It was with a sinking sensation in his stomach that Kurogane greeted Fai's announcement. This was usual. Anything the damn mage looked so happy about always had dire consequences for him. (The worst had been Sakura and Syaoran's birthday a few weeks ago. Sakura was still assuring him anxiously that he'd looked lovely, really, and it had been a wonderful party.)

"I counted up yesterday and did you know we've been travelling together for a year now?" The mage grinned round at them all; Kurogane edged towards the door. "I think we should celebrate, don't you?"

"Mokona agrees!" chirped the meat bun.

"Kurocchi's going to help me bake a cake," Fai informed them before turning to pin Kurogane with a glance. "Isn't he?"

Kurogane cursed under his breath. He'd almost been out the door.

-

"I think I like the strawberry cake best," said the idiot thoughtfully, licking the tip of his finger and turning the page. He was seated on top of the counter, reading the recipe books and swinging his legs.

"Fine. What do we need?" Kurogane's patience was already fraying at the edges, mostly because of the apron Fai had insisted he wear. At least it was plain white. Off-white. It didn't really matter.

"Two hundred and twenty-five grams of sweet biscuits…" Kurogane could feel the pressure building behind his temples. It occurred to him as he was getting out the last ingredient, a carton of double cream, that Fai wasn't wearing an apron. He pointed this out.

"Oh, I'm not going to be cooking," the bastard told him serenely.

"WHAT?"

"I don't know how, Kuro-po," he explained, smiling charmingly at him. Kurogane was unimpressed.

"What – " he began, but Fai cut him off.

"Have you washed your hands, Kuro-rin?"

"Yes, I've washed my – don't call me that!"

"Indeed. Now line that cake tin with waxed paper…"

"Get off my work surface," Kurogane growled, giving it up as a bad job.

-

Fai closed the recipe book with one finger holding it open at the right page. He leant forward, tapping Kurogane on the shoulder with his free hand. "How is it that Kuro-yan is so good at baking cakes?"

Kurogane gritted his teeth and carried on stirring.

"Kuro-wun?"

Kurogane exhaled heavily. "If I tell you, will you stop talking?"

"Why, Kuro-chin. One would almost think you didn't like my conversation." Fai tilted his head to one side and received a scorching glare that should have charred his bones.

"…Tomoyo-hime."

Fai blinked theatrically. "I'm sorry, Kuro-fu. I didn't quite catch that."

"I'm not saying it again," he grumbled. At some point in their journey, Fai and Tomoyo-hime would meet. He could only hope that somehow he could dodge their machinations.

Hope was a fine thing, as Tomoyo-hime always said.

-

Kurogane glared at the floor as Sakura scraped up the last forkful of her piece of cake.

"It's really nice, Kurogane-san!"

He looked at her smile and gave a short nod of acknowledgement. "Hn." Only the way he folded his arms betrayed any of his satisfaction.

"Ah, I'm glad, Sakura-san." All he'd done was call out the instructions and it hadn't occurred to Kurogane until afterwards that the bastard had run a café and probably knew perfectly well how to bake a cake and had just preferred to make Kurogane do it. "And so is Kuro-ti." Why did he always have to bring him into it, anyway?

"Don't call me that," he snarled, partly out of habit but mostly because he'd had it up to here with Fai today.

"He's just too embarrassed to admit it," Fai finished in a confiding but very loud whisper. He laughed as Kurogane chased him out of the room, roaring.