A/N: I'm sorry if you were hoping that the next installment would be a continuation of the new miniseries but I'm having a bit of trouble figuring out what to do with that one at the moment. Don't worry, I haven't abandoned it. I'm just taking a little break.
So, a definition of "vestment", from the usual source: vestment /vestment/ n. 1any of the official robes of clergy, choristers, etc., worn during divine service, esp. a chasuble. 2 a garment, esp. an official or state robe.
Vestment
Even before they entered that cursed clothing shop, Kurogane's heart and stomach were clenched with dread. He hated shopping, and clothing was quite possibly the most boring thing on earth to shop for. Well, there was that time when Tomoyo had tricked him into shopping for fabric with her; now that had been two hours of sheer, unwarranted torture. Give him whipping, hard labor, screws to the eyeballs, bamboo under the fingernails… anything but fabric shopping with Tomoyo. But he didn't like to think about that. It made him feel ill just to remember it.
Kurogane had the sinking feeling, however, that this experience might be almost as bad. For one thing, it was just him and Fai on this little venture, definitely not his preferred company. Why couldn't the kid have come along instead of Fai? Kurogane was pretty sure that this shopping thing would be a lot less horrendous if he had Syaoran along instead. But Syaoran had been sleeping when they left and Fai had insisted that they let him rest. "Besides," Fai had said, "Mommy would like some time alone with Daddy." Barf!
Secondly, picking out clothes for himself was one thing, but this time they also had to choose something for Syaoran and Sakura and he had the sinking feeling that Fai might come across something "absolutely adorable" for Mokona that he would insist that they just had to buy. Having to pick something out for Sakura would be bad enough. What if the clerk who was ringing up their purchases thought that he was some kind of weirdo cross-dresser and was buying the dress for himself? He didn't think his manliness could take that kind of abuse.
"The clothes in this country are a lot like the ones we wore in Jade, aren't they?" Fai observed as they combed the bustling streets for a suitable clothing store.
Kurogane just grunted disinterestedly in agreement. All he wanted was to get this unpleasantness over with.
"What's wrong, Kurokuro?" Fai asked pleasantly. "Is something bothering you? You seem angry."
"I don't like shopping," the ninja grumbled sullenly.
The magician laughed and then, to Kurogane's horror, took his arm affectionately. Kurogane gritted his teeth but didn't bother trying to shake Fai off. He was pretty sure that would only make him hold on tighter.
"Silly doggie!" Fai purred, nuzzling his cheek against his companion's captive arm. "It will be fun! And Kuronpyu always looks so handsome in his new clothes!"
Kurogane could feel himself blushing slightly, so he huffed irritably and turned his head away so that Fai wouldn't see.
"Ah, how about that store, Kurorin?" Fai suggested, pointing at a clothing shop a little ways ahead of them.
Kurogane gave it a once-over and shrugged in indifference. "Whatever."
"We might even find something for Mokona!" the blond chirped excitedly.
Damn. He had been hoping that maybe Fai wouldn't think of that.
"Tch. Like they'll have anything in that manjuu's size," he snorted doubtfully.
"But look, Kuropiko; it says 'fashion for the whole family'," Fai pointed out. "I'm sure they'll have something for all of our children."
"Don't make that thing one of the kids!" Kurogane growled. "At least call it a pet!"
"Hmm? So Kurotan is finally accepting his role as daddy?" Fai asked hopefully.
"OF COURSE NOT, YOU BASTARD!!" Kurogane snarled. "QUIT BEING SO DAMN STUPID!!"
"Oh, just wait until I tell Syaoran kun and Sakura chan!" Fai sang. "They'll be so happy!"
The warrior opened his mouth to retaliate but Fai put a finger to his lips, using his other hand to pull open the door. "Hush now, Daddy. No yelling in the store or you'll get thrown out."
Kurogane bit his tongue angrily, swallowing the rest of his angry retorts.
"Wow, this store sure has a lot of stuff, huh?" the wizard marveled, taking in the vast array of colorful clothing spread out before them.
"I'm going over here, then," Kurogane said, pointing to the men's department. "And I'll tell you right now, I sure as hell am not gonna be the one to pick out the princess's clothes."
"Ok, I'll choose something for Sakura chan," Fai agreed. "You can get Syaoran kun's, then, alright?"
Kurogane grumbled a reluctant acquiescence and left Fai to his work.
Ugly. Ugly. Ugly… dammit! Why did all the clothes in this world have to be so freaking prissy?! He knew he didn't really have much grounds for complaint, to be completely honest. But most of this stuff was better suited to pretty boys like Fai than real men like Kurogane. Didn't they carry anything simple and elegant and black? The ninja wasn't interested in all this high-fashion bullshit. It had even taken him a little while to find something for Syaoran, and he was pretty sure the kid wasn't as particular about what he would wear as he himself was.
Kurogane glanced inconspicuously over the racks of clothing to see how Fai was getting along. He nearly gagged when he saw the blond holding two very girly dresses up in the air for comparison. He knew that the dress was for Sakura but if he hadn't already been aware of that, he wouldn't have put it past the mage to be looking them over for his own benefit. It only mortified him further when Fai caught him staring and shouted to him across the mostly-empty store.
"Yoo hoo! Kuropin! Which dress do you think is cuter?"
"HOW THE HELL SHOULD I KNOW?!" Kurogane snapped back, his face beet red. "I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THAT KIND OF CRAP!!"
The other customers looked between them curiously, wondering what in the world was going on between them.
"Aww, quit acting so shy, Daddy, and help Mommy pick out a dress for our daughter!" Fai trilled happily.
At that point, the other customers, who were still rather confused, decided that they would be happier not knowing what was going on between that pair and just did their best to tune them out.
"CUT IT OUT WITH THE 'DADDY' CRAP!!" Kurogane raged. Desperate to excuse himself from the awkward silence that ensued, he grabbed something random off the clothing rack in front of him and stomped off to the dressing room.
Fai looked up in mild surprise when Kurogane suddenly appeared at his side with his and Syaoran's new outfits draped over his arm. Judging by the frustration on Kurogane's face as he had been looking through the clothing racks, Fai had guessed that he wasn't very happy with his options and would therefore take quite a bit longer to decide. Yet here the swordsman was, standing beside him, both his assigned outfits chosen and waiting for Fai to make his decision.
"Aren't you done yet?" Kurogane grumbled. "What the hell's taking you so long?"
"Hmm… well, Mommy wanted to be sure to pick something Daddy would like, so I have to make my decision carefully," Fai grinned.
"Tch. Why the hell should I give a shit about what you're wearing?" he sulked, though his cheeks reddened slightly at the thought.
"Are you saying you'd rather have me go naked, Kurochii?" the magician giggled.
"N-NO!! DON'T BE SUCH A DUMB ASS!!" Kurogane retorted angrily, flushing at the thought.
"No? Why so interested then?"
"I'm not; I just wanna know how long until we can get the hell out of here, that's all!"
Fai laughed quietly to himself at Kurogane's embarrassment and indignation. Then his eyes softened flirtatiously. "Alright then, why doesn't Kuropun pick out my outfit, since I can't seem to make up my mind?"
Kurogane could feel the heat in his face increasing and he scratched the back of his head nervously. "Whatever," he sighed, doing his best to seem indifferent. "If it'll get us out of here any sooner…"
Fai watched in curiosity and amusement as Kurogane pieced hurriedly through the hangers. He stopped when he came to a long light-colored overcoat. Kurogane glanced between it and the sorcerer and back again, apparently liking what he saw because he pulled it off the rack and shoved it carelessly into Fai's arms. Fai held it up for closer examination as Kurogane continued to look for something to go with it. He was surprised when the warrior handed him a white shirt and vest and some light-colored dress pants before Fai had even had adequate time to look over the coat.
"There, it took me a whole ten seconds," Kurogane growled, folding his arms. "Go try it on so we can get out of here."
The blond grinned as he noticed a slight blush creeping over Kurogane's cheeks as he said that. "Daddy pretends that he doesn't care what Mommy wears but look at him blushing! He chose these clothes with love, didn't he?"
"I did not!" Kurogane protested heatedly. "You saw me; I just grabbed whatever looked like it might fit!"
"Whatever you say, Kuropiko," Fai purred, nuzzling against his chest affectionately like a cat. "Ok, I'll try these on, then. Wait patiently, ok?"
Kurogane snorted as Fai skipped off to the dressing rooms with his new outfit.
Fai glanced over his shoulder at his reflection, checking the fit on the pants, shirt and vest. Admittedly, he was amazed; Kurogane had snatched these clothes off the racks so quickly that Fai was sure that at least one of the items would be ill-fitting but all of them were perfect. No only that, but he looked pretty damn good in them, if he did say so himself. Perhaps Kurogane wasn't as clueless about such matters as he wanted to appear.
Fai blinked in surprise as something black and light-weight sailed over the top of the door, bounced off his head and landed on the ground. He picked it up curiously; it was a bowtie. When he saw Kurogane's shoes through the space beneath the dressing room door, he smirked.
"What's this, Kuropyon?" he asked playfully.
"What the hell does it look like, idiot?" Kurogane replied irritably. "It's a tie. Put it on."
"So Kurowanko continued to look for things for me to wear even after I had gone to try this stuff on?" Fai chirped. "He really does care!"
"Don't be a moron," his companion growled. "You just look stupid without one. Stupider than usual, I mean. And aren't you done putting the rest of that stuff on yet?"
"Would you like to come in, Kurokuro?" Fai asked.
"No! Just hurry up!"
Fai laughed to himself as he slipped the tie over his neck and began to tie it. Once he had finished, he shrugged on the overcoat and opened the door to show Kurogane the result. The blond allowed a smile of satisfaction to spread across his lips as Kurogane stared, apparently struck speechless by Fai's beauty. He did a little twirl to show off both sides of the outfit and then struck a pose.
"Like what you see, Kuronmi?" Fai asked in a seductive voice. The sound of his voice seemed to cause Kurogane to realize that he was staring because he shook his head slightly and fixed his usual unimpressed expression back on his face. Fai noticed that it looked a bit less unimpressed than usual, however.
"You're such a moron," Kurogane said quickly, as if trying to redeem himself for his moment of speechlessness. "Don't you even know how to tie a tie?"
Without waiting for Fai's answer, Kurogane draped his and Syaoran's clothes over the door of the dressing room so that he could reach out and undo Fai's somewhat messy bow.
"You wore one every freaking day back in Outo, didn't you?" Kurogane grumbled. "Don't tell me you forgot how to do it already."
Fai took advantage of Kurogane's preoccupation to watch the ninja's face as he worked. Regardless of the fact that Kurogane seemed to spend virtually no time on his appearance, he was still very handsome. Fai couldn't help but marvel at that, even though, he reminded himself, he didn't spend that much time on his own appearance either. It seemed that Kurogane was not aware that he was being studied so closely because his expression, just for that brief moment as he fixed Fai's tie, was remarkably gentle and unguarded. At least, compared to most times it was. Fai found himself disappointed when Kurogane finished and drew away.
"Thanks, Kuromyuu," Fai grinned. "You're so nice."
"Well, it looked stupid," Kurogane said lamely in his own defense.
"So now what do you think?" the blond asked cheerfully, retreating back into the dressing room to stand in front of the mirror again. Kurogane stepped in behind him, also looking over Fai's reflection.
"I'm impressed, Kurowanta," Fai admitted, straightening his overcoat. "You don't seem like the type of guy who would be so good at picking out clothes. And I thought you said you didn't know anything about it."
Kurogane shrugged. "You didn't really think I spent all that time guarding Tomoyo hime without learning a thing or two about this kind of crap, did you?"
"So the Tomoyo chan Kuropun knew liked to design clothing too, hmm?" Fai asked. Casually, he leaned back against his sturdy companion, hoping that he would be too busy being flooded by memories of home to notice. He was right; the other man didn't push him away.
"Tch. 'Liked' isn't a strong enough word," Kurogane growled, rolling his eyes. "It was a freaking obsession with her."
Fai pretended to stretch, reaching his arms behind his head and then looping them around Kurogane's neck. To his surprise, Kurogane still didn't do anything, though Fai was sure he must have noticed.
"Well, Kurochuu's experience turned out to be helpful, right?" the wizard pointed out with a lazy smile. "I think I look pretty good in this, don't you?"
"Hmph," Kurogane grunted noncommittally, stealing another quick glance at Fai's reflection before he looked determinedly away again.
"Hmm?" Fai said delightedly, turning around so that he could face Kurogane properly. "Kuromun just admitted that I looked good! Hyuu, hyuu!"
"I-I DID NOT!!" Kurogane insisted, balling his hands into fists, though his face turned red once more in contradiction to his claim. "QUIT PUTTING WORDS IN MY MOUTH, YOU BASTARD!!"
"You didn't say no!" the blond reminded him excitedly, throwing his arms around him once more. "If Kurochan says something besides no, it means yes! Hyuu! Mommy is so happy!"
His face still blazing with embarrassment and aggravation at his own carelessness, Kurogane shoved Fai off of him, threw the wallet containing the money they had received by selling their old clothes at his face, and stomped angrily out of the store, leaving Fai to pay. This had no affect whatsoever on Fai's happiness; that little 'hmph' in response to his question, combined with Kurogane's behavior the whole time they had been in the store were priceless to him. Coming from the ninja, they almost counted as an "I love you". Sighing dreamily, Fai scooped up the outfits that Kurogane had left behind and practically floated up to the cashier to make his purchases.
A/N: So how was that? Was it ok? I don't know.
The way I see it, I have one of two choices for the miniseries: 1 I stick to the original plan and make it mostly humorous and fluffy with considerably angst near the end. 2 I scrap most of the original plan and make it humorous and fluffy with crack at the end. I'm torn. What do all of you think? I'd like to know your opinion on this!
