Title: I'm a father?

Subtitle: Tiger's tears

Author: Lady Snowblossom

Rating: PG-13

Pairs: Rei/Bryan, Kai/Tala, Spencer/Ian, Tyson/Max and various other pairings.

Note: This is a MPREG story with you guessed it-lots of angst. Like I write anything but. Blame the pairings on an itch I got to try a Rei/Bryan pairing after reading 'Unexpected' by Phoenix1800, and then I wondered how would Bryan react to finding out that Rei was pregnant and he was the father. And I would probably never have tried this if it wasn't for a wonderful story called, 'Let it be' by Yuki Obsidian.

Disclaimer: Here we go again. I do not in any way; shape or form, own the boys or the show. I'm not that smart. The only thing I can claim is this story. If you steal it, you must truly be desperate. So leave it alone.

~*~

Rain dripped off the eaves of the small house that the village had given him as a gift after the Worlds. Inside a fire was burning cheerily in the brick fire pit, casting shadows upon simple white walls. But the charm of the blaze was lost on the raven-haired youth sitting huddled beside it.

"What am I going to do?" He thought, not for the first time, since he'd returned home that afternoon. That morning, he had finally decided to go visit the clan's doctor. He'd been waking up sick every morning for the last week. After the examination, he'd been totally unprepared for what the old man had to say. 'Pregnant! He was pregnant and the doctor felt it would be best if he didn't blade for awhile.' He tucked his face against his knees and felt a new batch of tears begin to well.

A soft knock at the door caught his attention, but he ignored it. After a few seconds, the knock was repeated, then the door was flung open and a figure outlined by lightning stood staring down at him.

"Rei, I just heard. What can I do to help?" Lee, captain of the White Tigers and Rei's childhood friend strode across the floor to kneel at the boy's side. He attempted to take Rei into his arms to comfort him, but Rei flinched away, his face twisted with pain.

"Rei?"

"They're going to think I'm a freak, Lee." Rei whispered in a dead voice, "My teammates are going to think I'm some kind of monster!" He turned a white face to meet the encouraging eyes of his friend. "We have a tournament coming up! I shouldn't blade in my condition! But I have to! What am I going to do?"

Lee reached out and this time succeeding in capturing the agitated boy. He curled his fingers in Rei's hair and pushed his head against his chest. "Shh, Rei, we'll just explain that you need to semi-retire for health reasons." He said, as he rubbed his hand in comforting circles on Rei's back.

Rei relaxed into the comforting warmth, and nodded, Lee's words made sense, no one would question health reasons for a retirement, or a semi retirement.

"Rei, who's going to be at the tournament?" Lee murmured into the top of Rei's head.

"The All-Stars, Majestics, and . . ." Rei' s head jerked up from Lee's chest and he paled.

Alarmed, Lee grabbed Rei's shoulders and demanded, "And?"

"The Demolition Boys." Rei gulped; then he tore himself out of Lee's grip and shot to his feet. Before Lee could react, the fleet tiger was out the door. Jumping up, Lee made to give chase, when the unmistakable sounds of someone being sick reached his sensitive ears. Dashing to the door, Lee frantically scanned the area for Rei. His eyes widened, as he spotted a flash of white under a nearby tree. Jumping off the porch, Lee ran towards the white square. Under the tree, Rei was bent over, his shoulders shaking, as he heaved over and over again.

"Rei, oh Rei." Lee whispered, as he wrapped a powerful arm around the slighter boy's waist. He supported him, while Rei's body shook from the last of his retching. When Rei finally started to dry heave, Lee gently slid an arm under the tiger's knees and lifted him. Rei turned his face into the lion's dark chest and began to cry. Lee's heart twisted in his chest, as he carried his light burden back to the house.

Inside, he laid the shivering, crying bundle down on a futon, and left to find some towels. When he returned he found Rei still lying where he had left him, but the tiger had fallen asleep. He sighed, and set about divesting Rei of his clothes without waking him. Deciding against trying to redress the youth, Lee just dried the boy off and covered him with a green blanket. Dark eyes studied the pale features for a moment, and then quietly Lee leaned down and pressed a kiss to Rei's brow. Straightening, Lee stood there lost in thought for a time, then he sighed and whispered, "Rei, why did the mention of The Demolition Boys upset you so much?"

Leaving the sleeping youth, Lee walked to the other side of the fire and opened a chest. From the inside, he removed several blankets to make himself a nest to bed down in. Stripping off his shirt, Lee settled down and pulled a blanket over himself and allowed the sound of the rain to lull him to sleep.

~*~

The storm blew its self out and the moon came out from behind the clouds that the wind chased away. In the calm, insects began to sing their nocturnal songs. Inside the plainly appointed main room, the fire burned low and a chill began to penetrate the bedclothes of the pair of sleeping boys.

One of the sleepers began to toss restlessly, his pale hands clenching on his stomach, as if he were holding something close to his chest. A soft mixture of Chinese and a few disjointed Russian words spilled out as he spoke to someone only his dreams could see. The murmur grew louder as the sleeper became more agitated and his arms reached desperately for a phantom.

The late night quiet was shattered by a scream. "Bryan!"

Lee shot up from his place on the floor and raced to Rei's side. As soon as he sat down, Rei flung himself into Lee's arms and began to sob. Lee's mind raced, as he set about calming the youth. 'Why was Rei crying for Bryan? Was it a nightmare? Or, was there another reason?' Rocking back and forth, Lee began to softly sing a simple lullaby that his mother had used to calm his younger siblings when they cried.

Gradually, Rei grew calmer, and with a final hiccup, he pulled away from Lee embarrassed that he had lost control like that. "I'm sorry, Lee. I don't know what came over me." He said, as he wiped his tears away with the corner of his blanket.

Lee sat there feeling helpless, his best friend was in pain and there was nothing he could do about it. Silence stretched between the pair, as he tried to find a way to breach the quiet. Finally, he said quietly, "Well, we could always put it down to hormones. You know how mom used to act whenever she was breeding. You never knew when she'd start throwing things." It was a weak joke, but Rei laughed anyway.

"Oh, Ancestors! I hope I don't turn into a weeper!" Rei groaned, as he leaned back against the futon's back. "Remember Tao?" He asked, risking a quick glance at Lee. The lion nodded. "Yes, I remember her. She cried at everything! Broken bowls, crickets chirping, kites that got caught in tree branches!" Lee laughed. Rei snickered, remembering "I wonder whatever happened to her and Wei and their kids?" Rei said quietly: feeling the tension drain from his body.

"I don't know." Lee said, as he rose and walked over a small wooden box, when several sticks of wood laid stack. Grabbing a handful, he carefully fed them to the fire. "Wei got that job working for his uncle and I guess those of us, they left behind weren't important enough for them to write to." He added, a little bitterly.

Rei flinched; remembering there had been a time he hadn't considered the village important enough to write to once in awhile. Silence fell upon them once again, as each sat wrapped in their thoughts. Finally, Rei broke the silence.

"Lee." "Yes." 'Thank you."

Lee looked up from where he had been staring into the flames and blinked. "What are you thanking me for?"

"For being here. For being my friend and for understanding."

Galeon's companion rose and stretched; twisting this way and that and relishing the popping sound his vertebrate made. He made his way back to the futon and sat, stretching his legs out in front of him. He gazed at the small patch of moonlight that came thorough the single window.

"There is no need to thank me, Rei. I'm here because you are my brother, maybe not by birth, but by love and that is just as important." He turned his head and meet golden eyes that brimmed with gratitude. He smiled and took Rei by the hand. "As for being your friend. I will be for as long as you let me. But." he took a deep breath. "There's something I don't understand."

Rei tensed the glow in his eyes dulling. "What don't you understand." He forced the words out of his suddenly dry throat.

"Why were you calling for Bryan?"

Rei stood up and ignoring his unclothed state walked to the window and looked out. The moon was halfway across the sky and soon morning would come and life would continue as it had for countless years. But not for him, his life would now revolve around the tiny being growing within him. And that changed everything.

Patiently, Lee waited for Rei to speak. When the young tiger shivered in the early morning breeze. He rose from his seat, plucked the green blanket from the futon; crossed the small space between them and wrapped the blanket around the lithe form.

Rei smiled and clutched the blanket to him, but didn't turn around. Lee rested his hands on Rei's shoulders. "Look, Rei, if you don't want to tell me, you don't have to." Lee said quietly.

"No," Rei shook his head. "It's time I told someone. And who better than my brother." He took a breath, sighed and whispered. "Bryan is the father of my baby."

Lee was thunderstruck.

Well, I'm back and at it again. Cliffhanger no. one! Yes, this chapter is short, but with any luck they'll get longer! And you never know who might pop by for a visit.