Title: Ultimate Fear

Fandom: Tekken

Pairing: Kazuya/Lee and also a bit of vaguely implied and one-sided Lars/Lee

Summary: Kazuya discovers a taste for fine literature and Lee is too busy to look deeper at what really lies behind this newfound passion. The most ridiculous of fights ensues.

Disclaimer: I do not own Tekken or any of its characters. I am not making any profit from this.

Rating: R

Warnings: Incest, language, violence. Also, crack. Or whatever my sad attempt at crack constitutes as, because I fail at comedy. :(

A/N: Written for Merci for a K/L fic exchange, based on her prompt 'a great fear'. Merci said that while there was some room for angst, she preferred 'upbeat and happy stories' and to be 'smothered in fluff'! Now, the only way I could get even remotely close to fluff with this pairing was to put the fic in some post-Tekken scenario that takes place after Kazuya and Lee have worked out their differences and are finally living happily ever after. I'm not sure that this really qualifies as either happy or upbeat, but I do hope that I at least got the fluff down.

Prologue

He was woken by a flash of that weird clarity that sometimes comes in a dream; detached from reality but eerily lucid at the same time. He felt disembodied, yet aware- the inside of him turned out as he lingered, naked and vulnerable in a great emptiness that stretched out forever. He was cold and confused, and most importantly, alone. The silence, the solitude yawned around him like a chasm and he knew at once that Lee was not with him. For the briefest of moments, the connection between them, the subconscious thread that linked them together and made him aware of Lee's presence was gone. The shock of it shook him to the core and terrified, he bolted upright in bed.

Panicked, he looked to his side and to his infinite relief, he saw that Lee was there, sleeping peacefully and close enough to touch. Reality reaffirmed itself and Kazuya let out the breath he was holding. His chest hurt from the strain and it took him long minutes to pull himself together. He was bathed in sweat, but he shivered violently in the shockingly frigid air. Annoyed, he realised that he was naked and pushed out to the very edge of the bed. Lee had stolen all the covers and now lay comfortably in a warm cocoon right in the middle, diagonally positioned and taking up enough space for two people twice his size. The only thing Kazuya could see under the dark mound was the top of his silver head, but he could tell from his even breath and the easy stillness that lingered about him that his deep, all-consuming slumber was undisturbed. This comforted him and he reached deep inside, looking for that bond that was elusive and surreal, unexplainable, but there. He could feel the even rhythm of his Lee's heartbeat as if there was an invisible cord strung tight between them; it soothed him and calmed his own frantic pulse.

What the fuck was that horrible dream? He didn't have them often, much less when they were so vivid and clear. Or unclear. When he tried to reconstruct it, he found nothing there. It was emptiness he had dreamed of.

A soft rustling caught his attention and he looked down. The sliding door leading out to the veranda was open. The weather was changing and the wind billowed inside, tossing the curtain and chasing dry leaves over the immaculately lacquered floor.

Kazuya ran his fingers through his hair to clear thoughts and shook himself into action, rising as quietly as he could and padding down the low stairs into the adjoining sitting area to close the open door. There was a tiny click as the frame locked into place and the room suddenly became completely quiet. He went very still, expecting the palpable change in atmosphere to wake his brother up and when that didn't happen, he breathed out slowly in relief.

What would he say if Lee was to sit up, look straight at him and ask what was wrong? How could he explain the state he was in? Lee would see how shaken he was moment the moment he laid eyes on him and he felt ridiculous for even being in this situation.

Is this what it was like for Lee too?

Nightmares were his area of expertise, but Kazuya had no idea, because they never talked about it. He had never really recovered from the living hell that had dumped him in the middle of Heihachi's household and half a century later, he would still wake up screaming next to him. Things would be good for months and then something would trigger him and start the cycle anew. Some of the episodes were brief, but others were… not. The worst of them would leave him afraid to sleep at all and it would go on and on until he was half insane from exhaustion. When that happened, there was nothing Kazuya could do except watch him fall apart, unravel completely, and then hold him as he sobbed and shivered for hours.

The last crisis had been so long ago, he had almost begun to hope it would not recur. Finally, both of them were beginning to understand the meaning of peace and Kazuya should have known that it was too good to be true.

Slowly, his breathing evened out and he looked around, listening carefully for any sign of disturbance in the deep, deep silence that surrounded Lee's beach home. He closed his eyes and reached out with his other senses. He felt everything, every warm, pulsing sign of life. Various night creatures scurried around the estate, hurrying, stalking, sneaking, all lost in the urgencies of their little worlds and unconcerned by the human habitat in their vicinity. Larger and slower, he felt each one of Lee's staff inside the house, most of them asleep in their beds at this ungodly hour, except for two extremely vigorous entities in the lower quarters. He could even tell who they were- a maid and one of the night guards, but they were very much occupied with each other and not up to anything that would concern him. He would fire them both tomorrow- the man for dallying when he was supposed to be on duty and the woman for letting him do it on the kitchen floor.

Disgusting.

He would have to have the entire area disinfected before he let them prepare his food in there again.

The security outside seemed more alert, but they too were calm. He sensed nothing, no strangers, no intruders and no unwanted presences. Everything felt normal, yet something had woken him up. He opened his eyes looked in his brother's direction again. Lee's instincts were uncanny; a threat would not have failed to wake him up, but there he was- quiet, warm and comfortable under his little mound of blankets and that was as sure a sign as any that there was no immediate danger. Lee rarely slept well and when he did, it was always only when things were good.

He slowly went up again and sat on the edge of the bed. What was he supposed to do now? Go back to sleep?

Impossible.

There had to be a reason for this… this… What was it? An ominous word welled to the forefront of his mind and Kazuya hesitated before it, but it would not be denied.

A warning.

He turned it over and over in his head. A warning of what?

Lee shifted and murmured something in his sleep.

Of losing him?

Kazuya shuddered. He knew it was irrational, but pangs of panic were already trying to claw their way out. Even though he sat only a foot away from Lee's little burrow, a vast distance seemed to have opened up between them and the need to close it became unbearable.

He lifted the covers and crawled under them. Lee moaned and sunk into the mattress to escape the rush of cool air. He didn't quite wake up as Kazuya put his arms around him and drew him close, but he grumbled a sleepy, incoherent protest into the pillow. Kazuya's lip curled at the small vengeance and briefly, he considered waking him.

His cock seemed to like the idea.

All of this was probably Lee's fault anyway. He had stayed up late on his fucking phone and Kazuya had gone to sleep without him. It must have been long past midnight by the time he had sneaked into bed.

And left the veranda door open.

He deserved to be woken up just for that, but he slept so deeply, which was nothing but sheer exhaustion. Kazuya decided to let him rest. There were only a few more hours left until morning and he could wait. He pushed Lee's hair aside and kissed the back of his neck. Lee squirmed and murmured his name. Kazuya always waited for him to call for someone else, dreading it, knowing it would never happen yet half-expecting it at the same time. It was the curse within him; whispering, eating him alive with doubt- but there was no other name for Lee to call, because in spite of all the people he'd fucked, he had never shared a bed with any of them. Nobody else had ever been able to touch him, kiss him, be this close to him as he slept. There was nothing and no one between them.

A lick of triumph curled in Kazuya's belly and even the Devil inside had no choice but to be quiet.

What was it that Lee did when he couldn't sleep? He would snuggle close and hide against him. Perhaps it would work for him too? Lee was solid and warm in his arms. The cold, the emptiness was just a dream. If he held him tight, he would not be able to sneak off without waking him. Kazuya buried his nose in the loose, messy hair. It was soft and it smelled so good.

Maybe going back to sleep wouldn't be so hard after all.

Lose him? How could he lose him? He would never let him go.