Author: Yaoikoibito

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of this story… they belong to clamp, my goddesses XD

Warnings/rating: A poor attempt at angst. Rated PG

Pairing: Kurogane/Fai

A/n: I'm sorry if the storyline's kind of vague.. I think it's plotless really. And AU again. A crossover between my stories "A beautiful tune: Ebony and Ivory" and "A beautiful tune: Golden and Blue" XD

He loved children, that's why he entered this profession. Fai had always dreamed that he would become a teacher, someone to educate those of innocent minds and give them advice that they may someday use. He loved them, and he hoped that they loved him.

There he was, for the first morning of that school year, early to go to work and loving it. He was to set a good example after all, so that his students would come early as well. Since the beginning of his teaching career, he loved it. Not to mention the day when he met one of his closest friends. Kurogane. He was a gym teacher in the high school department, and as much as he wanted to deny it, he actually loved teaching, maybe even more than how much Fai loved it.

With this he and Kurogane would go out for their usual lunch together; he loved to talk with him. He loved it, liked it, and he found it endearing. No one was truer than how Kurogane was; he could openly express his feelings and opinions without any hesitation. And as they were heading home, taking their usual route, he felt happiness…

But… being here right now in the hospital, sitting on this chair, with every excruciating minute of Kurogane having to stay in this room, his back, injured with wounds that might forever leave scars, this wasn't happiness… this wasn't what he meant to happen to Kurogane.

"I'm sorry…" These words once again coming from Fai's lips.

"It wasn't your fault." Seeing Kurogane's body covered up in bandages just pained Fai.

"I'm sorry…" He repeated once again, it was his fault… his fault…

"You didn't do anything wrong." Kurogane spoke gently but sternly. It wasn't Fai's fault, it could never be Fai's fault.

"But… it was…" Why was it that his eyes won't run out of tears? It hurts to cry… emotionally… and now physically.

"I don't regret doing it. It's no one's fault."

And then, there was silence.

***

It was painful being here. The third time he came back to this place, the third day since after the incident. It was painful. Excruciating. Horrible. He abhorred the feeling, he wasn't supposed to be doing this. It should've been him who was suffering in Kurogane's place, it should've been him who had endured that pain, it should've been him who had those injuries and their potential scars. But… saying these right now, Kurogane's pain would've been for nothing. And so, he'd rather endure this fault, this unfortunate event and these horrible feelings.

He was tired, he wanted to rest, he wanted everything to stop, to be quiet. If only he were someone else, maybe Kurogane would've been fortunate enough for this to not happen to him. Maybe not. But Fai knew that if it weren't for their agreement, none of this would've been happening.

And as he was walking in this hallway, it reminded him of his painful memories.

"Ku-Kurogane!" Fai hiccupped.

"I'm sorry, but you have to stay here for now." An obviously veteran nurse said.

"No! I have to know if he'll be all right! I-I just have to!" Kurogane's blood was all over him, it was everywhere, on his teacher's outfit, something that he might come to hate someday, a reminder of this event. "You have to let me in!"

"I'm sorry, but you're not allowed here anymore."

"But…!"

A doctor with deep eyes placed a hand on his shoulder, for some reason there was comfort behind the touch… the empathy, the sympathy. "We have to treat your eye as well. I'm sure, he would've wanted that."

And he let go, having his eye treated, not even realizing the tears that were mixing with his blood.

Fai then realized that he had tears in his eyes. He's been crying a lot these days. He didn't want Kurogane to see him crying again, he knew the raven haired man wouldn't like it; he knew Kurogane would be bothered. It would've given the other further inconvenience, it might even cause added burden. He decided to wash his face in the bathroom and maybe stay there, until this sadness would subside.

When he was heading for the bathroom, the door opened. There he was, a bespectacled boy with dark black hair and ocean blue eyes. He was thankful to that boy, if it wasn't for him, if he hadn't arrived…

When they passed each other, they're shoulders barely brushing, him going in and the younger one going out, he muttered the that he had intended to say at the very first time they met, at the time he had saved Kurogane's life. With these words, Fai hoped that the younger one would stop crying as well, he would feel better; he was in pain, something Fai could tell.

"Thank you…"

He never got to see the other one's reaction, but, he hoped it was a good one, in a sense that his simple words could've given him the idea that he was thankful that the other one was there, that if it weren't for him, Fai was sure he would've cried harder. That if I weren't for him, maybe he would've forever remained a recluse.

Fai walked into the bathroom, he saw a young man, maybe only two or three years younger, sitting on one of the corners with his forehead against his knees, he remembered him from the night before. He was crying so hard, and it reminded Fai of himself.

"Hey…" Fai called out to him, he didn't know why he did that, he didn't know what came over him to do that. But something deep inside him told him that there was something he had to do, that if he left things like that, something would've been undone and never finished.

He sat next to the bespectacled boy -only this one was a blond like himself, his hair almost silver- when he had looked up. Fai stretched his legs to relax, he wasn't entirely sure. "Are you okay?" he asked when a comfortable silence had settled.

"How can you ask me that?" Fai heard him sniffle, and his voice sounded so sad and tired. "Aren't you not okay as well?"

Fai wanted to chuckle, but the sadness just overwhelmed him. "Yeah, I guess you're right." He looked to the ceiling with a sad smile gracing his lips, and maybe some tears welling up in his eyes.

The other blond pressed his forehead against his knees for the second time. "How can you still smile when you feel so much pain?" Fai heard a sniffle, maybe it was from Yukito or maybe someone had been residing in one of the stalls as well. "I… feel like I can't breathe anymore…" The bespectacled boy cried louder. "And yet you have the heart to smile?! How?!"

Fai was not at all shocked at the outburst. He somehow knew that would come sooner or later, so answered what he felt, "Because I don't know what else to do…" He felt the other's gaze on his. "I'm scared… I don't know what to do… I know that if he sees me cry… wouldn't he feel my pain as well? I love him so much, I want to take away his pain… but if I do that, then he'd feel this pain."

He heard the other person cry louder, Fai did what the first thing he thought of. He wrapped his arms around the younger one; in turn the other had wrapped his arms around him too.

***

Fai came walking into Kurogane's room, after stopping by at the doctor's office. The raven-haired man clutched onto his arm with the deep cut. Even if when he was injured like this, Kurogane was still looking over his lesson plans and other materials for his students. Kurogane was always heartless, never just the one to openly express it.

"Hey, Kuro-pii…" Fai looked at him with tiredly and was responded with a concerned yet stern look from Kurogane.

"What happened?" He noticed the wetness of the other's clothing.

"It's nothing. I just met someone quite interesting today." The blond then placed some of the fruits he had brought over on the bedside table. "When do you think you would be fully recovered?"

A smug look made its way to Kurogane's features. "I could leave right this minute. It's your insistency that I stay here."

Fai stopped what he was doing. "You know that's not true." His bangs covered his eyes. "And even if you're wounds would've healed, you still wouldn't have fully recovered, would you?" He lightly placed his hand over Kurogane's tears trickling down his uninjured eye. "There would always be those horrible scars…"

Kurogane knew something was up. He knew there was something on the blonde's mind. What he didn't know was that Fai's injured eye would never be able to see again.

THE END

A/n: And so, another sad (well, a try hard at least) part has been written. The third instalment will be out when my brain gets to thinking.