"Maybe another time." Ray laughed with them, suddenly stumbling his way back to the edge of the stage without his shoes.
After all those acrobatics the alcohol had gone and shaken up inside of him, and he was really feeling it now.
Getting to the edge of the stage he held his hand out so Kai could help him down and without even thinking, Kai held his hand out to him, tanned fingers sitting perfectly beside ivory ones that gripped around for support.
Though, not supportive enough, as Ray lost his footing with having no grip on his feet and tumbled off the stage, his free arm immediately going around Kai's neck and Kai's wrapping tight around his waist.
"Woah, are you-" Kai paused when he realised just how close Ray was to him. The two staring at each other with parted lips, their faces mere centimeters apart and the smell of cologne and alcohol lingering between them.
"Y-you okay?"
Ray took in a shuddering breath, heart in his throat as he shook his head. Truth was, he was fixing to puke...
Seeing the silent panic in the other's eyes, Kai's expression dropped once he'd realized. Shit.
"Everybody move!" He yelled, and in an instant the bodies that had surrounded them parted like the Red Sea.
With the two gone, Johnny snorted with an eye roll from where he stayed by the table Kai and Ray had abandoned, picking at the food on the plate with little interest when his phone buzzed in his back pocket.
With a smirk curling up his lips as he read the text message, he sauntered his way to the back door while the girls gathered back around the poles on the stage and everyone else fell back into their usual alcohol infused chatter as he weaved through them to the door.
With a hard tug, the door swinging open and the cold winter air smacking him in the face, his smirk only got broader as the chill seeped into his skin.
"Glad you could make it!" He cheered, letting the two new comers into the warmth of the club.
"Like I would pass up the opportunity.." Robert smirked holding his hand out for Johnny who firmly shook it instantly, "Been waiting far too long for an invite into this place, wouldn't miss it for the world."
Ruby eyes adjusted to the darkness mixed with bright strobe lights Daichi was controlling over in the corner, taking in the surroundings and silently judging.
Enrique wasn't far behind the other two, his head swiveling on his shoulders from one thing to the next as he scoped out the place.
Up on the stage, lost in the moment and quickly coming out of it once the sight of slicked back purple hair caught her attention, Ming-Ming almost fell off the pole she'd been wrapped around as her heart slammed into her chest quickly.
Freezing up on the stage, eyes wide and following Robert's every move until their eyes locked and a freezing chill ran down her spine.
Robert smirked, winking at her up on the stage though continued to follow Johnny around as he showed the place off and introduced him to a few people he wasn't all that interested in meeting.
"Hey, you okay?" Hilary asked quietly as she touched Ming-Ming's shoulder, feeling the other jump under her hand.
"Y-yeah... I just have to..." She stuttered; eyes still trained on Robert even if he wasn't looking at her anymore. She had to find Kai...
"Ooh! There's someone else I'd like ya to meet too! If I can find him that is." Johnny laughed out, eyes scanning around for his pet heathen.
"We didn't come to meet all your nobodies, Johnny." Enrique sent in a bored tone, "We came for the booze and girls."
"Oh I know, I know! But this guy! Oh lemme tell you, you're gonna love him. He's one of our own!" Johnny assured, frantically searching for him amongst the sea of people.
"Ah! He's over there, c'mon! Follow me!" He beckoned the other two to follow, heading over whilst Robert and Enrique sent each other an unimpressed look.
"Kuznetsov! There ya are bud! Been lookin' for ya everywhere. Who knew it'd be soo hard to find a six foot guy built like a brick house?"
Tala turned to see the drunken troll doll beside them. Hair spiked up paired with a purple bandana as usual, though there were two other males beside him.
Bryan held in the sigh of relief as the cavalry appeared, though for Tala it probably only made him more nervous.
"J, there you are. Aint seen ya since you showed up. Robert and Enrique right?" He asked as he pointed at the two men behind Johnny.
Robert stepped forward, holding out his hand which Bryan took and firmly shook. "Yes, Bryan.. Heard great things about you, Johnny sings your praises.." Ruby eyes took a gander around once he'd let go of the others hand.
With another sputtering breath, tears in the corners of his bloodshot eyes, Ray finally heaved up the last of whatever was in his stomach as his throat burned and all that was left to do was curl up and die.
"S-sorry..." He croaked out through his sore throat, finally pushing himself away from the porcelain throne and flushed everything down.
"Ah, we've all been there." Kai waved off. He'd remained opposite the open stall the entire time, leaning against a sink with his arms loosely folded over his chest, ready to step in if he needed to.
"You aren't the first and you won't be last, so don't worry about it..." He tried to reassure though wasn't sure how much of his words were sinking in right now.
"Mhmm. Not really my first rodeo but has been a long time." Ray chuckled nervously, giving himself another minute or two before he attempted to stand up.
Gathering himself on wobbly legs, his feet a little cold on the tile of the bathroom, he finally picked himself up to stand while using the walls of the stall to support himself.
"So much for first impressions, right?" He chuckled again, wandering to the sink to wash his mouth out and splash water on his face.
Kai shook his head a little at him, lightly snorting with a faint smile on his face, remaining on standby and ready to catch the guy if he stumbled at the sink.
"Nah, everyone loved you on that stage, no one's gonna care about this. Wouldn't be a staff party if it didn't end with someone spewing."
Ray shook his head a little as his face burned, the cold water from the tap not even helping as he splashed his face with it. This wasn't awkward at all. And now he had Kai watching him like he was a toddler.
"I think I'm good now, if you wanted to get back out there." He offered, tearing off a paper towel and ingeniously hiding his face behind it as he played it off that he was just drying it.
"No it's fine, I'm not just gonna leave you in here, Ray. I wanna make sure you're okay." He brushed off, eyes still on him in concern, "Want me to call you a cab and take you back home?"
"No, no. It's fine. Lee was gonna pick me up anyways and think it's out of my system. Just hungry now." Ray's face burned again; he really was so sweet if Johnny wasn't around.
A terrible idea hit him, wondering if Kai would actually catch him again if he fell.
Pulling the paper towel from his face and wadding it up to throw it away, he wobbled a little towards the trash can by the door and 'tripped' right in front of him. Instantly Kai's arms opened as he lunged for him, wrapping around Ray to save him from meeting the bathroom floor again.
"Well, let's call him shall we? And get you something to eat in the meantime." He reeled off in a slight pant, thankful he'd managed to catch him.
"We can take it upstairs, be quieter for you there, can lie down too on the couch."
Ray just blushed even more, heart racing as his knees actually wanted to give out on him this time. Since when did Kai have such beautiful eyes? And God, he smelled amazing.
"S'fine... Really. I'm alright. Just wanted to see if you'd catch me again." He chuckled, not even realizing his hands had snaked their way around Kai's neck. Was it always this broad and warm?
Kai's expression would have dropped if it wasn't for the cute look on the others face.
"Oh, is that so?" He smirked at him, "Well… Lucky for you that I did, huh? Or you'd be straight back down there again." His eyes gestured down to the floor before locking back on glazed-over gold.
He knew he was wasted, but he found it weirdly adorable, not annoying at all as he wasn't all that sober himself.
Easing Ray properly to his feet, his hands remained resting on either side of Ray's waist to keep him steady, not even minding where Ray's hands were or how close they currently were standing.
"Should probably still get you home.." The suggestion was softly spoken as he gazed over at him. Not really wanting to ship him off yet but knew it was for the best.
"You got your phone? I'll call Lee for you if you want."
"Really wanting to get rid of me, aren't you?" Ray asked in his own soft tone, the hands around Kai's neck getting a mind of their own as his fingertips played with the ends of his hair.
"No! No.. God.. Far from it.." He replied with a light laugh, a tingle radiating down his spine at what the other was doing. He loved having his hair fussed with..
"By all means, stay if you want.. Not like I can stop you."
Ray's lips twitched into a small smile, not really even hearing anything Kai had just said to him. His focus had been more on those lips that looked amazing so up close, wanting to know what they felt like on his own though quickly reminded himself that this was his boss. And there was no way Kai felt any kind of attraction to him... Right?
"Well... Good... I-I guess..." He breathed back, finding himself suddenly closer to him when their chests touched but wasn't sure who bridged the already small space between them.
Kai could feel his heart beat quicker in his chest, taking a deeper inhale to compensate. He was completely mesmerized by the pools of gold staring back at him, not wanting to blink and miss even a second of them up this close.
They were beautiful…
He could feel his own eyes coming to a close though, along with his head turning and tilting to mirror the others movements as he neared him, one of his hands too moving from Ray's side and round to his lower back. The two mere millimeters apart when the bathroom door was flung open, and in came a flustered Mario.
A gasp escaped him as he immediately stepped back from Ray, hands retracting to himself before fumbling round like he didn't know what to do with them.
"Kai! Kai! Oh thank god I found you! There's a fight going on out here!"
Blinking at Mario and then at each other and back again, still flushed and not sure what had just almost happened, the two pulled themselves together enough to get out of the bathroom.
"What do you mean there's a fight?!" Kai barked; his footsteps heavy as he made his way out of the bathroom first by nearly shoving Mario out of the way.
Ray stayed back for a second, needing that extra minute to calm himself down and smack himself mentally at least five times for what he almost did before following after Mario and Kai back into the main area.
Sure enough, there was a full out brawl going on. Glasses breaking, women screaming, and the music actually turned off and the lights flicked back on.
In the mess they could make out Tala's red hair near the front of the stage, Mariah and Hilary holding onto one another on the top of it and screaming for whoever had Tala up against the bottom of the stage to let him go.
"Who the fuck do you think you are?!" Tala seethed through grit teeth, hands ragging the other off him and connecting with the opposing chest, shoving him off and creating some distance.
"You might run your own shit show like that, but don't you dare come in here and touch a woman like that!"
Enrique huffed a laugh, wiping his busted lip that the redhead had punched earlier. "My, my, very passionate over worthless whores aren't we?"
"Tala I swear you're fucking fired if you throw one more swing!" Johnny threatened, "Enrique didn't even do nothing!"
"Fuck you Johnny!" Tala scoffed, sending him a sneer before launching at the blonde opposite again and dragging him to the floor.
"Tala!" Hilary and Mariah cried as the two men rolled on the ground, Tala landing another hit to Enrique's face.
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Kai's voice boomed out of him, grabbing Tala by the back of his shirt and hoisting him to his feet, putting Tala behind him up against the stage again as he swayed slightly, and his lower lip dripped with a trail of blood down his chin.
"THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" Kai roared at Enrique as he was busy picking himself up off the floor on his own two wobbly feet.
"I was invited!" Enrique almost childishly spat back once he was up, eyes darting over to Johnny who was standing beside Bryan.
"He grabbed me!" Hilary screamed from her perch on the stage, whole body shaking with tears running down her face.
Kai's eyes turned murderous instantly, narrowing down on Enrique in front of him as his hands clenched at his sides.
"You have three seconds to get the fuck out of here!"
A scoff then came from the sidelines. "Barely! Kai don't fucking listen to her; she's just being dramatic!" Johnny sent over, throwing a glare to her on the stage.
"He put his hand up my shirt!" Hilary defended in another scream.
Kai didn't even give fair warning before his own fist shot out, snapping against Enrique's already bleeding nose and forcing his head back while his feet stumbled around to catch himself before he fell back down.
"GET. OUT!"
Johnny launched himself between them, Enrique's hand cupping around his nose, it filling with blood as his eyes watered and trickled down his cheeks.
"You're gonna regret that Hiwatari!" He yelled over Johnny, puffing out his chest though knew he wouldn't be throwing anymore punches.
"Oh, and I told Johnny about your little day out with his wife too, bastardo!" He sneered out, spitting a mouthful of blood by Kai's feet.
Tala cocked a brow behind Kai's shoulder as he watched how quickly they tensed, his own head slightly spinning suddenly.
That didn't seem right, not with how Kai was giving eyes to Ray and how long they'd been gone for, clearly he was missing some pieces, but the more important thing was what was happening right now.
Off on the sidelines even Ray's head was spinning, for more reasons than one. Johnny had a wife?! Since when, and what poor soul would ever marry that?!
But surely, Kai wouldn't be that much of a bastard to sleep with a married man's wife... Was he? And then almost kiss him in the men's bathroom?!
He stayed quiet where he stood amongst his fellow employees who didn't know what to do at the moment, watching with bated breath as Kai's shoulders shook and that murderous look in his eyes intensified only for a cold chill to run down all their backs the moment a menacing laugh came out of Kai.
"And you think I'm stupid enough to believe you didn't? Of course I know you did, you dumb fuck. But here's the real question. He tell you why I was even there with her at the clinic that day?" He asked as he threw his murderous look towards Johnny.
"He beat her, while she's pregnant! But you go ahead and defend him there, Ricky." He sneered out at him.
Johnny's face paled. A million and one thoughts running through his mind so fast that even if he was completely sober right now it still wouldn't process.
Pregnant?
His own laugh escaped him though it was clearly riddled with nerves.
"No, no she isn't… She told you that? And you believe her? More fool you!" He spat. "Where the fuck is she, huh?"
Kai rolled his eyes back at him, "Oh yeah, sure she paid for those ultrasound pictures to be documented and faked all to fool me. Along with the black eye she has, and the bruises." He bit out sarcastically.
"Where is she?!" Johnny yelled at him, going red in the face as his chest heaved.
Always. Why did she always go to Kai?! She wasn't married to him! What did he ever provide for her?! He'd never bought her anything. The ungrateful bitch! He was the one who gave her everything! Everything!
He should've pulled that fucking trigger that day!
A mist had transcended over his eyes. All he was seeing now was red as he glared over at the man he'd shared so much with, grown up with..
"You can go fuck yourself if you think I'm telling you shit! The only reason I haven't done the same to you is because she begged me not to!" Kai yelled back at him, his shoulders still shaking.
He was dying to lay into him, give him a taste of his own medicine and see how much Johnny liked it. But Nicole had still begged him not to, and as badly as he didn't want to listen he also didn't want to go against his promise.
"Now, you have three seconds to get you and your sleazy friend out of my club!"
"Oh yeah? Is that so..." Stepping to him, Johnny adopted a smirk and flicked his tongue over his teeth. Stopping inches from him as he looked up to him.
"Well isn't like she's here... So what's stopping you?" His tone darkened as he puffed out his chest to him and tilted his head to show him his jaw.
"Get... Out..." Kai seethed through grit teeth, his clenched fingers itching more to become well acquainted with Johnny's face.
Johnny caressed his own jawline, taunting him further. "C'mon Kai.. Whatcha scared of? You know you want to, so.. Go for it.. Right here, c'mon." Seeing the look on the taller males face caused him to chuckle out even more.
"What's wrong Kai... HIT ME!" He then shoved against his chest, sending the other back a step or two and holding out his arms to him.
"No one's going to stop you so come on!"
Those still watching all gasped, Tala having to dive out of the way before his toes got crushed by Kai's feet as he was shoved back. Hilary and Mariah begging Johnny to stop now, not sure why this was getting out of hand the way it was.
Kai held in the growl, teeth grinding hard together as his hand lashed out and grabbed Johnny by the front of his shirt. Jerking Johnny off his feet and towards him, though had already pivoted his feet to drag him out to the back door.
Stomping his way towards it, all the while Johnny was trying to yank himself free and dig his heels into the floor, the back door opened before they even reached it.
Kai froze in place, his hold on Johnny's shirt going lax as crimson eyes locked with frightened amber that were flowing with tears.
"Let him go, or she gets a head full of lead." Robert ordered in a sickeningly sweet calm tone, one arm draped around Ming-Ming's shoulders and neck, the other holding a gun to the side of her head.
Mariah and Hilary screamed at the sight of the gun, tears trickling down their cheeks in fear. Kai's own throat drying at the sight and instantly let go of Johnny's shirt, keeping his eyes fixed on Ming-Ming who looked absolutely terrified.
"Let her go, Robert. She's got nothing to do with this." He tried to stay strong with his tone, but the worry was evident.
"You don't think so?" Robert chuckled back, "Think she's got just about everything to do with this. Cus you see, you took somethin from me, Hiwatari, and now I'm just comin back to pick her up."
Tala's eyes darted towards Bryan, feeling himself sweating as his heart felt like it was fixing to give out on him any moment. The more he looked at him, the more the sinking suspicion that Bryan was in on this the whole time continued to plant in his head.
Before Kai could even respond, Johnny's fist connected with his jaw, it knocking him back and stunning him as his focus had been solely on Ming-Ming. A grunt escaped him as he brought his hand up to his face, crimson eyes snapping over envisioning Johnny's death ten times over. Shaking it off, he ground his teeth as he stepped back towards him. To hell with what Nicole wished for...
Clenching his fist, Kai raised it back ready to unleash every ounce of rage he'd ever felt for this son of a bitch when a strong arm held it back. His head darted back over his shoulder to lock with grey hair and blue eyes.
"B-Bryan? What are you doing?!"
"Bryan?!" Tala gaped but felt frozen at the moment with not just Bryan holding Kai, but that gun that was still being pressed into Ming-Ming's head.
"Sorry, Boss." Bryan chuckled darkly in Kai's ear, getting a good hold on him as Johnny sauntered around the front of them.
Kai struggled to get out from Bryan's hold, his arms held back in a tight hold that all he really did was throw their weight from one side to the next.
"The hell is this, Johnny?!" He growled out like a caged animal.
"This is what you get for getting involved in shit that doesn't concern you, Kai.."
Clenching his fist again, he thrust it straight into Kai's stomach, causing the other to gasp out and choke as the wind was knocked out of him.
"Three seconds to tell me where she is, Kai.."
"Go fuck yourself.." Kai hissed through gritted teeth, attempting to rag himself out of Bryan's grip again but to no avail.
"No? Okay.."
Clenching his fist again he threw it back and into his stomach again, tears now forming in the other's eyes as the force was making him want to puke.
Tala's feet edged him close, only to stop and sweat more when he heard the audible click of the hammer. Knowing not to, but doing it anyways, he turned to see Robert holding the gun out in his direction and tutted at him.
Tala swallowed hard, nodding back and sweating harder. His stomach clenching with every blow Johnny got on Kai, blood starting to drip from the corners of Kai's mouth from his split lip.
Hilary and Mariah had to look away, covering their eyes as quiet sobs shook their bodies. Ming-Ming did the same, only staying on her own two feet because of Robert's tight grip around her shoulders and being pressed into his body the way it was.
As Johnny drew his fist back again, for what they all hoped was the final blow, it landed across Kai's bruising and swollen cheek with a sickening crack. Johnny taking a step back as he shook out his wrist, his knuckles covered in blood and bruised themselves.
There was another click, Tala's eyes darting back to where Robert was only to find him, and Ming-Ming, gone.
Without a second thought his feet came unglued from the ground, launching himself at Bryan's back which brought the others out of their frozen state and rushed the three of them while Hilary and Mariah rushed off the back of the stage.
At the hit on his back, Bryan's arms unhooked from Kai's, letting him fall to the floor in a bloodied heap as he turned to lock with icy blue eyes. No words were shared between them, just a look that Bryan could read as hurt, disappointment, but more so, blood boiling rage.
Whether he'd wanted to or not, Tala's fist went flying into the others cheek, though the broader male remained planted in place, his head the only thing that had move with the force.
"Wrong side Tal.. You picked the wrong side.." He chuckled out before grabbing a fist full of red locks.
Bryan's knee then connected with Tala's face as he dragged him down, hitting him once, twice, three times before letting him go, Tala falling to the floor with a clearly broken nose and knocked out clean from the assault.
As Bryan stood over his friend turned enemy, a hard and sharp pain shot through the back of his skull that brought him to his knees quickly over the top of Tala's unconscious body.
Quickly putting a hand to the back of his head, pieces of glass cutting into his fingers where they lay embedded in the back of his neck and dripping with blood, he growled and turned to find Ray stood over him with a broken bottle in his hand.
Just as Bryan got up to stand, another bottle was smashed into the side of his face where the glass and liquid broke out, knocking him to the side as his vision blurred and the pain settled into him.
"I... I'll kill you for this, chink!" He screamed, holding the side of his face that was covered in more shards of glass and blood that mixed with the alcohol, making the cuts burn.
Ray didn't bother saying anything back to him, Bryan having struggled to stand only to fall back down and cradle his wounded head in his hands. Rushing to get to Kai where Johnny still had him pinned to the ground, Ray's body was knocked down as Enrique flung himself into his side. The two toppling into the tables, throwing whatever had been on top onto the ground with them in a heap of limbs and finger sandwiches.
"Alright! Everybody down on the ground, now!" Came a voice from the back door as several police officers piled into the building.
"You, hands up!"
Johnny's eyes snapped up from Kai, his fists instantly releasing at the sight of blue uniforms and a gun pointing in his direction.
"I didn't do anything! He has my wife! Cuff him!" He shrieked as an officer pulled him off of Kai, slamming him down onto the ground and pulling his arms back to handcuff him.
"Get off me, I didn't do anything!"
"I am arresting you on suspicion of assault, you do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defense if you do not mention when questioned something you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence." The police officer reeled off as he clicked the handcuffs and pulled him up along with another officer.
In a flash Enrique's weight was jerked off Ray's body, who quickly put his hands up like the officers instructed as they cuffed Enrique.
With all the chaos going on, the adrenaline rushing through their veins, and question after question being thrown their way once the building had been evacuated it wasn't a surprise when Kai and Ray both finally collapsed together on the front steps.
Tala had been whisked off in an ambulance, others had been given the option to be looked at after questioning, and Johnny and Enrique were going to be spending a cozy night together with some new friends.
Kai had done his best, through the pain that sparked off no matter what he did, to try and get the cops to go after Robert. With no idea what kind of car he came in, they could only offer the simple 'we'll see what we can do' response to him.
After what seemed like hours and the very first and tiny bits of the sun beginning to come out, the place was finally properly emptied and roped off for the time being.
"Are you sure you can drive?" Ray asked, having stayed beside Kai as everyone had left since he had to wait for Lee to pick him up anyways.
Although he was in a bit of pain himself, after that tumble with Enrique into a table, he was sure his backside was bruised, and Enrique's ring had caught his cheek and split it open. Though his battle wounds were nothing in comparison to Kai's own, and why he refused to go to the hospital was beyond Ray at the moment.
Kai sighed out as he stared over at his car. "Yeah, I'll be fine." He brushed off and winced, holding on to his ribs that felt bruised to hell.
"Been through worse.. How are you feeling? You should get yourself checked out."
"For what? A lil scrape and internal bruising. I'm fine." Ray scoffed back, not taking his eyes off Kai and frowning.
"My cousin is a nurse, why don't you come home with me and get looked at if hospitals aren't your thing." He suggested quietly, fearing that if Kai got in his car he wouldn't be able to even put it in drive right now.
Kai seemed to ponder it, clear unease on his face as he shifted where they sat. "I don't know.. I mean if you're sure? Don't wanna intrude or anything."
"More than sure." Ray affirmed with a lighter tone, happy that went better than he thought it would.
Kai sent him a smile, though it was clear in his eyes he was filled with concern and worry for what Ming-Ming was going through right now. He was exhausted, both mentally and physically, but the fear for what could be happening to her was keeping him awake.
What more could he do though? He'd given them the address of Robert's club, but other than that he had no other leads. He'd be an idiot to take her back there so knew that was a waste of time anyway. Where else could she be?
As Kai fell silent, Ray did too as he watched him go into his own head until the familiar beat up car rolled into the back parking lot. Before they could even stand, Lee was poking his head out the window at the two of them.
"The hell happened to you two?! Ray, we talked about this!"
"What? He was comin onto me." Ray defended back, helping Kai to stand and let him lean into his side as they wandered over to the car.
"Bringing him home with us, need you to look at him." Ray informed as he helped Kai slide into the back seat, "Sorry it's cold, heaters still broken."
"Tell me the other guy looks worse." Lee sighed as Ray climbed into the passenger seat beside him.
"Just get us home, please." Ray sighed back, quickly bundling himself up as Lee shook his head and rolled them back out onto the road.
The car ride home was silent, the peace welcomed as the several hours previous had been nothing but literal chaos. Kai had ended up dozing off in the back, his head propped up against the window as his arms were holding himself, both from the pain of his bruised ribs and from the cold.
Pulling up into the drive Lee turned off the engine and took a glance back at Kai, silently gesturing for Ray to take a look at the sleeping figure sitting behind him with a tilt of his head.
In contrast to the ripped material and blood splattered on crisp white, no telling who's blood it was, Kai looked serene as he slept. Even with the bruising that was starting to appear under his eyes and swelling on his lip, the soft deep breathing coming from him melted Ray as he looked back, and his expression was noticed by Lee.
[Thought you said you weren't gonna go for your boss again?] He teased in Mandarin.
[Oh shut up. I'm not... He's just... I do like him and all, but...] Ray whispered back, just in case Kai could hear in his sleep and didn't know if he understood their language. And given how he had grabbed him that day when Kai was passed out on his desk, he could only assume he did.
[Besides, out of my league.] He shook his head, telling himself that what almost happened in the bathroom before everything went to shit was just because of the alcohol in their systems.
Lee just scoffed, not even willing to grace the ridiculous statement with an answer as he unbuckled his belt and eased himself out the car, leaving Ray to deal with the sleeping tiger as he head into the house.
[Thanks...] Ray shot at the back of Lee's head with a pointed stare, only to turn back and it soften again as he took in Kai's still sleeping face.
With a small sigh, after knowing he'd looked for longer than he should have, he finally eased himself out of the passenger seat and went back around the car and pulled the door open.
"Hey, Kai. We're here, let's get you inside now."
"Hn?" Kai stirred at the movement, his eyes fluttering open only for them to tightly close again as he winced at the pain his entire body was in.
"Ah fuck..." He gasped out, arms tightening around himself again. "Can you, get the seat belt?"
"Y-yeah!" Ray jolted, not liking seeing him in pain and carefully leant over him to unhook the belt and kept it from touching Kai as it retracted back up into the seat.
"Here, don't strain yourself too much. Okay?" He held his hand out to him, bracing himself in case Kai went down.
"Thanks." He sent him with clear tension in his jaw, trying to bite back the pain he was experiencing.
Accepting his hand Kai took a hold of it, Ray helping as best he could at getting him up and out of the car. Once he was on his feet, Ray pushed the door to a close, lifting Kai's arm over his shoulder and the two slowly trudged up the drive and into the house.
"Sorry.. For all of this, I should've just got a cab home or something."
"Stop, don't apologize for any of this. You're in no shape to just be on your own right now." Ray lightly scolded as they got into the house, kicking the front door shut behind them.
"In the kitchen, gentlemen." Lee's voice filtered from in from the opening to the left in the hallway they were in.
Ray followed his instructions, keeping a firm hold on Kai as he dragged them into the kitchen where Lee had already set out his medical supplies along the top of the kitchen table.
"Have a seat, my good man." Lee chuckled, gloved hand gesturing to the chair sitting in front of him.
Getting Kai to the chair, Ray gently lowered him to sit on it, standing beside him for a minute to make sure he wouldn't fall off of it.
Kai bit back a slight hiss as he eased himself down into the chair. "I just need enough morphine to knock me out for a few days and then I'll be fine.." He only half joked as the mini nap on the drive home had made him feel even worse.
Lee chuckled. "Yeah, yeah… So, it's mainly your ribs right? What happened?" He asked, hands carefully examining the others face, checking for any bits of glass before reaching for a wipe and delicately cleaning him up.
Kai hummed before his face scrunched slightly as the wipe stung his cut lip. "Whole things just a blur to be honest with you, someone was restraining me from behind, while another dickhead was going at it from the front. I couldn't do anything to defend myself hence why it's so bad."
Lee nodded to him, discarding the wipe before gesturing to his shirt. "Alright well we need to take a look, and rule out any broken bones so, if I may?"
Kai reluctantly nodded, knowing this prodding around was going to hurt, but tilted his head anyway and allowed Lee to quickly unbutton his shirt down completely to examine the damage on his torso.
Ray inwardly whined, not just at the pale flesh that was getting revealed but for all dark blotches that were sprouting up on him.
"D-do you need me to do anything?" He asked as he fidgeted where he stood, tearing his eyes away from Kai to Lee only to go back.
"You can grab me those bandages in a sec, probably going to need em." Lee answered, tanned hands then going to either side of Kai.
"Right, I'll apologize in advance because you do seem bruised to hell, don't think anything's broken, nothing looks to be sticking out but still need to have a good press around okay? Tell me if it's unbearable for you, and don't try to act tough if it is, broken ribs are serious and need dealing with properly."
Kai just hummed again, clenching his teeth to brace himself. Fuckin' hated medical professionals.. All of 'em.
"Okay, how does this feel?" Gently Lee pressed in several places all along the first set of ribs just beneath his chest.
"Hurts but it's fine." Kai answered truthfully, "It's more so lower dow"-"Here?"
"Ahh fuck!" Kai gasped out as Lee pressed an inch lower.
Ray jolted where he stood, still not sure what to do and did the first thing that came to mind and held his hand out for Kai to take like he were a woman in labor. Kai took it instantly, squeezing it tight with his own clammy hand.
"Sorrryyyy…" Lee sympathetically winced for him.
After feeling around several more places, checking all of his ribs top to bottom and back again, a light sweat had formed on Kai's brow, panting slightly and clearly exhausted from the whole ordeal.
"Think we can rule out broken ribs, you're just really, really badly bruised." Lee informed, taking the bandages Ray had passed to him and started to unravel them.
"Ray, if you can help him up and carefully take his shirt off please while I wrap him up?"
Ray gave Lee an unamused look, trying to keep the blush from rising on his cheeks, even if this was a no blushing matter.
[You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?] He bit, though helped Kai stand up and wiggled his fingers to try and get some feeling back in them before he went to working Kai's shirt the rest of the way off of him.
Lee bit the inside of his cheek, as he took a step back and watched, though remained professional and started to wrap the bandages around Kai's torso once Ray had peeled his shirt off him.
"Hn? What did you say?" Kai asked, turning to Ray once he'd stepped beside him and raised his arms a little to assist Lee in the bandaging.
"Asked him if he was sure we don't need to take you in." Ray bullshitted quickly, trying to keep his focus on something other than Kai's half naked body standing in the middle of his kitchen while his cousin wrapped him up like a mummy.
"We'll see how you are in a day or two, if you're still in agony an x-ray wouldn't be the worst idea in the world." Lee added, playing along though was still giving sound advice.
"There you go, are you staying here or?"
"Oh no, I'd best be getting off home, I'll call myself a cab." Kai answered looking to Ray who was still clutching his battered and bloodstained shirt.
"Oh no you're not." Ray quickly shot back, his already unamused look getting harder at the taller male.
"You can stay here for the night, your house and car aren't going anywhere for one night. I can take you back tomorrow to the club, get your car and make sure you get home safely. Then, we need to go see Tala."
A sigh escaped Kai as he ran a hand through his bangs. Shit, Tala... He was in a pretty bad way after all Bryan did.. The bastard…
"Right… Yeah.." Rubbing a hand down his face he wrote a mental checklist of everything that he needed to do, completely thrown off by all that had happened and being in different surroundings.
"Yeah, you're right..."
Ray let out his own sigh, his face softening some as he looked Kai in the eyes that were swollen and bruised and cut up.
"Can give you some pain meds and some clean clothes for the night." He said, putting Kai's blood soaked shirt on the table and waved him on to follow him out of the kitchen and back to the hallway they'd stepped into first.
"Just make yourself at home, okay? Bathroom is here, kitchen is stocked if you need anything so don't worry about it." He pointed out the door to their left as they wandered down the hall to the door at the very end of it.
"You'll probably just want to rest, so I'll grab the pain meds and some water for you." He continued off, pointing to his bed in the middle of the room before wandering over to his dresser and pulled out a simple cotton shirt and soft gym shorts and placed them on the bed beside Kai where he sat.
"And I know you need your rest, and it's not my place to pry, but I do deserve an answer to what the hell that all was at some point. Okay?" He said in a soft but firm voice as he held Kai's eyes with his.
Kai just nodded to him. Not quite knowing fully if Ray meant all what had happened on the main floor, or what had been fixing to happen in the bathroom prior. If it was that, he honestly didn't have an answer for him. It had just felt right.
"Thank you." He sent back in his own quiet tone reaching for the shorts he'd set on the bed.
"You don't need to thank me, Kai." Ray smiled at him almost sadly, not letting Kai get a word in as he left him to change and closed the door behind him.
Getting a glass of water for him in the kitchen, Lee was busy cleaning the area where he'd patched Kai up and had thrown his shirt in the trashcan.
[Are you sure he doesn't need to actually be seen?] Ray asked as he filled the glass with ice from the freezer.
[Oh you mean by an actual nurse or something? Do you think I don't know what I'm doing Ray?] He snapped back to him in their native tongue.
[That's not what I meant! I'm just worried about him is all, an x-ray wouldn't be a bad idea!] Ray defended, his voice getting higher pitched some.
[Yeah well good luck convincing him.. I deal with patients like him on the daily and he will not go unless he's dragged. My advice is when you visit Tala tomorrow see if you can get him to get looked at whilst you're there.]
Ray groaned, that idea had popped in his head, but he'd hoped that Lee would be more convincing being the one with the pretty degree in medicine.
[Yeah, I'll figure it out...] He muttered, shaking his head as he took the glass of water back down the hall.
Taking a quick pit stop at the bathroom for the pain killers, he finally made it back to his room and a gave a light knock on the door.
"Yeah, I'm good.." Came the response from the other side of it, causing Ray to push open the door.
Kai had decided against the shirt and had put it back into the drawer he saw Ray take it out from, sitting on the edge of the bed in the shorts.
"Is this your room?" He asked as Ray stepped in.
Ray's eyes immediately went to the wall above Kai's head, was rude to stare after all.
"Mhmm." He hummed, setting the glass down on the table beside the bed and held the three pills out to Kai to take. "Not much, but still working on it when I can."
Kai took them, popping them in his mouth and reaching for the glass of water. "So where are you going to sleep?" He frowned to him, sipping the ice cold water and swallowing down the pills.
"Couch?" Ray answered like it was obvious, did Kai have a concussion too?
Kai scoffed, "No, I don't think so.." He said, slowly easing himself back up. "I'll take the couch, it's your house Ray I'm not gonna take your bed from you."
Ray rolled his eyes, putting his fingers against Kai's chest and pushed him back to lay down gently.
"Nope, you stay here. My house, my rules. Got it? I'll be fine, you on the other hand need something that's not going to aggravate your wounds any. And you're not taking, I'm giving. Big difference. So, rest. Or I'll have Lee get the tranquilizer to put you to sleep."
Kai smirked to him. "Can I get that anyways?" He teased, knowing that his mind was probably going to keep him up for a little longer.
"What?" Ray asked, reaching over the top of him and grabbing his extra pillow from beside Kai.
"Nothing..." He automatically sent him, eyes dreamily following him as leant over. If he scooted up Ray could always sleep here… Be a bit cozy but there was room.
"Oh... Okay." Ray chuckled a little, pulling back now that he had his spare pillow and stood at the side of the bed with a slightly awkward smile on his face.
"Try and get some sleep, okay? Make you something in the morning when you get up." He informed, making his way out of the room with the pillow clutched to his chest and turned back over his shoulder with a more natural smile now that there was some distance between them.
"Goodnight, Kai."
"Goodnight." Kai parroted, an unnoticeable air of disappointment lingering on his tone as Ray flicked off the light and closed the door behind him, leaving him in darkness.
Ray probably didn't remember what had happened earlier. Everything seemed a blur to him and he hadn't drank nowhere near as much as Ray had.
Shifting to try and get himself as comfortable as he could, desperately trying to ignore the pain every time he moved, Kai rest his arm up behind his head and stared up at the ceiling for a little bit. Everything that had happened tonight replaying, and replaying, over and over, until eventually his eyes dropped close and sleep took him.
He had a busy day tomorrow. He needed all the rest he could get.