Covered in Rain

Written by: Ciuline Ihmenjo

Card Captor Sakura does not belong to me. The characters in Card Captor Sakura do not belong to me. CLAMP owns CCS. Besides, even if you do try and sue me, I have no money.

Little words…

I was just sitting around one night, trying to relieve my writer's block that had settled over 'Fallen Neo' when this little "diddy" popped out of my head and onto my computer monitor. Blame it on John Mayer if you would because it was the song "City Love" that inspired the words that now appear before you. I don't expect to receive many reviews on this story, seeing as it doesn't follow the usual S+S or E+T pairings, but I do hope that at least a few people will pay attention to it. And please don't just overlook this because it is Meilin and Touya. I find that I write alternate pairings much better than the usual CCS couples. Ah well, that's just me and now I'm rambling, so onward with the story.

Italicized words are thoughts. Bold words are emphasis. CAPS WORDS are shouting.

o()o Satin Tears o()o

She appeared on my doorstep one night, covered in rain and a red dress. A wraith of the night, dressed in a form-fitting scarlet. She was only sixteen, but I found that out later. The only thing she carried physically was a plastic bag, tied closed by a loose knot, that hung by her side. Mentally, she seemed to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders. I could tell she had a lot of troubles though. The way that she carried herself told me that she had a lot of things on her mind. One pale hand clutched the flimsy plastic handles, the grip on them slowly tightening until her fingernails dug into the flesh of her palm. A shiver shook her shoulders as she dug the toe of one tattered black shoe into ground, keeping a precarious balance on her other foot.

In all, she looked like a wreck. After a moment of silence, she finally looked up – at least moved her head up slightly – tilting her chin upwards. Her expression was haggard as if a great burden had been placed upon her shoulders. Her eyes were still trying to bore a hole in the ground at her feet. A livid bruise marred her cheek, another one peeking out from the neckline of her dress. The red dress was even ripped in places, showing pale skin in some places, blue and black in others. A pair of torn white socks and a pair of equally ragged shoes were on her feet. A slight flush blossomed on her face as she realized I was looking her over, almost as if she was embarrassed that a stranger was showing some concern for her well being. Maybe she was embarrassed because of the condition she was in. In reality, I mused, she probably figured that I was checking her out. She had a sort of wan smile on her lips.

I didn't recognize her at first. I suppose no one would have, not even her own relatives would have known who she was.

"May I help you?" I ventured, trying to place her face from the last few years. I had no luck.

"I-It's me," she managed through chattering teeth. She hugged her arms around her sides, wincing as one limb brushed against one of the bruises. I could see it through one of the tears in the dress.

I wracked my brain again to match a face with a name. "I'm sorry," I said, "do I know you?"

The sides of hermouth turned downward. She began mumbling something unintelligible. "Damn it," she muttered (it was the first thing that I could make out), "I knew it." She stamped her foot on the ground – the same one that had recently been attempting to gouge a hole in my doormat. "I'm sorry," she said, looking up at me, finally meeting my eyes with her own. She gazed up at me, pale and distant. Her eyes were like blazing rubies, but they had lost much of their former shine. Dark hair hung down around her face in black strings. She brushed them casually away, dropping her arm back to her waist when she had finished the task. Some of the strands stayed plastered to her face by the rain.

Something flashed in my mind… something from the past. A girl running around with my sister and her best friend. And that damned gaki. Shit, my brain said. I think the word emerged from my mouth as well.

The girl clutched her arms tighter around her waist. "I'm sorry," she repeated. Her voice now carried a sort of sad ring to it. "I-I didn't know wh-where else t-to turn to," she sputtered. "Y-you were the only one that I could think of."

"Me?" The look on my face was one of utter confusion.

She looked down again, carefully studying the patterns of wear in her shoes. "I… I didn't know anywhere to go. Everyone else… they don't care. I figured, since you… since you…" She broke off in a helpless sputtering. Her hands that had been a flurry of motion while she was speaking were now clutched together as if in prayer.

"I'm being rude," I said. Gently placing a hand on her shoulder, I gently tried to usher her inside. She flinched noticeably and jerked her shoulder out of my reach. Her hands were set before her in a sort of defensive posture. She sputtered again, trying to form words that wouldn't come to her. "Why don't you come inside. It's freezing out."

She nodded, bobbing her head up and down vigorously. "Thank you," she said meekly, but made no effort to enter.

"It still isn't much, but it gets the family by. You should come in before you catch cold." I paused, one hand on the door. "We like to call it home."

"And Yukito?" The bag landed on the ground with a wet splat. The opaque white of the plastic didn't quite fit with the peach blossom doormat. It was a gift from my sister.

I squeezed my eyes shut, my step faltering. I hoped she didn't noticed, but when I opened my eyes her face hovered inches away. She had walked forward only about a half meter, covering the distance between us with that single step, and now was standing right in the middle of the doorframe. I had jammed an arm against the wall to keep my body upright. The other was at my side, hand curled into a clenched fist. She backed away when she saw that hand, her body a knot of tense muscles. She was once again outside in the rain, stooping down to collect her bag. We both looked away, using our embarrassment at the awkwardness of the situation as an excuse.

"Sorry," she murmured. I barely heard her words over the patter of rain outside. Then the sound of footsteps reached my ears and I glanced up. She stood in the middle of the hall – her hair still hung about her face in tangles – dripping rain on the carpet while I tried to find a way to pull my foot out of my mouth.

"He… left," I said finally, breaking the awkward silence that had fallen over the room. "He found someone else, told me that I would do the same in time." I snorted. "It's been about two years and I'm still left with no one." A slight chuckle escaped my lips. "Some things just die hard, no? Feelings are usually like that." I gave her my best smile in the same lie it had displayed to everyone around me. I suspected that she saw through it.

"Yeah, they do." The words emerged from her mouth just below at the level of a whisper so I had to strain to hear them. She stared, dumbfounded afterwards, before nodding dumbly. The bag had fallen to the carpet, soaking a darkening circle of dampness on the floor. "You're okay though, right?"

I nodded. It was the only response that didn't involve me putting my fist into or through a solid object that would come to my brain. "Who are you again?" I asked. She was still standing in the middle of the hall, dripping rain onto the carpet. Her body was still coiled like a spring.

"You really don't remember me?" I shook my head, finally feeling my fist unclench. And my arm stopped trembling. She seemed to relax. "Meilin," she said softly, sniffling a little.

Then it hit me like a bullet. "The Chinese gaki's cousin." The words were a mistake as soon as they hit the air. She started to cry.

"I…" she sniffled, wiping her nose on bare arm. It was the first time I even gave her a second look. She looked like she had been beaten with some sort of blunt object. There were dark circles under her eyes. Her arms were marked with bruises, most likely from where she had tried to defend herself. One sleeve was missing from the dress, the other torn off at the shoulder. Her teeth clacked together and she hugged her body again. The tears still fell.

I led her over to the couch and went off to find a towel. She wouldn't let me. Two hands grasped my arm by the wrist, holding me fast. Something in my mind told me that I could get away easily but that I should just stay. It was that same feeling I got when Yuki left me. A sudden feeling of dread.

A sigh left her lips on a wisp of air. "I'm the idiot." She buried her face in her hands. The sobbing increasing in volume and intensity. When she finally started to speak, she didn't look up. Her words were somewhat mumbled by her hands. "I thought it would change. That it was only a phase." Peeking up from the prison of her cupped palms, she used the remainder of one sleeve to rub her eyes. "Why was I so stupid?" The question was phrased not to me, but the air. I decided to keep my mouth shut.

"I think I should be asking if you are okay instead of the other way around." I sank onto the couch beside her. There was a slight squishing noise when she shifted her weight away from me.

She looked up to stare past me, eyes red-rimmed from crying. There was no waiting for the question, only her response. "I'm a wreck."

"I can tell."

The only response I received was her rolling her eyes. Her arms dropped to her side, flopping against the red cloth covering the couch. Her dress blended as nicely with it as her bruised skin contrasted with it.

"Really, you were the only one that I had left. Li is too busy with Kinomoto…" There was a slight pause before she continued, "I meant, Sakura, and well, everyone else I know is telling me to do my duty as a woman and marry that… that…" she sputtered for a moment, unable to find the words that so desperately wanted to escape her mouth. "That demon!" The words flew from her mouth, propelled by her frustration and humiliation. "All I have is a little money and a change of clothes. And a few letters from Daidouji and Kino… Sakura." She held up the drenched plastic bag almost daintily pinched between two fingers. The wan smile had reappeared on her face and she began to place the aforementioned articles onto the table. "All I could find that hadn't been either ripped to shreds or was even somewhat decent was… this." Two pieces of folded cloth landed on the table, skidding a few inches before stopping. One edge hung limply over the edge. "I'd be surprised if it still even fit me." She picked it up, unfurling the garment with a flick of her wrists. I saw the wince play over her features as she moved. It was a multi-colored fighter's gi – mostly red, white and gold – that I remembered seeing a few times before then. Memories of the past that surfaced for an instant before submerging back into the recesses of my mind. An almost warm smile came to her lips, but the expression shortly faded back to that sad look.

"How did you…" I began.

She intercepted the question well before I finished it. "I used some of my money to buy a ticket. He may have traced a credit card or check… even though I don't think he cared. And the family's probably disowned me now." She had finally stopped crying. Instead, she was running her fingers through her hair, trying to fix it from the long strings that fell in front of her face. "But, I flew all the way here in a torn dress and beaten-up shoes. It was all that I could find." She chuckled, the first real positive thing I had gotten from her. "I was in such a rush to get out of the house. He grabbed at me before I could get out and I slipped a few times… but I'm free." She looked at me, smoothing her hair out the best she could. "That's all the really matters, you know?"

I nodded. "Do you need anything for your… uh… injuries." I got up, walking over to the sink to fill a bowl with warm water. "We have a first aid kit in the bathroom."

"I'm fine," she said softly. I knew she didn't mean those words. It was the same thing I said when people asked me how I was coping with the loss of Yukito. You never really are fine when you lose the one you love. And you never really mean the words that you say. It's little more than an elaborate façade to keep those people around you from pitying you.

"Really?"

"What do you think," she snapped. There was no apology this time.

"I'd agree with your assessment that you are a mess right now. You need a shower, a fresh change of clothes, and a good night's sleep. I'm sure you'd look fine in one of my shirts or something. After all, I don't think the monster would like it if you went rummaging through her stuff." I turned the water off and located a fresh washcloth in one of the drawers near the sink. A fluffy towel was in the same drawer – used at times for drying the dishes, so I took it out, deciding to bring it with me. She had repositioned herself on the couch and was bent over her belongings.

"Point taken." She gave me a saccharine smile that masked whatever she was currently feeling. There were a few envelopes on the table, and she was flipping leisurely through some of them as if searching for something. She obviously found it because the next time I looked over at her, she was intently reading an unfolded piece of paper.

"Who's that from?" I asked, setting the bowl of water before her on the edge of the table.

"Your sister." She didn't look up, didn't even pause in her reading. "It's from the summer. Something about this… thing she and Li did. I think it was a project for school or something." I decided to hand her the towel now that she was finished. She grabbed it fiercely and began to pat her head and body down with it, wincing ever moment she pressed on a particularly sore area. Sighing deeply, she smoothed her dress out and stood. The next thing I knew, she was pacing behind the couch, still furiously rubbing the dampness from her body

"You going to take up my offer?" I asked.

"Offer?" she responded, still walking back and forth behind my couch. She had the towel draped around her neck, one hand grabbing each end.

"Bath, clothes, and a dry bed." I turned around on the couch so that I could her, draping my arms over the back of it. "I mean… I can always sleep on the couch." I patted one of the dry seat cushions lightly. "It's old but it's still pretty comfortable."

"Is it still available? The… the offer I mean." Her ears perked up and her expression lightened noticeably. I thought I detected a slight tinge of pink in her cheeks. But she didn't strike me as the type of person who blushed over nothing. I saw it as nothing at least. Just a simple gesture of kindness.

I nodded. "Bathroom is the first door on the right." I pointed at the stairs and she scrambled for them. Of course, she stumbled, tripping over her own two feet before she managed to get a hand on something too keep her upright. And of course, my own two feet betrayed me by bringing my closer to her like the charming prince dashing to the rescue. Only she was no princess and I definitely didn't qualify as a prince. She spun quickly on one heel, both hands wildly flailing for a purchase. They only found my shirt to cling to. Somehow, my arm wrapped itself around her waist, supporting her gently but firmly. A small gasp of surprise escaped her pursed lips. We must have made an interesting sight. Two wide-eyes people trying to figure out appropriate words for this sort of situation. The truth was… we couldn't.

She flushed crimson now and I supposed I did as well. I could feel my cheeks burning a fiery red. We were drawing unconsciously closer together by the second. Her face was mere inches from mine, a look of curiosity now gracing her countenance. And then I could feel her breath, hot on my face. You know you want to kiss her, a voice said in the back of my mind. I did my best to keep it from voicing any of those thoughts. Yet she made no move to fight my advance or the hand that had now snaked around her neck. I attributed it to additional support. A blatant lie, but I needed something to shut that damned voice up. The door chose that moment to open in the background, startling us both out of our gaze… and completely ruining the mood. All we could to is look up helplessly at the source of the noise, still frozen in the awkward position in which we had managed to place ourselves.

Sakura had just stepped inside, her mouth now gaping open in shock. A pair of keys dangled limply from her hand, and her arms were slack by her sides. "What are you doing?" she cried from the doorway. She was unable to close her umbrella before it clattered against the floor, rolling to a stop with a gentle thump against the wall.

Small reminders…

Okay, so I did it again. I was fully intending to write a one shot, but my beta reader basically said "you should try and write more of this because it'll be too open ended unless you make it like… a lot of pages!" Or, at least, it was something along those lines. So I did… I wrote more of it. I'll be ducking the flames now. With that said, please give me feedback on this and overlook the fact that it is a Meilin/Touya story (repetition I know, after all you did read the story somewhat if you got to here!). They don't have to be the usual couples to actually be a well-written story. Plus, this just wouldn't quite fit as well with Eriol and Tomoyo (though I had originally written it for them) and definitely not well at all with Sakura and Syaoran.

See you next update: Ciuline Ihmenjo