A/N: I do not own any of the characters. They are CLAMP's rightful property. ;) -- Enjoy!!
"You keep on movin' with that wound, and you won't make it much longer.", Kurogane grumbled, observing the blonde at his side.
Fye was running, keeping up with the group – effortlessly, as it seemed.
"Why, Kuro-rin, always so observative.", he chanted and smiled.
Talking to the ninja he stumbled – and fell. For a few seconds the mage's face turned into an expression of surprice and pain. Kurogane stopped, startled, as he saw his otherwise so agile and swift companion lying on the floor and rise again.
"C'mon Kuro-pon! Hurry or we'll lose the children!"
Indeed, Syaoran and Sakura were already far ahead of them. As he noticed that his companions had fallen behind, the lad turned.
"You keep on running!", the ninja yelled, "Or else they'll catch up with us.", he added, more to himself that to the boy.
Fye shook his head. "Uh-oh. Looks like you'll have to leave me behind."
Yeah. You wish.
In a rapid movement, Kurogane laid his arm around Fye's waist, heaving him onto his shoulders.
"Fye-san! Kurogane-san! We're here!", Syaoran shouted, as he saw them approach. The ninja, still carrying Fye, followed him into the dark alley where they found Sakura, Mokona in her arms, the girl still breathing heavily.
"Kuro-chan, I think you can let me down now."
The ninja loosened his grip on Fye's waist and placed him carefully on the ground. Stepping closer to the exit, the wizard looked back.
"Looks like we lost them.", Kurogane mumbled, appearing on the mage's side. Fye was leaning against the cold stone. Blood dripped out of his injure, turning his white coat into a dark red. The ninja looked down at his own, blood-stained hands – their oponents' and his, Fye's blood. Taking off the black cape, he noticed the warm liquid on his shoulder, where the blonde had lain.
"That needs to be dressed.", he said with a jerk of his head towards Fye's injure.
The blonde turned to look at him. For a moment, his blue eyes were cold, his fine smile bitter, his usually so kind expression harsh. However, as he noticed Sakura and Syaoran observing them, he resigned to a weary sigh and a nod.
"I guess it can't be helped.", he replied and drew back, turning his back on Kurogane.
It was one of the guards that had wounded Fye thus deeply. Neither were their fighting skills at all extraordinairy, nor did they seem to be used to deal with intruders. The reason why they had to withdraw was simply the fact that they were completely outnumbered. Additionally, they did not know exactly where the feather was, so there would have been no use in fighting.
Nonetheless, Fye had been injured.
That fool, that damn fool.
The wizard had been expecting that. He had not been at all surprised the moment the enemy's sword had cut his flesh. It seemed as if he had perfectly calculated each of his oponent's moves. He could have easily dodged that cold, sharp blade, Kurogane knew he could have.
He turned to watch Sakura and Mokona lean worried over Fye's half-naked body.
"Sakura-chan, I'm fine. I can do that.", the mage tried to abate the princess' anguish, covering the sharp cut with his arm, as if he wanted to prevent the girl from seeing it.
"You can't. I'll do it."
Fye looked up at Kurogane. Again, it seemed he could hardly hide his anger behind a mild smile.
Tearing his cape into rough straps, the ninja knelt down beside the mage. The bleeding had to cease, otherwise it would lead very soon to the mage's death.
The shinobi looked closely at Fye's skinny trunk, as he dressed the injure. The white skin was soaked with sweat, paler than usual, bloody near the wound. As he cleaned it, he felt each of the blonde's muscles clench. Notwithstanding, the mage managed to maintain his smile.
"You're cold.", the shinobi noticed as he carefully wrapped the pieces of dark cloth around Fye's torso. He did not answer, but let Kurogane do. Both heard Mokona and the children talk in the background, appearing to be far away. The ninja noticed Fye's bony back, the thin, long neck, the pronounced collar-bone. He tried to catch the wizard's eye, who, however, avoided his glance. With a sigh, he finished.
"That should do for a while."
"Thank you.", the blonde answered, his voice unusually apathetic.
The little white creature jumped into Fye's arms the moment it noticed they had finished.
"Are you alright?", it asked anxiously.
"Thanks to Kuro-rin, I am."- Again. That soft and cheerful tone.
"Can you walk?", the girl asked with a worried look.
"Of course,", the Fye answered, "of course I can. Now, if you'd be so kind, Sakura-chan, to- yes, that's it. Thank you very much.",he said, took Sakura's hand and, thus, rised.
"Fye-san, it's just around the corner.", explained Syaoran, leading them to a run-down building. "That's the only inn where they would accept us.", he added in an apologetic tone.
"It's ok, I think…", answered the princess.
"I guess Kuro-pon looks kind of suspicious.", the mage stated with a laugh.
Kurogane was awaiting them in a dark, dusty room where two beds and a small, round, wooden table stood opposite to a dirty window.
"This was all they would give us for the money.", the lad said, shrugging, as they entered.
Fye frowned. "But- with the amount we had- Syaoran-kun, you got a lot of money for those books form the last world, didn't you?"
"Yes, but we needed food and-"
"The medicine.", Kurogane interrupted the boy, "your medicine."
"Oh. -I see."
The silver light poured through the open window into the dark of the room, illuminating the dusty floor, brightening up the opposite corner, where the two beds stood. It gushed forth over the girl's bright brown hair, her fine figure, the wee white creature, both breating regularly, the lad's head, leaning on the wall beside her, his eyes firmly closed. It mirrored in the mage's blue eyes, toyed with his pale golden hair as he rised and walked towards the window. Finally, it wove a pattern of shadows on the ninja's armour.
With a heavy sigh, Kurogane stood up on hearing his companion leave the bed. The mage leaned of the window, his gaze lost between the rotten roofs of the shabby houses that thouroughly poor and desolate quarter had to offer.
"Kuro-pon's afraid I might jump out of the window", he chanted, turning with a smile to face the ninja standing behind him.
"Don't worry, Kuro-daddy, the balcony below us is most likely to catch me."
All of a sudden, Kurogane drew closer, lying his hands on the sill, one at each side of the blonde's waist, his eyes cold, revealing the fury and vexation Fye's comment had provoked.
"Listen to me carefully, you stupid fool, 'cause I won't repeat this.", he murmured, forcing himself to lower his voice, "I don't give a damn about how hard you try to.
"I will not. Let. You. Die."
He watched the wizard more attentively with every word he spoke. His blue eyes darkened, then turned away. The sweet, tender smile vanished completely, weakened by each syllable of the last sentence Kurogane spoke. As Fye looked up again, their eyes met, those blue crystals absolutely empty, emotionless. The blonde's fine lips curved. A bitter laugh as he made a step towards Kurogane.
On tiptoe, he leaned against the ninja, placing his left hand softly upon his chest. Tracing the thin shadows on the ninja's neck with his long, pale fingers, his lips nearly toughing the shinobi's cheek, he whispered in a sweet, melodic tone:
"You're being selfish, Kurogane."
Waiting for the ninja to lose his temper, yell and, thus, wake up the children, Fye turned around. The silver, waning moon still shone as if wanting to blind the stars that cloudless, black night. A cool breeze kissed the mage's forehead. The blonde could sense Kurogane step closer, his hands still on each side of Fye's waist, his body impeding him from any move.
Lips on skin. Kurogane's lips and tongue. Caressing Fye's neck. Slowly. Carefully. Joyfully.
As he placed his slender hands carefully on the ninja's, their fingers enlacing, Kurogane smiled and spoke in his usual, rough voice:
"And so are you."
A/N: This is the result of several long and sleepless nights XD. I hope you liked it. Oh, and just for the record, this all takes place before CLAMP's wonderful angst takes over. Hence the nicknames, at the beginning ; ). Please do write a review, I'd be very happy to read it. Thanks in advance if you do so and if not, thank you for taking the time to read my fic. : )
