VictorianPearl: Random inspiration has hit again!

Li: Thank goodness. Notes are at the end of the chapter.

Rating: K+

Genre: Fluff

Summary: The cards were sealed and everything was finally calm…but not for long. She found out that Eriol was leaving for England, and that Syaoran loved her. This is what might have happened if she had just had a little more time to talk with him.

Title: Goodbye, for Now

Sakura walked to Syaoran's apartment, clutching a small paper bag to her chest. She kept her pink face down so that nobody would see her blush. She had to give him Mizuki-san's present. She was glad for the excuse to see him, but she was scared because she didn't know what to say. She didn't know how to tell him about the swelling pain in her chest that made her feel so nice and so sick at the same time.

The green-eyed girl breathed in deeply and whispered her unbeatable spell to herself. She had captured all of the Clow cards, and then turned them into Sakura cards. She had been scared for herself and her friends, but none of it had felt as it did now. This fear of meeting Syaoran was the worst kind of fear she had ever felt. She didn't know why, but she just knew that somehow whatever she said to him would change both of their lives.

As Syaoran's apartment came into view, Sakura's heart dropped suddenly. She clutched the little bag tighter to her chest and blinked back sudden tears. There were moving trucks outside his apartment. Why? Was he leaving too, just as Eriol was leaving? Maybe he just needed a smaller place to live.

Sakura knew she was wrong though.

She spotted Syaoran speaking to the people moving his furniture into the trucks and her heart leapt painfully in her chest. Sakura swallowed deeply because her heart was beating so fast it felt as if it might jump out of her throat. Any plans of what to say to Syaoran flew out of her head. Her mind went completely blank. The only thing she could think about was how he had told her he loved her.

Sakura approached Syaoran slowly, waiting for him to finish talking. When he did, she waved a little to grab his attention. Syaoran's eyes widened and he stared at her in a way that made her toes tingle. Surprise was not a strong enough word for the look on his face.

"S-Sakura-chan, hi." Syaoran stuttered in his shock. "What are you doing here?"

The girl bent her head to hide her blush and thrust the package out in front of him. "A present, from Mizuki-san."

"Oh, thank you." Syaoran said quietly, gently taking the package from Sakura.

Now that the present had been passed on, Sakura's mind was blank again. She wanted to say something, but her throat was throbbing. She just looked at Syaoran hopefully.

It didn't seem that the boy noticed her predicament (as he was too busy with is own). He just looked at her with wide, hopeful eyes.

"Do you want to go on a walk with me?"

His cheeks were red and his hands were clenched at his sides. Sakura took small notice of this and realized she wasn't the only one who was scared, and this thought calmed her a little.

"Of course, Syaoran-kun."

Syaoran smiled and Sakura felt herself melting. Her feet moved on their own, they must have, because the rest of her body wished to stay there and look at that face that could be so gentle. They walked though, to the park, and he hesitantly wrapped his fingers around hers.

This certainly hadn't been the first time that Sakura had touched Syaoran, but if felt like it was. She sucked in her breath at the contact. Her fingers tingled as blood now seemed to be rushing through her body. She tightened her fingers around his, hoping he wouldn't let go.

When they got to the park, Syaoran pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket. He handed it to Sakura.

"It's my address and phone number in Hong Kong." Syaoran explained as Sakura took the paper. "You will write?"

Sakura smiled and put the paper in her backpack. "Of course I will. Actually…" She took a paper of her own out of the backpack. "I was hoping you would write to me too."

Syaoran's face gained that beyond surprised look again, as if he really hadn't been expecting her to want to write to him, much less want him to write to her. He nodded though and smiled widely, taking the paper.

"I'll write to you too, Sakura-chan." Syaoran said.

He folded the paper and put it in his pocket. When he looked up, he was stunned to find tears running down Sakura's face.

"Sakura, what's wrong?"

She gasped and looked him straight in the eye. "You…you called me just Sakura."

Thinking that this had been a big mistake, Syaoran grabbed the watery-eyed girl's hands quickly. "No, I mean, yes I did, but I didn't mean it! I mean, I did, but I was worried about you…I am worried about you."

He had an apologetic look on his face, but Sakura just shook her head and smiled through her tears. "It's alright, I like it."

The Chinese boy simply stared at her after her next words…or rather, word.

"Syaoran,"

When she said his name, just his name, it unleashed emotions that Syaoran had managed to control up until now. His eyes began to water and his lip quivered. When he first met Sakura, he had been so stoic, cold, and even mean. He hadn't needed anyone, and now he couldn't feel anymore different from that boy he had been. He loved Sakura and he needed her presence now.

"I'm sorry I have to leave tomorrow." Syaoran whispered.

Sakura didn't say anything, just cried harder at the new knowledge that he was leaving in what was probably less than 24 hours.

He couldn't take it anymore. He thought that telling her he loved her would be enough. He thought that meeting her and knowing that he would be able to write to her would be enough.

But it wasn't.

He wrapped his arms around her and brought her to him in a deep hug. She responded by clasping the back of his shirt and crying into his chest. She felt the wet tears drop onto her scalp, and she felt him shake with sobs. His actions seemed to be fuel for hers, and she only cried harder.

In a few minutes though, their crying died down, but they stayed in their hug, afraid to let go. Sakura was afraid that if she let go that she would never see him again, and that feeling spoke loudly to her.

Syaoran forced himself to pull out of the hug. His hands wiped away the tears on his face. She mimicked his actions. Once they had returned to normal (or as normal as it was going to get) he offered her a sad smile.

"I have to get back to my apartment, because they're moving my stuff and all…"

Sakura nodded quickly. "It's alright, you should take care of that."

Syaoran nodded and gave her one last look before running off. Sakura just smiled though as she too ran home. There was something she needed to do.

The hours went by quickly. She didn't even eat dinner because she was so determined in her work. She had to finish the bear and give it to Syaoran before he went back to Hong Kong. She had to tell him that she loved him. She glanced at Kero, who was sleeping soundly. She breathed a sigh of relief. The bear was finished.

Sakura startled as her cell phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID before answering. "Hello Tomoyo-chan, how are you?"

"Not good." Tomoyo's frantic voice came from over the line.

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked, becoming more awake and aware. "Did something happen at your choir concert?"

"It's Syaoran, Terada-sensei told me that his flight got rescheduled and he's leaving for Hong Kong tonight instead of tomorrow."

"Tonight?!" Sakura glanced at the clock that read 8:55pm.

"His flight leaves at 10:00 tonight, you have to hurry and find him if you want to say goodbye."

Sakura said a quick goodbye before stuffing the bear into her backpack and grabbing her roller blades. She was out the door in an instant. She breathed heavily in the cool, night air. She forced her legs to work hard so that she could get to Syaoran's apartment fast before he left. The adrenaline was pumping and she didn't feel fatigued at all. She only felt a terrible anxiousness to get to her destination immediately.

As Sakura rounded the corner, she spotted a bus in front of Syaoran's apartment in the distance. She saw the Chinese boy boarding the bus. She dug her skates into the ground and glided even faster toward the bus. She whipped her backpack to her front and grabbed the precious bear from it. She almost lost control as she skidded to a stop next to the bus, but she somehow managed to keep from falling down.

There he was, at the window seat.

"Syaoran!" Sakura cried out weakly, her lungs catching up with her body, forcing her to breath deeply.

He heard her though, and quickly pushed the window open. "Sakura! I'll write to you, I promise!" He said in a rush before the bus had to leave.

Sakura handed the bear to him and he grabbed it, looking at her with the most wide and hopeful eyes she had ever seen.

"I love you too, Syaoran. You'll always be my number one."

Rather than gape or stare, Syaoran managed to gain control of himself and he smiled happily at Sakura. "It will be alright! I'm coming back someday, I promise!"

The bus screeched as the gears shifted into drive. Sakura waved desperately to him. "We'll definitely meet again!"

Syaoran practically dangled himself from the window and waved back until the bus turned the corner. Now that the adrenaline was gone, and he was gone, Sakura sank down onto the sidewalk. She looked up at the stars and prayed that she wouldn't have to wait long until she saw him again. She didn't know how, but she just knew, that it wouldn't be long.

VVV

VictorianPearl: I'm in a very fluffy mood, which is why I wrote this very fluffy story (or at least fluffy by my standards). It's been a while since I've looked at the original story of CCS (considering that the last major work I did was AU) and I wanted to go back to the beginning…or was it the end? Well I think you understand.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I need to post more of these! They're really fun to write.