FAIRYTALE

Genre: Romance/Drama/Humor

Rating: T

Summary: A girl. A guy. Twenty-first century. An arranged marriage. Based on Goong.

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS or Goong or Kodocha.

vi. Eyebrow Olympics

"Happy birthday, clown! OUCH!" Touya yelped and rubbed his shins, cursing under his breath. Sakura merely smiled brightly at the figure standing behind him, her father, who only chuckled.

"Happy birthday," he repeated, and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Here you go," Fujitaka handed her a few notes, "go out with your friends today – like every other day – and treat yourself a little something. Your boss J from the café called, by the way, he said you could have the day off."

"Sweet," Sakura beamed, and shoved the notes in her bag before grabbing a rice cake and dashing towards the door. "Thanks, Dad! And bye, potato-head!"

Touya just grunted at his sister. "Syaoran is gonna be soooo lucky to have you as his wife," he commented, and he ducked as Sakura threw a pillow at him.

"DON'T MENTION THAT WORD!"

"What, 'lucky'?"

"And 'Syaoran.' And 'wife.' CAUSE I AM NO LUCKY WIFE OF SYAORAN LI'S!"

"Whatever, sis," Touya tapped his watch. "Time's ticking. And I won't be driving you to school today, we got someone else who's willing to do the job."

"What?" Sakura frowned. "So you're expecting me to walk to school with half of China behind me?"

"Nope," her brother grinned at her. "Congrats, you get your own mini-limo."

Confused, Sakura peered out from behind the curtains and saw a sleek black car waiting outside. It was no limo, but … wow.

"That's for me?" Sakura jumped up and down in glee, then hugging her father tightly. "Oh thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!"

Fujitaka cleared his throat and looked at Touya nervously, who shrugged. "Uh, no," he said, prying her hands off from his neck. "Actually … those are the Lis."

Sakura's grin slipped off of her face faster than you can say 'BRA-SHAPED-WEDDING-CAKES-ARE-SO-IN'. "What?" she said fiercely. "I have to go to school … together with him now?"

"… seems like it, yes."

"NO!"

Touya looked smugly at his dad. "Told you she'll never get over this 'I'm-Syaoran's-Fiancée-Soon-To-Be-Wife' thing."

"I don't want – no wait, I refuse to be in the same car as him!" Sakura huffed, nose in the air and hands on her hips, "and nothing, let me tell you, NOTHING," she emphasized, jabbing a finger at Touya's chest, "will make me sit in the same car – however gorgeous it is – as him! NOTHING, DO YOU HEAR ME?"

Touya pointed at his watch. "You've got five minutes left."

"… FINE!" Sakura grunted out, stomping all the way to the front door. "Only this time! Only when I'm late! That's the only time I'll ever be in the same car as him – oh wow, look at it shine under the sun," they heard her gush as she opened the door, despite the flashing lights. "Oh, well – maybe – just for today …"

Touya turned to Fujitaka, who had an unreadable expression on his face. "So," he cleared his throat, "if I marry a Li too, do I get to drive in one of those cars as well?"

Syaoran's right eyebrow twitched.

"Wooooooow."

His left eyebrow twitched.

"Look at this!"

… I don't think anybody's eyebrows can twitch at the same time. Right?

"And this!" Sakura gleefully touched the leather seats carefully, looking around. "And – hey, that's not your mom. You have your own driver?" she gawked at him. Leaning forward, she beamed a smile at the chauffeur. "Hi, I'm Sakura!"

The man sitting in front couldn't keep a straight face, he chuckled before lightly scolding her, "Please sit still, miss."

Sakura did as she was told, obediently sitting back and placing her hands on her lap. She could only stay in that position for five seconds before she turned to Syaoran, who was sitting on her right, blabbing a mile a minute.

"You haven't said anything, are you sick? Do you have a sore throat?" she peered at him with wide emerald green eyes, frowning. "You have the fever, don't you? It's alright, I had it a while back, I couldn't stop coughing and blowing my nose and I used up like three boxes of tissues per day and Touya – my brother – called me a bloated potato head 'cause my eyes were swollen and my nose was all runny and red, and I've always hated medicine – ick! It usually takes me about fifteen minutes just to swallow a few pills, thirty if I can manage it, that's how much I hate that stuff – hey, they're having a sale!" she exclaimed happily, pointing at a store she spotted out of the window.

"You can't go."

Sakura blinked, feeling her anger fuming, but managed to smile to cover it up. "That's the first sentence you've said to me all day!" she rolled her eyes and playfully slapped his arm. "So you're not really Mr. Cold Ass after all!"

"My mother arranged a meeting this afternoon with you," Syaoran merely replied before turning away, looking out the window.

"A – a meeting?" Sakura bit her lip and shrunk slightly in her seat, suddenly nervous. "For what?"

"For meeting you," came his smart reply.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "So you arranged a meeting without consulting me?"

"Consult? That's a big word for a little girl like you," he raised an eyebrow, looking at her oddly.

Syaoran's eyebrows move a lot in this chapter. It was like watching the Eyebrow Olympics.

COOL.

"Fantastic," Sakura mumbled under her breath, slumping in her seat. "Some birthday this is."

"…"

"Hey!" she huffed, prodding him in the arm. "The least you could do was wish me a happy one!"

"Happy what?"

"Birthday!"

"It's your birthday today?"

Rolling her eyes, Sakura shot back, "No, you must've heard me wrong, I said Boob Day."

"What's a Boob Day?" Syaoran frowned. "Is this another holiday you guys celebrate?"

"What – NO!" Sakura said forcefully, fighting back a smile. "BIRTHDAY!"

"Oh."

"…"

"…"

"WELL?"

"Happy Birthday."

"Thanks," Sakura beamed at him, her anger forgotten. Syaoran merely looked at her oddly, how could someone change from giddy to angry to pleased all in less than three minutes?

"So, when's yours?"

"Boob Day?"

"Are you seriously that stupid?"

Syaoran looked out the window, silent. Peering at him curiously, Sakura sat up, clutching the seat in front of her. "Ooh, do you want me to guess it then?"

"Guess?"

"It's going to take a while, but okay!" Sakura beamed a smile at him before a thoughtful expression glazed her eyes. "Is it … in November?"

"…"

"It is, isn't it?" Sakura asked excitedly. "It's November 31!"

"November doesn't have thirty one days, moron."

Glaring at him, Sakura held up her hands in fists and began to count her knuckles. "January … July … November. Oh."

Syaoran smirked before looking out the window again. "Idiot."

"It was a stupid mistake!" she huffed, crossing her arms. "Anyone would've made the same mistake like that!"

"Anyone, I'm sure," he sniggered. "Next thing I know you'll be telling me France is in South Africa and everyone speaks Thai there."

"I'm not that stupid."

"Didn't think you were."

Sakura chose to ignore him and instead, asked again, "So … when IS your birthday?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Why won't you let me know?"

"I never said anything about not letting you know, what I'm asking is why do you want to know?"

"Tell me!"

"God, I'm gonna marry a bossy girl."

"It's in June, isn't it?"

Syaoran's eyebrow twitched again. Why, dear grandfather, why am I stuck with her? he thought miserably. Out of the thousands of girls you could've chosen … I get this kid. Thanks a lot. "Birthdays in June are for girls," he replied.

"Whaaaat?"

Yeah, whaaaat?

"July 13th," he said instead, turning away and facing forward.

"What?"

"My birthday."

Sakura's face immediately went from confused to cheerful. "That's exactly like Harry Potter!"

"His is on the last day," Syaoran grunted, rolling his eyes. Why aren't we there yet? Where is this school, in Canada?

"Oh yeah," Sakura frowned, pouting a little. "Hey – we're here!"

Thank God, Syaoran thought to himself as he waited for the chauffer to open his door. It's over, it's finally over, no more questions, no more stupid comments, no more –

"SAKUUUUUURA! OVER HERE!" one of the reporters rushed up to the startled girl, practically thrusting the microphone into her face. "What do you plan on doing today, birthday girl?"

Blinking, Sakura opened her mouth, "I'm – I'm not too sure –"

"You're eighteen and legal, how does it feel?"

"It's –"

"SAKURA! Are you excited about the wedding that's coming up in two weeks?"

"Wha – TWO WEEKS?"

"Do you smoke, Sakura? Which brand do you prefer?"

Sakura glared at the other reporters rushing in on her, shooting back a reply, "I don't smoke! Ew, it's disgusting!"

"Will you be getting a tattoo? A piercing? Maybe on –"

"Come on," Sakura felt someone grabbing her hand and pulling her out of the mob of reporters. For some reason, the media went even crazier, bright flashes went off every second and the paparazzi started shouting, "GET A GOOD SHOOT OF THAT! THE HANDS! THE HANDS, YOU IDIOT, THE HANDS! WHY ARE YOU TAKING PICTURES OF THE SKY?"

Once they were through the front doors and in the school's main hallway, Syaoran glared at her, "Don't just stand there like an idiot!" he scolded her, "why the hell didn't you just run away?"

"Just because you're used to it, doesn't mean the rest of us are," Sakura glared back. "And, let go of my hand."

Syaoran did as he was told, blushing a bit. "And you were planning on standing there all morning freezing your ass off just for a bunch of lousy paparazzi?"

"What's it to you?"

Before Syaoran could retort back, Shen approached them with a little smile on his face, looking back and forth between them. "Not interrupting anything, am I?"

"Shen?" Syaoran looked at him in surprise, his anger forgotten. Sakura merely sighed in relief and feigned fainting. "Shen, thank God!"

Syaoran's eyebrow twitched.

Again.

"You know each other?"

"Somewhat," Shen shrugged, smile still on his face. "She was generous enough to spend her whole morning with me, giving me a tour of the school."

"Generous?" Syaoran snorted. "If that girl's generous, than I'm an avocado. Nice to see you back," he grinned, a real, genuine smile; clapping his cousin on the back, ignoring the glower his fiancée sent him. "Told you, California is crazy. Japan's so much better."

Sakura's jaw dropped. "You lived in California?"

"Yeah," Shen said, wincing a little from the 'pat'. "It's really different from Asia, the Chinese food and stuff aren't really –"

"Did you go to Hollywood?" Sakura interrupted, excited. "Did you meet Brad Pitt? Orlando Bloom? TELL ME!"

"Actually, I –"

"I'm so jealous," she continued to gush, stars in her eyes, "I'm green with envy! Will you go back? Can I go with you? Can I? Pleeeeease?"

Syaoran frowned. "Excuse me, my dear wife-to-be," he emphasized, "but you seem to be forgetting the –"

"Okay."

"EEEEEEEEE!" Sakura shrieked in happiness, before pushing her fiancé aside to hug Shen. "You're the best!"

Syaoran's eyebrow twitched.

Sakura isn't what you would call a patient person. The word 'patient' isn't in her vocabulary.

She sat in a luxurious and lavish room, waiting for her future mother-in-law to arrive. Waiting is one thing, but when you're waiting for Yelan Li …

… yeah, that's when the nerves start.

Sakura fidgeted in her seat, legs crossed and hands in her lap. The chair she sat in felt hard and uncomfortable – maybe it was stuffed with gold coins and diamonds instead of the springs?

Curious, Sakura poked her seat. Hmm, doesn't feel like it … She touched the fabric peculiarly, trying to find a hole, a loose thread, anything so she'd be able to peek inside –

"Ahem."

"I WASN'T DOING ANYTHING!" Sakura yelped with a start, eyes wide. "I swear, I wasn't looking for rubies and treasure inside this – oh. It's you."

Syaoran – face expressionless as usual – merely looked at her oddly before saying, "Are you usually this weird?"

"Weird?" she repeated in a high-pitch tone, crossing her eyes at him, "I'm far from weird! You, on the other hand, aren't just weird, but arrogant, conceited, ugly, stupid, and – and – weird! Get your stupid ass out of my sight, I don't want to see you –"

"Here you go, Mother."

"– do you hear me? I said, do you – oh," Sakura flushed, quickly scrambling to her feet, "I'm really sorry about that, er, Mrs Li, I didn't mean to –"

"I was just kidding," Syaoran smirked at her, which made her fume. "Relax. She's not the Emperor."

"Of course she isn't," Sakura glowered at him, "'Cause if she is, she'd have to have her children trained to be polite and kind, something which you're not, you stupid, bigheaded pig –"

"Here she comes," Syaoran turned around slightly, craning his neck.

Flopping back onto the chair, she lifted her legs onto the table in front of her, slouching down. "Ha!" she snorted. "You're not getting me again, Mr I'm-So-Rich-Kiss-My-Toes –"

"Hello."

Shit.

Sakura looked up to see a tall, black-haired woman in front of her. Gasping in shock, she clumsily put her feet down and stood up. "Mrs – Mrs Li!" she squeaked, trying to ignore Syaoran's smug expression, "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to be rude, I – "

"I must say," Yelan interrupted, still a stony look on her face, "you're the first teenage girl I've heard to insult my son."

…

"Well done."

"What?" Syaoran stared at his mother in disbelief. "'Well done'?"

Yelan smiled a little, glancing at his direction. "He needs to deflate that ego of his," she said, sitting herself down, "he gets quite overconfident sometimes."

"Wha – what – Mother," Syaoran spluttered, "I'm not overconfident. I'm just … confident."

"If confident is the new word for arrogant, then I agree," Sakura commented, and beamed at Yelan. "Hi, I'm Sakura Kinomoto," she chirped, holding her hand out to shake. When her future mother-in-law merely stared at her hand as if she didn't know what to do, Sakura cringed slightly. Maybe she was too forward?

"Pleased to meet you, Sakura," the corners of Yelan's lips tilted upwards once more, taking her hand. "I'm thrilled to know my future daughter won't be like one of those fangirls who send Syaoran fifty fan mails a day."

"How would you know?" Syaoran blurted out, frowning. "You've only met her for two seconds, how would you know she isn't one –"

"Do you want me to fawn all over you?" Sakura demanded, amused. "Is that what you've wanted all this time? You could've just said!"

"What? Want? No way!"

"Aw, Syao-pooh-bear!" she batted her eyelashes furiously, leaning in to his direction, "Don't be shy! It's okay to admit your feelings –"

"What feelings?"

"Your feelings for me, silly head!"

Syaoran rolled his eyes before stuffing his hands inside his pockets, saying, "I'll leave you two to … gossip, then. Have fun." Nodding goodbye to his mother, he turned and left.

Sakura frowned thoughtfully as he watched his retreating back, shoulders still stiff and all. "Does that guy ever get a break?" she wondered out loud.

Yelan looked up from her cup. "Pardon?"

"Oh – well," Sakura shrugged, looking aimlessly at the small vase in front of her, "it's just that he seems so … controlled. So inflexible. Like he's never had a childhood. He's never eaten sushi before!"

"Every family has a custom, a law, a tradition," Yelan explained. "And ours is no exception."

"But … no sushi!" Sakura looked at the woman, bewildered. "So if I move in here, does that mean I won't be getting any sushi either?"

"There are more important things in this society," Yelan frowned, putting her teacup down, "then food. While you stay here, it's a must for you to accommodate to these customs as well."

Sakura bit her lip. Their customs? Like what? She saw the Marie Antoinette movie last year featuring Kirsten Dunst, and she did not like what she saw at all. Waking up every morning to see a few dozen people in front of you curtsying? Not being able to wear your own clothes by yourself? Having a butt-ugly guy as your husband, just as stiff as Syaoran?

Oh, but the cakes she wouldn't mind. Sakura smiled just at the thought. Not at all! The lovely creamy sponge cakes, all covered with whipped cream and strawberries and sugar, decorated as lavishly as this chair she was sitting on –

"Sakura?" Yelan's voice seemed to be so far away, "Sakura? Are you feeling alright?"

"What?" she blinked. "Oh, yes. Sorry about that. It happens … sometimes. But I'm perfectly normal!"

Yelan just continued to look at her oddly, which made Sakura start twitching a bit. Like mother, like son, she thought gloomily, staring back.

Hours seemed to pass before Yelan took another sip of her tea, saying, "My father-in-law chose well."

Sakura's didn't know what to reply, so she lifted her teacup to her lips instead. After taking a sip, she asked, "I – I don't know how to say this, Mrs Li, but …" she trailed off, clearing her throat, "about Kaeda –"

"– won't be a problem, I assure you," Yelan said. "So, tell me about yourself. Did you grow up in Japan?"

As Sakura answered all her questions, she couldn't help but wonder about her fiancé's girlfriend. She wanted to prod, to ask, to find out what was going out between them – no way was Syaoran going to answer her – but she didn't want to leave a first impression as the nosy wife.

But if Yelan wasn't going to answer …

… looks like she was going to have to bother someone else instead.

"So."

Syaoran stayed silent, staring into space.

"…"

"Hn."

"Hey – is that real gold?" Sakura gawked, looking at the sink faucets.

They were sitting in the waiting room again, trying to 'get to know each other better' – according to Wei. Sakura just happened to get the honor of sitting across the bathroom – which was pretty far away, but the gold glint under the dim lights couldn't be deceived.

"Hey! I'm talking to you!"

"Ouch!" Syaoran yelped, rubbing his shins, where she kicked him. "What's your problem, woman?"

"What's your problem? I'm asking you a question!" Sakura huffed, but her anger was momentarily forgotten. She stood up, her curiosity over taking her, and headed toward the bathroom. Once inside, she started to gush, "Oh wow, look at this place!" she gasped, looking around. "It's like the size of my bedroom! That tub is the size of my bedroom! And seriously – is that real gold?"

"Hn," he grunted from where he was.

"Looks like I'll have to find out myself," Sakura shot him an angry look before frowning at the faucet. Well, it looked real. But how could she be sure?

A minute later, Syaoran had to go potty. Unfortunately, a certain someone was still in side.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Sakura looked up from her position, face flushed and rubbing her jaws. "It hurts!"

"Of course it'll hurt if you bite the sink tap!" Syaoran snorted, suppressing a laugh. "We aren't broke, you know, there were a plate of fruits in front of you, but I guess you wanted to try something new –"

"This is a fake!" Sakura retorted angrily, still rubbing her cheeks with her hands. "This isn't real gold!"

"Excuse me?"

"Real gold is soft, not like this cheap knock-off," she said. "It's probably just gold paint, isn't it?" she wondered, and looked closer to examine whether or not she left her teeth marks on the gleaming tap.

"I'm gonna marry a Neanderthal," Syaoran muttered under his breath, before clearing his throat and saying, "would you mind? I need to go."

"Oh suck it up, big guy."

Sighing, Syaoran started to unzip his pants. "Whatever, then."

Sakura turned red again before rushing out of the room, slamming the door behind her. "Jerk!"

So this will be her life in a few more days, she thought as she settled down on another lavish chair. Fake gold faucets, tooth aches, and a perverted husband. Great. She grabbed an apple from in front of her, biting into it, and wincing a little – both from the pain and embarrassment

Syaoran came back, plopping himself on the sofa again, looking at the plate of fruit in front of him. He cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable. "Hey," he said, still not looking at her.

Sakura looked up.

"Happy Birthday."

A/N: Boring chapter. Yelan's boring. Bah. Sorry.

I'm going to need a little help here. Um. I don't know what to write about the wedding chapter, LOL. GIVE ME SOME IDEAS! Tell me what you want to see. I've got a few ideas in mind, but well … I need more. (:

Sorry for the super late update, I've been busy with IRL. In fact, I'll be moving to France this summer (end of July), so I don't think I'll be able to update until September or something. Until we get settled in, and stuff. Sorry, kids.

In the meantime, leave me lots of reviews. Maybe I can steal my dad's laptop for a few hours and type something up, hah.

Don't tell him.

REVIEW!!