Title: Beautiful Thing

Fandom: Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE

Pairing: Kurogane/Fai

Rating: PG

Word Count: 501

Summary/Description: Sitting in the presence of rain in the sky's wild noise. Here's to life.

Warning/Spoilers: SPOILERS FOR CHAPTER 167.

A/N: May I use this space to declare how happy TRC is making me these days? Yeah. This takes place during chapter 167. It was influenced by both Martin Carter's For Walter Rodney, and DBSK's Beautiful Thing.

Dedication: To Goldberry. Happy birthday:D This is also the fulfilment of that request that you gave me a loooonng time ago; Tsubasa, KuroFai, and "crystal". 3 Hope you like, and I hope you've had a great day:)

Disclaimer: Me not CLAMP.

Fai kept his head down as he walked into the room. Kurogane felt his teeth edge immediately.

There were many things that Fai could say that would make Kurogane wish he still had two arms to throttle him with. Many things he could do that would fill Kurogane with a silent fury that would soon enough erupt and shatter the crystal dome Fai seemed to want to inhabit. Kurogane glared and clenched his fists in preparation.

There were a couple things that Kurogane would've liked to say himself, but he settled for a grunted, "Hey."

Fai looked down on him with glass in his eye. Kurogane stared back up, acutely aware of the dull numbness at his shoulder.

He blinked, and that was all it took for him to miss the fist that connected squarely with his jaw, and sent him flying back into the curtains behind him. Fai's face was still blank, and his fists tight. Kurogane, still reeling, stared up at the blond in open disbelief as he rubbed at the inflicted spot. Fai might be as thin as a reed, but it felt like he'd put double his mass behind that punch. What the hell?

Fai suddenly broke out into a smirk.

"This is payback, Kuro-sama."

If he'd never had a mixed feeling, Kurogane was experiencing one now. As much as he wanted to yell at the blond for surely the thousandth time that that wasn't his name, he couldn't deny the feeling of intense relief and satisfaction that expanded and bloomed in his chest. This… this was real. This was his norm, and he would gut himself before he admitted it, but he'd missed it.

He grinned back, fiercely.

"You bastard, I'll beat you up!"

Neither his glare nor his grin faded as he took Fai by the wrist and pulled him down to the futon. He felt rather than heard Tomoyo-hime leave the room, and he could then direct his full attention to the other man.

Fai was smirking lazily, but he didn't simply allow himself to be held in place on the bedding; he reached up and tried to clip Kurogane on the chin. The ninja had his wits about him this time, however, and he rolled unto his side as he grabbed hold of both wrists with his one hand. It was hard to balance, though; Fai shifted one of his legs and brought Kurogane tumbling down on him. The magician let out a small oomph, but that enigmatic little smile of his only got wider. They looked at each other.

Fai was the first to move. Their kiss was simple and soft, and Kurogane growled into it pleasantly. The satisfaction ran deep along his veins and around his blood.

This wasn't the end. It wasn't perfect, and they weren't whole, each in their own way; this was a beautiful, damaged thing. But they had come a long way, and Fai had finally traded crystals for definite, unbreakable stone, and they were making a way.