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storypaint) wrote2010-05-16 01:31 am
storypaint) wrote2010-05-16 01:31 am
[Cardcaptor Sakura] As We Melt (Yue/Sakura)
Title: As We Melt
Fandom: Cardcaptor Sakura
Length: 1191 words
Prompt: Fic on Demand's first kiss meme: Cardcaptor Sakura, Yue/Sakura
Pairing: Yue/Sakura; Touya/Yukito and past Syaoran/Sakura mentioned
Other: PG for off-screen character death, discussion of injury and blood.
Excerpt: He was worried about her; he always was, these days. He didn't understand why people wanted to fight the mistress he had chosen, the little girl with a power greater than Clow's had been at his death.
The Cards had been changed, and Syaoran had come back, but no one was guaranteed the perfect happy ending, not even the girl with an invincible spell. Even though she'd completed the Final Judgment, and then Clow's Judgment through Eriol, there were a surprising number of magicians who came to challenge her.
Unlike Eriol, they had no need or desire to pull punches when necessary. Sakura often found herself fighting for her life, trying not to hurt the other person too much (because she was Sakura and that part of her would never change, no matter how many battles she fought). Luckily, she never had to fight alone.
The latest attacker interrupted a family dinner, some huge being jumping through the Kinomoto's front window without hesitation. Before the shards had hit the carpet, Yukito had jumped up and surrendered to Yue, who had wrapped his arms around the Mistress. His wings fluttered out in a shield around them, and Sakura could just hear her brother as he grabbed their father's arm and steered him out the door in a hurry. Fujitaka had magic of his own now, of course, but not on Sakura's scale, and they'd discovered in a hurry that any other mage who defended her was considered fair game by these strangers.
(It was times like this, in the confusion of the first blow, that Sakura thought of Syaoran the most, the confused look on his face before he fell, the utter stillness--)
She had no Star Staff anymore, so that another Syaoran could know his Sakura, but she had the Cards at hand and it didn't take her long to find the one she wanted. The creature in her home cast no shadows on the wall, so it was only corporeal in some dimensions. Of course, it was real enough to hurt her, but she sent Shadow to fight it in the place where it existed, and Yue's grip on her, his arms firm across her chest, almost hurt.
He was worried about her; he always was, these days. He didn't understand why people wanted to fight the mistress he had chosen, the little girl with a power greater than Clow's had been at his death. She was eighteen now, willowy and beautiful, and she didn't cast a very imposing figure unless you could read her aura. She was stronger, Yue thought privately, than Clow had been at this age, and these foolish magicians always paid for their hubris.
The problem was that they all paid for it, and as Yue held her, he wanted nothing more than to end this awful war.
Shadow pinned the creature and with a shout Sakura drew Sword and pulled away from Yue, leaping with a form he recognized from Yukito watching her cheerleading practices. The Sword that could cut anything worked well on most creatures, and this one was no exception. It bellowed in rage, a sound so loud that Yue wanted to cover his ears.
Its last flail struck her across the chest and Yue thought his heart would stop at the moment of impact. That small solid sound made him bite his lip, to regret bitterly that he'd let her go even though he knew she needed to fight this thing.
He dodged forward, kicking aside chairs and lifting his hand, filling it with ruby light, but before he could inflict any damage, the monster flickered like a candle going out and disappeared. He managed to catch Sakura as she staggered backwards, remembering only at the last second not to hold her too tightly, in case she really was hurt. Her head lolled back onto her shoulder and his internal panic must have showed on his face at least a little, because as soon as she met his eyes, she smiled in weary reassurance.
"I'm okay," she wheezed, and he was going to protest that she didn't sound okay, but she twisted around in his arms and lifted a hand, pressing it to his lip. He stared in surprise; she tended to respect his need for space whenever it wasn't a combat situation. Her eyes softened and when her fingers drew back, there was blood on them.
"What happened?" she asked softly, and then he began to feel the twinge of pain. If he had been another person (like the sun guardian, currently sleeping to repair a particularly grievous injury), he might have chuckled dryly to realize that he'd been so concerned that he'd bitten his lip to bleeding, but he was Yue, so he just shook his head and ignored it. He'd been hurt much worse before.
"Nothing. Are you all right?" he asked.
Softly but deliberately, he placed his hand on her collarbone, the site of impact. A small gasp of pain escaped her and he nearly began to unfasten the buttons of her shirt in order to investigate. He realized almost belatedly that this wouldn't exactly be appropriate, and his fingers stilled on her collar.
"I'm okay," she said again, more firmly this time. Her small hand folded over his and they stood there for a moment, hearts still racing from adrenaline. The only causalities of this current problem were his bitten lip, her bruised chest, some furniture, a window. Not bad at all. They were both thankful for that.
In a moment, Touya would be peeking in the door again to see if the battle was done. So Sakura, heart thumping, took the second's opportunity to lean up and kiss him softly. Yue shut his eyes and let her. Clow had kissed his forehead, but this wasn't the same. This was something different.
But everything was different about Sakura, wasn't it? He'd long ago realized that.
When he opened his eyes again, she was looking up at him gingerly, as if judging his reaction. There was a drop of his blood lingering on her lip and he lifted his hand to brush it away, angling his wings down around them, as if preserving their solitude.
"Sakura-san!" Fujitaka called out, his voice worried. Yue fluttered his wings and changed back to Yukito. He could listen from Yukito's perspective, and his counterpart would be needed to soothe Touya's worries. (It did not bother him, the difference in their feelings. Yue's heart would always belong to his master. Yukito's could belong to whomever he chose.)
Yukito, too, was becoming used to the blackouts that invariably left him in the midst of damage. He looked around and sighed and said to Sakura, "And it was a nice meal, too."
Sakura laughed. "You always know how to cheer me up," she said softly, and Yue wasn't sure which of him she was speaking to.
She grabbed Yukito's hand and carefully the two of them picked their way through the debris to the kitchen door. Yukito pushed away the kitchen chair that had fallen and blocked it, and they stepped into the sunshine, where immediately Fujitaka and Touya descended on them in worry.
Yue ignored it as Yukito flew into Touya's arms. He listened to Sakura reassure her family. She was safe, and that was what mattered.
Still, he thought that his lips still felt warm, when the rest of him was cold.
Fandom: Cardcaptor Sakura
Length: 1191 words
Prompt: Fic on Demand's first kiss meme: Cardcaptor Sakura, Yue/Sakura
Pairing: Yue/Sakura; Touya/Yukito and past Syaoran/Sakura mentioned
Other: PG for off-screen character death, discussion of injury and blood.
Excerpt: He was worried about her; he always was, these days. He didn't understand why people wanted to fight the mistress he had chosen, the little girl with a power greater than Clow's had been at his death.
The Cards had been changed, and Syaoran had come back, but no one was guaranteed the perfect happy ending, not even the girl with an invincible spell. Even though she'd completed the Final Judgment, and then Clow's Judgment through Eriol, there were a surprising number of magicians who came to challenge her.
Unlike Eriol, they had no need or desire to pull punches when necessary. Sakura often found herself fighting for her life, trying not to hurt the other person too much (because she was Sakura and that part of her would never change, no matter how many battles she fought). Luckily, she never had to fight alone.
The latest attacker interrupted a family dinner, some huge being jumping through the Kinomoto's front window without hesitation. Before the shards had hit the carpet, Yukito had jumped up and surrendered to Yue, who had wrapped his arms around the Mistress. His wings fluttered out in a shield around them, and Sakura could just hear her brother as he grabbed their father's arm and steered him out the door in a hurry. Fujitaka had magic of his own now, of course, but not on Sakura's scale, and they'd discovered in a hurry that any other mage who defended her was considered fair game by these strangers.
(It was times like this, in the confusion of the first blow, that Sakura thought of Syaoran the most, the confused look on his face before he fell, the utter stillness--)
She had no Star Staff anymore, so that another Syaoran could know his Sakura, but she had the Cards at hand and it didn't take her long to find the one she wanted. The creature in her home cast no shadows on the wall, so it was only corporeal in some dimensions. Of course, it was real enough to hurt her, but she sent Shadow to fight it in the place where it existed, and Yue's grip on her, his arms firm across her chest, almost hurt.
He was worried about her; he always was, these days. He didn't understand why people wanted to fight the mistress he had chosen, the little girl with a power greater than Clow's had been at his death. She was eighteen now, willowy and beautiful, and she didn't cast a very imposing figure unless you could read her aura. She was stronger, Yue thought privately, than Clow had been at this age, and these foolish magicians always paid for their hubris.
The problem was that they all paid for it, and as Yue held her, he wanted nothing more than to end this awful war.
Shadow pinned the creature and with a shout Sakura drew Sword and pulled away from Yue, leaping with a form he recognized from Yukito watching her cheerleading practices. The Sword that could cut anything worked well on most creatures, and this one was no exception. It bellowed in rage, a sound so loud that Yue wanted to cover his ears.
Its last flail struck her across the chest and Yue thought his heart would stop at the moment of impact. That small solid sound made him bite his lip, to regret bitterly that he'd let her go even though he knew she needed to fight this thing.
He dodged forward, kicking aside chairs and lifting his hand, filling it with ruby light, but before he could inflict any damage, the monster flickered like a candle going out and disappeared. He managed to catch Sakura as she staggered backwards, remembering only at the last second not to hold her too tightly, in case she really was hurt. Her head lolled back onto her shoulder and his internal panic must have showed on his face at least a little, because as soon as she met his eyes, she smiled in weary reassurance.
"I'm okay," she wheezed, and he was going to protest that she didn't sound okay, but she twisted around in his arms and lifted a hand, pressing it to his lip. He stared in surprise; she tended to respect his need for space whenever it wasn't a combat situation. Her eyes softened and when her fingers drew back, there was blood on them.
"What happened?" she asked softly, and then he began to feel the twinge of pain. If he had been another person (like the sun guardian, currently sleeping to repair a particularly grievous injury), he might have chuckled dryly to realize that he'd been so concerned that he'd bitten his lip to bleeding, but he was Yue, so he just shook his head and ignored it. He'd been hurt much worse before.
"Nothing. Are you all right?" he asked.
Softly but deliberately, he placed his hand on her collarbone, the site of impact. A small gasp of pain escaped her and he nearly began to unfasten the buttons of her shirt in order to investigate. He realized almost belatedly that this wouldn't exactly be appropriate, and his fingers stilled on her collar.
"I'm okay," she said again, more firmly this time. Her small hand folded over his and they stood there for a moment, hearts still racing from adrenaline. The only causalities of this current problem were his bitten lip, her bruised chest, some furniture, a window. Not bad at all. They were both thankful for that.
In a moment, Touya would be peeking in the door again to see if the battle was done. So Sakura, heart thumping, took the second's opportunity to lean up and kiss him softly. Yue shut his eyes and let her. Clow had kissed his forehead, but this wasn't the same. This was something different.
But everything was different about Sakura, wasn't it? He'd long ago realized that.
When he opened his eyes again, she was looking up at him gingerly, as if judging his reaction. There was a drop of his blood lingering on her lip and he lifted his hand to brush it away, angling his wings down around them, as if preserving their solitude.
"Sakura-san!" Fujitaka called out, his voice worried. Yue fluttered his wings and changed back to Yukito. He could listen from Yukito's perspective, and his counterpart would be needed to soothe Touya's worries. (It did not bother him, the difference in their feelings. Yue's heart would always belong to his master. Yukito's could belong to whomever he chose.)
Yukito, too, was becoming used to the blackouts that invariably left him in the midst of damage. He looked around and sighed and said to Sakura, "And it was a nice meal, too."
Sakura laughed. "You always know how to cheer me up," she said softly, and Yue wasn't sure which of him she was speaking to.
She grabbed Yukito's hand and carefully the two of them picked their way through the debris to the kitchen door. Yukito pushed away the kitchen chair that had fallen and blocked it, and they stepped into the sunshine, where immediately Fujitaka and Touya descended on them in worry.
Yue ignored it as Yukito flew into Touya's arms. He listened to Sakura reassure her family. She was safe, and that was what mattered.
Still, he thought that his lips still felt warm, when the rest of him was cold.