Chapter 7

(A.N: Yay for a new chapter! It took me a while, because I kept on stopping…I had to think about how I wanted this part to play out. OOC warning! Dashes are time passing, or scene changes. "This means someone is singing." R&R?)

--

He was sure it was a dream. A damn good dream at that…But a dream no less. Not sure whether or not he should feel happy with what his mind had entertained him with as he slept, or depressed over the fact that it hadn't actually happened, Fai dragged himself out of bed. His thoughts were on Kurogane's little speech as he entered his shower. There was no way the raven would have said anything that the blonde remembered hearing.

So it hadn't been real.

Still…It was nice to pretend. The thought made him happy, and soon enough, he was humming.

--

As he came out of his washroom only half dressed, he walked to his radio. He turned it on and checked a few stations before he found a song he knew. It put him in good spirits to hear it too, it was one of those songs that you just had to dance to. He dried his hair quickly and turned up the volume. In no time, he was dancing all around his room, as he hunted for a shirt.

--

He wasn't sure if he was welcome here…But he wanted to see him. Yesterday had been so dream like, and he was still slightly embarrassed for having said the things that he'd said…But he didn't regret it.

He'd said what he meant, and he would not take it back.

He would also refuse to tell him that he'd snuck the spare key out of the blondes house so that he didn't have to buzzer his way back in. At least not today. Today he needed to be able to get to him without any obstacles.

He wasn't sure when he got into the building, or even up the two flights of stairs…But in no time at all, he was outside the males door. He knocked, but there wasn't an answer. Just loud music, and the sound of the male singing and giggling. He took a deep breath and tried opening the door. It seemed unusual that it wasn't locked, but he didn't let the thoughts take hold of him for long. He simply pushed the door open and stepped inside. When he'd closed the door behind himself, he saw who he was looking for.

Fai was dancing around the room, radio blasting, blonde hair still damp from a shower…And completely shirtless. The raven removed his shoes as silently as possible, and moved away from the doorway - keeping to the wall. When he was away from the shoes, he sat down, and waited to be noticed.

The blonde was amazing. His slender frame was perfection as he moved himself around the room. The raven didn't expect the next move. On time with the music, the male before him allowed himself to go down low, and come back up in a fluid movement. One you usually only saw on the big screen. As the blonde did this, he continued to sing the words:

"…Alone at the bar," and once he was up righted again, he returned to his former position of riffling through his closet. The angle in which he was standing, provided the raven - whose presence he was still oblivious to - to see the males back.

And what he saw confused him.

The were lines…Intricate lines that swirled across the males back in the strangest designs…

And it wasn't a tattoo.

--

Fai had done a rather seductive move, and he was personally glad no one had been present to see him dancing around like this. It wasn't something he liked to do around people. It was one of those things he'd rather do when no one was there to watch him, or judge him. And most importantly, there was no one to see his scars. His hideous scars that covered the entirety of his back.

As he continued with his wiggling around, he finally found a shirt. But at the same time that he was pulling it off of the hanger…Something wasn't right. He would swear he was being watched. As chills ran through him, he pulled the shirt close to his chest. Please…Don't let anyone be there…Especially because they could see…

He kept singing, to keep up the air of nothing being wrong,

"She wants to touch me, whoa! She wants to love me whoa-oh! She'll never leave me whoa-oh! Whoa-oh! Oh-oh!

Don't trust a hoe!" He closed his eyes and spun around as he sang,

"Never trust," his eyes opened,

"A hoe--oh my god…" He clutched the shirt closer to his chest. Not only had someone caught him dancing around to a ridiculous song about hoe trusting…But on top of that, they'd seen his scars. His grotesque scars…And to make matters worse…

…He was staring at Kurogane.

Realizing that the male was still watching him with confused and curious eyes, the blonde bolted into bathroom, slamming the door behind himself. He was in there a moment, struggling with the shirt, applying deodorant…Trying to breathe.

Kurogane…Of all people in the world, why did it have to be him? Why did he have to see how ugly Fai truly was?

Pulling on the shirt - which was useless now, because the damage was already done - the blonde sighed. He pulled the bathroom door open and wandered out to the main room. The raven hadn't budged. He still looked confused, and now there was a hint of worry in his eyes.

"…You okay?" The deep voice wondered aloud shortly after catching sight of the blonde.

"Fine," he answered, going to the radio and turning it off. He headed into his kitchen.

"Mad at me?"

"What for?" The blondes voice called out. He sounded upset…

"I don't know…Sneaking into your house…Catching you dancing around…?"

"…I'm fine. Confused as to how you got in here in the first place…But fine."

"I uh…I may have…Stolenthespare," Kurogane muttered, looking down to his socked feet. He was blushing a little. Good lord, he would never allow anyone else to see him in the ways that he let the blonde see him. He glanced to the kitchen doorway.

"Didn't make any copies and hand them out to your friends now, did you?" Fai teased half heartedly. He was smiling, but it didn't touch his eyes. It was a lying smile…A mask.

Something was terribly wrong.

"No," the raven mumbled the answer, standing. He leaned against the wall,

"So…What's bothering you then? If you're being honest about not being angry with me, that is."

"Nothing is, why do you ask?" Fake confusion. Fake. Fake.

A lying smile.

Irritation traveled through him quickly, but he shoved his anger aside. He would not get violent with Fai…Not unless it was absolutely, by all means, necessary. Instead, he worked his way over to him, and when he was in front of him, he allowed himself to set his scowl on him.

"You're lying. Something is wrong."

"I have no idea what you mean Kurogane."

"I have two pieces of proof to support me. So you mind as well stop lying."

The blonde re-entered his kitchen and went to get his kettle,

"Oh? And your evidence would be…?"

"Point one, which just occurred, would be the fact that you called me by name."

"I don't see that as proof--"

"--You used a nickname last time I saw you," the ravens voice cut him off.

A falter in the lying smile.

"And my second piece of evidence, would be that smile of yours. You have this big, fake smile plastered onto your face as though it might save you from whatever it is you're trying to get away from. It doesn't touch your eyes, at all. It just makes you look sad."

Fai put his kettle down on the counter. The smile fell away.

"The truth. What's wrong?" Kurogane leaned against the kitchens doorframe. The blonde stared down at his kettle. Sighing, he closed his eyes,

"You saw them…Didn't you…?" He paused for a moment before he decided to continue with the question,

"…The scars…"

"…" The raven smiled a little at this. If that was all that was bothering him, then he could relax again.

Nothing was truly wrong.

"Is that all?" He wondered aloud. Fai whipped around to face him. Kurogane didn't look bothered in the slightest. One eyebrow was raised in question, and two ruby orbs watched the blonde in confusion.

"…It doesn't…Bother you…?"

"What, having scars?"

He flinched unintentionally, and looked back to the kettle.

"…No. No, it doesn't bother me. No one is perfect."

"Most people don't have a back covered in scars either," the blonde answered, glaring at his kettle. He wasn't sure he wanted his tea anymore.

"But everyone is flawed," the raven pointed out,

"So you have scars on your back. Big deal. I've seen a lot worse."

"You have?" The voice was curious now.

"I've seen people with burnt faces…Raw, scarring skin on various parts of their bodies…I've seen people who've had their eyes gouged out…You name it, I've probably already seen it. And besides," he sighed,

"I've got my scars too. But mine are from scraps."

"Why do you fight people anyways?" The blonde wondered, turning to face the raven.

"They say things they shouldn't," he shrugged. Fai walked over to him slowly, until he was standing in front of him,

"Doesn't everyone do that though?" He questioned, smiling a bit - a real smile this time. He poked the raven in the chest,

"Well~?"

The ravens hands lifted, and cupped themselves around Fai's face. Liking the surprise that passed over the blondes features, he smiled, before lowering his head down to kiss the male gently.

--

Fai's eyes grew wide.

Was he still asleep? He was pretty sure he'd woken up already. Hadn't he gotten out of bed and showered? Had he collapsed somewhere? His lips were reacting to the kiss, and when the raven pulled away, he saw the expression on the blondes face and was instantly confused.

"What's wrong?"

"…Trying to figure out where I collapsed."

"…What?"

"I think I'm still sleeping," Fai explained. He wandered to into the main room of his house and saw his bed was empty. And he wasn't lying in the living room, or on the kitchen floor. He peeked into the bathroom, but it was empty too. Strange. Shouldn't he be able to see where he'd fallen?

"Are you feeling okay?" Kurogane was getting a little worried. The blonde had been checking his house, looking for himself.

"…Am I awake?"

"Yeah…"

"…I'm not dreaming?"

The raven sighed, relief washing through him. He leaned against the kitchen doorframe,

"Nope," he answered simply.

"…Oh…"

Kurogane was thinking again. The blonde didn't seem to know what he should do now that he was realizing that he wasn't dreaming.

"Ooi."

Blue met red.

"You mentioned collapsing, and that reminded me…Did you take your pills yet?"

Fai sighed and headed for his bedroom. He went through a drawer until he found what he was looking for. Taking out two pills, he wandered into the kitchen, poured himself a small glass of milk and showed the raven the pills. He placed them in his mouth, took a drink from the cup and then sighed once more,

"Happy?"

"Hey, your sister would be after me if I didn't make sure you were taking your medication," the raven reminded him.

"Now I'm trapped with Chi and you? Great. What have I set myself up for?" Fai wondered, taking another drink from his cup. It was bad enough that his sister hounded on him to take his medication. Now Kurogane was going to do it too?

At least he could escape Chi.

--

"How did you manage that anyways?"

"Manage what?" The blonde wondered, turning his head to look to the raven. He was sprawled out on his mattress. Lying on his stomach, with his head turned to watch the television. And now he was looking towards the dark haired beauty that was perched on his mattress next to him.

"Your scars," the raven murmured,

"I don't mind them…They're just so unusual…"

Fai smiled, turning his head back to the television,

"That's a bad story you know…Some of my history is rather…Unpleasant."

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"Hmm…I was…Fourteen. It's been almost four years since then."

"You're seventeen?"

"Mm-hm, for another couple of months at least. I remember that I was fourteen, only because I got the scars shortly after I lost…" The blonde trailed the sentence, cleared his throat, and spoke again,

"There were two guys at my school…And they caught up with me one day after school."

He could feel Kurogane grip the sheets in one hand.

"One of the guys grabbed me, and his friend kneed me in the stomach. We fought. My shirt got torn off, shredded. My pants got torn off too…And for a while, I was afraid I was going to be raped…"

The grip on the sheets was tighter.

"I got pinned to the ground, face down. They came prepared…One of them pulled out a tin of Sterno."

"Sterno?"

"It's a fuel, for small stoves and chafing dishes."

"…"

"And he dipped his finger into it…And drew designs on my back. I didn't know what he had, 'til I saw the tin. I kicked my legs, and tried to get him away…But by the time I was understanding…He was striking a match. Which he proceeded to place on my back. My skin literally melted off in some places…And they ran away. They left me to burn to death, but I was able to put out the flames. But only after the damage was done."

"…"

"I got prosthetic skin…But it was itchy a lot…They always had to strap me down. And now, it looks like…"

"…Why did they attack you in the first place?"

"…" It was Fai's turn to be silent. He picked up the remote control for the television and flipped through a couple of channels.

"Ooi."

There wasn't an answer.

"OOI--!"

"…Because I'm gay," the blonde whispered.

Kurogane froze. His scowl deepened, and his voice turned rougher than usual.

"Do you remember their names?"

"…No…" It was a lie. But it had been nearly four years. Why seek vengeance now?

"…Does…Does it hurt?"

"Not anymore. It's stronger now, so I don't feel it. It's just ugly."

"…Do you mind me looking at them?" The raven felt bad for asking, but he hadn't gotten a proper look at the markings. The blonde didn't answer, but he sat up and removed his shirt, placing it on his bedside table. He then returned to his former position, so that he could watch television still.

"Spreads to your arms a bit too," Kurogane murmured, tracing along the lines.

"Yeah…"

"You know…Maybe you should go see a Doctor."

"Hm?"

"Well…See a Doctor, and see if you're able to turn this into a tattoo. Because maybe you don't like how it looks as scarred prosthetic skin…But maybe you wouldn't be so bothered by it if you turned it into a tattoo."

"You really think it would make a good tattoo?" Fai wondered, turning his head to face the raven once more.

"Yeah…I mean, I don't mind it the way it looks now. But you do. And maybe if it becomes a tattoo, you won't be so self conscious."

The blonde blushed a little, and looked away,

"If I go to the Doctor…"

"…I'll go with you…If you want me to," the raven mumbled, looking a little embarrassed.

"…Thanks Kuro-rin."

--

(A.N: Woo yay for a new chapter! How gruesome was the idea behind what happened to Fai? Ne, ne? I have a warped mind. And the only reason I used Sterno for this, is because I remembered it from a C.S.I episode. -And of course I mean the C.S.I, with Grissom and all the GOOD cast members…Not that Miami, or New York crap.- Any C.S.I. fans who know what I'm talking about? Anyways R&R?)