Disclaimer: I don't own these characters and I'm not making any money off this story!
Ranma's Author's Notes: Post G-Rev… sort of takes place in those 10 months before the final scene. Just a big piece of WAFF for the holiday season!!
Happy New Year
A pair of feet crunched icy snow under them as they walked along the sidewalk. The owner of the feet blew out a sigh deeply into the cold air, watching as his breath became visible. Tyson quickly looked both ways before dashing across a street, his gloved hands burrowing deeper into his thick red winter jacket. The world champ continued hurrying towards his destination, the sky already darkened with the short winter days.
It didn't get as cold in Bay City as it did in Russia, but today, December 31st, it sure felt as chilly as Moscow.
Tyson shivered and hopped from one foot to the other, his teeth chattering comically as he arrived on the long driveway leading up to a familiar mansion. 'And here I am freezing my buns off to collect something just as cool.' The long-haired boy thought, shaking his head and making his way to Kai Hiwatari's front door.
Jabbing the doorbell way more than necessary, Tyson rubbed his hands waiting for Kai's butler to let him in.
Jeeves opened the door and raised an eyebrow at Tyson's presence. The blader lifted a hand in greeting and couldn't help the exasperated smile that crossed his face.
"Hey Jeeves. Is Kai home?"
The usually severe-looking man managed to look amused at that. "Why, yes. I do believe Master Kai is currently in."
"Well he's not supposed to be!" Tyson burst out, incredibly put-off. "He's supposed to be at the New Year's Eve party. At MY place!"
The butler simply moved out of the doorway and offered the blader to get in out of the cold. Tyson hastened inside with a quick thanks, grumbling at having to drag Kai to a party he'd promised he'd go to.
Jeeves took his frozen jacket from him and nodded towards the stairs. Tyson instantly knew Kai was just hauled up in his room. "That guy!" The world champ growled, his hands making strangling motions as he headed for yet another confrontation with his former team captain.
The door to the room opened and Tyson strode in, his face red from both the cold and from frustration. "HEY! Kai! Don't you know what day it is?! And how about what time it is! The party started an hour ago!"
Kai hadn't even flinched when Tyson had burst in. The dual-haired blader was lying leisurely on his bed, his gaze fixed on some point on the ceiling. He hadn't even appeared to hear Tyson.
'Oh that is so like him.' Tyson sighed, rubbing his bangs. "Kai! Let's go already!"
This time Kai's eyes flicked over to the other blader's form briefly, but he still didn't reply.
"Ok that's it!" Tyson came around the bed so he could argue properly to Kai's face. He hadn't gotten much of a word out before Kai stared straight at him.
"Stop." Kai said coolly. The tone of his voice made Tyson stop and blink angrily. The former Russian team member let his eyes trail back to the ceiling before closing them as if to keep his annoyance from showing. It didn't work.
"Before you say anything else… I don't want another year of this." Kai stated, fully sounding like that was the end of the conversation.
Tyson stood on the spot for a second. "Huh?" He gawked, one eyebrow raised high, forgetting his earlier rampage at Kai's unexpected weirdness. "Another year of what?"
Kai's eyes snapped open and he was tight-lipped, fuming at no place in particular in the face of Tyson's confusion to what he meant. "What do you think I mean?" Kai turned his head and gave him a look.
Tyson glared back readily… but then abruptly lost the glare after the sparks had clashed. 'Oh.' The midnight blue haired blader looked down in surprised intrigue. "Less fighting, more partying?"
"…Something like that." Kai finally muttered, re-closing his eyes and looking ready to go to sleep.
Tyson jumped and landed heavily seated on the bed, jostling the other teen. "SO speaking of partying… Let's go. You promised you'd be there! And oh, oh-" He jokingly waved his hands around. "You're not!"
The older boy didn't budge. The younger one's voice tried to be more convincing.
"Come on, it's New Year's Eve! This only happens once a year!"
Kai gave a short 'hah' at that. Tyson rolled his eyes.
"Everybody's already there. I bet a couple of them are already drunk as hell."
A half-smile crossed the relaxing youth at that. "I thought you were trying to get me to come…"
The world champ groaned a bit and, after a moment, reluctantly lay down on the bed, his feet in the opposite direction. Kai didn't object right away, so for a while the two rivals turned friends just laid in agreeing silence.
Tyson shifted his arms behind his head and smiled slightly, staring up at the ceiling along with Kai. "You know it really has been a crazy year… A lot happened, don't you think? I'm almost afraid of next year – even crazier things will probably happen."
With Tyson's thick-woolly socked feet beside his head, Kai breathed out deeply, his eyes not really seeing the ceiling anymore, but more like the memories of the past 12 months. Forming the team BBA, leaving for NeoBorg… The World Championships against Tyson…. BEGA. A lot had happened for sure, but even more things had changed. The group of bladers that had once started out as the Bladebreakers weren't the same anymore – not Tyson, and not himself... It was those differences that made him think… especially at a time like this, when the snow fell a lot like it did in Moscow…
"Next year, we should try to keep the craziness to a minimum." Kai finally said cynically.
Tyson stared at the stoic teen oddly for a second. "Kai – are you… are you making a New Year's resolution?" He laughed.
Kai shrugged and met Tyson's stare. "They say if you make one tonight, you're more likely to keep it..." He lowered an eyebrow incredulously before breaking their gaze and letting his head fall back against the pillow with a short sigh. "You're the one with the party. It's a New Year's tradition, isn't it?"
Tyson grinned slightly, gaze also back on the ceiling. "They also say whoever you kiss on New Year's Eve you'll get with for the next one. What if you did it by accident?" The tanned teen shuddered and pictured two drunken party-goers back at the dojo doing the deed. "Oh boy."
"What if you did it on purpose?" Kai replied unthinkingly.
Tyson opened his mouth to reply, but then found nothing to say. The world champ couldn't help but think about it. 'A kiss to change the new year…? On purpose?' Tyson thought crazily. Why anyone would do that was a mystery… who would want that extra uncertainty?
Kai had fallen silent after that as well; the awareness of their aloneness in the large bedroom was somehow amplified by the thought of something to do with romance… The former team captain felt a strange restlessness enter him. He felt unsure… unable to explain what it was exactly. New Year's was just another night, just another day – all this contemplation was just unneeded…
A long moment passed and the Tyson sighed loudly. "I bet Daichi ate all the food!" His voice was really whiny right then.
Kai was silent for another minute before he moved and sat up, making the shorter boy on his bed look at him, then do the same.
"Fine. We'll go back." He agreed, tugging his long scarf more securely around his neck.
"Whuh….You're kidding!" Tyson was instantly to his feet and eager as Kai got ready to finally leave for the party. Pleased things were turning out good, Tyson glance around the other blader's room.
The shiny red beystadium in the corner caught both their eyes for a moment. Tyson looked at Kai first, half grinning. Something in his stomach fluttered in excitement when their eyes met, like they always did, over the beydish. "Wanna get in a quick match?"
Kai smiled slightly at that, his eyebrows curving downwards. He was already pulling out Dranzer. "You know I'll win."
"Let's go!" Tyson had Dragoon ready, and together they launched, beyblades spinning around the dish for a final time that year.
By the time Dragoon and Dranzer quit spinning and the match ended, time had flown rapidly. The sky was pitch-black by now and at some point it had begun snowing lightly.
"Oooh no." Tyson groaned, scrambling to re-pocket his beyblade. "We gotta go! Gramps will kill me if we don't get back by the countdown!"
"We'll make it." Kai did the same, but followed the once-again hurrying teen out the door.
"Do you have any idea what time it is?" Kai asked, keeping pace beside the other blader as they sped into the Dojo's yard.
"I hate watches!" Tyson answered loudly, their feet clamouring onto the wooden walk-around and finally coming to a stop. They stayed outside for a moment longer, their hearts still beating wildly from the trip over here. They looked at each other and their breath was pure and visible in the night air, but it didn't feel as cold anymore. The hurry to go inside melted away.
Kai moved to lean against a nearby beam, crossing his arms loosely. The slightly taller boy gave him a sort of half smile… one that spoke of having known something all along. "Looks like we made it."
Tyson stared, abruptly transfixed by that expression. "R… right." He shook himself. "You were right. Guess it really wasn't so late." The world champ conceded, absently brushing some snow from his jacket and looking up at the bright moon in the sky. Earlier that year, he'd done the same thing how many times? Sitting alone, just wondering if he would see Kai again. The closeness right now, it was something he really did hope to keep for the next 12 months.
Kai let out a small breath and followed the other boy's gaze, taking in the misty moon as well. The party sounded like it was in full swing from outside. Music and voices could be heard… and it unexpectedly felt like a crime to waste this quiet moment while they still had one. The last one for the new year.
The former Russian team member let his gaze trail away from sky to the bundled teen. 'Tyson…' Kai thought, the cool air only exaggerating the lack of distance between their warm bodies.
After everything that had happened, he felt close to the other boy. He felt so close that it… scared… him to think about the next 365 days and somehow losing that bond… those emotions… on one of those days. Kai had resolved to try and avoid that, but still he wondered if some things were already too late. Could rivals turned friends, ever really be friends? The two-tone haired blader smirked slightly and uncrossed his arms, one hand going to grip Dranzer in his pocket.
Tyson eyed him with raised eyebrows and then grinned. "And what're you all smirky about, King Kai?" He joked, his feelings for the cool, grumpy, blader swelled in happiness in his chest.
Kai took in that grin, the other boy suddenly attractive in a way that sparked a familiar something in him. He shrugged a shoulder, the smirk wider now. "You're lucky the match ended with a tie."
Tyson's grin changed into a wide smile at Kai. "Come on, you KNOW it was barely a-"
"Barely a challenge for me? You're right about that." The taller teen scoffed lightly, though it was obvious he was amused.
Tyson laughed, ready to bust Dragoon out again. "Oh yeah? Well how about we….What the…" The world champ turned his head, frowning in confusion. "What the heck is that yelling?"
Loud chants were suddenly louder, and a television's volume was turned up to the max. Finally what everybody was shouting about became clear. "TEN!... NINE!... EIGHT!..."
From somewhere inside a deafening crack of a newspaper cracker sounded and annoyed groans and a few loud whoops followed it.
Tyson looked back at Kai in complete surprise. Kai's eyes held the same unexpected emotion, the realization that the countdown had started sending a flurry of unfounded panic and mixed excitement through both of them.
"SEVEN!...SIX!..."
For some reason neither moved to go inside, frozen in a stare at the implications of it all. It was only seconds left before a new year, a chance to start it all again. Would it be the same between them? Different? How could things ever be different? There were so many apologies, so many… so many feelings that had gone on unsaid in the past year, it all of a sudden seemed so wrong to go on to a new one without trying.
But the words couldn't come for either of them.
Eyes traced one another's faces, suddenly burning with a need to have a last beybattle – a conclusion or some thing to say everything once and for all.
"FIVE!..."
Kai's eyes were fixed on Tyson's, and his lips shifted in a fleeting movement, drawing the long-haired blader's attention to that pale mouth.
Crazy thoughts flew around in the world champ's head. He bit his bottom lip gently, and saw Kai jerk slightly, similar thoughts making his gaze wild.
"FOUR!..."
Somebody among the party goers broke a glass, the noise shattering the magnetic pull that had kept them standing still. Kai was the first to glance towards the sliding door of the dojo.
Did they go in? Or, even more frightening – stay outside?
"THREE!..."
Uncertainty made their hands reach for the door handle at the same time. The warm touch of gloved fingers was electric. When neither blader pulled back, and their eyes involuntarily met once more, Tyson swallowed. What did he care about uncertainty, or what could happen so far away in the future, anyway? All that mattered was here and now, the moment they were living in, the last moment before…
"TWO!..."
"This is crazy." Kai murmured, his grip on the doorknob shifting to Tyson's hand, holding it fiercely.
"Screw it." Tyson muttered in reply and grabbed Kai's shoulder pulling him forward into a passionate kiss, hot lips pressing tenderly into hot lips.
"ONE! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!" Cheers and shouts escalated from inside the party as the New Year was ushered in, honking and hooting went off.
Tyson kissed the paler teen with fervour, sending sparks along Kai's body when he was pulled more firmly into the baseball-capped one's grasp. Caught in that embrace, Kai twisted his face the opposite way, his mouth heatedly claiming control as he released the warm hand he held to trail his own gloved ones up Tyson's back. Flushed noses and cheeks bumped as they kissed more urgently, hearts beating wildly and hands grabbing at dark hair and jackets. Tyson managed to push Kai back against the wooden beam he had leaned against not a few minutes earlier, their lips solidly connected, shoulders and chests heaving at the passionate conclusion that had somehow made sense…
They parted, hands firmly gripped together at their sides, panting and staring at one another in the chilly first minutes of the new year. The din of the ongoing missed New Year's Eve party seemed like it was a million miles away.
Kai's breath ghosted against Tyson's flushed face, and he knew his own was the same way. In the space of a day and a year a lot of things had happened, but more things had changed. The bond the two of them had started out with wasn't the same anymore – not a friendship, not even.
A resolute look filled the former team captain's eyes, his fingers lacing with Tyson's more snugly before he suddenly pushed and pressed the other boy up against a different beam, a small bit of snow falling down from the overhang at the impact. "I told you this is crazy." He said lowly, his body leaning into the warm one of the world champ.
"Ah…huh…" Tyson laughed a bit at the reversed position, his eyes dancing at the closeness and heat of their bodies. "So what happened to your 'no more craziness' resolution?"
Kai smirked slightly. They may be friends turned more, but they would always be rivals. "Screw it." He muttered, and kissed a grinning Tyson again.
Neither blader knew what would happen in the coming months, but at least one thing was certain – it really was a happy new year.
The End
I just wanna say Thank You! To everybody who reads my Tyson and Kai fanfics, and to everybody who writes about them as well!!
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