Rim: I honestly don't know what I want to do for this chapter, so I guess we will be playing it by ear for a little while to see what goes on and happens. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter like the previous one.

-oooooo-

Tyson opened his eyes, yawning slightly as he nuzzled up closer to the warmth of his boyfriend's chest, listening to the soft rhythmic thumps of Ozuma's heart. Tyson let the silence remain in the room, at least for a few more seconds, knowing that the other was awake when he shifted ever so slightly. A short smile crossed his lips, finding Ozuma wrap an arm around his waist, pulling him closer. Lifting his head up, he found the green eyed male looking down at him with a wide grin, which Tyson returned immediately. "What time is it?" Ozuma mumbled, kissing at Tyson's neck.

"I can't find out with you doing that, you know," Tyson laughed, lightly pushing away his boyfriend to turn over and stare at the digital clock resting on the table beside the bed.

"Well, who says that I really wanted to know the time, it was rhetorical," Ozuma stated.

"That was not a rhetorical question," Tyson argued. "You were clearly questioning me on what time it was, you just felt like you didn't need to know because you know I would turn over and check if I hadn't done so already."

"Smart ass," Ozuma teased, going back to nipping at Tyson's neck. Moving his hand across Tyson's stomach, he felt his boyfriend squirm lightly. "Keep squirming like that, it's turning me on."

"Ozuma, stop that," Tyson said. "Aren't you sated yet for today?"

"No, I'm not," Ozuma replied, moving his hand lower, so that his fingertips brushed against the insides of Tyson's warm thighs. He felt a light shiver ride up the blue haired male's back, hearing his boyfriend whimper ever so slightly. Ozuma pressed himself against Tyson's back, tilting Tyson's head towards him for a kiss.

"Ozuma," Tyson protested. "I do want to get out of this bed some time tonight you know. Can't you cool your hormones once in a while?"

"Around you, my hormones can never cool down. You just don't get how sexy you are and how hard it is for me to resist you. Besides, there's no need to get out of bed," Ozuma grinned, kissing Tyson lightly on the lips. His mouth traveled away from Tyson's mouth, kissing his way down to the unprotected neck begging him to mark it.

"There are plenty of reasons to get out of bed, one being to use the bathroom, the second is to get something to eat, third is to take a shower," Tyson said, moving Ozuma's hand from between his thighs where it had been moving upwards towards its designated target. Moving away from his boyfriend slightly, Tyson sat up, reading the numbers on the digital clock. Currently the numbers read 8:47, he wondered if anyone had called him since his departure from the others earlier.

Just recently his father had returned on a trip to Japan to see Tyson's brother, bring the young man back a ton of pictures of all the new projects his brother had finished up with or was beginning on. In another week and a half, his father was going to travel to Peru for an expedition that was already being set up, funded by a museum that would feature all the findings his father and his team discovered while they were excavating some underground caves in Peru. If there was one thing about Tyson's family, nobody ever sat still for too long doing nothing. Occasionally Tyson found himself proving that statement to be true.

Reaching over to grab his cell phone, Tyson flipped the phone open, taking his phone off do not disturb. Immediately the missed call message appeared on the color screen, followed by the voice message announcement. Pressing the button to see who called him, he immediately recognized both Kenny and Rei's number. Going to voice messages, Tyson's phone without delay dialed the voice mail number. Placing the phone to his ear, Tyson listened to Rei's short message which only told him that his cousin had something to tell him. Deleting that message, Tyson wondered what Kenny had to tell him that seemed so important by the tone in the Chinese male's voice.

"What's up?" Ozuma said, sitting up in bed to stare at Tyson who had a short frown between his brows.

"Dunno, Rei left me a message saying Kenny had something to tell me, I guess Kenny left me a message about what it was," Tyson responded.

'Hey Ty, the first minute you get this message, call me back ASAP, something very important just came up and I need to speak with you about it. I'll be at the store tonight until closing if you want to stop by. Later.'

Deleting the message, Tyson continued to frown where he sat. Muddling over ideas as to what his cousin needed to speak to him about, none of them came to head as being an ASAP call. If someone in there family had been hurt, Kenny wouldn't have left such a short message; the brunette would have called everyone that could possibly get in contact with Tyson. Checking the time that the call was made, Tyson saw that it was before Kenny went to work. It couldn't be that important if his cousin still went to work. Something told Tyson that he shouldn't wait too long to call.

"Find out what your cousin wanted?" Ozuma said.

"No, he just told me to call him when I got the message. I guess that whatever it is he has to tell me is important. I suppose I should go ahead and call him," Tyson said, beginning to dial the number to Starbucks.

"I'm going to the bathroom then." Ozuma leaned forward, kissing Tyson on the cheek before slipping out of bed and walking out the room, still completely naked to the bathroom. Tyson was so glad that Ozuma didn't have a roommate currently. He would definitely feel sorry for the guy with all the awkward moments of having Ozuma walking around the dorm room stark naked like he tended to do. Tyson even found that his boyfriend would answer the door naked if he was just getting up, as if the thought of wearing clothes to bed was the strangest idea ever.

When Tyson discovered that note, he questioned Ozuma about it, asking what if his parents came to visit him and he was strolling around his room naked. Ozuma had only given him a shrug saying they use to see him naked when he was a kid, there wasn't anything they hadn't seen before. Asking about Miriam was the worst thing Tyson could ever do, the response left the blue haired teen laughing on the floor when the green eyed male smirked and mentioned that he would be the only male with a morning erection ever to greet her.

Placing the phone to his ear, Tyson listened to the ringing before a young man picked up stating the name of the place Tyson just called, who he was, and how could he help. Tyson recognized the voice as one of the local high school boys that worked on the weekends to make a little extra money. "Hey, Patrick, it's me Tyson. Is my cousin busy?"

"Yo Tyson, what's up?" the boy named Patrick said.

"Oh, what happened to that professional tone?" Tyson teased.

"Well, it's only you, why do I need to be professional with you?" Patrick laughed. "You called for Kenny, right? I don't think he's busy. I saw him like a minute ago helping Jerry carry in another batch of ice then head back out to the tables to sit down. I'll call him over for you."

"Thanks a lot, Patrick," Tyson said. He heard the teen put down the phone momentarily and yelling for Kenny to come over to the phone. Tyson shook his head, knowing that their boss would have had a coronary on the spot if he was there that weekend. The weekend assistant manager, Allan more than likely wasn't around. Not that Allan would have cared if he was around anyway, because he was just as laid back and easy going as anyone Tyson had ever known.

On the other end of the phone, Kenny was getting up from talking with Tala and Kai to walk over to the phone. As expected, the traffic of people died down after six, leaving just a few customers to lazily hang around reading and talking. Weaving through the tables, Kenny made his way to the counter, heading behind it and shaking his head as the violet haired teen handed him the cordless phone.

"You are so lucky that Wesley doesn't work on the same days as we do or you would have never heard the end of that," Kenny said to Patrick.

Wesley DeGraw was one of the managers of the store who everyone hated to work with because he always found something to get on everyone about. Kenny had only been so lucky to work with the twenty-eight year old, not to mention strict, hard ass, self-important manager but once. Wesley had came from another store about two months previously and made the usually easy working atmosphere almost unbearable by giving everyone a talk to about who he did not like goofing off, or his employees to stand around doing nothing.

After that night, Kenny and Josh went immediately to their other manager, Cheryl Seger (no relationship whatsoever to Bob Seger), telling her what an asshole Wesley had been towards them, seeing as how they've worked longer than just about any other staff at the store. She listened to them fairly and once they were done, she agreed completely that Wesley was an asshole, but she couldn't have him transferred out, so the only thing she could do for them is never put them on the schedule on days that Wesley worked. The two praised her and since that time, neither he nor Josh was again plagued with the bastard.

"Don't talk that asshole up," Patrick groaned. "You know he came in the store one day while you were taking break and swore up and down I was trying to hit on this middle school girl."

"Well, were you?" Kenny inquired with a brow quirked up.

"You know my girlfriend would kill me," Patrick said.

"So what happened to make Wesley think you were trying to get clawed to death by your girlfriend?" Kenny smiled.

"She had accidentally spilled some mocha on her blouse and I was giving her a tip how to get it out. Wesley just caught the end with me saying that it was too nice a blouse to ruin," Patrick said. "He pulled me to the side and was all like 'we are running a business here, not a club for you to pick up anyone you see fit' and shit like that."

"Good thing I wasn't here, he already doesn't like me because he thinks my hair is too long for a guy and hinted when we worked together that one time that I should cut it because I would give people the wrong impression about myself," Kenny remarked. "Oh yeah by the way who's on the phone for me?"

"Just Tyson," Patrick responded.

"All right thanks." Walking to a corner, to sit on a stool, Kenny placed the phone to his ear. "Ty finally got my message. What if I had been pinned under a car and you were my only line of help? I would have died about time you would have gotten back to me."

"Hey now, it's not my fault, Ozuma—" Tyson started.

"Enough said. Tell your boyfriend he can't be snatching you away from me like that, doesn't he know that if I don't keep in regular contact with you, I start to go insane," Kenny smiled.

"Weren't you already crazy before hanging out with me? I mean you've dealt with Kain for years now," Tyson countered.

"You're probably right," Kenny agreed.

"So, what did you need that was so important that you had to speak with me ASAP for?" Tyson questioned, bringing Kenny's mind back to the real topic at hand. How was he going to tell his cousin about Kai and Tala's reappearance without triggering a torment of emotions? Maybe it would be best if he do it face to face, then again, that might be even worst for his cousin, triggering a much more massive eruption than if he were to tell Tyson right now on the phone. This was definitely a fix he was in. "Chief you still there, you haven't died on me have you?"

"No Tyson, I haven't," Kenny said with a small smile. "I was just thinking about how I was going to tell you about what I called you earlier for."

"Something that important that I need to be sitting down for interesting, so what is it? Wait, no let me guess, you and Michael did a little something before you went to work?" Tyson said. "That's it, isn't it?"

"No!" Kenny said. "Don't be so pervert to think I would just call you for that little piece of news."

"Little news, wow, you really don't love him as much as I thought you did, do you?" Tyson said. "I called you the moment I was finished…well maybe not the minute after we finished, I would have been too tired to tell you then."

"Of course I love him," Kenny said before thinking about it. "I…just don't think that I would call you with something like that, I would tell you when I saw you again. This is more important than me getting laid again."

"All right, I know you love him, I can see it in your eyes, even when you're unaware of it," Tyson laughed. "So, tell me why you needed to speak to me ASAP."

"Tyson, I think this will probably need you to be here to understand why telling you on the phone would not the best idea. It will make more sense anyway. I think it would also be best if you don't bring Ozuma with you until I tell you what I need to tell you. I'll meet you over at the bookstore to discuss things, all right," Kenny said, not wanting to keep this a secret from his cousin until he got there, but Kenny felt it would be best if they talked it over without other people listening in.

"I'm starting to get the feeling that this is bigger than what you're making it out to be right now," Tyson said, his voice changing ever so slightly. "What's up Kenny, it's something big or not? Otherwise you would just go ahead and tell me."

"I'm trying to tell you that it will be best if you just come on over here," Kenny said. "I will explain when you get here. So get your ass over this way, or I won't tell you at all."

"Fine, let me just take a quick shower and I'll get a ride from Ozuma and be down there in no more than 20 minutes. Where are you going to be when I get there?" Tyson inquired.

"I should be over in the fantasy section. I heard that Mercedes Lackey has a new trilogy out," Kenny said.

"What is with you and Mercedes Lackey? Every time I turn around, you're talking about a new trilogy she's doing, that you have to read. This makes what, the hundredth trilogy to date?" Tyson said.

"Have you read her books?" Kenny said.

"No, but I have a feeling that if I pick up another book you recommend I might have another obsession on hand. It's bad enough that I still can't get over the Lord of the Rings world yet. Now you're trying to throw me into another realm of fantasy," Tyson stated.

"Hey, I think you would like her stories as much as you like the Lord of the Rings series. They're very intriguing and page turning," Kenny smiled.

"Great, now I'm going to be hooked on another fantasy author. What next? Anne Rice? Let me not start. I'm going to take a shower and get dress so I can come down there and find out what you want," Tyson said. Kenny could just imagine his cousin shaking his head.

"Hey…Tyson…before you go, I want to ask you something," Kenny said, thinking about what his cousin said earlier about how much he could see that Kenny loved Michael. "Can you…can you really see how much I like Michael when you look at me?"

"Of course," Tyson said. "You don't see it because you think that everything is just ordinary between you two. I find that whenever I look at you, and you speak about him, or around him, your eyes have a certain shine in them. I haven't seen that in a long time, so I should know that you have feelings for Michael, even if it's not love right now, you feeling something deep for him. It's like with me and Ozuma. You shouldn't question it because of old love. You have to move on."

"I…" Kenny really didn't have anything to say towards that, because of the current situation and because he wanted his cousin to be present when the information hit him. "Thanks Ty, I'll see you in twenty minutes."

"Later." Hanging up, Tyson sat there for a long minute, pondering over everything his cousin said. There was definitely something big the brunette was keeping from him. Placing the cell phone back on the nightstand, Tyson was about to get up when Ozuma came walking back in the room.

"You talk to your cousin?" Ozuma inquired throwing himself on the bed, pulling Tyson's down with him.

"Yes, and he told me to bring my ass down to the store or he won't tell me what he wants. Mind dropping me off once I've had a quick shower? Without you in there with me," Tyson added in when Ozuma gave him a wide grin associated with shower sex. The blue haired teen laughed at the sight of the grin defaulting into a pout of disappointment with his last statement. "I don't have time tonight for a shower quickie, I promise you tomorrow morning, now stop pouting you big baby."

"What if I don't want to stop?" Ozuma voiced.

"Then no more sex for you tonight," Tyson said simply, watching his boyfriend's eyes widen with fear. "So, do we have a deal?"

"Fine," Ozuma gave in. "No shower sex, I'll let you wash in peace, but just remember, you promised me some in the morning. So don't try to talk your way out of it, understand me."

"I know I know," Tyson sighed. "I swear you're nothing but a big baby."

"I know that's why you love me."

"Really?" Tyson laughed, leaning close to kiss Ozuma. "I never knew that was the case. I thought it was because of the incredible sex."

"That too," Ozuma murmured, kissing Tyson.

-oooo-

Kenny looked up from the selection of books he was browsing over to find his cousin staring at him with a curious look. "Oh, you're finally here," was the only thing Kenny said before staring at another book title.

"Sorry," Tyson flushed. "I know I said twenty minutes, but I got a little tangled up. And I'm only late by ten minutes." Tyson put his hands in the pockets of his crimson parka, staring at the brunette that looked back at him with a short shake of his head. Kenny knew that Ozuma was a factor in time, so he really wasn't mad, over the course that the two began going out, Kenny had grown accustom to Tyson's periods of lateness with quick ease. For any set time Tyson gave him, Kenny always remembered to add ten to fifteen more minutes to it if he was with Ozuma. He supposed it was due to Kain and Rei's off increments of time in meeting him.

"That's all right, I had a feeling you were going to be a bit late, so I came over here about ten minutes ago," Kenny said. "I've learned that when you guys, meaning you, Rei, and Kain, say you'll be anywhere in a certain amount of time, give you extra time."

"Looks like you have us figured out then," Tyson laughed. "So, what's up? You have something important to talk about?"

"Let's go outside, it's practically dead in the store, so I doubt they're going to need me any time soon. When I finish saying everything that needs to be said, I think you'll appreciate that I didn't do it in here. Come on," Kenny said, walking towards the front aisles followed by Tyson. The brunette had specifically told the two in Starbucks to stay put because he doubted his cousin would be able to take an ambush of seeing the two again, and he knew if he told Kai he came over here to talk with Tyson the dual haired male would have followed him. Thus giving his cousin a heart attack from the sudden appearance back from the dead…or a nervous breakdown, which ever did come first.

Tyson frowned when his cousin said to go outside in the cold, but didn't say anything towards it, following the brunette. He wondered why Kenny didn't want to head back over to Starbucks to speak, maybe too many listening ears. Silently heading out the door with his cousin, he stood to the side of the door. Tyson ignored the chill factor of 20 degrees as he faced his cousin. Each breath they took came out as short plumes of steam.

"So, what did you need to talk to me about?" Tyson questioned, breaking the silence before Kenny could say anything. "There's a reason you told me to come here and not bring Ozuma along with me, why we're talking outside, and you were so urgent about speaking to me as soon as I was available, so what's up?"

"Well…there's no easy way to say this, Tyson," Kenny sighed, shoving his hands into his pants pockets. He knew he should have brought his coat with him. Even if his wool sweater was insulated, it did nothing to stop the sudden stab of cold going through it as the wind blew. Thinking on it, it probably wasn't the best thing to have his cousin out in this temperature so soon after showering. The last thing he wanted was Tyson coming down with the flu or pneumonia.

"Well, if it isn't easy to say, just say it the best way you can. The quicker you say it, we can go inside and not freeze our asses out here beating around the bush," Tyson stated. "If you haven't notice, it's not seventy degrees out here."

"I know, I know smart ass," Kenny rolled his eyes. "But this isn't an easy subject to talk about, okay. In fact, I don't know how you're going to respond when you find out."

"Would you go ahead and tell me Kenny?" Tyson said. "You keep saying it's not an easy subject to talk about and you don't know how I'm going to respond, well you haven't given me a chance to find out. You're making me nervous."

Kenny knew that he was stalling, but he just didn't know how to break the news to his cousin. With a short sigh, more steam rising into the air, Kenny turned his eyes upwards to the evening night. Well, the only thing that was going to settle this was telling his cousin. "Well…when I left you guys today, everything was fine. Michael took me home and then my mom told me that she had this surprise waiting for me upstairs. When I got upstairs…I found…Tyson…they aren't dead."

"What are you talking about?" Tyson said, knowing where this conversation was heading, but hoping that it wasn't what he thought it was by what his cousin was saying.

"You know what I'm talking about Tyson. The same thing that we've been telling ourselves for three years now, only this time it's true," Kenny said softly. "That's the reason why I didn't want you to bring Ozuma with you, also the reason we're out here instead of inside. I didn't want you to be overwhelmed by it."

"Overwhelmed?" Tyson repeated, lowering his head. "That's funny. Just like this joke, we both know their bodies were found in ditches back in Tennessee, stop messing with my head. Tell me the real reason you called me all the way down here."

"Do you think I would do something as cruel as that Tyson?" Kenny said, looking over to his cousin to find tears trickling down Tyson's face.

"It can't be true, it can't…it's impossible for him to be alive," Tyson whispered, his body shaking. The tears on his cheeks were slowly freezing fresh, hot tears the only thing keeping his face from freezing up completely.

"They're in the store right now, sitting and waiting for me to come back. Come on Tyson, let's go inside, Kai will be happy to see you," Kenny said, looking at a few people coming out of Starbucks pulling on toboggans and gloves while heading to the parking lot. The weatherman had predicted another light sprinkling of snow later that night, leading to heavier snowing in the early mornings, it was practically cold enough that Kenny had no doubt the forecast was going to be true.

"Of all the times fate wants to kick in…" Tyson chuckled.

"Tyson." Kenny turned his head just in time to see his cousin's body crumpled into a heap on the ground. "Tyson!"

-oooo-

Tyson's eyes fluttered open to the sound of his cousin's voice speaking with someone. Staring up at the sickly green ceiling, Tyson wondered if everything he had heard from his cousin was a dream. Trying to sit up, Tyson felt a sharp pain on the left side of his temple. Raising a hand, he found a soft patch which was wrapped around his head. Thinking about the last few events, he vaguely remembered hitting the ground before blacking out. Lowering his hand, Tyson let out a sigh, the action sent another prickle of ache into his skull. He would be lucky if he hadn't busted his head open on the cold concrete.

Listening to his cousin's voice, he could barely make out the words. Concentrating too hard triggered another incessant clawing at his brain, which Tyson gave up the second he realized that he wasn't about to kill himself to be nosy. A minute later, Tyson heard the sound of a door opening and closing, turning his head towards the sound, he found Kenny walking towards him with a relieved look in his eyes.

"You're awake that's a good thing, the doctor expected you to be out a little longer than that. Tyson next time don't do me the favor of trying to give me a heart attack before I'm twenty-one?" Kenny stated.

"Doctor…? Am I in a hospital?" Tyson mumbled.

"Yes, you don't think after you collapse in front of the store I'm going to drag you inside and get you a latte do you? I had get Patrick to call an ambulance for me, while Kai and Tala helped me keep you from freezing because we didn't want to move you. I was afraid you had cracked that thick head of yours open," Kenny responded.

At the mention of Kai's name, Tyson's eyes watered, tears streaking down his face. "Is it really true…is it Kenny?"

"Do you want to see him? Kai's been worried since we brought you here to the hospital thirty minutes ago. He's been pacing the floor continuously," Kenny said. "He's out in the halls right now worrying about you. Do you think that you can handle things?"

"I want to see him," Tyson sniffed. "I want to see him with my own eyes and to make sure that it's really him, that this isn't a dream."

"I understand," Kenny said, walking over to the door, opening it. Looking out, he found Kai's eyes on him immediately. Beckoning the other with a nod of his head, Kenny watched Kai take brisk steps to the door. Kenny stepped aside, allowing Kai's entrance in the room. "He's awake he wants to speak with you."

"Thanks Kenny," Kai said softly. Kenny slipped out of the room, leaving the two alone. Kai for a long minute stood by the door, thinking about what he wanted to say to his love, while Tyson stared at the ceiling waiting. He couldn't turn his head towards the door, he was afraid that it would just be a clear apparition there, sadly looking at him before vanishing into thin air. Tyson didn't want to believe that he was wrong for all these years, yet a part of him wanted this to be true, wanted to have some closure after all these years.

"Please God…please," Tyson whispered softly, the words carrying over to Kai who walked to the bed, sitting down on the edge. Tyson's eyes slowly turned on Kai, tearing up to find that the person sitting beside him was solid, that it was no apparition which came to visit him. Tyson's eyes slowly go over the features he had never forgotten in all the years since he left Tennessee.

"Tyson," Kai said, taking hold of the blue haired teen's hand, cradling it within his grasp. "You had me worried."

"Kai…" Tyson sobbed.

"It's okay, I'm right here beside you," Kai said, leaning down to kiss the top of Tyson's head. "I'm not going to leave you ever again. I'm sorry it took so long, I'm sorry for causing you so much pain, but I'm here now. I'm not going to leave your side ever again. I promise you."

"Why…?" Tyson cried. "Why didn't you tell me you were alive? All these years…they said your bodies were found in ditches. They said you had died and…"

"I know, things are complicated," Kai said. "I can't explain them to you right now, but I promise when I am able, I will tell you the whole story. Everything is going to be fine now. I'm here," Kai smiled, wiping away the tears trickling down Tyson's cheeks.

"It can't be okay," Tyson whimpered.

"Don't be mad with me, I promise I will tell you," Kai assured.

"It's not that, you don't understand it," Tyson said, shaking his head. Making an attempt to sit up, he ignored the pain which roared in the back of his skull. He didn't want to do this, but it would be better than leading Kai along until he found out the truth. Tyson didn't want to hurt Kai, he didn't want to hurt himself, but there was no other way that things could be like they use to be right now.

"Tyson, you shouldn't strain so much, lay back down, the doctor said you might have a concussion," Kai ordered.

"No," Tyson slowly shook his head. Looking down at his hands, Tyson let out a short sigh, before he raised his eyes to Kai, his dark blue eyes misting. "Things can't be like before. I wish they could, I wish nothing would change, but I had no control of the things that transpired in the past few months. I've moved on Kai."

"You've…" The words stuck to the back of Kai's throat as he stared at Tyson who lowered his eyes back to his hands playing with a corner of the hospital sheet.

"I've moved on," Tyson repeated. "I'm sorry Kai."

-oooooo-

Rim: Don't kill me please! I know it's a horrible place to break things off at, but I like the quality that the next chapter is going to be more emotionally charge because of everything coming out in the open and some very nice revelations. I suppose that doesn't satisfy you, does it Silverm…

Brooklyn: Well, just think, she has reason enough to now to grab you and shake the hell out of you. You better start writing that chapter soon Rim. Until next chapter everyone.