Nihon: Twofold (1)
Title: Twofold
Characters/Pairings: KuroFai, others mentioned, OCs
Rating: M - warnings (and I do so hate giving warnings) for violence, possible (probable) OC death, bad language, and definite citrus content. Possibly (probably) other dark stuff too. *absently tacks that last bit on, just in case*
Summary: To the neighbouring nation of Chugoku Kurogane and Fai go, there to finalise and sign an important peace treaty between that empire and Nihon. It should’ve been a relatively simple enterprise, had the Emperor been willing to keep his word, but that no longer seems to be the case. Despite the talk of peace Chugoku looks set for war, and if that’s what the empire wants Fai and Kurogane will willingly give them it.
A/N: Another instalment in the Nihon series, chronologically set a fortnight after the events in Sky of Gold, in the autumn of their second year in Nihon. This one’s a short story, instead of an oneshot.
So much love to Tuul this chapter. I don’t know if she’ll ever even read this, but - still, send the love her way. *beams psychic thoughts* She helped me with my Chinese and the general grammar of it, and just generally talked and made me feel…better about it? *loveslovesloves*
*****
Kurogane had a headache. A bright, bounding, overly-enthusiastic headache that had a particular insistence in hanging around and causing havoc, smiling and laughing and skittering about the ship willy-nilly, will o’ wisp. This headache had poked everything on-board there was to feasibly poke, asked an endless stream of questions that had simultaneously charmed the captain and had the man putting said headache outside of the door for some peace, and driven Kurogane, yet again, to the point where he was actually considering murder.
Most people called this headache ‘Fai’.
“Mage, I swear to all the gods out there that if you do not shut up, sit down and stop bouncing all over the deck like some sort of demented rabbit this instant I’m tying you up and throwing you overboard.”
They were on their way to Chugoku, the empire that was closest to Nihon by sea, there to finalise what was basically a peace treaty between the two nations. The Chugokian ambassadors had arrived in Nihon with the summer to negotiate the first half; this return trip would draw a conclusion to the affair, if all went well, on amiable grounds. Chugoku - larger, denser, and by far more aggressive - had been a political pain for Nihon for far too long. A few more days of sailing, and they’d be there.
“Mou, Kuro-tan,” Fai’s pout was legendary, the blond leaning back against the deck’s rail and letting the sailor he’d been harassing (‘questioning, Kuro-pii!’) escape, giving his attention to his vexed lover, “that would be awfully mean.”
“Gagged,” Kurogane added for good measure, stalking forward the few more steps that would take him to Fai’s side, “with rocks around your ankles.” This close to the port side he could hear the slap of the waves against the side of the ship, spray touching the skin of his arms.
Fai laughed at him, impervious to the crimson glower being levelled his way. “Kuro-chi would miss me if I were gone.” His smile was confident, damnably so, as Kurogane came within touching distance, Fai walking his fingers up the ninja’s chest and cupping Kurogane’s cheek with one hand. “Who would he have to cuddle with at night?”
Kurogane continued to glare. “I don’t ‘cuddle.’”
“Of course not.” When had Fai grown so patronisingly indulgent? “Kuro-chan snuggles. In a really manly fashion.”
Kurogane planted a hand either side of Fai’s waist on the rail, pinning the mage in place. “The waters around here are shark-infested, you realise.”
“Those would be the fish with the really big teeth?” Kurogane nodded and Fai flung himself melodramatically against the ninja’s chest, sobbing artistically as his voice cried out with a wail. “Wah, Kuro-sama wants me to be eaten! Eaten!!” Everyone on deck turned around to stare, and Kurogane felt a dull flush creeping up his neck. “He’d probably chop me up into little pieces and feed me to them himself - ohhhh,” this last was a quivering lament, “Kuro-pon is such a tyrant! So mean; so cruel, disposing of his love to the beasts of the sea to avoid scandal and shame -”
The eyes of the people on deck were beginning to turn disapproving. Kurogane leaned down to hiss against Fai’s ear, “Would you shut up already?!”
Fai looked up to smirk at him, and his eyes gleamed wickedly, foreign blue and gold. “Oh-!”
Kurogane clamped a hand over his mouth - and the disapproving looks around the deck promptly became arctic glares boring into his spine. Kurogane bristled, flung on the defensive. “I’m not gonna do anything to him!!” Disbelieving. “I wouldn’t throw him overboard!!”
“Kuro-sama!!” A happy yell (squeal) from in front informed Kurogane that, while he’d been glaring at everyone else, the hand that had been muffling Fai had slipped, the mage slithering down to his knees and wrapping his arms determinedly around Kurogane’s waist and snuzzling thereabouts. “You love me after all~~.” Snuggle, snuggle, rub.
Kurogane coloured further, switching his glare down to the one on the ground as he attempted to pry Fai from his person. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”
“I’m hugging Kuro-tan~!”
“That isn’t hugging!”
“Of course it is~!” Rub, rub, snuzzle, rub. Fai was as affectionate as a cat and twice as clingy, short hair gleaming brightly in the sun overhead as he shamelessly nuzzled against Kurogane’s stomach - in public -, all but purring all the while. The sound sent pleasant vibrations through his lover’s skin, red touching Kurogane’s ears as he realised the effect Fai’s actions were having on him. Just thinking about it made everything even worse - Fai was on his knees in a position far better suited for the bedroom, memories of that golden head between his thighs doing much more pleasurable things not at all distant for Kurogane to pluck at, feeling heat pool low in his belly.
“Mage,” Kurogane gritted his teeth, trying vainly to clamp down on his body’s reactions to Fai’s enthusiastic (and possibly unintentional) stimulus, his hands tightening on the ship’s rail, the wood protesting at the strength of his grip with his metal hand. (Please let everyone have looked away by that point.) “Let go.”
Fai looked up and smiled sweetly, and for one brief, blinding instant Kurogane felt a surge of hope his companion would actually listen to him for a change. Naturally, it all came crashing down. “No.”
“Let go of me, damn it!!”
Fai laughed into his abdomen, lips curved and shoulders shaking, Kurogane shuddering at the sensation and fighting his instinctive reaction to curl over the body of the kneeling magician. It was a wonder Fai hadn’t commented on his aroused state already - it had to be hard to miss, with his face pressed that close. A hakama could only hide so much.
“Kuro-sama…” Fai’s voice was a breath and his eyes were mischievously burning, mouth tugged up into a devil’s smile, hands slipping to Kurogane’s hips. The bastard knew exactly what he was doing, hot gaze flickering between Kurogane’s tormented face and the agape people on-board with them - nearly all of whom who were staring at the entangled couple with the sort of morbid fascination, to quote something one of Tomoyo’s guards had been caught muttering whilst they’d been in Piffle, that was usually reserved for a trainwreck.
It was truly a miracle there was any blood left in Kurogane’s body to paint his cheeks such a vivid shade of red, the rest of his circulation having pumped lower to the building ache there, hot and hard. It was all Fai’s fault - all of it -, Fai with his teasing, Fai with his smile, Fai for making himself become so associated with lewd thoughts in Kurogane’s mind that it was hard to draw breath and look at the mage sometimes without some sort of indecent image springing immediately to mind.
Enough was enough.
Kurogane reached down with his right hand, yanking Fai up forcefully by the collar with little care for the state of the blond’s clothes and growling into his face. Again, Fai laughed, delighted in the face of danger, and, snake-fast, leaned forwards to press a lingering kiss to the corner of his ninja’s mouth.
“Kuro-sama,” he murmured again against the soft skin there, the slits of his eyes aglow with his wicked teasing, “do you want to play?”
Stiff-legged, Kurogane dragged him off, pulling Fai below decks and heading for their rooms. They didn’t make it there - Kurogane’s grip on Fai’s collar was awkward and the mage tripped, stumbling into Kurogane and pushing the taller man into the nearest wall. The sudden pressure made Kurogane hiss, hips slammed against hips, Fai more than happy to rock into him, sealing their mouths in a searing kiss.
The corridor they were in was thankfully deserted, their moans muffled by each other’s mouths, covered up by the creaks of the ship and the ever-present sound of the waves. Fai broke their kiss with a grin and dropped to his knees once more to make good of his earlier unspoken promise, undoing Kurogane’s hakama even as the ninja himself tried to offer a protest - they were in a public area, anyone could walk by, and oh, kami-!
Fai only smirked when Kurogane groaned, settling his grip on Kurogane’s hips once more and returning to lazily sucking on the head of the ninja’s cock. Kurogane’s protests seemed to have died a miraculous death, the man’s breath hitching and his head making a dull thump as it fell back to hit the wood of the wall behind him, throat working but little comprehensible noise coming out as Fai took him in deeper, deeper, swallowing him into wet warmth. Kurogane instinctively strained against the hands pinning him in place, trying to buck into the damp heat, but Fai kept him mostly still, not wanting to choke.
Fai was certainly good at what he did - experience had taught him what Kurogane did and didn’t like, how to drag his sharp teeth lightly down the man’s length to get Kurogane to make that particular noise, that sound between a growl and a groan, larger hands fisting in gold hair for something - anything - to hold onto. He hummed deliberately and Kurogane gave in and came with an oath, Fai swallowing the other’s seed and letting Kurogane slip from his mouth so the ninja could slide heavily down the wall, still panting, orgasm leaving an attractive glaze in his eyes.
“Good?” Fai queried, amused at the utter failure of his words to sink into Kurogane’s mind until a good three minutes had passed, Kurogane focusing eventually on his face - and letting loose another oath again, quieter this time, thumb rising to brush at some of his come that Fai had missed, a spot on the mage’s swollen lower lip.
“You -” again, Kurogane’s throat worked, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed, but little sound came out. He gave up on speech and slid his artificial hand to the back of Fai’s neck instead, pulling the slighter man up and between his legs for a hard kiss.
“Kuro-chan,” Fai started wetly when Kurogane’s other hand spread itself on his inner thigh, pulling back slightly as the fingers slid upwards, pushing up the hem of Fai’s kimono, the bottom of the under-robe underneath, “we’re in a corridor.” An awareness of one’s surroundings was optional and relative to the situation.
“Hn,” no-one had come along yet. Fai shivered as those familiar calloused fingers touched his hip, points of warmth against the skin. “Why aren’t you wearing underwear?”
“The kimono wouldn’t hang right on top -” Fai breathed out harshly when Kurogane palmed his length, the mage already hard beneath his clothes. His words were gritted out, a testament of will. “Kuro-pii, my robes -”
Kurogane stroked him and Fai’s head fell forward against the ninja’s shoulder, a shudder trailing down his spine. “Fuck the robes.”
“I can’t say I’ve ever tried that kink -” the words broke into a soft cry, Kurogane’s thumb doing that thing over the tip of Fai’s cock, pumping the other slowly, surely, Fai’s breathing damp and heavy as he pushed against Kurogane’s chest with his head.
Kurogane smirked down at him, continuing to rub the nape of the blond’s neck with his artificial hand, liking the tremble the cool metal sent through Fai’s form. It was good to have the - literal - upper hand for once, Fai moaning low in the back of his throat, thrusting shallowly into Kurogane’s grip. Kurogane stroked him more firmly, faster, just to hear the other’s breath quicken, harsher, to hear Fai’s keen. When the mage came he spilled over into Kurogane’s hand, Fai going lax against the ninja’s chest as Kurogane retrieved his palm from beneath the other’s kimono, absently wiping it on the cloth.
Hazy, mismatched eyes glowered at him, coupled with a pout. “My robes.”
“They were wrecked anyway,” Kurogane, ever the shining example of reasonability, pointed out.
Fai grumbled. “Tomoyo-chan made them.”
“Tomoyo knows what you’re (“‘we’re’, Kuro-chi,”) capable of. They’ll wash.”
Another grumble, Fai dropping his head again. “I’ll remember that, Kuro-myu.”
#
It was the afternoon of their arrival in Chugoku. Land had been sighted and the port where they were to make official introductions had come into view, Kurogane leaning on the side of the ship beside one of his advisors for the trip, a scholar named Taro who had been at the Chugokian Imperial Court before, assisting the Nihon foreign ambassador there, Shizkomoto Akemi. (He’d returned to Nihon, he told Kurogane idly, to be married.) Fai was absently darting about the deck doing only-the-gods-knew-what, a blur of white and blue and gold out of the corner of Kurogane’s eye.
Taro was naming the officials that could be barely seen on the port’s side, tiny figures that had mostly only been names on official documents to Kurogane before.
“That’s Jiang-gōng, and those are Miankai-jiéxià and Sun Kai-jiéxià -”
“I know those last two.” Kurogane interrupted, brow drawing down into a scowl. “They were the ambassadors who came to Court in the summer.” Bastards that they were.
“And that’s -” Taro froze, mouth dropping open slightly as his finger pointed to a figure reclining in yellow and gold under a white pavilion, “kami, that’s Zhuang-wángyé.”
“Hyuu,” Fai actually paused for a moment in his fluttering around the deck, drawn in by the comment and leaning in on Kurogane’s shoulder to peer at the glittering figure in the distance as if it would magically make him any larger. “They sent the Crown Prince to greet us? That’s fairly uncommon.”
“Maybe it’s a sign they’re ready to take us seriously,” Taro said, looking hopeful. “It’s an honour for the Imperial House to greet us this way.”
“Hn,” Kurogane looked away from the scholar, back at the Chugokian Crown Prince.
“Kuro-rin,” Fai teased, “how eloquent of you.” Kurogane flicked a glare at him and Fai laughed, changing the subject. “We’ll be coming to port soon, Kuro-wan, and I need to finish getting dressed. Have you seen my other slipper?” He gestured down to his feet, one of which was bare.
Kurogane eyed him. “Why the hell would I know where your damn slipper is?”
Fai pouted at him. “I didn’t move it, and no-one else aside from you has been in our cabin.”
“I didn’t move your slipper.”
“So it got up and walked off by itself?” Kurogane glared at him, and Fai sighed. “Fine, Kuro-chin, I’ll go look again. But -” he exclaimed with a flourish over his shoulder as he walked away, “a truly noble ninja would aid his dearly beloved in his quest~!”
“Find your own damn slipper!”
Taro smiled blithely at the exchange. “My new wife and I argue the same way. She’s forever haranguing about moving her things around and messing up her organisation.”
“Hmph,” Kuro slumped against the rail again, Fai out of sight, his snort a feeling one. Then it hit him. “Wait, he’s not my w-”
“Kurogane-sama,” one of the sailors passing by interrupted, “the captain wishes you to know we’ll be pulling up to the port presently,” as if any of them could miss how close they were to land, and the crowds standing upon it.
“…Right.” Wouldn’t disembarking into that viper’s nest be fun. “Make sure the idiot knows.”
“‘The idiot’-?” Clearly, this sailor hadn’t been exposed to Fai as often as some of his friends.
“Fluorite-sama,” Taro elaborated, clearing up the confusion and letting the man go off. Taro glanced up at Kurogane beside him. “Do you think this trip will go well, Kurogane-sama?” The ninja nodded sharply. “What makes you so sure?”
Kurogane laid a hand on the sword at his waist, smile wolfish. “I can be a pretty effective persuader.”
Taro laughed a little more weakly at that - he just hoped someone had informed Kurogane they were going on shore for a peace treaty.
#
Kurogane disembarked the boat with his shoulders back and his head raised high, an imposing figure in black and vivid red. A few of the Chugokian slaves - marked by the collars of silver or gold around their necks, the metal respective of the ranking of their owner - visibly quavered when the ninja stalked into view, but kept still, afraid of a lashing if they stepped away and could possibly be deemed to have interfered with their masters’ oiled presentations.
“Kurogane-jiéxià,” it was the ambassador Miankai that stepped forward to greet the ninja, Kurogane’s Nihon name jarring a little beside the Chugokian honorific. The Chugokian courtier only smiled though, a perfect image of insincere sincerity. “It is my pleasure to welcome you to this, our fair land.”
“It is my pleasure to be here,” Kurogane dutifully replied in the same tongue, having had manners (and the language) drummed into him by the Amaterasu, Tomoyo and Fai for these sorts of situations.
“I will lead you to His Highness, Zhuang-wángyé - but,” Miankai paused, glancing at the noticeably empty spot at Kurogane’s side, “is the mage, Fluorite-jiéxià, still indisposed with his summer sickness? We were told he was to be arriving with you.”
Kurogane only just managed to avoid going ‘huh?’ at the question - why was Miankai asking him about Fai? The blond had gotten off the ship right behind Kurogane; the idiot had even flashed him a quick smile before he’d disembarked. Fai was -
Kurogane risked a glance over his shoulder. Taro looked back at him a little helplessly, and shrugged slightly. The scholar hadn’t seen him.
Fai was nowhere to be found, apparently. Brilliant.
“My apologies,” Kurogane’s words were clipped, irritated at Miankai, the situation, and Fai - probably in that order. “It appears my partner has found himself delayed on-board.”
“I found my shoe!” The sudden cry from the ship drew everyone’s attention, heads swivelling throughout the crowd to the blond figure that had appeared at the top of the gangplank there, waving some frippery in a pretty shade of blue about in the air. (It was probably the slipper.)
Fai scrambled his way down the gangplank, the people that had come from Nihon with them hastily clearing a path for him to get through, Fai darting forwards until he reached Kurogane’s side - at which point he still realised he was holding his slipper in his hand, and promptly dropped it to the floor so he could actually put it on.
If there’d been a wall nearby, Kurogane would’ve smacked his head off of it.
“…Fluorite-jiéxià?” Miankai looked a little taken-aback - his was one of the milder reactions. Some of the other natives were out-and-out gawking, jaws having outright dropped throughout the Imperial welcome party at the sight, and introduction, of the blond. (Kurogane couldn’t blame them, quite aside from his fair colouring, Fai tended to have that sort of effect on people.)
“A pleasure to meet you,” Fai was immediate warmth, delicately focusing one of his potent smiles on the Chugokian ambassador, an expression very few could tell was nearly completely fake.
There was laughter, full and rich, from the side, Miankai halting with whatever reply he’d been about to make and hastily bowing to the man who had appeared behind him. “Highness.” The courtier glanced up again. “Your Highness, I was bringing them to you -”
“No matter,” the newcomer held up a hand and Miankai fell silent, dropping his head once more. The stranger then looked to Fai and Kurogane, both of whom offered their own obeisances, murmuring a soft ‘Your Highness’ between them, recognising the man pointed to them by Taro on-board the ship.
“It is my pleasure to welcome to Chugoku, friends from Nihon, on behalf of my father, His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Chugoku. He extends his warmth to you, and bids you make yourself comfortable whilst you are in these lands.” Crown Prince Zhuang was impressive up close. He was tall - but not quite as tall as Kurogane -, with a set face and a determined dignity. His gown was the same shade of wild yellow as the petals of a sunflower, heavy with brocade and fine stitching, curling dragons over the fluid cloth. His eyes were painted and he was covered in gold, a princeling the like Fai had never seen before, not in all his own experience.
(From the way his attendants seemed to be fussing amongst themselves in the background about how the prince was supposed to have stayed out of the sun and under his pavilion, however, it was clear the royal was very much like the others Kurogane was acquainted with. (None of them would do as they were damn well told.))
“Her Imperial Majesty Amaterasu, the Empress of Nihon, sends her kindest greetings, and the hope for the strengthening of the bond between our two nations.” Kurogane left the pretty words to Fai - the idiot was far more verbose than he, and still a much better liar. The speech was rehearsed but the charm was all the blond’s.
And then the Chugokian prince broke from tradition. “You certainly know how to make a lasting first impression.” He sounded amused.
“It’s a terrible habit of mine, Your Highness.” Fai glanced up between his lashes, a flicker of rueful amusement, and something flitted across Zhuang’s face too brief to properly register but had Kurogane stiffening slightly all the same -
“We’ll be taking barges up the river to the Imperial Palace.” Zhuang turned his back on them and began striding off with the clear intention they were to follow. As the prince’s servants fussed Fai and Kurogane did as they were implicitly bid, the rest of their entourage being shepherded about behind them. Kurogane made a face as they walked, disliking the royal’s abrupt way of dismissing them, but Fai’s smile was soothing (wasn’t he supposed to be mad at that idiot?) and Miankai stayed thankfully out of the way, looking thoughtful.
Kurogane smacked Fai upside the head the moment they were somewhere relatively quiet on-board, Fai immediately whining and rubbing his abused skull. Fai mock-sulked and Kurogane called him an idiot, and they both watched as the boat cut smoothly through the water, the rippling river, the passing scenery on the banks.
“They’re showing off,” Kurogane said lowly, as the Imperial barge sailed past another glittering military camp on the banks, row upon row of soldiers out and doing their drills.
“Oh, I know.” Fai’s pose was lazy, his chin propped up on one hand as he leaned on the rail. “There were powerful mages in the welcome party - most of them came on-board with us.” Kurogane stiffened again. “They came to assess us.”
“And?” His lover prompted him. How had they done?
Fai smiled, a slow spread of his lips. “His Highness Zhuang-wángyé was so very personable with us for a reason, Kuro-pii. We have to be worth their time if they’re going to be nice to us.”
“Incidentally,” Kurogane’s voice was still low, “the prince is staring at us.” Zhuang had taken a seat in the shade on deck the moment he’d come on board and not budged from it since - his eyes, however, brown-gold and attentive, had been everywhere. Currently, they were fixed on the Nihon ambassadors, and Kurogane didn’t like it.
“And why shouldn’t he?” Fai queried, keeping his smile even. “We are his guests and his responsibility, and we’re also something new in his day. Variety is the spice of life, Kuro-pon~!”
“That still doesn’t give him the right to -” Kurogane broke off mid-sentence and turned on the person who’d suddenly ghosted into their close vicinity, lips pulled back in an almost-snarl, “what?”
It was a female slave dressed in off-white and grey, her black hair cropped about her ears. When she straightened from the bow she’d been holding the gold collar about her neck caught the light of the sun. “His Highness, Zhuang-wángyé, requests that you will see him now, Fluorite-jiéxià, Kurogane-jiéxià.” It was less of a request, and more a politely-worded demand. “There are refreshments in the shade.”
Fai smiled again - really, this trip was letting the mage fall back into horrible habits. Barely any of the caricatures of happiness Fai had sported since coming off the ship had held any genuine meaning behind them (but then, maybe that was a good thing - Kurogane wasn’t quite sure he’d be willing to share). “We’ll be there presently.” The slave disappeared to inform the prince.
They went to Zhuang and sat and the low chairs the slaves provided for them - although it was implied they were meant to sit lower than the prince Kurogane’s height meant that Zhuang was still towered over, the royal expressing only the slightest flash of irritation before cordially offering the ambassadors some of the cool, sweet tea he’d been drinking, along with some fruit.
“We’ll be at the Palace in about an hour,” he told them. “You’ll be shown to your rooms where you can wash and change after your journey, and then be presented to the Emperor before dinner.”
“Change?” Kurogane looked up at the prince, his voice muffled around the plum he’d just bitten into. His expression clearly revealed his feelings on the matter - they had to get changed? Again? (Fai had had to threaten him into the fancy robes he was already wearing for coming off of the ship.)
Fai kicked him in the ankle, feigning a stretch, and beamed charmingly for Zhuang. “That would be wonderful, Your Highness, thank you.”
They made idle, meaningless conversation for that hour, Zhuang and Fai driving it along, Kurogane occasionally voicing a question or comment. They discussed the weather, their clothing, music, food, even broaching tentatively out onto family at one point (‘Fluorite-jiéxià, do you have any siblings? Wives? Children?’ Fai had smiled and laughed and said ‘no’, and Kurogane had echoed him), but nothing political, nothing to do with the military or international affairs.
They arrived at the Imperial palace eventually. Fai made his ‘hyuu’ noise at the sheer size of it as they disembarked, and Kurogane muttered under his breath about it making such a spectacular target - even an idiot beginner couldn’t fail to hit it.
They were shown to their rooms - Fai first, as Kurogane insisted he wanted to know where the mage was being placed, and then he himself, led away by another slave what seemed a stupidly long distance. His belongings were already in his chambers by the time he arrived there, and Kurogane promptly opened up one of his cases, grabbed one of the robe-things that was on the top, and made the trek straight back to where he’d last seen Fai.
The idiot had found the bath. Kurogane left the clothes he was carrying in the bedchamber and followed the sound of water over into the bathroom, only mildly surprised to see his lover up to his neck in warm water, boneless and sprawled out in sheer hedonistic pleasure. The air was heavy with some…weird scent, the bathwater’s surface gleaming with a thin sheen of oil.
Kurogane folded his arms across his chest, and leaned back against the nearest wall. “Having fun?”
Fai made a noise closely akin to that of a sleepy cat, his eyes opening as he smiled out a lazy greeting. “Kuro-myu~”
“Weren’t you supposed to be getting changed?”
“Kuro-chan, we have an hour until we’re supposed to see the Emperor.” Fai sank a little lower in the water, tilting his head back so the liquid sank into the gold of his hair, darkening it. “I fully intend to spend it right. Here.”
“You’ll wrinkle.” An appeal to the blond’s sliver of vanity usually worked.
“I don’t care.” Fai really didn’t, resuming his expression of bliss. No power in heaven or on earth was moving him from that bath before he was good and ready. “Kuro-sama should join me - don’t worry, I won’t peek.”
Kurogane considered it. If he turned down the offer he’d have nothing much to do except wait around for Fai to be done; it really wasn’t advisable for him to attempt to check out the palace just yet, not considering they’d still to meet the Emperor and be extended his tacit welcome. They’d have to meet the permanent Nihon ambassador here in Chugoku, Shizkomoto, sometime - he’d probably be at the dinner, and Taro and the rest of their group would be milling about as well…
Kurogane dropped the clothes he was wearing and stepped into the water, not looking at Fai but definitely hearing the other’s soft groan of appreciation. “Oi, what happened to no peeking?”
“I didn’t peek,” Fai defended, his smile cat-like and curling as Kurogane waded through the water towards him, the ripples caused by the movement lapping up around his pale neck. “I ogled.” His voice dropped when Kurogane came close enough, his hand rising, sleek, to trail a wet line across his lover’s bare collarbone. “Kuro-sama is very oglable.”
Kurogane wrinkled his nose, feeling the water drip down his chest from the blond’s touch. “Is that even a word?” Actually in the water the scent of the oil went straight to his head, heady, overpowering.
“It is now~,” Fai only chuckled at Kurogane’s disgruntled expression, tugging the other down to sit beside him and promptly snuggling against the ninja’s chest, making himself comfortable.
Kurogane…had to reluctantly admit that this was nice. The water was warm and soothing, Fai was tucked at ease against him and drawing slow, whimsical patterns on his skin, and the time could trickle by, lost in the curls of steam that rose from the water to twirl in the air.
“Before we go home,” Fai drowsily informed him after a long stretch of peace had gone by, “we’re having sex in this bath.”
Kurogane glanced down at him. “Don’t I get any say in the matter?”
“Sex. This bath.” Fai was firm. “You can choose the scented oil.”
Kurogane snorted and they lapsed back into quiet again, eventually slipping out of the bath, drying themselves off and heading through to get changed. Kurogane yanked his red and black ensemble on with little aplomb but Fai dawdled about for what seemed like forever and a day, whisking out a selection of multicoloured fabric and darting behind a patterned screen nearby to change.
“No peeking, Kuro-tan~!!” …Hypocrite.
“Idiot,” Kurogane sighed and sat in a nearby chair, “I’ve seen it all before.”
“That’s because Ku~ro-sa~ma is a per~vert~.” Kurogane only growled at the other’s sing-song declaration, Fai laughing and appearing a few minutes later in Chugokian-style robes of blue and cream, holding out a light sash to his lover. “Would Kuro-do help me tie this?”
Kurogane strongly resisted the urge to wrap the sash around Fai’s throat and throttle the mage with it, instead fixing it around the other’s waist as he was asked to, Fai kissing him on the cheeks in thanks before moving away a step or two.
“It looks alright? Tomoyo-chan made this for me before we came, to fit in with the local fashions.” Fai twirled, the edges of his long over-robe lifting slightly as it caught the air, material pressing against the mage’s legs. “Does Kuro-pon like it?”
“Don’t call me that while we’re here.” Kurogane moved automatically to take the other’s arm, feeling soft cloth beneath his fingertips. He had to impress this upon the other - he probably should’ve told him earlier. “We’re official ambassadors for Nihon - we need to command respect ion this Court.”
“So I can call you it every other time we’re not at Court?” Fai fluttered his eyes rather suggestively, Kurogane close enough to make out each individual lash.
“Tch.” The ninja glanced away. “It’s not like you’re going to listen to me if I say no.”
“Of course I listen to Kuro-tama!” Fai looked scandalised. “He always makes such pretty noises, especially when I do that thing he likes with my t-”
“Fai.”
Fai smiled up at Kurogane, softer than before, and laid a hand on his arm. “I promise I’ll be good.”
#
Kurogane was slowly, but inexorably, getting sick of the Imperial family’s fondness for the obnoxious shade of yellow they all seemed to be wearing. The Emperor wore it, his wives wore it, his sons and daughters wore it, and the room seemed full of the glaring colour, the Court's whispers as they looked at the foreigners from Nihon. Let them whisper - Nihon was small, but Nihon was rich and strong, and Chugoku would do well to mind that.
They had been presented to His Imperial Majesty, the son of Heaven, and Kurogane had disliked him on sight, but bowed low as bid as the man brought out his darling heir, Zhuang, for display, his chief wife, a mild hand waved at a flock of what were, Kurogane assumed, his giggling daughters. Even Fai had flickered a little wearily as the Emperor brought out his officials again, the men they’d be dealing with over the treaty, Sun Kai, Miankai, a score of others. Both Fai and Kurogane had nodded and noted names and faces as best they could for a brief introduction, neither really sitting up to pay true attention until the Court’s Chief Mage was introduced, Liu Bao, and the two slave charges he watched over. Usually, the Emperor languidly explained, as he waved forward an elaborately-dressed, smiling man, slaves weren’t taught magic, but these two had been found young, raw and dangerous, and it was for the benefit of the Empire that they had been brought in to hone their craft.
Neither Fai nor Kurogane were looking at Liu Bao. Fai, poor Fai, was very much transfixed by the two naively blinking slave children flanking the Chugokian Chief Mage on either side, and Kurogane was distracted trying to offer his lover a subtle, steadying arm, because Fai had gone dreadfully, terribly white, and looked as if he were going to fall over.
Zhuang asking if they had family on the boat suddenly made painfully cruel sense.
“Why, Fluorite-jiéxià,” Liu Bao said, looking taken-aback, seeing the blond’s ashen face, “you look just like my students.”
“It…” Fai shivered once and then forced himself to straighten, to not lean on Kurogane in a Court full of probably hostile eyes, to look away from those blue-eyed, golden-haired, golden-collared twins accompanying the other mage. He could feel his memories screaming in his ears and his breath caught again, faltered, but then he was smiling so serenely again, smooth perfection dressed up prettily for this foreign Court’s eyes. Fai inclined his head courteously, respect from one magic practitioner to another. “It is an honour to meet you, and your students.”
“Likewise,” said Liu Bao, glancing down at the twins beside him, confused.
“Likewise,” the twins softly echoed, transfixed by Fai.
Fai didn’t raise his head from its incline to look at them, and his smile was cracked so painfully wide Kurogane wondered how it could fit on his face at all.
A/N: I haven’t checked exactly, but I actually think the only time Kurogane’s referred to Fai by his name in this series insofar was when (in We Go Ever Onwards) Koko the cat shredded his manga. I mean, seriously, Kuro-pon, you’re having wild, passionate sexytiems with sex-on-legs, and you care more about the mangayan. *sighs*
Notes:
1) They’re sailing over an AU version of the Sea of Japan at the beginning of this. It does have sharks.
2) On Fai’s lack of underwear - women sometimes did this, as the underwear left lines on the outer kimono and shucked it up a bit. Instead, people would wear a long, smooth robe so that the clothing fit better, looking better overall.
3) ‘-wángyé’ and ‘-jiéxià’ are…hm, Chinese suffixes, used quite similarly to the Japanese honorifics I usually use in my fics. I used ‘-wángyé’ for the Crown Prince as it basically translates to ‘princely lord’, and it’s usually reserved for kings/princes (both of which are considered below the Emperor). Members of the Imperial family will usually receive ‘-diànxià’ (‘beneath your palace’), but I felt I’d be overusing that with other characters so switched to a different address for Zhuang.
‘-jiéxià’ (‘beneath your ceremonial banner’) is used for ambassadors.
4) Fai’s clothing when they go to see the Emperor, pretty much (without the hat): https://www.chinesemoods.com/product.php?productid=2384
Kurogane’s clothing (only in red/black/gold): https://www.chinesemoods.com/product.php?productid=680