Tenth Wish.

“Himawari-chan…” Fai trailed off, slipping from the bed and taking a tentative step towards her.

Himawari closed her eyes tightly, taking in a deep breath before opening them again to look Fai straight in the eyes.

“I want to wish to save my country,” Himawari said, an air of determination clinging to her. Both men stiffened at her words before Fai stood another step forward and Kurogane realized, no, that wording didn’t count. She hadn’t wished directly, and so Fai was under no obligation to grant it.

“You have to ask me?” Fai said. “Doumeki-kun-”

“I have enough magic to sense it, at least,” Himawari said regretfully, smiling sadly. “He doesn’t have enough power to grant my wish.”

“Himawari-chan, is that really what you want?” Fai asked softly. “For your father to-”

“Yes,” Himawari said, clutching the lamp tighter, gaze trailing the floor. “I… I don’t want my people to be unhappy any longer.”

“That means your father will be the one who is unhappy,” Fai said. “Himawari-chan, I cannot grant a wish to change a person.”

“More rules?” Kurogane grumbled to himself. “You never mentioned that one.” Fai whirled on him and held up both hands defensively, smiling away as though his ownership wasn’t in question.

“Oh, I just forgot about that one! There are quite a few, after all,” Fai said, rubbing at the back of his head. “I’m impressed you remembered, though, Kuro-pin!”

“Shut up! Of course I would! I’m not just gonna wish without knowing your limitations,” Kurogane snapped.

“Hyuu, so cool!”

“Um...” Himawari interjected smoothly, her grip on the lamp tightening. “Fai-san, I know that you and Kurogane-san are close-”

“WHAT DID YOU-!”

“Ahahaha, what a strange way to put it-”

“And so, I promise that I will return you to him after I make this one wish,” she said, bowing her head in a silent vow.

Fai smiled sadly at her.

“It doesn’t work that way, Himawari-chan,” he said, softly. Her eyes widened in surprise.

“What do you mean?”

“Once you make a wish, you will become my new master,” Fai said, smiling away. “I cannot return to an old master once you have used me to make a wish.”

“Never?”

“…You never said anything about that, either,” Kurogane growled, his hands clenched into uncomfortably tight fists. Fai didn’t turn to face the other man this time, keeping his back straight and his eyes on Himawari’s face.

“No,” he said, lightly. “I didn’t think it mattered.”

“Why the hell wouldn’t it matter, you idiot?!” Kurogane growled, stepping forward to grab the genie’s arm only to find his hand went right through, a haze of blue smoke curling around his fingers instead.

“I’m not going to be yours forever,” Fai said, bluntly. Kurogane froze. “You’ll have to give me up sometime.”

“You…”

“There’s no other way,” Himawari said, a timid conviction in her voice. “If things progress as they are, all of my friends, my companions… Watanuki-kun… They’ll all be executed. All because of me, because I couldn’t do anything to help.”

Fai was silent, watching the girl with a serious look on his face, waiting for her to make a move. Kurogane felt a sudden sense of unease; the mage should have known he wouldn’t have to grant her wish, didn’t he? He’d made the wish while he’d been asleep, but it had counted, hadn’t it?

The sudden thought that it didn’t, that Fai had not been able to grant it in sleep, crossed his mind. His eyes narrowed.

“Fai-san, I wish-”

Fai’s eyes misted over as the magic began to swirl around his feet, waiting.

“Oi! Hold up a sec!”

Eleventh Wish.

“That was nice of you, Kuro-tan,” Fai said quietly, watching as Himawari and Watanuki loaded their horses with supplies for their long journey. “Giving up another wish.”

“Feh. It was that or give up all my wishes,” Kurogane said, shrugging. “It’s got nothing to do with bein’ nice.”

“Hmm, if you say so,” Fai said, floating cross-legged on a pocket of air beside his master. Kurogane gave him an annoyed look from his position atop his horse, nudging her into clomping forward toward the others.

“I do,” he said. “Besides, this way they’ll go back. There’s gotta be someone there who knows how I can get back home.”

“You only have a few wishes left, Kuro-tan,” Fai said, slipping onto the horse behind him and curling his arms around his waist so that he wouldn’t fall. “Just a few wishes and then we’ll have to say goodbye! We had a good run, though. Some Masters spend all their wishes in the course of an hour. We‘ve been traveling for, what? Three months?”

“…Hmph,” Kurogane grunted, deciding for now not to point out that one of his wishes had already been decided upon.

“Are you ready, Kurogane-san? Fai-san?” Himawari asked, riding her black filly over to the others.

“Ready,” Fai said, poking his head around Kurogane’s frame.

“Hn,” Kurogane answered.

They were off, trekking across the desert towards the city of Heleana, where the king had been put to sleep.

Heleana was a bright jewel of a city, polished and clean and glittering impossibly in the sunlight even though it was a city surrounded by sand. Passing domed buildings and curved archways, the city was thundering with voices and laughter; people were running to and fro, cutting in front of the arriving travelers and dancing in the streets.

“Himawari-hime!” cried a voice, somehow audible over the joyous roar of the crowd. A little girl ran up to the princess’ horse, grabbing onto Himawari’s trouser leg and tugging happily. Her cheeks and nose were powdered with freckles and a loopy smile rested on her chubby face. “You’ve returned!”

Himawari smiled sadly down at the girl as a crowd began to gather, clamoring for the princess’ attention, telling her of how the king had fallen asleep and never woken up, stuck in a perpetual dream.

“Yes, I’m fine now. Watanuki and his genie friend rescued me,” she said with a pretty smile at Watanuki, who was too overwhelmed with love at the sight to fight the insinuation of Doumeki being his friend.

“H-himawari-chan, I really didn’t-”

“That means you’re a hero, right?” the same little girl asked Watanuki, grinning away.

“H-hero is a strong word-” Watanuki began, laughing uncomfortably and holding up his hands in protest.

“You and your friend!”

“THIS GUY IS NOTHING BUT AN ANNOYANCE!” Watanuki glared over his shoulder at the stoic genie, irritated, and swiped a hand at him. Doumeki’s expression didn’t change, and Watanuki’s hand cut through him like a knife through butter, his body melting into smoke before re-forming.

“I thought I sensed another genie!” came a voice. “Looks like I got two!”

“YOU!” Kurogane growled, hurtling off his horse and stalking up to the smoky figure standing at the edge of the crowd. Standing close to his own height, a beautiful woman draped in jewels and gauzy grey fabric smiled from beneath the hood of her cloak. She pulled the cloak back from her face, hair swept up in a messy style and adorned with butterfly-shaped sapphires, skin dotted with diamonds like tattoos at the corners of her eyes.

“Hello, Kurogane,” Yuuko cackled, hands on her satin-draped hips. “I see you’ve made it through the desert.”

“Shut up! Send me back right now!” he snapped, drawing his sword. The crowd parted hurriedly back at the sight of the drawn weapon, scared into a tense silence.

“Kurogane-san!” Himawari objected, dismounting. “Please-!”
Watanuki leapt off his own horse, grabbing her arm and holding her back protectively.

“You have your own genie,” Yuuko said, eyes lidded mysteriously, her cloak fluttering gently in the desert wind. “Can you not ask him?”

“I did,” Kurogane growled. “He can’t do it.”

“I cannot allow you to return home until you show me you’ve changed,” she said clasping her ring-laden hands together. “Tomoyo-ou would be most displeased.”

“…Tch,” Kurogane scoffed, sheathing the sword with a pout. “How is she?”

“Good,” Yuuko said, smiling. “She’s sent me here to check up on the people. She foresaw the king’s sleep.”

“ …She did?”

“Yes. And she foresaw something else, too,” she said, looking over Kurogane’s shoulder to the blond approaching from behind.

“Yuuko!” Fai cried in greeting, shading his gaze with one hand. “Is that you?”

“It is! Long time no see, Fai,” Yuuko said with a grin and a pointed look at Kurogane before she strode past him and grabbing the genie’s hands, tugging him along with her. “Come on, we’ve got a lot to discuss!”

“DISCUSS?!” Kurogane snarled, stomping after them. “About what?!”

“You too,” Yuuko said, grinning over her shoulder. She turned around, still gripping Fai’s wrist, and shouted out at the gathering crowd. “There’s alcohol in the city square! A gift from the Sultana for the free peoples of Heleana!”

A cheer rose up from the crowd and Himawari visibly relaxed; Watanuki tensed and shot a warning look over his shoulder at his genie.

“ALCOHOL?!”

There was a giant fountain in the centre square shaped like an angel with long, flowing hair, near to overflowing with sake and surrounded by a gaggle of half-drunk commoners ambling around and shouting, making general fools of themselves. Kurogane sat on the edge of the fountain, scowling as he looked out across the drunken courtyard. The sun was setting on the horizon, casting a red hue across the busy, laughing city. He took a gulp of the harsh liquid and winced as it burned going down. He hated big parties like this.

“Someone’s got their grumpiest face on today!” came a slightly slurred voice. He turned just in time to see Fai plunking down next to him, his cheeks red from the booze, a goofy smile on his face. He poked him unsteadily in the chest and laughed uproariously at him. “It’s all wrinkly in between your eyes!”

“Shut up!” Kurogane snapped, slapping the wandering hand away. “You’re drunk!”

“No I am not,” Fai said, laughing and swaying to the one side. Kurogane grabbed his arm to keep him upright as he wavered, scowling at the blond’s drunken antics. “I haven’t drank in a hundred years!”

“A hundred years?”

“Nooo,” Fai said, finally coming to a crashing halt as he collapsed against Kurogane’s shoulder. The other man grunted in annoyance but let him lean there. “My last master.”

“…A hundred years ago?” Kurogane asked, glaring at a man who tried to approach Fai with an extra glass overflowing with sake in the one hand.

“My last master, it must have been that long, right?”

“The hell I’d know.”

“Sometimes I loose track of time,” Fai said, mumbling into Kurogane’s shoulder. “You know, stuck in that lamp, it’s hard to… sometimes I loose track of time.”

“You said that.”

“You get used to it, though,” Fai said, sighing dramatically.

“…How many masters have you had?” Kurogane asked after a moment’s pause. Fai was silent for a moment.

“I’ve lost count,” he said wistfully, closing his eyes. “Thousands.”

“Thousands?” Kurogane asked, unable to imagine such a thing. It made his blood boil for some reason, to think about Fai being shuffled from master to master, and he was fairly certain, if he knew humans, it was more than likely that the majority of them had been perfectly fine with using the blond like a tool.

“Mm,” Fai said, sagging against his master more. “But Kuro-sama was one of the best.”

He couldn’t help the grin that cracked at that, shifting a bit so that Fai’s head was jostled. The blond made an annoyed sound and clutched at his arm, keeping it still.

“You always said such funny things!” he said into his bicep. Kurogane tugged at his arm a little.

“Shut up! You’re a moron,” he said, grumbling.

“I don’t want you to make that wish,” he said suddenly, voice harsh against his arm, as though he could feel each syllable through the fabric of his shirt. He looked down at him in surprise, the drunken smile still half there as he laughed silently. “You’re just going to be disappointed.”

“…It’s my choice to make,” Kurogane said, turning back to the raging party. Fai clutched at his sleeve, pressing his face against it.

“I’m sorry,” he said, and then he was closing his eyes and going limp against him, and Kurogane had to grab him to keep him from falling into the fountain.

“Moron,” he said quietly.

They were given a room in the palace, belatedly, and by a servant who was too drunk on both sake and elation to be of much help. Kurogane tossed the lamp down on one of the many silk pillows adorning the floor and dropped the passed-out genie down onto the bed; it sunk beneath the wiry frame, and in a haze Fai made a tiny noise and rolled over, away from him. Glaring at his back, Kurogane tugged one blanket over him before turning, planning on heading back to the party to question some people.

As luck would have it, the person he’d been looking for was standing in the doorway, one hand hooked around the strap of the sandal she’d removed, smiling at him through the translucent veil she’d strung across her face.

“Watanuki is fun,” she said, her painted lips twisting further into a smile. “He’s told me all about you.”

“Oh, yeah?” Kurogane said warily. She nodded, stepping closer to him.

“After a few drinks, of course,” she added, letting the jeweled sandal clatter to the ground. Kurogane followed it through the air, eyes narrowing as it hit the ground before pulling his gaze back up to meet the crimson eyes of the mysterious, free genie.

“Tomoyo knew about this, didn’t she?” he asked, bluntly. Yuuko blinked. “That’s why she sent me away. So that I’d find the lamp and bring it to that girl, so that this city would be saved.”

“Partially,” Yuuko admitted. “I believe she told me that in her vision, you gave the lamp away in return for provisions.”

“…Tch. Looks like even she can be wrong,” he said, looking over his shoulder quickly.

“It’s impossible to predict hearts.” Yuuko said softly. “Doumeki tells me you helped them travel through the desert, and made the wish to save them all,” Yuuko continued, raising a hand to caress his cheek thoughtfully. “And it was you who wished to save the city.”

“Hn,” Kurogane grunted, tensing at the touch. “Had no choice.”

“There is no such thing as not having a choice,” Yuuko said, smiling. “Kurogane. How many wishes do you have left?”

“Two,” he said, after a moment’s pause, inching his head away from the weight of her rings against his cheek. “But one of them’s already reserved.”

“Oh?” Yuuko said, letting her fingers trail down his cheek and along his jaw before pulling back. Her eyes fluttered over to Fai again, resting sadly over his form. “A wish for him?”

“I got eleven wishes outta this deal,” Kurogane said, ignoring the pitying look. “It’s no trouble givin’ up one.”

“The Kurogane I remember would never have made a wish for another person. Not easily,” Yuuko said, poking him in the chest. “You’re committed to wishing for his freedom?”

“Yeah,” Kurogane said, slapping the hand away. “I don’t say things I don’t mean.”

“That I know,” Yuuko said, drawing her cloak over her mouth. “In any case, I think your heart has changed enough to consider the Sultana’s wish granted.”

“…Eh?”

“You’re free to wish for your return home,” Yuuko said, bowing her head. “My magic won’t prevent you this time.”

“That’s all I had to do?!” Kurogane snapped, hands clenching into fists. “You coulda told me that from the beginning!”

“Don’t be silly, it doesn’t mean anything if you do it with ulterior motives!” Yuuko said, slapping his arm. He twitched and stepped back away from her.

“Don’t touch me!”

“You’re not going to thank me?”

“What for?”

“Rude as ever, I see,” Yuuko drawled. Kurogane grunted and knelt down on the bed next to the genie, looking down at him thoughtfully. “Will you wish now?”

“…No,” Kurogane said decisively, pulling away from the blond. “Tomorrow.”

“That’s sweet of you,” she said, turning to leave. “To let him say goodbye.”

“Shut up,” Kurogane snapped. “He’d whine if I woke him up just to wish.”

“Of course,” Yuuko said with a veiled smile as she pushed the satin hanging from the doorframe aside and left them in peace.

Twelfth Wish

“Goodbye, Himawari-hime,” Fai said, pulling from the hug with a loopy smile. “I’ll make sure Kuro-chin comes back to visit sometimes!”

Kurogane grunted over his shoulder at him, eyes narrowed as he tugged at one of the saddle’s straps. Ruri huffed along with him as though in sympathy.

“I’ll look forward to it,” Himawari said with a watery smile, stepping back to allow Watanuki to shake the genie’s hand.

“Take care of yourself,” Watanuki said seriously.

“I will,” Fai answered, too quick. “Make sure Doumeki doesn’t starve!”

“Wh--! YOU TOLD HIM TO SAY THAT, DIDN’T YOU, JERK?!” Watanuki shrieked over his shoulder at the stoic genie, who shrugged and looked away as though he had no interest in answering.

“It’s time,” Yuuko said softly, stepping towards the other genie and holding out her hand. Fai nodded and took it, closing his eyes.

“How come you’re here if it’s Imy/I wish?” Kurogane grumbled, turning to face them, one hand clutching Ruri’s reigns.

“I told you before,” Fai said, his eyes remaining shut even as a smile graced his face. “It’s easier if I don’t have to use as much of my magic. Yuuko needs to return anyway.”

“Yes,” Yuuko said. “And it’s so much more pleasant to have company, isn’t it Kurogane?”

“You’re both just lazy,” Kurogane muttered, leaning back against his horse impatiently.

“Goodbye, Kurogane-san! Fai-san!” Himawari called as blue and gold swirls of magic began curling around the three of them, sending sand swirling on the air and dust to scatter. Kurogane wrenched his eyes shut, jumping when he felt a hand slip into his for a few seconds before he felt his body dissolving into nothingness.

It was a long, slow second before he could feel himself again, feel that hand clutching his, and when he could it was in the form of sharp, shooting pain as he fell unceremoniously against the marble floor of the Sultana’s palace. His head whacked against the ground and he growled, one hand fisting in his hair over the growing bump.

“Whoops,” came Fai’s voice, and it took him a moment to realize that the blond was sprawled atop him. “I think I let go of Yuuko’s hand.”

“Whatever,” Kurogane grumbled, sitting up and shoving the blond partially off of him, rubbing at his head. He blinked and cast a look around; tall white pillars, veils of transparent fabric fluttering between them to obscure the lush gardens and winding koi ponds that surrounded the palace. Mosaics of the past sultanas assured him more than anything that yes, he was home, finally, and nothing had gone horribly wrong in his absence. “This is it.”

“Yuuko is probably around here somewhere,” Fai said, standing hurriedly. “Should I wait for you in the lamp until you get things sorted out?”

“…I-” Kurogane began, but Fai had already turned to smoke and was rushing into the lamp like a deer running from a raging fire. He scoffed, looking down at the tacky antique before clipping it to his belt, pulling himself off and stalking down the familiar halls to have a few words with the sultana. “Don’t think I’ll let you hide for long,” he growled, unsure if the genie could hear him and uncaring.

As expected, he was teased and poked and made fun of, and unsurprisingly, he yelled and flailed and practically popped a vein, but all things considered he was relieved to be back. Wandering the desert was an uncertain lifestyle and he’d worried constantly about what would come around the corner next, even more so after he’d found the lamp.

He dropped down on his bed, the lamp perched on his chest, and stared at the molding in the ceiling. He placed one hand on the lamp, his thumb swiping back and forth thoughtfully over the metal before he felt blue smoke filtering past his fingers, the familiar form of his genie forming on the air. Fai looked down at him, careful smile firmly in place, legs crossed and half-dissolved in smoke as he hovered on the air.

“Enjoying your time back, master?” Fai asked, hands solidifying in front of him. He was back in that damn elaborate outfit, as though preparing to leave, and it pissed him off. He sat up abruptly, the lamp falling to one side with a thud.

“I’m ready to make my last wish,” he said determinedly, standing. Fai dropped to the ground instantly, his legs solidifying as he touched down and took a hasty step back.

“Don’t you think you should wait until you’ve settled in?” Fai said, holding up his hands. “You might think of something else you want-!”

“No, and stop trying to change my mind. If I don’t do it now you’ll just keep running,” Kurogane said, reaching out to grasp the genie’s wrist and surprising himself when he found it didn’t dissolve away. “So listen up. I’m going to wish to know how to free you, and then I‘ll do what I can to make it happen.”

“…Your wish is my command, master,” Fai said, looking away. Irritated, Kurogane grabbed his chin and hauled him back, forcing their gazes to meet.

“I wish to know how to free a genie,” he said, pointedly, daring the blond to look away. Blue eyes widened before Kurogane felt a solid hand against his chest, pushing him away.

“Wish,” he said, softly, as though the words were poison he was too defeated to expel from his mouth. Kurogane’s insides froze.

“…What,” he said, simply.

“The only way to free a genie,” Fai said, hair curtaining his expression, “is to wish for it.”

“…You said I needed to wish to Iknow how/I,” Kurogane growled, refusing to accept that he’d just wasted his final wish and achieved nothing. Fai shook his head.

“You do,” he said. “I couldn’t tell you. And now you have no wishes left to follow though.” He sighed before plastering a smile on his face. “It’s alright, Kuro-tan. You’re the third master to try and free me this way, I’m used to it.”

“That’s why you didn’t want me to,” Kurogane said, shoulders tense with anger. “You knew this would happen.”

“That’s twelve wishes, exactly,” Fai went on to say, turning away and clasping his hands together behind his back. “My job is done.”

“Like hell it is!” Kurogane snapped, making to grab for him again, but this time he found that he Iwas/I grabbing at smoke and Fai was half-dissolved already. “You can’t just leave like that!”

“I don’t have a choice,” Fai said, hands melting away on the air. “Once you make twelve wishes, I cannot grant you more.”

“I don’t give a damn about Ithat/I,” Kurogane snapped, grabbing up the lamp. “There’s got to be some loophole!”

“No,” Fai said.

“You’re lying!”

“No, again.”

“What are you going to do, just stay in that lamp forever?!”

“I’ll stay in my lamp until my next master finds me,” Fai replied. Kurogane shook his head.

“You can’t! I made a wish,” Kurogane spat, and Fai froze, half of his smoky form already being siphoned into the lamp.

“…What?”

“I made a wish, while you were asleep,” Kurogane ground out, biting back his anger. “I said, ‘I wish for you to be unable to grant anyone’s wishes but mine.’”

For a moment, Fai stared at him. Kurogane wondered if he’d done something horribly wrong, if this meant that the blond would be trapped forever inside that lamp, unable to grant wishes, useless as a genie but unable to escape his fate. Then, shakily, Fai raised one hand to massage his temples, laughing sickly.

“Kurogane,” he said, and Kurogane’s heart froze. “You can’t wish for that.”

“…What? Why? I was gonna free you anyway, why does it matter?”

“If anyone could wish to change the rules of wish-granting, it would be simple to manipulate a genie into giving more wishes, or trapping them,” Fai explained, his body forming once more. “That’s against the rules.”

“You never said that!”

“I assumed it was implied when I told you there was no wishing for more wishes! You can‘t wish to restrict wishes, either! Besides, I never thought you‘d make a wish like that.”

“Like I’d wish for you to fall in love with me?!”

“Well, that was for my own protection, just in case! I didn‘t know what a grumpy thing you really were!”

Kurogane glared at him for that, mouth open and ready to lecture him on the many reasons (this being the most recent) why he was such an absolute idiot for not telling him that, when something clicked and his hands unclenched.

“…That wish doesn’t count,” he said, quietly.

Fai shook his head, hardly daring to look up to meet his gaze.

“I’ve only made eleven.”

They looked up at the same time and clamped gazes, and there was a moment, then (it felt like an hour but was probably only seconds as his mind sluggishly pulled itself together) that he felt like the blond would disappear into blue smoke and silence the moment he spoke.

“No,” Fai said, finally, breaking the silence. “You made twelve.”

It was only then that he noticed that Fai’s eyes were less blue, as though fading, slowly but surely into a different colour. He swallowed and looked down at the lamp on the bed, which no longer sparkled like some lost jewel, but appeared cracked and dull like the tacky antique it was. He turned back to Fai, swallowing thickly.

“…Yeah.”

Then Fai’s arms were twined around him and he was pushing his face against his shoulder (maybe he was crying, maybe he wasn’t, he couldn’t tell) and it was natural enough to bring one of his own hands up to touch his back, resting his mouth against the top of his head.

Neither of them said anything, both feeling it wasn’t needed. They stayed like that for a while, pressed against one another, before Kurogane threaded his fingers through Fai’s hair, tugged his head back and leaned in decisively for a kiss.

Fai’s arms tensed around his waist before he kissed back, quietly, slowly, much gentler than he would have thought either of them capable of. One of the genie’s hands slid upwards to touch his cheek and it prompted him to press closer, deepening the kiss and clutching the other man tighter.

They pulled away after a long moment, and Fai leaned his head back against his shoulder and whispered, “thank you.”

“Oi! Idiot!” Kurogane snapped at the form standing on the opposite side of the garden, kneeling by some plants. “Where the hell have you been all day?!”

“Missed me, Kuro-tan?” Fai said over his shoulder, putting down his spade and wiping the sweat from his brow.

“Shut up. It’s past the time when you’re usually off, that’s all,” Kurogane said, crossing his arms as he came to stand behind the genie. Fai stood, peeling off his soil-stained gloves.

“I’m planting,” he said.

“I see that.”

“It’ll be easier to do certain healing spells with these herbs,” he explained, striding past the guard and depositing his gloves into the toolbox that sat on the edge of the fountain. “It means Yuuko and I will have more time to spend on keeping the palace defenses up.”

“Whatever. The defenses are fine. You’re both just lazy,” Kurogane growled rubbing at the back of his head and stomping off down the beaten garden path, trusting the genie would follow.

“Kuro-sama has such a set opinion of us,” Fai remarked, lugging up his toolkit and following him. “It’s a miracle whenever he changes his mind at all.”

“Shut up,” Kurogane snapped, slowing to allow the genie to catch up. “If that was true you wouldn’t even be here.”

“…I guess not,” Fai said with a soft smile, looping his free arm around Kurogane’s and leaning against his shoulder. The guard grunted in annoyance but didn’t shove him off. “Still, you don’t need to pick me up from work so often. I know the way back!”

“It’s on my way home anyway,” he grumbled. “Besides, it’s a pain when you take forever getting there because people keep stopping you to ask for wishes.”

Fai stopped, which forced Kurogane to stop and look at him.

“What?”

The genie reached around and pulled Kurogane’s head down for a quick kiss. The guard leaned into it for a second before pulling back and swiping at the blond for kissing him in public; Fai leapt back, laughing.

“It’s been a year and you haven’t figured out that I only grant wishes when I want to?” he said, grinning. “Although there was a certain young dancer who asked me to grant her wish of becoming Kuro-tan’s bride!”

“SHUT UP! That’s a lie!”

“It’s not! And I’m still considering that one,” Fai said, tapping his chin. “She had lovely blue hair, do you know the one?”

“I’LL KILL YOU IF YOU SELL ME TO SOME FOURTEEN-YEAR-OLD!” Kurogane roared, grabbing at his stupid lover. Fai ducked and took off, abandoning his toolbox in favour of speed as Kurogane chased him through the imperial gardens, howling with laughter.