Oddities in Oak Trees
-Fourteen-
"…Hello?"
He thought about it very carefully. To choose between two dreams… it was very confusing. He had had his heart broken a few times before, but it was strange that each time felt like new. The sadness was still there; the aloneness was instantly there. He had tried giving up on Sakura before.
But for now… maybe it was a moment to dream impossible dreams. It was a vow he had made to a certain slant-eyed boy, after all. Now was the right time. With Sakura, he felt that it would always be the right time.
"I don't think we should break up." There was a short pause before he continued, "I want to make my dreams a reality… with you."
She grinned to herself at his words. His resolution never did waver. He wouldn't be Li Syaoran if it did weaken, in the end. "It can't be helped, then."
Syaoran nodded. He had a newfound habit of making gestures he can only hope the caller could see. "Sakura…"
"Yes…?"
"I love you." He had said it before, but this time felt different. It was like an embrace of warmth, the way he said it; it was like a promise.
Sakura listened again as the call ended, each beeping from the phone a whisper of hope. Perhaps… people don't change even after all that's happened.
Soon enough, it was late in July already.
It had been two weeks since they last met.
Many things, it seemed, had changed in the lives they once lived in Tokyo. The students had fresh faces, the weather had changed, the atmosphere had transformed. The café they used to frequent was being renovated, renewed. It was an analogy to the relationship they had now; it was an analogy to all things new.
"Is it really okay?" Sakura shyly peeked into his room; afraid of whatever it is she is frightened of. She had been there only once before, which would explain why she was so sheepish about it.
Syaoran gently smiled at her, reassuring her. "It's fine. Mom's not around, so there shouldn't be anything to be nervous about." They had gone to his room since he was hoping on giving her something.
"A-Alright…" her sandaled feet cautiously stepped into the room, the carpeted floor slightly tickling the sides of her right foot. "I can never get used to how big this place is…" she mumbled to nobody in particular as she approached him.
He sat on his bed as he rummaged through a box, a serious expression on his face. She placed herself beside him as she tried to figure out what he was searching for. "It should be here… wonder where it is…"
"What is it?"
Syaoran snapped out of his reverie as he gawked at Sakura, realizing she was now seated near him. "Um… just something…"
She pouted at him. "Of course it's a thing… if that were an animal or a person in that box that would be creepy."
He chuckled as he bobbed his head in agreement. "Well, there goes my surprise!"
She laughed in return at how charming he could be. She reached out and placed her arms around his shoulders as she kissed him on the cheek. He jolts at the contact, startled. "Oh… sorry…" she blushed as she grasped what she had done.
"I-it's okay…" he touched the part where her lips had rested briefly; astonished that she had initiated contact with him. He was elated.
"Um… sorry…" she got up, but before she could really do so, he took her hand, asking her to stop silently as he put aside the box he was holding with his free hand.
He could hear the sound of his voice. It seemed foreign at the moment as he pleaded her to stay by his side. "Please… don't go…"
Sakura stared at his eyes, their irises of fire appearing to draw her in. "I-I… won't…" she slowly neared him as he began to close the gap between the two. His hands delicately held her face to his, their touch akin to how the glow of the moon would feel against the flesh: almost absent, yet aware.
And then their lips met. She felt like she could stay in that moment forever, only with him; nobody else.
It started out, as it would like the last time, innocent. They didn't grant themselves the chance to display their affections aside from the usual intertwining of fingers and so they couldn't help but be unsure of what they were doing. His name echoed through her mind as their kiss deepened, and as she could feel his mouth open to let her know where he wanted their union to lead, her eyes closed at the sensation. She then parted her lips as a response.
The heat added to the warmth of the moment. Her thin yellow dress could only serve so much as a barrier as she could sense his fingers gingerly move on to the small of her back like gentle raindrops on a window pane. She didn't protest.
And then she felt like she could do anything he wanted to if he would say it with his hands.
The awareness of each other's body made him close his eyes as well with newfound ecstasy. The gravity really was too much. He was quicksand once again, as he drew her in; as he dangerously let her lie on her back and he let her arms rest on his shoulders.
He briefly halted the passionate kiss as he carried her legs to the top of his mattress, making her body fully lay on the bed. He placed his knees on either side of her calves as his taller form enshrouded her.
He let his hands now roam to the curve above her hips, her small waist enough to make him excitedly moan as their lips met once again. All the loneliness they had felt when they were apart culminated and burst into nothingness at that moment. It was a beautiful, magical instant. They explored the caverns of each other's mouth as she sighed into his embrace. She unknowingly pressed her chest against his body as he began to mumble something incoherent at the action.
She broke the kiss.
"What was that?" she looked at him, still dazed with what they were doing.
"S-sorry… I… I can't… if we don't stop now…"
Her eyes widened as she realized what he was trying to say. "Oh… oh…! I guess… this is it for now." She smiled at him reassuringly—a gesture he had done to her earlier—as they separated from one another and sat on the bed, aware of what had happened.
There was a comfortable second of silence before she began speaking again, her fingers playing with his. "I think… I might be in love with you, too…" Their glances met as she proceeded to say quietly, "But I'm… not very sure… we are still young, after all…"
He blinked a few times, a motion that was eerily similar to the girl's habit. "If you see a future with me, then age shouldn't matter." He had said it as if it was the simplest logic in the world, but she took no offense to it.
It was something she would think about for the rest of the night as he walked her to her house.
"Next week…" she began speaking, her hand in his as she swung it slightly.
"Next week…?"
"Let's go to Aoyama."
"What's in Aoyama?"
"…Someone very important. I would like for you to meet each other."
Syaoran wondered if it would be her father, who he had known to travel a lot due to his line of work. "I'd be happy to go wherever as long as it's with you."
"…Even to the dentist?" She asked playfully. Dentists, in his personal opinion, were boring and frightening, what with their perfectly aligned choppers and ominous grins.
"Even to the dentist." He beamed at her, showing off his teeth. They obviously didn't need any treatment.
"I'm a little nervous…"
"Why's that?"
"Well, it's the first time anyone has visited her. I mean, aside from the family and Tomoyo…"
"How is Tomoyo, by the way?"
"She's doing wonderful. London's been difficult at the least, but I'm sure her work as a student fashion designer would speak for her despite the language barrier."
"The course suits her."
"It does. How has Takashi been lately?" They stopped in front of a row of graves made out of stone.
"We haven't seen each other since graduation, but I bet he's doing great. Takashi's Takashi, after all... he can fend for himself. Even when I didn't care about the bullying that much, he was always there to stand up for me, because he says that that was what he believed in. His accents are really weird, though. Even weirder than me."
"You know him too well." She giggled as they ambled a little further ahead. "We're here."
He looked at the wooden board placed at the front of the monument with the name 'Nadeshiko Kinomoto' carved on it. "Her name's really pretty… I bet she must have been as kind as you." He clapped his hands together as he knelt down and asked for the deceased mother's blessing.
Sakura observed Syaoran as he closed his eyes in prayer. He was always so earnest with everything he did. It was one of the qualities she admired about him. It took some time before she would kneel beside him, her fingers stiffly held up in prayer.
"Thank you."
She gazed up at him, surprised at the sudden show of appreciation.
He smiled at her sincerely. "Thank you for letting me meet her." A new chapter in their relationship was afterwards unfolded right then and there.
The two head to the park they would always go to as high school seniors, the memories of past coming back to them in their minds as they sat on the swings.
"I remember, you know. It was my first kiss even if we didn't mean for it to happen." She grinned wistfully as she scanned the area. "I never really did know what to expect whenever I was with you." She evidently meant it in a good way, but the last statement made her companion scowl at her.
"I can be predictable too, you know. You make it sound like I'm some sort of kid who can't plan out what to do next."
"You know that's not what I meant." She stuck out her tongue at him lightheartedly as she continued saying, "Many of my firsts were with you, but I hope my lasts would also be with you."
"I'll make that happen."
"That's a promise?"
"It's a promise." he stopped speaking for a while, as if he recalled something. "Oh! That's right; before I forget, I have something to give to you. I-I wasn't able to give it last time… since… well, we got… distracted."
She blushed at the memory, her back stiff in the air as she straightened her posture and cleared her throat. "R-Right…"
He glanced at her before digging through his pockets. He produced a small wooden box wrapped in velvet from it. "H-here…"
She gingerly took the box, wondering what was inside. She opened the box slowly, as if cautious on what could spring out from within. A thoughtful grin placed itself on her lips as she held up the item in the box.
It was the sunflower button they had looked for all night, months and months before.
It was also the sunflower button he had cried over.
Of course, Sakura Kinomoto never really knew that that wasn't the reason he bawled his eyes out at the time, and even at that exact moment. So that was the reason why she asked him, "Why would you give something so important away?", her eyebrows furrowing at the idea.
"That… then… that wasn't what I was really looking for. And I feel that it's the same with you." He paused to gather his words carefully, as he would always do around people he cared for most, "Both were never in my mind, but I think… I think that when you find something you weren't even looking for, it feels even more special." The fire in his eyes deepened once again, "You're very special to me, Sakura. And I can just hope that I never lose you."
"I'll make sure to be found if I get lost." She leaned in for a short kiss, the softness of each other's lips a reminder of the fragility of their existence to each other. There was still an innocence to the way they kissed, but this time, there was a reassurance that nothing had to be rushed for it wouldn't be their last.
He nodded in return as they held each other's hand, making their way home.
And before they knew it, summer vacation began to near its end.
Syaoran would toss and turn in his bed a few times before he came to the realization that his mobile was ringing. At twelve in the morning.
"Hello?" he groggily answered the phone, his rear end in mid-air once again.
"Du-hude!" It sounded like Takashi, but Syaoran could only rub his eyes in response. "Who is this?" He was much too tired to have anything to do with prank callers.
"Where the heck are you, dude? The fireflies are a-swinging!"
"The… fireflies…a-swinging…?" The Chinese lad's eyes widened, sleep the farthest thing from his mind. "Takashi?!"
"The one an' only! Like, where are ya?"
"I'm… in Tokyo! How's Fukuoka?" You'd think that the time difference would be hours and hours, but Fukuoka is still within the continent and so it might have been inexcusable for him to call at such an hour were it not for the fact that Syaoran missed him immensely, and any hour would have been fine in the end.
"I'm in Tokyo too, dude! This is once in a blue moon! We hafta meet up ta see them fireflies! Bring Sakura along okay? Let's meet up at the field!" He took a swig of some kind of liquid that could only be the non-alcoholic, decaffeinated type. Nonetheless, he sounded close to drunk. "It's the time to celebrate with fire!"
"Sakura might be asleep already…"
"You hafta bring her along!"
"Alright, alright!" Syaoran ended the call as his slant-eyed friend continued to yak about Fukuoka being so dull compared to Tokyo, afraid that Sakura might really be getting ready for sleep if he continued to listen to his best pal's ramblings.
A few rings could be heard before she picked up the phone. "Hi, Syaoran!" She sounded perky as usual, he would think to himself, but he went direct to the point.
"Takashi called… he was wondering if— actually he more of commanded it—we could meet up and watch the fireflies? It is summer, so it should make sense if we do."
"Sure! My brother's still up, so I don't think he'd mind it if I went out for a while."
The three met up at the so-called 'field', which really was just the Li residence's backyard. The help were asleep and his mother wasn't around, so they were free to stay up as long as they wanted to.
"Fireflies!" Sakura twirled around in her dress, its color contrasting with the light coming from the said bugs. "There are so many!"
"I told ya!"
"Don't get so cocky, nobody said there wouldn't be any."Syaoran muttered at Takashi.
"Geez, man! Lighten up! ... Pun intended." He winked at Syaoran as he pointed a finger at him.
The fireflies seemed to delight at the three's presence, their glow intensifying once in a while as they danced around the tall pasture.
Sakura sat on the grass, savoring the moment as she felt them prickling her skin. It really was summertime.
"I brought soda!" Takashi proudly proclaimed as he sat a few inches to Sakura's right. Syaoran sat at her left, albeit at a closer proximity.
"You brought a lot." Syaoran remarked as he rummaged through the plastic bag full of fizzy drinks.
"Of course, he brought along a lot of company!"
Syaoran and Sakura looked up to see Tomoyo jogging towards them, Eriol and Chiharu close behind. "I came for the weekend!"
"You really shouldn't leave your front gate open. Tsk, too trusting." It was Eriol who spoke. Chiharu giggled at the comment, causing Takashi to jealously stand up and rush to her side.
"We're going steady, ya punk!"
"I didn't doubt it for a second, no one did." Eriol held his hands up in mid-air as he talked, feigning surrender.
"Hey, kid, why are there only kids here?"
"Touya?!" Sakura looked at her older brother incredulously. Their dad got home the week before and so someone could take care of Hiro for them in the meantime. "What are you doing here?"
"Fireflies only show up this much during summer; might as well show up," the taller man shrugged his shoulders as he purposefully sat between his sister and her suitor.
All seven of them sat on the Li backyard, looking and pointing at the fireflies as they flew by.
'Goodbyes' may have come fast, but that doesn't mean 'hellos' couldn't be said once again.
Sakura Kinomoto glanced at Li Syaoran, who was observing how the lights from the fireflies reflected on her skin. He was off in his dream world again, it seems. She quickly got up and neared her lips to his ear as soon as her older brother fell asleep on the grass. He was much more of a baby than he would ever want anyone to know.
"By the way…" she whispered discreetly, making sure that everyone else was engrossed in their own little worlds so as not to disturb her and Syaoran's.
He looked at her questioningly, his hands starting to warm his soda can.
"I love you too."