Theme 32 of 100 in Variation 1: "Night" - Sakura Micron pens, Alpha Fine watercolors, PhotoShop.

I started sketching this picture for the "Night" theme of the "100 Themes Challenge" that I am doing, and just before I started inking, I saw a contest announcement from the "CLAMP Pairings" group with the theme of Fye and Kurogane in Outo. Clearly, it is hitsuzen that I enter this contest. *laugh* I added some extra details and made up a little mini game as well~

The set-up for the picture is that Fye wanted to put together a special meal as an apology of sorts for all the sugary baked goods the ninja has been suffering through thus far in Outo. He figured that with certain of Outo's clothing selection being familiar to Kurogane, it was good odds that there would be other things like food and drink that would also prove nostalgic for the man, or at least more palatable. Fye set out on what was supposed to be a quick shopping expedition just to gather up a few ingredients for a simple meal, however he got distracted, enthusiastic and then totally carried away. [insert gasp of shock] After four hours of chatting with various shopkeepers and spending way too many en, Fye finally arrived back at the Cat's Eye Cafe with bags upon bags of raw ingredients, pre-cooked food, new dishes and utensils, an eclectic assortment of flowers and foliage, and something pretty for himself; a Nihon-style outfit including a blue kimono decorated with red-crowned cranes and red and yellow camelias. *hee* Instead of a couple of new dishes, he put together a three course meal complete with ambiance~

The pic is a moment near the end of the meal, where they just happened to both glance at each other at the same time~ Kuro-pup has quietly and efficiently cleared his dinner dishes - never giving away that he thought it was the best thing he'd had since being warped away from home - and is in the middle of working his way through dessert and yet another cup of tea while Fye puts together a cocktail inspired by Clover's specialty of the house. Instead of a bright green cosmopolitan with a clover leaf floating on it, however, the Cat's Eye Cafe chef is serving up a sake cocktail decorated with a lightly pickled sakura petal. The little jar off to the right is his batch of quick-pickled cherry blossoms. Fye managed to struggle up one of the flowers with the chopsticks but gave up on the unfamiliar utensil after getting the blossom in the plate, instead picking it up by the stem and nipping off a few of the petals with his lips. He only needed two, but came away with three instead. (That's that pink thing hanging off his lips, FYI. XD It's not his tongue.)

Oh, and Fye didn't suddenly get taller than Kuro-rin. He's standing, since he's serving at the moment, while Kuro-sama is seated on one of the bar stools. Fye will sit back down in a minute to finish off the dessert and drinks he's also partaking of. ^^

I love the "100 Themes Challenge" that I'm doing. <3 It's making me draw things that I usually don't, or never have before. To the best of my recollection, this is the first time I've drawn a complete interior background. Took me a while to figure out, from various manga pages, what the wall of the cafe should actually look like. *hee* Thank God it's after hours and the curtains are closed, or else I would have had to draw a lot more windows! Having pushed myself thus far I decided to watercolor the thing as well, which was probably a mistake. XD My God, that was an excruciating experience! Let's not even start going into all the mistakes I made; I might hit some kind of text limit in the Artist's Comments section. I don't have time before the contest ends to do a proper CG job, however, so I shall just submit this in all its oogly, unpracticed glory. TwT

I made some adjustments to the details in the picture and have turned it into a little "find the yaoi" mini-game. If you would like to participate, all you have to do is put your answer(s) in as Comments to this Deviation. Please be very detailed so that I know you are giving me a deliberate answer instead of a wild guess. For instance, "Fye's kimono" is too vague for me to count as a proper answer, but "Fye deliberately chose a kimono in which the light and dark blues match the hues in Kurogane's clothing exactly, and that is one way someone might flirt or try to create a connection; matching or complimentary clothing" is a very specific - and correct - answer.

And if anyone's wondering, no, I haven't torn up my Bromance club membership card. I admit to adding the "KuroFye" aspect simply in the hopes of making my entry more appealing to the judges of the "CLAMP Pairings" group art contest. Go ahead. Call me a shameless whore. TT

So! Can you find twelve other ways in which subtext and symbolism turn an innocent picture into everything from mild flirting to a blatant offer of sex? ;3
1. Fye is wearing a kimono that has a pair of cranes on it. Cranes mate for life and in Japan are a good luck symbol for a long and happy marriage. (*MoriHana)
2. Although Fye keeps them off of the counter so as not to shatter the Nihon-inspired setting, red roses - a symbol of passionate love - decorate the tables in the cafe. (*MoriHana)
3. Fye has shared an apple with Kurogane, which is a courtship symbol in Greek mythology/symbolism. (*MoriHana)
4. They are using pair cups of matching color with paired illustrations of "Big Doggy" and "Big Kitty" painted onto them. (~chansiufa)
5. Fye is offering an indirect kiss by having used his lips to pull the cherry blossom petals off of the stem before placing them into the sake. (~chansiufa)
6. Fye has chosen a shirt that is very similar in design to Kurogane's, reinforcing the matched/complimentary clothing connection. (~chansiufa)
7. Fye is wearing a kimono with red and yellow camelias (tsubaki) on it. In Nihon's "flower language" (hanakotoba), the red camelias represent love and the yellow camelias represent longing. (~Sasu-Inu)
8. Fye has decorated Kurogane's dinner dish with a maple leaf, which in Nihon is an emblem of lovers. (~ritinha2)
9. Fye's clothing is being worn so that the neck and wrist/inner arms are deliberately exposed to view. (~larfein)
10. They are sharing a drink with cherry blossom petals, which can be used in drinks at festive events such as weddings and are rich in symbolism in Japan. (~Zhariael)
11. (hint: the dimple-bun dessert)
12. (hint: Fye's right hand pose)

Bonus subtext that Meriko didn't even realize she'd inserted. *LAWL*

13. The cat on Fye's teacup is expressing a heart. (*MoriHana)
14. Fye has arranged it so that they are completely alone; Syaoran, Sakura and Mokona are not participating in any of the meal nor are they even in sight. (*MoriHana)
15. Fye is accidentally brushing up against Kurogane's hand. (*MoriHana)
16. Fye is blushing lightly, when in general he's a very accomplished dissembler who doesn't really give anything away through words or demeanor. (*MoriHana)
17. Fye is wearing a woman's furisode style kimono, marking him as a samurai's lover. (~larfein)
18. The pinkies of Fye's and Kurogane's right hands are separated from the other fingers and connected by one of the pale blue stripes in Kurogane's kimono, hinting at the "red string of Fate". (~larfein)
19. The apple slices are cut into bunnies, and you know what they say about bunnies! (~Oky-Verlo)
20. The two steam clouds form a heart when put together. (~Oky-Verlo)