Edited: April 2014
MasterFranny: Thank you reviewers! If you keep feeding me reviews, of course I'll feed you chapters :)
I've been editing a bit of things in past chapters, and you will see this reflected in the future ones as I keep updating and editing them as I go. I hope the changes will make this story more palatable than before.
…–…–…–…–…–…
Rating: T
Summary: (main BrooklynKai, side GarlandTala, ReiMystel) Post G–rev. Kai still has some 'grudges' against Brooklyn, but the older teen is determined to erase them…
Warning: this work contains (obviously) yaoi. Read at your discretion.
Disclaimer: I do not own BeyBlade, it belongs to Takao Aoki.
"Talking"
'Thinking'
"(Talking into other languages)"
–dreams sequences, flashbacks, memories–
…–…–…–…–…–…
Alluring Darkness
Chapter 04: Of Sleepovers and apologies
"(And will you mind telling me again why I should come with you to… a sleepover?)"
Kai spared a glance at the other teen, noticing his slight scowl, and shrugged noncommittally.
"(I told Tyson you would be there,)" he finally answered, sounding like it wasn't much. "(Besides, I didn't want to go there alone at all)".
"(But what about Rei? Isn't he enough of a company? Besides, why did you want to go in the first place?)"
Rei, who seemed to be lost in thought, did not notice that his two companions were speaking in another language.
"(Rei might be otherwise occupied by the time we get there,)" Kai rolled his eyes, aware of the situation with Rei and the guy he wanted to impress. "(As for why I'm going…)" he paused, not sure what to say, then settled for what felt best. "(It's been a while since I have spent time around my teammates, and I am afraid they might have lost some edge due to lack of training)".
Amusingly enough, that was the truth. While he trusted Rei when it came down to training his team in Kai's absence, with him focused on other things it might leave him not as strict as Kai wanted him to be.
Tala didn't seem to get why Rei would be occupied, though, so Kai cleared his throat. "Say, Rei, did you find Mystel yesterday?"
Rei blinked, turning to look at him. "Oh, unfortunately I did not find him," Rei grimaced slightly. "I searched for him for the most part of yesterday but he was nowhere to be found".
"Oh, that's too bad," Kai replied with a small nod, then glanced over at Tala, giving him a 'watch this' look. "Because I happened upon him by the river yesterday evening".
Rei's attention flashed entirely on him, and he had to prevent himself from stepping back as Rei butted inside his space bubble. "Ah? What… what did he say? Did you maybe tell him about the sleepover? I mean, uh, Tyson seemed to want him to come, too," he shuffled back a bit, embarrassed about his own eager behaviour.
Kai couldn't help it, he snorted, though he hid his amusement with a cough. "I knew… Tyson… would be pleased to have him around so yes, I warned you about the sleepover, although I cannot be held responsible if he doesn't decide to come".
Rei's demeanour changed from eager to extremely happy, pumping his fists in the air with a happy whoop, and then he collected himself, slightly embarrassed. "Ah, yes, that will make… Tyson… really happy".
Tala coughed, inwardly second-hand embarrassed for Rei, but outwardly schooling his expression into a blank one –it wouldn't do to snicker at the other teen's expenses.
"Let's go before something else happens," Kai nudged both the other two bladers with his elbow, hoping they would reach Tyson's house quickly.
He had packed up a small bag with the things needed for the sleepover –a change, another shirt, and his painkillers– but he had to hold on the bag with his hand, and that was growing to be quite a painful feat.
As they continued their trip towards the dojo, Tala started talking about the call he'd received from Bryan, filling Kai up about what was going on with the rest of the Blitzkrieg Boys back in Russia, though he did it in Japanese, so not to alienate Rei from the conversation. Amusingly, Rei didn't seem to care, as he was once again lost thinking about Mystel.
Well, if that was the way they'd be from there on, hiding his pain from both of them would be easier than he'd feared it would be. Such a relief.
The day was bright and sunny, and it was the perfect time for a walk outside, but between Kai's desire to get to Tyson's house in a rush, and Rei's desire to see Mystel as soon as possible, the only one who wanted to take it easy was Tala –also, the only one who didn't want to get to Tyson's house quickly.
Still, the quicker route was to walk alongside the river, so they walked through the main street until the crossroads, and then moved to the sidewalk stretching forth at the riverside, falling into a quiet, companionable silence that allowed all three of them to concentrate on their own thoughts.
As they kept walking, Kai started lagging behind, so lost in thought he didn't care to keep up the pace, even though the other two did not notice. Looking up at them to make sure they were not looking, Kai lifted his hands and observed them once again. He was met with the usual sight –no outer sign of his hands hurting. There were a couple scars that were healing fine, but those were the remains of the attack and nothing to worry about. He'd even stopped wearing his gloves, as even that small pressure was too much for him, and he hoped nobody would ask him about that.
He slowly tried to clench his hands, and the reaction he got for that was a small throbbing pain, like the kind one would get by sleeping on a limb and waking up to find it tingling and numb at the same time. It was not a pleasant feeling, but it got worse when he tried to open his hands again. That was followed by a dull ache, and he sighed and lowered his arms again, defeated.
The only good thing that had happened as of late was that he was slowly getting better at avoiding Brooklyn; the older teen was unrepentant in his attempts to corner Kai around, but thankfully he had seemed to get the hint, and now he only caught him staring from the distance. That was still quite bad –wasn't that falling under 'stalking'? could Kai fill a report to get the other teen to stay away? He'd have to think about it…– but not as bad as turning around and finding green eyes watching him from a couple feet away.
Brooklyn kept reminding Kai that he was walking a thin line between retaining his mind and falling into insanity, and that every time the orange-haired teen appeared, the line faltered slightly, threatening to snap into pieces.
At the same time, with Brooklyn in sight, Kai felt like he would be able to hold control of himself, but the dual feeling he got from his presence was confusing. He was both afraid of him, and afraid of the feelings he made him feel, and not all of them were negative.
Brooklyn exercised some sort of magnetic attraction on him, and he guessed it had to do with the allure of the darkness coupled with Brooklyn's candid appearance. He looked like he could protect people, and care for them, and it was hard –even for Kai– to remember that it wouldn't take anything for Brooklyn to snap and become the very thing others needed to be protected from.
Kai knew he had to stay away, because this allure was the same Black Dranzer had. She was evil, and she was wicked, but she was powerful, and it attracted him. Kai was attracted to power, because most of his life he had been without it. He craved it. He wanted to be have the power to protect himself. And at the same time, he wanted to be considered as someone. Black Dranzer had offered him a kind of power that had made him hope would help him gain respect.
Instead, he had only gained fear, and hatred. But he hadn't known any better, back then. Now it was different. He was learning to recognise what was bad, and what was right.
Being on this side of the fence made him realise this was the correct way to gain respect. He had Rei's, he had Tyson's, and now he and Tala had each other's. his past mistakes, his past troubles… it didn't matter anymore. He'd been forgiven. He'd repented.
Now, even if the Dark Phoenix was still alluring, still compelling… he was able to ignore the chill, and control his own impulses.
Unfortunately, with Brooklyn it seemed he still did not have the same strength, and he was afraid to be corrupted again by the darkness hiding behind the other teen.
That was why he couldn't trust what he felt from him. Preservation instinct. Trusting Brooklyn would be a bad idea. He'd caused Dranzer to be destroyed, the creature dead, and it was only the fact that she was a phoenix that had saved her, making her be reborn so that Kai could place her in a new bey chip. He had hurt Kai himself, for no reason.
"Hey!"
Kai blinked and looked up. The dojo was in front of him, unchanged since the last time he'd seen it. He had been there enough times courtesy of Tyson.
"Guys, I'm glad to see you!" Tyson himself was standing in front of his house, and waved at them to get close; he grabbed the closest one, Tala, by the arm and smiled at him before tugging him towards the dojo side door. "Drop your stuff somewhere inside here, it'll be ok… then we can go and join the others!"
The interior of the dojo was also unchanged, though there were a few bags piled up in a corner, sign that at least a few of the other guests were already there. Kai observed them for a moment, recognising at least two of them. Garland's bag was a sports one, with a small insignia on it with Garland's surname sewed on, while a bright green one with a turtle plushie sticking out of it was definitely Max's.
He blinked before heading to another corner and placing his bag down in a small, secluded corner behind a clutter of planks.
Rei had no trouble placing his bag down next to the others, so he did just that, the little tiger symbol on its top standing clearly against the black fabric. Tala did as Kai had done, choosing the other side of the dojo to place his bag, and Kai noticed a few more bags over there too. He wondered who those belonged to, but he wasn't entirely interested either.
He quickly thought about who else Tyson had invited over. Possibly Hilary, and also MingMing, but those would be the only two girls in a wide group of guys, and Kai had to inwardly cringe at that. Tyson wouldn't have invited either, but Hilary had probably bossed him around to make him do so. He wondered if they'd have to break MingMing and Hilary apart at some point during the night.
They followed Tyson back into the house, and to the sitting room, already prepared with a table and some refreshments. Kai blinked, noticing that Mystel and Garland were sitting next to the backdoor, talking about something or another. He glanced out of the window, and noticed Kenny standing by the pond, glancing in admiration at MingMing, who was apparently having a staring contest with Hilary.
They apparently didn't get any friendly after the tournament, which would possibly provide some entertainment if everything else failed.
There was Moses with his little sister Monica perched on his shoulders and Kai wondered how it'd feel to stand so high above the ground. He hoped she wouldn't get sick. Seeing her here made him feel moderately relieved, as Boris had tried to use her against Moses and he was glad to see she was fine.
He then wondered if she would be allowed to stay. They were all teenagers, but it might not be the right place for a little kid.
Max arrived and caught Tyson's attention, and the two started to chat while Kai moved to the backdoor, peeking out to find a secluded spot to relax –he was already getting sick of how many people there were around.
Rei passed past him, obviously seeking to talk with a 'particular someone', and Kai wondered if maybe he should go over where Garland was, and try to have a small chat with him. The guy was ok, after all, and a good conversationalist that he could appreciate…
All of sudden, Kai felt a shiver go through him, and he froze, dread taking a hold of his stomach.
Swallowing on his dry throat, he forced himself to relax and turned around, inspecting his surroundings. Ah, he'd been right. Brooklyn was there.
He didn't seem to be staring at him at all, busy observing a bird perched on a nearby tree, but Kai still went into a defensive position. So Tyson had invited him there, too. He'd expected something like that, as Tyson seemed to want to be friends with everybody.
Unfortunately, not everybody could be friends with everybody. Kai was a prime example.
Part of him wanted to use this chance to escape, leaving behind Brooklyn and this uncomfortable situation, but there was a part of him that wanted to keep his word to both Tala and Tyson, and besides… he hadn't lied when he's said he didn't mind being there, though most of the situation wasn't to his liking.
He wouldn't allow Brooklyn to chase him away from Tyson's house –they both had every right to be there, unfortunately.
Almost as if reading his thoughts, green eyes shifted away from the bird and found him. Kai could feel Brooklyn's satisfaction pouring from him, and he had to hold back a sneer. Brooklyn smiled, then lifted one hand in a greeting, and Kai fought the double attack of cold and warmth inside his chest, sneering as a reply.
'Ignore him,' he ordered himself as he turned away from Brooklyn and stomped towards the martial artist student instead. "Hi Garland," he called out, and Apollon's wielder turned to him with a smile.
"Oh, Kai! I am glad you could come, maybe later you will allow me to have a battle with you?" Garland looked almost eager, and Kai felt almost regret at having to say no.
"Hmm, I don't think it'll be possible today, but maybe soon," he declined politely, unconsciously hiding both hands behind him. "Besides, I think you might want to use this occasion for something else".
He nodded towards Tala, who was still in the grasp of Tyson and was being dragged around, and Garland's eyes widened slightly at the sight.
"Ah, yes… I think you might be right, so if you can excuse me, I have an apology to make," he bowed, then straightened his back and strode across the garden.
Mystel observed him leave with a soft, fond smile. "He's been waiting all day to find your friend and properly apologize to him, you know," he stated, crossing his arms behind his back. "Garland truly feels sorry for hurting him".
"Oh, I could see that too," Kai glanced to the side, then smirked. "I don't think he was the only one who's been waiting to meet someone though, so maybe I should also excuse myself".
Mystel followed Kai's eyes, and his own widened slightly as he watched the Chinese blader approach.
Without speaking any more, Kai waved and moved away from Mystel, not wanting to stick around to see Rei's clumsy attempts at flirting.
He was determined to ignore Brooklyn,so he turned the corner of the house, hiding the rest of the bladers from sight. That could do. He could rest a bit on his own and recuperate… he wasn't the best at interacting with people.
He knew that Rei could take care of himself, and he was only lightly worried about what would come out of Tala and Garland's interaction, but he knew both would be able to sort things and act like proper, mature people.
It would be fine.
His senses flared up when a figure stepped up next to him, leaning against the wall at his side. For a second his insides twisted painfully, believing it to be Brooklyn, then he looked up to meet dark blue hair and equally dark eyes, and relaxed. This was just Tyson's older brother, Hitoshi.
"Tense?" Hitoshi asked, raising an eyebrow.
Kai looked away, staring at nothing in particular, "I thought you were Brooklyn," he admitted.
Hitoshi frowned a bit, confused, and his eyes flared with interest. "Really? Are you… uneasy around Brooklyn?"
"Yeah," Kai replied.
He was touched by Hitoshi's attempt to be caring, but at the same time he didn't want to start talking about himself and his feelings about Brooklyn with someone. He wouldn't be that open with Tala, let alone someone he barely knew.
"Just 'yeah'? Aren't you going to vent with someone who could listen?"
Kai glanced up, staring at Hitoshi's amused expression, and snorted. "You wouldn't want to be friends with someone who caused your bey to be destroyed, right?" he asked, shrugging. "Or your beast," he added after a moment.
Yes, this could be enough of a valid answer, no need to bring up things Hitoshi didn't know about. If Kai had learned one thing about the Granger family, they were all incredibly nosy and didn't take no for an answer. And Hitoshi was older than Tyson, and had much more endurance. Better admit to something small and get him off his neck.
"Well…" Hitoshi seemed to think about it. "But Dranzer is back now".
Kai didn't reply. Part of him felt the need to feel the bey under his fingers, as a calming gesture, but the part of him that couldn't even hold a bey lurched back in fright at that thought, so he swallowed the desire down until it was gone.
"I don't see what your problem is… your fight was good, and you got your revenge… and your bey is back. Why are you still holding a grudge against Brooklyn?"
Kai grunted, annoyed. Of course, Hitoshi liked Brooklyn, he'd even trained him for a while, though with dubious results. He was just like Tyson. Apparently families were made of the same stamp. He wondered what that said about himself and his grandfather.
"Not your business," he replied evenly. "My reasons for disliking the guy are mine and mine alone".
Hitoshi backtracked, shrugging and looking away from Kai, who relaxed slightly.
"Hey, it's getting noisy over there," Hitoshi casually motioned for the corner, implying he was talking about Tyson and his friends. "Do you mind me staying here for a bit? At least I'd have some quality company".
Kai blinked, unsure what to think of this, but shrugged. Hitoshi wasn't a bad person, and he was at least marginally better than his younger brother and elder relative. It would be fine.
…–…
Tala noticed Garland coming towards him and instantly tensed, stopping dead and forcing Tyson to stop as well.
He couldn't very well get on Tyson's bad side, especially since he was the host and manners had been instilled in Tala since a very young age, so he had allowed the younger teen to drag him around as he pleased, but now things had changed.
Garland was the strongest opponent Tala had faced ever since Tyson, and that fight had rendered him useless for an entire month, lost in a coma he'd managed to get out only thanks to his strong will.
For once in his life, Tala had been on the side of good. And that had been his reward.
It was with no small amount of hesitance that he managed to wait, still as a stone, for the other teen to come close.
Tala's eyes observed Garland as he halted a couple steps away from him, and he noticed that he wasn't the only one looking and feeling uneasy. Maybe the other teen knew that his stance had been wrong, and if that was it, Tala was expecting at least an apology.
Garland swallowed, trying to focus on what he wanted to tell Tala and feeling increasingly nervous as he looked at the red-head. His pride wasn't worth it. His family wasn't worth it. Hurting someone else, almost ruining their life.
"Tala?" he called out, clearing his throat. "May I speak with you somewhere more… private?"
Tala bit his upper lip and he idly wondered whether it would be safe to accept. Then he gave a curt, tense nod and followed Garland inside the gym. Tyson watched them go with a satisfied expression, and quickly busied himself with chasing Daichi down.
The two would have some privacy in the dojo, and he was sure things between them would quickly be solved.
Brooklyn had caught Garland lead the red-head away, and idly wondered whether this would mean the two would be friendly afterwards, or if things would get more bitter instead. He hoped for the first option, as he did care for his friend, and he knew that Garland's sense of pride wouldn't have allowed him to leave without apologizing.
Still, Brooklyn's attention was more focused on the corner Kai had disappeared from. He'd seen Hitoshi walk that way, possibly to follow the slate haired blader there, and a part of him was seething in anger.
He didn't want Hitoshi to be around him, and he definitely didn't like the thought that Kai could prefer his company to Brooklyn's.
As Brooklyn quietly simmered in anger, inside the dojo the tension was spiking up quickly.
Garland was, by all means, a proud person. Not just as a blader, but in relation to anything. It wasn't something he'd gotten from his family, but his desire to prove himself to them, to show he wasn't weak, that he was just as good as the rest of them… oh, yes, Garland didn't enjoy losing, or being proven wrong.
And yet, here he was, wanting to right a wrong because he'd allowed his pride to get the better of him. Tala deserved it.
"So? What do you want?" Tala's voice was as icy as his eyes.
Garland looked up straight at him and breathed deeply, "Tyson told me about… about Boris and a little bit of what he's done before… in Russia… the fact that I was so blind that I didn't notice how he was using us, how he was threatening some of us… it's inexcusable".
Tala's blank stare did not change, but his stance shifted minutely.
"I respect you for your strength. You stood up against him, and our fight wasn't even fair. You were doing what was right, and I hadn't even noticed".
Tala was still silent, but he was listening, and Garland was grateful for that; still, the Russian teen's stare was unnerving, and it sent Garland into a spiral of uneasiness once again. Tala's eyes were freezing cold, without any emotion whatsoever, and Garland was left with no guess over what to do. he knew there was a chance that Tala would not accept his apologies, but he still had to try, because it was the only right thing to do, and Garland had a lot to answer for.
This made him feel a little bit better, and with this resolve, he felt the knot in his throat melt.
"I'm sorry," he said, plain and honest. "I know this doesn't make up for hurting you, and for causing you pain. But I'm truly sorry for the way I treated you. I am taking responsibility, and I will do my best to find a way to make it up to you".
Tala's shoulders drooped, and his eyes lost some of their cold. Garland sounded sincere, from his stance to his words, and Tala knew how to detect a liar.
Not to mention Tala knew what kind of deceiving asshole Boris could be. How persuasive his actions could be, if nothing else.
After what felt like forever, his stance relaxed completely. "I accept your apologies," he replied quietly. "You were not the only one deceived by that man".
Still, Tala's unspoken words still lingered in the air around them, and Garland, in a moment of complete understanding, heard them perfectly. 'But I cannot trust you yet. You'll have a chance to prove you're truly honest, and that's it'.
Garland relaxed instantly as well, feeling a wave of relief fill him. watching Tala, watching the way he was guarded, but not as emotionless as before, made Garland feel like he wanted to prove himself to him the most. Tala didn't trust people, but he was offering him a second chance, and perhaps a way to be, if not friends, at least acquaintances.
He could work with it, and it would be a pleasure to try and win this glacial blader over.
Oh, yes. He wanted to show him that he could remedy to his past mistakes. He wanted to see Tala react with some visible emotion.
"How about a match?" he asked suddenly, surprising Tala who was ready to leave.
A red brow furrowed in confusion, "what?"
Garland felt a sparkle of anticipation, and stepped forwards. "Our last match was a mistake, and it was not fair. We didn't give our best, but maybe if we give this a go, a fair battle… things will be different".
Tala stared at him in surprise; this was the last thing he was expecting from the other teen, but not unwanted. A rematch? Well, that would be a good chance to finally settle things out between the two of them.
Smirking, Tala nodded, "sure then, anytime!"
"What about now?" a smug expression was on his face as he pulled out Apollon from his pocket, showing it to the red-haired teen; Tala snorted and took Wolborg out from his pocket, acquiescing to the request.
"You're on," Tala headed towards the door followed by the teal-haired teen, but once outside they were stopped by Tyson, who glared at them, then at the beyblades they were holding, eyes narrowing in suspicion.
"What are you two trying to do?" he asked, with a frown, "you are not going to have a battle," he added seriously.
Almost as if responding to a bell, all bladers surrounding them turned to look at the three, curious and perking at the words 'battle'.
"Why… not?" Garland raised one eyebrow questioningly.
"Because you're at my party! I won't allow you… any of you," he turned to glance at all the others, "to have a bey battle at this time. You're here to enjoy yourselves, not to fuel up your rivalries! Now let's go inside, Grandpa's called us for lunch five minutes ago!"
Garland and Tala glanced at each other, amused but disappointed, and they both placed their beys away. Tyson nodded at them, appeased, then hushed them inside through the backdoor. The rest of the group followed in silence, though some were looking fairly amused.
"Hey," Tala stopped Garland with a raised hand, and the fighter blader looked at him. "We can… battle at Kai's house. What about tomorrow? Would that be ok?"
Garland furrowed his brow, but nodded. "If Kai won't mind my presence there, I will definitely come," he assured. "You'll have to give me the address though, as I don't know it".
Tala nodded, serious but excited at the prospect, and garland felt himself smile.
This way he could kill both birds with one stone –have a fair battle against Tala, and then challenge Kai to a martial arts' fight. He'd wanted to try and battle him as well, but he'd seen the way the other teen moved, and he was pretty sure he would be more entertained by a normal fight instead, no weapons, no beys.
Now they just had to wait for tomorrow to come.
…–…
"Hey guys," Tyson waved his hands in the air, attracting the attention of everybody in the room.
They were all awkwardly sitting in his sitting room, some on the sofa, some on the chairs, some on the floor, or sprawled onto cushions, and were chatting after dinner. As they noticed Tyson trying to attract their attention, they all turned to him, quietening down.
"I was thinking, what about a movie? We have plenty of DVDs to choose from!"
There was a sudden stampede as most of the bladers, including the three girls, stormed over to the pile of movies in the corner, rummaging through them to choose the one they liked the best.
Kai didn't bother moving, not caring about the decision, while Tala let himself to go peer pressure, only because he didn't want to be caught watching something stupid.
"Oh, I know, let's see 'Shark Tale'!" Max pleaded, waving the DVD above his head. Moses growled at him and picked up another one, "what about 'Fast and Furious'?"
"Nah! Let's see 'Titanic'!" chirped MingMing, and Kenny hastily agreed, blushing furiously.
The rest of the bladers ha the same thought, 'Why does Tyson have Titanic?'
"No, here it is, 'Ghost'," Hilary sighed, she loved that film and it was so romantic. Plus, wow, Whoopi Goldberg.
"No, not that one, it's a chick flick!" someone rebuked, though it wasn't clear who.
"I vote for 'Pirates of the Caribbean, curse of the Black Pearl'," Garland proposed pointing to a DVD in Tala's hand.
Nobody seemed to have anything against Captain Jack Sparrow, and the few who had yet to see that movie agreed because of the ratings they'd heard about. It was one of the few choices everybody agreed on for one reason or another, and no one wanted to go against the majority anyway.
Otherwise they'd be stuck discussing the movie all night.
Tyson, Max and Daichi disappeared into the kitchen to prepare snacks for all of the teens, whilst a few others volunteered to gather enough armchair or seats to fit all of them. trying to be comfortable, they decided unanimously to move to the dojo instead, and Hitoshi carried the television over with a power cord long enough to work at that distance.
At first the older Granger thought of going away and leave the younger bladers alone for their own amusement, but as his eyes spotted Kai, who was taking a seat a little on the right –as far away as he could from the spots Tyson and Daichi had claimed as their own–he decided otherwise, and made his way over to the teen.
"Hey Kai, mind if I sit next to you? You have no idea of how noisy Tyson can be when he watches DVDs, but I wouldn't mind relaxing a bit too…" he asked politely.
"Hn," Kai shrugged, but motioned for Hitoshi to sit.
Mystel sat on the floor onto a cushion and Rei kneeled at his right, smiling openly at him. "Can I sit here?" he asked, shrugging. "I think it's the best spot of the room".
Mystel glanced at him and nodded with a small smile, turning his attention away from Rei; the latter looked quite proud, and flashed a smile in Kai's direction, receiving an eye-roll back. At least it seemed like the two were getting along just fine.
'He should be a little more wary,' Kai thought, sobering for a moment. 'The press would love the scoop of one of the champion bladers pursuing a boy instead of a girl…' he looked around subtly. 'Though I'm not sure he's the only one in here'.
Hitoshi lifted one eyebrow, amused. Kai hadn't seemed to be disgusted or annoyed at Rei's sweet flirting attempt, which was a good thing. At least Kai wasn't harbouring any homophobic feeling, and would probably support his friend and teammate if news were to get out of hand.
Nodding to himself, Hitoshi considered the fact that maybe this meant Kai himself wouldn't be opposed to being flirted with, either. Accepting a friend's sexuality didn't mean he shared it, but it was still a better starting point than being an asshole about it.
The others all gathered in the dojo, Tyson reappeared after a bit with a really huge bowl of popcorn and an equally enormous glass of coke, but when Monica tried to take a handful of popcorn Tyson moved it out of reach and shook his head, "yours will come soon, this is mine!"
Monica blinked and shifted away from him, scared, and Moses glared at Tyson before moving Monica near MingMing –despite her being a bit too proper, at least she would treat his little sister with more care. Then again, none of the teens outside of the family and the BladeBreakers had ever seen how protective of his own food Tyson was.
Max, together with Hilary, Daichi and Kenny, appeared in the dojo with trays filled with food and drinks, which they distributed around until everybody had their fill, and then they went to find their spots in front of the TV.
Daichi jumped on the seat in the front, at Tyson's side, also holding enough food to keep him satisfied for a while, and the others settled in, waiting for the movie to start.
The positions were as following –from the right Hitoshi, Kai, an empty seat, Tala, Moses, Max, Tyson and Daichi, then another empty seat; in front of them, on the cushions, were Rei and Mystel, Hilary, Monica, MingMing and Garland, who was shifting uncomfortably. Kenny handed the last coke glass and looked around for his seat.
The moment he noticed Garland's position, he shuffled over and hesitantly tapped him on the shoulder.
"Can you sit up on the chair and let me have this cushion?" he pleaded, looking desperate.
Garland's eyes lit up –he really didn't want to sit during all the film this close to the overemotional MingMing– and gladly swapped places with him; Kenny couldn't help but stare in adoration at MingMing's back while the girl kept on gossiping with Monica. He hoped she would spare him a glance at some point.
Last to the room, Brooklyn made his way into the dojo, having left the bathroom just moments before. A pleased feeling of satisfaction hit him when he realised that the only empty spot left for him would be at Kai's side.
Oh, yes. That was pretty lucky.
Kai was glancing at the popcorn with a vague disgust –it looked far too salty and buttery for his tastes– when he felt someone sit down at his side, a bit too close for comfort. He glanced up, ready to ask them to move a bit away, and froze when he realised that with a bad streak of luck, Brooklyn was the one sitting there.
Apparently perfectly ok with the seating situation, Brooklyn smiled at him, and Kai idly wondered if he should maybe swap places with Garland.
Unfortunately for Kai, Tyson decided that since they were all there he could start up the movie, and the room fell into darkness as the TV flickered on.
Oh, this wasn't good at all. Kai couldn't even relax, and the thought of Brooklyn sitting so close to him was sending him into a frenzy, even if the other teen wasn't doing absolutely anything.
On his other side, Hitoshi seemed to be watching the movie, and Kai wondered if he could at least ask him to trade seats. It wouldn't disturb anybody, right?
After the first ten minutes though, when Brooklyn did not move nor look at him, apparently interested in the movie, Kai found himself relaxing slightly. He slowly concentrated on the movie rather than on his surroundings, and finally started enjoying the film.
He even decided to ignore his distaste for the food, and started eating some popcorn, digging his fingers as carefully as he could into the bowl, picking delicately one or two pieces at a time, which didn't hurt much. He knew he'd pay for it later when he'd have to wash his hands clean of the butter and salt, but he guessed just this once it would be ok. He was still a bit hungry.
Brooklyn, though, found the sight a little more distracting than he had thought. Watching Kai absently licking his fingers was definitely a situation he hadn't even hoped to see, and it had more effect on him than it should have.
It wasn't nice to stare at someone like that, even Brooklyn knew it, but he couldn't help it. Kai's actions were mesmerizing, and they were infinitely attractive, especially since Kai didn't even know he looked so… appealing.
He wondered how it'd feel for Kai's lips to wrap around his own fingers, or how his lips would feel against Brooklyn's lips. The thought sent a shiver down his back, and he felt his stomach tightening.
Unfortunately for him, his staring was ruined as he glanced up and found Hitoshi looking at Kai with a similarly compromised expression, and he growled softly at the older guy, as if daring him to continue doing something so undignified.
Brooklyn tried to ignore Hitoshi and just look at Kai, but what before had seemed so enticing was now worrying him. He didn't want to share this… private sort of moment with someone like Hitoshi.
Hitoshi hadn't really wanted to look at Kai, but the sight was a bit too… interesting not to. Normally, kids as young as his younger brother didn't hold any appeal for him, and he considered them just that –kids. But… Kai acted so much more mature than the rest of his peers, and he was quite gifted in appearance too.
In short, Hitoshi liked him enough to think about some casual flirting –even if it didn't amount to much, it would still be something funny, and he could see if Kai harboured a similar disposition towards him– but of course he knew he wasn't the only one.
Brooklyn seemed to hold similar thoughts as he did, though the younger orange-head seemed to be far more serious about it than he was, which might be a problem. Hitoshi wasn't sure Kai was actually up for something serious, or something in general. That's why he wanted to flirt and test the grounds.
Still, Hitoshi couldn't help but feed Brooklyn's desire for competition, as he found his anger amusing, and his seriousness quite sweet. Besides, he knew Brooklyn didn't quite like him.
He lifted one eyebrow at Brooklyn, as if daring him to do something about him. The message was clear –'you like Kai? Well, you're not the only one. By the looks of it, at least, I'm a step ahead of you…'
Brooklyn felt another sparkle of anger and growled under his breath.
He was not going to let Hitoshi have Kai. Kai was his. He was interested in him, he wanted to know more about him. He wanted to kiss Kai, and keep him close.
What did Hitoshi even want with Kai? His talent as a blader? Or just he wanted to use him? he wouldn't let him do something so shallow to Kai. Not if he was around.
Much to his surprise, Brooklyn had to stop his own train of thoughts to consider what he'd just thought.
He didn't want to get to know more of Kai for the sake of it anymore, and he definitely didn't want to just observe him, or talk to him. He wanted to do more.
Kiss. Hold hands, press his fingers through Kai's hair, push him down and cover his body with his own, and then maybe even something more… adult. Lavish Kai with attention, but at the same time, not just in a physical way.
He wanted so much more.
And for once in his life, this sudden, unbidden desire left him completely speechless.
…–…–…–…–…–…
MasterFranny: see? Things are finally coming around! And poor Kai is going to suffer even more later, so keep on reviewing and I'll give you the next chapter!
I hope you understood what Kai is going through. He's not as good as others (coughReicough) in showing or understanding his emotions, especially not in regards to Brooklyn.