Fay clenched his jaw to keep his teeth from chattering and held Kurogane tighter, trying to force his warmth into the quickly cooling body in his arms.

Syaoran had left several moments ago to try and find help, leaving Fay to tend to Kurogane and the still body of Sakura. He'd managed to somewhat stem the flow of blood from the massive wound with a makeshift tourniquet using part of his own clothing, but it was a temporary solution at best and an absolutely desperate one at the worst.

With each passing moment a little bit more of the resolve he had left faded just a little bit, and it was all he could do not to simply close his eyes and give up.

But despite everything Kurogane was somehow still conscious. Fay could hear him breathing heavily and tensing his shoulders in pain, yet he somehow stayed conscious.

Fay looked up and for just a moment was pulled out of his stupor by the sight of a vast canopy of stars over his head. As he watched them some memory from deep within him rose to the surface, and before he knew what he was doing he was singing a song from Valeria, one tinged with the memory of his mother at Midwinter, her hair falling in golden waves down her shoulders.

Through the longest night the lovers waited
With hands together and breath bated
Praying for the sun to arrive…

Even though he could not remember the words beyond that, the song had a two-fold effect, giving him an outlet for his despair and relaxing Kurogane just enough to make the pain tolerable. He sang until his throat was sore and his voice cracked, but he kept it up as if something would break in both of them if he stopped.

And then, just as the stars began to fade into the lightening sky, a figure appeared on a nearby hill, the reflection of torchlight off the golden armor blinding him for a moment.

"There they are!"

The next several moments were a blur of golden armor and serious faces as a literal army moved in to carry them away. When they tried to pull the now-unconscious Kurogane away, Fay, not understanding, merely stared at them and refused to let go.

"It's alright, Flowright-san." A soft female voice said from behind him, accompanied by the light tinkling of bells. "We just want to treat him."

Fay turned his head around slowly to stare up blankly at a very familiar face.

"Tomoyo…hime?" he said slowly, not believing what he was seeing.

She smiled gently, reaching down to take his hand.

"I'll explain later. Right now we need to get Kurogane medical help," her eyes softened. "Don't worry, we'll take care of him. He's home now."

Home. The word settled somewhere deep inside his chest, unexpectedly bringing tears to his eyes from a combination of loneliness and exhaustion. Tomoyo put her arm around his shoulders and lightly lifted his chin so as to meet his eyes.

After a moment Fay nodded, silently understanding, and rose to his feet, wincing from the stiffness in his limbs as they lifted Kurogane out of his arms. As he watched them carry him off his legs gave out suddenly, but Tomoyo leaned into him and allowed him to rest his weight on her.

"I'm sorry that we took so long to reach you." Tomoyo said softly, taking his hand and holding it comfortingly, her warmth momentarily startling him after the cold of Celes and the long night. "I had seen this happening in a vision, but I couldn't tell exactly where you were. Luckily Syaoran-kun found and led us here."

Fay nodded dumbly, watching the flurry of activity as the army of personnel loaded Kurogane and Sakura into the waiting wagons. At some point Syaoran had come to stand beside them silently.

They briefly made eye contact, but Fay looked away in shame. Syaoran would probably not want to speak to him now after all that he'd seen. Kurogane was one thing, but Syaoran was just a child, and he couldn't possibly forgive that easily –

Fay's cynical train of thought was instantly derailed as something collided with his chest, nearly knocking the wind out of him. He blinked in confusion and looked down, seeing the top of Syaoran's head against his chest.

"I'm sorry, Fay-san. I had no idea."

Damn. Fay thought, suddenly feeling the urge to laugh. Yet another thing I've been wrong about today.

He would find out later that what strength he had left had given out, causing him to collapse into Syaoran and Tomoyo, but from his perspective he was suddenly transported from the cold field into a warm bed and a room scented with flowers.

He sat up and took a look around, his eyes falling upon the pile of fresh clothes at the foot the bed.

He made his way over to a waiting tub of water and splashed some water on his face, closing his eye to enjoy the warmth against his skin.

Deciding that he'd best change out of the dirty things he'd arrived in, he pulled on the clean kimono. He shivered at the sight of Kurogane's blood on the clothes he'd arrived in, shocked by the sheer amount of it.

Dismissing the thought, he attempted to comb out the tangles in his hair, and after mostly failing at that, opened one of the outward doors to take in his surroundings a little more. It was still dark outside, but the castle already seemed to be buzzing with activity despite the early hour.

His gaze drifted over to the right-hand door. Something told him that Kurogane would be behind it, and he felt a lump build in his throat at the sight. Fay was torn between wanting to make sure that he was alright and sparing himself the sight of that stump of an arm, but eventually the desire to see that Kurogane was in good hands won out.

He took a deep breath as he slid open the door. As expected, Kurogane – no doubt helped along by the pain medicine they'd given him – was sound asleep and breathing softly. From where Fay was standing it almost appeared that nothing was wrong with Kurogane, with only the telltale bandages betraying the existence of the stump on the other side.

Fay bit his lip at the memory of Kurogane doing that to himself. He wasn't sure if it was the act itself or the utter fearlessness with which it had been carried out that bothered him more.

It occurred to Fay as he watched that had never seen Kurogane looking so truly peaceful before, even in sleep.

"He's a strong one, isn't he?"

Fay turned his head slightly, his gaze falling upon Tomoyo as she sat at the bedside. She'd been at such an angle that Fay had been unable to see her. She smiled at him before looking down fondly at Kurogane.

"Even when he was a child I always knew that he'd grow up to be great. He just needed to find a reason to fight."

Fay bit his lip. He didn't want to think about that sort of thing right now, especially not the implication that all this had been for him.

As if she could read his mind – and knowing who she was there was a decent chance of that – Tomoyo rose to her feet and moved to the side he could see out of, a kind expression on her face.

"I beseech you not to feel guilty about this, Flowright-san. What happened was because of Kurogane's choice and nothing else."

Fay sighed and watched Kurogane's sleeping face. She was right, but he didn't want to accept it just yet. For now he'd be mad, at least until Kurogane woke up.

Tomoyo patted his hand and moved towards the door.

"I'll leave you two alone and let you rest for now. But just remember this, Flowright-san." A hint of a knowing smile suddenly crossed her lips. "The Darkness is always greatest before the Dawn."

Fay started and turned to face her, but she was already gone. He stared after her for a few moments before turning back to face Kurogane. He sighed and knelt by the side of the bed, taking Kurogane's hand and squeezing it firmly.

He blinked as the first rays of sunlight slanted through the open doorway, casting them both in a golden light. Just then the missing words of the song returned to him, and for the first time since he could remember the warmth seemed to reach all the way down to his core.

Through the longest night the lovers waited
With hands together and breath bated
Praying for the sun to arrive
Until, just as their hope threatened to fade
The light returned, and a new day was made

- End