Dizzy Land

"That means Kuro-daddy's listening!" Mokona said happily. "Yay, Mokona was right!"

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"Of course Kuro-daddy is listening," Fay said. "Kuro-daddy listens to everything Fay-mommy says."

And before Kurogane could answer, he continued the story with, "By and by they came across a white creature named Mokona. ‘Chii has no special person,’ said Chii. ‘Will you be Chii’s special person?’

“‘Mokona is sorry!’ said Mokona. ‘But Mokona can’t be Chii’s special person! Mokona will be Chii’s Mokona!’

“‘If Mokona is Chii’s Mokona,’ Chii answered carefully, ‘does that mean Mokona will snuggle Chii and make her feel better when she’s hurting?’

“‘Mokona will do that and more!’ Mokona answered.

“‘Chii!’ Chii nodded, and set off again to find her special person, with Fay-mommy and Mokona beside her."

His imitation of Mokona wasn't quite so good, but Mokona's voice was a hard one to mimic.

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Kurogane opens his mouth to argue that one, but Fay's already continuing with the story. And yes, he was getting a feeling about this story. It would probably have the words 'Kuro-daddy' next, and if the magician had the Kurogane in the story call himself that, he'd... well, he didn't know what. Probably not much. Damn.

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"Chii...." Chii said happily as she reached over to hug Mokona close. "Thank-you, Mokona." She really liked this story so far, because it was getting better, even if she hadn't found a special person.

It wasn't so lonely.

But first.... "I'm sorry?" she asks, wanting an explanation for those words.

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... How to explain that?

"'Sorry'... you feel bad for not being able to help," Fay attempted to explain, "or for making someone else feel bad. You say 'I'm sorry' the other person forgives you, and it's okay again. Watch." He turned to Kurogane and said soberly, "I'm sorry for getting chocolate spread on you at breakfast, Kuro-tan."

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"Like hell you are," Kurogane mutters. But not loud enough for the kid to hear. Raising his voice a little, he says instead, "It's all right." Because they were teaching Chii, right? Might as well show her the polite way to do things.

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Fay gives him a proud kind of look and turns back to Chii. "See? And now Kuro-daddy and I are friends again!"

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"Chii.... Good?" Chii asked, showing she somewhat understood. Fay apparently did something that upset Kurogane, and Fay said, "I'm sorry," to make it better.

Now the story could continue!

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And so the story did.

"By and by they met a young girl named Sakura. ‘Chii has no special person,’ said Chii. ‘Will you be Chii’s special person?’

"‘I’m sorry,’ said Sakura, smiling kindly, ‘but I cannot. I will be your sister if you want.’

"‘If Sakura is Chii’s sister,’ Chii answered carefully, ‘does that mean Sakura will play games with Chii and always be nice to Chii?’

"‘Of course!’ Sakura answered and smiled warmly.

"‘Chii!’ Chii nodded, and set off again to find her special person, with Fay-mommy and Mokona and Sakura beside her."

He wondered again where Sakura was, and hoped she was safe and would get here soon.

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Kurogane is quiet. At the mention of Sakura, he's thinking pretty much the same thing as Fay. ~~Well, they are her parents.~~

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"Sakura? Sister?" Chii asks, curiously. This is a new one on her.

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"You'll meet Sakura soon," Fay said confidently. "Sister like friend, but family, like mommy and daddy."

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"Sister family," Chii repeated, eyes closed. Sister.... Family.... It all felt so familiar.

She reopened her eyes and looked at Fay, waiting for him to continue the story. She, now more than ever, wanted to see where it would go.

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"Who comes next?" asked Mokona eagerly. "Will it be Syoaran-brother?"

((OMG I'm so sorry. XD I just couldn't resist... Will delete if you'd prefer.))

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Fay nodded at Chii. "Sister family," he confirmed, and smiled. "Good Chii!"

He didn't show any outward signs of discomfort when Mokona asked that. Once, Syaoran would have followed, but this story was for Chii. Chii needed to stay away from the other Syaoran, if not for her own safety then for Fay's peace of mind. "We'll see!" he chirped instead, all happy and energetic.

"By and by they met a dark-haired man named Kurogane. ‘Chii has no special person,’ said Chii. ‘Will you be Chii’s special person?’

"‘No,’ said Kurogane, ‘I can’t. But I’ll be your bodyguard.’

"‘Kuro-daddy!’ Chii decided. ‘If Kuro-daddy will be my daddy, will Kuro-daddy protect me and stay with my Fay-mommy?’

Kurogane opened his mouth to say no, but when he caught sight of Fay-mommy he closed his mouth and said gruffly, ‘Fine.’

"‘Chii!’ Chii nodded, and set off again to find her special person, with Mokona and Sakura beside her and Fay-mommy and Kuro-daddy following behind."

His mimic of Kurogane's voice was probably the best so far, though naturally a few notes higher. Fay wasn't making fun of him.

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Kurogane agrees with Fay on this matter, thinking that even if Syaoran's not actively dangerous there is no way they want Chii going anywhere near him. Dangerous or not, the boy seems twisted, and she doesn't need that.

When the story continues, Kurogane is fully prepared to be annoyed, but... there's nothing in there that he objects to. Not even the part about him and "Fay-mommy," anymore. It's a little unsettling, like taking a step and finding an unexpected stair, and he leans against the door, mollified.

Fay can mimic his voice far too well, too.

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"Fay-mommy and Kuro-daddy happy!" Chii said, clearly enjoying the story, even if she didn't know who Syaoran-brother was. Since Fay didn't mention him, though, Chii didn't ask. She wanted to see what she would find next in the story.

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"Yes, Fay-mommy and Kuro-daddy happy!" Mokona agreed cheerfully. That clearly was the case, after all, and nothing could have made Mokona happier than seeing its important people happy.

"Fay-mommy and Kuro-daddy should kiss!" ...Well, almost nothing.

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Fay smiled. "Fay-mommy and Kuro-daddy happy," he repeated. He put his hand to his heart and said in a soft, tender kind of voice, "Very happy."

He laughed at Mokona's words, highly amused. "Mokona, you pervert," he giggled. "But okay.

"Chii, Mokona, and Sakura had walked a little way ahead of Fay-mommy and Kuro-daddy. They were both quiet.

"'Did you mean that?' Fay-mommy asked quietly. 'That you'll stay with me?'

"Kuro-daddy was silent for a bit. '... Yeah,' he said.

"Fay-mommy smiled. 'Thank you.' And he and Kuro-daddy kissed, and then caught up with Chii and Mokona and Sakura."

The blonde gave Mokona a bright grin. "That okay, Mokona?"

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Kurogane probably would not have gotten through that little section of the story without an outburst if it hadn't been for Fay's little display beforehand. Very happy. That was... nice to see.

Also, it was pretty accurate, but that didn't help much. At least the mage wasn't being overdramatic. He still slumped a bit down the wall, embarrassed.

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"Awww, they are so sweet!" Mokona sighed. "Mokona'd like to see Fay-mommy and Kuro-daddy kiss for real, though! And Mokona's not a pervert, Mokona just likes happy things and it makes Mokona happy when Fay-mommy and Kuro-daddy like each other!"

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"What the hell?! We're not going to kiss in front of you!" Realizing that he'd just admitted that they do kiss doesn't make Kurogane any less livid. The only reason he's not over there and stretching Mokona out like rubber is because he doesn't want to frighten Chii. Too badly. He's still yelling, though.

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Fay gave Mokona a blank, 'I cannot believe you just said that' look. He stared at Mokona in silence.

And then Kurogane started yelling.

"Kuro-puu!" Fay jumped to his feet and was beside the ninja instantly. "Kuro," he said quietly, putting a hand on the other man's arm, "calm down. You don't need to get so worked up. Mokona is just Mokona." His fingers started moving in little circles on Kurogane's skin. "Calm down? For Chii? For me?"

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"It's a pain in the ass," Kurogane grumbles, but that's pretty much his way of saying 'Mokona is Mokona' too. He relaxes a little. "Fine, I'm calm. Just tell the damn manjuu to stop interrupting the story and maybe it will shut up about this."

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