Contrast
Summary: Sometimes, you never notice you're cold until someone warm comes along and gives you something to compare it to… Eriol/Sayoran (Inspired by a phrase in Ami-chan's story, "Unwell" ^-^) Set in the tree-fainting-scene where they *almost* kiss, in manga #1 of the "Master of the Clow" series. Let's just attribute the swoony-thingie to love, instead of Eriol being evil, ok?
"Return your love…" Li Sayoran repeated under his breath, unaware he was being watched. From his perch in the tree, there was no way any of the girls would know he'd been listening in on their conversation. A soft, girlish voice from behind him on the ground made him jump and look around, blushing madly.
"A stuffed animal's birthday… Girls are cute, aren't they?" the voice mused, as Sayoran whipped his head from side to side, letting it finally fall on a small boy his age standing on the ground. He looked so familiar…then Li realized it was the transfer student, Eriol, wasn't it? He was creepy…not to mention he'd made advances on Sakura! Sayoran got mad just thinking about him, but for some reason, he blushed again. He narrowed his eyes, glaring at the smiling figure below him. "You always look so angry. Have I done something to upset you?"
Concern laced the words, but Eriol was smiling faintly as he said them, like he knew a secret that Sayoran didn't, almost as if…but that was impossible. This guy was a rival for Sakura's affection, right? But why was he so worried about having hurt Sayoran's feelings? It was unusual… But then again, so was Eriol, exotic, almost… Nah, Sayoran decided. The guy was camp as Hell, but definitely not gay. Eriol was speaking again, commenting on the tree-borne boy being from Hong Kong. Sayoran replied with a vague, "Yeah."
"I'm new to Japan, too," Eriol stated. "Maybe you could help me settle in?" he asked. Sayoran was indignant. That was the kind of thing you asked friends about. He glared down, furrowing his brows. Eriol smiled back up, happy and friendly, and Sayoran wavered for a moment. How bad could it be? They might even become friends, after all. Eriol said his name softly, and suddenly, Sayoran felt dizzy and tired, his fingers slipping from the branch. He felt himself falling, the ground rushing up to meet him…then a pair of warm arms surrounded him, and his descent was halted. He felt cozy in the gentle but firm grip that held him now, he didn't want to ever leave those arms that were so inviting… It was odd, how he hadn't even noticed he was cold before, and now, it seemed, if his savior let him go, he would freeze to death… His eyes snapped open, and he saw a pair of beautiful grey eyes shining down at him, concerned, and he realized the thoughts he'd been having, and about Eriol, no less—!!
"Are you alright?" that voice inquired again, and Sayoran felt his cheeks ignite in another raging blush. He just now realized how close their faces were, how their lips were almost…touching… He jerked away, snapping out of his trance-like state. "Did you faint?" Eriol queried, holding out a hand.
"It's nothing!" Sayoran snapped, and immediately felt bad, but Eriol seemed to be smiling again, just as companionable as usual. Sayoran began to walk away, but turned around and whispered, "I'm sorry." Only he knew it was for more than just being rude. 'I'm not what you need…and I won't take advantage of you.' Then he whirled about and ran away as fast as he could. But in the heat of the afternoon sun, he felt cold, chilled to his very bones, and the icy pain was eating away at him. Why couldn't he just give in to the warmth? He'd never been so cold before… Would he ever be warm again?