Stolen
Chapter Four – Sorosoro Ikanakucha
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Last Time:
He swallowed thickly and coughed. Fai looked up at him quizzically. He felt the blush rise on his face and he began to panic slightly.
Ah hell.
"Marry me." he blurted out.
--
Fai's eyes were wide, and his skin was pale, his expression one of shock.
"M-marry?" he asked after a while, his voice shaking and high.
"…Yeah" Kurogane confirmed, dread solidifying in his gut.
Fai swallowed, frowning slightly, looking back out of the window. Kurogane waited nervously for his answer, slightly regretting ever asking the question in the first place. Fai's response, however, felt as harsh as a shot in the chest.
"I… I can't, Kurogane…" Fai murmured, hiding behind his protective curtain of hair.
Not even the metallic shredding of the train on its tracks cut into the pained, distressing silence that wound into his heart, which felt as if it had been filled with lead.
"Oh…" he said, after a long, tense pause. His voice trembled uncharacteristically, also higher in pitch than usual, "Okay, I mean if you don't want to, then I guess—"
"It's not because I don't want to!" Fai cut in, his head snapping up and his frightened, wide eyes staring deep into Kurogane's hurt red ones, "It's because… its because I… I'm not… ready…"
Kurogane nodded. It wasn't as bad as the initial blow, but the pain of rejection still lingered.
Needless to say, the rest of the train journey was made in silence.
X o X o X
A week had passed since Kurogane's spontaneous proposal, and he was regretting it more and more each day.
Fai had been acting normal at school and when people visited, but as soon as they were alone, he became quiet and withdrawn. He no longer pranced around the house naked in the mornings, he hardly ever cuddled Kurogane on the sofa or in bed, and the closest thing they'd had to intimacy was a shy peck on the cheek or, if Fai'd had a few drinks, on the lips.
He had been mulling over it for a few days, and had decided on a plan of action.
1. Tell Fai he understood (barely) why he wasn't ready
2. Let Fai know that he doesn't mind; that there's no rush
And if all else fails:
3. Ring Yuui.
The only problem was opportunity. Fai didn't hold much conversation with him anymore, so dropping it in casually was out of the question, whereas walking right up to him and stating plainly what he wanted Fai to know might put pressure on the blonde, causing him to retreat more.
He sighed in resignation and picked up the phone.
X o X o X
"Why are we here, again?"
Yuui grinned at Fai over his hot chocolate. He had 'courageously' come to Kurogane's rescue, and, concealing his true motive, offered to take his twin out for a coffee. Which wasn't too logical, as they both hated coffee, but since when did logic apply to either of them?
"I need an excuse to take my favourite twin out for a drink and a chat?"
Fai smirked back and stirred his tea. They both knew he knew what Yuui meant. As children, they had decided that a secret language of gibberish was too conspicuous, so instead learned to communicate secretly by reading the hidden meanings behind actions and words. To anyone else, Yuui's reply was innocent and only slightly evasive, whereas the true meaning was along the lines of 'I know there's something wrong and I want to help.'
"Of course not. But you could just pick up the phone."
"Ah, but why bother when you're a short drive away?"
Fai paused, studying his reflection in the murky brown liquid. He sighed.
"I suppose you're right. It's nice to actually see you once in a while."
Yuui nodded, "So how's life?"
Fai grinned, "Life-like!"
"That bad, huh?" Yuui laughed, "Anyone'd think you were avoiding the question!"
Fai's smile slid off of his face. Yuui wanted him to say it properly; not in 'their' way.
He opened his mouth, not really knowing where to start.
"Kurogane… proposed… last week." he replied, quietly, staring back at down his tea.
Yuui gasped and a wild grin spread over his face.
"REALLY? Wow! I'm so happy for you; I'm the best man, right?" Yuui suddenly laughed, "Will you be wearing a dress? I guess I'd have to give you away, so who's gonna be the—"
"I said no."
Yuui trailed off, his grin disappearing. He frowned.
"Okay… I'm confused."
"I… I just…" Fai trailed off, before groaning in frustration and running a hand through his hair, "It's... happening so… fast. Too fast."
Yuui inclined his head in understanding, before drinking more hot chocolate.
"Does Kurogane know this?"
Fai looked up, confused. Yuui set his cup back on the table, staring his brother right in the eyes. It had always been Fai helping him out when he was in a pinch, or when he was feeling down. Now, it was finally his turn.
"I know you know Kurogane rang me and asked for my assistance, nii-san. And I know he might try and say he understands, but we both know he doesn't, because he doesn't know about… that time. Or about that person."
Fai looked away, painful guilt evident in his expression, but Yuui didn't relent.
"Kurogane is being patient now, but you can't go on like this. Even if you can't tell him all of the truth, at least tell him enough to understand!"
"I… don't know how…"
Yuui smiled, and his voice softened. He was getting through. He put a hand over Fai's in comfort, and their eyes met again.
"Just tell him exactly what you're feeling, even if you don't know why you're feeling it. And for God's sake, tell the truth!"
Fai winced, shrinking away.
"If you don't, you will lose the best thing you've ever had." Yuui finished, drinking the last of his beverage.
They left, and Fai's tea sat on the table, untouched.
X o X o X
When the twins stumbled back into the apartment a few hours later, Kurogane knew before he saw them that they'd not just been drinking 'coffee'.
Kurogane had given up waiting for them and had gone to bed, and as a result was awoken at some ungodly hour of the morning by loud giggling and clattering and other random noises coming from the hall. He pushed himself groggily out of bed and into the main room, where the twins where trying (and nearly failing) to hold each other up and singing something Kurogane remembered was called an "Irish Drinking Song".
Whatever "Irish" was.
Balancing his twin over the edge of the sofa, the one Kurogane supposed was Fai trotted over to him and gave him a long, sweet kiss, pressing himself closer to Kurogane than he had during the entire week, winding his long arms around Kurogane's strong waist.
He noticed absently that Fai tasted like a mix of Bacardi and chocolate, and wondered for a moment which he disliked more, before the blond pulled away and nuzzled happily into his chest.
"Any reason you're both completely rat-arsed on a Wednesday?" Kurogane growled, resting his hand on Fai's hip to help keep him upright.
"Yuui thought that Fai was upset and needed a good night out." the twin hanging over the sofa replied, voice slightly muffled by the cushions and slurred by the drink.
Something beeped.
Fai was making his way up Kurogane's neck with wet kisses, purring softly.
"Fai, not while your twin is filming us." Kurogane warned, pushing him away slightly.
The blonde smirked.
"What makes you think I'm Fai?"
Kurogane gaped at him as he giggled insanely, walking back over to his clone and draping an arm around him, "Don't worry, Kuro-tan-sensei! I'm only kidding! Aren't I Yuui?"
Yuui looked up in confusion, dropping the camera back onto the sofa.
"I thought I was Fai?"
Fai's smile evaporated and they both bore equal looks of confusion and concentration, which Kurogane would have found utterly hilarious if he had been anyone else.
"If you're Fai, then who am I?" the one on the left asked, though Kurogane swore he was asking the floor lamp instead of his brother, but soon remembered that they had probably each had more drink than their combined weight and didn't pay too much attention to it, herding them both towards the spare room.
"When you wake up, you better remember who's who. There's no way in hell I'm gonna date both of you; one is enough."
They both whined and said, in perfect slurred chorus: "Kuro-sama is so mean!"
Kurogane's eye twitched and he shut the door on them, subconsciously knowing that not even a door would shield him from the twins' craziness, and deposited himself on the sofa.
X o X o X
Kurogane smirked wolfishly as he opened the door, spotting his love flopped on the bed, shying away from the light from the hall.
He flipped the camera open and started recording.
"This is Fai the morning after 6 Vodka shots, 2 Martinis, a Cosmo and a White Russian!"
Aah, sweet revenge.
Fai groaned and turned away from the camera, a muffled "oww dyou whow ats wha-I hab?" drifting over from him, which Kurogane quickly mentally translated as "How do you know that's what I had," before realising that over-exposure to Fai had obviously made him fluent in Hangover.
"The barmaid rang a few minutes ago to see if you two made it home alive." Kurogane replied, almost cheerily, closing the door and snapping the camera shut.
Fai turned his head around cautiously, his tired eyes half-lidded and bleary.
"Where's Yuui?" he murmured, his throat feeling like sandpaper. Even at 2 centimetres away from the pillow, his vision swam, and he groaned and squeezed his eyes shut, burying himself back into it.
Kurogane sat next to Fai and ruffled his hair, eliciting an annoyed whine from the blonde.
"He was up about an hour ago, not hungover at all."
Fai grumbled incoherently before shuddering and struggling himself into a sitting position, leaning fully against Kurogane, his eyes still clamped shut.
"Problem?"
"Gonna… be sick…" Fai suddenly slapped a hand over his mouth and bolted across the hall into the bathroom. Kurogane rolled his eyes and stood against the doorframe, Yuui soon coming along to peek over his shoulder.
"You could help him." Yuui reminded, nudging Kurogane's elbow. Red eyes glared at him.
"I'm not the one who got him drunk in the first place."
"True," Yuui nodded, "but I'm not the one who wants to get back into his pants."
Kurogane whapped him around the head and turned around, stalking off down the hall.
"You know that's the wrong direction, right?" Yuui called, finally going in to help keep the hair out of his brother's face.
"I'm getting water, smartass!"
Yuui grinned and rubbed Fai's back.
When Fai had finished, he shakily wiped his mouth on the back of his hand and stood up, his wobbly frame supported by his twin, and was guided back to bed, greeted with the wonderful numbness only ibuprofen can bring before falling gratefully into sleep.
It wasn't long until he woke up again, the room now shaded blue as the sun tried to bathe the curtained room in its light, someone gently running their fingers through his hair.
"That was probably one White Russian too many…" he joked feebly, trying to sit up, being swarmed by the insects of nausea yet again before giving up and flopping his head back onto the pillow.
"You should stay home today."
He opened a weary eye at his love.
"Stay with me?"
Kurogane petted his head more, telling him to grow up and that he couldn't because Yuuko'd never leave them alone for it.
Something flickered in Fai's eyes, disappearing before Kurogane could identify it properly, before the blonde covered it with a weak smile and a soft sigh of agreement. Kurogane bent down to kiss the top of Fai's head before leaving and heading off to school.
X o X o X
He didn't know what the hell was bothering him, but he sure as damn wanted it to fuck off!
Something had been niggling at the back of his mind ever since he left the apartment, but he saw no rationality in whatever it was that had dropped the stone of dread into the pit of his stomach.
He'd locked the door, shut the windows and turned the iron off. There were no small children, no live wires that were likely to be randomly cut into, no air vents that had been covered, no suicidal bunnies with graters or drills or the DVD player. The only liability in the apartment was Fai, who was fine.
Hungover and unconscious, yes, but otherwise fine.
He sat in the staff room, at Fai's desk for some reason, angrily tapping on the wood and ignoring the fact that Fai had at least five pictures of the both of them together, framed and on display right in front of him.
"Hmmm, what have we here?"
Kurogane sighed, not even looking up.
"Leave me alone, witch."
Yuuko's smirk widened and she leaned over the desk to stare Kurogane straight in the eye.
"Is the good puppy waiting for his master?" she cooed annoyingly, patting his head condescendingly.
"Hell. No." Kurogane growled, waving the woman's hand away, "Fai's home today."
Yuuko's smile faltered.
"…And you left him on his own?"
Kurogane raised an eyebrow.
"Yes… He's a grown man, I'm sure he can take care of himself…" he replied in an are-you-more-stupid-than-you-look tone of voice.
Yuuko covered her eyes with a hand, standing up straight.
"He didn't tell you, did he?"
"Tell me what?"
Yuuko was silent, studying Kurogane's face for a while. The gym teacher didn't know why, but it suddenly felt like the dread stone had doubled in size.
"You need to go home. Right now." She said after a short while, staring Kurogane right in the eyes again, all traces of sarcasm gone, and he practically felt himself pale, not at the stare, but at the instinctive panic that such a line would bring to anyone.
"W-what the hell are you talking about?" he asked, voice wavering involuntarily.
"Fai-sensei is in danger. If you don't get home as soon as possible, it will be too late."