Operation Dump Sakura Kinomoto!

One Shot

Syaoran Li sat behind his grand desk, his amber eyes staring at the monitor in front of his face aimlessly. What was he going to do? What, what, what? He let out a frustrated groan when he caught sight of expensive watch on his wrist because:

He realized that he had been pondering this problem for much longer than he originally intended to. For goodness's sake, he only expected to spend one hour to map out his plan, and already three hours had passed!

His watch was given to him by his girlfriend of three years, the beautiful, witty, and intelligent Sakura Kinomoto. Looking at it now just reminded him of his current mission.

And just what this mysterious mission, you might ask? It was a very important one; Syaoran even had a code name for it: Operation DSK, which stood for Dump Sakura Kinomoto. Okay, maybe it wasn't a special code name, like the ones they had on police shows. But he wasn't a police! He was an environmental lawyer!

Syaoran knew what his friends would say if they know what he was planning. He could just hear their voices in his head…

Tomoyo Daidouji would probably go, "I knew it! I told her to not take you seriously, but she didn't listen! If she had just kept her heart to herself, none of this would even happen!"

Takashi Yamazaki would go, "Syaoran, Syaoran…I knew it! I knew that you'd never be able to settle down! You only wanted Sakura in the beginning because she was playing hard to get. Now that the chase is over, you're no longer interested. But wow, buddy! Three years already…are you sure you want to give it up?"

Do I? Syaoran asked himself. Yes, Sakura had been pretty hard to get when he first her. For him, it was practically love at first sight when he saw her standing across the plaza room at a dance and cocktail function. But for her, he was nothing but a scumbag of a player. Obviously she had more manners than to say that directly to his face, but he knew that was what she had thought of him.

Flashback

Syaoran made his way across the room toward the beautiful young woman dressed in a slim and long forest green dress, which seemed to accentuate her eyes to perfection. Her auburn hair was gracefully swept up in a bun with a few stray tendrils framing her pretty face. Her makeup was defined, yet subtle and enhanced her beauty.

"Hello," he said with his 100-watt smile.

She blinked back at him with those gorgeous eyes. "Hello. You're Syaoran Li, right?"

Now it was his turn to blink. She knew his name? "Er…yes, I am," he replied, surprise clearly evident in his voice. "And may I have the honour of knowing the name of a beautiful woman such as yourself?"

She gave a soft melodic laugh. Truly beautiful…"I'm Sakura. Sakura Kinomoto."

"Well, Sakura, may I have this next dance?"

She bit her lip, as if trying to hold in her laughter. What did he do that was so amusing?

"Sorry, Li-kun. But I'm afraid not. I'll see you later," and with that, she waltzed away, without even giving him an explanation of why not, and definitely without a second glance.

"Trouble in paradise?" Eriol asked wistfully, a glass of champagne in hand.

"S-s-she rejected me!" Syaoran stuttered, dumbfounded. "And she didn't even tell me why!"

"Ah, you'll have my girlfriend to thank for that."

"Tomoyo?"

Eriol nodded. "She's Tomoyo's cousin. So naturally, Tomoyo warned her what a player you are and that she should avoid you if you dare to hit on her tonight."

"Tomoyo!" Syaoran growled under his breath.

"Hey," Eriol's voice developed a defensive edge for the sake of his girlfriend. "You can't deny that Tomoyo was right. You're never serious with relationships, Syaoran. And Sakura…well, she's nice."

End of flashback

Sakura was indeed nice, only not to him. In fact, he had to practically beg Tomoyo to invite them all out on a group dinner date. Yes, begged. He was that smitten with Sakura Kinomoto. Of course, Tomoyo refused. She had seen Syaoran dump way too many girls for her to put her cousin's heart in his hands.

But then Sakura spoke up. Apparently, she had been quite amuse with Syaoran's antics to get a date with her and told Tomoyo that a group dinner wouldn't hurt. Syaoran knew that she was more interested in him as some sort of social experiment – to see how far he'd go to get her attention. But at that time, he didn't care.

Flashback

"So, Sakura," Syaoran smiled as he parked his car in front of her house after their dinner with Tomoyo and Eriol, "did you have a nice evening?"

"It wasn't as nice as I expected it to be," she frowned slightly. Syaoran felt his heart drop. What had he done wrong?! "The portions were too small for such an expensive price."

Ohh, so she was upset about the restaurant they went to. Maybe he was safe after all.

"Well, next time, you can pick the restaurant."

Sakura smiled back politely. "Well, I'm afraid I don't have time to go for dinners lately. Work is getting busier, and I have to go shopping for a new drawer soon –"

"I'll help," he volunteered without a second though.

"You would? With the drawer?" Sakura blinked, perceptibly surprised.

"Yeah, of course! We can go…er…drawer shopping together!"

He was making an utter fool of himself. He could feel it. Never in his life had he had to lower himself into shopping with a girl in order to get a date. And from the amused smile sketching upon her beautiful features, he knew that Sakura could definitely tell as well.

"Well, alright then. Are you free tomorrow?"

So soon? Crap, he had a seven hour meeting scheduled for tomorrow, from 8AM to 3PM. He was hoping he could just go home and nap until dinner. Meetings always drained a lot out of him.

"If you're busy…" Sakura started, seeing his hesitation as he tried to juggle his schedule mentally.

"No, not at all. I'll pick you up at…4PM?" Syaoran cut her off, before she could take back her offer to let him shop with her. "The malls close at 10PM, so that should give us a solid six hours."

"Alright, 4PM it is. I'll see you tomorrow, Syaoran. Good night."

"Good night! Oh, and Sakura?"

"Mmm?" She paused halfway from opening his car door.

"…May I get your phone number?"

End of flashback

And that was how they had become friends, nothing more, nothing less. In fact, she went out with some guy from her marketing department for a few months, an incident that pushed him over the edge with jealousy. Of course, due to one reason or another, they eventually broke up. Seeing that Sakura wasn't too heartbroken over it made him feel a little better. It must have meant she hadn't liked that other guy as much as he thought she had.

But after that incident, Syaoran realized that he would never be happy if he was just her friend. So made his move on her birthday, after he took her out to dinner.

Flashback

"Sakura, I want to be your boyfriend."

It was the most unromantic confession ever. But he didn't care. He was already too frustrated with all this chasing. He wanted a direct answer from her immediately; either she was romantically interested in him, or she wasn't.

She blinked back at him with a look of innocence and confusion on her face. "Syaoran, I can't start a romantic relationship with you."

"Why not?!" Oh god, his voice sounded whiney even to his own ears. "I mean, what's wrong with me? I'm an honest person with a good job and a decent income. I don't do drugs, I don't smoke, I don't have STDs, I have treated you with respect for the entire duration of our friendship, and I'm good looking!"

Sakura laughed. "Someone is egotistical."

"Well, what I've said is the truth, isn't it?"

She nodded. "Mmhmm, certainly. I couldn't deny that. But you just have one quality that I can't stand, Syaoran."

His heart raced. Just one thing?

"What? What is it? I'll change," he spoke with such hopefulness in his voice that Sakura couldn't help but feel touched.

"You're not the type who takes relationships seriously. Eriol and Tomoyo have warned me about you. I mean, you're a really awesome guy, Syaoran…for a friend. But I don't want to risk it by putting my heart in your hands. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

"I said I'll change, and I meant it," he said immediately. He took a step closer to her and looked into her eyes. "Honest. If you give me a chance to treat you seriously…I definitely will. I mean, I know you've been treating our friendship like some sort of experiment, to see how far you could push my buttons and get away with it…" her soft giggle told him that he was correct and she was not ashamed to admit it. "And well, you can treat our romantic relationship like some sort of experiment too, if you want. You know, to see how long you can tolerate me."

"And you're okay with that? With me treating our romantic relationship like an experiment, if we were to start?"

He nodded with confidence. "Because then," he moved even closer to her; he could smell the soft scent of shampoo lingering on her hair, "I can prove to you how much you mean to me."

End of flashback

He couldn't deny that his relationship with Sakura had been an excellent one. Everyone said they were the perfect couple. They spent enough time with each other; yet, each of them had their own personal space. They'd go to dinners, movies, and long romantic walks on the beach. Sometimes she'd stay over at his house, and he'd find her in the morning wearing one of his T-shirts while cooking breakfast. Sometimes he'd buy her favourite desserts and surprisingly drop in on her at midnight after a stressful day of work and meetings. She was also the first girlfriend he had with whom he made an effort to remember and plan something special anniversaries and Valentine's Days.

Yes, he couldn't deny that during the past three years of his life, he had truly loved Sakura Kinomoto. He never had a serious relationship before her. And perhaps that was part of the reason why he wanted to break up with her now. This whole concept of a "serious relationship" had been slowly getting to him. Maybe he just wasn't the type of guy who would be happy in a serious relationship. In serious relationships, you were not supposed to flirt with other girls over the bar. In a serious relationship, you were supposed to plan for the future. In a serious relationship, you were supposed to be used to having some of her things at your house, such as clothes, because she stays over.

Oh, he knew what he was supposed to do and what he wasn't. Sakura made sure he knew. She'd get upset whenever he turned on the charm with random pretty girls. And after three years…he felt seriously trapped. Was he supposed to spend the rest of his life with an obligation to keep his roving eye only on her?

Eriol Hiirazigawa would probably go…

"What are you doing?"

Syaoran eyes flew open in surprise as his friend and co-worker stood by his opened door with an amused smile on his features.

"Ever heard of knocking?" Syaoran scowled. Really, this is all the trouble he needed.

"I did knock. But I suppose someone was too busy fantasizing about Sakura to pay attention." Eriol smirked. "Oh, by the way, speaking of Sakura…she was pretty ticked off this morning on the phone with Tomoyo. Guess what you did?"

Syaoran looked up, lost. "What? I didn't do anything."

"You flirted with that girl down at the bar and asked for her phone number, that's what you did," Eriol reminded. "Seriously, Syaoran. Get your act together."

"It was just a joke for goodness's sake!" Syaoran heaved a heavy sigh. "I wasn't even interested in her! I just wanted to see if she would really give it to me. I didn't even keep her stupid number!"

"Yeah, well, good luck explaining that to Sakura."

"See, this is the problem with being in a serious relationship. You can't do fun things like that anymore."

Yes, he should definitely end this soon.

.o.

.o.

.o.

Oh for goodness's sake! Why does everything have to go wrong? He had called Sakura and told her to meet him at their usual spot by Tomoeda Lake. He had his break up speech all planned out. He had planned to bring a homemade picnic (he would have made all her favourites) and gently tell her that it just wasn't working out and that he wasn't a relationship type of guy.

But no sooner had he got home did the worst of migraines hit him hard. And then his temperature soared. And then his throat started throbbing in a synchrony of pain with his head. So then he had to text Sakura (his throat wouldn't even let him speak) to tell her that he was sick and really needed to cancel.

So obviously there was no way he could break up with her today. Darn it! Of all the days to get sick! See, Syaoran wasn't the type of person who would get sick easily. In fact, he had only been sick one other time in the past three years, and it had happened while Sakura was on a business trip to Tokyo with her marketing department. She had felt really guilty about not being able to return to take care of him. But Syaoran was okay with it because none of his other ex-girlfriends had come over to take care of him. Some were afraid of catching whatever severe germs he might spread (because it really does take a strong bacteria or virus to penetrate his immune defences). The ones who did try to come wasn't successful because he just didn't open the door (he had been too tired to deal with girlfriends trying to play Florence Nightingale).

As if on cue, the doorbell rang. Syaoran knew who it was: Sakura. Groaning, he crawled out of bed, dragged himself to the front door and peaked through the door viewer. His assumption was right; it was Sakura. She was holding bags of groceries, and a worried expression was on her usual calm and serene face.

I'm not opening the door, Syaoran thought to himself, leaning back against it. I know what'll happen. She'll start making a big fuss about my health, and I'll never get any rest!

Ding dong.

No, I'm not opening!

Knock-knock-knock.

No, Sakura! I thought I said not to come in that SMS! Why are you here?! Aren't you afraid I'll get you sick too?!

"Hello, Eriol?"

Wait, what?! Syaoran straightened up and looked through the door viewer again. She was on her cell phone now. He pressed his ear against the door to eavesdrop better.

"Do you know if Syaoran is home? He cancelled our date because he wasn't feeling well, but now he's not answering. I'm afraid that something might have happened to him." Sakura paused as she listened to Eriol's reply on the other end of the line. "Yeah, I know right? He's definitely a light sleeper…so he should have answered the door by now…do you think…do you think that he might have fainted or…or…"

Syaoran watched as Sakura bit her lower lip and the level of fear significantly increased on her features.

She's going to cry, Syaoran realized as something he couldn't even describe gripped his heart tightly. He felt his barriers softened. She was genuinely worried about him. She was not like all his previous girlfriends who simply left after a few rings (among the ones who even bothered to show up, that is).

"Sakura," Syaoran managed to rasped out when he swung the door open. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

"Oh, he answered the door, Eriol! Thanks! Bye!" Sakura's eyes lighted up with joy at the sight of her boyfriend. She quickly ended her call. "Syaoran, my gosh! You're burning up!" she placed her hand gingerly on his smooth forehead. She ushered him back into his own home.

"I told you not to come. You could catch whatever that I –"

"Shush, you!" Sakura scolded him lightly. "Your voice sounds awful. Be quiet for a while and let your throat get some rest. Now you go back to sleep. I'll go make you something in the kitchen that's easy to digest. Did you take your medicine yet?"

Syaoran was at a lost of what to do as his girlfriend practically push him onto his own bed and threw a blanket over him. He laid there, dumbfounded. He was obviously not used to being boss around by a woman other than his mother, and even that had been back when he was a child!

"Now you just get some rest. I made you some warm lemonade with honey," Sakura took out a thermos and set it up on his bed stand. Using the lid as a cup, she poured him some. "It's supposed to soothe your throat."

"Sakura I have something to tell you –" Syaoran's words were cut off as she thrust the cup/lid into his hands.

"Whatever it is, it can wait until you're all better."

Sighing in defeat, he obediently drank the sweet beverage. A feeling of warmth touched his heart and he found himself smiling despite the fact that he was feeling like crap. The cup of warm lemonade with honey did the trick, as he found himself drifting off to a dreamless sleep shortly afterwards.

.o.

.o.

.o.

Ughh…

Syaoran lifted his head, one hand digging through his chestnut coloured hair. His head felt heavy, but most of the pain was gone. Blinking his hazel eyes a few times, he did his best to recollect.

Sakura.

Break up.

Migraine.

Lemonade with honey.

Right.

Noticing the thermos on the bed stand, he poured himself another cup, gulping it down before wandering out of his room, wondering if Sakura was still here. He heard noises in the kitchen and concluded that she was cooking.

"I'm fine, Tomoyo. Really." Sakura was saying.

Tomoyo? Is she here too? But why would she be?

"Are you sure? You had a six hours meeting today. You didn't even have lunch or dinner yet." Tomoyo's voice was muffled, for some reason. Curious, Syaoran wandered closer to the kitchen to take a peak. Sakura was stirring a pot of congee, and her cell phone lying on the counter was on speakerphone mode since both her hands were occupied.

"After I'm done this congee, I'll grab something from Syaoran's fridge." Sakura assured her best friend and cousin.

"He is lucky to have you for a girlfriend," Tomoyo laughed on the other line.

"He…he said he had something to tell me earlier." Sakura said slowly. "What do you suppose it is?"

There was a pause on Tomoyo's end of the line before she spoke. "You…you don't suppose he wants to end the relationship do you, Sakura?"

"What?!" Sakura laughed incredulously. "I don't think so, Tomoyo. I mean, Syaoran…he loves me."

The biggest wave of guilt in his life hit him hard when Sakura's words drifted to his ears. Here she was, slaving over a pot of congee for him while she herself had skipped lunch and dinner. At the same time, warmth and love enveloped his heart, and, as cheesy as it sounded, a warm fuzzy feeling took over as well.

"He better love you!" Tomoyo's voice ranted through the speakerphone of Sakura's cell phone. "I mean, you gave him a lot. Three years of your life, your heart, your virginity…"

"Tomoyo!" Syaoran couldn't help but chuckled at the pretty blush that graced his girlfriend's face at Tomoyo's last word.

"What?" Tomoyo asked, clueless.

"Nothing!" Sakura replied quickly. "And yes, I do know he loves me. He told me so. And I can tell he loves me whenever we…well…you know…"

"You mean whenever you two have make love?" Tomoyo asked unequivocally.

"Yes," Sakura muttered, her blush coming back on. "Anyways, I have to go. I'll talk to you later."

"Alright, bye."

Syaoran wandered into the kitchen as Sakura was turning off her phone.

"Hey, honey." He wrapped his strong arms around her slim waist, slightly startling her.

"Oh! You're awake!" Sakura turned around and immediately put the back of her palm on his forehead again. "Your temperature's back to normal!"

"Is it? I hadn't really notice." It was the truth. He had notice that his headache had, for the most part, disappeared. But other than that, he was too busy eavesdropping to notice anything else.

"I made you some congee. It's good for when you're lacking an appetite." Sakura spooned some into a bowl for him.

"I'll have an appetite for anything you make," Syaoran took a spoonful. And it was right then and there that he knew. He knew that he would never find another person like Sakura. He knew that he loved her and that she loved him. He knew that they were meant for each other, and that he would never, ever let her go. He knew that she was devoted to him. And more importantly, he knew that he was going to be too busy being devoted to her to flirt with other girls for the heck of it from now on.

"Sakura," Syaoran emptied his congee and set the bowl in the sink along with the spoon. "I'm sorry for not answering the door earlier when you rang."

"It's okay," Sakura laughed. "I know that whenever you get sick it's way more serious than just the common cold. I don't blame you. Really."

"It…it really breaks my heart to see you worry like that. So…" he walked over to the tray by the fruit bowl. "I want to give you this. So you don't have to ring my doorbell again."

"Syaoran…" Sakura stared at the set of keys he placed in her palm in awe. "Was this what you wanted to tell me earlier?"

"No…" Syaoran said. "I…earlier…I…well, I was on a mission."

"A mission?" Sakura asked, a twinkle of amusement in her emerald green eyes. "What sort of a mission?"

"I gave it a code name. Operation DSK."

Sakura laughed.

"Yeah, alright, laugh it up. I know, it's a stupid code name," Syaroan rolled his eyes. "Do you want to know what it stands for?"

"Please tell."

"Well, when Eriol told me how upset you were this morning because I flirted with that random girl at the bar – who, by the way, I'm not even interested in, and I got her number, which I didn't even keep, just to see if I could – I knew that I had to get a move on and complete Operation DSK as soon as possible." Syaoran looked at her in the eye, his expression both serious and soften, mixed in with the utmost sincerity.

"And what is Operation DSK?" Sakura asked.

"It's Operation…Devote to Sakura Kinomoto." He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her on the forehead, fearing that he'd pass on his germs if he kissed her on the lips. "I love you."

Sakura found the perfect spot on his shoulder and gently rested her head. "I love you too."

THE END

Twinkle Starre: Yay, that was a long one-shot! I hope you guys liked it! Please review!

Also, please check out my other story call Love To Go if you want! Yes, shameless advertising, I know =P hahaha!