Thanks to walroose, as always, for reading this before I actually posted it, and to everyone spending the time to read it! Hope you guys enjoy! (reviews and criticisms are always welcome)

Although he would never admit it, Kai loved to soak away a long day's worries in a warm bath. He could just lose himself in the soapy water and, for a few minutes, escape the stress of his life. The bath let his body relax while simultaneously letting his mind take a break.

But even though he enjoyed his baths so much, Kai was still slightly embarrassed by the habit. So, he made sure to always wait until late into the evening before retiring to the bathroom and drawing hot water into the tub.

One particularly long day finally came to a close as Kai slipped off his clothes and slid into the porcelain bathtub. The Bladebreakers had spent all day training for the upcoming world championship, and it seemed that everything that could have gone wrong, did. Tyson and Hilary had been arguing all day, Max had fallen and cut open his knee, and Kenny and Dizzi were getting frustrated as they tried to figure out how to help Ray fix his Driger, which was in dire need of an upgrade. Kai could only put up with so many issues in one day. So when everyone else had eaten dinner and crawled into the futons set up on the dojo's floor, Kai seized the opportunity to soak in the tub.

"Mmm," Kai sighed as the warm water and soapy bubbles greeted his sore body. He leaned his head back and took a deep breath. The day's events washed away from his mind as the water washed the grime away from his flesh. With his eyes shut, Kai could only make out the soft glow of the light that penetrated his eyelids. He breathed evenly and slowly and let his mind drift.

The first thing that his mind drifted to, however, was Ray. The Chinese blader seemed to be the focus of Kai's thoughts recently. Over the last few weeks, Kai couldn't help but notice the boy's lithe body in a way he never had before. Of course Kai had always known that Ray was well built, with a decent amount of muscle mass surrounding his thin frame. But Kai was now becoming aware of Ray's other features. His slightly pointed ears, his soft skin, his glimmering hair that held shades of blue when seen in the right light.

Most of all, though, Kai had noticed Ray's eyes. The orbs were a shade of gold unlike any Kai had ever seen. The deep pools were speckled with what appeared to be slivers of the sun, and they glowed with a passion that reflected the kind boy's soul. It was hard to describe the beauty of Ray's eyes, and the task of trying to do their description justice had seemingly been bestowed upon Kai. Their image was frequently being conjured up in Kai's mind as he tried to find the words to best express their beauty. They were magical, and they were gorgeous, and they were just so Ray. Kai was starting to believe that there were no words to fully describe Ray's eyes.

But, that night, while Ray's enchanting eyes dominated Kai's thoughts, it became apparent that other parts of Ray were dominating Kai's own body as well. Kai noticed the development when he was pulled from his thoughts by a sudden feeling of heat stretching up his abdomen. He quickly sat up and looked at his growing hard-on.

"Shit," Kai cursed under his breath. He thought for a moment and then sighed. He really needed to take care of his little issue, but he'd just gotten into the warm water and wasn't ready to get up yet. He figured he could control his boner for a bit longer before he'd have to relieve himself.

Kai laid back into the water. He tried to ignore the growing pressure in his groin, but it was becoming hard to do. He stay submerged in the water for a few more minutes before he couldn't take it anymore. Kai decided that he would relieve himself and then drain the water and go to bed.

Kai had just put a tentative hand on his member when suddenly he heard something that froze him to the spot.

A knock on the door.

"Shit!" Kai repeated. He knew that everyone was in bed when he went to the bathroom, so who was up now?

"Kai, are you in there?" Ray's sleepy voice called.

"Yeah..." Kai trailed off.

"Can I come in? I just need to pee real quick," Ray said through the door.

"Uh," Kai faltered. He didn't know quite what to do. Obviously Ray would know he was lying if he said that he was taking a shower, since Ray would be able to hear it if he was. But he didn't want to admit that he was taking a bubble bath. But if he didn't explain anything, Ray would be weirded out that Kai was just sitting around naked for no reason. "I was just about to step into the shower," Kai lied, as he pulled the drain stopper out of the tub.

"So...?" Ray asked through a yawn. Clearly he didn't understand Kai's problem.

"Well," Kai said quietly, "I kinda already undressed myself."

Ray was silent for a moment before he said, "Oh. Well if you just hop in the shower, can I pee? Like, if you have the curtain closed, no big deal, right? I'll be fast, I promise!"

Kai nodded as he looked at the shower curtain. It was a solid navy blue color, so Ray definitely wouldn't see anything through it. He then realized that Ray also couldn't have seen his nod through the door, and so he called, "Okay, just one second." Kai stepped out of the mostly empty tub and pulled the shower curtain closed. Then he took the few steps required to cross the bathroom and unlock the door. He stepped back to the tub and noticed for the first time that he'd left wet footprints on the floor. There was nothing he could do before Ray came in, so he just hoped that the other blader wouldn't say anything. Kai hopped into the bathtub and turned on the shower. "You can come in now," he yelled out to Ray.

The sound of the door opening reached Kai's ears. He held his breath as he heard Ray taking care of his business. Kai relaxed a bit when he heard the toilet flush and then the sound of the sink running. But instead of hearing the sound of the door closing behind Ray as he left, Kai next heard the one thing he was really dreading. He heard the melodious voice of the other blader. "Wait," Ray said, sounding more awake. "Why is there water on the floor? Didn't you just get into the shower? Is it leaking or something?"

Kai clenched his fists and pursed his lips. He really didn't have the patience for anything at the moment. He never got the chance to release the pressure in his nether regions, and it was still growing in intensity. "Uh, well, that was just from me..."

"But..." Ray said.

"Just go back to bed," Kai groaned out. He couldn't hold himself back for much longer.

"Are you okay?" Ray asked, slightly alarmed. "You don't sound too good."

"Nn," Kai grunted.

"Kai? What's wrong?" Ray asked. His voice was coming from a location a bit closer to the shower than it originally had been.

"I'm f-fine," Kai forced out.

"Don't lie to me," Ray demanded.

"I'll be fine in a minute, Ray," Kai insisted. Of course, as he said the target of his affection's name, it came out somewhat as a moan.

Ray's fingers slowly reached out to grab the edge of the shower curtain. "Kai," he said slowly. "You're making me nervous. I'm sorry, I don't want to be rude, but-"

"No!" Kai shouted, panicked. He put his hands over his boner just as Ray pulled the shower curtain back enough for his face to look into the shower.

The yellow pools that make Ray's eyes quickly scanned over Kai's body. Concern was etched all over the features of Ray's face. "Kai, what's going on?"

Kai closed his eyes. There was no way that this was happening. "Ray, I swear I'll be fine, but you need to leave first."

"I don't get it. Wh-"

But before Ray could say anything else, Kai said forcibly, "Go away Ray! I need to jerk-off!"

Ray's golden eyes widened as he searched Kai's face. "Oh. I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean... I... I just..." Ray stumbled over his words. When he couldn't form a coherent sentence, he just blushed a brilliant red and dashed out of the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.

Kai felt so disgusted with himself, not to mention embarrassed. He quickly took care of his hard-on and then shut off the shower. He dried off and got dressed. Sighing, he exited the bathroom. However, he stopped when he found a pajama-clad Ray sitting in the hallway, with his back pressed against the wall. "Ray," Kai said quietly.

"I'm so sorry Kai. I know I was being rude and I had no right to do what I did. I was just worried about you! I swear, I thought something was wrong and, since it's you, I got kinda scared, okay? You're always the calm and collected one, so thinking that you were in some kind of danger made me really worried. Please, forgive me?" Ray finally looked up at Kai, a deep sorrow seeded in his golden eyes.

Kai nodded slowly. He reached out a hand and helped Ray to his feet. "Ray, can I talk to you?" Kai asked seriously. He himself wasn't quite sure what he wanted to say, but he knew that he and Ray needed to talk.

Ray gave a single nod.

Kai led the two of them out of the house and down a short stretch of road before turning onto a path that wound through the forest. The boys walked in silence the entire way. Once they'd gone a little ways down the path, Kai stopped and looked up at the stars that were visible through the summer leaves of the trees.

Ray also looked up at the night sky. "The stars are beautiful here."

Kai looked at Ray and saw how the other's eyes lit up as they searched through the leaves. It was then that it struck Kai how much Ray's eyes resembled glowing stars. They were like two golden celestial entities that burn during the day, and even brighter at night. Kai smiled a little bit.

"What did you want to talk about?" Ray asked after a few moments of standing in the still night air.

Kai took a deep breath. "I like to take baths," he said quickly.

Ray stared at Kai like he had two heads. "What?"

"I lied. I wasn't going to take a shower when you knocked on the door. I had been taking a bath. A bubble bath, actually." Kai laughed nervously. He knew that he wasn't making a lot of sense, but he needed to get everything off his chest.

"Ah," Ray said, still clearly confused.

"I always thought you and the other guys would think I was weird or something, so I never told anyone. I know it's stupid sounding, but it's true. But yeah, that's why there was water on the floor; I'd been in the bath but I had to get out to unlock the door for you."

Ray smiled at Kai. "Kai, we'd never make fun of you because you like to take baths! You don't need to worry about 're all a team; we won't do anything to hurt you or your feelings."

Kai blushed slightly. At least he got that cleared up. He and Ray stood on the path in an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes. Kai knew what he had to do, but he was terrified to do it. He'd loved Ray for so long, since the Bladebreakers went to their first world championship in fact, yet he had never said anything for the fear of being rejected. But now was the moment that Kai had to finally own up to his feelings.

Kai buried his hands deep into his pants' pockets. He looked at the ground and kept his gaze there as he bit the bullet. "Ray, I think your eyes are like stars."

Ray shot a confused glance towards Kai.

"They sparkle and shine and bring light everywhere you go. They're beautiful," Kai whispered. He wasn't used to talking much at all, and especially not about what he was confessing at that moment.

"Kai, what are you saying?" Ray asked, his face a bright shade of pink.

"I'm saying that... I love you. Your eyes, your smile, your kindness and compassion. I love everything about you." Kai spoke in a low tone that was nearly inaudible.

Ray gasped sharply and put his hands over his mouth as the words sank in. He stared at Kai in disbelief.

"I can't stop thinking about you, even tonight when I..." Kai trailed off, slightly regretting that he'd bothered to add that last bit of information. .

Ray's eyes widened as he realized what Kai was referring to.

"I'm sorry Ray. I'm sure you're totally disgusted by me."

Ray shook his head violently. "No!" he quickly said.

Kai looked up from the ground for the first time and made eye contact with the other boy. "Ray," he said quietly.

Ray took the couple of steps that separated the two teammates and flung his arms around Kai's neck. "I love you, too!" Ray said into Kai's shoulder.

"You do?" Kai asked, shocked.

Ray nodded into Kai's neck as he let a huge grin slip onto his face. "Yes, yes, oh God yes! I love you so much!"

Kai smiled happily and brought his arms up to pull Ray closer to him.

"Kai?" Ray whispered after a moment.

"Hm?" Kai hummed.

"I think your eyes are gorgeous. Better than stars, actually."

Kai blinked at Ray and his smile grew that much bigger. His eyes were level with Ray's, and under the stars that night, they'd never looked so beautiful.