Summary: 'This needed to be said, and the mage had to hear it. Kurogane wanted him to hear it.' In a peaceful world, Kurogane contemplates the changes their journey has wrought on his companions and grows frustrated with with the lack of progress in a certain mage; he's tired of waiting.
So, I'm not completely satisfied with this right now. I kind of just sat down and put fingers to keyboard with absolutely no plot in mind, so I suppose this is what I deserve. I don't quite think I've done it justice, and I might actually write a companion piece for it. I suppose it depends on the kind of response I get. Erm, there is a little bit of Card Captor Sakura influence in here. I just got done re-reading it for the ten-thousandth time, so Kurogane got a little bit of Touya influence... I think he's still pretty in-character, though, so it's okay. If you want to take it as KuroFai, then it's up to you. I'm not completely sure that I'm gonna take it in that direction, though.
Disclaimer: I do not own Tsubasa Chronicle (or Card Captor Sakura). Both are property of CLAMP. Please support them by buying the graphic novels at your local book store.
"Hyuu, you work so hard, Kuro-sama!"
Kurogane turned his head ever so slightly, making a soft sound of disgust as his crimson eyes narrowed somewhat at the sight of the magician walking into the yard. Fai was wearing that insanely fragile smile once again, even though the children and the meat bun were out for the afternoon. He resented that look, but every time he tried to reach past it, the mage would brush aside his attempts and carry on as though nothing had happened.
"What do you want, mage?" he questioned cautiously as Fai walked towards him. Only now did he notice the two large, orange, dripping things in the magician's hands. "And what are those?"
"They're popsicles!" Fai answered, his smile widening. "I thought that, since Kuro-wan is working so hard out here to make the garden ready for Sakura-chan, I should bring him something nice and cool to refresh him. We wouldn't want Kuro-daddy to pass out from the heat now, would we?"
"I don't want--" the ninja began to answer, but he was cut off when one of the icy treats was pushed into his mouth mid-sentence. He growled. Fai had pulled this joke before, on Oto, and honestly, he was getting sick of it. He grabbed the popsicle stick and ripped the orange snack out of his mouth. "Dammit, mage!" he roared, chasing after Fai, who promptly fled, laughing, knowing full well that Kurogane hated anything sweet.
Eventually, Fai grew tired of his own antics and went off to do whatever it was that he did when he wasn't bothering the ninja. Kurogane sighed, returning to Sakura's garden. They had finally landed in a peaceful world, and though there was a feather here, according to the meat bun, they had been thus far unable to find it. When Sakura had expressed an interest in maintaining a garden while they were here a few days ago, somehow, Kurogane had been roped into doing the prep work for her while she went with the kid to look for her feather.
He knelt down on the grass and rolled up his sleeves. Soon he was working the soil, loosing it up a bit to make it easier for Sakura to plant her chosen flowers when the time came. He got any extra rocks and things out of the way, knowing they would interfere with the roots. Soon the sun was high in the sky, and Kurogane was lost in his thoughts.
The kids were changing. Sakura was slowly growing more confident, even though she always insisted that she couldn't do anything. Her relationship with the kid was becoming more natural, too. It was obvious that she cared for him. And the kid…He was finally starting to let himself live again. The mission was still the most important thing--after Sakura--but he had finally begun to relax. He was letting himself smile, a warm expression that lit up like a small candle whenever the princess was happy.
The mage was changing as well…
"Kuro-pi! Hello! If you don't talk to me soon, I'll feel like a crazy person! Don't you love me anymore?"
"Don't I what?" the ninja asked, blinking in surprise. He had been so deep in thought that he hadn't heard Fai sneaking up on him. Now that he looked around, he could see that the sun was almost set.
"I said, 'Don't you love me anymore?'"
"Stop talking nonsense," Kurogane answered, a little too quickly as he rose to his feet, brushing dirt off of his hands on his jeans. "What do you want this time?"
"I came to tell you that dinner's ready," the mage responded with a grin. "I worked my very best to prepare a supper for Kuro-daddy who has been working hard all day."
"Are the kids back?" said 'Daddy' questioned with a roll of his eyes as the two of them started to head back into the house that they had managed to rent temporarily.
Fai shook his head, amusement shining in his eyes. "Syaoran-kun called and told me that he and Sakura-chan would be a little late tonight. Apparently, they might have found a lead."
"Mmn…"
"Awww, is Kuro-tango worried? You're such a good daddy!" Fai teased. Kurogane could almost see the hearts dancing in the mage's eyes.
"Would you stop it with that joke?" the ninja growled, eyes narrowing.
"Ooh, but it's so fun," the magician shot back, poking Kurogane in the shoulder playfully.
"Then why don't you act like you're having more fun?"
Fai froze and stopped poking. He looked up at the taller man with a painfully fake smile written across his face. Kurogane had to stop himself from wincing at the sight of such a clandestine gesture.
"But I am!" the magician answered with a soft, half-hearted laugh, his voice somewhat lower than it had been a second ago. Kurogane's ears perked. Fai always took this tone when he was getting serious. "You can't tell?" He started poking at Kurogane's muscular shoulder once again, though now it almost seemed as though he felt obliged to do so.
"I can tell that you're trying really hard to look like you are," the ninja stated. He reached forward, fingers wrapping around Fai's wrist tightly, stopping his antics.
"Kuro-pish, that kinda hurts…"
"The kids are changing every day, you know," the warrior from Nihon started, ignoring Fai as he wiggled a bit, trying to escape Kurogane's grasp. "They're allowing themselves to move on from whatever's held them back in the past."
The ninja's free hand shifted some of Fai's blonde hair from his face, and the mage froze, becoming completely still as the skin of Kurogane's hand brushed against his cheek and his heart started beating at around one thousand beats per minute. "I know you're running away from something in your past. And I've told you that your past doesn't matter one way or another to me. What happened in your past isn't any of my business."
"That's just like you, Kuro-sama; so considerate…" Fai breathed, utterly distracted by Kurogane's touch as he felt himself being driven into a corner by the ninja's words. For a moment, his mask slipped, and Kurogane could see from the look of desperation in the mage's eyes that he wanted desperately to run away. A second later, though, and that look was gone, replaced once again by Fai's usual façade.
"That's the way you want it to be," the ninja growled, refusing to let Fai escape from him as he had done so many times in the past. He would hear this. "Your past doesn't matter, so you need to stop screwing around and figure out what you're going to do. The kids are changing and getting stronger every day while you're still hiding from the world. You're a part of their lives now whether you want to be or not."
Fai tried to pull away from Kurogane once again, thinking himself saved when he heard Mokona shout 'Tadaima!' from inside the house.
"Ah, looks like the kids are home. We'd better go say 'hi,' Kuro-puu," he stated quickly, turning to go back into the house as he plastered that stupid, fake, annoying grin back onto his face. Kurogane pulled him back harshly, spinning him around so that they were facing each other once again. Fai had the look of a trapped animal as Kurogane's hand grabbed him by the chin suddenly, forcing the mage to look into his eyes. This needed to be said, and the mage had to hear it. Kurogane wanted him to hear it. He was tired of waiting. He leaned over, his breath brushing against the skin of Fai's ear as he spoke:
"You're allowed to change, too."
And with those words, Fai's heart froze.
Um...Don't worry or anything. Fai's not dead. I wouldn't kill off my favorite character. In any case, let me know what you think. I'm really not very happy with it, but like I said, it's what I get for not writing with an idea in mind. I might have an idea for a companion piece, though, so if you're interested, please let me know, since it's normally my policy to only write oneshots. So anyway, let me know what you thought of it, and we'll all see what happens next!