Author Note: Part of the blame rests with Zelinxia. Without our discussion yesterday about kidfic, I would have never have thought of writing a fic like this. Also, for those who have noticed, I changed my penname from Badluck Koi to Tiffany Koi. Tiffany is my given name that I am giving to you. "Koi" is not. I kept that part for some recognition value. It's a new year, so I get a new name.

Warnings: Mood-whiplash, plastic forks, potential in-law abuse.

*Seventeen Years and Eight Months*

Sakura smiled at Syaoran. She just could not hold back the contented feelings. After multiple lives of confusion and lies, from dedicating himself to the sole task of recovering her memories, to losing himself in the desolate ruins of Tokyo, learning that every cell in his body was a copy, that he was a marionette for Fei Wong Reed's goal, her destruction, his destruction, the world's imminent destruction, everything, it was pleasant to experience mundane agitation. She remembered that as she looked at her adorably furious fiancée grip the wheel.

"Touya only says those things to get to me," she assured. Since he married Yukito, he had less time to torment them. However, he still managed to schedule in some jerk time on his overbearing brother planner during visits.

"Did he have to say 'that'?" he countered, revving up the engine and backing up the car. Touya and Yukito waved through the window. The former smirked at the tire marks on the driveway, a smirk that promised ten phone calls about payments for property damage.

"As much as my brother annoys me, you cannot ram the car through his dining room," she teased, "Where would little Yuui-kun eat?" The corner of Syaoran's mouth twitched and the toddler in the back of the car cooed when he heard his name. To her, the sound was like a beautiful chorus. She twisted around her seat belt to look at the compact Yuui bundled in the safety seat. Her eyes glossed over with nostalgia, as though she had reunited with an old friend. He looked back, a look of mild recognition shone in his beautiful blue eyes briefly before he pointed his fingers and squealed, "Ba b aba!"

Once the surprise of seeing someone with the same soul as Fai wearing diapers and smearing banana mush on his face wore off, Sakura felt an immense swell of protectiveness. She was especially quick to keep him away from forks. "He could poke an eye out," she had told her brother with a nervous laugh, as she held a rubber fork away from Yuui. Watching Yukito and Touya with Yuui was another experience. If she could have chosen any fate for Fai, being adopted by her brother would not have been one of them. However, she smiled when Touya let the baby grab at his nose, only to scare him into a fit of giggles when he pretended to bite his fingers. If she had any doubts that Yukito would be a caring parent, which she did not, she had them no more. His six sense alerted him of trouble. Even before Yuui cried, he was ready with a warm bottle of milk.

"Are you sure about this?" His eyes focused, looking past the road.

"About Yuui-kun?" she asked, feeling the gloom weigh heavily in the car. Like a reoccurring nightmare, they remembered their previous life, the destruction of their family. When Syaoran looked at his soon-to-be-nephew, she wondered if he saw him with both eyes. All she could do for him was to remind him of the present, even when she saw Syaoran's bloody back leaving her over and over again.

"Syaoran," she said softly, "He is not Fai-san, and you are not Syaoran-kun. We are a family, and I love you. Having Yuui-kun for a week will be good for us. We can practice for when you become the daddy of the family." Her cheeks felt warmer as she talked.

"And you are not hime anymore," he said. They shared a smile. Just as she was his anchor to this life, he was hers.

"Oo-oo-oo," Yuui squealed in the back seat, clapping his hands energetically. Syaoran shook his head, and Sakura clapped with her nephew. He fixed his eyes on Sakura, and they had an instant connection, an understanding that transcended age. Some things she could share with Yuui that she could not share with Syaoran. For now, it was peek-a-boo. As Syaoran drove, she hid behind the car seat and peeked around. Every time, her nephew would wait with baited breath and would gasp when Sakura appeared. He cheered with "Oo-oo-oo" or "Ba-babba."

"I can't wait until he starts talking," Sakura said, "but then I will have less time to talk." Syaoran snorted when he heard the prophetic jest.

"Oo-ba-NYA!" Yuui cheered. Sakura was grateful that they had just arrived at home because Syaoran doubled over, his body shaking with quick gasps. She thought he was laughing, but his position looked painful, almost as though he was punched in the gut. She felt the same odd mixture of joy and pain. She looked back at Yuui-kun's beautiful eyes, feeling a sharp relief. He would never understand what her and Syaoran felt, not if she could help it. Leaning over and kissing Syaoran, she said to him:

"I know."

Useful Notes: I am using Japanese honorifics. It is very hard to find a substitute in English that means the same thing. For instance, when Sakura says Syaoran is not "Syaoran-kun" anymore, she literally means it, but she also is referring to his relationship with her.
Oba (Obasan) = Aunt. Luckily, these are easy sounds for babies to imitate.
Nya (Nyan) = Meow
Sakura = Oba-Nya