A day early but better early than late, right?
Here we are, V-Force! Since for whatever reason the people who worked on V-Force took away Ray's cat genetics, we kept them in for this season along with Kai's first season appearance aside from the muscles. So same facial features for them all, but the rest follows the second season.
IMPORTANT, READ BELOW!
Before we go much further though I want to give ya'll a heads up at what's to come. A few trigger warnings will ensue here, given certain aspects of where we kind of took this season because of how all over the place it was. We still do follow the show best we can, just added a bit more background that we were denied in the show itself.
Warnings as follows, topics that will be touched and explored this season include:
Self harm, suicide, depression, character death. When we reach those chapters I will put up a warning per chapter of what is inside the chapter itself, but felt it fair to let ya'll know what to be expecting before we dive in too far this season instead of just blindsiding ya'll.
This chapter is safe from that, so enjoy and we'll see you on the 15th!
Season 2, episode 8.
Two hours, it was a two hour delay. Honestly wasn't that big of a deal, delays happened all the time but this was different. He had butterflies the moment he had woken up that morning, the butterflies got more intense and he almost didn't get his face on. Everything that could have gone wrong almost did, waking Tyson to come along, gathering Kenny and the girl (whatever her name was), to a wreck on the road on the way to the airport and now this.
Why was the universe still angry at him?
To keep himself out of trouble he made himself as scarce as possible, if he wasn't around Tyson then there wouldn't be any scenes and it kept the girl from trying to talk to him.
Seriously, what was her name?
It didn't matter, she got the hint when he closed his eyes and got comfortable staring out the large glass windows that overlooked the runways almost unblinking. The butterflies fluttering harder as the time ticked down and the two hours finally came to their agonizing end.
They just called overhead. He was finally here. After months they were finally able to see each other, face to face again, and the butterflies got angrier and he wanted to puke and cry at the same time.
Oh God. HE WAS HERE!
"Yo, that's Ray's plane!" Tyson informed just after the intercoms.
Kai refrained from rolling his eyes.
Tapping his foot, letting out a small annoyed breath, Ray rolled his eyes for the fourth time at the back of the man's head in front of him.
Why did anyone think having three bags in the overhead bin was a good idea?! Because now Mr. Business with his laptop bag, his carry on, and whatever was in that third bag was holding up the line because he couldn't get them out of the bin.
He was so tired, of everything, but he was finally back. The others were just outside the bridge waiting for him, last he knew Max was supposed to be arriving after him but with the delay he wasn't sure if Max was already there with the others.
His eyes rolled again; Mr. Business finally unlatched one bag out of the bin but now he was struggling with his carry just wanted off this metal bucket, the sooner the better. His foot tapped harder as his body twitched. Salvation came in the form of an airhostess, helping Mr. Business with his bags and finally the line moved forward.
He did everything within himself not to just run off, his one and only bag slung over his shoulder and the biggest grin on his face broke out the moment he got off the plane and without meaning to his feet moved him faster and faster until he was out into the crowd.
Like a slap to the face his grin was smacked off. Oh God...
He was here!
Where the others were, where Kai was...
Ugh, the images in his head the entire way kept him awake. Those arms, those eyes. His voice. Goosebumps rose over his arms again just thinking about it and now his nerves were starting to work against him, his feet slowing him down now.
What was he even going to say? Did a simple 'hi' work? 'Hey'?
It didn't matter now because there they all were, and a girl?
Kai's eyes opened as he heard a new flood of people coming through the arrivals gate.
He had to be in this hoard... This had to be the one!
What was he going to say to him? He'd struggled trying to play the perfect reunion all morning. It had to be cool enough to keep up appearances in front of the others and... Her. But it also had to be good for Ray.
A good, firm hand shake? No... A hug? NO. Not here, anyway. Kneel before his king? If the others weren't there, sure. Urgh, whatever, he'd bounce off Ray...
He straightened his shirt and made sure his pants were plenty puffy. And then he saw him. Trumpets played alerting of his majesty's arrival. The Return of the King...
Every muscle in his legs spasmed as euphoric excitement took over. HE WAS HERE! HE WAS BACK! HE WAS HERE!
RAY WAS HEEEEREEEEE!
The reunion of the beloved king and his knight was mere moments away... The perfect moment he'd been waiting for since they left each other in Russi-
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!"
Limbs flailed idiotically as legs worked like the Tasmanian devil and zoomed past him.
Kai's face fell. Noooo, no no! BAD SHRIMP! Papa is supposed to be first!
The grin came back over Ray's face as Tyson's body became a blur, and their bodies collided before he had a chance to really catch his bouncing baby boy.
"Can't breathe." Ray wheezed as Tyson's arms tightened around his neck.
Tyson jumped in short and fast bursts, headbutting his chin slightly as he laughed like a drunk aunt at a wedding.
"RAAAAY! I've missed you! This is so awesome! First Kai, now you! Been working out!? It's like hugging an oak tree!"
Kai's brow twitched. Yeh. No. This was like Tyson missed him as much as he had or anything...And if Ray had wanted to give him first contact, he would have. But no. That's fine guys. Hug it out...
Ray chuckled nervously a little at the compliment, trying to pat Tyson's back to get him to let go and get this over with. His eyes moving over the familiar red and blue ball cap and locked onto was a good thing Tyson still had a hold on him because his knees went slightly weak and his heart hit harder in his chest.
Did he get a haircut? Looked good. Wait... Where did his arms go?!
"Max here yet?" He asked as he finally unlatched himself from Tyson.
"He should be here any minute!" A cheery, female voice came from behind Tyson.
Ray blinked, who was she? "Oh... Um, hi. I'm Ray." The best thing he could do was be polite though. She looked nice enough.
The girl beamed. "My name is Hilary. It's a pleasure to meet you!" She reeled off in as chirpy voice as she could manage before bowing with her girly hands together.
Kai's eye began to twitch along with his brow. He was after she-thing?! Oh. This was it. They were done. He'd spent months and months wanting nothing more than to see him again, and this was how it was gonna be?!And as for him. The god damn Judas... I miss you Kaaaaaai! Seriously Kaaaaai, miss you! Write soon! He wrote letters of lies! Well fine. He knew when he wasn't wanted... That pillar cared more about him than Ray did, clearly.
Hilary... Hilary...
This was the same girl Tyson wrote about and complained about constantly in his letters? Why was she here?!Oh well, not important. His knight was waiting for him. He went to step towards him, if Tyson hadn't charged at him he would have jumped him just the more his path was blocked, a bush of brown hair and thick round glasses stepping in front of him.
Oh what fresh hell was this?! Get out of the way!
"Hey Chief!" He smiled, shoving Kenny in his head as hard as he could and imagining a hole swallowing them all up and leaving just him and Kai.
"Thank goodness you're here, Ray! It hasn't been the same without you or the others! And there's so much we have to talk about with the upcoming battles!"
Kai froze in his path and turned his head. His eyes shrouded in a ghostly black and deathly fog.
He was after the small nerd...
There was no coming back from this. The black and purple haze of rejection and rage surrounded him as he went back to the only thing in the whole airport that gave a shit he was alive: the pillar. The pillar had his back. leaned against it and shut his eyes to block them all out.
"It really hasn't been the same without you guys." Ray smiled again, setting them all on fire this time in his head.
Why couldn't they just go find a hot dog stand or something?
Tyson jumped beside Kenny, face glowing. "You can say that again! Its sucked just being me and Kenny! Especially since Hilary started stalking us!"
Ray bit the inside of his cheek, he really needed to figure out why she was here at all. Then again, his boys could use a little feminine touch.
"I am not stalking you!" She screeched.
Or not...
Now they were barricading him, making a human line between him and Kai. And now Kai wasn't even looking at him. He tried not to pout, or show the sting in his heart on his face.
Maybe he just didn't want to come see him because of the others, that was it. He wanted it to be just them, one on one. Ray liked that idea a whole lot better than having an audience.
Tyson's eyes went past Ray's shoulder and doubled in size. His brother from another mother was here!
"HEY MAX!"
The golden child approached with a beaming smile, Ray had missed that smile and finally their little family was complete went to greet him when the blur that was Tyson's body shot past his, giving Max the same kind of warm welcome that he received where their bodies collided hard.
Ray inched himself towards the pillar while they were distracted. His heart slamming in his chest now, his knees going weak again as he did a quick look over.
"Hi." He squeaked.
Kai's eyes opened half way begrudgingly. Looking him up and down for a moment before he made himself turn his nose up.
...Despite wanting to eat him, or Ray eat him. Either way they'd be melded together.
The thudding in Ray's ears halted, his heart plummeting and not in a good way this was that about?! Did he just ignore him, after months of not seeing each other?
Demoted. He was the one and only king now, Kai was back down to stable boy.
After yet another awkward introduction to Hilary, the Bladebreakers were back together again. Not that Max gave Kai a proper greeting either...
To hell with them all.
Mr. Dickenson lead them to the van he had arranged to take them there and back. Kai stormed to the back, not wanting to give any of them the gift of his presence. Mr. Dickenson either.
Taking a spot next to Max, Ray slipped down beside him, feeling Kai's 'fuck off vibes' radiating through the entire bus since he peeled himself away from his got nothing; no 'hi', no 'hello', no 'your majesty'. The hell was his problem? Oh well, in a few hours he'd find out.
A while later, the van pulled up at the familiar sight to some, Tyson's family home. An aged familiar face to all of them waving excitedly to greet them.
"We should all sit down and have a talk about what we need to do. We only have a week." Kenny suggested as they all went to stand to get off the bus.
"I think that's a splendid idea." Dickenson agreed as he was the first to get out of his seat.
Kai followed silently, his powerful 'I hate all of you' rays coming off him as he followed into the dojo, his former team and she-thing sitting in a circle for some reason like some weird self-help group...
He saw Ray sit down, and promptly made sure he sat away from him.
"Stan the man, good to see you again." Gramps called as he stepped up to him with a grin under his mustache. "While the boys have a sit down, what do you say to a cup of tea?"
The plumper man glowed back. "Sounds marvelous! I'm parched! And it's been quite a long time since we talked last!"
"Well come on in, they'll be a while." Gramps waved him to follow, holding the door for him as they stepped in and lead the two down into the kitchen.
"It's something else I tell ya, here they thought they'd be separated for life and now they're all back together." He started as he began to make the tea he had offered.
Mr. Dickenson let out a hearty, warm chuckle as he slowly lowered himself in to the kitchen chair.
"Yes! Quite! After all that drama in the airport in Moscow."
Gramps let out a whistle, he remembered the tale that followed their afternoon tea a week later after getting K-dog settled in.
"Should we be concerned about what'll happen after this then?" He asked with his own lighthearted chuckle. "Prepare the crowbars and tissues?"
"I think that's wise. And some extra muscle to help." Stanley laughed back, "I know I've said it before, but that whole commotion really caught me off guard. Last thing I would ever have expected."
Gramps nodded along as Dickenson talked, happy to have already been boarded on his own plane back home with Tyson when all that went down.
"Just not right though, from what you've told me and all with that village of his. Like pulling teeth just to have him here now." He tutted with a small shake of his head, "And then for K-dog to go through what he did with his pops and that fiasco back in Russia."
Mr. Dickenson let out a tired sigh."Quite. And the drama that followed..."
"What's happened now?" Gramps asked as he brought over their tea, passing Dickenson's cup over to him before he sat at the table with him.
"Anything I can help with; you know I'm here."
Stan nodded in thanks for the tea. "There's a reason Kai isn't in his boarding school right now... It seems his classmates didn't have the same effect that the boys did. Didn't make any friends, but managed to make some enemies. He won't give me details, but from what I can gather there's been some bad feelings between him and some older students. Police got involved after quite a violent fight." He explained.
"What's the school say should be done?" Gramps asked and sipped at his tea.
He let out another sigh. "That's still up in the air. Kai claims he's been bullied by them, the other three claim he attacked them. The parents are furious, of course. Still trying to figure things out without charges being pressed. Myself and the school agreed he should be removed for a while. I've paid off the hospital bills to keep them somewhat quiet for now."
Gramps' eyes bugged out of his head, trying hard not to spew his tea from his mouth. "Hospital bills?! What on earth did he do?"
Stan gave him a look and shuddered."You wouldn't believe it... One broken nose, one dislocated shoulder. Sprains. Multiple wounds. Stitches required. Kai had a few cuts and bruises himself, but by the look of it they unleashed a beast."
"Well I'll be damned..." Gramps breathed, staring wide eyed. "Who knew with those tiny twigs of his now he'd do so much damage. Hate to have seen what could have happened if he was built like he was the last I'd seen him."
Stan nodded. "That's the other thing..." He started with a sadder tone. "He just isn't right and I wasn't there to see it. His teachers said he kept to himself and was mostly mute, which doesn't sound surprising. But he's dropped so much weight, clearly had problems at school..."
He let out yet another, guiltier sigh. "And when he came to stay with me, I was far too busy to stay home and take care of him properly. I asked my staff to be my eyes. They told me getting him to eat was a nightmare. As was getting him to get out of bed. And getting him to shower... When I did see him he acted bizarrely and wandered round like a ghost. Felt like my home was haunted! I think he's going through something and I feel responsible for a lot of it..."
Gramps went quiet for a minute after the long speech, clearly seeing Dickenson worried almost sick over it all. He shifted in his seat, making sure to grab Dickenson's attention by clearing his throat.
"You took on a child that was not your responsibility out of the kindness in your heart, knowing all what you had about him and where he came from. Nobody else stood up and took that role and nobody said it was going to be easy. He's gone through a lot in his short life, the blow up at the airport was a scared little boy not wanting to let go of something that he came to depend on being there constantly.
"I'm sure now, even after what's happened in that school, things will get better here for him now he's with his buddies again. It may be all he really needs, some structure again. And I can fatten him up just fine, already offered him some of my kendo classes too." He laughed.
Stan offered a slight smile. "I appreciate it. And if I could burden you to be my eyes for me as well... I clearly am not cut out to be the family he needs. I know he resents me. Perhaps he will do better with you."
Gramps flicked his wrist at him, his aging bones popping some. "He doesn't resent you. What? Did he really think he and Thundercat could really make it out there on their own?" He howled with laughter.
"Upset, yes, but resent you? Nah, not a chance. And anything you need, just ask." He smiled at him again.
Stan let out a quiet chuckle. "I honestly think he still believes he can. Sharp as a tack but away with the fairies it seems... And thank you, please just keep an eye. Tell me if there's anything off. Anything at all."
"Give him a few years and maybe he can, but for now he's here and the others are here and they're as safe as they can be with me." Gramps said, his smile only getting bigger.
Stan sipped his tea, feeling better having finally been able to vent a little. "Quite right. I wouldn't trust anyone else with my boys."
"Our boys." Gramps corrected with a chuckle, "Now what else have you been up to Stan the man?" He asked as he leaned his chin on the backs of his hand.
Outside the kitchen, around the corner, Ray quietly slipped away from the door without making a sound. It hadn't been his intention to overhear, he had been on the hunt for the kitchen to get a drink after their little meeting, got lost and heard voices before following them and stopped when he heard something that caught him off guard.
He knew about Kai's issues at school, the reason he had been at Dickenson's the day he had talked to him over the phone, but broken bones, stitches, and multiple wounds?! What exactly happened for Kai to have snapped like that? It wouldn't have been for nothing; he knew that much but he was going to find out exactly what it was that had even caused Kai to go off like that in the first place.
Meanwhile, Kai had already taken himself outside to get some air and some space. This sucked... So much for the big reunion. It was a brief glance followed by getting to business and having to get to work. Evening was fast approaching. One day checked off before more battles.
He wandered around the outside of the house, the gate casting a shadow over what was left of the daylight. He sensed people and turned his head. Urgh. Mr. Dickenson. Talking up a storm with gramps. Must be nice to be so damn jolly after throwing him in that hell hole to rot.
As gramps laughed at the mishap in Rio, a cold chill ran down his spine as the finer hairs on the back of his neck stood on there a draft? No, this was different. Like something was watching him, and it was his neck around he peered over his shoulder, about letting out a yell at the red eyes staring in through the window at him and Stanley.
Stanley startled, his tea cup almost spilling as he followed Grampa's gaze. He frowned. "Kai! What did I tell you about doing that?!" He raised his voice through the window.
"When I said it felt like my house was haunted? This is why!" He told Grampa.
The sulky apparition rolled his eyes and turned to find something better to do.
"There you are." Ray shouted as he came around the corner of the house, hands on his hips as he stepped up to where Kai was.
"I've been looking everywhere; we need to talk." It wasn't a request but more of a command.
Kai raised both his brows and popped his hip as his arms folded in front of him. "Oooooh. Now we get to talk..." He spat sarcastically.
Ray cocked a brow back at him. He knew that tone, knew that look even if it had been a long time since he'd seen it."Oh don't even start that, I tried talking to you back at the airport and you ignored me."
Kai made a face. "Just dishing out what you were giving..."
"I didn't give you the cold shoulder. I said hi, you turned your nose up at me. Why, I don't know. But that's not what we need to discuss." Ray said with a small shake of his head.
Just on the other side of the window Gramps gave a wary look to Stanley, everything he had been told flitting through his head. If Kai was willing to put people in the hospital he wasn't sure how well this was going to go.
Kai narrowed his eyes. "And what would his highness need to discuss with little old me? On second thought, save it. Go talk with your new buddy."
Ray's brow reached higher, blinking a few times in confusion. "Who're you talking about?"
Kai's lip curled into a slight snarl. "Oh. Whatever the hell her name is! The one who is apparently more important than I am!"
Where the hell was this all coming from?! "Hilary? I have no idea what you're going on about, I barely know her. Still wondering what the hell she's doing here if Tyson is so tired of her being around." Ray caught himself before they got off track again.
"You gonna come with me so we can talk or not?" He asked as he mimicked Kai and popped a hip out.
Kai looked outraged. "Oooh! Barely know her but she gets all the smiles and pleasantries while I get a 'hi'!? That all I'm worth is it Ray!?" He raged on as his eyes watered a little bit.
"Well fine! If that's how it is!" He yelled as he stomped toe to toe with him, "Hi, Ray!" He shrieked angrily.
Gramps was up out of his chair at the yelling in a heartbeat, about tripping over himself to get outside.
Ray blinked a few times again, his heart leaping into his throat. This was why he got the cold shoulder? Because he had been barricaded by everyone, kept away from him at the airport and was reduced to a simple 'hi'?And here he thought he wanted the privacy. Silly him. Kai was just being a big baby over it all, like he sometimes did.
"You want something better; I'll give you something better. But first, you have to come with me." Ray said plainly without batting an eye and bridged the space between them before he reached around the back of Kai's legs and lifted.
Gramps and Dickenson's jaws dropped as they saw Ray disappear under the window and then Kai go with him, and in a second they watched as the two came back up but this time Kai was slung over Ray's shoulder like a towel.
Kai panicked at the sudden and unexpected lifting. The garden disappearing from view in exchange for Ray's back."THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" He screeched as he kicked. Since when could Ray lift him?! He was the one that lifted! This was his thing!
Ray chuckled as he tightened his hold on the backs of Kai's thrashing legs. "Taking you with me since you want to be a stubborn ass for some reason. And it's only been four hours." He tutted as he started around the corner he had come from.
Gramps turned back to look at Stanley, his mouth still hung open slightly. Did they call the police now or wait to collect the body?
Outside Ray found the back corner of the wall that was hidden and separated from the rest of the grounds, plenty of shade to hide from the last bits of sun and in the right spot to watch it go down. About just in time too.
Bending his knees, keeping a tight grip on Kai's legs, he kicked off the ground and landed on the top of the wall without losing his balance and sat Kai down onto his feet in front of him.
"You done being an asshole now? Otherwise I'm going to leave you up here." He threatened.
Kai blinked some. What... What just happened?He folded his arms. "Hn. As if you'd care either way if I was up here or down there..."
Ray rolled his eyes at him; this was getting ridiculous. "Will you knock it off? I tried to get to you but they kept getting in the way, and it wasn't like you tried to come and see me at all but you don't see me pouting over it."
"'Cause I'm not in the wrong..." Kai muttered under his breath.
"How could I forget, you're never wrong." He rolled his eyes again with a small smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.
The sarcasm went right over his head."Seriously. How could you forget that? If you cared like you said you did, you wouldn't forget..." He pouted.
"You also don't like being touched, so what did you want compared to a simple 'hi'?" Ray questioned almost cheekily as he put his hands back on his hips. "Nor do you like big scenes being made and if I just ran up to you and threw myself at you, in front of everyone, I probably would have a black eye right about now."
Kai shrugged and averted his eyes. "I dunno... Somethin..." He muttered
"Can I or not?" Ray huffed, fighting down the blush racing along his face.
"Can you what?" He questioned back with a frown.
Ray's throat clenched up now that he had put himself on the spot. But hell, he figured he'd just go for it, not like they hadn't hugged before and at least there wasn't an audience for it.
Without a word he threw himself at him quickly, his entire body overshadowing Kai's own. The warmth was the same, the smell and comfort, but the bony chest and collarbone and even tinier waist than before was all new.
Kai stood frozen for a moment. Again with the unexpected actions. Ray's smell and everything hit his nose and senses in seconds and brought him 'd missed him so badly...And last time they'd done this, he was being taken away from him. It had been an age ago, it felt like. But how that had felt had never gone away.
Kai's arms wrapped around Ray and held on as tightly as he could. This had been what he wanted. Of course, he didn't want the audience. He was just sad he had to wait even longer.
...Had Ray been doing a new work out or something?
As Kai's arms came around him he squeezed tighter, feeling as though any moment now Dickenson was going to come out from around a corner and pull them apart again. Willing everything in him not to well up, make a huge mess out of this when there was still more to go the time being he didn't really care though, just wanting a few more minutes like this. That's all he wanted.
Kai's lip wobbled. "You're supposed to say hi to the most important one first! You put me last!" His voice croaked a little as he shoved his head in his shoulder.
Ray let out a broken chuckle, his eyes welling up slightly. He didn't think he'd ever have this again and now he did he wasn't sure what to do with himself.
"If you were any kind of knight you'd have been at my gate waiting for me instead of out in the middle of the crowds where I had to look for you." He joked before turning serious, holding tighter as he squeezed his eyes shut.
"And besides, I saved the best for last."
Kai squished him back. "I would have if they'd let me come by myself like I'd asked..." He whined. "And anyway, how could you miss me in a crowd?" He joked back. As if there were many people with his hair and blue faces.
"Good question." Ray chuckled around the lump in his throat. God it was so good hearing his voice again.
For a while they didn't say a thing, just clung to one another as the sun kept creeping lower and lower across the sky.
"What really happened at school, Kai?" Ray finally asked, breaking the comfortable silence and connection as he let his hands slip down from around Kai's neck though stood just in front of him.
Kai tensed. Where had that come from? "What do you mean? I told you!" He bit defensively.
"You put them in the hospital! You didn't tell me that! Broken bones and dislocated shoulders? The hell happened Kai, and what else did you not tell me?"
The yelling made him jump, sending a foot sliding back and making him wobble at the edge of the wall. Ray's eyes widened as he watched him slip, grabbing the front of his shirt and hauling him back to where he wouldn't fall at the peak of the shingles on the wall.
"Just sit down before I have to take you to the hospital."
Kai huffed and frowned as he did as he was told, heart racing some. Both from the slip and what Ray was asking him.
"And who did you hear that from?" He spat. But he could guess... That old asshole...
"So it is true..." Ray sighed as he sat down beside him, keeping his attention on him and pulling his knees up to his chest."You said they broke something... It wasn't Dranzer, was it?" He asked in a small voice, he wouldn't blame him for killing them if that was the case.
"You answer me first, who told you that!?" He asked dare that old jerk spread around his business like that. Had nothing to do with him either. But on paper, apparently it was.
Ray shook his head at him, "Nobody, I overheard it being discussed is all."
"He's telling Mr. Granger all about it, isn't he?!" He snapped, eyes firing up.
Ray touched his shoulder; it was so bony and small compared to last time. "I don't know, I only heard different parts. And even if he is so what? He's your guardian and is probably wondering what the hell happened since you haven't told him yet."
"Because it isn't his place to! I haven't told him because I don't want to! I don't want to talk about it with anyone! So what makes him think it's all right to spread around, huh!? That's my business!" He vented off.
"Because he needs to know what happened, if you want to avoid charges being pressed. If it comes out they were targeting you and you were just defending yourself then that gets you off the hook. Think about this rationally, Kai, if you don't say anything but they do that makes it look like you attacked them for no reason." Ray explained, keeping his hand on Kai's shoulder.
"I don't think he was spreading anything; he was just venting like you are with me right now. And there's nothing wrong with that, he needed an ear and gramps was there." He reasoned.
Kai finally registered there was a hand on his shoulder. The warmth pulled him to lean into it a little more."Let them think what they want. I don't care." He replied quietly as he welled up a little shame that he had been bullied was more severe than charges. He wasn't a wuss...
Ray frowned but didn't know what else to say, his thumb gently rubbing against Kai's bare might have lost it all, but at least he still had the decency to wear a skin tight shirt. Even if it was a godawful purple.
"Okay." Was all he could think of to say to it all, "Just tell me it wasn't Dranzer." He practically begged.
Kai shook his head. "Do you think they would be alive if they did something to her?" He asked.
"Nope." Ray answered truthfully and quickly, "But by the sounds of it, you were pretty close to killing them. So what was it, surely it couldn't have been worth someone's life?"
Kai stayed quiet for a good while. To the point he could feel Ray shifting impatiently. He didn't really want to say anything about any of it... But at the same time, he wanted to give every horrible detail to him so he might be able to feel him.
"...It's been this way since I walked in the door. Those guys hated me on sight, as well as a bunch of others. And the rest jumped on the bandwagon for something to gossip about... The gossiping and the stupid rumors are annoying and not great, but they're just words. Can't hurt you really. But those three took it on themselves to really get the message across.
"They cornered me when they could. Got roughed up a handful of times, but wasn't anything I couldn't handle. They vandalized my stuff. But it's just books, you know? I don't care about them. They'd do it for a while, then lay off. Just when I thought maybe it was over, they'd come back again. And this time it was the last straw..."
Ray listened, focusing on Kai's face as he spoke while his hand continued to rest on his shoulder and his thumb rubbed a bit harder. On the inside he burned. His eye twitching at the information as his free hand clenched at his side.
"You said it wasn't something you couldn't replace, but what about just fixing it?"
Kai welled up harder and hated himself for it. "I can't fix it. It's in a million pieces. He stamped on it."
He saw the tears budding in his eyes, could see him fighting with not breaking down but Ray felt that was exactly what he needed to do. Let it out at some point and knowing Kai, he hadn't done that at all.
Quietly he moved the hand that had been on his shoulder around Kai's back and pulled him into his side, practically shoving Kai's head onto his shoulder under his chin where he rested it on the top of his head. The hand on his back gently rubbing in circles.
"I'm so sorry."
Kai pulled away for a split second until his heart reminded him this was exactly what he'd been craving for, for months. He put his head back and felt the warm, heavy drop roll down his cheek.
"He broke my attack ring..." His voice wobbled as he sniffed.
Ray arched a brow as the anger he had felt bubbling earlier dissipate almost instantly. Was Kai freaking serious?! An attack ring was what set him off? It wasn't like they didn't sell the damn things all over the place.
"You almost killed people for an attack ring?" He shook his head, the anger and disappointment in his tone evident and clearly for him. "I get that it was yours and everything, but they're a dime a dozen Kai."
Kai rolled his eyes. Oh god. He was gonna make him say it...
"Not just any attack ring! God, what kind of psycho do you take me for? A punch would be enough if it was just a normal attack ring!"
"Oh so this one was made out of gold or something?" Ray snapped back sarcastically as he moved his arm out from behind him and into his own lap.
Kai growled in frustration. Why did he not just get it? It was obvious!
"No! It was worth more than that!"
The rich bastard... Of course it'd be worth more than gold, probably worth more than a small country. Ugh, he wanted to slap himself. Kai never cared about the wealth he had come from before and that probably hadn't changed any. Then again, three people were put in the hospital over an overly expensive attack ring.
"How much do you spend on your attack rings? And if it was so expensive why didn't you keep it locked up better?"
Kai rolled his head and kicked his feet. A weird sound of despair coming out his throat. This was torture...
"Noooo." He groaned as his face went the color of Ray's headband. "Wasawayugimme..."
Ray stared, his brain working overtime to try and translate that new language Kai just came up with. That wasn't Russian, he knew Kai's Russian voice and that wasn't it.
"Try that one more time, but a bit slower." He instructed.
Kai glared at him, visibly dying of awkward embarrassment as his face turned what could only be described as an impressive color. Like a fine Merlot...
"I said... Wazzawanyugimme..."
"I don't know what that means or what that is!" Ray whined back at him, wanting to pull out his hair.
Kai debated throwing himself off the wall. Save his pride. But on second glance, he'd probably just break something. He dug deep. There was no way out of this...
Kitty needed to clean his ears...
"I saaaaid itwastheoneyougaveme. Oh, I think Mr. Granger just called us!" He fired out as he squirmed.
Ray blinked... And blinked... Then a silence followed the outburst as his pupils slit instantly and a low growl came out from his throat.
"What'd you say their names were again?" He asked in a deep rumble. He had the address to the school from their letters, he knew it by heart and would find a way to get there.
Kai stopped squirming, Ray's face scaring him. "I... Didn't give their names. And anyway, I took care of it."
"Clearly not since they're still breathing." Ray said as he turned to look over the wall they were sitting on in another deep rumble and growl that shook his chest.
It'd only take about three hours to get to the school from Tyson's, about ten seconds per body. He'd be back before day break and for when training started.
"That was what I was saying. They had it coming." Kai shrugged. "But the guy that did it got his nose broken. Pretty bad."
"Not the only thing they have coming..." Ray growled out low as he stared ahead of him, flexing his fingers as they itched to hit something themselves as his arms were draped over his knees in front of him.
It was so tempting to go there and break some more bones. How dare they do such a horrible thing to Kai, and how dare Dickenson not side with Kai! Even if he didn't know what actually happened, that wasn't the point. He should have trusted Kai not to go all crazy on someone without good enough reason and all of it was reason enough. Every little thing they ever did to him, surely someone there had to know what went on at some point where something could be done.
Then again, what did he know?
Kai panicked. He didn't like seeing Ray angry. And part of him believed he would go after them. If he did, the cops would get called and he'd get deported. Nope. Nope. He wasn't going to get taken away again. But shit, how would he calm him. What would Ray do?
His hand flinched before it threw out and pat Ray's, resting on his lap. "It's okay?"
Ray's head snapped to him and like an afterthought he tried to do the math in his head on how long ago it all happened. A week? Two at most? He wasn't really sure but more than likely Kai would have had some bruising and marks on him somewhere if the fight was that bad.
"What about you? Did they hurt you?" He asked as he grabbed his hand, his eyes scanning almost frantically over Kai's face like it was the first time seeing him.
Kai shook his head. "Just a few scrapes and a busted lip!" He replied panicked.
Ray nodded stiffly. Yeah, and they had also roughed him up before that too...
"You know what, I think I'm gonna go on a walk. Shouldn't be gone too long." He said as casually as he could and went to stand.
Kai frowned and grabbed his wrist tightly. "Don't you dare abandon me our first night back together!" He spat.
Ray frowned back, looking down at his wrist being held and let out a breath, letting his feet slide out in front of him instead of trying to stand on them. He couldn't leave him. Even if he really really wanted to make a mess of those boys that had hurt his knight/king.
"How did they even get a hold of it?" He asked once the steam seemed to clear from his head.
Kai dropped his wrist like it had shocked him. Oh... Dammit, Ray! Should have let him go after them.
"I uh... Don't remember..." He squeaked.
"Well... I have more, they're not used but if you want to replace it you can." Ray said without looking at him, his cheeks being covered in a faint blush.
Kai let out a deep, sad sigh. "Won't be the same..."
Ray arched a brow as he forced himself to look at him questioningly. "Why not?"
Kai shrugged. "It won't be, will it? You gave that to me in Russia. There was a moment and a story behind that attack ring. That attack ring was special. It wasn't any old one and no other one will be the same. Just..." He sniffled, "I'm sorry I was reckless enough to have it somewhere they could get to it and break it."
"I don't want you to apologize, it wasn't your fault. They shouldn't have touched it, touched you!" Ray exclaimed as the anger came back, trying to fight it down since Kai wouldn't let him go on a 'walk' and now there wasn't a point in getting overworked again.
A light bulb went over his head, quickly unclasping his shirt and tugged out the attack ring he had tied to a string from around his neck and held it out.
"I don't know how many times I almost broke this one or lost it, and as much as I love it and the story behind it I wouldn't mind having an upgrade since this is a new chapter, a new story. So if you want a new one to go with this story I'll get you one."
Kai blinked. Well he'd be damned. "That's what I did too!" He blurted out and pointed at the string.
Ray grinned, his fang slipping out as his heart smacked against his rib cage. "Okay, so let me get you a new one so we match. Be weird if I'm the only one wearing my wedding ring." He chuckled almost mindlessly until it settled in what he had said and his face blended in nicely with his headband as the faint blush spread along his entire face.
Kai tilted his head and blushed harder, fighting the dumbass smile that was threatening to crack. "I mean... If a good opportunity comes up, then sure..."
Ray cocked a brow, what'd he mean? All he had to do was go scavenging in his bag for one, they were probably at the bottom like always.
Stuffing his own back into his shirt he nodded, "O... Okay..." Maybe he really didn't want another one at all.
Kai frowned. Why'd he look disappointed? "What's wrong?"
Ray shook his head at him, "Nothin', just been a long day with traveling and everything. Been a while since I've had to be in the air like that."
"Feeling all right? Wanna go inside?" He asked worried.
"Brought you up here so we could watch the sunset, but think we missed it a while ago." Ray chuckled a little as he shifted again, the blush on his cheeks coming back.
"Maybe tomorrow?" He asked hopefully.
Kai sank at the same time as his heart fluttered. That's why he'd brought him here? He couldn't stay mad at him for saying hi to Tyson first...
His heart went nuts. Oh my goooooddddddd, maybe tomorrow he'd propose againnnn!
"Sure. Tomorrow... But um. If you're not too tired..." He started.
"Not too tired forrr?" Ray urged.
Kai tilted his head some more. "Brought my book..." He replied bashfully.
"Never too tired for that." Ray told him in a playful tone. "Should we bring it out here after dinner then? Or just wait for the kids to fall asleep later?" He asked as his heart kicked back up. Praying Kai picked the more private option between the two.
"BOTH!?" He yelled unintentionally. He quickly reeled it the hell in. "I mean... Lots to catch up on, right?" He added quickly with an awkward laugh.
"True, but we're not going anywhere for a while. Have a whole week before the match." Ray said as he tapped his chin for a second, "Can come out with the book after dinner, if you want."
Kai pouted. So much for his scheme to have him to himself the whole time. "Yeh. That works..."
Another light bulb went off over Ray's head. His lips stretching across his face in a cheeky smile. "Why wait till after dinner or when the kids go down? Can grab the book, grab dinner, and can come back up here."
Kai's eyes lit up. The scheme just got better! "Okay! Um..." He peered over the side of the wall. Was Ray expecting him to jump this?
Ray's eyes followed Kai's, his cheeky smirk only getting bigger. "You can make it, only about 10 feet high."
Kai shifted his shoulders. Was higher than that... Was Ray calling him a bitch now? Hell no. He'd jumped off of roof beams in warehouses before...
He narrowed his eyes. "Fine." He picked himself up onto his feet and was nervous. Why did Ray have to be watching!?
He bent his knees and leapt. Ray wasn't far behind him, landing perfectly on his feet and dusted himself off.
"See, told you you'd make it."
Kai rolled his eyes. "I never said I couldn't..."
"Hn, was afraid you'd blow away with the wind honestly." Ray snickered as he started for the house. "They not feed you in that place or something?" He asked.
Kai snapped his head to him, offended. "The hell are you trying to say?!"
Ray stopped in front of him, blocking his path. "Do this." He said as he flexed his bicep.
Kai stared for a second and forgot the conversation. As well as everything else. Oooooooo...
It took a few moments of inner awe before he came back to the room. Since when was Ray that ripped!? Didn't matter. His boys were still good...
...Right?
He folded his arms, making his hands cover up as much as he could. "Why? Weird thing to ask... You're weird..."
"Says the guy with face paint." Ray chuckled as he put his arm back down at his side, "C'mon, sooner we get food sooner we can get back to the wall." He urged as he started back towards the house.
Kai pouted. His face paint was fantastic. He'd look back on it as an adult and be proud of himself. "Fine..."
As the two of them walked in, two aged heads peered around the kitchen door. "Everything all right, boys?" The bald one asked.
Kai shot him a look. As if he cared... He fired the filthiest look he could muster before turning his nose up and walking off. No time for you old man, just like the old man had no time for him. He had a story to translate...
Ray promptly ignored him as well, following the scent of food and Kai. Though his pupils slit as he narrowed his eyes at Dickenson. He just kept digging and digging his own grave when it came to Ray now. First the big surprise of needing to save the world last year, ripping him and Kai's chance of freedom and happiness away, to abandoning Kai in that hell hole.
A bead of sweat appeared on the old man's brow as Ray passed him into the kitchen. "Y-you boys must be thrilled to be together again!" He tried.
Ray's eyes narrowed harder, holding in the growl. Oh it was like that?! Like they owed him this big ol' thank you after having separated them to start with? Oh hell no. It wasn't as easy as that old man. They would have been more 'thrilled' if they had been left to board a plane to Paris and be miles away right now.
"Mhmm..." He answered, the growl slipping through.
Stanley's round body squirmed. "Well... I'm sure you have a lot to catch up on..."
Grampa raised his brows. Since when was Ray like that? Been around Kai five minutes and had already absorbed the 'tude.
Ray just stared for a bit longer before he made himself move to get their plates ready while Kai got the book. The two old men watched him go, Kai floating by the doorway a moment later and shooting them one last ghostly glare before he vanished.
Stanley sighed and gently thwacked Grampa's arm. "I told you he resented me!"
Gramps frowned as the two boys disappeared, "But what's got Thundercat all twisted?" He mused.
Stan rolled his eyes. "Probably hearing from Kai!"
Gramps frowned more. Apparently he had his hands full already. Mr. Dickenson sighed and shook his head, pottering back to the chair.
"Oh yes, I'm quite the villain compared to your grandfather. The one I ensured didn't get to you and made sure you're safe. But how dare I forbid you to run away to France at fourteen with a madman out for you..." He grumbled under his breath as he snatched up his tea and downed it in one go.
Gramps gave his buddy a sympathetic smile, patting his round shoulder in solidarity.
"Alright, um... I'll put these up there and come back down for you." Ray said as they stopped at the wall.
Kai tapped his foot impatiently with his arms folded, book in hand. Come ooooonnnnn already!
Ray was up in a flash and back down with his hands empty. Without much thought, just going through the motions, he went up to Kai and scooped him up from behind his knees and hoisted him into his arms like Kai had done a year ago to him their first night in Russia.
Kai let out a noise from his throat that wasn't exactly displeasure. This... This was new. Wasn't it the girly ones that got held though? Like when he did it to Ray? Wh- since when did Ray do all the man handling!? And... He wasn't gonna stop, was he?
In another flash Ray jumped, the two landing on the top of the roof of the wall again right next to their plates of food and sat Kai down where they previously had been. He chanced a look up, the moon was full tonight and it gave off a beautiful soft glow around it.
"It's pretty." He motioned out towards it while he sat down on the blue shingles of the roof.
"Uh huh..." Kai's voice cracked as he fought the urge to fan himself, heart in his throat. He managed to resist it and instead got to business. The only thing he cared about now.
"So do you remember everything that happened from last time!?" He asked as he flipped through the pages almost greedily. Starving and ready to dive in to it.
"Yes." Ray answered energetically as he grabbed his plate and settled it over his lap. "We reached chapter two over the phone."
Kai wriggled to make himself comfortable, sit up straight and held the book up. "Yep! Chapter three - The Seventh Proof..." He started, scanning the page to get the translation cogs turning.
"Yes, it was about ten o'clock in the morning, my dear Ivan." Said the professor. The poet drew his hand over his face like a man who has just woken up and noticed it was now evening. The water on the pond was black, a little boat was gliding across it..."
He came over with a ridiculous feeling as he read. Overly excited. Like he had a hoard giggles inside his gut that were fighting desperately to get out. His legs kicked a little as they dangled over the wall, snapping his sparkling eyes at Ray.
"We've been there!" He shrieked in a tone he'd never used in his life.
Ray tried not to choke on his food that he had in his mouth at Kai's overly excited voice and sparkly eyes. Oh God he was adorable.
Forcing the food down mid chew his own eyes sparkled back. "We were?!" He asked in his own excited tone.
Kai's face fell completely as his heart snapped and the hoard of giggles died horrible and quick deaths.
"Yeh... The... The pond. Don't you remember?"
Pond... Pond...
Then it clicked.
"Oh! Yeah, I almost got stuck to that bench." He said as he giggled at himself before his cheeks warmed at the memory of face planting into Kai's chest once he helped him off said bench.
Kai's ridiculous feeling shot back. "That's the one! Shame we went when it was so cold. But still... These guys were sat on a bench, we were sat there on a bench..." He rambled as the hoard became close to breaking through.
Ray nodded along, as exciting as that was he was still waiting for the talking black cat.
"Okay, so what happens next?" He asked as he inched closer to him, their shoulders barely an inch apart.
Kai startled and blushed. The hell was he telling Ray about a place Ray had also been to? He knew, he was there... Idiot...
"R-right!" His eyes went back to it. "Over Moscow, it was as if the sky had blossomed: a clear, full moon had risen. Still white and not yet golden..."
His stomach fizzed over like a shaken up can of coke. "Heh... Heh... Just like this one!" He blurted out a pitch higher than usual as his face burned.
"Mhmm." Ray hummed; his mouth full again with another bite of food as he glanced from Kai to the moon. It really was pretty tonight.
Kai went on. "Why didn't I notice what a long story he's been telling us?' thought Bezdomny in amazement. 'It's evening already. Perhaps he hasn't told it at all but I simply fell asleep and dreamed it?' But if the professor had not told the story Berlioz must have been having an identical dream..."
As Kai continued to read, Ray continued to listen and eat his plate almost clean. It wasn't until Kai took a breath for once did it finally click that he hadn't touched his food at all. Setting his now empty plate down Ray reached over and put his hand over the pages of the book, blocking the words from his line of sight.
"Take a break and eat."
Kai pulled the book away. "In a minute." He protested before reloading his lungs again.
"No." Ray interrupted and pulled the book out of Kai's hold and replaced it with his plate of food onto his lap. "Now."
Kai frowned. "What the hell? Give it back. I'll eat when I'm hungry!" He argued, reaching for his book. Urgh. This was China all over again...
"Nope, nope. Your king commands you eat before you read another word." Ray said as he held the book in the air and out of the way, "And I don't recommend trying to snatch it from me unless you want to fall off."
Kai's eyes narrowed. Challenge accepted. He shoved the stupid plate off him to the side and got on his knees. Ray saw the challenge appear in Kai's eyes. Oh shit... He couldn't let him fall off or get the book, this was not going to be fun.
Oh wait... It was going to be easy since Kai was a twig now. He could sit on him and shove food in his mouth if he wanted, shouldn't be too hard. Then again, Kai did put three people in the hospital as a twig. Maybe this wasn't going to be as easy as he previously thought.
"I said no, Kai." He reprimanded like he were a dog.
Kai let out a slight growl. He was sick of being told what to do and when to do it. He wanted to read to Ray and Ray was gonna sit there and listen!
He pounced, flinging himself at him. "And I said give it back!"
A surprised yelp tore out of Ray's throat as Kai's body came at his, trying hard to balance himself and not let go of the book until he figured he'd just drop it entirely. If it wasn't up there then Kai couldn't get it at all. The second his back hit the shingles of the roof he let it go, hearing it plop on the ground below a mere second later.
Whoops.
"Ow... Now look what you did." He turned the blame on him. No way in hell he was going to admit he did that on purpose.
Kai let out a shocked and panicked gasp. His book! He crawled off Ray and threw himself after it, landing on the ground with only a slight wobble before picking up his baby and dusting it off.
Ray smacked himself in the face with a groan. Oh for fucks sake! Stupid stubborn asshole...
"Now how're you gonna get back up here with me?" Ray asked as he peered over the edge of the wall and down at him on the ground.
Kai pouted at him. "I'm not! If you didn't want me to read it, you could have just said!"
"I did want you to read it you idiot, but you also need to eat something! Why you gotta be so damn stubborn all the time? If I'm supposed to treat you as an equal here then you need to do the same, remember?" He shouted back down at him.
"How is it equal if you're dictating when I eat! I said I don't want it!" He shouted back.
"Then what do you want to eat?" Ray asked almost in a bored tone as he laid on his stomach along the roof of the wall.
Kai matched his bored tone back and huffed, "Nothing!"
"You sure? Cus I can make you something else if you want and then we can get back to the book."
Kai looked up at him draped on the wall. Why the hell was he down here again? "Its fine. We should go read somewhere else though. Getting too dark to see."
"For you maybe." Ray muttered under his breath as he twisted himself around onto his butt, kicking his legs out in front of him. "Where you wanna go? The kids aren't in bed yet."
Kai looked around. "Well... Can go to the deck round the other side. Got the house lights coming through. Can see that pond too..." He blushed.
Pondering over the options given to him, Ray finally conceded and shrugged his shoulders. "Alright, fine." He huffed as he stood, gathering the plates before he jumped off the top of the wall and landed beside Kai on the ground.
Kai waited until his back was turned before he let out his smug smirk. That's right. He won. He hurried round to the deck; this was wasting precious reading time!
"I'm gonna put these in the kitchen and grab a blanket. It's gettin kind of chilly." Ray said once they reached the back porch.
Kai gave him a nod as he sat himself down. Urgh, he was so slow...
Ray was about as fast as a snail in tar. Just because he had come down from the high ground didn't mean he was gonna roll over that easily. He was gonna make him wait and work for the opportunity to read to him.
Taking a trip to the kitchen to drop off the plates he meandered around to find Tyson, he didn't know where the blankets were kept. Getting one a few moments later once a commercial started playing on the TV he went back to the kitchen and brewed himself some tea and had a little snack while he was at it.
By the time he came back outside he wasn't exactly sure how long he had been gone for, but Kai was still there waiting for him. Not that he looked all too happy about it though.
Kai's eye twitched. "What the hell took you so long!?" He spat.
"First time in this house, I got lost." Ray answered as he sat down beside him, his blanket fanning out around his body like a cape as if he really were royalty. He sipped at his tea while trying not to smirk like a smug asshole.
Kai looked even more pissed. "Managed to find the kitchen just fine I see! Been freezing my ass off out here!" He scolded.
"Since when do you get cold?" Ray asked as he sipped his warm tea again. "Should have eaten something, add some more pounds to battle the cold." Ray snipped back at him, holding out the end of his 'cape' for him to come join him under it.
Kai eyed him, both pissed and hurt in his eyes. He slammed the book on the deck. "You know what, forget it. If I wanted to get ridiculed, would have just stayed at fuckin' school..." He vented, annoyed as he shifted to get up.
Ray sighed and rolled his eyes. "Oh stop it, I'm only playing with you. You should know this. It's just kind of still a shock I guess with how much you've changed. I'm not meaning it to be mean Kai, but it kind of worries me seeing you lose this much weight. I just want you to eat, be healthy. That's all."
Kai mirrored him and rolled his eyes. "I didn't lose that much... Quit blading so wasn't training. Don't use it, ya lose it. No need to be a dick and keep cracking jokes at my expense."
Ray eyed him a bit and let out a huff as he scooched himself along the deck towards him. Without warning he put both his hands around Kai's middle, his fingers touching around Kai's back to the point they almost touched the opposite knuckles. Not much he said. Not much. That was laughable. He could break him in half now if he wanted.
"Mhmm. Okay. Sure. I'm not saying you have to eat like Tyson here, but this is more than just not training or blading anymore Kai. You promised me you'd take care of yourself and you didn't." His tone changed, the concerned motherly one coming out of him as his expression softened while he kept his hands settled around Kai's middle.
Kai's hands lifted up automatically and eyes went wide as the warm, strong hands suddenly gripped him like a belt. He stared shocked, his own face softening at the disappointed tone and the look in Ray's eyes that he couldn't run from.
"I..." What could he say to that? He bit the inside of his cheek as a deep shame and disappointment in himself started to weigh down. He broke a promise. He sucked...
With the silence and the change in atmosphere Ray pulled his hands back to himself, though kept his attention on Kai in front of him. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you or hurt your feelings. It wasn't my intention. Just please take care of yourself, okay?" He begged in a soft tone.
Kai's eyes watered for a few reasons. For one, he'd let Ray down. Again. Another was he apparently sucked at taking care of himself. Another was that Ray cared. And that he was here. And how much he'd missed him. And how much he needed him.
He fell forward and put his twigs around Ray's middle... His much fuller middle. "I'm sorry..."
Ray clung to him around his bony shoulders, his body acting like the blanket that was draped around his own back and almost overshadowing Kai's body.
"It's okay. It's gonna be okay."
As if his words flipped a switch, his eyes began streaming. Maybe it was just after feeling so lonely for so long. Or maybe because finally, someone was really listening to his cries for help. And finally, he had hope that it was all going to be okay, because Ray would never lie to him.
Geesh... Kai really was freezing out there, his skin felt like ice. Shifting enough without really letting go, but ended up having to anyways, Ray pulled his blanket around the two of them best he could in the face to face position they found themselves in. Hopefully nobody wandered outside for a while, the kids were zoned out with the TV and gramps was asleep since it was pretty late. Kenny had gone back to his own home and so did the girl shortly after dinner (so Max had told him when he popped in the house earlier.)
"Did you still want to read?"
Kai stared for a minute before he shook his head. "Can we... Can we just do this?" He asked, averting his eyes.
Ray titled his head some, that blush coming back ten-fold. "Mhmm." Was all he could manage to get out of himself as his fingers curled into the back of Kai's shirt tighter on their own.
In return, the stick figure's knees buckled a little at the grip that sent tingles up his cold spine, the warmth finally kicking in... As well as the closeness. Was forever too long to ask to stay like this?
Ray's heart stung just as much as it felt mended and full again. The shattered pieces it had turned into the moment he had to leave them all mending over. He had them all back, he was actually truly and fully home now. The sting in his heart got to a point he couldn't ignore it any longer, wanting to tell Kai what he came to learn before they separated last year shortly after he had figured it out himself. But that thought, the idea of confessing right then and there, scared him more than he cared to admit.
What Kai was doing wasn't enough to even remotely think that he felt the same, this was just what they had come accustomed to last year when they needed someone there. That's all this was all this really would ever be. He had nothing to offer, nothing to give but an old busted up attack ring and even that got smashed into dust so that must have been a sign right there to just keep his mouth shut, why ruin something good by mixing in complicated emotions and feelings into it all? He had him back, had the others, that's all he really needed now and he was content with that. It was enough.
Kai squeezed him harder. Admittedly not as hard as he could have last year, but that didn't mean it wasn't still strong. All those nights he stared up at the ceiling mentally telling Ray everything that was going on. All those times he had his pen in hand desperately wanting to write it down and tell him how shitty everything was and for him to save him somehow. And now he was saved.
A huge, exasperated sound came out his still crying throat as he squeezed even more and shoved his head in his shoulder.
"Oh my god, I missed you!" He let out desperately.
And that didn't mean anything more than that Kai missed him. The others missed him too, he had missed all of them. No, nope, no way. His mouth was sealed shut tight. Though all that didn't stop his own eyes from getting wet, if he could he'd climb onto his lap just to be as close as possible but that maybe was a step too far even for him. But he really wanted to.
"I told you, you would." He choked on a sob in the back of his throat, though still managed to sound smug at the same time. "And I missed you too."
Kai's head blew a fuse. Ray's return finally sinking in and being a lot more overwhelming than even he had anticipated. As always, Ray had a way of opening his Pandora's Box. Until now he only ever had just a crack or just a little. But somehow, this second, he hadn't just unlocked it, he'd blown the damn lid off it.
He gripped Ray's shoulders, jumping just enough to wrap his legs around Ray's strong middle and cling onto him like a koala. "Nothing has been good since you left. Nothing! And nothing makes sense without you either! I mean, not that it really did when we were on tour either, but it felt like it did somehow, you know!?" He rambled/cried into his shoulder.
The cogs in Ray's head did their backwards turning the moment he realized Kai was latched to him, in his lap and crying on his shoulder. He pat him on the back, rubbing gentle circles, taking in how much lighter Kai felt compared to the last time he was full body pressed into his.
But no, he didn't really know how things made sense and didn't at the same time last year. It was all a giant mess through a good portion of it, to downright being awful and terrible until it was good again and in the blink of an eye it was over.
"Well I'm here now and it's going to be okay." He soothed best he could, still rubbing gentle circles on Kai's back.
Kai fidgeted restlessly; this wasn't exactly what he wanted. What he needed. He brought his knees back to the ground and pushed Ray's shoulders to force him to lay back, shifting himself to assume THE position. He lay himself down and rest his head on his chest. Just like in Russia. Just like those other times he needed it to feel better.
Ray couldn't hold in the giggle as he was pushed down on his back. He didn't think he'd have missed this, but apparently he had. And of course this didn't mean anything either, he was just comforting Kai the only way he really knew how.
"Know what kind of sucks with all of this?" He asked as his fingers were already spreading through the back of the dark hair around the nape of Kai's neck.
Kai lifted his head in a shot, looking terrified. No... Not more shitty stuff. "What!?"
"We have to sleep on the floor, no nice warm hotel beds. And it's not like we can share with the kids around." He answered without having thought much about how any of that sounded, too mesmerized by the soft hair running between his fingers again.
Kai sighed and put his head back down, "No... But we can put our futons next to each other's?" He offered.
"Oh... Guess we could..." It wasn't the same though. What if he got cold sleeping by himself?
Kai melted into him, eyes rolling back happily a little from the feeling of the fingers in his hair. This was heaven...
They lay silently for a while, before the peace was disturbed by a loud, angry growling sound. The hell was that?!
Ray's mouth twitched, fighting himself from bursting out with laughter at the noise that came out of Kai's stomach.
"You gonna let me make you something to eat now?" He asked as he lifted his head off the ground.
Kai's head lifted off his chest and met his glinting amber eyes. Oh god, that sound had come from him!? He gave a slight embarrassed laugh before a louder, angrier growl came from his flat belly… And then a pang. He was starving.
"Alright, get up so I can get up." Ray shooed him off, though already had his hands around Kai's arms and was moving him off the top of him like he was made of paper.
Kai flushed more as Ray lifted him off. Was he supposed to like Ray handling him like this? He doubted it. But, here he was...
"Okay, so what do you want to eat?" Ray asked as he shifted his clothes a bit and grabbed the blanket he had brought out with him earlier along with his tea.
"Um..." Anything as long as he made it. He'd eat coffee burgers again. Hell, he'd eat the bird.
"Anything small is fine."
Ray eyed him up and down, holding in the sigh from not being able to shove a buffet down his throat to get some fat on him.
"Okay." He shrugged and carried on into the house, "See what they have I guess."
Kai trotted after him with a bounce in his step, kicking off his shoes and padding the wood floors in his white socks. His socks slid along the kitchen floor as they entered, getting himself out the way immediately and sitting down. He rest his chin on both his hands, elbows on the table and watched the master at work.
URRRGGGHHHH he'd missed him!
Ray wandered and poked his nose into every cabinet and cupboard in the kitchen, popped the fridge open each time he passed it as if it would magically have something else in it than the time before. Of course. He was at Tyson's house. Which meant there wasn't much food because at least Tyson ate food! Though, the boy could do without eating so much. He could see the belly Tyson was getting now under his clothes.
"Can't do much but a sandwich until gramps restocks the place. So ham and cheese or PB&J?"
Kai's brow shot up. Who did he think he was? Michael? The Japanese didn't eat that...
"Do you eat PB&J?" He asked.
"I think Max got me a packaged one back in America last year? Wasn't a fan really, the peanut butter stuck to the roof of my mouth."
Kai rolled his eyes. "Well of course it wasn't good. Was prepackaged..."
"You might have a point." Ray shrugged as he gathered the things he needed and laid them out on the counter.
Slapping and smearing the bread with the brown sticky peanut butter to the point it covered the entire piece he slapped some jelly on top, coating the top bread with another coat of peanut butter like he was painting a wall. Max said that's how he normally made his, so that was what he went with.
Kai kept straining to look, nervous. If he hated it, would Ray be mad? What was he doing? What crimes to bread was he committing? It was okay, he thought, a brave man (or woman) once had to look fear in the eye and put cocoa powder in chili. Turned out amazing...
Quickly preparing a second sandwich for himself, even if he really didn't want it, he put everything back quickly and carried over their plates to the table and sat down with him.
"Didn't want you to suffer alone." He gestured at his sandwich, "Max said this was how he did it, so I just went off what he said so it's his fault if you hate it."
Kai eyed it like it might bite him. But at this point he could eat the plate it came on. He picked his up and eyed Ray to do the same. "Count of three?"
Ray nodded as he plucked his off the plate, the smell of the peanut butter invading his senses. "Too bad they didn't have any cocoa powder." He chuckled, some of the jelly already slipping out and running down his fingers.
Kai snorted back. But now he was ravenous. "Three..."
"Two..." Ray's eyes bounced from Kai to his sandwich as he inched it closer to his mouth.
"One! USA!" He called for... Some reason... Before he sank his teeth into it and pulled off a chunk.
Ray followed suit, the taste of the peanut butter the first thing to settle in and of course it started to stick everywhere inside his mouth. The glob of jelly still in the center of the sandwich, minus the bit that was still rolling down his fingers out the back. Why would Max tell him this was how you made these? It was sticky and messy!
Kai made a face and was gone in the clouds. Salty peanut butter with a creamy aftertaste... Sweetness of the jam... What brave, fearless genius made such beauty?
Ray eyed Kai beside him. At least he looked like he genuinely liked the sticky mess, and even better was the fact that he was eating! Good, he was gonna get those arms back whether he wanted to or not.
"Here, still not my thing and you look like you really like it." Ray said, his ingenious plan of getting him to eat two sandwiches coming to fruition as he slid his over to Kai.
Kai turned to him having just torn off another bite like a velociraptor. He quickly swallowed, hitting his chest to get it down.
"You don't want it?" He asked in disbelief. This was food of KINGS.
Ray shook his head, "It's too sticky." He said, popping a jelly covered finger in his mouth. "But you have it, don't want to waste Grampa's food." He continued as he popped in another finger to clean off the jelly.
Kai blinked and stared... Why was he enjoying watching him lick jelly off his finger? Suddenly he got another pang... And it wasn't hunger. Just eat the damn sandwich. Focus on the sandwich...
SANDWICH!
Running his tongue along his lips, making sure it was peanut butter and jelly free and one more suck on his index finger, Ray felt he was clean enough to actually get up and wash his hands and get a drink. Still had peanut butter on the roof of his mouth after all.
"Been meaning to ask, but what do you think of that girl?" He asked as he pushed himself away from the table and headed towards the sink.
Kai let out a grateful sigh through his bite of heaven. That girl was an instant boner killer. "Shesa'aininass!" He tried to say with a huge mouth full of bread and wonder. Holding his hand up to let himself finish. He wasn't Tyson for fuck sake.
"Pain in the ass. No clue why she's here. Could I have some water too please?"
"How long has she been around?" Ray continued to question as he got him a cup of water from the sink, taking it back to him and sitting down. "And why is she even here? Tyson used to write to me about her. None of it was good."
"I don't know." He rushed, desperate to get the rest of heaven 1 in his mouth so he could start heaven 2.
"Oh..." Was all he could really say to that. Guess she was just a part of their little family now. "I always wanted a daughter anyways."
Kai scowled viciously. "She is NOT a daughter! An in-law at best and she has to earn it!" He fired, holding the remains of heaven 1 in the pocket of his left cheek like a hamster.
Ray smirked at him, somehow knowing that would set him off. "Who's in-law should we say she is?" He continued to play.
Kai snatched up heaven two and shook his head, eyeing him. "I don't want her!" He shrieked before he went to town.
"What do you have against her, really?" Ray questioned as he laid the side of his head in the palm of his hand, his elbow resting on the top of the table as he faced him from the side. "I'm guessing you've known her for a while now."
Kai shook his head. "Not really! She was here when I came to see Tyson. Been hanging around like a bad smell ever since. And what do I have against her? She's a person."
"And they said you weren't an antisocial jerk." He chuckled back at him.
Kai glared at him, but had his mouth full again. Ohhh man, these were good! Was there any bread left?
An unexpected yawn broke out of Ray's throat, it had been a long day and was only going to become an even longer week. He'd wait for him, he was just gonna rest his eyes until Kai was done and then they'd be off and asleep together. It'd be wonderful.
Putting his arms on the table in front of him he put his head down, another yawn breaking through and closed his eyes. Enjoying the quiet for what it was worth since come morning they'd all be ready to train for their upcoming match.
Kai finished heaven 2 and glanced over, noticing the quiet. Oh thank god, he'd fallen asleep. He didn't have to look like a pig. He tiptoed back to the counter and as quietly as he could made heaven 3. It wouldn't be as good as Ray's but he needed it. He slumped back in his chair and enjoyed the start of his third foodgasm.
Cracking his heavy and tired eye open, peeking over the folds of his arms, Ray smirked as he watched Kai come back with another sandwich in hand and went to town on it. Good. The poor thing needed to eat. Put some meat on those tiny bones of his. Oliver would have had a shit fit if he saw him like this.
Kai swallowed the last of heaven 3 and slumped back in his seat with a sigh. He looked down at the bloat in his belly. Like a snake who had swallowed its food whole. He maaaaay have overdone it. That was a lot of carbs... But he wasn't sorry.
He glanced over at Ray and let out a small smile. He must be really tired. Should put him to bed. This was bliss... He forced his stuffed-self up and rinsed his hands off at the sink before going back to his sleeping king. How did he do this without waking him?
He crouched and slid his hand round his back and the other behind his knees, pushing to stand and lift him. He stopped when the rock heavy weight stopped him going any further. He frowned and tried again. This wasn't right... Ray wasn't heavy.
"Whattya doin?" Ray muttered in a sleepy breath as he lifted his head, blinking away the sleep that had started to cling to him.
Kai flung himself off him and stood up straight, trying to act cool. "Nothin! Trying to wake you up. You'll hurt your back if you sleep here!"
"Oh... Ready then?" Ray asked as he pushed himself off the chair, cracking his back and neck.
"Yeh, come on. I'll take you to bed." He offered softly as he pinched the fabric on Ray's sleeve to pull him along.
Ray's face warmed and his heart kicked up a notch as he followed along quietly and blissfully. Why didn't Kai just hold his hand?! He wouldn't have cared, but then again why would he hold his hand in the first place?
Kai suddenly spun around in front of him, Ray near enough bumping into him. "Know where the bathroom is!?"
"Um... It was to the left of Tyson's room... I think?" He wasn't completely sure; his guess was probably as good as Kai's. He had been here longer anyways; shouldn't he have known where it was?
Kai gave a nod of approval. His king would comfortably be able to pee at night. "Need water or anything before we go any further?"
"No I'm good." Ray grinned. Where was this suddenly coming from?
Like a freight train the night Kai punched a hole in their bathroom door back in Moscow hit him. Oh God, did he blow a fuse?! Did Kai punch a door when he was asleep and now he was gonna go all weird on him again?
Kai narrowed his eyes at him. "Anything else you need?"
"No." Ray squeaked as he backed away an inch. Yup, he blew a fuse somehow.
Kai filled the space quickly. "Sure? Cause if you do, I'm your guy! Well, really Tyson would be..." BUT HE WASN'T THE KNIGHT! "But he's asleep." He told him matter of factly.
"Thanks." Was all Ray could even manage to get out before doing what Kai had done and taking hold of the red shoulder... Things and tugged him along.
"Just wanna sleep right now though."
Kai lit up. He could make that happen! He ran in front of Ray, grabbing his wrist that was holding him and took over the dragging.
"Follow me!"
The blush came back as his own fuses started to blow; it wasn't the hand but it was close enough. His feet floated him the rest of the way, he was SO happy to be back with him! If the others weren't in danger he'd snatch him up right now and take off. Where to he didn't know, but he felt like they were wasting time by not trying to leave on their own again.
Maybe he'd bring it up after the tournament.
