Syaoran and the Disastrous First Date

It wasn't her fault. Really it wasn't. She couldn't help it, after all, if her brother were just a little protective (as protective as a vicious man-eating bear with an appetite the size of Hong Kong, to be accurate); she couldn't help it if she had a obsessive-compulsive friend with a video camera surgically attached to her hand; she couldn't help it if she was the mistress of a book of extraordinary powers with strange and eccentric guardians; one a glutton that'd eat anything in sight as long as it was either creamed, sugared, or coated with chocolate, the other with a strange obsession with keeping his face resemble a stone as much as possible. It was who Sakura was, it was a part of the Sakura package, it really was not her fault.

…And even if it were her fault, Syaoran was a pretty loving and forgiving guy. He prided himself in his ability to keep a cool head even in the most strenuous of situations.

Which, he supposes, made this situation especially stressful, considering how loudly the ringing in his ears grew.

It all started with a mere suggestion.

"Ne, Li-kun," Daidouji had said one morning after school had started, her tongue dripping with honey. She had that smirk on her face again. Syaoran should've seen it coming, but he had been distracted by Sakura's panicked aura coming from the school's gate. He had the usual goofy smile hanging on his face, the smile he got whenever Sakura got within a ten mile radius of him that is, which he supposed, tipped Daidouji off that his mind wasn't in the right place. …Damn her.

"Li-kun," Daidouji whispered next to him. "You know, now that you've been back in Tomoeda for two weeks and all…"

"Mm-hm?" Syaoran said, his eyes glazing over. Sakura was wearing the ribbons he had given her, he just knew it.

"Don't you think it's about time that you," she began, leaning closer, "take Sakura-chan out somewhere nice? A new coffee house opened nearby, you could take her there."

"Mm-hm, yeah, sure," Syaoran murmured, his head peering towards the door. "Whatever, that sounds good."

"Wonderful!" Daidouji beamed, clapping her hands. She had said something very quickly under her breath while giving him a sly look, but right at that moment, Sakura had burst into the room, panting.

"Sumimasen!" she exclaimed, bowing immediately. "I'm late again…"

Syaoran grinned foolishly at her, taking no notice of the scheming girl to his right. Honestly, he scolded himself, did all of those years of training in Hong Kong amount to nothing?

And of course, Daidouji would mention it, in her usual blunt way, to the two of them again during lunch. And of course Sakura would blush and give Syaoran a Look that made him melt into a happy warm pile of mush. And of course he had to take her then, because honestly, with those two women against him, Syaoran was bound to be dragged into the task somehow. Not that he didn't want a date with Sakura, but…

Well, he supposed the date started spiraling out of control when he rang her doorbell later that night.

"Uh—"

"You."

"…Shit."

And then it went from there.

"ONII-CHAN!!" Sakura had cried, kicking her brother's shins hard with her new shiny boots. "THAT SWEATER WAS MADE FOR SYAORAN-KUN BY ME AND HOW DARE YOU RIP IT LIKE THAT HE DIDN'T EVEN DO ANYTHING WHY ARE YOU ALWAYS LIKE THIS, ONII-CHAN!! PUT SYAORAN DOWN!"

Syaoran figured, it wouldn't have been a very good impression if he had kicked Touya in the goods and knocked him unconscious. Sakura would've been very upset.

Instead, he chose the, what he thought, was the wiser route.

"Let me go, bastard," Syaoran hissed through his teeth. "I've got a pretty good aim from up here, so unless you want to cry behind your boyfriend in bed tonight, you'd better put me down—"

"Gaki," Touya spat. "My sister is only fifteen and if you think you can you can waltz in here after four years of abandoning her, you'd better screw your thick head back on properly before I—"

Syaoran had never loved Yukito more at that moment.

And with the immense cajoling skills of a doddering housewife, Syaoran's feet were soon planted firmly onto the ground again and Touya was getting scolded like a disobedient child. Syaoran took a moment to revel in the moment.

"Sakura-chan," Yukito called, looking up from his chiding. Touya looked like a wet cat. "Enjoy your date."

And they had been able to escape. At least, for that moment.

Syaoran really wasn't surprised to see all of his classmates in the same coffee shop. I mean, when it came to Daidouji, he damn well expected it, but this didn't stop him from falling flat on the pavement after one look inside.

"Maa…"

"Oh my, is Li-kun alright?"

"You know about coffee? It had originated with the ancient Mayans and the cocoa bean—"

"Shut up, idiot! Duck, we don't want them to see us…"

"Syaoran-kun! Your head!"

Luckily, it wasn't a concussion, just a small bump. But he suspected from that moment on that he would never gain his peace of mind.

Not that the date was an entire failure. At least she had sat next to him the entire time, probing his forehead and holding his hands; it was okay if Daidouji got it all on tape—at least for that moment, he was able to be closer to Sakura than he normally would have.

But, alas, who else to ruin the moment but the stupid stuffed animal?

"Oh crap."

"Kero-chan! I said I'd bring cake home tonight!"

"I fell asleep in your bag, I didn't do this on purpose."

"What are you doing?! What if someone sees you?!"

"They wouldn't, you'd hide me!"

"Stop talking so loudly, you big-mouthed stuffed animal!"

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?"

"SHHH!"

And then the coffee cups went flying, as did the tray of sugar and cream, followed closely by the aerodynamic plate of strawberry cake. Of course, what other ideal place could the hot coffee (three cubes of sugar, no cream) land on but Syaoran's floppy and wild hair?

Syaoran was proud of the number of four letter words he was able to pull out at that moment.

"Maa…"

"Syaoran-kun, are you okay?!"

"WHO WAS THE STUFFED ANIMAL!?"

"Cold water! COLD WATER!"

"You know the thing about coffee burns—"

"SHUT UP AND GET A COLD RAG!!"

He was glad for Sakura's comforting hand over his, as she led him out of the chattering coffee house and down the cool secluded street where there were no more prying eyes. After Sakura had properly mopped the scalding liquid off of his face and sweater, he found his euphoria quickly returning to him and he gave Sakura an embarrassed smile.

"I smell like coffee, don't I?"

"Hahah… Mm, it smells nice…"

And they would've stayed there like that, with her head buried in his coffee-stained sweater and his arms hanging around her sides comfortably, if only Sakura hadn't noticed the full moon in the sky.

"Isn't that…?"

"…Crap."

The Moon guardian's demure expression hadn't changed over the four years that Syaoran had been gone. He felt the ever-familiar cold shivers trickle down his spine.

"Mistress, why are you out so late?

"Yue-san… um… why are you out? Here, I mean."

"Mistress's brother requested for me to keep an eye on you."

"Did he? Well, you'll just have to tell him that I'm perfectly alright and that he shouldn't be up worrying about me anyway and that he has Yukito to tend to!"

"Sakura…"

"Mistress, I request permission to take you home."

"WHY?"

"It is late and there are criminals about."

"It is 8:30."

"Precisely."

Sakura had stomped her foot then, shoving Yue rather roughly and shrieking at him until he flew away, disgruntled. Then, with a very forceful hand over his, she had dragged Syaoran in the opposite direction, muttering angrily under her breath.

Which was where he found himself now. At King Penguin Park, staring at the stars on the top of the penguin shaped slide with the woman he loved laying by his side. They had been silence for a good thirty minutes, her slightly fuming with anger, and him washed with embarrassment. Neither broke the silence for awhile, not even to cough, that is, until Syaoran gave a rather forced nervous laugh.

"Wow, that was really… exhilarating."

"I'm so sorry, Syaoran-kun, I didn't know they'd all be like this…"

"It's okay. …A-At… A-at least I got to be with you."

She was giving him that Look again. That look that made his toes curl, that made his hair stand straight on edge, the one that made his heart stop beating. In the good kinda way.

"It's okay."

And she reached over, then, clasping his hands firmly with hers and leaning into him slowly, achingly. All brain functions shut down, and something inside of Syaoran leapt for joy as her lips brushed his. But as soon as she did so, she pulled away abruptly again, blushing so furiously that even her ears were pink. "I'm s-sorry, maybe that was too s-sudden—Sorry."

It wasn't her fault.

He gave her a smile. She blushed again.

Nope, not at all.

He took her into his arms again and this time and gently returned her kiss.

Because really, who could blame her for anything?

"Love you, Syaoran-kun."

"Mm, I love you too."