The Hospital Get Together

He'd lain his forehead on his knees and moaned softly to himself on the plane when Kai had gone to the bathroom. His anxiety skyrocketing in his absence. He wanted to scream, shout, punch something to take the frustration out. His grandfather would be fine. He knew that. Grampa was the strongest. He was nearly 80, and his hair was all grey now, but he was still fit and healthy for his age.

Save for the occasional back problems, grampa was as agile as ever. He practiced his martial arts, he gardened, he did all the work around the house, even the more physically challenging ones like chopping wood for the stove. He didn't understand how his grandpa could've had a heart attack when he had no history of lifestyle illnesses.

He wanted more info. He wanted to call the doctors and demand they explain how his seemingly healthy grandfather all of a sudden needed to undergo surgery to keep his heart beating. He breathed through his mouth. His foot jiggled restlessly against the floor. He sat up and googled heart diseases. His anxiety shot higher and higher the more he read about the topic.

He was spiraling when he heard the door to the bathroom unlocking and opening, then solid reassured footsteps approaching his direction. Tyson put his phone away when Kai crossed into the space of the flight where Tyson was sitting on one of the lavish beige couches. He looked up with a pale face, no blood in his cheeks, and a small flat line of a mouth.

Kai's gaze raked around Tyson's profile in muted observation, then he came forward to take the seat next to him. One look at Kai and his no nonsense gaze had the fear in Tyson's heart fleeing. It was impossible to be scared of anything around Kai. He had this dominating presence that made it hard for one to focus on anything else. It seemed that there was nothing he couldn't fix. It seemed crazy to think that anything could go wrong when he was there. Because he was there. And he was larger than life.

Kai carefully reached over to take one of Tyson's hands in his. He held it in his lap, turning it around, gently massaging the skin between his thumb and forefinger. Tyson exhaled silently, as the remnants of fear left him and the horrible anxiety was replaced by a calm serenity. The plane hummed with the tranquility he felt. It felt like they were suspended in time for a moment as Kai brought a hand up to Tyson's temple and pressed a thumb against a throbbing vein there. His eyes quiet and observant on him.

Tyson lifted one corner of his mouth in a small smile at Kai, closing his eyes, sighing in his touch. May be it was because he was in love with him that he felt the safest when he was near, but Tyson knew. He knew that he had experienced this feeling of security around Kai since the day they had a proper conversation with each other for the first time.

The colour had returned to his face by the time Kai took his hand away from Tyson's temple, and drew him close by his waist. He didn't think during that entire plane ride, not even once, about the fact that he was basically taking Kai to meet his family. If he had he could have avoided the mini heart attack he experienced when he turned around and saw his father and Hiro walking towards them.

He has five seconds to gather himself, and give a heads up to Kai. He realizes when he spins back around and mouths to Kai that his dad and brother were here and Kai returns his panicked gaze coolly that Kai had agreed to come along with him knowing perfectly well that this was going to happen. Because, unlike Tyson, his brain hadn't stopped working because Tyson's grandfather was in the hospital.

"Tyson!" his dad says with a big smile when he reaches him. Tyson shoots to his feet, and falters at the sight of his father. His crinkling eyes. His familiar, kind face. "Dad" Tyson falls into his father's embrace like a baby. He closes his eyes soaking up his affection.

He hears Hiro's dry chuckle from his left.

"How's grandpa?" he asks when Tyson pulls back.

"He's-" he stutters as he meets his older brother's plain dark eyes. He'd forgotten how they could pin him down to a spot. He gets over it quickly however. "They said the surgery was successful and he'll wake up soon. We should be able to visit him in five minutes. One person at a time."

"I'm glad to hear that," his dad breathes and Tyson's attention diverts to him. Bruce claps him on his arm. "You've put on some weight, son. Been eating well, lately?"

"Aheh, yeah" Tyson chuckles, the tension in his shoulders easing.

"How was break?" Bruce asks at the same time Hiro inquires with a frown, "Did you just get here?"

He has a second of confusion about who to answer first. Eventually he settles on answering Dad. "Break was great. Roppongo was a ton of fun. Dubai was fun too." Then he looks at Hiro and says, "And yeah, we just got here-"

"Dubai?" Hiro interrupts with raised brows, surprise evident on his face as Bruce gives a delighted laugh. "You went to Dubai?"

"Yeah" he scrambles for an explanation. Fuck, he forgot he didn't get to tell them beforehand. He remembers leaving dad a message though. Did he never share it with Hiro? "Me and a friend." Fuck. He just keeps making it worse. Now he's going to ask who.

"How long was your break?" asks dad before Hiro can interrogate him further. Small mercies.

"A week" Tyson fiddles with his shirt sleeve. "I was supposed to go back to campus today."

"Yeah, today is Monday," Hiro mutters thoughtfully, sliding his hands into his pockets and rocking back on the balls of his feet.

"Get a lot of sun?" asks Dad.

"Did I get tanned?" Tyson tosses back with a chuckle.

"You look" Bruce reaches over to cup his cheek with a large hand, "healthy" he says fondly.

"You look great too, Dad," he replies, grinning. He glances briefly at Hiro, but doesn't say anything to him. Hiro's gaze is scanning the small waiting room outside the ICU where they're all gathered right now.

"Did you come here by train?" asks Hiro. "The one we took-"

"No, we took-" Oh here we go. Tyson braces himself. "We took the jet."

His dad and brother wear similar frowns of confusion. "You said you were supposed to be in campus today," says Hiro.

"Yeah, well, we decided to spend one more day in Dubai," Tyson replies, his mouth growing drier with each passing second. "We were planning to come back tonight, but, I heard about grandpa, and...we had to rush here."

Hiro's brows furrow deeper. Dad's nodding slowly despite the visible confusion on his face.

"You...took the jet?" Hiro repeats what Tyson had said earlier for confirmation.

"Yeah" Tyson nods. "My...my friend's jet." Kai's sitting on the chair behind him. His form obscured by Tyson's. "We came here together," he says, turning around to look at Kai, who is casually scrolling through his phone. Dad and Hiro curiously peer around Tyson to look at him. Hiro's expression warps into one of slight annoyance as soon as he confronts the black clad form lounging in the waiting area.

"Kai?" Tyson whispers to get his attention. He doesn't look up right away. He takes a second, then drags his gaze away from the phone slowly up to Tyson, before flicking towards his family members with the slightest of interest a human is capable of showing towards something.

Wow. This is going to be a disaster.

Stand up, Tyson begs in his head as though Kai could hear him. Stand up and greet them respectfully. Hiro is 27. His dad is 55. Kai is 20. He has no business being this disrespectful to his elders.

Tyson directs a glare at Kai to silently signal him to stand up. He does rise to his feet eventually, albeit reluctantly pocketing his phone. When he's up and vertical he languidly sticks a hand out to Tyson's father and says in a low drawl, "Kai Hiwatari".

Oh my god, Tyson thinks to himself.

Hiro's upper lip strains its hardest not to pull into a sneer as he looks him up and down. Bruce takes Kai's hand and shakes, peering at him with intrigue, a slight smile on his face. "Bruce Granger"

Tyson eyes their exchange with arrested breath.

He can't help but give Kai a head to toe scan as well when he sees Hiro eyeballing him with great interest and increasing wariness. He tries to view him the way someone who's seeing him for the first time would. Loose bomber jacket, messy hair, deep purple button down underneath the unzipped black jacket, midnight jeans and large boots. It's not his usual style. But he's seen him walking around in big jackets before. He wonders why he chose to present this version of himself to Tyson's family. To an outsider, he could come off as a punk. A delinquent in his father's and brother's eyes. A complete contrast to Tyson's bright coloured clothes and bubbly presence.

"'Hiwatari'?" Hiro asks when it's his turn to shake Kai's hand. "Where have I heard that name before?"

"I was wondering that too," Bruce interjects before Kai can reply as he retracts his arm. "Are you," Tyson's dad rubs his jaw thoughtfully, "by any chance, related to Voltaire Hiwatari?"

Tyson's eyebrows jump to his hairline. He didn't know his father knew of Kai's family.

"He's my grandfather," answers Kai with a nod, and Tyson watches both his dad's and brother's jaws drop a little. They then exchange a silent look and turn to regard Tyson, almost simultaneously, with evident disbelief on their faces. He can see the disapproval in their gazes and knows that they're itching to pull Tyson aside and scold him for hanging out with a delinquent.

He can almost read their thoughts.

Then his dad says, all of a sudden, "Nice to meet you," to Kai. As if he's trying real hard to be nice. Kai slants them a lopsided smile. "Likewise."

Oh god

The nurse walks in right then. Breaking the tension in the air. "Mr Granger has woken up, if you'd like to see him please visit him one person at a time."

"Ah!" his dad exclaims. "That's great news. I'll go in first." Hiro and Tyson nod. Bruce leaves, leaving the other three alone.

Tyson takes a seat between Kai and Hiro with a sigh lodged somewhere within his lungs. Kai's on his right, idly tapping on the back of his iPhone, one leg crossed over the other, his attention directed towards the ICU room and the hallway leading from there to the left. A coffee dispenser and a vending machine stands to the side of the hallway, nestled into a nook. He's restless, Tyson can tell. Hiro on the other hand, is gearing up to ask more questions.

He has his arms crossed over his chest, his spine straight and his shoulders lightly resting against the back of the chair. "You're both in the same batch?" he asks Tyson after a beat, his voice pitched low.

Tyson meets his brother's eyes and shakes his head. "No" he speaks softly. "Kai...Kai's a year above me." He senses Kai tune into their conversation, his head tilting ever so slightly.

Hiro nods, his gaze moving thoughtfully to the side. "How did...you two become friends then?" he poses as nonchalantly as possible but it's such an odd question. He asks it with a hidden layer of suspicion behind it, like he's expecting to uncover some heinous secret of Tyson's through examining his relationship with Kai. Hiro always thinks Tyson's up to something. Like Tyson couldn't be as clean as he seems to be. He's got to be breaking rules somehow. Rules Hiro draws for Tyson. Which is funny because he doesn't pay a lot of attention to Tyson when he's away roaming the world, but as soon as he gets back home he acts like an overprotective and overbearing elder brother.

Kai shifts in his seat, drawing Tyson's attention to him. He's crossed his arms too now and he returns Tyson's gaze when he swings his head to look at him. "We..." starts Tyson, observing Kai, who has a faint smirk playing on his lips, "We met at a party," he lies, Kai's smirk grows, his dark gaze drawing him into their depths. Hiro's interest spikes. "Earlier this year."

"A party?" prompts Hiro, his tone inflecting into more suspiciousness.

"Just a casual college party," Tyson says, turning to face his sibling. Shrugging. "Kai and I got into a fight about...something I can't remember." Jesus Christ, when did he get this good at lying? He hates it. "And then when we calmed down, we talked a little and realized that we had a lot in common." He nods at Hiro. He hears Kai sniff behind him and knows he's laughing in his head. "We get along quite well," says Tyson, smiling. His hands clasped neatly in his lap.

Hiro returns his smile with lukewarmth. "A lot in common?" he prods further.

Dear god. An uncomfortable heat is starting to rise up Tyson's neck and cheeks the more invasive Hiro's questions get. Partly out of shame that he's being interrogated by a close family member like this in front of Kai, and partly out of fear that he might slip up and accidentally reveal something. Tyson scrambles for an answer. "Well, we're both athletes," he says.

Hiro waits for him to go on.

Tyson gulps. He sticks a thumb over his shoulder. "Kai boxes."

"Professionally?" He raises a skeptical eyebrow.

"No! Not professionally. Just-"

"It's a hobby," Kai cuts in just as he's starting to stumble. He leans forward to look at Hiro, his arms coming to rest on his knees.

Tyson exhales a little in relief as Hiro's gaze slides to Kai. "You box as a hobby?" he asks, his tone growing scathing.

Kai shoots him a bland smile that don't reach his eyes.

"What weight class are you?" he asks in the time Tyson takes to slowly realize that Hiro has always had interest in boxing. He used to watch matches on the small TV in the living room sitting upright on a yellow couch they had thrown out a long time ago with a comically serious expression on his face. This was way back. When Tyson was six and Hiro fourteen. He used to force Tyson into watching the matches with him, sometimes bodily restraining him to the couch to make him watch. Tyson wasn't interested in the sport - at all - and when he would tell Hiro, he would heavily mock him for it. Calling him a sissy and other colourful names. The memory brings a bad taste to his mouth. He'd forgotten about those unpleasant days in the house before Hiro left.

"Heavyweight" he hears Kai's smooth voice reply and it brings him back to now. Hiro furrows his brows, his gaze sharpening on Kai. His eyes drop to focus on his hands. Tyson glances too, at the loosely curled fists between Kai's knees. The long tan fingers with black ink etched across it. Thin rough creases marring the skin along the edges of his palms.

"Padded or bare knuckle?"

"Both" he replies without batting an eye and Tyson thinks longingly in his head: 'You have to show me sometime'.

Hiro's quiet for a moment, then he asks, "Who do you fight usually?"

"My housemates" says Kai.

Hiro nods slowly. Tyson wonders if he'll let the topic go. Kai's definitely piqued his interest now. Even more than when he learned he was a Hiwatari. Tyson thinks he sees a flash of envy in Hiro's eyes as he stares at Kai. Hiro used to be such a huge fan of boxing when they were children. Even through his teen years. He wonders why he never tried to pursue the sport himself. "They Russian too?" he asks now.

Kai doesn't answer right away, blinking once slowly. "Some of them are," he says after a beat.

Hiro nods, thoughtfully, then he takes a moment of silence before straightening in his chair and asking Tyson if he'd like anything to drink. "I'm going to get myself some tea. Do you want anything?"

He stands up.

"Yeah" Tyson says, finally able to breathe properly again. He thought Hiro would never stop with the questions. He turns to Kai, who is in the process of leaning back in his seat a silent glimmer in his eyes. His gaze lifts to fix on Tyson when he calls his name.

"You want anything," Tyson asks. "from the vending machine?"

"Nothing but tea," he replies and Tyson notes that his lips are a little dry. Pale pink and dry. His eyes a muted crimson. His hand jerks towards Kai's thigh involuntarily, wanting to reach out and touch. He catches himself at the last moment and rises from his seat with a smile. "Be right back," he whispers.

"Thank you" Kai calls after him.

Sure enough, when Tyson reaches the hot drinks machine, Hiro corners him about Kai.

"What are you doing with him, Tyson?" he asks in a furious whisper as he extracts a paper cup from a stack of them on top of the dispenser and fills it up with tea. "That's Voltaire Hiwatari's heir apparent."

He already knew that. Tyson shifts from foot to foot, uneasy. "I don't- I don't understand," he says. "What's wrong if he's Voltaire's-"

Hiro straightens with the cup filled to the brim with tea and looks at Tyson. "Voltaire's a criminal. That man went to jail. He was supposedly running this illegal operation with kids. I don't fully remember the details. But he was charged with child pornography and human trafficking."

Tyson's jaw drops in shock. Hiro goes on, glancing at Kai out of the corner of his eyes, but Tyson's not listening anymore. His mind stutters at the word 'child pornography', blurring out everything else. He's brought out of his shock when Hiro presses the warm cup into Tyson's hand, a tissue wrapped around the paper to keep the heat from scalding him. "Voltaire- Voltaire was hurting children?" he asks faintly.

Hiro takes out another cup and holds it under the tea dispenser, pressing down on the handle for the beverage. "He got out way too soon. Never paid for his crimes. That entire family is fucked up. You don't want to mix with their lot."

"K-Kai's not close to his family," Tyson says softly, in an attempt to defend him, and make his brother understand that he's not like them. That he doesn't like them.

Hiro shakes his head. "That's meaningless," he says, pulling the cup away from the dispenser and taking a small sip from it. He casts a glance behind Tyson, towards where Kai is sitting a few feet away, on his phone again. He stands up as they're watching, raising the device to his ear and walking a few steps forward as he talks to whoever is on the other line. "These kinds of criminal tendencies run in bloodlines. He may not be close to his family, but I bet he's in the underground boxing scene and deals coke on the side for extra cash."

Tyson almost rolls his eyes when he hears Hiro finally voice out his suspicions about Kai. Dealing coke. Of course he would think Kai's some drug lord. He opens his mouth to speak for Kai when Hiro's gaze jumps to a spot directly over Tyson's shoulder.

"Dad's coming out," he says, wincing as he takes bigger mouthfuls of his tea. "I'm going in next. You can go in after me." He shoves the half empty cup into Tyson's free hand and looks at him. "Listen, you've only known him for a few months so it's okay. When you get back to campus, break off all ties with him. That's what best for you. People like that are bad influence. Best stay away." Tyson frowns as he claps him on his shoulder and leaves. Hiro's words stir up a small storm of anger inside of him. He's tired. He's tired of people telling him to stay away from Kai. It's almost starting to become redundant at this point.

He sticks a new cup under the dispenser and collects tea for his boyfriend, his lower lip slightly protruding in defiance.

Kai's pacing around, his phone against his ear when Tyson brings him tea. He accepts the cup from him with a low 'thank you'.

Tyson watches as he takes a sip, the locks of messy hair hanging in front of his forehead brushing his eyebrows. He thinks he hears a distant voice shouting in Russian into Kai's ear as he drinks.

Hiro calls his name at that exact instant. It hasn't even been five minutes. Tyson turns around reluctantly.

He's hanging out the open door of the ICU. "Grampa wants to see you," he says, beckoning him with a wave of his hand.

Tyson bounces over.

"Grampa" he sinks into the mattress holding onto his grandfather's soft but strong wrinkled hand. The skin is smooth and bunched under Tyson's cheek as he stares up at him.

Grandpa Ryuu sits on the bed, his back supported by a pillow placed against the headboard. Tyson's ass is on a chair but he's leaning forward so he can rest his face on his hand.

Ryuu pats Tyson's hair as he gazes at him with pure relief and love in his eyes. "My boy," he speaks, and his voice comes out weak and raspy. He coughs twice to clear his throat. It comes out stronger next time. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I was worried," Tyson whispers, his eyes filling up the moment he opens his mouth to say more than one word. "I thought something might happen to you."

Ryuu laughs, the sound delightful to Tyson's ears. "What could happen to me?" he asks, brazen, teasing. The front two teeth of his yellow.

Tyson smiles at his ever present cockiness and high spirit, then rolls his eyes. "Yeah yeah" He sits up, blinking his tears back in, but still clasping his grandpa's hand in both of his.

"I'm strong!" Ryuu crows. "You have to be able to defeat dragons before you defeat me."

"I'm pretty sure cholesterol gave dragons a hard time too," Tyson mutters.

"It's cholesterol" Ryuu pokes him in the arm. "I haven't been doing my morning runs lately. That's why it happened. Don't worry, I will be out of this hospital soon and when I am I will get back in top shape again. Up and running again in no time."

"Up and ru-" Tyson bugs his eyes out. "You just had a heart surgery, grandpa! You have to rest!"

"If I rest the cholesterol will come back!" he argues.

"Just for a few days. I think a week," he corrects himself, checking his memory for a second, before continuing again. "Just a week!"

Ryuu places a hand against the side of Tyson's face, cradling him. "You're worrying too much, T-bone," he says quietly, looking into his eyes with startling clarity, then he pulls his hand away and throws both arms into the air. "There is no time for this mush! You better pack your lily-liver away, Takao! I almost don't recognize you! Who is this weak imposter and where is my grandson?"

"Keep flailing and you will hurt yourself," Tyson wrestles his arm back down.

"Takao!" Grampa yells, looking towards the door. "Takao!"

Tyson growls. "I'm right here!"

"You are not my grandson!"

"Grampa! You're hurting me!"

"I don't know you!"

"Aaaaargh!"

Ryuu quiets down and glances at him when he screams. "There he is," he says fondly. Tyson glowers.

Tyson bumps into Nana on the way out of the room. "Nana!" he exclaims, holding onto her shoulders. She's a small, stout woman of 65 years of age. She has streaks of grey through her hair, and a very warm smile.

She's carrying a bag of groceries in one hand. "Tyson!" she beams. "I haven't seen you in so long. You do not visit nearly as often as you said you would."

"Ah Nana, college has been a lot lately. I haven't even been able to keep up with my friends who live with me. I'm sorry I didn't visit every two weeks like I said I would."

"Aish, son, it's fine," she waves it off. "I was only teasing."

Tyson chuckles, still feeling quite guilty.

"I went to bring your grandfather some dinner from home," Nana explains her absence. "Ryuu won't eat any of these hospital meals," she says, then leans forward to whisper, "They're not that well cooked either."

Tyson grimaces. "Really?" He cringes.

Nana swats at his arm. "Don't tell anyone I said that. I know you boys like to make problems wherever you go," she says, referring to him and Hiro.

"Nana, it's not causing problems if it's going to save lives."

"This is exactly what I'm talking about. It's a taste issue, son. Simmer down." Tyson sighs. Nana peers at his face. "You look tired. Haven't you eaten anything?"

"Ah no" He shakes his head, his stomach grumbles as soon as he remembers he hasn't eaten anything all day. "I'm going to get dinner now."

"Hurry then," she shoos him away. "I'll take these to your grandfather." She smiles at him as he steps out of her way. She smacks at his arm again when he makes no further move to go eat.

"Okay, okay! I'm going!" he says, laughing. "I missed you."

"Missed you too, bub," she reaches over to give his cheek a firm squeeze.

"Ow" He clutches his face when she takes her fingers away.

It's not until the adrenaline leaks out of his system that Tyson realizes how exhausted he really is. He is famished. His stomach is churning with acid.

He'd barely paid any attention to his own body because he was scared to death over grandpa's health. It was a disproportionate reaction to a heart attack. He knows that. But the prospect - the threat - of a life without grandpa in it scared the shit out of him. He was not ready. He was not ready for that.

Tyson's drowsy and his mind's a little floaty when he trudges out of the hospital. Dad had said Kai went out. Kai. Kai. Dad and Kai.

Two different worlds that had collided tonight. Seeing dad and Hiro, talking to them, had put the bizarreness of his situation with Kai into perspective. A guy. He's kissing a guy. He's in love with a guy.

He knows that there's nothing wrong with that. He knows that. Logically, there's nothing to be ashamed for liking a guy. But.

The dream is starting to fall apart. Cracks are starting to appear. Back in campus, everyone's experimenting and sleeping around all the time. It's normal to kiss a person of the same sex during a party, while you're wildly drink and out of your mind. No one gives you shit for that the next morning. And while there aren't any openly gay couples at his university, there are a few gay guys and girls. They get harassed a horrendous amount on campus (the girls not much as the guys) but they are not afraid to show who they are. And they are the reason why Tyson wasn't really scared when he first started to find Kai attractive. The campus contains progressive thinkers, and though bullies are there, it is widely known that not everyone is a 100% straight. They don't fully condone it or like it, but they know gay people exist and they're not sick in the head. That's how Tyson learned as well.

First year. Orientation day. A guy showed up in a skirt and earrings, and Tyson found it extremely strange. So strange he felt the need to point it out to someone else. Michael. And Michael had said "Oh he's gay. Don't mind him."

Tyson doesn't quite remember his name, but he is in their year and he's seen him quite many times around campus. Always with his clique of equally flamboyant and fruity people. There's less than five of them in total. Most of the student body avoid him and others like him. And they don't bat an eyelash in their direction when they are bullied or harassed.

Tyson wasn't all that scared when he started dating Kai because of the sole reason that it was Kai, and everyone respected Kai. And if Kai didn't think being gay was wrong, then Tyson had no grounds to be overly afraid of it. Because at the back of his mind, he always thought, that if he needed him, Kai would protect him. There was also the fact that he technically still found girls attractive so Tyson felt safe somehow.

At least he wasn't gay. At least he could still get it up with a girl he loved. At least he was kissing Kai, the guy everyone either adored or feared.

The things he felt for Kai were strong enough to numb out the rest of the doubts and worries.

He didn't stop to think too far into the future.

But now. Now his heart is on the line. And he wants Kai. He wants him in his life. Wants to be with him for the rest of it.

And the horror of his situation is just starting to dawn on him. They would never allow it. His family. His village. Tyson had never even seen a gay person or encountered the word 'gay' before he started college. People in his village go to church every Sunday. They believe homosexuality is wrong. Gross. Disgusting. Utterly appalling. A man has no business going to bed with another man.

For that's what the Bible teaches.

Dad wouldn't allow it. Hiro, who ridiculed him and called him a sissy for not liking boxing, would tell him he's not even a man anymore. Tyson feels the bile creeping up his throat. A nasty feeling crawling up his chest. Threatening to suffocate him.

They won't allow it.

"Tyson" He flinches when he hears Kai's voice. He jerks around to look at him, stricken. Kai pushes away from the wall. The breeze in his hair. "I got us a room," he says, a faint smile on his mouth.

"What?" asks Tyson. He's so beautiful. Even in the dim lights radiating from the lamps along the street, Kai's undeniably beautiful.

"You okay?" Kai asks, the smile wiping off of his face. A frown replacing it.

"I'm fine. A-okay," he holds up a hand to make the OK sign.

Kai's gaze flits around his face for a moment before he tells him he got them a room nearby to stay for the night. "Your grandpa's not going to be discharged tonight, figured you'd probably want to stay close to him."

Kai's phone pings and he looks down for a second, to glance at the notification. Tyson uses that time to shake his head and chase the nasty anxiety off of himself. Jesus. He needs to eat. He's not himself. Since when is he ever this fearful? Of anything? He needs to get it together.

Tyson takes a deep breath and lets it out in a noisy sigh. Kai glances up at him funny. "You sure you're okay?"

"I'm just hungry," he says.

"Huh well, come on," Kai gestures at him to walk forward. Tyson turns around with his hands in his pockets. They head towards the restaurant across the street.

"I'll pay" says Tyson.

"For what?"

"The food, the room," he lists. "I can't let you spend anymore money on me. You need to stop throwing your money at me, Kai."

"Too bad, I've already paid for the room."

"I hate you"

"Too late for that as well."

A/N: Hi, how are you?