Disclaimer:

I have no affiliation with Cardcaptor Sakura or any other of CLAMP's works. Also any similarities to real life events or people are unintentional unless explicitly stated.


Syaoran's knee was healing well. He had full range of motion and was now able to jog a little. The healer said that at the rate he was going he'd be able to re-join full contact sports sometime next week. He had to thank Meiling and her mother for their acupuncture treatment.

His return to school had become progressively stranger as the days went on. It could be the side effects from the medicine he was still taking, but a lot of the conversation topics seemed to revolve around Sakura. And they were paired up for their geography and literature projects even though she was usually partnered with Daidouji.

The medicine would also explain why his face would get red and his heart rate would increase often.

Sakura.

Syaoran couldn't believe that they somehow agreed to use each other's name, nor how easy it was to get used to it. Well, they were friends weren't they?

Speaking of friends, Meiling, Daidouji and the others seemed to be up to something. He had to stay wary of them.

Someone clapped Syaoran's shoulder as he exited from his archaic enchantment class. It was Fye Flowright. "So I hear that you and Miss Kinomoto have been seeing each other a lot lately," he said.

"So?"

He dug his elbow into Syaoran's side. "You must like her a lot. Are you two dating?"

"What are you talking about?" Syaoran glared at the other boy. "We're just friends."

"Really? She would be up set to hear that. Right, Sakura?" Fye Flowright addressed the air some distance behind Syaoran.

"Very funny," he said.

"Hi, Syaoran," said Sakura, walking towards him. "Hi, Fye. Why would I be upset?"

Syaoran didn't know what else to do. He ran.

Why was he running in the anyways? Just because that idiot suggested that he was dating her?

He was friends with her. Everyone was friends with her. She's very kind and listens to others. She doesn't judge anyone and always tries her best whether it was sport, or mathematics. She smiles a lot too. It's natural to like a person like that and worry for that person when she's too busy worrying about everyone is to notice if her life is in danger. What was he supposed to do when she nearly got attacked? Let her get hurt? It was instinct. Surely if it was someone else, he would have saved them not because he likes them more than a friend.

That's all she was to him. Friends help each other with things that they have trouble with such as maths homework. Friends often have lunch together. Friends hang out with each other and call each other by first name. They save each other and don't let the other die. Friends don't run away from another if they see them.

Syaoran slowed down by the football field. Why was he running from her?

Maybe he was scared of her? His heart beat faster when he's seen her recently.

But he doesn't run from his mother.

So maybe it's not fear. Then, what other options were there?

Could it be the reason that his heart skips beats is because he likes Sakura as more than a friend?


Sakura was walking home with Tomoyo through the park. Small birds darted and sang through the trees.

"Is something the matter, Sakura?" asked her cousin.

"Hoe?" she said. "Nothing."

"Is it Mr Li?"

Sakura nearly dropped her bag. Her cousin could be amazingly perceptive at times. "Can you tell?"

"I can because it concerns you, Sakura," Tomoyo replied serenely. "But would you care to explain it to me? We can sit on the swings."

They were by the King Penguin play equipment. Sakura followed her cousin and they sat on the swings. Tomoyo was always her first confidante.

"It's nothing really. Syaoran just ran away from me today when he saw me. I must have done something wrong towards him," said Sakura, rocking herself on the swing. She felt herself blush. "And lately there have been a lot of rumours about… Syaoran and me. It must be embarrassing and uncomfortable for him."

She heard Tomoyo's soft melodic voice above the humming of the bees and sighing of the trees. "I do not believe that you could do anything that would offend him. As for the rumours, worrying about what people say will not help you, especially if there is truth behind them." She looked at Sakura with twinkling eyes.

"Not you too, Tomoyo." She relied on her cousin to be the level headed one.

"Well you are always spending time together and you smile every time you mention him or say his name."

"I don't smile when I say Syaoran's name," she protested.

"You are smiling now."

"Hoe!" Sakura touched her traitorous burning cheeks. "Tomoyo! What should I do?"

"Depends," said Tomoyo. Her hands sat neatly folded on her school bag on her lap. "What are your feelings regarding him?"

"I-," Sakura pictured Syaoran's face and felt herself blush further, "I-I like him." It was the first time she admitted it out loud. She knew she liked him, but she thought that her feelings for him were purely platonic until after he risked his life saving her. He has become a vital part of her life, and if he were to die or leave… it was too painful to imagine.

"Have you told him yet?"

She shook her head sadly. "He's engaged to Meiling, and besides I'm just, and he's so..." How could she ever be enough for him?

"Is that why you are not going to tell him?" said Tomoyo. "Sakura, your value as a human being exceeds your magical capabilities. You are always thinking of others before yourself, and by being your kind, selfless self, you have touched many hearts. These are qualities that you possess that are rare in the population, even amongst the most powerful sorcerers. You are nothing short of miraculous, Sakura. Always remember that you are important to others."

"Thank you, Tomoyo."

"Why not try speaking to Meiling first."

"Won't that hurt her?"

"I believe Meiling would appreciate it more if you were honest than if you hid this from her. She understands that no one can control who they love."

When Sakura couldn't reply her cousin held her hands and said, "There are feelings that are best left in the heart, but are you content with that? No feeling will come across to others if you do not put them properly into words. Our time is limited and it is best spent with those that we love. But do not worry, Sakura. Everything will be all right, correct?"

Sakura felt a little braver. Tomoyo's advice never failed her before.


Earlier today Miss Kinomoto approached Meiling and confessed that she had feelings for Syaoran. Meiling meant it when told her friend that she understood and was okay with that. But now it was well past midnight and Meiling couldn't get to sleep. No tears had fallen. She felt numb. She felt like pancakes.

She sat up and put on her house slippers. Her mind was set on food.

Normally she'd wake Syaoran up to make them but due to recent events, she couldn't ask him. She'd never made them before by herself but, she'd seen him make them numerous times. It couldn't be that difficult. She made Zhonguo dishes all the time.

It would be so much easier if she could use her magic to make them, but those kinds of spells needed the knowledge behind the method and recipe to work.

She turned on the lights in the kitchen and started selecting the ingredients. It only needed an egg, a quarter of a cup of sugar, one cup of milk, a bit of vanilla and a cup of flour. Or was it two cups of flour? Oh well. More milk could be added if it became too lumpy. Or maybe what the lumps needed was extra strong mixing.

"What are you doing?"

Meiling spun with the bowl in hand. A very grumping looking Syaoran was standing behind the doorway covered in pancake batter.

"I was making pancakes."

Syaoran looked at the kitchen walls and ceiling, judgementally.

"I was going to clean it up later!" she protested. She pointed the batter covered mixing spoon at him. "What are you doing here?"

"I was studying when I heard a noise in the kitchen."

Meiling noticed that had his sword in his hand. He reverted the sword to its amulet form, wiped his face clean with a tea towel and then grabbed a couple of clean bowl from the cupboard. He didn't bother changing into clean pyjamas.

"It's two eggs, two cups of flour, one teaspoon of vanilla, one third cup of sugar and one and three quarters cups of milk. Beat the eggs, milk and vanilla first and then in another bowl sift flour and stir in the sugar. Make a well in the centre and add the egg mixture in slowly so the batter doesn't fly everywhere."

He handed Meiling the bowl then started wiping down the walls.

"What's wrong?" he said while she was mixing the eggs, vanilla and milk. "You only want pancakes if there's a problem."

"It's not really anything you can fix," she replied, sifting flour into a larger bowl. She smiled at him reassuringly. "Don't worry. I'm talking to Miss Daidouji and Lecourt is well known for treating psychological illnesses. Do you have something on your mind?"

Syaoran turned on the stove to warm up a frying pan. He had an unreadable expression in his eyes. "Well," he said slowly, "remember that I promised that I would tell you, Meiling, if I found someone that I loved the most?"

"So you found someone," she said. It wasn't a question.

Syaoran nodded. "Yeah."

"I see…" She put down the mixing spoon and bowl and took a breath. "Is it Miss Kinomoto?"

His eyes broadened. "How did you-? "

Meiling cut him off. "She called you "Syaoran" in the hospital and later you called her "Sakura,"" she said, mixing the egg mixture carefully into the well of sugar and flour. "The only women you let call you "Syaoran" or you call by their first name, other than your sisters, was me."

"B-but," he spluttered. "I didn't know I liked her at that point."

She burst out laughing at his bewildered expression. "You're so slow. Everyone knew by that point."

"Even Sakura?" He looked hilariously mortified.

"Everyone except Miss Kinomoto. She's as dense as you." Meiling blinked and then tried to catch his gaze. "Haven't you told Miss Kinomoto that you like her yet?"

"N-no."

"You haven't yet? You're so slow! You think that of all people, she would realize it without you telling her?"

He flinched. "That's too soon. I only recently realized it myself."

She puffed her cheeks and stamped her foot. "You're taking too long! If you don't hurry up I'll tell her myself."

"Don't do that!"

She sighed. "Is the pan hot enough yet?"

"Yeah," Syaoran replied. He supervised her pouring of the batter. "Are you sure that you're all right?"

"I told you, I knew about your feelings before you did. I've had time to process it," she said, peeking under a pancake. It still stuck to the pan. "Miss Kinomoto is a good girl. She's very lucky."

"Do you know what she thinks of me?" he asked hesitantly.

Meiling raised an eyebrow at him. "Why? Just because we're cousins and I'm close friends with Miss Kinomoto, do you expect that I'd say you what she thinks about you? Ask her yourself." She tossed her long hair behind her shoulder with the back of her hand.

"In person!?"

"Of course," said Meiling. She could almost taste those pancakes. "Do you want me to tell her?"

"No!"

"Then hurry up! Either you confess her or I will on your behalf. Life is short," she said. He stood and pensively watched the pancakes.

"Don't flip yet," he scolded. He nearly grabbed the spatula out of Meiling's hand. She hit his hand with it. "You have to wait until there are bubbles all over the surface."

It took a few more tries, but by the end, Meiling's pancakes were a perfect golden brown.


The bell rang signalling the end of their end of the week commerce class. Tomoyo and Meiling nodded to one another initiating the Get-the Adorable Sakura/Miss Kinomoto-and-Mr Li/Syaoran-to-Confess-Plan version eighteen c.

"Hey Syaoran," said Meiling, "Miss Daidouji and I have some things to discuss about our group assignment so we won't be able to have lunch together with Miss Kinomoto today."

"Do you mind passing on a message to Sakura when you see her at lunch as usual?" said Tomoyo. "Please inform her to wait by the front gate when she has finished with Bartitsu Club activities."

He raised an eyebrow at them both. "Can't you call her through the chronophone?"

"It is forbidden to use the chronophone during school hours," Tomoyo replied.

"Can't you tell her in person later during the Magical Research period?"

"I'll forget," said Meiling.

"And I have a progress meeting with the teacher scheduled for that lesson," sighed Tomoyo.

Meiling started to push him out of the classroom. "Just leave already! We don't have as much time as it is!"

He left casting one last sceptical glance at the two of them and left. He could be trusted to pass on the message at least. The rest was up to them.

"You haven't notice anything different with Miss Kinomoto did you?" asked Meiling.

"No, did you with Mr Li?"

"This is so frustrating. We've been giving them plenty of opportunities to confess."

"We haven't locked them in a room together yet," said Fye as he walked into the classroom with some of their classmates and Mr Li's football team mates.

"Should we even bother?" said Caldina Chizeta. "I don't reckon he's good enough for Sakura. No offence, Meiling."

Presea Pharle nodded in agreement and added, "He should prove himself. We can make it so that Mr Li has to win a tournament or save Sakura from tower guarded by a dragon, or even-"

"Where are we going to get a dragon?" asked Meiling.

Tomoyo tapped the blackboard. "Sakura and Mr Li confessions need to come from themselves. And Mr Li makes Sakura happy and vice versa, and I believe that reason is satisfactory. As for the dragon, my Princess Cousin will certainly let us borrow a dragon should we decide to implement that plan."

Fye raised his hand up. "Can we still tease them?"

Tomoyo and Meiling had been discussing that last week when they formulated the plans.

"Teasing is allowed," said Meiling. "They're both pretty dense anyways. But you need to be careful not to embarrass them or it will take even longer."

"But at the rate this is goin'," began Caldina.

"You're one to talk," said Presea, nudging her best friend and not so subtly nodding her head in the direction of Mr Lafarga. He and Caldina both turned red.

"It would be easier to tell them the other person's feelings on their behalf," said Fye, "At least it will be less dangerous than trying to ensure that there are no interruptions. Syaoran's admirers are insane."

Tomoyo realized that there was not anyone on duty minding Sakura and Mr Li. "Caldina, Presea. Do you mind checking up on the two upstairs?"

"On it," said Caldina, dragging Presea along and pointedly not looking at Mr Lafarga. "We'll see y'all tomorrow at Sakura's birthday!"

"So what is the grand plan for Sakura's birthday?" asked Fye. "If it doesn't work, I'm telling them."

"Oh, don't worry, the plan will work," said Meiling.

Tomoyo laughed to herself. She and Meiling have been recently busy planning Sakura's birthday. It was going to be wonderful.


Sakura was surprised to find Syaoran sitting all by himself in the usual lunch spot. She'd been trying to find opportunities to confess to him since Meiling told her that the engagement was off last week, but other people and strange events kept surprising her. And here he was just sitting there eating lunch as if it was the most natural thing.

Her heart skipped a beat and she wanted to run from here. To where? She wasn't quite sure. He noticed her and stood up.

"Um, Meiling and your cousin are working on an assignment now," he said. "Your cousin says to meet her at the front gate once Bartitsu Club activities are over."

"Oh, I see."

Syaoran sat down on the bench and Sakura sat down next to him about an arm span away after a moment's hesitation. How far apart did she sit from him before she knew she liked him?

Her heart was beating rapidly. She hoped her faced wasn't red.

"They-"

"Saku-"

They both stopped talking.

"You go first," Syaoran offered.

"I was just going to say that they've been really busy lately. I've hardly seem them. It feels like I only see Meiling in class or during training, but I haven't been able to talk to her properly. She's not under too much stress is she?"

He picked out a piece of glazed chicken from his delicious looking lunch and ate it. "She's been doing all right. I think that being occupied is helping her."

"She's not busy tomorrow is she?" Sakura asked. "She's invited to my birthday but if she has so much to do…"

"Meiling's organizing it with your cousin. Didn't you know? She's hardly talks about much else."

"That's nice," Sakura ate a bite of her apple and examined her laced up school boots. "What about you, Syaoran?"

"What about me?"

"You don't have any other plans tomorrow, do you?" she said. There was a ladybug crawling over her right boot. "I know you have practice, recovery, and helping find Ko-"

"Sakura, I wouldn't miss it."

She smiled at him. There was a hint of a smile back. "I'm glad," she said.

She remembered Tomoyo's words, "No feeling will come across to others if you do not put them into words."

"You know Syaoran," Sakura said slowly, keeping eye contact with him, "even though we've known each other for less than a year, I think that we've become really close."

He blinked. "I feel the same way. I'm glad that we're, um, friends," he said, slowly to spare her feelings.

Friends. That's what he thinks of her. No, she couldn't be give up until she said what she wanted to say. She turned on the bench to face him. She had never seen that expression on him before.

"What I'm trying to say is that we've been through so much," she said with a little more boldness. "The Ko, you helped me with math class, and you saved me from spirits. I feel safe around you. And you have so many qualities I don't have. From when we met, you were serious and a hard worker." She took a deep breath and looked into his deep brown eyes and said, "What I want to say, Syaoran, is that you're important to me and I like you."

Sakura told herself that it didn't matter what his response was. It was enough that she told him. His happiness was what mattered, even if it was with someone else. It was as Tomoyo once said, "The biggest happiness is to see someone you like stay happy."

That's she told herself, but she could feel the tears threatening to fall and her heart breaking in that silence. She broke eye contact and tried to hide under her bangs. She could hear him start to walk away.

"Me too. I like you, Sakura."

Syaoran was standing in front of her with his handkerchief in his outstretched hand. She reached out and stood to take it, her hands brushing his. They stood facing one another, unaware of the distant conversations and birds chirping in the background.

"Sakura! Why you cryin'?!"

Sakura and Syaoran jumped backwards.

Caldina pushed him back and Presea put a protective arm around Sakura.

"Syaoran, what did you do?!" said Presea.

"No. It's not his fault," Sakura protested. "Hoe? What's going on?"

She was being pulled to the rooftop door by Presea. Caldina was carrying her stuff and glaring at Syaoran. "We're takin' you away from this here idiot," she said.

They were completely misunderstanding the situation, but Presea had a surprisingly strong grip and they were almost at the exit of the rooftop gardens.

Sakura cast a final glance at Syaoran. He stood confused and shocked. She gave him a confused expression of her own. "See you tomorrow, Syaoran!" she said.

"Don't talk to him!"

He smiled at her gently. Sakura's heart danced. Syaoran likes her too.


Author's Notes:

-Thank you once again for reading the story, following and reviewing! I have a lot that I want to say about the writing process, but I'll save it for later once everything has been revealed. I will say though that there have been some reviews that have been spot on in some aspects with what's to come. Hopefully the story will still be interesting for you. =) Look forward to the next chapter revolving around Sakura's birthday!