Her Rising Saviour:

Chapter seventeen – preparing

Sakura was just a little over seven months along now. Her lamaze class had been done long ago, seeing as it was only a twelve week course. She did, however, still see Kaho Mizuki every once in a while, just to sit and talk about whatever concerns she may have, or just to have some girl-talk. Kaho was a very insightful woman. She was also going to doctor appointments bi-weekly now, even though she had been told she needn't go so frequently. Now she was just paranoid; better safe than sorry.

Syaoran worked most of the time these days, often coming home frustrated. He was getting absolutely no where in the Hamada case. When he'd come home like this – which was most days – Sakura was always there for him. Sometimes, she'd stay up late waiting for him, then she'd pull out a movie and they'd cuddle close on the couch. If he came home early, she'd make a nice dinner – usually, one of his favourite dishes – and simply listen to his day, knowing that he needed to rant it off. If he wasn't in a talking mood, sometimes he'd just pull her toward the bedroom and they'd lie down together in silence, usually with his head resting above her heart and his hand on her fairly large stomach.

And, of course, if the day wasn't too bad, and Syaoran didn't need the comfortable silence, sex almost always came into play.

Sakura wasn't working too often these days, only three days a week instead of the usual five to six. This was due to the woman being trained to take over her job so Sakura could have a maternity leave. Most of her days off were spent with Tomoyo, either shopping for baby clothes – now that they knew the gender, Tomoyo was all over this – or at Tomoyo's office.

Today was one of Syaoran's few days off, and Sakura woke up with a grin. She hadn't slept in much today, finding herself too excited with the plans they had made. She shifted slightly so not to wake her husband – Syaoran's head was on her chest, him having fallen asleep this way after a rough day at work, rougher than usual, so this was a difficult task – and looked over to the alarm clock. It was only eight. Gently, careful not to disturb him, she shifted out from underneath him. He gave a small mew of protest, but besides that, he didn't stir.

Sakura went straight to the kitchen and began pulling out ingredients for breakfast, wanting to surprise Syaoran. Lately, due to his crazy work hours, she hadn't had time to make him anything. It upset her, in a way, because here she was spending most days at home and couldn't even make him breakfast. Sometimes this was simply because he was nice enough to let her sleep in, other times it was because he left too early. In fact, they hadn't even had their usual morning showers together for nearly a week.

So, she decided to make Syaoran's favourite breakfast, usually only saved for special occasions; chocolate waffles. She quickly mixed the proper ingredients in the bowl and added enough cocoa for a superb chocolaty taste, and carefully poured the mix into the waffle iron. While those cooked, she grabbed the box of fresh strawberries from the fridge and melted some dark Belgium chocolate. She dipped four strawberries into the chocolate and placed them into the fridge to let the chocolate harden. Lastly, once the waffles were done, she topped them with strawberry jam and placed the chocolate covered strawberries on the plate beside them. She made some quick coffee and placed the mug on a tray along with the plate of food and cutlery, then made her way carefully back to the bedroom, careful not to trip over anything or lose her footing. She had learned that since her stomach had been growing so big, it was also growing more difficult to see her feet, making it easier for her to trip.

In the bedroom, Sakura paused in the doorway to watch Syaoran for a moment. He had tossed onto his side, holding Sakura's pillow close to him with his nose buried in it. She stifled a small giggle at the way his eyebrows were hitched together and could almost imagine the pout on his lips. She crawled onto the bed and set the tray beside her carefully on the mattress, then began trailing kisses along his tense face.

Slowly, his face softened and relaxed beneath her ministrations and a small smile played across his lips. "Hmm...much better than that damn alarm."

Sakura smiled against his cheek, "I'm glad you think so." He turned his face toward her, his eyes still closed, and puckered his lips. She smiled and leaned down to kiss him passionately, then grinned and pulled away to pick up the tray. She smiled widely when his eyes opened and caught sight of the food, his eyes growing to the side of saucers. She couldn't help it, she blushed slightly. "I made you breakfast."

Syaoran grinned and bolted up into a sitting position, resting his back against the headboard as the blankets pooled around his waist. Sakura grimaced as she realized that he had fallen asleep still in his dress pants and, now wrinkled, white green down shirt. Though she was slightly relieved that he had at least removed his tie.

Not a second after the tray was in his lap, Syaoran picked up the fork and knife and dug in. He cut away a large piece of the fluffy waffle and brought it to his mouth, his eyes fluttering closed in contentment. He began moaning loudly, "My god Sakura...Damn, these are amazing!"

Sakura grinned happily, "I'm glad. I know how much you like them."

"I fucking love 'em," he corrected with another mouthful.

She wanted to correct him for his language, but couldn't with the large grin on her own face, pleased that he was enjoying them so much. Then again, he'd been stuck with cereal unless he had time to stop at a cafe on his way to work, and even then it'd be a plain muffin or bagel, having no time for toasting. This had to be one hell of a treat by now.

Syaoran took a few more bites, finishing off the first of the two waffles, when he stopped and suddenly frowned. He looked to Sakura, then her lap, and then his frown grew. He suddenly felt like a gluttonous pig for not realizing anything before. "Aren't you going to eat?"

"Not hungry," Sakura shook her head, too content in just watching him.

"Sakura..." he said in a warning tone. "You have to eat."

"But I'm not hungry right now," she told him again. When he sent her a disapproving look, she quickly reassured him, "I'll get something in an hour or so, I promise. When I'm hungry, I'll eat."

Syaoran frowned and looked back at his food. He knew he wouldn't feel comfortable eating, now that he knew that she wasn't. So he picked up one of his chocolate-covered strawberries and held it up close to her lips. "At least eat one strawberry? Please? Just to set me at ease?"

She gave a small sigh, then opened her mouth willingly, her eyes locked on Syaoran. A glint appeared in her eyes as he brought the berry to her mouth and her lips closed tightly around it. The same glint from her eyes suddenly sparked in Syaoran's as she began to suckle the berry, her tongue licking off the chocolate. With a soft, sensual moan, she closed her eyes and turned her head slightly for better access. Immediately after this, Syaoran gave a low groan himself, feeling himself harden already.

"Sakura," he groaned huskily, as if warning her, "you're killing me here."

Having pity on him, she bit the luscious strawberry, slowly chewed it, then swallowed before opening her eyes. His already darkened eyes were now almost black with lust, his nostrils flaring with want. He dropped the tray of food to the floor and before it hit the ground, his arms were already wrapped around Sakura and pulling her down onto the bed beneath him. His lips attacked hers, their moans and harsh breathing echoing through the air around them. When they needed to breathe, he moved his lips down her throat, yanking off her clothes as he went. Sakura was also quickly removing his clothes, desperate to feel him and be one with him.

And although this lovemaking was not slow and sensual, it was passionate and still, nevertheless, lovemaking.

The perfect way to stay their morning.

After a quick shower to clean themselves up, Syaoran brought the now cold tray of waffles into the kitchen. He had changed into a clean pair of sleeping pants and had decided to go shirtless due to their plans for the day. He set them on the counter and leaned his elbow on it, quickly finishing them with a large dopey grin on his face. After placing the dirty dishes into the sink, he picked up his mug to pour himself some more coffee and turned, leaning his back against the counter to see Sakura also entering the room, wearing a pair of Syaoran's boxers and a thin, white tank top. The same grin Syaoran wore was also on her face. He finished his coffee in one swallow, then opened his arms for Sakura. She went over to him and fell into his embrace, letting him sway them slightly as he kissed the top of her head.

It was rare for both Sakura and Syaoran to be off on the same day lately, and they wanted to take advantage of the situation. So the plan was to get the baby stuff and nursery set up. They had gone shopping together two weeks ago during their last day off together and had picked out the furniture and paint colours they wanted. Sakura and Tomoyo had picked up the smaller things and paint the previous day and the larger stuff, such as furniture, had been delivered during the previous evening. The boxes were now sitting in the living room.

"Shall we paint the room first?" Syaoran asked, smiling down to his wife. "That way the paint as time to dry, and in-between coats we put together some of the things in the living room."

Sakura smiled, "That sounds like a good id – HEY! Syaoran! Put me down!" She squealed as Syaoran picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, her fists beating his back. He simply held her legs tighter, making sure she didn't fall, as he made way to the bedroom that was once, shortly, Sakura's.

He gently put her down in the centre of the room. Sakura 's footing staggered a bit as she giggled, shaking her head. Syaoran made sure she wouldn't fall, then turned his attention to the cans of pain, rollers, brushes and paint tray in the corner. The beautiful wooden floor was already covered with a thick sheet of plastic. He opened a can and poured the beautiful pastel yellow paint into the tray. The colour was perfect – warm and friendly, inviting.

"If you can start painting along the edges, I can begin with filling in the rest," Syaoran suggested as he handed Sakura the open can of paint and a brush.

Sakura gladly accepted her duty and dipped her brush into the yellow paint. She was about to get to work when her gaze caught sight of Syaoran as he began to roll the paint onto the wall. His back and arm muscles were rippling slightly from the pressure he was using to make sure the paint got on evenly. She bit her lower lip to stop herself from moaning and shook her head out of her daze. She turned her attention back to the door-frame and painted around it.

An hour later, both Sakura and Syaoran were finishing up, both rolling paint onto the walls by this point as the outlining had been done nearly forty minutes ago.

Sakura sighed as she finished her wall and turned to see Syaoran nearly done his. A small smile appeared on her face as she watched him work, his muscles still contracting and flexing with each stroke. All she wanted to do was grab him and shove him onto the ground, and lick him all over, and... She was so lost in her daze that she didn't even realize he had turned around until he spoke up.

"Like what you see?" He asked smugly, smirking.

Sakura blushed softly at getting caught, then also smirked and strode over to him. She pressed herself against him as much as her stomach would allow and wrapped her arms around his neck, playing with the hair at the base of his skull.

"I like very much what I see, Mr. Li," she admitted, then leaned in to kiss his chest.

Syaoran growled as her lips moved over his chest, his eyes closing at the soft, yet pleasurable, sensation.

Sakura kept up her ministrations, but looked up through her eyelashes to see his eyes closed. A smile stretched across her lips as her hands reached down for the paint roller still in his hand. In one swift movement, she snatched it from him and jumped back from their embrace. She smirked as his eyes sho t open, but before he could say anything, she ran the roller down his chest, leaving a trail of pastel yellow paint along his smooth tanned skin.

Syaoran gasped and jumped back slightly, nearly bumping into the wet wall behind him. When he heard Sakura giggling uncontrollably, his eyes flew up to her and narrowed on her. That only caused her to laugh harder.

"You think this is funny?" He tried to say sternly. She only nodded, unable to speak through her laughter. He took a step closer to her, trying to be intimidating, "You think this is funny, Mrs. Li?"

"Duh!" Sakura sputtered through her laughter.

Syaoran grinned wickedly, "Wrong answer, darling."

He playfully grabbed her arms, careful not to hurt her, and heard her shocked intake of breath just before he spun her around and pushed her back against the wall – into the newly pained wet wall.

"Syaoran!" She scoffed. "My shirt!"

"Should've thought of that before you painted me," he teased. "It'll wash out, but if you're so worried about it..."

He kept her pinned against the wall by pressing himself against her – carefully, of course, so not to harm the baby – and lifted her shirt over her head and tossed it onto the plastic covered floor. He grinned at her, realizing that she hadn't worn a bra. He bent down and gently kissed the top of one of her breasts. He felt her shudder and grinned, only inches away from her skin. He could feel her tremble as his warm breath rolled onto her skin, "Now, my dear beautiful wife, we are even."

"Hardly," Sakura scoffed, trying to stop the excited waver from showing in her voice. She heard Syaoran growl softly and gasped when she felt him engulf the tiny pink bud on her breast. She arced away from the wall as much as she could, consider his hands were firmly on her hips to keep her in place, shoving her chest closer to his mouth. Then she wrapped her arms around his hips and ground her warm core into his growing arousal. He groaned loudly and gently scraped his teeth against her peak, making Sakura whimper.

Her hands entangled themselves in his hair, "Sy...Syaoran. W-We've got to stop..."

"No we don't," he growled, biting her gently again.

Sakura gasped, her hands tightening themselves in his hair. "Y-Yes we do. This room is going to b – ah!" She moaned as he pulled her hips into him. Her eyes fluttered close as she tried to regain her reason to stop again. Why? Oh, right... "Syaoran, this room is for the baby. We can't...Not in here, please."

Syaoran stiffened, letting her words settle in. After a moment, he groaned, knowing she was right, and pulled away from her, gently lowering her back onto the floor. Sakura wavered slightly, then craned her neck to look at her back. She gave a small groan at the paint marks made from the wall.

"Hey, don't complain," Syaoran scolded as he pointed to his chest. "This has already dried!"

Twenty minutes later, one shower later and another round of shower-sex, they were cleaned up and Syaoran was back in the bedroom to touch up the wall. Sakura immediately went for the living room and began pulling apart the box of crib parts, reading through instructions.

By the time evening arrived, the room was fully painted and furnished and everything else ordered such as bassinets for their bedroom and the living room – was set up. The room was beautiful; Tomoyo would definitely approve. The furniture was wood painted white, giving the room a soft look against the pastel yellow walls. The bedding was a soft sky-blue decorated with fingerprint size yellow polka-dots. The blanket was fleece and trimmed with sky-blue silk.

Sakura collapsed onto the couch, exhausted. Her head fell back onto the couch and her eyes closed. She felt the couch move beside her as Syaoran, too, sat down. She smiled when she felt his head fall into her lap with a loud sigh. She opened her eyes and began dragging her fingers through his hair. He looked up at her and smiled.

"Tired?" He asked.

She giggled and nodded, "Yes. Pooched." She paused and looked up to the time, then back at him, "Hungry? I'm too tired to make some big, extravagant dinner...How about just some pasta? Simple and quick."

"Hmm, sounds good," he closed his eyes and smiled. He felt her shift beneath him, her hand pulling away from his hair, but he grabbed her arm and stopped her. "Can we just...stay here for a moment? Just for a couple of minutes."

Sakura smiled and sat back again, her hand going back to his hair. She smiled as she heard him sigh in contentment. She hummed softly, closing her eyes as well, simply happy to be sitting there with Syaoran. After a moment, she felt his head turn in his lap and his lips press to her stomach. She smiled, continuing to hum. His hand came up to caress her baby bump, his lips pursed against her shirt-covered stomach.

"You know," Syaoran mused after a moment, making Sakura pause her sweet humming. He opened his eyes to meet her gaze and smiled softly to her, "We should probably start thinking of a name."

Her eyes widened slightly. She hadn't even thought of a name really all that much. Granted, Tomoyo and her had bought a baby name book, but she hadn't gone through it yet. She had been stressing over getting the apartment ready and taking care of Syaoran to even consider picking out a name yet.

She offered a smile, "I think we should...Here, get off me for a second? I bought a book the other day."

She made to get up but Syaoran stopped her again. He smiled sheepishly to her, "Actually, I found that book a few nights ago. I had woken up and didn't want to wake you, so I went to the kitchen to get myself something to eat. You left it on the counter."

She made a small 'oh' with her mouth and smiled. "Did you find any names you liked?"

He gave another sheepish smile and nodded against her lap, "Kazumasa."

"Kazumasa..." she mused with a small smile. "Peaceful and righteous. Hoping that he'll go into law when he grows up like his daddy?" She joked.

He chuckled and shook his head, "No, he'll be whatever he wants to be. If he wants to be a ballerina, then my god, he can be a freakin' ballerina."

Sakura laughed, "You're kidding, right? You'd let your son become a ballerina? Wearing tutus and leotards?"

"All I'm saying is I won't stop him from being whatever he wants to," he explained, scowling at her laughs. He smiled and shook his head, "But you strayed me from the point...I liked the name because of what it meant. Peaceful and righteous. Peaceful, simply for what it is. I mean, honestly, I was a horrible child, always picking fights and what not. Not a good temper. I don't want him to be like that. He can have your attitude and that'd be great. As for righteous..." he sighed, "After all this we're going through with Hamada, our son will definitely be raised polite and respectful to women. Righteous. Just."

A large grin spread across Sakura's face. Unable to bend, she curled her finger in a 'come hither' motion. Syaoran sat up, a small smile across his face to hide his confusion. She crushed her lips to his, holding his face between her hands and tilting her head for better access.

When they pulled away, and wrapped her arms around his chest and rested her face in the crook of his neck, grinning against his skin. "I really like that name, Syaoran. Kazumasa Li...has nice ring to it, doesn't it? Kaz for short." She grinned, "Yes, definitely like that name."

Syaoran chuckled and shifted her to his lap. She shifted, hesitant on the weight she was putting on his legs, but he simply held her tighter as if reading her mind. Really, she had only gained ten to twelve pounds, which was under weight for seven months though Dr. Terada had promised them that the baby was healthy and striving.

"Well," Syaoran sighed, resting his chin on her shoulder, "we have time to still decide. We don't have to pick a name right here and now."

"No, no...I like Kazumasa," she told him.

Syaoran chuckled and held her closer, sighing softly and closing his eyes. Sakura, herself, relaxed into his chest and closed her eyes as well, drawing lazy circles on his thigh. Ten minutes later, they were both asleep, both dreaming of their little boy on the way.

Author's Note: ACK!! My complete fault for the few days lateness. School is getting RIDICULOUS with exams coming up -.-'' Anyone else hitting that wonderous time of year?? I loooath it .'' But I won't stop updating....ooh no, not this close to the end XD I'd say...three more chapters? And an epilogue.

MY GOD! Thank you SO much to Shadow-chan (xXxShining ShadowxXx) for that SUPER quick edit!! Less than a day O_O I know...amazing. I'd send you a kitten if I could LOL

AND AMAZING NEWS!!! Has anyone ever read any writing by "xXxCherryBlossomxXx"? Or her story "Ichidou: Ray of Hope"? If you have, and you've seen her notice posted, then you'll know I'll be taking over her story :D I'm actually excited...I have a lot of ideas for it and she's approved them all, including my lemoney twists ^.- I'll be posting the first chapter to that...and "Maneuver"s first chappie...soon!!

I hope you'll read them both ^.^ I'm excited about them.

PLEASE REVIEW!!

Lastly, keep an eye out on my LiveJournal page (link of profile)...I post random sneak peaks sometimes (like for this chapter, as it was late).

xox, Riva

Next Chappie... NOOO! Natsuo's taken it too far for the last time, and Syaoran...snaps? Maybe? Crap, nothing good can come out of that.