The library was massive. The walls stretched further than the human eye could follow, seeming to fade into deeper and deeper darkness the further they went. The shelves, too many too even attempt to count, reached all the way toward the ceiling. They went through the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth floors; there were even special little holes in the floors for the shelves to go through. Safety rails ensured that the people would be safe, and the automated catalogue beside each shelf made it possible that only one librarian had to work at a time. Straight up, through the holes and past the shelves, the distinctive twinkle of stars was faintly visible through the ceiling, which was actually a gigantic, domed skylight.

Like all libraries, signing out the books was free. However, the library cards, although cheap, were not.

Fai was agitated. Normally, the massive library had a sort of draw to the blond, and it was usually incredibly relaxing to be near the building, let alone inside it. Today was different. The usual draw seemed to have dissipated and have been replaced by a pounding headache. The library was usually fairly quiet, other than the occasional whispered conversation, and maybe the occasional loud patron, who was quickly hushed by his or her companions. There was a high school field trip today, and as much as Fai loved to work there, he was suddenly wishing that he'd called in a sick day.

He'd already had to deal with four shelves being emptied of books, and replaced by rolls of toilet paper in various shades of pink, orange, and green, various graffiti (not all of it was as nice as Timothy R. is a man-bitch), and of course, the screaming teenagers, and worse, the screaming teacher. But that wasn't the worst part; far from it.

Ugh, Fai thought, you would think that they'd learned by now…

The worst part was the underage girls who always seemed to think that it was okay to flirt with him. He knew that his blond hair and blue eyes were appealing to women, but this was just ridiculous. He wasn't interested in hormone ridden teenagers. Or even women in general, he thought.

Creeeaaak-smash! Fai looked up from the gaggle of pre-pubescent girls that he was trying to convince not to come behind the counter just in time to see several of the athletically inclined kids push over a bookshelf.

"Hey! That's ENOUGH!"

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Fai stared forlornly at the building; the kids and their insane teacher were gone, leaving him with most of the mess and a (thankfully) quiet library. Unfortunately, the shelves were much too heavy for him to lift on his own, and after the chaos from today he loathed the thought of calling the teacher who had been "supervising" the kids and telling her to get the hell over here and clean up her and the kids' mess.

He sighed.

"Hey."

Fai looked up as his friend wound his way around the upturned shelf and the various piles of books that littered the floor.

"What the fuck happened in here? Yuko's gonna be pissed."

Fai quietly explained what had happened. "….And I'm seriously regretting not taking the day off and just staying in bed," He finished, extending his arm to show the damage that had been inflicted on the building.

Kurogane stared at him for a minute. "Do you need any help?"

Fai sighed and pointed to the shelf. "You push that back up, and I'll get the books, then."

The dark haired man shrugged and moved toward the shelf, taking obvious care not to tread on the books.

It's not like Kuro to be so nonchalant….I wonder if something happened?

Fai was almost completely through stacking the books by size; once he put them in the correct machine, they would automatically be sent back to their proper places, when he realized that he was being stared at. This behaviour was so out of character for his friend that Fai rocked back on his heels and stared back in surprise.

"Kuro-tan? Are you all right?"

Kurogane continued to stand in front of the now righted shelf. He was drawn up almost to his full height, and his entire body was rigid, as though he was being called to attention. His wine coloured eyes were locked on the blond's confused blue ones.

"Kuro…?..."

It was then that Fai noticed the book. Kurogane had an old, red, leatherbound book gripped tightly by the spine in his left hand; it was about the size of a large dictionary, it had what appeared to be several loose pages in the binding, the red leather was faded and cracked; the title was impossible to read (it looked as though it had faded into oblivion some time ago), and it appeared to be shimmering.

Wait, Shimmering?What the fuck….

Fai watched in astonishment as the book shimmered for another minute or so. It stopped suddenly, and the book dropped to the floor, along with Kurogane. The blond rushed over to his friend, automatically checking for a pulse, and breathing a sigh of relief when he found a steady heartbeat. He reached into his pocket, searching for his handheld; a tan hand with a gold class ring securing a garnet on the index finger grabbed his arm and pulled him down until his face was level with the now concious Kurogane.

Before he could fully open his mouth and form the utterly coherent thought of huh?, The dark haired man pulled him closer and kissed him. Without thought or hesitation, Fai kissed back. As soon as the blond pulled back for air, Kurogane lost conciousness again.

Fai stared in surprise, hands splayed on either side of his friend's shoulders. I had no idea…

Mind still reeling from the mixture of shock and passion, he stood up and staggered back toward the books and finished putting them through the machines. It took him a moment to see that he had the red book in his hand. Curiousity got the better of him and he opened it.

To his surprise, there was a note scribbled in a spiky, elegant script on the inside cover.

Dear Fai and Kurogane,

I've noticed that you've both looked a bit "under the weather" lately. Normally I wouldn't care, however I can not have my employees upsetting my customers, now can I?

So consider this a gift. I think that you two will enjoy this book.

Once opened, it releases a cloud of noxious fumes, which, having enveloped the reader, bring out their affections toward those that they love. Enjoy!

Love,

Yuko

P.S. In case you haven't figured it out, this book is titled "The Book of Love"

Cheeks burning, Fai let the book drop to the floor. Somewhere behind him, Kurogane groaned.