(Note: The beginning notes are going to be looooong... Sorry!)
A/N: Okay. Anyone who's reading this should get the following warning: I got the idea for this story after a brutal week that ended with an all-nighter. So yes. Forewarned is forearmed and all that. I think the hardest thing about this story is trying to write an exhausted person's pov of the world around him – especially when a lot of stuff is going on that he's missing. And yet, trying to get the info through that there is something wrong is... Yeah. Fun!
Warnings:
- TyKa. Eventually. (As in, next chapter.) This chapter, you'll be pleased to note, contains hints – if you like to interpret things from a certain pov.
-Kai will probably be legitimately OOC. (You'll notice how "cleverly" I did this.) After all, when someone's exhausted to the point of their body shutting down and is holding onto their sanity by a faint thread, they're bound to get a little different, right?
-This takes place down the road, so I guess it could be considered AU. I threw everyone into a University setting, because I thought that would be fun to write. And besides, people will have hopefully mellowed by that time, right?
-Flashbacks will be noted through Italics. I'm really sorry about that.
Dedication: This V-Day short story is dedicated to the huge response from the wonderful reviewers for the "Heat" story. I was absolutely amazed – even more so when everyone insisted that I write more or continue that story. This goes out to you!
Oh and btw? Yami FireKali, TechnoRanma, and Glay:Thank you very, very much for your comments! I thought I should let you know that your stories make me drool and squeal (though not necessarily in that order) and that I worship the ground you walk on. If I have any time in the upcoming bit, you three are –so- getting gushy reviews from me on your work. Oh, yeah.
Additional Notes: I want to be Julie. You will see why. ((grins))
Having said all, please enjoy:
Waking the Nightmare to Live the Dream
Kai stumbled homewards, feeling every second of his twenty-three years of age and then some. The moonlit streets gleamed metallic silver and the flickering streetlights splashed gold. To an artist's soul, this time truly was the witching hour – a time of imagination and fantasy, of dragons and damsels in distress.
To Kai, the night sky was just another reminder of how he'd spent all day in the university laboratory.
Again.
Not that he had a choice, of course. Biology was his chosen major, and he had made the decision to take five courses this semester. It was a good decision, but the workload was overwhelming. This had been the ... what? Something like the third week in a row where he'd had to stay late just to finish up an assignment due tomorrow. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been able to grab a normal night's sleep. Days blurred into a steady stream, distinguished solely by momentary naps, taken only when his body refused to function until it got a few hours rest.
He knew he was overworking himself, that his brain and body were dangerously low on fuel. The three coffee shops on campus had begun to recognize him on sight, not to mention that they knew his order by heart: an extra-hot triple espresso latte with added whipped cream.
Turning a corner, Kai moved onwards, smiling shakily in recollection. The whipped cream had been Tyson's idea.
(Flashback)
"After all," he said, "if you don't have time for food, then you may as well get a boost from the sugar, right? Besides, it's cream! It's an essential source of dairy goodness and calcium!"
Kai gave him a sceptical look, having been awake enough back then for facial expressions. "I don't think whipped cream is counted as a food group, Tyson."
Tyson simply grinned, handing him the coffee – complete with extra whipped cream. "You can always pretend. Besides, it tastes so good!"
Rolling his eyes, Kai took a sip. The drink had been good, the contrast between the hot drink and the cold topping sliding down his throat. Then he felt the caffeine burning against his empty stomach and he sighed in relief.
"That's not bad at all."
"Told ya!" Tyson laughed, then snatched a napkin from the dispenser and handed it to Kai. "But watch out for the cream moustache, kitty."
"...Shut up, Kinomiya."
Shaking his head to clear away the cobwebs of the past, Kai staggered up to the door of the apartment building. Hands trembling with exhaustion, he somehow managed to get out the key and get through the doubly barred doors. Mounting the three steps to the main floor, he paused again, swaying on his feet.
Stairs...? Or elevator?
The stairs would be good for him, he knew. But he was so tired...
He found himself pushing the button for the elevator before he knew what was going on. With depressingly fast speed (who else would be up at this hour and tying up the elevator?), the elevator moved down to the main floor, swishing open its doors with a tinny "ding."
Forcing himself to move, Kai got into the elevator. He hit the button for the twelfth floor and let the machinery do its job. He tried to keep standing, but the lull of the machinery was so soothing.
Ding!
The doors opened, again with the soft alert. Kai's eyes shot open and he stood up as fast as he could, getting out of the elevator just as the doors started to close. When had he fallen asleep? The elevator ride was all of thirty seconds long.
Oh, gods above, he was tired. But what else was new?
His left hand stretched out of its own will to gain support from the wall, and his body began moving on simple automatic, shuffling down the hallway. The door to his home was just a few more steps...
His bed would be just a few extra metres away. His soft, warm, comfy bed... that he could only vaguely remember sleeping in. Tonight wouldn't be one of those nights, he knew. After all, he still had to write up this lab report and then he should probably start on that presentation due for Friday.
The door opened suddenly and Kai fell in, completely off balance. Warm, strong arms caught him and dragged him just inside before letting go and leaning him against a wall. Kai opened his eyes again – when had he shut them now? – only to be greeted with Tyson's exasperated face.
"Kai! How long were you standing out there? Did you fall asleep against the door again?"
Kai exhaled, trying to convey his annoyance without actually using any energy. He'd need it tonight. He hadn't managed to grab his coffee before the shops had closed and so he'd be forced to rely on the apartment's dinky little coffee maker.
He merely watched as Tyson shook his head, only paying half-attention to the words his roommate was saying. "—just lucky that I was finishing up my essay, is all. What if I'd gone to bed? You would have probably fallen asleep in the hallway!" Tyson suddenly yawned, interrupting the friendly scolding. "Man, I'm bushed. Midterm season sucks. How're you doing?"
Kai could feel his eyes closing this time, but didn't bother stopping them. It was only when his head fell downward did he bother jerking it up. Once his head went down, that was sleeping. He couldn't be sleeping now; he had work to do...
Unable to stop the pitiful whimper from escaping, Kai pushed himself away from the wall and started the trek to the computer.
"You done with the computer? Or should I use the uh..." Kai's brain suddenly lost any knowledge of the English language. "The ... thingy... with the... stuff..."
He blinked. That hadn't sounded too smart.
Tyson, though, grinned. "You mean the laptop? Nah, I'm done with the computer. Just give me a second to print the essay off, ok?"
Kai yawned again, waving his hand dismissively. "...'k."
There was a pause and Kai yawned again, distantly listening to the background sounds: the building settled, the keys tapped softly, the laser printer whirred softly as it fired up, Tyson sighed disgustedly...
"Man, I swear that I'm single-handedly responsible for the Amazonian rainforest's destruction. This is, like, my third ten-page essay this week – and it's only Wednesday!"
"Mmm..."
More background activity, but he wasn't paying attention anymore. Tyson's voice was pleasant background chatter to Kai's perusal of their shared apartment.
It was a two-bedroom place, albeit on the small side. The rent was modest, though, and it was fairly close to campus, so those factors more than made up for the tight squeeze. The rooms were opposite the other; there was a tiny bathroom in the left corner, and the utility closet was on its right. He was currently in the narrow hallway and was looking into the main area, where the kitchen blended smoothly into the work area. To his right was the computer area, to his left was the TV (which was hardly ever turned on anymore – there wasn't ever any spare time), the stereo unit with a single chair, and in front of him was the much-used long couch that Kai had a feeling he'd be using for a quick nap at five in the morning.
"Kai? Hey, Kai! I'm done – your turn."
"Mm."
"Kaaaaiiiiiii?" Dragging his name out slowly, Tyson snapped his fingers in front of his face and shook Kai's shoulders a bit. "You okay there?"
"This place is a mess."
Tyson grinned and shrugged, unabashed. "Gimme a week. Or two. I promise I'll have it cleaned up by summer, ok?"
"Hn." Kai snorted, and moved to go over the computer area. A hesitant hand stopped him so he turned, giving Tyson an indistinguishable look.
It would have been curious and amused, but facial expressions took precious energy – more than he wanted to use. It was so much easier to stare blankly at someone.
"What?"
Tyson bit his lip. "Are you going to be doing an all-nighter again?"
Kai sighed. "Pro'lly." The slurred word slipped out from between lax lips and he felt mild annoyance at his body's betrayal. He was relatively young – shouldn't it only start falling apart once he got older?
"All right, then. Are you going to be able to get some sleep soon though? You're starting to make me worry. You're not looking that great."
Kai exhaled strongly. "I'm fine. Now let go. I need to work."
Reluctantly, Tyson released him and started to turn. "Ok. Well, it's one in the morning and all, so I'm gonna hit the sack. Call me if you need me, alright?"
Well, that was amusing. "I don't ever need you, Tyson."
There was a pause before Tyson raised a hand to his mouth. Kai forced his gritty eyes to look at Tyson again, mildly concerned that he had offended or angered or something. Instead, he was greeted with a definitely amused expression and a snort of laughter from Tyson's throat.
"You don't need me? That's funny." Tyson chuckled for a few minutes before subsiding. "Sorry. It's late and I'm on sugar. I'll see you later, ok?"
"Hn. G'nite."
Tyson yawned again and waved a floppy farewell before turning to go to his bedroom. Kai looked on wistfully and wishing that was him, before steeling himself for another night of gruelling labour.
Then he turned to the computer, logged into his account, and began typing.
"—ai! Kai! Kai, wake up! You've got class! Kai, wake up!"
Was there an earthquake? His world was shaking. Making a pitiful whine of annoyance, Kai tried to return to blissful oblivion.
"Kai, if you don't wake up, I'm going to resort to drastic measures."
Kai didn't answer, too busy straining for that blessed darkness. The talking earthquake could screw itself. He wanted to immerse himself in the warm pitch, maybe even forever.
Cold! Wet! ICE!
Kai's eyes flew open, though it took a while for the brain to catch up. "..what..." he grumped, not yet awake but not in that tempting unconsciousness that he was still reaching out for.
Instead, something white was shoved at him and much blinking made it clear into the assignment he'd finished ... sometime this morning.
"...Tys'n?" His voice was a scratchy whisper, but the bluenette had already moved out of sight.
"Come on, Kai! I've got to get to class, and you do too! It's Thursday, and you told me you've always got those lab quizzes Thursday. Let's go already!"
"Screw th' quiz. 'm sleepin'."
Another pause – though this one was ominous – before steps sounded across the floor. Already mostly asleep, Kai's nose scrunched up. Tyson had his shoes on and was probably tracking mud and bugs all over their hardwood floor...
Ah, well. Tyson made the mess, so Tyson would clean it up. Kai just wanted to sleep.
There was the sound of an annoyed sigh, before Tyson spoke up again. "I know you hate me for this now, but you'll hate yourself even more if you miss another quiz. You've already slept through two, right? And didn't you say that the prof warned you guys that three absences was an automatic fail?"
"Scr'w the prof then."
"You know, I really should be getting paid for this." The muttered phrase was the only sound before two sets of arms roughly grabbed him and dragged him from his sleeping spot, a familiar voice grunting slightly with effort.
"No ..." Kai moaned. Sleeep...
Oh well. This new bed may be moving and harder, but it was still warm. His fingers curled into the soft texture of the pillow and he sighed happily. This was almost nicer, really. His head tried to burrow into the warmth, only dimly keeping track of surrounding sounds without actually registering them as important.
There was a soft click as a door latched shut and more rhythmic stepping movement before another voice, less familiar, began teasingly.
"Is there something I should know about, Mr. Kinomiya?"
His pillow shook as a cheerful laugh rang out. "Nah. Kai here just doesn't want to wake up, in spite of the test he's got today."
"I see. And that explains why you're carrying him, bridal-style, over your threshold and down the hallway?"
Another laugh, this one slightly nervous. "Well, it's the only way I can get him to class and still carry my backpack."
The voice switched into understanding. "Gotcha. Well, I've always got a trolley, if you ever get tired of doing that. What is this, the fifth time you've had to do this?"
"More like the seventh. This guy's so overworked – ah! Thank you for holding open the elevator, miss!"
"No problem, muscle-man!" Kai's world stopped moving, but started to slide downwards. "He's just lucky to have a friend like you looking out for him."
Slightly embarrassed laughter from his pillow this time. Kai groaned and shifted, trying to get the pillow to stop moving.
There was a snicker. "Isn't he cute? Doesn't he get heavy, though?"
His pillow shrugged – moving again. "A little. I like to think of it as a substitute for the gym. See? I'm building my upper arm strength!"
There was a small dinging sound and his bed began moving once more. "I'll see ya later, Julie!"
"Bye, Tyson! Enjoy your walk!" More cheerful laughter, before it gradually faded.
"Mmrrr..." Bright light seemed to suddenly assault him and he flinched. No matter how hard he tried, though, he couldn't get away from it. Against his own will, he could feel his body responding, starting to wake up. Once again, his brain started taking in information and making it relevant.
Kai twitched, sliding into the waking world of the bright morning. "Tyson? Why are you carrying me?"
Tyson shrugged, jostling Kai's position. "You wouldn't get up, but you made me promise you that I wouldn't let you sleep through your morning class again. So I decided I had to carry you to school."
He blinked. "I can't believe you did that."
Tyson grinned. "Of course not. You have no imagination, Kai."
"Yeah, well, I'm awake now so put me down."
Tyson grinned, shaking his head fondly. "All right, all right. Don't get your knickers in a bunch." He stopped and let Kai get down.
"You okay now?"
Kai swayed a bit, before recovering from a brief dizzy spell. "Fine."
Ignoring the stares that were aimed at them, the two started out for the campus.
Kai sighed, tilting his head upwards to catch the warm morning rays. The sun was shining down brightly, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. It was a nice day, he grudgingly admitted.
"So what classes do you have today again?"
Tyson blinked, coming back from somewhere, to look at him. "What? Oh. Well, I've got the Restoration plays class right now, and then I've got Math later today. You?"
Kai shrugged. "There's the microbiology lab class in the morning, and then I've got the cell biology lab at two and the bioengineering class after that."
Shooting him an indecipherable look, Tyson fidgeted a bit – an interesting feat while walking. "Do you want to get together for lunch then?"
It was vaguely tempting, Kai had to admit. What with all these deadlines, he found he was relying more and more on Tyson's light-hearted personality to relieve the stress. But still... he shook his head. "I've got to work on the other labs – probably through lunch, too." He looked away.
Tyson sighed, before shrugging. "No worries. I don't know what I was thinking, anyway. I mean, we're both really busy and all.."
Kai cleared his throat, trying to make that action relieve the guilt he felt inside. "How're your classes going, anyway?"
Immediately, Tyson grimaced cheerfully. "Oh, man! It's totally busy! I'm loving every minute of it, though. Oh, and yesterday? The prof was preparing us on how to teach elementary classes and he brought his little girl in as an example. Oh man, was she cute! She was, like, seven years old and was totally nervous! It was great – she was such a sweetheart. I was talking to her after class, and she decided I was her older brother or something! She's sure going to be a heartbreaker when she grows up.
"What else? Oh!" Tyson paused to jump over a crack in the sidewalk. "Right! This week, we've got to pick a class that we want to teach somewhere. I'm having a tough time trying to choose. I dunno. It's either going to be Grade 9 gym or Grade 10 English. What do you think?"
Kai looked at him scathingly. "You're asking me for advice? You're the future teacher – aren't you supposed to rely on your own knowledge and limited brain power?"
Tyson punched his arm softly. "Bite me."
"No thanks. You'd probably taste like Cheetos."
"Mmm... Cheetos. That reminds me; I should probably do a grocery run. Do you want me to pick up anything for you?"
Kai grumped. "Coffee. Lots of coffee."
Rolling his eyes, Tyson grinned. "Noooo, really? I would have never guessed."
There was a comfortable pause as the two dodged the early-morning rush on campus. Kai realized that Tyson had been nice enough to wake them up with enough time so that they didn't have to hurry too much. Kai, after all, hated hurrying. Ignoring the voice of nagging responsibility that was telling him to start work on his assignments, he slowed down.
He realized something and frowned, trying to think. "Hold on. Didn't you get groceries last week, too?"
Tyson feigned ignorance, widening his eyes deceptively. "I can't remember. I thought you did."
Kai whipped his head over to snarl at Tyson, irrationally furious. "Of course I didn't! You know as well as I do that I've done nothing but work for the last month and a half!"
Tyson's eyes re-widened in honest surprise. "Hey, sorry. I thought I was just doing you a favour."
Kai snarled again. "I am not a pity case! Just back off, Tyson!" He sped up again, fuming.
Tyson ran to catch up, mildly annoyed. "You know, this may just be my English major kicking in, but you're being a total paradox. First you draw attention to your hectic schedule which allows you to do nothing but work, but then you become offended when someone actually does the things that you don't have time for!"
Kai shook his head, suddenly very tired. "I... whatever, Tyson. Think what you want."
Tyson stuck out his tongue. "Why? Because you can't?" He smirked. "Burn! Oh, yeah!"
Kai continued to face forward and didn't answer for a while. Then... "Feel better?"
"Much. Thanks, you." Tyson was all smiles again. "Sorry about that. This week's beginning to stress me out and wear me down."
"You know, I've been meaning to ask you about that. You're taking the same number of classes as me, but you're managing just fine. Have you fallen behind or something?"
Tyson drew himself up. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Kai dodged a freshman who was obviously late for class. "Nothing. I was just wondering."
"Oh." Tyson paused and calmed back down. "Well, I didn't do my readings for today, but that's about it. Things are pretty good on my end, actually. I mean, I've got to work on writing a bunch of term papers, and then do a class layout, then a bunch of other stuff – not to mention try to register for next year's classes."
Tyson blinked, surprised. "Actually, I guess I am pretty busy. I dunno. I guess I find writing papers is pretty easy, so I can get them done pretty quickly. That's been most of our work. We've had a lot of papers, come to think about it." Tyson thought for a second or two, then shrugged. "Whatever. It helps that I don't have all those labs to go to this semester."
There wasn't an answer for a minute. Tyson glanced sideways only to see Kai looking pensive. Or half-asleep.
"You okay?"
Kai's head shot up. "Fine! ... Just fine."
It was obvious that Tyson didn't believe him for a second, but by then they'd reached the splitting pathway. Tyson sighed and jerked a thumb to the left. "All right, then. I go this way, so I'll see you later, ok?"
Nodding, Kai continued to the right. He paused for a second, then turned. Embarrassed at his own lack of willpower, he spoke up, "Thank you for waking me up this morning."
Tyson turned, also pausing momentarily, before grinning knowingly. "Hey, you woke me up last semester during that rough time. It's only fair that I get to repay the favour, right?" Tossing off a cheerful wave, he broke into a jog. "Later!"
As the moon shone down, Kai stumbled through the door, sleepily taking in the darkened apartment. "Tyson?"
Blinking in slow confusion, he looked at the stove clock. It was after eleven at night, and Tyson usually landed home at four in the afternoon or so. Why was the apartment empty, then?
Kai shook himself. What was he thinking? Wherever Tyson was, that was his business. Besides, Kai didn't have enough energy to worry about his roommate.
It didn't matter, really. He had work to do that couldn't be done on campus – which was why he'd been able to come home before midnight for a change. Kai moved over to the computer area, knowing he wouldn't be able to get to sleep before four in the morning.
He had work to do for Monday, along with four other large assignments.
Kai sat down, logged in, then opened his backpack. He looked at his workload for the weekend and groaned.
What had he been thinking, taking all five classes at once? Well, actually, he knew. He'd thought he could handle it – and he was, though barely. He should have taken four classes. Most people in Sciences that he'd talked to had cut down to four. It was just that he needed these five classes to graduate, and four of them were offered only rarely. But why had he taken that fifth class...?
Oh, right. Because he'd seen Tyson taking five classes and hadn't wanted to look inferior. Whatever Tyson could handle, he could handle better, right?
Kai groaned again, got up and automatically made some coffee. It was times like this that he felt like a fool.
The worst of it was that the deadline had already passed for dropping a class and getting a refund. Kai may have inherited enough money to put himself through university, but that didn't mean he had much to spare. It was one of the reasons why he'd agreed to room with Tyson, actually.
In a sleep-deprived daze, Kai stared blankly at coffee-perker, remembering how that conversation had gone.
(Flashback)
"Man, I'm so excited! This is so great!" Max gushed at his friends. The five of them sat in the mall's food court, going over their letters of acceptance. "We're all going to the University of Japan!"
Ray grinned at Max. "You had sugar again, didn't you?"
Pretending to pout, Max slapped Ray lightly on the head. "Shut up! I'm just excited about this."
Opposite from the two, Tyson laughed, stretching out. "I totally know what you're talking about! This is so cool! Think about it, you guys! The world-championship beyblading team will be all in one place –oh! Oh! Hey! We should room together or something!"
To his left, Kai snorted. "Finding a place that will fit five people would be impossible."
"Spoilsport." Tyson crossed his arms, accidentally making his Coke spill across the table.
"Tyson!" Like an avenging sparrow, Kenny swooped Dizzi out of harm's way. "Watch out!"
Tyson winced. "Sorry!"
Max picked up Tyson's train of thought. "We should try and get rooms in the same residence, though. That would be great!"
Kenny spoke up again, adjusting his glasses. "Actually, I'm afraid I've already had to register for my room. The on-campus residences fill up fairly fast, and I really needed to be close to the computer sciences building."
Ray nodded, looking kind of sheepish. "I'm in the same situation, you guys. The minute after I got my letter of acceptance, I had to jump online and try and get a special room on-campus, too. It was the cheapest way I could get a place that would allow for my 'special diet.'" He grinned, his fangs flashing. "I like to cook my own meals."
Max and Tyson sighed at the same time, both drooping in their seats. "Sucky..."
"How about you, Kai?" Kenny glanced over. "Are you registered yet?"
Tyson perked up immediately, and the others glanced over curiously as they waited for an answer.
Kai flicked a glance at them before returning to glare at the rest of the food-court. "No," he muttered.
Mouth hanging open in slight shock, Tyson gaped. "Man, Kai! I would have thought you would have been totally organized! I mean... you're Kai!"
Kai turned and let the full weight of his glare fall on Tyson. "There are some legal things I need to care of first. Not that it's any of your business."
Tyson put his hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay! Sorry! I just thought..." he trailed off, before changing the subject.
From there, the conversation turned to milder things, such as what movies were showing and when. The rest of the afternoon was spent in typical fashion, and by suppertime, most had forgotten about the lunchtime conversation.
Except later that night...
"See you guys later! Bye!"
"Bye, Max! Bye, Ray!"
Kenny soon left as well, leaving Tyson and Kai in the park. Tyson sighed, looking up at the twilight of the sky. "That really does suck, though." His soft voice was a tad depressed, and it broke the comfortable silence.
Kai glanced over but didn't bother to comment, knowing Tyson would explain himself.
Sure enough, "I mean, there'll be the five of us and we'll hardly ever be able to see each other once school starts. I just know it! And I was really looking forward to us being able to stay in touch after high school. Darn."
Kai turned away again, prepared to head to his "home" as well.
"Hey, hold on, Kai!"
Kai froze in his tracks, closing his eyes and mentally groaning. Too much time spent with this group made him recognize that tone too well. Tyson was going to suggest something ridiculous and stupid. He braced himself.
"How about if we roomed together? Huh?"
He rested his head in his hand with sheer irritation. He knew it. Ridiculous and stupid.
"Are you insane?" Kai bit out. "Why on earth would I want to live with you?"
Tyson looked a little hurt. "Um... because?"
Kai ground his teeth. "For that matter, why on earth would you want to live with me?"
Tyson shuffled his feet and looked abashed. "Well... because you're better than nothing?"
Kai glared.
Tyson backed up, his hands rising defensively. "Hey! I'm a social guy – I need people around!"
"So room with Max." Figuring the conversation was over – at least by his standards – Kai began to leave again.
Suddenly, Tyson ran in front of him and put his hands on his own hips. "What are you talking about? Max convinced Ray to let them share a dorm room."
Kai was taken slightly aback. "What? When?"
Tyson shrugged, still a little put out. "During the movie, actually, which would explain all of that whispering. I guess ever since Max hooked Ray onto "mustard with everything," Ray's decided that Max is destined for a career as a chef. So when Max promised to cook for Ray if he could stay with him..." Tyson trailed off.
"I see." Kai did see, actually. He'd also seen the way that those two had been looking at each other the past couple of months. He mentally wished them luck, though he thought it was a little weird that two of his 'friends' would eventually hook up.
"So that leaves you and me, then! Whaddaya say?" Tyson interrupted his train of thought, leaning forward excitedly.
Kai, on the other hand, wasn't nearly as enthusiastic. "Tyson, I really don't think so..."
"Oh, come on! It'll be fun!"
"It will not. We wouldn't get along at all."
Tyson frowned. "What do you mean? We get along just fine."
Kai rolled his eyes at Tyson's thick head. "Idiot. The others are always around and can be used as a buffer between us."
Tyson bit his lip. "You really think so...?"
Kai drilled the point home. "Yes. Besides, you're loud, you snore, you're messy and you're accident-prone. If we lived together, I'd snap and kill you within the week."
Oddly enough, Tyson looked optimistic again. He raised his index finger to make a point. "Ah, but you already know my faults and what to expect. If you tried to get a room now, then you'd just be stuck with someone who would surprise you with their faults which would be even worse than mine!"
Kai had nothing to say to that, stunned that Tyson had made a vaguely rationally based argument. Tyson, though, grinned and began dragging him down the street to his house. "Come on, Kai! Let's look at some options now, ok?"
Still a little stunned, Kai let himself be towed. It was only after they'd set up at the computer and were looking at the selection that Kai realized something. He stood up abruptly and glowered down at a shocked Tyson.
"Kai, watch it! You almost spilled the popcorn!" Tyson tossed a piece in his mouth, an expression of bliss coming across his face. "Mm... buttery goodness."
"This isn't funny, Tyson. And I get what you're trying to do."
Tyson stared upwards with an expression of desperate confusion. "Eat popcorn?" he hazarded.
Kai crossed his arms. "You're pitying me. Well, it's not going to work! I don't have to stand for this – I'm fine on my own and I don't need you giving me unwanted sympathy!"
Finally realizing that it was Kai's pride that was acting up, Tyson immediately jumped to his feet. "No, Kai! That's not it at all! The truth is—"
"Save it, Tyson. I'm gone." Fully resolved and not a little irate, Kai moved to go – only to be stopped when Tyson grabbed his scarf.
"Kai... please, just let me explain!"
Were there no depths to which Tyson would not sink to get under his skin! Kai's fists clenched at his sides, twitching in rage. "Let go!"
"Kai..."
"Now." The word was metallic steel, and it clicked into Tyson's ears like a loaded gun. His hands let go without his brain's consent.
"You don't understand; it's not anything like that!" Quickly recovering, Tyson ran in front of Kai for the second time that day, except now he was fully prepared for a fight. "The truth is..."
Kai's arms crossed again and he raised his eyebrows, still keeping the condescending sneer on his face. "The truth is...?"
Tyson's shoulders rose defensively as he blurted it out. "The truth is I don't want everyone to grow apart and then we'll lose touch with each other and I really don't want that to happen to us because you're my best friend and I don't want to lose you!" Speech done, Tyson subsided, his breath coming in sharp pants.
Kai licked his lips, nervous. "Since when am I your best friend?"
Tyson looked down. "Since... I dunno. That time on the ice...? I realized I didn't want to lose you and..." He shrugged. "Anyway, that's the reason. It really wasn't pity or anything like that."
Kai thought about it, uncertain, but then nodded hesitantly. "All right, then. I guess we could try it out..." He almost didn't say that last bit, too scared of actually continuing an emotional relationship. Emotions still didn't come easily to him, even years down the road.
The effect on Tyson was immediate. His head flew up and he grinned wide enough to circle the sun. "Really! That's great! Thanks, Kai!"
Kai retreated into back into his mental shell, frowning. "I'm paying for half of everything, though. No one's going to have a reason to feel sorry for me."
"Yeah, sure. We can split everything, ok?"
Kai considered that. That was ... fair. Kai hadn't had much fairness in his life, so he appreciated it when things turned out that way. He hid a smile, returning to settle in the chair and continue house hunting. This might not be as bad as he thought.
Back in the present, Kai sipped his coffee, wincing at the bitter taste. As Tyson had feared, the other three had gradually drifted apart from Tyson and Kai. While they certainly weren't strangers, it was rare that Tyson or Kai would see Max, Ray, and Kenny. Oh, they met up a couple times a year and caught up with enthusiastic glee (Kai excepted, of course), but it was as if they'd all found their respective niches with the new friends that had come with them. And that was okay.
As for Tyson and Kai...
Tyson's habits had taken some getting used to, especially once he grew accustomed to Kai's presence and fell out of "guest-in-the-house" mode. In fact, it was rare in their first year when there wasn't some sort of underlying domestic feud going on between them.
In the second month, for instance, Tyson had left his slippers in the bathroom near a puddle for almost a week. The resulting mouldy smell, combined with Tyson's naturally strong foot odour, had left Kai gagging. When Tyson came home that night, he found his door shut and the window wide open – letting the cold, crisp air of winter into his room and around the slippers that were placed on the bed. It made the room cold enough, actually, that Tyson had needed to plug in four heaters and sleep on the couch for three days before his room returned to normal.
In the fourth month, Tyson had started to play his stereo loudly. Kai tolerated it for nine days before speaking to Tyson about it. Tyson had shrugged and dismissed him, saying something about "payback for you hogging the computer to surf online. A guy's gotta have something to do when he can't check his e-mails." Kai had blinked, confused (he never "surfed." It was a methodical searching of relative information! And besides, he needed to check his webcomics) before shrugging and turning in for the night. The next day, though, Tyson's stereo had been programmed to accept a password in order for it to work – which Kai had accidentally "forgotten."
For Christmas, they'd both decided to split the cost of a laptop.
Still, once they'd gotten used to each other, their lives had gone surprisingly smoothly. Today, as they neared the end of their respective bachelor degrees, it was almost second nature for one to wake the other, or for the other to make dinner for two.
He'd known this for a while, but living with Tyson was ... pretty tolerable. His workload, though...
He sipped the coffee again, opened his gritty eyes and set to typing.
Four paragraphs later, the door to their apartment slammed open and shut, jarring Kai out of his academic stupor. Fingers pausing on the keyboard, he turned and looked at an enraged Tyson.
Opening his mouth to grunt a question, Kai yawned instead. "Mrr?"
"I do not believe it! I don't!" Tyson ranted, ripping his coat off and throwing his shoes against the door before storming over to the couch and threw himself on it. "The nerve of that... that... feebleminded, lame-brained, cankerous, beslubbering, bawdy, addlepated, codpiece-sniffing, toad-spotted, fen-sucked giglet! Gaargh!"
Kai turned to face him, even more inquisitive than before. Tyson had switched to Shakespeare? This was going to be interesting: Kai had only heard Tyson this mad once, when the couple on the floor above them hadn't stopped making their bed thump all night (and sometimes during the day) for the entire month leading up to and during finals. Admittedly, Tyson had probably overreacted in calling them 'rump-fed, onion-eyed, lecherous, swine-filled measles," but the expressions on the newly-wedded couple's faces had been more than worth the previous disruptions.
Many people had learned to fear the overly tired and stressed-out second year University student that day. Kai let his head fall to the side as he looked at Tyson.
"Mm?"
Tyson glared at him. "As for you! I ..." he lost whatever he was going to say. "Never mind." He crossed his arms and tried to level the wall across from him with a burning stare.
Kai glanced at the clock. It was only midnight – he could afford to take a little break. He got up, wincing as his bones creaked and popped loudly. Shuffling slowly over to Tyson, he flopped down beside him, accidentally using Tyson's chest as a prop-up to keep him from falling onto the couch and into sleep. "Whazzrong?" he murmured, his body continuing to shut down as the night wore on.
Tyson shot him a pent-up look of ... something, before snorting and jerking away to move a foot down the couch. Without the support, Kai could only blink in startled shock before he fell face-down onto the cushions. Stunned, he lay there, feeling himself fall asleep. The cushions smelled good... like... home-cooked brownies.
Kai closed his eyes, face burying deeper into his new pillow. That was right; Tyson had made brownies last week. Amazing that the smell still lingered, really...
In the black haze that he sunk gratefully into, Kai heard Tyson's voice overlaid with exasperation. "Oh, gimme a break...! For the love of—Oi. Kai. Come on, get up."
Kai moaned in protest. It was sleep-time. He needed a break after this brutal week and—
A firm, warm hand dragged him up by the neck of his shirt. Kai's head lolled back with the movement before he could stop it, but then felt himself shoved onto the floor. Hard.
He let out a pained grunt, more startled awake than anything, but... "Tyson? What the crap was that for?"
Tyson had gone back to glowering, his eyes flashing. "Shut up, Kai."
Well, he was fully awake now. "What was that?" If Tyson wanted to fight, that was fine. He had a few choice words for him that he'd been saving up.
Tyson opened his mouth to shout something back, but then just deflated. "Nah, it's not your fault, man. I'm sorry. It's just..."
Kai slowly moved back onto the couch, actually awake in concern for his roommate. "What happened anyway?"
Tyson breathed heavily, glad to get the story out. "Ok. Ok! So it's Friday night, right? And so I head over to my prof's house to help him with the curriculum, right? You remember I told you about it? You know, for my English class...?" Tyson looked questioningly at Kai, who blinked and shrugged, clueless.
"Oh. Well, anyway, so I get there and things are fine and that cute daughter of his is there. Actually, she's really more like drop dead gorgeous and so I'm trying to flirt with her without actually letting her dad – the prof, right? – know about it because I don't know he'd feel about it. Anyway, so things are going really well, and I get her number at the end of the night – I think it's in my pocket," Tyson paused and rummaged around in his cargo pants. "Right! Here it is! And see? She put this cute l'il heart on it and everything. She's so sweet."
Kai looked at him. It was way too late for Tyson's rambling stories. "Tyson? Did you have a point?"
The smile wiped itself off of Tyson's face and he returned to scowling. "Yes, I did. Anyway, I was coming home and I accidentally run into this guy, right? And so I apologize and stuff, 'cause I didn't want to start anything, and this guy just looks at me. And I'm thinkin' 'Ok, this could go either way,' when he gets this look on his face. So I'm like, 'What's goin' on?'"
Kai leaned forward unconsciously, sensing the climax was close. To his surprise, Tyson shifted a little further down the couch, away from him. Kai blinked in encroaching fatigued confusion as Tyson fidgeted a little, before taking a deep breath and continuing on with his story.
"Ok. So this guy's got this look on his face and then – oh! I cannot believe what he called me!" Tyson's hair was ruffled viciously as his hands mangled themselves into the strands.
Kai sighed. "What. Did. He. Call. You?"
Tyson fidgeted again, as if he were uncomfortable. "He said... he said..." he finished the rest of the sentence in a quick mutter. "HecalledmeafaggotandsaidthatIwasgay."
"What?" Kai needed clarification on that last bit.
"That's exactly what I said!" Tyson waved his arms emphatically. "I am not gay! I'm not! I don't know what he was on, but really! Aargh!"
"What? He said you were gay?" Now Kai's surprise was genuine. "Why on earth would he say that?"
Tyson shrugged and went back to fuming. "I dunno. Jerk."
"So what'd you do?"
Tyson smirked and gave Kai a thumbs up. "I yelled at him, punched him out, and ran away. Of course." He laughed at Kai's dumbfounded expression.
There was a moment's pause, and then...
"The thing is, though..." Tyson shot a nervous glance at Kai.
"What?"
"Well, the thing is..." Tyson seemed to brace himself for something, but the chiming of the clock as it hit 12:30 cut him off. Tyson seemed startled for a second, before jumping up, laughing nervously. "Oh, wow! It's that late already? Wow! Hahaha! I guess I'd... better get to bed!"
Even Kai, in his confused fatigue, could tell the smile Tyson wore was entirely false. "Wait, Tyson. Just what—"
"G'nite, Kai!" And with a blur, Tyson rushed off to his room.
Kai, meanwhile, stared at the empty space where Tyson had been for a few minutes. Then, body weary beyond belief, he grabbed a nearby blanket and collapsed again face-first into the couch.
Unconcerned with the rest of the world, he happily fell asleep to the smell of home-cooked brownies.
TBC
A/N: You know what's fun? Friends who act like a married couple and who are so perfect for each other but don't realize it. grins
Wow, though. This was going to be a sweet one-shot for V-Day. As it is, it's turning into a two-parter. Ah,well. More bishie-time, I guess. (TyKa! W00t!)
Also: Please review, as I'll actually be able to answer those reviews in the next chapter – my fav part! Yay!