CHAPTER 89:

Why do you think I came back?

"Anything?" Excitement was written all over Lloyd as he released the question.

Cole, whose head was glued to the door of the royal bedroom, didn't respond. He only scrunched up his nose in a funny face for a second and kept his focus on the low sounds on the other side of the room.

Lloyd sighed irritated, but it was mostly from the urge to know what was going on between Kai and Jay. It had been a few minutes since the monarch entered his room and the whole family plus their friend Skylor immediately snuck up to the entrance to get a listening —against Zane's wishes, although the blond didn't even try that hard to discourage them from eavesdropping.

"They were yelling earlier…" Lloyd commented as he paced around. "How come you can't hear a thing now?" He asked his dark-haired friend again, obtaining no reply.

"It's okay, Lloyd." The princess put her hands on the boy's shoulder and tried to keep him calm. "I doubt they're fighting."

Lloyd thought so too, but it was true that hearing Kai's distressed cries for a moment had weakened his certainty.

"It will be fine." Skylor walked up to them and rubbed a hand on Lloyd's back. The smile the girl wore on her face soothed Lloyd. While all of them were very positive that Kai and Jay would make amends, Skylor seemed to be completely sure about it, not a shadow of doubt in her body as she waited with the rest. How could she know it though?

"I think…" Cole started.

Lloyd jumped away from the princess' arms immediately.

"What is it?"

Cole took another long moment before finishing his sentence. "I think they're kissing," he whispered.

"What?!" Lloyd squealed and almost slammed the side of his face against the door, right next to his companion, trying to imitate Cole's actions. The other boy shushed him with a giggle before returning to his task. To Lloyd's dismay, though, no matter how hard he pressed his ear against the wood, he couldn't hear a damn thing. Of course, he didn't have Cole's trained senses, but could the ex-warrior really hear their friends on the other side?

The soft curve in Cole's lips as he paid attention to any new sounds said the guy wasn't lying.

Lloyd released a long breath and leaned on the door, his body more calm now.

Kai and Jay kissing…

Lloyd's heart swelled with a rush of satisfaction, he was certain he couldn't even fathom what his husband was feeling right now. Kai had hurt the deepest for their friend. Jay wasn't just a whim lover to the monarch; like Cole, he meant something special —all of them did in practice. Hadn't they met Jay, their family would still be treading lightly over certain subjects, Kai would still be keeping his anxieties and inner fears to himself, cracking his soul, and Lloyd would still be a jealous attention seeker. The freckled boy had transformed them all into better creatures.

"Sky," the princess spoke. "Thank you so much for what you did."

The redhead smiled proudly. "It was nothing. I just happened to stumble into a lost little birdie. Jay did all the work."

"I still can't believe he crossed the country all on his own," Zane commented. "He could have died, those thieves sounded very dangerous."

"Something tells me that Jay is one tough cookie." The spy patted the royal spouse's back with a knowing grin. Zane nodded in solemn agreement.

"Well, I think it's safe to assume we're going to be celebrating something tonight," said the princess before walking away from the group.

"Where are you going, Nya?" Zane inquired.

"To have a chat with the chef. Maybe it's not too late to prepare a few more sweets."

"And a chocolate cake, please!" Cole exclaimed, making everyone chortle at the enthusiastic cry.

"I'll see what I can do," Nya told him. "Oh, and Skylor," she called for the other girl's attention. "You're staying with us tonight. I won't accept a no for a response."

The spy chuckled lightly. "I guess I can't deny a royal order."

••••••••••••

"It's a long story."

Kai stared confused at the boy lying next to him on the bed. Nothing made any sense, Jay couldn't physically be there, Kai left him in Shaiya.

Yet… there he was, in the flesh, as real as the Maharaja himself.

Kai wanted to know, he wanted to know so badly what strings had the Gods pulled to bring them back together. Although, now that they were sharing such an intimate moment after so long, Kai realized that all those questions could wait. Instead, he leaned in once more, hesitating on the last second before placing his lips on Jay's —if he slipped again, even just the tiniest of the mistakes and scared him away, Kai would never forgive himself. Everyone had suffered enough already. To his surprise, though, Jay did not push him away.

Kai felt at the doors of Nirvana. The same boy that had barely managed to look him in the eye when they bid farewell at the junkyard had now his mouth tightly sealed with Kai's. That boy was pressing back, kissing him with the same passion —admittedly shy, but genuine as they come.

In the back of his mind, Kai thought he registered small noises and giggles coming from outside the room, but for the life of him, he couldn't be bothered to discover their source at that right moment, and neither did Jay seem much interested in them.

Who knew how long they had been kissing? The Maharaja lost track of the time. All the stuff he had planned to do that morning, paperwork, reunions with the counselors... all flew out of the window. He could only think of Jay now.

Their faces rested mere inches apart when they finally pulled away in silence. The lull in their action turned everything awkward for a second. Kai was still reeling from their kissing, his mind foggy, completely filled with Jay; his aroma, his touch, his hair... and those eyes. That beautiful pair of sapphires. It felt like a miracle to be staring at them again for real.

With shaky fingers, Kai traced random patterns over Jay's freckled cheeks. He would have been embarrassed about being so easily controlled by his emotions if it hadn't been for the way Jay's breath hitched at every tiny caress Kai left on his skin.

"I can't believe… you're here…" The Maharaja whispered in the tiniest voice that had ever come out of his throat.

Jay smiled softly, melting Kai even more.

"Forgive me." The monarch averted his eyes lower. "I did everything wrong, I shouldn't have forced you to stay here, I acted like a stupid baby, I…" Tears rushed to his eyes for the umpteenth time. He had so many things to apologize for, many things to tell Jay. Everything piled up and made it harder for the boy to keep talking.

Kai tried to conceal his cries, which only resulted in his throat clogging and preventing him from any longer speech.

"It's okay," Jay cooed, letting his fingers move up and dance through the Maharaja's hair. Kai shivered with delight under Jay's touch. "I wasn't the friendliest guest either. I was scared of being different, of what everyone would think…"

Kai couldn't blame Jay. Although the realization of his not-so-common taste for men had taken place when he was still very much a child, he understood the other boy's fears, for they had been the same Kai had suffered at some point in his life.

"And… I guess I was scared of how you made me feel too," Jay continued. "I've never felt this way for someone before I came here —something this… intense," Jay spoke slowly, careful to find the right words to express what cooked in his chest. "I didn't know how to handle all those emotions. I'm not even sure I know how to now either," he added with an awkward giggle.

Kai tilted his head back, enough to see Jay through a curtain of tears.

"But… there is something I do know," the blurry mass said. "I want to be here; with you. With everyone."

"Jay…"

"I love you."

Kai felt his heart exploding inside his chest a second time upon hearing those three words spoken by Jay's lips again. He couldn't utter a sound anymore. Kai resolved to grab onto Jay as tight as he could without hurting the boy, and press his lips on Jay's, in hopes that the other would decipher the silent 'I love you too' that he delivered with it.

Ever since Kai and Jay parted ways back in Shaiya, Kai had to accept the fact that he would never hear those three words coming out of the other's mouth —he wasn't sure he'd fully managed to convince himself though. So to hear them now, and not once but twice in so little time, had Kai completely broken —in a good way. His mind was working non-stop, trying to keep up with all the emotions that ran free throughout the Maharaja's veins. What wouldn't Kai give to keep listening to that short sentence for the rest of his days?

Kai broke off the kiss, his tired eyes stared at Jay.

"What?" The boy asked, a sheepish smile lingering on his lips from Kai's affection.

"Nothing." He looked away, embarrassed about the thoughts that had flooded his mind as fast as lightning.

Jay's warm hands caressed his face.

"You looked so happy up until a moment ago. What's wrong?"

The gentle strokes across Kai's cheeks as Jay tried to understand the situation had the monarch completely at his mercy. What sort of magic had the scrapyard boy in his hands?

"I... was just wondering..." Kai started then felt his strength abandoning him once more as he locked eyes with Jay. "Nevermind... It's stupid."

He couldn't do that to Jay. He couldn't risk everything now that they were finally together just because he was an impatient brat.

Jay half-closed his eyes with tenderness. "I told you before; your feelings are not stupid."

He brushed stray hairs away from Kai's forehead to clear his face. However, the Maharaja only hid further into Jay's chest, unable to look at him as he sank in his shame. Kai felt Jay's arms wrap around him lovingly.

"Kai… Our 'relationship' has been plagued with miscommunication issues from the beginning. Talk to me, please. Tell me what's bothering you. Let's not make the same mistakes again."

Jay was chipping the Maharaja's resolve little by little with his words and the embrace they were currently locked in tight. His arms were dissolving Kai's spiritual walls, leaving him with no protection, feeling like a child again.

"I kinda... want to ask you… something… But… I don't know if I should..." Kai mumbled, shaky fingers grabbing fistfuls of Jay's clothes, frightened that he would slip away.

"Why not?"

Jay's voice had dropped to a whisper, letting the words fall softly on Kai's ear. The boy wasn't trying to push him but quite the opposite; Kai could perceive a sense of encouragement in the other's tone, a sparkle that coaxed him to be brave and face his fears.

"I'm scared… of your response… I don't want to pressure you..."

What if this was too much for Jay? What if he wasn't ready to be out publicly yet? What if he just didn't 'feel like it'?

Ever-so-slowly, the Maharaja felt Jay shifting on the bed. The boy had pulled away from him just a few inches, his face hovering over Kai's, leaving just enough distance between them to be able to breathe comfortably. He grabbed one of Kai's hands and held it amidst their chests.

"You'll never know if you don't ask."

Kai shivered with anticipation. Jay's eyes were so full of love, so desperately begging Kai to take that step and let the question move out of his lips. Almost as if… Jay wanted to hear it too.

As if an earthquake was taking place, the Maharaja trembled. Very few times in his life had he been this nervous, very few times in his life had he let himself appear so vulnerable in front of another person. He reinforced his grip on Jay's hand, feeling the strength the boy was sending him, and swallowed the thick ball of anxiety in his throat.

"Jay… will you…" He stopped, having one last moment of hesitation. He didn't find his voice again until Jay touched his fingers to Kay's flushed cheek. "Will you marry me?"

His vision blurred, Kai could barely focus anymore on the visage in front of him. Every time he blinked and got rid of a set of tears, a new wave came rushing by. He felt wobbly fingers rubbing the salty beads away from his face, and Jay's face finally reappeared with a bit of clarity. He was a mirror of Kai's image; tears rolled down his face, creating salty streams that landed on Kai.

"Why do you think I came back?" Jay mumbled, fighting his own jitters and hiccups. "Yes… Yes, of course, I will!" He wheezed before leaning down and planting his mouth on top of Kai's, kissing the boy with a determination that was all-new for the both of them.

Kai wasted no time and sloppily kissed Jay back as they both cried onto each other. The euphoria inside their bodies overflowing through every little pore. All the pain, all the suffering throughout the last weeks, vanished in a millisecond. Kai felt like he was flying, floating amidst fluffy clouds, almost incorporeal. His very soul at the doors of Nirvana as Jay held him and poured kiss after kiss on his lips.

He was living a dream.

But this time, there would be no annoying awakening to ruin the joy.