A big thank you to those who reviewed!
On to the next chapter! How's it going for those two?
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Coffee in Bed and the First Date
Kai stirred from his sleep as his bedroom door creaked open, light seeping in to the dark room from the hall.
He blinked, trying to get his sleepy eyes to focus clearly.
Rei came in, his hair in a messy ponytail, still in his pyjama shorts, carrying two cups of coffee.
"Morning..." he said quietly with a smile.
"Morning... What time is it?" he croaked out, rubbing his eyes.
"It's seven." the Chinese replied as he walked to the bed, placing one cup on Kai's bedside table before he moved to the other side. He placed his cup on the other bedside table before he climbed in to Kai's bed and made himself comfortable.
Kai felt himself tense, Rei hadn't done this before.
It had been a few days since the party. Just a few days since they'd decided to be a couple.
It was weird. To Kai anyway.
Everything was basically the same as it had been. Rei was there. The two did everything together. But at the same time everything seemed completly different. He felt somewhat out his element and uncomfortable.
Rei rolled over lazily and draped an arm over Kai's bare chest.
"Thought we'd have coffee in bed today...it is Sunday after all..."
Kai felt himself tense a little more.
"Uh...thanks...I should quickly go check on the baby though..." he said quickly as he sat up, making Rei's arm slip off him as he swung his legs over the side of the bed to get up.
"Oh, no you don't..." Rei said as he took him by the shoulders and pulled him back down, "I just checked on him. He's still fast asleep. You're all mine for a while."
Kai reluctantly lay back down on his side, Rei pulling him in back in to him. The warmth of Rei's body pressed against his back and his arm around him quickly made him relax. It felt nice.
It didn't last long.
They'd been silent for a while...were they supposed to talk? Or were they meant to stay quiet?
He shuddered as he felt a tickle, a fingertip gently tracing over his back.
Rei had discovered quickly that Kai's skin was surprisingly sensitive and ticklish. He smirked as he watched the goosebumps already appearing.
He was tracing the outline of his tattoo. He loved it. It really was beautifully done and suited him a lot.
"I never did get an answer the other night..." Rei broke the silence.
"About what?"
"When did you get the ink?"
"Oh. Just after I got married."
Rei continued to run his finger over it.
"It's really beautiful."
"Thanks. Naomi designed it, actually...was kind of a wedding present."
Rei's finger stopped.
"Oh?"
"Yeh. She had the rose tattoo on her arm, right? I once told her I wanted Dranzer on my back, but didn't think anyone could design what I had in mind...I sure as hell can't draw for shit...she was an artist, she knew Dranzer and she knew me...so she drew up some designs for me. They were all so perfect, it was actually hard to pick one. Since she was the artsy type and hung out mostly with other artsy types, she knew some really talented tattoo artists so set me up and got it for me."
"That's cool...what made you get it on your back though? You can't see it..."
He felt Kai tense again.
"...take a closer look. More by the tail."
Rei scooched himself so his face was close to it and squinted, looking closely. His eyes scanning the beautiful, vibrant artwork that stood out on his ivory, white back. Then he finally saw it. Raised, discolored lines. Scarring.
He ran his finger over it.
"I had some pretty bad scarring across my shoulders from the abbey. I've got a bunch all over me, but my back was the worst. I wanted to cover it up. So I figured what better to cover it up with than my friend who was by my side through the whole thing..." Kai explained.
Rei's face saddened. But the tattoo seemed all the more beautiful.
He leaned his face a little closer to it and placed a soft kiss on his back. The feeling of his lips on him and his warm breath on his skin made him shudder again.
"It's perfect." he praised.
"Hm, thank you."
Rei replied by planting more kisses up his back to his neck. He pulled Kai to face him, going for a kiss.
Kai quickly flinched and pulled away, covering his mouth.
"What's the matter?" Rei asked, surprised by the reaction.
"Not right now..." Kai said quietly.
"Why not?" Rei asked, puzzled.
"...I just woke up." he said, still covering his mouth.
Rei clicked and chuckled.
"So I'm just gonna...yeh..." Kai said sheepishly as he shuffled out of bed and left for the bathroom.
Rei reached over and grabbed his coffee, blowing on it before sipping.
The past few days, Kai had been acting weird. It was obvious he was just nervous, which was understandable. But Rei hadn't expected this level of awkwardness. It was almost like he was a little scared of him. Even trying to talk to him made his new partner get flustered and seem to panic a little. Like he didn't know how to react. It was kind of cute, really. But Rei was struggling to think of how he could make him more at ease.
They'd agreed they'd take things slowly, which Rei was trying to do. But they'd already been living together for about half a year...most couples waited a long time before taking that step. There had to be a way for them to keep living together and go from the 'friend' vibe to the 'couple' vibe without spooking him.
An idea came to him...
Meanwhile in the bathroom, Kai was furiously brushing his teeth, cringing to himself.
Why couldn't he just be cool!?
Still...better than kissing him when his breath smelled like something crawled in there and died...he thought to himself.
He spat and rinsed. Wiping his face with a towel and looking in the mirror.
He patted his stomach before turning and checking the back.
He wasn't fat. In fact he was more on the skinny side...since he stopped training, he wasn't as ripped as he was. He'd always hated how tiny his waist was. Now that he wasn't as muscular, it looked even smaller and even less masculine. Rei was broader than he was...
"...man, I gotta start working out more..." he whined to himself.
He sighed to himself before dragging himself back to his room.
As he entered, he saw Rei sat cross legged on his bed, lazily braiding his hair.
"Better?" he asked with a smile.
"...yeh..." he replied as he sat back on the bed, taking his coffee.
"So...what are you doing Friday night?" Rei asked suddenly.
Kai swallowed his coffee and turned to him.
"Friday? ...nothing that I know of, why?"
"Well...I was thinking we could...go on a date."
Kai choked on his mouthful of coffee.
"A date?"
"Yeh." Rei smiled.
"As in...just the two of us?"
"That's usually how dates work." Rei's smile grew.
Kai felt his face flush at his own stupidity.
"What about Gou?"
"We'll find a sitter."
He could almost see the cogs turning nervously in Kai's head.
Rei patted his leg.
"Don't freak out. I know you've never been on one before. I'll plan everything. All you need to do is come along."
Kai went a little pink. He hated being this useless at this kind of thing.
"...This Friday?"
"Yes, Kai..." he laughed out.
"...OK, sure..." Kai finally agreed.
Rei grinned.
"Great...it's a date."
There was a cry from the next room. Kai set his coffee down and moved to get out of bed again. Rei stopped him.
"I'll get him. You finish your coffee." he said sweetly before pecking him on the cheek and leaving.
Kai flopped back on the bed.
"...shit."
The week went on as normal. Kai working and Rei training. The two of them taking care of the baby and the house between them. Kai tredding on eggshells around Rei.
It was now Wednesday. Only two days until Kai's very first date.
Rei still hadn't told him where they were going.
Tala dropped by with Bryan that afternoon. The redhead needed to go over some things to do with one of the bigger projects. Bryan just sadly didn't have anything better to do on his day off. The three were sat at the kitchen table, papers spread across it.
Cries came over the babymonitor as Tala was mid-sentence.
"...Sorry, Tala...hold that thought. I'll be right back..." he said apologetically.
"No problem, take your time." Tala waved off as Kai got up to tend to the baby.
The back door opened not long after Kai left the room.
"Oh, hey guys!"
The two Russians turned to see Rei come in.
"Hey Rei, been training?" Tala asked as the Chinese dumped his bag down.
"Yeh. You guys here for business of pleasure?" he asked.
"I'm here on business, Bryan's here out of boredom."
Rei laughed as he grabbed a drink from the fridge.
"Soooo...how are things going with Kaaaaaiii?" Bryan asked in an immature voice.
Rei rolled his eyes at him as he took a seat at the table with them.
"Fiiiiinnnneee..." he replied in the same voice.
"Only fine? Shouldn't you both be deliriously and annoyingly giddy?"
Rei sighed.
"Yeh...he's just a little on edge. It'll take some time to adjust to, I guess. We were supposed to be going out Friday but Judy is busy and so are the others...not sure if we're going to be able to get a Kai-approved sitter..."
"Ohhhh, first date?" Tala joined in on the childish voice.
"Yeh...well...was gonna be our first date." Rei said with disappointment.
"I'll watch Gou." Bryan offered, shrugging.
Rei and Tala both stared at him for a second before they both burst out laughing.
"What?!" Bryan asked, annoyed at the reaction.
"You...take care of an infant?" Tala said.
Bryan huffed.
"Yes, me take care of the baby!"
"Somehow I don't think Kai will go for that..." Tala laughed.
Bryan growled slightly.
"I'll have you know I'm very good with kids..."
"Since when?!" Tala laughed harder.
"I'm an uncle! My nieces adore me!" he argued back defensively.
Tala snorted.
"Well shit...this I gotta see...Rei, both Bryan and I will take care of Gou."
"...are you sure?" Rei asked, not sure if Kai would be happy putting his precious angel in the care of Tala and Bryan.
"We're sure."
"...Well...If Kai says it's all right then...thank you."
"Ah we'll make him agree to it..." Tala waved off, "so, where are you guys going?"
"Well..." Rei started, "it's his first date ever...so I want to keep it simple I guess..."
"Dinner and a movie style?" Bryan asked.
"That's the thing...I also don't want to be that boring and predicatable..."
"So what have you got planned?" Bryan asked, smiling at how much thought he was putting in to it.
Before he could open his mouth, Kai came back in.
"Kai. Bryan and I are taking care of the baby Friday night." Tala fired out as soon as he walked in.
Kai let out a snort.
"The hell you are..." he said as he sat back down.
The two looked offended.
"Actually..." Rei started, "Everyone else is busy that night..."
Kai looked between Rei and the two grinning Russians.
"Oh no...no no...I'm sorry Rei, we'll just have to do it another night..."
"What the hell Kai!?" both Tala and Bryan yelled in unison.
"What kind of dad would I be if I left him with you two idiots?!" Kai yelled back.
"The most awesome kind! And besides, you don't want to cancel your big date do you?" Bryan asked with a smirk.
Kai felt the red tinge across his face at the late realisation that the two knew about the date.
"Please, Kai?" Rei asked.
He looked again between Rei's pleading face and Tala and Bryan's smug little smirks. He knew he'd be a dick if he didn't. He sighed.
"Fine...but if there's so much a hair out of place on my boy when we get back I'm going to make sure you're both unable to make children of your own..."
The three of them beamed.
"Perfect! That's settled! I'll let you guys get back to work..." Rei said excitedly before kissing Kai on the cheek and getting up, picking up his bag and leaving again.
The two Russians watched as their friend tensed up at the kiss and kept his eyes on the table.
Kai felt their eyes on him and lifted his head to meet two sly smirks.
"...What?"
"Why are you being like a timid little mouse in front of the cat?" Tala asked, switching to Russian to be safe.
"I am not. Just...don't want to be all touchy in front of you guys."
"Oh please, Rei mentioned you were on edge and we know you well enough to know you're probably an awkward wreck."
Kai huffed.
"I am not! It's just...weird. We were friends and then suddenly over night we were more than that...it's just taking a little time to adjust to..."
"You nervous about Friday?" Tala asked.
"...No..."
They both cocked an eyebrow.
"Really, it's not a big deal. It's gonna be fine..."
The eyebrows seemed to raise higher.
He gave up.
"All right, fine. I'm dreading it! You happy?" he pouted.
"Why?"
Kai exploded.
"...what the hell do you do on dates?! I don't go on dates! What do we talk about? What if it's really awkward and he realises he's made a mistake?"
Tala was just opening his mouth to reply.
"I have no idea where we're going, what do I wear?! Is it casual? I don't know!"
Bryan tried opening his mouth to say something, too.
"Or what if he expects us to...you know...when we get back!?"
"Hey. Shut up a sec. One freak out at a time." Bryan scolded.
"Yeh, first off, just be normal! You guys have known each other forever and talking has never been a problem. Don't put so much pressure on it. Just look at it as hanging out together." Tala reasoned.
"Yeh, and for clothes, just ask him. Problem solved." Bryan answered.
"And as for the other thing...have you two been 'intimate' since the hotel?" Bryan asked.
Kai choked on the air in his throat and burned.
"None of your business!"
"So no..."
"Would it really be a problem if you guys did?" Tala asked.
Kai stayed quiet and turned a deeper shade of red.
"Tala...he's...pure as fresh snow in that department..." Bryan answered for him, Kai flushed a deeper red.
"But didn't you two...the other night?" Tala pried, confused.
"No Tala, I did not pop my cherry in the hotel... And that concludes the awful pep talk...can we please get back to work!?" he begged.
The two snickered before Tala pulled out a file and mercifully changed the topic.
Friday arrived quickly. It was about an hour before they were leaving and Kai was at his closet trying to figure out what the hell he was going to wear. Suddenly he felt all his clothes looked like shit.
He still didn't know where they were going. Rei had just said 'casual is fine'.
He sighed angrily at himself and gave himself a slap.
"Pull yourself together and just pick something...stop being a hysterical girl..." he scolded himself before going through the hangers again.
He stopped at a wine colored long sleeve shirt. Rei once complemented him on it. That would do...
He heard the doorbell. Bryan and Tala were here.
He put on the shirt and a pair of black jeans and hunted for his favorite jacket. He checked himself in the mirror and suddenly his stomach was in knots again.
He huffed, unhappy with his hair and tried fixing it.
As he finished fixing his hair, his eyes caught the glint of the platinum wedding band on his finger. The knots in his stomach dropped.
If there was going to be a time to finally take it off, this was probably it. Going on a date with someone while wearing a wedding ring from someone else didn't seem right...
She wouldn't mind, anyway. She was probably wondering why he was still even wearing it. He didn't really know the answer to that one either...he just hadn't felt ready to.
He took hold of it and took a breath, as if he was about to rip off a bandaid and gently eased it off his finger.
There. It was done.
He walked to his bedside table and opened the drawer, carefully putting it in.
He felt weirdly emotional about it. But now wasn't the time.
"Wish me luck, wifey...I'll need it..." he said out loud as he shut the drawer.
There was a knock at his door.
"Come in."
Tala and Bryan burst in.
"Ohhhh...looking sharp!" Tala complemented.
"Shut up." Kai glared.
"Rei's waiting downstairs."
"I'll be right down. Did he show you where everything is for Gou?"
"Yes."
"You have both our numbers, right?"
"Yes."
"You do something stupid you both know I'm going to murder you, right?"
"Oh, relax papa. We've got this. Go enjoy your date." Tala ordered.
Bryan playfully put an arm around Tala, looking his friend up and down.
"Our little Kai...off on his first date..."
"They grow up so fast..." Tala joined in.
Kai rolled his eyes.
"Fuck you guys..." he bit as he head downstairs.
He went to the living room and stopped dead in the doorway.
Rei was sat on the couch, waiting for him. He turned his head to see him and smiled, standing up.
Tonight he wasn't in his usual Chinese attire. He'd gone with western clothing, which Kai had hardly ever seen him in.
He too wore black jeans, a white t-shirt and a long, mustard yellow shirt over the top. His hair in a loose ponytail.
"You look great..." Kai blurted out.
"Thanks..." Rei smiled shyly, "you don't look so bad yourself."
The knots in his stomach came back.
"Ready to go?" Rei asked.
"Yeh..."
They got their shoes and called up to Tala and Bry that they were leaving. The two came running down the stairs waving enthusiastically.
"Have fun, you two!"
Rei laughed and turned to the door, as soon as his back was turned, Kai flipped them off, glaring before following Rei out the door.
The two walked down the street. There was quiet.
"So...are you going to tell me where we're going?" Kai asked.
Rei tensed.
"Nope...it's a surprise...I...hope you like it...I wanted to plan something a little different...but if it's boring or you don't like it we can do something else..."
He sounded as nervous as Kai felt. He felt releived it wasn't just him.
"I'm sure it'll be great..."
The two managed to keep talking as they walked downtown. It was only a twenty minute walk from the house.
They walked down a street of small stores. Rei stopped in front of one.
"Here we are. Our first stop..." Rei said nervously.
Kai looked at the store. It was a little book store. The wood and window panes were painted in a pale blue.
"Dog Eared Books" the sign read.
It looked cool, but he hadn't realised this was what people did on dates.
Rei shifted his feet as he saw Kai looking at it, unable to read his reaction.
"I know you like reading a lot...and all your books seem to be older ones...this place sells old books and it only opened a few months ago so I thought maybe you'd like it..."
Kai felt a smile crack at the sweet gesture. He'd clearly put a lot of thought in to it.
"Well, let's go in and have a look."
A little bell above the door jingled as they pushed the door open. The smell of old paper hitting their noses as they walked in.
"Smell that?" Kai asked, "I love that smell. That's why I always buy old ones."
They took a look around.
It was bigger than they'd expected from the outside. Rows and rows of pine bookshelfs held slightly off-color, faded paperbacks and leatherbound books.
Kai started to slowly walk along the aisles, running his finger along the book spines and scanning them. Rei followed behind, watching him.
"What do you like to read?" Kai asked.
"Oh...I don't read that much I guess..."
"Well we should fix that...any particular genre you like?"
"Uh...anything really..." Rei answered awkwardly, realising he was revealling to his very well-read date that he didn't read much. Not a great start. He had to think fast.
"but...why don't you recommend something to me...like what about something by a Russian writer? You guys are well known for literature, right?"
He felt relief as Kai seemed to beam, Rei had played in to something he knew about.
"...Well...let's see...uh...Russian novels tend to be pretty heavy, especially if you're not that in to reading..."
He snapped his fingers.
"Got it, I know what you should read."
He took Rei's hand and lead him down the rows of shelves, his eyes looking around for where to find it.
"B...B...where is B...Ah! They have it!" he said excitedly as he gently pulled a book from the shelf.
"It's a nice one, too..." he said as he examined the dark blue, fabric covered hardback. He held it out to Rei. He took it and looked at it.
"The Master and Margarita by Mikhail...Bul...Bulgakov." Rei read. He'd never heard of it.
"There isn't a Russian alive who hasn't read this. And if they haven't, they can't call themselves Russian."
Rei smiled.
"What's it about?"
"Well it starts off with the devil appearing in Moscow...I don't want to give too much away but it's actually a romance...but also a satire about the Soviet Union...it's just...really good. You should read it."
"Sure...I will." Rei's smile grew at how passionate and knowledgable he was about it. He turned the book around to look at how much it was...it was kind of expensive.
Kai took it from his hands.
"Let me get it for you..."
"No, I can't let you do that.."
"Kai?" came a voice behind them
The two turned. A young woman with pale skin and long, curly red hair stood at the end of the aisle.
"I thought that was your voice!" she smiled.
"...Rachel?"
The woman head towards them and gave him a hug.
"It's been forever! I've meant to call you but..."
"I know, it's OK..."
Rei looked between them.
Kai felt him looking.
"Ah, Rei...this is Rachel, one of Naomi's best friends from art school...Rachel, this is Rei...uh...he uh..."
He didn't know what to introduce him as.
"Oh...so this is Rei..." Rachel said slyly.
The two looked at her. Rei confused why a stranger knew him. Kai burning red.
"Naomi told me about you..." she said with a knowing, playful smile, "so are you two...?"
"...we're actually on our first date as we speak..." Kai whispered to her.
Her eyes sparkled.
"Oh my god! You guys came to my store on your first date!" she beamed.
"Your store!?"
"Yeh, opened a few months ago..."
"Congratulations, this place is great!"
"Hey, thanks! It's going pretty well so far..."
Kai looked around again.
"She would have loved it, too."
"Yeh...she would have...probably would have been my best customer."
There was a pause.
"...I'm sorry I never called, Kai. I just...figured you'd need time and then opening the store and everything..."
"Really, it's OK. We're doing fine."
"Do you think maybe...we could hang out some time? I'd love to meet your son..."
"Of course. Got my number?"
She nodded.
"Call me anytime. You're always welcome." he said kindly.
She smiled and looked at the book in his hand.
"What you got there?"
He held it up.
"I'm introducing Rei here to Russian literature."
"Oh, excellent choice...hang on a sec..." she took the book from him and disappeared for a moment and came back with a paper bag with the store name on it.
"It's on the house." she smiled as she handed it to him.
"No, it's fine! We'll pay for it." Kai started to argue.
"No, it's on me. I insist. Just promise to come back sometime and...I'm happy for you. She would be, too..."
"Thank you..."
"Well...I'm sorry for interrupting your date...have fun." she said to them both with a wink, "Kai, I'll call you soon!"
The two left the store. Kai felt bad...Rei's plan had been overshadowed by his late wife...
"...Sorry, Rei..."
"For what?"
"Well...she kind of popped up..."
Rei smiled and waved it off.
"You don't have to worry about her 'popping up', Kai. Did you like it?"
"I did." he said with a small smile.
"Then that's part one a success...on to the next..." he said as he took Kai's hand.
As the two kept walking down the darkening streets, they passed an arcade.
Rei looked through the window and saw kids and couples playing. He smirked at the idea. They had time.
He pulled Kai's hand to make him stop.
"Hey...when was the last time you went to an arcade?"
Kai scoffed.
"I've never been in an arcade."
"What!? Ever?"
Kai shook his head, "Nope."
"...well now we gotta..." he said as he dragged him in.
The doors opened and they were bombarded with music, gun shots, driving sounds from the machines as well as all the lights flashing.
"Rei...come on, we're not twelve any more..." he laughed.
"Oh, lighten up..." he jabbed back playfully, "...just one game."
"Fine..." he sighed, "what do you want to play?"
It was Rei's turn to drag him around, looking for the perfect game for a beginner. He soon found it.
"This one! It's a classic!" he said as they stopped at two driver seats in front steering wheels and big screens.
"You ever played Mario Kart?"
Kai snorted again and shook his head.
Rei smirked and sat himself in one of the seats, patting the one next to him.
"Get in..."
Kai rolled his eyes and sat himself in the seat, feeling ridiculous. They were grown-ass men.
"So we choose characters and race each other. When you see the little boxes with question marks, drive in to them and they give you items you can use."
"Sounds simple enough..."
Rei pulled out two coins and put them in. He chose Yoshi.
"...how do I choose one?" Kai asked, not sure how to use the controls.
"Here, let me show you..." he smirked as he reached over and did it for him.
"...did you just make me the girl?"
"I did...you're Princess Peach..."
"Thanks..."
The race started. It didn't take long for Kai's competitive mode to set in.
The two were neck and neck for a while.
"Rei what do the red shell things do?!" he asked frantically as he drove in to the item box.
"Oh, nothing...they're useless...better hold on to those..."
"Heh, you're such a bad liar..." he said as he pushed a button and the shell sent Rei's car flying.
"Oh shit, awesome!" Kai laughed.
"Oh, you're so dead..." Rei laughed back.
Kai ended up winning. He raised his hands in victory.
"What say we make it best of three?" Rei pouted.
Kai rooted in his pocket for more coins.
"You're on..."
They played two more rounds. Kai won two, Rei once.
"Pff...beginner's luck..." Rei joked as he got out the seat.
"Don't be such a bad loser."
"Rich coming from you..." he laughed as he took his hand again and lead him back out in to the street.
"You hungry?" Rei asked.
"Yeh...where to next?" Kai asked, a lot more relaxed. Rei was relieved he seemed to be enjoying himself.
"Follow me..."
It was now dark out. The streets filled with lights from the stores, bars and restaurants. They wandered down some of the smaller side streets until Rei stopped outside a red brick building.
"The Red Lion?" Kai read.
"Yeh...it's a British pub I've been dying to come to...I know British food doesn't have the best rep, but I've heard it's really good and thought it would be different."
"Sounds good to me..." Kai smiled again. Rei was clearly trying to make this unique.
The two walked in to the dimly lit pub, the walls painted a deep red and all the furniture made of dark wood. Gold framed paintings hung on the wall.
They walked up to the bar. The barman was a large, stout man who was cleaning a glass.
"Evenin' gents. What can I get ya?" came his thick English accent.
"Do you have a table for two?" Rei asked.
"We do. But just so you know tonight is the monthly pub quiz. Would you two lads be interested?"
They looked at each other. Kai shrugged with a smirk.
"...Sure, why not?" Rei laughed. He sucked at trivia...but could be fun anyway.
"Lovely. I'll put you on table three. Can I get you some drinks?"
They both ordered a British beer. The barman placed the glasses in front of them.
"The sign up sheet for the quiz is over there. I'll bring you some menus."
Kai took the glasses over to the table and Rei went to sign them up.
"Number of team members...2..." he said to himself out loud.
"Team name? ...Uh..." he glanced down the list.
"Oh wow.." he laughed at the stupid team names that had already signed up. They must be regulars.
Let's Get Quizzicle
The Quizard of Oz
Here for the Beer
Trivia Newton John
He shrugged to himself. He couldn't think of anything witty. Or anything for that matter. So he just wrote "Here on our First Date" as their team name.
He went back to Kai. They clinked glasses and went on to ordering some food.
It was really good. They talked about their trip to London as teenagers when they missed the boat on the way to France as they ate and laughed about old times.
By the time they finished, the quiz master appeared.
"Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to this month's pub quiz!"
The teams clapped.
"Rules are as always. No using phones. No cheating. There are three rounds, ten questions per round! Now, let's introduce our teams! Let's hear it for...'Let's Get Quizzicle'!"
There was applause and a group of two men and two women waved.
"Here for the Beer!"
A group of six men raised their glasses.
"Trivia Newton John!"
Three geeky looking older men waved.
"The Quizard of Oz!"
Three middleaged women waved.
"Oh...what's this? 'Here on our First Date'? Really? " he chuckled playfully.
Kai shot Rei a look. He hadn't told him they had a team name.
"Raise your hands, lovebirds!" The man said as he scanned the room.
Rei waved proudly and Kai put his head in his hand. They got an extra loud applause.
He finished introducing the rest of the teams.
"Let's begin! Pencils at the ready! Question one...In which controversial movie is 'Nasdat' spoken?"
There was a hush.
Rei's face fell, he had no idea.
Kai leaned in to him.
"A Clockwork Orange..." he whispered.
Rei smiled and wrote it down on the paper.
"Question two. Which British novel begins with the line 'It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.' ?"
Rei sighed. Again, no clue.
"Nineteen eighty-four." Kai whispered again.
"You're good..." Rei praised as he wrote it down.
The quiz went on. The first round finished. They swapped papers and went over the answer to the first ten questions.
They were second place. Not bad.
It went to round two.
"Question is the opposite of Lima syndrome?"
It was Kai's turn to look stumped.
"I've never heard of it..."
Rei's eyes widened.
"Oh god...I know this! I know this one!" he bounced in his seat.
Kai giggled at the frustrated, hyper reaction.
"It's...Oh shit...What's it called when someone who's kidnapped starts liking their kidnapper?!" Rei whispered frantically.
"Stockholm syndrome?" Kai asked.
"That's it!" he said excitedly before scribbling it down.
By the end of the second round, they were joint first.
It went to the final round. By the end, they were still joint first.
"Well, ladies and gentlemen...we appear to have a tie...it now goes to a sudden death question between 'Quizard of Oz' and our loved up newcomers 'Here on our First Date'."
There was an 'oooooooooooooh' across the bar.
The man placed a buzzer in front of the two teams.
"The first team to answer this question correctly, wins..." the man said dramatically.
Kai and Rei giggled, weirdly anxious about the stupid quiz.
"Hands on the table, everyone..."
There was a tense pause.
"The question...is..."
They listened intently.
"What is the English translation of the book titled in its native language 'Vonya i mir'?"
Kai let out a victorious "HA!" before slamming his hand on the buzzer.
"Yes, sir?" the man pointed at him.
"War and Peace!" he yelled out.
"CORRECT! Tonight's pub quiz champions are 'Here on our First Date'!"
There was applause. Kai and Rei high-fived, grinning at each other.
The quiz master came to them a minute later with a corny certificate.
"The title of Pub Quiz Champion for the April 2018 Red Lion Pub Quiz goes to: 'Here on our First Date."
They thanked him and he left.
"...this clearly needs to be framed and hung up in the living room." Rei joked.
"Clearly." Kai smirked.
They paid up their tab and headed out, hailing a cab to take them home.
They arrived home, it was only 10pm but all the lights were off. Tala and Bryan must have gone to bed? They didn't realise they were staying the night. But it wasn't a problem.
"You want a night cap?" Rei asked.
"Sure..."
They made their way to the living room, Rei went to the kitchen and brought back two glasses with ice before getting the whiskey from the cabinet and pouring it.
He sat back next to Kai, picking up the bag from the bookstore and taking it out, flipping through it.
"I hope you like it..." Kai said, watching him.
"I'm sure I will..." Rei answered. He set the book down on the table and turned to him.
"So..did you have fun?"
"I really did..." Kai answered honestly, taking a swig of his drink.
"Good...me too...the next one I'll leave to you." Rei smirked.
Kai's face dropped. He couldn't top tonight.
Rei chuckled slightly.
"Don't look so nervous, we didn't do anything special tonight...bookstore, arcade and a pub."
"It was perfect though..." Kai said as he met Rei's eyes.
Rei smiled and took Kai's glass, setting them both down on the coffee table. He scooched closer to him until they were touching.
"It really was, wasn't it?" he said softly before leaning in and placing a gentle kiss on him.
They parted and looked each other in the eyes for a moment before Kai leaned in and kissed him a little harder.
They continued a while before Rei gently pushed Kai to lay down on the couch, he positioned himself on top of him and the two made out on the couch like two high-schoolers.
Rei gently ran his tongue along Kai's lip, the other opening his mouth to let him in.
As the kissing deepened, they let out soft moans.
Rei moved his hand down and slipped his hand inside Kai's shirt, gently touching his soft, warm skin-
"Whoa! Sorry guys!" came a sudden voice.
The two instantly pulled away and sat up, like two teenagers caught by one of their moms.
"Damnit, Bryan!" Kai cursed, annoyed and embarrassed.
Bryan had a hand over his eyes.
"I'm sorry! I heard you come back and thought I'd come let you know Gou was fine! I didn't think you'd be tongue-wrestling down here!"
Rei chuckled and Kai glared.
"Thanks for taking him, Bry. I hope he wasn't any trouble for you." Rei said politely.
Tala appeared in the doorway, too. Kai sighed. As much as he loved them, he hated them right now.
"So did you two kids have fun?!" he asked.
"...until you guys appeared we were having a great time..." Kai spat, wishing they'd take the hint and leave.
"That's what we get for taking care of your kid while you go out for a magical evening? Some manners..." Tala said sarcastically.
"It was great, thanks..." Rei answered, making up for Kai's bluntness.
"Glad to hear it...but I bet I had the more amusing night. Watching Bryan change a diaper was hil-arious!"
"Yeh, and some help you were!" Bryan shot back.
"Seriously, I thought he was gonna puke!" Tala kept laughing.
"Honestly, how can a kid that small produce a smell that large!?" Bryan asked, defending himself.
Kai cleared his throat.
The two looked at him. He raised an eyebrow.
"...right, well, we'd better get going...It's getting late and all..." Tala said, finally getting the hint, taking Bryan's arm and dragging him out.
"Night guys!"
"Night, thanks again!"
"Anytiiiimmmmeee!" Tala called through as they left.
They were alone.
Rei wanted to keep going. Of course he did. But they'd said to go slowly, so he'd keep to it.
"Well...I guess we should call it a night, too."
"Oh...yeh..." Kai said, a hint of disappointment in his voice.
They head upstairs and Kai got to his bedroom, Rei planted another kiss on him.
"Goodnight...thanks for a great time." he said before heading to his own room.
"...Night..." Kai replied as he watched him go.
He went in to his room, got undressed and flopped on the bed. Going over every detail of the night again in his head. He couldn't help but smile as his stomach fluttered wildly. It really had been a perfect night.
The next morning, his bedroom door creaked open. Rei came in with two cups of coffee again. Kai sat himself up and smiled before pulling the covers next to him open and patting the bed.
Rei smiled back before climbing in and nestling in to his side. He put his arm around him and the Rei quickly dozed off on him.
This time it didn't feel tense or awkward at all. It felt comfortable...and right.
"This isn't so bad...could get used to this..." Kai thought to himself contently as he let his eyes close again and drift off too. Leaving the hot coffee on the side to go cold.
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I thought it was about time some good stuff started happening for Kai! Let's see if it stays that way...
Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed!
As always, any comments would be appreciated. :)
