Title: Strength
Author: Eeevee
Rating: T
Disclaimer: owned by clamp, not by me, duh
Dedication: Here's your wretched fluff, Cub; I hope you choke on it
"Ouch, that hurt, you bastard!"
"Ooo, the big puppy is growling at me!" Fai grinned, just out of reach. He was dressed in the clothing of the world and somehow still managed not to look utterly ridiculous. The overly pink and frilly style of clothing flounced around every time he moved. The rest of them on the other hand… well, Kurogane thought that the only good thing out of being hurt was he was wearing a standard hospital gown now. Since pink seemed to be the sacred (and only) color of this world. "A big man like you shouldn't whine so much; it's unbecoming."
"Who wouldn't yell in pain when you're stabbing their burns with your pointy little finger?" Kurogane snarled back, cradling his injured flesh and glaring daggers. He really wanted to punch that silly grin off the other man's face, but his knuckles were pretty raw. If only he could reach his sword…
Fai's blue eyes flickered across the room to where the sword rested and clucked his tongue in an annoyingly patronizing way, "Now, now, Kuro-pon, the doctor said you need to rest."
"Only dead people need to rest." The big ninja retorted sharply, every second in the room with the vexing sorcerer frustrating him even more. And the fact that the annoying little twerp stayed just out of reach only rubbed salt in the wound. "And who could rest with you around anyway?"
The blonde was tricky too. He had even removed that vase of flowers Sakura had brought to an unattainable position, incase it was going to be used as a weapon. In fact, everything that possibly could be used as a weapon was just out of arm's reach.
"And people who jump into burning buildings." Fai noted with an inane grin plastered all over his face, ignoring his last sentence. "Kuro-tan is amazing to still be alive, that's what the doctor said!"
"Tch." He growled, peeling off the bandages slowly and peering at the cracked, blackened skin with vague interest, "You should know I'm not ordinary."
"Stop pulling those off. The doctor said…" The wizard chided, stepping forward to stop him from pulling the bandages.
Kurogane ignored him.
"Kuro-sama, that's not—mmph, hey!"
The dark ninja gave a grin of his own, and unlike the superficial smiles of his cheerful counterpart, his evil smirk was totally heartfelt.
He pulled the blonde wizard down against the sheets and hissed in his ear, "Got you."
"Waaah, I'm going to be a big chew toy!" Fai cried loud enough for the whole inn to hear him and the wailing only stopped when Kurogane stuffed a wad of sheets in his mouth.
"You idiot." The bigger man growled, feeling that the pain from his head was outstripping the pain from his burns. Maybe he should have taken that sleep medication when it was offered. It would save him a lot of mind numbing harassment.
Fai spit the sheets out, smile never wavering, and he teased, "There's other ways to get my attention; you don't have to tie me up… how about I tie you up?"
Before the ninja could protest, Fai pulled out a clean roll of bandages and started removing the rest of his old ones. His long, thin fingers worked slowly over the grimy bandages, sliding gently under the edges. Even so, burns had to be the nastiest of wounds because the bandages were covered in flakes of black skin and sealed with murky pus. Kurogane stared stotic at the wall across from him, wondering how many shades of pink you could put in a room, not acknowledging the pain rippling with every gentle tug.
Suddenly the sensation stopped. He opened his mouth to yell at the wizard for stopping but shut it as he turned to look at the man.
The blonde was quietly absorbed in staring at his arm. His blue eyes were unfocused and the usual smile was pulled into a thoughtful frown. His bangs were slanted forward but Kurogane could still see his furrowed brows and wondered what brought about this sudden, unnerving change in the wizard.
"Hey, quite dawdling." He snapped, trying to bring back some normalcy to the situation. He tried to pull his arm back but found the mage's grip to be a lot stronger than he thought.
"Oh, sorry." Fai said, still eerily subdued. He pulled out a small jar from the nightstand and opened it. The salve was, unsurprisingly, pink, and it smelled like peppermint. Dipping his fingertips into the salve, Fai mechanically started slathering it on the burns, his touch still infinitely gentle. Slowly, his fingers traced a familiar pattern and Kurogane raised his eyebrows at that tattoo's design. He still didn't know the whole back story, and to be honest, he didn't care. That was in the past, Fai's past, and he was only interested in the future.
"How could you do it?"
"What?"
"You just jumped into a building that was on fire without regard for your own life. You accused me of not valuing my own life, yet you do the same thing? So, how can you hate guys like me?"
Kurogane eyed him suspiciously for a moment, trying to decide if it was another word trap before replying, "Because you're selfish. You think you want to die, yet you had to consider whether or not to go into that building. You don't want to die, you're just selfish."
They stared at each other in silence.
"So, if I were the hero, then it'd be different?" Fai ventured. "It'd be okay to make people fear for and worry about me? Isn't that selfish too?"
That threw Kurogane and he just continued to stare. He was expecting an argument but not this one. He wasn't even sure what they were arguing about now.
"I have no idea what you're talking about, wizard." He growled lowly, reaching for the clean bandages. His arms couldn't stay unwrapped for too long or they would dry out and crack even more.
Fai took the bandages away from him and started wrapping them in precise, slow loops that spoke of practice.
"Then I'll put it more simply: how can you stick to your convictions so easily? How can you be you?"
Again, Kurogane was stumped by the question.
"How can you be so strong?"
And the ninja suddenly knew they weren't talking about magical powers or physical strength or fighting abilities.
"I don't know. I just am." He answered honestly, knowing it wasn't the answer the sorcerer was desperately seeking. "Why don't you quit with that stupid smile you use as a mask and face up to your responsibilities. You've invested in these kids now, despite not wanted to get close. You can't back out now."
There was another minute of heavy silence as Fai finished his tending and Kurogane tried to think of a nicer way to put things. In the end he decided if the wizard was truly that thin-skinned, than there was no nicer way to put it. The truth was still the truth. There was no reason to mince words over it.
"See, all better." Fai suddenly chirped, giving the arm he so carefully wrapped a good thump with his palm. "Should I see about getting some dinner?"
As he slipped off the edge of the bed Kurogane caught his upper arm and tugged him back.
"Kuro-sama, that hurts!" He whined and tried to pry the big fingers off his pink shirt. "Let go!"
Instead of letting go, Kurogane tugged harder, making the mage lose his balance and topple over on the bed and on the ninja himself. Grabbing Fai's chin, he pulled the fake smile and vapid blue eyes his direction.
"Quit running away from me." He commanded sharply.
Fai blinked in confusion for a second.
Kurogane pressed their foreheads together to emphasis his next point. He could feel Fai's hot breath puffing in and out nervously, unsure.
"You can pretend all you like that you don't want anyone to get close…" Kurogane whispered roughly, "…But remember, I can see through people. I can see through you. And I don't care what you did. You seem to forget that we are together in this crazy mess: you, me, the kid, and the princess. Every problem between us is now shared. We'll deal with them as they come, so you need to stop being selfish."
Fai hesitantly brushed his fingers across Kurogane's cheek and ran them through his lengthening hair. His other hand was pressed solidly against Kurogane's chest above his heart.
He whispered back, hoarse and sincere, "I don't know if I can do that. Quit being selfish." Then he leaned forward and pressed their lips together in a chaste kiss, "Maybe you can teach me?"
Omake:
after all the feathers have been returned to Sakura and Kurogane makes it back to his Japan
Princess Tomoyo: I am pleased to see you have returned... but who is the one following you?
Kuro: growls and looks behind him
Fai: jumps to the other side
Kuro: looks to the other side
Fai: jumps again
PT: ...you must be Kuro's friend, since you two seem so close. Although, my great ninja must have changed much to... ah, let you tag along.
Kuro: there is no LET. It followed me.
Fai: Kuro-pon's mad! I just wanted to see your homeland, since you gushed about it all the time!
Kuro: -- I did not.
Fai: and since Syaoran and Sakura got their happy ending, I thought we could have ours!
Kuro: there is no "ours." Go get your own happy ending!