This is a sister fic to Lamanth's yuri fic of the same name, so if there are any inconsistencies with my normal style, it's because I'm trying to make it run parallel to its sister as far as possible. So, same plot, opposite events.
It hopefully makes sense on its own, but if you like yuri then go and read Lamanth's oneshot to get the full story.
It's also a bit of an appeasement - in other words, I'm feeling guilty about my distinct lack of updating recently, especially Kai/Ray fics. I have horrendous writer's block, that's the only reason I can give, and please be patient, I will update everything eventually! I'm so sorry!
Ok, grovelling over! (sunny smile) Please enjoy this little oneshot!
Cars rushed past a ground-floor window with muted whooshes. The sky outside was a dirty gold colour, dyed by pollution and glaring yellow lights. Behind the window lay two boys, sleeping as close to peacefully as they ever did. Suddenly, a loud honking sound blasted through the air like some kind of monstrous alarm clock.
Ray yawned and rolled over in bed, swearing in a drowsy mumble as the garish light from the streetlamp positioned helpfully right outsidethe window hit him right between the eyes, sparking off an instant headache. He cursed his neko-jin hearing, along with the car alarm that had shoved him rudely into wakefulness. Rolling back over, he shut his eyes and tried to get back to sleep.
That was about as effective as trying to keep Kai down to four cups of coffee a day, he sighed mentally half an hour later.
No, he really couldn't sleep. As usual when he wasn't fully alert, a certain train of thought started to ease its way slyly into his mind. Shaking his head rapidly - as if giving himself a further headache would chase the thoughts from his mind! - he sat up and hugged his legs to his torso. Looking down at the older boy lying next to him, he gave a small smile. Despite what many people thought, Kai didn't look cute or angelic in sleep. His lips curved downwards, as did most people's, his face was wiped clean of any real expression. He looked thoughtful more than anything else; an expression that Ray particularly loved to see because it meant that the great Kai Hiwatari was admitting that he didn't know something. Shock horror. Ray grinned at the thought and gently twirled a lock of Kai's thick, messy hair round his finger, using it to brush against the stark blue triangles on the older boy's face.
You bastard, Ray! a female voice shrieked from somewhere deep down in his memories. Ray flinched and tried to push it back down again. Oh my god, you've got no idea, have you? Okay, that had failed too. I know now, he defended himself against the accusing voice in his head. You cocky, arrogant little prick! the voice screamed at him. Ray sighed and put his head in his hands.
He could still remember exactly how she had looked, screaming at him from no more than a few centimetres away. Her golden eyes, so similar as to be nearly identical to his own, blazing like a forest fire, her normally immaculate pink hair in disarray, falling over her bare shoulders in matted curls. And behind her, trying desperately not to cry and looking more than a little wary of Mariah's passionate fury was a slender young girl, tall for her age, whose long, wavy hair fell down her back in a beautiful scarlet waterfall, large, fawn-like gleaming silver eyes blinking away tear after tear.
Guilt ate away at him yet again. He knew the girls had forgiven him, as much as they could, but that didn't excuse what he had unwittingly done.
Bored and frustrated with a long-distance relationship that was going precisely nowhere, he hadn't known which way to go, whether to break up with Mariah or let their friendship rot under the name of a relationship. The gorgeous, sylph-like Salima had come just at the right time, or the wrong time depending which way you looked at it, and had appeared to offer him what he needed most at that point in time; friendship. A sympathetic ear, someone he could spill all of his various problems to.
How was he to know he was being flirtatious? It was how he was, for heaven's sake! His natural tendency to turn a friendly smile into a suggestion or a hug into a caress had got him into trouble more times than he count, especially with Kai being as possessive as … something very possessive. He had relied on Salima as a friend; how was he to know that her feelings for him had began to go far deeper than that?
"Ray … I-I like you … a lot .." Nothing had ever scared him as much as those five little words. And, like a cat confronted with a mouse that fights back or a dog that doesn't, he had backed away, confused, panicked, turned and ran with all his might.
Enter Mariah. A furious Mariah, a Mariah who knew all about his accidental leading-on of the stunning redhead. Enter screaming matches and fights. And in the end, who had ended up alone? That's right, him.
Sensibility arrived at this point, calmly reminding him that everything had turned out all right in the end. Mariah and Salima had, to everyone's shock and a few people's horror, entered into a relationship that was still going strong despite everyone's opinions to the negative. It was vaguely ironic, Ray mused, how they had both found what was lacking in him in each other.
Yes, everything had turned out all right in the end. And lying next to him was the proof. Wriggling down until he was back under the warm covers, he took another long look at Kai's still face, affection filling his chest with fuzzy warmth. Pale eyelids flickered, and two thin slits of silver showed as eyes blinked themselves open. Unlike Salima's eyes, this silver had a hint of mud in it, a darkness that spoke volumes about the difference between the innocent young girl and the possessive, moody teen.
"Take a picture, it'll last longer." Kai muttered, rubbing his eyes with his knuckles. Stretching lethargically and looping an arm around Ray's waist, he raised his eyebrows inquiringly. "What's up with you?"
"Nothing." Ray lied. Kai's eyes narrowed. "It doesn't matter. You're tired, go back to sleep." A faint hint of incredulity entered the eyebrow raise this time.
"Okay, now I'm awake. Do I have to try and guess?" Ray grinned, his bad mood completely vanquished by the knowing smirk on Kai's face, and the way the hand resting on his hip was getting adventurous.
"Go ahead." he said, shrugging and tried to hide his smile behind his hair. The concealing black mask was moved gently aside and Kai looked at him, the smirk gone.
Their lips met softly, then harder as Kai skilfully manipulated the younger boy into a much better position. They drew apart for a second, their foreheads pressed against each other.
"I don't need to guess, Ray." Kai whispered, a note of exasperation in his voice. "I know you." Ray felt a shiver go down his spine and he looked away for a second. "Look at me, Ray." Ray obeyed. Dark gold met dark silver and they kissed again.
"Guess I obsess too much, hey?" Ray murmured thoughtfully.
"Yeah."
"You weren't supposed to agree!" Ray sulked.
"What you gonna go, shoot me?"
"Tempting."
"No, this is tempting, Kon."
"Mmm … you know, you might just be right about that ..."
Take whatever guesses you want as to what tempts Ray. (grins)
Anyway, thanks for reading, please review, and once again, if you want Mariah's side of it all, read Silver and Gold by Lamanth. If you want to let it rest as a fluffy little oneshot on its own, then be my guest.
If you somehow like both of our writing styles, then please take a look at our joint fic, Why You?, under the name DiORaRi. Thank you.
Hope you enjoyed my little offering, and I really hope it makes sense! (looks worried) It's so different from what I normally do… please tell me if and why you didn't like it! I'll update something else Kai/Ray soon! Promise!