Completed ; Kuro & Fai ; SUPAR backdated

[wheet-woo.livejournal.com]

When; a WHILE back. Like. A month;
Rating; NC-17 BABY. THATS RIGHT.
Characters; Fai wheet_woo & Kurogane black_ginryuu
Summary; Curious as to why the two have been acting chipper recently? Why they seem to be getting along rather well (if you can ever call them getting along;;)? WONDER NO MORE. Back in the day when Fai suggests a trip to the hot springs, him and Kuro-chu have some time alone. And get to talkin. And then.. WELL JUST READ THE LOG. :D
Log;






The mist rising off the clear pools of water was thick in the cool evening air, trapping the heat and shrouding the little spring in mystery. Fai had been delighted to hear of its existence--natural hot springs were a rarity to him, something he had only been privileged enough to visit because of his status in the court. To have one so close was quite a thrill and it certainly demanded a celebration. To bring those people he knew well to such a place and let them relax and enjoy themselves--it was delightful. Little Sakura, all wrapped up in a towel, had already retired with Mokona and Fai was left to enjoy the springs with his quite companion.

Not that Fai had any intention in staying in the water for longer than necessary. Dipping only his feet in, he regarded the dark sky with a smile. "This is nice, ne Kurochan~"

Never one to be ashamed of his body, Kurogane stepped out of the bathing hut already gleaming from the elaborate ritual of cleansing that went on before one even stepped foot in a public bath. The sweet-smelling fog rising off the pools hindered his sight somewhat, but there was no mistaking the way Fai moved. Kurogane got an odd feeling, then, as he stepped towards the stone-walled pool and dropped his towel on the wooden bench, as if he would always be able to recognize Fai in a crowd.

His feet finding the stairs rather automatically, he stepped down into the boiling-hot water up to his knees and worked at accustoming himself to the heart-stopping heat. He could already feel himself relaxing - this was such a good idea that he should have thought of it himself.

"Aa."

Fai seated himself on the cool stone by the pool, towel across his lap, the water only coming up to his calves. He was warm enough from the heat of the mist, dubious about how he'd fare to go even deeper in the hotpot. He was from a cold country, after all.

Casting Kurogane a glance, he couldn't resist a bit of a grin as he thought back to the last time he had seen the ninja in only his skin. He had been quite the woman. But even in a female body, his skin had retained the light lines of scars from battle and Fai turned his eyes back to the sky. How many scars were they all carrying, and how many more would they receive?

"But awfully hot...”

"It's good for you," Kurogane replied, automatically disagreeing on instinct rather than principle.

Sucking in his breath as he slid down even deeper until the water came up his stomach, he let it out in a hiss as he settled onto the warm rocks and rested his arms on the side of the pool. This little touch of home was intensely appreciated after all the stresses of the past few weeks. Fai's presence flickered in the back of his mind, but wasn't enough to stop him from closing his eyes wearily and relaxing against the earth-heated rocks.

"But I'll melt away~" he murmured, moving his feet and causing ripples. He could feel the natural energy that made it so warm; feel is pulsing with something almost like life. It probably was very good for you, to sit in such water from the earth. Even still, Fai complained to himself as he slowly slipped deeper until he was sitting, water up to his chest.

"Hot. Maybe we are making a person-stew. Big monsters are going to come and eat us up~"

"It's not as though you have any meat on you that they'd want to eat," Kurogane rumbled in reply to Fai's complaining, cracking open one eye to smirk in Fai's direction through the haze. He, personally, felt wonderful. Heat was much more his element than cold.

In that respect, like in so many others, he knew he was Fai's opposite and equal. He just wished it wouldn't complicate things so. If Fai would just open up to him... Shaking that thought out of his head with the memory of his conversation with Ranmaru, Kurogane stretched out and closed his eyes once again.

"Wai~ So they'll be coming to eat you. Ahh, I see." Nodding to himself at the perfect logic, Fai slipped deeper, feeling the steady beat of his heart echoing in his ears. It was a little uncomfortable, his cheeks flushing from the heat and thoughts slipped from his grasp as if they were the mist that surrounded him.

Willing away the haze that was slowly increasing in his mind, Fai opened his eyes to peer across the pool. "Did Kuro-rin go to hot springs a lot..?"

When Kurogane stretched out his feet he could just brush Fai's in the deepest part of the pool and in the cover of the water in the air he blushed lightly. He could feel his heart beat speed up and threaten to take his mind into completely improbable situations, but he did his best to push it down. Hot springs were the worst places possible to start thinking about arousing things.

"We had baths within the royal compound, not as large as this, but obviously more luxurious and better staffed."

Kurogane had a feeling that if he told Fai the story of the bath attendant who had fallen in love with him for a whole year before getting up the courage to ask Kurogane to take him as a lover Fai wouldn't quite appreciate it in the sense that it was given. It had taken some getting used to: the knowledge that most cultures would consider the tradition of his own world of keeping a few boys on the side as lovers perverse.

"Mm." Fai replied, body turning to mush as the heat reached the core of his bones. How anyone could do or think of anything in such a state, he had no idea. Holding a conversation was becoming increasingly difficult and he found himself drawn to the idea of just sliding right under the surface.

"There's one in Ceres... I've been once. In the mountains... Natural and rocky..." Realizing he wasn't making much sense, Fai roused himself and sat up a little straighter, brushing sweat and mist-drenched locks from his eyes to look over, just making out the dim reddish glow of his companions eyes. "It'd be nice for everyone to go to Kurogane's hot springs together, ne...”

"Sure," Kurogane agreed, not really paying attention to his words. "When we get there."

The word Ceres rolled around in his head as he tried rolling it over his tongue, quiet below the noise of the bubbling water.

"Tomoyo would probably throw a festival or something, though, and we'd never be able to get away from it. She likes being extravagant."

He was aware he was rambling, but that was what hot springs were for, weren't they?

"Tomoyo-chan, ne.." Fai murmured, thinking back to the young girl with long black hair that had bonded to Sakura-chan so quickly. The girl who Kurogane could not watch without something.. else in the back of his eyes. Fai was curious about his past, curious to meet this girl who could inspire such feeling in the usually gruff man, but he kept his questions to himself. Questions could be turned against him and he wasn't sure how much he'd be able to keep quite this time around.

"I wonder if there are a Sakura and Syaoran in your world.. Maybe a Fai too..." With a laugh, he sunk deeper, words soft as they drifted in the mist. "Do you think we'd meet?"

"Maybe," Kurogane rumbled, eyeing Fai's drooping form carefully. If the idiot passed out, Kurogane would have to grab him before he drowned. "But it doesn't matter, because it wouldn't be the same."

That hag had said something to that effect: same appearance, different experiences and different personalities. Kurogane hated the idea of fate, of not being in control of his life, but he had been forced into starting to believe in it with the advent of this journey. Especially when it came to Fai.

Not that he would ever admit to believing a folk tale as silly as the 'red thread', of course.

"No it wouldn't..." Fai mused over the thought, wondering faintly if there were doubles in his own world. Would they be in the same country? Not that it mattered--he'd never be back to find out.

"I hope so," he said softly, feeling as though the mist was starting to drag him deeper into the water. "I think, in any dimension, I'd miss you if we didn't meet."

After a short moment, Fai clawed his way out of the water, laughing almost nervously as he staggered to his feet. "Aha, much to warm! I'm all done--over cooked!" Without a backwards glance, he fled into the cool bathhouse to sprawl on the tatami floor, hoping to regain his senses.

Kurogane blinked once, started pulling himself out of the pool, twice - and then reasoning caught up with instinct. Fai had just admitted that he would have missed Kurogane the ninja, if they had not met. That was certainly something. And the fact that he had fled after saying it was even more damning. Kurogane wouldn't have expected it of him - he usually was rather brazen, after all, when it came to making sly propositions, but not honest statements.

Shaking and rubbing off the water quickly, he swept back into the preparation hut, all thoughts of being non-confrontational and understanding gone. Thoughts like that didn't usually last very long in a certain ninja's head under even normal circumstances.

With a quite sigh, Fai sat with his shoulders slumped, wondering just what had over taken him to cause such a statement. He wanted to blame the Hot Springs, blame the recent days that had demanded his honesty, blame anything. But he couldn't even really do that, for even before he had arrived in the city, something had been developing. Part of him hoped it wasn't too late to take it back, smile and laugh it off. But another part of him wished it was.

"Ne, Kurorin~ Where's the sake?" he asked absently, hearing Kurogane's approaching footsteps. He wasn't sure if he could get away with it, but he busied himself with searching around the room, avoiding looking back.

Padding into the room, Kurogane intentionally made enough noise to be heard. He wasn't sure he was in the right here after the initial rush of accomplishment wore off, but that didn't mean he was going to back down.

"I don't know, you're the one who brought it," he grumbled, standing as close as he dared behind Fai's skinny, unnaturally pale back. Watching the water drip and slide over the exposed skin made him heatedly aware of their mutual nakedness - not that such a thing would stop him either.

Reaching out slowly, as if he was about to catch a snake, he grasped Fai's upper arm firmly to force him to turn around and face him.

"I would miss you too," he said steadily, despite the fact that he was choking on the words. "I would miss you too."

"Ouch, Kurochan, that hu--" Fai fell silent as Kurogane's words washed over him, stealing the breath from his lungs and forcing back the last of his walls. He had no reply, shocked at the declaration and his own response to it; he was only aware of the broad hand tight over his arm, the cooling water against his warm skin, and red eyes that bore into his own. It was certainly too late to turn back now.

"Kurorin is.." he tried, still at a loss for words, floundering slightly in a new flush of emotions. Without noticing, he moved closer, lips curling into his usual smile, though it was without it’s usually purpose. "Kurorin is very forward today.."

He knew what was happening as it happened, but didn't know what it meant. All he knew was that he wanted this right now and Fai couldn't run away when he had that look in his eyes and was leaning towards him like that.

"I'm always like this, stupid," he murmured, watching for Fai's every nervous movement. "If you'd just notice..."

"I notice everything," he murmured, unable to take his focus away. He did notice everything, everything Kurogane had ever done, every word that had been spoken. He just never thought much about it, never applied it to his own situation. The need to understand Kurogane's actions toward himself had never been there. Until now.

It was overwhelming, to really take note of Kurogane's actions up until this point, to see him clearly and without the shield of avoidance that Fai usually cast over all his relations. He felt like he was being pinned, trapped by the truth and he almost pulled away, the fear returning as he felt more and more uncertain.

"No, you don't," Kurogane growled fustratedly as he watched Fai get ready to run away once again. "Because if you did, you'd know that I..."

He choked on the words that fell into his head and finished lamely: "Don't back down."

So much for proving his point.

"You'd chase me..?" Fai whispered, knowing the moment he said it that he wanted it--wanted Kurogane to chase him through every dimension, every world. He didn't want to be given up. He didn't know if it was fair to want it, but it was true. All that name calling, all the teasing and silence and hint dropping--he had wanted Kurogane to make him cross that line.

"But you've caught me now..." He still wanted to run away, memories of the last time he was caught creeping back to him slowly. "Are you sure you want to?"

There was nothing Kurogane hated worse than Fai's feelings of unworthiness. It didn't make sense to his bluntly honest mind, and it probably wouldn't ever. Perhaps that was part of the enigma.

"Of course I'd chase you," he snapped. "And of course I want you here, with me. Don't you think I would have left by now if I didn't? Che."

Of course, of course, of course. They must have reached some sort of ledge, to have him saying such things. They were so close - and yet trembling on the edge, still.

"If something happens and you get hurt, I'll--" Taking a deep breath, he shook his head. He didn't know what he would do. Break, probably, right after he strangled Kurogane for pushing him far enough to take the risk. He had almost broken last time, and this... this would be so much worse. Kurogane said he could take care of himself, but Fai wasn't sure. Could he take the risk and put everyone he had come to care about in danger? Looking into red eyes, he knew he had already taken that risk quite a while ago.

"I'll never forgive you," he whispered, realizing he almost meant it, before closing the distance between their lips.

It only took a stunned moment, feeling Fai's soft kiss upon his lips, before Kurogane pushed back the walls entirely. He could feel the dragon of desire flash up and consume him like a flame, immediately nullifying any chaste thoughts whatsoever as he held Fai in place so that he could kiss his brains out.

Where their bare skin touched he felt the heat flare up and he was nearly blind with desire. There was no stopping now, as his heart thundered with the satisfaction and pleasure of this final gratification.

A groan dropped from his lips and he cupped Fai's cheek in one large hand, forcing their eyes to meet.

"You don't have to forgive me. You just have to live."

Fai wondered faintly at the difference between Kurogane's lips and the lips he had tasted so long ago--those two experiences were nothing alike, cool softness contrasted to this violent passion. But his thoughts wouldn't form, his attention pulled away from the past as he was only able to focus on the force of Kurogane's desire. He felt it as clearly as he felt their skin touch.

Red eyes held his own, raw and fierce, forcing him to feel the weight of his words. Heavy, heavy words that betrayed terrible consequences down the road if he wasn't lucky. But Fai chose to trust his luck this once, smiling once more, secrets behind his eyes. "What have I gotten myself into.." he murmured before pressing back into Kurogane's dangerous kiss.

Fai's roundabout acquiescence only drew Kurogane closer and he groaned viciously as his arm wrapped around the slender waist and dragged their bodies together. He was going hard as his tongue took over Fai's mouth and his possessive hands were quickly getting to know all the best holding spots on Fai's body. Any qualms were washed from his mind by the heat and desire. There would be no stopping him now, as he pushed forwards, forcing the slighter man towards the wall. All he could seem to think was how good and right and yes this was.

If it was his choice, he would never stop.

Shivering in Kurogane's grasp, Fai couldn't help but purr against his mouth, entwining his body tightly around Kurogane's, hands exploring the broad panels of his back. Kurogane's hands were rough and calloused over his skin and his body hard like warm steel. Fai couldn't breath, surrounded by that heat, and a soft moan slipped from his lips as his shoulder-blades bumped against the wooden wall. It was all so dizzying, freeing and he recklessly pulled Kurogane closer, body flush against his own.

"You're..." he gasped, breaking the kiss to look wide-eyed up at Kurogane. "You're cheating on Mokona."

Kurogane couldn't decide if he should punch Fai in the head or cry when he heard that come out of his mouth, so he settled for pushing the skinnier and livelier man the half-step back against the wall.

"Don't bring that thing into this," he growled before stepping close, so close, and grasping Fai's ass with two possessive hands. He drew Fai's hips towards his as he hungrily moved his tongue in his mouth. The dragon of desire was calling for him to make Fai his own, however that may be possible.

At least there weren't any protests; Kurogane wasn't sure he could stop if he tried.

Laughing breathlessly against Kurogane's mouth, Fai gladly pressed closer, guided by rough hands, gladly pressing against his warm, unyielding body. His fingers found there way up his body, curling at the nape of Kurogane's neck, splaying across his shoulders and caressing the lines of his throat. Fai moved a slender leg to hook around Kurogane's waist, locking their hips tight against each other.

They were so different; the desire radiating off of Kurogane like fire, so hot where Fai felt always cool, pale and far away. But as in everything, they somehow met in the middle, a clash of words or skin, an experience that always left him shaking. An experience he always longed for.

Kurogane groaned in response, grinding his hips forward while he held Fai in place between the wall and his body, both equally unyielding.

The feeling of having Fai curl around him like this - not giving him dominance, but letting him take it - was driving him mad with lust, not to mention the secret pleasure it gave him in his heart of hearts. This was trust to someone who had grown up in a society where the greatest honor a boy could have would be to be taken as a lover and apprentice to a man like Kurogane. He couldn't understand Fai's flirtations and then cold removal.

But now he was there, guiding skinny and boney hips in a rhythm against his own, grinding their erections together between their bodies. He wanted Fai to enjoy this at all costs.

Hips burning where Kurogane's hands pressed bruises deep into his skin, Fai shuddered at the pleasure that rolled over him with each rough movement. It was exhausting, being so open, this terrifying trust that he had stumbled on sometime ago. It was bitter-sweet, the taste of a slice of life he had been so long without.

But Kurogane's hands were too rough, a little too strong and Fai pushed him roughly away. Without pausing, he pushed Kurogane to the rice-mat covered floor, smiling coyly as he draped himself over him. He liked this very much--hovering over Kurogane like this, the heat between their bodies almost visible like the mist. Sliding slender fingers into black hair, Fai settled against him, falling against his mouth once more.

Despite himself, Kurogane was surprised and then intensely aroused by Fai taking the initiative. This was not like having sex with Ranmaru at all; where Ranmaru was fun and light, this was rough and meant something. Whatever that meaning was. Growling deep in his throat, Kurogane wrapped his arms around Fai's waist and flipped him over onto his back again. He was not going to be on bottom, goddamn it.

Pouting slightly as he found himself pressed against the floor, Fai pushed up against Kurogane's body, not about to become passive just because he was on his back. "Mean Kuro-tan~" he whispered softly, glad it wasn't wood his shoulder blades lay against. He didn't like being on his back--no doubt Kurogane disliked it as well. It left him too open and feeling weak, especially when he slept. So he moved and twisted faintly in Kurogane's grasp, wrapping his arms around broad shoulders, keeping himself closer to the warm body against him than the cool planes of the floor.

Kurogane did not disagree with the clinginess Fai was showing, because it brought their bodies closer together - and that was always a good thing.

"Too bad," he growled back, his voice gone even lower than usual from the hormones rushing his body. When he sat back with Fai on his lap his hands were free to slide over silk-smooth skin as his teeth and mouth put their attentions towards Fai's neck. The magician would not be getting out of this encounter unscathed.

Fai shivered, tipping his head back as he settled against Kurogane's body, wrapping his slender legs tightly around his waist. He rocked against Kurogane's hips, digging his fingers into his arms, his heartbeat roaring in his ears. He wanted to memorize every part of the only piece of Kurogane he had yet to know. Running his fingers everywhere he could reach, Fai pulled himself closer, shifting to nibble along Kurogane's jaw, purring softly in his throat.

As one hand twisted in Fai's blond hair the other snatched at and caught Fai's free wrist, drawing it down between their bodies. He groaned when their conjoined hands pressed against the two erections there, and guided the slender fingers to motion. He was going to come embarrassingly fast, but he had a feeling that Fai might be a little less apt to teasing him about it after this. Hopefully. Maybe. Probably not.

Breathing heavily against Kurogane's mouth, Fai pressed closer, rough fingers and his own bringing him closer and closer to the edge. He wanted to enjoy this, draw it out as long as he could, keep everything at bay except Kurogane's body and his dark eyes. But he remembered they had time, they had the whole spectrum of worlds to explore and Fai refused to think about when it all might come crashing down on him. Instead he rocked his hips closer, biting down on Kurogane's lip with a soft moan, a hint of a smile touching his lips.

Kurogane wanted to eat up that smile and make it his own, his eyes flashing dark as they flickered possessively over Fai's bare body. He wanted to make all of this his own. Only his.

Growling low in his throat, he pressed their fingers a little tighter, jerked a little rougher, and was coming painfully hard and embarrassingly fast with his teeth pressed against the skin of Fai's neck where it was sure to leave a visible bruise. It was more satisfying than he could have ever imagined, to have finally broken Fai down to this level...

Eyes sliding closed, Fai dug his fingers into Kurogane's shoulder, feeling the pain along his neck as sharply as he felt the pleasure, washing over him as he came, wrapped up tightly around Kurogane's body. So close, so close and he felt unable to ever pull away. It was something he had waited for, wanted for so long that when it finally appeared, he was overwhelmed.

His throat dry and his energy gone, Fai curled closer, without words or thoughts to break the silence, wondering just what would happen now and wanting time to stand still. Let this not be a mistake, he prayed against the heat of Kurogane's shoulder, chest shaking as he regained his breath.

A repentant tongue slid out over the marks his teeth had made, although they hadn't pierced the flesh. The smell of the two of them together filled his nose as he pressed it into the space between Fai's ear and his neck. He had wanted to do this for how long he couldn't remember, and hadn't dared. He didn't want Fai to regret this, ever. He was going to make this work.

"Stay with me," he whispered, his voice breaking after so much use.

Nodding, Fai slid his fingers into Kurogane's hair, touching his jaw, his neck, his shoulders softly as if to apologize for his silence. He didn’t trust himself with words, didn’t dare break something so tentatively formed by a careless statement. He worried he would some how make a mess of things, terrified he would have to do it someday, and so he just smiled against Kurogane's neck, nodding again. He would stay, stay as long as he possible could.

Catching on to the silence, Kurogane nervously rested one massive palm on top of Fai's head, holding him in place. The blond hair was as soft as ever under his hand and he sighed, closing his eyes for a long moment. To think, that all that sexual tension was gone...

He spent a long moment in silent contemplation, sifting through the tumult of emotions in his heart before he realized that he was cold. Fai pumped out heat like a radiator, but they were both naked in a bath house where anyone could walk in on them at any moment. Kurogane wasn't particularly shy when it came to such things, but he got a little twinging of guilt whenever he thought of ruining the princess' innocence.

"Fai?" he murmured next to an ear, not quite sure if the mage had fallen asleep or what.

Snapping upright, Fai pulled away slightly, blinking at Kurogane with round, clear eyes. In truth, he had been lost in his own thoughts, letting the minutes tick by as he enjoyed the simple experience of being. He felt light all of a sudden, refreshed and unburdened. He felt clean, innocent; sins washed away by Kurogane's hands and voice and heart. It would not last--nothing lasted, but at least for now, Fai felt as though he was once again a whole person.

"Mm?" Stretching his arms past broad shoulders, he regarded Kurogane with a questioning look, smiling clearly. "My my, Kuro-chan. I don’t know what to say." Humor restored, he pressed a kiss to Kurogane's nose.

Kurogane even smiled a little in reply to the first honest smile he had seen Fai grace to his presence before catching fleeting lips for a long, heartfelt kiss.

"You don't have to say anything," he murmured lowly, stroking Fai's cheek with his thumb. He was oddly gentle in these moments, and he didn't really want to move even though he knew he should.

"Can I say I'm cold?" he murmured with a grin against Kurogane's mouth, snuggling closer as a shiver ran through him. It was nice as they were, but the night air was seeping into his skin and ruining the tranquility. He was reluctant, however, to pull away, so he prodded Kurogane in the shoulder, slumping against him. "What do we tell the children?"

"That we had sex?"

Well, it was the simple truth, wasn't it? That was usually the easiest way to go about things, Kurogane had found.

Wrapping his arms around Fai's torso, he sat up with a groan and slowly got to his feet, Fai cradled in his arms. Normally, if Fai had asked him to do this he would have denied it outright, but he didn't really mind being affectionate as long as nothing was said out loud about it. The mage was unnaturally light.

"Do you think they even know what that is?"

Chuckling, Fai flopped about in Kurogane's arms like a stretched out cat, tracing the line of his jaw and shoulders absently. He never minded being carried around and it was amusing to think how many times Kurogane had ended up doing such. Surprisingly, it didn't feel much different. Comforted by that, Fai stopped squirming and curled closer to his body. Nothing would change.

"Probably not," Kurogane conceded, a low tone of humor in his voice. He would do his very best not to be the one to explain it to them, too.

He was a little surprised when Fai stopped wiggling, but when he looked down and saw the content look on Fai's face he had to work hard to keep a blush from crossing his own. That's all he had really wanted: to make Fai trust him. And if Fai could trust him enough to let himself be held like this, well... It was a start.

Now that Kurogane looked at his neatly folded clothes on the bench where he had changed hours earlier (possibly days, weeks, months, or years earlier) he felt struck by how much one simple act could change everything. Hitsuzen or something like that. It also struck him how disgusting he felt, even after having bathed. Great.

Setting Fai down gently, he sighed and reached for the robe anyways. He needed to get out of here before the happy feelings infected his brain even more and made him break out into song or something.

Blinking, Fai watched Kurogane quietly, the silence stretching as he wondered for a moment just how to continue. The ninja seemed like he wanted to leave, already pulling on his robe, looking slightly uncomfortable. Fai reached for his own, dressing as thoughts whirled around inside his head. After a moment, he scooped up the forgotten sake bottle and conked Kurogane on the head with it, grinning broadly.

"I found the booze!"

Shocked, Kurogane didn't manage to dodge the lightning-fast sake-bottle strike to the head.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" he yelled, ruining the silence as he rubbed the side of his head where he was bound to get a bump and a headache. It seemed as though they were going back to the old familiar run-around.

Grabbing the bottle out of Fai's hands, he tossed it in a corner not hard enough to smash and grabbed him by the wrists, firmly but not hard enough to bruise.

"Come on, you crazy mage. We've got to get home so I can take a shower."

"Nya~ But it's so warrrm here~" Slipping out of Kurogane's grasp, he glanced back at the misty water and the quiet, small little room. The cold didn't bother him that much, but it would have been nice to stay longer. Smiling, he pressed a kiss to Kurogane's shoulder.

"But you're right. We should go.." Gasping in shock, Fai grabbed one of his hands and dashed for the door. "We've got to see Mokona! No doubt he's missing us! Mokona, I'm sorryy~~ Kuro-mu is such a bad wife to you!" Laughing mercilessly, he didn't look back to savor the look on Kurogane's face, only threading their fingers together as if to make it all better.

Kurogane let himself be dragged along, as he usually did, and allowed the smallest of smirks to settle in his eyes before shifting back into the more familiar scowl. Despite that instinctive and expected response, his fingers tightened in Fai's grip as they dashed unnecessarily fast though the crowded streets back towards home.

He wouldn't say it had been an unproductive trip at all.