Author's Notes: Eight months of brain-block and painfully forced writing, seven re-writes and three top-to-bottom edits later...I give you part four, which I hate. Ugh. Trying to write the same story from a different perspective is agonizing, because I don't want to re-use any of the original text but I can't get away from at least importing a good bit of dialogue in certain key points. T-T

My recent conversion to the idea that these two are romantically entwine-able, not just soulmates and best friends, may also be coloring this re-write. I can't tell anymore. I've stared at this for too long.

The next morning Kurogane woke up grumpy, and his more-than-usually tense mood continued throughout the next few days. Fye at first wondered if he'd unwittingly given himself away with that too-familiar wink and clued the ninja in to the way that the line between fantasy and reality was being blurred inside Fye's head, but as the wizard anxiously kept a wary eye on the taller, he began to revise that theory.

The children also noticed Daddy's grouchiness and - as sweet, caring children will - expressed their concern, each in their own way.

Sakura-chan asked the ninja if everything was all right one morning as she handed him his breakfast. It was a silly question, all things considered, but while Fye would have gotten swung at, Syaoran-kun chided and Mokona probably swatted away, the princess was treated gently enough to raise wistful blonde eyebrows on the wizard.

"It's nothing," Kurogane replied simply, along with a nod of thanks for the bowl she proffered.

"But Kurogane-san seems preoccupied, and that seems like something is wrong," the girl persisted, her manner an endearing mix of earnestness and self-deprecating hesitation. "Even if the 'nothing' is really 'something' that no one can do anything about...or at least that I can't do anything about; the others are much more helpful...it might help Kurogane-san to talk about it? Oh! Not that talking to me would do much, perhaps, but...oh, Fye-san and Syaoran-kun are very smart and know a lot, and...I only thought that perhaps..."

As she spoke, she began to get more flustered and soon she was barely finishing any sentences. With a sigh, the ninja rescued her from the conversational hole she'd dug for herself, interrupting her with one hand raised between them as if about to plant his fingertips against her lips to shush her physically.

"I'm fine," he said firmly but with a sort of understanding kindness, and this more personal reassurance seemed to content the girl, who soon wandered off to pay attention to Syaoran. Whether it was that the princess's attention to the ninja had drawn the boy's there as well, or if Syaoran had been attentive to his mentor's moods already, Fye soon noticed that the young man was a little less relaxed himself.

The wizard almost made a joke about Little Doggy following in Big Doggy's paw-prints, but realized that it wasn't a simple mimicry of mood. The boy, so very serious and focused on their quest, had never really slacked off on vigilance but it increased now in subtle ways. During their morning and afternoon walks, Kurogane was as alert as he had been when they'd first arrived and not known whether this world was peaceful or fraught with dangers, and Syaoran's alertness also increased. Fye no longer caught the ninja napping by the fireside, and found the boy also moving about more to build up the fire or make yet another survey of their campsite's perimeter. The guard dogs were back on duty, and Fye pouted at this defection of Syaoran's from the vacation camp.

Mokona's teasing - in which the blonde joined shamelessly - also became a little less random as she picked up a general theme of Kurogane being irritable from boredom, what with there being no monsters or big bad men to fight. Based on all this, plus his own suppositions, Fye worked up an alternate theory that the ninja was ashamed in some way of having been caught relaxing - oh, horror- and was fighting against the whole "vacation" atmosphere that Fye was encouraging.

Such a waste of three months. The wizard decided to attempt remedying this at his earliest opportunity, and the world that they were in seemed sympathetic to the cause, for the opportunity was provided the very next day.

Their morning jaunt was interrupted by the discovery of what Mokona called a "strawberry patch" in the crook of a winding waterway, and Fye gleefully joined in the berry-picking. Having been born and raised in worlds bound by endless ice and snow, such lush, richly scented fruits were unfamiliar to him and he found as much delight in gathering the delicate white flowers as he did in sampling the thin-skinned berries. Wanting both hands free to pick fruit, Fye impulsively tucked his bunch of flowers behind one ear and playfully decorated the others' heads as well before resuming his snacking. The sweet smells of nectar and juice became almost overwhelming after a while, however, and he stood up to get a breath of slightly less cloying air.

A quick glance around showed Kurogane standing apart from the group, diligently keeping an eye on their surroundings and looking almost offended by all the sweetness of scent and laughter and enjoyment drifting up from the little hollow where the berries were flourishing. Fye's red-stained lips curved up in a fond smile and he imagined that the sour-puss of a warrior would likely find too prolonged a proximity to the berry patch to be nothing less than torture. Seeing a double-opportunity to do a kindness by the man and also lure him off for some private teasing, Fye sent the ninja away on his own to scout out a suitable campsite from which they could range out for a day or two to gather supplies in this fruit-rich section of the country. Such a thoughtful Mommy.

Kurogane took on the task with his usual lack of grace, but the wizard thought he could see a faint sense of relief at being able to pick their campsite himself, and indulged in the happy idea that the grumpy puppy knew he was being done a favor and was just too stubborn to admit it. Fye returned to the others and listened to Syaoran ramble on about berries and mythology and philosophy until he calculated that enough time had passed for the ninja to get a fair distance away. After asking their young lecturer to watch over the girls for him, Fye strode out of the berry patch and scanned the horizon.

"Now let's see. If I were a paranoid, hyper-vigilant ninja who hated fruit-and-floral perfumes...where would I go?" he pondered aloud, and then began walking away from the river and toward higher ground, keeping the wind in his face. Instinct and luck guided him well, and soon enough he found the ninja standing atop a low hill, facing away into the afternoon sun and seemingly lost in thought or deep in contemplation of a little stand of trees nearby. Fye kept quiet until he was fairly close, but as he drew in breath to call out to the man, Kurogane turned around as if he'd heard that little inhalation.

The dark-haired man had very keen hearing, but Fye found it difficult to believe that he'd been heard breathing from several feet away and down-wind. The wizard decided that it was simply coincidence, and daydreamed that something - closeness, affection, a bond - allowed the ninja to sense when Fye was near.

"Found you, Kuro-bee~" Fye called out happily, and was, predictably, growled at. Ignoring the ninja's admonishment to respect his name for once, the wizard began chatting randomly, trusting that an opportunity to talk - or tease - the other man into embracing their vacation time for what it was would present itself. His attempt to lure Kurogane into the debate that the children had earlier engaged in about irresistible forces versus immovable objects failed spectacularly, but as the ninja himself gave Fye an opening to argue the vacation versus vigilance issue, Fye did not regret it for a moment.

"Cut the 'Daddy' crap and get back there," the ninja barked, interrupting one of the wizard's reassurances that the children were safe even though their parents were away. "Just because nothing's happened yet doesn't mean this world is safe." A light hand flapped this argument away dismissively and the usual argument about their situation began anew, with Fye insisting that the world was safe and that they should enjoy their vacation and Kurogane stubbornly sticking to the gloomier viewpoint that they were stranded against their wills on a possibly dangerous world. Their utterly serene stay thus far was on Fye's side of the debate, adding weight to the wizard's words and even making something saucy out of his casual, unguarded body language.

The disgruntled doggy seemed to understand that he was being silly, and being told that he was being silly, and Fye could practically see the other's hackles rising. Hoping that he hadn't yet crossed over to the point where he was about to get smacked or slashed at, the blonde changed tack from teasing to reasoning, though he couldn't help but throw another nickname in.

"The children have learned to relax when they can and find enjoyment in the journey," he said in a light but sensible tone, sincerely wishing to persuade the other over to his way of thinking. "I think Daddy was starting to learn from their example, at least until a few days ago," he added, with a conspiratorial sort of smile.

Yes, I noticed. I kept it a secret for you, so you should play nice with me for once, no?

No, apparently. Instead of conceding to this unspoken plea-slash-blackmail, Kurogane curtly told the fair-haired man in no uncertain terms to shut up and return to the others. The man had a very one-track mind sometimes.

"Nope, not moving," Fye replied cheerfully, determined to stubborn the matter out until he got some sort of concession from the ninja.

"That makes me the Immovable Object in this scenario," he added, circling back to his earlier topic. The thoughts that ran through his dangerous daydreams of how he and the ninja contrasted but were compatible, differed yet were matched, made him think of another comparison between them and he impulsively blurted, "Guess what."

His companion seemed to see the suppressed excitement in the bright blue eyes twinkling merrily at him, and out of what might have been morbid curiosity, Kurogane rose to the bait.

"What?" the ninja asked, in a long-suffering, exasperated tone of voice.

Feeling almost manic at the too-perfect turn of the conversation, Fye made a sudden leap at the other man and grabbed two fistfuls of shirt in a deathgrip, pulling to bring his own body in close to the other man's. Until now, almost all of his invasions of the dark-haired man's rather large personal space had been quick strikes and then dances away to avoid a fist or sword edge. Kurogane was unused to the idea of being clung to - and Fye was unused to voluntary prolonged physical contact - so this sudden attack seemed to take the ninja utterly unawares and set him off-balance besides.

"That makes you the Irresistible Force!" Fye crowed, laughing gaily up at his captive. "Captive", of course, was probably an inaccurate word to apply. It was more like he'd grabbed hold of a dragon by the horns and now had no choice but to hold on or be shaken off and devoured. The fearsome beast he'd perhaps unwisely pounced on jerked away and tried to shake him off, but Fye clung as if for dear life. And considering Kurogane would probably try to kill him for this unprecedented breach of propriety, it was probably literally "for dear life".

Fye clawed his fingers into the material of Kurogane's shirt and stuck like a sticky thing to the ninja's left shoulder blade. The wizard calculated himself to be fairly safe there, with the ninja unable to make a proper grab with his left hand or reach far enough with his right. He was safe, but also stuck, with his only hope now to be able to tire the man out - good luck, self - or exasperate the ninja into making concessions.

"Get off of me, you stupid bastard!" the ninja raged, when it sank into his head that he wouldn't be able to just sling the blonde away.

"I caaan't," Fye replied, his voice lilting and laughing at the same time, caught up as he was in adrenaline and the ridiculousness of it all. "You're irresistible, Kuro-ruu, remember?" he then asked, purposefully changing the meaning of the word to suit him. As if everything - even abuse of grammar - about he wizard just naturally irritated the taller, Kurogane continued to reach for, twist away from and shout at his blonde burr to get off and get lost with increasing volume and violence.

It was so silly, so stupid, so much like his daydreams to be tussling like this - like puppies, like children, like friends- that Fye forgot himself somewhat and let his words, not just his actions, get a little out of hand.

"You'd be lonely without me, Kuro-pin," he asserted, in response to yet another demand that he detach himself and disappear. The ninja naturally denied this claim quite strenuously, but Fye took it as bashfulness and stubbornness and pride. Anything and everything except for what it probably was; the simple truth. Their little rotations on the hilltop continued, as did Fye's assertions and Kurogane's denials, adding to the almost surreal childishness of the argument.

Soon the wizard was laughing so hard at his companion's frustration that he was tearing up and losing his breath. Unwilling to let go in order to wipe his eyes - though he calculated that he wouldn't last all that much longer anyway if he couldn't get his giggles under control - Fye did the only thing he could think of to do; mushed his face into Kurogane's shoulder and used the ninja's shirt as a hankie. Wandering somewhere in the grey area between fantasy and reality, the mage hadn't realized what a tactical error this was. Somehow he'd thought that Kurogane would simply growl at him irritably and wait for him to catch his breath, and so when a large hand reached over to grasp and shove at his face, it startled Fye as much as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped on him.

He moved on instinct, jerking himself back and pushing off of the ninja's arm and shoulder to avoid walking away with a cricked neck. A quick twist of his face broke him free of the clumsy grip the other man had on his face, and there was a split second where his features were hidden from view behind a curtain of fair hair. It was a good opportunity for him to collect himself, but instead he only took a small half-step back to reality.

He tossed his bangs out of his eyes and brought himself upright and right up against the ninja again with a quick tug on the shirt he'd never let go of, and looked up at Kurogane with all the mirth wiped right off of his face save for a tiny fragment of a smile still clinging to his lips. Why did you do that? he thought at Kurogane, and to himself, why wouldn't he, you fool? The two questions clashed and tangled together in his mind, neither gaining ascendancy, and his expression neither showed open contrition or smoothed out into a full mask of a cheeky grin. It was almost blank, save for that ill-fitted smile and a widening of the eyes that spoke surprise, and something lurking just under the surface that felt like betrayal.

He felt betrayed by the fact that Kurogane wasn't playing along with his fantasies.

Why did you shove me like that? he thought, even though he'd been the first to take their physical contact beyond what it had ever been. Despite the death threats, despite the chases and swings, Kurogane had always maintained a certain distance between them. Fye too, had only prodded and patted, teased and taunted. He'd never clung like this, claimed an intimacy like this. They'd been after each other month after month. They'd never gotten close.

They'd never gotten close.

It was like a slap in the face, this realization that the distance between them wasn't as thin and gauzy as he'd thought even outside of his daydreams. His imagination might have run away with him, but it couldn't have gotten such a splendid running start if there hadn't been something to provide traction. He'd been convinced - had convinced himself? - somewhere along the way that there was interest, at least, on the ninja's part. Perhaps even a bit of respect, and a fair bit of trust. There was something between them, and Fye had stated that the ninja would miss it if it faded.

Like hell I would! Kurogane had replied.

Yes you would! Fye had teased, meaning it. Not meaning it. Believing it.

I wouldn't!

"You would," Fye said, without even really meaning to speak it aloud. The words sounded a bit strained and strange, as if the stiff smile lingering on his face were distorting the usual false cheer of his voice. "You'd be lonely." Say it. Admit it. Make it real.

"I'd be relieved," the ninja growled irritably, no longer shouting but obviously not in a friendly mood.

"You'd miss the nicknames," Fye insisted. You'd miss me. "And you'd start to look for me, wonder where I was and what I was doing." You'd think of me, worry about me...you'd care. Say it.

Not being psychic - and probably not being amenable to the wizard's unspoken suggestions even if he could have heard that almost desperate voice inside that blonde head - Kurogane only replied as he had before, derisively and dismissively, and Fye continued on in the same vein as well.

"You'd notice it within a week, admit it to yourself within a fortnight, and I bet you'd even admit it to me before a month went by."

"You are annoying the hell out of me; I bet that'll never change no matter how much time passes. Get. Off. Go. Away." Though Kurogane hadn't made any further violent attempts to dislodge him since that startling shove, he now shook his left arm. It was only a brief little shrug of sorts that wouldn't have budged even Sakura-chan, but Fye almost let go. He hung on with increased stubbornness instead, determined beyond reason to carry his point somehow.

"Is it a bet, then?" he asked, feeling daring without actually wanting to be, daring the ninja to accept without really wanting him to. Say no. Say yes. What am I saying? What am I doing?

"What?" came the reply, all confusion and irritation and impatience. Fye could practically feel desire to escape radiating from the ninja - like his body heat, seeping through cloth and skin and all the walls he tried to maintain and then ended up clawing at with his own hands - and rushed on.

"I bet that you'll admit that you miss the teasing within one month," he explained, the words falling faster and faster from his lips. This whole conversation was like a hill he'd started down without realizing how steep it truly was, and before he knew it he found himself running pell-mell downhill without any way of stopping, just hoping that speed and instinct would keep him from falling flat on his face and skidding the rest of the way down. "If you don't, you can tell me to do one thing and I'll do it, no matter what it is. Color my hair pink, call you by your proper name, never talk to you again unless absolutely necessary..."

He could have laughed at his first idea, felt a slight pang at the second and cursed himself for offering the last. The blonde's uneasy smile had fallen away entirely somewhere during this last turn of the conversation, and he shrugged in discomfort as if he hoped to dislodge his anxiety with the gesture.

"Anything," he added at the very end, voice as faded as his cheer. Ask me anything. Ask me to stop lying to you. Ask me to trust you with the truth, and tell me you'll forgive me for it, no matter what it is. The silence that followed stretched out, seeming like an hour but probably only spanning one minute at the most, and then the ninja spoke.

"Fine," Kurogane said, and though Fye waited expectantly for more than just this monosyllable, nothing was forthcoming.

"Don't...you want to know what I get if you give in?" the wizard finally asked. He hadn't actually thought about it himself, and his mind raced to come up with something.

"No, because it'll never happen," Kurogane said curtly, and then jerked his arm away in a sudden attempt to get free once again. Already surprised at having gotten a concession of sorts and off-balance in so many ways, the blonde was taken unawares and made no move to re-attach himself either. Instead, Fye raised his hands in a placating manner, wanting to avoid pushing his companion any further into irritability.

He looked up at Kurogane searchingly. The man had accepted the bet, and now Fye was committed to it as well. One month. He had one month to make the ninja miss what he thought - hoped, believed - was camaraderie. Companionship. Closeness. To make him miss it, to realize that they were already friends, and then to make him admit it in the hopes of being even better friends in the future. To know that they would be stronger together than apart, and to be stronger together, in order to overcome tragedy, fate and Fei-Wang Reed.

One month. I have one month to make you see me. One month in which to make you understand who I am, who I could be if you'd only unbend a little and help me.

"We should get back to the others," Fye suddenly said, along the thought-lines of showing the ninja that he could be sensible as well as silly. He gave a small but sincere smile, unpracticed at something so simple and honest, and then spun away before it could crack and crumble from sheer nerves.

One month to make you admit that I'm not just a lying idiot, and then I am going to ask you to be my friend.