I'll Give You My Ring

Dropped into a new world, the Tsubasa gang land right in front of a shop—that just so happens to be selling Sakura's feather. That was the quickest search ever. Too bad the feather is connected to a ring, and the shop only sells to those that are getting married. Come on Kuro-groom, Fai is willing to be your bride.

Hello again my faithful readers. And by that I mean the two of you that probably clicked on here by mistake. Welcome to my crack story that I needed to make. So, honestly hour, basically I saw a picture of Fai in a wedding dress looking all happy and smiling and gah and I just had to write a story about it. That's it. So if you find the characters a little OOC (and I'm so sorry about that, I absolutely despise authors who acknowledge it) it's probably because Valentine's Day feels are in the air and all of my OTPs are getting hitched. I swear, some day there will be one crack prompt I see on Tumblr that I won't write about, but today is not such a day.

I'll Give You My Ring

"Incoming~!"

A high pitched laughter covered the sounds of startled screams as the world traveling group was dumped into the newest world a good thirty feet above the ground. Mokona continued giggling the more they fell until she was plopped onto the very comfortable pile made up of her companions.

The plum of smoke that sprang up at the collision slowly dissipated, revealing a disgruntled Kurogane at the bottom of the stack, with Syaoran sprawled atop him then Fai and Sakura combining to form the top. Mokona was perched perfectly in Sakura's lap. "We're here! We're here!"

"Get OFF me!" Kurogane yelled, using all his warrior strength to push off the group sitting on him. "I thought I told you to make better landings pork bun!"

"But Kuro-soft, you're the most comfortable person to land on. I'm taking Mokona-chan's side: I quite liked our fall."

"Like hell you did idiot mage—come here so I can hit you!"

"Wahh~ Kuro-scary is trying to be mean again~"

"You said that we're here, Mokona. But where are we?" Syaoran ignored the two adults and looked around the place they landed, taking note of all the people walking around them but none of them seemed particularly interested with the group despite the fact that they fell out of the sky. "No one seems to care that we just arrived out of nowhere."

"That's because you must be travelers," a young girl with long purple hair said, leaning over the still sitting Syaoran so suddenly that he jumped away. "We get lots of travelers here during the May month."

"May month?" he questioned, blushing as the princess laughed at his startled moment and picking himself off the ground.

"Yes. It's the month of new beginnings and budding relationships. Many travelers come here to get married!"

"Married?!"

The newly arrived group all gave varying reactions to the girl's smiling answer. Most were exclamations of excitement; Syaoran gave another squeak while Kurogane just scoffed.

"That sounds wonderful!" Sakura gushed, squeezing Mokona still in her arms who was just as excited at the girl.

"Oh it is. But we always get so busy with all the coupling needing rings that we can hardly rest before the weddings come around."

"You sell rings?"

"Why yes—you should come try some!" The girl eagerly grabbed Sakura's hand, pulling her inside the shop the group had landed in front of. "My name's Tomoyo by the way; head ring maker in all of Sakura country."

"Sakura country?"

Tomoyo nodded. "It was named that because all the Sakura trees' petals fall through the wind on the last day of May month—the day we hold the marriage ceremonies."

"But Sakura's name is Sakura! That might be a little confusing," Mokona put her thoughts in, still relaxing in the hold of Sakura's arms.

"That just means her name is very special in this world," Fai said, appearing through the door while pulling Kurogane behind him. "It's very lucky to be given such a pretty name."

Tomoyo looked back at the two just entering her shop, analyzing them intently before smiling her charming smile. "That's very right, Fai-san. Sakura-chan is very lucky."

Fai's smile sharpened. "She is."

"These are such beautiful rings Tomoyo-chan," the princess complimented, pulling the conversation back to her unconsciously. Syaoran hesitantly stood beside her, taking in the rings himself.

"I'm glad you think so."

Mokona, having pulled herself from Sakura's arms, jumped onto the cases to have a better look at all the rings. She walked from one side of the display to the other, trying to decide which ring was the absolute prettiest to maybe give to Yuuko, before her eyes opened suddenly.

"Pu-kuu!"

The four travelers immediately looked to her. "Mokona?" Syaoran asked.

"I found it! It's here, it's here! Sakura's feather!"

They all gathered around the case Mokona was on. There, in the very center of the display, was a small ring. It was a simple ring, being only a white gold band with a basic diamond at the top. Compared to the others in the shop, it was a pretty normal ring, having a slight blue tint around the outside of the diamond that accented the shine of the stone just right. For having been made by Tomoyo, it was a plain, ordinary ring that very few people could ever take interest in.

And for being such a simple, plain, and ordinary ring, Fai thought that it was beautiful.

"See, see? On the side—it's Sakura's symbol."

"Good job Mokona, you saw it before anyone," Syaoran complimented, relieved that they had found another of the princess's memories so quickly.

"We found it, now let's get out of here before we get dragged into any of this wedding stuff," Kurogane said, glancing at the mage who had not taken his eyes off the ring.

"Are you all looking for this ring in particular?"

Tomoyo grabbed the jewelry from its place, holding it out for them to inspect.

"Yes," Sakura smiled, sharing Syaoran's happiness at finding it, "it has my feather in it, something that is very important to me."

Tomoyo smiled back, but before any of them could reach for the ring, she pulled it back. "I'm sorry. It must be just as important as you say if you picked it out of the group so quickly, but I'm afraid I can't just give it to you."

"What?" Kurogane barked. "She just said it was important to her and you agreed to it."

"If it's money we can pay you. We don't have much but we can work for it," Syaoran appeased, thinking that this trip would end up being like the time they had to buy the brooch.

Tomoyo just smiled. "No, it's not that. While we do normally ask for money, this ring is special and can only be given to the chosen couple at the end of May month's wedding ceremony."

The glint in her eyes grew as her smile widened. "If you want to have this ring you need to get married."

"Married?!"

This time the word was squeaked out by Sakura and Syaoran.

"But," Sakura blushed, pushing her fingers together in embarrassment. "We're not—I mean we aren't—I mean we're not…"

"We can't get married!" Syaoran interrupted Sakura's babbling, blushing equally as hard, if not more than her. "The princess needs to get all her memories back before she can get married!"

"Well I guess it can't be you two then." Tomoyo said in a light, almost laughing tone. "Maybe it can be another pair in your group."

"What?!" Kurogane yelled, understanding the implication immediately. Impressively, his blush was not nearly as noticeable as the two children's. "That mage and I are not a couple!"

"But you have to take part in the ceremony if you want this ring."

"No way! Even if you are Tomoyo, there's no way I will listen to you about this!"

"But don't you want Sakura-chan's feather?"

"Not this way! We can't—"

A hand rested itself on Kurogane's arm.

"It's alright, Kuro-puu," Fai said softly, a smile showing on his face. "It's just for one day, and it's for Sakura-chan. We can do it for her."

Kurogane shook off his hand. "Why the hell are you giving in so quickly, idiot? Don't tell me you actually want to do the stupid wedding shit?"

Fai's smile grew as Tomoyo's lessened. "You just have to be married to me for a day~"

"That's just it!" the warrior raved. "We can't get married here at all!"

There was an awkward silence. Sure, they all knew about Kurogane and Fai's play fights that happened enough times that they could almost be considered routine, but this one felt different. It almost felt as if there were underlining words beneath what Kurogane was saying.

And that underling meaning was something even Kurogane didn't seem to mean to say as his eyes widened in shock once he realized his words, then scoffed before turning his back and leaving the shop.

Syaoran and Sakura looked at each other before Syaoran ran after the larger man. Mokona jumped into Sakura's arms as a sudden guilt appeared in the girl, feeling that this fight happened because of her and her feather.

"It's alright Sakura-chan," Fai said, leaning down to face her with a bright smile to try and cheer her up, "we'll get your feather back. Just leave it to us."

~KuroFai~KuroFai~KuroFai~

That night, the group was able to stay in a hotel suite thanks to Tomoyo's generosity at lending them the rooms.

After promising that they would take part in the wedding so long as they got the ring, Tomoyo offered to let them stay at a place near her shop so long as she was able to design the clothes Fai would wear on the big day. Knowing that her clothes were often a bit over the top—as they had plenty of experiences with the Tomoyos of other worlds—Fai still agreed for the free lodging.

Then the two, and Mokona, went out in search for Syaoran and Kurogane, where they were found being bombarded by all the passing couples getting ready for the ceremony.

The eventful day took its toll on the children once they got to their place and Sakura and Syaoran were the first ones in bed. Mokona hopped after the young teen, choosing to go to bed with him as he was the only one that did not move around or mumble in his sleep, leaving the final two of the group alone and in an awkward silence.

Kurogane stood staring out the large window to their flat at all the people still wandering around getting ready for the celebration.

Fai silently approached him until he too was looking out at the people.

"What do you want, mage?"

"Tomoyo said that the marriage ceremony is in six days."

"What does that have to do with me?"

"You have to go find an outfit for the wedding."

"I told you I'm not doing it."

"Not even to get back Sakura-chan's feather? Not even for our little girl Kuro-papa~"

Kurogane debated on yelling about Fai's constant butcher of his name but decided against it and was instead silent as he clenched his teeth. Fai sighed. He pressed his palm to the glass and leaned his forehead on the window. "They all look so happy down there."

More silence.

"Most of them are travelers too. They actually wanted to be here for this purpose."

"…What are you getting at?"

Fai looked up to Kurogane's eyes, searching the red orbs with his blue ones intently. There were few times during their trip that Fai was serious with Kurogane during a conversation, and this time the wizard made sure to lose all of the teasing tone he was know for.

"Is it really so bad to pretend to be married to me?" It was brief, but there was a moment of hesitance in Fai's eyes, a look of vulnerability that Kurogane rarely had ever seen, if at all before. "Is it really such a terrible thought to be married to me?"

Kurogane gulped and looked away. "It's a stupid ceremony. A marriage is supposed to be about the one couple, not all the ones that could gather by a certain day. Why would I take part in something that has no importance behind it?"

The blond was silent. His hair covered his eyes for a moment before he looked back up and gave Kurogane a heart wrenching, breakingly innocent smile. "It is important when you make it so."

Fai reached up, leaning forward on the tips of his toes to reach Kurogane's height.

And quickly gave him a kiss.

The press of lips to lips was innocent enough, showing the inexperience on both their sides before Fai decided to offer all his thoughts through that one gesture.

He pressed harder, gripping the back of Kurogane's head to pull himself closer and when he made to start moving his lips against the taller's he felt two strong hands pull from his waist to bring him even more intimately close. Eliciting a gasp from the slighter man, as Fai was in no way expecting such a positive response, Kurogane's tongue made its way to play with the wizard's, surging a moan from the both of them.

Air was a fickle thing and decided to make it's need present, forcing the two mouths away from each other. But Fai refused to move. Fearing what their separation would bring, the shorter man leaned against Kurogane's chest, listening to his slightly erratic heartbeat.

As his breath slowed Fai built up his courage and slowly glanced up to the other man. Those powerful red eyes were looking back at him with an unfathomable expression and Fai gave the second-most genuine smile he's given all night. "I want to make this important. But if you absolutely can't stand it, it's only for a day; only to get Sakura-chan's feather back."

Fai took a step back. Then two. Then three and four, until he was walking away without looking back, without giving Kurogane a chance to respond. Right now, he didn't care what the response would be.

If it was good, everything would change for an immediate happiness or a long term heartbreak.

If it was bad, well…

If it was bad then the marriage would only be for a day.

~KuroFai~KuroFai~KuroFai~

The end of May month was quick to arrive for all the waiting couples that had been planning the event for the last three hundred and sixty five days.

The last six days for Fai, however, were a never-ending torture.

Even though he really didn't have anything to do for the wedding, between the constant fittings, then refittings, then "after-this-we're-done-for-the-day-I-swear" fittings Fai was exhausted. And he wasn't even allowed to see the thing before the "big day" as Tomoyo had so kindly put it as she smiled evilly while placing a blindfold around his eyes.

If he had known that becoming a bride took this much effort there was no way Fai would have joked about becoming one as much as he did.

And he hadn't seen Kurogane since that night almost a week ago.

But that was most likely also due to Tomoyo, who he was positive called on Sakura's help, as she kept him practically locked up at her shop that was also a fashion studio in the back. The only reason Fai thought that Sakura was involved was because he had heard some suspicious laughter coming from two girls while he was blindfolded once or twice, and for being a naturally suspicious person, the wizard was positive that that was not a good sign.

At least he would be wearing normal attire that would not anger Kurogane as much as if he were to wear…something that Fai wanted.

To be honest, despite all the strain of just standing there for his fittings, Fai was almost hoping that Tomoyo would have put him in something more fitting for a bride. Not that the long pants and suit jacket he felt being measured on him would lessen the experience, but…

But there was something about being able to become a true looking bride that just appealed to Fai. Now, though he would wear feminine clothes more often then the strict masculine things that Kurogane would have, if anyone suggested that Fai wished to become a real girl he would kindly punch them in the face. Celes was known for its tighter and more elegant style of clothing that seemed to be used for girl's clothes in most worlds that they had traveled to, so Fai only wanted to wear the styles that he was used to and knew looked good on him.

Yet to be a bride for Kurogane, one that would be beautiful and refined just as Fai had always thought would be paired with the warrior, was what the wizard truly wanted to give to him.

Fai sighed, waiting for Tomoyo to come into his dressing room to put on his wardrobe for the day as he sat staring into the full-length mirror. He stared out the window in the reflection, happy that at least the ceremony would take place outside on such a beautiful day as this. And what a single-most, once in a lifetime day it would be.

Kurogane made it clear that he did not want to marry Fai. Even that kissed they shared was more Fai pushing himself onto the other, and the mage refused to see the marriage as anything more then simply getting Sakura's feather back. Once they had it, they would move onto the next world and he and Kurogane would go on as if this world had never happened.

Well, if he was lucky they would pretend nothing happened. Fai hoped that Kurogane could forget about their kiss to keep their relationship as it had always been: with them fighting and playing around with no real attachment to get Fai's hopes up. And Fai could pretend that the five of them were his own little make shift family that cared for him just as much as he cared for them.

But they could only go back by getting through today, so Fai took a deep breath and prepared himself as he heard Tomoyo opening the door to get him ready. Then he heard a second pair of footsteps. Two girls walked in instead of the just one he was expecting.

"Sakura-chan, Mokona-chan? What are you doing here?"

The girl blushed in shyness while the creature smiled up at him. "We're here to help Fai-mommy get ready for his big, big day!"

Tomoyo hung up his outfit on the back of the door, her masterpiece still wrapped from its travel over here.

"Alright Fai-san, I made a few final changes that I think you're going to like."

Fai stared confused at the larger then remembered silhouette. "But the ceremony is in an hour, what if you don't like how it looks by then?"

The two girls smiled at each other, almost looking as if sharing a personal joke that only they, and Mokona apparently, could understand. Tomoyo looked back to him.

"Don't worry, it will look perfect. But we need you to put on the blindfold one more time so that you can see yourself all put together once you're ready."

Fai frowned. "Again? But I'll end up seeing it soon anyway, why the need for such secrecy?"

"It's a secret!" his three assistants said simultaneously.

Knowing that he really had no say in the matter, Fai only gave them a smile.

"Alright then. I'm all yours~"

~KurofFai~KuroFai~KuroFai~

It was a few minutes until the ceremony started and, standing in the row of all the grooms waiting for the event to begin, Kurogane was an absolute mess. Not that he would ever admit it.

The past six days have been filled with accusations from this world's Tomoyo at being a terrible lover to Fai—not that he was—pleading gazes from Sakura and Syaoran to make Fai as happy as he wanted to make him—not that he did—and overly loving couples showing such obnoxious public displays of affection that destroyed any feelings of almost willing to go through with the stupid ceremony that he could have had.

It was a tough call deciding which of the two he hated more: public displays of affection from annoying oblivious couples or obliviously annoying idiots that tested his patience all day. This world though was tipping the scale in favor of the first one, which is why Kurogane was willing to do everything he possibly could to get out of being forcefully pulled into the stupid mass wedding.

Until Fai had kissed him.

There was something in that kiss that sparked Kurogane's resolve into this world and let himself swallow his distain long enough to agree to take part in the wedding.

It wasn't that the warrior didn't want to marry Fai, if he was completely honest it was something that may have crossed his mind a few times before while on their travels. But, to him and in his home country, marriage was special. It was supposed to be about the one couple and about them only. Kurogane felt that that special meaning was tattered, ruined in this world that had a specific day set aside just for letting anyone get married at the same time.

What was so special about the couple getting married when there were at least seventeen other pairs doing the same thing?

That's why Kurogane didn't want to marry Fai here, in Sakura country. If he was going to marry Fai, he wanted it to be all about the mage and no one else.

And he felt like such a sap for thinking things like that.

But, it was necessary to get back the feather and if he had to sacrifice the meaning he would. After all, they could always do it again once they got back to Nihon.

Kurogane stared at the massive sakura tree behind them, taking in the sight of the pink petals slowly falling to the ground against the purest light blue of the clear sky. There was nothing that could ever compare to the beauty of his home, but even Kurogane could admit to this world's beauty on their day of the wedding.

Suddenly, a soft melody began to play and Kurogane immediately turned back around to face the approaching brides.

One by one the girls trotted out of the dressing hall, filing in line so that once they reached the end of their walk they would be paired up with their grooms. Kurogane was the last in line so he wasn't expecting Fai until the very end.

Seeing so many women in all varying ages and—honestly—practically similar dresses made Kurogane's belief that this type of ceremony was nothing special increase. If you could barely pick out your own bride from the line then what importance did this event even have?

The parade of females was almost nearing the end and by this time Kurogane was ready to get everything over with. He was so tired of seeing a wall of white dresses one after the other pass by him that he was almost willing to look away from the crowd before Fai came out.

But he didn't, and once Fai did appear Kurogane's mouth went dry.

The warrior was expecting the mage to be wearing some type of suit, something plain and ordinary to distinguish himself from all the other girls of the day. But instead Tomoyo had put so much effort into making Fai look beautiful that Kurogane almost believed that he had just walked out of a painting.

Fai walked forward slowly, keeping his eyes down to avoid looking at anyone. His wavy blond hair brushed against the bare skin of shoulders, showing off the strapless cut of his pure white dress. A fabric flower was pinned at the top right, pulling across the layer of loose ruffle that covered over the mage's chest that, on anyone else would have looked outright tacky, managed to flow perfectly across the flat space. Another fabric flower, slightly bigger as it had to hold up more of the dress, was placed directly on Fai's right hip, creating a swoop of the airy cloth to add layers against the rest of the bottom of the skirt. And while the other woman had over decorated designs with too many sparkles or bows that made their dresses look busy, Tomoyo had chosen to keep the rest of the dress plain beside that one drape, leaving the wizard's beauty to fall on him and not the dress.

His arms were covered by white gloves that reached the very top of his arms and had the barest hint of lace to cut off the material from reaching the shoulder. In his hands was a very simple bouquet of pale blue flowers that, when placed against the white of the dress, seemed to gain a pale glow that stood above any other pile of flowers that anyone else had.

And when Fai glanced up, taking the barest hint of a look at Kurogane's face as he walked towards him, he smiled. He smiled and blushed as his eyes grew softer the more he looked to him and when he raised his head from the happiness in his smile Kurogane could see a white choker adored with another set of the smallest of the white fabric flowers resting against the curve of his throat.

Kurogane couldn't help but smile back, reaching out to gently pull Fai into his arms once he got close enough and stared into those sparkling blue eyes that held shock in them as the warrior tightened his grasp.

Perhaps Kurogane was wrong. Maybe the ceremony didn't have to be solely about the couple so long as they only saw each other through the entirety of it. And Kurogane knew that his eyes would be stuck on Fai for the rest of his life.

The two were so engrossed in each other that they didn't realize Tomoyo was talking to them until there was a collective laugh from her and the two children with Mokona. Fai and Kurogane quickly looked to her and slightly separated.

She handed Fai a ring. He looked closely at it.

"Tomoyo-chan," he whispered, not wanting to ruin the atmosphere but needing to speak up. "This isn't the ring with Sakura-chan's feather."

Tomoyo laughed, a soft giggle that chimed through the passing wind. "That's because it's not yours, Fai-san. You get to give that one to Kurogane."

Fai's blush increased and Kurogane smirked before holding out his hand. "I take you, Kurogane," he said, shifting the larger white gold ring band onto the other's left hand, "to be my husband."

Tomoyo then gave Kurogane Fai's ring, the one with Sakura's feather pattern still printed into it.

"And I'll take you, Yuui," Kurogane leaned in closer to the mage's ear to whisper his real name as he secured the ring onto Fai's finger, "to be my bride."

Fai shivered, feeling his heart clench as Kurogane used his real name and wasted no time in leaning up and wrapping his arms around his neck to reach him in a kiss of marriage, the first one shared between a husband and wife. The warrior hugged his own arms around the slim space of Fai's waist to pull him in closer.

There was a loud range of applause from the people witnessing their own friend's weddings but Sakura, Syaoran and Mokona were definitely the loudest of the groups.

As Fai and Kurogane pulled away from each other slightly, while still keeping a firm grasp on their spouse, a bright light engulfed the couple. There was a slight shimmering that surrounded the ring on Fai's hand before disappearing and leaving a feather behind.

The mage held it, looking up into the content and dare he say happy eyes of his koi, then kissed the magical feather. He turned just enough to offer the white and pink object to the princess while still keeping close to his husband.

"Thank you, Sakura-chan. I think it may have been waiting for us to come together before going back with you."

Sakura took her gift and smiled brightly at the newly formed couple. "If that's true then I should thank it too—it made you both happy and that's all I've ever wanted for all of us."

"Congratulations you two," Syaoran said, shifting Mokona on his shoulder so that she wouldn't fall.

"Yay! Fai-mommy and Kuro-daddy are finally together now!" She glanced down at Kurogane's hand still placed on Fai's hip. "Maybe Mommy and Daddy are gonna become real mommies and daddies—"

Syaoran quickly covered her mouth. "So what happens to the ring now?"

Fai looked down to his outstretched hand, now wondering over the same thing.

"It's yours Fai-san," Tomoyo pitched in, seeing the question on their faces.

Fai hesitated.

"She's right," Kurogane whispered into his ear, staring down at the perfect ring that seemed made just for the mage. "It did wait for us after all."

It could very well have been the atmosphere to make Kurogane so openly caring, but Fai couldn't help but agree. The ring had waited until they arrived before being used in a marriage ceremony and it almost felt as if the universe itself was giving them their blessings for a happy—if somewhat dysfunctional—relationship.

Fai smiled, bringing his hand and the ring to his chest. "Alright then, it's mine." He smirked up at his new husband. "But only because Kuro-koi gave it to me."

And he did. Even though he was hesitant, Kurogane did give Fai the ring. And because of that Fai never planned on taking it off.

They could have another wedding once they reached Nihon if that is what Kurogane wanted, another chance to have a ceremony just for them, but this is the moment that Fai will always remember.

Because this was the first time Kurogane gave him his ring.

End

So...what'd you guys think? Too out of character? Should I tie my muse up in a corner to make it think about what it's done? I'd love to hear your comments so please leave a review.