I'm In Love With A Plumber- Chapter Twelve

I'm In Love with a Plumber

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Rule Number Twelve:
They say that when you're inside the circle,
Sometimes you can't see things clearly.

oOo

"Maybe we should get them a pool table," said Sakura as she flipped through a catalog, looking for the perfect gift to give Eriol and Tomoyo.

Syaoran groaned exasperatedly, wrapping his arms around her waist as they sat cozily on the couch. "You know it's just going to be a waste of our money. I don't know about your friend, but Eriol has a very feral appetite."

"Trust me..." Sakura sighed. "Tomoyo takes half of the credit. It takes two to make a mess."

He laughed. "Why do we have to go to their place for dinner? Shouldn't we let them celebrate their anniversary together—just the two of them?"

"I'm not excited about seeing his face for hours either," she sighed and rested her head onto his shoulder. "I don't think I'm going to be able to swallow my food."

"Close your eyes and chew."

"Yeah... like that's going to work!" She scoffed. "So what should we get them?"

"They're going to end up having sex no matter what, so why not get them condoms?"

Sakura's eyes nearly popped out. "Are you serious?!"

"Why not?" He shrugged lightly. "Condoms are cheap—the perfect gift to a sexually active couple."

"What would they think of us though?"

"That we're good friends, and we're only thinking of their well being. After all, we don't want them leaving any mess they can't clean up."

Sakura sighed. He did have a very good point. "There's a convenience store down the corner," she said. "Don't take too long."

He smiled slyly. "Going to miss me?"

"Hardly." Sakura snorted. "I just don't want to be late. Go already!"

Syaoran reluctantly released her from his arms and left.

After he left, Sakura threw the catalog magazine onto the table and walked into the bathroom. She opened the cabinet to get her make-up kit when she caught glimpse of her reflection in the mirror. She giggled to herself slightly, seeing how ridiculously funny she looked in Syaoran's shirt. She recently discovered the week before that wearing a man's shirt (but not just any man) was much more comfortable than wearing jammies.

Syaoran even encouraged Sakura to wear anything of his that she liked.

It was weird, but yet adorable at the same time.

Two weeks.

They had been dating for two weeks already.

Two long, wonderful weeks.

Although Syaoran was still a mystery to Sakura, she felt as though she was starting to get to know him better—the real him. They had fun together. Lots and lots of fun. In fact, Sakura had never felt this way towards any guy before. Sure, she had crushes before. And even though she had no experience in dating or whatsoever, she could tell that this—what it was—wasn't a simple crush. It was different.

Being Syaoran's girlfriend had been like a roller coaster ride.

She never knew what was waiting for her at the other drop or loop.

"Coming!" Sakura ran to answer the door when she heard the doorbell. "Don't tell me you forgot the keys—" She stopped in the middle of her sentence when she saw that it wasn't Syaoran standing at the door. She smiled apologetically. "May I help you?"

"The landlord told me that I can find Li Syaoran here," a man with black hair said.

"He went out a few minutes ago. Do you want to come inside and wait?" Sakura asked. The man nodded, and Sakura opened the door wider to let him in. "Would you like something to drink?"

"Water, please." The man walked around the room while looking at some of the paintings on the wall. "May I ask what is your connection with Syaoran?" the man asked as Sakura handed him a glass of water.

Sakura smiled. "I'm his secretary."

"He is living with his secretary?"

She chuckled nervously, preferring not to get into the details. The man saw that and just smiled, resuming to looking at the paintings.

"How do you know him?" Sakura asked.

"I'm a colleague of his."

"You're a plumber, too?"

He laughed and shook his head before looking at his watch. "Do you know when I can get a hold of him?"

"He should be back soon. He just ran down to the convenience store to get something," answered Sakura.

And as if it was his cue, Syaoran busted through the door as if a dog was chasing him.

"The convenience store didn't have any more condo—whoa—Taguchi!"

A sly grin appeared on the man's face. "What were you saying, Syaoran?"

"Taguchi, it's not what you think."

"Since when did you become so timid about admitting your sexual relationship?"

Sakura's face was turning a deep shade of red. And it definitely did not help the situation when she remembered that she was only wearing Syaoran's shirt. She quickly hid behind Syaoran, embarrassed that she had opened the door without pants on.

Hoe.

Life really sucked.

"It's just a relationship right now. Nothing sexual yet." He answered.

Yet...? Sakura asked in her mind, not wanting to think about his answer.

Taguchi shot a smile at Sakura. "So the rumors are true—the King of Hearts is settling down. I am honored to be in your presence, Miss."

Syaoran pulled Sakura out from behind him. "Don't worry. He doesn't bite."

Sakura blushed. "I'm sorry for not introducing myself earlier. It's nice to meet you, too. My name is Kinomoto Sakura."

The glass of water suddenly slipped out of the owner's hand and shattered into tiny pieces on the wooden floor.

"I'll clean that up." She went to grab some paper towels.

"I'm s-sorry," Taguchi stuttered. "But did you say Kinomoto—you're the daughter of Kinomoto Fujitaka?"

"Yes. Is something wrong, Taguchi-san?"

"N-No. I'm just a big fan of your father's work," the black head said with a smile. "I've been to a few of his lectures before, and I think he is very a brilliant man."

"By the way," Syaoran interrupted the conversation. "What are you doing here?"

Taguchi smiled. "Work."

"Great. I haven't seen you in months, and the first thing you want to see me about is work? And you don't even have the decency to bring me a souvenir!"

"Skyscrapers aren't going to build themselves," the black head remarked. "But I'm not an unreasonable guy. I'll meet up with you later when you're not busy. Please give your father my best regards, Sakura."

"Come visit any time you want."

The couple walked their guest over to the door, and Syaoran offered to walk Taguchi out to the lobby. Sakura took the opportunity to go change into something that didn't give people the wrong ideas. She walked back out into the living room to find Syaoran sweeping up the pieces of broken glass.

"Maybe you should explain to him about today when you see him next time." Sakura leaned onto the doorway.

"Already did," he answered. "But you know—do we have to give the condoms to Eriol and his girlfriend? I say we keep them."

"I am not going to have sex with you!" Sakura exclaimed.

"You sure you don't want a sexual relationship? It's two in one."

Sakura snorted. "You are hopeless."

Syaoran sighed exasperatedly. "We better hurry and go to the drug store if we don't want to be late for dinner."

"I just thought of the perfect gift!" Sakura exclaimed. "And it's going to piss Eriol off so much!"

Syaoran cocked an eyebrow at her strangely. "This is their anniversary, and you want to piss him off?"

She nodded with an evil look in her eyes.

"You really hate him, don't you?"

"I don't hate him!"

"Well, we're meeting at their place in an hour."

"I just need to go buy my gift from the toy store."

"What kind of toy store? Can we get something while we're there?"

"You need to keep away from Eriol. His mind is contagious."

Syaoran laughed as he followed her out the door. "You sure you don't want to think about the two-in-one thing? It's a good deal."

"Syaoran, if you don't shut up then I'm going to cut it off."

She meant their relationship. But knowing Syaoran and his so-called mind, he probably thought of the other thing. He was definitely adorable when he was obedient, or scared—whichever one it was.

zZz

"What's this?" Eriol eyed Sakura suspiciously as she slid some sort of handout paper across the dining table.

Sakura smiled cutely. "It's my anniversary present to you, Eriol-kun!"

The sugary sweetness in her voice caused Eriol to drop his fork and Tomoyo to choke on her drink. Tomoyo reached over the table and felt Sakura's forehead while Eriol was pinching himself over and over, mumbling something along of 'waking up from the dream'.

Syaoran almost snorted if it wasn't for Sakura's extremely pointy heels on top of his foot. God. He was going to feel the pain later.

"Really!" Sakura said sweetly. "This is my present to you, Eriol-kun. I hope you will like it, because I put a lot of thought into it."

Eriol glanced at the paper with a skeptical look. "You put a lot of thought into a piece of paper?"

"Read it."

"I would like to announce that this is all her." Syaoran threw a small box to Eriol. "That is my present."

Tomoyo sweat dropped.

"Syaoran, you are too thoughtful." Eriol remarked dryly and put the box in his pockets. He might need it for later. He turned to look at Sakura again, and then he looked at the piece of paper on the table before picking it up. A red shade suddenly colored his entire face.

Sakura smiled coyly. "I thought perhaps the four of us can enjoy this after dinner. What do you think... Eriol-kun?"

The dark haired man looked like a frozen statue—that sweated a lot. Tomoyo, wondering what had caused him to act so strangely, took the paper from his hands and looked over it briefly. "SEX!?" she screeched.

Syaoran smirked. "Read the rest. It gets better."

Ten reasons why SEX is a fun game:

1) It's safe and easy.
2) It's a healthy hobby.
3) It's a great way to spend time with someone.
4) It releases stress.
5) It kicks the boredom out of life.
6) It brings everyone together into one room.
7) It's a great exercise for the mind.
8) It keeps everyone up all night and having fun.
9) You can enjoy SEX with just anybody at any given time.
10) The more the merrier—three or even four at a time!

Who will be at the top and who will be at the bottom? Try SEX and find out!

"Sakura, you can't be serious!" Tomoyo cried out, her face as red as a tomato.

"It'll be fun," Sakura grinned. "The four of us enjoying SEX—it'll be a scream!"

Tomoyo looked like she was about to faint, and all of the colors were drained out of Eriol's face. Syaoran gently nudged Sakura with his elbow, indicating that the joke had went on long enough and that it was time to break it off. Sakura giggled and pulled out a box from the bag under her chair.

"I hope you like my present." Sakura handed the present to Tomoyo, seeing some relief on the girl's face at first; but it was quickly replaced by an embarrassed expression.

"Scrabble Extreme X?" the girl read slowly. "You mean... SEX is actually—? Sakura, you devil! You scared half of my life away!"

"Of course! What did you think it was?" Sakura put on an innocent look. And Eriol's face turned pure white with red flames burning in his eyes as he glared daggers at Sakura.

She already knew the answer, but the expression on Eriol's face was just oh-so-priceless.

"Thank you for your wonderful gift, Sakura-chan." Eriol clenched his teeth together. "I'll never forget the love that you put into it. In fact, I will return your thoughtfulness once Christmas arrives. Better yet—because you are being such a dear—I will make sure to prepare a special present for you on every holiday and your birthday!"

Sakura suddenly didn't feel so good anymore.

"I told you to go with condoms." Syaoran whispered softly into her ears.

She smiled nervously, avoiding the death looks a certain dark head man was giving her for humiliating him. He should really learn how to take a joke. It was a joke!

A mean one—but it was still a joke nevertheless.

"Tomoyo, I think it's time to bring out the desserts," said Syaoran, tensely. After the girl left the room, he quickly turned to his girlfriend and best friend. "Okay. Say what you both need to say and move on."

Sakura pouted. Eriol scoffed.

"Stop acting so damn childish." Syaoran rolled his eyes. "My Lord. Never thought I'd have to deal with you two."

Eriol regained a cool expression on his face. "You first or me first?" He looked at Sakura.

"At the same time," she answered.

Syaoran held one finger up, then another one, and finally the third finger shot up.

"I hate you!"

Sakura tweaked her left ear, wondering where the echo was coming from.

"Wow," said the other guy. "I feel a lot better."

"Same here."

"Agree to pretend this never happened?" He proposed.

Sakura nodded. "Agree to continue to despise each other?"

"Agree."

"Wow. I feel like we're getting to know each other better—I think I might start to like you."

He scoffed. "Please, don't."

Note to self: Make up a plan to kill him in his sleep.

"Now... don't we all feel better?" Syaoran said, just in time as Tomoyo brought out a plate of desserts. "Tomoyo, I love you already!" Eriol shot him a glare and Sakura stomped on his feet... again. "It's a meaningless comment people!"

Eriol adjusted his glasses. "Keep your meaningless comment to yourself."

"Exactly!" Sakura agreed.

First time they both agreed on something—and the thing wasn't how much they loved each other to death.

"By the way..." Syaoran started on another subject. "Taguchi asked me to tell you that he can't make it to your party this weekend."

"That guy. I am telling you—he loves work more than he loves himself."

"Well, Syaoran, now I see why you're all friends." Sakura laughed, earning a glare from the men. "What? You are work addicts!"

"What party is this, Eriol?" Tomoyo joined in on the conversation.

"Taguchi is much worse," said the dark head. "And it's to celebrate a new contract. Your brother is going to be there, Sakura."

"Touya?" Sakura was surprised to hear that. "He's back?"

Eriol nodded. "I saw your brother and sister at the airport two weeks ago."

"They didn't come home though." Sakura started to panic. "Do you think something happened to them—like a kidnap of some sort?"

"They probably want some time alone, Sakura. I doubt they are tied and gagged. Don't scare yourself." Syaoran gently rubbed her arm. "Why don't we enjoy a quick round of SEX after dinner? I know Eriol is dying to play!"

"Shut up before I shove this pudding down your throat—and the spoon."

And the night continued with Eriol and Sakura showing how much they 'loved' each other.

zZz

"I hate the stupid game—who created Scrabble anyway? It is so stupid!" Sakura stomped her way into the main lobby.

Syaoran laughed, following after her. "Sakura, you shouldn't hold a grudge against the game just because Eriol beat you at it."

Sakura pouted. "I think he actually loved the present."

"Let it go," Syaoran said.

Yue looked up from the book he was reading. "Sakura, your sister is waiting for you outside your apartment."

"Nee-chan! Syaoran, what are we going to do? Your things are still in my apartment!"

Syaoran arched an eyebrow at her questioningly. "Is that a problem? ...that your boyfriend is living with you...?"

Yes, it's a problem!

I'm not supposed to have a boyfriend—I have a fiancé!

Hoeee.

"Sakura?"

"I can't really explain right now. Can you pretend to be just my roommate?" Sakura couldn't tell if Syaoran was surprised or mad—she hadn't learned to read his expressions yet. "Syaoran? I'm sorry... it's just—"

"No, I understand." He headed for the elevator.

Yue pretended that he didn't see anything and walked into the restroom. Sakura cursed at herself and walked into the elevator, sensing tension in the atmosphere. The ride up was silent as neither her nor Syaoran said anything. Syaoran stood at least three feet away from her.

The doors opened and Sakura saw a brown haired woman standing outside her apartment with suitcases and all.

"Nakuru?"

The woman turned to look at Sakura. "H-hey..."

"I heard from Eriol that you guys came back two weeks ago. Why didn't you come home?"

Sakura thought there was something weird about Nakuru's smile.

It didn't look natural.

"Can I stay with you for a while?"

"What's wrong?" Sakura pulled the older woman into a warm hug.

"Touya and I..." Nakuru said between tears. "We're getting a divorce."