Yay! Am back with a new chapter! I tried putting everything you asked into this fic, and I thought that it worked out pretty well. So, enjoy!
Fai poured a mixture into the beaker slowly, making sure not to spill any of that stuff on the lab table. He was alone in the laboratory, doing something practically pointless and wasting off his free period into mixing chemicals he didn't know of, but he couldn't help it. He needed a distraction, something that could tear his thoughts away from a certain red-eyed man.
The blonde's heart tugged painfully in his chest at the thought of Kurogane. Trying to keep himself from crying, he went over to the shelf and took another bottle of chemical, proceeding to pour that into the mixture. How long had been since the day they met? Weeks? Months? He wasn't sure, but it took that much time for him to realize that slowly, without knowing, he had fallen in love with the other man.
Fai laughed bitterly. All it took was some chasing and running, yells and squeals, smiles and scowls as well as a few rare, caring moments to show whatever was within that tough exterior of the other man to make him fall in love with him. How soft he was. Har-har. But he didn't want to admit to Kurogane that he was in love with him. God, surely that man will hate him if he told him, and his heart will certainly break even more. No, he would not admit that he had grown attached to the man, not when he wouldn't say the same thing. He was merely a friend to Kurogane, nothing else, just a friend, even though it was a rather unique friendship born from the strangest circumstances.
So he just smiled, hoping his smile would make Kurogane happy. Ashura-san liked his smile, and hopefully the gym teacher would too. His heart tugged harder at the mention of Ashura. He wondered how he was, hopefully he was still on the run and safe, and happy. Happy, unlike Fai, unable to pull himself away from his current situation.
Was it so wrong to fall in love with another man?
Fai wiped his eyes, refusing to let his tears fall. Kurogane was a light to Fai. He had been wandering in darkness for far too long, lost, unable to find his way out. Kurogane was like his life, his hope, his direction, pulling him away from the darkness, a dot of light in the cave of hopelessness and despair. But Fai was afraid that the light would reject him, leaving him in the darkness, alone. The thought made Fai shudder. Loneliness, his biggest fear. The blonde himself, too, was afraid to reach out, afraid accept, afraid of the possibility that this might all be an illusion and lie, just… afraid, after so long in his unending grief and loneliness.
… But if Kurogane really didn't love him, why did he care so much?
A sizzling noise pulled the chemistry teacher from his own thoughts. The mixture in the beaker was bubbling, as if boiling, making strange sizzling and hissing noise. He had been so deep in thought that he didn't even know what he was mixing, but now, staring at the mixture, the blonde was certain he was looking at death itself.
Oh shit.
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Kurogane poured himself a cup of coffee before settling back on his chair, sighing.
After meeting Fai, his world was practically turned around.
From the very beginning, his life was always clear to him. He always knew what he had in life, what he would do in life, what he wanted in life. Everything was so clear to him, like a piece of untainted glass, with nothing to stop him from his tracks, like emotions. To him, emotions were a nuisance.
But after meeting Fai, his life… became shards of glass, littered everywhere, mixing all his views in life, blending into something strangely new. In the most twisted way possible, he and Fai became fast friends, which over the months turned into an unspoken yet deep friendship between the two; even Kurogane had to admit that. The thing that disturbed Kurogane in the first place was that the chemistry teacher refused to tell him anything regarding his life before coming to Japan, besides the blowing-up-the-lab-81-times bit. Whenever the question was raised, Fai would always find a way to manipulate the situation into the way he wanted, or find a distraction to avoid the question, much to Kurogane's annoyance. And as time passed, the gym teacher was able to see more of Fai than he ever imagined. More was going on in the blonde's head than he could possibly think of, though that didn't explain the inexplicable sadness and anguish screaming in his eyes when he caught Fai alone, not knowing someone was in the room with him or that no one was looking. The smiles he wore everyday were all fake, something unnatural tainting in Fai's features, never reaching his eyes.
He wondered why Fai was always so sad. He wondered why the blonde always smiled despite his misery. Unknowingly, Fai became a challenge to him, a challenge to find out and help fix the man's problem, to make him smile because he was happy, but the one thing that unnerved the gym teacher more than anything was the reason why he bothered to care.
He knew the reason, but refused to acknowledge it.
Suddenly, a faint 'BOOM!' was heard, and Kurogane shook from his chair as his pencils on the table rolled on this table and dropped on the floor from the explosion. The man's eyes widened.
Shit, the blonde have better not done something stupid.
Totally forgetting his coffee, the gym teacher ran out of the office and into the hall. Students were running towards the sound of the explosion, a few were even poking their heads out of class, wanting to know what had taken place. Kurogane cursed and ran faster down a familiar path, passing the running students easily, heart pounding loudly and painfully in his broad chest, praying for Fai's safety. To his horror, the explosion came from a place oh-so familiar.
The chemistry lab.
Thick smoke filled the lab, refusing to let anyone see whatever was happening inside, slowly clouding the area, setting off the fire alarm. Students were panicking, asking each other of what had happened. Ignoring them, Kurogane ran into the lab.
The place was covered in smoke, blocking his vision. The smell was horrible, forcing Kurogane to cover his nose and close his watering eyes. He could see a faint glow on the other side of the room through the smoke, knowing that there was a fire, but where…
The man's heart skipped a beat when he saw an unmoving figure sprawled on the floor near the fire. He sprinted across the room, ignoring everything else, instead focusing on the figure. He swore his heart stopped when the sight of Fai filled his vision.
Harsh burns covered his body as he lay unconscious on the floor, pale and unmoving. His lab coat was burned through, and Kurogane caught sight of red and white. Obviously, Fai's wounds were bad. Kurogane was sure there were more injuries underneath the chemistry teacher's clothes. Carefully, the red-eyed man picked up the lithe blonde, almost surprised at how little he weigh, or how strong Kurogane himself was. He rushed out of the lab in time, only to be greeted by the sight of other teachers and Yuuko herself. Upon seeing the small man in his arms, some of the girls screamed, and the sound of distressed chattering filled the hall.
A few teachers ran to call an ambulance as the gym teacher stared at the other's face. His usually smooth face was pale and covered in burns, his eyes closed, his expression surprisingly serious and somehow pained in unconsciousness. Kurogane cradled the blonde closer to himself, the sudden urge to protect was overwhelming.
After some time, the gruff man finally raised his head to meet the headmistress', surprised to find her looking solemnly at the both of them, something similar to tears reflected in those deep, deep eyes.
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It took almost 10 minutes before the ambulance and fire fighters arrived. By the time, every living being in the school was already outside the school compound after being evacuated under Yuuko's orders. Reluctantly, he handed Fai over the doctors (are they doctors?), insisting that he was allowed to follow. Thankfully, they all agreed, and so Kurogane ended up waiting for hours in the waiting room of a nearby hospital, worried. He stood up when the doctor tending to Fai appeared from a door.
"How is he?" he asked, almost afraid of the answer.
"Relax, your friend's gonna be fine," answered Doctor Kyle with a smile. "His injuries are rather serious, and it'll probably take him some time to recover, but he's sure to live, though I'm afraid you can't see him just yet. We're still checking on him to make sure he's going to be stable, so I suggest you take a stroll while waiting," he said with a soft smile.
So now, Kurogane was walking on the streets for no apparent reason, trying to clear his thoughts. It wasn't long until the gym teacher passed a shop selling flowers, and frowned. He remembered Fai telling him that he loved Saturn Begonias, but Kurogane never really paid any attention to that. Maybe if he bought something for Fai…
Wait, why would he, the Kurogane, buy something for someone just because the other loved it? He was Kurogane, for goodness sake, not some pansy assed hippie! Why would he buy something for the blonde just because he was hurt?
The answer was actually clear to him, just like everything else.
Because Fai would love it. Because Fai would smile upon seeing the gift. Fai would be happy despite the injuries.
And at that moment, he finally admitted that unknowingly, he had fallen in love with Fai.
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Pain. That was all that filled his mind when it started functioning again. His body refused to move and for a moment, his mind and body was overwhelmed by the pain.
Slowly, things became clearer as he drifted away from his less-than-half-awaked mind into consciousness. Begrudgingly, Fai opened his eyes.
White filled his vision. Almost automatically, Fai knew he was in a hospital room as a memory tigged at the back of his mind. IVs were connected to his body (or is it nose?) and he was lying on a hospital bed. Fai's mind was moving very slowly and sluggishly, making him unable to comprehend a few things around him, after having just woken up after God knows how long.
"So you're awake?"
The man turned his head slowly at the voice, suddenly feeling sleepy again. "Kuro…?"
"Don't ever do something stupid like that again! Do you have any idea how long you were asleep?! Even the witch was starting to worry!"
Suddenly, everything from the other day in the lab came back to him. "Wha-… how long was I asleep?" he asked weakly.
"About 5 whole days," answered the other man, gritting his teeth. "What the hell were you thinking back then?! Were you trying to kill yourself?" he asked angrily.
Fai didn't answer, focusing his attention on the Saturn Begonias beside the bed instead. He was sure as hell that the hospital wouldn't be giving him flowers for no reason, and there was no one else who knew he loved Saturn Begonias, no one except…
The pale man turned back to the other.
"Did you… buy that? For me?"
"Yeah, but only because it would shut you up, if not you would be whining on how poorly I treated you and start creating plans with Yuuko again," answered the gruff man, staring into those sapphire orbs. He closed his eyes for a moment before continuing. "Just… don't go doing something like that again."
"Kuro-chi…"
"What?"
"Why did you buy those flowers?" asked Fai, staring back into those red orbs, something akin to determination in his eyes.
"I already told you, I-"
"The truth, Kurogane. I want the truth."
The gym teacher's eyes widened at the mention of his whole name. No cute nicknames, no silly additions, nothing. Just Fai, staring at Kurogane dead in the eyes, trying to read his expression.
And that was when Kurogane realized he can't ignore the fact any longer. And he knew he wasn't the only one feeling the same way either. Fai wanted, no, needed to know the truth. Now, he finally understood that the sadness in his eyes was deeply intertwined with something he experienced a long time ago, when his parents died.
Loneliness.
That was why he had been looking at him with such hope and fear.
Instantly, the gruff man walked forward, taking large steps as Fai watched warily, suspicious and afraid. Was Kurogane going to hit him? Was he going to hurt him? Was he-
The blonde's thoughts were cut off when he felt warm lips against his. Utterly shocked, Fai didn't responded at first, but it didn't take long until the smaller man kissed back shyly and softly. He could feel Kurogane wrapping his arms around him and bringing him closer to the other's body. After a few moments, they broke up, panting with the lack of oxygen.
"Because I'm in love with you," answered Kurogane.
Slowly, a smile formed in Fai's lips. The smile was small and rather crooked, but it matched his eyes. The gym teacher took in the sight in with both happiness and surprise, cherishing it, wishing that beautiful smile could last forever.
"I love you too," Fai managed softly, smiling wider, leaning his head on Kurogane's chest, his eyes drooping.
"Idiot," Kurogane muttered. "Just go to sleep already," he said, wrapping his arms tighter around the other.
And Fai did, all pain, grief and despair forgotten, filled with nothing but warmth.
It was a beautiful day.
Sorry if this chapter isn't so nice! I was writing this in a hurry so it might not be written so well. Hope you enjoyed it!
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