While driving to pick up fellow fanfic author and real life friend WitchyElphaba from work, I was thinking about a way to celebrate Valentine's Day without getting depressed.
For some reasons, wedding vows popped into my head.
So resulted my odd Valentine's Day fic that was supposed to be happy but ended up with a fan-made ending for the series. The first section is before the events of Acid!Tokyo, the following sections are bits and pieces from the entire journey (separated by the lines from common wedding vows), and the very last part is my version of the ending of Tsubasa.
Hopefully the "love" part becomes apparent.
Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles.
It is my sincere hope you enjoy this fic.
:o:o:
Vows
by Talim-Hime
In one world, the group had been forced to become wedding caterers.
It was a strenuous job that required the operation of some machine called a van and waiting hand and foot on tearful, joy-consumed guests (both from the reception and the wine).
But it was absolutely necessary, the group reminded themselves as they rubbed food and sweat stains out of their uniforms after work and late into the night. For when they had first landed in this world, Syaoran had stumbled upon a magazine with a picture of one of Sakura's feathers adorning a mile-high white cake, the title Wedding Couture emblazoned on the front.
After 3 miserable, unmerciful weeks of wine, food, silver platters and smelly after-party garbage, they were finally hired to cater to the person the magazine had reported as the proud owner of the rare cake topper.
Syaoran had instructed everyone to take this slow, to take this in a collected manner so as to attract as little attention as possible; they'd been labeled thieves in far too many worlds already.
This all flew out the window when the happy couple picked up a knife together to cut the cake.
Sakura screamed and Mokona wailed as Syaoran dropped his appetizer platter and launched himself at the cake, snatching the feather from the precipice of the white tower and away from the blade.
In doing so, he flew through the cake and sent chunks of pastry flying and hitting all the paralyzed wedding guests, and completely burying the once happy couple in white icing.
Before the group had to run (or drive) for their lives in their catering van, Kurogane had caught the wedding vows of the now feather-cake-topper-less couple, being read by what Kurogane guessed was some holy man.
Why those vows stuck with him Kurogane will never figure out. He'd have an easier time explaining why Sakura's soul manifested itself into such troublesome objects or why Tomoyo-hime designed and sewed her own clothes. It certainly couldn't be because Fay wouldn't look so bad in a Japanese ceremonial robe, smiling genuinely for once as Kurogane took a hold of his hands and muttered something about forever --
Kurogane would toss his head, realizing that he was enjoying his stupid sick wonderful fantasy --
No, wait, it wasn't a fantasy! And there was nothing wonderful about Fay or his hair or eyes or --
Damn it.
As he drove and dodged wedding guests, security, ice sculptures, and endured the bumpy ground toward the main road with nerves of steel (somehow maintaining his composure as Syaoran and Sakura shrieked for their lives, Mokona cheered Kurogane on and Fay held on to the back of Kurogane's seat), he realized those vows stuck with him because he had made vows of his own, some vows that he didn't quite understand.
Like the one he had made in the Hanshin Republic, when he first got to know Fay.
Kurogane felt Fay's hand wrap around his own on the steering wheel.
"You okay, Kuro-pon?"
"Just thinking, that's all."
:o:o:
to have and to hold from this day forward
The Tokyo residents, swathed in red cloaks and thin black clothes, stood high above him, exclaiming something about the brunette boy and his broken arm. Commenting in growing fear on his seeming inability to feel pain.
Like he doesn't have a heart, the small red-haired child realized in a teary voice.
"Syaoran. Kurogane. Fay!" Mokona recited in a cracking pitch.
Kurogane was faintly surprised he hadn't torn out Syaoran's monotone vocal cords in the moment of adrenaline when he realized Fay was dying, slipping away and never to call him stupid names or make him eat diabetes-inducing food or smile ever again, real or not --
Kurogane realized Fay had hit the floor and hurriedly bent down to retrieve him, resting the blonde and bloody head against his shoulder and cradling him.
There could have been other ways to hold Fay, to make him more comfortable.
But there was something comforting for Kurogane about the weak heartbeat that was synchronized with his.
for better
Fay ran a kitchen knife down the stack of pancakes, the fluffy insides releasing a bit of steam upon being cut.
Kurogane followed the blade, as if it were the executioner's tool of choice.
"Come now, Kuro-pii, I won't put too much syrup on it!" Fay chided with a huge, mischievous grin.
"I'd rather you not put any at all!"
"But then the pancakes would be too dry!"
Kurogane snorted and crossed his arms.
"You and Syaoran have training to do! You know you need some breakfast." Fay reached out and patted the ninja's cheek.
Kurogane slapped it away.
Fay laughed at the gesture as he flipped open a bottle cap and drizzled a sparse amount of syrup onto the pancakes.
"Here, this'll make Big Puppy a little less growly."
Fay pushed the plate across the kitchen counter to Kurogane.
Righting himself on his stool, Kurogane snatched a fork from Fay's waiting hand and stabbed at the very smallest piece he could.
He brought it to his mouth.
"You actually have to open your mouth to get it in there," Fay explained, a taunting smile on his face.
Kurogane slid the piece off with his teeth and chewed slowly.
After a visible, hard swallow, he started gripping the fork like he wanted to shove it into Fay's throat.
"Well, Kuro-wonwon?"
"… it's delicious."
"Hyuu!"
"SHUT UP!"
for worse
The first time Fay fed, he almost didn't.
Sakura and Syaoran begged him to, and Mokona kept chanting something about how Fay must eat or he won't live, and didn't Fay want to live? Didn't he?
Kurogane was quite through with words. He was certain anything that came out of his mouth would be an unintelligible roar of rage at the stupid mage who couldn't see the value of his life. So he simply slit a cut near the middle of his arm and proceeded to follow Fay all around the house they were temporarily holed up in until he finally wised up.
The wish-given draw of Kurogane's blood soon overrode any of Fay's stubbornness.
The children wanted to go check up on the two and Mokona wanted to report on how the blood-giving was working out to Yuuko, but they decided things between the group were bad enough.
They could have found them easily though.
All they simply needed to do was follow the trail of blood droplets to the second floor.
for richer
In the last world, rubies were in such high supply that even commoners had a few adorning their clothes.
When the group reached the next world decked out head to toe in every variation of ruby shapes and sizes, they were nearly mauled by the entire fashion district. Things nearly got ugly when someone mistook Mokona's head jewel for a ruby and tried to rip it off.
They finally managed to rescue Mokona and find the highest bidder, and the tailor immediately measured them out for this world's clothes.
Kurogane didn't know what to make of this world's Tomoyo measuring his waist, oblivious to the fact her Nihon counterpart was his charge, his master, his everything.
Tomoyo realized the meaning of Sakura's name and proceed to stamp their clothing with a modern diagram of a cherry blossom. Sakura was given a pink and white kimono with puffy sleeves and a crown of her namesake flower, Syaoran a white and green ensemble with a headband with its ties trailing to his ankles, and Fay a robe with blue blossoms.
When Fay stepped off the measuring stool, he nearly tripped over his own floor-length clothes.
Kurogane caught him roughly by the arm.
"Kurogane looks wonderful," Fay remarked as he was pulled to his feet.
Kurogane adjusted his red-blossom headband and stalked off, not even daring to be flattered.
for poorer
In some worlds, they couldn't afford boarding at an inn.
Sometimes, they spent the first night in a new world outdoors.
Syaoran and Sakura forgot their incredible, frustrating-for-all-those-watching shyness and enveloped themselves in the other's cloaks, Sakura buried beneath faded green and Syaoran pulling at the edges of a white and pink cloak.
Kurogane would usually spend the first half of the night trying not to remember that Fay's cloak was made for the tundra and more than capable of keeping more than one person warm.
For that first part of the night, Kurogane was adamant about not being that person.
Syaoran and Sakura would wake the next morning, quickly detaching from the other and spotting Kurogane's sharp nose poking from underneath a fluffy white coat, Fay laying next to him with a dreamy smile on his face.
in sickness
Kurogane was fighting to stay conscious, if the constant fluttering of his eyelids and his bone crushing grip on Fay's shaking arms was anything to go by.
Celes exploded around them, pillars and ceilings coming down, giving Souhi and Kurogane's arm a makeshift burial, much like the Suwa compound had done for his father's remains all those years ago.
They were lifted off the crumbling ground and into the magical circle Mokona's earring, Syaoran squeezing the princess in a protective embrace, despite the fact Mokona's magic prevented rubble from hitting them.
Kurogane appeared to lean forward, but really collapsed against the mage's chest.
Fay, his adopted world and the adopted father he had once loved gone, held on tightly to the person that insisted he was worth more than this.
As Fay became drenched in Kurogane's life-giving blood, he finally agreed with him.
and in health
"Hama-ryoujin!"
The practice dummies were obliterated in a wave of light, the trees nearby rattling and sending sakura petals flying everywhere.
Fay clapped briefly and hopped off his vantage point, pushing lighty through the blossom storm to Kurogane. The other man lifted himself from his crouching position and turned toward the sprinting mage. As the blossoms settled, Fay clasped Kurogane's good arm.
"So, how's the arm?" Fay asked.
The answer was already evident on Kurogane's face.
It's
wonderful. I can fight again.
"It'll do," Kurogane replied with a smirk, flexing the foreign fingers and gripping the foreign blade.
"I'm glad," Fay said with a smile, brushing off petals in Kurogane's hair.
to love and to cherish
Fay waved his bony fist at Kurogane.
"That's payback, Kuro-sama."
Kurogane panted from more than one kind of exhilaration.
"You bastard, I'll beat you up!"
'til death do us part.
Kurogane and Fay couldn't see the fireworks going up above them as various magical sparks imploded when their master was stabbed by his own sword.
A dribble of blood ran down Fei Wong's prominent chin as Syaoran and Sakura, their hands touching as they held the long hilt, pushed the blade through his stomach with vengeful screams that ripped through the sand and dust encircling the Clow ruins.
They couldn't see it, sprawled on the ground face down next to each other, their strength the sacrifice for Syaoran and Sakura to reach Fei Wong.
They were still breathing. They were still conscious. Hell, they might even live.
Still, Kurogane reached out weakly to cover Fay's blood-stained hand with his own splattered one.
"Kuro-sama is so romantic," Fay muttered in the ghost of his once overly sweet voice.
"Shut up," Kurogane managed to retort, his cheek pressed against the ground. "Don't give up. We're getting out of here."
"I'm more concerned for the kids at this point –"
Bare, padded footsteps silenced Fay.
"Here. This belongs to you."
The monotone voice came back from the horrors of Tokyo, fresh and new and unwanted by both men.
Fay had enough energy to crane his neck upward, and Kurogane saw his golden eye go wide.
"But why --?"
"I no longer collect the feathers for Fei Wong. Therefore, I no longer need your eye."
Fay was pulled off the ground roughly, Kurogane clenched his fist at his inability to summon the strength to rescue.
Squelching sounds could be heard, with a shuddering, unnerving gasp from Fay following immediately after.
Kurogane, in his efforts to get off the ground, was startled when the clone pulled him to his feet and dragged him to the nearby ruins, sitting him down and propping him up on the wall.
Kurogane's vision blurred from the movement and his pounding head.
A light weight was dropped into his open arms.
Kurogane looked down to see Fay's half-opened blue eye settle back into its socket.
The clone took nor pleasure nor grief from returning the eye.
Sakura was all that mattered now.
The clone turned on its heel and walked toward the scene of Fei Wong's demise.
Kurogane felt Fay's arms wrap around his neck and pull himself closer, and Kurogane wrapped his arms tightly around the small frame and buried his crimson-streaked face into the golden hair.
As their heartbeats synchronized, Kurogane realized he had least kept one of his vows.