As you should know, I do not own Beyblade. This story sort of takes place a year after the third world tournament.
-X-
(Sort of Tyson's Point of View)
Tyson was your average teenage boy. Earned average grades at school when he went. Lived with his grandfather and on occasion, his father would visit. His mother had died when he was very young so he couldn't remember her well, and his Grandpa and Dad didn't like talking about her, he supposed it brought back memories that depressed them somewhat. He was world-champion of Beyblading, and he knew he couldn't have got to that point without his friends and teammates.
In particular, one teammate- his team captain, Kai Hiwatari. Old Sourpuss, as he had so aptly nicknamed him at some point, which he couldn't really remember back to. The details didn't really matter- the name suited his lonely, sadistic nature. What he did remember was how happy he was when his team captain had returned from the Demolition Boys; it was a truly joyous occasion because it had given them new hope for the world championship. And yet...
And yet, Tyson felt joyous for another reason. He had always cared about his team captain in some way, even though he was practically a social cripple and didn't give a rat's ass about his teammates, which was positively the opposite to his own naturally lighthearted, happy and easy-going nature. But as they say, opposites often attract.
Yes, attraction. At first, Tyson thought he really was insane- he knew that rule usually only applied to magnetism. (AN: That's right, isn't it? Because like fields repel...) He remembered back to when he, Ray, Max and Kenny had saved Kai from an icy fate and he had reclaimed his Dranzer blade- the smile on his face, for the first time Tyson had ever seen, was a truly genuine smile of happiness, that radiated some strange form of beauty that he greatly longed to see again.
'Why do I torture myself in this way?' Tyson questioned himself, hoping he would answer his own question. The prospect of being gay had once terrified him, but once he had met Kai, he had felt the fear melt away and disappear. Sexuality was one's own choice, no one could make that choice for you, and he had truly made his decision. And he knew that his friends and family would respect that decision.
But the one thing that terrified him was this: what if Kai didn't feel the same way? He didn't know what he'd do if he didn't: love was a strong emotion that was often misused or taken too lightly. And he knew he had followed his heart to the person he had first truly loved. But still that question, that terrible question...
It haunted the back of his mind...
Tyson sighed into oblivion. He was afraid of rejection if he confessed to Kai. But inside him there was a small glimmer of hope, that knew Kai loved him truly as much as he, Tyson, did him.
'Kai, I constantly think about you, wondering if you're okay... but do you think of me?'
A knock at the door snapped Tyson out of his thoughts. He blinked a couple of times so his eyes were not blurred over from staring into nothingness, and walked down the hall to open the door. An official looking man was standing there, staring right over Tyson's head and holding an expensive looking envelope, trimmed with gold.
"Private and Confidential note for Tyson Kinomiya." His voice was strong and demanding. He made it sound like such simple tasks were wasting his life away.
"Err... thanks for that..."
The guy nodded and strode down the garden path, and out of Tyson's front gate.
"Strange guy..." Tyson muttered, before sticking his index finger under the top of the envelope and flicking it open. He scanned the letter and a small smile grew on his lips. It was an invitation to a three-year reunion, from Kai, and it would take place at his mansion, which had been signed over to him after his grandfather had been imprisoned.
Kai...
Tyson's heart practically skipped a beat every time he thought, read, saw or heard anything to do with that name. He didn't know Kai's phone number, and it was too close to the set date to reply by writing, so how was he supposed to let him know he was going to be coming? Another loud knock at the door startled him and he simply had to turn around to answer it. He still held the letter in his hand. He swung the door open and gasped out of a mixture of surprise and sheer delight. He immediately recognized the smirk, the two-toned hair, and the arm guards.
It was Kai.
(Kai's Point of View)
I stared at Tyson and told myself to stay calm. He was standing there, staring at me with his mouth hanging open from what I assume is shock. Was it possible...?
Did I detect some sort of excitement in his expression? Was it excitement from seeing me, his friend again? Or was it something more? I highly doubted it, my mind had been making me see things all the time since us former Bladebreakers went our separate ways. I saw the boy in front of me everywhere. In the street, on television, I could see his face imprinted on the clear blue sky that blanketed the world, the wind whispered his name. For the first time in my life, I believed I had lost my mind. The fact that I was falling for that optimistic, self-centered pig almost shocked me from reality. Even now, when we both considered the other to be our friend and ally, it was still not enough for me.
I had always thought everything romantic was complete crap, so love was a new experience for me. I had never really loved anything beforehand; I could only remember small things about my parents, like what they looked like and a few things they used to do as the precautious people they had been, and after I had met my grandfather I understood why they were always so nervous. Dranzer had always been my closest friend and ally, as long as I could remember. I remember when I first met Tyson, his arrogance and hope of defeating me had done nothing but hinder me, but then he acquired the spirit of Dragoon which was first was attracted my attention. I had been given a mission by my grandfather; I knew what I had to do. I had gotten so many chances to steal their bit beasts and harness them as my own, and yet I couldn't bring myself to do it...
Why, you may ask? It was Tyson, damn him to Hell. I couldn't bare to see him upset. To have him say he hated me would have shattered what little remained of my pride. I was amazed that Tyson and the rest of the Bladebreakers were willing to take me back after what I had done to them: abandoned them and shamed them when they had needed my assistance most. But they had taken me back with arms wide open... why did they do that? I didn't understand. But I soon realized what it was; they cared about me. Not in that stupid kissy-kissy soppy way, just as a friend. Friends cared about their friends' safety and well-being and they were assuring me that they were willing to put their own pride on the line to help me, which was something I would have never dreamed of doing for them. But then I realized I was concerned for their safety too, especially Tyson's. At first I was afraid to admit the kid had grown on me and I had learned that I actually cared about him in the stupid kissy-kissy soppy way, and I still am. Under the cool, tough, confident façade I was terrified that if I confided my true feelings to him, he wouldn't feel the same way, or he would reject me or ridicule me.
I realized we were still standing there, staring at each other. We must have been in this position for at least 5 minutes, and we probably both looked completely stupid. I inhaled deeply through my nose and regained the non-caring expression that constantly adorned my face.
"Are you ready to reply to the invitation?" My tone was flat and expressed no emotion... I hated myself...
"But... umm... how?" he asked, confused. He looked so innocent when he was confused, like a child that had just made a mistake they didn't know of.
"My Limo is parked outside your front gate."
Tyson's gaze flickered up to the fifteen meters of immaculate black metal parked outside his house. He looked back down at me and a smirk grew on his face.
"Well why didn't you come in the first time?"
"Because I didn't think it was that important, so I stayed in the car," I snapped. Tyson's face fell and I felt the smugness that I had been exploiting curl up and disappear. In fact, I felt guilty to the core for what I had just said. So started the uncomfortable silence. Tyson's looked almost as uncomfortable as the silence surrounding us was, but eventually regained his usual friendly, cheeky grin and tried to establish casual conversation.
"It seems you're doing well for yourself."
"I just inherited a multi-billion dollar company, of course I'm doing well for myself." I'm such an asshole... I had basically all the money in the world and yet I was still stricken of someone money couldn't buy me...
"Yeah, you do have a point there. I'm an idiot. But my response to the invitation is yes. I'll see you in three weeks at your mansion." For once, you aren't the idiot, Tyson. I was the one being a dumbass...
"I'm sending invitations to Ray, Max and Kenny also. Hopefully we will all be there." And with that, I turned my back dismissively and walked back to my car. I opened the door behind the driver's seat, and knocked hard on the thick black glass in front of me to signal the chauffeur to begin driving. I was such a coward! Why couldn't I just admit it? Wait a second... The reunion...
He said he would come... it would be the perfect opportunity. That would be when I confessed how I felt. But until then, I would gather what is left of my confidence, and wait...
(Tyson's Point of View Again)
Damn it, we were alone, we had started up casual conversation, so why couldn't I bring myself to admit it? I was just a stupid, pathetic wimp. Whichever way you looked at it, my courage had completely failed me. But I had said I would go to his reunion, so I would regain courage and think about how I was going to break the news that I loved him to him. That will be Judgment Day- where I would be accepted by him or rejected. But only time would tell.
(White Tiger Village, Ray's Point of View)
It felt surprisingly comforting to be back home. When I left three years ago, I felt like I never wanted to return again, because I felt unable to face the sadness or the fury of my former teammates and best friends. We had practiced blading together until the sun went down over our village, and the sky, dotted with twinkling silver stars, had overcome the last of the sunlight. Because we didn't reside in a large town or in the big city, the stars were perfectly clear to view from various spots in the mountains that protected our village from invaders in ancient times. This was truly a thing of beauty.
And speaking of beauty, Mariah, who is sitting next to me, is stunning... the pale silver beams of moonlight are highlighting her splendor and the soft cherry-coloured tendrils of her hair are entwining themselves around each other in the soft nocturnal breezes. She simply stared up at the stars shining in plain view to her golden gaze, marveling at their beauty, probably much in the same way as I was marveling hers. Involuntary shivers suddenly racked her body, and she folded her arms across her chest and rubbed them with the opposite hands, momentarily, before placing them back on the ground beside her.
I looked on with concern and slowly reached over and placed my right hand on top of her left hand- she flinched out of surprise, signifying that she had quite obviously been in a world of her own, and her shimmering caramel coloured eyes met mine.
"Are you cold, Mariah?" I questioned her softly, and although I tried to strike the concern out of my voice, it still surfaced, serious and obvious as ever...
She shook her head, answering my question with an obvious lie. I gently slipped my palm underneath hers and stroked my thumb across the top of her icy fingers. Ours eyes locked again and at that moment I wanted nothing more than to prove how much I loved her... to kiss her and demonstrate how much I cared for her, and show how much I repented the time I spent without her.
But it never happened...
"Ahem!" Lee's voice cut through my lust and I spun around suddenly to face him, knocking Mariah off-balance, causing her to fall backwards, hitting the emerald green grass behind her.
"When you two lovers are QUITE ready..." Lee smirked. Kevin sniggered and Gary just shrugged, showing he didn't care for the mockery of the bond Mariah and me shared.
"It's getting late. The elders will be wondering where we are. We should head back before they decide we've all been kidnapped by evil spirits and launch a search party," Lee proclaimed, using over-excessive exaggeration gestures. I couldn't help but snigger at the little act he was putting on. Mariah simply rolled her eyes but smiled slightly also.
"I think I'll stay here for a while. It's nice up here tonight, Lee. You can tell the Elders that I haven't been kidnapped."
"Mariah, you can't stay here by yourself. It's too dangerous for a girl to be out here by herself at this hour."
"Are you saying I can't take care of myself?" she snapped at Lee, and he backed off very slightly. He then sighed; he knew she wasn't going to stop arguing with him until she got her own way. She had always been like this and she wasn't one to change her mind easily.
"I'll stay here with you if you want, Mariah."
Kevin gave me a cheeky, knowing look and earned a slap to the back of the head from Lee. Mariah's cheeks were blushing a pretty, delicate pink that harmonized with her hair. Gary still looked completely indifferent to the current situation. Well, he was either indifferent to the situation or just confused. Usually the correct answer was definitely the latter.
"It's nice of you to offer, Ray, but as I said just before, I am able to take care of myself."
"But Mariah, I just want to make sure you're safe."
"I'm fine!" she snapped back. I felt mildly surprised for a second because Mariah rarely got mad at me. She gave me an apologetic look and sighed.
"Sorry, I just like being left up here with my thoughts."
"Well, either he stays or Kevin stays!" Lee stated. Mariah sniffed a bit out of indignation towards her older brother, and Kevin yelled a loud, resounding "WHAT!"
When Mariah and Kevin were left alone together they just pissed each other off. Which was understandable- they both had their hearts in the right place but their personalities clashed. Mariah liked to baby Kevin and Kevin liked to think he was a big man, basically.
"Fine... Ray can stay and BABYSIT me. I'll be following you back soon anyway."
I would be alone with her... I would gather my courage and show her how much I loved her...
(Mariah's Point of View)
Oh. My. Dear. God. Why did Ray volunteer to stay here with me? Now I'll be left alone with him! And I'll have to control these urges I get all the time... urges to be close to him, to hold him, to kiss him, to love him... I wondered if he knew, or even felt the same way...
Which was why I came up here by myself so often. It gave me space to think about things. Nothing particular, just whatever was on my mind at the particular point in time. And at that moment Ray was on my mind, but I didn't have to think about how cute he was, because he was sitting only about half a meter away from me, and looking at me with an expressionless face.
"Well, we'd better be going." I jumped a bit. I didn't realize that Lee and Kevin and Gary were still there. I smiled up at Lee and gave him a wave. He frowned at me very slightly, before turning to Ray.
"Take care of my sister, Ray," he smirked, and I saw the muscles in Ray's arm tense at the comment. Then Lee, Kevin and Gary left.
Leaving me alone with Ray... What the Hell was I going to do?
He smiled at me and I felt my stomach jolt and my heartbeat quickened.
"So Mariah, what's on your mind?"
"If only you knew what was on my mind..."
"What?" His gaze softened and he looked at me almost hopefully.
"Nothing..." I felt disgusted with myself. I didn't have the guts to admit how I felt...
He smiled again and I felt enchanted by his overall beauty, if you could really relate that word to a guy. He edged the short distance over to me, and regained his calm posture as he sat next to me. He then slid his right arm around my body and traced a line of fire with his fingers over my stomach and chest. I could hear my heart thumping in my chest so there was no doubt that he could hear it, too.
Why did he torture me in this way?
(Ray's Point of View)
The tips of my fingers were still tracing soft contours across her stomach but they occasionally strayed to the curves of her breasts... I couldn't help it. She was so beautiful, and I just wanted to touch her so badly...
She was nervous... anyone could have known that from looking at her. But I didn't understand why... I leaned over to whisper in her ear.
"Why are you so nervous? Do I make you feel uncomfortable?"
I felt her shake her head no against my cheek.
"Well, why are you so nervous?"
"Because..." she hesitated for a moment, as though she was trying to make up for mind on exactly how to word her response.
"Because I have been wanting to tell you something for a very long time, and I can never gather the courage to say it."
"I know how you feel. But nothing should be a secret between friends. How about this..." I eased her up onto my lap, and gently held her face so that we were eye to eye. For a moment we stared at each other and I felt as though I was staring into her soul. I then snapped back to my senses and began to finish my sentence.
"How about I tell you first..." I entwined my arm around her shoulder blades and pulled her body closer to mine. It seems her nerves had calmed a bit and she didn't seem to mind this time. In fact, if I didn't know any better, I'd say she was enjoying being so close to me.
"... And you tell me after that?" I said, finally finishing my sentence. She nodded slowly in agreement and I suddenly lost my nerve...
How was I supposed to tell her how I felt?
Would she take it well?
Or would she take it bad?
I needed to figure out how to prove that I really did love her...
(Mariah's Point of View)
He seemed to be thinking about something. But what exactly he was thinking about was unknown to me.
But suddenly, the answer became clear.
Because he leaned forward and kissed me.
His warm, soft lips caressed my own and I felt calmness return to me as he ran his warm hands slowly down my back. He just had a special way of making me feel safe...
He broke away after about thirty seconds and smiled at me. I felt my heart liquefy at the sight of his happiness. I wanted him to be happy. He leaned forward again and gave my earlobe a soft nip.
"I love you," he whispered into my ear, softly, as though I might get scared away if he said it any other way. But I was a long way from that point.
"Well, I don't have to tell you my secret then, Ray..."
"Why is that?"
"Because I was going to say exactly the same thing as you just did."
He stared into my eyes for the slightest moment, before drawing me in for another kiss and wrapping his arms around my body. He was acting like even the smallest thing could separate us again, but I didn't mind, because I was scared of that too.
(Ray's Point of View)
She was so frail compared to me... I had always been I was going to hurt her one day. But at the moment neither she nor I cared about that factor. We simply cared that the other was there, and we were together. I felt her hands go downwards from being locked around my neck, and to my waist, and she ran her hands around my body until she came to the knot in my belt. With a few swift movements of her fingers it was undone.
I wasn't really planning to go that far unless she had wanted to, and it was obvious now that she did. After a short while (Which contained a fair bit more kissing...) we managed to remove each other's clothes... and I suppose you can guess what happened after that...
We made love under the silver stars and moonbeams, and her unclothed beauty was overwhelming to me. She leaned her head gently against my shoulder and I wrapped my arms around her lithe form, bringing her closer so she could share my body heat while I loved her. My robe was wrapped around our waists to save our pride in case of the very rare chance that someone would come along and see us in this state. Her warm, sweet breath tickled the skin on my neck and when we were finally done I kissed her before gently lifting her off me. We re-clothed ourselves and began walking back towards the village, because Mariah's parents and Lee were probably wondering where she was. My parents were away in God-knows-where so in my case it didn't matter all that much, they knew I was perfectly capable of taking care of myself.
After I had dropped Mariah back at her house I went back to my place. And I arrived there to find an envelope of expensive white paper sticking out of the letterbox...
(Mariah's Point of View)
I walked up to the room Lee and I shared cautiously. I knew he'd question where I'd been for so long and I wasn't exactly prepared to tell him the truth. I took the stairs slowly because my body was aching, and finally reached the room. Sure enough, Lee was sitting on his bed, waiting for me to get home.
"So, what took you so long?"
"Nothing," I said, a little too quickly for his liking obviously.
"Well, if you're not going to answer that question for me, what happened between you and Ray?"
"Like I said just then- nothing!" I snapped. I knew what he was trying to get out of me and I was getting tired of his persistence.
"Well, I'll ask you one final question- why is your shirt on backwards?"
I stuttered for a moment, and looked down at my chest. Sure enough, my shirt was on backwards. It was also smudged with grass stains and dirt that showed obviously on the white material.
A smirk grew across my brother's face; he knew he had me on this one, damn him.
"I don't care."
My eyes widened from surprise; of all the things I thought he was going to say, I definitely believed that this was not one of them.
"You're old enough to make your own decisions. And yes, I know what happened. I can guess at least, I'm not stupid. And I know Ray will always care for you... he's a nice guy, as you and I have known for the majority of our lives. I won't be sour about it as long as you're happy with your decision."
"You... don't care?" I asked. I was still trying to get over this fact.
"Like I just said, as long as you believe you made the right choice for yourself, I don't care. I just want you to be happy."
I smiled at Lee and hugged him.
"Thanks, Lee."
"My pleasure... or perhaps Ray's."
Damn him, couldn't let it go without cracking at least ONE joke...
(The Reunion, three weeks later, Kai's Point of View)
I didn't expect to enjoy this occasion, but it was my turn to host this reunion after all, because Max had done it the previous year and Tyson had done it before him. And next year, keeping with tradition, it would be Ray's turn.
Speaking of Ray, he showed up with Mariah. I hadn't invited her, but I suppose there wasn't anything I could have done to stop him bringing her along anyway. My eyes flickered to the golden band that adorned her left ring finger and I frowned in suspicion. My gaze then traveled to Tyson and I tried to think of an excuse to leave the room.
"Drinks?" I asked, even though it was more like a statement than a question. Everyone excluding Tyson nodded, because at this point in time he seemed to find whatever was outside the window very entertaining. I sighed inwardly and prayed to God that it wasn't because I was so rude to him three weeks beforehand.
Ray offered to help me get them so I gave my trademark "Humph" and I suppose he took that as a yes, because he stood up and grabbed Mariah around the waist and they both began following me. They were acting like if they weren't together they were afraid the other would disappear into nothingness and then their own lives would be pointless without the other. I shot a quick glance at Tyson and realized I knew how they felt.
When we reached the kitchen, I began getting out the glasses and everyone's various drinks of choice. When I'd finished pouring them Ray and Mariah began gathering them up in their arms, carrying as many as they could without spilling the liquid they contained. Mariah was just about to pick up a glass in her left hand, but I coughed and caught the two people's attention.
"Congratulations."
Ray flinched a bit, and frowned, basically confirming my suspicions. "Why?"
I swiftly grabbed Mariah's left hand and she yelped as a small portion of water spilt on her shirt. Ray gave an annoyed frown and looked like he was about to step between me and Mariah when I finally managed to flip the ring over to the way it was supposed to sit on one's finger.
I was right. Diamond Engagement ring.
"That's why. It was nice of you to tell the rest of your ex-teammates, Ray."
"We were trying to keep it a secret actually... you know... sort of a surprise of some sort..." Mariah whispered. She had a stricken look on her face.
"We were just waiting for the right time to tell everyone," Ray explained.
"I don't really care. It's your business, not mine. I won't tell anyone."
"Thank you," said Mariah, breathing a sigh of relief.
My curiosity got the better of me, so I asked the question I know they were waiting for.
"Why are you trying to hush it up?"
Ray looked slightly guilty as he gave his answer.
"We've been getting kind of close for the past few months and for the last few weeks we've been getting really, really close if you catch my drift. And Mariah..." Ray hesitated for a moment, unsure of whether to continue. Mariah sighed and finished the sentence.
"I got pregnant. We weren't married and it's a huge taboo in our village to do that sort of thing out of wedlock. You're basically sworn to chastity until you're married. The only other person who knows is Lee and he risking his neck, keeping it a secret for us, because our grandfather is still the Elder. So we'll just get married straight away, wait until it's born and then lie and say it was born premature."
I could see the reasoning behind that. They were just trying to look out for themselves and their unborn child without getting in trouble with the place they had called home since their childhood. But I snorted and retained my usual badass attitude.
"So basically, you're marrying her because you knocked her up, Ray. Really smart."
Now Ray looked exceedingly pissed off. In all honestly, this was probably the angriest I'd ever seen him. Mariah looked hurt so Ray drew her into his arms for a hug, and ran his hands up and down her back, trying to comfort her.
"Jesus Kai, sometimes you can be a real asshole, you know that? I love her with all my heart and I always will. Plus that is one of the reasons we're trying to keep it hushed, because we're afraid of people making smart-ass comments like the one you just made. Do you know the meaning of the word love? Or is that particular word stricken from the record?"
"If only you knew..." I muttered, and both of them immediately looked confused. My gaze once again flickered to Tyson, who was still staring out the window, even though Max and Kenny were trying to make casual conversation with him. I looked back to the two people in front of me and they simply looked at me as though that glance I'd just thrown Tyson said it all.
"Tyson, huh?" Ray questioned. I nodded, afraid of what they might say.
"That's cool. Your choice, Kai," Mariah said, and I knew that I looked surprised.
"Okay, we answered your question before. Now you answer this one: what the Hell is up between you and Tyson?"
I sighed. They weren't exactly the people I thought I'd be pouring my heart out to. I thought I'd be pouring my heart out to a psychiatrist, in all honesty. So I told them the tale of how I'd felt more drawn to Tyson over the years and that I actually began to find him sexually attractive. They listened with a sort of reverence that made me feel slightly more confident in myself.
"... And that's about it," I finally finished pouring my heart out to the two neko-jin Chinese in front of me. They simply nodded and Mariah opened her mouth to speak.
"Why don't you tell him then?"
"What makes you think I'd want to do a stupid thing like that?"
"We did it and look at us now," commented Ray.
"That's kind of the whole thing I'm afraid of."
"What? That you'll get Tyson pregnant?" Ray joked. Mariah slapped him on the arm gently and gave him a half-serious frown. Ray then grabbed Mariah's wrist and drew her in for a soft but passionate kiss on the lips. I shuddered at the sickening display in front of me and when they finally broke away Mariah sniggered. I knew it was half directed at me and half at Ray.
"Somehow I don't think so. So what are you afraid of, Kai?"
I had to think about that for a second.
"In all honesty I don't know..."
"Commitment?" Mariah suggested.
"No. I suppose it's just the fact that everyone I've ever cared about has run out on me. My mother and father did it. That's how I ended up at the Abbey with my grandfather, who did almost as much as running out on me."
"But Tyson's a different person to them. He's not the brightest spark and he makes jokes of a lot of things, but he's a good guy. I'm sure he'd understand, even if he doesn't feel the same way," Ray said.
"I suppose you're right..." I murmured, not really being sure of myself.
"You won't know unless you ask, will you?" Mariah smirked in my direction and I immediately felt determined because I didn't like being ridiculed in that way.
"Would you stop teasing me like that?" I snapped.
"Well, you should have considered our situation before you'd gone and made fun of us."
She was right...
"I'm sorry, okay? Now can you please help me decide what to say to him?"
Ray gave me a strange look. "Why us?"
"As much as it disgusts me, I can see that the two of you care deeply for and love each other. And I'm not good that this kind of stuff... I've never had to do anything like this before..."
Mariah sighed; I suppose she felt it wasn't really her place.
"I'll help you, Kai."
"If Mariah helps, I'll help too."
For the first time in a long while, I felt my own face broaden into a grin.
"Thanks. You two are truly wonderful friends to have."
They both smiled and began brainstorming on how I should break the news to Tyson.
(Still Kai's Point of View, nighttime)
I could see Tyson. He was outside, staring at the sky, which was littered with stars. I decided it was now or never. I began to walk out of the back door and on the way I passed Ray and Mariah, who seemed to be having a quiet, semi-serious argument on what flowers to have at their wedding reception. They noticed me entering the room and Ray gave me a reassuring smile and Mariah gave me the thumbs up. I then realized I was really lucky to have friends like them, who understood the kind of situation I was in, seeing that only a few weeks ago they'd been under the same circumstances. I gave a half-hearted smile and began the walk from my back door to the end of my yard. It had always seemed such a long way to walk before, due to the size on the mansion, but as I walked, the time seemed to be going way quicker than any other occasion on which I had made this trip.
When I reached Tyson, he seemed oblivious to my presence. Either that or he was purposely ignoring me. I coughed to get his attention and he seemed to awaken from the trance-like state he was in and stared at me for a second before giving an "Oh, it's just you" sigh. I felt my nervousness get the better of me because when I opened my mouth to speak I could only stutter.
"Tyson?"
"What?" he snapped. What the Hell was he getting pissed off at me for?
"I... I've got something to tell you."
Tyson snorted. It was obvious that he was taking this whole situation as some sort of cruel joke.
"Oh, do you? That's a good one, Kai. You've probably come to finally admit that Dragoon is better than Dranzer! Or that you've fallen deeply in love with me..."
I was about to gather the courage to tell him that he'd been right on the dot with his second guess, but he opened his mouth to speak again.
"... Like I have been wishing you would for two years. But like Hell that's going to happen, right?" he stared at me and laughed half-sarcastically.
Was I actually hearing what I was hearing? Or was I just hallucinating again? My courage finally achieved something and I began to speak.
"Well actually..."
Tyson looked up at me. He looked upset but interested at the same time.
"I've felt the same way, for a long time now. Even going back to when I first met you, you were an annoying little kid but I admired your skills. Then I realized it was more than plain admiration... I realized I cared about you. More than a friend, I mean. I came to realize that I loved you, to be perfectly honest. You hold a special place in my heart, Tyson." I silently thank Ray and Mariah for their assistance in composing this speech.
They boy in front of me simply sat there for a minute, as though he was having trouble absorbing the information into his head. After about three minutes (during that time I noticed two pairs of golden neko-jin eyes staring at us through the dark) he finally seemed to find his voice and asked the question I was expecting.
"Really?"
"Yes, really."
I saw his lips curve into a very slight smile.
"I thought I'd die without seeing this day, Kai."
"I thought I'd die without admitting how I really felt about you," I muttered quietly. Now that I'd finally managed to admit how I felt I became a great deal more comfortable.
"I'll admit that I found you attractive since I first met you..." I eyed the dark-blue haired boy in front of me and a pretty blush began to rise to his cheeks.
"But I didn't realize how much you meant to me until we stopped seeing each other so much."
"Me too, but we're back together now, so everything will work out," I said, as I pulled Tyson up onto his feet and into a hug.
I looked down at the boy in my arms, whose face was currently pressed into my torso.
I had a feeling things were going to turn out fine...
He then looked up at me, his inky-blue eyes shining in interest. I knew the time was right for what I wanted to do for so long. So I leaned down and he stood up as tall as his legs would allow and we shared our soft, passionate and surprisingly wonderful first kiss. I now understood why Ray and Mariah enjoyed doing it so much.
You know all that stuff I said about romantic stuff being crap? I officially take it all back from this moment. Because now that Tyson and me are together, everything in the world seems better and the prospects of my future are looking a lot brighter. After we broke away, Tyson kept staring at me for a while.
"I love you, Kai."
This came as a shock to me, but I knew how I'd reply.
"I love you too, Tyson. I promise you, neither of us will be alone or without the other again."
"Me too, Kai."
And we leaned in for another kiss. Sealing the pledge we had just made to each other.
(With Mariah and Ray)
The two neko-jin Chinese watched their handiwork weave magic as Tyson and Kai finally realized the dream they'd been having for the past two years. Ray and Mariah turned and smiled at each other at the same time.
"Mission accomplished, ne?" Mariah smiled and her fiancé.
"Definitely..." Ray smiled and placed a soft kiss on her full lips. She moaned into the kiss slightly before they both pulled back and snuggled their bodies together on Kai's couch, watching Tyson and Kai set their future with each other on the right course.
-X-
Sometimes we win love and sometimes we lose it. Sometimes it makes you so happy you feel you own the world, and other times it hurts like a deep wound. People fall in and out of love, but looking on these two couples that finally realized their true feelings for each other, you can surely say that their love will continue for eternity, and their futures together are truly bright ones.
-X-
I apologize if the TyKai was bad because this was my first time writing a true romance fic about them. But I think I did well in the Ray/Mariah area. Hope you enjoyed this fic!