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storypaint) wrote2007-09-17 12:47 pm
Prove That You Love Me (Meiling/Syaoran) *repost*
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15pairings
Words: 871
Title: Prove that You Love Me
Pairing: Meiling/Syaoran primarily; Syaoran/Sakura
Disclaimer: Cardcaptor Sakura belongs to CLAMP. This fanfic is a derivative of canon material that is not my property. I do not profit from these writings. The opinions and actions expressed in these stories are not necessarily the views and beliefs of the original author or me.
Rating: G
Excerpt: "Prove that you love me," Meiling said petulantly. He sighed and rolled his eyes.
It was the same argument, always. She doubted his faithfulness. She doubted his love. It drove him crazy. It wasn't that he was positive in his ability to be faithful, or that he would always love her (or indeed, that he did love her romantically at all). It was the doubt. When Li Syaoran committed to something, he went through with it. Even if it hadn't been his choice in the matter. Even if he didn't want to honor the committment. (Which, to be honest, he didn't.)
"Prove that you love me," Meiling said petulantly. He sighed and rolled his eyes. Why was she always like this? Dear God, would she get worse as she aged? Quietly he started calculating. If he could put their wedding off until he was twenty-five or so (ten more years of freedom!), and if he died young, say fifty-five...
He'd be stuck with her for thirty years. Crap.
Whose brilliant idea was this engagement, anyway?
"Meiling, you know I'll marry you when the time comes. I love you," he said woodenly. Honestly, he wondered sometimes if he was too young to know what love was. Why was the love he had for his fiancee so much different than the love he quietly treasured for the Clow mistress? He pictured her smile and it made his heart beat faster, his thoughts strange. And when he thought of Meiling, he thought...
Thirty years.
Sometimes Syaoran wished he wasn't such an honorable guy. Sure, it had been three years since he had left Japan-- a thought which always gave him a pang of grief, and a flash of watery green eyes-- but he could see himself going back. He'd promised, hadn't he? Meiling would never let him leave once they were married, especially not to pay a visit to her arch-rival.
Maybe he wasn't that honorable after all. He knew he would have to marry Meiling... He'd lied to Sakura. He wasn't an honorable guy after all. Damn.
"Let's elope tonight," Meiling said brightly as he started listening to her again. Startled, he turned and looked at her. Her eyes were sparkling, but not with mischief or humor as he had supposed. She began to bustle around his room, humming cheerfully, and throwing clothes into the satchel she pulled from under his bed.
Dear God, she was serious.
"Meiling, I--" he stuttered. "I--"
"You keep saying you love me and you'll marry me. Now prove it." She had quite a self-satisfied smile on her face.
"You know if you want to get married, my mother will be happy to arrange a ceremony--" he tried desperately to stall for time. "Even though we're only fifteen, and that's kind of young...."
She stomped her foot like a little girl having a tantrum--which she resembled, teenager or not. "I want to marry you. Today. Come on, I know where we can find an official--"
She held out her hand and turned away in the direction of the door, certain he would follow. Syaoran stared at her hand as though it held a poisonous snake, and didn't move. His thoughts were racing as he tried to figure out a way out of this.
Honorable guy or not, he didn't think he could do this. He began to panic in his head. What could he do???
She turned back when he didn't take her hand and smiled. "...Or would you rather go back to Japan? Because that would work too. To prove you love me."
All Syaoran could say was, "Huh?"
She continued smiling, but he could see a hint of pain in her eyes. Guiltily he reached for her hand, but she drew back. "If you ever cared about me, even for a moment, leave now. Don't look back, just leave. I can only be happy if you are. And you won't be happy... married to me," she finished softly. "Syaoran, I am not stupid. I can see how much you miss her. I won't be second to any woman!"
She reached into her pocket and pulled out something that seemed to resemble an airline ticket, to Syaoran's intense relief. The guilt lodged itself somewhere under his breastbone, in a sticky sort of way that let him know it probably wouldn't go away for a while. But the joy that welled up in him overpowered it. She put the ticket in his hand and closed his fingers around it. With her other hand she gave him the satchel.
"I won't be second to any woman," she said softly. "...So go get your number one."
Syaoran took a step towards the door, and then stopped. She shut her eyes and breathed in his smell. She could feel the tears wanting out, but she controlled herself. She felt his lips brush her cheek, and a whispered, "Thank you," before his presence left the room. She stood there a second, breathing carefully. Then she laughed a little.
"Me, elope? No way. When I find my guy, it's going to be the biggest wedding the Li clan has ever seen! Except," she began, and then stopped. Breathily she finished, "except for his, of course."
Quietly she strode to the doorway, shut off the lights, and left.
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I ended up really liking this one.
So many fanfics show how Meiling can't handle Syaoran loving Sakura and write her off as an annoyance to get rid of. I think this, in contrast, really characterises her well and paints her in a much more likable light, much in the same tone as the series itself (with the number one talk).
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