A reviewer helpfully pointed out to me that I often mixed up the twins' names in the first chapter. Originally, I had wanted to use their "real" names, and later I changed my mind. Needless to say, using the 'find & replace' tool can be confusing. Anyway, the first chapter should be free of naming errors now, and I'll be more careful in the future. :)


Reminiscence of Better Days

Chapter II: Delve a Little Deeper


"Alright, try again from the first line, Fai," his stage manager directed. The play they were working on was for the winter musical. They were putting on the finishing touches, having already got the kinks out, for the most part. There were, however, still a few issues. Such as the fact that Fai always stumbled over his first line. It was meant to be delivered to his friend Himawari, who was playing his girlfriend. Unfortunately, he never could get himself to sound like he actually was sincere about the whole thing. Yuui joked that it was because he was gay.

But that should not have had anything to do with it; a great actor could transform himself at will, on a whim. He had to be able to do this if he had any hope of getting that degree in theater. This was getting very frustrating for Fai, who was normally an incredibly even-tempered person, aside from his emotional outbursts. Even so, Fai tried again.

"Lovely, dearest of mine, it hurts me so that you've betrayed me," he said. He put his hand over his heart to demonstrate his agony. There, hopefully that was enough for Ms. Oruha

Himawari delivered her line with perfection, all the right inflections and creasing of her brow in criticism. "It isn't betrayal if we were never truly united in the first place."

Ms. Oruha clapped, "Bravo! That's precisely what I wanted to see from you, Fai. Now, shall we move forward." The class gave a collective 'ay'. "Next scene then. Seishirou will enter from stage left, and Watanuki from the trapdoor. This scene is one of the most important, kids. Let's get it right. Okay, from the top..."

And with that, they set about to their places.

"So, how was it?" Yuui asked about the rehearsal. They were at a sandwich shop on campus. Fai had ordered a chicken-Caesar wrap, and Yuui a turkey club.

His brother twisted his fedora around on his finger, replying "Nailed it. Ms. Oruha says that if I can manage to do well on this, I'll have an A on the final."

Yuui smiled. "That's wonderful, Fai." He got a noncommittal hum in response. He knew his twin well; that meant that Fai was trying to contain his excitement by feigning indifference.

"Do you think maybe Kurogane will come to the show?" His eyes dance about Yuui's face, twin moons, in a concerned a hopeful fashion.

"I don't know," he said, "Honestly, he doesn't seem the type." Fai's face fell. "But I think I can find a way to convince him, ne?" Fai launched himself into his brother's arms, halfway sprawled in his lap.

"Thank you! Mwah!" He kissed his elder brother on the head.

"Mhm. Now, can I eat my sandwich, please?" Fai laughed like a maniac and slid off into his own seat. "I think I can definitely get him to come to the performance," he whispered to himself.

The night of the play, the cast was one jumbled ball of nerves. Like flies caught in a spider's web, nothing worked to soothe their sweating palms or butterflies. The orchestra was setting up in the pit. Everything was set to start. Where was Kurogane? Fai scanned the crowd, but didn't see the Japanese boy. How disappointing that he wasn't able to get him after all. Unless... there was a streak of blond hair pulled up in a low ponytail, dragging someone through the crowd of people to the backstage area. That someone was tan and very tall, with spiked black hair. He ran to the door and opened it.

"Tada," Yuui said, an ironic pride in his voice, presenting the boy to Fai like a hard-won prize.

"Kuro-chuu~" He chirped, nuzzling against the man like cat. 'Kuro-chuu' growled and crossed his arms, attempting to step backward.

"I only agreed to meet you here because he," jerked his thumb at Yuui, "Told me he was buying dinner afterward, and I'm sick of living off ramen."

Fai slid his eyes sidelong to meet his twin's. "How clever my Yuui oniichan is!" They exchanged discreet low-fives.

"Where the hell am I supposed to be sitting?" They all stared at the chairs that were almost completely filled. Yuui grabbed him by the shirt and pointed to a seat in the front row.

"You've got VIP."

Kurogane started toward the door, turning around briefly to tell Fai to 'break a leg, or whatever'. The willowy boy blew a kiss to him as he headed for his seat. And he loved the fact that he got to see Kurogane's ears turned red before he could hide it. Oh, how adorable he is, Fai thought, a blissful smile alighting on his pretty features.

"You are so crushing on him," Yuui cut into his daydreaming. "It's cute."

Fai was, of course, unabashed, although he pretended to be. "You can tell? Really?" He held his face in his hands "Yuui, you're making me blush." Which was entirely not true, because Fai rarely, if ever blushed, and Yuui knew that. It was all part of his act.

"Oruha says you're on in five, Fai," Watanuki called. He was helping Himawari into her elaborate dress, a Lolita-esque yellow frilly piece, with tear drop jewels lining the bodice, and a little bow to match. Her normally pigtail-bound black hair was piled in a lose half-knot on top of her head, the rest cascading down in waves. And Watanuki was cooing and fawning over the girl whom he had long ago deemed his 'beloved Himawari-chan~'. Personally, Yuui thought he wasn't at all suited to her, in fact, it was best to stay far away. For even though Himawari was a sweet girl, she had a rotten stroke of luck. Well, not stroke so much as her entire existence was one traumatic, unlucky event after the other. And rumor had it, anyone who got too close was bound to share in her curse of misfortune.

"Fai, time to go," Oruha told him. The actor adjusted his fedora and coat-tails, grabbed his cane, and sauntered onto center stage prepared to stun his audience...and more importantly, Kurogane Youou.

It was odd that the boy who had accosted Kurogane in this very place could be transformed so thoroughly. On stage, he was a completely different person, beatific smile cleaned from his face, replaced by a tiny slant of eyes, a sleight of hand, all to captivate his audience. Kurogane thought he might have been the best thing about the entire play, but he did not admit that to himself, because admitting that would be admitting defeat. But when the entire audience rose to its feet to give him a solo standing ovation, his gut wrenched; at least he wasn't the only one who felt that way about it.

He hadn't known that dinner meant going out with not only the twins, but their theater friends as well. Mainly they were Fai's friends, but Yuui got along just fine with them. They were at a corner table, a round booth, all six of them. Yuui, Fai, Kurogane, Seishirou, Watanuki, Himawari.

"Fai, that was amazing!" Himawari clapped. Watanuki joined in in effort to impress her.

"Yes, quite talented if I may say," Seishirou chimed in. Of course, Fai bowed theatrically, yet otherwise took the compliments with a refined grace.

"Thank you all," he said politely (Kurogane knew the bastard was capable of normalcy; the prick), then he turned to face Kurogane. "But I can't help but wonder...how did Kuro-chi like my performance?"

Torn between wanting to give Fai the honest answer (that he'd been riveting, and not only because of his acting) and embarrassing himself, he decided on the neutral option. "Not half bad." Secretly, he was hoping that Fai wouldn't burst into hysterics at 'Kuro-meanie's' lack of appraisal. Nothing of the sort happened, however. To his surprise, the young man beamed at him.

"Uwah! Kuro-bun likes me!" He flailed around, almost knocking his drink over, trying to hug Kurogane. He really spent too much time with Watanuki.

"I never said that! How the hell does saying a person's acting wasn't half bad mean the same time as liking a person?"

"Hyuu! It's so cute when the puppy gets angry. He's all growly. GrrgrrrRRrrawr." Fai did a bad imitation of a growl, and fell over against Yuui in his mirth. "Ahahaa...so grumpy."

Had they not been in polite company, Kurogane might have reached his hand across the table and slammed Fai into it to make him shut the hell up. As it were, he glared daggers at the blue-eyed boy, who remained unaffected by it. Damn, Kurogane had to step up his game as far as Fai was concerned. The twin always seemed to remain one step ahead of him. Fai decided to humor him, though.

"Oh no, Big Puppy Kuro-wanko is angry!" He pinched Kurogane's cheek. "I think he might be foaming at the mouth. He's vicious!"

"Leggo uh muh hreakeen haysh, ah-herd."

Himwari giggled. "Aw, the two of you are so sweet together. Have you asked him out, yet, Fai?"

Fai automatically dropped his hands, shoving his brother out of the booth. "Excuse me, I need to go outside for a moment." Yuui made to follow him, but he declined gently, telling him to order for him if he wasn't back in a few minutes.

"He's not...?" Kurogane asked.

Himawari fidgeted in her seat, looking regretfully sorry. She glanced sideways at Yuui, "I didn't mean anything by it, really."

"I know, I think he's just being hypersensitive," Yuui replied, pinching the bridge of his long nose. "Still, you never know with my brother. Let's give him a bit of time to work it out himself."

Minutes trudge by, the food was delivered, the silence that pressed in from all sides had waned by the Kurogane debated whether or not to see to him. Obviously, the girl's stupid comment had struck a nerve. Not that it was her fault; the idiot should learn to deal with his own bewildering sensitivity, because the world wasn't going to. In the end, it was Yuui who made the decision for him.

"Will you check on Fai for me? I'm afraid his food will get cold if he waits much longer."

As Kurogane scooted out of his place in the booth, he could not help but wonder at these odd twins and their secrets. Yuui obviously knew more than he was willing to let on, and yet he was willing to let Kurogane go to his brother; a stranger, someone they barely even knew. It was extraordinary what people could do some times when it came to their loved ones. It was the sort of thing Kurogane himself would like to write about one day, maybe, if he could find a way to tie it all together.

He opened the door, stepping into the crisp air of the night, spotting a hunched figure sitting on the curb of the restaurant's sidewalk with his knees bent. He rested his face in his hands.

"Oi."

Fai looked up, a gasping sob, at the sound of the recognized voice. From the dim streetlight outside the building, Kurogane saw the watery red in his baby blue eyes, the tear-tracks down his pale face. For a moment, anyway, until Fai buried his face in his hands again and let out a ragged breath. Not quite a sob, but not a normal breath either. Kurogane thought maybe he was trying to calm himself down. He had no idea what he was doing.

"Hey, idiot," he leaned down to clasp Fai's heaving shoulders. "Your brother says you should come eat. If you want," he added. "And you scared that girl." He saw the lithe, broken and fragile young man nod against his hands, mumbling what sounded like an apology.

"Help me up, Kuro-tan?"

Kurogane grunted, pulling Fai by his hands easily to a standing position. Fai's shoulders, though, remained less than upright, and he simply swayed there a moment, trying to catch his bearings. Kurogane never asked what was wrong with him. Whether it was out of respect or fear, Kurogane was to afraid to answer. After a few minutes, he understood that Fai probably did not want to be the first one to go in. With an 'argh' of irritation, he latched onto Fai's wrist to drag the boy behind him and into the restaurant. He dropped that hand as soon as they were in sight of the table.

Fai slid back into his previous spot beside Yuui, who halted his eating to put an arm around his waist and rub his back gently. No one said anything about it. Himawari looked worried, Watanuki fidgeted, and Seishiriou rested his cheek on his knuckles, having already finished his meal.

"Er, Kurogane, where do you come from?" Himawari was making an attempt at conversation. Normally, he couldn't stand suck-ups like this girl, but for the time being he considered that he wouldn't be helping the atmosphere, and cleared his throat to answer.

"Crestview University," he grumbled.

"Oh, is that the one just a ways from here?" He nodded. "What are you planning to major in?" God, what was with all these fucking stupid pointless questions?

"Linguistics, minor in creative writing. And some translation on the side."

"Ah, then you speak Japanese?"

"Yeah."

"I wish I could, I was born here, though, and my parents are second generation," she spoke softly, "It's a pity really. You'll go far in life if you can implement that somehow into a career."

"Thanks."

Yuui, with his super spidey-senses, knew when it was better to leave his poor brother be. "Um, shall I call for the check then?" They all agreed. "And Fai, I'll get a to-go box for you." Fai murmured sleepily from against his shoulder, and Fai shot them all an apologetic smile.

"Well, it was nice to meet you, Kurogane." Himawari shook his hand eagerly, bowing just a little. It seemed she did have a bit of her heritage culture ingrained into her after all, despite her proclaims.

"Hn." Which was the best she was getting at the moment; he kept glancing toward Fai. Himawari gave a tiny 'oh' when she realized that the red eyed boy was preoccupied.

"Well, goodbye then, all." She patted Fai on the hand, smiling. "Please feel better soon, OK?" He smiled back, marginally.

After they'd said their goodbyes, apart from the twins and Kurogane, they offered him a ride back to his campus.

"I'll walk," he said, "It isn't that far anyway."

Yuui kept insisting, however. "We're headed that way, and we really don't know when we'll be seeing you again," he told him, rueful look upon his face. Fai nodded, tilting his blue eyes to meet Kurogane's fiery red ones in quiet gaze of hopelessness that made Kurogane reluctantly acquiesce.