A/N: I'm sorry for taking so long…last chapter uploaded was, what…a long…long…long…time ago. Yeah. Sorry. School's being terrible, and my only excuse is that I'm emotionally unstable and rather self-destructive. But no one knows it.
I DON"T OWN THE CHARACTERS.
Chapter 11: Show Time
It's dark backstage. People are rushing back and forth, trying not to trip over stray cables and soundboards.
There is a man standing in the wings, invisible to the crowds chattering happily outside. He is looking for the one person who can make always make everything better for him. His performance always relied on this person's presence after he met him. Right now, the man is searching for that person and his friends amongst the seats of the other patrons.
He adjusts a cufflink. He didn't see this person's face anywhere, but perhaps he is late-coming.
7:25pm.
Five minutes before show time, calls the assistant. The lights are dimming ever so slightly, and the ushers hurry everyone to their seats. Overhead, in near invisible speakers, a woman's computerized voice echoes out towards the crowd.
"Welcome," she says, "to Fai D. Flowright's special Valentine's Day Concert. We start in four minutes. Please turn off all cameras, cell phones and pagers. Thank you."
The man takes a deep breath and shakes out his hands.
"All or nothing," he whispers softly to himself.
7:28pm.
The buzz of the crowd swarms over their heads like bees. It's a large party, up on the second tier, where the pianist hidden in the wings won't be able to see them, but they were able to see him. The party consisted of a rather imposing man and woman, both with blood-red eyes and black hair. A trio of dark-haired girls, one looking rather sullen, stood next to them watching the dark shapes move in the wings. There was also a blonde male and a much shorter blonde girl, who was holding hands with another boy.
Both men were holding small boxes. One was holding a small round box with a card slotted through the ribbon and carried roses in the other hand. He seemed nervous and surly as if he were unwilling to acknowledge his nervousness. The other just carried a box. One of the dark-haired girls carried another box, which she occasionally glanced at, as if wary of its position in her hands.
The woman was looking out over the crowd, fiery gaze watching something that everyone else seemed to ignore. She chuckled quietly to herself.
The lights dimmed slightly and they hurried to take their seats. A woman's voice floated out of the conspicuous speakers. "Welcome," she says pleasantly, "to Fai D. Flowright's"—the party's back straightened almost imperceptibly. This is someone special to us, their bodies said—"special Valentine's Day Concert. We start in four minutes. Please turn off all cameras, cell phones and pagers. Thank you."
The people around them compulsively checked their cell phones. The small blonde girl did too, shutting off the ringer.
The crowd hushes as the lights dim even further.
"Lights, camera," the girl with the box whispers as the lights dim.
"And…action!" her friend finishes for her when the lights dim completely. Only the stage lights remain on.
"Time for the concert to begin," whispers the third girl, checking her cell phone. "It's seven-thirty.
What Yuuko was watching were the two adorable, bumbling couples that were the Kinomoto and Li twins. Down on the floor tier, the girls chattered happily to their male partners about how excited they were to finally be able to see Fai play. Their chaperones, the Kinomoto twins' big brother and his friend looked on, one bored and the other mildly amused.
Unbeknownst to them, Yuuko was thinking about how nice it would be, and how much quieter it would be if Watanuki and Doumeki got along like the oldest Kinomoto and his friend. But then, she surmised thoughtfully, I would miss his exuberance and easy-teasing-ness.
She chuckled softly. No, she decided, Watanuki was fine just the way he was.
The lights dimmed and the announcements began. The couples she was secretly watching hurried to take their seats. She did the same, suddenly wondering where Watanuki and Doumeki were.
Yeah. Where are they? No, doesn't matter. He's probably stuck in that tea shoppe hell, anyway.
The hum of the crowd lessened and she cleared her mind for the performance.
It's bright on stage. The man hidden in the wings hovers nervously on the border between the darkness and the light. The assistant hisses at him to hurry, and hisses into the microphone for the sound guys to get the introduction and the recording tapes ready. He teeters a bit and lets out a long sigh.
It's show time. He strides out amidst thunderous applause and the woman's computerized voice and takes a bow, scanning the rows for familiar faces. His heart jumps. They're all there—Sakura, Sakurako, Syaoran, Syaoron, Touya, and Yukito in the floor tier, waving furiously. Yuuko, his brother and sister, Hideki, Tomoyo, Himawari, and Alice in the second tier, applauding politely with big grins on their faces.
Kurogane. His usual smirk was adorning his face and his big hands came together in what the man knew would have been a loud, resonant sound.
And look! Even Watanuki and Doumeki made it, Watanuki looking somewhat harassed.
A smile graced his features and he unbent from his bow. Gracefully, he walked the rest of the way to the piano and settled down. Slowly, the applause died, and the crowd settled with a rustling of programs.
He calmed himself, settling his mind back down to the undisturbed calm. Somebody coughed. He placed his hands on the keyboard and launched into his first piece.
Let's make memories of this night, he thought quietly to himself, and remember this most among other concerts. A shadow of a smile flitted across his face. Another cough resounded throughout the chamber.
Looking at the program, Yuui knew the first piece—one of twelve, really—was January of Tchaikovsky's The Seasons. He recalled, as the notes dripped and tumbled slowly out like rain down a window pane, a rainy afternoon where he and Alice had been amusing themselves with random trivia.
O.o
"Did you know," said Alice, "that Tchaikovsky was gay?"
Yuui looked up from his cookbook. "I don't suppose I did, why?"
"Mmm, neither did I. My piano teacher told me this, but she couldn't remember where."
"Does it make a difference about what you think of him?"
"No, not really. He's a great composer, plus he's dead. There's not much you can do about it. I didn't believe her, at first, so I Google'd him."
"So?"
"She was right." Alice hid her face, recalling how she felt when her teacher was right. "I was surprised, really. Well, I was surprised then, but this kind of drove it home."
"So?"
"Some people say that that's why he killed himself."
"Wow, really?"
"Yeah. But, I honestly don't think that that was why. I think he just…had enough of it."
"Of what?"
"Everything. Life, in general. If no one knows about your deepest secrets, you can't really kill yourself over it. Suicide is wrong, anyway."
"If you say so…you're rather opinionated, aren't you?"
"Why yes, yes I am. But that's why you love me."
"No comment." Yuui returned his attention to his cookbook and Alice raced raindrops on the window pane. A few customers trickled in and made their orders.
"Killjoy," she muttered.
O.o
Fai moved on, without pausing, to February, piece two of twelve. This one elicited a smile out of Tomoyo. It reminded her of all the times she and Himawari had discussed random things, gossiped and basically talked and ripped through subjects at the speed of light.
O.o
"Tomoyo, who do you think would look good together?" asked Himawari.
Tomoyo, who was flipping through fabric samples, looked up thoughtfully. "Well, I think Doumeki and Watanuki are probably the most amusing couple. I mean, Watanuki's always in denial. I wonder how Doumeki puts up with it."
"True, but what about Yuuko and Watanuki?"
"Eeww, don't go there! Yuuko's like a fun mom. You know, the ones that other people always wish they had?"
"Haha, I guess you're right. Yuuko teases Watanuki too much, but it's fun watching him spaz, and stuff."
"Yeah. I don't know, I guess Yuuko's, like, kind of a funky purple, while Watanuki and Doumeki are, like, yellow-orange and green, I guess," Tomoyo said, drawing inspiration from the sample she was examining. "What do you think of this one?" She held up a square of orange and purple, edged with green.
"Oh, gross. Who are you making the outfit for?" Himawari grimaced at the clashing colors.
"Kurogane."
Himawari pretended to throw up. "Are you trying a new look for him, or something?"
Tomoyo cracked a smile. "Yes."
"Don't. Kurogane should just stick with the scary colors."
"Like red?"
"Yeah. But not too much red or it'll kill his eyes. What color do you think I am?"
"Sunflower yellow," Tomoyo said without hesitation.
"Why?" Himawari persisted.
"'Cause you're always so upbeat and positive. Like a ray of sunshine."
"And you, my friend," said Himawari, returning the compliment, "are a deep mysterious purple."
"And now it is my turn to ask 'why?'"
"Because purple is a magical color, and it matches your eyes."
"Why thank you. Your color matches your hair."
"Why thank you," Himawari parroted. "How did we get to this subject again?"
"I don't know," honestly replied Tomoyo. "Let me think…"
O.o
Yes, those were fun, interesting times. Fai bridged silently into March, like winter melting into spring. Alice started reading the program that was handed out at the beginning of the concert.
It was oddly relaxing, Yuui thought, just sitting and listening.
It was oddly calming, Fai thought, to be on stage and just playing like he would at home.
O.o
On the way home, he stopped and gazed over the gate of the park. Small flakes of snow drifted downwards in a spiraling pattern more intricate than ballet. The streetlights were all on, casting pools of gold onto the park ground, now lightly dusted with snow. He opened the gate and began to cut through the park, some kind of stifling silence urging him on. Around him, the gentle flurries whirled and played around him, contrasting sharply against the darkness of the sky when he looked up at the sparsely scattered stars. He stopped at a cold iron bench that stood out against the snowy backdrop, just outside the light of the lamps. He sat down, ignoring the cold and watched the snow fall.
Anyone passing by would have seen something odd. He was not shabbily dressed, nor dirty, if the sheen on his golden hair was any indicator, yet he was sitting, like a street bum, on a cold, hard iron bench, idly staring at the sky. Or maybe at the snow flurries, who knows?
No one, not even himself, knew how long he sat there, just staring at the sky, at the falling snow. What was his twin doing at this hour? Perhaps the same thing…? Twins are odd that way. The ground was now covered in a thin layer of snow. It started to snow harder. Gently, gently, he roused out of his thoughts and left the cold iron bench that was just out of the pool of light. He would be the first one to break the even layer of snowfall.
Is there someone else in the world doing the exact same thing?
O.o
Fai let the piano die off before he swelled into the next piece. It would be spring time now. It is called April for a reason. Alice fought a losing battle with the fatigue slowly creeping towards her. Briefly, she wondered if anyone else was feeling the same thing. She shifted carefully in her seat as to not disturb the program in her lap and rolled her head upwards and looked up at the dim lights that kept the auditorium from total darkness. She blinked for one long moment and rubbed her eyes.
Shit, she suddenly remembered, Tomoyo's make-up….she glanced at her hands just as Yuui glanced at her. He smiled silently and considered hiring someone else to take some of the load off of her and Touya. They were good kids, but Touya couldn't work too long hours, and Alice was still underage and in college.
But who needs a job, though? He mused as the bouncy music hopped around them. It should probably be someone old enough to watch over the late hours. He looked to his twin playing the piano on stage. Speaking of late hours…
Fai drew out the melancholy beginning notes of May and Yuui recalled a time when Fai came to visit him one Italy winter.
O.o
"Hello, brother," Fai said with a smile and a tight hug when Yuui opened the door of his humble apartment. They were twenty-one now, just above the legal drinking age. Yuui laughed and drew his brother in, closing the door behind them.
"What brings you here?" Yuui asked. Fai only grinned at him.
"Can't I just come visit my dear brother?" he asked jovially. He spun in a circle, taking in the apartment, and Yuui shook his head and walked towards his small kitchen. Well, okay. It was more of a kitchenette, than anything. He knew his brother was avoiding the subject, but he wouldn't push him if he didn't want to talk. Fai stopped examining the apartment and joined Yuui.
"Drink?" Yuui asked, pulling out a couple cans of beer. Fai laughed again.
"Let me do the honors," he said, pushing both Yuui and beer gently out of the kitchenette. With a small noise of amused protest, Yuui took a seat on the bar stool that stood on the other side of the island. Fai looked through the cabinets, pantry, and refrigerator and pulled out what he needed. He started to throw things together with almost reckless abandon.
Yuui raised an eyebrow. "I don't recall you being able to do this kind of thing…?" he trailed off questioningly as he toyed with an unopened beer and watched his brother throw drinks together like a pro bartender.
"I learned a lot of things," Fai said dismissively, giving Yuui a martini glass filled with a clear liquid, "Here." Yuui caught the avoidance in his voice. He chose not to say anything and asked instead,
"So, what is it?" He took a sip. "'S good," he said with some surprise. Always in the family, he had been the better cook out of the three children in his family. Thinking about them sent a pang of homesickness through his heart, only tempered by the fact that Fai was standing in front of him, sipping his own concoction.
"Something a friend taught me in New Yor—" Fai caught himself.
"What were you doing in New York?" Yuui caught the thin line that had been thrown.
"…"
"Well?"
Fai lowered his head and whispered something.
"I didn't hear you."
"I left," he said, almost imperceptibly. "One night. When Ashura was sleeping."
"WHAT? WHY?" Yuui almost toppled off of the stool in surprise.
"He has better students who show more promise. Let him teach them. I don't want to go back."
"So, what? You just left and fooled around in New York for, what? A couple of weeks?" Yuui was outraged. "Listen Fai," he said, taking a hold of his brother's face, "you are the best student Ashura has ever had. He wouldn't tell you, but I've seen the letters that he wrote to Mom and Dad. They sing praises to the sky and beyond. A lot of teachers pick on the students that they like. If he's being tough on you, fight it. Don't you DARE ever just give up. That won't EVER help you."
Fai's eyes glittered in the light. "How can I face him, though?" he asked his twin. "I left."
"Since when has Ashura not welcomed you back?" Yuui asked. Fai didn't answer. "Go back," Yuui urged. "Go back, or, God so help me, I will drag you back."
Fai let out a shaky laugh. "Fine. Anything to avoid the wrath of Yuui." He pried Yuui's hands off of his face. "Just let me stay here for the night."
"That's my Fai," Yuui hugged his brother.
Later that night, Yuui lay awake on the couch (he had let Fai take the bed), thinking. He felt like the older one sometimes. The one the siblings turn to when they need help. The problem was, who could he turn to when he needed help? He fell asleep with this thought on his mind. The next morning, he still didn't have his answer.
O.o
As the last strains of May faded away, so did Yuui's bittersweet memory. Next to him, Kurogane shifted slightly in his seat and tried to read the program in the dim, barely there lighting. On the other side of Kurogane, Yuuko sat, lips curling slightly in a smirk. It was almost as if she knew that memories were welling up because of Fai and his music. It was almost as if she knew that Fai had no idea this magic was happening, lost to his music and lost to his memories.
She also knew she wasn't immune to this magic, and felt June pull her deep underwater and into July that for her, reminded her of Maru and Moro and their little antics.
O.o
She couldn't remember when they came, nor why. All she knew was that, by some odd twist of Fate's hand, she had two little girls to care for. They were as different as night and day. Maru had an affinity for the color blue, and although they were both very lively, she was usually the calmer one. Moro, who had a preference for pink, was the more feminine of the pair. They slept quite a bit, which was typical for children, but they looked wise beyond their years.
They were like cats, in a way. If they took a liking to you, they stuck to you like glue. They were mysterious. Even though Yuuko cared for them and although they were almost her assistants of sorts, their pasts were unknown.
They also shared a devious streak with Yuuko. And a penchant for alcohol, which she discovered one day when she came home and found the two little girls giggling drunkenly over a half-empty wine bottle and three other empty bottles.
Needless to say, histrionics ensued and Watanuki had to be called over to settle the dispute and clean up the mess, which he did grudgingly.
O.o
Now, when Yuuko thought about it, she understood what they meant by "One day, we'll look back at this and laugh," and Fai slipped into the fast-paced August. Maru and Moro were at the hotel, sleeping. She knew them well enough to know that they wouldn't have the energy to stay up so late, listening to a pianist create melodies out of a large piece of metal, wood and ivory. She looked over at the three girls at the end of the row and smiled. She saw that one of them had nodded off. She faced forward again and listened and watched.
As Kurogane listened to August, he couldn't help but think of the idiot that was playing the piece. Fast, always spinning at an almost reckless pace, happy. But you could hear the pain if you concentrated hard enough. He wanted to end the pain, even though he would never tell the annoying fool. Nor would he ever let him see the fondness that softened his eyes into a warm burgundy when he thought of the blonde.
Nope. Better not hand him the ammo. He was swallowing his pride enough to ask, anyway. And that damn Tomoyo had a camera, as usual on her.
He knew, as August flew into September, that this was one night that would be played over and over again, never to be forgotten, thanks to Tomoyo's camera. Nor should it be forgotten, anyway. That's not how it should go. Precious memories like this should stay.
Down where the Li and Kinomoto twins sat, Touya put an arm around Yukito in the near-darkness. He didn't think that his little sisters knew exactly what was going on. He wasn't about to tell them either. Better save their innocence while it lasted. What he didn't know was that the twins were a lot sharper than he gave them credit for, even Sakura and her ditzy forgetfulness. They knew exactly what was happening, even if Touya had no clue. When Touya put his arm around Yukito, and Yukito leaned into to Touya, the two girls gave no sign that they were aware of anything, other than a fleeting smile and a squeeze of their boyfriends' hand.
In turn, Syaoran and Syaoron had no idea what the inner meaning of the hand-squeeze was. They squeezed back, blushing like crazy. Fai caught this exchange of movements in his periphery and smiled at his dancing fingers, which were now tapping out the tune to October.
Ah, young love. There just wasn't enough of it going around these days. He could remember the first time Chi had confessed to him and Yuui about a boy she liked.
O.o
There was a new email in his inbox, Fai noted. It was sent a while ago to both him and Yuui. It was from Chi and there was no subject, other than a smiley face, and Yuui had already replied. Intrigued, he clicked it open.
Big brothers, it read, I have a problem.
What kind of problem? Yuui had asked. Yes, Fai thought, what kind of problem?
What is "LOVE"? their sweet little sister had asked. There was no reply yet for this. Fai thought for a long while and typed back.
Love. It's a very abstract word, little sister. I think the easiest way of describing love is that it is an incredible feeling. A feeling of deeply profound, gentle affection for something. Honestly, I don't really know what "love" is. I've never "fallen in love" with anyone. Yet. I hope this helped though. There are a lot of different kinds of love, and I think this is the one you mean?
He signed it with a smile and sent it. The next morning, he checked again, and there was a reply from Chi.
What is "profound, gentle affection"? How do you "fall in love"?
He couldn't help but laugh. He would answer the first part, and leave the rest for Yuui, like they'd always done with dilemmas from Chi.
Well, to clarify, there are many different kinds of love. There's the type of love you have for hobbies and things. There's the type you have for animals. The type I feel for you and Yuui, and you for us probably matches best the meaning I gave you. The type that involves falling in love is like the one you feel for your siblings, but it goes farther than that.
He sent that, and in a few minutes saw a reply, but it was from Yuui and was directed towards Chi.
Sorellina, it said. "Little sister," Fai automatically translated in his head. Falling in love is as equally abstract as love. Falling in love is different for every person. It could be that you start to look at someone you've known all your life in a different way, or something that happens the first time you ever see that person. Why do you ask?
Of course. Yuui has always been the more curious. You'd have to be, if you a burgeoning chef. You'd have to be willing to take risks. In cooking there was no such thing as calculations beyond the most basic of balancing the ingredients, and even those have their flexibility.
The next day, he came back. There was a message from Chi again.
Then brothers, the message said, I think I'm in love.
WITH WHO? Fai demanded.
WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN? Yuui demanded.
Compared to the all-caps replies that her brothers had sent, Chi's reply was not capitalized and quiet.
there's this boy, it began, who i met at school. he's really nice and helps me with homework when i need it. he also protects me from the bullies. his name is hideki. i really like him, too. i think. idk. lately, i've been thinking about him a lot and stuff, and i miss him when we aren't together. but i don't know if he likes me the same way. what do you guys think?
He likes you. Don't be afraid to tell him how you feel, was the simple reply from Fai.
I couldn't have said it better, Yuui commented.
Thank you! :D Chi's reply read.
Fai still had the email in his inbox.
O.o
It was easy to pretend that the keyboard was the keyboard and his hands were typing. But at some point, he would have to move on from October and go on to November. Who knew, though, that after all these years, Chi and Hideki were still going out? They were still young, but it seemed like they would be together forever. He smiled happily at his hands again. He and Kuro-pii would be the same way, too.
His fingers drew out the deceptively simple beginning of November and worked its way into the variations.
Up in the second tier, Alice woke up abruptly to what she knew was the "Troika." She rubbed her eyes again.
Shit, she thought, irritated. That's the second time I've done that. I'll have to take a look at the damage later….I need to get the sheet music for this. Traumerei, neh?
Kurogane watched Fai's swaying body and the way his fingers danced around the keys to the tune of "Troika." He seemed so natural up there on the stage, so similar to the way Kurogane was in front of the camera with a weapon in hand. His roles always seemed to involve weaponry. When the intermission came, he would leave to find Fai. It was a risky plan, though. Of all the proposal books that Tomoyo had thrust upon him when she knew he was planning to propose, none of them recommended surprises. Of course, he didn't read them. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Yuuko watching Doumeki and Watanuki with a hawk-like eye. They were still in the doorway, oddly enough. They should have been lead to a seat a long time ago, before the concert started.
The last strains of the piano faded away to thunderous applause, and the lights brightened. Kurogane blinked. He didn't hear any of the last bit…Hopefully, Fai didn't ask too many specific questions.
On the stage, Fai took a bow and glided off of the stage, a serene smile on his face. The patrons stood up, stretching and chatting. Tomoyo and Yuuko stretched like cats, and Himawari yawned and rubbed her eyes at the sudden brightness. Yuui left with a vague mutter of "bathroom." Kurogane left as well, although for different reasons. He had to find Fai before he lost his nerve. Chi rested her head on Hideki's shoulder and Hideki put his arm around her. Love was so simple sometimes…
"Alice! Stop smearing that eye-shadow!" Tomoyo snatched her hand away from her eye and assessed the damage. "You don't wear make-up too often do you?" she asked, squinting critically. "Never mind. Follow me," she commanded, tugging on her wrist. Alice groaned.
"Can't I just wash off all of this?"
"No."
Alice let out all strangled noise of frustration. Himawari joined them and the two frog-marched Alice out of the auditorium.
Yuuko wandered idly over to where Watanuki stood with a devious glint in her eye. Watanuki had a vein throbbing in his temple and even Doumeki looked slightly annoyed.
"Sooo…?" she sang. "How was the tea?"
"ABSOLUTELY TERRBILE THANKS TO YOU!" Watanuki yelled. Doumeki merely sighed and looked off to the side. Watanuki can do this. The other party on the floor tier looked up as one, Touya's arms still stuck out awkwardly as if he were attempting to shepherd his charges out. Sakura's green eyes hinted at concern. On the second tier, Chi jumped and put her arms up as if Watanuki's words could hurt her by their sheer volume. Hideki covered his ears.
"Is that Watanuki?" Sakura asked, down below.
"I wonder what's wrong," mused Sakurako.
"We should go greet them," Yukito told the group. The Li twins nodded. What could have caused Watanuki to yell so loudly and in such a public place?
They fought their way through the crowd and up and down the stairs, past the lobby, around to the other side and almost ran into Tomoyo, Himawari, and a glowering Alice.
"Oh, hello!" Tomoyo smiled brightly at the group. "Where are you guys going?"
"To see what's gotten…oh I see. Yuuko." Sakura nodded, finally understanding.
"Ah, that's right. There's really only one person who can do that to Watanuki, isn't there?" Touya pinched the bridge of his nose. "That woman has to learn how to lay off a bit."
Himawari laughed. "C'mon. Let's go see if they've stoppe-"
"-D I DON'T REALLY SEE THE POINT OF YOU SETTING ALL OF THOSE FREAKY PINK-WINGED TOGA-WEARING WIG-TOUTING MICROPHONE-CARRYING CRAZY NUTJOBS ON US!"
"Nope," Tomoyo responded cheerfully. "If anything, he seems to have gotten louder."
Overhead, the computerized woman's voice sounded out. "Please return to your seats in the auditorium. The program will resume momentarily."
"Nnh…Better go then! Let's go!" Touya said. The Kinomoto group waved goodbye to the trio of girls and they parted ways back to their seats. Kurogane was already back, as was Yuui, and Yuuko and Watanuki seemed to have sorted out their differences, as Watanuki was looking slightly less hysteric. Kurogane looked vaguely sick. Before returning to her seat, Alice whispered to Yuui, "What's wrong with Kurogane?"
"He couldn't do it," Yuui whispered back. "We'll have to force him."
Alice almost smacked herself.
The rest of the concert passed by in a blur. Fai spent the entire second half with a slightly bemused smile on his face, as if he couldn't believe what had just transpired.
O.o
Someone was knocking on the door. Fai looked up from his reflection, with whom he was having a delightful conversation with, and said to the mysterious knocker, "The door's open."
The knocker turned the handle and opened the door. Fai looked at the knocker. It was Kurogane. "Kuro-shu!" he exclaimed, pouncing on his boyfriend. "What brings you here? What's that?"
Kurogane looked distinctly uncomfortable, and he tried to hide the box behind his back. Fai let go of the stranglehold around Kurogane's neck and slid his arms down to rest on Kurogane's shoulders. "What's wrong?"
Kurogane shifted and brought his hand up to Fai's cheek. The pad of his thumb stroked the smooth skin and he cleared his throat. Multiple times. Fai started to worry.
"What? What's wrong?" Kurogane cleared his throat again and opened his mouth as if he were going to say something. Then closed it. Then opened it again.
A strangled noise came out and his red eyes softened when they met Fai's beautiful blue ones. He stooped and quickly pressed a kiss to Fai's lips, dropping the box on the table covered in scores underneath the mirror in the process, and left, not quite running, but not walking, either, a blush staining his face. It was just fast enough to leave a very bemused Fai, though.
Fai raised a hand to his lips, softly tracing the imprint Kurogane had left. Then he glanced curiously at the box. A card was sticking out from underneath the scarlet ribbon. It all looked very well-done, yet he knew that it wasn't some sort of store bought thing. There was something special to it, oddly enough, as if it took a long time and a lot of care to get it done.
The woman's computerized voice sounded out: "Please return to your seats in the auditorium. The program will resume momentarily." Darn. Just when he could have peeked.
He threw one last glance at the box and took his coat off of the chair it was draped over, swinging it over his shoulder before he turned off the light and closed the door.
O.o
After multiple encores, which Fai happily supplied, the patrons finally stopped clapping and began the laborious process of filing out. Yuui and Alice met each other's meaningful glance and stood up quickly. Alice took Kurogane's wrist and began pulling him impatiently. Yuui stood in the aisle, waiting.
"Come on! We have to tell you something!" Kurogane finally stood up, grumbling about impatient bitches and let Alice drag him past Yuui and out the door, much to the usher's amusement. Exasperated, Yuui followed them out. Hideki gently shook Chi awake and they left together, Chi mumbling something about needing something to drink.
Tomoyo and Himawari exchanged glances. "Where's your laptop?" Himawari asked quietly. Tomoyo pulled it out of her bag.
"Right here." Both girls giggled quietly and booted up the small computer.
Yuuko stood up as well. She scanned the crowd for wherever Watanuki and Doumeki (who was being pushed along by Watanuki) had disappeared to at top-speed. Disappointed at having not found them, she turned to the two girls who had stayed behind and were now giggling over a small, 12-inch laptop. "What're you doing?" she asked, interested.
"Shh," Himawari shushed. "We're waiting."
"Well, we can do the waiting outside in the lobby, can't we?" Yuuko asked impatiently. "Plus," she added slyly, "We can find those adorable twin couples and their chaperones and ask them to watch with us. After all," she chortled, "the more the merrier, right?"
Tomoyo looked up, contemplating the idea, and the joy embarrassing her cousin brought to her. "…True," she admitted finally. "We should go find them."
"Alrighty, then! Let's go!" Yuuko reached over and snatched the laptop. Tucking it under her arm, she strode through the thinning crowd with Himawari and Tomoyo chasing after her, both in excitement at meeting Sakura and Sakurako and alarm at Yuuko's striding off so quickly with their small laptop in her red-lacquered clutches.
Once they'd reached the lobby, their target party was easy to find. Yukito's shock of pale hair was easily identified next to the amber wood and dark carpeting of the main staircase. He'd fallen asleep again, poor dear, Yuuko noted. Nevertheless, she glided through the crowd towards the Kinomoto party. "Hello, darlings!" she cheered when she reached within earshot.
Touya's eyebrow twitched. Syaoran and Syaoron jumped almost a foot in the air. Sakura and Sakurako turned and waved hello, vaguely surprised, but not at all alarmed at Yuuko's exuberant greeting. Yukito blinked awake and sat up properly on the stairs he had been propped up against, readjusting his glasses and nudging the coat that covered him into his lap. "Good morning to you, too," he chirped, disoriented.
Tomoyo and Himawari appeared next to Yuuko then, having caught up to her, but now slightly breathless. "We," Yuuko said, motioning to Tomoyo, Himawari, and herself with the small laptop she had taken out from underneath her arm, "have a very special presentation to show you people." Sakura and Sakurako crowded around, curious.
"What is it?" Syaoran asked warily. "Where'd you get it?"
"Oh, nowhere in particular," Tomoyo answered breezily, setting up the computer. "Now shush. I think it's starting…" She sat down on the stairs next to Yukito and the rest crowded around her. Chi, who was holding a cup of what looked like orange juice, and Hideki spotted them and joined their ever-growing group of audience members. What happened next was rather interesting in material…
"O-OI!" Kurogane was getting irritated at being pushed around by a girl close to a decade his junior and most definitely at least a foot shorter than him. And to add to that, the blonde freak's twin, the calmer blonde freak was also not talking to him. "Where the hell do you think you're taking me?"
"To Fai."
He silently cursed. How'd they know…? Yuui. "Hey, you. Were you watching me?" he asked Yuui.
"To quote from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, 'Ask us no questions, and we'll tell you no lies.'" They walked on in near-silence, Kurogane's curses occasionally peppering the air. Then, they reached a door. Yuui knocked.
"Come in. It's open," invited a voice muffled by the door. Yuui opened the door. Kurogane hesitated.
"Yes?" Fai appeared at the doorway then.
"What're you waiting for? GO!" Alice pushed him towards Fai. "Oh, and give these to him for me," she added handing him the chocolates she had hastily stuffed in her bag.
"These too," Yuui added. "From Chi and me."
Fai raised his eyebrows. "Really? When I'm standing right in front of you?"
"Yes, really," Alice shot back.
"We want to leave the two of you alone for as long as possible," Yuui added. "Bye, now!" The two of them ran off, leaving Fai in the doorway and Kurogane with two boxes of chocolates in his hands.
Awkwardly, Kurogane cleared his throat and Fai moved away from the door. Without asking for permission, Kurogane stepped in and set the two boxes next to the still unopened one on top of the sheet music. A door shut with a click, and he looked up at Fai.
Unbeknownst to them, they were being watched by 13 people crowded around one small monitor split into two screens.
"So…" Fai stepped towards Kurogane and away from the door. "Was there something you wanted to tell me earlier?" His head tilted in question.
In response, Kurogane picked up the box he had left in his haste to get out and thrust it towards Fai. "Open it." Fai took the box and examined it, long fingers stroking the satiny ribbon before carefully pulling the card out and untying the ribbon. Then he slowly worked the top of the box off.
He stared at the ring nestled among chocolate covered strawberries in the center of the box. "It's…sparkly," he said finally. He looked up at Kurogane. "Is there something I'm missing?" he asked with a wry smile.
Kurogane cleared his throat and took the ring out of the box and held it up to Fai's face. "What else is there to get?" he asked roughly.
"I don't know." Fai set the box back down on the sheet music. "I'm a little slow today. Care to clarify, Kuro-neh?" He smiled a mischievous smile.
Kurogane flushed.
"C'mon," Fai coaxed gently, circling Kurogane's wrist with his hands. "Say it."
"W…Willyoumarryme," Kurogane rushed out.
"Hmm? What was that?" Fai held a hand up to his ear. "I didn't quite catch it."
"Wh—YES YOU DID!" Kurogane's eyebrow twitched.
"Nope, I didn't. So, what was it again? And what does that have anything to do with a ring?" Fai was enjoying his torturing of Kurogane. Kurogane heaved a sigh and swallowed his honor ("His Spanish honor," Alice muttered while watching the two from her perch on the stairs).
"Will…you…Fai…marry me?" he asked. Fai stood up on tiptoe and kissed him and slipped the ring onto his finger.
"Of course I will, Kuro-silly," he said, hugging Kurogane's neck. "Of course I will." Kurogane patted his back awkwardly.
(Far away, in the main lobby, the people watching on the stairs cooed at the moment. "Awwww…..that's so sweet!" "YES! Victory!" "Psh, Kuro-idiot is hopeless." "Heheh, we've got blackmail material now!" They drew weird and disapproving stares, but who cares?)
Fai chose that moment to check his clock. "Oh, CRAP. I've got less than a minute to get to the place to start signing autographs!" He grabbed his jacket and ran out the door, Kurogane running after him, everything else forgotten.
The group on the stairs looked at each other.
"Shit!"
There was a mad scramble to "look natural" before Fai and Kurogane got to them. Tomoyo shut down the laptop and put it in her bag. She and Himawari struck up a hurried conversation about nothing in particular as Alice stood near them, listening. Yuuko smoothly intercepted Watanuki and Doumeki, who showed up together suddenly, and together the three of them joined Tomoyo and Himawari's conversation on nothing in particular. The Sakuras and Li twins hovered near the concessions stand with Yuui, Chi and Hideki while Touya and Yukito stayed a safe distance away, Touya watching every move the Li twins did around his sisters.
When Fai appeared, smoothly adjusting his coat, near the fans, which let out a loud round of applause, and Kurogane appeared in the opposite direction, nearer to the group, they relaxed. Kurogane started walking towards them, and Himawari suddenly remembered.
"Tomoyo! Come with me," she hissed, grabbing Tomoyo's wrist. "The cameras…we can't forget them!"
"Agh, right!" Together, the two girls ran off to uninstall the cameras in Fai's room.
Kurogane reached their group first. "What's going on?" he asked suspiciously.
"It worked," Yuuko stated gleefully.
"Wh-yeah it worked. How'd you know?"
"You have the look of a man who took the plunge and came out alive," Alice supplied. "Umm…that sounded better in my head."
"Don't worry it sounded fine," Yuuko assured her.
"What?" Kurogane asked, momentarily distracted.
"Nevermind," Yuuko waved it off.
Alice wandered over to the stairs and sat down. From her bag, she extracted a book and started to read.
"Alice, what're you doing?" Chi had wandered over as well, with a cup of tea in her hand.
"Reading."
"Why?"
"It's going to take Fai a while to get rid of that flock." She motioned over to the line of people.
"True." Chi sat down next to her and sipped her cup of tea.
Yukito wandered over to her, away from Touya. "What're you reading?"
"A Town Like Alice. By Nevil Shute. Heard of it?"
Yukito shook his head. Chi giggled. "Is it about you?" she asked Alice.
"No. Here, read the back." She marked her page and gave the book to Yukito.
"'Nevil Shute's most beloved novel, a tale of love and war, follows its enterprising heroine from the Malayan jungle during World War II to the rugged Australian outback,'" he read aloud. "Hmm, sounds interesting. When was it published?"
"1950."
Chi's eyes widened. "Wow. Old book!"
Alice shrugged. "Not really. But I suppose it is fairly old compared to books like Twilight and Harry Potter. But compared to books like Don Quixote and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, I think it's just about to hit middle age."
Chi's eyes widened even further. "Amazing. You like to read, don't you?"
"Well, yeah, I guess I do. I'd rather tote around a couple of ten-pound textbooks than go online, if that's what you mean."
"Yeah, I guess so…" Chi trailed off slightly confused. She sipped her tea.
Yukito handed the book back. "I think I'll have to read it in the near future," he mused. "It doesn't sound too generic of a romance novel."
Touya, who had sat himself next to Yukito sometime during their conversation, mussed his hair. "Yeah, if you can stay awake long enough."
Yukito pushed his knee. "Shut up!" He blushed slightly.
Tomoyo and Himawari came back, then. Tomoyo was hurriedly stuffing something into her bag.
"Long bathroom break, much?" Alice questioned sarcastically raising an eyebrow.
"Eh, sorry for taking so long," Himawari said. "Did we miss anything?"
"No! Nothing at all, Himawari-chan!" Watanuki broke in with a somewhat disturbing expression on his face. Doumeki and Yuuko stood in the background, one expressionless, the other smirking at Watanuki's pathetic-ness. Kurogane checked his watch.
10:30, it read. He looked at the line and at Fai.
Fai had a big grin on his face. The grin that said, "You're pissing me off, but I won't say anything." The line had diminished, but it looked like some of the fans wanted to stop and chat for a while. When they did, the "You're pissing me off, but I won't say anything" grin widened. Until they reached a pale, dark-haired man. Then, his smile dropped off of his face and he became serious.
Kurogane was immediately on edge. He inched closer as unobtrusively as he could in an attempt to hear what was being said. By mistake, he caught Fai's eye.
"Oh! Kuro-ru! I want you to meet someone!" He waved Kurogane over. With growing dread, Kurogane walked over. The man standing in front of Fai hurriedly finished what he was telling Fai and turned to face Kurogane.
"Hello," he said pleasantly.
"Kuro-chu, meet my old teacher, Ashura," Fai chirped.
"Hey."
"Well, as I was saying to you earlier, Fai, you've far surpassed what I could have ever done, so congratulations. I wish you well in the future." He shook Fai's hand, and brushed past Kurogane. "Treat him with the utmost care," he muttered to Kurogane, his Russian accent thickening in the whisper. "Or I will set the Soviets on you."
"D-are you kidding with me?" Kurogane growled back in response.
Ashura smiled and waved back. "Maybe."
Kurogane looked towards Fai. "Is that guy always like that?"
Fai looked from Ashura to Kurogane with an odd expression on his face. "Yeah, some of the time. Why?"
"Nothing." Kurogane walked off to wait, leaving a very perplexed line of fans behind.
Forty-five minutes later, the group split, some to go home, others to go to wherever Yuuko planned on dragging them next (meaning that party that was mentioned in Yuui kitchen).
"…and of course we have to take darling Alice here!" Yuuko said.
"WHAT?" Alice yelped. "Nonononono…I just want to go to sleep, thankyouverymuch!" She shut her book and looked pleadingly at Sakura, Sakurako and the Li twins. "Help?"
They shook their heads, bemused.
"Screw you!"
"You can take her," Yuui amended, "But she has to be back by tomorrow at four."
"What, no! HEY!" Tomoyo snatched her bag away.
"Ohp, well, 'kay then. Bye!" Yuuko cheerfully strode off, Watanuki and Doumeki following. Himwari dragged Alice up and began pulling her towards the door.
"Come on! It's just one night! Live a little!" she coaxed. Tomoyo added threateningly, "You will come, or else you'll never get this bag back!"
"Rrrgh…fine."
"YES! Bye guys!" Himawari pulled Alice along to catch up to Yuuko. Walking next to Fai, Kurogane huffed approvingly.
"Serves you right," he laughed. "Ain't Karma a bitch?"
"Shut up," she growled, glaring at him.
Yuui, Chi, the Kinomotos, the Li twins, Yukito, and Hideki waved goodbye to the now-smaller party. "Have fun!" Yuui called.
Fai waved back. "We will, don't worry!" He winked and wrapped his arms around Kurogane's arm.
The day was just about to get much much longer.
A/N: Hey, well, it's been a fun time writing this fic, dragging it out of the pits of my mind and into words, but all things must come to an end. I'm going to focus on my other fic, which I've all but abandoned (bad me =_=#). Happy New Year!