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Sowwies for the long wait. Never fear, here's chapter 4! I hope you enjoy!
Just Along For The Ride
"So, they have a plan B, do they?"
Walking in step with the blue hair enigma next to him, Miguel nods. "They said something about Mystel is going to take a trip. Whatever that means."
"Hmmm…," Kai hums with his eyes close as he folds his arms over his chest. "Whatever it is, it doesn't sound good. I better keep an eye on him for a while," he opens his eyes and looks at Miguel. "Could you watch Ray for me?"
"Sure," Miguel smiles brightly, happy to help in some way. "I can do that."
Kai finds himself returning the smile with a warm one of his own. "Thanks for letting me know about the Plan," he says, sincere gratitude in his voice and eyes. "That's a big help."
"I hope I can be of more assistance to you," Miguel replies warmly, his gaze soften into a more tender look.
"So do I," Kai whispers, unaware of a light dusting of red now adorning his porcelain features. He turns his eyes to the path in front of him and drops his arms from his chest to let them swing softly by his sides. Suddenly, his hand brushes against Miguel's and he almost jumps in surprise.
"Sorry," Kai says, still unaware of the blush on his cheeks that has now deepen in color.
"Not a problem," Miguel simply smiles, totally aware of the blush that sits perfectly upon Kai's well defined features. He can't help but think he looks so cute when the red deepens to the same color as his eyes.
Kai smiles softly and turns his gaze forward again. He needs to concentrate at the task at hand, not act all silly towards the blonde hair Adonis next to him. It's going to be hard, especially now that the two of them are working together.
Even though Kai feels somewhat sorry for all the torture Ray is and will be going through, he can't help but feel relieved that neither Russian has found out about his crush on Miguel.
He'd rather go to hell in a hand basket than let those two play matchmaker for him.
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Ray cruses violently under his breath in his native tongue as the two troublesome and down right evil Russians take him by the shoulder and lead him outside. Their first plan of locking Mystel in the cupboard with him failed miserably. How the hell was his suppose to know that Mystel was claustrophobic?
He didn't even get to spend time with Mystel. After Kai pulled him out of the closet he lead him away to a balcony to get his breathing under control. The poor thing was terrified. Whoever said locking people in a closet is a sure fire of getting them together deserves to be shot. Multiple times.
The little blonde-haired cutie is now wandering around outside, hoping the fresh air will calm his nerves somewhat. Kai lead him out there and Miguel followed. As soon as he was left alone, the two fore mentioned Russians pounced, saying they have another idea.
Can this day get any worst?
"Ok, the first plan failed, but that's ok," Bryan says as he loops an arm around Ray's next, leading him forcibly outside in the now mid afternoon air. "Lets try plan B."
It turns out that it can.
"Now this one is sure to work," Tala says with confidence as he shoves his hands into his pockets and slouches his posture forward, looking way too casual.
"Oh, I doubt it," Ray mutters darkly, his eyebrow twitching silently above his left eye.
"Chin up, Kitty," Bryan says as he taps him on the side of the head with his a knuckle. "Things are looking up."
Ray looks up towards the heavens in pray. "Kill me now."
"Ok, here's the plan," Tala says, blatantly ignoring the neko praying for his end to come swiftly. "You take Mystel out for a walk outside and then Bryan and I will follow, waiting for the perfect opportunity to trip the little blonde."
Ray slumps forward in defeat and peers at Tala through the corner of his eye. "Why are you going to make him trip?" he queries, not much liking the sound of the plan so far. As if he wants to frighten the adorable little Egyptian further.
"Because," Bryan starts as he tightens his arms around his neck, making Ray flail his arms out at his sides as his air supply temporary cuts off. "When he falls, you're going to catch him. Hopefully he'll sprain his ankle and you'll have to carry him back to the hotel."
"It works in the movies," Tala says as he shrugs carelessly and indifferent. "Or so I'm told. I've never watched TV."
Ray bristles and violently pulls himself out of Bryan's arm to hiss at Tala, the pupils of his eyes dilating into small slits. "That much is clear because none of the schemes work either!"
"First time for everything," Bryan dismisses him before grabbing him by the collar and dragging him away. "Lets go."
"Why me?" Ray asks the Heaven's above as Bryan effortlessly drags him outside into the sunlight. "This is Karma, isn't it? I'm being punished for not listening to Kai, aren't I?"
"There he is," Bryan says as he suddenly stops, hauling Ray to stand on his own feet and point in the direction in front of him. There, standing at the base of a tree is his blonde hair angel, happily talking away with Enrique and Oliver of the Majestics.
"What are you waiting for?" Tala asks as he pulls a hand out of his pocket to grab Ray's other shoulder and practically throw him forward. "Go."
"I'm going," Ray hisses as he straightens his clothes in a huff. "This is going to be a big disaster. I can feel it in my bones."
"Heh," Bryan sniggers quietly as the dark hair neko walks out of hearing range. "This is going to be fun," he says as he turns to Tala, smirking deviously.
"You got that right," Tala says as a look of mischievousness appears on his expression as well as he glances over his shoulder, spotting two more bladers step out of the lobby and into the sunlight. "And our next victims are right on cue. Let's go."
Straightening his posture as he approaches, Ray plasters a smile onto his face and stops just short of the group. "Hey, do you mind if I speak with Mystel alone for a moment?" he asks the two European bladers politely.
Suddenly, Oliver giggles into his hands and nods slyly. "Sure. I wouldn't want to be in the way." he then loops his arm through one of Enrique's and they begin to walk away. "Let's go, Enrique."
Enrique smiles and sends Ray a wink. "Hey, we'll catch the two of you later."
"Eh?" Ray mutters in confusion, but the two continue to chuckle amongst themselves as they walk away. "What on earth?"
"They're so nice, aren't they?" Mystel says as he bounces a little, a bright smile on his face.
Ray continues to watch the two for a moment, confusion still evident on his face. After a moment he shakes his head and turns his amber colored eyes towards Mystel. "Hey, feeling better?"
A light bashful blush appears on Mystel's cheeks and his rocks on the balls of his feet a couple of times. "Yes, I am. Thank you. I'm sorry about that."
"No need to apologize," Ray says, his smile turning genuine as his eyes glow softly with warmth. "If I knew you were claustrophobic I would never had placed you in a situation like that."
"I'm glad you asked me to help, though," Mystel says softly, looking up at Ray with his baby blue eyes.
"Thanks for trying," Ray says just as soft. Suddenly, he gets a sharp pain in the middle of his back. "Ow!" he yells in surprise and spins around to face the opposite direction, hissing with his hackles up towards a lone bush. There's no doubt in his mind that a certain Russian threw a stone at him as a prompt to stop stalling.
Hey, he's having a nice quiet moment with Mystel and they just ruined it!
"What's wrong?" Mystel asks, tilting his head to the side in concern.
"Er, I have a creak in my back," Ray stutters for a moment before turning back to Mystel. He might as well go with the plan. He doesn't fancy another stone thrown at his back. Besides, it's not like he has much of a choice in the matter.
Why oh why didn't he listen to Kai?
"Do you want to go for a walk?" he finally asks through his inner torment at his hopeless situation. "Hopefully, I can straighten out."
"Sure," Mystel nods, a hint of concern still shimmering in his stunning eyes. He moves to step beside Ray and they begin walking around the grassy confines of the hotel estate. They decide to take to a rocky stair case that leads to a water feature behind the hotel. It's a secluded path, perfect for a little alone time.
"What happened to your back?"
"I have two Russians on it," Ray mumbles under his breath, once again his eye giving a twitch as the image of Tala and Bryan appears in his mind's eye, all mocking and menacing like.
"Huh?"
"It's something I got in Russia a few years ago," Ray explains as he straightens his posture a bit and smiles at the blonde walking next to him. "It comes and goes. I have to keep moving, you know? That sort of thing."
Mystel makes a little understanding noise and nods his head. "Is it painful?"
"It can be," Ray mutters through a forced grin.
Suddenly, a string pulls taut up from the stone steps, fishing line most likely, just as Mystel moves to take another and catches his foot. But instead of falling forward into Ray's waiting arms like he is suppose to, he jumps backwards in surprise, acting upon reflex. As he jumps backwards, he finds himself crashing into someone else.
"Hey!" Kai cries out in surprise, quickly using his own reflexes to push Mystel back to his feet, but is unable to stop himself from losing his balance on the steps and falls backwards. Then he too crashes into someone and they both fall the grass laden ground just off the stone stair case in a tangle of arms and legs.
"Oof," Miguel grunts when Kai lands on his lap, one of his legs slipping in between his, the other brushing past his hip. He immediately lifts his hands and places them on Kai's hips, holding him still so he doesn't hurt himself.
Kai places his hands on Miguel's shoulders, pushing himself up into a sitting position. He finds himself staring straight into Miguel's stunning blue eyes and immediately feels his cheeks heat up as he blushes darkly.
"Are you ok?" Miguel asks, his hands still lingering on Kai's hips.
"Yeah," Kai murmurs before he tries to push himself away from Miguel's warm and inviting body. Then, a sharp pain races up his leg and he falls forward again into Miguel's arms, his hands resting in his chest once again. "Argh," he hisses in discomfort.
"What's wrong?" Miguel asks, concern evident in his voice.
"I think I twisted my ankle," Kai replies, trying to push away again. Miguel suddenly places his hands tightly around his waist and then effortlessly lifts him off of his lap and carefully on the ground next to him. He then moves to kneel beside him, a arm around his shoulders and the other hovering unsure above his injured limb.
"Kai?"
Hearing his name, Kai snaps his head up to find another blonde staring down at him in concern. He glances over Mystel's shoulder, he sees a dark hair youth looking at him with concern, but a hint of annoyance as well.
"I'm so sorry," Mystel apologizes for the umpteenth time today. "Something touched my foot and I jumped back in shock, and I-"
Ah, Kai muses to himself. That's what they meant about taking a trip.
Idiots.
"It's not your fault," Kai cuts him off by raising a hand in front of him, motioning for him to stop talking for a moment. "It was an accident. Don't worry."
"Can you walk?" Miguel suddenly asks beside him.
"I can try," With a bit of help Kai carefully climbs to his feet, not placing too much pressure on his ankle. With Miguel's arm securely around his waist, Kai gingerly takes a step forward on his ankle. Immediately, he winces and falls back against Miguel. "Not for the next few hours at least," he sighs.
"We better get you back to the hotel," Miguel says, a concern edge in his voice. Moving quickly, he tightens his grip around Kai's waist and leans forward to slip an arm under his knees. Then, with very little effort, he hoists the young Phoenix into his arms, holding him up off the ground.
The sudden movement startles Kai and he immediately latches his arms around his neck, subconsciously leaning in closer, a dusting of red darkening upon his features even more. "What are you doing?"
"You said you can't walk on it," Miguel replies, slight amusement in his eyes from the expression of shock on Kai's face. "Don't worry; we'll take the back way. No one will see us."
Finding himself unable to argue, Kai simply nods, subconsciously tightening his grip even more when Miguel carefully starts maneuvering down the stone path. "I'm not too heavy, am I?"
Miguel smiles at him and shakes his head in the negative. "Not even close."
Behind them, Mystel trails quietly behind, still feeling guilty about crashing into Kai which resulted in him twisting his ankle. Behind him, Ray sulks silently at the back.
"I knew it wouldn't work," he mutters to himself.
Bwahahahahahahaha! X3 Miguel/Kai fluffness!
Please review.
