Black Steel and Worldly Wisdom

Opinions

By Mystic Dawn

Summary: (AU) Kurogane unwisely agrees to go shopping with Tomoyo. Picture a surly and reluctant man getting hauled around from one shop to the next by his girlfriend and you'll see what we're talking about.

"Come on, Kurogane!" Tomoyo turned, her long black hair swirling around her, and waved at him to get a move-on. "If we don't hurry we're going to miss the bus!"

Sighing resignedly, Kurogane trudged onwards, inwardly wondering what on earth had possessed him to agree to this unbearable torture he was being forced to endure. He had agreed rashly, without thinking her proposal through and without fully realizing the consequences. He probably hadn't been thinking clearly when he accepted. Yes, that had to be it, he concluded, stuffing his hands in his pockets. What else would have made him do otherwise?

Kurogane had agreed to go shopping with his girlfriend.

If his girlfriend were someone other than Tomoyo, perhaps he would have been able to bluntly refuse her tentative suggestion that they take a stroll downtown to 'browse around.' He had quirked an eyebrow at her over their milkshakes, his mouth immediately opening to decline, but all of his defenses had wavered when he looked into her luminous violet eyes. He always had difficulty refusing her whenever they made eye-contact. So, with a sinking feeling of trepidation and ill-ease, he had accepted.

Looking up at the bus screeching to a stop, Kurogane stopped thinking back and climbed up after Tomoyo. After securing them two comfortable and roomy seats in the back (he had to physically threaten a seedy-looking drunkard to hand them over) he found the chance to reflect back on what he had done once he had fully realized what he had gotten himself into. Having no other alternative, he had rushed to the only two people he knew who had girlfriends like him; Syaoran and Fay (well, Fay didn't really have a girlfriend, but whatever). Syaoran had advised him to simply nod and agree if Tomoyo asked him his opinion on something, no matter what. Fay had advised him jovially to simply accept whatever Tomoyo would want to buy, no matter how much strain his wallet would have to sustain.

"Is this what you two usually do when you go shopping with your... dates?" Kurogane had demanded, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.

Fay and Syaoran had immediately responded, "Yes," at the same time, which only managed to convince Kurogane that he really didn't have a clue about the whole going-shopping-with-my-date procedure.

I hope I don't regret this, he thought wearily as he crossed his arms over his chest. But it's not like I have any other leads to follow. Man, this is way worse than just taking her out to dinner! At least I had a plan to follow whenever we went out! What if I mess up? I don't know a thing about shopping with girls!

"Kurogane? Are you all right?"

"What?" Kurogane said quickly, snapping out of his reverie and turning his head to look at his girlfriend.

Tomoyo looked back at him with concern, her brow wrinkling. "You're looking rather ill. Did you eat something that didn't agree with you?"

Kurogane sweat-dropped and looked away, a faint blush creeping up on his face. "It's nothing," he replied shortly.

Tomoyo frowned slightly, but made no comment as she sat back against her seat. She had only shot a cursory glance out of the window when she suddenly sat up and tugged on his sleeve. "Come on, Kurogane. This is where we get off."

Suppressing a groan, Kurogane followed after her, wondering dully whether he had brought enough cash with him. He wasn't exactly keen on the prospect of having to resort to his credit cards. He would prefer it if he could see just how much money would be slipping through his fingers with this so-called 'downtown stroll.'

"Oh! Look at that!" Tomoyo squealed happily, dragging him by the forearm to point excitedly at an expensive-looking dress in one of the display windows of a store. "It's the latest design by Hokuto Sumeragi! She's a very talented designer, isn't she?"

Squaring his shoulders, Kurogane decided that it was time to follow some of the advice he had been given as he didn't have a clue what Tomoyo was talking about. "Oh, yeah..." He dipped his head once in a nod. "The color is nice..."

"It's beautiful! Those sashes really give it a mystical flair, don't they? But she's rather overdone it with all of those ruffles," she added professionally.

"If you say so..."

Tomoyo took his hand and led him along beside her as they walked down the busy street, talking animatedly about ideas she had come up with some designs of her own. She had been so caught up with the designer dress that it was a wonder that she didn't drive Kurogane crazy with all of her chatter. Kurogane hid a small smile behind his nonchalant expression. Tomoyo would talk about the most mundane things so passionately that he could not help but admire her character. If it concerned things that she was interested in, her breath would usually be in need of catching up with her quick mind.

They stopped sometimes to look at display windows, and if they contained accessories or baubles to Tomoyo's tastes, they would enter the store and browse around, or else simply continue on until they reached the next store. In one of these cases, Tomoyo had asked Kurogane his opinion on a rather flimsy-looking pair of sunglasses that he was certain would break after two days' use. But he had simply shrugged and said that they looked nice on her.

After a couple of hours, they had stopped at a small plaza to rest for a few minutes, and Kurogane stole the opportunity to better examine his wallet. He suppressed a wince after his careful calculations. Nearly two hundred dollars had already flown out of the window. All right, so Tomoyo hadn't been able to resist buying a pair of shoes, two blouses, a new handbag, the flimsy sunglasses, and an all too revealing mini-skirt that he really hadn't wanted her to buy, but could not really disagree to her purchase if he wanted to go about this right. He supposed that he could live with it, inwardly determined not to agree to shopping again with her anytime soon (and inwardly hoping that she would never wear that skirt in front of others).

But it was the last straw when, twenty minutes later, Tomoyo was looking at her reflection, tentatively fingering an colorful hat, which was a very bright shade of orange.

"No." He said it in a strong voice and resolutely shook his head.

Tomoyo blinked and turned to look at him. "No?"

"No," he repeated firmly, taking the hat from her and replacing it on its shelf. "It's horrible. I won't have you wearing such a garishly-colored thing on your head."

"Then which one do you like?" she asked him.

Kurogane peered down at the assortment of hats on display. On an impulse, he plucked a white straw hat with a light-blue ribbon wound around it, its two long ends dangling down. "This one," he said, placing it delicately on her head.

Tomoyo regarded herself in the mirror. "Isn't it a bit... plain?" she asked him critically.

He frowned slightly in confusion. "Plain? I don't know about that. All I know is that makes you more beautiful." It took a few seconds for him to register what he just blurted, and when he did, he flushed scarlet.

Tomoyo blushed slightly and giggled. "All right," she conceded. "I'll take this one, then."

After another hour of browsing around (accompanied by Kurogane's wallet steadily emptying), they had finally stopped at a small café for a rest before taking the bus to get back home. Tomoyo sifted around her ice cream with her spoon, her small brow furrowed in thought.

Kurogane looked at her in concern. "What's up?"

Tomoyo looked up in surprise. "Oh, nothing," she smiled. "I was just thinking..." She spooned some ice cream into her mouth. "You know what?" she suddenly asked him.

"What?"

"I really enjoyed shopping with you," she said, smiling again.

"You did?" he asked in surprise.

She nodded. "You actually had an opinion on the things I wanted to buy, and I liked that."

Kurogane made to say something, remembering the advice that his friends had given him, but he stopped himself. "Wait a minute... you liked it that I had an opinion?"

"Certainly! Sakura-chan and Ashura-kun hate it when they go shopping with their boyfriends. They've told me that they hardly pay any attention to what they buy. It's a feeling of neglect that, I admit, I was anticipating in you, but you proved me wrong."

Kurogane clamped his mouth shut and slouched in his chair. He shouldn't have listened to their stupid advice, he thought angrily. He knew it! He should have just followed his instincts as usual.

"But I'm surprised that you let me buy that skirt," she added with a mischievous smile.

Kurogane's mouth twitched slightly. "The skirt's not that bad," he said gruffly, shrugging. "Just... a little inappropriate for daily use." He inwardly cursed himself for not thinking up of a better excuse.

"I know," she admitted, holding him in her gaze as she leaned forwards. "I'll only wear it for you," she whispered in his ear.

Now that caught him by surprise, and he found himself blushing furiously again.

"You should see your face when you blush," she told him, laughing as she stood up and took a few of the shopping bags. "Now, why don't we get going?"

Kurogane nodded, grabbing the rest of the bags after he paid for the ice cream and followed after her. And as he followed her, looking down at her warmly with a rare smile on his face, he silently decided that being himself was really all that he needed to do when he was in Tomoyo's company. And he made a promise to himself that when the time came for him to take another important step in their relationship, he would most certainly not ask for any advice. Especially from Syaoran and Fay!