Warnings: Sakura, Eriol, Syaoran, Mei Ling, Tomoyo, Touya, Relationships
Disclaimer: CLAMP owns 'em.
Notes: My eternal love and gratitude to molten-amber(-sama ;) ) for beta-ing this for me!
Though their avoidance is not coincidence, their next meeting is; there is genuine shock on Sakura's face when she walks to the bar and finds Eriol waiting. He, on the other hand, is not surprised. He appears unflappable, and no patron will ever honestly admit to having ever recognized any emotion akin to shock in him.
He offers her the last half of his mojito and Sakura laughs, a sweet, innocent sound that warms their eavesdroppers' hearts. She places her lips around the faint impression his had left, and takes a small sip, fully aware that he would pick up on the connotations of her careful awareness. For his part, Eriol is amused. He studies the girl, watching her eyes round with pleasure at the unexpected sweetness in the drink.
"You've never had a mojito before?"
"I usually stick to a double shot, with something to chase it with. It's not like I need to do anything more than refresh myself."
"You're missing out, Sakura."
"About that," she says, wrinkling her nose. "Couldn't you rename me as anyone else?"
"Why? It's not like you're being any less true to yourself."
"But even Yukito-san takes on a new name!"
"He certainly does not; he just takes on a definition that makes him closer to what he is."
"Eh?"
Eriol laughs and pops the last piece of his rice ball into her open mouth.
"Haven't you ever noticed? Hermes is neither your Tsukishirou-san, nor the almighty Yue. He's more than either of them because he is both."
Sakura swallows her food, her eyes taking on a calculating glint.
"Hermes, Mercury, Quicksilver?"
"I would have guessed that it came down to 'mercurial' myself, but 'quicksilver' isn't so bad, I suppose."
She slaps him gently, then finishes off her drink. Setting it on the counter, she flashes him a bright smile. Most of the people around them feel warmed by her expression, so bright and caring, a complete opposite from her seduction on the dance floor. Eriol is more perturbed by her expression, something Sakura finds evidence for in his sharpened gaze. His wariness is well founded; in a flash, Sakura's attitude changes, sex appeal practically dripping off of her as she leans into the older boy.
"And why," she whispers against his lips, "couldn't Jade be my Quicksilver?"
It would have taken a less inhibited man than Eriol to resist the temptation. His hand slides into her hair as they look at each other, then he pulls her into a searing kiss. His eyes seem to bore into her as she returns it, one arm gripping Eriol's seat for balance, the other looped around his neck. He breaks the kiss as unexpectedly as he began it. Brushing his fingers against the flush on her face, he smiles, enough conflicting emotions on his face to confuse even himself.
"Sakura is Sakura. There is no need for her to be anyone else."
He brushes another kiss accross her temple and turns her toward the dance floor. For a brief moment, his chest presses against her back as he whispers a comment that sends her into a spurt of laughter as she stumbles into her domain.
A wicked smirk crosses her lips; she refuses to consider an indirect kiss equivalent with that which he has stolen from her.