Okay… So, I know this wasn't on my little list of things that I was going to work on BUT – I had to get my Kuro x Fai craving out somewhere. I normally roleplay with a wonderful person on Gaia Online called YourRecentObsession, but now that Gaia's changed its layout we've both been having MAJOR problems with it the messaging system and just Gaia in general. So, I decided to write this up. Both Kurogane and Fai are probably SUPER UBER UBER out of character, and I realize that…. So please, no flames, about that anyway. Alright, I'll stop rambling and let you get on with the fic.
Also, just let me say that this fic is dedicated to YourRecentObsession and, as always, my wonderful Monica-chan and My friend Ookami-chan (Annie-chan) who introduced me to this awesome series. So, if this sucks then you can blame her… Wow, I really do ALWAYS blame her for everything…
Anyway, on with the Fic+drum roll please+
The Silence of Mistletoe
Fai stared at their handy work… The two of them, Kurogane and himself had managed to turn the den of the house they had rented into something that would have looked at home on the cover of a seasonal card. It was decorated with great gobs of holly and many wreaths had been pinned up on the walls. There was also something called "mistletoe" that they had heard usually went above doorways. And in the center of the room was an enormous evergreen tree, the point of the star stuck to its top just grazing the ceiling, and beneath it, an assortment of boxes wrapped in shades of pastel paper and bows.
Apparently the people in this world celebrated a holiday called Christmas, whatever that was. Something to do with a fat, bearded man in a red suit giving children gifts. Although the adults of the world had made sure to tell Fai and Kurogane that this man didn't really exist, and that it was simply some kind of game for the their kids to believe. So, naturally the while the adults were speaking to the mage and the ninja their children were filling Syaron and Sakura's heads with ideas of extravagant gifts brought from a magical man who didn't actually exist.
Well… That only left the two of them with one option, well, Kurogane didn't want anything to do with the goody-goody holiday but Fai had managed to convince him otherwise. So, they had taken a small portion of their money pool and snuck out the night before this 'Santa Claus' was supposedly coming and bought a few gifts for the two younger members of their little traveling group. Fai had even insisted on getting something for Mokona! 'Damn manjuu…' Was Kurogane's only retort to this. Fai had even bought something for Kurogane, insisting that the 'kiddo's' would be less suspicious if this 'Santa' person brought gifts for them as well. So for a few minutes the two went their separate ways to buy something for each other.
They had returned after Syaron, Sakura and Mokona were asleep and wrapped the gifts, including those from each other and put them under the tree. Then Fai pulled out a few bottles of cheap sake and a several bottles of wine as well and insisted they have a Christmas party of their own. The cheerful wizard had even bought something called 'Eggnog' which Kurogane thought tasted horrible but once Fai mixed in a bit of alcohol it seemed to taste a world better.
They were both sitting on the carpeted floor of the room, their backs to the wall as they downed bottle after bottle.
"Here Kuro-tan, finish off this bottle before I open another one." Fai said cheerfully as he pushed a near-empty bottle towards the ninja.
In a more sober state Kurogane would have liked to hit Fai for his use of the detested nick-name, but instead he simply grunted and emptied the bottle. Fai stared happily back at him before uncorking the nearest bottle of wine.
By the time they had finished it was nearly three in the morning. Fai yawned and stretched in a slightly off-balance manner, before announcing that he was going to head up to bed. The lanky wizard supported himself against the wall as he pulled himself up and stumbled over the stairs.
Something suddenly clicked in Kurogane's alcohol diluted brain… Fai was standing under that mistletoe stuff, and somehow he managed to pull out a memory when he was in that store of a several couples kissing each other beneath it. His cheeks blushed red at the thought of him and Fai doing something very similar to that, if he had been thinking straight he probably would have been blushing an even darker shade than he already was.
Kurogane had begun to start feeling similar things concerning the lithe mage for a while now, although he had always mentally slapped himself anytime a thought like it wormed it's way into his mind. But now, now that his mind was so soaked with wine, sake and spiked egg-nog that whatever part of his mind quashed those thoughts was too out-of-it to do it's job.
The ninja rose to his feet, with some difficulty, before stumbling over too where the equally as drunk wizard was attempting to pull himself up the stairs. In a matter of moments Kurogane had Fai pinned against the wall of the stair-corridor. Fai seemed slightly confused, his mind obviously working a bit better than Kurogane's at this point. Kurogane's lips finally swept down to touch Fai's and the wizard's eyes widened in complete shock. It was as if some kind of electric shock had been sent through the ninja's mind, like a sudden cure for all of his drunken symptoms. When he had seen Fai's reaction it was as if he suddenly regained his conscious, rational thought and realized what he had just done. Quickly he pulled away from the wizard, worried what he had done.
It wasn't that he had hated the idea of kissing Fai, quite on the contrary he would have enjoyed doing it very much (if he wouldn't have been so stubborn in that area and come to terms with his torrential emotions concerning the man). It was more that he was scared of what Fai might do. Later he would scoff at that word, scared. Him… A ninja, who had killed hundreds of people and injured hundreds more, scared of what some dumb mage's reaction would be to something stupid he did when he was drunk one night.
He backed away from Fai, who suddenly looked even more shocked… Almost, was that look in his eyes pain? Kurogane somehow managed to produce the words "S-sorry… Damn Mistletoe." before rushing to his own room and slamming the door, not unlike a young child, leaving a very peculiar Fai behind in his wake.
The wizard suddenly fell into a slump on the stairs, his eyes closing before hiding his face in his hands. It almost looked like, sobs were shaking through his thin body as he sat on those steps.
"Idiot… Look what you did." He sobbed softly, his voice muffled by his hands. "You blew it, you ruined your chance."
"Oh, look Syaron-kun!"
Sakura-hime's voice was as high as it always was, but it seemed just a bit more excited than even its normal pitch. Her eyes were glinting in glee as she saw the small pile of brightly wrapped boxes beneath the 'Christmas Tree'.
The boy hurried down the stairs of the house they were staying in yet another new world. He looked almost surprised, before turning to the two adults, if you could call them that, standing slightly off to the side. Fai shook his head with that ever-present grin on his face and Kurogane simply scowled. Syaron didn't seem very convinced by their antics but turned still to the pile of packages beneath the tinsel-laden branches. Then he smiled at Sakura, who was now holding a bouncing, ecstatic Mokona, the little white fluff ball trying to pry it way out of her arms to get at the gifts.
Fai and Kurogane watched the three dive into the pile of Christmas presents, not looking at each other, simply staring at the three tearing the paper off of their gifts. It didn't take them long to unwrap all of their own gifts. Then Sakura peered under the green needles and saw two more presents, pulling them out from underneath it she stared at them, before turning to Fai and Kurogane and saying with a smile "Santa brought gifts for you too!"
Before either of them could object, the bubbly girl had stuffed the gifts into the hands of whomever it was for. Fai was now holding the present Kurogane had bought him, and Kurogane was holding the one Fai had selected. He almost feared what might be in it. Besides… After the rather, shaky, events of the previous night he was a little reluctant to open it.
God… What must Fai think of him? Some idiot who couldn't control his emotions as soon as he got a little alcohol in him? He still couldn't believe he had done that… He had ruined his chances with the wizard, if he had ever had any in the first place. That reason was exactly the reason that he hadn't made any kind of advance on him earlier. He feared what Fai's reaction would be. There was that word again… But really, that was all he could think to describe it as. He'd never been afraid of anything in his life, but, then again, there were a lot of emotions that he'd never known himself to posses before he met Fai. Yes, He really was afraid of what the wizard would do… Even thought Kurogane found his nicknames annoying and that smile infuriating, the ninja didn't know what he would do if Fai wasn't there beside him. He'd feel so empty without him, feel so odd in the silence without his incessant babbling.
Meanwhile, Fai's thoughts weren't entirely all that different. The wizard stared down at the gift in his hands, the façade smile on his face almost slipping off entirely, it was only because of so much practice that he was able to keep it up. Inside he wanted to cry, to burst into tears and have the earth swallow him up. Kurogane hadn't been the only one developing feelings. Fai had known about his feeling's towards the moody ninja, and although he had acknowledged the fact that they were their, unlike the object of his desires, he hadn't wanted to act upon them. Ironically enough, for the exact same reasons as Kurogane.
Then Mokona fluttered over to the window, suddenly exclaiming "Cotton is falling from the sky!" For once, Kurogane couldn't have been happier for the manjuu's interruption. Syaron and Sakura had rushed over to the window and stared out, watching in awe as snow fluttered down onto the earth.
"Mokona wants to play in it!" Then the hyper-active white puff-ball hurried outside so fast one might have thought that it had teleported itself out of the house. Sakura and Syaron were about to follow before Sakura turned back to them both and gave them an apologetic look.
"Oh, I'm sorry… You haven't opened your gifts yet."
Fai smiled still, somehow finding the will to keep his mask over his emotions. "Quite alright, you kids go play. Put some coats on."
Sakura and Syaron thanked Fai before they threw on the coats they had bought the day they had arrived and wandered out into the white wonderland.
Silence….
Though Kurogane had certainly not wanted the kids around at the moment, he realized now that their absence left him alone with the wizard. He had half a mind to hurry out to join them, but that would be all too obvious that he was avoiding Fai so instead, he stayed where he was unmoving…
Silence….
Fai wanted to collapse, wanted to disappear, wanted to be anywhere but here… Well, maybe almost anywhere. God… Fighting would be better than this stillness. If he had been in a different mood he may have laughed at this, perhaps Kurogane had made a bigger impression on him that he first thought.
Silence….
Then Kurogane finally spoke. "Listen, Dammit, I'm…. I'm…" He stammered preparing to do something for very likely the first time in his life. "I'm Sorry…"
Fai turned suddenly, a confused look upon his face. "For what, Kuro-tan?"
Kurogane wanted to hit him. He was still smiling even now, he was still wearing that stupid smirk. "For what? You know damn well what!" His anger finally burst to the surface, gapping at the smiling wizard, who had only been slightly put-out by the ninja's sudden yelling. "Will you stop being so fucking happy! I remember what I did last night, maybe you don't but I certainly remember your reaction!"
At those words, the mask slipped off, ever so slightly before Fai tried to recover it. This set Kurogane shouting again.
"You don't always have to smile! I realize that you didn't like what I did, and well… Dammit how the hell do I put this…"
Fai's eyes widened at his words… Didn't, didn't like what he'd done! What HE'D done? Fai had been blaming himself for the previous night's events, but it appeared that Kurogane had been as well. Did that mean…?
Kurogane was talking again, at a normal volume now, perhaps even lower than typical volume. "But could you at least tell me to my face?"
"T-tell you what…" Fai was staring at the floor.
"Dammit Fai! Tell me that I'm a gay bastard, that I forced myself on you, that you hate me!" Kurogane had gone back to yelling, though when he continued he was calm yet again. "Just.. Just tell me something."
Fai's eyes widened yet again. "Can I tell you…" Kurogane readied himself internally for the emotional blow that was sure to come. "That.." Only a few more seconds now. "That I love you?"
Whatever Kurogane was expecting… He certainly wasn't expecting that. His own eyes widened to meet Fai's, his jaw dropped. "What?"
Fai gave a weak smile, nothing like his normal, fake one, this was a smile that was beautiful and more importantly…. Real. But the horrible thing about this smile was how easily it could be broken. He waited a few meager seconds before he rose onto his tip-toes and re-created the very scene of the fortnight.
Well, not exactly like it. For one neither of them was drunk, two they were under that damn mistletoe last night and three…. Okay maybe it was nothing like the night before, but it was still a kiss. And this time, neither of them pushed each other away. On the contrary Kurogane wrapped his arms around Fai's waist and pulled the shorter man's body closer to him, hesitantly returning the kiss. And Fai was gently entwining his thin fingers in Kurogane's unruly ebony hair.
Though the strangest thing was… They had both been so uncomfortable in the silence before, but now, neither was talking, neither uttering a word, but each of them was happier than any sound could ever make them, or any mistletoe for that matter.
Wow… Was that not the most cliché, sappy ending ever? Yeah, it was. I thought so. Well, as always. Read, review etc. God speed.