Say Yes

Tyson dreams.

Of purple balloons and happy kids. They run towards him in scores, with big bright dazzling smiles and tear-shaped balloons, across a wide open space, the Tokyo Gate Bridge behind them.

He's bewildered as they swarm him, gifting him the balloons, and scurrying away. Tyson tries to accept as many as he can, but his hands soon become full.

One of them hit him in the face, and when he looks down at its surface, he sees a text printed on it in looping letters: 'Be mine?'

All the balloons bear the same words. A little boy tells him they're from Kai. He kind of looks like Wyatt. A younger version of him. They start asking him to go out with Kai. Tyson starts sweating, big fat drops dripping from his forehead, leaking down the side of his cheek.

"Say yes!" they chant in unison as he shakes his head helplessly.

"Say yes! Say yes! Say yes!"

Tyson bolts upright in his bed with a scream, drenched from head to toe.

"Motherfucker" he curses, peeling the hot sheets off his body. He needs a shower.

The sun is barely up. Max is already out. In the gym probably. Tyson yawns, scratching his belly with a hand under his shirt as he trudges into the bathroom.

The water is so cool in the shower he sighs blissfully as it cascades down his heated skin. He washes his hair, shampooing thoroughly, humming as the last of the nightmare's effects wear off.

He's scrubbing his arms with a smile on his face when he notices his friend downstairs is still erect. Well, good morning, Tyson Jr. What's up with you today?

Jr. doesn't seem to be in a mood to calm down anytime soon so Tyson ignores him.

Suit yourself.

You have another twenty minutes to fuck around.

When he steps out of the water and wraps a towel around his hips, Jr. learns to behave.

Tyson stands in front of the mirror and shaves happily for the next five minutes. It's improving definitely. They're all late bloomers in the family so he still looks like a little boy, baby-faced and appearing three years younger than he actually is. But he is starting to grow more facial hair so that is a huge boost to his self-confidence this morning. Hiro couldn't grow a full mustache till he was twenty seven, i.e, now. Dad was the same. And Tyson's just like them. He doesn't have to worry. He will grow one some day too, but that day is just not today. Or the next eight years.

The peach fuzz is certainly getting darker though, so fuck you, universe.

"It's not your outward physical appearance that makes you a man, but what is on the inside," his dad had once told him. "Do not let the rest of the world tell you otherwise."

Most Japanese men or rather Asian men don't have strong stereotypically masculine features. It's just Toho University hosted a lot of foreign students from other parts of the world, like America, Europe, Spain, China and...fucking Russia.

And the guys from those countries seemed a lot more masculine, on average.

Take Michael for instance. He looks about twenty five when he's just nineteen. Rick looks fucking thirty for crying out loud. They make him feel slightly insecure at times. And both his ex girlfriends had left him for foreign men (granted, the girls fell for the guys from their same country but that's irrelevant as he's wallowing right now).

He's lucky, in a way. His body isn't scrawny. He's built like a runner and he has the rigorous training his coach puts them all through on a daily basis to thank for that, but his face...

Tyson looks at himself in the mirror after rinsing off the remaining foam.

On his best day, he's boyish, but with puffy eyes and cheeks in the morning...

Bambi, Sergei's voice says in his head.

Negative emotions begin to rise, but before they can, they get swallowed by the sound of Kai's voice, his eyes, the slight shaky note in his breath as he'd said: "You're fucking beautiful."

Tyson's eyes widen at his own reflection.

Kai's crazy.

He gotta leave for class.

Tyson pulls open the door to go get ready for the day.

The courtyard is fluttering with activity as he walks to the main block. A group of guys are filming a tiktok video, asking random people to dance to a song they play on their boombox.

There's a small hyped crowd around the guys.

"Hey, Tyson!" They wave him over when they spot him. "Bust a move for us, Champ!"

He grins. Miguel, a second year, the one holding the phone ushers him into the midst of the crowd. A girl, who was gyrating her hips to the song, makes space for him in the centre, spinning away.

Tyson flings his bag off, moving his shoulders to the beat, his feet sliding smoothly over the ground.

The crowd hoots and whistles, moving with him.

Miguel lauds, grinning at his form in the screen.

Tyson ducks out of the spotlight with one last backflip.

"Yeah!" Miguel shoots him a thumbs up as another girl takes the centre.

He drags his bag off the ground, lifting it onto his shoulder with a grin. He joins the crowd, watching people dance, still vibing to the song.

He's in the middle of a slow spin, his back to the dancers, when he notices he has an immersed spectator leaning on the side of the building, shamelessly taking full body scans of him.

Tyson whirls back around on his heel, turning his cap's visor (thank god he decided to bring his snapback today) to the front.

Fucker

Kai looked like he was enjoying the shit out of it.

Tyson wants to try and blend in with the crowd, but it's better to just walk past him into the building.

He makes a break for it. Walking quickly toward the entrance, keeping his head down.

As he passes Kai and Tala, he hears the former call after him, "Should've turned the cap inside out. The red's hard to miss!"

That wasn't his intention though.

"Aargh!" Tyson snarls as soon as he's inside the door. Eddie appears right on time. "Yeah, that's the spirit," he comments without missing a beat.

"My morning's packed. I have three back to back hours. I want to drop out, man."

"Don't drop out. You gotta fight back," says Tyson, laying a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. "You can't let them win."

"Yeah, you right," Eddie agrees, staring. "Why do you have crazy eyes?" he asks observantly.

"What?"

"Meh nothing" He throws a reciprocal arm around Tyson's shoulders. "Come on. Let's fight back!"

"Speaking of fighting back," - Mike joins them in the hallway - "we need to get the dorm showers fixed."

"Man, almost half of them have stopped working now. Didn't we file like five complaints already?" asks Eddie.

"They don't care. As usual. They're completely ignoring us."

"We should protest," suggests Tyson. "Gather about fifty to hundred guys and scream our throats out in front of the office."

"What about the student union?" Eddie inquires.

"Tala's chair this year and guess who he listens to?" says Michael. "A little hint, it's not the students."

"We need to oust him and the Blitzkriegs. Appoint someone more empathetic. Someone who actually cares about the students of this college."

"How are we going to do that?" Mike rolls his eyes. "The third years pick the cabinet and they're all dead scared of the Blitzkriegs. Do we know of any influential third year who can be a voice of reason in the cabinet?"

Tyson tries to think of someone. There's Robert. But Robert also lied to him. He still needs to talk to him about that. Tyson makes a mental note to go see him later. "We could talk to Robert," he suggests.

"Robert has no sway over the Blitzkriegs."

"He's not afraid to speak his mind though. I say it's worth a try."

"Fine. We'll see Robert and if that doesn't work, we'll go with your first plan. Protest."

The sky's clouded again.

Tyson lays on the grass, limbs spread, eyes on the endless expanse of milky white. Earphones plugged in. Alone.

The leaves rustle in the breeze. The campus quiet around him as most of the students are in class. He has 11-12 off. He's waiting for his friends to go to lunch.

He hears the sound of grass softly crunching under boots and sighs. Because they're heading towards him.

Kai's face appears in his vision. He has a smirk on his face like he's about to say something witty.

Tyson closes his eyes.

May be he'll be gone by the time he opens them again.

The thud of a bag of books hitting the ground near him tells his otherwise. He's settling down beside him.

Kai's silent for a minute. Then Tyson feels something glide over his face. Close.

A shadow passes over his eyes.

A light feathery thing brushes his face, grazing his chin, his lips, his nose. It tickles. Tyson swats it away, opening his eyes.

It's a long and thin blade of grass held between Kai's fingers. He's sitting on his left, about a couple of feet away, watching him with a tilt to his head.

He touches the grass to his face again and Tyson grabs at it out of annoyance. Kai takes it away, chuckling.

"Stop" He glares at him. "Go away"

"Go on a date with me this Friday," says Kai, his deep rolling voice making Tyson's insides tingle.

"Why?" he asks, gazing at the sky, curious to see how he would respond to the question.

"'Cause I like you," he whispers, gently brushing the blade of grass against Tyson's ear.

He closes his eyes. Against the tremor in his throat. The weird feeling in his stomach. His chest.

Tyson shakes his head. Lips pressed together. He can feel Kai's gaze on him. Making him overly conscious of his own facial features.

"I don't" he tells him.

Kai glances away with a smile.

The next morning, Wyatt greets him with a cup of coffee outside the dorm. "Hey" The boy smiles.

"Hi!"

"We haven't officially met," he says, sticking out a hand. "I'm Wyatt"

"Tyson" They shake. "First year, right?"

"Yeah. Math major."

"Oh brainy. I like that." They share a laugh.

"I'm a big fan," Wyatt tells him. "I love watching you on the track. You're absolutely amazing. There's no one like you," he gushes. "Literally no one," he adds with a laugh.

"Aw, man, thank you," Tyson scratches his head, blushing under the praise.

Wyatt smiles.

"How do you and Kai know each other?" asks Tyson.

"We're cousins!"

"Oh!" He nods, staring at Wyatt. "I don't see much resemblance."

"Well, I take after my mother and Kai's more like his dad," he explains sheepishly.

The devil's got parents. It's weird to think of him that way. In a family setting. With a mother and a father and grandparents and may be siblings who all love him. Do they? Wyatt seems to be completely charmed for one.

"Here" He hands him the cup of coffee he's been holding all this time.

"Uh" Tyson accepts the drink with a confused look on his face.

"It's from Kai," says Wyatt, slanting his head. "Listen, I know you think he's a prick and everything, and you probably think he sent me here to say nice things about him."

"Yeah"

"Well, he didn't. He just wanted me to give you the coffee, I promise. It's just you seem pretty cool and I think you should know that there's more to him than meets the eye. And those things people say about him are not true either." Wyatt stops and smiles. "He really likes you."

Tyson's waiting retorts die in his throat. He grips the coffee properly.

He takes a breath. "Thanks...for bringing me the coffee then. You seem pretty cool too."

Wyatt laughs softly. "You don't have to thank me. I'm charging it to Kai. I have to head to practice. See you around?"

"Yeah" Tyson raises a hand in farewell as he turns to leave. "Bye"

The boy walks away. Tyson glances down at his cup. The lid's not tightened around the opening. There's something written in the cream, half-obscured by the lid. Tyson moves it to read. 'Have a nice day'

At least it doesn't say 'be mine'.

Tyson drinks it with a roll of his eyes.

"There was a fight between Bryan Kuznetsov and Hiruta Megumi on the night of the ball," Michael reads out loud from the screen. "According to TheCampusScoop, Hiruta of the Four Horsemen, stole the Russian's girlfriend about a week ago, and the fight was 'the culmination of rising tensions between the two since the incident.'" He narrows his eyes at Tyson. "But they also write 'the actions of the rest of the Blitzkriegs following the fight indicate the issues between them and the Horsemen run much deeper than that'."

"Thank you, Mike," says Tyson, "Now can we please go back to what we were talking about before that tweet happened?"

"Guys! Guys!" Hilary bounds down the stairs, running towards the window ledge where they stand. "I just got invited to Julia's birthday party!" She jumps, holding up the phone to show him and Mike. "It's tonight! And she asked me to bring all of my friends!"

"Fuck yeah!" Michael snatches the phone out of her hand. "Jesus" he curses as he reads. "This is an actual conversation you had with Julia Fernandez."

Hilary takes the device back from him. "You're all coming, right?"

"Is that a question?" asks Michael.

Since it's Julia's birthday, Kai will definitely be there at the party. This is another ploy. They're all in it together for Christ's sake.

"Not me" says Tyson.

"What?" Hilary and Michael both turn to him with astonished expressions.

"What are you talking about, dude? It's Julia!"

"And it's invites only! You should be glad we even got an invitation!"

"Look, I know! I would love to be there too, but uh..." He needs to think of an excuse. Right now. Emily's sister's wedding is soon. Isn't her dress fitting tonight? He clearly recalls Emily saying something along those lines. "I told Emily I would go with her to help her and her sister pick out her sister's wedding dress."

He nods sorrowfully as they both look at him suspiciously.

"Man, that's such a bummer!" wails Michael.

Hilary cants her head. "Can't you cancel on her?" she asks tentatively.

"You know Emily. She'll go berserk."

She huffs. "I'll miss you" she starts whining.

"I'm sorry" Tyson shrugs. "There's nothing I can do."

The fitting is tonight and Emily is more than happy to cart him along with her, her sister, her mom and all their friends.

Emily is sort of the odd one in the family.

Her sister and mother are all tall and blonde, with busty bodies and zero interest in math.

Tyson sits uncomfortably next to his friend on a bench as the women 'ooh' and 'aah' over the different gowns the bride's trying on.

"I feel like the sweetheart neckline really accentuates your shoulders and kinda gives you a sexy vibe," Mrs. Ross, Emily's mother, shares.

"I agree with that." Mia, her older sister and the bride-to-be, stands on the podium adjusting the top of her gown.

Tyson has absolutely no business here. He needs to get the fuck out. Emily shoots him a look when he shifts, her eyes crazy wide. "Where are you going?" she whispers. "Don't leave me alone here."

"Em, I love you, but I feel extremely out of place," he says into her ear.

"So do I!" she hisses back.

"You're a woman in a wedding dress shop. You fit right in."

"So this is a problem of you having a penis."

"Please, I beg you, do not bring politics into this right now."

"Po-" Emily fixes her glasses frustratedly. "You can go out for sometime. Get some fresh air. But be back soon. I don't like being alone with my family."

"I know. I'll be right back."

"They'll skin me alive, Tyson. Alive!" she whisper-shouts at him.

"I know! I won't be long," he insists, before excusing himself.

When Tyson steps out into the street he heaves a big sigh. Jeez. The shop smelled nice and flowery and was well air-conditioned, but if he had sat there for another minute, he would have convulsed and died of suffocation.

The street is lined with luxury shops and boutiques. He looks at the window displays as he walks past them, hands in his pockets, whistling softly.

Some asshole blares their horn loudly as he cuts left through the traffic, nearly crashing into another vehicle's bumper before making a sharp turn and sidling up to the curb across Mandarin Oriental, a luxury 5-star hotel, a few metres away.

The lights of the hotel reflects off the car's sleek black body as the door opens and a swaying, fifty-something-year-old man stumbles out, the first three buttons of his shirt open. A few chest hairs visible.

Tyson sees someone approach the car, walking down from the hotel's lobby. He realizes with a jolt that it's Kai. Dressed in a slim-cut suit, lapels glinting. He appears livid as he supports the drunk man with a strong hand on his arm and talks to him in hushed tones.

He looks like he's spewing actual poison from his lips as he speaks to the barely conscious man.

A couple of concierges rush up to them on the curb. One of them opens the car's trunk and hauls luggage out while the other assists Kai in leading the older man to the entrance.

Wasn't he supposed to be at Julia's birthday party? Who's the drunk and how is he related to him?

He doesn't look like he could be his father. From what Wyatt said, Kai's father should be at least as tall as him, with broad shoulders and an elegant gait. This man is the opposite. He's short and stout. With the gait of an octopus.

Or may be that's because he's drunk.

Kai stops when they're just inside the lobby, the concierge helping the man the rest of the way. Tyson watches his shoulders lift and drop in a sigh.

He swivels on his heel and starts walking out the door. He's about to climb down the front steps when his gaze lifts and he sees Tyson.

By the street.

Spying on him. Shit.

He turns immediately, walking back to the wedding shop. There's no way in hell Kai would think to even enter that building because that's the last place he would expect him to be.

Thank god for Emily and her sister.

And her sister's fiance for asking her to marry him.

Tyson pulls the door to the shop open and rushes inside.

He takes one look back at the street outside through the front windows before disappearing behind the mannequins wearing bridal gowns.

The dresses are actual pieces of art. He cannot help but stop and stare at some of them.

Damn, who makes these things?

He touches a stone here. A lace there. He waves at Emily when she sees him.

"Get over here!" she mouths, beckoning him to the fitting area.

"No" he mouths back. Making an X with his arms. "No"

"Why?"

He wraps his hands around his own throat and feigns choking. Emily rolls her eyes, turning back around with a huff.

Tyson lurks alone at the back of the shop where there are rows upon rows of wedding gowns.

He's wandering through an aisle, fascinated by the dazzle and bling of the jewels sewn into necklines and hems when someone steps out from the back. "Boo" says Kai.

Tyson yelps.

He turns away, embarrassment settling in as soon as the shock leaks out.

"Jumpy" notes Kai.

"Yeah" Tyson rolls his eyes, walking a few feet down the aisle, not quite wanting to face him. He stops before he crosses into the space from where he can directly see the fitting room. "You're dead if Emily catches you in here," he says turning.

God, he looks so good.

Kai has his top buttons open, highlighting the length of his neck. It's one of those fancy designer suits that glimmer softly when it catches the light. He comes close, putting his weight on one leg as he halts next to him and looks through the gaps in the dresses toward the ladies in the fitting room.

"Why is that?" he asks, jutting his jaw as he tries to locate her.

Tyson eyes the side of his face. "Because she hates you and if she sees you in here she'll make sure everyone knows, may be snap a pic and share it around. Your reputation will go down the drain."

Kai snorts. "Your mind works in funny ways."

"You know what else is funny? My fist meeting your face."

"It will be uncivilized to do that here. You might scare the women. How about we go to the hotel next door, get a room and-"

"Haha!" Tyson stops him right there.

Kai looks at him. "Yeah?"

"No"

"You look like you want to."

"I don't want to."

Tyson realizes he's grinning from ear to ear, fucking flirting, and is that his dick growing hard?

He clears his throat, composing himself quickly. Adjusting his jacket and shifting his watch around his wrist. Kai watches him amusedly.

He's looking at him with bedroom eyes.

Tyson wants to hit something. Hard.

"Did you get the rose?" asks Kai.

"Yeah, I got the rose." He sobers as soon as he thinks of that darned thing he received at campus earlier. Tyson had gone to the washroom, leaving his bag outside for five minutes. When he'd gotten back, there was a dainty little rose pinned under the flap of his satchel with a note from Kai. 'Pick you up at eight?'

"You think giving me a coffee and a flower will make me want to go out with you? How fucking conceited can you get?" he asks him. "I don't like you. I have no interest in you whatsoever."

Kai stares at him. The smugness unwavering. "Say that again," he tells him. "Without blushing this time."

Tyson looks away. Feeling exposed.

Right. He has no control over his body. Kai knows he's lying. It just looks like he's playing hard to get. If he wants to get him off his back, he's going to have to be honest.

Tyson sighs. Folding his arms. "You don't understand. I've never dated a guy before."

"I'm only asking for one date, Tyson."

"And that's even worse. You know why?" He takes a step closer, not wanting someone else to overhear. "I can't just hook up with anybody. Okay? You want me to go on a date, but I'm guessing you want something from me at the end of it. But I can't have sex with random people. Hell, I can't even kiss a girl I don't really know. My body doesn't work that way. I need to form an actual bond with the person."

Kai's frowning lightly, listening.

There aren't a lot of people who know this little info about him. Only his circle of friends. Not a soul outside.

It's kind of embarrassing to admit, and especially to Kai since he hooks up with strangers all the time. But again, there's no judgement. He just listens, curiously.

"If you want to hang out with me like a couple of buddies for a night, then yes, let's go!" says Tyson, expecting Kai to become disinterested. Turn him down.

Instead he looks victorious. Tyson pales. "Not as buddies, but as a couple of celibate fools on a chaste date," agrees Kai. "No sex. No kissing."

"And you promise to leave me alone after?" prompts Tyson, chin raised in the air.

Kai pauses. Ah, so there is a catch. He gazes at him thoughtfully. "You get to decide that," he says at last. "After the date."

Tyson raises his eyebrows. Surprised. "I'm not going to ask you for a second date," he assures him.

"We'll see," says Kai.

"No, we won't. And Hilary can't know. No matter what."

"Done" Kai nods. "So do we have a deal?" he asks, holding out his hand.

Tyson stares at the outstretched palm. At the veins and the callouses. It's his last chance to back out. Last chance to say no. If Hilary finds out in some way, she will hate him to hell and beyond. It's just one date. "You get two hours," says Tyson.

"No. I'll need the full night," Kai disagrees. "That's non-negotiable."

"Why?" he asks outraged.

"Because it's just one date, and I'm leaving the future in your hands," Kai wiggles his fingers. "Collateral."

Oh my fucking god. Collateral.

Tyson barks a laugh. "You're unbelievable"

"Just seal the deal, Granger," he urges impatiently.

Tyson stares at him. Damn, is he really going to spend one whole night with this bastard? He unfolds his arms. They're stiff from clenching.

He wavers for a beat.

Here goes nothing.

His fingers touch Kai's. They're warm as they close around his. Tyson looks up at him.

"Pick you up at eight," he promises sweetly.