Ooh, go me! Two updates in less than a month!

Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor or anything associated with it. All rights to Card Captor Sakura and affiliated products belong to CLAMP and the other proper entities.

Summary: A secret fling with the school nerd was all that it was supposed to be. Sakura's deepest, darkest fear is that it'll be revealed. Little does she know... its already too late; it'll eventually have to be revealed in the most public fashion possible.

Rating: M

Pairings: SxS ExT

Genre: Drama/Romance

Something of Yours

Chapter Eighteen

A week after the shooting, Sakura and Syaoran finally stepped off the cruise ship, and into China.

Straight away, they were whisked into a small, red car, and were driven down the highway at speeds that far exceeded Sakura's comfort zone. Clutching at Syaoran's arm tightly in the back seat, she kept her eyes clamped shut, much to Syaoran's amusement. Assuring her that it would be alright, he soothly removed her arm from his grip, and wrapped it around her.

"I don't like this, Syaoran! We're going too fast!' She whimpered about an hour into the trip, as their speed only increased, burying her face into his shirt.

Chuckling, he rested his chin atop her head. "It's fine, Sakura. We'll be there soon, don't worry."

And, after several minutes, they were. Stepping out of the car on shaky legs, Sakura untangled herself from Syaoran, blushing. He mock-bowed, adding to her embarrassment, sweeping his hand out in the general direction of the house. Scowling at him, Sakura huffed, making her way through the garden, and up the steps. A chuckling Syaoran followed, carrying some of their bags.

"It's a nice house." Sakura observed from the living room, to the left of the entrance. "Are you sure it's alright to use it?"

"Positive." Syaoran dumped the bags by the door as the driver brought the rest inside. "Okaa bought it under a false name from one of her secret accounts, so we're fine. The only way that Otou can find us would be if Okaa told him herself, and I don't see that happening."

Sakura bit her lip, looking out the window. "If you say so." She offered hesitantly. Syaoran bid the driver goodbye, closing the door behind him, as Sakura had a sudden epiphany. "But aren't you, like, famous around here?" She asked warily. "Wont it get back to your Otou that you're here with me?"

"Nah." Syaoran shook his head, plopping down on the couch – the house had been furnished prior to their arrival. "My family's influence is mainly in Hong Kong, and we're a fair way away from there. He wont hear about us." He patted the spot next to him. "Sit down, you look dead on your feet."

She acquiesced, feeling about twice as tired as she looked. "What about the others? I feel so bad for leaving everything behind." She worried at her lip. "Will they be alright? He wont go after them, will he? Or your Okaa?"

"Otou wouldn't dare go after Okaa." Syaoran wrapped his arm around her shoulder, drawing her into him unconsciously. He played with the ends of her hair as he thought out loud. "The others will be fine. Eriol's parents will probably house Tomoyo in England, your family aren't really a threat to him, and Meiling is family. He doesn't want to hurt a family member if he can help it; it's just that he's paranoid about me, is all. The second I have a kid, I'm eligible to take over the Clan, since it wasn't his by birthright."

Sakura looked up at him, confused. "But why would you be the heir if it's not his birthright?"

"It was Okaa's." Syaoran looked away, his eyes examining the small piece of sky that they could see through the window. "He wasn't born with the Li name; he took it when he married Okaa. She's the only child of the last leader, so it automatically fell to her when she got married." He paused. "The Clan is a real patriarchy. If there are daughters and sons, then it'll go to the eldest son, even if he's younger than all the girls."

"Like you and your sisters?" Sakura asked softly, playing with the hem of his shirt.

He nodded. "What makes it worse is that they don't question it." He scowled at nothing in particular. "The women of the Clan aren't really allowed to leave the family's influence; Okaa was lucky; she needed to be able to question things to be an effective Matriarch, so the Elders granted her special permission to be educated outside of the Clan tutors once it became apparent that she wasn't going to have any siblings."

"What about Meiling?" Sakura asked, curious. This was the first time that'd he'd spoken at any real length regarding the dynamics of his family, and she was certainly curious as to how it worked. She'd heard so many rumours about the Li Clan that she didn't even know who to begin to believe. "How come she's so independent?"

"The Elders wanted us to get married, so they educated her with me, outside." Syaoran grinned at the horrified look on Sakura's face. "What?"

"But… but she's your cousin!" Sakura gasped, disgusted by the idea. "You're blood relations!"

"Well duh." Syaoran rolled his eyes. "Why d'you think we called off the engagement? The Elders can bully us into marrying, but in the end, they can't really decide for us." He paused, ruffling Sakura's hair. "Besides, Meiling's not as cute as you." He winked playfully, not really considering the consequences of such a playful statement.

Silence enveloped the two of them; the only sound that could be heard was the ticking of the clock that hung on the wall in front of them. Blushing for the second time that day, Sakura looked up at him, her grip on his shirt loosening. She was so scared of being here, alone; he could see it in her eyes. They shone with tears, belying her attempt to remain calm and in control.

Before either of them had realised it, they could feel the heat of the breath of the other on their cheeks. Syaoran softly kissed both of Sakura's eyes – which had fluttered closed – as she tentatively laid a small hand out on his chest, fisting against his shirt. He gingerly kissed each of her cheeks, which were now wet with tear tracks; her forehead; her nose; her lips.

All of Sakura's insecurities melted into oblivion at Syaoran's tender gesture. Suddenly, nothing else mattered but him and their baby, and that they were all there, and safe, and where she could keep an eye on them. It was nothing like the last time they'd kissed – oh, God, that had been so long ago – in the heat of lust. This was sweet, and tender, and… and loving. And that feeling…

That feeling exhilarated her.

"Syaoran…" she breathed as they withdrew.

He shushed her with a finger to the lips as he took a second kiss, just as tender as the first. A hand rested on her left cheek, the thumb brushing the tears away that were spilling freely at the rush of emotion that coursed through her. His other hand rested upon her belly, where their child grew inside of her. Her free hand rested atop his, stroking the slightly dry skin as the baby kicked her father's hand.

They fell into a routine after that first night. Syaoran practically forbade Sakura from working, insisting that it would put too much stress on her, and that it wasn't good for her health. He, himself, got a job with a local company – doing God only knew what – in order to support the two of them. Sakura, meanwhile, was doing her best to look after the house that they had been given, making sure that no damage came to it.

In the evenings, after dinner, Syaoran would teach Sakura simple Mandarin. As it was the most widely spoken language in China, and other parts of Asia, he deemed that it was the more important of the two languages that she learn, in order to function a little more easily while he was away. After all, she reasoned, she would need to go shopping, and she would more than likely be cornered by the neighbours sooner or later.

He had expressed doubts about her being out of the house on her own, which she had quickly persuaded him were completely unfounded. After all, she argued, wasn't it him that had said that they were in no danger in that area of China? Wouldn't she get lonely by herself during the day if she couldn't at least go out to the grocery store every now and again?

In light of these arguments, and a few spilled tears of frustration, he had relented. Though, he insisted, until she had a good grasp of the language, he would accompany her – she readily agreed, treating the outings as if they were extra lessons. She had never imagined that learning a different language could be so fun! That there were so many different ways to say the same thing baffled her; and yet, she found herself wanting to know more with each and every passing day. After eight weeks, Sakura was pronounced able to visit the store on her own.

"Where is your companion today, Miss?" The shopkeeper asked kindly as she unloaded the shopping cart at the counter. It was the first time he'd seen her out of Syaoran's company; he was more than a little surprised that the quiet young woman had been let out on her own. He had rather quickly discovered, on her first trip with the young man, that she didn't speak their language very well, so it was a shock to see her out and about on her own.

A sunny smile was sent his way. "He at work." She answered in broken Mandarin. "He say 'hello'."

"You'll send him my best wishes, wont you?" The old man smiled kindly at Sakura's enthusiastic nod. "And how are you this week?"

"Good. Almost there." She rubbed her thirty-three week belly. "Seven more left." She informed him with an eager smile. "We very excited."

"That's always the way." The older man nodded sagely. "My wife and I were thrilled all three times. Do you like it here in China?" He asked, realising that he'd never had the chance to ask her before.

"Very happy here." She nodded, biting her lip. "Miss family and friends, though." She sighed. "I speak only five times to them since arrived." She perked up. "But Xiao Lang keep me busy. I very happy here." Her smile was back in place as she paid him for her goods. "You have good week, Mister."

"You too, Miss." He nodded as she left, turning to serve his next customer.

Really, but she was a lovely young woman.

"Syaoran!" Sakura actually squealed as he came home that evening, enveloping him in a hug that seemed to knock the breath out of him. Catching her, he managed not to fall over and injure themselves in her excitement. "I went out on my own today! I had a conversation with someone in Mandarin! Granted, my Mandarin isn't the best, but still—!"

"Breathe, Sakura!" Syaoran laughed, stoping her gushing words as he fitted his arms around her waist.

She could barely calm down. It was a refreshing sight for him, after seeing her act like a caged animal for the last two months. She'd barely been able to converse with anyone other than himself without the need for a translator – the woman next door was half-Japanese, so they were able to hold a remedial conversation using broken sentences in the two languages – so he supposed she had the right to be excited. Being devious, he slipped into his native tongue, and began to speak.

"And where was this conversation?"

"At grocery store!" Sakura also slipped into her broken Mandarin, barely recognising her lack of ability to articulate her words properly to be merely a nuisance. "Mister sends Xiao Lang wishes!"

"And did you say hello to him for me?" He asked, somewhat amused that her bubbly happiness still came out in her broken speech.

"Yes!"

He laughed again. "Alright." He let her go, stepping out of her embrace. "Let me sit down for a while, and then I'll help you with dinner." She nodded happily, letting him go.

Hamada Osamu sat in the dingy interrogation room back in Tomoeda Police Station, being stared down by two of the most intimidating men he'd ever seen.

"Who hired you?!" One of the demanded, slamming his hands down on the table. "Who told you where Kinomoto was?!"

"I'll never tell!" He sing-songed, much to the annoyance of the officers.

"We have your fingerprints on the murder weapon." The other officer read calmly from the file. "I doubt it's a coincidence that you just so happened to shoot Kinomoto-san's bodyguard." He pursed his lips, looking up at the man in custody. "You'd better start talking, Hamada. It may be your last chance to avoid having the city put a needle in your arm."

"You'll never get me to talk!" Hamada insisted. "Sakura is my one true love!" He shouted as the two officers up and left the room, leaving him alone in the dark. "Nothing will keep us apart! Not even death!"

I hope you enjoyed the SxS in this chapter!

Yes, there was an eight-week jump in this chapter. I opted to skip all the boring bits, since the eight weeks in between the beginning and end of the chapter would have been quite boring, and I was content with my little SxS moment in the first half of the chapter.

Besides, I realised that it would probably be wise to start winding down the story soon – not right now, but I'm hoping for the story to finish at the twenty-five-chapter mark.

Anyway, that's all from me for now.

Until next time!