Eyepatches and Wishes
A/N: Written in a mad moment of inspiration while also writing Guarding the Future. This is a mad brainchild born from a few comments on the kurofai community and Animangod's liking of eyepatches. Not in any way beta-d, and while I did some research on Japanese symbology, I got a lot of conflicting results. So...I call AU?
Princess Tomoyo of Nihon was working on a project. One she had begun the moment that she had left the chamber of her most faithful ninja to grant him privacy with the fair and foreign mage, so that they might finally mend all the broken bridges and return to each others' arms. She may have lost her ability to see the future in dreams, but it didn't take a Vision to know what those two meant to each other, and that though they had left this world to save the desert princess and stop a mad sorcerer from shattering reality, Kurogane would someday return and bring Fai with him.
And that gave Tomoyo a grand excuse to make the tall blonde new clothes. He would need them, after all, and as the consort of a minor noble, he definitely should be attired properly. She was more than happy to provide, both with normal kimono and just a few furisode to tease Kurogane with. She thought that perhaps she should eventually let Fai know what the signifigance was, but had a hunch that the wizard would not mind when he found out.
The most interesting part of her project, she'd found, was the eyepatches. Fai had lost an eye in a past world due to tragic circumstances that Tomoyo had not asked about, unwilling to cause more pain when everyone was already struggling under greater burdens. But that simple black strip of cloth he'd worn when arriving in Nihon was...plain. Unadorned. Totally wrong for such a lovely man. Thus, she focused on making different ones, to match the rest of the clothes she was making.
She made those eyepatches with care, embroidering attractive patterns and wishes into each piece. Cranes for longevity. Butterflies for beauty and happiness. Koi for perserverance and faithfulness. Peonies for honor. A phoenix for rebirth. Even a silver dragon both for great fortune and the return of Suwa. And many more besides. She took great pains to get everything just so, and show the gods of her world the wishes and welcome for the lover of the greatest warrior in Nihon.
And then the day came that Kurogane returned with his lover, and Fai smiled at her with a warmth that reached all the way to his two blue eyes.
It seemed that losing her Dreamseeing ability also had drawbacks.
A week later, Fai received the gift of beautiful clothing, and also a lovely quilt cut in a lovely pattern similar to the scales of a dragon, each with a beautiful embroidered pattern.
Fai found great enjoyment in wheedling stories out of his lover for each picture, and all was happiness.
