I'm still fairly new to this fandom (Both the series and couple), but I instantly fell in love with Fai and the way he treats Kurogane when I reading the manga. It could have just been the untamed yaoi fangirl in me kicking in when Fai refers to our gruff and tough ninja as "Kuro-puu", but I've been sucked into this fandom either way.

This was written for the LiveJournal challenge community 50-themes for theme #27 – Secret Art. Don't ask me how I interpreted it this way – I work in odd ways.

Pairing: Kuro x Fai.
Rating: G – it's completely cute and innocent.
Genre: Pure make-you-smile fluff. It's short but fun.
Disclaimer: I do not own TRC. No durr.

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A pout made its way onto Fai's face while his blue eyes flicked back and forth from the chopsticks held in his hand to the food on his plate and back again. After a moment of not discovering anything to help him, he glanced around the table at his dining companions to carefully observe how they held the chopsticks, and then began to fiddle with the unfamiliar utensils once again; ending up with no better results than before.

"Kuro-puu!" Fai finally blurted out, "I don't know how to use these!"

While the pet name was a form of affection, Kurogane still twitched at the absurdity of it. The ninja didn't bother to even look his way and only paused long enough to give a quick answer.

"So learn." Was the only thing he said before proceeding to finish his rice.

"But I can't teach myself!" Fai whined, pouting in that unnaturally cute way that always got to Kurogane. "Can't Kuro-tan show me how?"

Kurogane knew full well that if he looked over at his currently whining lover and saw that cute pouty look on his face, he'd crumble and give in. Determined not to fall prey to Fai's charm, the ninja looked desperately to Syaoran and Sakura across the table in hopes they would explain it instead.

"Kuro-tan, you're so mean!" Fai wailed before either of the younger two could reply to Kurogane's pleading look. Stifling a frustrated growl, the black-haired ninja promptly turned full around in his seat to face the magician.

"Here! You hold them like this, between your thumb and forefinger." He answered crudely, holding the chopsticks correctly in front of Fai's face.

"Waaii! I can't just learn by looking! Kuro-woof-woof has to explain it."

"I can't explain things, ask Syaoran! And I'm not a dog!"

"But I wanted Kuro-chin to show me!"

The dark-haired man let out a roar of frustration, tugging at his hair. "FINE!" He shouted, gaining the attention of the nearby tables in the restaurant. Fai clapped his hands together and cheered happily, oblivious to the curious stares the two received.

Ignoring the sudden cheery manner of his lover, Kurogane tried his best to explain it to him. "Take one of them and hold them between your thumb and middle finger like this," Kurogane positioned the utensil in Fai's hand the way he described, blushing slightly with the contact their hands made. "You hold that one tight in your hand, the other one is the one that you move. You hold it with your thumb and pivot it with your finger."

"Which finger?"

"What one do you think? The second one, stupid."

"You mean the index finger?"

"Whatever! Do you want me to help you or not?"

"You mean like this, Kuro-sama?" Fai inquired happily, ignoring the snappy remark just thrown at him and instead following the instructions given. He held it awkwardly between his fingers the best he could, but soon lost hold on them; the chopsticks dropping to the table.

"You idiot."

Once again, the cheerful blonde disregarded the negative comment made by Kurogane and snatched up the fallen utensils to try again. "Show me again?"

The ninja let out another aggravated yell, clutching his head as though Fai had hurt it somehow (Which was, as far as Kurogane was concerned, what he did). "Why can't you just ask Syaoran or Sakura!"

The younger two of the companions looked up from the meal they had been enjoying quietly when they heard their names mentioned. Sakura was about to speak when Fai wailed out loud at Kurogane again.

"You're so mean, Kuro-puu! I thought lovers were supposed to help each other!"

That seemed to catch his attention. Kurogane opened his mouth to say something, closed it, opened it and close it again before he realized that his cheeks were burning hot. Fai must have noticed the blush, because a triumphant grin tugged at his thin lips.

"Alright, alright! Just pay attention this time." The dark-haired ninja grumbled the last part, getting another squeal of delight from Fai. He began to recite the instructions for the second time and did so very slowly so Fai wouldn't have an excuse to pester him further. By the time Syaoran and Sakura were finished their meal, Fai finally seemed to be getting the hang of it.

"Yay! Kuro-sama taught me the secret art of chopstick holding!" The wizard cheered with delight, clutching the chopsticks (properly now thanks to Kurogane's teachings) in his hand.

Kurogane didn't know if Fai was undeniably cute, or undeniably insane.

But as they ate and Fai had resorted stabbing his food with the chopsticks he had supposedly learned to use not so long ago, Kurogane thought that maybe Fai was instead undeniably ditzy.

Either way, he couldn't quite find the downside.