"Change of Plans Part 1"


Sakura's heart raced after hearing the 'click' of the door as it closed behind Syaoran. The moment he turned to her, her breath caught in her throat at the intense gaze. Almost immediately, his gaze softened, looking into her eyes. That look confused her.

They stared at each other for a moment before he cleared his throat, eyes straying from hers. "About last evening—"

Without thinking, she blurted, "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to—" She closed her lips together tightly at the outburst when she noticed the strange, questioning look on his face.

"I...uh...didn't make it home for dinner last evening because something came up at the office," he said looking at her, silently questioning her random outburst with his penetrating eyes.

She paled, realizing he was not talking about the same incident as she was. She hated herself in that moment. "Oh...it's...fine. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...I just thought that you were talking about something else and maybe you had decided that you wanted me gone, or I wasn't…appropriate enough to be around Xing and I wasn't—"

She heard a snort, the closest thing to a chuckle that she had ever heard from the man. "Do you always ramble?" he asked, sounding a bit amused.

She wondered who this man was standing in front her, because it certainly was not the same man who took her in. She nodded, looking away shyly. "Yeah…a…silly habit I picked up over the years, apparently," she trailed off uneasily.

He hummed. "Well, look. Something came up yesterday, so we can't take a long vacation as originally planned," he said.

All her fears and anxiety washed away at that, but in exchange with dread and disappointment for Xing. She had not thought that he meant it last night because she figured it was the alcohol talking. It was clearly the alcohol controlling his actions, so his words were being controlled by it too, she thought. Xing had been so excited about the trip too...

Now she understood why Syaoran was so beat up last night. She still reasoned that it did not give him an excuse to get drunk with his kid in the house though.

Her shoulders relaxed from the tension in them. "I'm sorry, Li-san. I wish there were something I could do," she said, looking down at the floor. She felt a little bad for him now.

"Instead, I'm going to surprise him and just continue the plan this weekend," he said. "The offer still stands for you to come along."

She looked at him, sighing in relief at that, and then nodded. "Yes," she said. "I'd love to go with you guys, if it's not a problem for the two of you."

He nodded, and then walked to his desk. He picked up a white, sealed envelope and handed it to her. She stared at it confused before accepting it. "That's the money for looking after Xing. I would normally give it to you at the end of the week, but this weekend will be busy, and I don't want to forget to give it to you," he said formally.

She sighed softly and nodded, uneasy about this much money in her hands. Particularly since it was something that she was willing to do for free. "Alright."

"I need you to sign these papers still," he said, handing her more papers.

Her eyes skimmed through the papers again, making sure he had not changed anything else on the list. When she saw that he had changed the rule, she grabbed the pen he offered and signed it.

Syaoran accepted the papers from her, tossing them back on his desk lazily. "I know that it's abrupt, but we are going to leave at 11 this morning in my private jet," he said, filling in the awkward gap of silence. Her eyes widened at the sudden information. She waited for him to continue though. "If we leave at 11, we should get to America by 3am our time. It will only be 2pm, a day before our time there, so I saw fit to do that," he said.

It was so soon. She had never been out of the country before and she would be going with people that she barely knew. Why did she not feel the least bit scared?

She thought for a moment, taking in all the emotions that she felt right now. Fear definitely was not one of them, yet that frightened her. She knew she should have felt scared.

"Alright," she said softly. "I mean, when will we come back? School starts Monday..."

"Oh—"

"I mean, next Monday," she interrupted nervously.

She could not understand why she was panicking right now when she had discovered she did not feel scared about going out of the country with them. Oh yeah, she nearly felt the man's entire body pressed against hers last night and liked it, her conscious reminded.

Her eyes unconsciously landed on his lips, cheeks flaming hot when an image of them on her flashed through her mind. "Tuesday," she read them articulate.

She looked in his eyes and nodded. "Okay..." She cleared her throat when noticing how low she sounded. "I'm going to go and..." She trailed off when noticing the way he stared at her. It was a similar look to last night, which only made the hairs on her body stand on end. She really wanted to know what he was thinking.

"Do you have your birth certificate?" he asked suddenly, stopping her from leaving.

She nodded. "Yes, sir."

"I will make sure that everything is taken care of, but you will need that."

"Alright," she said.

An awkward silence passed between them again before he decided to break it. "You were right," he said.

"W-what?" she stuttered.

"It is irresponsible and inappropriate of me to drink any alcoholic beverages in my home with Xing here," he said quietly.

Her first instincts were to panic, but her surprise at him bringing last night up had her immobilized.

"A lot happened yesterday…"

She held her breath, hoping that she could just disappear before things spiraled out of control like they had last night. "I know you're thinking lowly of me and there is no excuse," he said.

Her lips remained pressed together tightly, scared that she would spill everything at once. She knew she could not tell him that she liked what he had done to her and wanted more, but her stupid rambling disorder was trying to force her to.

"And I know that I…" He stopped, only forcing her to assume what he was about to bring up next.

"No, no, no, you don't have to apologize, Li-san. What happened last night was partially my fault because I didn't stop you. I barely had any control over myself. No, wait, what am I talking about? It was you who didn't have control over your actions, but still, I—"

"Kinomoto," he interrupted, causing her to shut her lips together tightly again.

"Y-yes?" Uncertainty could be heard in her tone as she glanced at him hesitantly.

"You're rambling again..." he said with the same amused tone as earlier. Was he getting something out of her being this nervous and near death around him? What kind of person got a rise out of seeing a poor girl in distress? She wished she could attack the man.

"I—"

"I have a few things to get done, so would you mind packing Xing a bag for the weekend?" he asked.

She stared, waiting…waiting for him to mention the incident, but it never came. He clearly remembered, but was refusing to acknowledge it. Her emotions were suddenly a whirlwind of different things she could not understand. Was she sad, hurt, angry, or disappointed? Or perhaps a combination of all those emotions? What she hated the most was the knowledge that she had no right to feel this way about him ignoring that. She knew he did not see her like that, so there was no use in trying to push anything. She was not even sure what she wanted to push anyway.

"Sure," she said and started for the door, hoping to get away before she could further embarrass herself.

When she reached the door, she grabbed the handle and opened it quickly, only to have it shut in her face loudly.

She froze, feeling the heat of a body behind her, but not directly touching her. Looking to the side, she could see Syaoran's hand pressed against the door, obviously the source of the door being shut.

"I've judged you..." he said quietly, causing her skin to tingle at his husky tone. She hated reacting this way to the man, but it seemed she was helpless to this now.

She remained silent, eyes drifting shut as she waited for him to proceed with the conversation.

"I don't usually draw conclusions about strangers. My son..." He sighed. "He seems to have already come to one about you."

She was not sure where he was taking this anymore. She wanted to face him, but fear held her glued in her spot. "O-okay..." she said quietly.

He removed his hand from the door. "Kinomoto," he called in a commanding tone, setting something on fire in her body.

He wanted more than that response. She was not sure what he was looking for, but she knew he wanted her to respond better than that.

"Look at me."

Almost uncontrollably, she turned around slowly and looked up at him, cheeks hot the moment emerald met burning amber orbs.

"This trip will not only serve feeding Xing's hunger for attention. I need to know if I can really trust you with my son," he said. "When school starts, I don't think I'll really have the time to be around as much anymore, so it will just be you and Xing majority of the time."

What?

"I'm still going to come home, but things in my life will be busier than usual, so there will be days where I don't see Xing at all. I want to know that I can really trust you with him," he said.

No…

This was wrong. This was all wrong. It was not supposed to be this way. She was trying to push them together, not see them get pulled further apart more.

"Don't..." she heard him say suddenly, bringing her inner turmoil to a stop.

She looked in his eyes, seeing the reflection of my her own panicked. "How is that possible though? You barely see him now..." she said sadly, more so to herself.

He fell silent, dropping his head. "Thanks for the notice," he said sarcastically, but she could hear the bitterness in his tone.

She frowned. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you, Li-san," she apologized weakly.

"I don't need you reminding me how much of a shitty father I am," he said, without any trace of emotion behind his tone.

Her face scrunched in confusion, wondering where he had formed that idea. "I wasn't—"

"No, you were...actually, you always are," he said, raising his voice a bit. "Coming here, trying to steal my role of parenting from me with my own kid, doing a better job than I've ever done and..." His head snapped back up, eyes locking with hers with a glare. "Just stop it, damn it. Stop trying to be his mother. Matter of fact, stop being better than his mother," he said venomously.

Now, she really felt confused. "I—"

"Sakura! Daddy!" Sakura heard Xing's voice and his little footsteps running in the house, no doubt looking for them.

"Look who he calls first," Syaoran said under his breath sarcastically before gently pushing her from the door so he could open it.

He motioned her to walk out first, and then followed suit behind her. She could not understand where this was all coming from. It was not her fault that she could be around Xing more than him. That implicated nothing about her trying to take his role though.

"There you guys are!" Xing said excitedly. "Were you guys playing hide and seek without me?" he asked in a playful, suspicious tone as he folded his arms.

Forgetting the previous conversation with Syaoran for the moment, she smiled at Xing warmly and walked in his direction. "Why would we play without you? You're the best at that game, remember?" she asked.

He wrapped his arms around her waist, eyes closed and a small smile on his face. "You're right. Aren't I, Daddy?" Xing asked, looking in Syaoran's direction.

"Come here, Xing," he softly commanded.

For some reason, this came as no surprise that he was trying to compete with her right now. She knew it was only a matter of time before he slipped back into protecting Xing from her as if she would hurt them. She refused to compete for Xing's affection though.

Xing walked over to him with a huge grin on. "I'm very very dirty from training, Daddy. Could Sakura and I take a bubble bath together?" Xing asked.

"No. You know better than asking something like that. Come on," Syaoran said harshly.

Before Xing could respond, Syaoran was already picking him up and walking towards the bathroom, away from her.

She released a sigh, running her fingers through her hair, feeling a bit annoyed. Quite frankly, she could not tell if it was with him or herself for opening her stupid, big mouth. She really needed to learn to control her tongue. It was not her fault that she had not seen Syaoran interact with his son since she arrived, but it was in her control to keep quiet about it.

Sakura shook her head at the thoughts to distract herself. That was not something she needed to stress about.

She headed to Xing's room and still packed him a bag for the trip like Syaoran had asked her to.


Sakura had fallen asleep after packing her own bag and showering until she something shaking her body vigorously. "Come on, or Daddy will leave you," a little voice called, close to her ear.

Her eyes slowly fluttered open, squinting when coming in contact with the light. The light was soon covered by a face, specifically Xing's, hovering over her own. "Finally," he said dramatically.

She sat up, rubbing the tiredness from her eyes. "Where are we going?" she asked with a yawn.

Xing chuckled and jumped on top of her. "You sound so funny," he said.

She sat him on the bed and then noticed him fully dressed in Jean capris and a red, button-down collared shirt. "You're not supposed to have shoes on in the bed," she softly chastised him.

He giggled sheepishly before sliding off the bed. "Daddy says that we are going to leave now and if you don't wake up, then you're going to get left. And I want you to come with us, remember?" he said, looking at her anxiously.

She smiled and moved to the end of the bed, sitting down. She picked him up and sat him in her lap. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you think that I wasn't going to come with you guys. Where are we going anyway?" she asked, playing oblivious to the surprise.

"I don't know…Daddy said that we are going to visit my Aunties, Fanren, Fuutie, Shiefa, and Feimei," he said, groaning out loud.

She giggled and ruffled his hair. "Why don't you sound happy about that?"

"It's not that I'm not happy, but they are so annoising," he said exasperatedly.

She raised an amused brow. "Oh?"

He giggled and snuggled into her chest. "I'm only playing! Daddy always says that about them," he said.

Sakura giggled at that, wondering who these people were. "Oh really?"

"Yes, but I think that they are nice. They give me lots and lots of toys, candy, and even hugs and fish kisses!" he exclaimed.

"You like fish kisses?" she asked, smiling at his wide-eyes at that question.

"Of course, I do! Everyone does," he said, and then surprised her by grabbing her face, giving her a big, wet kiss on the lips with puckered lips. "See? I give the best kisses in the world! That's what Meilin-chan tells me, at least," he said with a dazed smile.

"Meilin?" she asked, wondering who this was.

"Mhm. She's also very annoising to Daddy too," he said, giggling as if he were thinking about it.

He turned around in her lap. "Can you give me a fish kiss too? Daddy or mommy has never given me any before. Could you?" he asked, almost imploring her with those eyes.

She smiled before returning the favor, leaving Xing with scarlet cheeks and a dazed expression on his face. Sakura giggled, shaking her head. "Come on, or Daddy will leave the both of us," she said, standing up with him in her arms.

When she attempted to sit him down, he wrapped his legs around her waist tightly. "No, no, no. I want you to carry me. Please, please, please can you carry me?" he asked.

She thought about how Syaoran may have felt about seeing her so close to him right now. She looked in the pleading, puppy-dog, amber eyes, and found she could not resist. Instead of rejecting him, she nodded and walked out of the room, after grabbing her bag.

She sat Xing down in the living room when she noticed an absent Syaoran, but saw their bags by the front door. She glanced at the clock. "Where is Daddy?" she asked Xing.

"Um…" He rested his hand under his chin as if he were thinking about it. "He had to make an important phone call," he said.

"Oh, alright. We can sit here and—"

"Let's go," she heard Syaoran's voice interrupt.

Xing ran over to him. "Daddy, I told Sakura all about my aunties, so she won't feel shy around them," Xing said excitedly.

"Oh?" Syaoran questioned, looking in her direction with a raised brow.

She shrugged, feeling put on the spot. "Uh…yeah, they sound lovely and 'annoising'?" she said questioningly.

She could not tell if they were alright again.

He snorted. "Right," he said sarcastically.

There was her answer; clearly they were not.

"Well, we should get going," Syaoran said, grabbing the bags on the floor by the door.

"I can take that," she said, offering to carry her own bag.

He shook his head before motioning her to watch Xing instead, which she did. She made sure to grab everything that she needed before they walked out the house together.

When everything was settled in the car, Syaoran buckled Xing in.

The ride was quiet and uneventful, except for Xing talking about the things that they would do, as usual.


Awkward.

There was no other way to describe that moment between them. She wondered if he could feel it too or if he were really occupied by the newspapers in his hand.

They had been riding in his jet for the last 10 hours and Xing had long fallen asleep after the first hour, leaving her awake alone with the man. He had not spoken a direct word to her since his outburst that morning. She could not help but keep glancing in his direction, wondering what he was thinking with that concentrated facial expression. It could have just been that he was extremely intrigued by the topic in the newspaper, or he really was deep in thought.

"You do know that it's impolite to stare," he said suddenly.

She blushed furiously, looking away immediately. "Sorry," she apologized quietly.

From the corner of her eye, she could see him placing the newspaper on the table beside his seat. "You said you're a senior, right?" he asked.

She looked in his direction to see him staring at her with scrunched brows. "Yes, sir."

"What do you want to do after graduation?"

She shrugged and a small smile played at her lips as her eyes drifted down to the sleeping Xing between them. "Well, I love kids, so maybe open my own daycare one day," she said. She thought for a moment before an image of her mother came to mind. "Modeling has been something I thought about before too."

He did not respond, as usual. Instead, he turned away.

"Have you always wanted to work in a corporation?" she asked, hoping they could continue to talk. It had been ten hours since they had spoken to each other.

"Sure," he said shortly.

"What is it that you do?" she asked, glad that he was talking to her after giving her the cold shoulder all day.

"Offer unlimited growth potential through the sale of stocks," he explained.

A broad answer, but she could take it for now. "Oh. I don't know much about businesses," she said truthfully.

"Plenty of people your age doesn't," he said with a shrug.

She smiled. "You're right. Maybe I could take a few courses in university."

"What school do you attend?"

"Tokyo High."

"Oh," he said lamely.

She sighed, lifting her feet up on the uncomfortable seat. Her bum was beginning to get a bit sore from sitting down for almost 11 hours. They still had five more to go.

"You can let your seat back and rest if you're tired," he said, as if he were reading her mind.

"I'm fine," she said softly.

He leaned his head back against the seat, closing his eyes. She was almost entranced with the way his long lashes rest against his cheeks. How could a man's lashes appear longer than hers? She was almost jealous.

He still had the concentrated expression on his face. Something was clearly bothering the man.

"I can still feel you ogling," he said, eyes still closed.

She cleared her throat. "You look like you have a lot on your mind," she spoke her mind.

"Yeah."

"It's none of my business, but I can't help but wonder what you're thinking about," she said without thinking.

"Work."

She was surprised he had even told her that much, though it was so little. The fact that he answered at all felt like great improvement. A small smile crept to her lips. "What about work?" she asked, testing her luck with the man. She wanted to see how much she could get out of him.

"How I will manage time," he said.

"Well, if there's anything I could do, just let me know. I still owe you," she offered softly.

"You've done enough," he said quietly.

"Well, the offer still stands," she said, smiling at him, even though he was not looking her way.

His eyes fluttered open and he turned to her, staring at her intensely. "Are you always this nice, or is it only to people who give you money?" he asked, almost coldly.

Instead of taking offense to the question, she shook her head calmly. "I don't know what you mean, Li-san. I treat others the way I would like to be treated, so the money you gave me earlier has nothing to do with my behavior," she said sincerely.

He remained silent after that and his face began to relax a bit from the straining of his expression. He was sleeping.

Sighing, she decided to rest for a bit too, fully aware that she would probably barely get any sleep this weekend with the two boys.


Sakura stared in awe at the beautiful condo that looked like a luxurious house.

"And we're going to stay up all night and play!" she heard Xing exclaim. That was his third time reminding her of that during their journey of exploring the place.

"Aren't we, Sakura?" he asked.

"If you have the energy to," she said, giggling at the scowl on his face at her statement.

"Of course I can! I slept the entire time we were flying, so I know I'll stay up all night. And you have to stay up with me," he said before turning to Syaoran. "Will you stay up with us and play too, Daddy? It will be lots and lots of fun," Xing almost begged.

Syaoran shrugged his shoulders, looking as though he were deep in thought. "Let's see..." he trailed off.

"Please, Daddy? I promise you will have a fun time," Xing pleaded.

Sakura had to suppress a giggle as Syaoran kept the little boy in suspense. This was a side of him that she had never seen before and she would be damned if she ruined it.

"I'll have to think about it," Syaoran decided on.

Xing groaned and dropped his forehead against the side of her thigh, disappointed. "Sakura, come here, come here," Xing almost whispered, pulling on her arm.

She looked down at him with a small smile playing at her lips before she stooped to his height. "Can you ask Daddy to stay up with us all night to play?" he attempted to whisper in her ear.

She threw her head back, laughing uncontrollably at the failed attempt. His head tilted slightly, face twisted in confusion at her outburst. Turning back to him, she whispered in a similar volume, "Okay." She was sure Syaoran heard her. Someone really needed to teach the boy how to whisper correctly.

She stood back up and turned to Syaoran, ready to ask the 'big secret.'

"Wait!" Xing said, pulling on her arm again. She stooped down beside him again. "Also, tell him that I love him," he terribly whispered.

She laughed and ruffled his hair, standing back up. "You can tell him that yourself."

"Please?" He gave her the eyes.

She turned to Syaoran and clasped her hands together dramatically like Xing would. "Can you please stay up and play with us all night?" she asked in a playful, pleading whine. She knew it would not work, but she still gave him the eyes that Xing normally gave them when wanting to get his way.

Instead of giving her a normal response, he let out an awkward cough, turning away from her, while scratching the back of his head nervously.

Did she do something wrong again?

"Now, Daddy, Sakura asked you a question. What are you supposed to do?" Xing asked in a fake, authoritative tone. Xing looked at her with a gleam in his eyes before a small smirk crept to his lips.

She bit back a laugh at his new persona.

After Syaoran did not respond, Xing cleared his throat. "Daddy," Xing said in a playful, warning tone.

Syaoran turned to him with narrowed eyes. "Are you finished playing my role now?" he asked the little boy before hauling him off his feet, holding him, while tickling the little boy.

Xing laughed uncontrollably, squirming in his arms.

Sakura could not stop the smile that crept to her lips at the sight. Why could it not always be like this? For Xing. It was easy to see that Syaoran did love him, so why would Xing ever believe otherwise?

When her eyes drifted to Syaoran's face, a blush spread across her entire face seeing a genuine smile on his face. There was something about an intimidating, strong-willed man letting down his walls for his child. It was one of the most attractive traits to her.

"Okay, okay, okay!" Xing yelled loudly between his laughter. "I'm...done...playing...Daddy!" he said, laughing to the point where he could barely breathe before Syaoran resigned.

"I can't promise that I will stay up..." Syaoran trailed off. And then he did the thing that Xing hated the most; ruffled his hair, forcing it to become more disheveled than it already is.

"Dad..." Xing groaned.

Sakura smiled as Syaoran placed him on his feet. "So, how does the beach sound for the two of you today?" Syaoran asked suddenly.

Xing's eyes widened and he turned to Sakura. "Did you hear him, Sakura?!" he screeched.

She smiled, nodding her head, heart beating against her chest hard. She looked at them, wondering if they could hear her heart.

"Is that alright?" Syaoran asked in a low tone over Xing's plans for the beach, while looking at her.

She smiled, nodding her agreement.

His eyes began to slowly drift down to her body, making her feel self-conscious. "Xing!" she exclaimed and then stooped down to his height to hide from Syaoran's unapologetic wandering eyes.

Xing turned to her with the same grin on his face. "What is it, Sakura?" he asked, titling his head to the side in that adorable manner he always did.

"Did you know that they have a park here, too?" she asked after remembering the playground she had spotted while pulling up here.

He gasped and grabbed her shoulders. "Really?!"

"Yeah. Maybe we could go there sometimes this weekend too," she suggested.

She knew she was overstepping her boundaries again, but almost felt positive that Syaoran would not have a problem with this.

Xing turned to his dad. "Could we really, Daddy?" Xing gave him the eyes.

Sakura turned to him too, giving him the same eyes to add to the effects. His face lifted in amusement before he nodded.

"Yes!" Xing jumped in the air and then turned to her, wrapping his arms around her. She laughed and hugged him back. The moment he pulled away from her, he was at it again with, "We should put our swimming clothes on."

"Actually, we should go and get something in that belly of yours first," Syaoran interjected.

"But I'm not hungry," he whined.

"Yes, you are," Sakura said, giving him a pointed look.

It was coming...

As if on cue, his stomach growled. He blushed and scratched the back of his head sheepishly. The look resembled the same one that Syaoran had earlier. "But if we eat now, we won't be able to go to the ocean..." he said sadly.

"We will a little later. We are going to go to the beach, okay?" she said, holding out her pinky for him.

He hummed and then a wide grin spread across his face. "Deal!" he said happily, linking his pinky with hers.

She turned to Syaoran, who had been watching the interaction between them. "Uh..." She swallowed awkwardly. "What place do you have in mind?"

"I want some shrimp!" Xing chimed in before Syaoran could respond. He clamped a hand over his mouth, eyes wide. "Sorry, Daddy," he apologized as if he knew better.

She smiled, ruffled his hair, and then turned back to Syaoran.

"There's a great burger restaurant a few miles from here. They sell shrimp too, so how does that sound for you?" he asked.

She shrugged with a smile on her face. "Sounds good to me."

"It's settled then. After we finish eating, we can come back here, unpack our bags, wait a bit longer before heading to the beach," he said in a final tone.

"Okay!" they both chorused.


"Can I taste the burger too, please? I've never tasted it before," Xing begged as soon as they had gotten their food.

"Can he?" Sakura asked Syaoran.

He nodded, motioning her to let Xing. She tore a piece of the burger off and gave it to him.

Taking a bite of it, his face twisted, deep in thought. "It tastes..."

With a raised brow, she smiled. "Yes?"

"It's alright, I guess. The shrimp tastes better though," he said before picking a shrimp up and taking a bite out of it.

Sakura giggled and took a bite out of her burger and turned to Syaoran. "Has he always liked fancy dishes?" she asked playfully.

He shrugged and a small smile tugged at his lips, but it quickly vanished. "Yeah. Shrimp is the dish that Meixai ate the most during her pregnancy."

Meixai?

"Xing's mother," he said quietly, so Xing would not hear.

"Oh," she said awkwardly.

As annoying as it was not knowing where the mother was, Sakura was beginning to lose the desire to. If she were to be around, maybe Syaoran would not need her around anymore for Xing. She did not think she was ready for that yet. She had already grown an attachment to the little boy and did not think she would be able to take it if he were snatched away from her suddenly.

"Have you taste shrimp before, Sakura?" Xing asked.

"Yes, I have eaten it a few times," she said, smiling at him. She wondered why she could not help but have a silly grin on her face around him all the time.

"I was just going to tell you that Daddy always takes the tail off the shrimp first, so if you want some, don't forget to take it off. Otherwise, you'll," he grasped his throat with his hand, making a gurgling sound as if he were being choked.

"Xing," Syaoran called in a soft, scolding tone.

Xing blushed and looked down at his plate. "Sorry...you get the point though, right?" he asked, looking at her.

She giggled, nodding her head. "I do, thank you."

Xing looked at his dad apologetically. "I'm sorry, Daddy. I didn't mean to have inappropriation manners..." he said.

"Inappropriate," Syaoran corrected him.

Xing grinned, happy that he was not in trouble. "Thank you, Daddy," he said politely.

She laughed at Syaoran's expression. It was one of amusement, but confusion as well. The two meshed together looked silly.

His eyes averted over in her direction with a soft glare, shutting her up immediately. She did not feel threatened, but she certainly did not want to push her luck too much with him. So far, they were having a good time, and she was beginning to realize that she enjoyed his presence more than she should have.

They ate the rest of their food, while having light conversation every now and then about anything Xing brought to the table.


Fiddling with the straps on the white, bikini bottom, Sakura could feel her entire body begin to grow extremely self-conscious. She had been standing in front of a full-length mirror for the last three minutes, trying to figure out what it was that made her look weird until it finally struck her like lightning.

Skinny.

She looked disgustingly skinny. She had never been one to have low self-esteem, but she often remembered her brother's taunting and teasing about her size. She knew he never meant it, but it had been something that stuck with her. It had been the same with him convincing her that ghosts were real growing up.

She sighed, willing herself to get rid of the sad memories. She readjusted the tie on the bikini top before walking over to the bed and slipped one of Touya's T-shirts on, letting it fall to her mid-thigh. She slid her feet in her sandals and grabbed a towel before going to the living room where the two boys waited.

"Finally, slow-poke," Xing said, grinning at her.

She giggled and stuck her tongue at him playfully. "I'm sorry to have kept you guys waiting," she said, giving Xing a pointed look since he had something to say about it.

He placed his hand under his chin, contemplating. "Let us think..." he said and then turned to Syaoran. "Should we forgive her, Daddy?"

Her eyes shifted to the man, but immediately looked away, cheeks burning after noticing him stare at her intensely.

"Daddy?" Xing called again.

She could feel her entire body flush at the unwanted attention on her. However, she felt a pull towards the man's intensity, while also feeling self-conscious of her appearance more. She felt so conflicted with the emotions.

She looked at Xing and forced a laugh, attempting to ignore the heated gaze on her. "Of course you forgive me, Xing," she said.

"Only if Daddy does," Xing said a bit stubbornly, but with a playful tone.

At times like this, she wish he were not so playful. She did not want to bring the man into this right now with his "ogling".

"Daddy?" Xing pulled on Syaoran's swimming trunks gently.

Syaoran cleared his throat and shrugged. "Sure. Let's go," he said, while quickly picking up the bag and walking out the house before either of them could respond.

Xing turned to her and giggled. "Daddy is very silly, isn't he?"

She laughed awkwardly and grabbed his hand, leading them out the condo. "Very silly."


A/N: So, I've had multiple requests to rewrite the first story I've ever posted here, and I think I'm going to give in after I finish getting out all the chapters for this one. I originally planned to rewrite it anyway, but it's just sooo much that I will have to be change in that story since I wrote it when I was 11 haha.

Anyway, thoughts on this chapter in a review, please :P? I will have the next chapter out in a few since I have finished editing it. I just have to read over it one last time and I'll have it up tonight too!

Ja ne!