Title: Angels Fall First

Author: knightkitten

Rating: T

Chapter: 3?

Warnings: AU, slash, angst.

Summary: In an alternate universe the Bladebreakers never won the World Championships in Moscow. Russia is a very different place and it's a race against time for the remaining BBA bladers to stop the Biovolt Corporation, The Demolition Boys and Kai. One-sided Robert/Rei, so far. Which is which, I won't say though :wink:

Rei sighed, glaring lightly.

'This is the only chance we have Robert. You and I both know how desperate our situation is. Can you honestly let this opportunity slip with a clear conscious, knowing what an advantage it could give us,' He was quiet and cold and ever-so-composed and it rankled Robert's nerves, irritated him. He was usually so calm, so stoic, but there was just something about Rei Kon that stirred everything up.

'It has nothing to do with conscience Rei. We've been at this for an hour, ever since you got back, and I've already said no. This isn't up for debate any longer,' Robert knew pulling his authority over Rei was only going to agitate the neko-jin further, but after being cooped up in the meeting room for so long, he was feeling rather apathetic.

'This isn't about your damned authority issues Robert!' Rei slammed an open palm against the long conference table. Robert sighed, stood up and made for the door. He placed a hand on the handle.

'Discussion closed, Rei'

Robert knew what Rei wanted from him. Ever since the world championships, Rei had been working relentlessly against Biovolt, fighting and taking as many risks as he could to further their cause. And now he wanted a shot at Kai Hiwatari. A chance to take him down for what he did, who he betrayed: who he hurt.

'We're going to die,' Robert stopped, turning slowly to face the younger of the two. Rei was sitting at the end of the conference table, the large chair dwarfing him, making him look small and feeble, his hair covering his eyes and face. 'We're at a dead end. They've got us right where they want us, holed in like animals without an ally to be seen. They know we're here,' Robert frowned. He had never heard Rei say a negative word.

'Rei?'

'We don't stand a chance Robert. He knows me, we spent every waking hour with each other for months and now he's going to flush us out one by one unless we do something,' Rei's voice was dead and, Robert realized, not a little panicked. And he knew, this is what flew through Rei's mind when he stood and stared out onto the cold Russian landscape, miles from anything he ever knew and detached as tangibly as if a wall stood between them. It was at times like those that Robert realized just how much time Rei had in fact spent with Kai Hiwatari, how similar they were at times. And what an outsider Rei was, a wolf in the rabbit's den. And then the moment would break and Rei was a rabbit again, as belonging and as much a piece to their little puzzle. It still remained though, that he would occasionally distort.

Robert sighed, watching Rei's slouched figure, eyes dead and tired, hair lank and unkept. And looking, really looking, at Rei for the first time since they met, Robert saw the same figure. Everyone else had shot up over the past year and Rei hadn't, stubbornly the same height and weight. How could we have not noticed? He wondered, rubbing at the bridge of his nose.

'We have no way of ensuring this will work. For all you know, they were dropping hints, trying to lure you in,'

'I have to try!' Rei stood, knocking a glass to the floor with a stumble and a crash.

'You have to stop! This has gone on long enough. I'm sending you back to Japan,' Rei didn't move, eyes on the shattered glass, staring. Robert could tell that he didn't see the shards though, for tears were bubbling, glassing his eyes over.

They overflowed soon however and Robert felt weary, tired, as he pulled Rei to him, hugging the golden-eyed boy as his shoulders shook with tears.

'You can't send me away! You can't,' his breath hitched and he chocked on his words, blundering on, determined to make Robert see 'They need me! And I have too…I have to know the truth,' Robert's heart broke as Rei curled in on himself, sobbing in earnest, 'I'm so scared,'

'Dragoon is mine,'

Robert squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the memories.

'Why? Why are you doing this?' Rei was glaring, holding Tyson as he babbled.

Trying to erase them from Rei's mind, pulling the younger boy to him, wishing things had happened differently.

'We're not the bad guys here,'

'What about Draciel, Dragoon, all the others?'

'Why should you care, they'll all be in the past,'

'You're scared of me!' A bitter laugh.

'Perhaps,'

The golden-eyed boy gave a grief-stricken cry, burying his head further into Robert's chest.

Screaming, yelling, numerous thuds and then…silence. Tapping footsteps, an angry cry and then…they were kissing.

Rei shuddered, falling silent and breathing heavily.

'It's okay,' Robert murmured into the head of raven hair cradled against his chest.

'No, it isn't. It's not okay. It will never be okay,' Rei looked up, and there were tears clinging to his eyelashes. He was looking at Robert with such brokenness, and yet with such hope, such a desperate wish. Hair cascaded around his face in thousands of little swirling, diving, dipping strands rivulets and he was so slim and slender and ever-so-feminine. Robert felt the months catching up to him, the stress and the ache and the pain and they were moving towards one another.

He could feel a warm, soft breath on his face and Rei's impossibly long eyelashes were leaving wet trails on his cheeks and then they were kissing, a meshing of heat and warmth and it was like being let free after months in a cramped, tiny, unloving enclosure.

And even as the night seemed so much warmer, Robert felt as if he were intruding, stepping onto forbidden grounds. That he had just started the crank on an impossibly complex machine that could bring about or destroy their success.

A/N: Wow, been awhile. My only excuse is that I lost the original version of this and have only just gotten around to rewriting it…..in the middle of exam period .;;; Oops. Anyway, I've made it my holiday (which is starting in 1 and half days now) mission to update every single one of my stories at least once…bar the one-shots. So wish me luck.

Background Info: I suppose I should explain all the random kissing going on in this chapter. Sorry if you guys stepped in here expecting my usual Kai/Rei-ness, but that won't be happening for awhile. Rei, at the moment, absolutely loaths Kai Hiwatari and would sooner stab him than do anything romantic with him. Should make for some nice tension, but that's beside the point. You've stepped into my little realm about a year after the world championships. Rei has been pushing and pushing and pushing and this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to some of the issues Rei will be dealing with. If you thought his little break-down was over dramatic: take into consideration what Rei's been dealing with: he's been the shoulder to cry on, the strong post for everyone over the months, when really, due to circumstances I'm not quite ready to reveal, he's the one that needed hugging and love.

As for Robert, he's also a little confused. Take his and Rei's actions as over-stress. They've been the ones at the head of the resistance for the past year, so they haven't really had much downtime for themselves. Excuse Robert for his abruptness. At this point, I'm going to have to ask that you skim over a lot of things, as this really is a mystery when you come down to it. You guys won't be finding out exactly what happened at the World Championships until towards the end, but if you're alert and you ask me the right questions, you'll probably be able to figure it out. I'm not too smart and a little over eager to answer questions, so I'll probably let something crucial slip.

Next chapter: Rei and Kai confront finally and Tyson and Max make a little, teensy winsy mistake; leaving Rei to deal with the humungous consequences