Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to beyblade and do not make money with this.
A/N: My dear fellow KaRe-lovers, I hope you enjoy this light litte oneshot about Kai, Ray and that girl!
That Girl
"Hey Ray. ... Ray. ...Ray!"
When an elbow connected with his ribcage Ray snapped out of his thoughts.
Rubbing the sore spot, he turned to face his assailant.
"What was that for?" he growled.
Lee - clearly not bothered by a guilty conscience - grinned and nodded towards the entrance.
"Check it out! Hiwatari brought a girl!"
"He what now?"
Ray spun around. Golden eyes darted back and forth until they came to rest upon a familiar Russian's figure and his breath caught. Kai looked simply amazing in his black button-down shirt, the sleeves causally rolled up, and dark red slacks. He would have looked even better if it weren't for that creature clinging to his arm. Critically Ray scanned the girl from head to toe. She was tall and curvy, but sadly in all the right places. Her burgundy dress fit like a second skin and was an annoyingly perfect match to the color of Kai's pants. Her most striking feature, however, was her hair which fell down her back in waves of silver. That should have made her look like an old lady, Ray thought, but unfortunately only made her more stunning.
He instantly took a disliking towards her.
Lee shook his head.
"How does an old sour-puss like him pull a ten like her?"
"I don't see what's so special about her," Ray replied snappishly.
"Well in that case you need to get yourself some glasses, my friend!" Lee laughed and gave him a friendly slap on the shoulder.
Ray just grumbled and downed his drink.
"Oh, look at that," he said. "I think I need a refill. Excuse me for a second."
Without waiting for Lee's reply, he spun around and stomped off to the bar. It was the semi-annual BBA party which - lucky him! – meant it was an open bar. And he was going to take full advantage of that tonight!
Ray snorted. He'd been quite enjoying this party: chatting with people he hadn't seen for a while, dancing... but of course Kai had to show up and kill his buzz. That's what he got from secretly crushing on that guy! Nothing but trouble.
"Hi, could I have another gin-tonic please?" Ray asked the bartender. "Wait, could you make it a double one? Actually, just gin is fine, thank you."
Ray had just decided on a mission: mission fall out of love. The plan was to drown his feelings. In gin.
"Gin, huh?"
Oh you got to be kidding me, Ray thought. He finished the drink the bartender placed before him in one go and signaled for him to please refill the glass before he turned around.
"Hey Kai," he said and forced a smile. "Haven't see you in a while! How is Russia treating you?"
After the whole Bega-debacle they had decided to return to their respective teams. Kai had gone to Russia with the Blitzkrieg Boys and Ray, a bit heartbroken, had returned to China with the White Tiger X. They had been training hard for the past months and were more than ready to kick some butt at the upcoming world championships. With the preliminaries just around the corner, this party was a kickoff party of sorts. Ray had been looking forward to it for weeks, wondering what it would be like when he'd meet Kai again. Of course, none of those scenarios had involved Kai bringing a date…
With his heart racing and his palms sweaty he approached the person at the bar.
"Gin, huh?" he said.
He regretted those words as soon as they were spoken. For weeks he'd been playing different scenarios of their reunion in his head, coming up with different greetings and making mental note of the ones he thought to be the coolest. Weeks! And he went with 'gin, huh'? Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic. Kai had never wished more that he could turn back time. It didn't have to much – thirty seconds would already be enough. But unfortunately that wasn't possible.
You suck at this, he told himself.
Nervously Kai watched Ray down his drink before he turned around. After one look at Ray's face he relaxed a bit, because there it was. The smile. Ray's smile. A little off, maybe, but that was to be expected after such a lame hello. Kai's heart nevertheless skipped a beat.
"Hey Kai! Haven't see you in a while! How is Russia treating you?"
"The winter was quite cold. Of course it's much warmer now. Almost too hot."
What the hell was he doing? Had he suddenly gone brain-dead?
"Oh well," Ray said, the smile not wavering. "That's good practice, right? After all, the first preliminary rounds will be in Spain."
Sweet Ray. No matter how much nonsense came out of his mouth, Ray would always find a way to make it seem less idiotic.
"Err, yeah."
Kai then felt a light tucking on his arms. Oh, right, he had completely forgotten about her.
"Ray, I'd like you to meet Viktoriya. She's my-..."
"It's so lovely to meet you, Viktoriya. I'm Ray Kon."
Ray beamed at her and shook her hand.
Kai watched Viktoriya give him her most dazzling smile and lightly place her free hand on Ray's lower arm.
She leaned in to him and said, "The pleasure is all mine. I have been dying to meet you!"
That girl! Surely she wasn't flirting with Ray? Surely she wouldn't dare? He was right here after all.
"Oh I am humbled," Ray replied.
That guy too! What the hell was he doing?
...Didn't anyone care he was standing right here?
"Ray, I'd like you to meet Viktoriya. She's my-..."
"It's so lovely to meet you, Viktoriya. I'm Ray Kon," Ray hurried to interrupt.
He really didn't have to hear Kai say it. Not now, not while he was sober. Nuh-uh. No thanks.
He shook her hand - smooth skin, long and slender fingers, perfectly manicured, of course. Oh, she was so irritating, this girl! And her name just had to be Viktoriya; Viktoriya - the victorious! Simply everything about her was just rubbing it in.
She gave him a big smile that probably would have left most guys in the room with weak knees or other problems and chirped, "The pleasure is all mine. I have been dying to meet you!"
Oh, was that right? That creature didn't know any shame!
Ray decided he was not going to lose to that girl any more than he already had and gave her his sweetest smile.
"Oh I am humbled."
And disgusted, he mentally added. How could Kai have fallen for such a shallow, unfaithful woman? Was he this easily blinded by her looks?
"Oh please no, it is I who should be humbled!"
Kai watched Viktoriya and Ray exchange a flood of pleasantries and felt increasingly furious. Did they know no shame? How long was she going to cling to Ray's arm? And didn't it occur to him to step back - literally?
Kai felt the vein on his forehead throb. He took a deep breath and counted to ten.
No, that hadn't done shit. The vein was still throbbing.
Viktoriya's silly giggle at something Ray had said pushed Kai over the edge.
"Ray, could I talk to you for a second?"
They both turned to look at him with big eyes.
Oh don't look at me like that, Kai thought. You brought this on yourself.
He didn't know who of the two of them he'd meant. Probably both. It didn't matter anyways, because for once he'd not spoken this nonsense out loud.
Ray raised a hand, signaling to wait a moment.
What now? Kai's question was immediately answered when Ray downed his gin and asked the bartender to refill his glass, which he promptly did. Was he sure he needed that refill? This wasn't water… Ray seemed to think so. He thanked the man, took his glass and nodded at Kai.
"Sure, lead the way."
"Please excuse me for a moment," Kai said to Viktoriya.
He then turned and walked towards the door. He didn't bother to check whether Ray was following - he better not dare not to!
While he pushed through the crowd, Kai wondered what it was he was actually going to say to Ray. He had not quite thought this through... oh surely he would think of something when the time came? He was Kai Hiwatari after all.
Oh yeah, just like he'd thought of a real witty hello only minutes ago. For a moment Kai considered running. He quickly scrapped that idea though, for multiple reasons. First off, Ray was fast - he'd be able to keep up. And second, there were just too many people in the room to even try.
Kai growled.
He was, admittedly, in deep shit.
Ray grabbed his drink - courage to go! - and followed Kai through the crowd. Ignoring everyone left and right, Ray's eyes stayed focused on Kai's back. Kai even looked amazing from the back. Even more so than from the front, because the sight wasn't spoiled by his typical sour expression. Also, he did have a very nice b-... back. Kai had a very nice back. He should leave it at that. This really was neither the time nor the place to think about Kai's-…
Ray felt his cheeks heat up. Oh wow, he really needed to focus. Especially because he had absolutely no clue what Kai was going to say. He just knew that whatever it was he needed to have his brain functioning at full force.
They finally reached the door and stepped out into the dimly lit entrance hall. At least the sparse lighting meant fewer witnesses in case this turned into a disaster.
His thoughts were interrupted by Kai, who suddenly stopped and turned to face him.
Ray swallowed hard. He'd been mistaken. Kai definitely looked more amazing from the front. His crimson eyes were reflecting the dim light, giving them a capturing glow. They looked mesmerizing.
Oh for the love of god, will you focus, he told himself off.
Ray cleared his throat.
"So, um, what did you want to talk about?"
Kai didn't reply.
Okay, maybe Kai was waiting for him to figure it out himself. If Ray had to guess it had to do something with Kai's new girlfriend. Why he had to follow Kai to some dark corner to listen to the story of how they met was beyond him, but he figured he'd have to go along with it. And afterwards, he could proceed with tonight's mission.
"She's nice, you new girlfriend," Ray said.
At the same time, Kai blurted out, "Why were you flirting with my cousin?"
Ray froze for a split second.
Then-
"Eeeeeeh? Cousin?!"
Girlfriend?! Kai's thoughts were racing. Ray had thought Viktoriya was his girlfriend? He shivered at the thought, but told himself this was really not the point right now.
Ray had thought she was his girlfriend. In that case... Why had he been flirting with Kai's girlfriend? It wasn't like Ray to make a move one someone else's girl.
Kai felt like he was missing something.
He decided to start over. Ray'd thought she was his girlfriend. He'd been nice to her. Why? Because he thought she was someone important to him? So it had been for him? Ray had been flirting with Viktoriya for him, Kai?
...No, that made even less sense.
Oh for fuck's sake, why couldn't Ray just flirt with him?!
Cousin? Was he serious?! Viktoriya was Kai's cousin? Well, their hair colors were kind of alike and stunning looks apparently ran in the family...
But seriously, what kind of cliché misunderstanding had he maneuvered himself into here? Why couldn't he just have let Kai finish his sentence?! No, he, Ray, had to interrupt him, thinking he already knew what Kai was going to say. Just like every other Romcom.
So, was this the part were hero and heroine realized their misunderstanding and shared their true feelings towards each other? In that case, was he the hero or the heroine? ...There really wasn't anything feminine about Kai. Ray didn't think he was all that feminine either. So this story was just going to have two heroes then. Oh, as if that mattered right now, he told himself off once more. Focus, Ray!
He glanced down at the glass he was still holding. Liquid courage.
Ray took a deep breath. Yes. Courage. He needed courage now. But he probably had had enough of the liquid kind. Ray slowly placed his glass on the floor.
Then he drew himself up to his full height and focused his eyes on Kai's face.
"Kai, I need you to be silent for a moment."
"I wasn't saying anything."
"Could you please just shut up?"
Ray ran his fingers through his hair. How...how, how, how? How to tell Kai about these feelings he'd kept locked up deep inside him, those thoughts he never dared say? There was no easy way of saying this. And should he really be worrying this much about the 'how'? Wasn't the frightening part saying it all and what would happen next? Very much like jumping off a cliff: the part that was most concerning was that last step over the edge and not so much having a particularly good form doing it. …Where the hell had that thought come from?
He should really focus on what he was going to say to Kai.
Ray then had a thought. Technically he didn't have to say anything, did he? No… Not necessarily.
He locked eyes with Kai and slowly stepped closer. Kai didn't step back. He didn't break eye contact either. Ray took another step. He was very close to Kai now. He couldn't remember to have ever been this close. His heart was racing and the blood rushing in his ears. His mind was spinning and he was wondering why Kai hadn't moved. Was it because he was curious to see what Ray was doing? Simply provocative? Or maybe, just maybe...
Ray slowly reached out and carefully placed a hand on Kai's chest.
Kai still didn't move. Underneath his fingers Ray felt the warmth of his body and the fast beating of Kai's heart. So fast. As fast as his own heartbeat. Maybe...
Ray lightly placed his other hand at the back of Kai's neck. This was it. This was the point of no return!
He closed his eyes, got slightly on his toes - Kai had grown again! - and leaned in.
And then his lips connected with Kai's.
They were warm and they were soft. They also weren't moving. Ray pulled back slightly. He was about to apologize and run as far away as his legs would carry him, when Kai's body suddenly came to life.
"Ray."
It was not more than a whisper.
Then Kai's arms firmly wrapped around him and pulled him closer against his body. Kai's lips found his again, almost forcefully at first but then gentle and lovingly.
Ray forgot about everything. The party, Viktoriya, heck, maybe for a moment his own name. There was only Kai. Every single one of his senses was overloaded. Everything was too much and at the same time not enough.
And then that moment ended. With a sniffle. A sniffle from neither Kai nor Ray.
"Oh well done Ray, well done. This was beautiful."
Ray pulled back slightly.
He took a good look at the intruder and asked, "Are you crying, Tyson?"
Tyson shook his head, but sniffled again.
"Oh this was so romantic. Though you almost blew it, Kai."
"I think he's drunk," Ray said, observing the swaying motion of Tyson's body and the bottle of beer in his hand.
"I don't know if he is and frankly I don't care, but I can guarantee he'll be dead if he doesn't leave this instance," Kai growled.
"Err, right, Tyson, why don't you go back to the bar and ask the bartender for a nice cool glass of water?" Ray said.
Tyson sniffled again, mumbled something resembling "so beautiful" and, slightly swaying left to right, made his way back to the party.
When Ray turned to face Kai again he found Kai looking at him with an expression he'd never seen before. There was a smile on Kai's lips. Not a victorious or mischievous smile, but a soft and loving one. One that made his heart beat even faster.
"It's that kindness of yours that I first fell in love with. That, and your smile. You have a lovely smile, Ray."
"Um... did you just?"
"I think I did, yeah."
"Well that is convenient," Ray replied and smiled. "Because I love you too."
He discretely shoved his glass aside with the tip of his foot. He didn't need it anymore. Tonight's mission was officially aborted.
He then wrapped his arms around Kai's neck and slowly pulled him into another kiss.
Kai felt Ray's arms wrap around him and when their lips met for another kiss he even forgot about Tyson and his inconsiderate interruption. Who knew, with a bit of luck Tyson would have forgotten everything about tonight as well.
Right now, nothing existed in this world but him and Ray. And Kai had never been happier.
The End
A/N: Haha yeah went right down clichée lane here, but I don't regret a thing! Let me know what you thought this?
Have a wonderful day everyone! ~Bird