Author's note: I don't own Beyblade, or it's characters.
The party went off without a hitch, Ray had calmed himself his usual way; by downing a pill or two. He hadn't counted, just tossed some into his hand and flung them down his throat. It didn't take long for them to take effect, he was practically dancing around the house on his toes. The kids from Rain's class didn't have an empty cup, nor were they bored by the games and other activities Ray had planned. Tyson and Max did their best to help, but eventually realized they were just getting in his way and found themselves in living room, with a few of the other kids playing video games. Kai mostly hovered around Rain, making sure that whenever a little boy from her class got to close he would shoot them a glare from the corner of his eye.
By the end of the party and the other kids had been picked up, Ray was dragging his feet. The pills having worn off an hour ago, and his legs could barely hold his weight. Rain and Makoto had retired upstairs to play with a few of her new toys, one of them being her own plastic bey dish and new blade modeled by Kenny. Makoto had brought his own blade, without a bit-beast as they didn't want the house to come crashing down on them.
Swirling his glass of vodka Kai was placed in his usual spot by the fire place in the sitting room, Ray flopped himself down on the couch. Laying over Kai's lap, his legs hanging off the arm rest of the couch. Max chuckled, taking a sip of whiskey Kai had offered. Tyson was upstairs with the kids, teaching them some basic moves and could be heard from downstairs.
"The party was nice." Max offered.
Ray nodded, too tired to say anything. Kai smirked, running his hands through Ray's loose hair. Getting a light purr in response to the touch, nestling his head in the dips created by his arms.
"Is there anything to clean up, I don't mind?" Max went to stand.
"No, I already took care of it." Ray waved him back down.
"Shouldn't push yourself so hard." Kai said before finishing his glass.
"Hn…" Was all Ray could muster.
"So. The kids want to know if we can take them to the park tomorrow, to test out their blades." Tyson said as he came down the stairs.
"I have work tomorrow, but that's fine." Kai nodded, while Ray nodded in his lap. "Ray, get up my legs falling asleep." Kai pushed, Ray sat back slumping against the arm rest as he laid his legs out the length of the couch.
Kai stood, checking his watch for the time and started to his bedroom. He needed his meds before the pain came, and he was glad the second one he had taken earlier that day was still lasting. Even though he wanted to go with the others to the park, he was supposed to be seeing the specialist in the morning. Saying he had work was just a lie, and he didn't like the idea of lying; but it needed to be done, at least that's what he told himself.
Digging his bottle out of its hiding place on the top shelf of the closet, he paused. It hurt him to be lying to Ray and Rain, but he knew he couldn't tell them. In the back of his mind, he knew Ray was still using. Yet, he wasn't sure where he was hiding the pills now and he couldn't just get in his face about it. After popping a pill down his throat, he poked his head out of the bedroom door.
"Max." He called, causing the blonde man to pop his head up from over the couches that sat in front of him.
Kai waved him over, getting questioning looks from Tyson and Ray, though neither said anything when the door closed behind Max. Kai shifted, crossing his arms over his chest.
"What's up Kai?" Max asked, he felt a bit uneasy being in their room.
"Ray's using, nothing hard or illegal. But I prescribed him muscle relaxers because he was having to fly a lot for work, but he's become addicted to them. If you noticed the past few days you've been here, he's been under a lot of stress. Mainly caused by himself, but he takes the pills to cope. Rain mentioned Mariah, not in person or anything, it was when she was asking for a sibling and all. But it upset him, like always, and he used too many. It had been months since he had used, and now it's getting back to the point of him using daily." Kai rubbed the bridge of his nose, he was starting to feel a headache by talking so much. He felt like he was rambling, and the look Max was giving him wasn't helping.
"Is that why you asked me to keep an eye on him?" Max asked, stuffing his hands in his pants pockets.
"Yes." Kai nodded, taking in breath of air. "I'm tired of fighting with him about it, I know he's tired of fighting about it… Max, the school threatened to take Rain away." At that Max's mouth fell open, and he stared at Kai.
"It's gotten that bad?" Max asked, his voice a bit shaky.
"Yes." Kai nodded again, feeling as if that was all he could do now. "The first time was when we got a letter pertaining to Mariah, she declined signing her rights away so that I could adopt Rain fully. It just got worse over the months after that, and then we got another letter about a month ago saying she was up for parole." Kai paused, trying to study Max's expression and sighed again.
"He never said anything to me." Max mumbled, feeling a bit hurt now.
"He doesn't want to bother you too much." Kai offered, and now he felt bad for putting all this on Max's shoulders.
"Why would they give her parole?" Max asked, a flash of anger crossing his features. "She doesn't deserve any kind of freedom."
"Good behavior I suppose." Kai shrugged, he had said the same thing when they received the letter.
"Do you think he'll get mad at you, for telling me?"
"At this point I don't care." Kai waved his hand in the air, as if waving Max's words away. "Just convince him to get help."
"I'll do my best." Max nodded, and took in his own breath of air and let it go in a deep sigh. "Is something else bothering you?" He eyed Kai quickly, having noticed the paleness in his features since he arrived.
"No." Kai said sternly, this wasn't about him and Max didn't need to know.
"Alright, thanks for telling me Kai. I'll see what I can do." Max gave him a friendly nod before leaving the room.
Rain's hand was wrapped tightly in Makoto's as they ran to the center of the park, other children were already caught up in their own beybattles. Tyson keeping up with the two, leaving Max and Ray behind as they decided to take their time. Max purposely stalling, and Ray not wanting to leave him behind kept with Max's pace. Max looked Ray over from the corner of his eyes, he seemed normal and not as bouncy as he had been the day before.
"What's on your mind Maxie?" Ray asked, over the years of knowing him he knew when Max was in deep thought.
"Nothing… How are you?" Max asked, giving him a warm smile.
"I'm fine." Ray was taken back a bit by the random question, but returned the smile with one of his own.
"Any news on the adoption?" Max asked, trying to tread carefully around the subject without being too blunt.
"Yeah…" Ray's smile faded and he stopped walking, Max coming to his side. "She won't sign the papers. Kai's had lawyers upon lawyers try to find a loophole, but nothing can be done." Ray sighed, his nerves starting to get the better of him and his arms trembled. Clutching his fists to calm himself, he wished he had brought his pills.
"I'm sorry to hear that." Max offered, noticing the trembling in Ray's arms. A pain of guilt swelled in his stomach, he didn't want to hurt his friend like this.
"It's alright… We're still trying though…" Ray tried to smile, but it was weak and unimpressive.
"Anything else happen?" Max asked, stuffing his hands in his jacket pockets. Embracing for anything Ray may have thrown at him, for being so nosy.
"She might be getting out in a year or two… Not sure yet. She's up for parole now… It fucking sucks." Ray chuckled, trying to hide his anger.
"Does she know where you live?"
"No, but I know she'll find a way. The courts will call us to set up custody arrangements and shit." Ray wasn't one for cussing, so with him slipping two in the past minute meant he was pissed.
"That sucks man… Well, if you ever need to vent just give me a call. I'll always be here for you, you know." Max offered, giving Ray's shoulder a friendly squeeze.
"Thanks." Ray said, he was happy to hear that, but was also questioning why Max was so interested in these things suddenly. A thought crossed his mind that Kai had said something to him, and that was why he called Max into their room. Though he shoved the thought away, he could trust Kai not to disclose their personal business. Kai had always been a private man, shrugging his shoulders he started walking again.
"Any good news?" Max asked, following Ray's lead to the others.
"Kai's agreed to have another kid." Ray perked up a bit, he had been so involved with the birthday party he had forgotten to tell Max.
"Really?!" Max almost jumped.
"Yeah, he says he wants to use his DNA. Which is fine, can you imagine Max, a little Kai?" Ray was beaming now. "Though, we have no clue where to even start…" Ray muttered, feeling a bit defeated now.
"Look online, can find just about anything there these days." Max chuckled, liking the way Ray had become happy again.
"True." Ray nodded, coming up to the others and watching as Rain and Makoto battled in a bey dish. "Rain, you need to pull the cord faster next time." He offered, turning to her slightly and she nodded in understanding.
"Does she know?" Max leaned over and whispered to Ray.
"No… We're not going to tell her till we have everything settled." Ray whispered back.
"That's a good idea." Max pulled back into his own space, his attention going to the mock battle below him.
A comfortable silence befell them while Tyson gave out his own directions to Makoto, who was overtaking Rain's blade in the dish. Without much effort her blade was sent flying out of the dish, with a sigh she picked it up and set it back.
"Hold on." Tyson called, before the kids could get into another battle. "How bout it Ray, wanna go a round or two?" Tyson asked, holding his old Dragoon blade up.
"Sure Tyson." Ray shrugged, digging in his pocket for Driger.
The two kids came and stood by Max, as their fathers took their places over the bey dish. After the countdown they pulled the cords, Ray explaining to Rain how he did it with such force as she watched in awe. Makoto was bouncing on his heels, cheering for his father as Dragoon careened into Driger, pushing him towards the edge of the dish.
"A bit rusty, huh Ray?" Tyson smirked, for a minute looking like his old teenage self.
"Don't count me out yet, Tyson." Ray smirked back, he had never felt so at peace before.
It wasn't that he had given up blading, but his hands had been so tied the past few years he hadn't really done any. He would do practice trials on new blades that Kai's company came out with, but beyond that he hadn't really jumped into a battle like this before. He had missed it, he knew that. Driger was always in his pocket wherever he went, more for sentimental purpose, but now he was glad he had him. He needed this, needed the comfort of something so forlorn and familiar at the same time.
"Driger!" Ray called for his bit-beast, who obeyed and emerged from the bit chip.
"What is that?" Rain gawked as the white tiger emerged over her head, she had never seen her father battle before and was awestruck.
Her question went unanswered and soon Tyson summoned Dragoon from his bit, the sky blazing a light-blue over their heads and meshing together with Driger's lime-green outline. The blades in the dish crashed into each other with such force it caused them both to fly out, landing by their owner's feet.
"Not bad Ray." Tyson smirked, picking his blade up again.
"That was so cool dad!" Makoto beamed, running up to his father.
"Yeah papa, that was amazing. You're the best." Rain clutched to Ray's leg, causing Ray to chuckle lightly.
"No, he's not. My dad's the best." Makoto shot back, glaring at Rain.
"No, he's not Makoto. My papa won that match." Rain stuck her tongue out at him, clutching to Ray's leg tighter.
"It was a draw guys, that means no one won." Max interjected, he wasn't ready to deal with two angry kids.
"Max is right, nobody won. How bout we go get some pizza to bring home for daddy?" Ray asked, petting the top of Rain's hair. He too didn't want to deal with feuding children for the rest of the day, he didn't think he'd be able to handle it.
The ride to the pizza parlor was uncomfortable for the adults, Rain and Makoto weren't talking. Still caught up in their small disagreement about whose father was the best, it was silly and the adults tried to laugh it off. Though they tried their best to get the two to talk, neither child was having it. Max sat in the passenger seat, while Makoto sat in the captain's chair next to Tyson. Rain sat in the back, her arms crossed as she glared at the back of Makoto's head. Even at the pizza parlor they weren't talking. They argued over the type of pizza they wanted, fueling their fight more; to the dismay of their parents.
"Why don't we go swim? That should cool them off." Max offered, Tyson and Ray nodded as they pulled into the garage.
"Kai's home…" Ray mumbled as he slowly pulled the van up next to Kai's corvette.
Without much struggle, they got the kids out of the van. Ray ushering them up to the stairs so they could change into their swimsuits. Tyson was already pulling out plates and carrying it to the pool house, with the pizza. Max grabbed the soda they had also gotten and some cups, following him outside. Coming down the stairs with a sigh, Ray headed into his room pulling his jacket off his shoulders.
"Everything alright?" Kai asked, looking over the paper in his hands as he laid out on their bed.
"Kids are fighting." Ray sighed. "We got some pizza and are going for a swim, want to come?" Ray asked, dropping his jacket on the chair that sat in the corner of their room by the closet.
"Sure." Kai shrugged, placing the paper and his glasses on the side table.
They changed quietly, almost knocking each other over as they stood too close while fitting their legs through their swim shorts. They laughed at each other, Kai backing away from him a bit.
"Can you braid my hair again, it got messed up in the battle." Ray huffed, having finished tying the strings to his swim shorts.
"Sure." Kai nodded, straightening his back he went to the bathroom to get the brush.
In a flash Ray was digging for his bottle under the mattress, finding it and chucking one pill down his throat he tossed it under again; at least he hoped he did. Just as Kai rounded the corner of the wall the bathroom door sat on. With a smile on his face he sat down, back to Kai as he let him untangle the mess that was his hair. He always liked Kai brushing his hair, it soothed him. A pain of guilt swallowed him whole, and he shifted on the bed.
"What's wrong?" Kai pulled the brush back, afraid that he pulled too tightly on a knot.
"Nothing." Ray shook his head, trying to relax under the brush as Kai started again.
Outside their door they could hear the kids coming down the stairs, Rain was berating Makoto for getting stuck in the stairwell. Ray chuckled, as Kai gave a glare at the door; as if Makoto could even see him. After finishing with the braid, Kai sat the brush on the end of the bed and placed a kiss on the top of Ray's head.
"I'll get the towels." Ray offered, knowing that Kai was now on the hunt for Makoto.
By the time Kai had made it into the pool house, Makoto and Rain were already in the pool. Having downed their piece of pizza whole, they had made a bet at who would get in the water first. Makoto was first, which caused Rain to fume more. Tyson was sitting at the small patio table in the corner laughing, while Max tried to hide his amusement. Walking up to the other two, arms over his chest, Kai glared over his shoulder at Makoto then back to Tyson.
"What'd he do?" His voice was cold, and a look of anger was itching to spread over his eyes.
"Just some lovers spat, that's all." Tyson laughed, and the anger Kai was holding back flushed over his face.
"Care to say that again, Granger?" Kai took a threatening step, though Tyson hardly noticed.
"They're just fighting because Ray and Tyson had a draw from a beybattle earlier." Max saw the anger in Kai's face, and he jumped between the two.
"Oh Kai, will you cool it down a bit?" Ray sighed, coming up to them with the towels draping over his arms. "I swear, you are way over protective of her. She's 8. Take a chill pill." Ray sighed, setting the towels on the smaller table by the patio table. "Have some pizza, and stop your glaring." Ray shoved a plate with two pieces on it into Kai's chest.
Kai 'hned' at them, before finding a seat by the pool. He didn't care what Ray said, he wasn't happy with the fact the others were so calm. To him, it didn't matter what age Rain was. She was his daughter, it was his job to protect her. There was no way he'd allow her to be in love with a boy, or girl. A part of him knew that was stupid to think, he couldn't stop her if she found the right on. He only hoped it wasn't Makoto, he didn't need to be tied to Tyson for the rest of his life as in-laws. Rain and Makoto were good friends, had been since they were toddlers. It was only a matter of time, he knew that.
Not all his anger was towards Makoto, or Tyson's sick joke. He was still fuming from what the specialist had to say to him, they wanted more testing done. Wanted to make sure that his diagnosis was right the first time. His heart had sunk a little from the doctor's words, he didn't want to be given false hope. He wanted the disease to be dealt with quickly, and if it was at a different stage than previously thought, that would be harder to deal with. His nerves had been wrecked since then, he had tried to occupy himself with mundane paper work, but it failed. If anything, he was a bit relieved to see everyone together having a good time. With a sigh of defeat, he went to eating his pizza.
"Hopefully you have a boy next time." Max whispered into Ray's ear, who gave him a somber nod of his head.
It didn't take long before Rain and Makoto's small feud had dissipated, they played and laugh with each other again. Splashing around, having contests on who could hold their breath the longest under water. Tyson had jumped in and they played a few rounds of marco polo, Tyson having ran into the sides of the pool of several occasions, which caused the others to laugh at him. Max and Ray raced across the pool, Max beat him a few times before Ray gave up. Then Tyson and Kai raced, Kai beating him, even though it left him breathless. The kids raced, but they both only made it to the middle of the pool, before they gave up.
Next was a game of chicken, Rain on Kai's shoulders as Makoto got on Max's, since he was taller than Tyson and it evened the playing field. Water splashed around them, some getting in their eyes but they didn't care. They fought and pushed, hands slipping against wet skin until Rain and Kai pushed the other two into the water.
"Hey, you can't do that Kai." Tyson shouted from the steps of the pool.
"I just did." Kai smirked, pulling Rain from his shoulders.
"That's cheating." Tyson bit back.
"Round two then?" Kai threw some water towards Ray and Tyson, hitting them in the face.
"You're on. Hoist me up babe!" Tyson called as he swam his way over to Max.
"Rain, Makoto, go sit on the stairs. We don't want you two to get hurt." Ray ushered them away from the others, before swimming over to Kai. "You sure about this?" He asked, but didn't get a response as Kai had ducked under the water, pulling Ray's legs over his shoulders.
"How many pizzas did you eat Tyson?" Max swayed a bit, having lifted Tyson onto his shoulders.
"My whole box, c'mon steady yourself." Tyson gripped on to Max's shoulders, wrapping his ankles across his chest.
"This'll be easy." Ray smirked, as Kai had already balanced himself out.
Their children cheered from their safe spot on the stairs, Ray's hands already gripped around Tyson's upper arms trying to drag him forward. Kai stepped back, hoping to pull them down, but Max planted his feet firm into the bottom of the pool. Tyson pulled back, causing the other two to falter slightly. Ray smirked, and pushed back as he felt Kai move forward. Just as they were about to win, a sharp pain coursed through Kai's back and shoulders. Without thinking he dropped Ray backwards into the water, coming up for air he pulled a very confused Ray out of the water.
"What the heck?" Ray asked, his bangs plastered to his face.
"Sorry…" Kai mumbled, trying to hide the pain that flared up around him. "Shit!" He hissed, grabbing at his shoulder as he made his way over to the side of the pool.
"What's wrong?" Ray rushed over to him, but Kai had already pulled himself out.
"Just pulled something, I'll be back in a minute." Kai said, grabbing a towel from the smaller side table before leaving the pool room.
Ray and the others just stared at the door that closed behind Kai, unsure what to say or do next. Part of Ray felt bad for having hurt him, another part was nagging him that what Kai said wasn't truthful. He knew Kai, he wouldn't have given up on the win because of a pulled muscle. His battle with Brooklyn all those years ago, had cemented that belief. Something else was wrong, Ray could feel it.
Dripping water along the floor of the house, Kai made his way back to his room. Digging through the top of the closet he found his pills, taking two instead of his usual one. The pain was bad, he started to cough. Stumbling towards the bathroom, as he could feel his food starting to rise in his throat, his foot bumped into something on the floor just under the bed. He paused for a second, seeing the bottle on the floor he let out a low growl. Though he couldn't do anything about it now, and he rushed to the bathroom.
When he returned to the pool room, he stayed on one of the lounge chairs. His eyes locked onto Ray wherever he went in the pool, and Ray could feel the stares; even if his back was turned to Kai. It made him feel uneasy, and he tried to avoid catching his eyes with his. Max had taken notice, and caught Kai's attention for a second. Kai nodded, as if that would make Max understand what he was trying to convey. Luckily, Max knew what he was trying to say and nodded back in understanding. A thickness was starting to loom over their shoulders, now both their eyes were locked onto Ray.
After an hour of the kids playing in the pool, they were ushered into the showers and off to bed. Tyson and Max went soon after, having helped clean up the pizza and plates from the pool room. Kai had gone back to his bedroom, picking up the bottle he twisted it in the palm of his hand. Trying to think of what to do, he could hide it again and confront Ray later. After all, he didn't need to be making a scene with the others there. Though, if he dumped it out Ray would know and he wasn't sure how that would go over.
"Hey, wanna take a shower?" Ray asked coming through their bedroom door, Kai stuffing the bottle under him quickly; going unnoticed by Ray.
"Yeah, be there in a minute." Kai nodded, watching Ray walk by to the bathroom.
Kai pulled the bottle back out, tucking it back under the mattress. At least now he knew where they were hiding, when the others left he would confront Ray. Hoping Max would be able to convince Ray to get help before they left, three days was all they had.
"How's your back?" Ray asked as he could hear Kai step into the bathroom.
"It's alright now." Kai answered rather dryly, slipping out of his swim shorts.
"I didn't mean to hurt you." Ray stepped to the side, letting Kai slip into the shower.
"I know." Kai gave him a questioning look. "It wasn't your fault."
"I can give you a nice back rub. Make up for it." Ray said teasingly, reaching up to Kai's shoulders.
Kai tensed at the touch, he didn't mean to but his anger about finding the pills hadn't left him. He was also angry with himself, for not disclosing his own problems to Ray. He wasn't fit to point fingers now, and that was why he had gone to Max for help. Ray felt the tension and pulled his hands away, his eyes dancing over Kai's back, trying to decipher what just happened.
"What's wrong?" Ray asked, a hint of anger in his tone.
"Nothing…" Kai shifted where he stood, his back still to Ray as he let the water beat down on his hair.
"You're lying." Ray's anger rising, and he crossed his arms. "Look at me. Kai, I said look at me." With Kai not moving, he grabbed his arm and spun him around to face him.
A silence fell between them, their eyes locked on the others for what seemed forever. Anger and concern in Ray's, guilt and anger mixed within Kai's. They both sighed, releasing the tension in their muscles, Ray uncrossed his arms and let them rest at his sides.
"What's going on?" Ray asked, almost in a whisper.
"Ray… I…." Kai trailed, his heart beating in his chest so hard he was sure it was going to break through his chest.
"Tell me. Please." Ray placed a gentle hand over Kai's chest, placing it over his heart where he could feel it pounding against his hand.
"Ray… I have cancer." Kai adverted his gaze, Ray's hand fell from his chest.
Tears were immediate, rolling down Ray's cheeks like a waterfall. Kai bit back his own, his heart felt like it was tearing in two. He didn't want to burden him, but he didn't want to keep it from him any longer.
"Kai… I…. Oh my god…" Ray buried his face in his hands, tears pooling out of his eyes.
Stepping closer Kai pulled him into an embrace, letting Ray bury his face into his chest. His body trembled from crying so hard, Kai's only response was to pull him closer. After a few minutes Ray recollected himself, he pulled slightly away and stared right into Kai's eyes.
"How long have you known?" He demanded, his anger flushing away his sadness.
"A few weeks now. It's in the early stages now… Saw a specialist today."
"So, you lied to me?" Ray cut through.
"Yes… I didn't want to tell you. Not with you having your problem…" Kai tried to defend himself, though the look he was receiving told him it wasn't working.
"You shouldn't have hidden this from me! How could you? What if one day I just came in the room and you were… You… How could you?!" Ray's voice was breaking through his new sobs, his anger becoming overwhelming now.
"I didn't want this to happen." Kai gestured towards him, indicating that he was talking about the new situation before him.
"What did you expect to happen?"
"It's only stage one right now. It's not severe, and I didn't want to alarm you if there wasn't a reason for it. I was trying to protect you."
"Quit trying to protect me, I don't need it. I need you to be honest with me, above all else." Ray spat back.
"I'm sorry…" Kai mumbled, he had no real words to say now. He knew this would have happened, and he regretted ever saying anything.
"What did the specialist say?" Ray shifted again, trying to cool down his anger.
"Just going to have a few more tests done. Make sure it is only stage one, that it isn't progressing." Kai shrugged, as if his words didn't really matter.
"Alright…" Ray nodded, his anger barely clinging to him.
"I'm sorry Ray." Kai offered, stepping closer only to have Ray back up.
"Just please, Kai… Don't. You knew what you were doing, so… Just… I don't even know." Ray pushed past him, not even finishing his bathing he grabbed a towel and started for the door.
Kai stayed under the water, as it was beating down on his back now. He wasn't sure what to say or do to make it better, this was why he didn't want to tell him, but now it was out there and he did. Quietly he turned off the shower, grabbing how own towel and wrapping it around his waist. Quietly he opened the door, only to find Ray fumbling with his pill bottle cap.
"This is why I didn't want to tell you, dammit Ray!" Kai stormed over and snatched the bottle from his grasp. Ray just shot him his own glare, not caring he had been caught. "Really, is life that bad for you now you have to do this?" Kai asked.
"No, it's not…" Ray bit back.
"Then what the hell?" Kai asked, clenching the bottle in his hand away from Ray's grasp.
"It helps me deal with the stress…. Okay?"
"Stress, you're under that much stress you have to self-medicate? Last I checked, I'm the one over here with the real problem." Kai bit back, regretting the words as they slipped from his lips. He knew Ray had his demons still, what Mariah had done to him. What had transpired when their relationship first started out, he knew what he said wasn't right but it was too late now to take them back.
"I'm sorry, my problems are VERY much REAL." Ray bit back, his pupils turning to slits from anger.
Turning on his heel he went over to his dresser, dug around until he pulled out a paper and threw it at Kai. With a questioning look at Ray, Kai pulled the paper closer to read. His eyes widened at what was written, and he looked back to Ray. Suddenly he knew, it all came crashing down on him like a weight.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Kai asked, setting the paper on the bed beside him.
"Same reason you didn't tell me about your problem." Ray huffed, his nerves were on the verge of snapping now.
"Fair enough…" Kai shrugged, his body and mind were getting too weak now to finish arguing. "What do we do?" Kai asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Nothing… Her plane gets here in a week." Ray sighed, running a hand through his wet bangs. "Need to find a way to tell Rain…" He mumbled before digging through his drawers for some clothes.
Kai nodded, glancing at the paper beside him again. At first, he didn't want to believe it, but there it was in front of him. Mariah would be in Russia within a week, and they were going to start the custody battle soon. He knew he had the lawyers on his side, but there was still a flit of doubt in his mind.
"Ray." He called softly, adverting his gaze up to Ray across the room from him. Ray looked up after fitting into a pair of sweats, he could see the defeat in his eyes.
"Yeah?" He sighed back.
"I love you."