Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade.

Warnings: Alternative Universe thus OOC:ness, Boy Love

Summary: AU. Living is never simple. Falling in love makes it even more complicated. KaiRei BorisYuriy

A/N: Just for the record, I'll be using the orginal names.

Raymond Kon: Kon Rei

Tala Valkov: Ivanov Yuriy

Bryan: Kuznetsov Boris

Kai Hiwatari: Hiwatari Kai

Mariah: Chou Mao

Finer Points of Life

Chapter 1

In which Yuriy gets kicked

The arcade was full of noises even in the middle of a school day. Every game was making their own sounds; playing music and showing their demos, trying to look as tempting as they could. But as the clock was only coming closer to two on Friday afternoon, the voices of people were missing. Most of the customers were still in school. This actually made the place almost peaceful, since most of the youngsters were still in school. As a matter of fact, the only youngsters in the place were two 17 year old boys wandering from game to game, testing their skills.

"Why am I doing this?" one of the teens, a Chinese boy, mumbled out loud, leaning against a seat that was used in one of the racing games. His amber feline-like eyes flashed with guilt and he brushed a strand of black hair behind his ear in an almost nervous manner. The rest of the tresses were halfway wrapped in a white band and still reaching over the boy's knees. He was dressed in a dark gakuran (1), which revealed the truth that he should be in class at the moment, not in a game centre.

The name of the boy was Kon Rei and putting aside the slightly unusual physical characteristics that he had, he was actually a pretty normal guy; living in a nice house with both of his parents; attending the last year in high school; having a clear vision what he wanted to study in the future and so on. If asked, many people would describe him as a responsible, loyal and determined person in every aspect of his life. But today, for some reason unknown, even to himself, he was in an arcade, in the middle of a school-day.

"Mao is going to nag at me for hours because of this," he continued murmuring and sighed heavily, knowing that he was the one brining his own misfortune.

"Let Mao nag. That's all she does, anyway. You just need to learn the noble art of ignoring," the other youth stated without even glancing at his friend. His flaming red hair was raised on the sides of his head with many hair products and his ice-blue eyes were searching a coin from his wallet, to put in the next game. "Besides," the boy continues, "skipping a class or two won't kill you. It's not like you don't know the things they're teaching you in English and history. And even if you didn't, all you need to do is read the next chapter from the book. No big deal."

"So you say..." Rei muttered shifting his school-bag from his hand to the other. He hadn't planned to come in the game centre in the first place. His mischievous friend had just appeared in font of him at one break and somehow managed to talk him into skipping the rest of the day in order to accompany the redhead into an arcade.

Ivanov Yuriy, half Japanese, half Russian boy, had been Rei's friend since their first year in high-school and not even once before had the other teen tried to make him play a truant. The raven-haired youth was certain that no one could know what was going in Yuriy's mind and apparently today an idea of making him finally skip some classes had visited the boy's thoughts. And there was something really annoying about the redhead; it would be the fact that the he almost always got what he wanted. The youth seemed to know what button to push and what tone of voice to use, when brining somebody around.

"Ah. There we go," the half-Russian finally stopped searching and looked at the coin between his fingers, like it was the most precious thing in the world. Rei, unlike his friend, wasn't much of a player and tried not to take part in the games Yuriy spent his money in. But since it was more fun with two players than one, he ended up most of the time playing against the redhead giving him an easy win. "So. What shooting game would you want to play?"

"None," the raven-haired youth declined. "Unlike you, I don't get kicks from killing people."

"It's only a game," the blue eyed boy stated. "Besides, you don't have to shoot humans in every one. We can always shoot undeads or just misc. targets, if it's easier for you."

"I have already agreed in every game you have suggested from dancing to a fighting game, but I am not shooting," Rei argued further. The friend of his pouted half-heartedly, clearly trying to get the other boy to agree in his idea, making the Chinese youth sigh. "Sorry for being your party pooper, but no. I'd die in matter of seconds anyway and you know that."

For a moment Yuriy looked like he was going to protest, but soon his expression changed into a smug smile. "Well then. Enjoy the show."

The coin was fed to the machine and the starting demo began. The redhead took both of the guns in his hands and skipped the video by shooting the screen, while moving in a better stance. Rei, knowing his friend's skills, moved to sit down to the racing seat, watching as the redhead started to kill every upcoming zombie without a miss.

It didn't take long for Yuriy to get from a level to the next one. He had clearly played the game many times before, as it looked like he knew exactly where the opponents would pop up from. This was one of the reasons why Rei hadn't agreed in the boy's request to join the game.

In the middle of the third level (and the players still in full health) music started to play in Yuriy's school bag.

"Rei, could you answer my phone?" the currently playing youth pleaded, without moving his gaze from the screen.

"Sure," the ebony-haired boy agreed, already looking for the ringing item among all the books and other thing that you could find in his friend's bag. Finally finding the phone, Rei opened it and answered without even looking who the caller was.

"Yuriy's cell, Rei speaking," He informed politely to the caller, who ever it was.

"Hi Rei. Is Yuriy close?" a male's voice on the other end asked without further introductions. Luckily, none of them was needed, since the Chinese youth knew all too well who the speaker was.

"Well, hello Boris," he replied sweetly, seeing a great opportunity to tease a little bit the red-haired friend of his. He could clearly seen, how the half-Russian's blue eyes had brightened up instantly, after hearing the caller's name. "I'm sorry, but Yuriy is busy with shooting zombies at the moment."

"Skipping school are we now," the caller stated with a tiny bit of amusement in his tone.

"Yeah. Something possessed Yuriy and made him want to play those sinful games. I'm sorry, but I couldn't stop him," Rei continued speaking, ignoring the gestures his friend was doing, in order to get the phone without moving his gaze from the game. The redhead was now using only one of the guns keeping his other hand free for the phone, which he wasn't getting. "You know, you should keep a better eye on your boyfriend or someday he might..." He didn't get to end the sentence as Yuriy grabbed the phone from his hand and returned to the game, now having lost one life from four with both of the players.

"Missed me?" The blue-eyed youth asked grinning. He successfully continued shooting the opponents even while he was having a phone call. The boy was a living proof that it was possible for a male to do more than one thing at the same time. "So why are you calling? ...Are you serious? ...Why didn't he inform me? ...So you say ...Of course I am! ...Yes, he is ...No ...Anyway, when? ...Already! ...Will you pick us up? ...Thanks. Where? …Will be there in …Half an hour then …Okay ...See ya. Bye."

Yuriy ended the call and put his cell phone in his pocket. Totally forgetting the growling zombies, he turned towards Rei, grabbing his school-bag in his left hand and the Chinese boy's wrist in his other. Leaving the gun out of its place the Russian started to lead the way out of the game centre.

"Mind telling me, where are we going now?" Rei asked following his friend out in the warm September day. The sun was shining in the bright blue sky and you could only hope that the good weather would still last for a while before the fall rains.

"To the park nearby. Boris will be picking us up there," The redhead answered casually letting go of the other youth's wrist.

"And then?" The black-haired boy inquired further. He was used to ask every question separately if he wanted to know something. Giving curt answer with as little explanation as possible was one of the ways how Yuriy tried to gather more attention. He really enjoyed being in the spotlight.

"To the airport," the half-Japanese replied, again keeping all information behind it as a secret. Rei couldn't help but sigh; sometimes he hoped that the redhead was easier to deal with. He seriously wondered how Boris managed with his friend. Of course the couple had their arguments, but Rei knew how happy they were together that it sometimes even amazed him. Soon a year would become full, since the two had started dating and even with Yuriy's flashy personality their relationship wasn't known by many: at least, not in their school anyway.

"Are we going to pick someone up or…?" the amber eyed youth questioned further wanting to actually know, where he was dragged into this time. And since his friend didn't give the answers easily, he could do nothing but to play with the redhead's rules.

"Aren't you asking many questions today," he other boy stated, trying to avoid answering.

"Well, if you would just tell me, I wouldn't pry so much," Rei explained. He wasn't annoyed, really, but he liked to do things the easy way, unlike his friend.

"Fine," Yuriy finally agreed. Even if the raven-haired one couldn't see the blue-eyed boy's face, he could hear how the Russian was smiling broadly. "We are picking up Boris's cousin and my childhood friend, Hiwatari Kai."

The name sounded remotely familiar, but the Chinese boy couldn't remember where he had heard it. Well, since the person was the redhead's friends, it would make sense if he had heard the name from him. But somehow Rei was quite sure that the name was acquainted from somewhere else.

Yuriy stopped walking and turned to face him, like waiting for some kind of reaction. Feeling himself a little uncomfortable under his friend's piercing blue eyes he decided to actually say something. "What a coincidence, isn't it. I mean, Boris's cousin being your old friend."

"Actually I met Boris through Kai. We just never really talked to each other, that is, until last year." The half-Russian explained continuing his way, now walking backwards as he was still facing Rei. "Anyway, Kai moved in Russia five years ago. I haven't seen him since then, but we still keep in touch by sending e-mails once in a while. Anyway, now he's coming back to study... and didn't tell me about it", he added sounding hurt about the lack of attention.

"Why here? There isn't really any famous universities around or anything", the raven-haired boy stated. He could see a mischievous smile flashing on the redhead's lips as some idea popped in the youth's mind. Rei wasn't sure if he wanted to know, what the thought was, but at the same time he was sure, it had something to do with him.

"He's coming here to look for his true love," Yuriy suggested smiling playfully. The Chinese youth just raised one of his eyebrows questioningly, which made his friend chuckle. "Okay, maybe not. He probably is running away."

"Running away? Is someone after him?" Rei asked in shock. "Has he done something illegal?"

"Rei darling, even I have done something illegal," the redhead replied loftily, making the shorter youth roll his eyes. "And no. No one is after him, as far as I know. What I meant, was that he is very likely running away from boredom. You know, Boris and Kai have lots of same features. They both might look cold to an outsider, which they really aren't. They are both anti-social, sometimes hard to understand, arrogant, withdrawn, independent, wealthy, possessive, two years older than us, ambitious, hot, iron willed, strong, good looking..."

Rei watched slightly amused as his friends continued the list with dreamy eyes. Clearing his throat he finally decided to stop the redhead's daydreaming. "Are you still talking about Kai?"

The babbling stopped and it took a moment for the blue-eyes to focus back to the Chinese boy, before Yuriy spoke again. "Of course I am."

"Riight..." Rei grinned.

"My point was that they are like two berries from the same bush… Though, they look different… and act different…" the Russian tried to clarify.

"Well, it certainly would be rather scary to have many Boris' around." The raven-haired youth stated. "No offence."

"None taken," the redhead dismissed. "Many Boris', eh… I think it could be actually quite entertaining."

"How so?" the amber-eyed youth was asked, before realizing that he probably would be better without knowing.

"I could build a harem, of course," Yuriy explained with a smirk, making Rei fight the urge to roll his eyes again, which he noted he did a lot around the other boy.

"You and your sick mind."

"That's me," his friend replied. "Anyway, back to the subject. In brief, Boris and Kai are both hard to get close to. Which means that Kai really hasn't anything, or anyone, for that matter, that would keep him in Russia. So he probably just decided to come here, since it really doesn't matter where he studies."

They continued their walk in silence, both lost in their own thoughts. Slowly the first trees of the park came into their view. This part of the town seemed to be more peaceful than most. Only a few trespassers and mothers with their children were enjoying their day in the shades of the birches. As they walked towards the playground the sound of children's' laughter filled the air, bringing a small smile on Rei's lips and even if Yuriy didn't show it, he had a weak spot for children, and especially for their activities. So it wasn't a surprise that when they reached the playground the redhead strode straight to the swings and sat down on one of them, giving a push with his feet from the ground. Following his friend's example, the Chinese youth decided to take a seat next to him, enjoying the fresh air.

It didn't take long for the two boys, who were playing in the sandbox to realize that someone had conquered part of their land. We all know that when someone does something fun, it is normal for a child, to want to do the same, particularly if it wasn't possible at the moment. So, what else would the kids want to do than take a swing, since the both swings were occupied?

It wasn't hard to see it coming, as the children started whispering and glanced once in a while towards the older boys and Rei wasn't the only one, who predicted the kids' intentions. The only ones, who didn't pay attention to the boys, were their mothers, who were too distracted by their own talking. Even Yuriy had become aware of what was going to happen, as his features were drawn into a small playful grin. The redhead was going to fight for his property, which at the moment was the swing he was sitting on.

The two kids stood up and put serious expressions on their faces before they started walking towards the teens. Of course, since the Russian youth was actually taking a swing, they couldn't get too close, so they stopped in front of Rei.

"This is our playground, go find your own fun," one of the kids, a boy with messy brown hair and determinate green eyes, informed. He was dressed in a bit dirty dungarees, and a blue t-shirt. In order to look more intimidating, he crossed the small arms of his across his chest. The other one, a boy with black hair and unsure brown eyes, was standing slightly behind the 'leader', following closely his example and emphasizing the others words by making a small sound of agreement.

"Is that so?" Yuriy asked sounding a little arrogant and slowed down his speed. "I'm sorry, but I can't see your name written anywhere."

"I don't care" the boy argued stubbornly, before starting to whine. "This is our playground and I want to swing!"

"Sorry. No can do." the redhead stated increasing his speed and height. It looked like the talking boy was soon going to start crying, since he didn't get what he wanted. Not wanting to cause any ruckus Rei decided to speak.

"How about if I move and you can take turns on this swing?" he asked with arbitrating voice, moving away from his seat and kneeling besides the boys. "How would that sound?"

The boy that was further back was clearly ready to take the compromise, but the 'leader' of the pair wasn't going to give up. Quite opposite actually. The child inhaled deeply, like gathering all his yelling power and started to stamp his foot in anger and frustration.

"I don't want that swing! I want the other!! It's my turn!!" the kid cried, making Rei glance at his friend pleadingly. Apparently the screaming had managed to get the mothers' attention as the women looked at their children's way. The boy had silenced down a bit already, waiting for the Yuriy's next move. He had made it clear that he had 'the mother' -advantage.

Sighing over dramatically the Russian slowed down and finally stopped. He opened his mouth to say something, but before a word passed his lips, the boy had kicked him on the leg. The redhead slowly lowered his blue-eyes to the spot where the hit had landed and back to the kid's face. Rei could see his friend's slender brow twitching in annoyance and he was sure that the kid would soon get an earful from the Russian. Even the two boys looked almost horrified by the icy stare. To everyone's great relief Yuriy's attention quickly moved elsewhere. Briskly standing up the youth took a run and ended up hugging a tall, lavender haired guy, dressed in dark jeans and black, pinstriped shirt with couple highest buttons left open.

"Boris. That kid kicked me." the redhead whined, keeping his hold. Rei shook his head at his friend's behaviour. He really knew how to be childish.

"Hah! Running to cry over his brother," the more talkative boy mocked, earning a small unsure laughter from his friend.

"You really enjoy making things up," the man stated almost indifferently to the youth in his arms, though the unapproachable exterior slightly suffered from the glimpse of affection that could be in the light lilac eyes, if you knew where to look.

"He really did kick me," Yuriy informed again, making a pouting face. Chucking at the couple Rei stood up thanking the boys' for company and nodding to the mothers as a goodbye, before picking up his friend's bag, which had been left to lie on the ground and continuing his way towards the pair.

"Sure he did." Boris agreed with an almost non-existent smile. "But such a pitiful kick wouldn't hurt you."

"How would you know?" Yuriy spoke with big eyes. "I could be suffering mentally. It could even leave a permanent scar in my self-esteem."

"So...?" The lavender-haired man asked raising an eyebrow, making it sound like it wouldn't be a bad thing.

"Don't you care about my welfare?" the redhead asked in shock, but soon changed his expression into a sly smile. "Maybe if you'd kiss me, the pain would go away..."

The taller man thought the suggestion for a moment before lowering his head to meet the redhead's waiting lips, only to be interrupted by the sound of Rei clearing his throat before slightly pushing the pair into walking. He really felt bad for doing it, but he didn't want the kids' mothers' hatred upon them either for making their sons witness two boys kissing (which weren't accepted by everyone).

"We wouldn't want Hiwatari to have to wait for us, now would we?" the Chinese youth asked, nodding slightly towards the two women at the bench, so that the others would get his point.

"I guess we wouldn't," Boris agreed releasing the smaller youth from his embrace and starting to walk back at the way he had come from. Even Yuriy loosened his grip from his boyfriend, but followed close by after taking his school bag from Rei with a smile.

The car wasn't too far away and soon they reached the indigo coloured convertible. The violet-eyed man unlocked the doors taking his sunglasses from their box and putting them on. Yuriy opened the passenger seat's door, and let Rei go to the backseat, before sitting in the front, next to his boyfriend, who started the engine and begun driving towards the airport. The redhead, being like at home, switched the radio on, surfing the channels, until he found a pleasant one.

The Chinese youth's mind wandered to the conversation he had with his friend earlier about Boris and his cousin. It was true what Yuriy had said about the driver getting hard to know. Even if he was the boyfriend of Rei's closest friend, the raven-haired boy didn't know much about Kuzneskov Boris; only the thing the half-Japanese youth had spoken of.

Like the surname referred, his parents were from Russia and it only took a glance at the car and his clothes to realize he was from a wealthy family. Yuriy had once mentioned that Boris' parents had moved two years ago in US because their business had demanded it. The lavender-haired man had been at the last grade in high-school and had stayed in Japan on his own. Now he was studying physics in a local university and business management at the side, since he would probably inherit his parents business.

The two Russians had met in some art exhibition's opening, or so Rei had thought. Apparently it had been just a turning point, where they had gotten to know each others better. Boris had been there representing his parents, who had donated money to the gallery and the redhead had been dragged along there by his brother, who studied arts.

Rei remembered the time when Yuriy had realized he had a crush at the cold looking youth. For once the blue-eyed boy had been unsure what to do about the situation. After all, how could he know, if his feelings were returned or if he would be laughed in his face? (This would have been really uncharacteristic for Boris.) Rei of course had tried to help, but he really didn't know anything about his friend's crush, so he couldn't have done much.

Finally Yuriy had managed to do something about it and now that Rei thought about it, the redhead had mentioned something about an e-mail he had received. There was a good chance that the critical thing had been said by this Hiwatari Kai, who knew both of the boys. If that was the case, Rei was actually a bit interested to meet this person. Which wouldn't take long to happen as the airport wasn't too far away anymore.

He really didn't mind coming along to greet Boris' cousin; he didn't have anything better to do. But he couldn't figure out, why Yuriy would want to drag him along. Well, yes, he had been with the redhead when he had got the call, but the school day would soon be at its end and he could have gone home instead of intruding in their reunion. Rei actually felt kind of outsider already. He didn't even know the guy. Besides, he would meet the man sooner or later, since he was Yuriy's friend. It didn't require him to be at the airport.

Knowing the redhead, there was always a high possibility he didn't even have a real reason to drag the Chinese boy along. It could be just one of the youth's whims and if asked he would give some absurd explanation like 'Your horoscope said this month, that you should meet new people' or something similar. Yuriy had a habit of covering behind some far-fetched idea, if he didn't want to talk about something. At times it was rather disturbing, but the Russian was that kind of person who said and did exactly what he wanted, when he wanted, not caring what others thought about it. And in some way Rei really admired his friend's courage, which he knew he could never have.

"When did Kai say his flight was arriving?" Yuriy asked, being the first one to speak after they left the park.

"The plane should be landing at any time soon." Boris replied, driving into the airport's parking hall. They found an empty spot surprisingly fast, considering that the place was quite full, with all cars coming and going.

Being an international airport the place was huge. It took them long enough to get to the right place, as they dodged all the people hurrying to their destination. As they finally stood waiting, Rei could feel nervousness slowly creeping under his skin and the most annoying part was that he didn't have a reason to be tense. He met new people every day; it wasn't like this person would be someone so special to get worked up for. Surely, being Yuriy's friend he wanted to give a good impression of himself. But knowing how picky the redhead was with people who he let really close, the raven-haired boy was pretty sure that they wouldn't be at each others throat at the same moment they met.

The Chinese youth woke up from his brooding when he realized Yuriy taking a couple of steps forward to greet someone. Moving his amber eyes to look the newcomer, Rei could feel his mouth go dry. The youngest Russian had mentioned that the guy would be good looking, but still... well, he was speechless.

The man had two-toned hair; it was slate at the front and dark at the back and the crimson eyes had the same message that both Boris and Yuriy had when they wanted. The look said pretty much something like 'you don't want to mess with me'. (Rei was starting to think, if it was some kind of a Russian thing.) The comer was dressed in black slacks and a white dress shirt that was left slightly open and had sleeves rolled up. He was loosely holding a dark jacket over his shoulder, where the strap of the greyish bag, he was carrying, went. Even if the Chinese youth hadn't been nervous before, he surely would be now.

"Five years, and I don't even get a hug?" Yuriy's voice brought Rei back to reality and after realizing he was staring at the young man he quickly moved his eyes to look at the redhead. "You didn't even bother to inform me about this. I'm offended."

"And yet here you are," the comer stated wryly.

"Well, it's good to see you haven't changed," the half-Japanese replied and gave a brisk hug to his childhood friend.

"Welcome back," Boris spoke.

"Took me long enough," the just arrived Russian replied, moving his gaze to the Chinese youth, who was standing next to his cousin. Rei was suddenly feeling really small under the appraising scarlet eyes. He put a polite smile on his lips and swallowed, before opening his mouth in order to introduce himself. Luckily for him, Yuriy managed to speak first.

"Ah! Kai, this is Kon Rei, I have mentioned him in my mails," the redhead explained with a grin. "And Rei, this is Hiwatari Kai."

"Nice to meet you," the raven-haired youth greeted with a bow, receiving a small nod from the taller man.

They started walking back, where the car was. Boris was leading the way, Kai walking next to him, leaving Yuriy and Rei to follow a bit behind. The two men before them were speaking something in Russian, which the amber-eyed youth naturally didn't understand. The redhead seemed to listen at the conversation half-heartedly, chuckling at some comment the lavender-haired man said. The Chinese boy on the other hand was disturbed about the fact that it seemed really hard for him not to look at the slate haired man's back. Frustrated with himself he decided to lower his gaze to the floor to avoid the staring.

"Since you just arrived, I let you choose. Front or back?" Yuriy asked his childhood friend, changing the conversation back to Japanese. They had reached the floor, where the convertible was parked and were now standing in front of the car.

"Which ever," the Russian spoken to, replied indifferently.

"Then you can keep Rei company at the back," the blue-eyed boy stated with a grin and opened the door, letting the raven-haired youth to go first. In the end the Chinese was sitting next to the handsome man, keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the passing scenery trying to resist the urge to glance at the Russian sitting all too close. He had a nagging feeling that he was watched, but it wouldn't be the first time for him to imagine things, so he decided to take the practice of the noble art of ignoring (like Yuriy had referred earlier). Rei knew that it would have been polite to try and start a conversation, but he didn't trust his voice and brains at the moment. It was weird how he suddenly felt really dizzy and unsure what to do.

"So, where do I drive?" Boris asked after they got closer to the city. The slate haired man took a piece of paper from his pocket and gave it to the driver in front of him, who glanced at it and passed then to Yuriy.

"Umm..." Rei started uncertainly. "Would it be possible, if you dropped me off somewhere, where I could get home?" His words made the redhead turn.

"Do you have to go home already?" the half-Japanese youth asked sounding disappointed.

"Well, not exactly," the Chinese started explaining. "But I'm sure Hiwatari-sa—"

"Kai," the man next to him said. Noticing the puzzled look on the Rei's face, the Russian spoke again, with the cold tone he seemed to use all the time. "Just call me Kai."

It took a moment for the raven-haired boy to absorb the man's words, and shaking himself back to reality he continued speaking. "I'm sure that Kai..." he glanced quickly the man, who seemed like he wasn't even listening anymore. "…would want to rest after his long flight and I really don't want to intrude."

"You won't be intruding!" Yuriy exclaimed. "Right, Kai?"

"Hn."

"Which means he agrees," the redhead explained, making Rei smile a bit. Even if they hadn't met in five years, they really seemed to still be close friends.

"Maybe another time, if the invitation is still valid then," the Chinese youth replied, really meaning his words. He was actually eager to get to know this Kai a bit better, but right now he felt like he had to get away. Yuriy made a pouting face towards his friend before turning the right way round.

"Rei's house it is then," Boris stated, making a tight turn to the right, continuing towards the Chinese youth's home.

TBC

(1) Gakuran is the basic school uniform worn by middle- and high-school boys.