squeeeeeeeebough (to continue the tree thing =D)
who: ccs!saku and syao
when: sunday during the day
where: syaoran's apartment
what: sakura goes to talk about the impending date with marjoly and winds up saying what she's wanted to say for ages. (say it with me: FINALLY! xD)
warnings: massive amounts of fluff, fluff, more fluff, and stuttering.
Syaoran had been waiting for a long time for her answer, that Sakura knew. But while she was already certain of her feelings for him, she still hadn't gotten the opportunity to confess to him. She had been thwarted numerous times, usually by the strange things that had been happening in Fandango. But this time, she knew she had to.
It was all because of Marjoly's entry, really. The obnoxious entry in large bold fonts and gigantic hearts proudly announcing her date with Syaoran. The nerve! Sakura was really upset after she read it, but, naive as she was, it didn't really register to her that she was jealous.
She arrived confident and determined, but the moment after she knocked on the door of Syaoran's apartment, her heart began to beat wildly and she felt like she had just done something very bad...
Well, this was a fine mess they had all gotten tangled in. This witch seemed to be one of Yuuko's friends, which in Syaoran's eyes made her dangerous enough, but she had also threatened to turn Sakura to stone. So...she obviously had a lot of power - if she really could, at least, which Syaoran wasn't entirely sure of. He just didn't want to take chances...
virtualresonance: He had just put a tea kettle on the stove when he heard the knock at the door. Who...? He faltered. Sakura had said she was coming by. But then...she said another day...when she saw the woman's entry...? It couldn't be her, then. But who else would be visiting? Maybe the mailman? Yes. It had to be him. There was no one else. So then why was his heart beating so hard? Crossing to the door, he hesitated for just another moment and then quickly pulled the door open before he could change his mind. "S..Sakura!" He had been right. Surprise was evident on his face.
Sakura stood frozen for a few seconds, her heart beating so loudly that she almost couldn't hear anything else. Finally, she was able to say, "H-Hi, Syaoran-kun," and managed to smile even as her face was turning really red. "I-I'm sorry if I d-disturbed you..."
Syaoran, still surprise, could only dumbly shake his head for a moment - his voice seemed to have been scared away. They stood in the doorway in silence for a moment before it returned, and he pulled the door open a little wider. "C-c-come in," he said.
The Mistress of the Clow Cards began to enter, but she looked like she was struggling to do so, moving in an almost robotic kind of way. The blush on her face was also getting worse, too, especially when she realized that she was in Syaoran's house and that they were alone and... oh crap, she couldn't even remember why she wanted to come. She blinked, then asked a really dumb question: "Are you done with homework...?"
Syaoran's apartment was remarkably clean and, well, rather sparse for a twelve-year-old. "Y-yeah," he said, a little awkwardly, redness coming over his face. "What about you...?"
"H-Hai," Sakura answered, nodding awkwardly. She then started looking at the floor and her feet, and kept her eyes on them as she started to say, "S-Syaoran-kun... about Marjoly-san..."
"A-ah...h-h-hai?" Syaoran paused, standing awkwardly but not moving or fidgeting. "D...do you want to...sit down...?" he added, staring pointedly at the wall.
Sakura gave another awkward nod. "H-Hai..." she said softly, but didn't take her seat and waited for him to do first. When he finally did, she followed, but careful to put some space between them. She then went back to staring at the dull floor and her dirty sneakers, almost afraid to look into his eyes. "D-Do you l-like her...?"
Syaoran wasn't at the edge of his seat, but he was rather close - he sat stiffly, hands closed into fists and resting on his knees. For a while, there was only the hum of the air conditioning and the deafening tha-thunk of his heart beating. Thunderstruck for a moment, he turned to look at her and hastily said, "N-no!"
The girl didn't realize that she had been holding her breath as she waited for Syaoran's reply. When he finally told her that he didn't like Marjoly, Sakura was able to breathe again. But that reply wasn't enough to settle the issue yet. "Then w-why are you dating her...?" she asked, this time turning her head slightly to look at his face with confused emerald eyes.
Drawing in a deep breath, Syaoran paused. Should he tell her...? "S...she...threatened to-" He faltered there for a moment. No. She didn't need to know. "She threatened me," he said after a moment. Sakura had enough to worry about without thinking about a witch turning her to stone. "I- I figured I should just get it over with..."
Now that wasn't right! Sakura, surprising even herself, was immediately up on her feet and was looking at Syaoran with determination in her eyes. "I won't let her hurt you, Syaoran-kun," she vowed, her hand moving to the necklace she was wearing, which was the key to unlocking the power of the Stars. After a moment, however, what she had said had dawned on her, and she looked away, embarrassed. She was blushing again. "...Y-you shouldn't g-go..."
That expression was a very familiar one - Syaoran had seen it with every card Sakura captured, and then again when she transformed them into her own. He was silent a moment, slowly moving a hand to touch her shoulder. He didn't want to. Didn't want her to look so sad about it, didn't want her to feel that way... But at the same time, he couldn't let the woman hurt her. "I have to," he said softly, his expression unreadable. "It's just one afternoon..."
Wait, did she use Time? Because for Sakura, the world seemed to have stopped the moment he laid his hand on her shoulder, and nothing else but them existed. She was almost afraid to breathe, fearing that the slightest move would shatter everything, and so she listened to what he had to say in utmost silence. When he finished, she forced herself to nod, as if she understood even if she really didn't.
Then his eyes caught her, and she almost couldn't breathe. "S-Syaoran-kun... I..."
If he was anything, Syaoran was patient - maybe too patient, sometimes. Heart thumping loudly in his chest, he felt like he might suffocate but remained quiet nonetheless, waiting for whatever Sakura wanted to say.
The silence came. One, two, three seconds. Sakura knew what she had to say, but she had frozen as if she was anticipating another interruption. Four, five, six seconds. Something tugged in her heart and she was certain that it was finally the moment of truth, yet as she opened her mouth to tell him, her voice refused to cooperate. Seven, eight, nine seconds. She was shaking now, almost as if she was going to explode. Ten, eleven, twelve seconds. She mentally scolded herself for being so scared and repeated in her mind over and over that everything was going to be all right. Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen...
But would it be, really? So much had happened since that day Syaoran told her that he loved her. So much time had passed. So much could've already changed. The boy who was standing in front of her now may look the same on the outside, but what about on the inside? Byakko had mentioned that he didn't like her...
It was past a minute now, and the debate raged on in Sakura's mind. But her heart then took over and helped her make her most courageous move yet. "...I love you," she said softly, but to her it already felt like she had shouted at the top of her lungs to the whole world.
Soon after those words left her, however, she broke contact and slowly looked away. "But I understand if you don't l-love me anymore... I-I'm sorry..."
For one terrible moment, one brief heartbeat that felt like an eternity on its own, Syaoran felt uncertainty settle into the pit of his stomach. What did she want to say? Why couldn't she...? Was it that bad? When she did finally speak, he remained rooted to the spot, feeling unable to speak or breathe, let alone move. He didn't know what to say at first - he had never wondered what he would if this were to happen. Then, slowly, he smiled, just the slightest bit. "I-I," he began and then pausing, tried again, "I still feel the same." His face was a bright cherry red.
And then Sakura began to cry. But they were tears of joy this time, and they washed away all the uncertainty and even the heartache that she had experienced. "I... I'm glad." Not holding anything back now, she flung herself into his arms, having wanted to do that for a long time. She had missed him terribly but she was too afraid to get close to him, not only because of her older brother, but also because of the things she hadn't been able to say... until now. "Syaoran-kun, I... I was scared... I-I thought... you got tired of waiting..."
Putting his arms around her was like a release - there was no need to be nervous or scared or timid or hesitant when she was there. Syaoran had missed her too, possibly more than he really knew or could express in words. "No," he said quietly, but a little more calmly than he had been able to speak to her all afternoon. "Never..."
Sakura stayed in his embrace for a long time, not wanting the moment to end, not when everything felt so right, so perfect. But the moment of eternity time had kindly granted them came to an end; so she pulled back a little, looking up at Syaoran with a smile amidst the tears that were falling. "I still have the teddy bear," she told him, blushing.
Syaoran could breathe again. He wasn't sure why he hadn't thought to do so in the past few moments - maybe he was afraid that if anything became too real, this would all turn out to be a dream. When she pulled back, he did the same by just a bit, still brilliantly red in the face. "D...don't cry, okay...?" he said, so softly that he wasn't entirely sure he was speaking at all. He reached up to brush a tear away from her eye with his thumb.
"H-Hai, Syaoran-kun," Sakura said, smiling at him and blushing even more as he wiped a tear away. Then the silence returned, but they didn't seem to mind, the girl most especially. She had never felt so happy in her life and nothing could ruin that now...
...except the kettle that started to whistle, demanding Syaoran's attention.
Syaoran cringed for a moment, turning to the kitchen. "I-I'll be right back!" he said apologetically, going to get it.
As soon as Syaoran left the room, Sakura pinched herself to make sure that she wasn't dreaming. "Ow!" she yelped as she pinched herself just a little too hard, rubbing her cheek.
Protective (possibly overprotective) as always, when he heard the yelp Syaoran dashed to the kitchen doorway to look at her, a concerned expression coming over his face. "Are you okay?"
"H-Hai," Sakura replied, blushing. Syaoran always seemed to catch her in her silly moments. She then smiled sheepishly. "I-I was just... checking something," she tried to explain.
"Good," Syaoran said, exhaling; looking around the room, there was nothing dangerous or anything anyway. "I see," he added, a bit of a sheepish look coming over his face.
Seeing him look around the room made Sakura do so as well. She didn't spot anything unusual however - only the wall clock that was telling her that it was time for her to go. "G-Gomen nasai, Syaoran-kun, but I have to go..." she said as she reverted her gaze to Syaoran, the expression on her face clearly saying that she didn't want to leave.
"Ah," Syaoran said, blinking. Of course... In his daze he had nearly forgotten that time was still passing. "D..do you...want me to walk you back?"
Sakura smiled. "I-I'd like that."
when: sunday during the day
where: syaoran's apartment
what: sakura goes to talk about the impending date with marjoly and winds up saying what she's wanted to say for ages. (say it with me: FINALLY! xD)
warnings: massive amounts of fluff, fluff, more fluff, and stuttering.
Syaoran had been waiting for a long time for her answer, that Sakura knew. But while she was already certain of her feelings for him, she still hadn't gotten the opportunity to confess to him. She had been thwarted numerous times, usually by the strange things that had been happening in Fandango. But this time, she knew she had to.
It was all because of Marjoly's entry, really. The obnoxious entry in large bold fonts and gigantic hearts proudly announcing her date with Syaoran. The nerve! Sakura was really upset after she read it, but, naive as she was, it didn't really register to her that she was jealous.
She arrived confident and determined, but the moment after she knocked on the door of Syaoran's apartment, her heart began to beat wildly and she felt like she had just done something very bad...
Well, this was a fine mess they had all gotten tangled in. This witch seemed to be one of Yuuko's friends, which in Syaoran's eyes made her dangerous enough, but she had also threatened to turn Sakura to stone. So...she obviously had a lot of power - if she really could, at least, which Syaoran wasn't entirely sure of. He just didn't want to take chances...
virtualresonance: He had just put a tea kettle on the stove when he heard the knock at the door. Who...? He faltered. Sakura had said she was coming by. But then...she said another day...when she saw the woman's entry...? It couldn't be her, then. But who else would be visiting? Maybe the mailman? Yes. It had to be him. There was no one else. So then why was his heart beating so hard? Crossing to the door, he hesitated for just another moment and then quickly pulled the door open before he could change his mind. "S..Sakura!" He had been right. Surprise was evident on his face.
Sakura stood frozen for a few seconds, her heart beating so loudly that she almost couldn't hear anything else. Finally, she was able to say, "H-Hi, Syaoran-kun," and managed to smile even as her face was turning really red. "I-I'm sorry if I d-disturbed you..."
Syaoran, still surprise, could only dumbly shake his head for a moment - his voice seemed to have been scared away. They stood in the doorway in silence for a moment before it returned, and he pulled the door open a little wider. "C-c-come in," he said.
The Mistress of the Clow Cards began to enter, but she looked like she was struggling to do so, moving in an almost robotic kind of way. The blush on her face was also getting worse, too, especially when she realized that she was in Syaoran's house and that they were alone and... oh crap, she couldn't even remember why she wanted to come. She blinked, then asked a really dumb question: "Are you done with homework...?"
Syaoran's apartment was remarkably clean and, well, rather sparse for a twelve-year-old. "Y-yeah," he said, a little awkwardly, redness coming over his face. "What about you...?"
"H-Hai," Sakura answered, nodding awkwardly. She then started looking at the floor and her feet, and kept her eyes on them as she started to say, "S-Syaoran-kun... about Marjoly-san..."
"A-ah...h-h-hai?" Syaoran paused, standing awkwardly but not moving or fidgeting. "D...do you want to...sit down...?" he added, staring pointedly at the wall.
Sakura gave another awkward nod. "H-Hai..." she said softly, but didn't take her seat and waited for him to do first. When he finally did, she followed, but careful to put some space between them. She then went back to staring at the dull floor and her dirty sneakers, almost afraid to look into his eyes. "D-Do you l-like her...?"
Syaoran wasn't at the edge of his seat, but he was rather close - he sat stiffly, hands closed into fists and resting on his knees. For a while, there was only the hum of the air conditioning and the deafening tha-thunk of his heart beating. Thunderstruck for a moment, he turned to look at her and hastily said, "N-no!"
The girl didn't realize that she had been holding her breath as she waited for Syaoran's reply. When he finally told her that he didn't like Marjoly, Sakura was able to breathe again. But that reply wasn't enough to settle the issue yet. "Then w-why are you dating her...?" she asked, this time turning her head slightly to look at his face with confused emerald eyes.
Drawing in a deep breath, Syaoran paused. Should he tell her...? "S...she...threatened to-" He faltered there for a moment. No. She didn't need to know. "She threatened me," he said after a moment. Sakura had enough to worry about without thinking about a witch turning her to stone. "I- I figured I should just get it over with..."
Now that wasn't right! Sakura, surprising even herself, was immediately up on her feet and was looking at Syaoran with determination in her eyes. "I won't let her hurt you, Syaoran-kun," she vowed, her hand moving to the necklace she was wearing, which was the key to unlocking the power of the Stars. After a moment, however, what she had said had dawned on her, and she looked away, embarrassed. She was blushing again. "...Y-you shouldn't g-go..."
That expression was a very familiar one - Syaoran had seen it with every card Sakura captured, and then again when she transformed them into her own. He was silent a moment, slowly moving a hand to touch her shoulder. He didn't want to. Didn't want her to look so sad about it, didn't want her to feel that way... But at the same time, he couldn't let the woman hurt her. "I have to," he said softly, his expression unreadable. "It's just one afternoon..."
Wait, did she use Time? Because for Sakura, the world seemed to have stopped the moment he laid his hand on her shoulder, and nothing else but them existed. She was almost afraid to breathe, fearing that the slightest move would shatter everything, and so she listened to what he had to say in utmost silence. When he finished, she forced herself to nod, as if she understood even if she really didn't.
Then his eyes caught her, and she almost couldn't breathe. "S-Syaoran-kun... I..."
If he was anything, Syaoran was patient - maybe too patient, sometimes. Heart thumping loudly in his chest, he felt like he might suffocate but remained quiet nonetheless, waiting for whatever Sakura wanted to say.
The silence came. One, two, three seconds. Sakura knew what she had to say, but she had frozen as if she was anticipating another interruption. Four, five, six seconds. Something tugged in her heart and she was certain that it was finally the moment of truth, yet as she opened her mouth to tell him, her voice refused to cooperate. Seven, eight, nine seconds. She was shaking now, almost as if she was going to explode. Ten, eleven, twelve seconds. She mentally scolded herself for being so scared and repeated in her mind over and over that everything was going to be all right. Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen...
But would it be, really? So much had happened since that day Syaoran told her that he loved her. So much time had passed. So much could've already changed. The boy who was standing in front of her now may look the same on the outside, but what about on the inside? Byakko had mentioned that he didn't like her...
It was past a minute now, and the debate raged on in Sakura's mind. But her heart then took over and helped her make her most courageous move yet. "...I love you," she said softly, but to her it already felt like she had shouted at the top of her lungs to the whole world.
Soon after those words left her, however, she broke contact and slowly looked away. "But I understand if you don't l-love me anymore... I-I'm sorry..."
For one terrible moment, one brief heartbeat that felt like an eternity on its own, Syaoran felt uncertainty settle into the pit of his stomach. What did she want to say? Why couldn't she...? Was it that bad? When she did finally speak, he remained rooted to the spot, feeling unable to speak or breathe, let alone move. He didn't know what to say at first - he had never wondered what he would if this were to happen. Then, slowly, he smiled, just the slightest bit. "I-I," he began and then pausing, tried again, "I still feel the same." His face was a bright cherry red.
And then Sakura began to cry. But they were tears of joy this time, and they washed away all the uncertainty and even the heartache that she had experienced. "I... I'm glad." Not holding anything back now, she flung herself into his arms, having wanted to do that for a long time. She had missed him terribly but she was too afraid to get close to him, not only because of her older brother, but also because of the things she hadn't been able to say... until now. "Syaoran-kun, I... I was scared... I-I thought... you got tired of waiting..."
Putting his arms around her was like a release - there was no need to be nervous or scared or timid or hesitant when she was there. Syaoran had missed her too, possibly more than he really knew or could express in words. "No," he said quietly, but a little more calmly than he had been able to speak to her all afternoon. "Never..."
Sakura stayed in his embrace for a long time, not wanting the moment to end, not when everything felt so right, so perfect. But the moment of eternity time had kindly granted them came to an end; so she pulled back a little, looking up at Syaoran with a smile amidst the tears that were falling. "I still have the teddy bear," she told him, blushing.
Syaoran could breathe again. He wasn't sure why he hadn't thought to do so in the past few moments - maybe he was afraid that if anything became too real, this would all turn out to be a dream. When she pulled back, he did the same by just a bit, still brilliantly red in the face. "D...don't cry, okay...?" he said, so softly that he wasn't entirely sure he was speaking at all. He reached up to brush a tear away from her eye with his thumb.
"H-Hai, Syaoran-kun," Sakura said, smiling at him and blushing even more as he wiped a tear away. Then the silence returned, but they didn't seem to mind, the girl most especially. She had never felt so happy in her life and nothing could ruin that now...
...except the kettle that started to whistle, demanding Syaoran's attention.
Syaoran cringed for a moment, turning to the kitchen. "I-I'll be right back!" he said apologetically, going to get it.
As soon as Syaoran left the room, Sakura pinched herself to make sure that she wasn't dreaming. "Ow!" she yelped as she pinched herself just a little too hard, rubbing her cheek.
Protective (possibly overprotective) as always, when he heard the yelp Syaoran dashed to the kitchen doorway to look at her, a concerned expression coming over his face. "Are you okay?"
"H-Hai," Sakura replied, blushing. Syaoran always seemed to catch her in her silly moments. She then smiled sheepishly. "I-I was just... checking something," she tried to explain.
"Good," Syaoran said, exhaling; looking around the room, there was nothing dangerous or anything anyway. "I see," he added, a bit of a sheepish look coming over his face.
Seeing him look around the room made Sakura do so as well. She didn't spot anything unusual however - only the wall clock that was telling her that it was time for her to go. "G-Gomen nasai, Syaoran-kun, but I have to go..." she said as she reverted her gaze to Syaoran, the expression on her face clearly saying that she didn't want to leave.
"Ah," Syaoran said, blinking. Of course... In his daze he had nearly forgotten that time was still passing. "D..do you...want me to walk you back?"
Sakura smiled. "I-I'd like that."