Kurogane awoke cold and decidedly fai-less. He frowned and stretched. He never woke up without Fai. He crawled out of bed and padded out into the livingroom. Fai sat on the couch quietly with his eyes glued to the tv.

Kurogane climbed over the back of the couch and settled behind him, slipping his arms around his waist and resting his chin on his shoulder. "whatcha watching?" Kurogane yawned.

"Ice skating."

"...Why? It's early…"

"Because I like ice skating. Hush, Nikiforov is on.." Fai mumbled.

A silver haired man appeared on screen and began a very elegant performance. Even Kurogane had to admit it was beautiful. He hummed slightly and became distracted by Fai's bare shoulders, dropping warm kisses on them.

"Kuro...c'mon wait until the performance is over. " Fai whined quietly.

Kuro pouted and nuzzled the back of Fai's head, breathing in the smell of their shared shampoo. It made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside. He snuffled quietly at Fai's hair and he huffed. "Babe come on, I haven't got to watch him in forever."

"Like him that much huh?"

"He's a friggin legend. Just watch, he'll get his 5th consecutive gold out of this one. I'm sure of it."

Kurogane hummed again and kissed down the back of Fai's neck. "so you're really really into ice skating."

"I used to skate...with my brother." he added quietly.

"Really?"

"Yeah...we were pretty good too. I had always hoped I would be good enough to skate against Nikiforov...but that won't be happening."

"Why not?"

"Feels wrong to skate without my twin…"

Kurogane nodded.

Loud applause sounded from the tv, announcing the end of the skate. Kurogane glanced up as it zoomed in on the skater. He was handsome, though Kurogane had difficulty not picturing Fai in his place. Face flushed with exertion and panting.

Kurogane blushed and hid his face in Fai's back.

Fai laughed quietly. "Something wrong Kuro? Were you overcome by his performance?"

"No! I was...thinking about something else.."

"What might that be?"

Kuro grumbled and lowered his ears flat against his skull.

"aw kuro-cutie were you thinking naughty things about me? You're too sweet." Fai laughed and leaned back more firmly into Kurogane.

Kurogane sighed and buried his face in fai's hair.

Fai reached back and ran his fingers through Kurogane's hair until his ears perked back up. He lifted his head again and fai tilted his head back until he could look at Kurogane's face.

"hey." he said smiling.

"hey." said kurogane.

"what's on your mind love?"

Kurogane shook his head but hugged Fai tighter.

Fai made a contented noise and just watched kurogane until he made eye contact again. It didn't take too long but he was still struck by the force of if.

He let out a long, slow breath. "Kuro, why do...why do you always look at me like I hung the stars? I'm just a lazy bum who literally stumbled into your life."

Kurogane blinked. "...idiot….I thought I had made myself very clear…"

Fai frowned.

Kurogane picked him up and resettled him so Fai was sitting in his lap and he could wrap his arms around his slim waist.

"I look at you like that because I love you. I never want you to doubt that. I want you in my life and honestly….I don't know what I would do if you weren't in it. I know I'm often bad with words and I grump and I yell...but…" Kurogane paused and Fai leaned in to rest his forehead against kurogane's. His big blue eyes shone with unshed tears. "you always say the sweetest things to me...did you know that?"

Kurogane blushed. "you deserve every kindness."

The tears slowly escaped Fai's eyes and he kissed Kurogane hard. "God I love you…" he breathed and held Kurogane tight.

The days passed peacefully by. Fai was becoming popular at the cafe and many asked for him by name. He was often tipped well because of his bright smile and sunny disposition. He saved his pennies so he could buy kurogane a present or two. He had been given so much and he just wanted to show how much it all meant to him. It was cold outside again and he allowed his feathers to cover him to keep him warm under his coat. He unlocked the door to their shared home. Kurogane was already home and he came to the door to greet him. "hey Fa-holy shit! You're so fluffy!" kurogane said excitedly and gently ran his hands over fai's feathers as he removed his coat. Fai laughed and batted at kurogane. "Stop it! I was cold!"

"Well put your coat back on I have a surprise for you!" Kurogane grinned and continued trying to touch Fai's feathers.

Fai pouted and he put it back on "okay okay it's on where are we going?" he laughed.

"I just told you it's a surprise!"

Fai sighed and went back out the door to get in the car.

They drove for a hour. They almost never drove this far because Kurogane hated traffic. Kurogane practically wiggled in his seat and Fai couldn't help but laugh at him. He was like an overgrown puppy. Fai closed his eyes for a while and when they finally stopped, they were outside and ice rink. Kurogane was practically vibrating. Fai stared wide eyed. There were no other cars around.

"Honey, I don't think they're open…"

"They are for us." Kurogane grinned and stepped out of the car.

They were let in and the doors locked behind them by a small pleasant looking woman who winked at them. Fai blushed and kurogane got them their skates.

"I rented them out. It's just us." he said softly.

Fai's heart thudded in his chest as he laced up his skates. Kurogane rubbed his shoulder reassuringly and Fai got up to walk out to the ice. His body never forgot how to move properly and soon he slid gracefully out onto the ice. He didn't stop until he reached the center and he closed his eyes a moment to take it all in.

That is, until he heard a surprised noise and a dull thud on the ice. He blinked his eyes open and saw Kurogane carefully picking himself up off the ice with burning cheeks. Fai blinked. "you okay Kuro-moon?"

"Yup. Just peachy." Kurogane said wobbling and nearly falling on his ass again before he scrambled to a hand railing. "go on, enjoy. I'm just gonna…"

"Don't you know how to ice skate?"

"...To tell you the truth I've never been on the ice...and before you ask, no I've never roller skate either. I know it's similar."

Fai melted where he stood. "You brought me Ice skating even though you couldn't do it?"

"I know it makes you happy. Go on have fun. I'll figure it out."

"I could teach you."

"Have fun first, then we'll see." Kurogane said with a soft smile.

Fai swallowed and nodded. God he had missed the ice. He took a deep breath and slowly began to glide around the ice rink. It was a small one, smaller than he was used to but it didn't matter. He increased his speed until he was practically flying around the edge of the rink. He crouched down to let his hands slide over the ice as he moved across it. Kurogane watched in awe as Fai came to life on the ice. He moved faster and faster, suddenly leaping into the air at times for beautiful flips and loops. Kurogane himself shuffled along on the side railing praying his feet wouldn't decided to wander off without him again. After a few moments, Fai slid back over to him, breathless and grinning. "wow...I missed that..Thank you Kuro-tan." he said hugging Kurogane. Kurogane stumbled and made a distressed noise at almost falling again. Fai laughed and slide backwards, holding onto Kurogane's hands. "Come on, let's show you how to skate."

Kurogane was pulled after Fai. After a few minutes or so of explanation, Kurogane was able to at least move away from the wall on his own, but had a tendency to fall without a warning. Fai laughed at him but always pulled him back up. Kurogane was going to have bruises in the morning, but he didn't care. He loved the way Fai lit up.

They spent five hours on the ice. Kurogane was absolutely exhausted and had blisters on his feet but he didn't complain. Fai danced around him until the very end. They returned their skates and Fai pushed up to kiss Kurogane hard. Kurogane sighed happily and leaned into it. Fai cupped his face and kurogane shivered from his cold finger tips. "Sorry." Fai giggled.

"Don't worry about it. I'm glad you had fun."

They began the ride home with fai flipping through the radio stations and singing along to the ones he liked.

Kurogane smiled and returned them safely home.