Written some time ago as a continuation to "so hard (easy) to lie". :) You might have seen it before on Tumblr or AO3.

Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles and its characters do not belong to me.

gotta love these lies

"Now, Kuro-tan, lift that couch up, and do as I say."

"The hell?" Kurogane snapped, a frown creasing his forehead. "Why do I have to obey you like a dog?"

They were in-between worlds with strife at the moment, in a country called Xingpu, and through a stroke of luck, had got their hands on a beautiful, if cramped, apartment. Sakura, Syaoran and Mokona were out on a grocery errand at the moment–a good time to rearrange the furniture, if there ever was.

"Because you are a dog." Fai informed Kurogane smugly. His lips curved in a sharp smile; Kuro-rin did love to make things so much more amusing for both of them. "You're all bark and no bite. Woof woof woof!"

"Why you—" The ninja had abandoned all attempt to reason with him, it seemed(how like an animal), and was instead striding towards the living room to execute some sort of punishment.

Well, two could play at that game. Fai set his oven mittens aside. He waited until Kurogane had chosen one of two paths across the room, and leaped nimbly over a side table. "I should learn to whistle, don't you think? So you can fetch me things when I go, phweet!"

"Stop talking as if I'm a bloody dog!" Kurogane crashed through the furniture; Fai let his arms trail behind him, always staying two steps in front of the large man.

This was fun, this was absolutely not intimate, and this allowed him to forget a lot of other things he would otherwise be thinking about.

Fai liked it this way.

Kurogane thundered through the apartment after Fai. The damn mage was leading him on a wild goose chase–logically speaking, he shouldn't even be falling for this idiocy, but Fai made his blood boil like no one else, and he deserved a punch in his stupid head for the never-ending dog names.

"I'm not a damn dog!" Kurogane snarled. His fingers itched to sink into wispy blond hair.

Outo had been the worst, with everyone—literally everyone—addressing him as "Big Puppy" and snickering at the same time. He was supposed to have been above that (really, which shinobi bothered with minor things like name-calling) but he was Kurogane, he was one of Tomoyo's elite guard, the very strongest in Nihon, and he wasn't going to stand for being addressed like a damn fucking dog.

Unfortunately, the twit was always two steps ahead of him, willowy and flailing like he were a bumbling idiot trying to escape.

Except he knew full well what he was doing, and this two-meter distance was only a front to keep Kurogane incensed.

Part of the aggravation, the ninja vaguely acknowledged, was that he wouldn't be half as annoyed if the mage weren't so goddamn attractive.

God-fucking-damnit.

Perhaps it was subconscious desire, or perhaps it was a fatalistic whim. Either way, Fai found himself prancing into the bedroom that he and Kurogane were sharing at night.

Kuro-pipi followed him right in.

"Don't forget, there are people watching us here," Fai reminded him lightly, waving towards the open windows. Several metallic drones whizzed in the space beyond, glinting in the bright afternoon sunlight.

It seemed as if Kurogane had not heard his words, because he was bearing down on Fai, face grim, and Fai backed away until he was pressed against the window sill.

A look past his shoulder revealed cars like tiny ants marching down the street. They were in a tall building, after all, and he couldn't very well just leap out of the window to escape.

Kuro-pon was unrelenting in his chase. Brilliant red eyes flashed at him. "I'm not a damn dog, mage. Stop addressing me like one."

Attempting to run out now would be akin to flying straight into Kurogane's arms, if he were to stretch them out. And it would bring another officer visit to their apartment, which they really did not need.

"Remember how much you said you love me, Kuro-daddy," Fai purred, fluttering his eyelashes. "We're the perfect Xingpu family, aren't we?"

The ninja flicked a short-tempered glance out of the window. Returned his stare to Fai. "We'll deal with that later. Can't you quit treating me like a dog?"

"But Kuro-honey loves it, don't you?" he breathed, when Kuro-rin stepped up close, and planted his hands on either sides of Fai's head. They were this close in broad daylight, in full view of all the cameras that required them to be a loving couple.

And he remembered very well what Kuro-sama's skin tasted like.

"Mage," Kurogane growled through his teeth, crimson eyes snapping.

Fai reached up and wound his arms around the ninja's neck, leaning in close so they were sharing heat, so they were sharing the same breath, and then closer yet, tiptoeing so his mouth was past Kurogane's cheek.

Kurogane tensed when Fai drew his tongue up the shell of his ear.

"Mage—"

"My name is Fai," he whispered.

A large hand dropped to his waist, fingers curling into his clothes.

"We should give them a show, shouldn't we?" Fai suggested, his pulse thrumming in his veins. "Just… to prove that we're a family."

Where this was concerned, they could act exceedingly well.

"You know what you're asking for," Kurogane muttered, his exhalations soughing over Fai's neck. "It's broad daylight."

"No strings attached," he answered, eyelids fluttering shut when Kuro-sama pressed his lips to his shoulder. "You know how this world is."

That didn't prevent him from groaning later on, when they were stripped and absolutely not facing each other, Kurogane around him and inside him and all Fai knew was the heat they shared.

Xingpu was a good world to stop in.