Welcome back guys!
As promised before, we're gonna start diving into the heavier topics now. Also for this chapter we kind of took a different route with it. We know in the show they were all rescued off the island at the end of the day but we went ahead and made it where they had to suffer a night there. Either way we hope you enjoy it nonetheless, and hopefully I got these numbered right.
Like always, we wanna thank everyone for following and reviewing.
Think that's it, so enjoy! Take care of yourselves, stay sane, and we'll see you on the first!
Season 2, Episode 11.
Tired, sore, and beyond words at the moment, the group finally found each other again. The distress signal had been sent and all that was left to do was wait for morning before they were rescued off this godforsaken island. Which meant they were having to rough it out for the night that was quickly approaching them as the sun started to set over the horizon, at least they were all together now before it got dark which was a relief to all of them.
"Ow! That hurt!" Tyson screamed as Hilary put a cloth to his leg that had started to swell and redden, his tumble off the side of the faulty cliffside coming back to bite him in the ass.
"Well if you just hold still!" Hilary snapped back at him, putting more pressure down on his leg.
"Guys!" Tyson whined back at Max and Ray standing over him, both with smirks on their faces. "Help me, get her off." He pleaded.
"No can do." Max grinned, "As they say, no pain no gain."
"That's right, and it's better you get that taken care of before we find a place to camp for the night." Ray added before he took a look around them.
It was opened spaced with little to no cover, the waterfall was right there which would cause more of a chill with the night air once the sun completely set. They were set for fresh water, but lacked a decent enough shelter and food.
"And by the looks of it, we'll need to move somewhere else for that." He continued with a small frown on his face.
"I agree, we don't have adequate shelter here or any food. The waterfall can provide us with fresh water, but if we camp too close we could get chilled during the night. Our best chance for survival, for the night, is to find some place nearby with a bit more cover." Kenny piped in, his laptop clutched to his chest and closed now that the battery had died out on it.
Ray nodded back, took the words right out of his mouth.
"Why don't we just, I don't know, stay at the lighthouse? I'm sure we can go a night without food." Hilary suggested in a snooty tone.
Tyson looked ready to throw her off the side of the cliff, "Go a night without food?! Are you crazy? We'll starve and none of us have eaten since this morning!"
"Oh please, you'll survive one night Tyson!" Hilary bit back.
Kai rolled his eyes. He could definitely go without food. Tyson could use a night without food. But he didn't want to verbally agree with her or have to listen to him bellyache all night. Plus, shelter was still an issue. And they were going to lose daylight at this rate. So, he started walking.
Just as Hilary's mouth opened to verbally abuse Tyson again, it snapped shut as Kai swept past them.
"K-Kai, where are you going?!" She asked, her snooty tone quickly leaving as she bat her lashes as he went by.
Kai kept his mouth shut. If he didn't engage with it, perhaps the female would learn to leave him alone.
Hilary pouted, her bottom lip sticking out as far as she could make it go at the dismissal.
"Kai, where are you going?" Ray called to him as he just kept walking.
Kai huffed and turned, putting a hand on his hip. "Well we're not going to be able to set up camp with no sunlight are we? Let's go already!" He snapped.
Ray mimicked him, hands going to his own hips. He knew that, but they still didn't have a clue on where to go but the fight in him quickly dissolved. They were all too tired, especially him after having had to watch over Tyson and Max on his own the past several hours they'd been on the island.
"Alright." He sighed back, looking down to Tyson who still looked ready to throw Hilary off the side of a cliff.
"Can you stand?"
"No." Tyson whined back in a fake cry.
Ray didn't believe it for a second but got down to let him climb on his back, hooking his arms around Tyson's legs once he was settled.
"Ow! That hurt, man!"
"Sorry..." Ray muttered and loosened his grip, maybe Tyson's leg was really injured good. The sooner they got off this island the better.
Kai cocked a pissy brow and turned his nose up, going back to his rightful role as leader. Now the fussing over the Shrimp was done, maybe they could find somewhere to sleep.
"Why don't we just find somewhere near here, we'll at least have water for the night if we can't find any food." Max suggested as he trailed after the others in the back beside Kenny.
"Don't even joke like that Max, we have to find food!" Tyson groaned back at him.
Kai let out a growl. "Which is exactly why we're heading this way!" He snapped over his shoulder.
"Geesh, what crawled up his butt?" Tyson asked quietly.
"It's been a long day Tyson; nobody is happy right now." Ray chided, feet carrying the two of them after Kai through the low brush that encompassed the waterfall and small lake.
"Yeah, but you don't see the rest of us yelling." Tyson quipped back at him.
Ray rolled his eyes, wasn't he just yelling at Hilary a second ago?
"Probably because he's tired of listening to you, who is a big baby who is holding everyone up!" Hilary fired at him, tempted to smack his 'severely' injured leg.
Tyson puffed his cheeks out at her, shifting on Ray's back as his mouth opened with a comeback.
"If you start yelling at each other in my ear, I'm dropping you on your ass." Ray warned quickly, Tyson closing his mouth just as fast. He was done, with all of them, they were all going to be shoved off the cliff at this point.
Getting a little ways from the waterfall, where there was better cover from the spray and cold water and winds for the night, Ray parked Tyson down next to a broken off tree trunk.
"There, now you two can bicker to your heart's content, the rest of us will look for wood and food though."
Kai was already heading in to the trees. Hilary bounced after him in a flash, Tyson could yell at himself. Ray went in the opposite direction with Max, leaving Kenny to sit with Tyson and keep him company till the others got back as he checked on his leg again.
"So, Kai." Hilary started as she bounced next to him, "I just wanted to thank you, you know, for saving me back there when those rocks fell on us."
Kai snapped his head and looked around. When she get there? Where the hell did the others go!?
"Mmhmm." He replied before walking faster. Urgh, Ray was such a dick. Probably saw a juicy looking bird...
"Is there anything you need me to do? Just say the word." Hilary stopped and snapped to attention, hand coming up to her forehead like she was in the military.
Kai stopped and looked back at her, cogs clearly turning. "Yeh. Go away." He answered plainly before walking again.
Hilary's smile and love stricken face fell in an instant, her face quickly turning red as her fists clenched at her sides; steam practically coming out of her ears.
"Excuse you?! That's no way to talk to me, I'm just trying to help!" She screamed at him, stomping after him instead of bouncing beside him.
"I know it's been a long day, we're all exhausted, but that doesn't give you the right to be such a jerk!"
Kai let out an exhausted sigh. "Yes. It has." He said as he looked her up and down. "You look as if you've never so much as slept in a tent, let alone had to rough it. Why don't you leave it to me and go rest." He replied just as flatly.
"Well..." Hilary stuttered back. He was right, but that didn't mean she couldn't be helpful somehow.
"I'm just trying to help carry the weight, so I can help carry stuff back as you collect, right?" She pitched in a hopeful attempt to stay with him.
Kai sighed again. God, he hated these people. "Fine."
"There, that wasn't so hard now was it?" Hilary grinned at him cheekily, ready to carry back anything he needed her to.
Until he passed her a stick with a caterpillar crawling on it, which she threw away while screaming and ran back to the camp site as fast as she could, kicking up a dust cloud that trailed after her.
At the blood curdling scream that scared half the island, Max and Ray stopped from gathering the wood for the fire and rushed back to the camp site to make sure nobody was dying on them.
Coming into the small clearing where they'd left Tyson and Kenny, Hilary was also there with her knees curled up to her chest and hugging her legs as she rocked back and forth.
"What happened?" Ray asked as he dropped his pile of sticks to the ground.
"Dunno, she just came running back from going off with Kai screaming and then... That." Tyson said as he gestured out towards her.
Well, that explained it a little. "So, you left Kai out there by himself?" Ray snapped his attention back to her. Not that he didn't think Kai could go it alone, he'd probably prefer it that way to start with, but if they worked in groups of two then they'd collect more quicker.
"So many legs..." The distressed maiden muttered as she rocked.
The others just gave her a questioning look, Ray sighing loudly in hopes it'd clear his head before he really did snap.
"Alright, well just stay here and I'll be back, hopefully with some food and something to start that fire with." He said, turning his attention back to Max and Tyson before he took off.
"Get those leaves and smaller pieces off those sticks and branches, we want them dry before trying to light." He instructed, getting some nods back.
"RAY NO!" Hilary shouted as she threw her hand out, "There are beasts out there! Hideous beasts! Including that BLUE HAIRED JERK!"
Ray's foot that had lifted to take him down the path Hilary had come from came back to the ground, blinking down at her for a minute as he fought a smile.
"What're you talking about, Hilary? And Kai's not that bad, it's just been a long day." He stressed again, hoping at some point it'd sink into all their heads.
Her big brown eyes watered as her lip wobbled. "He threw a bug at me!" She strained in a high pitch.
"PAH!" Tyson belted out in a laugh, slapping his knee.
Ray arched a brow, not sure if he could really believe her or not at the moment. "Okay, well... I'll go talk to him about it then." He hoped that'd suffice, get her to calm down at least.
"WAIT!" She yelled again, eyes drying in an instant and patting the space next to her.
Ray hesitated, they were burning day light, though in an attempt to keep her calm he sat down beside her. Hoping she'd be quick with this.
"So..." She said shyly as she twirled a strand of hair round her finger, "Is he like, the 'treat 'em mean, keep 'em keen' kinda guy?"
"What?" Was all Ray could answer to that with a dumbfound look on his face. What the hell was she going on about now?
Hilary shifted in her space. "Kai..." She said quietly, blushing a little. "I mean, you must know his ex-girlfriends riiiiiight?" She pried oh so subtly.
The dumbfound look changed quickly, though bit the inside of his cheek before he flat out laughed in her face.
"Actually..." He cleared his throat once he knew his face wouldn't betray him, shifting closer to get in her ear as she leaned closer in anticipation.
"I don't." He whispered, quickly pulling back and getting to his feet. "Anyways, better go check on him before he gets himself lost." He dusted off his shirt and pants.
"Good luck though." He gave a little wave, getting far enough away before he let out the rib shaking laugh he'd been holding back as tears pooled in the corner of his eyes.
That was the best thing he'd heard all day!
Kai flung another decent sized piece of firewood on to the pile, wiping yet more moss on his brow. How had this happened again?
Laughing the whole way, unable to contain it any as his sides began to cramp, through the small film of tears Ray finally caught sight of two-toned hair coming into view.
Seemed like Kai was really trying hard to get as far away from them all as possible, or just Hilary, either way, it had taken a good while since leaving the site to find him; only good thing was Kai went in one straight line.
Ray's insides scrunched at the thought, belting out another laugh at himself. That poor girl was going to be crushed so badly once she learned the truth.
Kai tensed at the sound of laughing. Oh god. No. Not merriment. He let out a huge sigh and straightened his now aching back, slowly turning to face the hyena.
"H-how far were you." Ray tried to talk, his whole body shaking as he fought to hold it all in once he got close enough he wouldn't need to yell at him through the forest.
"Oh, god... One second." He held up a finger, holding his side with one hand while wiping the still freefalling tears from his cheeks.
"What's funny?" Kai snapped, not in the mood for anyone's shit.
"HILARY!" Ray's voice strained, "She-she thinks- oh my god my side hurts!"
Kai rolled his eyes. "Oh what!? Thinks I attacked her!? Handed her a stick with a caterpillar on it and she ran for the hills! Some survivor! Hence why I tried to send her back and not waste time!" He ranted.
"And what are you doing here!? You manage to get anything done or is it just me working!? Better not be a dead bird waiting either!"
By some miracle the laughter cut off quickly at the mention of the bird, Ray's wet eyes snapping to Kai and narrowing.
"Oh har har. No, Max wouldn't let me catch it." He bit at him, "And we collected fire wood, heard Hilary screaming like she was dying so went to check on her." He informed their proud leader, "But yes, she did say you threw a bug at her."
Kai rubbed his face hard, smudging his paint even more and smearing more green. "For the love of... I handed her a damn stick!"
Ray just shrugged his shoulders at him, "It's what she said. Anyways, came to help since I left Max with the others and be quicker having an extra pair of hands."
"Oh gee, thanks!" He bit sarcastically, turning back to his hoard of stuff he'd gathered. By himself.
"You're welcome, crabby ass." Ray just smirked, going a little ways from him as some moss caught his eye and prayed it was dry enough to use.
"So, what'd she do that pissed you off so badly?" He asked as he collected the moss and a few more twigs before catching sight of some fruit hanging above his head in the tree he stood under.
"Found dinner." He announced, pocketing the moss and dropping the sticks as he started to climb the tree.
"What you all do! Exist! And for the love of god Ray, GET OFF THE TREE!"
"I'm already halfway up, come here so I can drop these down to you without getting them dirty." He yelled back down at him, hoisting himself up on a branch.
"IF YOU FALL I SWEAR TO GOD I WILL KILL YOU!" He yelled even angrier.
"Then come here!" Ray snapped as he shimmied his way across the branch, reaching out for the fruit.
Kai ran over holding his hands up for Ray rather than the fruit. He could barely watch, scrunching one eye shut and bracing himself.
"Look out below!" Ray called in a chirpier tone, dropping the fruit down and watching a few of them bounce off the top of Kai's head.
"SONOFA-!" He yelled again as he rubbed his head, feeling the rage bubble. He was done. Fuck Ray as well!
"FINE! Break your ankle again! See if I care!" He turned on his heel and stomped back to his own pile of stuff he'd managed to find.
He'd drop this off and then skulk off somewhere far away from all of them. Hell, maybe he'd jump straight to that. They could starve!
"Wait... What?" Why was he asking that so much tonight, and why did Kai leave?!
"You're supposed to catch these, now they're dirty and gross." He whined at him, standing up and going to jump for the next branch above him that had more.
Kai ignored him. Mowgli could carry his own fuckin' fruit...
"Oh shit!" Ray gasped as his hand slipped on the branch above him, legs kicking as he held on with the one.
A blue blur arrived under him. "You total MORON! I TOLD YOU!" His voice belted out in a voice that outdid Hilary's as his feet didn't know what to do with themselves.
Ray smirked down at him, hoisting himself up perfectly fine. "Aw, you do care." He grinned at him as he swung his legs off the side, "Now, pick those up so we can at least have something to eat tonight. I'll be down in a second."
Kai's eye twitched, plotting his slow and painful demise as he went to pick up the fruit. Shaking out some more of their dinner from the branches, Ray jumped down from the branch and landed with a thud on his feet beside Kai who was picking up what he dropped.
"Should we even worry about a shelter? It shouldn't be too cold tonight." He questioned as he picked up the long front end of his shirt and making a basket out of it to place the fruit in.
Kai turned, deadpan face and hurled a ball of fruit at his head. At the satisfying thud, he went back to work. "I'm good on the floor."
"Ow, what was that for?" Ray asked, unable to rub at his head unless he wanted to drop everything in his shirt.
"For being a dick." Kai answered as he dropped some more in to Ray's... Man dress.
"Pfft, you're always a dick but you don't see me throwing food at your head for it." Ray muttered back.
"Yeh you did! In the tree!" He fired back.
"Not on purpose, you were supposed to catch it!"
"I have two hands! How am I supposed to catch that many! And I know you! You did it on purpose!"
"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't." He shrugged at him again, "Get your sticks and let's head back, we have plenty of firewood now."
Kai did as he was told. But grumbled about it the entire way. Getting back to the others was the easiest thing they'd done that day. Dropping their things down in separate piles, Ray having to swat at Tyson's hand as it reached out for the food.
"We have to divide it, sit back." He barked, watching as Tyson shrunk away from him.
Kai glared at everything in general, taking a handful and passing them out to the starving children.
Hilary fluttered her lashes as she crossed a leg and sat up straighter. "Thank you, Kai..." She said in the sweetest voice she could as he shoved it in her hand, ignoring her completely.
Ray's laughter started up again in a small giggle, passing Max his share and then Kenny his before getting the moss out of his pocket and piling the sticks up on top of each other.
"Need a rock..." He grumbled, getting up to go find one.
Kai grunted, storming off closer to the fall to find a selection. He returned a few minutes later, getting to work on making a spark to light it while Hilary watched in awe and ever growing lust.
He was perfection...
So manly...
So rugged...
His face smeared with dirt and moss like a real man.
Coming back to the group, dragging some big palm leaves behind him, Ray rolled his eyes at Kai trying to light the fire.
"Move, before you hurt yourself." He huffed, dropping their makeshift beds for the night and shooing Kai away from his spot near the pile of wood.
Kai near enough hissed at him, hitting the rock hard enough and with enough annoyance to get a decent spark.
Hilary's eyes sparkled at the little phoenix... Spark... "Oh Kai, you're the best." She gushed.
Ray chewed on the inside of his cheek, half wanting to agree with her but at this very moment... He couldn't.
"Okay fine, but that rock looks wet." He threw his hands up in defeat and went off to go get more palm leaves to drag them back.
"I'd like to see you try and start a fire under these conditions!" Hilary shot at his retreating back.
Ray glanced over his shoulder at her, wasn't her fault she was stupid and spoke before she tried to think.
"This? I grew up living like this. So yeah, I can." He informed before turning his back, missing the look on her face as it fell.
"Oh, shut up!" Kai spat, at both of them as finally the flame started to catch.
Not letting the yelling get to her, Hilary clapped her hands. "I knew you could do it!"
"What did I just say?" He glared, picking himself up. He was disgusting from the day and the woods. And they were all one slightly too loud breath away from making his sanity snap go tribal on their asses.
"What? I was just..." Hilary shrunk back a little with that one.
Kai held his hand up, walking off.
"What is with him?!" Hilary questioned once Kai was gone, turning to Max and Tyson who had gone to eating their dinner quietly against the log.
"You keep shrieking in his ear?" Tyson offered around his mouthful of fruit, the juices running down his lower lip and chin.
"And you're trying too hard and he sees that as a major turn off." He added with a slight jealous bite in his tone.
Max just continued to chew quietly. Wasn't just that, but she was barking up the very wrong tree.
"I AM NOT!" She yelled, "Just being friendly and polite is all!"
"Whatever you say Hils." Tyson shrugged, not like he cared anyway. He totally, truly, one hundred percent, did. Not. Careeeee.
Even though he cared immensely...
"Just give him some time, he'll come around when he's ready. You've only known him less than a month." Max hoped to ease some of the tension that had been around them, though he wasn't about to get the girls hopes any.
"That's right, it took Kai months before he warmed up to any of us last year. The only one he was remotely easier on was Ray, but even they butt heads from time to time." Kenny added.
Hilary scrambled over to Ray, grabbing the front of his shirt and pulling so their foreheads touched. "TELL ME THE SECRET!"
Ray just stared at her, a little mad at being grabbed so roughly and having to stop his braiding of their beds.
"I don't really have one for you."
Hilary shook him. "Oh, come on! You gotta have something! He won't so much as talk to me! I know he cares a little cause he saved my life!" She went off desperately, hearts popping round her head as she remembered her handsome hero's bravery to keep her safe.
She let go of Ray and clasped her hands together. "Ahhhhhhh!" She sighed, "My knight in shining armor!"
Ray choked on his spit, since when?! "Excuse me?" He asked in a slight growl, no way in hell was she even going to remotely think Kai was her knight! Kai was his knight/king!
Hilary's brown eyes sparkled. "Did I not tell you the story!? Ohmygod he was amazing! So selfless and brave! And he smells sogoodupclose..." She added unintentionally as her knees weakened.
"No... I must have missed it." Ray answered through grit teeth, about snapping the palm leaf between his hands.
Hilary sat herself down next to him, still glowing. "Well, we were just walking. Minding our own business. Kai leading the way of course... When suddenly out of nowhere there's all these big rocks coming to squash us! I thought I was good as dead. I closed my eyes and my life flashed before my eyes... But then this big, strong forcefield came over me..." She reminisced as she hugged herself, "And a beautiful, manly voice said "you okaaaay?" She mimicked.
Somewhere around when Hilary thought she was 'as good as dead' Ray pushed himself off the ground and walked away, sadly his hearing was too damn good and caught the rest of it anyways but that wasn't the point!
He should be proud, Kai had a chance to be rid of her for good and he didn't take it, but that wasn't the point either!
What even was the point though? What was he getting so worked up over? Kai was gay! She could bat her fake lashes and fawn over him till the end of time, wouldn't do her any good.
As Ray disappeared into the cover of night that had fallen around them, the glow from the fire keeping their little spot lit up enough, Tyson sat there with his arms crossed over his puffed out chest and growing green around his scales.
Oh, Kai just had to be the hero didn't he?! Get alllll the fame, the glory, and the girls thrown at his feet that he didn't even have the decency to look back at!
But of course, Tyson didn't care. He didn't careeeeee!
Meanwhile Kai braced himself as he splashed the cold water on his face in an attempt to get the paint and shit off his face with no soap. Getting trapped on an island with Tyson was right at the top of his list of nightmares. Of course it would come true.
He shook his head as he splashed some more, making a mental note to keep emergency facewash in his fanny pack at all times from now on. His face would be squeaky clean and smell nice if he'd had the good sense. Charcoal fresh and pores unclogged.
Coming back to where they started from, the stupid waterfall, grumbling and fuming over stupid scenarios in his head that would never happen, Ray was already preparing to take a quick dip in the cold water. Hoping to wash the anger and day they all had away. Down from almost dying, again, to dealing with the back and forth from everyone, he just needed some peace and quiet.
At the water's edge he toed off his shoes, having been watching his feet the entire walk, while untying his sash from around his waist and letting it drop down to the rocky surface below him.
Kai jumped, hearing footsteps and movement. He spun around, the breath and life leaving his throat as Ray stood mere feet away. He didn't have time to process the scene. All he knew was Ray was there and he was cock-out naked.
He panicked and jumped, belly flopping and disappearing under the crystal clear yet freezing cold water. Ray's head snapped up at the sound of a large splash, there weren't any fish in there. As he stared out at the water in a few seconds Kai's head shot out from under the surface, teeth chattering already.
"Oh, I didn't even realize you were out here." He admitted, unclasping his shirt and peeling it off his shoulders.
"Just how cold is it?" He asked, dropping his shirt almost carelessly behind him with his sash.
Under other circumstances, he'd be ready to just put his clothes back on and run away before he got a nose bleed, but the bath was more important than trying to ogle Kai's naked body right now.
A bizarre sound left Kai's throat that resembled a dying goat.
"That cold huh?" Ray chuckled, a little off put by the noise but shrugged at it anyways and hooked his fingers in the hem of his pants.
"What are you doing!?" Kai yelled through blue lips, "Wait your damn turn! Privacy!"
"Not like you've not seen it before, so just turn yourself around if it bothers you so much. I'm not looking anyways." Ray huffed back at him, inching his pants down his hips.
"And if I wait longer, it's just going to get darker and colder. I don't want to get sick."
Kai didn't hear a word he said. His eyes were too busy. "Uh huh..."
"Plus, we need to talk." Ray added, not even aware of Kai watching him so intently as he got his pants down and kicked them off.
Instead of easing himself into the water, he jumped in, throwing a good amount of it over the top of Kai's head and shot out with a gasp.
"Holy shit that is cold!"
Kai thanked God for the cold water at this moment in time. That was a very revealing jump. "Mmhmm." He nodded as he felt another shiver, "Your damn fault."
"I'll live." Ray shrugged at him, his hair wrap floating around his shoulders. "Plus, feels good on the aching muscles." He kicked back a little, trying to keep some of his body heat in as the cold seeped into his skin.
Kai rolled his eyes. "Would feel much better if it was warm..."
"Well, duh." Ray rolled his eyes back, "But better than nothing at this point. And it's quiet, finally." He sunk down into the water a little, letting a content sigh pass his lips.
"It was til you showed up." He glared, wishing he could get out. But... His boys.
"Why are you still being such an ass right now? It's just me. Not like I brought the whole herd, unless you'd rather have me go back and get them." He threatened with a small splash of water aimed in Kai's direction.
Kai covered his boys with his hands and sunk under the water, quickly coming up again and spluttering. "Don't you dare!"
Ray gave him a cheeky, fanged smirk. "Then be nice, I've done nothing to you." He splashed at him again, his smirk getting wider. "Which also brings me to what we need to talk about. Apparently, I've been dethroned."
Kai glared at the splash to the face. "Not surprised with that attitude." He smirked back as he smacked some water back at him.
"Oh, so you'd rather have her?!" Ray snapped, not liking the idea as he threw more water at him; half playing and half out of anger.
Kai spluttered, wiping his eyes. "Have who?" He asked as he flicked some back.
"The only girl we have in our group, she called you her knight!" Ray fussed back, not even sure why this bothered him so much but dammit it hurt like a bitch!
Kai blinked and frowned. His brain only giving him white noise. "The hell are you talking about!?"
"Hilary, because you saved her life or whatever, she's gone off calling you her knight!" Ray informed, "If you didn't want to be mine anymore then all you had to do was tell me." Did his voice just crack? Why was he so upset about this?! The only rational thought he had was that it had been the longest day in history and he was just done with it all.
Kai spluttered on his own breath. The fresh hell was this!? "What!?" He shrieked, "I didn't tell her to call me that!"
Ray's arm that had been poised and ready to strike the water again flopped into it instead. It was a relief to hear that, one that he hadn't expected to hit so hard either.
"Well… She did."
Kai shrugged. "What can I say? I'm a fuckin' hero." He said sarcastically. "Why would that get you so bent out of shape?"
Honestly, Ray didn't have an answer for him. It just didn't sit well with him, even if it was farfetched and stupid.
"Because she'd make a terrible queen." He shrugged, hoping to play this whole thing off with a joke.
If he could, he'd tell Kai it was just making him sick to his stomach watching her fawn all over him. Regardless if she didn't have a standing chance or not. He was bad, but at least he had standards!
Kai scoffed. "She'd get beheaded in minutes!"
"Exactly!" Ray jumped in, glad for Kai's dense brain. "So just took me off guard a little, thinking you had switched kingdoms."
Kai tilted his head. "Huh?" The hell did that mean? "Like. Didn't want to be your friend anymore?"
Ray nodded a little, sinking himself down into the water a bit more till it came to rest under his chin. Though that wasn't exactly it either, but he wasn't sure how to explain it to Kai. He still didn't know what had snapped in his head so suddenly.
Kai swam closer. "That's dumb." He said bluntly. "I don't even know her. And what I do know pisses me off. Why would you be so childish to think I'd ditched you because she happened to use our thing? Does she even know about that? I sure as hell didn't tell her. Or anyone."
"It's been a long day..." Ray answered, hoping that was good enough as his cheeks were the only thing that got warm as Kai came closer. Praying it was dark enough outside he'd not see the blush on his face as he forced his eyes not to go down.
Kai sighed. He knew that feeling. "I know it has. But my god, stop licking frogs or whatever it is you've been doing to make you think something as insane as that." He laughed as he brought both his hands to hurl a small wave of cold water over Ray's head.
"You asshole!" Ray gasped, shivering harder. "And frogs, r-really?" He asked through chattering teeth, shoving water back at him.
Kai pretended to pout. "Yeh, and I'm over here jealous worrying one will turn into a prince and take my king away!" He mocked.
Ray chuckled, "Would have to be some prince to do that."
Kai splashed again. "Exactly! So how dare you think I'd trade you in. For a... Girl." He grimaced.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry." Ray laughed despite the cold water rushing over him, holding his hands out to try and stop it from getting him in the face.
"Say it like you mean it!" He grinned evilly as he tread closer and splashed harder.
Ray yelped, trying to splash back at him as Kai advanced. "I do, I'm sorry! S-stop that's freezing!"
"Like my soul!" He went harder, enjoying the powerful feeling.
With water in his eyes, his hands flying out to try and stop another attack, Ray's freezing hands and fingers made contact with Kai's equally freezing wrists after another wall of water hit him in the face.
"I yield, I yield." He laughed, cracking his eyes open and wishing he hadn't with how close Kai was to him now.
Kai suddenly stopped laughing. Freezing as Ray's hands wrapped round his wrists.
"Damn, really is cold when your skin even feels like ice." Ray mused almost mindlessly, for whatever reason still holding Kai's wrists midair between them.
His mouth opened to kick out his brains next stupid comment when his fingers felt raised skin under his hold, in multiple places to where he could even feel it brushing against the palm of his hand.
Closing his mouth, his eyes going to worried, he pulled Kai's hands closer to him as he flipped them over and held Kai's hand instead. It was dark out, but with the bit of moonlight and his heightened eyesight, he could see the scars running up and down Kai's wrists. The pad of his thumb running over the raised flesh tenderly.
"Kai...?" He started, feeling his throat swell as the worst idea possible planted itself in his head.
Kai's heart pounded in his throat as he pulled their hands under the water. "Hn?" He said as normally as he could.
Ray blinked as tears came to his eyes, trying to push the thoughts out of his head. Kai had scars all over him, he knew that, had seen them, but he'd not seen these ones last year.
"Talk to me, please..." He begged, letting their hands stay under the water as he ran his thumbs over the scars again and looked up to meet Kai's eyes that were so close to him it would have made his heart beat faster, though at the moment all it did was break for him.
Kai stared back a second at Ray's worried eyes before he smirked and shrugged. "About what? How fuckin' cold it is?" He brushed off as he flicked a little more water at him, putting some space between them.
Ray jerked his hand to bring him back to where he was, "Don't do that." He warned in a small growl, pulling their hands back out from under the cover of the water.
"This!" He flipped them back over, showing the back of Kai's wrist and arm. Even with it dark out he knew Kai knew, and he wasn't in the mood to play games right now.
Kai stared at him hard, face full of guilt. "What? Got scraped up getting the wood and stuff..." He said in a smaller voice.
"These are older than an hour, quit lying to me!" Ray's voice cracked, the tears coming in harder. "Why would you do this?" He asked in barely a whisper.
Kai's own heart broke. Out of shame. The way Ray looked at him made it impossible to attempt another lie. His eyes watered hard as he swallowed the lump that appeared in a breath.
"I told you things were bad..." His voice wobbled.
Ray's lower lip trembled, "Please tell me you stopped... Please..." He begged as he held Kai's hand tighter, unable to tear his watering eyes away from Kai's.
Kai on the other hand couldn't stand him looking at him. He tried to pull his hands away. "It's fine. Don't worry about it."
Ray jerked back again, keeping him there as best as he could and seeing as how he had more muscle this time around it was going to be an easy fight of tug-o-war.
"That's not answering me, and you can't tell me not to worry when that's all I've been doing! I've worried about you all this time, and it's not fine. There's nothing fine about this, Kai." He cried harder, his voice cracking.
Kai's shoulders came up and mouth hung open trying to make something come out. "I-I don't know what to tell you, Ray!" He threw back angrily. Why he was throwing anger at him, he wasn't sure.
"Tell me you'll stop! You can kill yourself doing this, and then what am I supposed to do without you?"
"What everyone does if someone kicks the bucket! Move on!" He yelled back.
"You make it sound so fucking easy!" Ray bit out amongst the tears running down his face, "If this was reversed, and these were on my wrists and I just told you that, would you be able to stand there and act like this was okay?"
Kai simmered down. He pursed his lips as his eyes brimmed and shook his head.
"I know things were bad, and I wish I could go back and change it or stop it from happening. But you're not there anymore, you're home now, we're together again where I can do something so please. Please, talk to me instead of doing this to yourself." Ray pleaded again as he brought his own voice down from yelling at him, but that hadn't stopped the tears still running down his cheeks.
Kai shook his head at him. "I haven't done it since you called me!" He choked out defensively.
As much of a relief that was, it still hurt that Kai had done this to himself to start with.
"Good..." He nodded, tracing the lines with his thumb again, not knowing what else he could say to him right now.
Kai lowered his head, letting his dull hair fall over his eyes. "I'm sorry..." He muttered.
"Don't apologize..." Ray spoke softly, "Just promise me you'll come talk if you start feeling like doing this again."
Kai nodded, even though he didn't have much confidence in it. Tracing the scars a little longer as a silence fell between them, Ray finally released his hold on Kai's hand. If they weren't naked he'd have hugged him, but that'd have to wait till they were clothed again yet he didn't know what else to do right now.
Kai turned his back, moving as quickly as he could to get out. He felt, and was, in every single sense, naked in front of Ray right now. And even though there was some hint of relief in that, it was torture in every other way. He reached the edge and did his best to cover himself as he hunted for his clothes.
Ray watched him go, looking away when Kai pulled himself out of the water. Another time, without the heavy atmosphere, he'd have taken a peek and gotten the nose bleed, but right now he couldn't bring himself to.
If anything, he just hoped Kai got dressed quickly before he completely froze in the water himself. A few minutes later, he appeared at the edge again. Grubby clothes back on and gloves back on where they belonged.
Getting himself to the edge quietly, Ray slipped himself out of the water and pulled his arms around himself as he went to his clothes pile. Getting dressed as quickly as he could before an unexpected wind swept by and knocked out his last life.
Forgoing the sash at the moment, instead using it to wipe at the water from his face and his bare arms, he finally turned back to Kai in the dead silence that had followed them.
Feeling his bottom lip trembling again, it not being due to the cold, his feet moved him closer till he was able to throw his arms around Kai's shoulders and hug him like he'd wanted to. Kai slumped in to him in a split second, the comfort feeling as strong as it always was since the first time in Russia. His arms wound round him and gripped his back for dear life.
A short distance away in the dark, brown eyes squinted through the trees as she tried to make out the figures in the near distance. Her eyes widened as she stumbled back behind a tree, slowly peering back again. With Tyson and the other guys slumped on their backs passing out, she had taken the opportunity to try and bathe as best as she could without any shampoo. It seemed she wasn't the only one who had the same idea.
Her eyes went from squinting to narrowed. Ray was hugging him… Full blown hugging him! Why?! And how come Kai was hugging him back?! She couldn't get so much as a hello from him. None of them did, really. Or so she thought...
She knew for sure if Tyson put a hand on him, it would be ripped off in a split second. She pouted. So why the hell was Ray so special!? What was his big secret!? She turned herself around. She'd get Ray to tell her. One way or another. And if that failed, she'd just watch and learn.