Disclaimer: I don’t own Tsubasa.
Kuro sat in his room, grateful for once to be alone and have some space to think. They had recently dropped onto a small snow-covered world that was apparently, in the midst of some sort of winter festival. The large man couldn’t walk two feet outside without someone scrambling under his feet and trying to sell him some trinket or another for a myriad of useless purposes.
The others, of course, had loved it. Especially Sakura and Fai, who both ogled every vendor’s goods with sparkling eyes. Kurogane was never one for festivals, so he had made some excuse or another and returned to his room. He’d told himself he was happy with his choice, with having some time alone. In truth, however, he was feeling slightly lonesome.
The dark, brooding man cursed under his breath. This was what came from hanging out with this absurd group of people! He’d gone and gotten used to them. Or was it just to one in particular?
No. He stopped that thought right in its tracks. Letting that flighty wizard into his head was not something he needed right now. All this time and still none of them really knew his story. Not that it should bother him, what did he care?
But, damn it, he /did/!
As if on cue, the door swung open without so much as a knock and the mage’s bright blonde head popped inside.
“Kuro-pun! Why are you sitting up here all by yourself?”
The raven-haired man didn’t answer, just looked at him with a scowl.
Somehow taking this as an invitation to bother him further, Fai hopped over to where Kurogane sat at a small writing desk and glanced over his shoulder.
“Whatcha doing?”
“Nothing! Just enjoying the peace and quiet- while it lasted!” Kuro shot back at him.
But the blonde didn’t look at all put-off. He was far too accustomed to the other man’s rough manners to let it affect him. Besides, Kuro-chan was just /too/much fun to tease!
“You should come downstairs. We’re all exchanging presents!” Fai told him, smiling that facile grin of his.
“Presents? Why?”
Fai shrugged. “This world is celebrating a holiday right now and one of the customs is to give gifts to the ones you love!”
Ignoring the implications of this statement, Kuro spat, “But we’re not even /from/this world!”
Fai stepped closer to him and leaned in toward those narrowed crimson eyes. “But it’s a nice idea, don’t you think?” he asked softly, “To express your feelings to others?”
The mage’s closeness began to stir that annoyingly strong and inappropriate sensation Kuro had tried to squelch unsuccessfully for so long- his attraction for the willowy blonde man. Since their first meeting, it had been there. Had it been anyone else, Kuro would have already exploited that initial attraction, but this was /Fai/, a man who obviously harbored both untold power and anguish behind his plastered smile. A man who Kuro was sure could never be honest with him, let alone be honest with himself.
“Sure, whatever,” he muttered, standing to put some space between them.
“Here,” he heard Fai say, and turning he saw that the man had a little wrapped box in his outstretched hand, offering it to him.
“What is it?” Kuro asked suspiciously.
Fai’s fixed smile faded, but something else brightened in his eyes, something genuine.
“An expression of my true feelings towards you, Kuro-san.”
Not completely convinced that the man wasn’t just leading up to some prank, Kurogane reached out slowly and took the box in his hands, turning it over and examining it.
“You have to open it,” Fai insisted, folding his hands behind his back in the manner of a good little boy waiting patiently.
His brow still furrowed with skepticism, Kuro ripped at the flashy paper and slid open the lid to glance inside at his gift.
“It’s a plant,” he announced flatly.
Fai giggled, and Kuro was sure he’d been had.
“It’s mistletoe.”
“Still looks like a plant to me.”
The ninja pinched the green bunch of leaves and let it dangle before him to get a better look. There were a few white berries hanging there, but nothing special.
“It /is/ a plant, but it means something special to the people here.”
“And that would be…?”
Kuro watched as Fai closed the space between them. “It’s part of a local custom. First, you have to hold it over your head.”
Kuro arched a brow in a very, ‘give-me-a-break’ kind of look.
“Trust me,” Fai told him.
Although he just /knew/ he was going to regret this, Kuro complied, influenced by the lovely scent suddenly emanating from his companion.
Then the man’s arms were up around his neck and Fai was lifting himself up to brush a sweet kiss against his cheek. The touch drove a surprisingly strong spike of lust through Kuro’s heart, as well as a swell of tenderness that he didn’t wish to acknowledge, but which resonated within him all the same.
When his crimson eyes met Fai’s cool depths, the man was certain he’d see that typical smile back on his face, but it was not so. Fai’s eyes, always shut to him, gazed at him openly, vulnerable. There was no pretense about him, no barriers, and for a moment Kuro saw him just as he was.
Just Fai.
“Merry Christmas, Kurogane,” he whispered. Fai didn’t feel the need to mention that the plant had a powerful effect as an aphrodisiac.
Unable to stop himself, the ninja caressed his face slowly with one calloused hand. He pulled the blonde’s head back toward him to capture those tempting pink lips, smothering him with all the pent-up desire he’d harbored since the day he’d first seen the man standing next to him in the rain.
The floodgates now open, they found themselves twined in each other’s embrace and both men knew there was no turning back. And Kuro was surprised to realize he didn’t want to- he wanted to go forward, to face the future with this man in his arms.
Briefly pulling back, he breathed in a husky tone, “I don’t know what this ‘Christmas’ is, but I think I’m beginning to enjoy it.”
Fai laughed, a bright, unveiled, genuine sound and smiled up at him expectantly.
It was going to be a /very/ merry Christmas indeed…
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