Wings

By Yuki

Author's note: Standard disclaimers apply. I still am, currently on some sort of hiatus so if there's anyone here who used to read my un-updated fanfics, I grovel at your feet and beg for mercy, forgiveness and understanding. I will, eventually, hopefully, go back to writing. This fic just won't leave me alone and so, I had to write it.

It crosses over with Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles. I posted it here because I wasn't quite sure where it belonged, maybe I should post it at TRC too? Please forgive any OCC-ness.

I need a beta-reader.

And now, on with the fic.


Wings

By Yuki

Touya slowly, lazily opened his eyes. He could see faint vapor yellow light streaming through the half-closed blinds that covered the windows of his bedroom.

Morning?

He glanced at the clock near his bedside table. 2:53 AM

He blinked, his hand rubbing his jaws, wiping the corner of his mouth, trying to swallow down the bitter taste clinging at the back of his throat. He turned his head and found several slanted lines falling across his bed and on his outstretched arms. He started at the stripes: dark (his skin), light, dark, light, dark…

Patterns. Little stripes. Ripples.

The lamppost from outside threw more yellow lights against the floorboard and the ceiling. He very grudgingly turned to his side, shoving his face into the pillow and growling with frustration. He should be getting a few more hours of sleep as he didn't have any classes for today and wasn't scheduled to report for work on the local ice cream shop but he didn't think he could go back to sleep even if he tried.

Touya frowned, flinging the pillow off his face. It was so quite inside his room – the whole house actually – he could hear himself thinking. And he was thinking of his dream, remembering very little detail about it but feeling it's unknowable, unnamable remnants sticking on his skin.

Wings. He dreamt of wings.

He frowned, finally pushing himself up from the bed. He stood up, straight towards one the windows. He pulled the blind with a snap and watched as the sudden movement disturbed a couple of doves that were probably sleeping by the windowsill. They flew up into the darkened sky, wings flapping noisily, breaking the silence.

No, not wings – feathers.

He had dreamt of feathers, Touya realized with a start. A million, white, glowing feathers drifting overhead, surrounding him, swallowing him whole until he was smothered by them and then he woke up.

For some strange reason, the feathers reminded him of his sister.


They stumbled upon this new world, realizing almost instantly that it was just the two of them.

The sky was inky-blue, almost morning but not quite, darkness was still lingering overhead. For a brief moment, they stared at each other, unsure of what to do, where they were. The stillness made the princess seem so much smaller, more vulnerable. Without Kurogane-san's annoyed muttering, or Fai-san's endlessly happy chattering or Mokona excitedly fluttering about, Syaoran could clearly sense the hesitation in Sakura – the initial surprise and fear that was always there whenever they arrived at a new world.

Looking at her, he could clearly see the worry in Sakura's eyes. He took a step forward and wordlessly offered his hand. Sakura accepted, squeezing his fingers gently.

"Let's wait." Syaoran calmly said, offering a small reassuring smile that Sakura very gladly returned. They waited to be found but then after some time, when it became apparent that no one was coming, they gave up on waiting. They tried searching for their companions instead but it was no use. They had been separated again, no idea where the others were, if they were safe, or unhurt.

Looking around, Syoran was quick to take mental notes, straining to remember everything, every little detail, any information that might help them, if and when help was needed, after all, it was all up to him now, with Fai, Kurogane and Mokono missing, he must make sure that nothing troublesome would happen .

They landed at an amusement park of some sort. The place wasn't meant to be empty, Syaoran could tell, and in the dead hours of the early morning, the silence was eerie, the blue-black shadows jumping and slithering around them made the rides look grotesque, forbidding.

The princess however took an immediate liking to a giant slide, which looked to Syaoran, to be a bird of some sort. ('Kawaii!' The Princess gushed, her eyes twinkling merrily).

They had decided to search for an abandoned building where they could stay until the morning, when they can freely roam the city, but looking for an empty building proved difficult. The town, in the morning at least, seemed to be bursting with life, there were no boarded up stores, the streets were clean, the houses looked nice and there was a sense of security radiating from the place.

As the hours went by, Sakura started yawning more frequently, rubbing her eyes and leaning heavily against his shoulder, stumbling once in awhile, only to assure her that she was fine.

"Honestly, Syaoran-kun, I'm alright, just a little tired, but I'm strong, see?" She flexed her arms and smiled at him brilliantly, but Syaoran could see the weariness in her eyes, in the way she moved. As they went on, he found himself feeling increasingly annoyed with himself. If they didn't find their friends soon, they'd be stuck here for a long time and more importantly, if one of Sakura's feathers was here, they needed Mokona to find it.

But here they were, walking through empty streets, wandering aimlessly.

From the corner of his eyes, he saw Sakura try to stifle a yawn, bringing up her hand to her mouth, trying to hide the yawn that escaped her. She still needed more of feathers and the long journey was draining her of what little strength she had. This reminded him of how few of her feathers he had found. It made him feel so inadequate, so undeserving of this mission – if it had been someone else with her, the High Priest or perhaps the King himself, would they have gotten more of her feathers?

"Ne, Syaoran-kun, is everything ok?" Sakura asked, pausing to stare at him.

Syaoran was suddenly thankful for the shadows hiding his face. He could feel his cheeks starting to burn. "Iie." He mumbled, shaking his head and forcing to sound more cheerful, shoving all thoughts out of his head. "I'm just a bit worried that we might not find a place where we could stay… soon, it would be morning and…"

Sakura smiled at him, her first smile for the day, even when she was tired, was almost like a ray of sunshine to Syaoran. "I'm sure we could find a suitable place, Syaoran-kun."

When they finally did, (a small house at the back of an old temple) Sakura was already asleep, draped on his back. She had adamantly refused his offer to carry her on his back, but soon her fatigue had worn her out and eventually, she very shyly rested her cheeks against Syaoran's back, wrapping her arms around him.

It thrilled Syaoran to no end to have the princess so close to him, to feel the steady beating on her heart, feel the strands of her hair lightly brushing against his face that it seemed almost a misfortune that he found the old temple. It meant that he would have to let go of her – but Syaoran knew that someday, he'd do just that and it was better now to teach his heart this lesson, little by little. It wouldn't make it any easier on him when that time finally comes… but at least…

But at least what?

He could do it, though. He knew he could. He was strong.

Syaoran didn't have any trouble finding a window and opening it. As gently as he could, without jarring Sakura and waking her up, he managed to deposit her inside the house through the window. When he climbed in, he made sure that the house was empty – satisfied that no one else was inside, he laid Sakura down on the floor, using his dark green coat as a makeshift bed of some sort.

"Syaoran-kun?" Sakura murmured sleepily.

"Hai, hime?"

"You found us a place to stay!" She said, smiling up at him. "I knew you would! I wish I could've helped too…"

He knew she meant it too, but he still couldn't help but feel as though he had failed her in some way. It was small grimy house, filled with rats and cobwebs, something he was sure that the princess wasn't used to. Did she remember? Did she remember her wonderful bedroom in the palace? The satin sheets she used to sleep in… did she miss them? He wished he could bring all those comforts to her right now, everything fit for a princess; He wanted to make sure that she would be warm and comfortable…

He felt her fingertips touching his forehead, "Syaoran-kun?" she asked, her voice low.

"Daijoubu, hime. Please get some rest. You're tired."

"So are you, Syaoran-kun." She let her fingers slide from his forehead to his cheeks, her palms gently cupping his face and Syaoran could feel the warmth spreading from where she was touching him all the way down to his toes. "Get some sleep…everything will be ok…" and her eyes drifted close, lips moving silently.

He leaned down and tried to catch her words, already fading but he could swear that she called him by his name, without the –kun, but he must be tired too.

Wishful thinking.

She would never call him that again.

After a while, there was only the sound of her breathing steadily and Syaoran finally pulled back, placing a gentle finger against her cheeks, allowing himself that briefest touch before moving away to sit across from her, back resting against the bamboo walls.

He would watch her sleep. Protect her. He will never leave her, not until he had recovered all of her feathers, her memories – not until he has her heart.


Additional notes: Uhm, there are more chapters to come. I promise you that and I won't leave this hanging. I swear. Anyway, I would greatly appreciate it if you could leave your comments, criticism, reviews, death threats, anything and everything you want to tell me. I will be happy to hear from readers. It's been such a long while since I wrote anything, I sort of missed it. I do miss it.

Many, many thanks!

Yuki