Chapter 3: Treatment

He couldn't believe his eyes.

She was actually here standing in front of him.

He could see she was holding her school bag and a plastic bag of what appeared to be some vegetables and other assorted ingredients, but his attention was mostly on her emerald eyes looking at him. For a moment, she looked at him as if she was also surprised to see him.

Then in a moment, it was gone and as if out of nowhere, the cheer returned to her face.

"Good afternoon, Syaoran-kun!" she greeted him with the brightest smile. At that moment, he swore he had never seen her so beautiful before. He'd seen her smile before but never as she did now. Her beauty was further accentuated with the sun shining behind her, giving the illusion that she was glowing. Perhaps she was and he was too sick to realize it. She was as cheerful and sparkling as she ever was if not more. It was almost as if she was the same as usual.

As if he hadn't done something terrible to her.

"Syaoran-kun?" Sakura looked at him questioningly.

"Eh?" Syaoran shook off his reverie and allowed himself to process what was going on clearly. "Sakura, what are you doing here?"

"Well, I wanted to see how you were doing. I also thought I'd make something to help you get better." She lifted up the plastic bag. "I didn't know what you had available in your home though so I ended up buying all the ingredients."

"No, I mean- Aren't you supposed to be at school?"

"Ah, that! Don't worry, Chiharu-chan covered for me. The Cheerleading Club doesn't have a lot of activities yet. We're mostly just training the new members, so Chiharu-chan can manage. Besides…" Sakura's face blushed lightly but she kept smiling at him. "I wanted to come see you."

Syaoran felt heat rising up to his cheeks. He wondered if this wasn't making his fever worse, though he personally didn't mind.

Sakura, however, did mind. "Syaoran-kun, are you okay? You look like you're burning up." Her face was now full of concern.

"Ah, I'm fine. Rather than that, you shouldn't be standing out here all day." He turned back towards his apartment and gestured to her. "Come on in."

Sakura smiled at the invitation. "Pardon the intrusion." She followed behind him and shut the door behind her before removing her shoes. Both of them immediately headed to the living room.

"You can put the bag there if you want." Syaoran gestured towards the sofa.

"Thanks." She put her schoolbag down and looked towards the kitchen, which was right across the living room. "Well, I'll get started right away."

Syaoran nodded. "There's an apron by the table if you want to use it. The cooking utensils are on the top left drawer. The pots and pans are on the bottom one and-" Syaoran stopped. "Maybe it'll be better if I just show you-"

"No, Syaoran-kun."

Syaoran looked at her in shock as Sakura stood in front of him with both hands on his shoulders. "You're still not well. You need to take a rest. Wait here while I prepare the meal. Don't worry, I won't make a mess." she said giving him playful wink.

Syaoran felt the heat on his face intensify. He could only imagine how red his face must be. "O-okay." he managed to stumble out before taking a step back to clear his throat. "Just tell me if you need anything."

"Okay!" With that, she skipped merrily to the kitchen with her plastic bag while he took a seat on the sofa. He needed a breather after what he'd just been through.

'She's unusually bold today.' Not that he didn't like it, but it was rare to see her so assertive. He thought it was quite cute in it's own way. Still, he was worried about the incident this morning. The thought occurred to him that she might be hiding her feelings not to worry him, but he knew her long enough to know when she's faking a smile and so far she looked like she was her usual self. In it's own way, that made him feel worse because he hadn't earned her forgiveness. Yet here she was, in his apartment, making him food.

And then it hit him.

'She's here by herself with me in my apartment.' He had been too preoccupied with his sickness and her surprise visit to think about that. His head began to spin from the amount of heat that was on it now. 'Okay, calm down! She's just visiting to check on me, that's all. It's because I'm sick. ' It wasn't like he was going to do anything to her even if he wasn't ill, but it did remind him to be careful around her so she doesn't get sick. Besides, he did what he had to; it wasn't like he was going to send her home after she'd made all the effort to see him.

"Syaoran-kun?" she called from the kitchen. "Do you want something to drink?"

"Ah." He dismissed his internal debate and turned towards her. "Some tea will do. It's in the top cupboard."

"Okay." She turned back towards the kitchen and continued her preparations. Syaoran, however, kept his eyes on her as she worked in his kitchen with his blue apron. She'd taken off her black uniform jacket and put the apron over it, probably so she wouldn't get so hot while she cooked. It surprised him how relaxed she was even though it was his apartment. She already looked like she was at home here.

'I wouldn't mind that at all.'

The thought appeared in his mind before he realized it. When he did, it made him heat up again. He turned away from her to avoid getting more excited and calmed himself down. There was no point in getting himself worked up when he was sick, though it was pleasant to have her here, if he was being honest to himself.

So why was he opposed to her coming over before?

Again, his mother's words echoed in his mind. Find your answer, she had said. He had to be honest to himself if he was to do that, just like before when he saw her. He looked up at the ceiling and closed his eyes. 'I was…'

.

.

.

"Syaoran-kun?"

He stirred awake as he heard the voice calling him. Shaking off his sleepiness, he opened his eyes to see Sakura looking at him. She had taken off the apron and put on her uniform jacket again.

"Sorry for waking you. Your meal's ready." She gestured towards the table where a bowl of steaming hot porridge was sitting next to a cup of tea.

"I see. Thank you, Sakura. Sorry I fell asleep."

Sakura sat down by his right and smiled. "You don't have to apologize; it's normal to be tired when you're sick."

Syaoran smiled back and looked at the food. It was fairly straightforward; a bowl of porridge with some vegetables inside, but to him it looked like the most appetizing bowl of porridge he'd ever seen. It was certainly better looking than the pictures of food his sisters keep sending him.

"Thank you for the meal." he declared before he reached for the bowl. Syaoran grabbed the spoon inside and took a spoonful of porridge with a piece of vegetable. After blowing gently to reduce the heat, he put the spoonful in his mouth. As the warm mixture hit his tongue, the warm air flowed through his inflamed throat cavity, clearing it up a little. Although his sense of taste was limited, he could pick up the soft, savory flavor of the porridge along with the vegetable. Their flavors combined as he chewed them to pieces before swallowing them.

"How is it?" Sakura asked. She looked a little nervous this time, as she always did when he tasted her cooking.

"It's delicious." he replied wholeheartedly.

The response lit up her face. "I'm glad you like it! I've never made it myself so was worried I didn't get it right. Dad said he used to make this for us when we were sick so it should help you get better."

"I see." He looked up at her and gave her a gentle smile. "Thank you, Sakura."

This time it was her turn to blush. She turned away from him immediately to hide her face. She wasn't sure what kind of expression she had on right now, but if how hard it was to hold her smile was any indication, it probably looked silly. However, it meant she didn't see the pained expression he was now making.

"I'm sorry."

The seriousness in his voice brought her back. She looked at him, confused. "Eh, for what?"

Syaoran locked eyes with her. "This morning I yelled at you when you wanted to come over. I shouldn't have done that."

Sakura realized that she hadn't thought about that incident since she came here but looking at her boyfriend's burdened expression it was clear he was still hung up over it. While it was admittedly refreshing to hear the apology, she wasn't bothered by it any longer. "It's fine, Syaoran-kun. I'm okay. I know you were just looking out for me, since you didn't want me to catch a cold too-"

"No." Syaoran shook his head. "That wasn't the reason." It took him a moment to realize how bad that sounded. He panicked and shook his hands fervently. "Ah, that's not what I meant! It's not that I want you to get sick or anything. I am worried about that as well but…" he settled down and sighed. "It wasn't why I yelled at you this morning."

He turned away from her and looked down at his hands, both of which were clutched into fists. "I'm always worried about you, Sakura. It took a lot of time for me to finally be allowed to return here to Tomoeda and be with you. For a time, I thought that everything would be fine once I reached that goal. But then, the Clear Cards happened. We managed to get through that together, but…" He winced physically as the truth weighed down like a stone on his chest, but he wasn't going hold anything back. "There's always the chance that another threat will come. You're strong, Sakura; one of the strongest magicians I know. That power will attract other strong powers towards you, and they won't always have the friendliest intentions. I wanted to be strong enough to protect you when trouble comes; I still do now."

"So when I got sick this morning, I was really angry at myself. I couldn't accept that of all things, it would be something so simple that would get me. It made me feel weak that I couldn't protect myself and if I can't protect myself, then I can't protect you. When you said you wanted to come here, I snapped at you for my own selfish reason: because I didn't want you to see me weak and helpless like this. Even now, I still feel like I'm being a burden." He relaxed his hands and sighed. The pressure had subsided somewhat but he couldn't look up; he didn't dare to see how she was reacting right now.

So, it was surprising when her hands grabbed his own. He felt the soft fingers pulling him; it wasn't particularly strong, but it was much more force than he had anticipated which caught him off-guard nonetheless. He looked up to see Sakura wearing a frustrated but spirited face.

"You have never been a burden to me!" she shouted. It wasn't quite anger, but nonetheless the strength of her emotion was conveyed. "You have always been there for me through my bad times! The Clow Cards, the Sakura Cards, and the Clear Cards: All of it wouldn't have been possible if you weren't there! Even now, I'm always relying on you for the simplest things like studying! How can you say something like you're being a burden after everything you've done for me?!"

Sakura stopped and caught her breath as she finished her outburst. Meanwhile, Syaoran was left speechless. As her heart calmed down, she leaned forward using their locked hands as an anchor and placed her head on his chest.

"You've always been strong to me, Syaoran-kun, but it's not only because of how well you fight or how good your magic is, but the strength of your heart. You're always motivated; you know what you want to do and how to do it. But through it all, you've never forgotten to be kind. You're always considerate to the people around you and you try your best not to hurt them. That's why you're strong." She clutched his sleeves and dug her head deeper into his shirt until she could feel his body heat. "That's why I love you."

Syaoran could feel her body slump as she pressed close to him and felt her rise up and down as she tried to catch her breath. Her outburst had clearly taken a lot out of her. Slowly, he raised his hands and put them around her, light squeezing her small frame.

"I'm sorry, Sakura. I was only thinking about how I feel. I didn't think about how I was making you feel."

Still in his embrace, Sakura shook her head lightly. "No, I'm glad you told me." She let out a sigh and pushed away from Syaoran, who reacted immediately and unlocked his hands from her. Once again, she sat away from him albeit a little closer than before. From here, she could see his troubled expression clearly. "I'm always happy when you tell me how you feel. It tells me that you trust me enough to let me get closer."

Sakura corrected her posture and sat upright. "The truth is, I'm always worried too. It seems like each time we want to get closer, there's always trouble heading our way. I know I can be quite slow in doing things, so I want to take every chance I can get to get closer to you, Syaoran-kun. Going to school, going on dates, or even dealing with magic; as long as it's with you I'm always happy. I know if something happens we'll always be there for each other, but I don't want to wait for the next crisis to cherish being with you." She chuckled to herself and covered her mouth in embarrassment. "Listen to me; I sound so silly right now worrying over nothing."

"It isn't silly." Syaoran spoke firmly. "If that's how you feel then it isn't nothing. The truth is you're right; I've been too focused on what bad things could happen that I forgot the good things that I have right now, and I got myself frustrated over nothing." Syaoran grabbed her hands and held them gently. "I love you, Sakura; I always have. From now on, I'll do better for the both of us."

Sakura felt like she was flying through air right now and she'd know, having actually experienced it. In her unbridled joy, she approached him again and gave him a passionate hug. Syaoran gladly accepted her and embraced her with equal passion. "Me too."

Both of them stayed locked in their embrace for a while. They could feel each other's presence as warmth radiated from the other. However, it was becoming apparent to the two of them that one was radiating more than the other. Sensing the increase in temperature, Sakura broke the embrace first and Syaoran followed suit. Both of them looked at each other's faces tinged with red, though there was more on Syaoran's part due to his fever.

"Guess we got a little carried away." Sakura spoke sheepishly.

"Yeah." Syaoran agreed before turning his attention to the porridge. "It must be getting cold. I should eat it while it's still warm." He reached for the bowl and was about to take a spoonful when Sakura interrupted him.

"Um…"

Syaoran turned to her. It looked like she wanted to say something. "What is it?"

Her face turned a strong shade of red as she played with her hand. "Well, since you're sick maybe I can spoon-feed you. If you're okay with it, that is."

Syaoran wasn't sure how many of these bombs he can take before he collapsed from overheating, but it felt like he was reaching his limit. "S-sure, go ahead."

The reply brightened her up even more. She grabbed the bowl enthusiastically and took a spoonful of porridge from it before offering it to him. "Here you go."

Syaoran passively opened his mouth and accepted the food. It was still quite warm and delicious. He looked at Sakura who was smiling as she looked at him with another spoonful ready to go.

Being taken care of wasn't so bad once in a while.