A/n: Hey, look at that. I updated a story…o.0

Summary: A collection of strictly KuroxFai mini-stories. Each chapter will be dedicated to either a "best day" filled with light, fluffy goodness, or a "worst day" filled with stab-your-heart-out drama in Kurogane and Fai's lives. Most chapters will be AU.

Warnings: light yaoi. And, as seen from the first part, Yuui is Fai's twin and Ashura is Yuui's lover. Don't like, don't read.

The Best and Worst Days of Their Lives

By: DarkInuyashaangel101

Worst Day #1, Part 2: "Silence"

Fai has always hated hospitals. Yuui's and his mom was very sickly when they were kids, her small, weak body not able to handle the effects of having twins, so they were constantly in and out of the hospital throughout elementary school. Thankfully though, at the beginning of middle school, their mom's body seemed to have recovered and strengthened over the years with the hospital's help and was finally checked out for good. Fai still remembered the day Yuui, his mom, and him walked out of the hospital grinning and laughing, Fai vowing to himself never to go back.

It was all coming back to him now. The glare of the bright, artificial lights, creating large, phantom-like shadows of the people who slowly walked the halls; the hard feel of the plastic pressed against his back when sitting in the waiting room chair; the thick and overwhelming antiseptic smell wafting in the air; the choking silence, the taste of anxiety, the overwhelming presence of death and pain. It was all coming back to him, and Fai hated it.

When Kurogane and Fai entered the hospital's entrance at a run, less than a half hour after that dreadful call ended, they were stopped short by the nurse behind the counter. After Kurogane had asked (Fai was in no state of mind to do the asking, gripping on to Kurogane's arm for sanity) if there was a patient named Yuui recently checked in, they were told there was, and that Yuui had entered just five minutes earlier and was currently in the middle of surgery. And that, no, she didn't know his current condition; no, they couldn't see him; and no, they couldn't do anything. Fai was mostly numb through this whole process, but he clearly remembered the nurse's uncaring expression and cold voice when she did say "All you can do is wait."

If there was anything Fai hated more than hospitals, it was waiting.

"Hey," Kurogane's soft baritone broke through Fai's thoughts, and he looked up slowly from the almost-too-clean white tiles he didn't know he'd been staring at. Kurogane was presenting him with a steaming styrofoam cup of coffee. He accepted it gratefully, feeling the heat warming his cold hands.

"Thanks," he managed to reply through chapped lips, slowly taking a tentative sip and not reacting to the burn of the liquid scalding his throat. Kurogane nodded and sat gingerly next to him in the hospital's waiting room, switching hands so his free arm could wrap protectively around Fai's shoulders. Fai immediately leaned into Kurogane's body, accepting the comfort. He heard Kurogane try to talk to him further but his brain was too sluggish to respond. Fai stared blankly into the swirling brown depths of his cup, his subconscious telling him to wait for it to cool down. The phrase "you learn from your mistakes" slowly entered his mind, mocking him.

"Ashura…I got you a cup, too. Do you want it?" Fai heard Kurogane asking. Fai looked up from his coffee at the set of chairs against the opposite wall of the waiting room, seeing Ashura's slump figure bent over facing the floor, his large hands covering his face. Ashura was still and said nothing in reply.

"Ashura?" Kurogane repeated, slightly louder this time.

After a minute, when Ashura still remained silent, Fai heard Kurogane sigh softly, apparently deciding not to push it, and put the offered cup on the table in front of them, careful to avoid the colorful magazines littering the surface.

Earlier, when Kurogane and Fai resigned to their fate and made their way to the waiting room, they found Ashura already there, pacing, his clothes covered in blood and what looked curiously like water. Fai, at first, had watched silently as Kurogane worked his magic and calmed Ashura down, making them all sit down in the dreaded and familiar chairs. All they managed to get out of Ashura was "blood, so much blood", "so scared", and "It's my fault." Ashura retreated into himself shortly after that. Even Kurogane's harsh threatening and his own watery pleading failed to break Ashura's silence.

It's been exactly an hour and forty-three minutes since then. Fai would know; he's been silently watching the clock on the wall ever since they sat down, imagining the harsh ticking sound of the second hand as it moved, acutely aware as more and more time slipped by of not knowing what was happening, what was wrong with Yuui.

Fai's silent phantom was still hovering, waiting. And his "something-is-wrong-with-my-twin" feeling was still present, clenching his gut, but he took it as a good sign. It meant that Yuui was still alive…but he didn't know for how long.

Fai was drawn from his dark thoughts to the present once again when he heard steady, staccato footsteps approaching the waiting room. He immediately whipped his head towards the sound and saw a middle-aged man in green hospital scrubs stop in front of them. The man's scrubs were splattered with blood. Yuui's blood, Fai thought.

Fai was vaguely aware of Kurogane taking his coffee cup from him and scrambling up off the chair as he turned towards the doctor, his heart pounding suddenly. Fai saw Ashura get up, too, out of the corner of his eye, but Fai was searching the man's face for a sign, any sign. Good news, bad news, dead, alive, but his face was blank. When the doctor looked at him, Fai saw him do a double take at Fai's obvious identical appearance to his twin, but then the doctor's face turned blank once again, professional.

"Are you Yuui's family?"

Fai's heart clenched and he felt Kurogane's arm tighten around him as he replied shakily, "I'm his brother."

The doctor nodded and looked at Kurogane and Ashura. "And you two?"

After a beat, and a look at Ashura, Kurogane said, "We're both…close friends."

The doctor nodded again and looked at Fai. Fai's hand clenched deathly tight around Kurogane's as he braced himself. But the doctor smiled softly, his face warm now.

"Yuui's alive. His condition is stable and he pulled through the surgery beautifully. He sustained substantial damage to his skull and lost a lot of blood, but thankfully we were able to stop the blood loss quickly and repair the damage in time."

Fai took a shaky breath in, his body sinking against Kurogane. He bit his lip and held back the sudden sting of relieved tears. His brain vaguely processed Kurogane's kiss to his temple and Ashura's sob of relief. "Thank you, doctor. C-can I see him?"

The doctor nodded. "Yuui is currently resting in Room hours are over, but in this type of case, you can. But only for ten minutes, and only immediate family are allowed."

Fai sighed in relief. "Thank you."

The doctor smiled. "You're welcome. I'll have a nurse see you to the room in a few minutes." He smiled again and walked away.

Alive. Alive and safe, thank the gods.

Fai looked up and saw Kurogane smiling down at him. "See? I told you he was going to be okay."

Fai smiled and they shared a small, grateful (on his part) kiss. But then Kurogane looked over at Ashura and frowned sadly. Fai's eyebrows scrunched and looked, too. The doctor's phrase "only immediate family are allowed" suddenly appeared in his mind.

Oh.

Ashura was still standing and staring at the place the doctor was, looking like he was just punched in the gut.

Fai bit his lip and left the comfort of Kurogane's arms to walk slowly over to Ashura.

"Ashura?"

Ashura squeezed his eyes shut and took a calming breath before opening them again and turning towards Fai, seeming to compose himself. His face was pale, his eyes blood shot and red-rimmed, but he smiled weakly. "Hospital procedure, I understand. I'm just glad he's okay." He swallowed visibly and Fai couldn't resist hugging him. He could hear Ashura trying to breath steadily, his voice cracking, "I was so scared I was going to lose him." Fai just hugged him tighter and said, "Me, too. But he's okay now." Ashura nodded into his neck and squeezed him tightly back before pulling away. "You should go. Go check on him for me."

Fai nodded and gave Ashura a reassuring smile. "I will. I'm sure you'll get your turn as soon as visiting hours open."

Ashura took a deep breath and nodded, "Yeah." He looked to Kurogane, smiling weakly. "I think I'll take that coffee now."

Kurogane snorted, but smiled and said, "Sure", picking the cup off the table and handing it to him.

Fai smiled and was about to head back over into Kurogane's arms when he heard a small "Excuse me?"

Fai turned, seeing a small, young nurse standing there. "I am to escort a family member to Room 24?"

Fai nodded. "Yes, me."

"Right this way, sir."

"Okay." Fai turned to Kurogane to kiss him on the cheek. "I'll be right back." He turned to leave but then stopped and went back to Kurogane, looking him deep into his red eyes, and whispered, "Thank you so much for coming with me." But Kurogane just grunted and kissed him softly full on the mouth. "Yeah."

Fai couldn't help giggling softly at the Kurogane-like answer. He turned towards the now confused and wary nurse and smiled, "I'm ready."

The whole way to Yuui's room, there was no phantom.

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A/n: Okay, that's the end of "Worst Day 1". And if you're wondering what happened to Yuui, Ashura forgot to fix the bathroom sink leak that night ("It's my fault"), so the bathroom flooded through the night, and when Yuui got up to use the bathroom, he slipped on the water, and hit his head on the edge of the sink. So, yeah. I'm too lazy to go into it in the story, because the worst day is over now that Yuui's fine. Hope you liked. "Best Day 1" is in progress.

Also, any suggestions for a best/worst day? Feel free to let me know in a review or a PM. Thanks for reading!