Key to Life (Syaoran/Sakura, Eriol/Sakura)

[storypaint]

Fandom: Cardcaptor Sakura
Theme Set: 3
Rating: G
Author Notes: Moves in time from slightly post-canon to the next generation.
Disclaimer: Cardcaptor Sakura belongs to CLAMP.
Summary: Sakura grows up, loses Syaoran, and gains Eriol-- one sentence at a time.

01. Walk
Tomoyo taught her how to walk in heels, but when she saw Syaoran in his nice suit, she tripped anyway.

02. Beauty
Sakura looked just like her mother-- not physically, perhaps-- but she glowed, and you couldn't help but meet her smile with another.

03. Catch
Catching the cards had been the hard part, convincing them to come with her, but she caught them so well that they never wanted to leave.

04. Speak
She always knew the right words to say, until the day Syaoran said he loved her; and even then, it just took her a little longer than usual.

05. Lack
The only time she felt like she was lacking something was when Syaoran was in Hong Kong.

06. Mine
When he put the ring on her finger, he whispered, "Mine," and it made her giggle.

07. Laugh
There was always laughter in her house, joy and sunshine.

08. While
While Syaoran was in Hong Kong, Sakura wrote him letters, and he kept them under his pillow because they smelled like her.

09. Youth
She had a soul that would never grow old, and it wasn't much of a surprise when her body didn't, either.

10. Stay
She stayed at his side until the end, even when people began to mistake them for grandfather and granddaughter.

11. Fill
She looked for something to fill the void Syaoran left when he was gone, and magic was a poor substitute, but it's what she had.

12. Distraction
It was hard to distract her from her work, but some days Kero pulled her sleeve until she finally relented.

13. Fear
When Eriol came to her door with that look in her eye, it was the first time she was ever scared of him (she didn't want to have to lose someone again).

14. Crash
"I'm lonely," he said, looking just as young as she did, and like that, they both collapsed.

15. Look
He isn't sure when she starts to look at him in a new way, but it took less time than he thought it would.

16. Begin
Kero walks in on the beginning-- the first innocent kiss, followed by two surprised smiles-- and he walks back out, unnoticed.

17. Second
"I never thought I would fall in love again," she muses, her hands stroking his hair, and he says, "Neither did I," and for a moment the room is cold with memory.

18. Violet
When Ruby's eyes meet Yue's violet ones, she smiles much too widely and Eriol wonders if moving them all in together was a bad idea.

19. Candy
He knows it's a bad idea when there are two hyperactive guardians streaking around the house, hyped up on candy, and Yue hesitantly shares a high-five with Ruby Moon.

20. Nothing
Eriol told Sakura she worked too hard and instituted Tuesdays as Do-Nothing days, claiming it to be a long-held Clow tradition (and actually, it was).

21. Familiar
They were so familiar after the first few decades that sometimes they stepped around in each other's dreams, catching a prediction here, wielding off a nightmare there-- and after a while, it wasn't even strange anymore.

22. Show
"You look good for an eighty-year-old lady!" he said, eyes glittering, "and you should show it off!"

23. Day
Day bled into day, and they didn't really care, because finally they had someone who would be there all of those days.

24. Ask
Some days he was very quiet and broody, and she never quite found the courage to ask who he was thinking of-- Kaho?

25. Think
And yes, he was thinking of her, but there was room in his heart for both.

26. Hair
When she turned 100, she cut hair that had grown to her ankles, surprising him when he came back from the grocery store, and offering to give him a mohawk (for some reason, he declined).

27. Home
They moved often; it was so much more difficult to escape notice these days when one never aged; but as long as the six of them were together, it was home.

28. Loud
"Hi-- HIGH SCORE, KERO RULES!-- you've reached-- aah, Nakuru, do not make Suppi eat that (I'm not Suppi)-- anyway, you know who we are if you have the number, leave a message and if we can get to the phone-- ha, quit tickling, Eriol-chan-- we'll get back to you!"

29. Travel
She's always wanted to travel and they visit Alaska one cold winter; the snowballs and the skiing were great, but the best part was sharing body heat with Eriol.

30. Damage
They forfeited a lot of apartment deposits before they realized that collateral damage was a given, due to their rambunctious family, and started buying houses instead.

31. Strength
He almost lost her one night to icy roads and a head-on collision; when she came to, his hands enveloped hers and he murmured, "I'm not strong enough to lose you."

32. Together
Being together was the key to happiness; it was a shame Clow hadn't understood that, Eriol thought sometimes.

33. Push
No one was more surprised than Eriol to be here at one of these modern hospitals watching the most primitive procedure ever-- birth.

34. Safe
Now he had two women to keep safe, but the responsibility was a welcome burden.

35. Private
There were no lies in their relationship, but sometimes they took private time to go through old, faded photos of the ones they lost so long ago.

36. Light
The night the baby came home, they went out and picked a star for her, next to her mother's (its light was already bright).

37. Big
When she was big enough, they sat down and explained the Clow Cards to her; she laughed and giggled and wanted to hug them (perhaps it was too early-- she was barely three).

38. Want
They were a seven-member family now, and all wanted for nothing.

39. Law
The law said their daughter had to go to school, but it didn't say they couldn't teach her to harness the elemental forces of the universe as well.

40. Canine
Why she wanted a dog when she had Kero and Spinel, Sakura couldn't understand, but Christmas brought a yappy present that made the little girl squeal.

41. Truth
It was hard to explain death to a child in such an unique situation, and much too early for her to understand the truth, but they refused to lie and say that the puppy had run away.

42. Smoke
The smoke that curled around the woman's cigarette smelled strange, but she smiled and gave Eriol's daughter a light-up toy wand, saying, "I knew I kept this for some reason..."

43. Order
They didn't look old, but when they began to feel tired, they got everything in order for the little one (no accidentally opening the Book this time).

44. Feel
The last thing Eriol felt before he shut his eyes was Sakura's kiss on his brow and his daughter's hand on his; all-considering, it was a wonderful way to die.

45. Finish
Even though he was gone, he was never quite finished; sometimes she found his notes lying around the house, tucked in books, under figurines, and in one memorable case, the refridgerator, and it always made her smile.

46. Through
When she broke through into the next life, they were all there waiting for her, and she thought she would faint, being so happy.

47. Race
Somehow it ended up being a race against time, like it was for her mother, but all of the cards were changed.

48. Need
Yue saw a need in her eyes that he'd never seen in Sakura's, and he couldn't help but kiss her hand, and then her lips.

49. Splash
On her nineteenth birthday, she awoke to splashing sounds, and she was both amused and touched that Kero had drawn a bath for her (in his small form, and then, somehow, had fallen in).

50. Thrill
She wondered if her mother had been as thrilled to be the Cardmistress as she was, and then she laughed, because she remembered how much her parents had loved life (and how well they taught her to do the same).