Disclaimer: I don't own CCS, Clamp does. But I do own this story.

Pairings: Syaoran x Sakura, Eriol x Tomoyo

Thankkkk yoooouuuuuu very much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! I enjoyed reading them. You guys motivate me a lot. :D

Now, let's fast forward a few more months!

Chapter Eight

"Friendship"

August…

September…

October…

"You were the belle of the ball," Syaoran whispered into her ear.

They had just come back from a Halloween Gala hosted by one of Li Corp.'s business partners and Sakura was a huge hit.

Sakura giggled. His breath was tickling her. She turned to him, intending to give him a kiss but stopped immediately when the elevator halted and dinged.

When the doors slid open, they were greeted by a large man in a suit.

"Good evening Mr. Li, Ms. Kinomoto," he greeted with a bow.

Sakura blushed and bowed back while Syaoran simply nodded him. While Syaoran slid his key card through the slot in front of his penthouse door, Sakura waved the man goodbye when he entered the elevator they just got off from.

"Doesn't it get uncomfortable?" Sakura murmured. She could never relax whenever she spots any of Syaoran's random bodyguards which, she realized now that they're an official couple, were actually everywhere. Now she wondered if they were also standing by closely during the time they bought coffee and during the masquerade party months ago.

Syaoran merely chuckled and stepped aside to let her in first.

This was another thing Sakura doubted she'd get used to. His apartment. Was "apartment" the right word for it? The place was like an out of place mansion sitting atop one of the buildings in the middle of Tokyo. How much space could one guy need?

"Did you have fun tonight?" he asked in a whisper as he started kissing her nape while his hands ran down her curves which were made even more apparent from the tight-fitting gown she was currently wearing.

"Mmmm…"

This was one of the things that made Sakura fall for Syaoran even more than she already had after the past few months. Passion.

It's been twenty six years. Twenty six years of not experiencing the wonders and sensations of sex. She can't believe she'd been a virgin for this long. If she knew it felt this good, she wouldn't have held back before.

Then again, she thought most of the wonderful feelings she felt from the having sex must have been all due to Syaoran.

Sakura turned around and kissed him deeply, thrusting her tongue into his mouth just as his hands squeezed her butt. She moaned. "Let's go to bed," she whispered quickly before planting her lips back onto him again.

Syaoran didn't need telling twice. He picked her up bridal style and headed towards his bedroom without breaking their kiss.

Yes, all the sensations Sakura felt right now was definitely because of Syaoran. It had taken him almost two months of coaxing her to make love with him until she finally gave into his attempts.

Sakura giggled in delight remembering the various methods he had tried to gain her assent just as he swiftly slipped off her gown and laid her down onto his bed.

Syaoran looked at her, a questioning brow raised.

She shook her head and pulled him down while her fingers pushed down his black suit jacket before starting to unbutton his shirt.

When his chest was finally bare, Sakura pushed him away far enough to steal a glimpse at his finely chiseled chest. She couldn't help but blush at the intense feelings that started stirring deep within her at the sight of him.

This was her undoing then, and it was still her undoing now. The sight of him simply half naked threw all logic out the window. She wanted him. And the look in his eyes only showed how much he wanted her as well.

Sakura threw her weight onto him and rolled them over. When she settled herself comfortably on top of him, she shifted her bottom slightly onto a certain hard and sensitive area which elicited a groan from Syaoran.

"I love you," she whispered into his ear before nibbling onto his earlobe.

Syaoran didn't reply, instead pulled her back for another searing and thoroughly arousing kiss.

Sakuraaaa! You're with Syaoran again aren't you? Honestly, tell that guy to leave some time for us too!

Eri and I just got back from our trip a few hours ago.

Hawaii was great! I still can't get over the fact that I spent the entire week there. It still feels surreal. I'm sure reality will sink in when I get back to work though. :P

Text me ASAP okay? I have souvenirs!

– Tomoyo Daidouji –

Sakura smiled while she read the message through one open eye. The brightness of her cell phone screen was almost blinding.

Tomoyo had left for Maui a week ago with her boyfriend to celebrate their one year anniversary of being together.

They've dated for one whole year and Sakura still hasn't met the elusive "Eri" it almost felt ridiculous. Not that she could blame anyone for it. Most of her free time was spent with Syaoran and Tomoyo seemed just as busy with her own boyfriend as well. Whenever she did invite her over to meet him, Sakura was usually busy with plans made with Syaoran. They both kept trying and failing to meet for various reasons that it all seemed funny now.

Sakura giggled and shook her head.

The figure laying beside her stirred.

"You okay?" Syaoran mumbled sleepily, squinting at her. The only source of light they had was the slowly lightening sky of Tokyo through the wall of his bedroom that was entirely made of glass just like his office.

"I'm fine. It's still early, go back to sleep," she whispered and gave him a peck on the lips which he returned with a full on kiss before rolling back onto his stomach.

She giggled once more before stealthily leaving the bed and exiting the bedroom.

Tomoyo sipped the hot cocoa from her mug and made a contented noise just as two knocks echoed from her apartment door.

She checked the nearby clock. It was only 5:48 AM but she figured she knew what is was and sure enough, what greeted her when she opened her door was the day's newspaper on the ground.

"At least there's something to do," she told herself as she settled herself on the living room couch.

It was only after a few minutes of absently reading and absently scanning through articles that she finally reached the page that literally made her eyes bug out. At that exact same moment, her cell phone rang.

She checked the name of the caller and grinned widely. Perfect timing.

"Sakura!" she squealed excitedly. "Now the whole world knows!"

"Wha-? Huh?"

Tomoyo laughed at the girl's obvious shock and confusion.

"I just got today's paper and there's a huge picture of you and Syaoran from that Halloween ball you went to last night! They even printed a small picture of you and Syaoran form that masquerade party ages ago beside it!"

"What are you talking about?"

"The Tokyo Keizai Shimbun! It's a newspaper that focuses on mostly business things. I only recently subscribed to have it sent to my place since Eri likes reading it in the mornings in case he stays over. Anyway, there's a huge spread from the ball, about four pages of it and one entire page is of just Syaoran and you!"

"Are you serious?"

"Yes! I'll save this and frame it!" Tomoyo declared, laughing. "I know you two have been an official couple for over almost four months now but this… This just made it official to the world!"

"You're exaggerating Tomoyo."

She frowned at hearing this but then heard Sakura giggle as well. "I'm happy for you Sakura. Everything's working out for you."

Sakura smiled, contented.

Everything Tomoyo said was true. Even Syaoran had made it clear to her early on. The reason why he had her replaced immediately was because he didn't want to have any sort of intimate relationship with anyone from his own office. It would cause a hit to both their reputations, especially his. It also took him this long to officially take Sakura out to public events so as to have her fully reestablished and known as part of HR and have near to no association as to being his secretary in case the paparazzi asks questions.

He had thought out everything from the very beginning. Syaoran had always been so careful for both their sakes.

All the things he's done during the few short months they were together was making her fall in love with him even more. She can't even recall when her feelings got that deep. It was really hard not to fall in love with Syaoran and it seemed to only grow each and every day.

"Yes, everything is working out. I've been really happy lately," she admitted happily before the smile on her face faltered. "I'm just worried about what'll happen later on though."

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean, about the whole marriage thing. I don't think I can do it Tomoyo. It's already the 1st of November. Thinking about it realistically, there's no way I could get married within five months. I doubt I'd even get a proposal by then."

There was a pause in the other end and Sakura knew that deep down, Tomoyo felt the same as well. She had been dating her boyfriend for a year and even they hadn't discussed anything about getting engaged or getting married.

"Y-You never know. It can still happen."

Sakura sighed once more. This was all getting complicated. She was blissfully happy with Syaoran and she didn't want to ruin it at all but she can't just let go of her father's money. She can't. She shouldn't. She won't.

"Maybe I should call our family's lawyer and the bank manager. They're my dad's friends. Maybe if I explain the actual situation to them they'd reconsider."

"And if they don't?"

"I'll grovel at their feet," she replied simply making Tomoyo giggle in spite of the situation.

"There has to be another way around that contract."

"I doubt it…"

"How about you trying hinting to him that you want to get married?"

"I doubt he's take me seriously."

"Tell him you want to get married to him someday then!"

"That doesn't really help much unless I tell him I want to get married in five months though."

"Then what about you propose to him instead?"

Sakura laughed earnestly now. "You're kidding right? And besides, that plan just reeks of suspicious motives!"

"I suppose, but if you want to get married to him in five months, you have to do something."

"Who wants to get married to whom in five months?"

Sakura's eyes widened and there was a sound of scuffling before Tomoyo's voice came back again.

"Sorry about that."

The tone of her voice was different now. Guarded.

"Was that your boyfriend?" Sakura asked, horrified.

Even if Tomoyo's boyfriend had nothing to do with their discussion, just the thought of a person knowing her current predicament was enough to drain the blood from her face. It wasn't exactly something she wanted to be known outside of them both. Syaoran is, after all, a well-known guy all throughout Japan. Even if Tomoyo's boyfriend had nothing to do with the business and finance world, he could still very well know of him.

"Yes."

"What did he hear?"

"I'm not sure… Not much I hope."

Sakura could feel herself break out in a sweat now.

"Does he know you're talking to me?"

"Maybe but I'm not sure."

"Have you mentioned to him at all that I'm dating Syaoran?"

"No, I never got around to it. So it should be okay."

"I hope he doesn't make the connection later on if Syaoran and I do get to meet him one of these days."

"I hope so too."

Her replies were short which could only mean that he was still there.

"Why is he up at this hour? Come to think of it, why are you as well? I only called hoping you'd just woken up but you seem wide awake even before I rang."

"We can't help it. Jet lag you know?"

Sakura sighed and nodded to herself.

"I… I'll talk to you later, okay? If he asks anything about our conversation, try to steer it away. Or imply that it's about some other girl."

Syaoran yawned and reached over to his right only to find the spot empty.

"Sakura?" he mumbled.

Nothing.

He opened his eyes to see no one else inside his bedroom besides himself.

"Sakura!" he called out loudly into the open space of his vast penthouse as he exited down the wide corridor while stretching his arms.

"I'm in the shower!"

Syaoran's eyes flitted back to one of the doors he passed before he resumed making his way towards his kitchen. He was in the middle of preparing his morning coffee, when a vibrating noise erupted from behind him.

It was Sakura's cell phone. She had left it on the counter next to a glass of half-empty orange juice.

"Kentaro Hashimoto," Syaoran read from the screen when it lit up from the newly received message.

He didn't know a Kentaro Hashimoto. Well, he didn't know anyone from his company with that name anyway. But then he couldn't be sure. There were thousands of employees in Li Corp. after all.

'I think there was a Hashimoto in accounting… Or was it legal?' he thought unsurely.

There was a loud click then and the sound of bare footsteps tapping along the corridor.

"I think I better go back to my own place today. I've been sleeping here for the entire week and I don't really enjoy wearing the same set of outfits all over again too soon. You- What's wrong?"

Sakura stopped drying her hair with the fluffy white towel and looked at his face which was staring vacantly at her.

Just then the coffee machine started beeping which effectively snapped him out of his reverie.

"Nothing, just thinking about stuff."

Eriol took a large bite out of his toast and continued staring at Tomoyo.

"What is it?" she asked and took a small bite from her own.

"You're still not telling me?"

It's been this way for the past hour. He had been persistently asking Tomoyo over and over again about the nature of her phone call with Sakura.

It happened just a month ago. Eriol went to Syaoran's office to discuss his plans on going to Hawaii for his anniversary with Tomoyo. Syaoran had given his opinion about how he thought the idea was good and that he too liked Tomoyo and approved of her as his girlfriend. This greatly surprised Eriol since he had never gotten the chance to even introduce them yet. It was also then that Syaoran explained to him the nature of Tomoyo and Sakura's relationship which he actually already knew from the start. He could hardly believe it.

Ever since he dated Tomoyo, she never failed to mention her best friend "Sakura" but he never made the connection even when he met the girl for himself. The name wasn't, after all, uncommon amongst the Japanese. He also didn't know why he never even met Sakura. Tomoyo's been trying often enough to get him to meet her after all.

When light was finally shed over the circumstances, however, he decided to purposely avoid Sakura- not that it was hard to do so anyway. He always had a playful nature so the opportunity was perfect. He wanted to surprise both Tomoyo and Sakura with the coincidence one of these days.

Even Syaoran agreed to the childish notion. Eriol could only assume the man was approving of the idea because of Sakura. Syaoran certainly had gotten soft since he and Sakura got together and he's been getting a better overall disposition ever since.

It was obvious to him that his best friend was happy.

Which was why Eriol can't help but be bothered by what he had just overheard.

"It was nothing important Eriol, really," Tomoyo insisted with a casual wave.

"Then you can tell me. Consider it idle chit-chat."

Tomoyo sighed. "It's really nothing. Just a private conversation amongst friends."

With that said, she stood up, kissed him lightly on the cheek and went back into the bedroom.

Eriol frowned after her. He hadn't heard Tomoyo's conversation except for the end part but he knew she had to be talking to Sakura. He had dated Tomoyo long enough to know her habits and manner of doing things. That included the fact that she only ever talked to Sakura on the phone at the oddest of times and in that manner of speaking as well.

It had to be Sakura on the other end. And if it really was her, then they must have been discussing about Syaoran.

If all that is true, then it certainly raised a lot of questions which he wanted answered. Not only is it odd for a girl to think about engagements and marriage this early in the relationship, but the specific time frame of five months bugged him.

It made him feel like there was a set deadline or something. And to him, the nature of that conversation simply felt wrong.

"So what're you doing today?" Syaoran asked, nuzzling her neck from the back.

Sakura can't help but shiver as she continued to wear a few of her accessories which had gathered overtime in Syaoran's apartment.

"I'm meeting Tomoyo for lunch. She has a couple of souvenirs for us."

"I bet," he murmured, thinking about what odd thing Eriol was planning to give him again. He had the habit of buying the oddest things for him whenever he travelled.

Sakura turned around and rested her forearms on his shoulders. She started playing with his hair. "What are you doing today?"

"Dropping you off wherever you're going before heading to the office."

"You're working today?"

"You know I go in even on weekends."

"Yes, but… Do you have to? Weekends should be a time for relaxing."

Syaoran smiled and kissed her forehead. "And here I thought you were used to it already."

"Ah, she's here," Tomoyo said into her cell while waving at Sakura who had just gone down from a sleek black Rolls Royce Ghost a little ways down the sidewalk. People were openly gawking at her and the car, all the more when Syaoran slid out after her. "I'll call you later Eri."

"Okay, you owe me!"

She rolled her eyes. Ever since he overheard part of her phone conversation, he never stopped insisting that she tell him all about it.

"Go back in, I'm fine here. Tomoyo's right there," Sakura whispered as she tried to push him back inside the car. "People are staring."

"Let them stare. After last night's events, it should be all over the news anyway. It doesn't matter who sees us together in public now."

She blushed when he leaned and gave her a quick and searing kiss.

"Yes b-but still…" she continued, trying to steady herself against him when Syaoran pulled away, "It doesn't mean we have to go around and show off to everyone every chance we get." Her mumbling voice held no conviction. She still felt dazed from being kissed so thoroughly in public.

He chuckled.

This was yet another reason why he adored Sakura. This side of her clearly set her apart from the other women he dated. Almost every female he was with whether girlfriend or even just acquaintances he went on dates with, never bothered to conceal their desire to be seen with him. They were all about publicity.

Although Syaoran already knew how much Sakura cared about appearances- she admitted it herself a few months ago when he brought up her extensive collection of clothes, bags, and shoes –she never expressed or shown the desire to be the object of interest by other people. He thought it was a contradiction in her personality but he didn't complain. It only proved he wasn't after him for his name.

"Call me later," he murmured closely to her ear, ignoring what she had just said.

Sakura nodded and let him kiss her again, this time on the forehead.

"See you later," she said which he replied with a grin before getting back inside the car.

She watched as he gave his driver instructions before closing the door.

"Sakura!"

Tomoyo waved her over. She hadn't left her seat which was in the corner amongst the tables situated outside the restaurant.

Sakura watched the car drive away before making her way to her best friend. She gave an awkward smile at the few random passersby who were still staring avidly at her as she walked.

"Sorry I'm a bit late. I spent most of the last hour trying to convince Syaoran that I'll just take a taxi coming here. He kept insisting he'd drive me which of course I said no to," she said, still sounding a bit flustered. "In the end, we agreed on the driver."

Tomoyo giggled. "You still turned a few heads though."

"It's better than being driven here by Syaoran himself in the Gallardo," she pointed out. Just thinking about the white Lamborghini sports car made her shudder. That was the car Syaoran usually drives when he didn't want to make use of his driver. That car would have garnered even more attention.

"Boys," Tomoyo shook her head and pushed a large paper bag on the floor over to her. "Souvenirs for you and Syaoran."

"Thank you!" she grinned.

"You can check that later. I need to talk to you about earlier."

Sakura immediately sobered. Besides genuinely missing her best friend and wanting to talk and catch up with her, this was one of the reasons why she texted Tomoyo right after their phone call earlier and asked if they could meet. She just couldn't help but worry about the chances of her motives for being with Syaoran to be discovered by someone else other than Tomoyo.

"Yes, did you and your boyfriend talk about it after we hung up?"

She nodded. "He's been pestering me about it all morning. I don't know why he's so curious but I think it only proves he doesn't know anything. I also want to apologize for that mishap."

Sakura shook her head and sighed in relief slightly. It was normal- she supposed –for boyfriends to become curious but the fact that he doesn't know anything relieved her.

"It's fine Tomoyo. But seriously, I have to meet this guy one of these days you know."

Tomoyo grinned at her. "It's getting quite unusual isn't it? I still don't understand how your schedules clash every single time."

"Tai," Syaoran said into the phone speakers, addressing his oldest secretary.

"Yes, Mr. Li?"

"I need you to check something for me from the employee register. Make a list of all the employees along with their department and positions with the surname Hashimo- Tai?"

Syaoran frowned as he listened to the weird scratchy sounds on the other end as well as the sound of his secretary sounding flustered over something.

"I… I'm sorry Mr. Li but Mr.-"

"Yo Syaoran!"

He blinked hearing the new voice then sighed.

"Stop disturbing my secretaries from doing their duties."

"I was only greeting them."

"You're obviously here for me so just get in here."

Another shifting sounded on the other end before his secretary came back to him.

"Uhmm… I'm sorry Mr. Li, but what was it that you said?"

She sounded apologetic and guilty.

Syaoran shook his head just as Eriol started his odd manner of knocking on his office door again.

"You know I'm in here so just open the damned door!" he shouted before returning to the phone. "Never mind Tai, we'll leave it for later."

Just as he pressed the speaker button on his phone again, the doors swung open and Eriol strode in, grinning.

"What do you want?" he asked, annoyed.

"That's a bit rude isn't it? I came here especially to give you your souvenir from Maui," he said and placed a paper bag onto Syaoran's desk. "I even got your secretaries a little something. By the way, you need to give Nishihara-san a good lecture. She's too friendly, must be the French in her but other people will mistake it for flirting."

Syaoran ignored his latter comment and took the paper bag. When his eyes landed on the item inside, he rolled his eyes. Eriol didn't disappoint his expectations. His weird taste in giving him souvenirs- whether on purpose or not, he still didn't know -was obviously still intact.

He pulled out the rather large and heavy object and put it on his desk. It was a Tiki totem pole paper weight. It was very colorful and the designs were very intricate and detailed. It was also very ugly.

"Nice, isn't it?" Eriol asked, smiling widely. "I even got one for myself. It's in my office."

Syaoran raised a brow at him. He could actually see how earnest he was. Eriol had that same look on his face when he gave him the koala-shaped backscratcher after his business trip to Sydney last year.

"Thanks."

"No problem. You came to mind the moment I saw it so I knew you'd like it!"

Syaoran tried very hard not to retort and simply nodded instead.

Eriol was one of the few people he always gave so much consideration for. He was like a brother to him after all their years of friendship. Although they tormented each other occasionally, it was only ever about mundane things. He never wanted to actually hurt his feelings and that is exactly why the poor man still thought he actually enjoyed his weird souvenirs. Syaoran never got around to telling him he had horrid tastes in choosing gifts.

"I'm guessing you have some other reason for being here? Otherwise you could've waited to give me this."

Eriol lost a little of his smile as he sat down on his usual spot on the leather couch. He didn't answer.

Syaoran immediately knew something was up.

"Are you and Tomoyo doing okay?"

"Yeah," he replied without much thought. "How about you and Sakura?"

He couldn't help it, he smiled. "We're doing great. I'm getting so used to having her with me. It feels like the most natural thing in the world."

Eriol looked at his friend's almost blissful expression. "Great enough for marriage?"

Author's Note:

So, I'll be posting another story soon but for Skip Beat! this time. I'm a HUGE fan and I've been obsessing over the manga for ages, so I finally gave in and wrote.

If you like Skip Beat! or read fanfics. from there, then keep an eye out for my upload. If you haven't heard of Skip Beat! then I implore you to CHECK. IT. OUT. The anime is great but the manga is beyond intelligible words (it's that awesome). You won't regret it!

No worries about this story though. The new story won't interfere with this one. I'm still in the middle of writing and figuring out Mending Mistakes but I've already finished the Skip Beat! fanfic. except for the ending chapter so I won't spend any more time on it.

That's it for now. Ja ne!

Raeny