Alright, here it is, the dreaded last chapter. Just a warning, I almost choked on the flangst writing this..well, somewhat flangst. So, I hope you don't. Choking on flangst is an odd expeirience. Well, enjoy it.
He didn't love the mage, he didn't love the mage, he didn't love the mage, he loved the mage…damn it.
Kurogane sighed in exasperation.
If he was (Was bring the key word) in love with the mage, it would explain his desire to punch him whenever he did something that was life-threatening.
But, that could also be explained by his lack of tolerance for idiots. Actually, almost everything could be explained by that.
Everything that is, except for the kiss on the forehead.
He slumped back against a tree. Normally he was so sure of his feelings, so sure of what he wanted, but now, he wasn't so sure.
Kurogane ran his hand through his black hair thoughtfully.
It's not like he had a problem with being in love, but this was the mage, the person whom had single-handedly managed to destroy a fair amount of the ninja's pride.
He could come to terms with the obvious, or he could go down fighting until he had no choice but to accept it. He considered the latter, but seeing as how close he was to the accepting point already, the first would be more reasonable.
He straightened himself up and massaged his temples.
Alright, so he maybe loved the mage, but there was no chance in hell he was going to admit it unless he had too.
Fai shot up from the bed.
He was shaking, although he wasn't sure why. Maybe it had something to do with a nightmare, but he couldn't quite remember what he was dreaming about.
Fai felt something cold and wet slide down his cheek. He reached up with his slender hand and touched his cheek. It was damp.
Had he been crying, and, more importantly, how was he in his room?
A name ran through his mind, Kurogane.
After an involuntary sob racked his body, he went back to trying to remember his dream.
He drew a blank, although, he figured it must have been quite terrifying, seeing as how he was crying and shaking.
"Well, there's no way I'm going to be able to fall back asleep" he said quietly to himself.
Fai climbed out of the bed, stood for a moment so he could catch his balance, and headed out the room.
He knew that if he visited Sakura or Syaoran they would be more than comforting, but, for some odd reason, they weren't the person he wanted to see.
He walked down the stairs, leaning on the wall for support. He stood in front of the door to the ninja's room for a moment, contemplating on what to say.
If he said something like "I'm scared" the ninja was no doubt going to scoff at his un-manly ways.
Fai sighed and turned the door-knob. "Kuro-poo?" He asked.
No response.
Oh well, he thought, maybe he's asleep.
He opened the door a little more and was surprised to see that Kurogane wasn't even there.
Fai frowned as another tear ran down his cheek. He still wished he could remember why he was so sad.
All he could really remember of the dream was being incredible scared, and then sad, like something had ripped his heart out.
He walked over to Kurogane's bed and flopped down upon it, sobbing occasionally on the pillow.
The door opened with a slow creak as Kurogane entered their temporary home.
He sighed happily as a gust of warm air hit him. It was chilly outside.
Kurogane kicked off his shoes, draped his cloak over the couch, and wandered over towards his room, silently bracing himself for the bird's chirping.
He opened the door slowly.
Only one question raced through the ninja's mind when he saw the lump on his bed.
"Now just what the hell do you think you're doing?"
The lump stirred slightly. "Kuro-myuu?" The voice asked.
Kurogane sighed. Great, he spent the majority of the evening thinking about the blond, and now, he gets back, hoping to go to sleep and there he is.
"What. Do. You. Think. You're. Doing?" Kurogane asked again, forcing irritation in his voice.
"I had a nightmare" Fai's muffled voice replied.
"And the first thing you do is come to my room?" Kurogane asked skeptically.
"Yeah" Fai responded, his voice cracking slightly.
Kurogane blinked in surprise. "Mage, are you crying?" He asked.
"Ha, Kuro-pon cares" Fai chuckled weakly.
"That doesn't answer my question" Kurogane said, sounding angrier then he intended to.
No matter if he loved him or not, he still got pissed off when he tried to lie or change topics.
"If I say yes, will you leave it alone?" Fai asked, his voice cracking again. He sounded tired.
"Move over" Kurogane grunted, deciding that it was too late to argue with the mage.
It took Fai a moment to realize what Kurogane had said, but he complied. Fai rolled closer to wall, but turned so his back was facing it, not Kurogane.
Kurogane lay down next to the mage, pulling the blankets over him.
Well, Kurogane thought, this is awkward.
Another quite sob shook through Fai.
Kurogane rolled his eyes as he reached out and pulled the mage into some sort of a hug.
He managed to get the arm he was lying on loose, and use it to gently press Fai head to his chest.
His other arm was used to pull the man's skinny figure into the embrace. Kurogane felt his face turning red.
"Kuro-chii" Fai whispered in shock.
"It was just a bad dream, don't worry about it" Kurogane soothed. He attempted to put a bit of gruffness behind it, which is something very hard to do.
Fai broke down and sobbed a little harder.
Kurogane was amazed. Fai never let his guard down so easily.
Although, he could see why once the mage started it would be hard to stop; Fai had never once cried in front of any of them, or at all, he had held it, so, once it got started, it would take a while to stop.
Kurogane had nothing against crying, although this entire situation was embarrassing him to no end.
Kurogane reached one arm up and began stroking the back of the mage's blonde head soothingly.
"Shhh…" Kurogane murmured, "Breathe."
Fai, who had seemingly regained enough composure to do something besides cry quietly, wrapped his arms around Kurogane, pulling himself tighter against the ninja.
"Don't leave, Kuro-pyon" He mumbled into Kurogane's chest.
"Wasn't planning to," he responded, "And its Kurogane."
Fai managed a small chuckle.
Kurogane was relived that Fai still had the capacity to laugh in the face of his gruffness.
Kurogane waited until Fai's sobbing had mostly subsided before asking the dreaded question.
"What exactly happened?" Kurogane asked, releasing his hold on the mage.
Fai pulled away slightly, shaking his head. "I don't know" he replied sadly.
Kurogane frowned thoughtfully. "Well" he began, "Maybe that's a good thing."
Fai raised an eyebrow.
"You'd be a lot more annoying if you remember what happened" Kurogane said.
Fai grinned slightly, although his golden eye looked hurt.
Kurogane cringed. Crap, again with the hurting his feelings.
"Sorry" he muttered.
"Did you just say sorry?" Fai asked, sounding incredulous.
"Shut it" Kurogane muttered gruffly.
Fai grinned through the remnants of tears on his face and hugged the ninja. "Yay! Kuro-chii apologized." Fai said cheerfully.
"It's Kurogane dumbass" He snapped.
Kurogane found himself hugging Fai back as he was about to pull away. He expected Fai to make some odd, awkward moment stimulating comment, but none came.
Fai was too stunned to say anything. Kurogane had hugged him.
The first time didn't count; Fai assumed that it was just so he would shut up.
But this time, there really wasn't a Kurogane-ish reason he could find.
So, he gave up and let the ninja hug him.
Fai wasn't sure why, but he always felt safer and more relaxed around Kurogane, as though he could trust him through anything.
This scared him, but he supposed there was no helping it.
Kurogane wouldn't let any of his attempts to push him away work.
Fai was struck by the sudden desire to do something that would, almost definitely, infuriate the ninja, but he was going to try it anyway.
"Kuro-woofy?" Fai asked, peering up at his face.
His eyes were shut but he was still awake.
Kurogane grunted in response.
"Can I try something?" Fai asked meekly, feeling a little awkward about it.
Kurogane grunted again, too exhausted to say more.
Fai, taking this for a yes, craned his body upwards, closer to the ninja's face.
Kurogane's eyes shot open in surprise as he felt Fai's cool lips press against his. After he had gotten over the initial shock of being kissed, he kissed back.
He felt something foreign exploring his mouth. And, oddly enough, had no complaints about it.
Fai pulled away, looking down. "Sorry" he said.
Kurogane chuckled. "No need to be sorry" He said, pulling the mage back into a hug.
"Go to sleep" he added.
Kurogane had a sinking suspicion his pride was going to come and kick his ass tomorrow, but, for now, he didn't care.
Fai looked up at him sharply. "You need sleep too" He pointed out.
Kurogane bent his neck forward and delicately kissed the mage's warm forehead. He drew back sharply.
"What?" Fai asked, sounding somewhat disappointed.
Kurogane chuckled slightly before pulling the mage against him tightly again.
"You smell like vomit."
The End
Well, there we go. It's finally done. (Sniffle) Ah, my tummy hurts. Was it to flangsty? I hope not, cause I choke on normal fluff a lot too, adding angst to the mix was like wetting cotton balls and swallowing them.
(Sniffles again) I'll miss you guys! (Hugs every reader) Keep an eye out in the Anime X-Overs, a cross-over fic of mine will be up in a few weeks, and there is KuroXFai..heh.
Well, R&R, Bye!