Chapter Text
The vines grew tighter around Sakura, pulling her upwards and into the air.
“SAKURA!” Syaoran yelled, summoning his sword from his palm. His mind was racing as he considered his options. His go-to lightning spell, Raitei Shourai, would do no good in this situation. Kashin Shourai ran a high risk of burning Sakura. Would using a Clow Card be better?
Before he could decide, Sakura yelled “BLAZE!”, calling forth the flaming phoenix. With a screech the phoenix clawed and tore at the vines that trapped its master. Sakura, now released from the vines, began plummeting to the ground.
With a burst of speed, Syaoran dashed over to where she was falling, catching her easily.
“Syaoran!” Sakura cried, filled with relief.
Syaoran gave her a warm smile.
And that was when it hit them both. He was holding her.
He was holding her, and they weren’t feeling the usual zap that erupted between them every time they touched. The spell that an unknown source had placed on them. It had been months since Syaoran had leaned across his living room table to take Sakura in his arms. Months of no hugs, no hand holding, and no pinky swears.
They looked at each other with wide eyes. Syaoran gently dropped her legs so that she could stand, but had not released her torso. Sakura threw her arms around his neck, breathing in a sigh of contentment. So happy that they could hug again.
Blaze’s screech interrupted their happy reunion.
They jerked apart, Sakura quickly directing her gaze upwards to where Blaze was breathing fire at the quick-moving vines. Her mind raced as she considered the options available to her.
“REWIND!” she cried, causing the massive Jack-And-The-Beanstalk-esque vines to slowly shrink down until they were nothing more than a few sprouts.
“Force without master, heed the call of my staff of dreams, and become my power. Secure!” With one final flourish of her wand, the vine became a clear card floating in front of her. She plucked it out of the air, looking at the card.
“What is it?” Syaoran asked.
“RESTRAIN.” Sakura replied, turning it around so he could see the illustration.
“Is that…?”
“My great-grandfather.”
They were quiet for a moment as they looked at this new card, the first earth element to become part of her new cards. Then they locked eyes, finally coming down from the adrenaline of their battle to the new realization that they could touch again. Both of their faces were burning red, and their hearts were pounding with anticipation.
Sakura had thought a lot about what she would do once this spell was lifted. She envisioned a meaningful hug, a lingering handhold, and maybe… a kiss.
Syaoran had also thought about what he would do once this spell was lifted. He couldn’t wait to take her into his arms again, to kiss the top of her head, to stay close to her.
As they looked at each other, they found themselves stepping forward to be closer to one another. Just a little more, and they would be-
Interrupted. Tomoyo hurried to them from across the street where she had taken shelter behind a garbage can, her trusty video camera in hand. Kero had been sent flying by one of the vines, and had spent the remainder of the battle in dazed confusion. Once he had shaken it off, he zipped over to where the group was standing.
“Hey, Tomoyo! Did you catch me takin’ out one of those vines??” Kero asked excitedly.
“Taking out?” Syaoran asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Of course, Kero-chan.” Tomoyo replied with a giggle. “I did manage to capture the heroic way you fought against those vines!” She said, her eyes twinkling. “But most importantly I was able to get footage Sakura-chan’s inventive capture of this most recent card! And, I noticed that Li-kun was able to rescue Sakura-chan from a nasty fall, without the usual sparks flying! What a wonderful evening this was!”
“Tomoyo-chan…” Sakura trailed off, looking down and smoothing the poofy costume skirt beneath her fingertips.
“Eh, what’s so important about that? The brat catches her all the time!” Kero said. “Oh wait, there was that spell! Ya couldn’t touch? Now ya can?”
“Yes, we haven’t been able to touch for…” Sakura looked to Syaoran.
“Months.” Syaoran said with a grim smile.
“You two should celebrate!” Tomoyo said, clasping her hands together. “Perhaps a date is in order!”
“Thanks, Daidouji.” Syaoran said, blushing. “We already have plans for this Sunday.”
“That’s so far from now…” Tomoyo said thoughtfully, placing a finger to her chin. “Well, Kero-chan, we’d best be on our way.”
“Eh? What’s going on?” Sakura asked.
“Kero-chan is going to stay the night at my house tonight, he can go back home with you tomorrow.” Tomoyo said matter-of-factly.
Kero didn’t look convinced, crossing his arms. “I think I should stay with Sakura, there’s a lot of strange magic afoot. She could use a strong and smart beast like me.”
“That’s a shame. I had a delightful chocolate mousse that I had been wanting to share with you.” Tomoyo said, looking away.
“Well, I guess one night wouldn’t hurt!” Kero said cheerfully, zooming over to hover beside Tomoyo.
“Wonderful. Well, we’ll be off. Enjoy your walk home together.” Tomoyo said, winking at Sakura over her shoulder.
Sakura flushed bright red, barely able to meet Syaoran’s eye. They were quiet for a moment as Syaoran reached out and tentatively took her hand.
“Shall I walk you home?” he asked, a warm smile on his face.
“Yes!” she replied with a smile, squeezing his hand.
They began their leisurely stroll back home, the stars and moon twinkling above them. The night was cool, but not cold, and a gentle breeze shook the trees gently on their walk.
Syaoran ran his thumb over hers, enjoying the way their entwined hands felt. Sakura brought her other hand up to grasp his arm, snuggling into his side as they walked. It was the closest they had ever stood together outside of the context of battle. If the time or the setting had been different, she would have felt embarrassed. But here, beneath their moon and stars, it just felt right.
“We haven’t decided where we’re going on Sunday.” Sakura said, looking up at him.
“Anywhere but the Tomoeda Botanical Gardens.” Syaoran said with a chuckle.
Sakura laughed. “We haven’t had the best luck there, that’s for sure.”
“I want to go somewhere where we won’t be interrupted. Someplace quiet. Where we can actually enjoy each other’s company.” He said wistfully, trying to think of such a place.
Sakura thought for a moment, then she turned to Syaoran excitedly.
“No magic!” he said mock-sternly, squeezing her hand.
She puffed out her cheeks. “Why not? We could just make a pretty place where we won’t be interrupted. Maybe with SIEGE and FLOWERY?” she mused.
“I don’t want to spend our whole date worrying about you overexerting yourself. And we still don’t know what that Yuna D. Kaito is up to.”
Sakura frowned, then sighed. It was probably reckless of her to use her magic in this way when she still didn’t have much control over it. And it was sweet of him to worry.
They walked in silence for a little while, each thinking about where they could go for a little peace and quiet.
“That’s it!” Sakura exclaimed, clasping her hands together. “Syaoran-kun, have you ever been to the Tomoeda Art Gallery?”
“No, I don’t think so.” Syaoran said, shaking his head.
“We went there on a school field trip just before you came to Tomoeda. I captured THE SILENT there, which is what made me think of it!”
“SILENT does love the quiet.” He agreed with a smile.
Sakura nodded enthusiastically, her eyes shining.
Syaoran had to laugh at her earnest expression. “Okay, so we will start our day there. Should I pick you up at 10:30?”
“That works great! But the museum isn’t very large, it probably won’t take more than a couple of hours to look at everything.” Sakura trailed off thoughtfully.
“Don’t worry, we’ll still spend the whole day together.”
“But what will we do for the rest of the day?”
“Leave that to me.”
They had then arrived at the gate to the Kinomoto’s front walk. Sakura pouted, swinging Syaoran’s hand. “That walk went by too quickly.”
“I know what you mean.” Syaoran said with a smile, wrapping his arms around her waist for a tight hug. Sakura wound her arms around his neck, resting her head on his chest contentedly. They stayed like that for a moment, holding each other. The night was quiet and still. Sakura couldn’t help but hope this moment would never end.
Syaoran finally released her, running his hands down her arms to grasp her hands. “It’s getting late, Sakura. We have school tomorrow and you need your sleep.”
Sakura looked up at him with a soft smile. “You’re right. Goodnight, Syaoran-kun.”
“Goodnight, Sakura.”
He squeezed her hands to indicate that he was going to let go, but Sakura held on tight. In a flash, she took a step towards him, reached up on her tiptoes, and kissed him swiftly on the cheek. She gave his hands a final squeeze and one last shy smile, before flinging open the gate and running up the path to the front door. She took a moment before finally feeling brave enough to turn around and look at him.
He looked slightly stunned but very happy. He was smiling and blushing, his fingers held up to the cheek she had kissed. He waved to her, slightly dazed.
She giggled, waving back once more before turning and silently unlocking her front door and slipping inside.
Sakura was giddy as she carefully climbed the steps to her room. She knew exactly which steps to take and how hard she could step without making any noise at all. Once she arrived at her bedroom, she flopped onto the bed. She was full of excited, frenetic energy. She was torn – on one hand, it was nice to have her room to herself, free from Kero’s grumblings and opinions on her love life. On the other hand, she missed her guardian. She quietly went about her bedtime routine. She blushed as she thought about how bold she had been. The kiss had been brief, but in it she had gotten to feel the smooth skin of his cheek beneath her lips and breathe in the scent of his hair. She was so over-the-moon happy that she thought she might explode. She snuggled into bed, plugging her phone in to charge for the night. She had one final text message to send: “❤️”. She clutched her phone to her chest and stared up at the ceiling, too wired to fall asleep.
-
Syaoran floated back home with a smile on his face. What a fantastic evening. Sakura created another card, yes, but was ultimately unharmed. And whatever curse had been laid on the two of them had been lifted. They could touch again. And she had kissed him. It still didn’t explain who had cast the spell or why they had cast the spell, which was still a point of concern. He muttered to himself in Cantonese, wondering aloud at who could have been behind this. He shook his head, trying to push the thought out of his mind for now. The girl he had loved for the last three years had just kissed him on the cheek, and worrying excessively wouldn’t solve anything.
He briefly fiddled with his keys before unlocking the front door and making his way inside. He went about his nighttime routine: preparing his school bag for the next day, brushing his teeth, splashing his face with water. When he went to plug in his phone by his desk, he noticed that he had a text message from Sakura. He smiled at the heart emoji dancing across his screen. He texted two quick replies, then flipped his phone over and got into bed.
Two soft “dings” alerted Sakura to the incoming messages. The first said, “You make me really happy.” Sakura’s heart soared. She looked at her phone again for the second message, which read: “But seriously, go to sleep. Goodnight.❤️” She smiled at her phone, debating whether or not to send a teasing reply. She decided not to, instead placing her phone on the shelf by her headboard. Sakura then rolled over to make an attempt at falling asleep. She knew she would have sweet dreams that night.