this was suppose to take place in a tea house, but that obviously didn't happen. today's installment is based off the costumes from Recourt but ended up closer to Victorian England... not one of my favourites, but this is what happens when you aim for fluff after reading gothic fiction.

btw: thanks Hopeless Romantic for your continued (and cheerful) support. hi DayDreamer64 (here's the update) and to KayzoK, you're the reason i got off my lazy arse.


"This is your stupidest idea yet," Kurogane said unenthusiastically.

"Including the last one?" Fai asked much too cheerily.

"Including the last one," Kurogane deadpanned.

Currently, both men on the docket for 'gross indecencies' and were waiting to be moved to the courthouse where the feather (hopefully) was. Both were dressed impeccably for court in the very conservative, downright constrictive style this world used. Both men wore three piece suites (white for Fai, black for Kurogane), starched white shirts, and slim ties (blue and red respectively). A matching bowler balanced on Fai's head while a black fedora was pinched in Kurogane's firm grip. Their shoes were blindingly shiny, nary a wrinkle marred their suits, and neither smelt; but Kurogane couldn't shake off the idea that they had no chance of winning their case.

"Why do I feel that you rigged this?" Kurogane asked Fai, who was playing the part of a bored six-year old well, feet swinging and all.

"I knew Kuro-tsin had good instincts," Fai cooed, patting the other man's cheek which drew out a deep throated growl. Fai just giggled, drawing odd looks from the surrounding guards, before going back to his bored child routine. The wizard started humming to himself, an odd, folk tune that probably came from his homeland. Frankly, it grated on Kurogane's nerves. Just as he opened his mouth to tell the wizard to shut up, Fai stopped. Before the assassin could ask why, a heavily starched policeman entered and called out their numbers, indicating their turn for trial.

Grumbling, Kurogane stood stiffly, spending a night on a wooden board may not have been new, but it was still uncomfortable. Fai, though, jumped up with his usual exuberance or carelessness; it was often hard to distinguish which was which. Just before they entered the courtroom, both were quickly checked for weapons, knives and pistols presumably. The only thing of interest found was a pocket watch with a similar design to Fai's tattoo crudely scratched into it. But Fai was allowed to keep it, and they were marched into the courtroom. It had the basic layout, the judge's podium, witness box, scribe's desk, etc. but the nearly packed audience was unexpected.

"Order!" the judge yelled, rapping his gravel. Eventually, the titters from the crowd faded away. "The charges,"

"The people charge the defendants with 'gross indecency'," the persecutor said,

"Ah, more sodomites," the judge sighed as the crowd gasped in unison. "Present the evidence."

"The people call Mary-Anne Gardener to the stand," the black robed man said, calling a woman who looked as straight laced as her tight-lacing corset. "Miss Gardener, could you please tell us the first time you saw the defendants?" As soon as she opened her mouth, a sound so boring filled the room that neither Fai nor Kurogane could bare to listen. Instead Kurogane focused on the wizard, who was humming tunelessly under his breath again.

Suddenly, Fai glanced up above judge at the decorations. Kurogane glanced up too but didn't see anything important, just a large relief sculpture of a blindfolded woman with holding a scale in one hand and a sword in other. Kurogane gave Fai an odd look. Fai responded by placing his hand on Kurogane's knee.

The scales, his voice said in Kurogane's head, who wasn't surprising at all, really. Turning back to the sculpture, the assassin peered at the scales, which jutted out farther than the rest of the piece, more closely. On one side there was a bloody dagger, blackened jewels, and other paraphernalia of crimes. In the other, surrounded by a glass ball and looking a touch out of place was a…feather. Immediately, plans of retrieval and escape rushed into his mind, but they were stopped by a squeeze to his knee.

Here's what we do Kuro-poo, Fai mind spoke, sending images of the plan afterwards. Kurogane nodded, adding a 'Don't call me that, idiot,' afterwards.

Don't call me an idiot, Kuro-fu, was the smartass reply before Fai commenced the plan. Neither noticed the astonished gasps and whispers from the spectators behind them.

"Your honor," Fai said, standing up and putting the plan in motion. When he wasn't ordered back to his seat, they both breathed a sigh of relief. "I was hoping you would allow us an opportunity to explain ourselves." The judge gave a nod,

"You do understand that anything you say cannot be taken back due to a lack of legal advisory," the persecutor huffed slightly.

"Well, seeing as we weren't provided with legal aid…" Fai trailed off, causing more than a few people to wiggle awkwardly in their seats.

"While Miss Gardener makes accurate points, I would first like to mention that both my companion and I are foreigners, and arrived here unexpectedly," Fai started, moving out from behind the desk they had been seated at. While Fai expertly, and blatantly, lied his was through their defense, Kurogane silently slipped into the shadows of the courtroom unnoticed.

"We would be glad the charges were dropped and we would leave with all due haste if that would be more convenient," Fai said, a lawyer-like sarcastic edge to his voice. That was Kurogane's cue to quickly scale the podium and jump up, grabbing the feather at the peak of his leap.

With the sudden movement and the shattering of glass, the courtroom broke into chaos. The judge and the jury ducked to avoid a shower of glass while the crowd moved as one backwards, knocking over benches as the security rushed forward underneath the yelling from their superiors. No one noticed Fai take out the pocket watch and pull the knob, causing the world to slow to a stop. Humming slightly, Fai spent a few seconds spinning the hands backwards to a point in time where they weren't incarcerated. Before starting the watch again, he walked over the Kurogane and grabbed his hand. Then he clicked the pocket watch back on and had the oddest sensation of having his guts fly backwards in time and space.

Both landed uncomfortably back when they had been arrested. But this time, they didn't want to be captured and they had their meal ticket out of this world clutched in Kurogane's bloody hand. They raced through town, still hand in hand, until they came to the post office the children worked at. Luckily, both of them were taking a break and had the pork bun with them.

"Time to go," Fai said as they barreled through the door. Sakura and Syaoran looked up, surprised, but Monoko understood and instantly opened the portal, sucking them all in, much to the shock of the natives present.

"Bloody fairies," a policeman muttered in the silence that followed.


hehehe... well, anyways, to summarize what the hell that was about, Kurogane and Fai were being tried for being gay, which was totally legal back in the day (see: oscar wilde, who i see a chubby fai, oddly) (mwhaha, i can be historically accurate!) and men did wear fedoras in 19th century, wikipedia said so.