Date Written: June 6, 2007
WARNINGS! Spoilers if you squint, but I didn't really say anything and who HASN'T read 120?
ALSO! This takes place AFTER the Celes arc. Like, DIRECTLY after it and it's kind of my own interpretation of how Fai might be and just a cute, fluff filled thought on something. Hm, this is hard to put into words. Do y'all get what I mean? Anywho, I don't put my own thoughts on how the Celes thing will be resolved, don't worry.
FINALLY! If you have NOT read the latest chapters of Tsubasa Chronicles, then YOU WILL BE CONFUSED! Fair warning. Oh, and I can actually give you a website where you can read the latest chapters of it if you are desperate to read this for some reason.
Hope you enjoy!
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Kurogane looked at the clock for the seventh time in the last fifteen minutes. He was growing increasingly agitated. That Arashi woman said she would have Fai at the stupid ball before it started, but they were no where in sight. Admittedly, he was glad because that meant the less time they had to spend there. They should have just left that world once they found out that some duchess was in possession of the feather. Besides, the ball she was having was on the third day they were there, the end of the time limit they had set on getting them. It would have made more sense to conserve their energy for what was to come instead of running around in ridiculous tuxedos and frilly dresses.
"Do you see him?" Mokona whispered from inside Kurogane's jacket.
"No," he said. "How the hell are we supposed to recognize him, anyway? I've never seen the mage in a dress and crap, have you?" He felt Mokona shake it's head. "And we both know he's not going to say anything to get our attention." Mokona didn't respond and just snuggled against Kurogane's back as if trying to hug him.
As more time passed, the ball was soon underway and there was still no sign of Fai. Kurogane wasn't about to admit this out loud, but his annoyance had long ago changed to worry. He assumed that Arashi or even that Sorata guy would make sure to get him here on time and got in. He was starting to really regret taking Sorata's advice on leaving early to get a good idea of the mansion's layout. Looking back, he should have never agreed to that. He had run into many Soratas in this journey, and they were all idiots.
"Excuse me, Mr. Kurogane?" some bald guy said, approaching him with a phone on a pillow.
"Yeah, that's me," he said. "What?"
"A phone call for you, sir."
Kurogane raised an eyebrow, but picked up the phone without a word. "Hello?"
"Kurogane?" Arashi's voice came through. "There's something wrong." Kurogane's blood ran cold at that, as his thoughts immediately went to Fai. "Fai isn't here."
"Then where the hell is?!" he shouted, making the butler jump.
"We don't know, he just came running downstairs and then out the door. Sorata and I went after him, but since it's so dark out and there aren't many lights on our road, we lost sight of him."
Kurogane gritted his teeth and tried to stay calm. "Do you have any idea where he went?"
"It looked like he was going into town, but we weren't sure-"
Before she could finish, Kurogane dropped the phone and ran as fast as he could out of the mansion. He didn't even think to grab one of the horses nearby. Instead, he just kept running down the hill on a dirt road, hoping that Fai was somewhere in that small town, trying to avoid thinking what he might do.
Ever since they had left Celes, the word "stable" wasn't something you would use when describing the mage. He hadn't spoken a single word since they had arrived in this new world, and it worried Kurogane to no end. As much as he hated to go to such measures, he had made it clear that he didn't want Fai to be alone at any time, afraid of what he might try.
And yet, he found himself running like mad through the streets of the town, occasionally asking the manjuu in his coat if it could tell where Fai was. His mind was filled with anger at that Arashi women for not keeping a close eye on Fai and at the town for being built on water. What idiot decided that was a good idea? It was a prime place for people to attempt suicide!
Kurogane stopped dead in his tracks, and mentally cursed at himself for thinking that. But he couldn't help it. That was the reason for wanting to have him monitored at all times. It was just something terrible a person had to accept, no matter if it was the truth or not.
Quickly resuming his search, they soon came to a large group of people around an equally large fountain. He could see a road leading into some back ally ways and possible short cuts, but the crowd was completely blocking his way. He heard a few boys saying something about a, "crazy girl" and he assumed that that was what everybody was staring at.
Kurogane decided that the fasted way through the crowd was straight and past the fountain, and so began to push his way through. Surprisingly, nobody snapped at him for being rude. They all appeared to be fixated on whatever was this crazy girl was doing. He couldn't imagine what was so interesting about her, nor did he care. All he wanted was for everybody to just move out of his way. Once he was in front, however, he got a clear view of what everyone was staring at and his jaw dropped.
There, dancing around the fountain, soaking wet from head to toe and barefoot, was Fai, garbed in a simple green, long sleeved dress and his hair down, presumably styled to look like a girl's before it was drenched. Kurogane was in complete shock at this sight. The way he was moving was unlike anything he had ever seen. It was all so graceful and fluent, as if he could start to walk on top of the water at any moment. And he actually looked peaceful.
Is that really him? Kurogane thought.
He couldn't find any words to describe this Fai, aside from beautiful. Except, it wasn't a physical beauty at all. It was more of an aura or pure bliss that flowed from every part of him. You didn't have to look around to know that these people weren't gawking at Fai because of how odd he was acting. It was in wonder that someone could be so happy.
Kurogane was especially entranced. This was the same person who, not two hours ago, looked like he was prepared to lie down and never get up. Yet, there he was, slowly dancing as if he were lighter than air, with a look of absolute joy. He had never seen Fai so content.
"Kurogane!" Mokona said, excitedly tugging on his shirt. "Can you feel it?"
Snapping back to reality, Kurogane glanced down at Mokona peaking out of his jacket. It seemed cheerier than it had been in a long time. "Feel what?" he asked.
"Fai! This is the first time I've seen him really happy and having fun! You can feel it, too, can't you, Kuro-tan?"
Kurogane smiled at the little manjuu, before stuffing it back inside his jacket. He then turned his attention to Fai again, who was now just leaning against one of the statues, gazing at the sky, and decided that it was time he got the mage out of there before he caught a cold. He suddenly didn't care what anybody would think if he joined the "crazy girl." Then again, nobody would probably give it a second thought.
After taking his shoes off, Kurogane silently stepped into the water, not wanting to make a sound as though if he did, the entire moment would be shattered and it would be like it never happened. He slowly made his way toward Fai, but before he reached him, Fai turned his head to face him. Then, his entire face lit up when their eyes connected for the first time in months, and a small smile spread on his face that was enough to show his immense delight. The thought that such a look was directed at him and only him was enough to take Kurogane's breath away.
They stayed like that for a long while, unmoving. Suddenly, Fai ran through the falls of water and threw his arms around Kurogane, his cheek pressing against the other. Without a single thought, Kurogane wrapped his own arms around the man, reveling in this embrace not of desperation, but just out of pleasure of seeing each other.
"I was looking for you," Fai murmured.
"No you weren't," Kurogane said. "You were dancing around and getting wet."
"Yes, but I was looking for you before I saw this beautiful fountain. I couldn't just look at it without getting a closer view of it, could I?"
Kurogane just slightly chuckled at that. He soon became more aware that Fai was probably ruining his tuxedo and that dress he was wearing. Sorata and Arashi might not be too happy about that. But at that time, he decided he honestly didn't care.
"I needed to talk to you really bad," Fai was saying quietly so only the two of them could hear. "I was dreaming, you know."
"Really?"
"Yes. Me and him talked for a long time. And you know what?"
"What?"
"He's forgiven me!" Fai was now looking up at him, his eye dancing. "Isn't that wonderful?! He said that everything was okay and that he's happy for me! I can't remember that last time I've felt this way!"
"I have no idea what you're talking about, you know that?"
Fai just laughed. "That's okay, because I don't even know where I am, so we're even!"
Kurogane scowled a bit at that. "You don't? But we've been here for the past three days!"
Fai shook his head. "I guess I kind of went into my mind for a while. I remember some parts of being here, but for the most part he and I talked for most of the time, like a dream. When we finished, I had to find you!" Fai tightened his hold on Kurogane and pressed their foreheads together.
Kurogane sighed. "Why didn't you ask Sorata or Arashi where I was? You were supposed to meet me at that damn ball."
"Really?" Fai said, letting out a small laugh. "Now I wish I did! I would have liked to see you at such a high class event!" Fai laughed even more as Kurogane just shut his eyes out of embarrassment. When he calmed down, Fai leaned his head on Kurogane's shoulder and whispered, "I guess I should have asked, but all that was going through my mind was that I needed to see you more than anything."
"Idiot," Kurogane muttered. Then again, he remembered he had just done the same exact thing. That was one of the first times in a long while he had let his emotions clog his judgment. He felt he could go easy on the man. "Don't even do that again, alright? I almost had a heart attack when I found out you ran off."
Fai looked back up at Kurogane, his smile hadn't grown a bit but still showing more warmth towards him. "Is that true?" he asked.
"Would I have said it if it wasn't?"
Fai grinned and suddenly splashed a bit of water from a nearby fall onto him. Kurogane barely flinched, but it still was unexpected. "You're not wet enough! I'm completely soaked, but you're still almost dry even though you're in a fountain."
"I'm not going to play with you," Kurogane said. "We should go home and get you into some dry clothes before you get sick or something."
"But I don't want to leave just yet. It's such a beautiful night, we shouldn't waste it. Don't you think so, Kuro?"
Kuro. Not "Kurogane" and no silly nickname at the end of it. Just a simple, endearing, "Kuro." Somehow, Kurogane felt that he could live with that. He even smile at that.
They stayed in their embrace for a little while longer, barely aware that there were people still watching, still captivated by this sight. Eventually, Kurogane decided that he could entertain Fai's wish for a short time.
"Come on," he said, taking Fai's hand in his and placing his other hand at Fai's waist. "I was forced to learn had to do some damn dance called a waltz, so we're going to do it whether we're at that ball or not."
Fai just smiled softly at him and said, "You did?"
As the two of them danced around the fountain getting even more wet and Mokona eventually making it's presence known to Fai, Kurogane didn't feel compelled at all to ask or even wonder what this person Fai had been talking about had forgiven him for, not even who it was. Now, Fai was too elated to make much sense, but he could tell Kurogane later if he wanted to. And it was still possible that this was just a one night event. There was no saying Fai was completely okay and Kurogane knew that they had more trials to come. But that didn't matter at the time. All that mattered was that Fai finally showed that he could be truly happy.
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1.) Okay, I only put Fai in a dress in my stories for humor purposes. But for this, it just wouldn't work if he WASN'T in a dress. Don't know why.
2.) This is kind of a interpret on your own thing. I think it's better that way. Sorry if that pisses some people off. -sweat drop-
3.) You know, I actually wrote this and posted it yesterday? Yeah, I did. But one dinner and 20 minutes later, I realized that it sucked and deleted it. And now this one is two pages longer. Hope you enjoyed it!
A/N: Well THAT was different for me! And sappy. SO sappy! But I thought the idea of them dancing together in a fountain was just too damn cute, and I WANT FANART!!! Too lazy to get a deviant art account or something, and I've never actually drawn these characters (or any characters). Oh wells.
You know what to do!
Please leave a review!
As always, CONSTRUCTIVE criticism is welcomed with how Kurogane and Fai will truly get together! … Okay, maybe not, but have some internet cookies!