First wish

“Twelve wishes?” Kurogane repeated warily. The genie nodded, surrounded by curling tendrils of blue smoke. His feathery blond hair moved fluidly in the non-existent wind and his many chains and golden trinkets glittered obnoxiously in the desert sun. Against the delicate, gauzy fabric of the genie's ridiculously elaborate outfit (blue with gold swirls and too many layers to count, all different lengths and jeez, it was confusing enough just to look at it) two lily-white hands were clasped together, heavy with rings and bands. The most irritating thing about the magic being was nothing he wore, but rather the oblivious smile gracing his face like a wisp of smoke curling up from the flame of a candle. It was just like the sapphire hoops that hung from the genie’s ears– pretty to look at, but useless to him when he was out here in the desert all alone.

The genie nodded, earrings jingling.

“That’s right,” he said, grinning disarmingly.

“…Why so many?”

“Well, there are twelve letters in my name, you see. ‘F-a-i . D . F-l-o-u-r-i-t-e.' So I thought it would make sense to grant twelve wishes.”

“...That doesn't have anything to do with anything!” Kurogane growled, hand clenching around the handle of the jade lamp. The genie laughed amusedly.

“Would you prefer I gave you less?” he grinned, eyes darkening dangerously. Kurogane wondered if that was a genuine threat. He narrowed his eyes.

“Hn,” he said, looking down at the lamp in his hands. He scoffed; he'd only picked the thing up because he'd thought there might have been water in it. It had been half-buried in a dune, glittering in a way that had half-blinded him at first. Even when he was inside a lamp this guy managed to annoy him. “How do I know you're for real?”

“I just came out of a lamp, Kuro-dono,” Fai said, laughing and poking his master in the middle of the forehead. Kurogane grunted; he thought that being someone's “master” meant you were entitled to a little respect. “What more proof do you need?”

“I've heard about stuff like this!” he said, slapping Fai's hand away. “You make a wish and then there's a price. There was a genie like that in Tomoyo's palace. Always clutching at you like a damn octopus. I ain't gonna fall for anything like that.”

“Yuuko-san is free?” Fai asked, surprised. He placed a hand over his heart and grabbed at the fabric there. “That's...good to hear.”

“...How’d-?”

“I read your mind a little to see if it was her,” he said, laughing and waving a hand as though this was no big deal. Kurogane dropped the lamp as his hands flew up to clutch at his head.

“You WHAT?!” he roared as Fai dipped down to catch the lamp as it fell. He held it in both hands, gentle as if handling a newborn child. “Don't you dare do that again!”

“I cannot promise anything unless it's in the form of a wish!” Fai declared, shoving the lamp against Kurogane's chest. The brunette clutched at it, grinding his teeth together. “Don’t worry, Kuro-master! I’m not in the habit of reading thoughts.”

“Hmph. How do I know you’re not just like her? How do I know I won’t get a long bill after I make my wishes?”

“Only a free genie can charge for wishes,” Fai said, his smile seeming heavier now. Kurogane gave him a wary look. “If you don’t believe me, make a wish and see!”

“…Fine,” Kurogane grumbled, staring down at the lamp in his hand thoughtfully. “…Give me gold then.”

“Hmm?”

“Gold. I want gold I said.”

“You’re not asking right, Kuro-dono. You need to say “I wish.” And a “please” wouldn’t hurt either.”

“Shut up! Who’s supposed to be the master here?!"

“…You are, Kuro-dono.”

God damn it. What good was having a genie that looked sad and wistful all over the place? It was just distracting! Kurogane huffed in irritation.

“Ngh. Fine. I wish for gold. There, happy?”

Fai smiled. He slowly raised one hand and held it out, palm-upwards. Kurogane tensed in preparation for the grand, sweeping magic he had seen Yuuko-san perform back at the sultana’s palace. Instead, the genie deftly slipped one of the rings from his fingers and snatched up one of his master’s hands, depositing the ring promptly into Kurogane’s open palm. He drew back, grinning expectantly.

“…What the hell was that?!”

“That’s one wish down! Eleven to go!”

“Wait, I could have done that! That’s bullshit!”

“If I can grant your wish without magic, it’s simpler, don’t you think?”

“No! Besides, this is only one ring! This will only last me a week or so!”

“You never said you wanted lots of gold. Anyway, it doesn’t look like there’s lots to buy out here in the desert,” the genie chirped. Kurogane’s hand clenched into a fist around the ring, glaring dangerously, his frame shaking with anger.

“It was only a test wish,” he snapped, storming past the blond and trudging on through the desert. “I’m not exactly thrilled to be out here myself.”

“Why are you out here, then?” Fai asked lightly, trailing after the one who held his lamp. Kurogane scoffed.

“That bitch Tomoyo banished me,” he spat bitterly. Fai blinked.

“The sultana?” he asked. “Hyuu, Kuro-dono is a rogue to be banished by the sultana herself! Were you a prince or a sultan?”

“Hmph. I was a palace guard. Not that it’s any of your business.”

He reached his horse, who looked half-dead from the heat. He ran his hands over her dusty coat, feeling how warm her skin was. He made an annoyed noise and slipped around to the satchel that hung from the saddle. He could feel that damn genie staring at his back, taking in his every move. He glanced at the man sourly over his shoulder.

“What?!”

“Nothing, nothing, Kuro-wish!” the genie said, grinning as though he knew something Kurogane didn’t. The nomad turned around fully.

“No, tell me, what is it?” he growled, fishing his water flask out of his pack one-handedly.

“Your horse is quite taken with you, did you realize?” Fai laughed, petting the horse’s black snout. The horse whinnied and nudged its head awkwardly against Fai’s hand. “She says you’re very strong. She’d buck you off if you weren’t.”

Kurogane grinned at that.

“Of course I’m strong. Not everyone could survive out here in the desert by themselves. I’m the strongest person in the kingdom.” He uncorked the flask and took a gulp of water. There was a tortoise shell hanging off the side of his pack; he untied that and dropped it down to the sand. “That’s good,” Fai said, stroking the horse’s forehead quietly. “That means you won’t wish for more strength.”

“Who says what I will and will not wish for?” Kurogane groused, pouring a generous amount of water into the upturned shell. With a pang he watched as the last few drops slid from the flask and made ripples in the water.

“She also says she wishes you would cuddle with her more often!” Fai added. Kurogane looked up at the genie and his horse, who were engaging in what could only be described as a ‘snuggle fest’, and whistled smartly.

“Ruri,” he ordered, grabbing the reigns and tugging the horse closer to the shell. The horse refused to budge and continued nuzzling the blond, who happily nuzzled back, ignoring Kurogane’s obvious wish to get the horse to move. “Tch. You two got close fast.”

“Of course,” Fai said, slowly releasing Ruri and letting Kurogane lead her towards water. She bent her head an began to drink greedily. “You’re her master too. We have lots in common!”

“Pfft. Doesn’t surprise me that you’d have stuff in common with a horse,” Kurogane grumbled.

“You have things in common with her too. You’re both mostly black. Even though it’s so hot outside you’re wearing such dark clothing!” Fai pointed out, coming around the other side of the drinking horse. Kurogane glared at him.

“I didn’t exactly get much time to pack,” he said shortly, tugging the horse back a bit and scooping up the empty shell. He peered at it for a second pensively. “Can you get me more water?”

“I can if you wish me to,” Fai said, placing his palms together as though praying. Kurogane gave him a mistrustful look.

“I don’t wanna wish for water and then find out we’re only a few miles from some town,” Kurogane said, glaring down at the genie. Fai shrugged.

“It’s the risk you take,” he said. “You can’t be so serious about these things, Kuro-sand. You need to have fun with these wishes!”

“I ain’t gonna waste my wishes like I did with the first one,” Kurogane grumbled, tossing the ring Fai had given him back at the genie. Fai caught it easily.

“You wished for it,” he argued, looking down at the trinket in surprise.

“I don’t want it. Doesn’t do me any good out here.”

“Kuro-sama should have chosen a more practical test wish!”

“There’s only one thing I want and that’s to go home,” Kurogane said. He paused, wondering why he hadn’t thought of that before. “Hey.”

“Yes?” Fai said, looking up. Kurogane climbed up onto the horse, grabbing up the reins.

“I wish for you to send me home.” Fai sighed.

“That is a bigger wish than the first one,” he said, looking down at the sand thoughtfully.

“What, you want me to make tiny wishes for shit I don’t need just so you can be lazy?” Kurogane demanded, clutching the lamp tighter.

“No, it’s fine I suppose.”

“…Don’t make it sound like you’re the one in charge, here!” Kurogane growled, rattling the lamp a bit. Fai laughed, his trinkets clinking together in the lazy desert wind.

“Okay, okay, as Kuro-master commands,” he said, and while the words were respectful, the tone was definitely teasing. Kurogane narrowed his eyes.

Fai threaded his fingers together and closed his eyes. The wind around him picked up and scattered the sand at his feet every which way until it had created a tornado-shape around the magic figure. Kurogane winced, bracing himself for a sudden change in environment. Once again, however, he was disappointed when Fai blinked his eyes open in surprise and the sand settled gently against the earth.

“Oh,” Fai said.

“Oh?! Whaddya mean ‘oh’?!” Kurogane growled. Ruri whinnied and stomped a foot. Fai shrugged helplessly at his master.

“I’m sorry, your wish is declined,” he said, crossing two arms in an “X” shape. Kurogane gave him an incredulous look.

“…WHY?!”

“Some other genie must have granted a wish to keep you here!” Fai protested, holding up his hands innocently and smiling disarmingly. “I can’t go against the magic of another genie, especially one with more power than I have.”

“That bitch thought of everything,” Kurogane grumbled. He gave a heavy sigh and then held out the jade lamp. “Fine, then. I’ll find my own way back. Now get back in.”

“Eh?”

“You heard me. Get back in the lamp.”

“…Ah. I’d rather not,” Fai said, backing up a few steps. Kurogane gave him a dark look.

“I don’t care. Just get back in.”

“Is that a wish?”

“No. It’s an order.”

“You are my master when it comes to wishes, Kuro-rin,” Fai said pointedly. “But I do not have to obey your every whim just because you bark at me.”

“Was that ‘Kuro-rin’ you said?!”

Fai pulled himself up onto the horse and settled himself behind Kurogane, wrapping his gauze-covered arms around the wanderer’s waist. He rested his cheek against the leather stretched across Kurogane’s back and have a tiny sigh.

“Don’t go too fast or I’ll fall off,” he cautioned.

“What’s the good of having a genie if he doesn’t even listen to you?” Kurogane grumbled, kicking the horse to get it to move.

Second Wish

As Ruri clomped tiredly through the desert, minutes began to stretch into hours, and soon the sun was hanging low in the sky. Hours then stretched into days. Kurogane’s posture was hunched in his exhaustion, and his mouth was scratchy and dry. He rubbed at his mouth with the back of one hand; he wished he knew where to find some water, but in this scorching sea of sand it was next to impossible.

He thought back to his home, where there were fountains and pools as far as the eye could see that he’d taken for granted. That bitch had claimed to have banished him in order to make him stronger, but Kurogane could hardly see how she expected wandering around in the desert without aim would make him stronger. He needed to be back at the palace, fighting off enemies and guarding the temples. He cursed for what felt like the millionth time. He was almost sure that damn genie had put it into her head. They’d probably laughed and discussed how best to make him suffer over tea for hours.

“Kuro-ruu,” Fai whispered, half-asleep against his back. “Turn westward and keep in that direction until you hit a giant rock shaped like a bell.”

“What? Why? We just came from the west,” Kurogane said warily. Fai snuggled closer sleepily.

“I know, but you’re going the wrong way.”

“The wrong way for what? I don’t exactly have any destination in mind here,” he argued. Fai blinked awake groggily.

“You wished for water,” he said, rubbing at his eyes. Kurogane twitched.

“No I didn’t,” he insisted, craning his neck to give the blond a weird look. Fai looked confused for a second.

“Oh. Ahaha, sorry, Kuro-min! I must have wandered into your mind when I was sleeping. It happens sometimes.”

Kurogane wrenched his hood up and covered his head.

“Quit it!! I already told you! Stay out of my head!”

“Sorry, sorry!” the genie laughed. Kurogane glowered but nonetheless nudged Ruri into turning towards the west. “Aah, that’s not fair! I half-granted your wish already for free!”

“It’s fair. You’re running around in my head, at least I oughta get something out of it,” Kurogane grumbled. Fai sighed deeply against his back.

“Alright then. This one’s a freebie. I’m thirsty now anyway, just listening to you go on about how thirsty you are.”

They traveled west, the genie clutching at his back as though worried he would float away without an anchor. He probably would, Kurogane mused, what with all that airy fabric draped across his skinny frame. He probably weighed about as much as paper.

They trotted along in silence until they came to the bell-shaped rock. At this point, Kurogane was hunched over so far his nose was being tickled by Ruri’s mane. Every breath was excruciating, hot desert air scraping over the dry, cracked surface of his tongue. When he reached the rock he wasn’t sure where to go next. Ruri came to a halt and waited for further instruction.

“W-where next?” Kurogane spat out. Fai’s arms tightened around his waist hesitantly.

“I… I can’t tell you,” he said sorrowfully. Kurogane glared at him weakly over his shoulder.

“You… you want me to die of thirst?” he asked, wiping at his mouth although there was nothing there. “If I die you’ll just be stuck in that lamp again.”

“I can’t help you unless you make a wish,” Fai reiterated, bowing his head so that his hair obscured his expression. Kurogane scoffed and turned back around. The horse whinnied weakly beneath him as though begging him to give in.

“Fine,” he snapped, sliding weakly off the horse and gripping her mane to stay upright. “Listen, you. I’m gonna make a wish, and you better not get all cheap on me and half-grant it like you did with my first one.”

“Kuro-master must be specific,” Fai said, smiling down at him. His body was eclipsed by the pulsating orange of the desert sun, making him look even more otherworldly and ethereal as he had when Kurogane had rubbed the lamp and been surrounded by billowing blue smoke. He scoffed at the sight. How misleading. “I will always grant whatever you ask of me, so long as you ask for exactly what you want.”

“Ok, shut up. I want water, but not just a glass or a drop of water or, like, one of your tears or some shit like that,” Kurogane said, waving an accusatory finger at the blond. “I want… uh… I want enough water to last me forever.” He held up the flask towards the blond. Fai stared at it expectantly before his eyes flickered up to Kurogane.

“You’re sure?”

“Yes, dammit. I wish for everything I just said.” Fai gave him a half-smile and threaded his fingers together. “Wait!” Fai looked up at him patiently, pausing mid-spell. “I want it to be here, and clean, and all in one spot. No making it rain or putting it on the other side of the desert.”

Fai laughed.

“You’re getting better, Kuro-sama! Good job!”

Kurogane only had time to wonder if he was missing anything before he was submerged completely in water. He opened his mouth to curse the genie but water surged in and he swallowed some, coughing violently and surrendering what little air he had already in his lungs. Already weakened from a lack of the stuff, his vision went white at the edges and soon he’d lost consciousness completely.

Third Wish

“Master! Kuro-luu!” called a voice. Something was pressing down on his chest and he gave a weak cough. He felt cooler than he’d felt in weeks and he no longer felt like his mouth was filled with dust. Weakly, he pried his eyes open only to meet immediately with two blue ones.

The genie was straddling him.

“Gah! What are you doing?!” he cried, grabbing the genie’s gauzy arms and trying to shove him off. Fai didn’t budge.

“I was trying to wake you up,” he explained, settling back. It did nothing to ease Kurogane’s embarrassment. This guy was, without a doubt, the most annoying guy he’d ever met, but even this did not change three simple facts. One, that he was incredibly attractive; two, that Kurogane had been out in the desert for a month all by himself and had not, for all intents and purposes, been getting laid back at the palace anyway; and three, that the blond was in the habit of calling him “Master.”

“Well I’m woken up!” he squeaked, hoping fervently that Fai was not reading his mind right now. He shoved the blond up and wiped his wet hair out of his eyes. “Don’t touch me.”

“As you wish,” Fai replied airily. Kurogane sat up completely and looked out over the desert. A vast oasis had sprung up seemingly from nowhere: water as far as the eye could see, lush vegetation sprouting up around its borders and shading him from the harsh sun. Fai sat in the shade of one of these trees, hands folded in his lap, looking at his Master expectantly. “It meets your expectations?”

It was absolutely stunning. Palm trees and bushes of orange blossoms and the heavy scent of the wind scraping against the sparkling water. Smooth, jade rocks lined the water, making tiny waterfalls in choice places. It was more than he’d asked for. It was gorgeous.

“It’s fine,” Kurogane said aloud, shrugging. He crawled weakly up to the wave that was creeping up the beach, dove headfirst into the water and drank. He drank for a while, still a little queasy from his near-drowning experience. When he was finished, he crawled back up onto the beach and collapsed there.

“There’s a creek or something right around here somewhere, isn’t there?” he asked Fai, breathing deeply. Fai smiled knowingly at him but said nothing. Kurogane flipped around so that he was on his back and gave the blond a piercing stare.

“You can’t tell me unless I wish for it, right?”

“I will grant any wish my master asks of me,” Fai said elusively.

“Anything?” Kurogane echoed. Fai looked thoughtful.

“Well, no. There are some rules,” he said, laughing. Kurogane rolled his eyes.

“Gimme ‘em,” he ordered. Fai nodded.

“I cannot undo death,” he said, counting on his fingers. “I cannot stop death from happening. I cannot change events that have already occurred. I cannot stop birth from happening.”

“Can you cause death?” Kurogane asked, sensing a theme going here. Fai’s eyes flickered down and Kurogane decided he had his answer.

“Wishing for more wishes is forbidden,” he continued quietly. “Finally, I cannot make anyone fall in love,” he said with a sad smile. Kurogane scoffed.

“Why would I wanna force someone to love me anyway?” he groused, scratching at his chest. Fai gave him a surprised look. “What are you so surprised about?”

“It’s nothing, it’s only that I’m so used to my masters trying to get around that one,” he said, smiling uneasily. Kurogane raised an eyebrow. Fai looked away and stood, stretching his arms over his head and walking into the path of the wave. He spread his arms out and let the wind billow through his ridiculously complicated outfit. Kurogane thought he looked ridiculous and told him so. Fai turned back to him and grinned.

“Kuro-sama’s right, this outfit isn’t fit for desert travel,” Fai agreed. He peeled off about eight layers and threw them to the ground. Kurogane looked away nervously, too worried that the blond was going to strip down too far or that he’d find the very image of Fai removing his clothes too tempting. When he looked back, Fai was in a simple shirt-and-vest combination complete with baggy pants and a single gold chain around his neck. He pulled off all his rings and dropped them, each one dissolving into blue smoke that was sucked back into the lamp.
Kurogane “humph”ed, sitting up all the way.

“Where to next, Kuro-sama?”

“Nowhere,” Kurogane said, standing and searching out his horse. She was a little ways away, lapping happily at the water. “For now it makes no sense to leave this place. We’ll just get stuck without water again.”

“You could have wished to take it with you wherever you went,” Fai suggested. Kurogane glared at him.

“That suggestion would have been a lot more helpful before I’d made the wish,” he growled. He looked around the oasis, spotting one of the larger waterfalls and wading through the water towards it. He dove through the cool stream of water and discovered a crude cave that was about the size of his room back home. He climbed up into it and padded around, looking for cracks in the rock. It would make a passable shelter until he could figure out what his next move would be.

Blue smoke billowed into the room and formed into a familiar figure. Fai, clutching his lamp, gave Kurogane a sweet smile.

“We stay here for now,” Kurogane told him as though addressing a servant. Fai gave him a dramatic nod.

“Yes, sir!” he said in an overly serious tone. He handed Kurogane the lamp, leapt through the waterfall and did a canonball into the water. He somehow managed to spray Kurogane even though he should have been protected by the waterfall.

For the next little while, they stayed at the oasis. Kurogane was trying to gather his thoughts, but it was a little hard when he had to deal with a genie splashing him and pouring water over his head while he was trying to brood. In addition, the blond had taken to riding his horse around the oasis and gathering fruit from the trees for them to eat, and of course he couldn’t think when the blond was shoving orange slices into his mouth. It was all so disgustingly annoying that he found himself overwhelmingly glad when night fell and Fai curled up in the cave, pressed against the side of the cave furthest from the water, and went to sleep.

Kurogane would think then, or at least try to. It was distracting to have the blond lying there, so open and vulnerable in sleep. It was hard to keep his hands from touching the strange golden hair and running his fingers down the smooth ivory skin to test if it were really the skin of a human. The genie puzzled him and when he finally went to sleep, oftentimes he would haunt him there as well.

It was getting very, very irritating.

One night, when Kurogane had been up actually getting some thinking done, he came upon a thought that made him pause. He quickly shook the genie awake.

“Ngh… Kuro-master?”

“I got a wish, genie,” Kurogane said, pulling at Fai so that he sat up. Fai gave him a wide-eyed look.

“A wish? Now?” he said, squinting and peering through the veil of water to get a look at how dark it was outside. The moon was bright enough for Fai to catch a glimpse of the determined gleam in Kurogane’s eyes.

“I wish for my father’s sword,” Kurogane said carefully. Then, reluctant to specify but knowing he needed to, he said, “The one he had when… when he disappeared.”

“He was lost in the desert?” Fai asked after a moment. Kurogane bristled.

“Get outta my head! Yeah, alright? He was trying to cross it,” Kurogane found himself admitting, swatting at the blond. It was better to just say it than to have the blond messing around inside his memories for answers. “He never came back. He musta died out there, it was years and years ago. We never found out what got him.”

“You could wish to know,” Fai suggested lightly. Kurogane shivered.

“It wouldn’t make a difference. It won’t make me feel any better. I just want the sword. It‘s a family heirloom.”

There was a clink in the dark and Kurogane’s hands were suddenly full with a long scabbard. He felt along the length of the sword until he came to the hilt. He traced the dragon shape in the dark, finding a strange sort of comfort in holding the relic he’d seen so many times as a child. He laid it down between his body and Fai’s, looking forward to a proper inspection in the daylight.

“…Thanks,” he muttered quickly, realizing he hadn’t said it before.

“You’re welcome,” Fai said in return, but it was obvious the blond was half-asleep. Kurogane gave Fai a half-smile he was only giving because he knew the blond would never see it and settled back down next to him.

Fourth Wish

“Kuro-tan, hold still!” Fai scolded his master, raking a hand through Kurogane’s shoulder-length hair. He fisted a hand in the black locks and gave his head a playful shove.

“I am still!” Kurogane snapped irritably. He was sitting cross-legged on the beach, the blond crouching behind him with a pair of scissors in his hands. The genie gathered his hair up and tied it, humming to himself.

“Hyuu, I don’t know why Kuro-rin wants to chop off all his pretty hair,” Fai said, tugging on the makeshift ponytail. Kurogane glared at him over his shoulder but the genie only forced his head to turn back.

“You calling it pretty only makes me want to hack it off more! And quit it with the names! Whatever happened to “master”?” he grumbled petulantly as Fai began snipping away at his hair.
The ponytail fell to the sand.

“‘Master’ is too formal!” Fai declared, running his hands through Kurogane’s hair. Kurogane bit his lip, willing himself not to respond as the snip, snip of the scissors reached his ears.

“Besides, they’re cuter.”

“I am not cute!” Kurogane growled.

“The nicknames are! And they make you cute by association,” Fai said, nodding as though this had been his plan all along. Kurogane grunted in annoyance. “How short, again?”

“Short. I’m sick of it being in my face.”

“Hyuu,” Fai mock-whistled sadly. For a while they sat in silence, the only sound the snipping of the scissors. Then Fai pulled back, announcing he was finished. Kurogane ran a hand through his hair, which was now short and spiked.

“Hmph,” he said as a way of thanks.

“No problem, Kuro-rin,” Fai chirped, standing and brushing the sand off the front of his pants. Kurogane glared at him.

“Seriously. Quit it.”

“No wish, no luck!” Fai said, replacing the scissors in Kurogane’s satchel.

“Feh. I’m surprised you’re not charging me for this,” Kurogane grumbled, standing and stretching to get rid of the kink in his neck.

“I would have had to if you didn’t have your own pair of scissors,” Fai replied.

“You couldn’t conjure a pair of scissors? Some genie you are,” Kurogane scoffed.

“It’s not that I can’t,” Fai said, his smile seeming more forced now. “It’s that I’m not allowed to use magic for myself or anyone other than my master. Even then, I can’t use it unless my master makes a wish.” Kurogane gave him a weird look.

“That witch back at Tomoyo’s place used her magic to mess with me all the time!” he growled, punching the trunk of a palm tree. “God damn it! That bitch was breaking the rules just to humiliate me, huh?!”

“…Kuro-sama, I told you before, Yuuko-san is a free genie. She can do as she likes,” Fai pointed out with a soft smile. Kurogane whirled around.

“Free, eh? How come you’re not?” he asked, crossing his arms. Fai’s eyes slid shut, although the oblivious smile remained plastered on his face.

“Well, for one thing, a genie can’t set himself free, or tell others how to do it. Also, if I was free, I wouldn’t be forced to grant my master’s wishes, so you can see why someone would be
reluctant to wish for the information,” Fai explained. Kurogane scoffed, feeling guilty.

“You’re…”

“It’s fine, Kuro-lin!” Fai declared, holding up a hand to signal that he was alright. “I’m used to it! Ten thousand years in this business gives you a bit of perspective, y’know?”

“…Hn,” Kurogane grunted. “Do you even want to be free?”

Fai swept past him, ignoring the question and gathering up the black strands of hair that littered the sand.

“Oh, it doesn’t matter, Kuro-chin! It’s such an unpleasant subject.”

“Yeah, but if you don’t want to be a genie, you-”

“Kuro-fuu, what should I do with all this lovely hair of yours?” Fai interrupted swiftly.

“Don’t ignore the question,” Kurogane snapped, grabbing Fai’s arm and yanking him back.

“Ne, Kuro-wanko shouldn’t snap,” Fai chirped, patting Kurogane on the head.

“…Was that Kuro-wanko now?!” Kurogane roared, tensing. “I told you to quit it with the nicknames! I’m trying to have a serious discuss-”

“But Kuro-rin, Kuro-tan, Kuro-min! They all sound much better than your boring old name,” Fai interrupted, slipping deftly from Kurogane’s grip and ducking under his arm. Kurogane whirled to follow him.

“Hey! Quit it!” he growled. “Just listen to me for a sec-”

“You know, you’re awfully noisy when nobody’s paying attention to you, Kuro-snap! You remind me so much of a little puppy sometimes. Kuro-wan is an accurate nickname after all,” Fai declared, grinning goofily. Kurogane was really getting angry now, stomping up the beach after the genie.

“Damn it, just shut up for a second!”

“So rude, Kuro-rinka!”

“God damn it, I wish you’d shut it with the stupid names!”

Silence. Fai froze and Kurogane’s anger melted in an instant. He straightened and dropped his fists, not having realized they’d been clenched. He stared at Fai’s back, which was unmoving and still.

“No, wait, I didn’t mean-”

“As you wish, master,” Fai said, already dissolving into blue smoke and disappearing into the lamp. Kurogane cursed and snatched up the piece of junk, rattling it.

“Hey! Get out here!” he snapped, shaking the lamp. Nothing. He chucked it into the sand petulantly. “This isn’t over.”

Fifth Wish

Five days. Five fucking days and the fucking genie still hadn’t come out of that fucking lamp. Kurogane brushed Ruri down roughly, each stroke harsh and angry. She gave him an angry look and snorted.

“That guy’s an idiot,” he spat, not sure if he was talking to himself or the horse. He wasn’t sure which one was worse. “The way he talks you’d think he’d want to be free, but when I bring it up he runs like a startled rabbit! Feh! See if I waste a wish on him!”
Ruri rolled her eyes. The damn horse actually rolled its eyes. At least it had looked like it, if that wasn’t what she was doing it certainly looked like it. Kurogane glared at her and shoved the brush back into his satchel. He kicked sand at the lamp, sitting on a rock.

“Stay in there forever for all I care!”

“Um. Excuse me,” came a voice. Kurogane whirled around. Some punk-ass kid dared to interrupt his temper tantrum, huh?! He’d be sorry he ever stepped foot in this accursed desert when Kurogane was through-

Wait. A kid?

“Eh? Who’re you, kid? Why’re you in the desert?”

The boy was tall and lanky and dressed modestly in golds and blacks, crumpled on the ground and peer up at him through thick spectacles. Blue eyes were squinted against the sun and the voice that had spoken was raspy and tired.

“M-my name is Watanuki Kimihiro. Is… is this your water?”

“Yeah,” Kurogane grunted, wondering how this kid could have snuck up on him. His reflexes were perfect, dammit! Watanuki coughed and sand fell from his mouth. “What, you want some?”

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to barge in but I’ve been wandering for days and... There’s not much water in the desert.” He laughed sickly. “My… my compass…” Watanuki shakily drew a round object from his robe, tossing the clattering thing down before Kurogane’s feet. The nomad stared down at it uninterestedly. “I followed it here. I… I’ll give you anything I have, please…”

Unsteadily he pulled off his small pack, dropping it to the ground next to the compass.

“Pfft. Like I’m gonna drink all this water,” Kurogane said, crossing his arms and shrugging. Watanuki scrambled to his feet, thanking Kurogane profusely and collapsing to his knees near the water. While he was drinking, Kurogane turned back to Fai’s lamp, perched annoyingly on a rock. He picked up a pebble and hurled it at the ugly hunk of junk. It hit the side of the lamp and bounced off ineffectively.

“You can’t stay in there forever!” he roared, scooping up more tiny rocks and chucking them at the lamp. It didn’t seem to have any effect but it helped him vent his anger. “You gotta come out eventually!”

“No, he doesn’t,” came another voice. Kurogane froze. This voice was deeper and calmer than Watanuki’s, and besides, that kid was still drinking in the oasis. Slowly, he turned to see a second figure, surrounded by curls of gray smoke. Expressionless face, dark hair, bejeweled clothes in grays and purples…

“Yo,” the figure said, holding up a hand.

“Aaah, Doumeki!! Damn it, I told you to stay in the lamp!” Watanuki shrieked, stomping his way back up the beach towards Doumeki. The stoic genie turned to look at Watanuki, his expression emotionless.

“You found water, then?” he asked, eyes lidded apathetically.

“Damn it, yes! Though it’s none of your business! I told you I didn’t need to wish for it! Now get back in!” Watanuki hollered, digging through his pack and pulling out a long, slender bottle made of smooth purple metal, complete with an amethyst stopper.

Doumeki stuck a finger in his ear and looked away as though uninterested in his master’s babbling.

“Who’s this?” he asked. Kurogane fought back the urge to sigh heavily. Another magic thing. Great. At least he didn’t appear to be as damn moody as his genie was being. He didn’t appear to have a mood at all…

“Kurogane,” Kurogane said shortly. “Who the hell are you? Another genie?”

“Yep.”

“Don’t just say ‘yep’ like that!” Watanuki snarled, shaking the bottle at the genie. “I told you I didn’t want to have to look at your smug face!”

Kurogane looked at Doumeki’s face; still no expression.

“You still need to make a wish.”

“I don’t need any wishes from a guy like you!” Watanuki cried, flailing around as though this thought was especially offensive. “You’d probably just laugh at me like the jerk you are!”

“If you don’t want any wishes, why don’t you give me to someone who does?” Doumeki asked, crossing his arms. Watanuki sputtered for a minute, trying to come up with an answer before glaring at the genie and pointing an accusatory finger at him.

“And let you wreak havoc on the princess’ kingdom? As if!”

“We’re not anywhere near the princess’ lands anymore,” the genie pointed out smoothly.

“…Shut up! What do you know? You live in a bottle for crying out loud!”

Kurogane rolled his eyes. These two seemed to be in a world all their own. Still, he turned from the quarrelling duo and stooped to pick up the strange compass the boy had dropped. He brushed the sand off of the face of the glass. He raised an eyebrow; there were no cardinal points, no lines, nothing to indicate what direction you were headed. The quivering needle was pointed towards Fai’s lamp and remained pinned to that spot no matter how much Kurogane moved around.

“Ah!” Watanuki said, noticing that Kurogane had picked it up. “Sorry, that’s my compass! A…A girl I know gave it to me.”

“What’s wrong with it?” Kurogane asked, shaking it. Watanuki looked horrified and gasped, quickly snatching the compass back and holding it to his chest.

“Careful, careful! Nothing’s wrong with it! Nothing Himawari-hime gave me could ever have anything wrong with it!” he said forcibly, looking down at it to make sure it was okay. He traced the path of the needle with one finger, a soft look on his face. “It traces magic. It always points towards the closest magical source. It’s how I found this place.”

“Wouldn’t the closest magical source be him?” Kurogane deadpanned, nodding at the genie.

“It did, originally. Then something stronger drew the needle away from him. You must be a pretty powerful wizard, if you don’t mind me saying so!”

Kurogane’s eyes narrowed.

“I’m not a wizard,” he said, staring at the jade lamp that sat innocently on the rock. Watanuki followed his gaze and his eyes widened.

“You have one too! A genie, I mean!” He laughed. “That’s great! It’s a small world after all. He must be awfully powerful.”

“That’s what I was saying,” Doumeki broke in stoically. “He’s so powerful that he doesn’t need to come out to eat or drink. He doesn’t need to do those things at all. Genies don’t require it because their bodies are made of magic.”

“Eh? You never told me that! You’ve been eating all my food, you jerk!” Watanuki roared. Doumeki plugged his ears.

“You offered,” he said, shrugging.

“You mean he could stay in there for the rest of his life?!” Kurogane roared, whirling to grab the lamp and give it a good shake. “Come out and face me like a man, you wimp!”

“Make a wish,” Doumeki suggested. Watanuki looked at his genie, hip lip curling back and his eyes narrowed as though he were trying to get himself to admit that Doumeki had come up with a good idea.

“I don’t have anything to wish for,” Kurogane said.

“A genie’s only purpose is to serve his or her master,” Doumeki said in reply. “If you need to make a wish, he will be powerless to come to you.”

“…Fine,” Kurogane said. He knelt down in the sand and set down the lamp carefully. He placed his hands on his knees and stared down at the lamp fixedly. “Oi. Mage. I got a wish.”

There was a pause. Then, gracefully, elegantly, a coil of blue smoke snaked its way from the nozzle of the lamp, curling upwards and puffing out until it had formed a familiar shape. Fai smiled forcedly down at his master, hands clasped tightly together, mouth tight.

“What do you want, Kurogane?” he asked formally. Kurogane glared up at him.

“What’s with the sudden respect?” he said, eyes narrowing. Fai’s expression failed to waver.

“You are my master. Of course I’m obligated to respect you,” he said. Kurogane leapt to his feet.

“Quit it. I don’t know what your problem is! Why the hell do you act so scared when I bring up freeing-”

A puff of blue smoke and Fai had leapt back into the lamp, leaving Kurogane standing there with words all jumbled up in his mouth. He glared at kicked the lamp.

“Oi! I said I got a wish! You have to come out and stay out!” he cried. Another puff of blue smoke and Fai had returned, smiling away like nothing had happened.

“You-”

“Oh, we have guests!” Fai exclaimed. Most of the smoke evaporated into Fai at the sight of the newcomers; he’d been floating a bit, but he touched down now, turning away from Kurogane completely. “Oh, another genie! Nice to meet you!” Fai said, grabbing Doumeki’s hand sin greeting.

“Nice to meet you,” Doumeki said.

“Come, come on! You’re probably hungry, we’ve got lots of food! Over here, look!” With that, Fai dragged the two strangers off towards their cave (their cave!) where the food was kept. It was practically all fruit that grew on the trees of the oasis, Kurogane’s own rations had run out ages ago. He was so sick of sweet shit, but at least he didn’t go around wasting it on random passers-by.

Nightfall was rapidly approaching. Watanuki started up a fire and began showing Fai a way to cook the fruit so that it would last longer and taste better. Fai paid rapt attention to him as
Doumeki wandered around the oasis, seeming disinterested although his eyes were taking in everything. Kurogane watched his genie socializing with a twitch. What was he, chopped liver?!

He lingered at the edge of the little campfire, leaning against a tree and glowering.

The desert was cold at night but the oasis never seemed to be. They’d never needed a fire before. He wondered if that had been Fai’s doing.

Watanuki noticed his glare eventually and looked uncomfortably at Fai.

“I hope we’re not intruding, we can always leave-”

“No, no, stay! We don’t get much company. Ne, Watanuki-kun, where are you two from? Are you wanderers like Kurogane is?” Fai asked, grinning encouragingly. Watanuki turned the spit that he’d slid the fruit onto so that the opposite side would roast.

“No, we’re… well, I’m looking for someone. Someone very important,” Watanuki said, looking down at the compass in his hands. “Himawari-hime… The princess of my home country… She was taken away a few months ago. We were childhood friends, even though she was a princess and I was just a kitchen boy. We’d always play.” He smiled at the memory. “She gave me this compass so that I’d always be able to find her; her magic was always so strong. Once I got into the desert, though, nothing worked. All this thing will show me is where the strongest magic source is within a certain range. It’s how I found Doumeki. Himawari-hime… She…” He trailed off, looking worried and clutching the compass tighter in his hand. “…It has never pointed to her.
I… I don’t even want to think about why…”

“You could wish,” Doumeki suggested quietly. Watanuki looked up at him sharply.

“What?” he asked, voice warbling slightly. Doumeki sat down next to his master and crossed his arms.

“You could wish to know where she is,” he said. Watanuki looked at him, wide-eyed. His hand shot out and grabbed Doumeki’s wrist.

“You can do that?” he asked. Doumeki nodded.

“I can do almost anything so long as you wish for it,” he said. Watanuki’s grip tightened and he swallowed thickly.

“I wish for that,” he said. “I wish to know where she is.”

Doumeki shoved a hand down Watanuki’s robe.

“Gaaah, you pervert! I should have known you’d-!”

Doumeki pulled out the compass, leaving a steaming Watanuki snarling and spitting at his back like a cat that had just been dunked in water. His cheeks were slightly pink in the firelight.

Doumeki flipped the compass over in his hands and then handed it back to the bespectacled boy. The needle swung around and pointed in a new direction.

“She’s that way,” Doumeki said in explanation. Watanuki stared down at the compass incredulously before his face scrunched up and he held the compass tightly to his chest.

“She’s alive,” he said to himself.

A restless night passed. When dawn broke Watanuki wished for a horse and mounted it, ordering Doumeki back into his lamp.

“Well, thank you very much for the hospitality,” Watanuki said to Fai as the genie stood by to see them off. “Please tell Kurogane-san the same.”

“Hold up,” Kurogane grunted, appearing suddenly behind Fai on his own horse, his sword strapped to his waist. “I’m going with you.”

“Eh?” Watanuki said, looking bewildered. “Why?”

“Your princess was kidnapped and taken here. Odds are she’s been taken to a settlement. If I can find a settlement maybe I can find someone who knows how I can get home,” Kurogane explained. “I don’t want to hang around here my entire life.”

“Master…” Fai began sternly, but Kurogane merely grabbed him by the back of his vest and hauled him onto the horse in front of him.

“Shut up, mage. If I’m your master you go where I go, so accept it,” he snapped. Fai quieted and began to materialize into blue smoke. Kurogane grabbed his arm to stop the transformation. “Stop it.”

For some reason, this time and only this time, Fai obeyed and sat waiting. Watanuki was still staring up at them, wide-eyed.

“I couldn’t ask you to get involved-!” he began, but Kurogane shrugged.

“Kid, I’m not gonna do anything I don’t want to,” he said vaguely, although his tone was one of finality. Watanuki must have sensed this, for he nodded and bowed slightly in thanks. He gently nudged his horse into moving and began the long journey across the desert, the compass clutched tightly in his hand and held out before him.

Watanuki rode further ahead than Kurogane and Fai, perhaps in part because Watanuki’s horse was new and fresh and Ruri had spent too much time lazing around the oasis. The real reason, however, that Kurogane kept letting Watanuki slip further and further away was that he wanted to talk to Fai now that he was effectively cornered.

“Look, mage, we need to talk. Don’t turn into smoke, it’ll just get worse for you,” he said quietly into Fai’s ear, pressing his chest to the blond’s back. He felt the blond shiver against him and it made his heart race. “Why the hell are you so afraid of me all of a sudden?”

“Don’t be silly, master,” Fai said, smiling. “I’m not afraid of you.”

“Bullshit. The way you’re always looking and sounding sad make it seem like you want to be free, but then when I bring it up you make it seem like the worst thing in the world. So which is it?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Fai said quietly. “I’m never going to be free so it doesn’t matter.”

“Do you… want to be free?” Kurogane repeated his question quietly. Fai paused for a long moment before he turned around to look at Kurogane. A flicker of hope shone in his eyes although it was smothered when he blinked. He plastered a smile on his face and looked away.

“It’s hard to explain,” he said finally, wringing his hands together. Kurogane stared at him. He sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair.

“Look, don’t get the wrong idea, but I don’t like the idea of enslaving you,” he said. Fai looked up quickly.

“Oh, master, it’s not like that-”

“If you don’t wanna be like this, then it’s enslaving,” Kurogane snapped, grabbing Fai’s wrist. “Look, I got… what, nine wishes left?”

“Nine,” Fai said quietly, looking terrified.

“Fine. If you can hold on until I make eight more, then I’ll wish to know how to set you free with my last one. Okay? Just don’t get all sentimental on me.”

“…It is my master’s choice,” Fai said quietly, although he didn’t sound happy or grateful at all. He sounded tired and worn and full of dread, as though he had heard this before and knew how it ended. Kurogane rested his forehead against the crown of Fai’s head.

“It’s a promise,” he said, hoping Fai would understand how rare it was for guys like him to make promises. Fai sighed heavily.

“I wish you wouldn’t,” he said softly. “You’re the master, the wishes should be yours.”

“Damn it, stop calling me that,” Kurogane hissed. Fai stiffened.

“Kurogane, then.”

“Don’t say it like that, either! Jeez, those stupid names were almost better.”

“I’m no longer able to use them,” Fai said, shrugging. “You wished for me to stop.”

“Well that was a waste of a wish, wasn’t it? You’re still butchering my name by saying it like it’s part of a eulogy,” Kurogane scoffed. “Wish I’d never made that wish.”

There was a pause as Watanuki changed direction and Kurogane tugged on the reigns in order to get her to follow.

“…Kuro-sama is not very subtle,” Fai said finally, a tiny smile gracing his face. Kurogane snorted and unconsciously pressed closer to Fai, resting his chin on the top of his head.

“Don’t be an idiot. That shouldn’t count,” he said, although his tone was forced and lacked the normal bite.

“Eight wishes left, Kuro-tin”

Sixth Wish

For some ungodly reason, he’d leaned over and kissed Fai. He wasn’t sure why, wasn’t sure how it had happened, but he’d done it nonetheless and for some even stranger reason, he wasn’t sorry. His arms wrapped tightly around the blond’s slim waist and pulled him tighter, flush against him, as he ravaged his mouth like a starving man confronted with a feast. His hands smoothed up and down Fai’s back, burying themselves in sunshine hair and trailing down any exposed skin reverently.

Fai gasped and Kurogane slipped his tongue into the blond’s mouth. He was surprised the blond wasn’t saying anything, usually he wouldn’t shut up. For some reason he felt relaxed enough to smile into the kiss at the thought, something he would normally never, ever do.

They were laying down, Kurogane on top of Fai, on a blue blanket. The mage must have brought it because he didn’t remember it. The sky was orange and the sun was hanging low in the sky, just about to set. He dipped his head down and began showering the blond’s neck and collarbone with kisses, straining his ears for those feather-soft noises the blond was making. He could hardly hear him, just a hitch of breath now and again and a tiny gasp. He was actually impressed that the blond could be so quiet. He hadn’t expected it from him.

He slid his hands up the blond’s shirt and began tugging it over his head. Once the shirt had been removed completely, he dipped back down and covered the blond’s mouth with his. Fai kissed back tenderly and for a long moment they were locked in this one kiss, forgetting everything else.

“Fai,” he breathed against the blond’s mouth. He’d never said the genie’s name before. Why had he never said it? Fai arched against him and wrapped his slender arms around his neck, pulling him back down for another kiss. Still, he didn’t speak. “Fai, I lo-”

“Shh,” Fai whispered against his mouth. Well, at least he’d spoken. Sort of. He shrugged mentally and went back to kissing and running his hands down Fai’s sides.

“Kuro-sama? Is that you?” came a voice, a little high pitched and surprised. Kurogane froze, wrenched himself away from Fai and craned his head over his shoulder to see-

…Fai.

His heart leapt to his throat. What the hell was going on?

“Oh, sorry, Kuro-sama, I didn’t realize you were busy!” Fai said to Kurogane’s back, laughing and holding up two hands in defense. Kurogane just stared at him, confused out of his mind.

The new Fai looked around curiously before taking a step closer to the blue blanket, swinging his arms idly.

Kurogane looked down at the Fai beneath him. He hadn’t said anything, hadn’t changed his blissful expression. It was as if…

Ahaha, sorry, Kuro-min! I must have wandered into your mind when I was sleeping. It happens sometimes.

Fuck!

He scrambled to cover up the other Fai, but that in itself made it obvious that he was trying to hide something. Fai’s gaze was pulled over to him and his eyes widened as he took in the sight of himself laying there. His face split into a disbelieving grin.

“Kuro-sama-!”

“Shut up!! Get out of my head! I’m asleep, you idiot! I’m defenseless!”

“I had no idea you thought of me that way!” Fai blurted out with false modesty, clearly physically containing the laughter that threatened to burst out at any second.

“Shut up!! Wake up!”

He shot up in his bedroll, covered in sweat and dread. He grabbed Fai’s lamp and shook it mercilessly. Fai came tumbling out in a flurry of blue smoke and giggles, clutching his stomach in amusement.

“You’re not supposed to be allowed inside my head!” he growled, livid. Fai’s laughter failed to subside, although he tried to subdue it by covering his mouth with a hand.

“I’m sorry, Kuro-min, it happens sometimes by accident. You’re such a vivid dreamer!”

“Shut up!” Kurogane could feel his face heating up and he knew he must have been red as a beat.

“Only kissing? Who know you had such a romantic side?”

“I was gonna get to other stuff!” Kurogane snapped without thinking, regretting that immediately as Fai’s face lit up with mirth and he doubled over.

“Who else do you dream about, Kuro-kun?” Fai asked, grinning inanely. “It’s so ironic that I managed to walk in on one of me!”

Quickly Kurogane blurted out, “I wish you’d forget you ever saw that!”

Fai blinked a few times, the laughter dying abruptly. He looked down at himself, at his hands, and then back to Kurogane, who was still blushing madly.

“Kuro-jin?” he said blearily. “Did you want to make a wish?”

Kurogane glared, calming down a bit and flopping down to his bedroll again. He took a deep breath to calm himself further, covering his face with his hands. Ugh, he’d had a dream like that.

He didn’t get those kind of dreams! He wasn’t that kind of guy!

“No,” he said finally. Fai shrugged and returned to his lamp. Kurogane suddenly wondered why he hadn’t simply wished that the entire incident be erased from his memory.