"The Move"


The proposition with the Hiroshi Corporation was already panning out to be a success, just as Syaoran suspected it would.

They were planning to merge the corporations together since Hiroshi's had been currently undergoing bankruptcy. Without the Li Corporation's assistance, their company would be extinct, which gave Syaoran the upper-hand in the proposition. The original proposition was to convince Hiroshi into selling his company over to Syaoran, handing down all his manufactures. However, the stubborn, old man never gave in to the request. So, instead of buying the company from him, they had agreed on merging his company with the Li's in Japan.

Syaoran would just be the new CEO of Hiroshi's company while he worked under Syaoran since he would be the one getting the corporation out of the mess they caused. Syaoran questioned the intelligence of the old man for selling all their products and then borrowing from another company for all this time. He hoped the old man felt grateful for his mom convincing him to help pick up the mess Hiroshi made.

Shaking his head of the thoughts, Syaoran sighed. It already took a tremendous amount of time to get the stubborn man to give in to the idea of letting their companies merge. Syaoran could not understand how the old man held a precious place in his mother's heart, despite her never sticking a hand out to help anyone. Even her own family.

To convince himself to fall through with it more, he outweighed the pros and cons of this happening, which happened to be more pros. There were just a few more things that needed settled to convince the man to give all rights in his company to him, then the case would be closed. With the mess his company had been in, Syaoran thought it would be easier than this.

Syaoran sighed again, feeling a little annoyed thinking about the proposition between the companies again. There were better things that needed to be done—like replying to these emails that he had been throwing off for the last few days.

After replying to the last one, he closed the laptop, calling it a day for work. After all, he had promised Xing that he had taken the rest of the day off to be with him, yet here he was, still concerning himself with work matters. He knew he needed to do better with spending time with his son. As the days progressed, he felt like he was spending less and less time with Xing. After the business proposition with the Hiroshi Corporation was finalized, he promised himself that he would have to do better.

He reached for the papers on his desk and began searching through them.

Ah, here they are.

Syaoran could hardly believe the girl had signed them to live here with him and his son. He found it hard to wrap his head around a person being this naïve to trust a stranger so easily when being invited into their home. Her life could be in more danger than any of their lives in this house, yet she looked past that piece of knowledge. It made him wonder what kind of trouble she could get into.

He was certain that someone had taken advantage of her at some point in time by now. She had been living alone in Tokyo for the past few months. There were all types of sick-minded people living here, so someone has had to have corrupted her by now, he speculated.

He had come to the conclusion that she was an ignorant girl who may have needed to be taught a lesson or two about life at some time before she caused any damage to herself or anyone else around her.

Xing.

His fists clenched, thinking about the dangers the "ignorant girl" could put his son in. He knew she could not be trusted, despite him already giving her permission to stay here and watch him. After some inner conflicts, Syaoran came to the conclusion that he would have someone check up on them when he could not be around.

He thought about how hard it had been to keep tabs on the girl. Even though he had given her a temporary place to stay, she barely remained in the hotel during that time. She was always out somewhere, doing god-knows what with who knows what. For all he knew, she could have been involved with prostitution on the down-low.

When his mind took him to that dark place, he closed his eyes, hoping to get rid of the disgusting thoughts that were running through his head.

He realized that was nothing to concern himself with, besides the fact that she could be a danger to his son. The only reason that she was here was because of Xing anyway. He had never seen Xing become attached to a person the first day they met. He had not stopped talking about her even after she had left. She was the only person that Xing allowed to remain in his presence for that long the first day they had met. Seeing his son so fond of her, even though he knew nothing about her, unnerved Syaoran. It was as if they had known each other for years when Syaoran witnessed him interacting with her that day.

Even though he would never admit this, it was a little frightening how attached Xing was, but Syaoran knew Xing had never mistaken anything like this before even though he was only four-years-old. And that was the reason Syaoran had to check her out himself before having her around him. There had to be something about her for Xing to like her so much, he reasoned.

He snorted at the thought of her being involved in some black magic, but quickly disregarded the outrageous idea. Besides, he appreciated the benefits that he would receive out of the entire arrangement. It was all about benefits when it came to things like this.

It had been made quite clear that she should not expect more than what he was willing to give—which was money and a place to stay. She knew that there would be nothing inappropriate going on and she was rather relieved when he placed emphasis on that, to his dismay.

It was guaranteed that nothing inappropriate would happen, but he did not like how relieved she seemed by that. He knew he was not the most interesting person around, but he thought of himself to be fairly attractive. He noted how he received compliments on a daily basis, so he knew he could not look that bad.

When he noticed his temper rising at the thought of the girl not finding him attractive, he shut the thought down completely, reminding himself that it was a good thing. At least she would not try to meddle her way into his business like all the other nannies had. She had made it painfully obvious that she was only here for Xing.

It was a win-win situation, just as he told her the other day. She had a place to stay, while he had someone to keep an eye on Xing. She was also of the opposite sex, so she could be a good female figure in Xing's life for right now. Not necessarily a mother figure, but someone he could look up to as a female, Syaoran tried convincing himself. Xing barely had any interactions with women besides Syaoran's older sisters that he thought to be annoying—and that was only because they forced themselves on him.

While it was a good thing for Sakura to be in Xing's life, he did need to talk to her about the way she was with him. He was not so sure that he liked it earlier because it seemed too…motherly—which was the last thing that it needed to be. The route that she was taking would have Xing confused, whether she was being intentional or not.

Syaoran knew it was something he would have to talk about eventually. Especially to Xing so he would not get any ideas in that head of his. He was such a mischievous kid that it made him wonder where he inherited it from. His mother was not like that and Syaoran certainly was anything but that.

Xing was the reason the girl was here in the first place, after all. He always somehow got rid of all the females that he had around. Never one to give their kid what they want, Syaoran still thought it would only be fair to have someone around that Xing actually wanted to be around. There was no way for him to be happy if it were someone he disliked. It was hard keeping women around because either they abused Xing because he, "needed corporal punishment for his behavior" or wanted something more with Syaoran. Corporal punishment had just been something that Syaoran never agreed with, despite him having it as a kid.

No woman had ever been there for Xing and it seemed like Xing sensed that. Some of the women even went as far as spreading to the media that Syaoran was sleeping with them, which was never the case. In his world, women would do any and everything for money and fame.

Luckily, Sakura did not seem like that, but Syaoran was no fool to let his guard down and think so highly of her. She could be a serpent like the rest of them. But for now, he would not worry too much about that. The only problem that he had to worry about right now is the media. If they found out about a 17-year-old staying with him, they would assume the worse. Their twisted, corrupted minds would ruin his family name, along with Sakura's name alone.

He had to make sure this stayed under the rug. If word got back to his mother, things would get ugly fast. She was the last person that needed to find out all of this.

He began to go through the pages of the contract one by one, reading through each of the rules until he reached page seven with rule number 56 on it. He looked down to the signature part, noticing her neat handwriting missing. He stared at it for a few moments, wondering if she had mistakenly missed this page or purposely not signed it. He decided to tell her later about signing it.

He sat the papers down and stood from the desk, stretching the tension out of his body. He walked out of the office and down the halls, until he heard Xing's voice, making him stop. "Oh! Look at this one here. Daddy said that I made a big mess with the cake!" Syaoran could not help but notice how excited he always sounded talking to her. It was a good thing, but caused a bad feeling in him.

Syaoran slowly approached the living room entrance, stopping when he saw Sakura sitting on the floor with Xing sitting between her legs and their backs facing him. "Aww! You look so adorable here," she pointed to something in the book Xing was holding.

"Oh! This was my costume for Halloween last year!"

Syaoran saw the photo album book he had made a few years ago. His eyes drifted to the head of auburn locks, something he found a lot more interesting than the photos. If she were facing this way, he would be able to have a glimpse of her eyes. They were the purest shade of emerald gems that he had ever seen. He thought it ought to be a sin to have that much purity radiating off a person.

His fists clenched on their own as his eyes slowly drifted down to the naked skin on her neck. It looked so smooth and delicate to the point if someone came in contact with it, it would bruise easily. His eyes travelled down her neck slowly, studying the curve where her neck met her shoulder. He found the tank top she had on to be a tease. For some reason, the thought of her wearing something so exposing in a strangers home irritated him. It made him wonder if she had done something like this with another person.

In fact, that thought nearly pissed him off, yet his eyes did not stop their wandering. He let them stray down her naked arms, wondering how it was even possible for skin to look that delicious. Her waist was small that it almost looked unhealthy. It made him see she really did need help because there was no way that she could have survived on her own for another month.

When his eyes began to trail lower, his conscious prevented them from going any further, chastising him for checking the girl out. It was like his eyes had a mind of their own whenever she was around. It was always a habit to check out a girl of age whenever one was around, but it was different with her. He could not help but take in everything she showed him.

He walked over to the two, clearing his throat to get their attentions. They both looked up at him simultaneously with those innocent eyes. His eyes locked with the emerald pair though, causing an annoying tug at the bottom of his stomach.

"Xing, go and wake Ms. Hana. Play in your room for a bit after that. I need to speak with Ms. Kinomoto about something important."

Her body stiffened at the mention of him needing to talk to her alone. A smirk almost tugged at his lips, but he refrained it. He knew she was scared of him for whatever reason. As terrible as it might sound, he liked that. It made him feel like he had the upper-hand in every situation with her. He knew she would not cross him the wrong way, if at all. That was just an additional reason to having her presence here.

"Yes, sir! I'll see you later, Sakura!" Xing hugged her tightly before placing a kiss on her cheek.

Syaoran had the urge to snatch Xing from her and bring him to his side, but withheld it.

She smiled at him and hugged him back tightly and patted his head lightly before shooing him off in the direction Syaoran instructed him to go. The moment he disappeared, the tension in the room grew thick, something that it always did.

Back at that hotel, Syaoran felt like he was digging his own grave. The only reason he had chosen to settle things there was because he did not want any ears to hear about the arrangement. This whole thing needed to remain a secret and he did not want to risk sealing the deal in public for thousands of ears to hear. The idea about doing it at the hotel alone was outrageous too, but he reasoned that he had no other options.

She turned to him and stood from the floor, keeping her eyes cast down.

Even though he enjoyed having the upper hand in most things, it irritated him when she avoided eye contact with him. He glared at her and on cue, her head automatically looked in his direction. Her cheeks tinted with crimson hues when her eyes locked with his. "There was something that I should've said before this arrangement was settled, Ms. Kinomoto."

She nodded her head, slightly.

He gave her a pointed look, warning her to use her voice. He found it hard to understand why she had this habit of not using her voice when it was a gift given to her. There were so many people that did not have that privilege.

She cleared her throat. "W-what is it? And you can just call me Kinomoto. You don't have to be so formal with me."

He ignored that invitation. "I want to discuss how your relationship with Xing should be," he said in a hushed tone.

Her expression changed into one of confusion at the mention of the topic. "I'm…his nanny," she stated simply as if he were the idiot for mentioning it like it was something more.

He nodded in agreement. "Exactly. That's as far as it'll get. I don't want you to think that your role in his life is anything more than that."

She gasped during mid-sentence, making his eyes land on her lips instinctively like they always did. "Heaven's no! I would never try to replace Xing's mother if that's what you're implying." Her voice rose defensively.

Syaoran glared at her before taking a step closer to her, being sure to keep his voice in a hushed tone. "Keep your damn voice down, woman," he hissed.

Her eyes shifted to the floor like a guilty child who stole a cookie from the jar. "I'm sorry...I just...how could you think I'd try to do something like that?" Her voice was laced with so much hurt that it almost made him feel guilty.

He looked at her until she finally looked up at him with tears in her eyes, threatening to spill. "I never said you would. I just wanted to make sure you understand that you need boundaries."

She frowned. "Of course I do. I would never overstep them," she whispered.

His fists clenched, feeling annoyed with how sensitive she was being. He was only giving her a fair warning, so he found her behavior uncalled for. He turned away with grit teeth, not able to see those beautiful eyes filled with tears anymore because of him. "Don't cry," he commanded harshly, glaring at the floor. Quite frankly, he could not tell if he were upset with her for being sensitive or himself for feeling guilty.

He could feel her gaze on him now, making him not want to look at her for once. From the corner of his eyes, he could see her quickly wiping her eyes vigorously. "I'm sorry, Mr. Li. That just hit a little close to home. I have never wanted anyone trying to replace my mother or father, so I know that Xing certainly wouldn't. For you to think I'd hurt him like that disappoints me."

He gave a slight nod to acknowledge what she had said. He had not meant to offend her. She was just being sensitive about the warning, he reasoned to ease his guilt. To get his mind off this feeling, he decided to change the subject. "There's something else," he said, grabbing her arm and pulling her down the hall to his office.

He closed the door before walking over to his desk, picking up the documents. He grabbed a pen too and handed them to her.

She stared at him confused, all tears vanished from her eyes now. "…what?" she asked, sounding clueless to his silent request.

"You didn't sign all the papers. I figured it was a mistake since you signed all but one," he said, waving the paper and pen for her to take.

She just stared at the papers for a moment before looking up at him. "It wasn't a mistake," she said quietly.

"What?" he asked, wanting to be sure he heard correctly.

"I didn't sign page seven because I don't agree with all the rules on that page."

His brows knit together, wondering if she had lost her mind. "I can't keep you here if you don't sign all the papers," he threatened, making her shoulders untense. "You're talking about rule number 56 again, aren't you?" he asked, already knowing the answer to that. They had already had this conversation the other day and he thought he made himself clear.

Clearly not.

She chose not to say anything, only infuriating him more. "Kinomoto—"

"I won't allow you to control me, sir. I think it's not appropriate to ask for your permission for anything, considering that you aren't my guardian, nor are you anything else but my boss," she said calmly, but he could see the masked panic in her eyes.

He dropped the papers and pen on his desk again, turning to her with his arms folded over his chest now. He noted that defiance did not suit her character one bit, but knew there was nothing he could do about it right now. She had been right about him not being her guardian, but he had worded that rule that way for a reason. One that he refused to tell anyone.

"What bothers you about this rule? Where do you have to go that you don't want to ask me—"

"It's not about wanting to go anywhere, but I just feel like…" she trailed off.

When she did not continue, he figured that she would keep it to herself. He moved closer to her, hoping to make her overwhelmed with his presence. "Well, how do you purpose we fix this then? Because I need you to sign all the pages for legal purposes."

He heard her breath hitch in her throat at his proximity, causing him to shudder at her response. "Get rid of the rule," she said after a moment of silence.

He raised a brow, looking down at her. "No," he said in a finalizing tone. "Sign the paper or you're out," he threatened without any promise to it. He would never throw her out on the streets, but she did not need to know that.

When pain flashed in her emerald eyes, he could feel regret wash over him. "Would I be able to say goodbye to Xing first?" she asked, surprising him with her response. He was almost sure that she would have given in to signing the page if threatened to being thrown out.

He ran a frustrated hand through his disheveled hair. "Damn it, Kinomoto. Let me know where you are at all times when you leave the house on your days off then," he demanded instead. He could not believe he was trying to compromise with her.

She shook her head. "It still feels like a means to control me," she said with a frown on her face.

"What—"

"What about…if I want to inform you of my whereabouts, then I will. If I don't want to, there are no obligations to tell you," she said.

He looked at her as if she had been absurd. "Hell no. I must know where you are at all times."

"But—"

The door to his office opened, making Syaoran step back from her immediately.

"Is Daddy and Sakura finished having a grown-up conversation?" Xing asked, peeking at them from behind the door.

"Of course!" Sakura said, waving her hand for him to come in all the way.

Syaoran glared at her. "This conversation is not finished," he hissed at her quietly.

"I know," she said before going over to Xing.

Syaoran sighed, already starting to rethink having her here, but knew there was no way he could find it in himself to kick her out.

Just great.


Dinner was oddly silent as they all sat at the table eating. Xing did not even bother talking to Sakura. The boy never remained quiet in her presence, so it made Syaoran ponder upon the two.

Hana had cooked dinner and left for the evening already, so it was just the three of them. Luckily, everything was settled in for Sakura when Kenta arrived earlier with her things. Syaoran knew watching his son would be a handful, so he wanted her to be as comfortable as possible here. She was certainly not comfortable here now though.

Their conversation in the living room earlier may have contributed to her not speaking as much to Xing, or maybe the conversation about kicking her out if she did not sign the papers did. He wanted to tell her he had not meant it, but found it hard to push his pride aside.

Syaoran looked up from his plate at Sakura across the table. She was twirling the sticks around in her plate of food, looking deep in thought. He cleared his throat to get her attention, but she remained staring down at her plate. However, Xing looked at him with his mouth stuffed with broccoli. That was strange too because he despised broccoli with a passion.

Syaoran tried clearing his throat again and she both heard and ignored, or she really was deep in thought. Feeling slightly irritated, he sat his chopsticks down loudly. "Kinomoto," he called sternly.

Immediately, her fingers dropped the chopsticks and her head looked in his direction. Their eyes automatically locked with each other's, making his throat became dry all of a sudden, forgetting what he was going to say. His mind could not even form a coherent sentence to say to her. He glanced down to her plate before returning his gaze to hers again. "You don't like the dish Ms. Hana made?"

His eyes automatically dropped to her pink, plump lips when she let out a gasp. "Of course I do. It tastes delicious."

He continued staring to her lips, sucking in each word her lips articulated. He forced himself to look away before his mind could wander to dark, forbidden thoughts. Thankfully, she had changed out of that inappropriate outfit that she had on earlier. The outfit that she had on now kept her body covered, which was a good thing. Her choice of clothing earlier was just mildly inappropriate. Her shorts were way too short. To Syaoran, at least.

For her to have had on such a skimpy outfit around a stranger brought more suspicion on about her. He thought that the girl learned her lesson from the asshole at her apartment, but no, her naive nature was begging for another lesson.

He looked at her plate again and scoffed. "You haven't touched anything on your plate."

Crimson hues tinted her cheeks before she picked up her chopsticks and started stuffing the food in her mouth. He almost snorted at how ridiculous she looked, trying to prove a point.

"Is it that you hate broccoli too, Sakura?" Xing asked excitedly.

Syaoran gave him a pointed look, making Xing look at him and grin. A small smile tugged at his lips before it fell immediately. His body could feel the innocent emeralds on him again.

"Of course I hate them," she stated matter-of-factly to him, but exuberant could be heard in the tone of her voice.

Xing smiled at that, nodding his head. "See, Daddy? Even grown-ups hate broccoli. Only people who wear the same faces as Daddy loves them."

Sakura giggled at Xing's outrageous assumption. Syaoran looked from him to her immediately when hearing that sound. He closed his eyes tightly, trying to get his body under control.

"There was a 'but' to what I said, Xing. I eat them so I can be strong...like you and Daddy, remember?" She looked at Xing questioningly, but her eyes kept shifting over to Syaoran's unconsciously.

There was nothing to sexualize about that...so why did that turn Syaoran on? He concluded that she was doing it on purpose now. Plus, it had been ages since he last had sex, let alone a release.

Isn't it illegal to look at someone her age in that way?

Of course, but it was hard for a guy to control his mind when a girl was looking at him like that, so he felt that he deserved to have some slack cut.

Stupid conscious.

It was not like she was the most attractive thing around, he tried convincing himself. In fact, she was the complete opposite of what normally attracted him. She was way too skinny for his appetite. She barely had any ass and she was probably just a b-cup sized breast. Unable to resist the urge, he looked down to check and see again.

Okay, maybe a good handful.

She barely reached his shoulders when they stood side by side the other day, so no long, slender legs. Who was he kidding? He had been staring at her long, slender legs every opportunity he had when she was not looking, despite her being shorter than him. There was nothing majorly physically attractive about her—okay, she looked extremely cute, but that was all, he battled with himself.

Syaoran had been having this same battle with himself for the last few days and it was starting to get old.

"You're right. I'm only going to eat them because Sakura does then," Xing said as he used his chopsticks to pick up the broccoli and drop it in his mouth. He made a puking sound, making her giggle at that as she ate her own food.

Syaoran's food was abandoned because his eyes and mind were too preoccupied with the girl at the end of the table, wondering what the cause of his attraction towards her could be. His eyes took in every movement she made and every skin that was shown.

A blush crept to her cheeks as she continued to eat her food. He knew she could feel his heated gaze, even though she had not glanced up at him and that thrilled him. He chose not to give much concern to understanding why it did, but it did.

"Do you not like the dish Ms. Hana cooked?" Their eyes locked, with mischief in hers as she asked the question.

He liked that look. A lot.

"Of course Daddy likes Ms. Hana cooking. That was a silly question to ask, Sakura," Xing answered with a chuckle.

One of Syaoran's brow arched as he picked his chopsticks back up and ate.

"You're right. It was silly, wasn't it?" She laughed before she resumed her eating.

The remainder of dinner was peaceful, with the exception of Xing and Sakura engaging in conversation while Syaoran observed them quietly.


"The end. No more stories, Xing," Syaoran said, closing the fourth book of the night.

"But…Daddy, one more, please? I promise after that I'll go to sleep," Xing pleaded, giving Syaoran the eyes.

He had been accustomed to them for too long, so the effects of it were a little dull on him now. Still cute though. "No, Xing."

Xing jumped from his car-shaped bed, turning to Syaoran, who was currently sitting in a chair beside his bed. "But Daddy, you didn't read me my favorite book."

Syaoran arched a brow, wondering what book he was speaking about. "Which book is that?"

"'Love you forever.'"

He gave Xing a skeptical look. "That was the first book that I read tonight."

"No you didn't, Daddy. Please read it again. You know that's my favorite one of all times," he pleaded desperately.

Syaoran sighed and gave in to him. It was just going to be for this one time; something he always thought before letting Xing get his way. Sometimes he could not help it. "After reading this book, you're going to sleep, okay?"

"Okay!" Xing said excitedly with a wide grin on his face, lying back down on the bed.

Syaoran gave him a pointed look, making Xing sigh and get the hint. "After you read this book, I'm going to sleep," he said disappointingly.

Syaoran nodded and proceeded to reading him the book. After finishing the book five minutes later, Syaoran leaned down and kissed his forehead. "Goodnight, Xing." He started to stand from the chair beside his car bed but Xing stopped him.

"Daddy?"

Syaoran looked down at him. "Yes?"

"Is Sakura going to be my new mommy now that she's staying here with us?"

Syaoran's heart nearly dropped as his eyes widened. He sat back down in the chair, turning to Xing immediately. "Of course not. Why would you even think such a thing?"

Xing sat up in the bed, turning to him. "I asked her about it...and then I heard you saying something about it to her today—I'm sorry I listened to grown-up conversations, but I couldn't help it this time when I heard you mention it to her!" he said with tears in his eyes, threatening to fall.

Syaoran could not believe what his ears were hearing. Xing had mentioned something about it to her and she did not even bother to tell him?

Syaoran's fists clenched, feeling pissed at the girl for not telling him about this. He thought she would have the decency to tell him this, of all things, at least. He tried calming himself down before he said something to Xing that he might regret. Xing had not done anything besides eavesdrop on their conversation. Syaoran decided to take the fault for that because it was irrational to talk about such a thing with him in the house.

"Xing, Sakura is just going to stay here for a little while because she doesn't have a place to stay right now," Syaoran explained.

He did not even know if he should tell Xing that she would be his new caregiver for the time being.

"Oh...so she will leave too?" he asked sadly, and the tears started to stream down his rosy cheeks.

Damn it!

Syaoran closed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair frustratingly. "Eventually, Xing. You have to be a big boy, though."

Without warning, Xing began to sob loudly. Syaoran let out a sigh and stood from the chair to sit on the bed, pulling him into his arms. "But she can't, Daddy. She promised me! Why does she have to leave? She hasn't even done anything wrong!"

Syaoran thought to deal with her later about that too. She should have known better than making outrageous promises with his child, without his permission. He wished she would use her brain more. "Xing, you do know that you have me, right?" he asked gently, noticing his son lack of attention to him.

"Yes..."

Xing did not sound convincing enough with that answer, but Syaoran decided to let that topic slide for another time. He knew that he had not been with Xing much lately, but there was nothing he could do about that right now.

"How about this, before the school year starts, we can go on vacation together. Just the two of us, okay? Where do you want to go? Name any place in the world and I promise you that I'll take you."

Xing looked up at him, wide-eyed. "R-really? Will it be troubling for you? Won't Daddy have to work?" he asked quietly with tears still in his eyes.

Syaoran wiped under his cheek to get rid of the tears. "Of course not. Name any place you want. You have to stop crying first though."

Xing sniffed and wiped his eyes, getting rid of the tears, to Syaoran's relief. "I don't want to cause you any trouble..." he said as his mind wandered somewhere else. He had a dazed expression on his face. "If you insist though...I want to go...to Disney world!" he said excitedly.

Syaoran smiled, nodding his head. "Then it's done. We can take our vacation down in the US. There are a lot of fun things to do there that I want to show you."

Xing hugged him tightly, burying his face in Syaoran's chest.

Syaoran let out a sigh of relief, happy that he was feeling a little better. He sat Xing back in the bed and pulled the sheets over him. "I love you, Daddy."

Syaoran smiled at him before ruffling his hair, which caused him to pout. "I love you too, squirt."

Xing chuckled and looked up at him. "Will Sakura come with us too?" he asked innocently. Syaoran realized that was his way of saying he wanted her to come, considering the fact that he had just told the little boy that it would just be the two of them.

"I'm not sure yet. Don't think too much about that though. We are going to have fun together, no matter what."

Xing nodded his head and laid his head back on the bed. Syaoran pulled the sheets up to his chin. He yawned and closed his eyes, "Goodnight, Daddy."

"Goodnight, Xing."

Syaoran kissed his forehead one last time before getting off the bed and switching the night light off. He walked to the door and left it cracked open a little, just the way Xing wanted it.

Now, Syaoran needed to go and deal with Sakura and her careless actions. She should have known better than to keep something like this from him. She really did need to be taught a lesson. And he wanted to be the one to do the teaching.


Today felt like the longest day of Sakura's life that she thought it would never end, especially after the awkward dinner with Syaoran and Xing. If she had known better, she would have thought to tell Syaoran they should not have had that conversation in the open like that. She had been surprised that Xing had asked her if she would be his new mom because he overheard their conversation.

She had never heard a tone of voice laced with so much pain when he asked her, nearly breaking her heart. She had felt so guilty as if it had been her fault, despite her not doing anything. He made it very clear that he did not like the idea of mothers or nannies, insisting that she was supposed to be his "girlfriend." She wanted to ask why, but remembered Syaoran telling her not to overstep her boundaries. So, she concluded that it would have to be something that Syaoran needed to talk to him about. It still made her wonder where all of this was coming from.

And then it dawned on her that it was partially Syaoran's fault since Xing overheard him trying to tell her not to act like his mother. She could not believe the nerve of the man to accuse her of trying to become the new woman in their lives. She thought she had made it clear that she wanted nothing inappropriate to happen between them.

Granted, she adored Xing and would be there for him any way she could, but she knew she could never step up and take a role like that in his life. Especially with Xing hating the thought of a mother. She was not trying to play that role anyway. She saw Xing like the younger version who did not have a mother around, except…she sometimes wished she had a mother. She knew he was just lost and confused right now.

At that thought, it made her wonder where Syaoran's wife is. She should have been the one here with the little boy instead of Syaoran dropping nannies and babysitters from the sky to watch him because he was too busy with his own things. She wanted answers because she knew it would be hard staying in Xing's life while he silently suffered.

She sighed, shaking her head from the thoughts. She figured that Syaoran would probably just tell her that it was none of her business if she had asked him. Perhaps she was trying to meddle too much.

The mirror showed her reflection as she braided her wet, auburn hair back into two braids. She had just finished showering and was getting ready for bed, but her mind kept reverting back to the events that played out earlier.

She felt a painful tug at her chest when Xing had begun distancing himself from her. He may not have shed a tear, but he was still hurting because of something that he thought she was attempting to do, thanks to Syaoran.

She sighed again and moved over to her dresser and pulled one of Touya's T-shirts out. She pulled it over her head, letting the shirt fall down to the middle of her thighs.

She had thought really long and hard about telling Syaoran about Xing asking her that, but the only results she could see occurring was a livid Syaoran yelling at her like it was her fault. He would probably kick her out because of what Xing asked her. He was already threatening to kick her out because she refused to sign the paper.

She promised herself that she would stand her ground though. She would not let the man run over her because she was no little girl anymore. She had vowed to protect herself and to stay strong after Touya passed. She had been doing a good job, minus the two slip-ups of her breaking down after almost being assaulted, but she thought she had been doing good.

She remembered earlier, wanting to beat her head against the wall for almost crying about Syaoran accusing her of trying to hurt Xing. She would certainly not slip again though. She refused to let Syaoran think she was some weakling who needed his help. Being a nanny is a real job, so it was not like Syaoran could think of her as a weakling, she mentally told herself a few times.

And if he decided to kick her out in the end, she refused to beg him for a home. She would be homeless until she found herself another job to make a living like she had last time.

That got you somewhere.

She ignored her conscious, reasoning that she would be able to figure something out. Even if that meant he paid her for the one day she watched him, and she would have to find a cheap place to stay with that money. She confidently believed she would find a way.

She started to walk towards her bed, but a sharp, firm knock on the door stopped her. She froze, automatically knowing who it was. There was only one person that could make her fear this much just from a single knock on a door. She took a few deep breaths before getting herself together like she had earlier when he tried confronting her about not signing the papers. As her best friend would say, she needed to put her big girl panties on.

She started walking towards the door, but it opened on its own before she had the chance to reach it, her surprise.

Syaoran walked in and slammed the door shut loudly and turned back to her, causing her to jump from the impact. Her heart dropped to the bottom of her stomach when she saw him approach her with a scowl on his face. The approach reminded her of the landlord back at her place. She finally realized the dangers of this situation when Xing was not around. Immediately, she moved back before he could get any closer to her, fear kicking in. All she could think was, "Will he do what Hiyoshi tried, but succeed?"

Trying to mask her fears, she glared at him for the intrusion, trying to keep a distance between them. "Mr. Li, why—"

"Why the fuck didn't you tell me that Xing asked you if you were going to be his new mother?!"

Her eyes widened and throat constricted, not expecting him to come at her with this, of all things. "I...Mr. Li, I can ex—"

She could hardly form a coherent sentence with him still approaching her like a lion on its prey. The back of her legs hit the bed, causing her to sit on the bed, her behind sinking into the soft mattress.

"Kinomoto, you can't keep shit like this from me! I warned you about this—I told you!" he yelled.

She wondered for a split second if Xing could hear him yelling at her right now. Hearing his demeaning tone as he tried to put the blame on her set something off in her head, causing all rationality to comply, disappear. "You warned me in a place where he could hear us, so I didn't do anything," she said, keeping her voice level at bay. She considered Xing still sleeping, possibly.

The look that crossed on his face told her she would be on the streets tonight though. "How the hell can you try and blame me for your poor decisions on keeping this from his father?! You have no rights in this house to keep anything from me. I'm placing a roof over your god-damn head and giving you more than you've even asked for and you think that you have a right to keep something like that from me!?" he bellowed, making her heart feel like it would jump out of her chest at the raging beating. And not in the normal pleasant way it normally did.

"I don't have any rights in this house?" she asked incredulously, not believing her ears. It was official. He was trying to control her. Knowing this had done it for her, despite her making that promise to Xing earlier.

Without thinking, she stood from the bed on trembling legs, moving to the side of him to walk to her suitcase of clothes she had not put up yet. She could feel his eyes on her every move.

"What are you doing now?" he asked in a demanding tone, only further infuriating her.

She ignored him, grabbing one of Touya's hoodies to cover more than enough of her body. She could not stay with this rude, inconsiderate man any longer. "Leaving," she said shortly.

She decided to forget about her luggage's and things, heading for the door, but he grabbed her arm before she could get far. "Leaving where? Where are you trying to go this late—?"

She tried snatching her arm away, but he held it tighter. "Away from here! I can't do this, Mr. Li. It's too much for me. I would love to watch Xing, but I can't stay at a place where I don't have rights to do anything," she said, still trying to pull her arm away, but he would not let up on that idea.

"You're not going anywhere. You're going to sit here and have a reasonable conversation with me—"

"And thus my rights are taken again. Let me go," she said under her breath, tugging on her arm harder now, but his grip tightened again. "Let go!" she yelled, forgetting about Xing being sleep.

Automatically, Syaoran released her arm, causing her to stumble slightly. She made her way to the door, opening it, but it was slammed shut by a hand resting on the door beside her head. "Are you finished with your little tantrum now?" he asked beside her ear, sending uncontrollable chills down her body. For some reason, that upset her that he was having this affect on her while also demeaning her feelings as "throwing a tantrum".

"This is no tantrum, Mr. Li. I am leaving—"

"And where are you going to go?" he asked, balling his hand into fist on the door.

She could feel the heat of his body close to hers as he trapped her between himself and the door without touching her. "It doesn't matter where I'm going to go. I just don't want to live here if I'm going to be controlled by the father of the child I'm paid to watch," she said.

"You're so stubborn to the point where you would let yourself become homeless? Even after you made that pathetic promise to my son that you wouldn't leave? And then you're going to leave?"

She stopped trying to open the door at that question, remembering why she had been here to begin with. This was all for Xing, nothing else. She would not let him use that to control her though.

"If you're telling me that I should've never made that promise with him, you're right, I shouldn't have. But that won't make me stay here if it means you get to treat me however you want to," she said quietly, feeling herself calm down a bit.

She saw him slide his hand down the door as he released a sigh in her ear. She stifled a gasp, feeling his hot breath against her skin. "Okay…what do you want to do? I am willing to compromise, but I'm not changing my mind," he said sternly.

She realized the man was hardly capable of being nice, but he was trying right now, despite him still being aggressive with his approach. "Don't blame me and say that I made a poor decision when you had that conversation with me in the open. Xing overheard you accusing me of trying to be his mother—"

"I never accused you of anything—"

"You insinuated it though. It doesn't matter what your intentions were, but he heard you, so he came and asked me if that's what I had been trying to do," she explained. She wished he would move so she could breathe properly.

"Okay. And what about the stupid useless promises to my son? I can kick your ass out at any second, so you shouldn't be promising him shit like that," he gritted out.

"If you're just going to threaten to kick me out at every given opportunity to get your way, I won't stay here. I'm working for you, so it's not just you doing me a favor anymore," she said with a frown. "I…won't make the promises anymore though."

She could feel him take a step closer to her, causing her breath to hitch in her throat. Without thinking, she turned around, only to be met with a piercing glare directly in her face. She fought down the blush, knowing this was not the time to be feeling flustered. She just wished he were not so close to her.

"What did he ask you specifically? Tell me everything he said to you," he commanded suddenly.

She sighed, only seeing it fair that she did tell him this. She had been planning on telling him anyway. "I…He...he just asked me if I would be his new mother—but I told him no and that me being here was nothing like that. Then he said that I couldn't be his mother or nanny...that was all," she explained, purposely leaving certain things out. If Xing had not told him about not wanting a mother, she would leave it alone.

He let out a sigh and ran a hand through his unruly hair and pulled on it tightly with his eyes closed. "Okay…okay…" he said under his breath, looking in distress. "I need you to tell me these things. I need to know if something's bothering him, which is partially the reason you're here."

"If I don't have to follow rule 56, I'll make sure that you're updated on everything with Xing, even things he doesn't want you to know," she said, seeing this as the opportunity to discuss that again.

He released an aggravated groan, moving away from her, to her relief. "This again?"

"I can leave, Mr. Li. This is not my only option," she said, hoping he knew she meant that.

"Kinomoto…"

"I can let you know where I go on my days off. By my choice though, but if I don't want you to know, you won't. If you can't follow through with that, then—"

"Okay, damn it," he said frustratingly.

She relaxed. "Thank you."

"You're not going to leave still, are you? I don't want to have to put nails in the doors," he said.

She could not stop the smile from forming at that. If that were a joke, he showed no signs of it with the serious look on his face. "As long as there are no rules like 56…and that I have rights here," she responded jokingly.

He frowned at that, making her suppress a giggle. She could tell he still did not want that. "I'll change the rule, but you still have to sign the paper," he said.

She nodded instead of responding, causing a silence to follow shortly after that as they stared at each other.

Suddenly, the atmosphere shifted again as they just stared at each other. Something in her stirred to life, sensing him move closer to her. She wished her fight-or-flight response kicked in, but she stood unmoving as she waited for something she could not identify right now.

His amber eyes drifted down to, what she assumed, her lips and the shade of them changed.

Her heart was racing again, but for the right reasons this time, and her body began to heat up, feeling his heated gaze on her. Her skin broke out into goosebumps on cue and her breathing started to pick up on its own, making her realize it was getting harder to control herself.

"P-please leave, Mr. Li," she blurted when she notice him lean down towards her slightly.

His eyes snapped back up to hers, glaring a little. "Don't think about sneaking out tonight," he said, making her move from the door before storming out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

She released a shaky breathy, moving her hand to her chest. She could not believe she stood up to him like that. Seeing him respect her stand her ground felt…empowering.

Living in this house was going to be harder than she thought, but she decided to stand her ground from now on if it meant him giving in.


A/N: I know I said this would be out yesterday, but I crashed after editing it last night at 3am. And my morning consisted of a four hour long orientation/training for my new job on Zoom and me trying to complete some class assignments so I could clear up my weekend to work on this story. So, my apologies!

I did change a lot here. Those who are afraid of me making Sakura the pushover again, I promise that won't be the case as much here. I just want to build her character up to standing her ground like she had to in the show with Syaoran. Syaoran was mad intimidating in the show and Sakura was scared of that, but after rewatching the show for like, the 100th time(not even kidding lol), she doesn't peg me as the biggest pushover anymore. Plus, she's older in this story with a bit of experience since she's had it a bit rough. She should know a little better. Ummm...Syaoran is 23, thanks to a reviewer pointing something out for me about Xing's age and Syaoran's not adding up to him having Xing at 18 :).

Anyway, I don't know how much I will edit of the next chapter, but I will definitely try and get it out tonight :).

Ja ne!