Easy Silence (Syaoran and Tomoyo gen)

[storypaint]

Title: Easy Silence
Fandom: Cardcaptor Sakura
Subject: Li Syaoran and Daidouji Tomoyo
Theme(s): 15. Comfortable silence
Disclaimer: Cardcaptor Sakura belongs to CLAMP.

Summary: Syaoran and Tomoyo understand the value of a friend you don't always have to talk to.

It's the easy silence that you make for me
It's okay when there's nothing more to say to me
And the peace and quiet you create for me
And the way you keep the world at bay for me
The way you keep the world at bay...
--Easy Silence, the Dixie Chicks

It wasn't necessarily that Li Syaoran was standoffish. Sometimes he was standoffish, and sometimes he just wanted to be quiet. In a home full of five women, with various cousins and aunts dropping in at a moment's notice, Li Syaoran learned to value silence when there was the opportunity.

That was why, in his rough way, he appreciated Tomoyo. She also knew the value of silence (when it was needed, anyway). She found no reason to talk while they were working on their math homework; after all, one needed to concentrate.

They waited for Sakura to emerge from cheerleading practice, and for one hour, they didn't talk. They didn't need to. Tomoyo didn't have to ask how his parents were, or whether it would rain tomorrow; Syaoran didn't check whether she'd come along on this night's mission, if the Clow-presence returned, or whether she could be persuaded to never make him a battle costume, since the pink fluffy dress had been embarassing.

When Sakura emerged from the school with the rest of the girls, laughing and joking, she found Syaoran and Tomoyo in their own little bubble. Tomoyo was working on her English homework and Syaoran was leaning back against the base of the school statue with a book over his eyes. It was like walking into a wall of peace, but it was comfortable, not forbidding.

Syaoran heard footsteps, and without removing the book from his eyes, said, "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes," Sakura said hesitantly, "if you're ready."

He took his book and threw it in his bookbag, and then rose and took her hand. They chatted on the way home about the mundane things like weather and whether Tomoyo would be able to get out of the house for a while to pursue the Clow-presence, if it came tonight.

With these girls, Syaoran supposed, he didn't mind the small talk, but perhaps one of these days, he and Tomoyo could teach Sakura the value of a comfortable silence.