So, this is a mix between deep and fluffy. I enjoyed writing it; the thought of Kurogane being tailed by a lost mutt just makes the fangirl in me giggle with happiness. And so does the thought of him and Fai. I'm so impatient for the next chapter of Tsubasa...poor Fai! Or is it Yuui? Ahhh! The suspense is killing me!!!!

Anyways, please enjoy! I apologize if it jumps around... if you have suggestions, please review and let me know!

NOTE: This is set BEFORE Acid Tokyo.

He tried glaring at it. He tried ignoring it. He tried running quickly through a series of turns. He tried hiding in shops. He tried climbing trees. He even tried shutting his eyes and willing it to disappear. But no matter what he did or how hard he tried, Kurogane could not seem lose the small brow mutt that continued to follow him through the city.

It reminded him an awful lot of Fai.

He mumbled to himself; he didn't need to think about the mage any more than he already did. The way Fai would call him by anything but his name, the way the mage would flounce around in a purely effeminate way, draping his long limbs around in a way that so intentionally seductive… it was driving Kurogane mad in ways he couldn't even begin to comprehend.

He was walking down a semi-crowded street, blending easily with the crowd in his recently purchased clothes. He, Fai, Sakura, Syaoran and the detested meat bun had arrived in this dimension a few days before, a world called 'Tara', and settled in quite easily. It was much like Outo, except for the fact that it actually existed—at least as far as they knew. Instead of the hakama Kurogane had worn in Outo, he was dressed in a pair of dark slacks and collared shirt, a black jacket around his shoulders.

Fai had sent him out too look for jobs that the four of them could take, ushering him out the door with one of his morbidly cute nicknames and slamming it in his face when he'd turned around to argue. The mage was a quick one, he realized, and not for the first time either. He couldn't deny that he didn't mind getting out of the house though. Sometimes watching Syaoran fawn all over Sakura while she remained completely oblivious, and beating Fai and the manjuu off himself was exhausting.

Kurogane had wandered around the town, grumbling to himself about Fai, as well as taking the town in and observing the layout of the moderately sized city for future reference. Much to his disappointment, this world showed no signs of large monsters or evil gangs of people, something that Kurogane would have enjoyed. Instead, the world was peaceful.

Except, he glanced over his shoulder suspiciously, for the puppy that continued to trail behind him.

He had noticed it after he left the city hall with a stack of pamphlets about job opportunities shoved into the pockets of his coat. It had been sitting on the large stone steps, as if it had been waiting for him, and quickly followed him down. It stopped when he stopped, waited for him outside shops, stared up at him if he turned to glare at it—it was almost as persistent as the mage.

He turned his eyes back to it once more as he entered a park, not at all surprised to see it still behind him, trotting happily a few feet back. He sighed in a disgruntled manner. It wasn't as if it was doing him any harm—but the thought of himself, a great ninja, being followed by a small, furry animal that Fai, Sakura, and Monaka would go crazy over was simply not appealing to him.

At all.

Kurogane wandered into the grass and sat beneath a tree, watching warily as the dog crossed over as well and sat down facing him, a few feet away. It looked at him expectantly, it's eyes wide, and Kurogane could have sworn it looked sad.

He sighed and watched the dog. He didn't want to return home yet, he needed time to think, time to himself. As much as he didn't want to admit, Fai crossed his mind as something he needed to think about.

The mage was among the most complicated people Kurogane had ever met. He appeared so cheerful and bubbly, but Kurogane saw easily through the mask Fai had up constantly. He couldn't deny the burning desire he had to find out what exactly that mage was running from—and why—but he knew Fai well enough to know that the mage would just brush his questions off. For reasons he couldn't explain, this bothered Kurogane.

He focused once more on the puppy, determined not to dwell on the lanky blonde.

It wasn't an ugly puppy, he thought, but he would never admit to anyone but himself that he found it slightly adorable. Ninja's didn't find puppies—or anything for that matter—adorable.

The puppy and Kurogane stared at each other as they sat on the ground, Kurogane trying to judge the animal and figure out what exactly it wanted from him, and the puppy simply staring up at him with large, hopeful eyes.

"I don't have any food," he told the dog, watching and waiting for it to leave. It made no move, and he wondered if maybe it didn't speak Japanese. He tried waving a hand at it to shoo, but it remained rooted to the spot, watching him expectantly.

Kurogane groaned and dropped his hand to the ground and nearly jumped as the small dog began to lick his fingers. His eyes began to twitch as the dog moved closer to him, licking the top of his hand and wagging its tail excitedly. With a conspiratorial glance around, as if to check if anyone was around to mock him, Kurogane picked the puppy up by the scruff of it's neck and held it up in front of his face, staring at it with hard eyes. The puppy continued to wag its tail, and Kurogane swore it was smiling at him.

Hesitantly, Kurogane raised his other hand and scratched the little dog's belly. The puppy closed its eyes and let out a small yip of approval, and despite himself, the ninja smiled.

He vaguely wondered if Fai would open up to him if he offered him his hand. He wasn't sure about the sharing of pasts and secrets, but he had a feeling that the mage licking his hand was something that could definitely happen. He decided not to ponder what would happen if he began to rub Fai's stomach. He would probably start purring.

The puppy was very small, and Kurogane shifted it into his palm and began to rub it's stomach once more, gently as if he was afraid he would break the creature if he put too much pressure on it. It really was a mutt, with a patchy brown coast and mismatched ears; it would pale in comparison to the magnificent purebred animals at Tomoyo's palace in Nihon.

He also knew he looked like a fool, a grown, powerful man like himself, sitting in the grass, playing with a puppy, but he didn't care anymore; he'd never admit it, but the puppy was cute, and he was having fun. The animal awoke a childish desire in him that he had not felt since he was barely older than a toddler. He had always wanted a dog as a child. Kurogane relished the fact that no one was around him to see him stoop to such a ridiculous level; Fai would be expected to sit in a grass and play with a puppy, but not him.

Smiling, Kurogane placed the dog in his lap and rubbed its ears, leaning his head back against the tree contentedly. The puppy seemed to be thinking along the same lines and curled itself into a small ball, dwarfed by Kurogane's large hand.

The ninja continued to think, absentmindedly petting the dog's head as he mused to himself. He was very comfortable, and it was nice and quiet, and the little dog was good company.

Many things crossed his mind while he sat beneath the large tree. Thoughts of his homeland, of Tomoyo-Hime and Shirasaki palace drifted across his conscious. He also thought about his current journey and traveling companions. It would take a lot for him to admit such a thing, but he enjoyed traveling with Sakura, Monoka, Syaoran, and Fai. It took a lot of energy to deal with them all, but it wasn't something that was painful or obnoxious.

Unless alcohol was involved—but other than that, Kurogane slowly began to find himself enjoying the company of the two children, mage, and meat-bun.

Sakura, while sleep prone and occasionally slow to grasp concepts, was a kind and caring person, often going out of her way to help those around her. He admired her spunk and determination to help with the search for her memories.

Monoka, while obnoxious, had proven useful on more than one occasion. Kurogane supposed he couldn't fault him for his excitement. If he'd been cooped up with the witch of dimensions for who-knows-how-long, he'd be overly excited as well.

More than anyone else, Kurogane had a soft spot for Syaoran. The determination and willingness to risk anything for the sake of Sakura that the kid exhibited reminded Kurogane a lot of himself. No doubt the boy had faced many hardships in his life, as had Kurogane, and even though he continuously felt that something was decidedly off with the boy, Kurogane brushed it off to awkward teenage years, unbearable burdens, and frustration.

Fai is where things began to get complicated, he thought with a sigh as the puppy began to play with his fingers, nipping them lightly. Fai was almost totally a mystery to the ninja. He knew that he was running, from a man named Ashura, he had been able to gather that much so far, but he didn't know why. He also knew that Fai did his best to keep himself from forming real relationships with the children, even though he was beginning to slip up day by day. Most of all, Kurogane knew about the mage's mask, the cheery, easy smile that was always present on Fai's face.

He would never admit it, but it bothered him that Fai didn't confide in him. Didn't the mage know by now that, despite his gruff appearance, he was as loyal as they came? If one of his friends was in trouble—and he was positive Fai was—he would do anything in his power to help them. He thought, not for the first time, that life would be so much easier had he just stayed in Japan—not that he'd had a choice in the matter.

The feelings he was dealing with now, out of the confines of his realm of comfort, were both new and confusing—and most of them had to do with Fai.

Suddenly, a loud, dramatic sigh reached his ears and his eyes narrowed as a voice he knew all too well reached his ears: "Oh, Kuro-tan, you have a friend!"

Kurogane opened his eyes to find Fai standing before him, a shopping bag clutched in one hand and a smile on his face that could only be described as triumphant. He glared up at the mage and tried to look as fierce as possible—his efforts were ruined as the puppy leapt from his lap excitedly and ran over to Fai.

Kurogane was slightly miffed that the dog would abandon him I such a way. He waited with his arms crossed irritably for some 'Big Doggy' remark from the mage.

Fai smiled cheerily and made a move to walk towards Kurogane, only to have the puppy bark furiously at him. Fai looked slightly perplexed, then quickly smiled again. "Ne, Kuro-muu, it appears your friend takes after you."

Kurogane's past annoyances with the animal quickly disappeared. "He's a smart dog, then," he replied as the dog continued to bark at the mage. He watched as Fai slowly knelt down into the grass and held out a pale hand for the dog to sniff. The puppy did so slowly, then eventually decided that Fai was safe and bounded back to Kurogane and crawled over his large legs, flopping back into his lap.

"Traitor," Kurogane said down to the dog, who looked innocently up at him, as Fai sat down beside him.

"Is this what you've been doing all day, Kuro-chan? Playing with a lost puppy?" Fai asked, grinning, eyebrows raised over his half-lidded eyes.

Kurogane glared at him. "No," and he dumped the stack of job pamphlets into Fai's lap.

"Hyuu, Kuro-pii!" Fai exclaimed with his customary pathetic attempt at a whistle, picking a few of the pamphlets up and flipping through them before tucking the lot of them inside his shopping bag.

"Stop doing that," Kurogane muttered, twitching slightly, though he wasn't entirely sure why; Fai had been making the attempt to whistle since they'd met and still had a long way to go before he came even close to succeeding. "And what have you done today?" he asked, raising one eyebrow at the blonde beside him.

Kurogane decided not to inform Fai that, aside from picking up job pamphlets and playing with a puppy, he'd spent a good deal of time thinking, most notably, about him.

Fai continued to smile his fake smile, "Grocery shopping!" he exclaimed, and promptly pulled out a bottle of juice from his bag to show Kurogane. "See?"

"Yes, I see," Kurogane said as he rolled his eyes and Fai continued to draw out items from his bag. Kurogane felt as if there were too many things for the small bag to hold and wondered vaguely if Fai had some how enchanted it to carry more than it should have.

It took Kurogane a moment to realize that Fai was now trying to feed something that looked suspiciously like chocolate to the puppy in his lap. He quickly scooped the animal up and held it away from Fai, who looked at him with a knowing grin. That only annoyed the ninja more.

"What do you think you're doing?" Kurogane said, glaring at him. "Trying to kill him?" It just figured that Fai would try and poison his newfound friend.

"I was trying to give him a snack, Kuro-puu!" Fai faked a look of despair, "He might be hungry!"

Kurogane rolled his eyes, "You can't give them chocolate, they'll get sick! Didn't you ever have a dog as a kid?" he said exasperatedly.

Fai lowered the chocolate and, just for a second, his smile cracked at the edges. Kurogane noticed this and slowly lowered the dog into the grass as Fai replaced his broken smile with one of equal insincerity.

"Nope!" he said cheerily, attempting to avoid the now awkward mood. He knew Kurogane had noticed his slip up. The ninja always did.

Kurogane watched him warily, not sure what to say to the mage, and remained silent as the puppy wandered over to Fai and crawled into his lap. Fai looked down at the dog and smiled softly.

This, Kurogane could tell, was a real smile; it was the kind of look Fai bestowed upon Sakura or Syaoran when they were sleeping, when he thought no one would notice. Kurogane could read the mage easily, something he was sure annoyed the smaller man, as Fai tried so hard to bury himself in false smiles and cheer.

He watched as Fai's long, thin fingers stroked the puppy that lay contently on his long legs. Kurogane was completely unsure as to how to break the silence that had now descended on the pair.

"Most dogs don't like me," Fai stated after a few more minutes of silence passed between them.

Kurogane glanced at him, perplexed. "Why?" he dared ask. The little dog was sitting peacefully in Fai's lap, now.

"I think it's that they don't trust me," Fai responded—for once—honestly. "Animals can tell things like that, you know."

Kurogane just stared at him. "I don't understand you, mage," he said after a moment.

Fai smiled slightly, a small, bitter smile. "I think it's better than way, Kuro-sama. I don't really think you'd like me very much."

"I don't like you now," Kurogane huffed indignantly, crossing his arms over his chest in annoyance. It was a blatant lie, but Fai didn't need to know that. Sure, the mage was often overly eccentric and annoying, but Kurogane didn't believe that he was as bad a person as he thought himself to be.

Fai only smiled vacantly.

The puppy stood up then and seemed to remember Kurogane was there. It threw itself over Fai's leg and looked at him, it's tail wagging furiously. Absentmindedly, Kurogane reach over and scratched its head, musing silently. After a few more minutes of silence, Kurogane had chosen his words.

"You always hint about me not liking you," he said, slowly, "but if I didn't like you—or trust you—you wouldn't be here any more." He took a breath and then continued, "The kid trusts you, the princess trusts you, Monaka trusts you, the witch trusts you—and I trust you too. If I didn't— if I had the slightest hint of evil intentions from you—you'd be dead before you could even try and explain yourself. And you should know that I mean that."

Kurogane couldn't describe the emotions that flitted across Fai's eyes and face in the instant that followed his words. He hadn't been harsh, but he had been honest; he felt like Fai had not dealt with honesty very much in his lifetime. A look of sadness eventually settled on the blonde's soft features.

"You say that, Kuro-sama, but you don't know," Fai spoke lightly, avoiding Kurogane's gaze, "You don't know my past."

Kurogane narrowed his eyes. "I've told you before, I don't care about your past. All that matters now is your future—our future," he emphasized this by waving his hand towards the house where Syaoran and Sakura were. "Do you think your past matters to the kid and the princess? To the manjuu?"

Fai glanced in the direction of the ninja, his face blank. "It should," he said, still stroking the puppy's velveteen head. His hand shook with the motion.

"Well it doesn't," Kurogane said sharply. "Fai," he said, for once using his name, which caused Fai to turn to him, eyes wide, "We all know you have some deep dark past, but you're not the only one who's had problems in your past," he said, and he would know. Kurogane had never shared the details of his past with anyone except Syaoran, even if unintentionally, but he had a nagging feeling that Fai had a general idea of what had happened to him in his youth. "But just because you've had a horrible past doesn't mean you deserve a horrible future too."

Fai said nothing, only stared at Kurogane. The glare remained on the ninja's face as he and Fai locked eyes. Fai's eyes were unsure and Kurogane's fiercely determined.

After what seemed like an eternity, Fai spoke. "Thank you, Kuro-chi," he said softly, lowering his eyes.

Kurogane did not berate him about the nickname and only replied, "You're welcome."

"Do you know what they say about animals, Kuro-run, the abused ones?" Fai asked lightly, traces of his mask returning to his face.

"No," Kurogane replied shortly. He hadn't the slightest idea where this was going.

"They say, little by little, if you show them love and patience, they begin open up to you, to trust you not to hurt them," Fai responded, slanting his eyes back toward Kurogane, who remained propped against the tree. "Sometimes," he spoke each word with conviction now, "it just takes them a while to remember how to trust again."

Kurogane looked at Fai, who held his gaze as he continued to pet the puppy in his lap. Kurogane understood now, he wondered why he hadn't in the beginning, it almost too obvious. Fai watched him carefully.

"Patience, huh?" Kurogane said after a moment.

"Yes," Fai replied, then smiled slightly, "And love, Kuro-tan, love is important."

Kurogane regarded Fai warily before speaking again. "You're an idiot. You know that, right?"

Fai looked honestly perplexed.

"What do you think the princess feels for you? What Syaoran and the manjuu think about you? Do you think they don't like you?"

Fai looked slightly sad. "I said love, Kuro-pii, what Sakura-Hime and Syaoran-kun feel for me isn't love."

"Then what is it?" Kurogane asked, annoyed.

Fai shrugged, "It's not love."

Kurogane stared at Fai, his frustration beginning to get to him. Fai was crazy—he had to be. Did he not notice the loyalty, admiration, the care, the worry, the happiness—all the emotions that the children expressed for or about him? The feelings Kurogane expressed on his behalf?

Images of Fai flashed through his mind. Images of the mage slung over his shoulder in Outo country, the feeling of his own hands around Fai's slender hips as he held him in place. Memories of Fai's concern for him in Piffle country surfaced, the way Fai had touched his injured arm in concern. The way Fai teased him, clung to him—and the way he'd put up with it.

It had taken him some time to realize the mage's antics didn't bother him, to realize something was wrong when Fai didn't act silly. Memories of his own actions with the mage came into perspective; he was just as protective of Fai as he was of the children, if not more. He knew Fai wasn't weak, knew that even though he fiercely denied and avoided the topic, Fai had been a fighter—and an exceptional one at that. He knew of the mage's strange desire for his own end…

And he knew of his own will to keep him alive.

"That's not love?" Kurogane finally spoke, attempting to collect the thoughts that raced through his mind.

Fai opened his mouth to respond, but never had the chance.

Throwing caution into the wind, not entirely sure what had come over him, only that it felt so right, Kurogane had turned and pulled the mage fiercely to him, crushing him to his broad chest. He had one hand on Fai's chin and he stared down at the blonde. Fai had lost his mask and was staring at Kurogane with wide eyes, his mouth open in surprise. The puppy still sat on Fai's legs, completely forgotten for the time being.

"What about this?" Kurogane asked heavily, his eyes dark. Slowly, almost painfully so, he lowered his face and captured Fai's parted lips in a kiss.

Gently, he he began to coax a reaction out of the stunned Fai.

The mage responded slowly to the kiss, the surprise wearing off him as he realized that what was happening was in fact real. His long arms found their way around Kurogane's neck and the ninja's own tightened around his thin body.

Kurogane poured everything he could into that one, single gesture: the worry he felt as he watched Fai throw himself in harms way, the anger at his disregard for his own life, the arousal the mage effortlessly sparked in him with his fleeting and flirtatious touches, the grudging care that had turned into so much more.

Fai returned the kiss with equal ferocity and emotion, his fingers curling into Kurogane's dark hair.

The pair broke apart after what seemed like hours, both gasping for much needed air. Kurogane watched Fai with heavy eyes. It was clear he knew exactly what he'd just done, and he seemed not to care.

The puppy, having been deprived of attention, whined softly up at the two. Kurogane unwound one of his arms from Fai's waist and absentmindedly pet the animal on the head, his eyes never leaving Fai's.

Fai was still slightly stunned.

He searched Kurogane's face for any sign of maliciousness or joking, some cruel awakening that would make the entire moment painfully unreal. But there was nothing. Nothing but Kurogane's crimson eyes staring at him with such intensity that Fai found every part of his false persona cracking.

"Was that real, Kuro-chan…?" Fai asked quietly, his voice unsure.

Kurogane growled and made to kiss him again but Fai turned his head so Kurogane's lips met his cheek.

"Was it real? Not just something done out of pity?" Fai spoke quietly, the only reason Kurogane even heard him was that his ear was right beside the mage's lips. He was half dreading the answer; he still couldn't believe it was real. He wouldn't let himself; he'd been hurt far too many times in the past.

Kurogane reach up and gently turned Fai's face toward him, his large palm on the mage's pale cheek. He stared hard at Fai, his eyes burning holes into the mage's apprehensive face.

"Of course it was real, you idiot," he said quietly. "When have I ever done anything rash or anything that I didn't mean to?"

Fai smiled slightly. "That's my Kuro-tan," he said, his lips quirking.

The puppy whined once more and Fai looked down at the dog in his lap. Slowly, Fai unwound his arms from Kurogane's neck and picked up the puppy and looked at it with clouded, ice blue eyes.

"Do you know what else animals like?" Fai asked, turning back to Kurogane, who had since pulled the mage into his lap, puppy and all.

"No, but I'm sure you're going to tell me," Kurogane said, resting his chin atop the mage's head.

"Disgruntled ninja's," Fai responded in complete seriousness, and Kurogane knew he was smiling—smiling a real smile.

"You don't say," he muttered and reached over, ruffling the dog's ears.

Fai then turned quickly in his lap and smiled brightly at him, the puppy up in his hands, "Can we keep him, Kuro-wanko?"

Kurogane rolled his eyes. Leave it to Fai to ruin a perfectly respectable, serious moment. But he realized, that if he hadn't done so, he wouldn't be Fai.

"I promise he'll be taken care of! And I won't give him chocolate! And Monaka won't eat him!" Fai said, pleading with his eyes.

"Fine," Kurogane said with a sigh.

"Wai!" Fai cheered and leapt out of the ninja's lap, scooping the puppy into his arms and thrusting the shopping bag at Kurogane. "Lets bring him home then, Kuro-daddy!" he said. Deftly, Fai leaned over and placed a soft kiss on Kurogane's lips before he leapt up and sprinted back to their house to show Syaoran, Sakura, and Monaka.

Kurogane grumbled to himself as he watched Fai sprint off. He knew he'd made headway with the blonde, knew he'd entered a new chapter of his own life, and he found for once that he didn't quite know where he was going. Back to Japan was that answer he would have given earlier, but a new, complicated element had been added to his life: Fai.

With a sigh, he stood and slung the grocery bag over his shoulder. He tried, unsuccessfully, to ignore the way his lips still burnt from their fervent kiss. He was sure he was blushing.

Almost self-consciously, Kurogane peered over his shoulder for any other stray animals. He didn't know if he could handle another interaction like the last one. Surprisingly, it had taken a lot out of him. He grinned devilishly to himself as he thought that it certainly had taken a toll on his body; he was still slightly breathless.

He caught up to Fai after a moment and switched the puppy for the grocery bag he held. "You know I trust you," he said as Fai looked up at him, confused, "But maybe not with this," he said, indicating the puppy.

Fai grinned, "Maybe if I show you patience and give you love, that might change," he said lightly, his eyes glinting.

"It's definitely worth a shot," Kurogane replied, bearing his teeth in a grin as they reached the door of their small house, ignoring the mass of inappropriate thoughts that began to form in his mind.

Fai continued to smile at him, "Know what else animals need?" he asked.

Kurogane just raised his eyebrows.

"Plenty of exercise," Fai told him, his voice husky, and before Kurogane could reply, he flung the door open and burst inside, yelling about the new member of their family that was resting in Kurogane's arms.

Kurogane looked down at the small dog while he stood on the doorstep and sighed. There was almost no indication of what had passed between the two of them mere minutes before but, he thought as he watched Fai herd Sakura and Syaoran toward the new dog, perhaps that was for the best. It wasn't as if their party needed any more stress or relationship drama. Sakura and Syaoran were more than enough.

He realized though, as he watched Fai, that there was something different about his face, his smile; for once, in the presence of others, it seemed completely genuine.

"Good work," he said down to the small puppy, who looked up at him with bright eyes. He silently thanked the dog; he wondered if he hadn't been sitting in the grass with the mutt if he and Fai would have had the conversation they did, if what had transpired between the two of them would have occurred at all.

Once more, Kurogane looked over his shoulder. Much to his dismay, a small kitten was watching him from across the street. He wondered if maybe he should send Sakura and Syaoran out to find it; apparently, stray animals did wonders for relationships.

Ta-da! I hope you enjoyed this; I certainly did...it was happier than the R!Syaoran fic I cranked out a few days ago... I love him :(

If any of you read 'Breaking The Surface', I PROMISE Chapter 8 will be out in the next couple of days, probably sometime tomorrow night. I apologize, I've been side-tracked by Bio (three more days...!) and my love for Tsubasa...but it's on the way! It's halfway done!!!

Anyways, please review with any comments or constructive criticism!

-Elle

If you favorite this, as a lot of people have (;), please review, too...!