I'm supposed to be writing fanfictions for other CLAMP stuff I've read, but I thought of two more KuroFai stories I wanted to do, so...
They're already together by the start of this story by the way, because all I ever seem to write when it comes to these two are stories where they're confessing their love, or stories where it's not really a KuroFai, but filled with hints.
An Arm And A Leg
Mokona had gotten much better at dropping them off in new worlds. It had been a long time since they'd been dropped halfway out of the sky, and landed in a crash and smash of bodies. But sometimes, Mokona wasn't perfect.
In their latest world, Kurogane, Fai, Syaoran, and Mokona, found themselves not in the air, but landing perfectly on very wet, very slopped hill. Syaoran, having landed first by half a second, had no time to prepare himself, and landed on his feet, only to be off them a second later, and sliding down a hill.
Fai, having seen what happened to Syaoran, tried grabbing on to Kurogane for stability. But the ninja had been just as unprepared for the landing as he was, and they both went tumbling down the hill, crashing into Syaoran once they reached the bottom. Mokona bopped Kurogane in the head harmlessly, and then, after everyone had stood, and proclaimed themselves unhurt, apologized.
"Mokona is sorry everyone." Mokona said, and Fai shook his head, and patted Mokona on the head.
"It's alright, Mokona. You couldn't have known we'd land on a hill."
"Speaking of hills..." Syaoran said, surveying their terrain. It was filled to capacity with one hill after another, and all the rest looked just as slippery as the one they'd landed on.
"Wow!" Mokona exclaimed.
Kurogane huffed, not excited at the thought of having to climb hill after hill. He also didn't like the thought of his companions running around here. Syaoran could be spacey, and Fai was too tall for his own good, and he didn't need those two slipping and sliding around until they finally hurt themselves.
"You guys stay here." he ordered. "I'll look around for people."
"Why do we have to stay here, Kuro-wan?" Fai asked, looking around curiously. "Is there something dangerous about this place?"
"If that were the case, I'd take you with me. I just don't want you guys falling all over the hills."
It took a couple more minutes to convince him, but Fai finally said he'd stay put, after Syaoran promised to slide back down the hill with him a few times. Kurogane felt like this defeated his purpose of staying put, but didn't argue, because at least they'd be prepared the next few times around, and not caught off guard like they'd been when they landed.
He didn't have to worry long, anyway. After only a few hills, he looked down, and spotted a large town below. He turned to go back and retrieve the others, but was stopped the second he turned around. Standing at the top of the hill behind him, not at all where he'd left them, were his companions. He couldn't be sure in Syaoran's case, but it was obvious that Fai was sneaking, probably trying to scare him.
"Oi! Didn't I tell you to stay behind?" he shouted at them, and even though they were far enough away that he couldn't see them perfectly, he knew Fai was smiling as he shouted back to him.
"I wanted to scare Kuro-tan, so I talked Syaoran-kun into following you!"
Syaoran had already started down the hill, and was asking, "Did you find anything, Kurogane-san?"
After finishing the eye roll he was in the middle of performing, Kurogane said, "There's a town at the bottom of this hill."
"Yay! Kuro-tan did it!" Fai shouted, and he took a step forward, obviously planning to join them on this hill. But, his foot slipped out from under him, and Fai felt the ground disappear from under him. He tumbled more this time, doing more than just sliding down, and Kurogane watched from his hill helplessly, not having enough time to react.
Syaoran was the first to make it to Fai, with Mokona on his shoulder.
"Fai-san, are you okay?" he asked, as Mokona hopped around worriedly. Kurogane was there a couple seconds later, and Fai, after looking over his body, smiled up at them.
"My clothes are a little dirty, but I think I'm alright."
Kurogane huffed in annoyance, trying to play it cool, but Fai grinned at him as he dusted off his pants, starting to stand up.
"Was Kuro-sama worried about me?"
"As if, you id-"
He was cut off by Fai's gasp of pain, as the blond went down, holding onto his right knee.
"What happened?" he asked, bending down. Fai wasn't smiling anymore. In fact, he looked like he was in a lot of pain.
"I guess...I did hurt myself...a little." he panted, digging his nails into the cloth of his pants. His leg felt like it was burning, like there was fire on the inside.
"Can you stand up?" Syaoran asked gently, and Fai shook his head, already knowing the answer without having to try again. How he'd managed to ignore this pain up until standing up was beyond him. It was nothing like being attacked or anything, but it hurt, as much as it could without being from a fatal injury.
"He might have broke it..." Syaoran said worriedly, looking now at Kurogane for direction on what to do. Kurogane grit his teeth together, pissed off, but not sure what at. It wasn't Fai's fault, mostly, since it wasn't like he was running downhill, but still, Kurogane felt like this wouldn't have happened if Fai had just stayed put like he'd told him to.
"The town is just over this hill." he said. "We'll find a doctor."
Syaoran nodded, and without another word, Kurogane bent down and picked Fai up, carrying him in his arms bridal style. Even though he was in a lot of pain, Fai managed a weak smile as they began to walk.
"Kuro-rin is so strong." he teased, and Kurogane growled angrily at him.
"Be quiet. This is your fault for not staying where I told you to."
Fai leaned his head against Kurogane's chest. "I'm sorry." he apologized, sounding genuinely apologetic, and Kurogane couldn't find it in himself to be angry anymore, not when the blond man was hurt, and weak, and looked so pathetic.
"After everything you've battled, a hill is what takes you out." he said, now teasing back. Fai, understanding this, whacked him lightly on the chest with one of his delicate hands.
"So mean."
The walk there was slow going, especially the down hill climb to the town itself. Syaoran walked in front of them the entire time, prepared to catch them if they fell. Which they didn't. When they got to the town, they received some looks, due to not only their strange attire, but also to the fact that Kurogane had Fai in his arms. Not wasting a second, Syaoran took off to go and find a doctor.
Fai, in the meantime, had his eyes shut, and his face was scrunched up in pain.
Kurogane had no luck in finding a doctor, but after only a few minutes, Syaoran came running back, Mokona hiding in his cloak, since they weren't yet sure if this was the sort of world where Mokona could roam around.
"Kurogane-san, come this way! This woman says her husband in a doctor!"
Behind Syaoran was a young woman, with long black hair pulled into a ponytail. Fai recognized her from their travels, a woman they'd met a couple times named Chitose. Syaoran undoubtedly recognized her too, but he very well couldn't call her by her name without her having yet introducing herself.
"Oh, that looks bad." she said with concern as she came close. That's when Fai spotted the lump in her belly, and he managed a weak smile.
"You have a baby, huh?"
She smiled, and patted her stomach gently. "Well, we will soon. Now please, follow me."
She lead them through town, and the walk through town revealed that unfortunately, this was not the kind of world where Mokona could roam freely. The woman introduced herself as Chitose, as they knew she would, and soon brought them to a clinic that clearly doubled as their home, with the third and second floor being used for them, and the first floor, as she told them, being used for patients.
"Icchan, I'm home!" she called, and seconds later, a man appeared. He had wild black hair, and a large grin. Fai didn't recognize him from their travels.
"Welcome home!" he said enthusiastically, hugging her as tightly as he could without doing damage to the baby that was in her belly.
"Hunny, I brought some people with me. One of them is hurt."
The man, who she had called Icchan, looked over at them, and instantly his eyes went to Fai's injured right leg.
"So I see." he said, coming closer. Fai smiled at him, though it was still weak, and since Syaoran knew he was going to introduce himself, he did it for him, cutting him off.
"I'm Syaoran, and this is Kurogane, and Fai." he said, indicating to both of them. "Fai-san fell down a hill, and he's hurt his leg very badly."
"Oh! You don't mean to tell me you were playing on those hills, do you? They're very slippery, and hard to walk on." Chitose said, and Kurogane didn't feel like telling her that there was no way they could have known that, or avoided the hills.
They took Fai into one of the rooms, where Icchan looked over his leg, taking what he called, X-rays, and touching it gently in certain places to see where it hurt. Kurogane saw that Fai was trying not to show how much it hurt, but his eyes gave it away, and every now and again he was grimace, or gasp quietly in pain.
After this had gone on for longing than Kurogane could stand, the ninja asked roughly, "Is there anything you can do for him, or not?"
"Well," Icchan said, straightening up. "The good news is that he didn't break it."
Syaoran sighed in relief, and he heard a similar tiny sigh come from inside his clothes.
"But?" Kurogane prompted.
"But, he did hurt it quiet badly, and he'll need to stay off of it for a few weeks.
"Weeks!?" Kurogane repeated. That wasn't good. It wasn't up to them when they stayed and when they left. It was all up to the glowing earring. At any second, it could begin glowing, and take them out of there.
"He'll also need to take pain killers everyday, or else it will hurt him quite considerably."
He was handing Fai a few painkillers as he said this, and the blonde didn't bother asking for water, and waiting to see if the medicine could be dangerous. (Which Kurogane highly doubted, but you could never be sure) He swallowed them in one dry gulp.
Icchan put something on Fai's knee, something he called a brace, which he said would keep Fai's leg straightened out like it needed to be. After this, came the issue of payment.
"Um...we don't exactly...have money." Syaoran said quietly, and Chitose looked at him curiously.
"None at all?"
He shook his head, while in the background, Kurogane was lifting Fai back into his arms.
"How do you pay for rent then?" Icchan joked, clearly thinking their money situation didn't go that far. But Syaoran only looked grim.
"We don't have a place to stay either, actually."
Chitose gasped, and looked at her husband with pleading eyes. He sighed, and said, "Well, you're welcome to stay with us in our house. I won't even make you pay, since all I've down is tell you to stay off your leg and give you some pain killers."
"A-are you sure?" Syaoran asked, not believing their good fortune. Icchan nodded, and Chitose enthusiastically led them upstairs. Going up the stairs was worrisome, at least to Fai, because he was longer than the stairway was wide. After some adjusting, Kurogane was holding Fai like you would a child, with Fai's legs around his waist, and resting his head on his shoulder. Every step up the stairs jostled him though, and he hissed in pain quietly.
"It hurts, Kuro-sama." he said softly, and Kurogane did his best to get better purchase on his legs, so that he wouldn't be jostled so often.
"We'll be there soon."
Knowing that Fai wouldn't be able to make it up another set of stairs, Chitose told them they could use the second floor.
"Icchan and I usually use the third floor anyway." she told them, as Kurogane was setting Fai in a bed. He fluffed up some pillows for him, and Fai leaned back on them, slowly lowering his leg.
"Thanks for carrying me." he said to Kurogane, after they'd gotten him set up, with painkillers and a cup of water on his bedside table. Syaoran had gone off to a room a couple doors down, so that Mokona could get out and take a break from hiding.
"Just make sure to stay off your leg. If I catch you moving at all, I'll punch your face in."
Fai only smiled at the threat.
For the first week and a half, Kurogane didn't need to worry much. Fai diligently stayed off his leg, probably because it hurt so much. He ate his meals in the room, and while Kurogane and Syaoran were downstairs, helping out in the clinic as a way of payment and thanks, Mokona stayed in the room with Fai to keep him company.
"It sucks to stay hidden all the time!" Mokona complained, and Fai nodded.
"But I'm sort of glad you can't go out Mokona, or else I'd be alone all the time."
Mokona gasped. "Mokona would stay with Fai even if Mokona could go out."
At night, Fai would cuddle up to Kurogane as much as his restricted movements would allow him, and Kurogane would listen as he let loose all the ramble he'd been saving up during the day.
That's how the first week and a half went, anyway. During the second half of the second week, Fai started to get restless, and Kurogane could sense it. He shifted more and more while he was laying in bed, and anytime anyone would pass by his doorway, he would sigh loudly, obviously trying to draw attention. One day, while Kurogane was sitting in the room with him, Chitose came in with some books and magazines.
"Thank you very much." Fai said, and Chitose maneuvered herself onto the bed as he picked one up.
"I have to spend much of my time sitting and laying down too, so I know how you feel. It's very constricting."
"Do you have a name picked out for your baby yet?" Fai asked, and Chitose smiled.
"Babies, actually. They're twins."
Kurogane felt Fai tense up next to him, and the ninja put a hand on his back. Fai, feeling it, smiled again, knowing it wasn't the same.
"That's wonderful. Do you have names picked out for them, then?" he asked. The black haired woman nodded, gently petting her large belly.
"Their names are Freya and Chi."
Again, Fai tensed up, but this time, it was out of surprise. It took Kurogane only a split second to understand why he had frozen. Chi had been the name of the clone he'd created. The clone he'd based on his mother.
"Chi?" Fai repeated, and Chitose stopped smiling, obviously surprised by his change in demeanor.
"Is it...a bad name?" she asked worriedly, and Fai shook his head quickly.
"No, no, not at all. It's a very beautiful name."
Kurogane thought on it. If this woman was the mother of Chi, did that make her...Fai's grandmother? And Icchan...his grandfather? Fai was obviously having similar thoughts, because for the next couple days, he made sure to spend a little extra time with both Chitose and Icchan, who he forced to come upstairs and visit. It didn't seem to upset him as much as Kurogane thought it would, and he was relieved. Luckily, it also distracted Fai for a couple more days, keeping him in bed.
But then the third week began, and Fai was back to being restless. One day, as Kurogane came up to give him the bad news that Icchan said he'd probably still be stuck in that bed for another week, at least, he caught the blond trying to stand up, both of his hands on the bed as he tried to balance himself.
"Oi!" Kurogane cut in, and Fai looked up guiltily, and instantly dropped back onto the bed.
"Kuro-sama!" he said innocently, like he hadn't been trying to escape. "Welcome back!"
"Don't act innocent. You were trying to get out of bed. Do you want to ever walk again?"
Fai nodded glumly.
"Then stay off your leg. You'll only make it worse if you get up."
"But Kuro-tan!" he whined. "I'm so bored! I haven't left this bedroom at all, except to go to the bathroom, and that's right there!" he pointed at a door connected to his room, which wasn't very far at all, and that he'd never walked to on his own.
"Too bad. What do you want me to do about it?"
Fai pouted and crossed his arms, then looked up again after a couple seconds.
"Move me onto the couch, please~" he said, batting his eyes. Kurogane narrowed his, aware that Fai was trying to manipulate him, and trying to decide if he'd cave in. He ultimately decided that if it would shut him up, and keep him off his leg, it was the best thing to do.
So, they set Fai up on the couch that was on the second floor, giving him a view of more of the floor. He seemed content again, and Kurogane sympathized. It must have sucked really bad, if moving from one room to another way enough to make him happy again.
When night came, Kurogane went over, with the plan of moving Fai back into the bedroom for the night, but the blonde shook his head.
"I don't want to go back in there!" he said, and Kurogane could tell he was serious.
"Alright. Goodnight." he said, and started walking away. After only a few steps, Fai called out to him.
"Wait, Kuro-chu, I don't want to be alone."
Kurogane turned around, rolling his eyes. "What the hell? You don't want to sleep on the bed, but you don't want to be alone. You can't have it both ways."
"Sure I can!" Fai disagreed.
"How?" Kurogane asked, crossing his arms.
"If you lay on the couch first, I can use you as a bed!"
Kurogane knew instantly that he was serious, and he thought about it. Sleeping in such a position didn't seem so bad, but it might be harmful to Fai's leg. Sensing this was what Kurogane was thinking, Fai piped in, "I've laid on my stomach already. It doesn't hurt, I promise!"
Which was how Kurogane ended up laying on the couch, his arms crossed behind his head, as Fai climbed on top of him, and gently maneuvered himself, so that he was laying on Kurogane, his arms folded too. He hardly weighed anything, so to Kurogane, it wasn't too much of a bother. Fai smiled up at Kurogane, and then put his head on the ninja's chest.
"You're so nice, Kuro-sama." he whispered softly, and Kurogane's only answer was a slight pull to Fai's hair, which the wizard ignored. He cuddled in as close as he could get, wiggling around a little.
"No moving." Kurogane ordered, and Fai stilled for another minute, before he went back to moving.
"What are you doing?"
"Trying to find the best position." Fai decided. Suddenly, pale hand were wrapping themselves around Kurogane's neck, and Fai was pulling himself up higher, so that when he put his head back down, it was on Kurogane's broad shoulder. "It's like I'm Kuro-pi's blanket." he said, and Kurogane silently decided this had been a good idea after all.
Within minutes, they were both asleep, only waking for a brief few seconds when Syaoran threw a blanket over them in the middle of the night.
A few days later, the couch was not enough for Fai anymore.
"Kuro-tan, I want to go outside..." he said, even though he didn't believe saying it would automatically mean anything. But to his surprise, he could see Kurogane considering it, and after only another hour of gentle pleading and pouting, Fai found himself riding on Kurogane's back, his legs hooked around his chest, and Kurogane's arms under his legs, as they went outside.
Fai enjoyed the walk a lot, oohing and ahhing over the world he hadn't had a chance to see yet. Kurogane went along gamely, ignoring the looks they got from the people they passed. After about an hour Fai got quiet, and the next thing Kurogane knew, he could feel Fai's head resting gently on his back, and Fai's arms tightened around him.
"What are you up to? Falling asleep?" Kurogane teased, and Fai laughed softly.
"No. I was just thinking how much I love you."
Kurogane looked over his shoulder at the man holding on to him. Fai had his eyes closed, and was smiling a tiny smile, almost to himself.
"Why?"
"Because you carried me to the clinic when I got hurt, and you've taken care of me the whole time, and you even moved me onto the couch, and let me sleep on you, and took me outside."
Kurogane could feel Fai's heartbeat against his back, and it beat softly and smoothly. It was the heartbeat of somebody who was truly at peace.
"You've done so much for me, and I love you."
Kurogane smiled, though Fai could see it. "Yeah well,-"
But he was interrupted suddenly by a gruff voice.
"What do you have here?"
He'd been so distracted by Fai, that Kurogane hadn't noticed a gang of men, all big and scary looking, surrounding them slowly. On his back, Fai's heartbeat picked up pace, and it made Kurogane angry to know that they'd scared him out of his peace.
"Those are some nice clothes, blondie." the man said. Fai hadn't changed out of the clothes he'd arrived in, only taking them off for Chitose to wash, and when it was time to sleep. To these men, his clothes from another world probably seemed very exotic.
"Yeah. Hand em over to us, and there won't be any problem."
Now, Fai's heart was hammering against his back, and Kurogane felt his eyes flash with anger. If they thought Fai was going to take off his clothes, they had another thing coming.
"And any money you had on you would be greatly appreciated too." sneered one of the men. They weren't carrying weapons, but there were more of them then there were of Kurogane. His only way to fight them would be to put Fai down. But that would put strain on his injured leg, which Kurogane was not going to risk. But he hadn't brought his sword either, because so far, this world hadn't seemed dangerous.
"Come on fags, let's not make a scene here." said the ringleader, and Kurogane growled low in his throat. "Just give us what we asked for, and nobody gets hurt."
"Yeah. Your pretty boyfriend there doesn't look like he's in any shape to fight." another said, referring to Fai's still wrapped up and injured knee.
Behind him, Kurogane could feel sparks of magic emanating from Fai, like little sparks. Fai was clearly preparing to use his magic, but not sure if he should do it, since magic wasn't normal around here. He could feel Fai's hands clenching his shirt tightly.
"Hey, hold on to me tightly." he whispered to Fai, who obediently locked his arms around Kurogane's neck, and his legs tightly around his back.
"I could just get down, Kuro-tan." he whispered, but Kurogane shook his head.
"Just hold on."
Fai held on, but was so light on his back, that Kurogane felt like he had to be using some sort of magic to make himself lighter. Maybe he was using that flying magic he'd used before, just enough to keep himself from being a burden on Kurogane's back.
"Oh? Are you really planning to fight us when you've got this pretty boy hanging on to you?" asked one of the guys from behind him, and he pulled on Fai's hair, making Fai yelp in pain. Kurogane swung around, and punched the man in the jaw, sending him tumbling backwards. The other men stared in awe at how far he had punched him, but only for a few seconds, before they launched themselves at Kurogane.
Fai hid his face in Kurogane's back, listening to the fight around him, but unable to follow what was happening. He was scared, but he trusted Kurogane to save him, since Kurogane had saved him every other time before, even though he'd never asked for it.
The men around Kurogane were starting to hesitate now, as five of them had gone down without so much as a fight. They'd managed a few hits on Kurogane, but nothing serious. The man he'd first punched was creeping up on them, and was about to reach out and grab Fai, obviously to use him as a threat, when Kurogane spoke, without even turning around.
"If you touch him again, I will rip your arm off." he warned, and all he had to do was look over his shoulder, before the man turned and ran off.
After a few minutes more, Kurogane was the only one left standing, his opponents having either fled, or been knocked out cold. Fai hugged on tightly to Kurogane the whole walk home, and it was quiet, until they were back in the house. Nobody noticed them come in, and they went up stairs, where Kurogane put Fai back on the bed. Fai went without any complaints.
"Kuro-sama, you're so strong." he said, and Kurogane grunted. "And manly too. You saved me, even without putting me down." He may have sounded like he was teasing, but Fai was genuinely complimenting him. He was about to say something else, when he noticed that Kurogane had his hand on his shoulder, right where his fake arm connected.
"Kuro-tan, did you hurt your arm?" he gasped, sitting up, and starting to stand, but Kurogane held up a hand, and Fai remained sitting.
"It's not a big deal." he said, and this time, Fai didn't listen when Kurogane told him to stay down. He got up, and limped over to Kurogane, and gently touched his arm, kissing the spot where the artificial arm met the real shoulder softly.
"You hurt your arm, just for me." he whispered softly, hugging Kurogane tightly.
"It doesn't hurt that much." Kurogane said, wrapping his arms around Fai back. Fai leaned up, and Kurogane met his kiss, which was soft and full of love.
"I love you so much, Kurogane." Fai whispered to him.
"I love you too."
"Let me massage your shoulders." Fai instructed, and Kurogane sat down on the bed, while Fai gently kneaded his shoulders, so that after a little, it didn't hurt so much.
"Will you let me ride on your back, even after my knee gets better?" Fai asked, and Kurogane nodded silently. Fai didn't argue that night either, when they stayed in the bedroom.
I suck at ending stuff.
But yeah, I'm totally insinuating sex in that last sentence there.
And also, sorry that that whole Chitose and Icchan being Fai's grandparents thing came up, only to not be important to the story. It just occurred to me that if Chi is Fai's mom, then Chitose and Icchan are probably his grandparents, and I wanted to bring it up. Also, Hideki is is dad.
Hey, maybe the reason Chi (as Fai's mother) was so against twins, even after having some herself, was because she was a twin too? Wouldn't that have been something, if Freya had been born in that world, as Chi's twin, but instead of choosing to get locked up together, I guess Chi either killed her, or Freya killed herself. And that's why she's so against twins.
It would make an interesting story, to be sure. But I'm totally not going to right it, since that would take forever. But maybe I'll go put it up in the WMG guess page for Tsubasa on TV tropes.
Well, thanks for reading!