I don't own tsubasa

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"He's having a bad bad dream…" Yuui said looking distraught as he patted across the room. "Fai… he…"

"How do you know child?" Ashura almost reached out to comfort him but held back when Yuui jerked away from his hands. "It's alright."

"NO! It's not—my—my brother is having a really bad dream! And and and—" the little child covered his face with his hands to hide his tears.

"Hush now. How do you know what he is dreaming about child?" It had been a long time since Fai was like this, but Ashura knew just how to handle Yuui. Give him space and try and have him talk it out.

"I can see his dreams when he is asleep if I try really hard… I—I wanted to make sure that he—Fai is… dreaming about that bad place… the pit… and—and—" Yuui let the king brush his incredibly long hair back out of his face, and run a gentle hand down his back.

"Alright… is there anything you know of that we can do?" the little blonde shook his head back and forth almost violently.

"He's scared!" the little boy was practically shrieking. He was shacking violently and the king felt his heart tearing in two.

"He's with Kurogane. Relax. He is taken care of." Yuui kept shaking his head back and forth crying. It was obvious that his brother's nightmare had really taken a toll on him… he wondered how many times the little blond had been sent into a panic with no one to comfort him…

It was probably good that Fai often times fled to his brother when he had a nightmare… maybe that had been a bit comforting.

"Its all my fault! If I hadn't been so weak then maybe Yu—Fai could have been inside instead of me! And he wouldn't have been with the dead people! His hands hurt so bad and I knew how cold he was!" Yuui broke down into a fit of sobs and his speech became incoherent.

"You were both very brave and extremely strong. It couldn't have been any easier to be up so high locked away child."

"I was out of the wind and snow at least! He was outside and the smell was awful! And he hardly ever cried! He tried day and tried to get to the top and all I did was sit around and cry like a little baby for him to hurry because I was afraid…" Ashura would never forget the smell of the Valery… the whole country smelled of rotting meat and the prison where the boys had been held had made him want to vomit.

"Yes but you were both imprisoned there was nothing that you could do." Yuui continued to cry loudly hiccupping every so often. Ashura knew the best thing to do was just keep him close and try not to overwhelm him anymore.

He really wasn't surprised that Yuui carried just as much guilt as Fai did when it came to the other twin. Even though he had literally sacrificed himself to better the other… Fai was still alive, was in love, (though Fai was a little too dense yet to realize it) and had a future.

After his crying had quieted a bit, Yuui cleared his throat. "When we were very small Fai always protected me from everyone. Mama had said that I was born after Fai… I don't know if that's true but he used to tease me and call me his little brother… I thi—think that's why he did… whenever grandfather would get mad and beat us… or worse… Fai always took the brunt of it so I didn't have to… grandfather made it a sick game to see if we would betray each other… so he let us pick who would be at the top and who at the bottom and Fai… he let me be up top and…. I didn't even protest…"

Yuui sounded absolutely disgusted in himself, pulling out of Ashura's light embrace he retreated across the room…

"Yuui, Fai wouldn't want you upset about this. He has missed you so very much and blames himself for your death… that was his way of protecting you child. I'm sure he would have been even more miserable had he made you stay at the bottom of the tower." Yuui shook his head back and forth violently. The crying continued as well and it would be a while before the boy calmed down.

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Kurogane awoke to Fai jerking into a sitting position suddenly before running to the bathroom and emptying his stomach into the sink. The ninja was on his feet almost immediately but his shaking mage pushed him away and stumbled over to the window before throwing it open.

It was hard not to shiver when the cold Celisean air, but Kurogane ignored it easily. "What's the matter?"

"Just a dream…" the blonde was panting harshly like he couldn't catch his breath. "J—just a dream…"

The wind blew and the ninja couldn't imagine how cold his mage must be leaning half way out the window. Stepping close he wrapped his arms around the smaller man hoping to warm him up a bit and make him feel safe. His chin rested perfectly on top of Fai's head and the scent of his floral shampoo wafted to his nostrils.

"What was it about?"

"The place where I lived before I was here… it wasn't a very good place…" Fai's voice was hardly above a whisper and it was difficult to here over the wind. The tips of Kurogane's fingers were starting to tingle painfully from the cold and his ears hurt like a bitch. Slowly he pulled his mage back and closed the windows, drawing the heavy curtains shut for good measure.

"Was it as cold as here?" they sat on the couch together and the ninja pulled his mage into his lap. The small fire wasn't doing much for heating the room back up…

"Yeah… Celes is the northern most country in this world and Valerie is as far south as it gets… so there both really cold… it's funny though because Luvel castle is literally on the opposite side of the world as my old home." Fai didn't protest to being held, but didn't react ether. Limply he sat in Kurogane's arms staring at the fire.

"So is it a lot like here then… you know, aside from the snow and ice and shit?"

The blonde shook his head no. "An ocean separates it from any other country so it was extremely traditional. There was a tradition for everything… there were four different kinds of forks to use depending on the type of salad you were eating."

"Like it better here?"

Fai nodded his head yes. Kurogane knew that he was only half paying attention at the moment. His mind was else wear, probably still thinking about his nightmare.

"I liked Suwa way better then I like Shirasagi castle… that's where I was born." Fai looked at him out of the corner of his eye. Blue shining brightly with curiosity. "And where I lived before the princess took me in. it's a small province in the middle of japan that had lots of trees and fields."

"Did it ever snow?"

"Not like here. We got a little bit in the winter, maybe a few inches." Fai nodded slowly taking the information in. Kurogane could practically see his mages imagination at work.

"So… when you get back to your world will you go back with Princess Tomoyo or will you go to Suwa?"

"One day, I'm going to rebuild Suwa. I'm not a kid anymore, but I still need to better myself and shit before I'm ready to be a province lord… it won't matter if I kill ever demon or invading samurai if I can't figure out how to do all the boring shit to." He saw Fai's lip twitch into a small smile.

"Was your dad the province lord before you?"

"Yeah. He was a hell of a leader too. Still hear people talk about him like he was a god… big shoes to fill." Fai snuggled a bit closer to Kurogane and finally turned his full attention to the ninja.

"You're going to do grate."

"tch. Thanks." Ruffling Fai's fair he looked away. "What about you. You ever thing ok taking over Celes? People seem to love you here."

"I thought about it… Ashura-ou offered a million times… but I can't stay in this world… there are too many painful memories… a lot of good ones too but now I don't have anyone to share them with."

"Well, you would be good at it. Your stupid fake smiles are perfect for government and shit."

"Ne, Kurogane? What were your parents like?" Fai had closed his eyes and settled his head on the ninja's shoulder.

Kurogane was pretty sure they had never actually had a conversation like this before in the entire time they had travelled together. Fai being so open with him… asking questions… it was weird.

But good.

"My dad was a really honorable man. Real busy too but always found time for me and my mother. Always tried to eat meals with us. Train me and play games like hide and seek. He was a really amazing man. And my mother was a famous Miko, but the stress of keeping up the kakiki around the province made her sickly. She still played with me and kept up with managing the house though… I was a real lucky kid."

"They sound like nice people." The blonde's fingers tangled in the front of Kurogane's robes. "Ashura-ou was the closest thing I had to a dad… my real dad died when I was a baby… and after he died my mom was never the same. At least that's what I was told… I remember she was always very sad… my brother and I never really knew why but we tried to cheer her up. We made her flower crowns out of snow daisies, and wrote her little poems and hid them in her room for her to find later." Fai was smiling sadly. "I think the sadness got the better of her… one day we went in to bring her a leaf we thought looked like a puppy and she wouldn't wake up."

The ninja rested his cheek on the top of his mage's head. "Sorry…"

There was a long pause before Fai answered. "Did you ever bring your parents silly things?"

"Just the normal things like frogs and newts. Oh and bugs. My mother didn't like them very much though." Fai chuckled.

"You're a silly ninja."

"Oi. I wasn't a ninja back then and at least frogs aren't girly like flower crowns. There as manly as it gets for little boys."

They continued to argue until they fell asleep, never moving back to the bed. Before ether of them was well rested the servants were getting them ready to go to breakfast. It went similarly to how it had the day before. They walked into the room, this time led by Prince Ashura and Yasha, and ascended the dais.

Kurogane let go of Fai's hand when the blonde tugged a bit. His mage walked on steady legs and kneeled in front of the prince and exchanging a few words before walking to address the room who was waiting eagerly. When he looked out, all Kurogane could see was a sea of black lace and satin. Everyone was wearing far overly elaborate morning attire.

Did they just carry cloths around for every occasion just in case?

Fai's voice was strong and resonated across the room. It didn't shake like it had yesterday, and there were no pauses in his speech to collect himself. He announced the details of both the funeral and the coronation and read a few passages of Ashura's will to everyone. It was obvious from his writing that Ashura had planned everything out before his passing. Depressing… but at least it made it easier on everyone morning him.

Fai ate an entire bowl of oatmeal with a handful of currents mixed in of his own free will, and after a bit of bullying from the ninja, he ate a hardboiled egg as well.

When the meal was nearly complete Fai politely excused himself and the ninja, and led Kurogane out of the room before anyone could try and condole the blonde. He let himself be pulled up the many stairs to the highest room of the castle, and they spent another day gazing into the too blue water.

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