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Meiling first saw her when she was almost hit by a train car. She was on skates and had earbuds in, and Meiling was already half preparing to see a gruesome scene unfold in front of her, but at the last second the girl flew out of the way of the incoming train. She says ‘flew’ because with how high the girl jumped out of the way could only be classified by that word. She and Syaoran looked at her with wide eyes as she landed easily, despite her rollerblades on her feet.
“Holy shit.” Syaoran said quietly in awe beside his cousin, who was for once in her life speechless.
They saw her again a week later, they were on the set of some show to make cameos when she saw her talking to an older man, and when Meiling heard her voice she was sure that for the second time in her life she met an angel.She was so enraptured by the girl’s laughing expression she didn’t notice her own cousin’s star struck expression.
The third time they saw her was at a coffee shop and Meiling actually talked to her,rather than being a staring creep.
“Hey! I’ve seen you around all the time so I thought I’d chat you up!” Meiling said, approaching the girl after she picked up her drink, she was holding two, was it for the man earlier? Meiling hoped that she wasn’t straight. Meiling saw that she was also Asian, but up close gave Meiling a chance to see her stunning green eyes. As cheesy as it sounded it was like looking at two emeralds.
“Oh! Nice to meet you?” Her angel voice and eyes replied, she looked a little nervous, like a spooked animal. Meiling was entranced for a short moment before her cousin rudely interrupted.
“Oi, Meiling! You can’t just abandon me at the register every time you see a cute gir-“ and in a single moment Syaoran Li was silenced realizing by exactly which cute girl she had addressed.
“But Syaoran!~” Meiling whined back her brown eyes watering, which was a dangerous ploy for Meiling, as she was wearing eyeliner.
“So, Syaoran and Meiling is it?” The angel giggled, her hand instinctively covering her giggling mouth.
“Yeah! I’m Meiling and the dork dressed like a grandpa is Syaoran!,” Meiling replied, gesturing at her cousin with her thumb. He looked offended, despite her truthful words, “I mean come on Syaoran what guitarist in a band wears khakis and sweater vests?” She said with a roll of her eyes.
“I’m Sakura.” She said with a smile that could make the clouds part, as she extended her hand. Meiling shook it, and noticed it was callused. Meiling saw her at a studio, so maybe she was a techie,stuntwoman maybe?
Their meeting however was cut short buy Sakura’s phone ringing a soft country song, and she quickly answered it.
Meiling could only year half of it, but the other end sounded masculine, and was that Japanese?
“Yes,yes! I have your sludge.” The voice seemed to say an insult.
“I just met some people.” Sakura’s face morphed adorably into a pout.
“No, they aren’t murderers!” She said with an exasperated tone, as if she had heard it many times before.
“Well how do you know they are?” That seemed to silence the voice for a moment before it yelled again.
“Okay, okay I’m coming Nii-chan, jeez.” And she ended the call. With a wistful expression, she apologized to the two Li cousins and grabbed the coffees and left the building. Meiling was about to lament the fact that she didn’t acquire the girl’s number when she looked to Syaoran, whose expression gave everything away. His face was flushed and his eyes were a sparkling amber crystal. Meiling’s heart sank and quickly put on a teasing mask.
And so Meiling watched from the sidelines as her dear cousin interacted with an angel Meiling was so sure was sent for her. She still talked with Sakura of course, she didn’t want to lose a potential friend just because of the feelings of an outsider, even if it was Syaoran. Sakura was a sweet girl, Meiling learned, and was a stuntwoman, which explained why she was on set that day. Her brother-the man who called her as well as who she was talking to- was apparently a major jerk who always made fun of her height, despite her being average, he was just freaky y’all according to Sakura. But every day that Sakura hung around them, Meiling could feel herself falling. But every time she felt her heart skip a beat because of Sakura’s smile, she’d look to the side and Syaoran would be looking at Sakura with adoration in his eyes Meiling was positive until now he only saved for his dog.
Meiling decided to confront him about the fact of his adoration a month into hanging out with Sakura.
“Hey,Xiaolang,you like Sakura,don’t you?” She said as he was tuning his guitar. The screech Meiling then heard was either from the green instrument or her cousin, she couldn’t tell.
“What,psssh! No! She’s annoying and,and what are you even talking about,Meiling?!” He sputtered, his face was as red as an apple.
“Come on,Xiao. We aren’t in the fourth grade anymore don’t make me say it.” She teased, her expression still neutral,
“You like-likeher, don’t you?”she teased with a feline grin. And Syaoran’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. Just that alone made her burst out laughing, slapping his knee good naturedly. Fine if he didn’t want to admit it yet, that gave her the go ahead to at least get his thought process going. He just needed a little push.
So she began to cling to Sakura more. Leaning on her shoulder here, hand around her waist there. Syaoran noticed,yes, but he didn’t really view Meiling as much of a threat, as currently they had no clue about Sakura’s sexuality. So it was the case of assuming straight until proven otherwise. As much as it pained Meiling. She hated assuming someone’s sexuality. It just reminded her of the stupid ass society they lived in. So Meiling clung to Sakura, until she finally worked up the nerve to ask her.
“Hey,Sakura.” She asked, she currently had the girl in her lap and was going over some of her lyrics, with Sakura belong edit, despite her protests of ‘not being good at any of that sort of thing.’
“Hm?” She replied all too cutely. Dammit Sakura you weren’t making this easy.
“What’s your sexuality?” Meiling asked, scratching behind her neck nervously. She hoped Sakura wouldn’t be offended. Instead she began to giggle.
“I never told you, did I? I’m Pan!” She said with a sunny smile that Meiling hoped didn’t blind her.
“Cool. I’m a lesbian.” Meiling replied with a grin. Sakura smiled back. Meiling shot a glance at Syaoran, who looked at a halfway point between screaming and destroying Meiling with his mind. Meiling just stuck her tongue out at Syaoran and wrapped her arms around Sakura. Syaoran’s glare intensified. This was funny.
It took another two weeks of practically flirting with Sakura for Syaoran to come up to Meiling.
“I,I may have feelings for Sakura..?” He said with a blush and his hand scratching his head nervously. Meiling was used to this and moved his hand away from his head. She didn’t want him to accidentally pick his scabs off.
“ ‘Bout time you realized it!” She laughed, pulling him into her apartment. He gave a few protests but eventually gave in to his cousin’s antics, he always did. After a couple orders of shitty Chinese food that didn’t compare to their own mothers’, but satisfied their cravings, she had pulled him onto her couch and forced him to spill the things that he liked about her. Which failed, but it was funny to see her stoic cousin so flustered.
“So,Meiling...you’re better st this sort of thing,” Meiling grinned at Syaoran admitting she was better at something,” How do I tell her? How do I start….da-dating,dating her?” He stuttered out,his face so red Meiling could barely make out his eyebrows, which was quite a feat. Now this is the part Meiling was dreading. Her face looked pained for a moment before she clapped her cousin on the shoulder.
“Just talk to her,ya dingus! Ask her about her interests! Remember them!” She said with a grin, she only hoped he didn’t see the pained expression in her eyes. Syaoran simply nodded, small sparkles in his eyes. He got up, with a vigor before sitting down and curling into a ball.
“Hey!”
“I can’t do this...Meiling...I’ve only liked boys before I don’t know how to date a girl.”
Meiling sighed and pulled her idiot cousin close to her and ruffled his hair. It was an odd position, as he was older than her, if only by a few months.
“Now you listen here, Li Xiaolang.” She said, her voice serious, “Anyone! Would be lucky to have you as their partner.” She stated, and it was short, but it was to the point. She knew he would understand. You had to be blunt with him sometimes after all. So she sent him off to court the girl she loved. Oh shit she did love Sakura,didn’t she?
Meiling realized she seemed to either want to be exactly like Syaoran at moments, or totally different at others. When they were little, to now. When Syaoran learned guitar, Meiling learned bass. But when Syaoran took martial arts, so did Meiling, under the guise of “protecting her stupid cousin besides it’s good to know self defense when you are a girl like me .” But what she never did was ever leave Syaoran behind. They started this band together and dammit one day it would end together. So when they both fell for the same girl, Meiling thought she’d have to give up on her. Because if her and Syaoran were to end the band it wouldn’t be over a girl.
So she shut her feelings in a crate and locked it. She focused herself fully on her music and channeled her pain into her songs.
It didn’t do much to lessen the sting whenever Syaoran would stumble over his words and ask Meiling for advice.
It didn’t do much to lessen the jump in Meiling’s heart rate like when Sakura would jump from a building to another. But no matter how much she hid it, Daidouji noticed, because somehow that woman noticed everything.
“You have feelings for someone, but you can’t be with them for some reason.” She had said, one night before a gig as if she was simply noticing she had smudged a bit of Meiling’s eyeliner.
“How could you tell,Daidouji?”
“You make the same expression I used to make around my girlfriend.” She said with a wistful expression, nostalgic most likely.
“You have a girlfriend,Daidouji?” Meiling asked, moving quickly, which prompted Tomoyo to grab her by the chin to keep her still.
“Yes, two.” She replied with a small grin, a blush dancing across her cheeks.
“You’re a lucky woman.”
“Not lucky, well kind of lucky, relationships are more than luck.” Tomoyo rambled a little, her quick tongue not quite caught up for once.
“You always say such wise things, Daidouji. How old are you again?”
“Just twenty-five,dear, now get out there.” She said pulling off the smock to reveal Meiling in all her rock glamour.
“Thanks as always Daidouji.” Meiling said with a grin as she ran to the platform and grabbed her bass from the techie, who looked a little intimidated. Meiling chuckled, it was always fun to see the newbies.
The minute she got on stage all her worries melted away. The drum machine and her cousin’s guitar mixed with her bass in a beautiful potion of sound. Her grin was feral. This was her element.
“Hey you freaks!” She addressed the cheering audience from her mic. It was a packed venue tonight. The leather in Meiling’s gloves made her palms sweaty and the lights blinded her. She loved every moment of it.
She explained the song they were about before she gave Syaoran to cue to begin. She opened her mouth and began to sing.
“She hides her eyes behind crystal eyes, and a smile that’s painted on-“