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It was something she hadn't been fully aware of before. Sakura wondered to herself as she walked down the street towards her home, it had become so normal, so expected, she hadn't thought to question it until this very moment.
Her hands were clasped tightly in front of her as she glanced at the boy standing next to her. He had always been kind, and she had always known. Even when they'd first met, she'd known that he was nice, he'd always listened to her when she'd suggested doing the right thing, even when acted like he didn't want to.
Somewhere down the line, he had gotten even nicer, and she'd hardly noticed it. She played with a strand of her hair as she drifted deeper into her thoughts, she probably wouldn't even have noticed if Tomoyo hadn't said something that morning before school. Sakura snuck another glance at the boy who was walking at her side, walking her home, actually.
She felt her lips pull back into a smile before she turned forward again, a slight skip in her step. He had been there, lingering outside their classroom, his hair tousled (more than usual) and his schoolbag hanging loosely from one shoulder, and she'd felt the smile curl her lips up reflexively. He'd offered to walk her home then. She'd been surprised when her heart had skipped a little beat before she'd accepted, grateful to have someone to walk home with this late and always happy to have his company. She'd had cleaning duty and stayed late.
"Um..." His sentence trailed into nothing and Sakura glanced over at him quickly, smiling up at him again, unable to keep the grin from her face.
"Thanks," she offered, and he blinked at her once, confusion pulling his eyebrows together in a way that made her want to burst into a fit of giggles, but she forced the laughter down, turning it into a small chuckle and an even wider smile.
"I-uh." He had turned to look towards the park at his other side, and she followed his gaze to the trees. The orange and crimson guises the leaves had taken on in anticipation of their fall, glowing in the late afternoon light. Sakura felt her own lips purse in confusion as a sting pinched her heart at his blatant avoidance. "It's nothing," he finished, and Sakura felt her breath escape her in a large whoosh of air, determination taking its place in her chest.
She took the next few steps at a hop before swinging to a stop in front of him, her eyebrows furrowed, and her arms crossed. He would not belittle himself again, not on her watch.
"No," she told him flatly, and he came to a stop a pace away from her. His confusion was displayed plainly on his face, but when Sakura looked at his eyes, she could see something deeper there, something that made her heart clench painfully. Self-deprecation.
He opened his mouth to speak, and Sakura heard herself cut him off before she could really comprehend what she was saying. The lack of self-worth she'd seen in his eyes sparking an edge of her temper.
"No, Syaoran-kun, it's not nothing." She frowned up at him, and he stared down at her, in that way he sometimes did. His mouth slightly parted, eyes wide with something that made her cheeks a little warmer. His eyebrows were furrowed in a way that bespoke his disbelief.
The corner of his lips had pulled up into a rue smile, and he shook his head lightly,
"Sakura." He had closed his eyes, and Sakura felt herself struggle to swallow. A small lump had formed in her throat just from the suddenness of her name called so gently in his voice. She clenched her hands into tight fists, realizing that she had been twirling them nervously at her sides. "I'm just walking you home, there's no need to thank me."
"But." She felt her heart deflate a little, and her expression fall. "It…" She twisted her hands together, finding her determination and looking him square in the face. His amber eyes were wide and the rest of his face a blank mask of surprise. "It means a lot to me, when you do these sorts of things..." She trailed off, her throat suddenly quite a bit drier in the cool evening air. He blinked at her a few times, disbelief still lingering in his eyes, and Sakura knew she had to keep going.
"You're always..." She smiled as she finally found the words she had been looking for. "There. Here. Whenever I need someone..." She shook her head harshly, bangs swinging softly across her forehead, before turning her gaze back up to his. "Whenever I need you."
He was staring at her, his lips slightly parted and his kaleidoscope amber eyes even wider than before. Silence passed over them for several seconds. A warm blush crawled up her cheeks and she pushed a stray strand of her hair behind her ear, gloved fingers trembling slightly.
"Um." He was still staring at her and Sakura turned around and stepped back to stand beside him, watching him struggle to find his words, her embarrassment deepening at his lack of success.
"Just, thank you, Syaoran-kun." She found another smile for him, and he glanced harriedly in her direction. The expression on his face was jumbled and unreadable for a few moments before a timid corner of his lips twitched into a smile that matched the warmth in his eyes.
"Sure." He nodded slightly as he spoke, and she felt the smile grow on her face in concert with the surge of happiness that filled her chest.
She started walking forward again, swinging her arms at her sides, too happy to care how she looked walking next to the sometimes, stoic boy who had both of his hands stuffed awkwardly in his jacket pockets.
She looked down at the tops of her shiny black shoes and smiled to herself, not quite noticing that she was liking him more than she used too, even if it was just a little.