Feimei could not believe that it had already been over a year since her brother had returned to them. Though her brother had not yet left the house in that time, it was inevitable that such news would not have remained a secret. As such, reporters of all kinds had plagued the front of their house for about the first month after his return. Despite the fact that not a single one of them had taken even one step onto their property, a steady stream of information about the situation had still managed to find itself online and in the newspapers.

She later learned that it was Yelan herself who had been the one giving them information. When she asked her mother why, Yelan explained that it was better to give them a carefully constructed story rather than having one of them stumble across the real truth.

During this time, Syaoran and Sakura had remained pretty much inseparable. During that first month, they had remained literally at each others' sides. Finally, Sakura had moved out of his room (only to take the bedroom next door), though it hadn't been unheard of to still find them together any given morning.

It had taken a long time, but he had finally become the serious yet gentle-hearted man that he'd been promising to turn into when he was young. He didn't smile often—though he hadn't much before either—but more so when he was around Sakura. Feimei had no doubt that it was Sakura who had saved her brother.

Yet, it was all strictly platonic between them, much to Feimei's frustration.

She wanted so much for them to be together, yet the few times she'd asked Sakura about it—usually veiled in a joke—Sakura would just smile brightly and unexpectedly cheerfully say, "Oh, Syaoran doesn't love me" or something similar. And while she never said it, Feimei couldn't help but hear very clearly the word yet at the end of that sentence.

But Feimei thought she could see quite clearly that her brother was very much in love with Sakura. Perhaps not so much in the beginning but more and more each passing day. She could see it in the way that he looked and smiled at her in a way that he did no one else. That was what irritated Feimei (and Tomoyo with whom she had remained in contact) to no end.

Especially when she watched them together.

Such as now.

Dinner had always been a rather quiet affair in the Li household and today was no exception. Even Sakura was unusually subdued when meal time rolled around. Yet, this time, she and Syaoran kept looking at each other with strange cryptic glances that Feimei wished desperately that she could interpret. Yelan did her typical questioning on what everyone had been doing during the day and nothing seemed out of the ordinary from what either Sakura or Syaoran said.

But Feimei sensed that something else was going on all the same. And she was proven right the moment her mother set her utensils down after her final bite.

"Mother," Syaoran said with an almost hesitant tone in his voice.

Yelan arched her eyebrow at him as she said neutrally, "Yes, son?"

"I—" he began to say but stopped after that. He looked over at Sakura, who gave him a bright smile and an encouraging nod. He straightened in his seat and raised his chin just the barest fraction of an inch before he said firmly, "I'm leaving."

Shocked silence filled the room after this announcement. Feimei, who had been resting her head on her head, straightened and let her hand fall back into her lap. She had not been expecting this—she wasn't sure anything could have surprised her more. She was absolutely speechless. Feimei had been hoping that those glances and things meant that he was going to announce something like he was going to marry Sakura (or at the very least that they were finally together), not that he was leaving.

Yelan's aura almost imperceptibility became disapproving—something Syaoran might not pick up on as he had only been around his mother less than a quarter of his life. "Why?" Yelan asked bluntly. "And where will you go? I was hoping to introduce you into the company soon, if you felt like leaving the complex."

Syaoran nodded faintly. "I understand that, Mother," he said. "But I know I'm not suited for it yet. Eriol educated me enough that I could pass the examinations for high school, but no further than that. I have a lot to learn before I can be a part of the company, as you wish."

Yelan looked surprised at first, but then she nodded thoughtfully. "Of course," she said quietly. "I should have thought of that." She waved her hand flippantly. "It will not be a problem to get you into a university."

Looking hesitant again, he looked once more to Sakura, who gave him another bright smile and nod. She also laced her hand into his and gave his hand a squeeze. "I know that, but I can't just yet," he said as he gave his full attention back to Yelan. "There is something I must do with Sakura first."

Feimei perked up at this bit of news. Barely suppressing a squeal of glee, she asked, "Are you finally going to marry her?"

"Wha—? That's not what I—" Syaoran sputtered adamantly as a flush-looked flashed across his face. Sakura had her hands over her face and was giggling almost uncontrollably. Feimei grinned at her brother's reaction—that he hadn't shut down his emotions or ignored the question entirely was an improvement in so many ways.

"If you are seeking my approval," Yelan interjected calmly. "I must admit that I have been expecting it for a while."

If anything, Syaoran looked even more flustered at his mother's statement. Sakura got a hold of her laughter and laid a hand on Syaoran's arm. "I'll explain it to them," she said. Syaoran looked at her and shrugged. She looked first at Feimei and then at Yelan as she said, "Syaoran and I are leaving to go find the Reed Clan."

A terse silence filled the air of the room after that. Feimei frowned and she saw her mother's lip twitch downward as well. Sakura bit her bottom lip as she looked at Syaoran, whose face had etched into the familiar neutrality that they had all come to known in the year since he rejoined them. It was finally Yelan who spoke. "And what do you expect to do when you find them? Are you seeking revenge?" There was worry and disapproval buried in her tone that would only be apparent to those who knew her well.

Sakura shook her head quickly. "No, no," she said. "That's not it at all." She launched into the tale of how she and Syaoran had been joined together by their Clows after they were born and what Clow Reed had wanted to accomplish when he created the Hope in the first place. "He may have kidnapped Syaoran," Sakura said quietly as she finished. "But the Reed Clan still belongs together with us. We're going to find them, so that we can bring the families all together again."

Silence reigned for a moment after she finished, but then, to Feimei's surprise, Syaoran spoke again. "I will return and go to university and become part of the company, or whatever else you wish, but this is something that we have to do."

"I see," Yelan said. After another second she came to her feet, and Feimei rose with her out of habit. Syaoran and Sakura also came to their feet as Yelan walked over to them. Feimei was shocked when she wrapped her arms around Syaoran and drew him into a hug. She spoke so quietly that Feimei barely heard what her mother said. "If this is something you feel you must do, I will not stop you. I only ask that you return as quickly as you can and to be safe."

Slowly, Syaoran's arms reached up and wrapped around his mother—the very first time that he had ever returned her affection since arriving home. Yelan's face looked minutely surprised before her face blossomed into a smile. Feimei felt the tears burning in her eyes as her hand lifted up to cover her trembling lips. Sakura was almost bouncing with excitement as her smile was as brilliant as Feimei had ever seen it.

Yelan let her arms fall as Syaoran stepped out of the embrace. "When are you leaving?" she asked.

"Not for a week or so," Syaoran answered. "We'll wait for Meilin to get back so that we will not have to leave her behind if she wishes to join us."

"And Tomoyo's going to go with us, too," Sakura said cheerfully. "She'll be arriving in a few days."

Yelan nodded and the tense emotional air of the room was broken. Syaoran took Sakura's hand as they began to leave the room. "Oh," Sakura said just as they reached the doorway with an impish smile on her face. "And we are getting married."

"Sakura!" Syaoran exclaimed, looking more shocked than her mother or how Feimei felt.

Sakura gazed innocently up at Syaoran as she asked, "What? You finally said you loved me the other day, didn't you?"

Syaoran sputtered incoherently for a moment before he stuttered, "Yes, but I haven't…I didn't…I never said anything about getting married!"

Sakura cocked her head to the side as she blinked confusedly at him. Feimei looked at her mother, who gave her an amused gaze back. She had to wonder if Sakura was really that clueless and dense or whether it was all an act. She suspected that it was mostly the former as Sakura didn't seem to have a mean cell in her body. "But you don't love anyone more than me. Right?"

Syaoran shot his mother and Feimei an almost panicked glance—as if he would rather be talking about anything else at that moment than this—before he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "No, I don't, but…" he trailed off as he ran a hand through his hair. Muttering, he said, "Now you sound like Meilin…"

Blinking in surprise, she asked, "Meilin? Why?"

"Oh, I remember this," Feimei said as she realized what her brother was talking about. Grinning eagerly, she said, "Wasn't Meilin determined to marry you because she was sure there wasn't another girl you liked more than her?"

Sakura glanced quickly back and forth between Feimei and Syaoran, who was looking more uncomfortable by the second. "Really?"

"Yes," Syaoran said reluctantly. With that, he finally escaped out the door. Sakura quickly followed after him and they could hear her calling questions at him down the hall. Feimei finally let out the laughter she had been holding, determined to share this new development with Tomoyo as soon as possible.

"Time is amazing," Yelan said suddenly quietly. There was a peaceful smile on her face. Sobering slightly, Feimei nodded in response.

Finally, at last, Syaoran was back.

Final Notes: I know this doesn't seem like the end, but it is. Sorry, but no sequels or anything like that. This story was more about Sakura rescuing Syaoran (as Beauty once rescued the Beast) than anything else. I feel like the story is over and I will let you imagine the rest. Thanks for reading!