Disclaimer: I don’t own Tsubasa or any of its characters. Nor do I own the title to drabble 65. That is the title of a very beautiful anime by Makato Shinkai.

Note: Drabble 64 is my take on what happened in the most recent Tsubasa chapter. It is by no means entirely correct.

A/N: Can you believe I finally decided to pick this up again? 100 Drabbles About Love is officially off of hiatus! And man did I miss writing these. So here they are! Drabbles 61 through 65! Enjoy!

#61. Names

“Oi, mage.”

Over the course of their journey together, Kurogane had grown accustomed to calling Fai by anything but his real name, just like the blonde had always done to him. But while Fai knew that he was doing it when he did it, Kurogane did not realize what he had been doing until their journey’s end.

Not once over the course of their time together had he ever called Syaoran, Sakura, Mokona, or Fai by their true names. As far as he had been concerned, Sakura was always ‘the princess’ and Syaoran was always ‘the kid’ and Mokona would always be ‘the stupid manjuu’.

So, when Kurogane had called out to the vampire that afternoon in Nihon, he called him ‘mage’ strictly out of habit. It did not even occur to him that Fai might take offense. After all, he couldn’t very well be called a ‘mage’ anymore.

Kurogane only took notice of this fact when Fai cocked an eyebrow before answering him. “Kuro-sama?”

“One of the idiots from the kitchen staff was looking for you.”

“Oh!” he exclaimed, smiling a damn false smile, “Rena-chan must be having trouble with the cake recipe I gave her. She probably needs help.”

Fai began to rise from his seat on the ground, but Kurogane pushed him back down, resting a hand on his shoulder.

“I… ah… shouldn’t have called you that,” It was the closest thing to an apology that he could muster. Fai respected his sacrifice by finding worth in his life. Respecting Fai’s own magical sacrifice was only right. “But what in the hell am I supposed to call you now?”

“You’re asking me what I’d like you to call me?” Fai seemed genuinely surprised and laughed lightly, “Perhaps Kuro-sama has changed, after all.”

“Just… answer me, dammit,” He didn’t know why he was flushing. This situation really shouldn’t feel this strange. Kurogane looked off the side, waiting impatiently.

“Oh, don’t pout Kuro-pon!” Fai smiled a genuine smile, and looked him directly in the eye before speaking sincerely. “I think that you should call me Fai.”

Fai… Kurogane almost felt disgusted with himself that he had never even said the blonde’s name. He was in love with the bastard for Kami’s sake! But perhaps that was what it took for him to be able to say it: love.

“Alright then,” he started, brushing his finger’s along Fai’s jawline, “Some idiot from the kitchen staff was looking for you, Fai.”

#62. Dreamscape

A week before her fourteenth birthday, Sakura tried to tell Syaoran that she loved him, was interrupted, and promised that she would say it on her birthday.

Seven years before Sakura’s fourteenth birthday, Syaoran realized that Sakura’s life would be taken seven years later.

Syaoran knew that the seal of death engraved upon her as black wings would take her life before she could say the words. He dreaded entering the ruins that day, knowing that there was no way to save her.

But when that fateful day finally arrived, Syaoran was surprised to find a Sakura dressed only in her ceremonial garb. No seal haunted her, serving as a reminder that today was her death day. Instead, he was able to take in her warm smile and actually return that warm smile, because through some miracle or another, today she would indeed be able to speak those words to him.

It was not a very long time before the entire hall went silent and eyes were only on them, and Sakura spoke softly, her words the sincerest he’d ever heard. “I promised that I would say it on my birthday. So… I will.”

She walked forward and took his hand between both of hers and held it between them. “I love you, Syaoran.”

---

But miracles do not occur so often, and happy endings are not so constant as anyone would like to believe.

When Syaoran awoke to the morning sun filtering through his bedroom window, he cursed his dream, and he cursed Fei Wong Reed, and he cursed himself for ever believing that such a thing could be true.

When he arrived at the ruins that evening, the black wings were still there and Sakura’s life was taken right before his eyes. That day, his future changed forever.

Dreams could not always be well welcomed. And Syaoran soon found that, in his own case, they never were.

#63. Wishful Thinking

Kurogane stopped bullshitting himself in Tokyo.

He knew that he could deny having any sense of closeness to the members of their traveling group forever, but after all that had happened, his patience with the state of denial he’d set himself in had waned. An unspoken oath kept him from ever saying the words aloud, but he had grown to love them, all of them, and for that reason, he would protect all of them relentlessly for as long as he was able. Having more than one promise was no sin, and keeping those promises gave his life meaning.

Though it might take a lifetime, he would avenge his mother’s untimely death, he would return home and continue to protect Tomoyo, he would help the kid and the princess on their journey, and he would protect Fai with his life -- he would make the magician see the value in his existence.

Kurogane would not allow himself to lose anyone else important to him, and yet he knew that slowly, he was losing Fai. All that he could do was let Fai have his distance, and hope and pray that the magician would eventually come to his senses and realize that he was loved and that he was worth it and that Kurogane would always be there to protect him.

It would take time, but he would make Fai do it.

Kurogane stopped bullshitting himself in Tokyo. Really.

#64. Hatred, Defeat, and Powerlessness

Syaoran did not want to accept defeat. Syaoran could not accept defeat. He still had so much to do -- he still had so many people to protect.

Sakura -- his true Sakura -- would not live at this rate, and the body of the other Sakura would never be recovered. Kurogane and Fai were probably just as critically wounded as he, if not worse, and who truly knew where Mokona was at the moment?

He hated the dizzy feeling that was coursing through his head as he lingered on the edge of consciousness. He hated the blood pouring from the wound caused by his other self and the powerlessness he felt to stop it. He hated his other self for denying him the only thing he’d ever truly wanted in life. And most of all, he hated himself for not being strong enough to stop it

Sakura… Sakura… I’m sorry.

And the darkness closed in.

#65. The Place Promised in Our Early Days

When they were children, everything seemed possible. Time seemed to stand still for them both, just so that the moments shared between them would last as long as they wanted them to and longer. Simply running with their hands clasped together seemed a new and exciting adventure every time, and the world felt as big as ever, stretching onward as far as they could see and farther, there for them to explore. Only them.

They talked about growing older and traveling together, about seeing everything beyond the kingdom of Clow. Syaoran promised that he would show Sakura all the places that his father had ever taken him and she promised that she would search constantly for a way to get her father to let her.

They were promises forever preserved by the perfect innocence of childhood.

But then Clow passed away and Fujitaka passed away, and suddenly the world seemed a much smaller place. Sakura realized that leaving Clow to travel would never be an option again, and Syaoran, faced with all the hardships of a child living without a parent, knew that he would never be able to take her. But even so, what mattered was that they still had one another, even if the world didn’t seem quite as big as before.

A/N: Like always, I love constructive criticism and ideas, so feel free to drop me a line.