Written for irenegerke after a wanted Kuro-horse and jockey!Fai. Stemmed from a comment in a fic of hers Birds, Bees, and BDSM. This isn't really KuroFai, but there's a friendship of sorts between them. Maybe if someone requests it in the timestamp meme, I'll rectify that with some Yuuko involvement? XD
When he had been asked to take on a horse for Piffle Princess, well Fai first thought how peculiar it was the fashion corporation even had interests in horse racing, second he thought at least he would look very fetching in whatever silks they chose for him. He had met the president, Tomoyo, over tea and little butter cakes that melted in his mouth. It had been a nice afternoon and once they had finished talking business about contracts and prices, they had taken a short drive to the stables she owned.
Fai had an eye for horses, it was part of his job after all and when he passed each stall and glimpsed at every bay, dappled, sorrel coat he didn't see anything that really caught his eye.
"Tomoyo-san…which horse was it you wanted me to start with?" Fai asked as he looked ahead to the young woman smiling gently and petting each horse that poked its head of its stall.
"Our youngest and best horse. He's being walked right now, but should be in any second. He had so much energy compared to most of the others." Fai wasn't sure he liked the cheeky grin he received, usually having a horse with a lot of excess energy meant they were prone to buck a rider off their back while being led to a race.
It was then a loud whinnying caught his attention, and that of the other horses whose ears perked towards the other end of the stable. He watched as four men held a rope in both hands and pulled a horse into view. He had to admit it was one of the more beautiful horses he had seen, despite its snorting and obvious temper. The animal was big; Tomoyo had said eighteen hands, which was well above average for a thoroughbred. Looking at the coat before the horse was pulled inside the shade of the stable; Fai had seen that his new horse was a true black horse.
"How old is he?" His eyes had been transfixed on the horse in question and he hadn't seen Tomoyo step forward with a smile.
"Kurogane's a two year old. He's not been in an actual race yet I'm afraid." Kurogane, what an odd name for a horse, but he supposed he had heard far stranger before.
When he saw her walking towards the colt, who continued to pin his ears back and throw his weight around, Fai tried to stop her as he was worried for her safety with an unpredictable animal. When she approached Kurogane he had to stop and watch as the large beast stopped his tantrum and lowered his head to her upturned palms. "Tomoyo-san…"
"I'm pretty much the only person Kurogane likes, but I think he'll take a shining to Fai-san once they get to know each other." The stable hands released the ropes they had been holding with a word from the woman and she scratched Kurogane's muzzle. "I've seen you race before and I know the two of you will be a good match."
Kurogane snorted and Fai couldn't have agreed more.
"Alright Kuro-hoof, since you won't let anyone else do it, then I'll have to be your rider for training too." He took a few steps to the side as he walked the horse, just before the colt could throw his weight at him. It had taken him a sold month of being nice to the animal, with Tomoyo encouraging Kurogane, before he was able to get the brute to be led in and out of his stall for a walk around the paddock.
He had learned quite a few things from his horse during that time. Kurogane hated sugar cubes and didn't care much for apples either. When he had asked about it, Tomoyo had just given him a little smile and shrugged. 'He just doesn't have a sweet tooth.'
It had taken two weeks for Kurogane to stop chasing after him when he was around the fence of his pasture. Fai had found it hilarious when he had ventured in one day and Kurogane had given chase until he had climbed a tree. The horse had even gone so far as to rear up with his front hooves on the tree snapping and neighing loudly up at him while he laughed and teased the colt.
On top of that, which the jockey still found odd, was that the lug knew his name and didn't take well to nicknames. Fai learned the hard way when he had been on the receiving end of a nip, it didn't stop him though. Kurogane also pretended like he didn't enjoy his baths or brushings either, pinning his ears back through the whole ordeal despite being otherwise relaxed.
It seemed as if he had signed up to ride the most backwards horse ever born.
"You're quiet handsome you know, it's pretty uncommon to have a black racehorse, but I suppose if your temper is any indication then you should be a good runner." Fai smiled at the snort and light tug on the rope in his hand, Kurogane wasn't amused.
And for all his faults, Kurogane was a good horse. Fai had even been impressed with some of the exercises he had done. It seemed that despite all the horse's refusal to do most anything, when he was about to be led to the track he suddenly became patient with the people saddling him. Once on the track however, Fai had a terrible time of reigning Kurogane in as the young horse wanted his head and to be let loose from the get go.
"I'll give Kuro-neigh a carrot if he behaves~." Kurogane tried nipping him then and Fai laughed. Their partnership was something different alright.
On the day of his and Kurogane's first race together, Tomoyo had showed up twirling into the jockey locker room in a twirl of ruffles and lace with video camera in hand.
"Oh, Fai-san I'm so excited for Kurogane's big day. You two have been getting better and better at actually riding together." She smiled brightly, making sure to film every square inch of the room. "And your silks look lovely on you."
Electric blue and a pink crown, for Piffle Princess of course, on his chest and the white pants with blue lining weren't too bad and he had been right before. He looked pretty damn good in them.
He chuckled at the thought of what Kurogane was doing now. Probably grunting and being his usually brutish self to the unlucky stable hands that would have to take care of him. "Kuro-horse is still thick headed, we'll be lucky if he doesn't tire himself out by the first post."
"You'll do fine Fai-san, now I have to go and make sure Kurogane gets dressed as well." Fai wasn't able to utter a goodbye quick enough as Tomoyo had ran out just as quickly as she had arrived.
"Kuro-snort will do great~!" Fai trilled as he squatted on Kurogane's saddle and rocked back and forth in the starting gate. It seemed a few other horses were nervous about being put into the metal gates and the large crowd cheering a few dozen yards away.
Kurogane whinnied and snorted deeply, his head bowed and ears pinned back. He couldn't tell if the horse was agreeing with him or complaining about him on his back. Hearing Kurogane stomp and try to smack his leg on the side of the stall, he supposed it was a bit of both.
"Aww, don't be like that, you have to be a good boy. Tomoyo's watching you and will be so disappointed to see you acting like a child." Another loud cry was his answer and the man sitting on the side of the gate, Syaoran something, could only blush awkwardly at them.
When he noticed the last horse had been put into place, Fai stopped his rocking and narrowed his eyes in concentration. Kurogane had seemed to pick up on it and the jockey could feel the behemoth of a horse tense under him.
When the race was over, it took him a few seconds for his hearing to come back to him as he trotted Kurogane down to help him slow down at a safe pace. He removed his sixth pair of goggles, as the other five had been quickly covered in dirt during the race.
"Kuro-chan did pretty good." Patting the thick neck, he was rewarded with a shake of Kurogane's head as they came to a slow walk. His face was caked with dirt and it no doubt covered the rest of him and Kurogane. He turned Kurogane around just as another rider came up to them to lead them backs towards Kurogane's paddock.
"I'm sure Kuro-puppy will win next time." Kurogane still fought him for his head the entire way and when Fai had finally given it to him at the home stretch, Kurogane had bolted forward and had tired himself out. They had still finished in second, which had been wonderful for a first race, but Fai knew they had a lot of work to do yet. He could feel that Kurogane wanted to buck him off, but was too tired right now. "You just have to not be so grumpy and let me help next time."
When they got back to the Piffle Princess paddock away from the track, Fai hopped off the saddle and led Kurogane towards the water pump. Fai quickly took off the horse's saddle and began spraying the mud off him. He always hated when Kurogane was dirty and unable to show off his looks. "Kuro-saddle is still pig headed, but in his next race he'll win. Just means more practice."
Ruffling the lock of hair over Kurogane's bridle, Fai laughed. The horse, always un-amused with his playing and joking, grabbed his helmet and tossed it to the ground to show his displeasure.
"Oh, Fai-san, Kurogane, that was wonderful! I knew you two would do beautifully together." Tomoyo clapped her hands together as she rushed over to them, not minding the mud that pool around them in the slightest. She hugged Kurogane's large head to her chest going on about how ecstatic she was about his first race.
Fai watched the horse as he dipped his head and nickered, something that the horse did for no one else. He thought it was pretty cute himself as he walked over to grab some brushes so he could get the mud out of the horse's coat and hooves before it dried. He thought his job as Piffle Princess' head jockey was one of the weirdest jobs he had ever agreed upon, but as Kurogane snorted and pawed the ground at his return, he thought it had its perks.