Title: Luck-bearer
Fandom: Magic Knight Rayearth
Rating: G
Length: 750 words
Content notes: None
Author notes: Fuu/Ferio fluffiness! (Probably written in under an hour, but I forgot to time it, whoops.)
Summary: Ferio is the second of Fuu's new-year visits.

oOo

It was getting late, and there had been no sign of the Magic Knights arriving – they had a holiday from their normal school for a few days, to celebrate the start of the new year, but were meant to spend most of it with their families. Still, there had been mention of maybe coming briefly to visit late in the afternoon…

Ferio had given up waiting in the hall where they usually appeared about an hour ago, when Caldina walked past him (lounging nonchalantly on a window sill half-way up the wall, where most of the people walking by wouldn’t spot him) and grinned, and started remarking loudly about people who spent half the day maundering in windows waiting for people rather than getting on with reviewing the year’s accounts which they were meant to be presenting to the Council in a few days… Now he was glaring at the numbers, wondering how they could possibly have spent so much money on new plates from various artisans for the main dining hall – had someone gone on a smashing spree?

He was engrossed, but not so much that he missed the door creaking open, and he looked up to see Fuu peering about the door. She was wearing the kind of clothing she said was traditional in her part of her world, a robe of deep green with flowers patterned over it, the wide belt a warm pink which echoed the colour in her cheeks as she smiled at him.

“You made it!” He said, and grinned back. He dropped his pen down beside the ledger and stood, reaching out for her hands – but she was holding something which jingled as she walked inside.

“Happy new year, Ferio.” She said, softly, and glanced down, flushing harder. “I thought – well. Um.”

“Happy new year,” he returned, though the Cephiran year had ended last month – which was how he had the whole of the previous year’s spending to go over. “What’s this?”

“It’s – for you. For the castle, if you think it would be appropriate.” She lifted her hands, and he held his out for the thing which she placed on them – an arrow, with ribbons tied to it near the bright feathers, a bell and a large wooden tag with a horned creature painted on it. He blinked. This wasn’t for shooting – even without the decorations (and without the fact he was moderately awful with a bow, as Fuu had witnessed and tried very hard not to laugh over not so long ago) it was far too small for even a Cephiran bow, let alone the one Fuu had brought with her, once – that had been as tall as she was, unstung, and the arrows longer than her arms.

“It’s to bring good luck to a home. A place. I bought it – do you remember I was telling you about going to visit a shrine, in the new year?” She asked, clasping her hands together, and it had been a while since he had seen her flush quite this much without… reason. He nodded.

“You go to get a fortune for the new year, and if it’s a bad one, you tie it up and leave it.”

“We also buy these, to take home. And… we take the one from last year back, to be burned. I was thinking… well.” She glanced up at him. “My fortune was a good one, very good, and it told me to think about where I want to live. And I was thinking… maybe next year we could take this one back, together. And bring a new one home.”

“…Fuu.” He breathed, staring at her, as the words sank in. “You want to… move to Cephiro?”

“Not immediately! I still have to finish school, but – I think. This year. That is, if you wouldn’t mind me doing so?”

He had to take a moment to blink at her, let the words take root in his chest, before he was setting the arrow down on the ledger behind him and catching Fuu’s hands in his own. He raised them to his lips, reverently. “I would like it exceedingly.” He murmured, and took another short step towards her, watching the smile curling the corners of her mouth up as she tilted her head towards his. “In fact, I think I would love it.”

She leant across the last gap to bring their lips together, her smile pressed against his, and the heavy cloth of her robe was cool under his hands as he held her close, the woman who brought him luck and happiness together.

oOo


Nb: Hatsumode is the first shrine visit of the year in Japan, a New Year fortune is omikuji, and the arrows are hamaya - taking the kanji literally, something like 'demon defeating arrow'. It seemed a rather appropriate thing for Fuu to see and decide just where she wants to be calling home, this time next year?