Kurogane had never really thought much about walls before. In those odd moments of his life when he had considered them at all, it went something like, "This wall is in my way", or "This wall is handy to sleep against".

Before he met Fai, before he knew Fai, a wall was a wall and held no furtive connotations of thin, pale limbs pressed against hard wood, or urgent, manic kisses and hands trailing over cold flesh. Walls had been normal things. Boring. Functional. Wall-like. There to hold up ceilings and not mages with arms and legs curled around your neck and your back to made sure you weren’t going anywhere but closer to that wall. 

Now walls were like memories, and so it seemed to Kurogane that memories were everywhere, because walls were everywhere. Like Fai, and his damned body and hair and tongue and lips, following Kurogane everywhere he went. In front of him. Out the corner of his eye. Surrounding him on all sides as he walked innocently down the street. No longer boring. Or functional. Or wall-like. But there to illicit indecent images of a certain idiot pushing cold hands against your hips, and mouth doing things Kurogane thought must be illegal in any world that had anything like indecency laws.

He should be mad that it had come to this. He should hate Fai for it. And he really was trying. But it was hard to hate someone who let you… And let you… And did that thing with his… And Kurogane was beginning to come to the disturbing realisation that he had been cursed to a life of wall-fetishism. By a stupid, useless, annoying mage with hair that was too long and skin that was just too damn soft.

And Kurogane was glad, anyway, that it was busy and the walls surrounding the market were obscured by the crowd, and that Fai was walking somewhere behind him, instead of in front of him.  The idiot was humming annoyingly loudly.  And walking annoyingly loudly.  And carrying that bag of vegetables annoyingly loudly.  Kurogane could hear fabric brush fabric, and thin paper bag rustle, and light footsteps that Kurogane just knew Fai was making on purpose to remind him he was there and yes, he certainly did want Kurogane’s full attention. At all times. In all places. Kurogane was beginning to think he could hear Fai think these days, and he didn’t like it one bit. 

Because Fai, Kurogane was sure, was thinking about walls, and what he’d like to do to Kurogane against one; long tongue trailing down his thigh teasingly and hands, cold, long, practiced, curling around his hips and over his arse and over other parts of Kurogane’s anatomy no man as crazy as Fai should ever be allowed near, much less nibble.

But it was the middle of the day, and they were in public, and they were in a small, strange town full of suspicious-looking characters with long noses, so Kurogane forced into his mind the image of Fai kissing the calluses on his heel, the underside of his nose, his armpits after a long, hard swordfight with a 12-armed beast - anything that would stop him thinking about Fai and him and a wall in public, in the middle of the day, in a strange down, in a tight pair of trousers.  And then Kurogane wondered why, in such a hot country, everyone insisted on wearing tight clothes anyway, like they always wanted to impress, or maybe they were just all masochists, which sort of explained why Fai looked so happy in this world. And Kurogane had thought that maybe, just a little bit, Fai was happy because they were… something.

Something every night. Every morning. Every afternoon when the kids had time to go out searching for the feather, and really, he and Fai should go too but Fai would make an excuse for them both and then, as soon as the door was shut and locked, Fai would be up against it.  Then Kurogane would be lost to Fai’s skin and heat and would get his clothes off him as quickly as possible (although, Fai kept telling him afterwards, this really had to stop because explaining all these rips in his clothes to Sakura was becoming quite difficult) so he could lick and kiss and bite that flesh and so that he could hear Fai moan at the touch and run a cold leg up Kurogane’s calf in encouragement.

So they were something. But Kurogane wasn’t going to think about it because he was sweating now, and Kurogane was in no doubt that his discomfort had nothing to do with the afternoon temperature.  They were miles from their crappy shack of a house, and it was broad daylight, and whilst those side-alleys did look promising Kurogane just didn’t do that kind of thing, even if Fai did. Which he suspected he did. Or would. If he could.  Which he couldn’t. 

Still.

Kurogane resisted the urge to look back and scowl at Fai and maybe shout at him a bit, because it would only make matters worse.  Because Fai would smile at him, or make some inane joke, or maybe he would be looking at the walls, rough, old, dark wood houses, small windows, strong doors and Kurogane wondered if Fai would mind risking a splinter.

One night, not against a wall but on the floor -which was like a wall anyway. Just horizontal- with Kurogane’s hands loose around Fai’s cock and lips at his waist and Fai lazily plaiting Kurogane’s hair, Fai had squirmed and wriggled and whined that he was cold and uncomfortable, but light kisses and touches and Fai had smiled and proceeded to thrust his hips against Kurogane until they were grinding each other through the floorboards.  And not a splinter in sight. 

Walking and walking and Kurogane wished it would rain. Cold and not in any way involving Fai or nakedness because there were limits to Kurogane’s patience, and Fai was still humming and shifting his body as he walked, and probably thinking about last night and how they couldn’t stop, didn’t want to stop, so that they were all urgent hands and lips and groins and knees, pushing and pulling and breaking the furniture and ripping the sheets, and they were loud. So loud that even Sakura was blushing the next morning, unable to meet Fai’s eyes when he offered her toast, and the neighbours glowered at them as they left for the market, looking as though they hadn’t slept any more than Fai and Kurogane had. 

Perhaps it was his towering, fearsome aura, or maybe it was the lecherous grin Kurogane could feel on his face, but people were starting to look at him funny now; side-ways glances that told Kurogane he needed to stop, either to fuck Fai or to get him out of his head.  And he didn’t really care which. Except he did, because there were times when Kurogane could have sworn Fai was really smiling at him, eyes holding nothing but lust and a hint of mischievousness and Kurogane liked this Fai. 

This Fai bared his neck, vulnerable, for Kurogane to stroke and lick and kiss and bite.  This Fai moaned, clenching the bed sheets with one hand and Kurogane’s arm with the other, with enthusiasm and honesty.  This Fai liked Kurogane’s tongue just about anywhere on his body, and would tell him so, pushing Kurogane’s forehead against his stomach, and Kurogane would take all he could get.

He’d always thought they did better without words anyway, like in Shurano.  Fai had only to waggle an eyebrow and Kurogane would know what he wanted and where and how hard.  Still it was the same, and they barely spoke a word at those times in bed, on the floor, against the wall, too busy exploring mouths and lips, hands grabbing at everything and anything to remember that there was supposed to be sweet words and promises made.  Perhaps even Fai didn’t have the stomach for lies like that.

Then, there was a hand on his shoulder that almost made Kurogane jump, and a half smile that said, You look tense, and laughed, Kuro-mi is horny again.  Kurogane replied with an annoyed frown and a fleeting glance towards the nearest alley, and Kurogane hadn’t meant to do that because Fai’s answering grin almost split his face in two.  It didn’t really surprise him, then, when Fai laced fingers his shirt, balancing the shopping bag under one arm, and pulled him down a side-street. And it didn’t surprise Kurogane that he followed without protest.

Past walls and walls, then gates and walls, winding through streets Kurogane knew Fai didn’t know, but which grew smaller and emptier with every turn, until there was nothing but a dead end.  Walls casting shade, and Fai pressed Kurogane against wood and kissed him, squashing the vegetables between them with only a lamp post and two boxes contained who-knew-what stacked at the end of the alley to hide them. 

Still.

Kurogane kissed back anyway, remembering that this had probably been his idea in the first place and Fai’s tongue was running along the roof of his mouth, and his free hand was rubbing against his groin.  If not for the vegetables, and the last semblance of Kurogane’s sanity reminding himself that yes, they really were doing this in public, he would have ripped Fai’s clothes off then and taken his time re-discovering every place where just a touch made Fai’s breath hitch, and sent hands and fingers and body moving faster.  Instead, Fai was kneeling, laying the bag carefully on the floor, never taking his eyes off Kurogane’s or his hand off Kurogane’s crotch.  But he didn’t get up, fingers slowly undoing buttons and zip and Kurogane cursed again the tight clothes of this world.  He watched.

Fai’s eyes wandered to his own hands, his lips curling into a hungry grin, and Kurogane leaned his weight back against the wall and watched.  Warm hands, for once warm hands, stroked the length of his cock lazily, and at the first touch Kurogane had to breath out, remembering again; public place, probably illegal, definitely immoral.  It took his own hand clamped against his mouth to prevent a moan as Fai kissed him, then licked, and finally lips surrounded him and Kurogane thought that he might need to bite his own hand if Fai kept this up for much longer.  Because he had been more than ready even before Fai had taken it upon himself to take Kurogane right then and there.  Walls, he didn’t need to remember because he couldn’t forget, like you couldn’t forget Fai and Kurogane doubted he ever could.  So he watched, and didn’t look at the walls, but felt wood as he pressed his free hand back and knew they were there.

Fai’s eyes were closed, and his hands smoothed along his stomach under his shirt whilst his mouth moved over cock and Kurogane could feel Fai breathing warm air over the sensitive skin and tongue, again, his tongue, moving faster and faster until Kurogane was almost doubled over, breathing heavily into his own hand and so very very ready to come that when he did he was almost relieved that it was over.  He came, and couldn’t help thrusting abortively against Fai’s hands and mouth.  Fai took it all, always did, and would complain about it later like always, but for now he was licking him clean like he was actually enjoying himself, eyes meeting again.  And a smile, wet lips, heated gaze was all Kurogane needed to lean down, pull Fai up and kiss him liked breathing depended on it. 

Because now Kurogane always thought about Fai when he noticed the walls around him, and knew that walls would always be there, but Fai wouldn’t.