Title: Frozen Blue Eyes
Author: Fleur de Anemone / Areku1993
Beta: Colbzie-kun
Main Characters: Fai, Sakura
Pairing: Fai x Sakura if you squint
Genre: General. Slightly angsty.
Summary: As Syaoran, Kurogane and Mokona sleep, Sakura confronts Fai about why he's always so lonely.
Disclaimer: Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE belongs to CLAMP
Aforenotes: I haven't written anything all summer. Sure, I've had more than 500 ideas, but none of them made the cut into a fanfiction. I did write a lot of them out, but I don't like them, so I didn't post them. Enjoy.
Frozen Blue Eyes
by Fleur de Anemone / Areku1993
Fai pulled the blanket up over Syaoran's torso, smiling at the young teen's sleeping face. Fai liked Syaoran more when he slept; he was so calm, so serene. Happy, even. Fai himself felt his heart jump to see the anxious and ambitious boy relax once in a while.
His eyes, blue as ice, flickered to Sakura, who sat across the table on the opposite couch. The couch was a plush green color, overstuffed and, from what Fai experianced earlier, was very comfortable. Silence hung over the two as Sakura watched Syaoran and Fai watched Sakura, wondering what was on her fractured mind.
"Sakura-chan, it might be a good idea for you to catch some sleep yourself."
His remark shattered the silence, causing Sakura to blink slowly and lift her bright green eyes to meet his gaze. "Hm?"
"Sleep. You look very tired, and it might be a good idea to let yourself drift off. Kuro-wanwan and Syaoran-kun have already accomplished that." Fai plastered his fake smile on his face; a disguise none but Kurogane could see beyond. "You can have the bed; Kuro-tan took the armchair. I'll sleep on the couch."
"Why are you always smiling, Fai-san?"
The corners of Fai's smile twitched down a nanometer. "Why do you ask that, Sakura-chan? I smile because I'm happy!"
"You're not happy, Fai-san." Sakura hugged her knees to her chest and stared at him over them. "You're never happy. Your mind is always wandering to other things that make you feel lonely and anxious."
Fai's smile disappeared. His eyelids drooped slightly, which he made an excuse out of. "Sakura-chan, aren't you tired? I certainly am!" His smile grew once more on his lanky, pale features. "Let's go to sleep."
Silence once again fell over them like a heavy blanket. Sakura's hair shaded her eyes as she watched Fai tiredly. In a small voice, she said, "Your eyes."
"Hm?"
"Your eyes. They're almost... Frozen, I guess."
Fai broadened his grin. "How so?"
"Your eyes are never happy... That's how I know. Your eyes are always lonely, and they always look like they're thinking of other things." Her head tilted to the left. "What are you always thinking about, Fai-san? Why are you always lonely?"
Only Mokona, the cute creature nestled in the crook of Kurogane's neck and fast asleep, knew this. Its 108 secret skills gave it the ability. Fai's smile faded.
When Fai didn't answer, Sakura stood up and walked over to stand in front of him. "What's the matter, Fai-san?"
Fai didn't move, but his eyes swiveled down to meet hers. "Nothing's wrong, Sakura-chan. I don't know where you get the idea that something is--"
The magician was cut off as Sakura wrapped her arms around him and hugged herself close, bending her forehead on his chest. "I don't want Fai-san to feel lonely when he's surrounded by friends."
Not only was Fai shocked, but he felt like he wanted to cry. Sakura was so kind, it made him feel sick. She was worried about him, when she was the one with scattered memories? It didn't make sense. Fai just couldn't get around it.
Fai put an arm around her shoulders and the other on her head, sliding it over her smooth, neat hair. "Sakura-chan... I'm not lonely. I'm just... Distracted, by other things. Things that happened long ago. It's not important."
"But if it makes Fai-san feel sad..."
"It doesn't make me sad, it just makes me distracted."
Sakura moved to rest her chin on his chest and gaze up at him. "Really?"
The magician smiled softly. "Really."
Sakura believed him this time. "What are you thinking about, though?"
"Ah..." Fai's smile didn't waver. "It's kind of hard to explain; maybe another time. It's really not important, Sakura-chan."
Sakura's eyelids drooped. When Fai said she was tired, he was right. She'd been up all day with Syaoran looking for her feather in this world; running around carrying Mokona was harder than it seemed. Especially when Mokona never stopped talking.
"Come sit with me, Fai-san."
"Sakura-chan..." Fai winced, but let himself be dragged over to the couch and made to sit down. "I mean... I really can't tell you. Really."
Sakura sat next to him and hugged his arm. "Why not?"
"Because it would make you sad."
Sakura turned to head to look him full in the face. She caught the pleading look in his eyes that begged her not to press further. She smiled at the mage warmly. "I see. But why does thinking about it make you feel lonely and sad?"
"I can tell you this, Sakura-chan." Fai stole a glance at Syaoran's sleeping face. "In my world... There is someone sealed away. Who might come and try to kill me when he wakes up."
"Why?"
"I can't tell you."
"Oh..." Sakura closed her eyes for the night, curled up cutely on the couch with Fai as her pillow. "Fai-san, you're so... Nice..."
Fai put an hand on her shoulder in a sort of half-hug. "Nice, Sakura-chan?" He said quietly, blinking slowly. "Would you still think I was nice if you knew what I've done?"
Morning
"...LOVE!"
Fai jerked awake, his eyes opening wide. He immediately recoiled after seeing Mokona jumping up and down on his lap, giddy with glee. "... What?"
"IT'S LOVE! LOVE! FAI AND SAKURA! OOHH, SO CUTE! I MUST TELL YUUKO!"
"What?" Fai looked around. Sakura was still curled up next to him, just beginning to stir at Mokona's loud screams. Syaoran sat up on the couch across from him, looking at him and Sakura curiously. Kurogane had his elbow on his chair's armrest and his cheek on his fist, watching them lazily, an uninterested expression on his face.
The mage put on his smile and caught Mokona on his palm. "If you want to think Sakura-chan and I would make a cute couple, you may do so. But I don't think Syaoran-kun would approve."
Syaoran immediatly flushed and looked at Sakura closely, making sure she wasn't awake enough to hear them. "Fai-san...! What are you talking about? I wouldn't--"
"MEKYOU!"
Mokona's eyes grew wide, causing Fai to recoil further. It was pretty creepy. "A feather! I can sense a feather! It's close, but it's moving away! We must catch it!"
Syaoran jumped up. "Let's go!"
Kurogane stood up, rubbing sleep from his eyes; it was obvious he had just woken up. "Right. Wake up the Princess; manjuu, how far away is the feather?"
"BARELY A BLOCK! AND I'M NOT A MANJUU!"
"Sakura-chan." Fai shook Sakura's shoulder gently just as Kurogane and Syaoran left, Mokona with them. "Sakura-chan, wake up. We have to go get your feather."
"Hm... Wha?" Sakura's eyelids fluttered. "What's happening?"
"Mokona can sense your feather. Syaoran-kun and Kuro-sama already left." He stood up and proceeded to the door. "We'd better catch up."
Fai was halfway to the door when he noticed Sakura wasn't following. He turned with a puzzle "Sakura-chan?"
Sakura stood beside the couch, barely a stone's throw away. Her eyes were wide with a hint of worry. "Fai-san... Are you lonely?"
Fai scrutinized her closely, but closed his eye with a content smile. He opened them a moment later, holding out a hand to her. "I'm never lonely when I'm with Sakura-chan and my friends. Not anymore."
As he said those words, he felt a flutter in his chest. A stray thought told him that what he said was true, and that made him feel warm and happy.
Sakura's face brightened and her frown became a smile. With a simple movement, she took his hand, and together they went off in pursuit of another memory.
Notes: Did anybody else notice that Mokona NEVER uses suffixes? XD And I think that I spell "manjuu" right...