Well, this whole thing happened on a whim and came out of nowhere. XD The brilliant LuxahHeart helped me with the dramatic scene between Gou and Makoto, and she was Gou. Everyone go read her stuff if you aren't already and tell her how amazing she is! ^^
Huge thank yous to Emi and Cutetyhil, your reviews were motivating!
And for the lovely person asking about an update to The Chess Master, it's slow but know that I'm working on it. I'm sorry.
And now, on with the chapter, lol! :D
Chapter Twenty-Two: Fallout
"That's not good. Does he have a preexisting heart condition?" Kai asked into his phone, currently leaning over the kitchen counter by the back door.
"No?" he said after a bit, the elderly voice on the other end of the line answering his question in great detail, "Ok. If you're free this afternoon, drop by my office. I'll take some blood samples and we'll go from there,"
He waited for the person to finish talking before he added, "I'll see you at two o'clock, Mrs. Gordon. Do you still have my flyer? Yes? All right, I'll see you and your grandson later then- You two have a great day too, bye-bye."
With a winded breath Kai hung up and put the phone back in his pocket. The sun wasn't up yet and already his hip was trying to dance off of his pelvis.
I guess word still travels fast, even around here, Kai thought, feeling wiped, but he was more-so happy about it. This meant that business was going to bloom quicker than anticipated, and that was marvelous.
It's been a week since he came back with Lin, and things were looking up, slowly but surely. Lin was adjusting well, all things considered. She loved her new room which was right across the hall from the others, the guest room next to it. The fact that she had a real bed to sleep in and her own personal bathroom was her favorite thing thus far.
The flyers were Max's idea. He said it was a way to get off the ground, and Kai was on board with that. Dr. Joe stopped by a couple of days ago to see how everyone was doing and took some of the pretty pamphlets with him to help Kai out.
The doctor poured himself his third cup of coffee and sat down on the couch, gripping the ceramic handle firmly. He glanced up at the grandfather clock stood leaning against the wall in front of him which was connected to the stairs. It was coming up 4:34AM. He knew it was still dark out but he didn't realize it was in the wee hours.
"NOOO!"
At the shrieking scream Kai bolted up the stairs, practically punching open Lin's door, sighting too that Gou and Makoto had been woken up.
"Lin, Lin! It's okay, it's okay," Kai loudly voiced, seeing that she was in the throes of another night terror. Though this time, thankfully, she was on her bed and not in the shower or on the floor.
Kai scooped her up and held her upper-body to him, her legs dangling off the bed. This was so she wouldn't thrash around anymore and not hit her head again. He yelled her name a few more times as her long nails painfully dug into his skin. After several more minutes of this, he finally felt her body grow limp.
At feeling something warm around her, Lin seemed to steadily come to.
"... Mr. Kai?" she slowly said, voice gravity and throat dry as she shifted to see him, her golden, feline eyes giving off an emotive glow in the dim dark.
Loosening his hold on her, Kai quietly said, "It was just another nightmare, sweetheart, you're still here in Japan, still safe,"
"I am?"
"Mhm," Kai hummed out, giving her a light smile.
"You acted out again, dude, you gonna be okay?" Makoto said, standing in the doorway with Gou.
"Yeah, I just need something to drink," she said, still unable to look at them.
While Lin went to get a glass of water, Kai ushered Gou and Makoto back out into the hall.
"Get back to bed, boys, you can try to talk to her later."
They did as told, both a mix of relieved, mad, and worried. They were relieved to get some more shuteye, but angry at being woke up for what felt like the umpteenth night in a row. Though they worried about her more than anything else. Why, because even the most ignorant person could figure out that what was happening here wasn't normal.
While they seemed to have kept their demons reigned in, for better or worse, Lin's monsters appeared to be more extroverted, whether she wanted them to be or not. And the answer was most likely no. No one wants their dire damages or demons on display, especially not like that.
Come 9:OOAM, Kai stood at the counter making another pot of coffee, an old but hardly used tea kettle steaming next to him on one of the stove's back coil burners. Meanwhile, a dazed Lin sat at the table, eating some eggs and a biscuit. The boys had already eaten and were upstairs getting ready for whatever the day entailed.
Makoto stepped out of the bathroom, his teeth brushed and day-clothes on. Today saw him wearing a dark red teeshirt with a single white stripe across the front of it and navy green cargo pants, his hair in a low ponytail and that signature baseball cap on his head.
Stepping by Gou's room he couldn't help but notice that his door was left open, cracked a small degree, enough to see in. He watched as Gou removed his long sleeve nightshirt, healed back and musculature exposed. Looking away briefly, he felt his heart pounding and face grow hot again. Normally he had something to help quell it, but not this time.
"Hey, that you Mako?" Gou said from inside his room, peering over his shoulder.
Midnight soon paired with crimson eyes at the door that was suddenly not cracked but blown wide open.
"What are you doin' standing out here like a depressed mannequin?" Gou asked, leaning a bit into his door frame with his shoulder, now dressed in a deep blue, buttonless cardigan and dark purple pants with his usual boots.
"Uh," Makoto stammered, eyes moving from the months older boy to the floor.
"Just admiring the carpet," he answered, eyeing his friend again, "It's a lovely shade of gray, ain't it? Really brings out the color in your eyes,"
Immediately Makoto wanted to duck and run, he didn't mean to say that last part. Those drinks did more than just give him a mouth, they gave him a sense of confidence, the basic ability to even talk to the other boy. Without the substance, he was nothing but a shy, stuttery blob that felt he didn't know his own ass from a hole in the ground.
Gou looked down at the carpet beneath their feet, tilting his head some to the side as he seemed to be admiring it a little.
"You think so?"
"Absolutely, they're beautiful," he said, showing him a bashful but honest grin.
"So?" Makoto let out, "Can we talk?" He pointed to Gou's room, "Privately?"
Gou's head lifted, not getting where any of this whole weird string of affairs was going but moved aside to let him in anyways and held an arm up as if he were a doorman. It was probably the sleep deprivation talking.
"Sure," he shrugged, following Makoto into his room and pulled the door closed behind him.
"What's up?"
Makoto sat on the edge of Gou's bed, for a moment feeling like nothing was wrong, but then the barbells fell on him, reminding him of it. Oh well, there was no getting out of it now.
He took in a big breath and said, "I'm sorry, for all of it. I won't be touching alcohol anymore,"
Gou stared at him, blinking a few times and shifted his weight on his feet. Crossing his arms and uncrossing them from around himself before starting to pace the space of his room.
"And, this is what, the third, fourth time you've said this to me?"
Makoto's heart dropped, sinking into a pool of sadness as he said, "You don't, believe me, do you?"
"Ever given me a reason to?" Gou asked back quickly, the bite clear in his tone as he finally settled on pulling his arms around his chest.
"Well, no, but I swear this time's different,"
Makoto pushed himself up from the bed, eyes pleading for him to see he meant this one more than the others.
"Uncle Max threw them away, they're at the dump, and I haven't had any for a week. I'm telling you the truth. This time around, it's the real deal. I'm quitting," he added, his eyes welling up with tears.
"So that somehow makes it different? What's going to stop you from getting more?" Gou retorted in a scoff, "If you truly wanted it to change, then it would have changed long before this even had to happen,"
Makoto could tell that he was losing him. He switched off, and now he couldn't tell if it was from desperation or downright anxiety, but before he could process it he was in front of Gou with his hands on his shoulders and knees bent. He was begging him to stay, keep what they had afloat, but the sharp slits in Gou's eyes revealed that he'd worn out all of his chances, and then some. Still, he had to try.
"That won't happen, just don't give up on me," he said after a minute, feeling breathless and like he was made of led.
"I never said I was," Gou said without batting an eye this time as he stared at him, "But I'm tired of this Mako... Empty promises on top of even more empty ones. And really, the only person you're hurting is yourself. If you want to get better, then get better. For yourself, no one else,"
"I'm trying, just give me some more time. In a month or two this will all seem like a bad dream," he said, hoping he had him with that one.
Giving Gou a weak smile he added, "You've stuck by my side for years. What's stopping you now?"
Gou knocked the hands off his shoulders with a simple shrug, taking a step back from him.
"Why are you acting like I'm leaving you behind with this? Your addiction has nothing to do with me. Mako, this is all you. But hell, if you want to keep screwing your own life up then, by all means, do it. I can't stop you, but I've never once just up and left you to fight it on your own either, so don't stand there and act like I have! Has it ever crossed your mini monkey brain that I've done for this so long that I'm sick of the cycle?" he paused, refueling his fire, "And again, how many more times are you going to keep giving me these empty promises? Or better yet, giving yourself these empty promises?!"
"Because without you I'm all alone in this. I'm tellin' ya the truth, man, that side of me is over and done with. He's not comin' back. Just wait, don't count me out,"
He wasn't sure what else to do except let his mouth run, so he let whatever wanted to come out, come out.
Gou wanted to roll his eyes at him yet refrained from doing so, though the arms around his chest did tighten some.
"Whatever helps you sleep at night. But until I see actual results, that's all your words will be. Dead letters, idle chatter,"
Figuring Makoto still hadn't gotten the point he was trying to convey, Gou darkly added, "Look, I'm not giving up on you, but I meant what I said... I'm done, we're through. We'll be housemates but that's all. Weren't you the one who once said that we needed to leave each other to our own shit anyway? So we will,"
Gou pointed to his door and added, "Now get out. I have a monster headache and you're not helping it any."
Makoto could feel another panic attack, or whatever it was, setting in, and before his brain could register the action, he made his move.
He crashed his cool lips onto Gou's, his hands gripping his forearms tightly. This wasn't what he'd wanted to happen, but maybe this would keep him from cutting him off completely. He wasn't sure of anything at this point though really, so impulse drove him.
Like he'd been turned to stone, Gou's body tensed up tightly as every muscle seized and his heart slammed rapidly in his chest while his eyes had blown wide open.
He lingered, staring into the tightly closed eyes of his best friend whose face was closer than it ever had been before and was torn between shoving him off and leaning into it at the same time.
Here he'd been talking about actions speaking louder than words, and whatever Makoto was doing was speaking volumes, but-
With him so close up, Gou was able to see the outward war that Makoto was fighting. The one he'd known of for a long time, but now he could also see this other hidden battle he'd seemed to be hiding from him. His parents beat him, because he was this... Makoto was gay, and apparently he had feelings for him?!
Leaning into it, Gou pressed back into the kiss and let his eyes slip closed as his muscles relaxed. But he only let it linger for a few seconds more before his mind kicked into high gear and had him put his hands to Makoto's chest and gently push him away.
"And what do you want me to do with that?" Gou breathlessly asked, trying to sound as strong as he had before.
Before that kiss, before everything he knew was suddenly tilted on its head once more, and his own heart wasn't trying to burst from out of his chest.
Makoto could see the shock, the sheer confusion and semblance of fear on his friend's face. He couldn't help but kick himself for what he'd done. He'd only fully realized it after the fact but that was still no excuse. He knew all Gou had been through, and like him he was trying to relearn himself, rebuild his life. He felt filthy, like he'd been the one to break him but there wasn't a thing he could do about it now.
Sheepishly looking him over, Makoto softly stated, "Just hold on to it."
He guessed now he had to face the music, he was in love with his best friend, the mother hen of the dynamic duo.
In a split second he watched as Gou crumbled and internally collapsed into himself, the mental anguish from this and Monica coming to a head. What was he going to do now? UGH, why did he have to be so hormonal and stupid?!
Gou's chest rose and fell, becoming heavier with every breath. With his own air squeezing his lungs, he forced out, "I- I need some time."
Gou hurriedly left his bedroom, his sweaty palms slipping off of the knob a few times before he successfully gripped it and made his way out, leaving Makoto where he stood.
Downstairs, Kai was showing Lin how to work the television set and it's accompanying remote control before something crawling across the bottom of the screen grabbed his attention, undividing it.
Breaking News: Break-out from Living One's facility, 2 prisoners on the loose.
"And now for the latest on our Breaking News story, here's Julia Fernandez," said a female news anchor, her Japanese heritage easy to see.
Almost instantly, up popped a barely aged version of Kai's old classmate, the years having been very kind to her.
"Thank you, Margaret. As we told you at the top of the hour, 43-year-old Monica Lang and 49-year-old Tyson Granger have managed to break out of the prison standing right behind me. Cops are searching high-and-low for the duo but so far they're coming up short. The guards that work here say that the break out happened sometime between the hours of midnight and 4:00AM this morning. The staff in the connected Livings Insane Asylum across the street from me are also warning that if you should come across this duo to try and hide, one of them is highly unstable and the other could be armed. Back to you, Margaret,"
"Alright, thank you, Julia," the anchor said as she came back into view, "For that spine-chilling update. I won't be able to sleep tonight. Authorities released the mugshots of the escapees a few minutes ago, keep them ingrained in your mind, folks."
The unappealing photos of an angry Tyson and hysterical Monica appeared on the screen, splitting it down the middle. Once they were gone, Kai switched the channel to some cartoons and handed Lin the remote.
Making his way up the stairs, Makoto found a despondent Makoto sat on his son's bed.
"Where's Gou?" he bluntly asked, his dramatic shift in mood all the more noticeable.
Makoto lifted his head and said, "Out, he went for a walk," Sensing something was wrong, he added, "Why?"
"Get Lin and get in the van," Kai barked, pointing down the stairs.
Makoto hopped onto his feet and went to ask why but a heated Kai cut him off, "Don't ask questions, go, now!"
Makoto did as told, trying to hold in his jump. He shook it off, shoulders shivering from side to side, and went to get Lin.
Inside his room, Kai yanked open his bedside drawer, the fear nearly making him pull it out all the way and/or break it in half.
Taking out his gun, he secured the holster to himself and pocketed a few extra bullets for good measure. But then, he put it all back, carefully tucking it away. He was confident that his skills would be enough, should he have to use them at all.
Stepping out and up to the car, he replayed the report in his head. They were out, on the run it seemed. He knew exactly what they were after, all he had to do was keep them out of sight.
To Be Continued...