as I went.
I sighed as I dropped the bracelet on my dressing table and quickly pulled some underwear and my jeans on me. That was just freaky to say the least. Why was he blushing? Or is he sick? I frowned as I opened my closet. He's not sick is he? No, can't be. He would have told me if he felt a bit ill, especially since we are going to his mother's for dinner.
I paused. My heart stopped along with my breathing. The one thing I feared the most in the world was sitting on my closet staring at me. It was brown. It had six legs. It could go almost anywhere it wanted and it was in my room. I watched it twitch its feelers and it looked at me.
I screamed.
Syaoran's P.O.V.
The hot steam from the water felt pleasant against my skin as I dunked the tea bag and watched the liquid change colour. I can't believe that I stared. I stared at her. I stared at Sakura like some perverted school boy longing to be with the most popular girl of the school.
It's pathetic really. A man of my age should not stare at a woman, at a girl… Sometimes I cannot decide whether she is still a girl or a woman. Sometimes she is both and I love watching both. I love watching her.
I let my eyes drift from the cup of tea to her bedroom door. A loud scream ruptured the silence that had once filled the apartment and she came running out and straight into me. She clung to my shirt as she peeked from behind my back at her bedroom and I frowned at her. "Sakura, what on earth is going on?"
"I am not going in there until its dead." She pointed a shaking finger at her room. I sighed and pulled the girl out from behind me. A grin spread on my face and I raised and eyebrow at the girl, her attention was still focused on her room.
"I do not mind."
"What?" She frowned at me and looked down at herself when she saw my grin. "LI! This is not the time for your perversions!" She stomped her foot on the floor and threw her arms in a tight fit next to her body, emphasising exactly what she needed to cover. "Just get in there and kill it!"
I put my hand on my chin in a mock thinking gesture, all the while keeping my eyes on her flushed face and a bit below the neck. "Let me think. Go into your room and face and unknown 'evil' or stay out here and watch you throw a tantrum half dressed? Black satin really suites you."
"Just kill it or else!"
"Or else what?"
"I… I…" Her words failed her along with her threat. "Could you stop staring? Keep your eyes on my face." She hissed at me and I smiled innocently. "I know seeing me dressed in my jeans and bra is extremely fascinating, but I really need you to kill it. NOW!"
"Fine, fine…" I sighed. "What's it, by the way?" She mumbled something and I leaned closer. "Repeat that please, in an audible manner."
"A cockroach!" She glared at me as she practically screamed the offender's identity.
"A roach? You're freaking out because of a roach?"
"Come on Li, this really isn't funny. Just kill it please."
"Come again." I was messing with her. I was messing with her really bad, but I was enjoying every darn moment of it.
"Li, could you please kill the bug?"
"Ah?"
"Fine." She growled under her breath. "Xiao-lang, could you please kill the bug?"
"With pleasure." I smiled at her as I walked to her room to find the offender. Who knew she would freak out over some little bug. A very clean bug at that. I don't want them in home either, but I won't flip and topple at the same time if I see one. I found the thing and squashed it quickly. "The deed is done!"
"Thanks." She was standing in her door way with her eyes turned to the ground. Slowly she walked past me and I reached out.
"Sakura, I was just messing with you." My fingers brushed against her skin and she came to an abrupt halt. All the longing that was bottled inside of me suddenly rushed through my blood and I let my fingers touch the base of her neck. I watched her shoulders grow stiff in anticipation and fear.
Slowly I let my fingers trail down her soft skin, following the lines of her back. The black material seemed oddly harsh for a brief moment and when my fingers touched her soft skin once again I could feel sure bliss running through my body.
Her fingers were moving in uncertainty next to her body, clenching and unclenching her fists. I grinned when she closed her eyes. I leaned closer and let my chest bump against her naked shoulder. She swallowed hard as I continued to trace her skin just above the rim of her jeans. My warm breath touched her neck and I grinned when she shivered.
I deliberately traced the skin of her lower back from hip to hip as I followed the rim. Once, twice… She clenched her fists and kept her eyes closed, either not willing or able to move. My lips dropped down to her ear and I grinned as I whispered softly before leaving her to finish. "Sexy."
Sakura's P.O.V.
I avoided every Li as far as possible and only made polite conversation when it was required of me. I find his sisters, all bloody four of them, extremely nosy and loud and their children weren't any better. I even had a glaring contest with Fanren's teenaged son, Takashi. The brat even has my best friend's name.
Okay, okay! So their not all that nosy, but they ask way too many questions for my linking and I only find them to be 'loud' because they think I am extremely quiet. And the children were all like normal children, laughing and playing. And Takashi… we still glared at each other.
I excused myself from the table after dessert and went to hide away in the garden. I found that on occasions such as theses I missed my dad the most. I sniffed loudly and let the back of my sleeve brush under my nose. Dad always lift a brow at me if I did that. And Toya… He would say that it only proves that I am a monster.
Twigs broke behind me and I didn't bother to look up. I kept my eyes locked on the shimmering water of the swimming pool glowing from the light under the water. "Go away Li, I'm not in the mood for you right now."
"I am not Xiao-lang." I turned to look at the male voice and found Takashi staring down at me. His face was unemotional and a certain dislike for me was clear in his eyes. He had the Li hair, the Li eyes, the Li attitude, everything about him screamed Li.
"You're still a Li." He ignored my comment and placed himself down next to me. I glanced at the sixteen year old. "What do you want, because I know you are not particularly fond of me?"
"Maybe not, but I'll try."
"Great." I breathed and threw a random stick into the garden. Every damned Li wants to try and all I want is to be left alone.
"Uncle Xiao-lang hardly ever smiled before you came along." I frowned at the kid and he let his sharp penetrating gaze meet my eyes. "He always worked, even on weekends and Uncle Eriol had to force him to take a vacation once. Now he never works on a weekend and he even took time off from work to be with you. He is always talking about you, about things you said, things you did…"
"What?"
"Most of the time the things you said, yet at table you hardly spoke a word. You hardly acknowledged his existence unless you have to." His voice was harsh.
"I'm sorry. He made me angry before we came."
"He made you angry?"
"No, I suppose that's not entirely true."
"Then what the hell is? Because I do not want to see my uncle in a year or two walking around a broken man. And he might not seem the type, but he wounds easily especially after grandfather passed away."
"I'm confused okay!" I yelled at him and he stared at me in disbelief. "Do you honestly think it is easy for me? Every dream I ever had was taken away from me when I turned sixteen, but I kept working on them hoping and believing that maybe someday he might not come."
I could feel warm tears threatening to spill form my eyes. It was the first time I was able to voice what I felt and I did not want to stop now. This kid is going to know whether he wants to or not. "I couldn't date, because that would be cheating and disrespectful, I couldn't dream about prince charming sweeping me off my feet, because he was already chosen for me and I couldn't fasten my hopes on a career.
"But I did the last, I studied hard and worked my way through varsity always getting distinctions for my main subject. I always kept hoping that my dream would come true. I wanted to rent an apartment in Tokyo and work for one of the publishing companies there. I even got a very good job offer and I couldn't take it, because I have to marry some guy I don't know and live in another country."
My tears burned my face, but I kept my blurry vision locked on the kid. "Then I met him. I turn twenty one and I meet him. And he is charming and wonderful. He really tries to make me feel at home and to make me feel loved by his family and by himself. He really tries and all I find myself doing is pushing him away.
"I keep pushing him away. I am scared Takashi, I am scared that what ever I have to offer him won't be enough. I mean look what he grew up with! My house wasn't even half the size of this place. And I don't know how to be the perfect wife he deserves and I am scared that he will hate me if he knows."
"I will never hate you." My breath got stuck in my throat and I looked up to find Li looking down at us. He had heard everything I said. Without thinking about it I jumped up and ran away. "Sakura!" I didn't stop, I just kept running. Down the street in any direction my feet would take me. I didn't want him to know.
AN: DRAMA! Yes more drama! Mwha-ha-ha! Poor Sakura, she is as confused as a chameleon on a Smartie box and Syaoran… Man, to hear the girl you love say all of that must be a real shocker or eye opener. Either way, emotional! And the next chapter… Mmm… Let's just say you guys are going to like it.
Thank you for the great reviews!
Tella
To Cherrysinger: I suppose everyone is entitled to their opinions. But no one told you to read this and you do not have to be a bitch about it. If you don't like the way I describe Sakura, then find another story. I really could give a damn if you read this or not.