Covet
A/N: Hello again! I decided, rather than scrapping this chapter and starting over, to pick it up again, even though it's been like a month since I last touched it.
This idea came to me because I thought Fai's behavior in Piffle when he was talking to Kurogane about Tomoyo's look-alike was a little strange… If you didn't notice while you were reading that chapter of the manga, I think you'll see what I mean once you've read this. Hopefully. I also did it because I figured it was about time I wrote something non-AU, so for those of you who aren't big fans of AU stories, hopefully this is to your liking.
Covet
Kurogane was still watching her closely; every graceful move she made, every beautiful expression, every mischievous or star-struck smile when she looked at Sakura. Even though she had been with them for almost seven hours and the initial shock had to have worn off by now, nothing she did went unnoticed by him. Fai's heart clenched when in her energetic gestures her hand accidentally knocked her glass of iced tea and Kurogane grabbed it even before it could wobble from the impact. That's how closely he was watching her.
Fai tore his eyes away and told himself not to be stupid; of course Kurogane was watching her closely! This was his beloved Tomoyo hime's look-alike and Kurogane had made it clear from the very beginning of their journey that he did not take to people very eagerly but that he was willing to make an exception when it came to her. It was only natural that he would try to make up for their lost time together by watching over her like a hawk.
"Could I have a little more tea, please, Fai san?" Tomoyo asked sweetly, oblivious of how much anguish she was causing him. Fai shook himself out of his daze and smiled.
"Of course, Tomoyo chan!" he said.
"I'll get it," Kurogane interrupted suddenly, snatching up the pitcher before Fai could reach it and pouring Tomoyo another glass of iced tea.
Fai felt his heart being squeezed again. It was especially difficult to watch Kurogane fawning over someone else when Fai had almost completely monopolized the ninja's attention in Yamano, the previous world they had visited. How could the swordsman just act like that whole year in that warring country had never even happened just because this girl had suddenly decided to make an appearance? Only two days ago, he had ended his day by crawling into bed with Kurogane and snuggling up to him, letting Kurogane kiss him and stroke his hair until he fell asleep. The two of them had been inseparable then, but now Kurogane seemed to be almost completely ignoring him. But this was Kurogane's beloved Tomoyo, whom he had known and guarded with his life for years before he had ever met Fai. The magician knew he was being stupid and selfish but it still hurt. Finally, Fai couldn't take it anymore and he stood up from the table.
"Eh? Where are you going, Fai san?" Sakura asked.
He forced himself to smile at her. "It's starting to get rather warm out here and since I'm from a snowy country, I don't handle the heat very well…"
"Are you alright?" Syaoran inquired concernedly.
"Oh yes, perfectly fine!" he lied cheerfully. "Don't worry about me, just enjoy yourselves."
He ignored his traveling companions' worried gazes as he retreated indoors, noting that Kurogane's only flickered over to him for a few brief seconds before settling on Tomoyo once more.
"How sweet!" Fai chirped, peering around Kurogane's shoulder so that he could see their two younger traveling companions sharing a moment of shy romance. He couldn't help smirking when he saw Kurogane roll his eyes in response to his comment and quickly look away.
"Here, I got you another," he added, pushing a bottle of liquor into the ninja's hand. Fai glanced up at Kurogane quickly to see that his eyes were focused on the drink he was giving him rather than on his face before allowing his grin to take on the slightest hint of bitterness. "Speaking of which, you were being pretty sweet today yourself, Kurotan."
"Huh?" Kurogane grunted, feigning obliviousness.
Fai forced his smile to brighten as his companion's gaze moved back to his face. "With Tomoyo chan."
The blond watched Kurogane's face carefully as he pointed this out, curious to see how he would react to such an accusation. Kurogane looked slightly embarrassed that Fai had noticed his behavior toward his princess's look alike, though he didn't blush as Fai thought he would. He didn't try to defend himself, either, so Fai continued.
"She looks just like your princess, doesn't she? She's got the same name and everything."
Kurogane picked the slice of lemon off the opening of his bottle absentmindedly.
"I mean, you didn't really say anything, but you must've been watching for Tomoyo chan this whole time. How interesting, Kurorin!"
The swordsman took a drink of his liquor, still silent. Fai wished he would say something; he was worried that some of the regret he felt was creeping into his voice, in spite of his efforts to keep it neutral. As observant as Kurogane was, Fai was sure he would notice with the way things were now. He was less likely to detect this if he was busy talking.
"But… it's not really her, is it?" Fai said, pretending to be interested in his liquor. In reality, he was watching Kurogane closely out of the corner of his eye. He knew that Kurogane understood that this Tomoyo wasn't his princess; the warrior wasn't stupid. But he couldn't blame him if he forgot that every once in a while, since the two of them looked so similar. Perhaps he just needed to be reminded. "It looks like her but it's a completely different person."
Kurogane looked up from his drink, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What's your problem? You've been acting stupid all freaking day."
"Hmm? My problem?" Fai asked, faking obliviousness just as Kurogane had earlier in their conversation. "What makes you think I have a problem?"
"I'm not an idiot, you know," Kurogane growled. "I can tell when something's wrong, especially after spending all that time in that last damn country when we couldn't understand each other. If there's something bothering you, just say it and get it over with. You know how it pisses me off when you try to hide obvious stuff like this from me."
Fai looked down at the bottle in his hand, feeling foolish. He knew Kurogane would yell at him if he admitted to being jealous of Tomoyo and then he would feel even worse about the whole thing. Still, some part of him didn't care about Kurogane seeing this childish side of him if it would make the ninja put his fears at ease and convince him that he had no romantic interest in Tomoyo whatsoever. Kurogane was still waiting for his response, his arms folded and his glare set. Fai didn't feel like he could expose his true feelings to him when he was staring at him so coldly like that.
Kurogane could see the wheels turning beneath that mop of fair hair. Fai was trying to decide what answer to give him, and when it took him this long to reply it usually meant he wasn't going to get the truth. The warrior heaved a sigh. He was pretty sure he already knew what was bothering Fai, even if Fai didn't want to tell him. Kurogane thought it was pretty hypocritical of the sorcerer to be so upset over this. Why should Fai get to monopolize his thoughts when he clearly wasn't allowed to do the same to Fai's? Well, two could play at that game.
"You haven't met yours either, have you?" Kurogane said icily. "Your little reason for running away?"
This time it was Fai's turn to be silent. On one hand, it hurt him that Kurogane had dragged Ashura into this conversation. On the other hand, though, Fai couldn't help admiring the swordsman's perceptiveness; he was pretty sure Kurogane had just managed to figure out what was bothering him, even though he hadn't admitted to anything verbally.
"But if he's got the same face, you might not be able to tell if it was really him or not," Kurogane continued.
"I would know," Fai replied, his voice frigid. "I'd know the difference between someone who just looked like him and the real him. I'd be able to tell."
Kurogane was a little surprised; he'd never seen Fai in such a dark mood. But the clouds parted almost instantly and the blond's infuriating smile was back.
"Just like you'd know your Tomoyo chan!" he finished.
Kurogane sighed. He had tried to do the argument Fai's way, but the blond had turned the topic right back onto him. Well, screw that; he'd had enough. If everything was done Fai's way, nothing would ever get done. One of them had to have the sense to get to the bottom of things, and clearly the blond was not that person. Kurogane grabbed Fai by the lapels and pinned him against the wall. Fai blinked at him, his eyes wide with surprise.
"I'm sick of this," the warrior spat. "You're always trying to take without ever giving. That's not how these things work, you stupid bastard. Let me know when you've pulled your head out of your ass. Then maybe we can talk."
Kurogane let go of Fai's shirt and turned his back on him. Fai watched him go, stunned, not quite sure what he had done to make Kurogane so angry. He heard the ninja's bedroom door slam. Fai supposed that meant that Kurogane wouldn't exactly be rolling out the welcome mat at his bedroom door for him tonight like he usually did (figuratively speaking, of course). The magician was about to turn on the crocodile tears, but then he realized that there was no one around to watch his little show so he simply retired to his own room in silence.
Kurogane awoke when he felt someone crawl into bed beside him in the middle of the night. He rubbed his eyes tiredly. The visitor climbed under the covers, acting as though they were going to make themselves at home but they hesitated nervously. It was too dark for him to see who it was, but he recognized the breathing and the light pleasant scent as belonging to Fai.
Memories of the argument they had had earlier in the evening suddenly came flooding back to him. Let me know when you've pulled your head out of your ass. Then maybe we can talk. Those had been his words. To be honest, Kurogane was surprised that Fai had gotten his head out of his ass so quickly. He had expected it to take him at least another day or two. When it became clear that Fai was still too nervous to cuddle up to him, Kurogane took the initiative. He pulled Fai into his arms, making the blond jump in surprise.
"Kurotan?" Fai said timidly.
"You ready to talk now, idiot?" Kurogane asked.
"…I was jealous of Tomoyo chan…" he admitted. "I'm sorry."
"You damn well should be," the warrior snorted. "You try to act like I should only think about you all the time, but I know I'm not the only one on your mind. You're thinking of someone else pretty much all the time."
Fai lapsed into a guilty silence. Kurogane was right, of course, as usual. But he wasn't thinking of that other person in the same way that Kurogane probably assumed he was.
"Sorry," Fai repeated. "It's just that… I… I love you, and… now that I've seen how you are with Tomoyo chan, I feel like I could never get to where she is with you… It kind of hurts, you know?"
Kurogane snorted again and rolled his eyes. "You're right; I'll probably never be able to think of you as my little sister."
"Sister…?" Fai repeated, confused.
"Like I could ever fall for someone who's less than a third my age. Don't be such a moron."
The mage could feel his heart swelling with affection for Kurogane. Even though the ninja hadn't been especially eloquent in his wording, Fai knew exactly what he meant to say: "You know you're the only one I could ever really be in love with, idiot." Kurogane pressed his lips against Fai's, kissing him with the fiery passion that Fai loved so much. Fai laughed softly against Kurogane's neck.
"I guess it was pretty silly of me to be jealous, huh? I'm glad I'm not Kurochuu's sister."
"Yeah," Kurogane agreed, kissing him again. "That would just be creepy."
A/N: Am I the only one who wondered if Fai was jealous when he kept reminding Kurogane that the Piffle Tomoyo wasn't the same as his princess? …Probably, huh?
