[Tsubasa] Marco Polo 4

[athenaltena]

Seems like each successive bit of this takes longer than the last. Or maybe I'm just being picky. *shrug* Anyway, this probably went through the most tweaks, but I'm finally happy with it. 5's in the works, and I'm thinking of maybe wrapping it up next chapter with a possible bonus ;).

One piece of wisdom that Kurogane’s father had shared before his death was to always trust one’s intuition. It had taken his son a while to finally do this, but there were still times that he absolutely hated being right.

He knew the instant he met Sohma for their weekly meeting on Tomoyo’s security situation that all was not well. From the way she was pacing around the room like a caged animal with her arms over her chest it was obvious she was agitated. He’d seen her in a bad mood before – they’d known each other for over a decade – but he’d never seen her like this.

He leaned against the doorframe with a sigh, deciding that he might as well get this over with.

“Spit it out. What have I done wrong?”

She shot him a glare and continued pacing.

“What do you think?”

Kurogane’s mouth twitched in annoyance. As bad as Moody Sohma was, Passive-Aggressive Sohma was that plus a million. This wasn’t going to be fun.

“Sohma,” he said flatly. “If you don’t stop it with this sarcastic bullshit I’m going to tune you out. Let’s try this again: What have I done wrong?”

In spite of her “drop dead” glare she appeared to get the message and paused mid-step.

“It’s him.”

“You mean Fay?” Kurogane replied, imitating her tone. He would not tolerate her reducing Fay to a pronoun as long as he was around.

“Who else?” She snapped back irritably, having missed his sarcasm. “Kurogane, people are talking…”

“So what?” He interrupted flatly. “People are always talking. The day people stop talking is the day I’ll know everything’s gone to hell.”

Sohma was fuming at this point, and stomped over to the window where she took several deep breaths to calm herself. Kurogane rolled his eyes at the display, still thoroughly unimpressed.

“Kurogane, it’s your relationship with him that’s the problem!” she hissed, clenching her fists at her sides. He merely scoffed, leaning against the doorframe and crossings his arms.

“Sohma, my relationship with him is nobody’s business. And just so you know, we haven’t done that yet. Not that I haven’t thought about it…” It was, unfortunately, the truth. Between Fay’s excessive sleeping and his duties to Tomoyo they hadn’t done more than kissing.

The fact that Sohma had begun to squirm at the last part meant that that his tactic of pushing her comfort boundaries was working. Almost time for the kill.

“Tell me.” He asked flatly, crossing his arms. “Is it just because he’s a man?”

“Yes!” she snapped back without thinking.

It had worked. Kurogane crossed the room and stared her down.

“So then how is this any different than your relationship with the Empress?”

Sohma gasped and began to back away, her face suddenly pale. Kurogane couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for hitting below the belt like that, but he didn’t know how else to reach her. While she was still reeling in shock he began to pace around the room, keeping his eyes locked on her.

“‘Do whatever you want but be quiet about it’. Wasn’t that what you told me when I first came here as a dumb little kid?” He paused mid-step. “Whatever happened to that?”

She tried to turn away, but he simply followed her.

“You going to answer me or keep running?” he said flatly. It was becoming increasingly difficult to keep the anger out of his voice.

“It’s not the same…” She said passively, shying away from him. Mentioning the Empress had obviously cut deeper than he’d thought it would, but he wasn’t done with her yet.

“Why not? Because he’s a foreigner?” The word tasted bitter in his mouth, but he was glad that it was finally out in the open. When she tried to move away he followed her again. “So that one little detail is the reason it’s a problem? Just because of something that’s totally out of his control I can’t be in love with him? Is that it?”

He had her backed into a corner at this point, both figuratively and literally. He half-expected her to give up, but he realized too late that he’d underestimated her resilience.

“What is this man to you?” She looked up at him, shaking her head in disbelief. “What’s so special about him that you’re willing to go against protocol to do this?”

“What protocol?” Kurogane scoffed. “Last time I checked Tomoyo didn’t have a problem with him. In fact, she’s offering to help him last time I checked.”

“We both know…” She hissed, shooting him a dangerous glare. “That if the Princess was in charge of her own security she would have been dead years ago.”

Kurogane frowned. Now she was really fighting back, and he was honestly getting tired of this argument. He glared at her one last time before he turned away.

“You wouldn’t understand.” He closed his eyes at the memory of Fay drifting away. “You’d have to have been there.”

“You’re right.” Sohma said flatly. “And I don’t.”

Even though Kurogane was close enough to touch her, he realized then that there had never been so much space between them.

.o.O.o.

It was a good thing that Kurogane didn’t posses any telekinetic powers, or more than a few people who happened to be in his way would have gone flying.

Just perfect, he though crossly as he slammed the door, nearly breaking it in the process. So according to them I can do whatever I want with whomever I want and no one could give a damn – Unless they’re a foreigner. Then it’s a big deal and I’m a horrible human being and a danger to Tomoyo. He pulled of his cloak and haphazardly cast it into the corner.

“Hypocrisy is a fucking art form around here.” He snarled. When he felt significantly more together he looked over at the sleeping Fay, who in contrast to the inside of his head, was the embodiment of serenity.

Fay always had a certain feline grace about him, and as he lay curled on his side with one hand up near his face Kurogane half-expected him to sprout ears and a tail. The word that came to mind was adorable – a word Kurogane couldn’t consciously remember ever using before.

He reached out cautiously and lightly touched a lock of blond hair that had come loose from its tie. Good, still solid. He sighed and stared up at the ceiling. While he was no longer physically angry he certainly felt like crap, and he’d argue that was worse.

“Kuro-mi?”

He turned around to look at Fay, who had sat up and was rubbing his eyes tiredly between yawns.

“Kuro-mi, what’s wrong? Something happen?”

Kurogane sighed, shaking his head tiredly.

“No. Nothing happened. Just the usual bullshit.”

He let his eyes drift shut as Fay’s arms came up to wrap around his neck and shivered at the feeling of Fay’s breath on his neck. They knew each other well enough not to ask what was wrong, so Fay was just offering his silent comfort.

Kurogane began to chuckle and leaned back into Fay as he realized something.

“Eh? Kuro-rin? Something up?” Fay said gently, his brows knitting in concern.

“Oh, it’s nothing.” Kurogane sighed. “I just find it hard to believe that there was a time when I would have pushed you away for trying to comfort me.”

“Things change, people change.” Fay said matter-of-factly, nodding his head lightly. “It’s just how life works.”

“Yeah.” Kurogane muttered, reaching around to grab Fay’s hand.

That’s just the problem. He thought sullenly as he laced their fingers together. I’ve changed, but this place has stayed the same.

.o.O.o.

Two days later a messenger rapped on the door a little before midnight with a message:

Meet me in the throne room. - Tsukuyomi

Kurogane found the unusual urgency of the note troubling, but decided against waking Fay as he briefly thanked the messenger and left, casting a quick glance at his sleeping companion.

By the time reached the throne room he was sure something was wrong. Tomoyo stood in the center of the room, her face upturned to face the moon.

“Tomoyo?” he asked cautiously. Her eyes were unfocused, and he was unsure if she’d heard him until she began speaking in an oddly detached voice.

“Fay-san isn’t with you?”

Kurogane shook his head.

“No. He’s still sleeping.”

Tomoyo nodded and closed her eyes heavily.

“I see. Well, perhaps that’s for the best.”

“Tomoyo,” Kurogane sighed impatiently. “What’s going on?” After the argument with Sohma he was not in the mood to play games. Tomoyo, of course, sensed this, and wasted no time in starting her story.

“Kurogane, I’ve been having dreams again.” She began to pace, the cloth of her robe whispering against the floor. “It’s very clear: A red lion fights a white lion in a forest, each tearing at the other’s throat.” She paused suddenly, her eyes once again on the moon.

“I’ve been having this dream for three nights now, but today it changed. The red lion was wounded while the white roared victoriously. But I could tell that the red lion was angry.” She turned around to face him, her mouth a tight line.

“Kurogane, I learned today what the lions mean. Iberia and Albion have declared war.”

Kurogane’s eyes widened. “They… what?!”

Tomoyo closed her eyes and sighed deeply.

“The relationship between the countries hasn’t been good for years, but it came to a head a few days ago in a naval battle on the Albion coast. I found out through a Kitain contact, who in turn is in contact with an envoy in Gallia near the site of the battle.” She folded her hands as if in prayer before continuing.

“There are reportedly over 600 dead on the Iberian count, and many hundreds wounded on either side. It’s a naval disaster for the Iberians – and worse – a humiliation at the hands of their enemies.”

“Do they know?” Kurogane asked breathlessly, shaking his head in disbelief.

“Not yet. However, because they are such a trade-oriented country, every Iberian ship carries a scryer to keep in contact with the capitol. Within a day or two they will know of the defeat, and that’s where my concern lies.” She turned to face him, genuine worry in her eyes.

“I fear for Fay-san’s safety, Kurogane. When the Iberians learn of the defeat I fear that they may strike out at Fay-san in revenge. In fact, I can almost guarantee that they will.”

Kurogane didn’t realize he was shaking until Tomoyo came over and touched his arm reassuringly.

“I’m sorry…” he muttered, blinking rapidly and wiping his forehead. She just smiled at him and squeezed his hand gently.

“It’s alright. I will do everything within my power to make sure that nothing happens to Fay-san or you.”

“Thank you…” he sighed gratefully, returning the squeeze. “I just don’t know if I could handle seeing him hurt again. Not after that.”

“And you won’t have to.”

They both turned to see Fay framed in the doorway.

“Fay…” Kurogane gasped. Fay smiled knowingly at him as Tomoyo took a few steps forward.

“Fay-san, how much did you hear?”

“Enough.” Fay said casually. “But it’s not exactly unexpected. I’m actually surprised that it took this long to finally erupt into an all-out war.”

Fay began to move towards them, his footfalls echoing loudly in the quiet hall.

“But you’re right, Tomoyo-san. After this someone on that ship will want me dead regardless of how much money I give them.” He paused in front of Kurogane and reached out to stroke his cheek reassuringly. “But I don’t have any intention to become prey for those brutes, Kuro-rin.” He turned to Tomoyo, his expression grave.

“Therefore, Your Highness, I humbly request political asylum. If the Iberians do turn against me I’ve essentially lost my means home. Not that I was really planning on going back anyway…” He glanced at Kurogane with a smug smile. “Sound familiar, Kuro-rin?”

Kurogane sighed. Familiar indeed. But if he had this way this would not have the same ending. Second chances happened for a reason.

He didn’t realize how hard he was clenching his hands until Fay walked over and gently opened them, shooting him a concerned glance. Tomoyo paused to smile at them before she made her way to her throne.

“You have it, Fay-san. Though the Imperial policy is to remain neutral in international conflicts, who we grant asylum to is under our personal discretion.” Tomoyo turned to her ninja. “I think I already know the answer to this, Kurogane, but would you be in charge of keeping Fay-san safe?”

Kurogane looked at her for several seconds before the corners of his mouth turned up in a wry grin.

“You don’t even have to ask.”

With that Kurogane swept Fay into a breath-stealing kiss, just for the hell of it.

.o.O.o.

A/N: More historical references. I couldn’t resist. ;)

White and Red lions: The lion is a traditional symbol of European royalty, and the colors of white and red respectively symbolize England (Albion) and Spain (Iberia). In this story Spain and Portugal are the same country.

Gallia: Refers to an area that makes up modern-day France and Belgium.

Scrying: The art of using a crystal or similar medium to see the future or communicate.