AN. First fic x3. Feedback appreciated.

Storm Clouds

By: Sayonn

It was a peaceful, mildly cloudy afternoon in London.

All Kinomoto Sakura wanted to do today was to enjoy the last quiet afternoon she had before the conferences started. She just wanted to sit by a window in her favorite coffee shop and relax.

The young woman shed her long black coat, tossing it over to the empty chair across from her. She flipped her long auburn hair to one side of her shoulder and stretched out her slender arms. The waiter placed the cup of coffee she ordered and along with a bottle of cream on her table. Sakura glanced up at the waiter, smiling politely as she thanked him. She began to pour a little bit of cream into the cup. Then, she placed her spoon inside it. With one hand, Sakura began to stir her coffee and rested her chin on the other.

"Is this seat taken?" someone asked in a strange type of English colored with an oriental accent. She briefly stopped herself from stirring, blinking in surprise. Regrettably, Sakura recognized that voice. Her green eyes slowly drifted up to the figure that stood in front of her and to her horror, her guess was correct.

"S-Sakura?" The figure reverted to a familiar dialect and gaped at her. He pulled off his aviators, smiling down at her. "What a coincidence"

"…what the hell are you doing here?" Sakura snapped, disdainfully narrowing her eyes at him. Out of all the people she'd run to in this country, it just had to be the confident Johnny boy, Syaoran Li. Wonderful.

"Good to see you too," he replied with a small chuckle. "You haven't answered my question."

"Yes, I'm afraid it's taken," she replied casually as she continued to swirl her coffee.
"Tomoyo-chan is coming by here soon"

"Well, I'm sure she wouldn't mind much," Syaoran stated as he circled around the chair in front of her. "A little chat won't hurt. I haven't seen you in a while."

"Right now I'd prefer to drink my coffee alone," she replied, the indifferent tone still present. She stared back down at the cup of coffee. Sakura kept her nonchalant expression, though his presence was bothering her. She didn't even understand why Syaoran Li was here in London in the first place, when he couldn't even drop by Tomoeda for his promised visit years ago. Sakura frowned. The young woman liked this particular cafe since it wasn't so popular or crowded. The location of the café was also far away from any tourists or big groups of people. The only ones who spent their time in this place were locals. So how would someone like Li drop by a small café like this?

"Nice jacket," Sakura heard him comment. She glanced up at Syaoran, watching as he draped her coat around the chair and took a seat. Could the Johnny be anymore of a nuisance?

"I'm sure you heard me, Li," she commented, preventing herself from sneering. He stared at her curiously.

"Go ahead. Drink your coffee," Syaoran responded calmly as he opened the small menu in front of him. "I'm not much a coffee person anyway."

She honestly wanted to yank him out of that seat herself, but causing a scene like that in public wouldn't be good. Even though there was hardly anyone inside the café, it was still a risky movement. Sakura didn't want to face her manager calling her, and demanding to explain why there was a story of her 'strangling' the oh-so-popular Syaoran Li. Well, she wouldn't honestly strangle him, but paparazzi and gossip columns simply adored to exaggerate things like that. Sakura had gotten used to that fact in the past five or six years.

So without making any further comment, she unwillingly let him stay seated where he was. Sipping her coffee, Sakura watched as Syaoran was pointing out something from the menu to the waiter, who seemed slightly confused. She assumed that he had struggled to find the right words to say – he was ordering in English – or that he was just too lazy to try. Effort wasn't one of his greatest strengths. After the waiter finally understood Syaoran's order, he nodded his head, flustered, and walked off. Syaoran set the menu down and met her eyes.

"What?"

Realizing she was just staring, Sakura shook her head briefly. "Nothing, I was…" Her eyes drifted to the top of his head. "…looking at your hair. I was staring at your hair."

He began to stretch out a few strands of his bangs, glancing at each one pensively. "Do you like it?" he asked.

"Of course not," she replied curtly, crinkling her nose as she set her cup down. "I was wondering why on Earth anyone would ever style their hair like that."

"I felt like it," he stated defensively crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned against the chair. "At least some of my friends thought differently."

"What friends?" She snorted in disbelief as she dipped another spoon into a container filled with sugar. "If you treat all your friends how you treat me…"

"It's been too long, Sakura."

"And your hello gift is what? Taking my friend's chair?" She dropped a spoonful of sugar into her cup and began stirring it with the spoon already inside. Sakura glanced down at her cup, imagining Syaoran sitting in a hair salon chair, and some random girl picking out hairstyles for him from magazines. She leered. "So...what, are you dating now?"

"Dating?" Sakura heard him reply curiously. From her corner of her eyes, she saw the figure lean over the table between them. "…you can say that," he mused in an almost a serious manner. "I've had my dates"

Sakrua shot him an odd look. He was staring right back at her, an indifferent gaze now in his eyes. She was close to spitting out a scornful comment, but he stopped her with that infamous smirk of his.

"I'm lying," he commented with a familiar, arrogant tone in his voice.

Sakura said nothing.

"Were you jealous?" he suddenly asked teasingly, tilting his head to the side almost adorably. She raised an eyebrow towards him, giving him a 'you've got to be kidding me' look.

"Far from it," scoffed the young woman, taking another sip of her coffee. "There's nothing to be jealous of."

"You looked like you were," he commented knowingly, neatly folding his hands on the table, his gaze still locked on her face. "Denial is not good for you, Sakura." That smirk still lingered on his lips. She stared coldly right back at him, trying to make him withdraw from the staring contest. Unfortunately, Sakura was the one who broke eye contact first.

"I've changed."

"So have I, Sakura."

"I've noticed."

They sat in silence awkwardly.

"Stop staring at me like that," she pouted after a while. "It's creeping me out."

He chuckled softly to himself, and leaned back against the chair once again. "Gomen," he apologized with a calm smile. She brought the cup to her lips, taking another sip. Why would she ever be jealous? Arrogant bastard. Plus, his composure was inwardly bugging the hell out of her. Sure, he always seemed to act that way - as far as she knew him, at least...but it was noticeably more than usual.

The waiter came by the table, setting down a plate in front of Syaoran. There was a small piece of cake on top of it. Syaoran thanked him briefly, and quietly dug his fork into the cake.

"Cake?"

"Of course," he replied, placing a piece inside his mouth. After finishing off the first piece (followed by many 'mmm's) he dug for another piece, only holding the fork towards her. "Try it. The calories won't hurt you, and honestly, I think you need them."

"Is that an insult?" she asked dangeriously, setting her cup down. "Again. Why the hell are you here?"

Silence.

"Why are you here, Syaoran?" Sakrua repeated sharply. She had a feeling he would try to evade her question.

"You know, I thought it was going to be sunny…" he imperturbably commented, looking up at the murky sky from the window. "It's really cloudy." Sakura's hands clenched into a fist. She couldn't take it anymore.

"If you're planning something here, or setting me up," she snapped, her voice rising slightly, "or if those…those…rowdy too-good-for-me friends of yours come busting in here, I'm going to—"

"Why are you here?" Syaoran abruptly asked her, still staring out of the window. The glare in her eyes evolved into a confused stare. Was that a rhetorical question? His eyes slowly drifted away from the window, and reached her's. There were no hints of playfulness, composure or even sarcasm in his eyes, but instead a serious gaze replaced all of that. "I mean I felt like coming here alone, that's all. But I don't understand why you're here."

"What're you talking about?" she replied crossly, sending off a look of disbelief. "I'm not the one who's disappeared for years. I'm not the one who broke all my promises. I'm not the one here for some sort of rich-guy vacation –"

Syaoran stared back down at his cake, stabbing it softly with his fork, separating it into small pieces. "Vacation, you say?"

"What else?" Sakura snapped, pouring more cream into her cup. She stared back down at her cup, realizing it was more than she needed, and began stirring. A heavy silence hung above them, like the darkening clouds above the sky. The only sound that seemed to fill the air was the soft music playing, the tinkling of her spoon, and a faraway rumbling outside. And despite the fact she hated the fact he purposely avoided subjects at times, Sakura hoped he would this time.

"I've never thought about it that way," he commented offhandedly. Her eyes widened slightly, swiftly looking back at him. Syaoran continued to poke at his cake with his fork, not meeting her eyes this time.

"That way?" she repeated skeptically. "Have you ever thought about anyone else?"

Another moment of silence trailed after her words. The sounds remained the same, except the rumbling became more perceptible.

"I've had problems too," he commented solemnly. The cake was now separated into many, inedible-looking pieces. She was about to interrupt him, but he continued to talk. "You're here for your job. I'm here on vacation, according to you." Finally, his eyes met hers, with a look that made her loss any belief that he was even joking on the current topic. "I thought you knew me better than that."

Sakura Kinomoto could've thrown something at his face by now, yelled, stood up, stomped away, forgotten what he said, forgotten everything, and returned to Tomoyo's house. But she didn't.

Sakura stayed seated at the table, barely turning the spoon in her cup; hell, her coffee was probably barely warm by now. A constant tapping noise erupted from the outside. Rain began pouring down the streets of London and a distant sound of thunder rumbled from afar. She swiftly turned her head towards the window, watching as the rain poured against it, and many droplets began to slide slowly descend from the glass. The silence stretched on, much longer than the previous times silence crept in between them.

"I was wrong, okay?" he finally said out loud. She continued to stare out the window, pensively watching the rain.

"Like you would've gave a damn about anyone else," she mumbled bitterly.

"I do right now."

"You have no reason to," replied Sakura, the tone of her voice suddenly faint. "So you think a little preaching would convince me to forgive you? After years. Years, Syaoran…of waiting?" Rain continued to pour heavily.

"No…"

"Well, Tomoyo's supporting the two of us now. I can make my own money too," came the sharp reply. "Unlike someone else. You live off of your fame."

Silence continued to creep on. It was not just an invisible cloud hanging above their heads, but also a wall in between them. A wall filled with awkwardness, and things they never said to each other or had to nerve to. Syaoran knew Sakura was right. It was all about money.

"Do you want to know why I really came here?"

The look she gave granted him permission to go on. His eyes maneuvered to the rainy scenery outside.

"Worry. Tossing and turning every night in regret. Pretending to be okay, even though things trigger my memory, and I realize I'm not," he muttered quietly, as if speaking too loudly would break something. He leaned his head against the window; a sharp sigh escaping his lips. "And having some crazy idea to see you so many years after the last time we spoke to each other…and expecting you to accept me." A brief, amused smile flickered on his face. "I'm still surprised I'm alive right now."

He paused, glancing at her once more. The ashamed look in his eyes was saddening.

"I miss you, Sakura."

She stared at him, not sure what was in her eyes. Shock, awe, disbelief, a mix of that? She wasn't sure. She wasn't even sure how to react to that statement. It would've been a harsh response, or even malicious. But she continued to stay seated, without a response in mind. Instead she unsteadily broke away from his eyes.

She wanted to deny everything he had said. She wanted to accuse him for lying right in her face. To tell him that he had no right meddling into her life. To tell him that she didn't want to see him ever again. That he was wrong; he had no clue about her or her life…completely wrong.

Why did she hate him? He didn't have to grab her by the shoulders to make her listen. Somehow, someway, he just got to her. And even after how many years of the two cutting any connection with each other, he was still able to read her like a book. As much as she hated to admit it, no matter how much she placed her feelings under her sleeves, he somehow seemed to see right to her cuts.

And maybe that's why she didn't actually hate him. Maybe that's why she found herself lying awake at night, staring at his name lit up on her cell phone, her finger lingering over the call button. Having the need to call him, to talk to him, vent to him, or even just to hear his voice.

Yes, Tomoyo was always there for her. She had turned to the girl for support and comfort. But that's all she seemed to just give her. Syaoran…gave her an opinion. Told her right from wrong – he was her reality check, and as much as she despised it…it was the thing she needed most of all.

He was the person she needed most of all.

Warm tears began to surface on her eyes, and Sakura immediately cursed herself under her breath, quickly wiping the drops off her face, though some seemed to manage to escape down her cheeks. She despised crying, especially in front of people…especially in front of him. Unsurprisingly, he detected her tears. He was leaning over the table, a hand reaching out to touch her cheek.

Her eyes averted once again to the outside of the window, only not focusing on the sky but on the sidewalk. A black sports car rolled across in the distance.

Immediately, Syaoran knew what she was looking at and recoiled into his seat. She glanced back at him, watching as he pulled out his wallet, took out some money and placed it on top of the table. He slowly stood up from his seat, and walked towards her. Before Sakura could protest, Syaoran stooped down to place a soft kiss on her forehead. A hand ran down the back of her head and his fingers became tangled in the long strands of her hair. He pulled away carefully, staring back at her, disappointment set in his eyes.

"Ja ne," he whispered, his lips forming a sad smile. Sakura sat there speechless; her eyes followed him as he walked out the door and into the rain, crossing paths with Tomoyo.

She stood up from her seat, but immediately caught the eye of someone else. From outside, the girl waved at her with a grin. She too waved back with a forced smile and slumped back into her seat, knowing it was too late to start over.