Here's the next chapter. I don't really have a set song for it, and it will probably sound a little rushed, but this is the best I can do when I'm not in the mood to write. P.S.; Expect grammar and spelling errors.
NOTE: Rest in peace, Bernie Mac. I was really shocked to hear about his death. :(
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"Ah-ow!" Kevin flinched twice, trying to pull away from the alcohol Rei was dabbing on one of his cuts. Rei gripped the cotton ball between his forefinger and index finger and held Kevin's elbow tightly to keep him still, but Kevin's shoulder was still bleeding and he wouldn't stop squirming.
"I know it hurts, Kevin, just please hold on." Rei murmured, pressing the soaked cotton back onto the wound. Kevin hissed in pain before silencing it by biting his lower lip.
"And don't do that, it's split; you'll make it worse."
Kevin groaned and flinched again before Rei sat upright and went about applying a medium sized bandage to the wound. It was only the forth one he had cleaned up, and he still had to deal with the puncture wound in Kevin's side. The younger had been holding a clean cloth against it while Rei cleaned up his arm, and as Rei carefully pulled it away, he winced.
"And you don't know how you got it?"
Kevin sighed delicately. His other wrist throbbed and he flinched again, causing Rei to raise an eyebrow.
"I'm not-"
"I know, it's my arm."
Rei sighed. "Oh. Kai's coming in a minute to look at it."
"Okay."
Rei remained still for a moment. "So you don't know how it happened?"
"I think," Kevin began weakly, fighting fatigue and the lack of will power to respond, "that it was the corner of the dresser. It's got this edge to it that sticks out."
"And he threw you against it?"
"Swung. He threw me against the wall and swung me around…"
Kevin's reply was hardly more then a whisper. Rei bit his lip and looked at the younger sadly for a moment before going about attending to the puncture wound. As Kevin flinched again, the door opened and in strolled Kai. It was obvious to Kevin, who looked up at him right away, that Kai was not emotionally stirred by what was going on. Not really. He just tried to look sad so that Rei wouldn't get cross with him.
Kneeling down beside the bed where Rei and Kevin sat, Kai carefully picked up Kevin's left arm with both hands and looked at it closely a moment. Kai had hardly spoke to Kevin, and with the blue triangles washed off, Kevin could see why Rei was so in love with him; he was drop dead gorgeous. Face flushing slightly, Kevin was about to say something before Kai slowly began to rotate Kevin's arm to the left. Instantly, Kevin cried out in pain, causing Rei to jump backwards and tumble off the bed ungracefully, the first aid kit and clean fabrics falling down with him. Kai didn't even seem to notice, just made a thoughtful noise before turning the arm the other way, producing the same pained howl. Straightening it out again, Kai carefully took Kevin's hand and pushed it forward slowly until Kevin yelled, and then pulled it back until Tala burst into the room thinking that Kevin was being murdered.
"Broken. Badly."
"No fuck!" Tala gasped, flying to the bed beside Kevin, who had been reduced to tears by the pain. Rei frowned and pulled himself up off the floor, brushing some sealed bandage packets from his hair.
"Well how do we take care of it?"
"We can't. We have to take him to the hospital."
"B-but L-L-Lee wi-will…" Kevin stuttered, gasping for breath as he slowly recovered, Tala draped an arm over his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him.
"He won't come near you if we're there." Kai said matter-of-factly, winking. Kevin blushed again, and as he opened his mouth to reply, Kai leaned forward and kissed Kevin's forehead. This action, however platonic it may have been, caused Kevin's throat to close up and his eyes to widen. His face burned. Rei sat up straight, ridged and shocked. Tala glared, both jealously and irritation blending on his face. Kai just smiled his most Kai smile and stood.
"I'll call ahead so we don't have to wait. Oh, and, Tala?" He said, stopping at the doorway.
"I see why you fucked him."
-x-x-x-
Lee stormed into the living room, fists clenching and unclenching. As he swept into the kitchen, however, he was cut short by a strange sound; female sobbing. It was gentle, but it was there. Turning, he found his sister sitting at the table, her face in her hands, crying. Confused, as Lee hadn't seen her like this in ages, he crossed the room and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Mariah?" He asked with concern lost somewhere in his words. Mariah twisted away from him and turned, standing up suddenly. When her eyes met his, he was shocked to find a glare.
"What… What's wrong with you?"
"What's wrong with you?!" She snapped, having allowed anger to build up ever since Rei had left to find Kevin. She hardly remembered that Tala was there too. Lee blinked, surprise evident on her face.
"I can't believe-" She paused to reach up and wipe make-up away with the back of her hand, "you would sink so low! And I can't believe I didn't do anything to s-stop you!"
"W-…what?!" Lee gasped, just coming out of his state of shock.
"Kevin, you idiot!" Mariah screamed. Lee flinched at her tone. "You beat him up all the fucking time, don't you?! And now you've gone to far, and he's out there alone, cold, and hurt! It's ten at night, for fuck's sake!"
Never had Mariah said fuck to Lee's face, let alone so frequently and with such venom. He stared.
"I…" She wiped the rest of her makeup off, "I can't even look at you! My own brother… You're such a monster!"
Lee moved to reply, but Mariah stormed out of the room and down the hall shut, slamming the door shut behind her. Lee stared blankly after her, mouth wide open, before things caught up with him. As his breathing grew heavier, a savage snarl erupted from his chest, and he let it out by slamming his fist down onto the face of the table.
This is all his fault! Lee thought angrily, falling into a chair and gripping the sides of his head with both hands. That little slut told her and got her all upset, didn't he?! I'll kill him! He's probably in an alley giving a businessman a blow job right now! Little shit…
Slowly, Lee reclaimed his even breathing and glared gravely at the table. No, he thought, rationalizing his ideas. No, I'll just drag him home. They'll keep him there. He'll learn. Everything will be back to normal then.
Lee looked up at the clock, trying to think about how he might go about doing that. Finally realizing that he couldn't, he buried his face in his hands and growled again.
"Fuck." He spat.
-x-x-x-
"… Kevin?"
Slowly, violet eyes lifted up, looking into the ice blue pools. Tala bit his lip gently.
"You okay?"
"No."
"…"
"But… It's okay. I didn't really… I mean, it's not your fault. I'm sorry."
Tala raised an eyebrow. "You're apologizing to me?"
Kevin opened his mouth to reply and stopped. They had returned home from the hospital thirty minutes ago, having been there for four hours, and despite fatigue, neither wanted to fall asleep.
"It's alright." Tala said, waving a hand to dismiss the subject.
A pause.
"Tala?"
"Yeah?"
"Did… I mean… did you only save me because you wanted to…"
Another pause, Kevin finding himself unable to continue, before Tala got it. He shook his head suddenly, surprised at what the other was asking.
"No! No, of course not. I knew you were on he subway the second I sat down, I just… I didn't say anything until that creep started trying to rape you, and then I made myself known."
Kevin blinked twice, somewhat sleepily, before looking up at Tala again. "But why did you…"
Tala looked away, suddenly feeling embarrassed. He hated this feeling. "Well… When I actually saw your face, I guess…" He sighed irritably. "You're really cute, okay? And I was coming home from a movie and was a little turned on, so it was on my mind, and the next thing I knew I was…"
He stopped suddenly, noticing the deep blush that graced the other's cheeks. Frowning, Tala watched as Kevin diverted his eyes and insisted on straightening his play white t-shirt just so. Without a sound, he reached up and cupped Kevin's chin with one finger, lifting his face. Kevin blinked, blush returning, before Tala leaned forward and pressed his lips against the younger's, careful not to hurt the injured lower lip. Kevin's eyes fell closed without him realizing it, and as the digital clock flickered to the next minute, the kiss deepened to tongue on tongue.
Slowly, Tala leaned around and lowered Kevin onto the bed, tugging the blankets out of the way just in time. Kevin let the fingers of his good hand wrap around Tala's shirt collar as their tongues wrestled, lips rubbing and rolling off of each other before making contact again. Too tired for further action, Tala carefully rested Kevin's head on the pillow and rolled over beside him on the queen bed. Moving under the covers and adjusting his body for sleep, Tala kissed Kevin whenever he could, and as he reached blindly behind him to turn the light off, Kevin managed to laugh gently at his tactics.
"Night Tala." He murmured sleepily, rubbing his right eye with the back of his right hand. He yawned, causing Tala to both become smitten and yawn as well, before the light clicked off.
"Goodnight, Kevin. Sleep well."
Kevin blinked his eyes open, startled at this comment. "What?"
"Sleep well. It's a term I use when I want to wish someone a goodnight sleep." Tala said, trying and failing to not sound sarcastic. Kevin rolled onto his back and looked toward Tala.
"I know… I just haven't heard it in a really long time."
Tala returned the look unblinking. "Neither have I."
Kevin smiled faintly in the dark. "Well, goodnight Tala. Sleep well."
Tala laughed gently through his nose. "You too."
-x-x-x-
Gently, as if the light itself was trying not to wake them, the sun rose and filtered through the closed drapes that framed the window. Rei shifted in Kai's arms and curse, finding that his ass was sore. Kai grumbled something in his sleep, and Rei elbowed him in the ribs.
"We forgot lube."
"Hmnweah?"
"We. Forgot. Lube." Rei said bitterly, flinching. More awake now, Kai was silent for a moment before he started to snicker. Rei looked up at him sharply.
"What?"
"I didn't forget."
Rei blinked, taken aback, before growling and digging his elbow into Kai's chest. The Russian flinched and laughed though the pain, rolling away. It hadn't been the first time Kai had pulled this stunt, but Rei swore it would be the last. Sitting up, he swore beneath his breath and climbed out of breath, limping slowly across the room.
As he moved, the limp became less and less noticeable; Rei had gotten quite good at hiding it over the time he'd been with Kai. Kai lifted an arm up in the air and waved goodbye before letting it collapse onto the mattress beside him. As he resumed sleep, Rei opened the door to their room and stepped out into the hallway, determined to check on Kevin.
And make sure Tala didn't take advantage of him again. Of course, despite the fact that Rei was positive he had, he was surprised at what he saw when he opened the door to their room.
No blankets bundled on the floor. No pair of naked bodies cuddled together beneath a white sheet. Just Kevin on one side, somehow managing to curl around the cast that constricted the whole lower section of his left arm, and Tala on the other, facing away from Kevin, shirtless but not sexually fatigued. Relieved at this, Rei moved quietly across the room and sat down on the side of the bed that Kevin was on, gently nudging his shoulder. The youngest in the room woke with a start;
"Don't hit me!" He gasped, jerking upright before falling back down onto the pillow. Rei narrowed his eyes in concern and leaned forward a little, stroking Kevin's shoulder to reassure him.
"It's okay, Kev. It's just me."
Slowly, Kevin's eyes opened and looked up at Rei, the violet swirls of color glistening in the morning light. It was dim in the room, but Rei could still make out the bandages and bruises on the younger's form.
"How did you sleep?" Rei asked, trying to keep things on a light side. Kevin yawned slightly and rubbed his eyes.
"Good." He said simply, in a voice that a child might use when they were cautiously answering an adult. Rei felt himself smile.
"I'm glad. Is your arm okay?"
"Sore."
"Yeah," Rei said with a bit of a sigh, "Dr. Metzler said it would be. What do you want for breakfast?"
"Hm?" Kevin looked up at him with a confused twist of the eyebrows.
"Breakfast. You know… pancakes, muffins, bacon, eggs, hash browns… What are you in the mood for?"
Beside Kevin, Tala rolled right around and looked at Rei with eyes that had no hint of sleep in them.
"All of that?"
Rei blinked before glaring. "You were awake?"
"Yeah. I woke up about twenty minutes ago, but you," he gestured to Kevin and began to talk to him instead of Rei, "were sound asleep, and I didn't want to wake you."
Kevin just nodded sleepily. "I'm just worn out…"
"Yeah, well, who wouldn't be." Rei said softly. There was a pause before Tala spoke.
"So… could you make all that for breakfast?"
Rei looked at him threatening before his face softened. "Yeah, well, I guess. Spencer, Ian and Bryan need to eat too."
Kevin looked up at him. "They're here?"
"They will be. The three of them went for a night of site-seeing after Kai threatened to kill them in their sleep."
"Why?" Kevin asked, forcing himself to wake up now.
"Let's just say it had something to do with money and women."
"Okay." Kevin mumbled, not wanting to delve into what that meant.
-x-x-x-
Bryan extended his arms high above his head, stretching as he walked.
"Would you just drop it already?"
"No, it was your fault!" Beside him, Ian continued to complain about the twist of events that had them staying in a hotel over night. Spencer, like always, remained silent. Finally reaching the door to their flat, Bryan unlocked it and pushed it open, wandering inside with an expression that suggested he couldn't even hear Ian. The instant they were inside, a waft of something delicious and freshly made filled the air around them, and they found themselves drawn toward the dining room by some unknown force. Bryan stumbled in first, eyes closed slightly at the delicious smell, before he noticed something unusual.
"Hey, kid, you're back." He said, matter-of-factly, stopping short. Kevin looked over his shoulder and smiled weakly, nodding. From behind him, Ian smacked into Bryan, and Spencer stumbled into Ian, the last two of which started to argue with each other. Bryan just shot them a glare before stepping forward and ruffling Kevin's hair.
"You okay?"
Kevin just shrugged, smiling at him. Spotting the cast and bandages for the first time, Bryan raised an eyebrow and answered his own question.
"Guess not, huh?"
By this time, Ian had noticed Kevin and managed to slip forward, leaning onto the table next to the neko-jin. Smiling suggestively at him, Ian raised an eyebrow and spoke.
"Hey there. What brings you here?" He asked flirtatiously, leaning more toward Kevin slowly, who leaned away awkwardly. Tala noticed and narrowed his eyes, having been seated on the other side of Kevin. Wrapping an arm around the younger's shoulders, Tala leaned in and smile through a glare.
"Me." He said, sounding both happy and threatening at the same time. Ian's face paled somewhat before he backed away, defeated and glaring. In this time, Spencer had moved quietly to the other side of the table and had taken a seat, and Bryan and shoved Ian out of the way and sat down on the other side of Kevin. Still annoyed but less threatened by Bryan, Tala leaned away from Kevin and removed his arm, letting his hand fall under the table. He blinked suddenly as Kevin's fingers wrapped around his, and looked toward the neko-jin curiously.
He was met with a thank-you smile, and returned it with a you're-welcome-but-if-he-keeps-bothering-you-I'll-kill-him smile.
"Breakfast is served." Rei said dramatically, sweeping out of the kitchen while masterfully balancing four separate dishes on his arms. Kai followed, carrying two large platters, and before anyone could prepare themselves, the table was covered with pancakes on a silver tray, eggs in a fancy bowl, a muffin mountain on a large plate, bacon still sizzling under a silver lid, and a tall pitcher of orange juice. After a moment of shock, chaos erupted and in only a matter of seconds, plates were filled. Tala helped with Kevin's, who had slight difficulty with his cast, and then they all set in on their meals.
Talking didn't happen until everyone had consumed at least on pancake. Bryan started spilling a tale of how Ian had been rejected by everyone he had flirted with. In his defense, Ian pointed out that Bryan had been unsuccessful with a rather beautiful girl.
"I thought you were gay." Kevin mumbled, looking up at him curiously. Bryan shrugged.
"Half right. I'm bi."
"What's that?" Kevin asked, blinking several times. Several sets of eyes turned to him curiously.
"It's… when you like guys and girls."
"Like you." Tala cut in, nudging Kevin, who blushed faintly.
"How did you…"
Tala smiled. "I guessed. Am I right?"
"Yeah, I guess."
"Cute." Rei smiled. Kai looked over, smiling because Rei smiled, and leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek, but Rei shoved him back as revenge for the night before. Smirking at this Kai rolled his eyes and went back to his bacon.
"You know what I was thinking?" Spencer asked slowly, eyes drifting from Kevin to Rei.
"If there's so much distress with your old friends, why is it only now affecting us?"
Rei blinked, not noticing the withdrawn silent look that fell over Kevin's face. "Well… I don't know. I felt like if I tried to contact them it would only make things worse."
Spencer nodded silently and looked toward Kevin expectantly. He glanced up, swallowing, but remained silent. Spencer raised an eyebrow before catching Tala's look, and blinked.
"Um… never mind, it's not the best breakfast content."
"So Kai," Ian said suddenly, recognizing the tension in the air, "what did you get up to last night with us gone?"
Kai shot him a dark look. "None of your business." He spat. Rei sighed.
"Tala and I went out to find Kevin, and spent the rest of the night bandaging him up. Then Kai said we had to take him to the hospital. It was freakishly late when we got back, so we just went to bed."
"Really?" Bryan asked boredly, a small smile curling the corner of his mouth. Kai turned the glare on him. The other just smiled wider.
Beside them, Tala held Kevin's hand tighter under the table, the cast making it difficult to grip. Kevin glanced up at him, smiling weakly, before Tala let impulse take over. Leaning forward, he kissed Kevin gently and let it last a few moments before leaning back. Kevin smiled at him, looking embarrassed, and when Tala looked up from his face, everyone was staring.
Rei looked stiff and annoyed. Kai smiled and shook his head. Ian looked pale and jealous. Spencer and Bryan had raised eyebrows. Kevin kept his face downturned, blushing, while Tala sat upright.
"Yeah. Get over it." He said, lifting a strip of crispy bacon to his mouth. From his half-hidden position of shame, Kevin smiled and laughed gently. This action caused Rei to smile, which caused Kai to smile, which caused Bryan to relax now that Kai didn't look like he was still going to kill him in his sleep, which caused Ian to recognize this and smile, which caused Spencer to roll his eyes and smile at the chain reaction it had all caused.
The smiling, however, was disrupted by the sound of a phone ringing, which despite its distance from the table, still made Kevin jump. Tala glanced at him momentarily.
"Not it." He said. His outburst was followed by echoing from several other voices around the table before Kai rolled his eyes and stood, gliding out of the room to find the phone.
"But it was all Bryan's fault." Ian suddenly continued once Kai was gone. "I mean, he was the one who had the idea of going."
"I was joking, you were the one that insisted on it."
"Spencer started the car."
"I was bored." Spencer countered. Bryan rolled his eyes.
"You're never bored. You could have spent time working on that book of yours, instead of-"
"Shhh!" Suddenly, Rei was shushing them harshly. Startled, they looked toward him with raised eyebrows, and he pointed toward the doorway that led out of the dining room. Every face turned just as Kai moved back into the room with a dark, thoughtful look on his face. A long silence ensued as he sat down and stared at his plate before looking up and sweeping his gaze around the table.
"That was Yin. He's dropping out of the tournament, and claims that if Kevin," He said, looking directly and the young neko-jin while he spoke, "isn't 'returned to him immediately', he'll make it public that we're all 'faggots'."
Silence. Rei stared at Kai, unbelieving. Tala slowly looked toward Kevin, to find the younger's face completely pale. No one spoke for a long time before Bryan sat upright.
"Fuck him." He said suddenly, causing Kevin's eyes to widen slightly. Rei looked toward him sharply, mouth falling open a little to reply, but Bryan cut him off.
"I'm not letting this kid go back there, Rei. His being here makes you happy, it makes Tala less of a tight-ass, and hell, he's cute to look at. Lee can suck eggs."
Kevin looked up at Bryan with a small smile before it faded. "But…" He mumbled, looking toward Rei and Kai, "What about you guys?"
Kai shifted and glanced over at Rei thoughtfully. "Maybe it's time everyone knew."
Rei looked at him sadly. "Are you sure you're okay with it?"
"Are you?"
"…" Rei looked down at his plate before a small smile grew on his face. Looking back up toward Kai, he nodded slowly. "Yeah."
Kai smiled. "Well then," he said, looking toward Kevin, "welcome home."
Kevin smiled, looking up toward Tala happily who smiled back. As the youngest grew distracted, the smiles on the faces of Kai, Rei, and Bryan all faded;
It wasn't going to be that easy, and they knew it.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Well, at least Kiki is happy… For now. He's so cute as an uber uke! But it looks like the others are worried now. Maybe Kai didn't share everything Lee said on the phone…