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

Pairings: Syaoran x Sakura, Eriol x Tomoyo

Thank you for all your wonderful reviews everyone! Yes, I even want to thank those who went on saying how mean I was for the cliffie in the previous chapter. That made me realize how into my story you guys were. It made me happy!

I even considered not uploading anything this week for the sake of torturing you guys. MWAHAHAHAHA!

Just kidding. I wouldn't do that... For now. *wiggles eyebrows suggestively*

My evilness aside, here's the next chapter and I hope this will satisfy you somewhat?

Chapter Twenty-One

"Forever and Always"

"Oh! Syaoran!" Lydia piped up and bounded towards the man in question. "So how was my performance? I did pretty well, didn't I? Eriol's just blind, right?"

Syaoran sighed and nodded rather halfheartedly.

"You did well, thank you Lydia."

Lydia childishly stuck her tongue at Eriol and Syaoran swore he saw the corner of the man's eye twitch.

"Now you know how I feel when I'm dealing with you," he muttered so only he could here.

"Hey!" Eriol said rather defensively. "I-"

"Anyway," Syaoran continued, deftly cutting him off. "Would you two please leave the room? I'd like to have a private word with my wife."

Lydia's features turned to that of teasing so quickly she obviously picked up on the way Syaoran said "my wife" but she didn't have the chance to comment on it as Eriol was already pushing her out of the room in a rather rude fashion.

"Ah, hey! What about my purse?"

Eriol turned on his heel, picked up the bag from Lydia's vacated seat, turned to look at Sakura and mouthed a quick "good luck" before heading out the door with his cousin.

The door clicked behind them and silence washed over the room instantly.

Sakura hastily wiped what remained of her tears from earlier and immediately looked down at her hands.

What was going on? What was she supposed to say? She wasn't prepared for this. Wasn't this supposed to be a meeting for her and the buyer of the house in England? Speaking about the house in England, she wasn't sure if she still wanted to sell it after hearing what Lydia had to say about its history. That is, if what she said was all true and not part of the apparent act she had been doing all this time.

Inwardly, she wondered if she can do a last minute cancellation until she found out more about the house. If it was all real, her father probably bought that house specifically for her because of the meaning it held. She can't possibly let go of it if that were the case.

"It's true you know."

Sakura almost jumped as Syaoran's voice pierced the air around them once again.

"W-What is?" she asked with a trembling voice and still not looking up to meet her husband's gaze.

"What Lydia said, about that house in England. I looked it up myself."

For a moment, Sakura thought if the man was psychic or if her face had given away more than she would have liked.

"I… I see…" her voice trailed away without her wanting it to. She wanted to say something else but what could she say? It felt like ages since she had spoken to Syaoran. She was even surprised that he could speak so casually.

"Sakura."

She stiffened. She didn't even hear him approach but his voice was right behind her now.

"I'm sorry," he said in a low but tender voice.

"No!" she all but screamed as she stood form her chair to turn to look at him.

But this was a mistake.

Syaoran was indeed, right behind her and when she attempted to push back her chair to get on her feet, it actually had barely moved with its legs having been caught against Syaoran's blocking feet.

Sakura gave a small and surprised yelp as she lost her balance but Syaoran had caught her before she fell.

Now it had gotten even more awkward. The chair was still between them but now Sakura had her hands on Syaoran's shoulders while he had his arms around her to steady her.

"I-I-I," Sakura stuttered, her face now the color of a ripe tomato. "I'm... I'm sorry."

"It's alright," he reassured into her ear in quite possibly the most seductive voice Sakura had ever heard him use. She could only assume that it was because this was the first time in a long while that she heard his voice in such proximity and her brain was probably making her hear things differently from having touched him once again after so long.

"I… You… That is t-to say, uhm… y-you can let go now," she said rather feebly against his chest.

Syaoran smiled at this. He hadn't seen these sides to Sakura in the longest time. The last time he could recall her acting like this, all clumsy and shy, was around the time when she was still vying for his attention.

This fact made him both happy and sad at the same time. He was happy to see this rather cute part of her again, but it saddened him to think if she actually felt that awkward with him again much like how she felt far back in their relationship. He didn't want her to forget the many months they spent after that point in time and how much they developed with each other together to the point of getting married.

"But I don't want to let go," Syaoran admitted and to which Sakura lowered her face even more and rested her forehead against his chest. She didn't say anything. "Sakura?"

She shook her head but still said nothing.

Syaoran used his leg to push the chair to the side so they could stand properly without letting his hold of her go.

"Sakura," he said in a much gentler tone. "I'm so-"

But she cut him off immediately by clamping a hand over his mouth and looking up at him straight in the eyes.

Tears were freely escaping the corner of her eyes and a very pained expression was on her face.

"Please…" she said and her voice matched her expression completely. "Please don't apologize. You shouldn't apologize. You… You did nothing wrong."

Syaoran loosened his hold with one arm, intending to move her hand away from his mouth so he could speak but Sakura only raised her other hand to reinforce the one already keeping him quiet.

"I-It's my fault," she continued, still crying and still very remorseful. "If… If I j-just ignored the will… This… All this wouldn't have happened! I-I wouldn't have hurt you… I wouldn't have b-betrayed you… I… I… I wouldn't have… have…" she trailed away and her lips started to quiver instead. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry… I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry Syaoran. I never meant to hurt you… I never did. It might have all started with that will b-but I… No… It started with me… Because I lied t-to my dad… That's why you got involved in all this! So really it's b-been my fault from the beginning… I l-lied to my father… and I lied t-to you. I deserve to be abandoned. I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"

Her hands fell. She didn't have any strength left in her. She felt drained. If it weren't for Syaoran's strong arms that were carrying her weight at that very moment, she knew she would have fallen onto the cold tiled floor.

Sakura cried. For how long, she didn't know. But Syaoran stood there without moving and without letting her go. If anything, his grip around her had gotten tighter as the minutes passed.

When her sobs finally started to calm down into light gasps which later became tiny hiccups, he finally loosened his grip and with his thumb and index finger, tipped her head up so she could look at him.

"Sakura," he started again, his voice even gentler than it was before that Sakura felt her heart break. She didn't deserve to be spoken like this at all! "Sakura, please forgive yourself because I already forgive you- and no don't look at me like that. It's my choice whether I should forgive you or not, right? And I do. So I wish you'd forgive yourself too."

Sakura shook her head and her lips had started to quiver again.

"Please don't cry. I already know the whole story. It might have taken some time for me to get around, but I did. I just hope you'll forgive me too. When I did what I did… I can only imagine how hurt you were since you went so far as to leave without a word. What I did was thoughtless. I was being rash because I got hurt so-"

Sakura was shaking her head furiously this time. "I… I didn't leave because I was hurt form what you did," she admitted in a tiny and hoarse voice but Syaoran understood her. "That... What y-you did doesn't even amount to what I've done a-after all. I left out of g-guilt and… and punishment for myself. I w-was also scared. So I guess my leaving was because of m-my own selfishness. I didn't know h-how I would face you… I didn't know if I could face you. Right now I… I don't even know if I should face you..."

She was about to go back to lowering her head but Syaoran wouldn't let her. He held her there firmly to continue looking up at him.

"Sakura, you're my wife," he reminded. His voice was still gentle but it held a hint of firmness to it now. "Being married comes with troubles, right? This may not be a common issue between married couples but this is just one problem we're made to face. Are you going to run away from me every time we'll have a fight?"

"You… You still want me as y-your wife?" she asked and looking like she was ready to cry again.

"'For as long as we both shall live,' remember?" Syaoran quoted with a smile.

Sakura really did burst into tears then and she flung her arms around Syaoran's neck as she cried against his nape while he wrapped his arms around her tightly once again.

"I'm still waiting though," he admitted as he leaned against her smooth hair and breathing in her familiar scent. "I wanted to see you but I didn't want to hear your apology. I wanted so badly to hear something else."

It took a little while for her to do so since she had to try to calm her tears again but she tilted her head slightly just enough to plant her lips on the exposed skin just above his collar.

"I love you... I love you so much Syaoran."

Syaoran's smile came automatically as the words he longed to hear from her finally reached him.

"I love you too," he replied with a satisfied and relieved sigh. "More than anyone else."

Sakura pulled back slightly, enough to look at him straight in the eye.

"Forever and always?"

"Forever and always," he agreed before lowering his head to capture her lips in a sweet, tender kiss.

"What do you mean?"

Eriol smiled. He hadn't seen her excited and cheerful face in the longest time.

"It means exactly what it means. Sakura's back," he repeated before looking at his watch. "They should be over at Syaoran's place right about now."

Sakura looked down at the items on the dresser and couldn't help but smile sadly. It looked precisely as it had when she left them there, save for the addition of Syaoran's wedding ring that was half resting on top of hers.

"I haven't touched it since you left," Syaoran said before snaking his arms around her waist from behind and leaning his cheek against the top of her head.

"I'm s-"

"Don't apologize," he reminded, looking at her pointedly through the mirror in front of them.

She gave him a half sad, half laughing smile before he gingerly took Syaoran's wedding band between her fingers and with her other hand, pulled his left hand up in front of them.

"Do you, Li Xiao Lang, still take me, Sakura, to be your wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, to cherish, for as long as we both shall live?"

This might be the most generic of wedding vows that was commonly used between millions of couples across the world but Syaoran thought it didn't feel that way as Sakura said it in her gentlest and most love-filled tone of voice.

"I do," Syaoran answered and gave Sakura a light kiss at the top of her head as she slipped his wedding band back to where it should be, in his left hand ring finger.

In turn, Syaoran took Sakura's wedding band and pulled her left hand up in front of them just as she had done.

"Do you, Li Sakura," he started with distinction that Sakura couldn't help but give a light sound of hilarity. "Take me, Xiao Lang, to be your wedded husband- again -to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, to cherish, for as long as we both shall live?"

"I do," she answered with a smile as he slipped the wedding band into her ring finger.

"May I kiss my bride?" he added with a grin to which she grinned back and tiptoed to meet his kiss halfway.

When they pulled apart, Syaoran kissed the tip her nose, then her forehead before finally pulling back and raising her left hand again.

"Forever and always," he reminded her in a low whisper and slipped her engagement ring into the same ring finger until it rested next to her wedding band.

Sakura laced her fingers with his and nodded in agreement.

Then they kissed again.

It started out as gentle as can be but it didn't take long to become heated and fervent.

Sakura gave a yelp of surprise when Syaoran suddenly lifted her up and pulled her legs around his waist.

"Syaoran," she gasped as he slowly trailed kisses across her jaw and down her neck.

Inwardly, he was grateful she was wearing a loose-fitting dress. It was easy enough to pull down the sleeve with one hand and reveal Sakura's undergarments.

His mouth was already working on licking and sucking over the skin of her cleavage while his hold settled on her butt through the hem of her skirt. One hand was slowly sliding up to the smooth bare skin of her back, intending to work on a certain clasp when-

BANG! BANG! BANNGGG!

Sakura jumped in surprise and almost fell out of Syaoran's arms if it weren't for his hand already on her back and supporting her.

"Syaorannn~?!"

The intimate pair stilled and fell in complete silence.

BANG! BANG! BANNGGG!

"SYAOOOOORAAANNNNNN?!"

"T-Tomoyo?" Sakura wondered out loud and looking down at her husband who now had his head slumped against her chest.

"I told Eriol not to tell her yet," he said with an irritated groan that made her giggle. "I knew I wouldn't get a moment's peace with you if she-"

The banging on the door got louder. It sounded as if the woman outside was ready to knock it down if they didn't open it soon.

"LI XIAO LANG! I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE!"

Tomoyo was using Syaoran's full Chinese name. That definitely wasn't a good sign.

"Let's go before she decides to destroy private property," Sakura suggested as she unwrapped her legs from his waist.

Syaoran sighed once again and reluctantly put Sakura back down on her feet all the while grumbling under his breath about "annoying best friends" which made her laugh. She tiptoed and gave him a feather-light kiss on the lips before pulling him with her to the front door. As annoyed as he was with their sudden interruption, he was also quite amazed that Tomoyo's voice carried so clearly considering how large his apartment was.

When the door flew open…

All hope Syaoran had of celebrating their reunion in bed, was lost.

As soon as Tomoyo spotted her best friend, it was as if nothing else and no one else existed. Not even her own boyfriend who had hung back looking guiltily at Syaoran.

"I said not to tell her," Syaoran accused exasperatedly though motioning for him to enter his home. Tomoyo had already bounded inside regardless of the lack of an invitation from the property's owner. Him.

Eriol shrugged. "I couldn't resist the good news." He entered the premises after Syaoran and followed him into the kitchen whereas the two women were already chatting away their way towards the living area.

"Where's Lydia?" Syaoran inquired as he wound around to prepare cups of coffee and tea for all of them.

"Sight-seeing and shopping. Everything charged to my account and later repaid by you. After all, that was the only reason she agreed to do it."

"A plan that didn't go as planned. I'll have you pay for half of her expenses."

It was Eriol's turn to grumble but he didn't complain. Indeed the plan Syaoran made for his and Sakura's reunion was more romantic and touching when he ran it through him and his cousin beforehand. It should have ended with a lot more "hearts and flowers" compared to how it actually did with him barging in and making an unplanned appearance.

"Anyway, did you tell Sakura about what's going to happen to the house in England?"

Syaoran shook his head. It wasn't like they were given enough time to discuss much of anything else since they left the restaurant earlier. "I'll tell her later on."

"Ehhh?!"

Both men looked over at Sakura who looked utterly perplexed from something Tomoyo had told her.

"What's wrong?" Syaoran asked.

"Nothing, that is to say…" she turned back to Tomoyo. "Really?"

Tomoyo was nodding enthusiastically at this.

"Really what?" he questioned again as he brought the drinks over to the coffee table.

"Tomoyo said we have to get married again…?"

"Haaa?!" both Syaoran and Eriol said this at the same time with incredulous looks aimed at Tomoyo.

"Is that really how it goes?" Sakura asked, frowning slightly.

"Definitely!" Tomoyo answered before any of the men could put in a word. "You two need to reaffirm your vows after this fiasco."

"I see," the brunette answered with a sincere nod.

Syaoran threw a nasty look at Eriol just then that clearly said "Get a grip on your woman!"

"Tomoyo, I'm sure they don't have to get married again over something as small as this," he said hastily. "They didn't get a divorce or any sort of marriage annulment after all."

"But I saw it on a TV show the other night. It was so touching I was moved to tears! I see why they had to too. I mean, isn't it good for a fresh start? A clean slate… right Sakura?"

Sakura nodded somewhat innocently to which Syaoran had to keep himself from knocking some sense into Tomoyo and her useless boyfriend.

"Hey, I tried," Eriol said rather defensively at Syaoran who was muttering incoherent curses under his breath as he started taking sips of coffee from one of the glasses he had prepared.

Despite the rude intrusion on his alone time with Sakura, Syaoran couldn't help but appreciating the presence of their best friends in the room. The fact that they were there and talking so casually as if it was the most normal thing to do at the moment made everything that happened earlier- heck, everything that happened the entire month previous, feel like an old and almost nonexistent nightmare.

"I'll be right back. Excuse me," Tomoyo said sometime later and left for the bathroom.

It was also at this moment that Eriol scooted forward from his seat somewhat eagerly.

"Sakura, before I forget, I got something for you as a welcome back gift," he said before stuffing his hand into an inside pocket of his coat.

Syaoran looked at him feeling grateful for the unexpected gesture. Well, even Eriol could be thoughtful sometimes.

"I got this from a shop earlier when I was on my way to tell Tomoyo about your return."

He placed a small package which was wrapped in a simple brown paper on the table between them and slid it towards Sakura.

Sakura looked happy but also somewhat guilty. "Thank you but you shouldn't have. I don't deserve any sort of gift at all."

"It's no big deal," Eriol reassured before relaxing back onto the couch and grinning at Syaoran with a pleased look on his face.

This made Syaoran pop an eyebrow at him in suspicion.

Sakura then took that moment to take the package and slowly peel away its wrappings.

But this made Eriol take on a look of horror for some reason.

"W-Wait! You're opening it now?" he asked, his eyes audibly widening.

"Huh? Isn't it only appropriate to do so?" Sakura asked rather blankly just as she managed to completely tear away the wrapper.

"You don't have to open it now though," he said with emphasis as he threw a nervous glance at the man sitting next to him.

Syaoran was even more suspicious now.

"Hmm? What's going on?" Tomoyo asked as she retook her seat next to Sakura.

"Eriol got me a welcome back present," Sakura announced brightly as she opened the plain rectangular box.

"Oh? You're so thoughtful Eri," she gushed with an approving smile aimed at him.

Eriol didn't say anything though. Instead he sunk into his seat looking even more troubled.

"Uhmm… What is this?" Sakura asked him after taking a peek at the contents. "Some sort of exercise thing?"

"Exercise thing?"

Syaoran took another sip from his drink as he motioned for Sakura to give the box him.

Sakura, however, (out of consideration) took the contents of the box out.

They were two metallic balls the size of large marbles and both were connected by a short chain with one of the balls having a sort of long strap on the opposite end.

She held this out to Syaoran…

…who promptly spit out everything inside his mouth.

"Syaoran?! Are you okay?" Sakura inquired worriedly. She took a few of the small square napkins Syaoran had prepared with the coffee and tea but they hardly helped with the mess at all. "I'll go get a towel!"

Eriol groaned and sunk himself deeper into the couch.

Tomoyo sat there momentarily silenced until Sakura was out of earshot as she left in the direction of the bathroom.

"Eri, may I speak to you in private?"

"Uhhh…"

"Now please. It's quite urgent," she said in an overly sweet tone which neither fooled Eriol or Syaoran for that matter. "Syaoran, your bedroom is soundproofed I assume? I would like to borrow it for a minute or two."

"Go ahead," Syaoran said as he tried to wipe the coffee from his now stained shirt. "I don't mind in the least."

"Thank you very much. Please excuse us for a moment," Tomoyo said as she grabbed Eriol by the wrist and started pulling him after her.

"Where are you going?" Sakura asked when the couple walked past her.

"I just need to have a word with Eri about something. No worries!"

Sakura nodded and immediately went back to Syaoran's side to help him wipe down his clothes.

"Ben Wa Balls?! REALLY ERIOL?!"

Tomoyo's shrill voice rang throughout the entire apartment followed by the sound of a door being slammed shut with much force as if it were kicked. Syaoran wouldn't be surprised if Tomoyo actually had kicked the door close.

Sakura stared down the hallway, quite shocked. What happened while she had gone to the bathroom?

"Why is Tomoyo angry at Eriol?" she asked Syaoran rather innocently that all he could do was cough in reply all the while eyeing the object of Tomoyo's anger which was currently hanging from Sakura's wrist. It looked almost obscene dangling there. It was quite clear Sakura had no clue as to what the item was or that hanging it from her wrist was hardly appropriate.

Seriously, what was Eriol thinking? Syaoran couldn't help but wonder just how his best friend's mind actually worked. Then again, this was Eriol they were talking about. He supposed this could hardly be surprising coming from him.

"Oh, and Syaoran?" Sakura added questioningly, interrupting his thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"What are Ben Wa Balls?"

Syaoran, for all that it was worth, determinedly shut his mouth.

Author's Note:

So the original ending of chapter 20 was supposed to be at Sakura and Syaoran's lines of "Forever and always" thus ending in a lovey-dovey way instead of the cliffhanger that it was. Whereas the part starting when Eriol called Tomoyo up to the end with the Ben Wa balls were supposed to be an extra chapter I originally labeled as "Chapter Twenty & 1/2" mainly because I didn't want to end chapter before the epilogue with a gag... but I ended up changing it anyway and this chapter is the result. I hope it was still enjoyable though.

I might change it up to how I originally wrote it and re-upload this chapter and chapter 20 again later on. So don't be surprised if the order and content of the chapters will change later on if you decide to read this again in the later future.

That aside...

To those of you who- like Sakura -don't know what Ben Wa Balls are...

*ahem*

Ben Wa balls. They're not exactly sexual items... depending on how you use them. Basically they're these metallic balls the size of large marbles- though they come in a variety of sizes -that girls can insert inside their hoo-ha either for sexual pleasure or stimulation (which, by the way, was Eriol's purpose for giving them to Sakura) or for post-partum mothers who use them to strengthen their loose vajayjay muscles after expelling children down there. Ben wa balls come in different forms. Originally they come in separate pairs, although beginners use balls that have strings or chains for easier removal.

That's it for the lecture about Ben Wa balls! For more information- and hilarious real life experiences from women with these "toys" -Google is your friend! Just don't blame me for taking away your innocence afterwards! *flips everything in sight*

All that said, the next update will be the last and final upload for this story. The epilogue! Look forward to it!

Ja ne!

Raeny