“Kuro-rin…I…’

“Don’t”

“But...Kuro…”

“I said don’t”

Kurogane honestly couldn’t remember dressing himself quicker in his life. Furious red eyes scanned the floor of the dark room for his shirt. He searched up and down the trail of wrinkled clothes that started at the door of the hotel room they shared together, and ended at the bed that they were sharing for the second night in a row.

Were, sharing…until now.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as he could feel the presence of the last person he wanted to see right behind him. It took every ounce of will power within him not to turn around. That would only encourage the other man to talk, and hearing his voice was the second to last thing he wanted right now. All he wanted was to get far away.

“Where will you go, Kuro-wan?” A concerned and slightly nervous voice inquired from the bed. This was only to be met with a cold silence. Wherever it was, it was far enough to where Kurogane thought it necessary to take his sword, which was the last thing the mage saw happen before the other man went through the door and slammed it behind him.

Kurogane winced “I shouldn’t have slammed the door…” he thought to himself glancing at the room Sakura and Syaoran shared. Words couldn’t really express how little he wanted them involved.. He didn’t want to talk to anyone right now. He didn’t want anyone’s sympathy or for anyone to ask him questions, he just needed to be by himself.

“Shit” Instantly upon exiting the hotel he regretted not grabbing a coat. He had forgotten how cold this world was, and to top it all off, it was beginning to snow. It was far too late to back for one now, as far as he was concerned. As he walked down the empty city streets his legs were still trembling, his cheeks still flushed pink. Everything happened so fast; he was just beginning to catch his breath.



“Ahn! Yes, Ashura-ou!”



Kurogane narrowed his eyes and growled to himself, hearing the mage’s voice in his head over and over again. He continuously went over the events of the last couple of days in his head. The group had only arrived in this country yesterday morning. The white manju bun said the usual, that he felt a strange power in this world, but he wasn’t sure if it was a feather. The first day of searching went by without success, and eventually the time came to find a place to rest for the night…


//


“I’m sorry, we only allow two guests per room.” The cute girl behind the counter informed them, with a smile. “There are four of you so I’m going to need to charge you for two rooms.”

“Aaah...Good thing we were able to exchange our money from the last country, huh, Syoran-kun?
The mage said, leaning over the counter with his chin in his hands.

“Yes but…how shall split the two rooms?” Syaoran asked, innocently.

“Huh, that’s easy. The kid will share a room with me.” Kurogane replied, leaning up against a wall near the counter with his arms folded.

“Y-yes…that makes sense..” Syaoran replied, trying not to be too obvious in his disappointment.

Sakura-hime smiled, “So you’ll stay with me, Fai-san?”

“No no no, that won’t do. I’ll keep Sakura-hime awake all night long with my snoring!” The blond man chimed in, itching to cause trouble.

Kurogane growled, “Fine! The kid will share a room with you then!” He know just what Fai was up to, and he didn’t like it.

“That won’t do either! Sakura-hime is too innocent to share a room with scary Kuro-wan.” Fai grinned. “I think it’s best that Syaoran stay with Sakura.”

“WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I WANT TO LISTEN TO YOUR SNORING?” Kurogane shouted at the mage, balling up his fists angrily.

“You sleep like a rock, Kuro-pon, you’ll be fine.”

Syaoran looked relieved, smiling. “Well, if that’s how it is.”

Sakura-hime just smiled, she would be happy either way. Although she knew deep down inside that she always felt safer and happier inside when she knew Syaoran was near while she slept.

Defeated, Kurogane just grumbled, “Do whatever you want, bastard.”

“Kuro-rin is so scary when he’s mad, Fai!” Mokona squealed while jumping into Fai’s arms.

“It’s best you stay with Sakura-hime and Syaoran-kun too, Mokona. Kuro-puppy might think you are a chew toy in his sleep and chew you all up!”

“Scary!”
//




Kurogane reached an overpass bridge, resting his elbows on the railing and leaning down a bit. This world was another one with those strange automobiles that drove on the ground. At first it was shocking to see things like them, but now he was just getting used to them. Not many drove by under him at this time at night, anyways.

The snow was starting to get heavier. As he tried to calm himself by watching the snowflakes fall, he realized how similar Fai was to snow. His pale skin and his blue eyes both bore a striking resemblance to the winter, and even though the snow is beautiful, there’s always something sad about it as well.

Shit. Why does it always come back to him? Why couldn’t he stop thinking about that idiot?

Everything was much more simple when they started out on their journey. All that occupied his mind at that time was returning to Japan. Slowly but surely, those thoughts were replaced with more and more thoughts of his pale skinned, blue eyed traveling companion.

Lately Kurogane had become more and more aware that he has never known anyone like Fai before in his life. Everyone he knew from where he came from was far more reserved than that playful idiot. Kurogane was certain that he had never met a more irritating person in his life.

Despite how upset he was with Fai, he couldn’t help but smile at the thought. But then….


“Ahn! Yes, Ashura-ou!”


Kurogane squeezed his eyes shut angrily; he wanted desperately to stop hearing those words in his head.

“Idiot. Was his just screwing with me this whole time?” it pained him to think those words, but what else was he to think at this point?

“How could I have allowed myself to grow to trust that face….that face that’s always lying”

He narrowed his eyes and stood alone in silence, watching the snow pile on the city street below him.

What...just happened?

Just moments ago he was sharing a passionate moment with a very beautiful man who he has grown to care about a lot, and the next moment, he was alone in bed watching the other man furiously redressing himself.

Did he seriously just say what he thought he did?

Fai propped himself up on his elbows.

He struggled to speak.

“Kuro-rin…I….”

“Don’t”

“But…”

“I said, don’t.’

Fai swallowed and decided to stop talking, just watching; trying to let what just happened register in his mind. Saddened, blue eyes watched as the other man hastily pulled his shirt up over his head. Fai didn’t want Kurogane to leave, but he was too afraid to ask, and, what right did he have to ask that of him? It was his own fault he was leaving.

Concern grew as he saw the other man grab his sword. Just how far did he intend on going?

He hesitated.

“Where will you go, Kuro-wan?” he asked meekly, heart beating faster. Not much to his surprise, the only reply he was rewarding was the sound of a slamming door.

He let himself fall back onto the bed, putting a hand on his still sweaty forehead. He smiled sadly to himself, his stomach churning at the sudden feeling of loneliness.

“Fai, you blew it. Just like you knew you would.”

He rolled over onto his side, pulling his knees to his bare chest.

His eyes wandered up toward the window that was near the bed, watching the snow fall as he tried to figure out in his head why his tongue slipped the way it did. It’s not like he was pretending he was with Ashura-ou. He was always fully aware (and thrilled) that he was with Kurogane. So why was it Ashura’s name that came out, and not “Kuro-pon” “Kuro-rin” or “Kuro-pu’, instead?

Fai sat up, putting his feet on the ground, putting a hand on his stomach. He was starting to feel ill. He stood up and made his way slowly across the dark room to the bathroom. He flipped on the light switch and winced as his eyes adjusted. He lowered himself down to his knees in front of the toilet, putting the lid up. Every second that went by he felt sicker and sicker. As he sat on the cold bathroom floor, he remembered the night before, the first night he and Kurogane shared a room as more than just traveling companions.



“Are you happy now, idiot? You got your way.” Kurogane grumbled, dropping down on one of the beds, taking off his boots.

Fai laughed “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Kuro-woof.”

Kurogane growled “I told you to stop treating me like a dog!”

Fai pouted, “I can hardly call you ‘Kuro-meow…no matter how cute that is, it just doesn’t fit.’” He flopped down onto the bed across from Kurogane’s, pulling his feet up and hugging his legs, looking out the window.

The dark haired man just sighed. He could tell it was going to be a long night.

Hours later Fai would find himself being shook awake, being freed from a horrible nightmare. He gasped and sat up quickly, catching his breath, waiting for his body to settle from the shock from being awoken from such a deep stage of sleep. When his eyes adjusted he saw the person who saved him from his dream. It was Kurogane, standing over him with a concerned look on his face.

“Kuro-pu? What are you doing?”

Kurogane was looking at him intently. He remembered that look on his face from Outo country.
“You were having a bad dream.” He paused “You wouldn’t shut up, it was keeping me awake.”

Fai laughed sleepily. He couldn’t help but find Kurogane’s mach façade endearing. “Ah, sorry, sorry. Don’t worry, I won’t keep you up anymore.”

Kurogane hesitated, sitting down on the bed. “What were you dreaming about…?”

Fai’s eyes widened. He wasn’t expecting such a serious question, let alone having Kurogane sit in bed with him.

A sly grin slid across his face “I was having a horrible dream that I was a kitty and you were a puppy, and I was stuck in a tree and you were trying to get me! Aa – I was so scared, thank you so much for waking me up, Kuro-sama!”

Obviously, Kurogane wasn’t amused. He just stared at Fai with deep intensity.

“You….you drive me crazy”

Fai felt his heart skip a beat. “…Why are you always so serious, Kuro-sama?”

“Just stop. “ Kurogane snapped back, putting his hands on the other man’s shoulders firmly.
“I want ou to listen to me very carefully. Stop pushing me away.”

“Kuro-rin….”

“For some reason you and I were put on this journey together. I’ve never met anyone as irritating as you in my entire life.” Suddenly, out of nowhere, Fai found himself being pulled into Kurogane’s strong arms. His body went limp and he just allowed himself to be held by the other men.

“But, stop acting like you’re alone. You’re not. I’m here.”

Fai’s heart began to beat faster.

“Kuro-mu?”

“Mm?”

“Will you…sleep in bed with me, tonight?”

Kurogane didn’t give a reply; he simply lied down, pulling the other man with him. No other words were spoke that night, but neither one of them got any sleep. They simply held each other, enjoying silent contentment.



Fai stood over the bathroom sink, splashing his face with cool water. He straightened himself out, giving himself a good look in the mirror. He felt slightly better after vomiting, but his nerves were still pretty much shot. He flipped off the bathroom light and walked back towards the bed, but simply stood in the middle of the room for a moment.

He glanced over at the trail of clothes; he leaned down, beginning to dress himself. He couldn’t stay alone in this room anymore. He had to find Kurogane, and try to explain himself. Kurogane was somewhere alone, and hurt, and Fai was the reason he was hurt. Fai had to find him.

Fai started out the door, and then stopped, reaching and pulling Kurogane’s coat off the coat rack. Kuro-pon would surely be cold.