Tsubasa Chronicle Fan Fiction ❯ Reciprocity, Part II ❯ Chapter 9 ( Chapter 9 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Tsubasa.

 

For two days Fai's injured twin remained unconscious and for two days and nights his dark haired lover never left his side… and day after day Kurogane and Fai grew more uncomfortable.

 

When their `cosmic twins', as it were, suddenly dropped into the palace, the relationship between the two of them became increasingly strained. When they had made love, Fai had been overwhelmed by his feelings and turned his back on the samurai, which (not surprisingly) caused Kuro's temper to flair. With the confusion that ensured, they had not had the opportunity to resolve the tension between them and now neither of them knew how to bridge the growing gap.

 

To add to their problems was the fact that watching their `twins' was like gazing into a mirror of what might have been, or what could be. All the feelings Kurogane kept concealed were nevertheless revealed through his twin's behavior. The other Kuro had sat relentlessly next to his Fai, his face contorted in concern for his lover, his emotions open for all to see. And still Fai turned a blind eye, because he didn't know how to open to his lover and didn't know how to start fresh.

 

So now the two of them stood together on a balcony outside the room where their cosmic twins resided, a pregnant silence filling the air as the night fell between them. Unable to stand the tension, Fai fell back into his role as jester.

 

“You know, Kuro-pu, things are really going to get confusing with all of us sharing the same names.”

 

“Yeah,” was all the samurai said in reply.

 

It annoyed him that the blonde man hid behind humor and play just to avoid an awkward situation. Then again, he didn't really want to deal with what was happening either.

 

“Maybe I should call you `Kuro #1 and that,” he pointed into the room where the other warrior sat in his vigilant watch, “could be `Kuro #2'.”

 

“You are NOT going to call me `Kuro #1'! That's ridiculous!”

 

Fai pouted; Kurogane scowled.

 

“But you get to be #1, I thought you'd like that!”

 

The samurai refused to comment on this absurd rationalization.

 

“Fine then,” Fai conceded. “How about… your Highness!”

 

“Huh?”

 

Kuro turned and saw the Queen walking towards them and bowed.

 

“How is he?” she asked, indicating the blonde man that still lay sleeping within the room.

 

“The same,” Kuro informed her.

 

The two men remained outside as the Queen stepped into the chambers and sat down next to the other dark-haired man. She could see that his stress and fatigue were forming worry lines along his brow and she gave him a gentle smile when he finally looked over to her.

 

He said nothing, but tried to smile in return. Tomoyo slipped her hand into the tall, gruff man's grasp and they sat for a few moments thus, side by side. Even though the warrior knew this was not /his/ Tomoyo, he still took comfort in her presence.

 

After a time, the Queen looked up to see her own Kuro and his Fai standing in the doorway from the balcony.

 

“Have you been able to find anything more in Yukito's logs?” her Kuro asked.

 

“No,” she confessed sadly.

 

The dark-haired man at her side gazed at her pleadingly, “Can't you do /something/?”

 

The sorrow in the Queen's eyes increased.

 

“I do not possess the powers of a mage-seer, and our last court mage died several years ago without appointing a replacement.” She paused, “but perhaps there is someone else here with magical talent who could give us some insight?”

 

Her eyes fell on Fai and he deliberately looked away.

 

Next to him, Kuro's eyes narrowed. “If you still have your powers, you should damn well use them.”

 

“I haven't used my magics in quite sometime, I may not be able to help.”

 

“You can try,” Kuro told him, eyes still boring into him with their intensity.

 

With obvious reluctance, Fai stepped closer to the bed and gazed down onto his twin. Closing eyes, he put one hand to the other man's forehead and concentrated. A deep stillness settled over the room as Fai focused his energies. As the mage's intensity grew, it became almost palpable and the space around them seemed charged, as if the air itself were ready to suddenly burst and spark into thunder.

 

“Fai,” the Queen said softly, calling to him. The mage's brow was beginning to sweat and his breath was becoming labored. “Fai,” she called more firmly.

 

But he didn't seem to hear her and suddenly he started to murmur, “…so much pain… what he's- I've done… too much, I can't- No!” His eyes flew open, shouting a single word before he collapsed: “Ashura!”

 

From behind, the resident Kurogane ran up to catch him in his arms. “Fai! What happened? Talk to me!” he cried, worry hanging heavily on his words as he spoke.

 

The blonde blinked his eyes open weakly to meet his gaze.

 

“I looked into his mind,” he finally managed.

 

“What did you see?” Kuro pressed.

 

He paused before telling him cryptically, “What I might have become.” Then the man went limp.

 

“Fai! Fai!” the samurai called, but the mage did not respond, he had passed out cold.

 

What had just happened? What was this about Ashura? He knew their twins had also had to deal with the King, but he still didn't know any of the details. With a sigh he resigned himself to the fact that any questions would have to wait.

 

“Just great,” the other warrior muttered, “now they're both unconscious.”

 

Kurogane ignored this comment, irritated that he had been thinking the same thing himself and nodded to Tomoyo as he took his leave, making his way back to his own chambers with Fai in his arms.

 

To his great relief, the blonde opened his eyes as he was setting him down onto the bed.

 

“Kuro,” he whispered.

 

“Fai, are you feeling better? Can you tell me what happened back there?”

 

The man took a breath to steady himself, his mind still shaken and spinning. “I saw what might have happened if I had chosen to fight for Ashura.”

 

Kurogane was taken aback. “What? You mean… the other Fai- your twin- he fought for him?”

 

Fai nodded, his eyes glazing over with a haunted, sad look. Then, he proceeded to tell Kurogane everything he had seen- how the other Fai and Kuro had met, what had transpired, and how they had `escaped'. It was a lot to take in, and it left the two of them with mixed emotions. On the one hand, they felt lucky that they had not had to endure the trials that their twins had been put through. However, they also were left feeling somewhat foolish that they had met under circumstances that were far more favorable, and yet they had not been able to open themselves up to one another as the other pair had.

 

When Fai had finished, an unspoken question hung in the air between them: if their twins could overcome such great odds to be together, couldn't they come to an understanding as well? Perhaps they had taken their meeting for granted up until this point.

 

Without saying a word, the two men's eyes locked and a new relationship between them began to take seed and bloom in their hearts. As if by an inevitable magnetic pull, their lips found each other and that one kiss began to break down all the barriers that had so long stood between them.

 

Kuro ate at the blonde's mouth, the heat of his tongue plunging between Fai's parted lips. Even the a few days apart had been too long and the samurai's hands drifted down over the man's form to re-familiarize himself with his body.

 

Unfortunately, the heady kiss sapped the mage of his remaining strength and he fainted, breathless, in Kuro's arms.

 

“Fai,” Kuro said, concerned when he had once again gone limp. But in the next moment a soft, contented snore rose to his ears and the man had to smirk. “You're hopeless,” he told the sleeping blonde.

 

Although he was not yet tired, the samurai climbed carefully into the bed and pulled the lithe man close against him, savoring his warmth and nearness before finally succumbing to sleep later in the night.

 

Unbeknownst to the slumbering couple, another Fai was opening his eyes for the first time in days.

 

“Fai!” his Kuro sputtered, overjoyed to see his lover open his eyes and look at him.

 

Tomoyo had left only minutes before and the warrior had been left alone with only his dark thoughts for company. He almost couldn't believe that the man was finally alert and awake.

 

“Fai, are you alright now? How do you feel?”

 

Slowly, the blonde put his hand up to Kuro's face and smiled.

 

“I'm fine.”

 

Kuro reciprocated the gesture and placed his hand over Fai's as tears slipped from his eyes. “I love you,” he told him, his voice thick with emotion.

 

“I love you too,” Fai said, smiling.

 

Then he glanced at the room around him.

 

“By the way, where are we?”