(A/N)
This chapter takes place the morning after our favorite finally consummated their love for each other.
Now let us see what happens next.
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Syaoran turned over to throw his arm around Sakura, but was met with nothing but empty space. Opening his eyes, they were immediately accosted by sunlight, telling him morning had arrived. The indent in the sheets beside him was still clinging to warmth, signifying that she hadn't been up long, and the sound of rushing water told him why she'd gotten up in the first place.
He understood; he was still covered in dried sweat, himself, and it was certainly not the most comfortable he'd ever been. So he couldn't blame her for wanting to shower first thing.
It was then that his mind screeched to a deafening halt. Last night hadn't been a dream – they'd really...
Suddenly he was gripped with an anxiety so terrifying that it took all his self-control not to lean over the bed and empty his stomach. What had come over them? Had they even been thinking straight, or was this an impulsive decision on both their parts? Would it make things awkward between them? Could it. . . ruin their new marriage? That thought was most condemning of all. What if they'd ruined this beautiful love they'd shared for years with one night's passionate judgment. . .?
Everything slowed to a crawl as a darker corner of his mind conjured up another reason for why Sakura might have washed almost immediately after their lovemaking. Had she felt dirty? Not so much in the physical sense, but psychologically? He felt he might be sick, after all.
But still, she'd looked so happy when it was over. . . That couldn't be true, could it? He was so engrossed in his own thoughts that he didn't notice Sakura watching him quietly from the doorway.
Sakura, for her part, was resigned to see this through. She'd thought about last night a lot in the shower, having needed to get away from him to think straight. She silently watched him go through the same emotions, now, the evidence clear on his face.
'Maybe we did go too far, too soon, but there's nothing we can do about it now, if we love each other,' she decided resolutely.
She wore only a towel – something she'd never have even considered doing until now, but what was the point? Modesty and embarrassment seemed like defeated concepts in her brain at this point.
Perhaps things could never truly go back to the way they had been yesterday afternoon, but was that a deal-breaker? Their relationship had been constantly changing ever since the day they met, and it had only brought them closer. There was no way she was letting it do anything else, this time.
With a start, she realized she'd been staring at him for a long time. He had long since noticed her there and was fluctuating between giving her sad, amber-colored puppy dog eyes and burning a hole in the mattress with his gaze. She wished she had the right answers for him. For them both.
With a shaky sigh she stepped into the room, sitting beside him on the bed and disarming him with her own gentle jade-eyed fixation. "I'm not upset," she told him. "Or angry, or anything like that. Just. . . confused, like I know you probably are."
He looked down at that. "I just. . . never expected us to take that step yet," he confessed. "We'd even talked about waiting, and now... I'm just scared we screwed up."
Despite the seriousness of the moment, Sakura smiled for him and took his hand in hers. "Even if we did screw up, we'll move past it. We still have our whole lives ahead of us, after all." She lifted their clasped hands and kissed his knuckles before moving forward, pressing their bodies together in a fierce embrace. "I love you... So, so much, Syaoran. This could never change that."
He clutched her tightly to him, heedless of her wet body. "I love you, too. More than anything. And I'm not going to let this change that, either."
They stayed in each other's arms for several moments, just relishing in their partner's company and the fact that this experience didn't have to change their relationship.
Slowly, tentatively, Sakura spoke again, "Last night. . . didn't feel like a mistake," she admitted softly, afraid the moment would shatter if she were to raise her voice above a whisper. "Did it feel that way to you?"
He was silent for a minute as he contemplated her words. She let him think; content in the way his hands kept rubbing her back through the towel. He realized with startling clarity that he didn't feel any regret for last night. All his fears had been focused on if his relationship with Sakura had changed for the worse, and the woman had made it perfectly clear that that was not the case.
"No," he stated honestly, "It didn't feel that way at all."
She nodded against his bare chest, blushing prettily as she thought about her next words. "I'd like to. . . keep doing it, if you would."
His cheeks matched hers, but he smiled and leaned down to kiss her, slow and leisurely. "I'd like that too, Sakura."
His kisses increased, becoming deeper as she moved to lie backwards on the mattress. Slowly, reverently, he parted the towel.
* * * * *
The rest of that day involved unpacking boxes of Sakura's belongings. She didn't have that much, but it took longer because the newlyweds kept sneaking furtive gazes at each other, blushing before looking away coyly, and sneaking lingering kisses and cuddles after almost every box.
They felt so safe and close to each other at that moment, and neither of them wanted it to end. Sakura recalled her conversations with some of her friends, where they'd felt vulnerable; almost dirty after rushing their first times, and she'd worried after waking up next to him that that might be the case with them. However, it was evident that they both felt comfortable and happy during and after, and she was eternally grateful for that fact.
Syaoran was experiencing similar sentiments. Being with Sakura had been breathtaking and almost had the power to overwhelm him with an emotion he couldn't quite put a word to, but now that they'd established their love wasn't going anywhere, it was less daunting and had transformed into a completely blissful feeling.
He found he couldn't keep his hands off her body whenever they took breaks, and for her - while it was a little embarrassing to have him ardently and endearingly running the pads of his thumbs over the undersides of her breasts while he held her - it was also exhilarating to know her husband loved her body so much.
If she was being perfectly honest - and she usually wasn't when it came to this - that particular part of her had always caused her a bit of anxiety. It wasn't as though they were the smallest she'd ever seen, but she'd always been a little self-conscious about what he would think when they finally did take the step they'd taken last night. Now, under his constant affections, she couldn't remember why she'd ever felt that way.
"Syaoran, if you keep hugging me we'll never get done," she teased, not at all eager to separate from him, herself.
"Oh. . . Yeah. . ."
Despite the distractions, their house became a home by that evening, and Sakura had even gotten over her previous trepidations about calling it such, much to Syaoran's delight when she confided this in him.
Having time to kill before bed, they went grocery shopping so that Sakura could feed him her famous pancake recipe in the morning. She'd been devastated to learn that he'd never had pancakes before, and promised to rectify this error, prompting him to suggest they go to the store and get some of her favorite things while they were at it, along with any essentials he was running low on. Birth control was a priority they had to take care of as well, though they'd both blushed profusely while putting it on the list and knew they had to have another serious talk sooner or later.
It took them twice as long to make dinner as well, since they still couldn't keep their hands off each other, and they almost let it burn twice. However, Syaoran was adept in the kitchen and managed to save it both times.
Now, as they were climbing into bed together, there were no further feelings of awkwardness. Wrapping around each other, Sakura snuggled into his warmth while Syaoran pulled her against him, burying his nose in her hair and inhaling.
"I love you, Sakura," he spoke into the hollow beneath her ear, shifting and electrifying the fine hairs with his breath.
She murmured his name, sighing happily before slurring a soft "I love you, too" in return.
Syaoran smiled as he watched her drift off. The past two days had been filled with milestones, and they'd overcome them all for the better, and that gave him hope for their future together.
Sakura moved in her early stages of sleep, shifting so close he could feel her heart beating languidly against his ribcage.
'I'll gladly face a thousand and one more challenges if it means I can be with her, just like this,' Syaoran thought fondly, dragging his knuckles over her cheek. His apartment was now their apartment, and they could spend every day in it like this, together; making their meals together, and supporting each other through college and work, and falling asleep next to each other at the end of the day. Thinking about it left his heart feeling full and content. This simple abode had never felt more like home to him.
He was asleep within moments, body curled protectively around his wife.
* * * * *
(A/N)
And there you have. I hope you all enjoyed these moments between our main leads.
My only hope is that I was able to do their personalities justice, after being a fan of theirs for years.
If you enjoyed this chapter, please vote and leave some comments to share your thoughts.
Stay tuned for the next update, where I'll reveal when the separate book containing the uncensored versions of Chapters 12 & 13, and how to read them, since both will be private chapters.
Until then my readers.