WARNING: Nothing extreme here, just... a little heavy make-out scene :P.
Enjoy!
"Surprise After Surprise"
"Look what I did, Sakura!" Xing exclaimed, shoving something in Sakura's face.
Sakura's eyes landed on the paper, snapping her out of her stupor for the umpteenth time that day. "O-oh...it looks nice," she stuttered.
A wide grin spread across his face and he hugged her tightly. "Thank you! It's for you," he said bashfully towards the end. He pulled back and handed it to her.
She accepted it with a wide smile spread across her face too. Probably wider than normal, as she tried to keep her composure. "Thank you."
He placed the back of his small hand against her forehead suddenly, face looking concentrated at hers. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked.
"Why do you ask that?" she asked, despite her knowledge of the answer. This was not the first time that she heard it today.
"You're all red in the face. And every time Daddy is sick, or Mommy, or me, or my aunties and cousins, and—"
Sakura giggled, resting a hand on his shoulder. "I think I get it."
He took a deep breath and released it. "Thank goodness. Anyway, they all get red in the face when they're sick. So, does that mean that you're sick?" he asked, tilting his head to the side in confusion.
She shook her head slowly. "I'm not sick, Xing."
"Then why are you all red in the face? We have to tell Daddy so he can take care of you with me and—"
"No!" she interrupted quickly. "I'm fine, really. Pinky promise." She held her pinky up towards him.
He sighed, staring in her eyes for a moment seriously. "Are you sure?" he asked.
She smiled at him, nodding her head. "Positive."
He grinned, linking his pinky with hers. "Prove it, then!"
"Pinky promise, if I lie, I will drink 1000 needles, and cut my pinky," Sakura sang softly, shaking their pinkies together.
Xing giggled, clutching her pinky a little tighter with his. "Alright, fine, I believe you then," he said.
Sakura chuckled, nodding her head. "Thank you," she said, feeling relieved that he was dropping the topic.
"So, now you have to draw me a picture and then I can color it, and then give it to you!" he said, suddenly changing the subject.
She shook her head, smiling at the odd request, but picked the pencil and paper up, nonetheless. She started to draw a picture for the little boy, letting her mind drift back to the past weekend. It was now Friday, which had been almost a week since their trip.
Images of the night they came back from Disney flashed through her mind. She had had a great weekend with them, realizing how she had been genuinely happy for the first time in a long time. Syaoran had been great, but Xing really made the trip for her with his bubble of energy. It was rubbing off on her, reminding her to be her cheerful self.
Otherwise, she knew that she would not have enjoyed the trip as much as she had. She had been able to enjoy the man's company than she normally did because she had been in great spirits. Whenever she is like that, it is hard to ruin her mood. Therefore, it made her time with Syaoran more enjoyable having Xing there.
She could not help but feel like she had helped Syaoran have fun. And nothing felt more like an accomplishment than that.
Her mind drifted back to the first night when he comforted her in his own weird way. Unconsciously, a smile crept to her lips, remembering him trying to be nice. Even though he did not say what he was doing, she knew he was trying to offer her some form of comfort when she talked about her brother and he suggested a movie.
And then he had been involved in everything else they did the next day. Her and Xing had convinced him to ride a lot of the rides with them. She was happy that she could see the two of them spend time with each other. She felt like a mission had been accomplished. Xing had shown how much he enjoyed the day when he collapsed before they could even reach the rental car after the firework show, proving that it was.
Her cheeks warmed at the thought of the firework show, remembering what had occurred between her and the man. She wished she could say that the show was beautiful, but her memories of the display seemed to be foggy. She had been too busy focused on the fact that she kept rubbing against a certain businessman.
She had not done it on purpose, but she certainly had not done anything to deescalate the situation either. It was not the fact that she was rubbing against him, but more so what she had been rubbing against. Sakura was not blind to the opposite sex and was well-aware why men reacted to things. She was just a little surprise that this had happened a second time with the last person she expected it to.
At the park, she gave him a pass, assuming that it was just a coincidence. However, the firework show, she knew it was not a coincidence again. She was not sure what to draw from the situations anymore. One part of herself believed the man clearly lacked self-control like the teenage boys at her school, while the other told her that he may have just been attracted to her in some form or fashion. That helped her draw some kind of conclusion about the kiss.
Her teeth sunk into her lip, thinking about the kiss she had felt was a mistake now. Her mind drifted back to the kiss, remembering the way his lips had felt against hers. Everything was so vivid.
As soon as his lips had come in contact with hers, she pulled back, shocked that he would commit such a bold act. "Li-san—" she had tried to protest.
To her surprise, he gently grabbed her face, looking in her eyes intensely, which only left her with no choice but to accept the second kiss he gave her. She had been wanting this, so she found it hard to deny. He maneuvered their bodies toward the counter by the sink, gently pressing her body against it with his. His lips felt soft and full against hers, despite his stubble that pricked her face.
This was not a regular thing that occurred between her and another person. Matter of fact, she had never done anything like this before; kissing a person she barely knew. She knew that it was…wrong, yet she found it hard to deny herself of something like this.
He gently caressed her cheek with his thumb, pressing his lips against hers a little firmer. Awkwardly, she puckered her lips a little against his, clueless as to how she was supposed to do this. She had never kissed anyone seriously before until now, so she had been no expert at this. She was just going with her instincts right now, enjoying the feel of his upper lip between hers, while his bottom lip caressed her lower one.
She found the man attractive. Shoot her for it. She knew that was the only reason she was responding to the kiss. She liked his body pressed against hers more than her old landlord's. She had been wanting this for a while…so it was alright, right? Even though she had always imagined her first "real kiss" to be with someone like her crush, she felt like this was okay too. It felt foreign, but right.
At the thought of her crush, her hands moved to his shoulders, holding on a little when she felt his tongue swipe across her lower lip. She wanted to give in to escalate the situation, but found it hard to, thinking about a certain grey-haired man and gentle eyes.
Syaoran's lips moved against hers more, hands falling at her waist to pull her closer to him. When she felt his tongue lick for entrance again, her hands slid down his shoulders to his chest to stop him. Hesitantly, she pulled back from his lips to end the kiss. She looked him in the eyes, almost questioning why he had kissed her. She could not find her voice, but wanted an answer.
He did not answer, though. Instead, he leaned down and brushed his lips against hers again, and then pulled back.
She looked at him, mouth slightly parted to speak, but nothing came out. She wanted to question him; chastise him for doing something this stupid to complicate their relationship.
His eyes closed tightly, and he released a groan, pulling his body from hers. He left her in the kitchen alone, making regret wash over her for giving in to the temptation.
"Sakura," Xing whined, snapping her out of the memory. "You aren't drawing the picture..." he said sadly.
"I'm sorry." Quickly, she drew a sorry excuse of a dog, and then handed it to him so he could color it.
She had not heard anything else from Syaoran since that night, despite them sitting on a flight for all those hours on the way back. He had not even said anything to her when they got home, so she took that as a sign to keep her distance from him as much as she could.
Xing suddenly dropped the crayons. "Can I have a snack?"
She glanced at the clock, noting the time. "Ms. Hana will be here shortly to start on dinner," she said.
He sighed, dropping his head. "But I'm hungry now..." he said sadly.
"Surely you can wait a bit for dinner. You can't be that hungry because you had a snack less than an hour ago."
He pouted, folding his arms. "Fine, I'll wait. Is Daddy going to be home for dinner this time?" he asked suddenly.
She frowned. "I don't know. I would like to tell you that he will, but…" she trailed off, looking away from his already watering eyes.
"Did I do something wrong this time on the trip? Did I make him mad at me again? I haven't seen him in a few days now…" he asked quietly, dropping his head again.
Her heart tightened at the expression on his face. She stooped to his height, grabbing his shoulders gently. "Look at me," she said softly.
She regretted telling him that when his glistening eyes locked with hers.
"You did not do anything wrong, okay? He's just very busy," she tried explaining.
"I haven't seen him since we left the theme park, though. That's almost one whole week!"
She closed her eyes, trying to gather her thoughts to figure out what to tell him. She had forgotten that Xing was sleeping when Syaoran got back in from 'taking care of business,' on Sunday in the states. He had ended up cutting their trip shorter, saying that he had important business to take care of. But before they left the states, he had left her and Xing the entire Sunday morning, all the way up until that evening, where Xing had fallen asleep.
They left the states as soon as he got in, so Xing did not even get to spend any time with him on that Sunday. And then Monday came when neither of them saw him at all, even when they woke up early. The rest of the week had been the same, so here they were, Xing feeling down that he had not seen or heard from him all week. It felt like the man disappeared off the face of the earth.
"He's just really busy, Xing. Remember what he talked about this past weekend?" she asked, swiping the single tear that rolled down his cheek.
"No, he just doesn't love me! If he did, he would try to see me, wouldn't he? He would come home and play with me, right? He hates me!" he said between sobs.
She bit her trembling lip, pulling him in for a hug. She felt guilty that she could not replace Syaoran for him. She wanted to tell him that Syaoran would be home any minute to make it up to him, but she felt immobilized. She realized she knew nothing about the man. She had been sure about one thing though; that the man does love Xing.
"He's trying. He will try, you just have to wait a little while," she tried convincing him. Even so, she could not even believe her own statement.
She did not know what else to tell him, so she held him close to her chest as he cried.
"Wake up, Sakura," Sakura heard Xing as he shook her body gently. She sighed, turning over under the covers towards him. Xing stared in her eyes almost intensely, reminding her of a certain person.
She glanced at the clock to see that it was four in the morning. "Why are you awake so early?" she asked grouchily.
"I have to go to the potty," he said, sounding restrained.
She closed her eyes for a moment or two, and then pulled the covers from their bodies. She patted his behind, motioning him to hop out the bed. She was close behind his trail as he nearly ran to the bathroom in her room. She stood outside the door, giving him his privacy while trying to keep her irritation level at zero.
She had been letting him sleep with her every night since Tuesday. There was always something that made him wake her up this early. Having this much attention from the little boy erased all the moments of irritation with her fatigue, so it was okay. He let her sleep in for an extra hour every morning since they had been sleeping together too, so she was not too opposed of the current situation.
"Did you wash your hands?" she asked after he finished using it.
His cheeks turned red and he ran back in the bathroom, turning the water on. When he came back, they went back to bed and slept for a little bit. It had only felt like a few seconds to Sakura because she was back up not too long after. It was the door that woke them up this time, thanks to Hana.
It was Saturday, probably the last day that she would be able to sleep in. School started Monday, so there was no more sleeping in, or Xing—
She froze at the thought, taking in that she would not be with Xing as much anymore. That thought made her feel beyond sad.
She sighed, feeling a little annoyed with herself for getting attached to the little boy so fast. She had been preaching to herself to not get attached, yet she found herself attached to him as soon as she had met him.
She pushed the thought to the back of her head and ate breakfast with Xing and Hana in silence, wallowing in self-pity at her carelessness.
"Ms. Hana said that it should be okay to swim...so, can we?" Xing asked her uncertainly later on that day.
Sakura shrugged. "It's been two hours since we ate, so I would say that it's okay," she said, smiling at him.
She did not necessarily feel comfortable with doing this. Saturday and swimming was something that she recalled Xing telling her that him and Syaoran did together. Syaoran was not here today though, so she assumed that it would be alright. Plus, Hana said that it should be fine, so she saw no harm happening from it.
He turned to her, hugging her tightly. She chuckled and picked him up, carrying him to his room to change his clothes. After she finished changing him, she went to her room to change into her swimwear.
"We can play in the water all day!" Xing exclaimed as they walked to the backyard now.
She smiled, squeezing his hand gently. "Until we get all soft and pruny," she said teasingly, knowing how he felt about the word.
She pushed the backdoor open, stepping outside with him. As soon as she closed the door, his fingers slipped from hers and he took off towards the water.
Immediately, she panicked when he jumped in the deepest part of the pool. "Xing!" she called, running towards the pool to jump in. When her body landed on the bottom of the pool floor, she opened her eyes under the water, looking for him. His absence under the water nearly gave her a heart-attack. Quickly, she swam to the top, gasping for air, immediately looking around for him. "Xing—!"
"I'm right here, Sakura," she heard him.
She turned in the direction of his voice, heart slowing down at the grin on his face in the corner of the pool. She sighed, swimming to him. "Don't do that," she said, grabbing him from the corner gently, swimming them to the area where her feet touched the ground.
"What did I do?"
She looked at his face, seeing his brows scrunched in confusion. "I didn't know you could swim so well. You scared me," she said, hugging him tightly.
He wrapped his legs around her tightly, hugging her around the neck. "I'm sorry. I know how to swim, though. I learned a very, very long time ago from Daddy," he said, smiling at her.
"Is there anything else that I need to know so I don't fly off the handle again?" she asked, giving him a pointed look.
"Uhh...umm...I know how to ride the bike!" he exclaimed.
She laughed, releasing her hold on him, but he kept himself wrapped around her body. "Okay. You can't do things like that without telling me," she said, stomach still tied in knots at the thought of losing him. She mentally chastised herself again for getting this involved with the little boy.
"I'm sorry, Sakura. I didn't mean to scare you," he said sadly, kissing her cheek.
She smiled and pried his little body from hers. "It's okay. I'm not upset," she promised.
"Good! Now, how about we play a game and see who swims the fastest?" Xing asked.
She nodded, pulling them both to the edge of the pool. She ended up winning, but he begged to go another round, which only left her with the choice of letting him win.
They played in the water for a few hours before Sakura had decided to call quits for the day. Xing had looked tired, and she was almost sure that he would collapse as soon as she put him down for his nap.
"Can we take a nap when we finish rinsing off?" Xing asked as she towel dried his hair.
She smiled, nodding her head. "Yes. You look very tired," she said, tapping his nose lightly with her pointer finger.
He scrunched his nose, pulling his face back from her finger. "You look very tired too," he said, sticking his tongue at her.
She giggled, wrapping his naked body in the towel. She picked him up, walking out of the bathroom. She dried him off, and then dressed him in a comfortable outfit. She was glad that he complied with her today.
As soon as she laid him down, he was out, just as she predicted he would. Now, she needed to shower and change. She headed out of his room, humming a soft tune quietly. She did not make it far, stopping in her tracks, eyes wide from the sight of the person in front of Xing's door.
Her breath caught in her throat, heart tightening, and stomach tied in knots, again. Was this give Sakura a heart attack day?
She opened her mouth, ready to speak to the man after an entire week of not seeing or hearing him. Not a single coherent sentence came to mind, though. She closed her mouth, realizing how stupid she must look.
"Kinomoto—"
"Li-san!" she interrupted without thinking. She wanted to have the upper hand in this conversation so she could end it as quick as possible so she could get out of here. "How's it going?" she asked awkwardly.
When he did not respond, she looked at him hesitantly. Her cheeks warmed when she saw his eyes locked on her body. "Uh… we just finished swimming. I didn't know if it was your thing with him, but he really wanted to swim and Ms. Hana said that it should be okay to swim, so I thought it was okay too. I didn't know you were here, though. If I did, I would have asked you if we could, and I would have invited you to join us. Well, maybe not, but—"
"Kinomoto."
She blushed, folding her arms around her body, feeling extremely uncomfortable. "I'm rambling again, aren't I?" she pointed out.
He nodded. "I've had a busy week. That's why I haven't been around," he explained quietly.
She reached behind her to grab the doorknob, closing Xing's door, but she kept a tight grip on the knob just in case she needed to escape. "I see. I figured it was something like that," she said. She thought about it, feeling herself become a little annoyed with herself and him for some reason. "It's not like I thought you were avoiding me or Xing," she said.
He bit the inside of his cheek, clearing his throat. It only brought a thick blanket of tension to lay over the room. "There has been no such thing taken place. If I could see my son at any given point this week, I would have. A measly kiss with a girl wouldn't even change that," he said coldly.
Measly kiss?
She bit her tongue, holding back the insult she wanted to stab him with. If she was remembering correctly, he is the one who initiated it. Now, she knew why she felt annoyed with him; she knew he would say something like this to set her off.
She decided that this conversation was not about her though. This was about Xing, so if he wanted to use those cards to hurt her, two could play his game, she decided.
She looked thoughtful for a moment as if she were contemplating her next words. "Then, what? Surely you could have taken five minutes out of a 24 hour day to give a call, let him know that you're busy and would rather be spending time with him. Even if it was just to tell him that you love him. Anything. It's been an entire week that he's not seen or heard from you, and you expect him to feel okay with that? He's—"
She was surprised to feel her face pressed against something solid and warm, and arms wrapped around her body tightly.
Syaoran was embracing her in, probably, one of the warmest and tightest embraces she had ever felt. "I know, okay? I know what you're saying, and I get that." His hand moved up to the back of her wet, auburn hair, pulling her closer to his chest. She could hear and feel his heart beating erratically against his chest. "But it's not that easy. It's not easy to choose your kid over work as much as you want to when you are me. So, you don't get to tell me what's right, even if it's right. And you certainly don't get to shed any tears on behalf of my kid," he said the last part a little broken.
To emphasis his point, he held her closer to him, almost crushing her bones and head with his tight grip. She had not even realized she had become emotional during her lecture. She understood now though. He did not want her to feel for his mistakes. He did not want her to care for them so much. But how? How could she not do that when he practically forced her to accept them in her life?
Hesitantly, she wrapped her arms around him gently. "What am I supposed to tell him? I don't think you understand how I feel having to see him sad when I'm not occupying his time with something. You're not the one who has to see his every breakdown. I just…try," she barely whispered, remembering Xing's many breakdowns that week.
He released her, but kept her trapped in her spot with his eyes. "Come to my office with me," he said abruptly. Before she could respond, he was already pulling her with him towards his office. She had to shake off the feeling of his body pressed against hers.
Once they got to his office, he released her hand and moved over to his desk. He pulled one of the drawers out, digging inside of it to grab something out. "Here," he said, handing her a phone.
Hesitantly, she accepted the expensive gadget.
"My personal and work cell number are already in there, so if you ever need anything, just call. I'll contact you throughout the week to speak with Xing sometimes. I had one of my assistants buy it earlier this week, but I haven't got the chance to see you, or Xing."
She swallowed, nodding her head. "Thanks... I'll be sure to have it on at all times," she promised.
"You can call whoever you would like as long as it's no one that could put you or Xing in danger."
She did not know why he felt the need to add that, but she decided to just nod. "Yes, sir."
And then one person came to mind.
Tomoyo.
She had not seen or heard from her in the last few weeks, and she was beginning to think that Tomoyo had forgotten about her. She knew that was not possible though. She knew Tomoyo was probably worried sick. She would certainly be giving the girl a call as soon as she could get out of here.
"Thank you, Li-san," she said again, feeling the need to show her gratitude. He was giving her way more than what was necessary. She could have gotten her own phone if she would ever have a break since she did not have her Saturday off this week.
He sighed, shaking his head. "Uh…" he started, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "We need to talk…"
She swallowed nervously, forgetting about the phone call for now. She already knew what he wanted to talk about.
"About?" she asked, feigning ignorance to the topic. Too many times, he had pretended like he had not done anything. She thought to return the favor finally so he could get a taste of his own medicine.
"This past weekend," he said clearly.
"What about it?" she asked, looking him squarely in the eyes.
"The firework show and kiss," he stated boldly.
"What about them?" she asked, hoping to sound nonchalant about it. He had already told her that nothing inappropriate would take place between them, so she wondered if he expected her to want a relationship with him suddenly because of a kiss. She certainly did not think she wanted to be in a relationship with the man and his one hundred different personalities.
"The firework show was neither of our doings, but the kiss at the condo was…my doings. I just want to apologize on behalf of my lack of self-control that night. I'm not proud of my actions and I shouldn't have done that. And—"
When her cheeks warmed, she looked away to avoid eye contact. "You mean the measly kiss that was a mistake?" she asked without thinking. His attitude towards the incident had not hurt her feelings, but she did think he could be more kind about it since he had been the one to initiate it and it had been her first kiss real kiss. "I mean, I'm not upset about it, but I understand that…it was a mistake—on both of our parts, since I reciprocated. We shouldn't have done it and I know that you're probably thinking it'll change things between us, but I promise that I'm not going to act weird about it. I can act like it never happened—"
"It wasn't a measly kiss. That was...a poor choice of words I used. You are attractive," he interrupted.
Her mouth remained open slightly from her rambling, shocked by his confident statement. "W-what?" she stuttered, wondering where that bold statement came from.
"That's why I kissed you. It wasn't a mistake," he said in a tone that left her with no choice but to question him.
"But why?" she asked quietly. "You're the one who pushed and said that nothing would happen between us—and I was on board with that all the way, but you…"
He sighed, running his hand through his hair. "It doesn't matter why. It shouldn't have happened—"
"So, now you're telling me you regret stealing my first kiss?" she asked, frowning at his statement. He had just said that it was not a mistake, but now he was talking as if he regretted it. He was confusing her.
"First kiss?" he asked, looking at her intensely.
She blushed a little at the look in his eyes, nodding her head slowly. She could not understand why he had said it like there was something wrong with her never kissing someone before. "Yes," she said calmly, showing that she did not feel ashamed for not having kissed anyone like that before.
He groaned exasperatedly. "Damn it…I didn't know that it was your first kiss. Surely, you've shared a few kisses with a crush in elementary or middle school before," he said, almost sounding sure of himself.
She shook her head, no. "It's not like my lips have never touched anyone's before, but it's just…kissing another person intimately, no. I just always…imagined my first kiss to be with someone I'm in love with, but I guess…that's kind of changed now," she said hesitantly, not sure how much she should share with the man.
She did not want him thinking that she felt strongly for him. She was well-aware that she was attracted to the man, but feeling anything other than lust for him? She was sure there had been nothing else there. He was the opposite of the person she felt strongly for, so she thought it not possible to feel for the man that way...right?
He ran a hand down his face, looking annoyed and frustrated. She could not understand if it were at her or himself. It was hard to tell. "That's childish, Kinomoto. And no, I'm not saying that because I'm a man. However, situations like that are very rare. It's not likely to happen."
She frowned. "People do lose their first kiss to people they feel strongly for," she said confidently. She may be naïve at times, but she was sure that people did not just kiss anyone their first time. Surely, they have to feel something for the person to kiss them.
He sighed again, murmuring something about her being immature-minded.
She pursed her lips, annoyed with the insult. "I am not a child, and the way I think is not immature. You have no right to say that," she said.
He scoffed as if he did not believe her. "Prove it, then," he said.
What?
"Prove to me that you're not a child, or that you don't have an immature mindset," he said.
She was perplexed, astonished that he would even say such a thing. "How could I possibly do that?" she asked, heart racing at the answer that she secretly knew was to come.
"Come here," he said softly.
There was no hint of playfulness to his words, or his tone. He was serious. Then again, when was he not?
Her mouth opened, but nothing came out, wondering when they had gotten to this level of communication.
She walked towards him slowly, anticipation rising in her chest. Once she stood directly in front of him, looking up to meet his eyes, she bit her bottom lip lightly out of habit of not knowing what to do.
His breath caught in his throat, eyes locking with hers. "Kiss me," he said, almost as if he were in a trance.
She swallowed. "I already have," she said, though she hoped he would keep pressing. She did not know what was wrong with her.
"A real kiss. Kiss me like you would have kissed the person you were in love with," he said huskily.
She could feel her body temperature rise sky high that it was nearly suffocating to breath. She took a deep, shaky breath, ready to retort, but nothing came to mind. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down so his face was close to hers.
She knew the first kiss was not okay...but this time, it was to prove a point, which made it okay, right? She was just making up for the first kiss; and she could just pretend that it was the grey-haired man instead of him like he was suggesting…right?
Before her conscious, or that small voice, and anything that would normally stop her from doing this kicked in, she pulled him down a little aggressively so the gap between their lips vanished; thoughts of the grey-haired man following that gap.
Immediately, his hands dropped to her waist, almost burning her bare skin underneath his fingertips. She let her lips mimic the way his moved against hers the last time they kissed. She gently sucked on his lower lip, hoping that she was involved more than she had been the first time. And then he did it again. He swept his tongue across her lip, asking for permission to enter her mouth. The tightening ache between her legs made her open her mouth for him this time.
His tongue slid past her slightly parted lips, forcefully opening her lips wider so it could explore her mouth more. He gripped her waist gently, pulling her body towards his more. She was sure all of her weight was being held up by him because her legs felt like jelly. She could barely stand on her own.
Awkwardly, her tongue participated in the dance, getting a taste of him. She could feel something hard press against her stomach as their tongues tangled with one another. Slowly, his hands moved down her body to her lower back, causing a wave of goosebumps to glide down her body. When his lips took her tongue between them and he sucked, her ears registered a weak, whimper in the back of her throat.
He pulled back when they needed to breathe, breaking the contact between their lips. He kept a hold on her body, though. His heavy-lidded eyes locked with hers, and he rest his forehead against hers. "You can't even begin to imagine how much I've been longing to do that again all week," he whispered, what she believe to be, to himself.
Despite her feeling flustered, she held his intense, hungry eyes. She wanted a little more. "Did I prove my point?" she asked.
"Not enough," he murmured, closing the gap between their lips again.
She reciprocated the kiss with as much passion as he had. This time, she did not hesitate to taste him with her tongue, and her hands had even slid into his thick, soft hair. He maneuvered them to his desk, resting her behind on the edge of the cold wood.
When his warm, heavy hand dropped to her bare thigh, she jumped, realization dawning on her. He pulled back from her with a questioning look on his face.
"X-Xing is just across the hall from here," she said dumbly.
His hand dropped from her thigh, eyes closing tightly. "You're right," he said with a sigh. His face even looked a little restrained as if he were having a mental battle with himself.
His eyes fluttered open, making her feel his eyes linger on her body, heating up her skin again. She hated how good he was at this. He fingered the ties on her bikini bottom a bit. For a moment, she feared that he would pull the straps, revealing her most intimate parts to him. "You should go change, or you'll get sick," he said, gently tugging on the string, rising her anxiety to new heights.
"Yeah. Are you going to be here for the remainder of the day?" she asked hesitantly, trying to ignore his fingers playing with the tie. She trusted that he would not do anything like that. He had too many opportunities to take advantage, yet he still had not. She knew he was not that type of man.
"I plan to take Xing out if that is what you're asking. I just finished showering after I woke up," he said.
That was when she noticed his slightly damp hair. She realized how lost she had been in the kiss to have noticed his hair a little wet.
"Well, Xing is sleeping right now," she said.
"I'm aware of that."
She sighed softly, an awkward silence falling over them. This was her cue to get out of the situation. "Well—"
"There's no reason to feel awkward, Kinomoto. Kissing is a normal activity that people engage in," he said.
She shrugged. "I know. It's just…a little weird that we kissed, and you still call me by my surname, which is okay, but it's still a little weird to me. Not that the kissing was weird because it wasn't, but—"
"Sakura," he said softly.
She smiled, feeling a lot more comfortable with that. Plus, it made her feel like they were a little closer. "Then it's okay to call you Syaoran?" she asked shyly.
His face appeared serious for a few seconds, making her think he might tell her no. "Do as you like."
She grinned. "Really?" she asked excitedly.
He nodded. "Would you like to go out with us today?" he asked, suddenly changing the subject.
She shook her head, no. "Nah, I already took half of your day with him, while stealing your thing with him. I don't think I could intrude any further on your family time," she said truthfully.
She wanted Xing to feel comfortable around his dad because she was not going to be around forever anyway.
"You won't be intruding on us," he said reassuringly.
She shook her head, smiling at him kindly. "School starts Monday, so you should spend time with him. I don't want to interrupt and take any of his attention," she said.
It felt a little nice to know that he wanted her to come with them.
"But—" He stopped mid-way as if he realized something. "You're right. And you need a break from him. I know he can be a handful sometimes," he said distantly.
She shook her head vigorously. "Of course not. I love being with him all day," she said quickly, meaning every rushed word.
"You still need a break."
She nodded, not wanting to argue with him. He was going to spend time with his son, and that's all that mattered.
Sakura pulled the last knee-length sock up her leg, and then slipped her loafers on. She turned to the full-length mirror in front of her and observed her appearance in it.
Collard white shirt with a blue and red striped tie. Check.
Navy-blue vest with the school logo on it. Check.
Red and blue plaid skirt that reached a few inches above her knees, just as the school's dress code says. Check.
Dark blue knee-length socks. Check.
And the ugly, old dark brown loafers that might as well should have been black. Check.
Everything was set, except her hair. However, she had not planned to do much to it today besides leave it down and alone. She decided to use a few clips to hold down the strands that were too stubborn to follow along with the other strands.
Today was the start of the second term of her senior year, which meant the nervous feeling of getting closer to graduation, but anxious to see her friends again. She had mentally prepared for this week though.
After Syaoran and Xing left the house Saturday, she had decided to have a little Sakura time. She took a long, hot bath, shaved, gave herself a mini manicure and pedicure. She lotioned herself down, and did everything that would make her feel like a normal girl again. When Sunday came, she was refreshed. She only had the opportunity to see and play with Xing for a little while until Syaoran decided to take him out one last time that evening.
She smiled with a slight blush on her cheeks at the thought of Syaoran, remembering their encounter on Saturday. They had kissed. He had taken her first real kiss and she felt okay with that.
Originally, she had never really thought of kissing as something…big before, but she certainly did not think of it as something little either.
To her, kissing was for romance…aside from the time Touya had accidentally landed a nice one on her when she was in her early years of elementary school. It was not a real kiss, though. It was an accident that he got in trouble for.
The reason he had kissed her was because of his over-protectiveness, as usual. He had not wanted her to think about kissing any guys at all, for whatever reason.
She smiled, remembering the moment like it was only yesterday.
"But a first kiss is supposed to be something special. That's what everyone says in my class. They've all had their first kisses and they said that it's nice!" Sakura had whined to Touya after coming home from school. She had been in the second grade.
"Kissing is not for everyone, Sakura. You're not kissing Yoriuchi," he finalized, folding his arms.
"But I have to have my first kiss like everyone else!" she whined, tears welling in her eyes.
"Fine! If I give you the first kiss, you have to promise that you won't ever kiss any guys!" he had said, glaring at her.
Her eyes had widened, mouth opening slightly in a small 'o.' "Would you really do that for me? So that I can tell everyone that I've lost my first kiss too?"
He nodded, looking determined to not get her to kiss any guys ever.
"Okay!" She puckered her lips like a fish, waiting for the kiss to come. Touya was someone special in her life, so she figured he had to have counted as someone special.
He folded his lips together to avoid actual lip touching, and then landed one on her mouth. He pulled back just as fast as he made the contact. His face scrunched, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand from her wet kiss. "There. It's done! No more talking about nonsense now," he said, lifting his head high.
A wide grin spread across her face and she hugged him tightly. As soon as she released him, she had run straight to their father to tell him about the kiss, which landed Touya in trouble.
She giggled, shaking her head from the memory. She really did miss her brother.
Closing her eyes, she thought of something better to think about. Like her phone call with Tomoyo yesterday. They had wound up talking all day, or at least majority of the day. She had found out that Tomoyo had had no service where she stayed, and apologized profusely. One part of her felt relieved that the girl had no service for the last few weeks, because she was sure that Tomoyo would have called a search team to find her.
Luckily, they had brushed over the topic of not being in contact with each other, and Tomoyo ended up telling her about her summer. In response, Sakura told her about her losing her job, but ending up staying with an uncle on her dad's side of the family since she had not been working. She remembered Syaoran telling her not to tell anyone about their arrangement, so she was in a tough spot with that.
She knew she would tell Tomoyo eventually, but she wanted to play her cards safe for right now. Thankfully, that was the least of her worries right now. Today was going to be the first day back after a nice break, so that was all she needed to focus on.
She reached over, grabbing a few more clips to pin her hair down. Everything looked great, from her head to her toes. She grabbed her bag out of the chair by the nightstand, and walked out of her room, into the quiet hall of the house.
It was still early, and she did not want to wake anyone in the house yet. She had to get up extra early, so she did not miss the train, and knowing the terrible person she is in the morning, she wanted to get a head start mentally.
She closed the door behind her quietly, and decided to leave a note on the table in the kitchen to let Syaoran know that she had already left.
After that, she walked out the house, closing the door behind her. There was a bus down the street from the house, so she ended up riding the bus to the train station. She paid for a ticket and got on the train, sitting in a corner by herself.
Thankfully, it was not full here since it was still early in the morning. She was not sure how her schedule would look this semester, so she wanted to find out as early as possible. She had heard from Tomoyo that there was going to be a new teacher and a required AP class that would be taught this semester for the juniors and seniors, so she was really looking forward to it.
She wondered if the teacher would treat them well, or if they would be a likeable person, as she looked out the window of the train. She would just have to wait and see…right?
"I heard he's a rich, well-known guy around the world," Sakura heard one of her classmate's whisper to her friend.
"I heard that he's hot," another said.
"Rich and hot equals stuck up!" a guy in the front of the class yelled, obviously listening in on the conversation as he sat on the desk with his feet in the chair.
"I beg to differ. I've heard of several rich and hot guys who are extremely nice. Rich and hot is not equivalent to asshole."
"Teacher and hot equals A for me."
"Don't be a whore, Mitsuki. You always make the male teachers feel uncomfortable."
Sakura was currently sitting in the back of the classroom, quietly listening to the conversations of everyone. She recalled Tomoyo saying a few words to her about the new teacher, but she had not really paid much attention to the gossip of the new teacher.
Her mind was too occupied with the little boy at the house. Or, at school now, for that matter. It was supposed to be his first day today, which she already felt excited to hear about.
"What are you thinking about, Sakura?" Tomoyo asked, poking her side gently.
Sakura flinched, smiling at her as it brought her back to reality. "Just thinking about the new teacher who's late the first day of class," she said easily, shrugging her shoulders. It was not necessarily a lie, as it was nearly impossible to shut everyone's conversations out about him.
"Are you excited? Your face showed excitement," Tomoyo asked.
Sakura looked at her, noticing that nothing had changed about Tomoyo over the summer break. Her dark hair had gotten a tiny bit longer, but nothing else drastically. Her amethyst eyes still complimented her pale skin, and she still had the air of a goddess. To Sakura, at least. She had always admired her best friend's beauty.
"I am a little bit since this is something new. I just don't know what to expect since I've heard so many different things about him all day from everyone else," she said thoughtfully. "Maybe he'll be like Terada-sensei from Elementary school."
"Well, according to the rumors, he's rich, and teaching isn't his main job, so we can really only hope we will get that lucky, right?" Tomoyo said, smiling at her.
Sakura returned the smile, nodding her head. She just hoped he would not be like her chemistry teacher in 10th grade who she swore vowed to make her life a living hell. The man had clearly hated his job and he had also been doing teaching on the side.
"You're right. Fingers crossed?" Sakura said, holding up her crossed fingers.
Tomoyo giggled. "Fingers crossed," she confirmed, holding up hers as well. Tomoyo had known the man disliked Sakura too.
Sakura could admit that she had shown up to class late a few times, but she thought that was not a reason to make her life a living hell. She had barely passed the class.
"Are we still going to hang out after school?" Sakura asked.
Chiharu, Rika, Naoko, and Tomoyo had planned for them to get together after class so they could catch up. They had all been separated in their classes, aside from this one, so Sakura knew it would be her favorite class.
"Of course! You asked your uncle yet?" Tomoyo asked.
Guilt gnawed at Sakura's heart, hearing that question. She really hate lying to her best friend. "N-not yet, but I'm sure he won't have any issues with it," she said, smiling at Tomoyo to reassure her that it would be okay.
"Phone him as soon as this class ends," Tomoyo encouraged.
Sakura nodded. "I will."
The door to the classroom opened, causing everyone to freeze in the room, including Sakura as it happened so suddenly. All eyes shifted to the direction of the door.
Sakura stared for a moment, and then closed her eyes tightly before rubbing them vigorously to make sure that what she was seeing was real. When she opened them again, her hallucination was no longer that anymore.
It was Li Syaoran standing at the entrance of the door, dressed in a business casual outfit with a brief case in his hand.
A/N: Thank you guys so much for the reviews and support. They really do help in keeping us author's motivated to continue writing on Fanfiction! I literally put my work on pause to finish editing this chapter for you guys today haha.
I honestly didn't mean to make the chapter this long, but I cringed reading the original so I had to change a lot with the scenes. But, thoughts in a review? Also, from here on out in the story, there may be a whole lot of changes that previous readers read, but hopefully all good changes to you! There will be crucial information involved, so I'd advise previous readers to reread from this point on if you haven't been.
Uhhh, and also, Sakura or Syaoran aren't in love with each other at this point in the story, so the comments about Sakura being "easy" because shes's "in love" with Syaoran already isn't necessarily validating at all. At this point in the story, Sakura sees that Syaoran CAN be nice, but it's just in his own way, which is different from how most people are nice. Kind of how he was in the show too, where he subtly show he cares, but doesn't want to acknowledge he cares for anyone in the beginning. He's a hardcore tsundere, so I kind of wanted to keep him true to his character here. Originally, I had Sakura weak and a mega-crybaby since she kind of was in the show in the beginning, but since she's older here, she can't still be like that. But, no, neither of them are in love right now. Attracted to each other? BIG TIME. However, it's more like an emotion that neither of them can explain because it's like...a moth to a flame; Syaoran being the moth and Sakura the flame since she could possibly harm him in many ways than one.
Anyway, that was extra time spent here versus doing my homework assignment that's due in two hours, so I'll stop here.
Ja ne!
