Apples

Kai/Tala friendship drabble

POST GREV. Kai visits a supposedly sick and feverish Tala in the hospital ward. Keyword: supposedly.

There was a basket of apples by the bedside, and Kai caught sight of it.

Leaning in, he picked up the reddest shade of apple, and began to juggle it in his hands. He was bored out of his mind, and it was an effective way for now to create some manner of entertainment in his regards. That was, at least, until Tala Ivanov on the hospital bed decided to wake up or provide a better form of amusement.

But the redhaired's eyes were closed in slumber, and his head was tilted slightly to his left in Kai's direction in an awkward manner, as if he had not been a willing participant in the activity called sleeping.

Kai suppressed a yawn, and took up the challenge by juggling another apple in his arm.

"What? Wondering how it feels like to be a juggling clown?" Almost instantly, a sarcastic tone in that all too familiar voice startled Kai inwardly, though he'd rather die than show he had been taken aback.

Kai shifted in his chair, adjusting to face his awakened friend on the bed. Tala's eyes had been open, though not fully, and were focused on Kai's, amusement flickering in them.

"You're awake." Kai muttered dully in a flat tone. He stopped juggling the apples.

Even when running a temperature of nearly 40 degree Celsius, Tala could manage a small sadistic smirk atypical of his wolfish, feral manner. "No shit, Sherlock."

Kai scoffed, "Are you sure you're running a fever, Tala? 'Cause you sound pretty fine by me."

"Believe me, I'd get out of here if I could." Tala managed to croak out, no thanks to his dry throat which he was damning to hell now. He desperately needed water.

"Hn," the blunette was still scoffing, "Bryan and Spencer would probably get to your neck before you decide to sneak out of here."

"Precisely." Tala uttered, before he raised a hand, "I need water."

Kai rolled his eyes as he stood up to do as he was told. "It was your fault to begin with. What made you think you were capable of beyblading 24 hours non-stop, and inclusive of the fact that it was pouring like crazy out there?"

"Feh," Tala blew a puff of annoyed air, "It was nothing compared to that blasted Abbey."

"Maybe if you were smarter, you'd remember it had been nearly ten years since we were there." Kai mocked as he handed Tala a glass of water. The redhaired sat up slowly.

"Maybe if you were less nosy and insulting, I wouldn't have fainted in the rain and be sent to this damned hospital." Tala's look was insulting as he drank on his glass.

"Me being nosy and you fainting due to a fever have got no relations."

"Right."

"Of course."

"...What are you implying?"

"What?" Kai cocked an eyebrow.

An amused look flickered across Tala's expression. "Nothing."

Kai elicited a 'hn', "I'm always right."

"Of course. The almighty Kai Hiwatari never commit mistakes."

Kai looked away, arms crossing his chest. Smoke momentarily colored his eyes, and it was then when Tala realized what he was thinking, back into those old G Revolutions days when Kai had nearly lost Dranzer forever.

Tala sipped on his drink, rolling his eyes. "Don't even think about it."

"What?" Kai's voice sounded strained. He was apparently thinking though. "I'm not thinking-"

"Shut up, Kai."

"I'm not--"

"Shut up. It's over and done with already, isn't it? So stop it." Tala's glare was the determining factor to put an end to their conversation that was heading a dangerous direction neither would want to proceed onwards.

Kai leant back in his chair, his eyes set on the basket of apples when he began to toy around with those in his hands again.

"You can't even juggle three apples together. What a joke." Tala insulted, a triumphant smirk gracing his lips. It was obvious he could.

Kai blinked, before shooting a death glare, two apples in his hands. "Yeah right, as if you can."

To this, Tala leant forward and plucked the apples off Kai's hands. He chose another from the basket, and magically, began to juggle all three apples simultaneously. As he did so, he gave Kai a look that said I-told-you-so.

"Give me that." Kai, dissatisfied with Tala's inflating ego, snapped. He plucked three apples from Tala's hands and began to juggle.

He was doing a fine job as well.

"So?" A smirk twisted his lips.

"Kai, there's a cockroach on your lap." Tala calmly said, his eyes never leaving Kai's juggling hands. But if one looked closely enough, there was mirth dancing in those sapphire orbs.

Kai, being human, reacted by instincts, and looked down. At the same time, all three apples rolled onto his lap, and down to the floor. There was no cockroach, and his ego being bruised, he looked up to Tala, an insulting look on his face.

"What was that for?" He snapped.

Tala half-grinned in triumph.

"You cheated." Kai gave a whatever-you-still-lost-and-I-won look, and knelt to pick up the apples that had fallen onto the grounds. "Tala, you're supposed to be feverish."

Tala felt for his forehead, "But I am."

Kai glared. "Nearly 40 degrees."

"Sure." He replied smoothly.

"You don't even act like a sick man. What are you doing in this stupid hospital, anyway?" Kai retorted, apparently still offended by his loss over the challenge of juggling apples.

"Great minds think alike, so why don't you try to bail me out of here? I feel fine already." Tala smirked, thinking it was his perfect chance to get out of the hospital.

"Don't even think about it."

"Kai, I'm team captain."

"So?"

"You do as I say. Get me out of this hospital."

To this, Kai threw an apple in Tala's direction, which the latter caught perfectly in his hands.

"Tala?"

"So you decided to get me out of here?"

"No, do me a favor. Just shut up, okay?"

And Tala plucked another apple from the basket, and flung it at Kai Hiwatari.

Owari

A/N:

It's been a while since I've waded into the fandom of Blitzkrieg Boys, especially Kai and Tala. Trust me, these weeks of starting school officially without going crazy about the two of them feels strange..as if there is this missing void in my heart that is irreplacable by other fandoms. And so this ficlet was produced, amidst the peak of my I-Really-Need-An-Overdose-of-Kai-and-Tala malady... It took me a long time to get an idea of what I should write, and finally decided to set in post GREV period..

review, and I'll love you all (though I humbly proclaim I always do! XD)

smiles,

mysterio000