dropsofviolet (dropsofviolet) wrote in no_true_pair, @ 2009-01-01 10:08:00 |
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Entry tags: | ! 2009 eight characters challenge, author: dropsofviolet, fandom: tsubasa, pairing: syaoran/yuuko |
But It Burns the Same (Tsubasa, Syaoran and Yuuko)
Title: But It Burns the Same
Author/Artist: dropsofviolet
Fandom: Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle (/Cardcaptor Sakura)
Pairing/characters: CCS!Syaoran, Yuuko gen; Syaoran/Sakura implied
Rating: G
Warnings: Spoilers for recent Tsubasa chapters.
Prompt/challenge you're answering: Syaoran and Yuuko: it was a dark and stormy night
Excerpt: "Thank you," he said, and they sat in silence, and he studied her, quietly. He'd never been as trusting as his wife, and this woman was impossibly strange, from her bright red lips to her carefully painted toenails.
It wasn't a dark and stormy night when Syaoran came to Yuuko, though maybe it should have been. Syaoran's heart was certainly heavy enough for rain.
"I did not expect you," Yuuko said, greeting him at the door, and he had not, honestly, expected her-- he'd heard about the little creatures she used as helpmeets. He hadn't thought he would get to see her at all. He wasn't sure if a wish like this one could be granted.
"Please come in," she said, turning abruptly, and he trailed her into the shop, marveling at her ornate costume. It reminded him of something Tomoyo would have made, back then, when they were young and carefree, even in the dangerous times of card-capturing.
That was before Sakura had begun to dream. Well, not exactly, since she had dreamt of Yue, and she had dreamt of Eriol, but it was before she'd begun to dream of herself, impossibly young, and a curse, and a burden too heavy for a child to bear.
Syaoran still couldn't believe his son had dealt with it so well.
"He's a Li," Sakura had said softly, brushing her husband's cheek, and she went on. She loved Kimihiro, as strange as he was, as strange as their memories were (Kimihiro was their only son, little Syaoran was their only son-- the memories threatened to break and spill away and it gave Syaoran a headache). They were a family-- a darker family, a family touched by loss.
But even a family touched by loss could deal well. Sakura's own family was proof of that.
"Ichihara-san, I..." Syaoran began, sinking into a cross-legged position across from her perch along the long couch. She yawned, deliberately, and stretched, and he was caught off guard.
"Li-san, would you like a cup of tea?" she said, reaching forward and pouring from the kettle. He took the cup and it settled heavily in his fingers, warm.
She hadn't been expecting him? Somehow he doubted that.
"Thank you," he said, and they sat in silence, and he studied her, quietly. He'd never been as trusting as his wife, and this woman was impossibly strange, from her bright red lips to her carefully painted toenails.
Was this the woman they would give Watanuki to, later?
The agreements they had all made lay heavily on Syaoran. He could feel, on the edge of his senses, a certain staff that he had given everything to protect. It was here, in a storeroom, dusty. Eriol had come and taken it from them, to give to Yuuko, because she couldn't see them, for some reason. His eyes had been dark and his step heavy when he left.
Syaoran could see why. Dealing with Yuuko would make anyone weary. Already, his head hurt from the heady scent of her smoke.
"You have a wish," Yuuko said abruptly. "That's how you found this place."
"Yes," Syaoran replied, looking into her eyes. "Sakura and I have a wish. We have somewhere we need to go."
"And what have you left to give?" she asked quietly.
"We will pay your price," he replied steadily.
Yuuko sighed heavily, looking up at the ceiling, at something he couldn't see.
"I know," she said. "You always do."
A light rain began to fall.