Soooo, I made a boo boo last chapter. Meant to say we'd be uploading on Friday, not Monday. My bad and I do apologize for that but now we're here and our boys are queer!
Still in safe waters, I'll throw up the warnings when they come along but for now enjoy and thank you all again so much for the support and love! See you on the first!
Kai spent a few more minutes staring at the various packs of treats in his hands. Was he spoiling Rogue too much? Wouldn't be good if he got overweight. Be almost as bad as when he was a skinny little furry bag of bones.
He dug deep and put them back. He'd give him some next week instead. He took the basket of premium wet and dry cat food, as well as a feathery thing on a stick to play with later on to the checkout.
"Do you need a bag today sir?" The cashier asked, "Its 5 yen a bag."
Kai sighed. He forgot. "Yes, please."
After paying, he took his basket to the bagging area to shove it all in the 5 yen bag. Since when did people have to pack their own stuff? That's what he wanted to know. He looked up at the notice board, scanning aimlessly until his eyes did a double take.
Hey. That cat for sale looked a lot like Rogue.
...
His eyes narrowed as he inspected it closer before his jaw dropped in horror and outrage. That WAS Rogue. Had Tyson's address on it and everything. He angrily tore it off the board and snatched up the bag, bolting out of the store.
"I think that's everything." Tyson said as he walked up to the front gates of his home, his head stuck in a box full of Rogue's things and what his new family would need.
The couple stood with their two young kids, who had taken a liking to the small fuzz ball quickly. It was almost a match made in heaven, only if Max handed said fuzz ball over at some point.
Tyson passed off the box to the wife, giving Rogue a small scratch behind the ear. "Max, you gotta hand him over. He's gotta go home."
Max sniffed, nodding and finally relinquished Rogue over to the kids.
Ray shifted where he stood, happy to see the little demon leaving but at the same time this didn't feel right. They seemed like a good family; the kids adored Rogue. He'd be taken care of with them, he wasn't worried about that, he just didn't know how to feel about it quite yet.
"Make sure you put his towel in his box before he goes to sleep." He spewed off just as the family had turned to leave.
The father threw a smile and a wave over his shoulder. "We will! We'll take real good care of him, promise!"
Ray nodded, his chest tightening as he watched the kids turn to follow their father. Catching sight of the lil devil himself already curling up in the child's arms, looking as if he was smiling.
"You have his mouse, right? The blue one, that's his favorite." Ray called after them before they got too far.
The mom rummaged in the box a little before she too looked back. "Got it!"
Good, that was good. Right? This was good, not just for his sanity but for the teams... Right?!
"Okay... Thank you, again..." He finally lifted his hand to wave at them back, though they were already down the road without looking back this time.
Tyson sniffed and wiped the tears budding in his eyes. "Who's up for some training?" His voice wobbled, spluttering something he'd never said in his life.
They needed to do something to keep distracted and move on from the heartache of saying goodbye to Kai's little fuzzball.
Max nodded, wiping his own face as he turned to follow behind him. Ray stood frozen, watching the family until they turned down the corner and out of sight before his own feet finally moved him along behind the other two.
"Sounds good." His voice cracked.
It was quiet at first. Silent and solemn drills with only the sound of the tops spinning to break the sad air. But after Kenny suggested some practice matches, the sad air seemed to brighten. After all, it really was for the best. And they'd probably see him again.
Max and Ray were zoned in on the dish, their blades swirling around, standing their ground and waiting for their times to strike. Tyson and Kenny watching like hawks to the side. Ray's eyes slit slightly, sensing an opening coming up, when out of nowhere a whoosh through the air slammed in to the dish, a blur of blue sweeping in and sending both of them flying.
"Kai! Why'd you go and do that for?!" Tyson yelled out in a huff, once his frantic heart had time to slow down from being scared out of his wits at the random attack.
Kai's eyes burned as he held his hand out, his blade flying obediently back in to his hand. "Line up!" He barked gruffly as he pointed at the wall.
Everyone blinked at him a few times before they slowly formed up like he commanded, their mouths closed and their eyes on him. Did he not like how they were training? Was it because they had started without him?
Their former captain followed, narrowing his eyes and studying every one of them and thinking of the motive. Max would never do something so heinous.
But he was in on it if he hadn't reported it to him. Which made him sadly just as guilty. Tyson had a personal reason. He was mad Ro-Ro messed up his mom's flowers. But he said he wasn't mad at him. And then he fixed them. So why?
And then there was the most obvious...
Ray.
Hated him from day one. But surely. Surely Ray would never do anything so horrible to him.
His blood boiled as he fought to keep his composure. His hand stuffed into his pocket and ripped out the paper, shoving it out in front of him.
"Just whose bright idea was this!?" He roared out furiously.
The kids eyes widened a little, though their mouths were sealed shut. They hadn't expected him to have seen that, Ray said he'd handle it when it came down to it, as it was his idea, but at the current moment if Ray stepped forward it was like he'd be walking into a stream of raging lava.
He was either very brave, or very stupid, because he stepped forward out of the line and away from the wall.
"It was my idea." He admitted, holding Kai's furious gaze with his own calm one.
Kai's face faltered, feeling his heart break for more than one reason. How could he...?
His rage came flooding back, crumpling up the paper and hurling it at him. "Well you'd better take them all down! Wherever you put them!" He took a few breaths to try and calm his betrayal, "You know, you really are pathetic, Ray! Feeling some kind of weird rivalry with an infant animal!" He yelled.
Ray stared for a minute at him. Sure, that was one reason he wanted the little fur ball gone but it was more than that. The tiny lil clawed devil was causing all kinds of problems, and it was only Kai that couldn't see it. Then there was the issue of him having to be kept outside most of the time, which wasn't fair to Rogue.
"Really? That's why you think I did this?"
Kai's eyes burned. His clenched fists twitching. He had never wanted to punch him or anyone else so badly. "Oh don't even pretend there was another reason! I've see you hiss at him a bunch of times! You hate him! And you can't stand that everyone else likes him! What the hell is the matter with you anyway!?"
"Are you kidding me?! Really Kai, that's not why I suggested this. It's better for him to be inside, to have a family that can actually take care of him full time. Our attentions have been divided since he's come around, it's not only better for him but for the team that he found a home that can provide for him." Ray explained best he could, avoiding the topic of his and Rogue's rivalry.
Oh sure, he hissed at him but the lil demon scratched and bit him!
"Bull. Shit." He yelled louder at him, pointing a finger, "We're here plenty! He gets everything he needs right here! He even hangs out with us when we're trai-" He stopped himself as something horrible clicked. Where was he?
He usually came right out if he heard him. Not only that, but if they were training, he would usually be sat around somewhere. He looked around frantically before he got a sickening chill down his spine.
His burning eyes turned to panic, ditching his team mid-sentence to dart around the back of the dojo. If he wasn't there he'd be in his little cat house, right?
"Ro-Ro!" He called out as he ran around the corner, feeling more sick when couldn't find the little cat house. Let alone the cat. His eyes started to moisten and burn again as he charged back.
The guilty look in Ray's eyes said it all. For the first time in his life, he hated him.
He gripped the front of his tunic with both hands and shoved him violently against the wall. "Where is he!?"
"Kai!" The others yelled in shock; they hadn't seen him go after Ray like that since their first few weeks as a team a year ago.
Ray's head knocked against the wall, biting his lip as the pain surged through the back of his skull but didn't try to put up a fight against him.
"He was picked up a little while ago, he's gone. They promised they'd take care of him, we made sure to give them everything they needed so he would be happy."
Kai's hands gripped tighter as his eyes got wetter. He'd really done it?!
...He really was gone? He'd just missed him!? His so called best friend sold his baby behind his back like that!?
He'd kill him. He didn't care if Ray got any punches or scratches in. He'd beat seven shades of shit out of him for this. And they were done.
He let out a furious growl and lifted him, throwing him to the ground. Tyson, Max, and Kenny jumped away from the wall, quickly putting their own bodies in front of Ray's as he was busy trying to pick himself up off the ground.
"We had a vote on it Kai, we all agreed on this. It's not just Ray's fault." Tyson's voice cracked as tears came to his eyes again.
"The kids loved him and he loved them at first sight, really. He looked so happy." Max added quickly; his face already drenched in the tears rolling down his cheeks.
Kai's hands threw out and grabbed Tyson before he could even stop it. "It wasn't for you to vote on! He wasn't yours! He was mine! I found him! I saved him and it was me he followed home! You had no right to do that! Why would you do that to me!?" He screamed back as the lump in his throat got too big.
He didn't want to think of him being happy with other people. He was happy with him! "You'd better get him back or I swear to god I'm quitting the damn team!"
Ray grabbed Tyson's shoulder and dislodged him from Kai's hold, stepping back up between Kai and the kids. It wasn't for them to get in the way or take what Kai might do, he was the one who had suggested. It was his fault.
"Because you wouldn't have agreed, you would be doing this right now instead of listening to reason. He slept outside in a box, Kai. That's not safe for him, it's not healthy for him. He needed an actual home, with a roof over his head and an actual warm bed to sleep in."
Kenny saw an opportunity to quickly scamper into the dojo, on the hunt for Grandpa before fists started flying. After all, it was his home.
Kai's eyes burst as he threw a shove at Ray's chest. "You had no right! He's a cat, Ray! They go outside! Thought you of all people would know that! How dare you make out that I mistreated him!"
"I never said that you mistreated him! Just that he would be better indoors, safer indoors! What if a loose dog got in here and got a hold of him while we were gone? Or if he decided to run off and ended up getting hit by a car? Is that what you would rather have? Him getting hurt, or sick being out here like he was?"
Kai shook his head at him. "It was only until I could take him home! He was gonna have a roof over his head! You just... Did you really want to hurt me that bad, huh!? What is this!? Payback for Russia or something!? I took something people loved, so you thought you'd even the score!? That it!?"
Aside from his natural reflexes from being manhandled, where his pupils slit to fine points and his fangs had bared on occasion, he hadn't moved to fight back. He didn't want to fight back, but right then and there he wanted to smack Kai across his stupid, beautiful, painted face.
"Are you crazy?! We didn't do this to hurt you, we did it so he wouldn't get hurt! Russia has nothing to do with this, we've all put that way behind us Kai. This had to do with him and making sure Rogue was taken care of."
"And I told you! He was gonna come back with me! He was taken care of!" He roared back. "And that's the only reason I can fathom that you'd do something like this to me!" He yelled as he started to feel himself crack, "Well fine then! I helped get them all back in the end! So be fair and go get him back!"
Max tried to step up, he didn't like this. It brought back terrible memories, ones he hadn't thought about in almost a year.
"We didn't do this to hurt you Kai, honest." His voice cracked, his baby blues flooding with more tears.
Kai's own threatened to fall. "Well you've sure got a fucking funny way of showing it! Stabbing me in the back!"
A swish and a crack made them all jump out their skin. "I better not have heard cussing in my own yard, K-dog!"
Tyson's eyes snapped to his grandfather; the cavalry was here!
Ray let out a sigh once his heart started beating again, the old man really knew how to scare someone when he wanted to.
His eyes went back to Kai's, brimming at the corners. "Why would you think I'd do this to hurt you?" He asked in a soft, almost broken, voice.
Kai's angry expression turned to an equally broken one. "I didn't think you could hurt me. But here we are." He replied in the same voice, "I'm serious. If he's not back here this time tomorrow, I'm out of here. We're done." He fired before turning and storming past them all. He'd be damned if he'd let them see how devastated he was.
"Kai!" Max and Tyson stepped to go and stop him, Ray stopping them by putting his arms out across their chests.
"Just let him go, you know how he gets." He lowered his arms when he felt the two move back, going to where Driger lay in the dirt and picked him up before going the opposite way towards the back of the property.
Kai stormed into the house, finally letting some furious and heartbroken tears silently stream down his pissed face. First things first, he wasn't going to sleep in the same room with any of those backstabbing assholes.
He went to the large room where they usually slept and snatched up his bag, helping himself to the blanket he was using and struggled his way upstairs with it. He knew there was a spare room opposite Tyson's bedroom. He'd hide out in there and wait out the 24 hours he'd given them.
While back outside Tyson, Max, and Kenny were trying to explain what had happened to Grandpa. At the back of the house Ray found a spot to launch Driger near the tree lines and back of the wall.
The second he launched, Driger wobbled and fell over barely making an actual spin the moment it touched the dirt. That wasn't good, but then again he wasn't surprised.
He picked his blade back up, setting him into the launcher again as he was determined to get out his frustrations. He was the only one to blame here, he knew that, but that didn't stop the hurt he felt from what Kai had said to him. How he had hurt him, not that he blamed him. Maybe he deserved it, but that still didn't make him think he had done anything really wrong.
With the sun starting to fall in the sky, they retreated back into the house. Grandpa getting started on dinner. The old man's years of wisdom taking in the story his grandson and the Happy Dude had told him and mulling it over. This was a tough one.
On the one hand, Ray probably did the most responsible thing in the long run for R-cat. On the other, selling him behind Kai's back knowing full well how much he loved the little fur ball... Could see why he reacted that way.
But regardless of how upset he might be, he wouldn't tolerate violence under his roof. He'd talk to both of them. It wasn't something they should fall out over long term.
He dished up the fish he'd prepared and set down the bowls of rice for them, yelling out that it was dinner time. The stampeding of footsteps rushed from outside, the boys beaten down by the hot and heavy sun and a full day of training with each other. Minus the two oldest.
Ray came in through the back door, rinsing his hands from the dirt and grime he collected under his fingernails every time he had to pluck Driger out of a rut he had dug himself into while trying to get him to spin properly.
The others gave him a smile as he sat with them, before he looked around at the table and noticed Kai wasn't there yet but wasn't expecting him to show up either.
"Should someone go get him?" Max asked as his own eyes went to Kai's spot.
"Not it!" Tyson shouted before anyone else could.
Max huffed and turned his eyes back to Ray, maybe if they just shoved the two together things would get back to normal.
"Not it!" He quickly spat out after Tyson as Ray's mouth had opened to speak, getting a slight glare.
"Not it." Kenny squeaked, he didn't stand a chance at going up there and trying to get Kai to come down and eat with them.
"Thanks guys..." Ray rolled his eyes as he pushed himself up, heading towards the stairs and froze slightly at the bottom.
This could go several ways, and none of them had a good outlook. He took in a breath and started up the stairs, the others eyes on his back until they couldn't see him.
Kai sat on the bed, burning a hole into the wall with his intense stare. With a firm knock on the door, he snapped his head to it and burned a bigger hole with a more intense glare.
"Go away." He called through flatly.
"Dinner Kai, c'mon you need to eat." Ray wanted to bang his head against the door, fat chance of this working.
Kai's eyes burned even harder as he recognized the owner of the voice. Had he no shame? Hell, he wouldn't even put it past him to poison his food now. Seeing as he was clearly trying to kill him from the inside out.
"Get lost!" He yelled back harder.
Ray rolled his eyes, "Let's go, Gramps is waiting for us to eat and we can't with you up here sulking."
Kai physically felt the snap in his mind as he jumped off the bed. He lunged at the door and ripped it open. "Sulking!? Are you fucking kidding me!?" He yelled before he raised his hand. He didn't want to hear his disgusting voice anyway.
"Just get lost! I'm not coming down. Eat without me."
Ray folded his arms over his chest, giving him a look. "You sure you're not sulking? Looks like it to me, but fine. Whatever." He shook his head and turned on his heel to leave him to his 'non-sulking' sulk.
Kai scoffed. "Fine. What you see is what you get. Wish I could say the same for you, you fucking snake!"
Ray let out a breath to keep himself calm, this was getting ridiculous though. "Oh please, you act like I got some weird kick out doing this. He needed a home Kai, a real home. What, you were going to keep him under the porch the whole time until you could take him with you? You don't even know when you'll be going back to that school, not to mention I don't think they'd let you have him there to start with. This is for the better, you just don't want to admit that for once you're wrong."
Kai shifted. "No! For your information I had no intention of going back to that shit hole! I'm going to get my own place and take him there. Which you'd know if you'd discussed it with me first instead of just taking something of mine and selling it!"
Ray palmed at his face, "And when were you planning on doing that? Tomorrow, next week, next month? A year from now? Either way, it wasn't safe for him to be kept in a box under the porch!" He fired back, making his voice as loud as Kai's.
Kai growled. "He's a lot damn safer there for the time being then in the bush I found him in! He's a cat, Ray! He can handle it for a little while! He was being kept fed, watered and warm and loved." He fired out, despite his voice cracking at the end.
"You just didn't like him! Why, I'll never understand! But I hope it was worth it to lose a friend over it!"
"He's a baby Kai, it's a bit different than him being an adult and being on his own." God, Ray wanted to smack him, and he hadn't felt that way in a long time.
He held his hands up, he was done trying to get him to see reason. "I'm sorry I went behind your back to do this, but this is why I did. Doesn't make it any better, I get that, but he needed a real place to live. Not under the porch, I don't care if he's just a 'cat'. It wasn't safe. But fine if this is what breaks what we've had the past two years then fine."
Kai let out a deep, frustrated growl and shoved him. "You dare turn this on me! You are the one who went behind my back! You were the one who took something of mine! You're the one in the wrong here! How can you just stand there and act like you're an angel and I'm the asshole!? I know what I'm doing, Ray! He's not the first cat I've looked after! I did the same with Joey!
"You just couldn't stand to see me happy for some reason! Well you can spin it any way you want! The fact is this time you're not 'Mr. High and Mighty! You're an asshole and I hate you! The only thing I'm wrong about is my judgement of you! You get him back or I swear I will never, ever forgive you!" He took a breath, almost blue in the face from the huge stream of verbal, angry outburst.
Ray shoved him back, "Quit making it seem like I did this to hurt you, why would I do that to you?!" His voice cracked, taking a step back from him. "Alright, you want me to go get him then you can come with me."
Kai made a face. "And why the hell would I do that!? It's you who messed up! You fix it!"
"So you can see the look on those kids faces when I have to tell them they can't keep him, because you're wanting to put his life and well being at risk so he can go and be put back in a box under the porch. Instead of where he is now, safe and warm." Ray bit out angrily.
Kai's eyes welled up finally. Keeping his raging scowl despite trying to hold everything else in. "Ooooooh, those poor fuckin' things!" He hissed, "All they have is a loving home and family! It just isn't enough!"
Ray sighed, the side of head hurting now. "I'll come get you in the morning and then we'll go."
"No! It's your mess. You fix this!" His voice wobbled. "I have nothing Ray! You really couldn't just let me figure it out!? He was happy with me!" He stopped, this was going around in circles and he was going to crack any second now.
"You know what, I can't even look at you. Just get lost and fix it..."
"Alright, fine. Fine I'll fix it." He threw his hands up in defeat, for heaven's sake he was such a stubborn ass.
He turned on his heel, heading back down the stairs. This was going to be a long night. Kai watched him go, telepathically trying to drill into the back of his stupid, pony tailed head how much he despised him before he slammed the door shut again.
Dinner was quiet, getting ready for bed was quiet, when they dragged out their futons down in the training room and laid down it was once again quiet. Nobody really knew what to say, what to do, or how to even really undo what had been done. It wasn't like they knew where those people lived, didn't have their number saved and they had called the house phone before showing up. There was a heaviness in the air that none of them could shake, and with that heavier air there was also a cold, freezing, chill hanging around Ray.
He had screwed up, BIG time, but that still didn't help him figuring out a way to solve the issue. Yes, the little fuzz demon was a menace. The entire two months it had been around was nothing but a headache on him, and Kai was changing in a way he didn't really like. He was obsessed with that cat. He knew Kai liked 'em, but this was just unhealthy.
Right?!
Pff, and it was fine for him to sleep out in a box, but pick him up by the scruff, like cats did, and it was abusive? Kai even thought spraying it with water was cruelty! Treated the little angel baby with all the love and gentleness everywhere else but then shut the door at night and left him outside.
His thought pattern made zero sense.
And for a kitten to turn Kai Hiwatari's head away from beyblading, especially when a group of creeps were after their bitbeasts, was something he would never ever have anticipated.
...Sure looked happy though...
And considering what he'd found out Kai was doing to himself, maybe he really had fucked up big time...
He tossed and turned again, wrestling with guilt. He'd never hurt Kai on purpose! But the bottom line was, Rogue needed a stable home and they needed a stable teammate! Kai needed to get his head down from the kitten shaped clouds and in the game!
The night was sleepless, the others resting up for another full day of training. It had been quiet for a while, no signs of the Saint Shields or those other kids who were trying to steal their bit-beasts, but Kenny had said they all needed to be prepared for anything.
Come morning, when the sun rose, was finally when Ray's eyes had shut on him and he got a very short nap in before he caught on that the others were already up before him and outside. Scrambling to get his futon put away, something in his stomach to eat and dwell on his options, he rushed into the kitchen without paying attention to really anything or anyone who might have been in the kitchen.
Grandpa sat at the table sipping at his tea, looking over the rim of the cup as Ray burst in looking like he was spaced out. "What time do you call this, Raymundo?"
Ray jumped out of his skin, almost breaking a bowl as he was grabbing it out from the cupboard.
"I..." He stuttered, looking at the clock on the wall. It was already ten thirty, how on Earth had Tyson risen before him?!
"I'm sorry."
Grandpa let out a cackle. "Relax, R-cat. There's a plate in the fridge for you. Might want to nuke it some."
"Thank you." Ray put the bowl away where he had taken it from, going to the fridge and pulling out the food that had been made next to another plate in there.
"Hasn't come down, has he?" He knew he didn't need to ask; it was clear Kai was still up there sulking.
Grandpa sighed and set down his tea cup. "Nope. Not a peep."
Ray nodded as he put his plate in the microwave, "Has anyone else tried?"
Grandpa shook his head. "I think our boy K-dog needs a little space... That and the boys don't feel like getting their heads ripped off so early in the morning."
"Can agree with them there." Ray muttered as he waited for his food to cook, "He needs to eat though..."
Grandpa nodded. "I'll take something up in a while. I haven't heard any signs of life so figured he was the same as you and snoozin' the day away."
Ray scoffed to himself, "Doubt it, he's probably staring out the window waiting for Rogue to come running back to him." He popped the microwave open before it hit the end on the timer, taking his plate over to sit with Gramps at the table.
Grandpa eyed him as he sat down. That wasn't very nice. Which meant it wasn't very Ray-like. "Can see your empathy is about as sharp as a spoon this morning..."
Ray's shoulders went forward, his head going down. "Sorry... I just... This is so stupid, why can't he see it's better for Rogue to be in a home instead of a box?"
The old man rest his head on his hand. "Because he loved the little fur ball..." He stated obviously.
"I know... But loving him wasn't keeping him warm during the night, wasn't keeping him safe." He huffed out, running his hands up into his hair and tugged at the roots.
"And he wants me to fix it! How do I fix this?! I don't know where they live."
Grandpa let out another chuckle. "I was waiting for the moment to ask you that myself."
"Hell if I know." Ray sighed as he threw his back into the chair, his hands coming down and hitting his sides. "Was hoping he'd come to understand I didn't do it to hurt him, that I did it to make sure Rogue would be alright. After that storm we had, it just wasn't fair to try and keep him out there like that anymore."
Grandpa made a sympathetic face. "I know you didn't do it to hurt him. I know your reasoning was good. I even think deep down; Kai knows it too. But it's very hard to see things that way when you're heart broken."
Ray nodded, looking up and meeting the kind, weird, old man's eyes. "Then what do I do?"
Grandpa's brows knitted together. "The damage is already done, Ray, my man." He told him gently but bluntly. "We don't know where that family lives, and the deal has already been done. Even if you did know, you can't go get him back."
"It wasn't really like I was going to; I wouldn't be able to do that to those kids or Rogue. He looked so happy with them. So what do I do to get Kai back?"
Grandpa felt terrible. This was really all his fault. He should never have allowed them to bring that kitten home in the first place. Let alone name it and bond with it. This was going to happen at some point.
"You've made your bed here; you're going to have to lie in it. But from what I overheard when you two were throwing daggers at each other last night, you could maybe start by at least trying to feel him, ya dig?"
A terrible, wrenching, feeling struck Ray in the gut. That didn't sound good, not what he wanted. He had worked too hard the past year to get Kai on their side, had too much to lose if he just laid down and didn't do something to try and fix this.
Yet, he still had no clue where to even start.
"It's not that I don't, or that I can't see where he's coming from. I just..." He felt himself welling up, putting the side of his head in the palm of his hand.
He was fixing to lose everything because of a stupid feline, even with it gone it was making his life miserable. He knew it was demon spawned, the real hell-beast.
Grandpa raised a brow. "You sure? Cause by the sound of it, you were telling him he had no right to be bummed out."
"I never said that, if it came across as that way I'm sorry. But that wasn't my intention, he can be upset I get it. I let him go after me because I knew it was for me to take, so what else am I supposed to do here?"
Grandpa laughed. "You still don't sound like you're feeling him, R-cat!" He waved off Ray's annoyed expression at being told the same thing yet again.
"Let me ask you this then, remember when Old Man Dickenson had to tear you two apart at the airport coming back from Russia?"
Ray choked on his spit as a chill ran down his back, he knew about that?! He nodded slowly, feeling a sweat coming on. Where was this going all of a sudden, hell if he knew, but he gave the old man his full attention.
Mr. Granger let out another cheeky belly laugh and read his mind. "Yes sir-ee! I heard all about your brilliant plan to run away together to Paris."
Ray slipped down a little in his chair, his feet itching to run. That had to have been the worst day of his life, only because when he returned to the village it had made life that much harder on him because of Lee overhearing it all.
"What's that have to do with this though?" He asked, not even sure if he really wanted to know. What else had Dickenson disclosed to him?
Grandpa continued to laugh, like he'd been caught by tickle. "You two idiots really thought that was a plan, huh? Like you could just hop on a plane and fly off and live it up in Europe." He added mockingly.
Ray didn't look amused, his face turning red with embarrassment and a blush. Hell, if Dickenson hadn't frozen Kai's card they more than likely would have been off living it in Europe right about now.
"Yeah, I get that but what's that have to do with Rogue?"
"Not to mention there's no way it would end well, two fourteen year old boys on their own. How far were you expecting to get? And what about Kai? His crazy kook of a grandfather could have tracked him down." He rambled on.
"My uncle lives in Paris; we were going to try and stay with him." Ray argued back as he flushed harder.
Mr. Granger scoffed again. "Oh sure! Just drop yourself on his doorstep without discussing it first."
It seemed to click in Ray's head what Gramps was doing. He should have discussed it with Kai, shown him reason first before pulling the rug out from under him. He didn't deserve that, but that was exactly what he had done to him.
If he didn't already feel awful, now he felt like complete shit. Sinking further down in his chair, his head going back down.
Grandpa's face softened. "You both know now it wasn't realistic. But at the time, did you really care about the logistics of it? Could anyone have talked you out of it rather than Mr. D having to physically pull ya apart?"
Ray shook his head, "No..." All he had cared about was not having to lose him, to just stay by his side, and if that meant living on the streets together and doing what they had to do to survive he would have happily done that.
Grandpa patted his arm. "No. All you cared about was gripping onto someone you'd come to care about for dear life. Reason rarely comforts when your heart is in the driver's seat."
It was a little more than that, but Gramps had really hit the nail on the head. Really all he could do was sit there and agree with him, not feeling any better about what he had done to his best friend.
Grandpa huffed a chuckle again. "Seems like His Saltiness has another brilliant scheme to drop out of school and get his own residence for him and his cat... Over my dead body he's dropping out of school. Let alone Mr. D. But from what my homeboy tells me, things have been difficult at school. Not to mention everything that happened leading up to it.
"What we have here is a kid who needed something and found a little critter that needed him. He got attached. I was wrong to let it go that far myself... Just how could I not? If I didn't sneeze and want to rip my eyes out around him, I'd have kept him for him."
"And I would have been fine with that, really, he couldn't keep living in a box though. Trust me, I know what that's like and that night of the storm he was terrified and scared."
Grandpa nodded. "I know. You did the right thing, Ray. I doubt Kai would have ever agreed to it and it would have turned in to a big fight as well. This way, while harsh, was like ripping off a band-aid. A quick tear and done with."
"Yeah, but now there's another wound and no band-aids left." Ray sighed as he shook his head some.
Grandpa patted his forearm again. "Time is the biggest band-aid of all. He might hate you right now. But he's hurting. Give it time to start to heal up before you expect him to see the reality."
Ray nodded again, that was really all he could do right now. Give him his space, let him mellow out.
Grandpa squeezed the arm. He felt for the little dudes. "He'll come around. By all accounts he nearly flooded the plane on the way back. Barely talked to Mr. D until he got to school. You clearly mean something to him on a whole other level."
Ray's face flushed red again, not able to find the right words and just nodded back again. Kai meant something to him on a whole other level too, but he wasn't about to say that.
Grandpa nodded. He'd said his piece. "Take my advice, Raymundo. If you do approach the beast, your best way to do that is find the balance of telling him what he needs to hear and what he wants to hear. Maybe a few rounds of "I know this is totally bogus and sucks" will get you further than drilling the reasoning." He summed up as he stood himself up.
"I guess I'd better try and get Mr. Sappy to eat some eggs..."
"Okay, thanks Grandpa." Ray said as he watched him go, looking down at his own plate of untouched food that had gone cold on him after just sitting there forever.
Kai sat with his elbows on the windowsill staring down at the front gate of the Granger's house. Really? He still hadn't gone yet? He promised he was going to fix it! How was he not out as soon as the sun was up!? He was sure he'd heard his dumb, cat-selling voice downstairs. Surely he wouldn't be much longer now.
"Yo, K-Dog brought up some eggs for ya." Gramps knocked on the door with his knuckles, holding the warm plate in his other hand.
Kai's eyes narrowed at the front gate, unwilling to budge. He'd be damned if he was going to miss Ray doing the walk of pure shame. Was the very least of what he deserved.
"Not hungry!" He barked from his spot in the window.
Grandpa sighed, "Now c'mon home-dog, you gotta eat something. You didn't have dinner; besides, I'd like to talk to you if that's alright?"
Kai scowled. He wasn't going to be force fed. But he couldn't exactly say Mr. Granger couldn't enter a room in his own house.
"Whatever."
Taking that as his cue to enter, Gramps strode right into the room with a smile under his mustache.
"What're you looking for down there?" He asked as he set the plate down on the side table by the bed before he took a seat on the end of the bouncy mattress.
Kai barely glanced over his shoulder before he went right back to the window.
"Justice."
Gramps just smirked at the back of his head, this boy had it out bad for Ray. "And once that's been served up, what then K-Dog?"
Kai shrugged, keeping his eyes on the gates. "We'll cross that bridge once he brings him back."
Gramps let out another breath, this wasn't going to be fun. "He's not bringing him back."
Kai's eye twitched as he tensed. "Yeh he is! He promised he would! It's his fuc- I mean, mistake! He's gonna fix it!"
"You're right, it was a mistake to do what he did without telling you or at least talking to you about it. The little fur ball was yours, but now he's someone else's. Do you want them to go through what you are, if Ray was to go and just take him back from them?" Gramps asked in a calm tone.
Kai's eye twitched harder, finally ripping himself from the window and facing the next fool who dared suggest he was wrong. Again.
"Oh don't give me that! They've known him less than 24 hours! And that's Ray's problem! Not mine!"
Gramps held his hands up, hoping to show he meant no harm. "He's not going to go and get him back, I'm sorry Kai but he's not."
Kai's eyes began to water. "Yes he is!" He yelled, "He said he would!"
"He did say he would, but I can't have the little guy around Kai. I'm sorry, if there was a way for him to stay in the home with us, then I would be out there looking for him with the others right now for you. But I just can't have him in the house."
Kai rolled his eyes. "Well then I'll find somewhere else to keep him until all this figures out!"
Gramps chuckled a little, much like he had just done downstairs with Ray. "And where would you put him?"
Kai glared and crossed his arms, unamused. "...My place!"
"And where is this place of yours?" Gramps asked as he cocked a brow.
Kai shifted. Fucked if he knew. "It's... It's on the other side of the city!"
Gramps nodded a little, playing along for a minute until he gave Kai a look. "Mr. D never said you had a place, that was why you were put up in that snotty school. Right?"
Kai's eyes fired up as he jabbed him right in a big old nerve." Mr. D isn't the boss of me! He shoved me in there so I wouldn't bother him! Well, I went, and I hate it so he's got another thing coming if he thinks I'm going back! Which leads me nicely to the point. I'm gonna need somewhere to live and it's going to be cat friendly!"
"Hold up a second there K-Dog, nobody said you had to go back right now or that you had to try and go find your own place. How old are you again? Not many places rent out to fifteen year olds."
He shifted again. He wasn't fifteen yet... But he didn't have to tell him that. In his need to be right, he pulled a card he'd hate himself for later.
"Pfff. If you have enough money they will..."
Gramps' other eyebrow rose with the other, "Aint Mr. D in charge of your money until you're old enough?"
"No!" He bit out, lying through his teeth. He'd withdraw the cash somehow.
Gramps nodded with a frown on his face, not believing anything he was saying. "Well I'm sure it's going to take a while to get this place of yours set up, right? What're you going to do with the little guy if I have Ray and the other home-boys go out and try and find him?"
Kai shifted again. Why was he being such an asshole and siding with them!? He was always nice to fuck-face Ray and the others.
"He can stay here a little longer can't he? It won't be long!"
"But where?" Gramps pressed.
"I'll think of something!" He let out in a pleading voice. "You can't just take him away from me without giving me a chance to figure something out! It's not fair!" He argued, feeling himself getting upset, "Mr. Dickenson has a big house and staff! Maybe I can ask if they'd mind taking care of him til I got back!"
"So, we go and get him, and you make sure it's alright with Mr. D that he stays there until you graduate. Right?" Gramps asked to make sure they had all the pieces put together.
Kai's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. Finally! Someone was listening! A plan was coming together! He'd have Ro-Ro back in no time, he could punch Ray in the nuts for the trouble, and they'd all be happy again by dinner time.
"Exactly!"
"And by then he'd be a grown adult cat, that may have become attached to one of the staff or Mr. D. Right?" Gramps continued.
The lights went out. "Well... I mean, they'd know it was only temporary... So..."
"They may, yes. But what about Lil-R-Cat? Would he understand it was only temporary?"
Kai averted his eyes. "Well, no... But I'd go see him when I could! He'd know who I was! It wouldn't be so bad!"
"When you and Ray and the other home-boys were separated, keeping in touch through the different ways you had. It still hurt though, didn't it? Because you all weren't actually together, face-to-face all the time. Some of you didn't even think you'd ever be able to see each other again, now think about Rogue and how he'd feel. Seeing you coming and going and coming and going, and then think about yourself. Watching him but not really grow up, not being able to actually enjoy him growing..."
He sighed, squeezing his shoulder, "I know this is hard, K-Dog, I know you love him to death. But thanks to you, he didn't starve in a bush. Thanks to you, he has a forever home now, even if it isn't with you like you wanted. I really do feel for ya, wrong place, wrong time... But, one day, when you do have a place, you can give another poor critter their forever home. Maybe it's too raw to see it right now, but just think about it. And please, don't let this ruin your friendship with Ray. He really didn't mean to hurt you, you know that. C'mon, he's your best bud!"
Kai rolled his eyes. "That was before he stabbed me in the back! Ray was the best friend I had until he decided he was going to hit me where it hurts! May as well have just stolen Dranzer from me as well and finished me off!" He roared angrily.
"I'm not saying how he went about it was right, Kai, but even if he had come to you and talked to you about it would you have listened?"
"I'D HAVE FIXED IT!" He yelled, sick of having to repeat himself.
"By going to Mr. D and then not getting the actual chance to be with the little guy at all?" Gramps asked, finding the two talking in circles. The boy really didn't budge.
Kai's lip wobbled as beads of water hung dangerously in the corners of his eyes. "But he'd still be my cat! I'd still get to see him and make sure he had everything he needed til I could take him! I'm the one who saved him! I'm the one he came running to! I'm the one he wanted to be with! A-and Ray took him from me and now I'll never see him again! A-nd I'll never forgive him for it." He did continue to talk more after that, but it wasn't anything coherent as the last of what was left of his heart shattered to pieces. He wasn't getting Rogue back.
Gramps stood up, stepping closer and putting his hand down on the young man's shoulder. "I'm really sorry about this all Kai, I really am. It's my fault, I shouldn't have said it was alright in the beginning. If you need anything you just let me know, okay?"
Kai nodded, wanting him to get the hell out.
Gramps smiled a little, "I'm really sorry Kai." He repeated, pulling the small boy into his chest, and putting his arms around him.
He could never really tell with this one what a simple show of affection would do, but like the others he felt that Kai was just as much his as Tyson was, blood or not.
Kai's insides went to war. Just like a damn cat, he didn't know what he wanted. One part of him wanted to hiss and shove him off. The other wanted nothing more. He ended up shoving his face in the kind old man's chest and putting his arms round him tightly, letting it pour out.
Gramps patted his back as he cried it out until it felt like he couldn't cry anymore. He couldn't help but feel wholly responsible for the entire fiasco, but hopefully now the boys could get past this and move on together as a team again.
"Stay up here as long as you need to." He gave him one last hug before patting his back and stepping away, "And you eat, can't have you not eating two days in a row."
Kai nodded, embarrassed now. Like hell he was gonna eat. He was dead inside.
"Yes, Mr. Granger." His raw throat strained quietly.
Gramps let out a hearty laugh, clapping him on the back. "Just call me Gramps K-Dog, we're all family here!"
"Yes, Mr. Granger..." He replied as he rubbed his back. Ow...
Gramps continued to laugh as he shook his head, making his exit. "I expect a clean plate in thirty when I come back up." He called over his shoulder.
He flopped on the bed and hugged the pillow, eyes reloading. "Yes, Mr. Granger..."
Gramps sighed as he closed the door behind him, heading down the hall back to the stairs as the heart broken sobs started to come through the other side. Shaking his head he started down the stairs, only really looking up when he got halfway and paused at seeing Ray at the very bottom looking torn up from the inside out.
Grandpa shifted. "You... You okay there Ray?"
Ray shook his head, his bottom lip quivering as he could hear every pitiful sob from Kai upstairs. He hadn't meant for this to happen. Grandpa was out of wisdom. The sobbing interfering with his ability to think. He sighed yet again and continued down the stairs. What else could he do really? It was what it was. He pat Ray's shoulder as he reached him.
Ray flinched a little but didn't say anything as he watched Grandpa walk away, leaving him with two options left. Just walk away with him or try and mend the broken pieces of his and Kai's friendship.
Another pitiful sob echoed into his hearing, his heart splitting in two and he jumped to his feet. He couldn't stand it anymore; it was his turn to be the knight. Even if the idea had been good in his head, down on paper, it was far from it when it came to actually having the balls to do it.
With a deep breath, holding it in, he just opened the door and stepped inside. Kai lifted his head weakly to look over his shoulder, figuring Grandpa had come back in. He got a nasty swirl in his stomach when he saw who it really was.
He made himself roll over, exposing his raw, red, swollen eyes and mess of a face with paint smeared all over it. He picked up the paint smeared pillow and hurled it at him.
"Getthefuckout!" His weepy throat screeched out. He never knew Ray was such a piece of shit. Had he no shame? And to think he made his famous chilli for this prick...
Ray side stepped the pillow as it flew at him, ending up behind his feet and between him and the door. He was going to die in there, he had a feeling, but they couldn't keep going on like this. It had only been a day, and it was torture!
"I'm sorry." His own voice cracked back at him.
Kai got on his knees on the bed, looking for something else to throw at him. "Sorry isn't enough! You're gonna pay for this, you hear me!? What kind of person sells their friends pet behind their back!? The worst kind, that's who! You're a piece of shit and I hate you! I didn't e-even get to s-say..."
With the stream of threats and insults frazzling his currently fragile circuits, the rage evaporated as the emotional meltdown took over.
Ray's eyes welled up harder, he was a piece of shit... "I'm sorry, I really am..."
Kai shook his head. He was too done with life. He resumed his position and flopped on the bed. Maybe the night would take him.
"I don't wanna hear it, just stay away from me..."
Ray shifted on his feet; he couldn't just leave him like this. As awful as the outcome was, it was for the better. At least for Rogue...
Quietly he stepped more into the room, his heart pounding in his ears as he climbed onto the bed with him.
He was a dead man, but what a way to go...
"I'm sorry..." He repeated; about the only thing he could think of to say to him as he curled up next to him. Nuzzling into Kai's side.
Kai twitched, face pressing harder in to the covers. Ro-Ro nuzzled at him like that too…
...
Oh God! The pain!
Since he was still breathing, he put that blessing to good use and let a small purr come out of him. This was part humiliating and part nice, as long as Kai didn't turn over and strangle him...
Kai twitched even harder. Why was he doing this!? Was he trying to rub it in? Make it worse?
He lifted his head roughly. "Will you knock it off! Haven't you done enough!?"
"No, because I don't know how to make this better. I don't want you to hate me for the rest of our lives, I know I messed up and I'm sorry... I'm so sorry Kai." Ray shook his head, effectively burying his face more into Kai's side as his tears slipped out.
He shifted away slightly. His touch felt like icicles. "You should have thought about that before you did what you did! Did you really think I was going to be fine about this!?"
Ray sat up, putting his back against the wall the bed was pushed up to. "Of course not, it wouldn't have mattered how it was done but it needed to be done. Either way it sucks, and you can be upset about it... I just don't want you to hate me for it..."
Kai huffed through a few more rogue tears and rolled over. "Well too bad..."
Ray hung his head, "Okay..."
Kai scowled at the wall. 'Okay', he said.
'Okay'...
What part of this was okay!?
Didn't he care if he hated his guts over this!? Or did he just accept that he deserved it for being a shitty human being. He could cry that it was for the best all he wanted, but he knew that wasn't it. He hated that animal. And if he cared about the cat, or his, happiness he'd have talked to him...
He let those thoughts roll around his head, while very aware of Ray just sat there like a lemon. Could he not just get the hint and go away? Just stay away from him until they ultimately went their separate ways. Again.
Maybe the whole Abbey philosophy was on to something. Maybe being void of emotion was the way to go. In the year or so he'd been pried open like a walnut, all the connections he'd made and the things he'd gotten fond of and attached to just ended up making him feel pain, and he was already tired of it.
"Why'd you do it?" He sniffled quietly.
Ray swallowed the lump in his throat, rubbing at his right arm a little in a nervous twitch. He couldn't very well tell him Rogue was a little menace, that every time he turned around he was getting blamed for whatever it was Rogue did. Really though, that hadn't been as bad as the night of the storm.
"Because of that storm we had a few nights back, he was stuck outside as it was pouring down rain. He was at the door scratching and crying, he was scared... Nobody else heard him so I went out and sat with him, he could have gotten frightened to the point he just ran off for good on his own and got hurt elsewhere.
"It wasn't fair to leave him out in that, wouldn't have been fair to let him stay out like that if we didn't find a place that would keep him indoors." He explained in a quiet voice, once more omitting what work it was just to get Rogue to actually sit still with him, adding to the scratches on his hand he had gotten a week before that from the tiny hell-beast.
Kai's heart clenched. He hadn't heard any crying that night. He was scared, sure. But so was Max. Didn't mean they had to sell him, too...
"But he was fine once we were with him! One storm didn't mean you had to take him from me!"
Ray shook his head, "He was only fine when you showed up, you know how hard it was for me to just to get him to sit in my lap? To get him to stop crying like he had been? Look, I know it really doesn't compare or make things better, but I've been there. I really didn't do this to hurt you though, I really did it for him, so he had a place that was safe for him."
Kai's eyes welled up. "Exactly! He felt safe with me! And I would do anything to make sure he was all right!"
"I know you would have, but even still how fair would that have been to Rogue?" Ray asked in a sigh.
"And what about me!?" He yelled as his eyes started to stream again. "I'm the one who stopped him starving to death in a bush and I'm still the one that gets the shit end of the stick!? I'm the one who has to go back to being alone again once all this is over, even though I did good for once!"
"But you're not alone..."
He rolled his eyes, "You're no help to me in China, Ray! Since you left you've turned into a piece of paper that comes sometimes and I hate it!"
"So... Would now be a bad time to tell you I might not be going back after this year?" Ray asked sheepishly, seeing an opening and taking it.
Kai's sniffling stopped as his brow arched. "Hn?"
"Dickenson and I are working on a way to keep me here, when I turn sixteen I'm considered an adult by the villages standards and can do what I want. But Japan is a bit different in terms of what they consider an adult, so I'm working with him in trying to figure out a way to stay here with everyone." Ray explained.
Kai's eye twitched. How come Ray got to work on getting his own place while he had to go to that hell hole!? But then he realized quickly, that wasn't the damn point.
"Really!?"
"Well... I mean I won't know for sure until we hear back from the Elders and all. Since I have Driger and you know how they are about that whole thing." He rambled off quickly, trying not to get too excited that they were actually talking.
The angry part of Kai wanted to make a chirp that if it was best for Driger, he should give him back... See how he liked it...
But he was too busy feeling excited.
"But like there's a good chance, right?!"
"I think so, I mean when I'm sixteen I can do what I want." He shrugged back, not really sure what else to say without filling the two of them with false hope again.
He didn't need or want another repeat of Russia.
"Did you know Dickenson told Grandpa about what happened at the airport last year?"
Kai jolted. His brow spasming. "He what!?"
"Yeah... Kind of weird he'd tell Gramps about it..." Ray blushed, rubbing at his arm again.
Kai squirmed. Fantastic. Now he's cried like an actress in front of both the old codgers...
Was he... Was he gonna tell Mr. D about this!?
"Well... Offer still stands if you do figure it out." He blurted out, surprising himself.
Ray's brow rose slightly, "Offer... For what?"
Kai cleared his throat and averted his eyes. "Paris... Or wherever you want really. I don't care."
A lump caught in Ray's throat, after everything that had happened he wasn't expecting that at all.
"Well... I mean we've already seen Paris, why not go somewhere we haven't been before?" He suggested, his face burning.
Kai shrugged. "Wherever. As long as I can get away, I don't care where."
"Do you have an idea when that might be?" Ray questioned, actually interested in knowing.
Kai shifted closer to him without even really registering. He felt weird. "Just... Whenever you're ready."
He tested his luck; he was on his last life so hopefully Lady Luck would be on his side. "Been ready but think we shouldn't ditch the others with those crazy people around trying to steal our bitbeasts and the Saint Shields. So maybe when that's taken care of, we'll go?"
Kai nodded, feeling the lump in his throat. This time he didn't really know why. Maybe it was just everything. He still wanted to run away from everything so badly, and even though he was royally pissed off at him, he wanted to do it with Ray. He'd just anticipated Ro would have been coming with...
"Sounds good..." He mumbled as he shifted closer and closer until he was pressed into Ray like Ray had been to him not long ago.
"...But once we find a place you owe me a god damn cat..." His voice wobbled.
"So I don't count as a cat now?" Ray's mouth moved on its own before his brain registered how that sounded.
Kai shook his head. He wasn't fluffy. Wasn't as small. Didn't have the cute little paws or the adorable meow. Didn't do the funny thing when you scratched the base of his spine and stuck his ass in the air...
He missed Ro-Ro...
...
...
Wait, did Ray do the butt scratch thing?
Ray pouted a little, oh so last year he was the cat. Had to go and suffer through the relentless jabs and pokes, but now he wasn't because an actual cat had come by?!
"Well... Why not?" He asked in a huff.
Kai huffed back. All the shit he got for making hilarious jokes about his feline tendencies and NOW he was upset he wasn't doing it?
"What? You're not! You're like half..."
"Well... Yeah technically... But still, half is still half." Ray rolled his eyes, laying his head up on Kai's that was resting on his shoulder.
"But fine, we'll have twenty real cats when we move out."
Kai wriggled excitedly. That sounded like heaven. "You promise!?"
Ray cracked a small smile, "Yeah, I promise."
He wriggled a little more, planning the layout of his cat room. He'd have to think of a way to deal with the smell, but whatever...
His heart still ached something fierce over Rogue, but if he could have 20 rescue babies in the future...
He fizzed with joy at the image of all the nuzzles, meows, play time and butt scratches.
...
...
Would he punch him? He had no right after selling Rogue. Should at least give him this...
His hand reached behind his back and tested the waters, scratching gently down his spine.
Ray's eyes about popped out of his sockets, his back going stiff until Kai hit the right spot and he arched a little. Was hard to do with the wall in the way, not giving him the satisfaction of arching the way his body wanted to. As long as a purr didn't slip- nope, there he went...
Kai grinned with his eyes. This was promising...
Now for the prize...
His hand went lower to the base of his spine, applying more pressure to his scratching.
The purring got louder as his breathing picked up, the hell was he doing?! His ass wiggled on the bed, stupid wall still in the damn way but he wasn't about to get down on all fours.
"Okay you had your fun..." He shifted away from him, his face blending nicely with his headband and sash around his waist.
Kai's lips cracked into a grin to match his eyes as he followed, hand going back to try and find that sweet spot. He could tell it was working. And dammit, he needed this.
"Kai!" Ray yelped as he tried to move towards the head of the bed, "Stop, it's not funny."
"Thought you wanted to be a kitty..." He replied smugly as he kept on.
"There's a difference in wanting and already being one!" Ray bit out embarrassed, "What're you trying to do anyways?" He asked, though had a good idea what it was he wanted.
"Shut up and let me do it. You owe me..." He bit playfully.
Ray huffed, rolling his eyes. "Fine, but don't you dare tell a soul!" He jabbed a finger in Kai's chest before he rolled over onto his stomach.
Oh god, this was worse than the damn cat jokes from last year. Least the door was closed, and the kids were too scared to come up and check on Kai.
A happy sound left his throat as he prepared to give the scratch of his life.
He started between his shoulders, moving back to the base and got harder as he went. Ray's entire body broke out into goosebumps, slowly his back arching to follow Kai's hand as the purring revved up ten-fold.
Kai bit his lip. He could feel the muscles twitching. He wasn't putting it on for his benefit. His hand went to the base of his spine and went to town. Annnnd there went his ass in the air, his fingers pawing at the sheets under him as a quiet moan slipped through between the purring that sounded like a truck was driving through the room.
He had never purred that loud, had never had a reason to, nor had he done this aside from the stupid prank Lee and Kevin had pulled on him when they were kids.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid cat genetics.
The teenage girl in Kai's mind went nuts. Jumping and clapping while squealing. He had his very own man-cat! This would fill some of the hole in his heart at least!
His hand stopped a second. What was that noise that just came out of him? Not only that, but his brain finally caught up to the position Ray was in in front of him. His throat dried and his pants got a little tighter.
"That... That feel nice?"
Yes... No... It was humiliating, while also everything he wanted. "...Why'd you stop?" He whined a little, his prickling skin hotter than the damn sun.
A shiver went down Kai's own spine. Did he just beg him not to stop...?
"Sorry..." He breathed out as he continued.
"S'fine..." Ray breathed back heavily with a content sigh, nuzzling his face in the bed. Cat genetics taking over full force, no longer caring how embarrassing this was as long as Kai didn't stop scratching that spot.
Kai's face heated up watching his face rub in the bed. This took an unexpected turn... But hell, he wasn't going to complain.
He scratched harder and faster, feeling like a boss and a pervert at the same time. Something snapped in Ray's head, the stupid cat genetics kicking in and making him just pull away; no longer liking the scratching while his other human half was begging for more. Though, either way, both sides of him still felt the burning blush on his skin and having no clue what to say when he finally sat up and pressed his back as close to the wall as he possibly could. Doing everything within his power not to look back at Kai, finding the wall across the room more interesting at the moment.
Kai blinked, looking from his hand to Ray and back again a few times. The hell happened!?
"Was I doing it wrong?"
Ray quickly shook his head no, that wasn't it but then again he didn't really know how to explain it to him.
"No, no you were doing it right..." He squeaked back.
Now he felt bad... In hindsight, that wasn't a very nice thing to do to Ray.
"I'm sorry... I just wanted to know if you did it too... Didn't mean to..." Enjoy it. Immensely...
"...Overstep."
"It's okay, really I.. I liked it..." Ohhhh no he shouldn't have said that! "I mean, ya know it's fine. Don't worry about it!" He stumbled over the rest of his words, not even sure if he was speaking coherent English.
Kai blinked even more. He liked it?
I am the lord of the cats, said he!
He knew he had to have a real calling in life. Cat person was it.
"I'm glad?" He answered, not really sure what else to say.
And then, just to make the whole situation worse, silence fell. Oh good. Now what? He'd gone from despising him to giving him the best ass scratch known to man in the space of a few minutes.
"Just, you know. Don't tell anyone, that sort of thing... Ifyouwannadoitagainjustsay" He spewed out a lightning speed.
Oh Holy Lord up in Heaven what was he doing?!
"Wheneveryouwant..." Kai fired back. Seriously. Didn't he hate his guts a minute ago?
Oh shit he understood what he said. "Okay." He squeaked out louder, not even sure what to say now or where to look or what to do. He felt glued to the bed, the aftereffects of that back scratch still tingling up and down his spinal cord.
Kai didn't know what else to do. So just... Lay down. Why did weird shit always happen when they were alone together?
"And I won't tell anyone..." He told the ceiling. Of course he wouldn't. He didn't want anyone else getting a piece of that action. That was all for him.
Ray cleared his throat, finally feeling like his senses were replacing themselves, albeit slowly.
"Thanks..." His eyes shifted to the door. Did he leave now, were they good again?
"Do... Do you want me to go?"
Kai snapped his head to him. No. Not at all. He didn't like this feeling he had, because a big part of him was still angry and upset with him. But the kicker was, no one comforted him like Ray did...
"If you want... I don't care."
"I... I don't really have anything else to do right now..." He muttered as he picked at the ends of his sash. "If you want I'll stay with you for a little bit..."
"M'Kay." He nodded before he rolled on his side, turning his back to him in hopes he'd join him.
It took a minute, the heavy silence being one of the bigger factors in why he did what he did next. Shifting away from the wall and laying up next to Kai, pressing close to his back. He had really missed that the past several months being back in the village.
Kai pushed back to press them closer. Ray was good at reading what he wanted.
...Apart from Ro-Ro it seemed.
But... As much as he wanted him, the most important thing was he was happy and safe... He could kind of see that despite the ache. And it still wasn't doing enough to fill the hole in his heart the little guy left.
"Hey Ray..."
"...Yeah?" Ray's voice shook a little, maybe he had read him wrong and he overstepped. It had been a while since they had done this, wasn't like sleeping on the floor the past few weeks next to each other was exactly the same as lying in a bed pressed up against each other.
Kai fiddled with the covers. "I don't suppose... You purr on cue do you?"
Ray blinked a few times at the back of Kai's head, if he wanted him to purr he was more than happy to oblige. He did owe him after all.
He settled in closer to him, really feeling the warmth of Kai's body heat, and within seconds he was purring contently. Not as loud as before but enough to make his chest vibrate.
Kai closed his eyes and felt it rumbling against his back. Rogue flopped on him and purred a lot... He wondered what he was doing right now... And just like that the tears started to load up in his eyes again.
Maybe it was selfish to still want him to stay in that box. He was a selfish asshole... But he really, really had fallen head over heels for the fluff ball. He hadn't felt that way since Joey. And this time he really thought he had a companion for life.
He rolled himself over to face Ray. Once again, torn between punching him in the face... But he could never stay mad at him. So he went with the other urge instead.
He shuffled forward and planted his wet face in the still vibrating chest and slid his arms through Ray's. Hadn't been like this since Russia...
"...You tell anyone about this I-I swear to god I'll tell everyone about the ass scratching thing... And the bird!"
Ray chuckled some, distorting the purring for a brief moment, putting his arms around Kai's back to hold him closer. God he had missed him.
"Noted... And seriously, let. It. Go." He drawled out in a half annoyed, half playful, tone.
"No. Shut up and make with the purring..."
"Yes sir." Ray chuckled some more as he relaxed more into Kai's hold. The purring continuing, his eyes feeling heavy on him.
"I really missed you..." He breathed out, close to dozing off now.
Despite still sniffling, Kai arched a brow in to his chest. "It's only been like, twelve hours..."
Ray's cheeks warmed, "Not what I meant you dumbass."
Kai's heated up as well. "Oh..."
...Whatever! He was in mourning. He was allowed to make dumb mistakes.
Ray sighed, his purring the only thing in the room for a while as they fell into silence. His fingers gripped a little tighter into Kai's shirt, unsure if he should even ask in a moment like this for fear of breaking it.
"Do you hate me?" But he needed to know, his voice barely a whisper this time as his heart rate picked up.
Kai tensed hard at the question. Even though the current position they were in stated otherwise, he was still hurt and angry he'd gone behind his back like that.
He pulled his head away from his chest just enough to look up at him. "No... I didn't mean it. But I'm still pissed and... Really sad." His voice strained before he went back to the sanctuary of Ray's vibrating chest.
Ray shifted a little, resting his chin on Kai's head as his face buried in his neck. "I'm sorry..." He repeated like a broken record.
Kai hugged him tighter, making a mess of Ray's shirt. "I-it's okay..."
The silence around them came back, the vibrating getting lower as Ray's breathing slowed and his eyes slipped closed again. This was nice, it was warm, and before long he didn't even register the fact his one arm was dead, and he had buried his face in Kai's hair in his sleep. In turn, Kai continued to let it out in to Ray's shoulder. Calming along with Ray's purrs as his swollen and sore eyes got heavier and heavier. Not sleeping and feeling like shit sure took it out of you.
Grandpa finished his third cup of tea after applying some elbow grease in the kitchen. He'd told Kai thirty minutes, but assuming Ray had gone in there, he gave some more and kept an ear out for more daggers. But all was quiet on the western front.
He checked the clock. It had been a little over an hour now, and there was nothing but quiet. For that boy's sake, that better mean he was busy chowing down. Them eggs were just as good cold.
He took himself up the stairs and gently knocked on the door. No answer. But this was Kai they were talking about. He pushed the door open and peered in, ready to give him some for not replying when he stopped. Well...
This was a much prettier picture than he'd imagined. Those two muppets curled in to each other was way more endearing than any fuzz ball. He quietly tiptoed in and picked up the untouched plate. He'd make them both chow down at lunch. But for now, he wasn't going to disturb them.
As he left the room and closed the door over, he chuckled.
Those two sure fought like R-cat and K-dog, but somehow they seemed to have found something in each other that even selling the other's beloved pet couldn't break.
He couldn't wait to talk to Stan the Man about all this.