Summary: All Tyson wanted to do was watch the lunar eclipse. He didn't care if he was cold and alone, so long as he didn't miss a second of it. Of course, he wasn't complaining when his team captain decided to join him. //KaTy-hints. One-shot.//

Words: 2,095

Notes: The inspiration is obvious--I was watching a lunar eclipse and suddenly, I jumped up and said "I have to write a story!" So I did. The title is a lot more deep and vengeful than the story, though, haha... I loved portraying the characters, but the story has (as usual?) little point. And a tiny smidgen of KaTy-ness (you could even call it friendship...)

*

Beneath a Blood-Red Moon

A lone figure sat patiently on the porch steps of a hundreds-year-old dojo, staring silently up at the sky. The cold winter wind whipped past, carrying his midnight blue hair along with it before dying down once again. Occasionally, the boy would shiver, trying to stave off the cold for a little while longer by wrapping his coat tighter.

Overhead, a large, bright white moon was illuminating the sky. This full moon was special enough in its own right, but if one looked closely, they would see the very edge of one side slowly being covered by a shadow. It was a lunar eclipse, and Tyson Granger refused to miss one moment of it, despite the frigid air.

Inside the dojo, his grandpa was already sleeping, having gone to bed shortly before Tyson went out to stare at the sky. Because it was the middle of winter, and far too cold to train outdoors, Kai had given them the week off. Kenny, as usual, was shut at home with his laptop, undoubtedly researching bitbeasts once again. Max and Rei had left for the day, promising to be back before midnight, leaving Tyson almost alone in the house, save for his sleeping grandpa and the ever-silent ice prince himself.

The wind picked up once again, tearing through Tyson's coat and nearly tempting him to wait inside. If it weren't for the tiny sliver of moon that the honey-eyed boy could swear had just been covered, he might've given in to said temptation. As it was, he tried to fit as much body as possible in his worn winter coat, knowing it wouldn't help for long.

Wood scraped against wood, alerting Tyson to a new presence. Without bothering to look up, Tyson could guess who it was; after all, it was still too early for Max or Rei to be back. For a while, neither boy spoke, each waiting for the other to make the first move. It wasn't until a cold breeze seeped through even the sleet-haired boy's clothes that he finally spoke.

"What are you doing, Granger?"

Tyson snorted softly, thinking it was obvious, "I'm watching the lunar eclipse, of course."

"That's stupid, it won't do anything for another hour."

Getting almost annoyed at the interruption, honey eyes turned to glare up at crimson ones, "It's already doing something! I don't want to miss it all!"

Kai sighed, realising he wouldn't get anywhere with the stubborn teen, "The moon's not going to change every two seconds. Why can't you just check on it when you can actually see the difference?"

Still glaring gently, Tyson tried a new tactic, "Why do you care? It's not like I'm keeping you up by sitting out here."

This time, it was Kai who snorted, "No, you're just guaranteeing a cold."

"So?"

"So, how can you train if you're sick?"

Oh. Tyson turned away from his teem mate, choosing instead to go back to staring at the moon. He wouldn't let Kai see how he had hurt the blue-haired teen with that statement, seeing as it would be a "sign of weakness". After a few tense moments, he heard the unmistakable sound of the dojo door opening and closing once again, leaving Tyson alone with his thoughts.

Suddenly, the air felt much colder and the moon looked much duller. Why was he watching the moon anyway? It's not like it would affect him in any way. It was only the earth's shadow covering a chunk of rock in the sky; it wasn't like it would never happen again. Realising where his thoughts had taken him, Tyson groaned.

Great, Kai. You just had to go and ruin it for me, he thought sulkily to himself. Deep down, he didn't really blame his quiet friend, but at the moment, he was mourning the loss of his excitement. Cold wind continued to whip around him, causing shivers to course throughout his body, but Tyson paid them no heed.

He was almost ready to get up, maybe even go to bed, when he felt something warm drape across his shoulders. Jumping slightly at the foreign touch, he whirled to see the back of a familiar dual-haired teen going back into the dojo, closing the door behind him. Looking down at himself, Tyson saw the heavy black comforter that his team mate must've put on him.

Warmth began to run along his veins, not just because of the blanket over his shoulders. It had a lot to do with the simple gesture of kindness that Kai had shown to him, and Tyson decided that maybe the moon was worth it after all. Looking up, he saw that the black shadow had advanced even farther, almost covering a quarter in total. Grinning, he wrapped the blanket tightly around himself and continued to watch the moon in patient silence.

* * *

The moon was over half covered in shadow when the door slid open once again. Tyson, being completely immersed in his observations of the sky, didn't notice the new people until they said his name in greeting.

"Huh?" was his intelligent reply as he turned to look at the arrivals.

"We said 'hi'," the older of the two said softly, his voice calm as usual. His cat-like eyes were made all the more luminous in the light of an almost full moon, and his fangs gleamed when he smiled. Beside him, a wild-haired blond stood tiredly, obviously returning from a long day. Still, a bright grin was present, easily threatening the very light of the moon itself.

"Oh. Hi!" Tyson smiled indulgently, wanting nothing more than to go back to watching the moon; it was beginning to get a red tint.

"You been out here long?" Max asked, his emerald eyes sparkling like he already knew the answer. He did, of course, as was to be expected of two best friends.

Tyson nodded, his bangs swaying slightly to land in his eyes, "Yeah, don't want to miss anything, y'know?"

Both of his team mates nodded, showing they understood. It wasn't long before they said their goodbyes, returning to the warmth of the house to seek out a bed and simply die for the night. They didn't share Tyson's excitement of the moon's new look, and the teen soon found himself alone in the quiet night once again.

He sighed, almost wishing he had someone to watch the lunar eclipse with, even though he knew it was impossible. No one really cared about it, and to them, it wasn't worth freezing their butts off. Even Tyson, covered in not only a winter coat, but also the comforter Kai had brought him earlier, was shivering minutely.

As if answering his silent prayers, a warm breeze accosted his face, coming from the hot drink hovering in front of him. Gratefully taking the offered mug of hot chocolate, Tyson smiled up at his saviour in thanks, only faintly surprised to see it was Kai himself.

"If you won't come to your senses and get in the house," the older teen began in answer to questioning honey eyes, "then at least stay warm out here."

Tyson laughed, rather pleased to see Kai's caring nature once again, "I'm not gonna get sick, buddy. Okay? So don't worry about it!" He was trying to assure his team captain that he'd be fine, but crimson eyes remained narrowed in doubt. Mind, it was very rare when those eyes weren't narrowed.

For a while, the two simply remained still, their gazes locked, before finally Kai moved to sit beside his companion. Confused, Tyson simply stared. Rolling his eyes, the dual-haired boy crossed his arms to look at the moon.

"Uh, Kai?" Tyson tried after a few minutes of silence, "What are you doing?"

"You won't go inside," Kai replied, thinking it would be enough of an answer.

Obviously, he was wrong; "Yeah, but why are you out here?"

Crimson eyes narrowed further, this time in an annoyed glare, "If you're willing to get sick over a moon, then I want to make sure it's worth it."

Tyson blinked, "Um, alright. You want some of the blanket?"

Kai snorted, but said nothing, so Tyson silently held open the blanket in offering, forcefully ignoring the sudden cold. To both boys' surprise, the normally withdrawn teen scooted under, his body moving without his mind's accord. Though he had grown up in the cold of Russia, he could see nothing wrong with staying as warm as possible.

Together, they sat in silence, both staring at the tinted moon. Red was beginning to bleed into the shadow that was covering the moon, making the white of its edge that much brighter. As is the case with things such as a lunar eclipse, neither boy could really see the red spreading, but rather they would suddenly realise that the moon was finally fully coloured, the red darkening to a scarlet nearer the bottom.

"Wow," Tyson breathed, a peace washing over him at the sight of the shadow-covered moon.

Looking over at his companion, Kai saw the happy glint in the younger boy's eyes, belaying just how awed he really was. Returning his gaze to the sky, the slate-haired teen had to admit that it was quite a sight. Still, he didn't think it was worth getting sick over.

"Are you done now?" he asked after a few more seconds of awed silence.

"Done?" Tyson looked at him wide-eyed, "But it's only half over!"

Kai groaned, burying his head in hands in an attempt to understand why he had chosen to sit down in the first place. He looked up only when he heard warm laughter echoing from the happy world champion.

"Really, Kai, it's alright," Tyson started after controlling his laughter, a happy smile still lighting his face, "I can handle it on my own. I mean, I love watching it with you, but you don't have to stay."

Seeing the hope hidden in the deep recesses of honey-brown eyes, Kai sighed, knowing he couldn't walk away from the charismatic person beside him.

"Whatever, just don't complain in the morning when you're sick with the flu."

"Aww, Kai, I didn't know you cared!" Tyson joked, but the happiness that shone from his eyes was proof enough of how he really felt. Kai just grunted in reply before they both went back to staring at the eclipse.

Time trickled by at a manageable pace for the two, each knowing that they would be going crazy if not for the other. The cold air no longer held any power; no matter how hard its winds blew, they were countered by the subconscious closing of space between the two teens. By the time the red had bled out, leaving behind a crescent of silver moon covered only in black shadow, Tyson was practically asleep on Kai's shoulder, though neither knew how he got there.

All was still; the only proof that time had not stopped entirely was the steadily brightening moon. Feeling more than hearing his team mate's breathing steady into the patterns of sleep, Kai rolled his eyes, finally making a move to pick up the younger boy. It didn't go as planned, however, because the instant Kai made to stand up, Tyson groaned and blinked his eyes open sleepily.

"Wasup?" he slurred, trying to understand why he was being moved.

Kai looked at the boy who was practically in his lap, "You fell asleep."

Eyebrows drew together, "Di' not."

A snort was his answer, "Tyson, go to bed."

"But s'not over!" the tired boy whined in complaint, turning his blurry vision onto the half white moon.

Not wanting to argue any further, Kai just relaxed once again, allowing Tyson to get comfortable in his lap to finish watching the lunar eclipse. He couldn't entirely understand why he was letting the other so close, but if he had to give a reason, he'd just say Tyson would be too tired to remember any of it later anyway.

Lost in his semi-confused thoughts, crimson eyes slowly began to get heavier, and before Kai knew what was happening, he had drifted off into the world of darkness, leaning against the porch railing for support. Together, the two boys spent the rest of the night in peaceful slumber, comfortable and secure with each other.

The moon finally escaped the shadow of the earth, the end of a long and beautiful struggle. Its bright light cast an ethereal glow over the places it touched, including the sleeping forms of the two team mates. It was the end of the lunar eclipse, but the beginning of something that would grow to be even more beautiful.