Words Don't Come Easy

Chapter 5: Big City, Small World

October, 2016

A jarring, buzzing noise filled Sakura's bedroom. It was coming out of the metal device that was rattling on her bedside table and unfortunately for Sakura, it wasn't stopping anytime soon. After a few moments of silence, it started buzzing again. Sakura shifted in her bed, grumbling at the foreign sound.

As she pulled the purple quilt up to cover her ears, she felt a warm and hard body pressing against her back. Memories from last night flooded her mind.

Eriol, who she has been dating for nearly a month and a half now, surprised her after work with a bouquet of red roses. They weren't her favourite flower but it's the thought that counts. He gave her 20 minutes to get ready before he took her on a special date to one of the most famous restaurants in Tokyo. Since her first date, she had gotten used to eating at the fancy restaurants that Eriol was so accustomed to. She could at least order for herself now which was a proud feat by her standards.

The whole evening seemed too good to be true but then after dessert, he finally broke the bad news – he had to leave for Europe the next day. As it approached the end of the year, he was required to travel to several meetings for companies who were in the midst of evaluating their yearly figures. Sakura reacted as any other girlfriend would: upset but understanding. He had mentioned travelling for meetings in their first date so it was expected. The worst part of the whole ordeal was that he didn't know how long he'd be. It could be for three months or three days. Sakura desperately hoped for the latter.

"I'm going to miss you," she whispered, her eyes half-closed as she watched Eriol put last night's clothes back on.

He chewed his bottom lip before breaking into a smile. He kissed her cheek once before making his way down to her jawline. Sakura's head tipped back, allowing him to trail his mouth down her neck. His lips were warm and soft as they pressed on her skin.

"Me too," he whispered back, kissing the hollow part on the left side of her neck.

"How long will you be gone for?" Sakura asked, biting her lip to suppress her moan.

"I'm not sure," he answered, leaning over to give attention to the other side of her neck.

His hand moved away from the position it had been in next to her pillow and moved to pull the sheets down that were covering her body. Sakura squirmed and pushed him away with a light tap.

"You're going to be late for your flight," she giggled at the frown overtaking his features.

Reluctantly, he got off her bed and continued to straighten his shirt that got wrinkled during last night's activities. His eyes left the wall-length mirror as he fixed his cufflinks.

"Don't forget that Ryuu's real father will be picking him up today," he said as he tugged the sleeve around to keep it in place. There had been an ongoing joke between them that Eriol was Ryuu's father ever since the confusion during their first date.

"Mh-mmm."

"Please be nice to him, he's a bit–"

"Cold. Distant. Rude. Completely lacking in human emotions," Sakura said, laughing at his obvious distress. "You've been warning me about him ever since you told me you were leaving."

Eriol sat on the edge of the bed, next to where her feet were. "I know. I'm just worried for Ryuu." He frowned at his shoes as he put them on. "He tends to forget about matters concerning Ryuu."

Sakura pursed her lips, touched at Eriol's concern for Ryuu. She sat up, clutching the sheets to her chest and leaned over to squeeze his wrist. "I'll keep an eye on both of them for you."