This is a belated birthday present, because I'm a lazy cow with too much schoolwork, for zekesbabe, because I luv her and she deserves a pressie even if it IS overdue. Hope you had a great day, zekes! (glomps)

Enjoy!


Rick growled in frustration as the grains of rice slipped through his clumsily held chopsticks and scattered over the table. He heard a faint chuckle and spun around, but found himself glaring at the back of heads, the other diners keeping their eyes carefully fixed on their meals. His mood darkening further, Rick looked sullenly at his plate of rice, chicken and vegetables and wished for steak with a large portion of chips.

"Would sir prefer some cutlery?" He grunted at the polite request, not bothering to look up at the waiter hovering over him, or to notice the waiter's strangely flawless English. "Let me rephrase that. Rick, glaring at your plate is useless. Do you want a knife and fork so that you can eat it some time this century?" Now, Rick did look up, very rapidly, and his eyes widened in surprise as he saw who was standing next to him.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he demanded at last.

"I think I should be asking you that." Ray said sarcastically, unconsciously smoothing down his white apron. "You're the foreigner here."

"Yeah, and don't I know it." Rick muttered grumpily. Ray gave him a small, smug smile.

"I don't know. Do you?" he asked casually, appearing completely unpeturbed by the angry stare being shot at him from close range. Disliking the height advantage Ray had, Rick shoved his chair back and stood up. He was disturbed to find he had only a few inches on the neko-jin - nowhere near enough for his liking. Not only that, but the look Ray was giving him was not one that he was used to at all, a cool, appraising stare that swept up and down his body, figuratively demanding "Come on then, that's all you've got?"

"Get lost, waiter." he grumbled at last, putting as much sarcasm in the word as he possibly could. Ray grinned.

"Nah, I'm off my shift in about ten minutes. I might just come back here and gloat." With an odd, satisfied look on his face, he turned and walked away.


"So, what the hell are you doing here?" Rick jumped a mile as Ray's whisper tickled his ear. Uncomfortable, he moved forwards.

"None of your business." Ray faked a hurt look, his eyes glittering with mischief.

"Oh, but I think it is. My country, my culture, my business." Rick stared at him flatly for a few seconds.

"That doesn't even make sense." he said at last, standing up and knocking his chair over. With a shrug, Ray picked up the chair and put it back in its place.

"You didn't answer my question." he noted at last.

----------

Rick knocked Ray's hand off the now upright chair in a fit of temper.

"No, I didn't." he said through gritted teeth. He had taken quite enough rudeness now. His temper was well and truly up, and Ray would be lucky to escape without bruises. He noticed with satisfaction the glimmer of uncertainty in Ray's large eyes, a glimmer that made them only more attractive -

Hold that thought.

The thought suitably postponed, he glared at the neko-jin in front of him, his fists clenching threateningly. Ray's pupils narrowed in response to the threat, then he made an effort at controlling himself, and turned to walk out the door. Rick seized his chance.

Grabbing Ray by the scruff of the neck, he half pushed, half lifted him out of the door of the restaurant and slammed him up against the wall outside.

"What's your problem?" Ray hissed, his pupils nothing more than thin slits. Rick glared right back, putting his face as close to Ray's as he dared.

"I don't like being made fun of, pussy-cat. Especially not by you."

"What's so special about me?"

Do you have a few hours for a list?

"Because you're gay." Taking that statement completely and utterly the wrong way, Ray's eyes blazed near black with fury and his lips drew back over his teeth. Rick gave a heavy sigh. "Before you start calling me a homophobe, let me finish?" He waited until Ray looked slightly less likely to rip his throat out before continuing, or trying to. "I don't like being made fun of, ok? Not by anyone. Not by the people I admire, or the people I hate."

"So, which category would someone like Kai come under, then?" Ray asked innocently. Rick shrugged.

"Both. Anyway, you're missing the point!" He threw up his hands in frustration, until a foolproof way of getting his point across came into his head. With a grin, he moved his face even closer to Ray's, muscular arms blocking the neko-jin's escape route.

"What's the point, then?" Ray whispered, his eyes already half-lidded. He gasped as Rick's lips crashed into his with bruising force.

The tall, broad American drew away slightly and looked down at Ray, grinning widely.

"That's the point, pussy-cat!" Ray tried to protest, but Rick, in another brainwave, devised new ways to stop him talking.

A few, breathless minutes later, Ray pulled away and panted out;

"You never did tell me why you're here." Rick gave him a satisfied grin, liking the breathless tone in the neko-jin's voice a lot.

"I think you can guess." he answered dismissively. Colour spread across Ray's face, indicating that, yes, he had guessed. "Ha, not so cocky now, are you?" Rick ran one hand down the lithe body trapped against the wall, and Ray shivered and smiled, shaking his head at last.

----------

"So," Ray whispered, when they had moved somewhere more private to continue their game, "do you hate me or admire me?" Rick chuckled and stayed silent.

He would let Ray decide that ...


Hope you liked it!! Uke Ray is tricky. I think it might have come out as Ray/Rick a bit even with me trying for the opposite. Damn Ray and his seme-ness!! (Just not over Kai)

Screw my normal principles, I would have written a mild lemon, if I hadn't been so utterly out of practise! I tried twice, then just gave up! After all, nothing's worse than a bad lemon.

Review, anyone?

xIlbx