A/N: The prose/lyrics accompanying the fic is an original creation of mine. Dedicated to Dew- san. Sorry Dew- san, this is the best I could come up with after all this time . . .

Have It Your Way

A mute smile fixed pretentiously, you hoard your right to be lonely.
Maybe it feels good, feels bad, feels not but it sure as hell doesn't feel free.
When our eyes meet over the crowd, in the silence you try to say,
'Don't comprehend, don't interfere, don't want to beg you to stay . . .'

I give up; I give in,
I don't know where you've been,
You're right in front of me,
But watch so distantly.

You look at me, to set you free
But you're always poised to flee
Then if it's hard to stay
You can just have it your way . . .

They were lounging idly at the café, an oasis of coffee- scented calm in the harsh heat of the cramped metropolitan world they temporarily lingered in. 'They' currently consisted of the looming figure of a fully- armoured ninja in midnight black laced with bright crimson and a mage dressed in a soft, white suit bordered in blue, leaning casually against a coat trimmed in fur and covered in looping runic patterns. Their other three companions, a young teenage couple in an awkward budding love and an excitable magical white bun, were off somewhere to do the usual routine upon reaching a new world. Neither ninja nor mage felt inclined to play gooseberry and tactfully declined to follow. Now the dark ninja Kurogane wished the white bun hadn't been so thick skinned to play chaperon. Resident talking white bun Mokona would at least have served as a distraction from the self- consciousness.

Self- consciousness not from the stares they were getting over their resemblance to living chess pieces but rather from a look that wasn't directed at him. A look that was positioned right before him but that gazed down at a mug of coffee that wafted streams of vapour. Kurogane's own garnet eyes narrowed in a scowl as he watched his mage friend stare at his own cup, lost in thought with that look fixed on his pale complexion. And the ninja couldn't turn his scowl away now that it officially bothered him. And of course, the fair- haired Fai was completely oblivious to the agitation his hooded eyes were guilty of.

Brilliantly blue and glazed with cheer, they were at once soft like a gently wilting flower while being hard and polished like sapphire glass. The hint of human texture in the weariness behind a slippery screen of apparent good humour was an affront to the aloof, bad tempered glare Kurogane kept. Next to that glazed happiness, Kurogane's own stand- offish aura was a juvenile cry for attention. It was a genuine solitary shadow that quietly set its bearer apart from the world. It was a genuine loneliness that was a silent cry for help.

And right now, and much too frequently, he was the only one who could hear this unspoken plea. It grated on his nerves so infuriatingly that it was impossible to ignore.

"What is it?" Kurogane growled jerking Fai from his reverie and bringing sapphire- bright eyes wide and surprised to cast upon his dark look.

Fai broke into a small smile.

"Wah . . . what's made Kuro- tan so angry?" Fai sang.

The ninja let the gentle teasing pass unwilling to waste his energy on death threats. Fai shrugged off threats just as well as he dodged blows. However, there was no harm in deepening his scowl.

"Why are you staring at your coffee in that way?" he persisted.

"Way?" Fai enquired in pleasant incomprehension.

Kurogane's expression darkened but instead of snarling he shut his eyes and sighed.

"If you don't want to talk about it it's fine," he murmured into his own mug, raising it for a sip.

Fai's pleasant smile didn't flicker as his eyes narrowed thoughtfully, watching his companion make a face at the taste.

"Still don't like it Kuro- pii?" he enquired in a cheerfulness that didn't reach his eyes.

Kuro flicked his gaze up at the smiling mage and grunted. He had yet to acquire a taste for coffee and right now, longed for something stronger but he wasn't about to handle an inebriated Fai and thus opted to abstain.

"When the kids and our unforgettable magical bun get back we should probably get somewhere to rest for a bit. Hopping from dimension to dimension can take its toll on the body," Fai suggested as his fingers fingered the rim of his coffee mug.

Kurogane grunted again and rolled his shoulders back, wincing as he did so. Fai smiled knowingly.

"Back muscles a little tense?" Fai asked slyly, "I'm very good with these things."

Kurogane rolled his eyes and resettled his shoulders.

"Keep your hands to yourself," he replied brusquely.

There was that small smile again, almost apologetic that it had intruded and Kurogane could practically see the mischief fading from those sapphire eyes and the glassy barrier surfacing in its fading light.

"Alright," Fai murmured in that self- deprecating smile.

Kurogane's arm moved convulsively but he stilled it just as his fingers brushed the tips of Fai's. Fai glanced at his dark- clad companion in surprise. Kurogane glared at him.

"You can put your hands anywhere you want," he muttered in a low growl.

There was a brief pause in which the sounds of the city accentuated the awkwardness.

"What . . . a- are you t- talking about Kuro- chii?" Fai stuttered shivering with barely contained laughter.

Kurogane twitched, cheeks colouring.

"Ku- ro- rin- is- blush- ing!" Kurogane spun around and glared at the round, white magical bun that grinned mischievously up at him.

"You . . ." Kurogane growled making a swipe at Mokona who dodged, giggling.

Fai raised his gaze and noted the placidly smiling Syaoran and Sakura who were quite used to the outbursts between the ninja and Mokona by now.

"We're back," They chimed in unplanned unison and mildly surprised, smiled at each other.

Fai hid a grin and a sigh.

"You're back," he greeted with a fond smile.

Sakura blinked and fixed the fair mage with curious emerald eyes.

"What's made you so happy Fai- san?" She asked, easing into the mahogany chair Syaoran drew back for her.

"Yes Fai- san, your smile looks especially radiant today, " Syaoran added with polite inquisitiveness, "did something special happen?"

Fai glanced at Kurogane who with typical single- minded frustration was completely absorbed with attacking the slippery white bun and grinned.

"Perhaps it did."

The streets spam me incessantly, you don't even share a brief word
You think your silence can numb the hurt but you call when you don't and I heard.
When your laughter's not in your eyes, and your smiles are just pretty lies
You look to me, to set you free, yet try so hard to deny . . .

I give up; I give in,
I don't know where you've been,
You're right in front of me,
But watch so distantly.

I'm in your eyes, don't look surprised
If you'll only let me try,
And who can really say
You could just have it your way . . .

The End