This was written last Christmas for a Secret Santa exchange and I somehow never got around to uploading here. Anyways, I hope you enjoy it!
Notes: The world they're in is kinda like a Charles Dickens England, if that helps the visual any.
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To say Kurogane was in a bad mood would be a large understatement. Then again, arriving to the new world on the eve of their "festival" didn't really help any. The whole town was bustling with life; people singing on street corners, children laughing and merriment in the air. Of course, Fai had taken to the spirit of the town immediately and so Kurogane's already short fuse was about to blow at any moment thanks to the blonde man's mirth.
Syaoran had quickly identified the festival from his Father's studies. He explained some of its traditions, smiling wider by the moment as he saw Sakura's face light up with joy. It was a festival of love, laughter and giving- three things the princess held dear to her heart on a normal basis; so hearing that there was such a festival that celebrated all those things was a gift in and of itself to Sakura.
Kurogane, on the other hand, wished someone would give him the gift of getting the hell out of there. Brooding in the back of the store where Syaoran and Fai were picking out clothes for the group, the gruff ninja glared at all the frou-frou and tinsel on the shop's windows.
"What the hell is with these wackos anyways?" He thought to himself, "These traditions are downright insane; like something that idiot mage would cook up! Bright blinking lights on all the buildings, cutting down trees for the pure sake of sitting them up in a house and covering them in gaudy bows and glittery ropes, putting papers and ribbons around gifts as if to keep the person from getting to the present inside… and craziest of all- kissing someone just because you're both standing under the same dead plant together!"
"Kuro-pon" The mage's sing-song voice called out, "Come try this on!"
Whipping his head around from the annoying merriment outside the store window, Kurogane glared daggers at the outfit the blonde man held up.
"I am not wearing that."
"But Kuro-mun! It's…what's it called again, Syaoran-kun?"
"Christmas, Fai-san."
"That's right! It's Christmas, Kuro-chi. You have to wear this or you won't fit in."
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Tugging at the cravat around his neck, Kurogane frowned as he surveyed the damage in the store's mirror. After being forced into a pair of trousers, a collared shirt, a waistcoat, a frockcoat and the annoying neck-bind called a cravat- the ninja could barely suppress a growl of frustration as Fai put a top hat on his head.
"It looks stupid," He muttered, glancing over at Fai's ensemble, "Then again, at least I'm not wearing whatever the hell you are."
Fai followed Kurogane's eyes down to his pants and grinned, "Oh the knickers. I thought they were a nice touch."
"For an idiot…" He grumbled; Fai pretended not to notice.
After the group helped Sakura find a suitable outfit, the four paid for their goods and went out into the snowy festival night. Syaoran kept telling stories he'd heard from his Father or on his travels about Christmas celebrations and all the things they entailed. The more Sakura heard, the more excited about celebrating it she became. The more Kurogane heard, the more he dreaded it.
"Mokona wants food and presents!" The white creature piped up, just as excited as Sakura about the festivities.
"Well, since we're here- we might as well make the most of it. Why don't we split into pairs and do a little shopping?" Fai suggested.
Syaoran and Sakura both brightened at that, glad to see that one of their traveling companions was eager to participate in the gift-giving part of the tradition. Kurogane just shrugged, "We're supposed to be looking for a feather so we can go to the next world."
Fai tapped him on the nose, "Now now, Kuro-pi- we can look tomorrow. It's not every day that you get to celebrate Christmas."
Swatting the mage away, Kurogane sighed. Whether he'd admit it or not, he just didn't have the heart to do anything that would make Syaoran or Sakura's cheerful faces turn somber.
"Fine. Can we just get this over with?"
"Yay, Kuro-tan's ready to have fun!"
"Mokona wants to have fun too!"
Glaring at the duo of idiots, as Kurogane mentally referred to them, the ninja walked over beside Syaoran.
"Kid, let me get this straight- you give gifts to the people you care most about, right?"
The boy nodded, shyly sneaking a glance over at Sakura.
"Then you go with Mr. Knickers and the Manjuu over there and I'll take care of the Princess," Kurogane proposed; figuring that if Syaoran wanted to pick out a gift for Sakura that Fai would be of more assistance than he would.
At first the group seemed a bit thrown, but Fai quickly caught on.
"All right then, Kuro-pin. We'll meet back at the inn we're staying at to exchange gifts in the evening."
The group parted ways, each heading off down the busy streets in search of the perfect gift for one another.
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They'd been in and out of over five different stores and Kurogane knew if it wasn't Sakura he was watching over- he would be downright impatient and furious by now.
The young princess had been very diligent in her shopping: picking out a basket of fruits for Mokona, a small tea set for Fai and some object she'd quickly had 'wrapped' for Kurogane before he'd spotted it. But no matter how many places they looked, she just couldn't find the perfect gift for Syaoran.
"Just get him…" Kurogane picked up a stray trinket, "One of these or something."
Sakura politely shook her head 'no' before turning around to rustle through a few more items, "It has to be special, Kurogane-san."
Kurogane looked around at all the things the store had and silently pondered what made one item special and another not good enough.
"Ah, I know!" Sakura exclaimed, rushing over to another display, "This will be perfect."
Not really seeing what made the blue scarf any more unique than everything else, Kurogane shrugged.
"Okay, let's head back then."
"Aren't you getting a gift for Fai-san?"
"What? Why in the hell would I--" Kurogane cut off his rant on realizing that he was yelling at a startled and confused Sakura, "Sorry."
"Come on, I'll help you pick something out," The princess said grabbing Kurogane's arm. The ninja didn't have a single chance to protest further.
Several stores later, Kurogane's patience was long gone and his temper was held in check merely by the fact it was Sakura he was dealing with. He couldn't seem to convince the girl that it really wasn't necessary for him to give Fai anything and the cheerful princess seemed to be determined to help him find the right gift.
"Don't you see anything special that you can give to Fai-san?" She queried, disappointment showing on her face. This was the only store they hadn't checked yet.
Seeing that a slight pout was forming on the girl's face, Kurogane caved in, "I'm…not really sure what I'm even looking for."
"For something that you can give him from your heart. Something that just seems right for him."
Kurogane creased his eyebrows in thought, not wanting to upset the girl further but still not really having much of a clue as to what he was to pick out for the annoying mage. Glancing around the store quickly, his eyes caught sight of a small trinket on the top shelf. Lifting it up gently in his large hands, he felt his lips quirk upward in a smile.
"I can just see that idiot getting the biggest thrill out of this."
"Kurogane-san?" Sakura questioned, walking up next to him, "What's that?"
Startled by having the girl approach him, he cleared his throat and handed it down to her, "A gift."
Sakura's face lit up, "You found it. This is perfect for Fai-san!"
"Yah yah… let's get it put in the paper stuff and go back."
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Evening had fallen by the time the five dimensional travelers arrived back at their inn. Paying the carriage driver for his trouble, Kurogane watched as Syaoran helped Sakura down from the coach.
"Were you waiting long?" Sakura asked, looking over to Fai where he stood by the inn's door.
"Just got here ourselves, Sakura-chan. Now you and Syaoran go on upstairs and warm up. Kuro-myu and I will get the gifts and bring them up."
The two children smiled, rushing up the stairs as Mokona bounced up after them.
Meanwhile, Kurogane had managed to balance all the packages in his arms and was making for the doorway when Fai casually placed more packages on top of the pile.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"Kuro-sama is so strong!"
"Shut up and help me get this inside," He growled back, trying to keep a hold of everything.
Fai took one small box off the top and smiled. Kurogane glared, "How is that helping?"
"It's one less thing for you to carry?"
"Just get out of my way!"
Kurogane pushed through the doorway and started to head up the stairs with the packages. Fai followed, pausing only briefly on noticing something odd hanging from the archway near their room's door. Smirking with the knowledge of what that something was, the mage reached up and snatched it down to use for his own devices.
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They'd managed to get a warm fire burning in the room's fireplace and they sat down around it to exchange gifts. Syaoran explained that usually one would wait until the next morning to do this, but since they had a feather to find as soon as possible- he said that doing do on Christmas Eve would be just as festive.
Sakura started off by handing out each of her presents. Mokona quickly dug into the basket of food, Fai thanked "Little Kitty" for the gift that reminded him of their lovely café, and Kurogane thanked the princess for the green tea she'd managed to procure.
As she started to hand over Syaoran's gift, Fai tapped Kurogane and motioned towards the door; a not so subtle hint to give the two kids a moment to themselves.
"We're going to ask the innkeeper if there have been any strange things happening here lately to give us a head start on the feather tomorrow. You two finish giving gifts and head onto bed," Fai said, pulling Kurogane towards the door.
The two wished their older traveling companions a "Merry Christmas" and a goodnight as the door swung closed behind them. Shushing Kurogane, Fai motioned him towards the crack in the door as he peered through.
"Spying on them now?"
"Come on. I'm sure you want to see their faces once they give each other their gifts too."
Kurogane found he couldn't argue that and silently watched along with Fai.
Sakura gave hers first, a bright blue scarf that Syaoran thanked her profusely for while blushing. Then it was Sakura's chance to be surprised as the young boy pulled out a gold locket on a chain and presented to the princess.
"A locket?" Kurogane muttered.
"I told him it was something I knew Sakura-chan would love. Looks like I'm right," Fai replied, watching as the excited girl embraced Syaoran.
"Well then, I suppose it's our turn," Fai remarked, casually sauntering towards the door to their room.
"For what?"
"To give gifts," He replied, handing over a small box to Kurogane.
"You…got me something?" The ninja asked, somewhat touched that Fai had done so.
"Syaoran said it was the thing to do. Go on now, open it."
Kurogane tore through the paper and ribbon and pulled out a small fan. Frowning, and figuring the mage meant to joke, he retorted.
"I don't see what good a fan will do me in this cold world."
"Open the fan up," Fai encouraged.
Figuring it was something stupid; Kurogane did as he was instructed. His eyes widened as he saw the image gracing the inside of the fan.
"I thought it would remind you of home and Syaoran said a Christmas gift had to mean something to the person receiving it."
Red eyes traced the outlines of the oriental dragon, remembering so many like it emblazoned on things from his home world.
"Um…" He bit his lip, shoving his hand into his pocket and producing a box, "Here."
It was Fai's turn to look surprised as he took the slightly battered box from Kurogane's hand.
"I see I wasn't the only one talked into buying something," He said, knowing that Sakura had surely coerced Kurogane into this just as Syaoran had talked him into his.
"Just shut up and open it."
Fai quickly did so and found himself almost speechless on seeing the strange item inside.
"What is it?"
Kurogane gruffly snatched it from Fai's hands and shook it before handing it back.
"Dunno what it's called. Just thought that you'd…" He cut himself off on realizing he was about to say more than he wanted to.
"I love it," Fai said, eyes wide with wonder as he watched the fake white snow inside the globe fall down around the small white cat and black dog inside it. "It's perfect."
Kurogane caught a trace of Fai's real smile shining from behind the mask at that moment and knew the whole Christmas fiasco had been worth it. Turning towards their room for the night, Fai's voice stopped him.
"Not yet! Not yet!" He chorused, rushing over to the door and hastily hanging something from the frame. Pulling back, he grinned.
"Okay. Now."
Kurogane frowned, starting to walk forward only to find that Fai had jammed himself into the doorframe at the same time.
"What the hell are you doing?" Kurogane snapped, stopping to glare at him.
Fai just smirked and pointed up to the sprig of green in the arch, "It's mistletoe."
About to ask what that had to do with anything, Kurogane snapped his mouth shut on remembering about the Christmas tradition that went along with that very item.
"No way in hell am I kissing you, you fruitcake!"
"But what if we're cursed by a Christmas ghost if we don't do it?" Fai replied.
Kurogane looked Fai in the eyes, trying to gauge if that was a real threat or not. On realizing that he honestly had no idea if breaking the tradition led to any sort of supernatural punishment, he glared at the mage.
"I hate you," He muttered.
Fai leaned up and kissed Kurogane, a pleased smirk on his lips as he pulled back. "Love you too, Kuro-pi!"
Kurogane frowned as the mage walked into the room shaking the snow globe and watching it as if he were a child.
"Oooh look, Kuro-rin! Big Doggy and Kitty are cuddling up to keep warm in the snow. Maybe we should too!"
"No."
"But it'll be cold tonight, Kuro-tan!"
"That's why we have blankets."
"You're mean."
"Shut up and let me sleep."
"Okay but first I have to wish you a …oh what's that saying again…"
"Merry Christmas," Kurogane grumbled, shutting the door behind them.
Fai just smiled and hugged him, "Hyuu! Kuro-mun, that's it! Merry Christmas to you too!"
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