Title: Revelations
Author: nanthimus
Pairing: Li/Eriol
Fandom: Cardcaptor Sakura
Theme: #22 jolt
Disclaimer: I don't own Cardcaptor Sakura or any of the characters. This fanfic is just for fun and I'm not making any money off it.
This fic is written for one of the themes on the 30_kisses community.
It was a beautiful day in the courtyard of Tomoeda Elementary. School had just let out and the students were yelling and laughing with each other as they readied themselves to go home. They'd been having tests all day and the relief of it all be over filled everyone with a manic sort of relief.
One boy, however, was not cheering. Sitting at one of the tables outside, Syaoran Li was a somber feature amidst all the happiness. It wasn't his fault. He was just a bit more reserved than the rest of the kids his age.
“Li-kun!” Li jerked up, a blush rising on his face as he looked at the one who called his name out. Kinomoto Sakura came running up to him, a smile on her sweet face.
“S-sakura,” He greeted her, trying to ignore the dark-haired girl at Sakura's side, who was beaming at his reaction to their appearance. Daidouji Tomoyo, Sakura's best friend, had taken a particular interest in Li's various reactions to Sakura. He didn't understand why, but it might have had something to do with her crush on the girl.
“Li-kun, Tomoyo-chan and and I are going to the park,” Sakura said, oblivious to the boy's embarrassment. “Do you want to go with us?” Her wide green eyes looked at him hopefully; it was obvious she wanted him to go. Warmth filled him at that which he resolutely ignored.
“Yes,” Tomoyo added, “Hiiragizawa-kun is going with us.” She smiled, knowing Li would want to go if only to keep Eriol and Sakura apart. Sure enough...
“H-he is? I'm going.” The familiar anger grew on Li's face, as it always did when mention came of the mysterious dark-haired boy. He didn't really understand why. There was just something about that boy he didn't trust.
“Howeee, Li-kun, scary!” Sakura cried and waved. “I've got to get home and talk to Touya. Meet us at the park at 5:00, okay?” She hurried off, her skirts billowing around her legs. Li watched her go before sighing and looking at Tomoyo, who was smiling at him.
“Syaoran-kun, it should be fun, ne?” She said in her sweet soft voice, dark eyes knowing. Tomoyo may have seemed rather ditzy but she saw things others missed. It could be from watching Sakura all the time; a habit.
“Oh, go away,” Li snapped, turning to his papers. “I want to go to the park to relax, not to hang out with S-sakura.” Ignoring the utter idiocy of this statement (what child goes to the park to relax?) he turned back to his papers. As one of the best students, he got his tests back before everyone else.
Tomoyo giggled. “I'm cheering for you Syaoran-kun, not Hiiragizawa-kun.” She waved. “See you later!” He half-heartedly waved back.
Looking at his papers but not really paying attention, Li thought. 'I'm NOT going to the park to see Sakura,' he thought fiercely to himself. 'I'm just going to keep her safe from Hiiragizawa-kun. Something is not right about that guy.' Nodding resolutely to himself, he turned his attention back to his studies.
At 4:30, Li packed up his backpack and headed for the park. It was still light; the sun shone down through the trees and speckled the sidewalk. Birds sang cheerfully and the wind gently blew, tugging and twisting at his hair and clothes. Li didn't notice any of it though. He was deep in thought about the park. And Sakura. Whom he was NOT going to the park to see. Really.
At the park entrance he looked around but didn't see either of the girls. “They must not be here yet,” He murmured to himself. In fact, it didn't look like anyone at all was around. The park was empty. How strange.
“Syaoran-kun,” A young, smooth voice called and Li groaned inwardly. He turned to face the boy who'd called to him.
“Hiiragizawa-kun,” He acknowledged rather testily. “The girls aren't here yet.”
“Ah,” Eriol said, though it seemed he didn't care either way. “Then I suppose it's just you and me for now.” He smiled at the brown-haired boy, his dark eyes unreadable.
“I guess,” Li sighed, trying to look like he didn't want to claw his eyes out. He walked over and sits down in one of the swings. Swinging gently, he looked back at the entrance. No sign of Daidouji-san or Sakura yet.
“Syaoran-kun,” Eriol said sitting down at the swing to Li's left. “You don't seem to like me very much.”
Li shrugged, instantly uncomfortable with this new line of conversation. “What makes you say that?” He asked evenly. Well, as evenly as he could.
Eriol laughed. “You're not one to hide your feelings very well,” He noted and Li clenches his fists.
“I don't have any reason not to like you,” Li growled out, scowling. 'Except that you're after Sakura.' he shouted mentally.
“Oh?” The bespectacled boy raised his eyebrows. “Then you don't think I'm interested in Sakura-san?” Li froze and a mixture of embarrassment and rage filled his face. To cover this, he bowed his head, still swinging softly.
“O-of course not! And...and even if you were, what does that matter to me?” He said, his voice breaking embarrassingly.
Unseen by Li, Eriol smiled and stood. Kneeling in front of the blushing boy, he reached over and lifted Li's head up.
“Good,” He said, leaning in far too close. “Because I am interested in Sakura-san. But not romantically.” Staring into Li's wide-eyes, his own eyes narrowed.
“Wh...what does that mean?” Li growls, jerking his head out of Eriol's grasp. Eriol smiled.
“You'll understand everything later,” He said, taking Li's hand. “For now, know this.” He kissed it, eyes on Li's. Li jerked back roughly and fell out of the swing.
“ACK!” He cried out, his head hitting the ground painfully. Above him Eriol leaned, worry mixing with amusement on his face.
“Are you alright?” He asked and Li shot up, stumbling backwards and falling into a defensive stance.
“I'm fine. And if I wasn't it would be your fault!” He yelled, rubbing the back of his head. “Why did you do that?!” Eriol sighed, an exasperated expression growing on his face.
“For someone so intelligent you certainly are being rather dense.” He thought for a moment before smiling. Li didn't like that at all.
“What?!” He said, fingers curling into fist. Nothing made him angrier than being laughed at!
Eriol jerked him forward and kissed him, a simple soft brush between them. He pulled back ever so slightly and stroked Li's hair away from his face. And let his magic aura wash over the boy.
“Do you understand now, Syaoran-kun?” He asked softly, dark eyes watching Li's reaction carefully. Li stood, frozen in Eriol's embrace. That aura! It was..was...
“C-clow,” He croaked out and Eriol smirked.
“Yes,” He said simply and Li started. His voice sounded so different. Older and deeper.
“You! You're the one who's been causing all of those weird things to happen then!” Li cried, pulling away from Eriol. “The rain, the bear, everything!”
Eriol nodded, seemingly enjoying Li's shock. “Yes Syaoran-kun. I'm the one who has been doing all those things.” Li drew back further, unsure of whether to fight or run. He knew the only one who could fight and succeed was Sakura.
“But why?! You're suppose to be her friend!” Li yelled. “Why have you been trying to hurt her like this?!” Li couldn't believe this. He'd known there was something weird about Eriol but he'd never expected anything like this.
Eriol shook his head. “Like I said before, you'll understand later.”
Li shook his head wildly. “No way! You know I'm going to tell Sakura about this!” Eriol shot forward, a dark blur, and grabbed him by the shoulders.
“You know I can't let you do that,” He said, eyes narrowing as he stared into the shocked youth's own. Li's face cleared of any anger and his eyes closed. Pitching forward, he fell to Eriol's chest. Eriol wrapped his arms around the unconscious boy's shoulders and gently lowered him to the ground. Brushing Li's hair out of his eyes, Eriol smiled.
“Little defender,” He said fondly. “You know you can't protect her from me.” Hearing footsteps, his expression changed to concern and he looked up. “Sakura-chan, Daidouji-chan!” He called out to the girls.
“Eriol-kun....Li-kun!” Sakura hurried over to them, Tomoyo behind her. Sakura knelt beside Li and put a hand on his shoulder, shaking him gently.
“What happened to him, Hiiragizawa-kun?” Tomoyo asked, kneeling down at Li's feet. Her dark eyes were large with worry.
“I'm not sure,” Eriol said, “One moment he was talking and the next he was fainting.” He looked down at the unconscious boy.
“Oooh,” Sakura said, her hand still on Li's shoulder. Eriol watched her, eyes narrowing. That would not do.
“We should get him home, shouldn't we?” Tomoyo said, fingering a dark lock of hair nervously.
“Yes!” Sakura made to help Li up when Eriol moved. Carefully pulling Li from her grasp, he picked him up.
“I'll take him,” He said, ignoring the girls' astonishment. They'll find out in due time just how powerful I really am,' He thought in dark amusement.
“You know where he lives?” Sakura asked.
Eriol's eyes darkened for a moment before he smiled in assuredness.
“Yes, of course,” He said, but offered no further explanation. “I won't be coming back tonight. You two go ahead and have fun. I'll call you later.”
“Maybe we should come with you?” Tomoyo said and Eriol smiled at her and shook his head.
“No. Why should we all worry about this. You two go ahead, I'm sure he'll be fine,” He assured her. Nodding to the both of them he turned and left the park.
“Syaoran-kun, what am I going to do with you?” He asked the unconscious boy. Stopping, he lowered his head and brushed Li's forehead with his lips. “When it's all over, you will understand,” He whispered. Looking upward, he noticed two familiar shadows on top of the building he was near. Taking a step back, he made an impressive leap upwards, landing on the roof. He smiled at Spinel Sun and Ruby Moon.
“Did you enjoy yourself?” Spinel Sun questioned, but he never got his answer because Ruby Moon pushed forward, eyes bright with curiosity.
“Oh, what have you go there?” Ruby Moon asked, leaning down to get a closer look at Li. “He's adorable. What are you going to do with him?” The winged-creature smirked. “And when you're done may I have him?”
“No you may not,” Eriol snapped, though he really wasn't angry. “He's off-limits.”
“Ah,” Spinel Sun nodded. “This is your descendant then?” The panther gazed at Li.
“Huh. He doesn't really look like you,” Ruby Moon noted, already losing interest. “Why have you got him?”
“I'm...returning him to his home. He seems to have had an episode,” Eriol said, and he and Spinel Sun shared a smirk. “He is friends with Sakura.”
“How convenient,” Spinel Sun said. “Do you want us to watch over him?”
“That won't be necessary,” Eriol said. “As he's friends with her, I'll be able to watch over him myself. However, should you two find out about something, I want you to tell me. We four are family.” It went without saying, as he knew the two of them would let him know if anything should happen. Still, he wanted to solidify the fact. “Now, you may go home if you want. I have to take him to his house.”
They both nodded and disappeared. Eriol smiled and did the same.
Reappearing in Li's room, he set the boy on his bed gently. He knelt beside Li and stroked his cheek. “Li,” he whispered, resting his forehead against Li's. “When we're through with this game and everything is out in the open, will you forgive me?” Pulling back, he went to the window and looked out it, before looking back at the now sleeping boy. “What would it take to have your allegiance I wonder?” He shook his head in bemusement. “Sleep well, Syaoran-kun.”
End
