Four pairs of eyes looked up as the door opened. Tyson, Max, Kenny and Hilary. Kai continued staring into his book. It seemed that he had started reading just to distance himself from everyone.

"Hello there, handsome," Ray said, with the usual flirting tone in his voice, as he walked into the living room in Max's house, leaning in over Kai.

The dual haired male looked up, his eyes meeting Ray's orbs of liquid gold, which were only inches away from his own.

"Hi," he replied plainly. A smirk crossed Ray's face, making Max frown. The raven haired teen had gotten distastefully close to Kai over the past few days. The blonde couldn't keep himself from thinking that if Tala had been around, Kai would never have let Ray get as close to him as he was at the moment.

None of them had seen any of the Russians since they had announced that they were staying, which was rather strange, considering that the dual haired boy was the reason the three teenagers had decided to stay in Japan.

Max sighed, shaking his head slightly. He felt quite dejected, looking at the neko-jin that was curled up next to his crush on the couch. For some reason, he had gotten the feeling that Kai had already picked his winner, but was just waiting for the redhead to show up, so that he could announce it. And meanwhile, he was letting Ray play kitten.

"I'm outta here," Kai suddenly said, pushing Ray's caressing hands away.

"Where are you going?" Tyson asked, the panic clear in his voice.

"Out." The older male stood up, heading for the door, but Tyson was faster.

"Out where?" he demanded to know as he blocked the path between Kai and the door.

"Just out."

"I've got that already, but where?"

"That's none of your fucking business, Tyson!" Kai frowned, pushing the younger male aside, slamming the door behind him as he left.

---

Garland gave a quiet sigh, as he put the picture down. The picture that was standing by the fireplace in his apartment. The picture that he always stared hopelessly at, before sighing, forcing his thoughts elsewhere. The picture of Ray.

He was well aware that the kiss they had shared meant nothing, if not less than that. And everyone knew that the neko-jin was after Kai. But he just couldn't help himself. He had fallen for the younger boy, and there was nothing to do about it.

If only Kai would fall in love with someone else, then maybe Ray would realize how perfect he and Garland would be together. If he could only get someone to seduce Kai, before he fell under the spell of Ray's charm.

Hmm… Now that he was thinking about it, it really wasn't a bad idea. All he had to do was find someone who would be willing to date the dual haired Russian. Someone who didn't get freaked out about his menacing attitude and empty threats. Someone who was just as creepy himself.

---

The sound of a cell phone broke the embarrassing silence between the two teenagers. A hand reached out to pick the vibrating phone up from the table. A pair of aqua eyes swept over the display, before answering.

"Da?"

The person in the other end frowned. "Fucking caller ID, or do you always answer in Russian?"

Tala laughed, delighted at the sound of his crush's voice. "ID, Kai dear, ID. And I am so fucking glad it annoys you."

"Shut the fuck up," Kai growled, making another laugh emerge from Tala's lips. "The kids are getting annoying again. I'm coming over."

"Whatever. You know, once we leave, you can't just hide at my place every time Ray gets on your nerves."

Kai laughed. "Yeah, like you would ever leave without me."

A sad smile played on the redhead's lips. "We'll have to, eventually." Then there was silence between them. Tala wanted to speak, wanted to say something, but he couldn't find the words.

"Not if I come with you," Kai finally said, softly.

Tala was sure that his heart stopped. "What?" he whispered.

"I'm not sure if I want to stay here anymore." Tala could imagine the look on Kai's face; a slight smile, as if he didn't know whether what he was saying was good or bad. "Maybe I'm coming back with you after all."

"That's… great," Tala smiled. Yes, of course he was happy about what Kai just had told him. It was the 'maybe' that made him linger. Did that mean that he liked one of the others? Was that the reason he had decided to stay from the beginning?

"Anyway, I'll be there in about five minutes. Later."

"Sure. See ya."

Tala hung up, not knowing at all what it was he was doing. Would this be breaking the rules? But then again, did he really care about the rules? After all, he had broken them within the first 24 hours. If this was against the rules, then it wouldn't really matter. He had already broken them, so why not break them again?

"I guess that's my que to leave," Bryan said, standing up. Tala gave him a dazzled glance, and he continued, "That was Kai, right? I bet you two want to be alone."

"Yeah, sure."

Bryan nodded. "Well, in that case, I'm leaving. Don't do anything disgusting on my couch while I'm away." He laughed before leaving, closing the door behind him. Tala frowned slightly. The kind of thing that Bryan was thinking about would only happen in his wildest dreams. For all he knew, Kai wasn't even gay.

The door soon opened again, and Kai entered the room.

"Hi," he said as he sat down next to the redhead, who growled quietly.

"I'm not even going to ask how you got a key."

Kai grinned, knowing perfectly well that they were both thinking the exact same word. Bryan.

"Do you know why Max, Ray and Tyson are all flirting with me?" the dual haired teen asked curiously.

Tala laughed. "I'm taking a wild stab here, guessing they like you. Well, maybe except for Ray. Ray is just into flirting."

"And what about you?" Kai asked, the highly familiar, curious slight-smile on his lips.

"What about me?"

"Don't you have someone you like?"

"He would never return my feelings."

"Ha!" Kai suddenly exclaimed, laughing outrageously. "I finally got you to admit it."

"Admit what?" Tala asked, not knowing what Kai could possibly mean.

"That you're gay." The redhead instantly blushed, making Kai grin widely. "And this guy you like… is he straight?"

"I don't know," Tala replied in a low voice. Kai didn't say anything. None of them did for a long time. Tala wasn't sure if he dared say any more, in case Kai would find out about his feelings. Of course, he wanted Kai to know, but he wanted to know if Kai returned his feelings first. That way it would be less embarrassing.

"Kai?" he finally said, receiving a 'hn?' from the dual haired male. "How would you react if a guy tried to kiss you?"

A sly grin appeared on Kai's lips. "Why don't you try me?"

Tala's heart beat rose slightly, and he felt butterflies appearing in his stomach. Would he really dare doing that? He wasn't allowed to. But heck, Tyson would never know. Besides, Kai was the one who had told him to do it. And hadn't he already decided that he didn't give a fuck about the rules?

He quickly shifted position so that he was sitting with one knee on each side of Kai's thighs, his left hand easily rested on Kai's shoulder, his right hand entwined in the dual haired male's hair. He was shocked at how easy it was. It felt so… natural.

Then he leaned down, his lips softly brushing against Kai's. He was prepared to take it slow, but the younger boy didn't seem to enjoy that thought. Before Tala knew what was happening, Kai's arms were locked around his back, their lips devouring each other in a hot kiss. Kai licked Tala's bottom lip, begging for entrance. Their tongues battled for dominance, a battle Kai won by far. The boy grinned as he easily lifted Tala up, pinning the redhead down on the couch. Tala didn't mind at all.

Kai kissed the redhead's neck, nibbling on the pale skin, making Tala moan in pleasure. The younger boy grinned at the sound, and kept nibbling on the redhead's neck, earning several small moans. Tala was clutching his fingertips into Kai's back, ecstatic about the light pain from the wounds on his neck. Another moan, a louder one, escaped his lips when Kai started licking the wounds he had created. It felt so damn good.

The redhead let out a disapproving groan when Kai stopped, sitting up straight, leaning slightly on Tala's waist.

"Is that enough to answer your question?" he asked teasingly.

"No," Tala growled. "More."

Kai just laughed, and was about to get off, when Tala grabbed his shirt, pulling the younger teen down to his own level again, kissing him forcefully. He could feel Kai smiling into the kiss, as he gave the younger boy's tongue permission to enter his mouth. Kai's tongue ran a path along the roof of Tala's mouth, making the redhead dizzy in an extremely blissful kind of way.

Tala's hands were on Kai's cheeks, entwined in his hair, around his neck, squeezing his shoulders, around his back, under his shirt. Kai didn't complain, letting the redhead pull the black T-shirt off, before quickly getting rid of Tala's own shirt as well.

Pale hands caressed the dual haired male's naked chest as their tongues kept battling for dominance in the passionate kiss. At that moment, both of them were on such a high that they had no idea where they were or what they were doing; everything was simply going by instinct. All Tala knew was that he never wanted this feeling to end. Not ever.

When his brain finally started working properly again, he was still lying on the couch, Kai on top of him. He noted to himself that the younger boy was a lot lighter than you'd assume by the looks of him.

"I take it you're gay as well," he said breathlessly. Kai gave a short laughter, sending a chill down the redhead's spine. How he loved that laughter.

"You think?"

Silence.

"So, when are you going to kiss him?"

"Huh?" Tala muttered, dazzled.

"That guy you like. This was just practice, right?"

The redhead forced a smile. "Yeah. Sure." He couldn't tell him. There was just… no way he would ever be able to. Not Kai. If Kai rejected him, then that would be the end of everything. He couldn't live without Kai…

"Is there really no way of getting you to tell me who he is?"

Tala looked up to see Kai getting up, walking over to where Tala had thrown his shirt on the floor. The younger boy's words startled him. Why would he want to know?

"Why do you ask?" he muttered.

"You know, so I can beat the crap out of him if he breaks your heart." Kai laughed at the redhead's shocked expression. "We're best friends, right? Family, isn't that what you always say?"

Tala smiled slightly. "Yeah. Friends. Family."

"I don't want to see you get hurt, Tala."

Sure. If someone was ever going to hurt him, Kai would be the one to do it.

Oh my god. I finally got something done. And this chapter actually contains something interesting! Yay me! -claps hands-

Anyway, you know the roll, please review, it keeps me motivated, and I'll update as soon as possible, blah, blah, blah... I have to say, though, the whole 'I'll update after -insert random number here- reviews'-thing is really effective. So let's say five reviews for the next one too, okay? *puppy eyes* I know I might seem a bit mean about this, but reviews actually is the only thing that keeps me motivated. And I want to be motivated, so please, you guys, keep me motivated!

Oh, and I almost forgot. I actually, seriously, baked Tala-cupcakes yesterday. Honestly! They all have little drawings of Tala on them. All hail my incredible pastry-skills! So... -hands out cupcakes to the reviewers- I love you guys!