AN: Kuro and Fai just keep on getting closer and closer, but we're all wondering when they'll just confess already
"Will you get off of my back?"
"You're still recovering, Kuro-tan. I need to make sure nothing happens. Besides, you were way worse than this when I was recovering."
"You lost your damn eye, it's a little different."
"I don't need an eye to walk. Look at you, you can barely even stand!"
"Oh, shut up, you damn idiot."
Kurogane leaned against the wall and glared at Fai, who was hovering next to him to make sure he didn't fall. He flicked Fai's forehead, making the blonde whine and step back.
"Stop frowning like that, you'll get wrinkles," Kurogane said as he walked slowly outside, where he carefully sat down on the roka (with Fai's help, of course).
Fai sat down next to him, smiling a bit. "And what if I do?" He gasped overdramatically. "Then Kuro-sama will leave me for someone younger! Oh, what will I do?!" He reached out, stopping a servant walking by. "Buy me the best youth cream, right away! Before Kuro-sama leaves me!"
The girl looked confused and even a little frightened, but nodded and hurried away, not wanting to be caught in the middle of Fai's jokes. "Shut up, you're scaring everyone around," Kurogane said as he crossed his arms.
Fai smiled and leaned back on his hands. "I'll stop if you promise that you'll never leave me!"
"Who exactly would I leave you for, you idiot?" Kurogane mumbled.
Fai's smile grew into a grin. "Kuro-sama, you're so sweet!"
Kurogane just looked away, grumbling to himself as Fai harassed another servant over how sweet Kurogane was.
He most definitely was not in love with an idiot like Fai.
"I don't understand why you can't just send some of your men out to fight the demons!" Fai argued as he followed Kurogane through the estate.
"Because, I'm the best when it comes to killing them, and I haven't fought in weeks," Kurogane said as he walked towards the exits.
Fai stepped in front of Kurogane, stopping him. "You're still injured! You can try and pretend like you're fine, but I see the way you wince when you move too much! How do you expect to go out and fight?"
Kurogane sighed and put his hand onto Fai's shoulder. "I'm going to get a lot more injuries than this in the future," He said quietly. "I can't stop everything simply because I'm injured, and you can't either."
Fai frowned, the concern practically written on his face. "But—"
"I'll be fine," Kurogane said. "Just go strengthen the barriers, and I'll be back before you know it. Then we can drink some sake or something."
Fai sighed and stepped out of the way. "If you come back bleeding I'm going to punch you."
Kurogane grinned. "Alright, I'll hold you to that."
Kurogane sipped at his sake with a scowl and a throbbing head. He had ended up getting a scratch on his arm, and while he tried to hide it, Fai noticed almost immediately. Once he was patched up, Fai hit him over the head and then dragged him to the dining room to eat dinner and drink sake.
"You're so careless," Fai mumbled, his pale cheeks already turning red from the liquor.
Kurogane rolled his eyes and finished his glass. "I'm fine, aren't I? Still in one piece and not dead."
"Barely," Fai said quietly. He lowered his glass and sighed. "I'm just scared, okay? Scared that one day, one of your men is going to come back holding Ginryu and you won't be there, just like your father."
"I'm not my father," Kurogane said quietly. "I'm not some old man that doesn't know my limits. I'm barely 22, Fai. I won't be dying for a long time, and neither will you, okay? We have our whole lives ahead of us."
Fai was silent for a few minutes, just staring at the table in front of him and leaning back on one of his hands. "Remember when you used to bully me?"
Kurogane scoffed. "Of course."
Fai looked up at him. "Do you regret it?"
Kurogane looked away. "Well, yeah. I was a jerk for no reason."
Fai smiled a bit and looked down at his arm. The scar from where Kurogane had cut him was almost completely faded. "Yeah, you were." He laughed at Kurogane's glare and took another sip of sake. "But you're not anymore. You're just grumpy now. Like an old dog."
Kurogane slammed his glass onto the table. "What the hell did you just say?!"
Fai tilted his head back and laughed. "But then sometimes you act like an angry puppy!" He wiped the tears from his eyes as his laughter died down and looked at Kurogane. "What does that make me then, a cat?"
Kurogane glared at him. "You're a human, not a damn cat. And I'm not a dog, you hear me?"
Fai smiled and tilted his head down, looking at Kurogane flirtatiously. "My, my, Big Doggy, you shouldn't be so mean to a little ol' kitty like me."
"You idiot!" Kurogane yelled, jumping to his feet. "I can kill you, you know!"
Fai laughed again and Kurogane sat back down, pouring himself another glass of sake. "Say, Kuro-pup," Fai said, ignoring Kurogane's glare. "You still sleep in your old bedroom, right?"
"Yeah," Kurogane said. "Why?"
Fai shrugged. "I was just wondering. Why don't you move into the master bedroom? You are the Lord of Suwa now, you shouldn't be sleeping in the small bedroom you've had since you were a kid."
Kurogane looked down at his glass. "The new Lord doesn't typically move into that room until he's married."
Fai nodded. "Ahh, I see. I suppose that makes sense."
"What about you?" Kurogane asked, feeling nervous for some reason. "Are you ever going to take on a bride?"
Fai looked at him. "What, after we kissed? I wouldn't want to go and break Kuro-sama's heart." He smiled and tilted his head back, looking up at the ceiling. "To be honest, I've always wanted to be a bride. When we were children, your mother showed me the furisode she wore when she was married to your father. Ever since then, I've dreamed of wearing some beautiful furisode and becoming a bride."
"You do know you're a guy, right?" Kurogane deadpanned.
Fai laughed. "So? You're enough of a man for the both of us. Let me have a little bit of fun."
Kurogane frowned. "What the hell do you mean by that?"
Fai just smiled and finished his glass, setting it softly down onto the table. "Hey, you know the story of the Phoenix and the Dragon, right?"
Kurogane raised a brow. "Of course. Everyone in Nihon knows that story."
Fai nodded and lifted both of his palms up. "The Phoenix and the Dragon, two beings completely opposite from each other in every way. Yet, when they come together, they balance each other out and create a perfect unity." He brought his hands together and entwined his own fingers as if he were saying a deep prayer. He looked up at Kurogane and smiled. "Sounds a lot like us, doesn't it?"
Kurogane frowned and sipped at his sake as a distraction. "I guess…"
Fai smiled and looked down at his hands, which were still clasped together. "The Phoenix and the Dragon symbolize a perfect unity, a harmonious joining of souls. Sounds very romantic to me."
Kurogane scoffed. "You sound like a woman."
Fai smiled and sat on his knees, lifting himself a bit to lean over the table towards Kurogane. "You see? That's how we're so opposite!"
"What, because you sound like a woman?" Kurogane asked.
Fai laughed and shook his head. "Because you don't sound like a woman! Kuro-tan is very masculine and prideful, don't you think?"
"What does that make you then?" Kurogane asked.
Fai smiled and batted his eyelashes. "Why, it makes me feminine, beautiful, and graceful, of course."
Kurogane scoffed again and Fai laughed, sitting back and picking at some left over rice. Kurogane glanced at him. "So, does that make us romantic?"
Fai looked up at Kurogane, smiling softly. "I suppose it does," He said quietly. "What do you think?"
Kurogane swallowed and cleared his throat. "I think you've had too much to drink. You should go to bed."
Fai didn't say anything for a few moments. He just looked at Kurogane with the same soft, almost knowing smile before eventually standing up and smoothing down his kimono. "As you command, Kuro-lord," He said as he walked towards the door. "I'll see you tomorrow."
Kurogane sighed as Fai left and tried not to admit that he had wished that Fai would have stayed.