[sorry this one took a while to write, my muses went * poof .* I had to hire one from the corner shop.  So here we go with a product from a second hand muse, hope you like!]

The Promise Of Dreams

ReixKai

The Greatest Dream

The phoenix stormed off, back into the hotel slamming the door of his room. Inside he knelt on the cold floorboards grounding himself, focusing his feelings on his fingers rubbing against the rough wood. He felt every scratch mar his perfect flesh, dragging him back to the harshness of his world, disciplining himself with pain and silence.

Silence. Kai was granted no silence as his mind screamed, wove reason and emotion into one strand that so easily twisted into confusion.

He was wrong. Love was not so easy to overcome, and how could he have imagined that it was when man strives so much for the stars, driven by determination, ambition and those all too powerful dreams. Dreams of love, dreams of happiness, dreams of perfection, no, the phoenix should not have underestimated the strength, the consuming wish that promises to destroy him when it refuses to come true.

Rei had watched his leader leave and angered eyes had slowly dulled to a tired sadness.

"Nobody gets what they want." He repeated in a broken whisper as the retreating form disappeared into the hotel.

As the door slammed shut the white tiger slowly raised his eyes up through the curtain of raven hair that framed the sudden determination in the amber depths.

"Not if they don't fight for it." He said with a new strength in his voice as he followed the phoenix inside.

The soft rattle of the doorknob brought Kai quickly to his feet once more, already knowing who it was on the other side.

"Leave" he barked.

The white tiger ignored his leader and continued on inside, closing the door behind him and locking it with an echoing click.

"I said leave!" Kai said again with his back to the golden-eyed boy. He needed that farce of silence, the quiet nothingness that lulled him into his emotionless façade. He was too open here; too rattled by anger, match adrenaline and raw emotion.

"No." Rei replied sternly watching the flurry of expressions dance across Kai's face like ripples over a calm stream. "What happened out there?"

The phoenix twirled himself around, planting his feet solidly on the ground.

"Get    Out!" He said the words slowly, barely keeping hold of the thoughts that were tumbling around his mind, drifting dangerously close to his tongue.

Rei shook his head, "Not until you tell me," he shouted slamming his hands down on Kai's shoulders shaking him, hoping to release the truth that burned inside mahogany eyes.

"Nothing," Kai said struggling against the white tigers grasp. His hands flew up trying to knock Rei's hands away but the Chinese boy held strong, refusing to let go.

Kai's flailing hands had no other choice. They pushed strongly against Rei's chest sending the Chinese boy hurtling backwards. The tiger's un-yielding grasp held tight dragging the leader down on top of him, as he stumbled to the floor.

Kai lifted himself so that he was kneeling over the boy beneath him and stared down into calm amber. "Why are you doing this to me?"

Beneath him a puzzled tiger asked, "Doing what?"

With a frustrated growl Kai threw his fists down at either side of Rei's head, splintering the wooden floor.

He brought his fists down again and again until the blood dripped freely from his knuckles.

Rei watched, he watched the frustration, the anger and the helplessness play over Kai's beautiful face. He saw a conflict that had never been revealed by his leader before. No, this boy wasn't his leader; he was the boy behind the paint, the person trapped behind the ice. This was the person that he had grown to love without ever knowing of his existence.

Without thinking the white tiger raised himself up enough to tangle his fingers in the slate blue hair and press his lips against Kai's.

Kai was both drained and euphoric at the same moment, collapsing against the Chinese boy and surrendering to the soft kisses that fluttered on his cold lips. He allowed his eyes to drift closed, as he pressed his own lips harder against the tigers, while clenching his fist in Rei's shirt dragging him up into a sitting position.

They broke momentarily to gaze into each others eyes before Kai pulled Rei in again, running his fingers down the tiger's cheek, taking the Chinese boys face gently in his hands feeling the boys jaw move against his thumb as Rei stole his lips, stole his kiss, stole all the will-power Kai had to resist.

They separated to breathe, with the phoenix's hands entwined with the tigers.

Rei's smile danced brightly over his face, as he looked down to the bluenette's hand in his. He raised his eyes to Kai's face, drinking in the beauty of the boy he loved, until his eyes passed over the phoenix's face.

His mahogany eyes were wide, his lips were tight and his brow furrowed sadly beneath his mattered hair.

"Kai?" Rei asked suddenly afraid.

The boy looked to the tiger, and shook his head so softly that Rei could only tell by the small strands of hair that bobbed lightly against his head.

Kai stood and looked down quietly at Rei for a few precious moments, before walking from the room, leaving the devastated Chinese boy behind.

[* grins evilly * oh, it was just too easy to end it there, and what kind of author would I be if I didn't torture them to the limit!]