(A/N) Another short story, about some of the more depressing aspects of growing up. I was put in a very low mood while writing this, so I think I might just go read a comedy now :P
The story is not completely depressing, you will notice. I wanted to just create an air of depression without over-doing it. I hope I succeeded in that...
Disclaimer- I do not own beyblade or any of the characters mentioned in this story.
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Happy Reunion
The lights should have been seen from the house of Tyson Granger all the way on the next street. Had this been the reunion it should have been, those who didn't know any better would have thought the house was on fire. But the reunion of the World famous Bladebreakers, after fifteen years without much contact, had ended reasonably early, and at the present time of 12:30, the house lay in deserted darkness. Beer cans sat, half drunk on the counter tops in the kitchen. Not too long before, the dimly lit room had contained five men, all sat around the table, drinking in sombre tranquility. But they had called it a night early, and retired to the spare rooms to get some much-needed slumber. The whole house lay quiet now, but not everybody was asleep.
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The car had pulled up at 6 o'clock and a 31 year old Rei stepped out from the driver's side. As Max stepped out from the passenger side, Rei watched his friend with a strange anxiety, as though he would try something then and there. After helping his daughter out of the car, he diverted his attention to the same old house Tyson had lived in as long as Rei had known him. He smiled with the familiarity of the place, in spite of himself. It was just like Tyson to keep the same home all these years. He took a breath, this was it. They approached the house and rang the doorbell.
Everybody else was already there. The door was opened for them by young Makoto, his father behind him in seconds to greet his old friends.
'Tyson.' Rei looked somewhat grateful as he pulled the man into a hug. Still holding Lin's hand, he led her deeper into the living room. A much taller Kenny had just entered the room from the kitchen, and sat on the sofa was, like father like son, Kai and his boy, Gou. It was almost amusing. Never had Rei seen such a similarity between parent and child before. With a sly smile, Rei approached the two. The older, who had gained more courtesy with age, rose to shake his hand.
'It's good to see you, Rei.'
'It's been a while, hasn't it?' The two exchanged a smile. Then Rei's gaze was diverted to the boy who still sat still on the couch. 'So this is Gou, I assume?'
Kai nodded, turning his head slightly to look back at his son. 'Come and say hello, Gou.' At his father's word, the boy stood and walked over. Rei put his hand on his daughters shoulder.
'This is Lin.' The girl beamed up at Gou and Kai. Kai gave a strange smile of his own in response, mainly marvelling at how much a little girl can look like her father. In a strange way. It was insane that three of them now had children. It made him feel so old, though he was only 32.
Suddenly all attention was diverted to Max, who had walked in a few paces after Rei and had been talking to Makoto and Tyson for the past few minutes. He looked around the quiet room for a few seconds. He gave a sheepish smile, 'Man, what is this, an intervention?' He chuckled a little, but when it only brought on sympathetic looks, he sighed.
'Max. Hey, it's okay…' Tyson's comforting hand was in the blonde's shoulder, and beginning to steer him into the other room. 'Let's get a drink or something, yeah?'
While the children entertained themselves, the ex-bladebreakers stood, or sat, in Tyson's kitchen. Max was at the head of the table, with a beer can open but un-touched. Tyson and Max sat either side of him. Rei hovered around the table and Kai leaned casually against the counter. They all knew the reason this reunion had suddenly had to happen. They had all received the same phone call, one way or another. They had all made their way over to Tyson's from wherever they lived, just for this occasion.
Swallowing, Tyson bravely opted to speak first. 'Max, hey buddy, could…could you maybe tell us-erm-could you maybe tell us why?'
They were all as shocked as eachother, and it got to each of them, but they knew that this was a time to be strong. That's what this meeting was all about. They had all been shaken when they heard the news. Max was the last person anybody would have expected to attempt suicide. At that moment, Max must have felt the shame that you're bound to feel when in a room of old friends who know exactly what you've tried to do. He only responded to Tyson's sympathy by burying his head in his arms. It was not going to be so easy to get a response from him.
It took a couple of hours, quite a few beers, and some discussion of their pleasant memories, but sooner or later Max must have felt ready to come to terms with the fact that he would have to tell his old friends everything. They were all sat around the table now, beer in hands, like a regular group of men on a regular reunion. For a moment it looked convincing.
Max sighed and shook his head slowly. It was evident that it pained him to discuss it, but it had to be done. 'I…I'm not happy, guys.' He looked up at the four familiar faces, four pairs of sad eyes looking back at him. 'I mean look at you. All leading the lives you always wanted. You three all have kids.' He carelessly jolted his hand in the general direction of Tyson, Rei and Kai. Max shook his head again. 'I…I'm getting old. Soon it will be…too late.'
Despite the disheartening information, Tyson was quick with his response. 'Oh come on, bud. You can't keep telling yourself this. Ain't no way you're getting too old. You're barely 30.'
'Tyson's right, Max.' Rei agreed, half angry with himself for letting such a close friend of his almost slip away from them. 'We're not as young as we used to be, but there's no way we're old.'
'Besides, our lives are far from perfect.' Kai once again made his presence known by giving the shortest and vaguest piece in information. Some things would never change. But what he said was the sad truth.
'He's right.' Now it was Tyson's turn to look to the ground. He bit his lip and continued to speak, but didn't look up. 'Rei's the only one who's managed to make everything work for him. I suppose you noticed the absence of a bossy tone? My marriage is falling apart more and more every single day. I fear for Makoto because, well, I want him to grow up with a mom and dad that can stand eachother.'
'And like you, Max, I have no wife or children. But I am just fine with that.' Kenny gave his input.
'Gou doesn't even have a mother, Max. She didn't want to look at him, let alone raise him.'
"What are you trying to say?' The blonde's automatic defensive mode was in play. 'Are you trying to make me feel bad?'
'Of course not. What we're saying is that sometimes things just aren't what they seem, and you need to see another point of view.'
Another small smile appeared on Max's face. 'Right as always, Kenny.' He rubbed his eyes. 'I'm so sorry.'
At that moment, the kitchen door had swung open and an ill-tempered looking Gou had stepped into the kitchen. He approached his father, 'Can we please go?'
With obvious embarassment, Kai cleared his throat quickly, and led his son back to the door. He knelt down until he was at eye level and spoke sternly to him. 'No, Gou, we're staying the night, I told you. Now please, I need to speak with my friends alone, this is important. You understand me?'
Gou sighed and nodded, leaving the room. Just before Kai shut the door, a loud yell echoed through the halls. 'Gou!'
Gou started to run down the hall and in seconds, Lin appeared as a blur in the doorway.
'Lin!' called Rei. The little girl appeared at the door again, looking slightly short of breath. 'Give the boy a break, yeah?' He winked at his little girl and she giggled, before taking off again in the direction Kai's boy had retreated a few moments before. Kai closed the door and caught Rei's eye. They both chuckled and for a moment, the tension had been broken.
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Stepping over small beyblade parts, trying not to wake anybody, he crept to the kitchen. Even the dim light was enough to hurt his eyes, so he made his way to the fridge in complete darkness. As he reached for a beer, he heard the key turn in the front door. Footsteps sounded through the hall, and the faint curse of shock, as she stepped on a hard piece of plastic. After the footsteps on the stairs died down, he leant against the fridge and buried his head in his hands.
'Tyson? Was that Hilary?' He could faintly see the outline of Max in the darkness. Though he did not know whether Max could see him, he nodded.
'I…I'm sorry it's not working out.' Tyson felt a familiar hand on his arm. Smiling in the darkness, he clapped Max's back.
'It's okay, bud, really. I'm sure we will work something out. We always have…'
'What's going on…?' a new person had entered the kitchen.
'Go back to sleep, Kenny. I'm sorry if we woke you. I just got a little hungry…'
'Yes, because people always drink beer when they're hungry.' Much to their discomfort, the light flickered on and Rei now stood in the doorway. 'So this is where the noise is coming from.'
'Well you lot certainly took your time.' Tyson spun around in shock to find Kai, sitting at the table, drinking a mug of tea. He looked somewhat amused at their shock, yet just as sleep deprived as the rest of them. Tyson had a feeling that Kai had been sitting there quite a while before he had decided to head for the kitchen. Yet when he walked in, he had not noticed him.
For a while they all remained as they were. Once a famous team of world champions, now a normal group of men with completely different lives. They had their own problems now. One single, one married. One failing marriage, one single father. One suicidal. They were not the boys they had once been. Now they were five men in a kitchen, wondering when they got so much older. For some, it felt that time was simply not on their side.
Tyson cleared his throat and retuned the beer can to the fridge. 'You should all go to bed. Hilary will want to see you in the morning…'
So they retreated to their rooms in silence, back to their dreams where things would always be the way they once were.
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(A/N) I quite enjoy writing slightly depressing stories.
If this story seemed a little, I don't know, random, like it didn't have a proper beginning or ending, then good because it was supposed to. :) It's supposed to sort of seem as though it's supposed to be continued, even though it won't be. The beauty of a short story. An in-sight.
From the manga I learned the children's names were Makoto, Lin and Gou. But other things, like Tyson being married to Hilary and Gou's mother abandoning him, I just made up.