Hello lovelies~! *violently murdered*
Surprised? I sure am.
I must apologize. I had given up due to lack of creativity and because of my personal conflict with my other story Hello Stranger. It became something I wasn't proud of yet had elements I was very proud of. I didn't even check my account until recently and found lovely messages of support and "OMG did you die?" lol I felt terrible. So, here is the first chapter of the sequel to JACKROSE :) if anyone is still willing to read it I would be so happy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade or any of the names/titles used in the story. I am also not familiar with Parisian lifestyle and geography or the French/Russian/any other language so please forgive my mistakes.
The beginning quote is said by Audrey Hepburn in my favorite movie Sabrina (1954).
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"This is what you do on your very first day in Paris. You get yourself some rain, not just a drizzle, but some honest-to-goodness rain. Then you find yourself someone really nice and you drive her through the Bois de Boulogne in a taxi. The rain's very important., because that's when Paris smells its sweetest. It's the damp chestnut trees, you see."
I've had a lot of time on my hands lately. Mostly I waste the day away watching movies alone. My favorites are the older ones from the 50's. I find them to have a certain sincerity that today's films often lack. Like romantic serenades, slow-dances under the moonlight and sexy men in sexier suits partaking in the previously mentioned activities. I usually fall asleep to the husky voice of Humphrey Bogart sometime between 2:00am and angry Kai o' clock. Tomorrow will be exactly one month since I've arrived in Paris and I'm still fighting the jet lag. When it's 12pm here my mind is telling me that it's 4am back in Japan. Kai says it's my fault since I stay up until the ass-crack of dawn. I'm convinced it's the jet lag, something immortal sex-god Kai doesn't have to be bothered with. His well-oiled machine he claims is a human brain comes with an alarm clock, sleep mode and angry birds. I know that I have to adjust to the time change eventually. But it's just taking a while. It's so hard to stay awake during the day when I'm sitting at a relaxing café or park and someone is playing Mozart. The droning sounds of Paris everyday just make me want to nap. Like the hum of old trucks down small streets, or the ringing of bells from the cathedrals...
Or the drawling voice of the old geezer currently scolding me.
Anyway, back to us. Long time no see old friend! How have you been? Did your sister get that thing on her ear removed? Let me fill you in on the events since our last visit. Just a day after our dramatic scene in the rain, Kai tossed me on a plane and dumped me onto Parisian soil. I then fumbled around like a newborn deer for a couple of weeks while Kai began developing plans for his new store. How is it coming along? No idea. I haven't really been in on the planning process. Once in a while Kai lets me in on a small detail here and there. Other than that, I know where it is and when it's supposed to open, which is in another month or so. But sometimes I'm not completely useless. When I'm not wasting away in front of a television I can't understand, I'm at the store or wherever with Kai getting things squared away. Well, Kai is really the one getting things ready, I'm just his assistant so I tag along and hold stuff for him. No more, no less. He is a bit of a perfectionist after all, and I'm more of a "fuck it" kind of guy. Kai would probably kill me if I touched anything at this point.
Speaking of first degree murder, the Russian Bastards are here, too. But they are a nightmare for another time.
"All of you étrangers are the same! 'Oh, look at me! I am in Paris! I know everyzing about La Tour d'Eiffel et ze baguettes!' Patooey! I spit on you all!"
Yes, you have been for the past 20 minutes.
So, in that one month of being in Paris, I have now found myself in my current situation. That situation is sitting in a small private study on the River Seine with an angry French man shouting at me in every possible language this side of the equator. You see, Kai has this terribly irrational idea that I should be able to at least survive on my own in Paris. Okay sure, I should be able to handle my own if I'm going to live here. But for some reason when Kai asked me to come to Paris with him, the hopeless romantic in me thought we would fly away on a magic carpet to live in a mystical new land of romance and love where we could sit on an open balcony overlooking the Eiffel Tower while sipping wine and feeding each other little crackers with smelly cheeses on them.
No.
Now don't get me wrong. Paris with Kai is amazing! I've had wet dreams about Paris with Kai! Well, I've actually has wet dreams about Kai in Paris... or were they about Kai in me? Anyway, the point is Paris + Kai = fantastic! It's Paris without Kai that makes me miss Japan like Kenny without his glasses. When I'm outside the safety of our cozy condominium amidst the city center, all I can see are rude people who refuse to stop and help you find your way. It's like when you don't speak up here, you're invisible. But as soon as you utter one syllable, the entire population looks at you like you're the gum under their designer loafers.
'Well, Rei, if you hate it so much why don't you move back to Japan?'
Because, Kai.
Kai is the Neosporin to my cuts. Kai is the kiss for my booboos. When I come home, completely torn apart from my quick errands in this labyrinth of a city, he pulls me back together and makes me remember why I followed him here in the first place. Kai is my everlasting duct tape.
Kai also happens to be the one who signed me up for French tutoring conducted in a small, stuffy study that smells of tobacco and sweaty pits. The tutor also happens to be this old man who is the source of both of those aforementioned smells. And today's ever-productive lesson covered how to rip Rei a new one over the span of 30 minutes. Honestly, I don't know what his problem is! All I said was that the specialty bakery down the road wasn't that great. How was I supposed to know the owner is his third cousin's wife's sister's best friend's uncle? Everyone knows each other here!
"And anozer zing!"
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Finally, freedom! Away from the onslaught of curses and spit. I take in a much needed breath of fresh air. Needless to say I checked out of my tutoring session a bit early. I thought it was a good time to bail when my crazy tutor stuck his head out of the window and started shouting at random passersby on the street. Rei Kon does not play with crazies. I am back on the street and around sane people. Some rude people, yes, but sane! I prefer sane and rude over crazy and rude.
Ah, Seine, the only thing in Paris (besides food and Kai) that I look forward to seeing. If I ever get lost I just have to follow the sound of moving water, boat horns or the bells of Notre-Dame. Any of those will guide me back to this sweet body of water and I follow it home. Yes, I have become good friends with this river, and I think the river thinks so too. The waters seem to wade higher as I step closer almost as if to say 'Good job, Rei! You survived another day! Go home and have some ice cream!' Well if you insist Seine! I think its time for another French double-feature on the couch with a bucket of Ben & Jerry's Chubby Hubby.
"Monsieur Rei!"
Or not. Au revoir couch. And bonjour Henry, our old and creepy chauffeur. Kai insisted that we needed one since he needs to get from point A to point B several times a day and I am completely incompetent with navigating these streets. Initially, I agreed. But then I met our chauffeur. The guy literally looks like he stepped out of a film noire. From the cheesy chauffeur's hat and bushy mustache to the white gloves and polished loafers. He's just... odd. I have yet to call him for his services, I prefer to snag a cab or walk if I'm feeling brave. Whenever I do end up in his Rolls Royce, it's because Kai wants me to meet him somewhere and I have no choice. This must be one of those times, which means no Ben & Jerry's. Henry motions to the door he is holding open to the back seat and I awkwardly shuffle over.
"'Sup Henry."
"Honoré, monsieur."
I am convinced that I will never say his name correctly. I just settle for calling him Henry to avoid even trying and sounding like a fork in a garbage disposal. I slide into the black car as Henry shuts the door behind me. This is another thing I don't like about riding with Henry. The entire interior of this car is black, the windows are heavily tinted black and there is a black window separating the back seat and the front. Aside from some chrome detailing, that's all there is to it. I feel like I'm riding in a upright casket! Not to mention Henry isn't one for conversation (probably one of the reasons Kai likes him), so every drive with him feels like a funeral procession. Once Henry is in the driver's seat, the window separating the front and back seats slides down quietly.
"Monsieur Kai has requested that I take you to the boutique once your lessons were complete."
"O-"
The window slides back up quickly.
…kay."
Riveting conversation. It's a wonder he's still single.
... Is he single?
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I can see the store down the small street, finally! I need to get out of this chamber of death. I cannot stand another minute in here after that drive. The seconds feel like minutes, the minutes feel like hours. I want to rip out that damn dashboard clock. That constant tic...tic...tic... I was about to stuff my hair into my own ears!
Yeah, so what if it was only a 10 minute drive? It was the quietest and most agonizing 10 minutes of my life! I could hear my sanity ripping down the middle. Would it kill Henry to engage in a little conversation?
I don't wait for Henry to open my door (something Henry has finally gotten used to) and hop out. I can hear the car (hearse) drive off slowly down the cramped street as I look at the unfinished storefront. Adapting to our current set-up was completely different to that of JACKROSE, I'll tell you that. Instead of operating in a mall where every store inside runs under the same head, we're on a busy street lined with forty other boutiques all fighting for the same group of customers. It's a dog-eat-dog world here and we're on our own. But at least I have my chiseled hero to look out for me.
And there he is! I can see him through the pane glass store-front looking over a clipboard with one of the contractors. He has his delicious glasses on, which he has been wearing a lot this last month. There has been a lot of set-up with the place. Kai spent two weeks looking for the perfect location and was finally satisfied with this one. This shop was originally owned by a clockmaker who lived in one of the apartments directly above. He passed away suddenly about a year ago, so the store went to his son who then sold it to Kai. Obviously, the place needed some upgrading to be fit to sell Kai's wares. Within a few days Kai had the whole place gutted and prepped for renovations.
By the way, did I mention the old clockmaker passed away inside his apartment? You know, the one right upstairs. I have yet to set foot inside the boutique.
I tap on the glass quietly next to the door. I am almost certain no one could have been able to hear that, but Kai's acute hearing picks it up right away. He glances at me before he says something quickly to the contractor and they part ways. The contractor heads to a pile of hardwood in the back and Kai heads to the front door. I stand on the outside proudly, like a cat that just brought it's owner a dead something.
"Rei, there is no such thing as ghosts. You can come inside." Hello to you too my one and only. Kai leans against the open glass door and waits for me to enter the boutique. Cautiously, I peak around his form to eye the inside of the store.
"Are you sure the old guy lived a happy life? What if he had unfinished business?"
Kai removes his reading glasses and massages the bridge of his nose.
"He always spoke of becoming a famous clockmaker, which he was. He wanted a large family, which he had. And he wanted to climb Mount Everest, which he did." He places a hand on my arm, probably getting ready to lead me inside. "If there are any spirits in this store, they aren't his."
"Wait! You just said there is no such thing as-"
A hard shove propels me into Kai and, subsequently, the store. The harsh chuckle that follows tells me exactly who the culprit is.
"The little kitten is afraid of ghosts? No surprise really." Bryan nods to Kai in greeting as if he didn't just assault his boyfriend. He looks back at me and smirks at my glare. "You're blocking the door."
Now, another thing I had expected when Kai brought me to Paris with him, besides passionate love-making at the top of every building by moonlight, was for the Russian Bastards to finally get off my case. Needless to say, they haven't. In fact I think they have taken to treating me worst than before, which was like dog shit on the street. What is lower than dog shit on the street? The dirt under the shit? The shit under the shit? Whatever it is, that's what they treat me like! Bryan tries to aggravate me anytime I'm around him, which isn't much different than before. And Tala still ignores me 99.99% of the time we're around each other. And the 0.01% that he actually finds a reason to say something to me, I'm usually left sobbing in a corner from the dread he just instilled in my soul. Also not much different than before, yeah? But now they know that I know that they are together. And when those two team up, in beyblading and love, two things can happen. The first thing: they produce something beautifully powerful, like when they beyblade... or that delicious scene in the office back in Tokyo. The second thing: they can create complete and utter devastation, like when they beyblade... or when I crawl back to Kai with my tail between my legs because they make me feel like less of a human and more like a giant man-baby thing. Personally, I prefer when they're making-out.
Bryan saunters past me as Kai sets me upright again. Before I can give Russian Bastard #2 a piece of my mind, Kai grabs my attention. Well, he actually grabs my cardigan to straighten it, but that also grabs my attention. When he's done, he runs his hand through my bangs making me look at him. There is very little that I enjoy more than the feeling of Kai's hands in my hair.
"I want to show you the store, and then we can go to lunch." At the mention of the store, again, I feel a chill fall over me. I can't help but glance around a second time.
"You promise there are no ghosts?"
Kai glances in Bryan's direction. Seeing as he's busy looking through his phone and not bothering us, Kai pulls me in close.
"The only ghost here will be Bryan if he touches you around me, again. Deal?"
His tone is serious but I catch the hint of a smirk on the corner of his lips. Grinning widely, I nod. I can see Bryan glaring at us out of the corner of my eye. He doesn't take too kindly to whispering around him. Kai leads me toward the back of the building passed Bryan, who eyes us both suspiciously. He is much less menacing when I have Kai and he is short one Russian Bastard. I turn my attention back to Kai and squeeze his hand lovingly.
"By the way Rei, why did your tutoring session end early today?"
... I squeeze his hand, again.
And then I have a heart attack. The sound of splintering wood upstairs makes me jump out of my skin. I cling to Kai's arm as the noises continue. Oh no! It's the angry spirit of the old clockmaker! I knew it! He is angry that we are renovating his shop and he has returned to wreak his horrible vengeance! I can hear him stomping closer and closer to the door in front of us. We're doomed! We are all doomed!
Oh, it's just Tala. But he nearly ripped the back door off its hinges and he's holding the remains of what looks to be a chair. We may still be doomed, so I continue to cling to Kai. He stomps right up to us and jabs the dismembered chair limb in Kai's face. Kai only leans back to avoid a broken nose.
"Chto eto?"
"Stul... nekogda."
"Hardly. This is oak. I asked for cherry."
Tala finally seems to notice my presence. His frozen eyes fall onto me and his demeanor shifts from murderous to less-than murderous. After chill creeps up my spine.
"Well, the neighborhood hermit has finally left his nest."
Good ol' Tala. It's satisfying to know some things never change. He still sees me as terribly incompetent in every aspect of life and I still expect to find a decapitated goat head in his travel bag. So a guy doesn't leave his condo for a week and suddenly he's a hermit?... Well, that does sound pretty bad when you put it like that. Probably not satisfied with my lack of a retort, Tala suddenly forces the piece of wood into my hands.
"Get rid of that. You might as well make yourself useful while you're here."
Russian Bastard #1 then turns on his heels and stomps back through the door he nearly destroyed. I am just about to chuck this piece of wood at his retreating back when Kai yanks it out of my hand overhead. Dammit, I'll have to find another weapon around here.
"Tala will kill you before you find something else."
... Did Kai just read my mind?
"Your expression makes it pretty obvious what you were thinking." Stop that! Kai tosses the splintered wood into a corner. "Let's assess the damage Tala did upstairs."
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Now this is the kind of scene I was expecting when I arrived in Paris. Me, Kai and a quiet little café on the corner.
We came here as soon as Kai was finished giving me a tour of the new store. It's a smaller shop, about ¾ the size of JACKROSE and about ½ of Silver Bullet. It's still being renovated so the interior is bare including the floor and walls. There is a small closet being added near the back door for extra inventory. The back door is my favorite part. It opens up to an opening almost like a courtyard. Except there isn't a garden, just grass and overgrowth. But it's a nice escape from the busy streets and people. Next to the door is an iron spiral staircase leading up to a room on the second story which is being revamped for the office. Kai promised me this wasn't the room the old owner died in.
And now we're sitting at a nearby café, Pause Café, having a couple of cappuccinos and lunch. This place is pretty pricey for a café. You can get a decent lunch for about €20. Luckily, that's pocket change for Kai. I had the lamb over rice pilaf.
Kai is currently participating in his favorite past-time of people watching. Since I've been spending basically every waking moment either with Kai or by myself, I have also began to enjoy people watching. And I have to ask myself, why haven't I taken this activity more seriously? People are just so… watchable. Like that man carrying a huge bouquet of lilies. What's the occasion? Who are they for? How can he see where he's go- Oh, ow! Lightpoled. Onto the next subject. Like that child picking something up out of the potted plant and sticking it in his mouth. Gross. But fascinating. And then there's this young couple, walking down the street, holding hands. Looking so… in love.
My hand that has been resting on the table is suddenly encased in warmth and I look down to see Kai's hand over mine. I can't help the sudden jump in my heart rate and I have to fight the nagging need to glance around and see if anyone is staring. Kai must have noticed my uneasiness because he adjusts his hand into a firmer hold.
"You don't have to be nervous. No one here will care what we do." He continues to drink his coffee and watch the people walking by casually. I, on the other hand (which is in Kai's) am about a popping balloon away from an anxiety attack.
"How do you know that?"
Kai takes a sip from his cup and turns his attention to our joined hands almost as if he had forgotten what we were talking about.
"Homosexuality is viewed differently here. We have rights, and holding hands in public happens to be one of them."
Plain and simple. As he speaks he interlocks our fingers comfortably. It feels casual and effortless. If we had tried this is Japan, we would have definitely earned some stares. Homosexuality in Japan is treated like any other taboo subject: everyone knows it exists, but no one talks about it. I'm mildly grateful for the beginning of our relationship to take place in Paris. I smile at Kai and our joined hands and give his a small squeeze. We sit for another few minutes in silence as a waiter takes our finished plates away and Kai takes care of the bill. Just as I finish off my coffee I hear Kai's phone vibrate in his pocket. He pulls it out to glance at it before pocketing it once more. He continues to watch the people walk by for another moment before setting down his finished cup.
"The head contractor is coming by with the final details."
Poop. Lunch date is over then.
"Call Honoré to take you back to the condo or wherever else." How about no. I can get a more exciting ride on the city bus.
"I'd rather walk."
"Call him. You're still not familiar with the streets."
Kai stands and grabs his jacket from the back of his chair. He slides it on before turning to the road.
"I'll be home before sundown."
"I love you."
…
Kai approaches me on my side of the table. He leans over and places a chaste kiss on my cheek before looking me in the eye.
"Call Honoré."
I nod to appease him and before I know it, he is crossing the street back towards the boutique and out of sight. Did everyone see what just happened there?
Let's review. I said "I love you," and Kai said "Call Honoré." Last week I said "I love you," and Kai said "I'll meet you at 6 for dinner." The week before that I said "I love you," and Kai said "…"
... Are you seeing the pattern?
Every time I told Kai that I loved him he has responded by saying nothing, or by changing the subject, or by continuing the conversation like I hadn't even said anything in the first place! Every. Single. Time. It's maddening! Those words have never left his lips, not for me anyway. And yet every time I tell him I love him there is that small glimmer of hope deep down in my lower intestine that thinks that, this time, he'll say it back to me. But he never has, and I'm beginning to think he never will. I mean, it's pretty obvious that the guy cares about me. He has dished out so much just to have me live here with him. And some may argue that actions speak louder than words. But if he did feel something for me, he could tell me... right?
I let out a heavy sigh filled with the anguish of a thousand baby turtles sprinting through peanut butter. One of the baby turtles turns its tired head to me and opens its mouth.
"Do not tell me you have come all the way to Paris just to be depressed?"
I'm startled out of my inner turmoil. That wasn't the turtle in my head talking, that was someone here at this cafe. That voice, I know it from somewhere. Someone. A soft voice full of confidence but decorated with modesty. But whose? The owner of that voice answers my question as they saunter out from behind me and take the chair that Kai was just occupying. I am presented with a familiar head of green hair and light lavender eyes sparkly happily. I'm so taken back that I don't know what to say, other than the obvious.
"Oliver?!"
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Next Chapter: A long awaited reunion with a hint of unrequited love.
I will see you next time my darlings~! Anything you wish to send will be greatly appreciated!