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Property of AmyLeah
A/N: Okay, here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy this one. Some of you were asking me if this truly was/is a Syaoran x Sakura fic. It is.
And for some of you who wanted the pairing to remain - well, I'm not so confident to actually end the fic with an SxE pairing.
Again, I'm just adding a few little twists and boxes of surprises of my own.
Disclaimer: As per usual, I do not own CCS. Otherwise, I'd be freaking rich and Syaoran would have probably end up with Sakura earlier than at the end of the second movie.
Please read and review.
A Little Too Late
Chapter 6 - Torn apart.
Sakura didn't know what to do. She sat next to the answering phone, fighting with herself. Should she side with Tomoyo or Syaoran? Honestly, she could not decide.
The phone rang again, its echo sounded throughout the empty room.
"Sakura, this is Tomoyo. Please, you've got to convince Syaoran that it never happened. Sakura please, tell him that I was seduced and, and-" The call ended with a long beep.
"Was that Tomoyo?" came Syaoran's voice. Sakura turned to face him and sighed. Her friend was a mess, it has been almost two weeks since the incident happened and Syaoran was already supporting a beard, his eyes were bloodshot and his skin was as pale as a corpse's.
"Yea," her lips went dry. "I'll get you some food." Sakura made a move to stand up.
"No!" he said, rather too quickly. "I mean, I'm not that hungry. Besides, I can make my own food." Syaoran bit on his tongue, he didn't want to offend her after everything she did for him.
Sakura still had her back to him. Without turning around, she nodded and made her way to the nursery. She had yet to fold the baby clothes - though, Eriol had volunteered to help her after he was done managing the store downtown. Sakura needed an excuse to avoid Syaoran, and it was almost perfect. Almost.
Sakura made herself comfortable as she began rocking back and forth in the old antique rocking chair. She closed her eyes and began to hum a lullaby. She read somewhere, that babies love to hear their mother's voice. She smiled, "I wonder how mother was like, when she was pregnant with me?"
She often asked her father that question. Fujitaka would smile and say, "she was beautifully glowing. She looked as beautiful as you are now."
Beautiful. Sakura did not feel different than how she was before. Perhaps it was Eriol's presence that made her 'glow'. Her smiled widened when she felt the baby kick. The baby has been kicking a lot lately.
She remembered when Eriol had first felt the kick. As usual he would come home tired from managing the store. He would lay his head on her lap and kiss her wrist, telling her how he loves her.
Truthfully, Sakura was half afraid that he would fall off her lap, she could hardly see her feet, let alone her thighs! She laughed when Eriol did fall onto the floor, but not because of her balloon-sized abdomen.
Eriol stared at her baffled. His mouth suddenly felt dry, he was struggling to find the right words to say. "Was that?" He swallowed the rather large lump in his throat before continuing, "Did our baby… Was I just… I mean, the baby…"
Sakura bit her lips and nodded her head. "Our baby thought your head was a soccer ball," she joked, caressing her stomach with much affection.
Eriol grinned. "Really?" his voice was filled with much excitement. His baby just kicked! He settled the 'head kicking' issue aside to give his unborn baby a congratulatory smile. "I can't wait to meet you, bébé"
In present-time, Syaoran sat quietly on the floor, he was listening to her singings. She sounded so - so happy. He was always curious as to why Sakura could be so selfless and caring. He admitted, during their first years in middle school, he despised her for her happy-go-lucky attitude. She was always smiling no matter what the case. He could have had an infinitesimal crush on her… could have.
He had his knees brought up to his chest,. His was face buried in his arms. Frankly, he couldn't care less. Syaoran's eyes fell to the collection of photo frames hanged on the southern wall of the living room. It was filled with pictures of Sakura and Eriol on their dates. Pictures of them smiling and laughing. There were also pictures of them from their school years.
Syaoran snorted. If he was told that he would end up with Tomoyo, he would probably object. Their classmates had always anticipated that Syaoran would most likely end up with Sakura, and Tomoyo with Eriol. Oh, how wrong they had been.
Me and Sakura, huh? He glanced at the picture of him and Sakura on top of the fireplace. Their faces were red from the cold winter sharing a dark green scarf. He remembered that they were standing under a huge Christmas tree, the picture was taken when Sakura unwrapped his gift. In her arms was a small handmade bear. It wasn't anything grand or expensive, but he had hoped the grey bear kept her company.
By the time Sakura left the nursery room, she was surprised to see a sleeping Syaoran leaning against the wall. She crouch down carefully as she could and gave his shoulder a small shove. "Syaoran, wake up." A bubbly laughter escaped her when Syaoran pouted in his sleep.
When wide awake, Syaoran Li was the epitome of masculinity, but asleep he was as innocent as a baby. A man's pride can only hide so much. Sakura gave him another shove and that send him to stand up straight, eyes wide and alarmed. He reminded her of a grizzly bear.
Sakura got up from her sitting position and turned to face her friend. "If you want to sleep, sleep on a bed, dear Syaoran. You must be really tired."
She glanced at the grandfather clock in the corner of the room. It's tall wooden case looming over her as she eyed the hands on its face. "Eriol will home soon. I need to get dinner ready."
Syaoran shoved his hands into his pocket and gave her a curt nod.
When Eriol arrived, his hands were covered with dirt and his glasses had stains on them. Sakura gave him a reassuring smile and say, "Must have been a very productive day for the business."
Eriol hugged her shoulders and kissed her head tenderly. "I missed you." He breathed into her, even when he was surrounded by flowers everyday, they could not hold a candle to Sakura's unique scent. She blew him away.
He felt her melting into his embrace. Her arms circling at his waist. Without him, she would be lost. She stood on the tips of her toe, as carefully as she could and kissed his neck. "Dinner is almost ready."
Eriol held on to her a bit longer, before untangling his tired arms from her. He kissed her one more time before disappearing upstairs.
"I miss you too," Sakura said, to the empty void in front of her. It was odd for Sakura, to not be able to speak those very words to him face to face. What was she afraid of? Frankly, she didn't know. She loved him, but she could not say it to him whenever he was present or awake.
From the kitchen doorway, Syaoran watched their little love-exchange. How his own heart had yearned for the same connection Sakura and Eriol felt. He wondered what went wrong with his and Tomoyo's. Perhaps, he was spending too much time in the office, or maybe he didn't tell her he loved her enough.
Whatever the reason was, he knew, he wanted what his friends had. Syaoran felt himself blush whenever he was around them kissing or cuddling one another. Was it wrong to feel envious of Eriol?
Lucky man, that Eriol is certainly a lucky man.
Downtown, Daijouji residence, Tomoyo paced back and forth in the living room. She was furious. How could she? Sakura had the nerve to not return her calls. Surely Sakura would never cross the line, would she?
Tomoyo's brow furrowed in deep concentration. She recalled how angry Syaoran was. For God's sake, he kicked her out the curb. It was her house too. She had the right to do whatever she wanted.
The double doors swung open and Sonomi walked in, her head held high as if she herself was God. "Tomoyo sit down and behave yourself!"
Immediately, Tomoyo sat down onto the nearest chair. Her knees still shaking. Her eyes were wild and angry. "How could she mother?" she demanded.
"I thought we were friends… we were best friends. She was suppose to look out for me!" Her shrill voice could make a deaf man blind. "I mean, look what has happened now? My marriage is in the ruins. I have no where to go and Syaoran decides t-to-"
"Calm down, child!" Sonomi said, iciness ever present in her voice. Her amethyst eyes sharp and determined. "I'm sure Syaoran is regretting his decision right this moment. He must be miserable without you. Why, Sakura must be… how we say… feeling guilty."
Tomoyo took in her mothers words and smiled. "That's right. She should feel guilty, I am her best friend afterall. If it wasn't for me, she would never look presentable, would she mother?"
Sonomi smiled a tight fitting smile, "Of course, my child. Now what are you going to do about your husband?"
Eriol watched as Sakura slept. With her aurburn hair tossed around her aimlessly, it made her look somewhat innocent and more angelic. He brought her closer into his embrace. "I love you, Sakura."
He knew that she was struggling to say those exact three words to him. Sometimes at night, he would pretend to be asleep just to hear her say, 'I love you'. He was grateful for that. Those small moment made him feel hopeful. He grinned at the possibilities. He wondered how she felt, to carry his baby inside of her.
Pregnancy mad her more beautiful, he thought how it made her glow and smiled. He truly did love her. She was his to keep. He wanted her to be his, for as long as he lived, he vowed to protect her and soon he wished to utter his vows to her. "I want to marry you, Sakura. I want to be with you."
Syaoran wandered around the hallways at night. He was relentless. He couldn't sleep, he listened to the hushed whispers through the couple's door. He felt a slight twinge in his chest. He thought it was due to his ever so competitive green eyed monster.
He slowly made his way down the stairs, lifting one feet and dragging the other. Steadying himself on the railing he successfully made his way to the kitchen. It was quiet and peaceful. Syaoran looked around, not knowing what to do. His gaze landed on the coffee machine. He eyed the machine a little while longer before shrugging his shoulders and saying, 'why not?'
In the morning, Syaoran woke up to a slight headache. He noted that he feel asleep on the dinner table, his back was aching. The intense sunlight made him squint his eyes with a groan. He lay his head and faced the other side. There lay his coffee mug, long forgotten and cold.
"Can't sleep?" Eriol stood there watching from the doorway. His arms crossed and eyes burning into Syaoran's. "How long is this going to go on for? It's been two weeks, man. You should really talk to her. You know your girl as well as I know mine." His words were lacking though. Eriol felt the need to actually punch his dear friend.
Syaoran kept his head hung low. "Your guess is as good as mine. She won't even look at me in the eyes. I don't think she'll tell me the truth. It was in her vows, 'to love you as you are and to stay true and loyal.' As if! Who am I even kidding, Tomoyo is a goddamn actress. I've learned that in school. She could lie and I can never tell." Syaoran bellowed angrily. He was upset and frustrated.
Eriol smirked, his dear friend was finally seeing some truth. Some part of him pitied her, he wondered what made her so bitter and eager to send Sakura through an emotional turmoil after another. They were good friend - they were the best of friends, but what changed? Eriol was puzzled. Or maybe nothing changed, as Syaoran said Tomoyo was indeed a good actress.
They had both been played by her, he just wished Syaoran can survive living with her without having to go through suicide. He chuckled at the thought.
A/N: I Know the previous chapter was lacking so I decided to give thing chapter a but more exposure to Eriol and Sakura relationship and also a bit of Syaoran's as well. I hope it wasn't too short.
Anyways as always, leave me reviews and give me your love. Tell me what you like and do not like.
See you soon.