Ehehehehehhhh…
*Red hides behind door*
Late, ne?
*winces as angry readers start complaining*
Yes, yes, I know!! I tried, I did! Now I'm going to force myself to write so you better be happy!
Bloody Mary: Sorry about the capitals, I guess ff.net must have screwed them up after I uploaded. Got to keep an eye on that stupid system _;
Artemis: nope, no lemons from me ^^; *mutters* cha right…me, lemon? And Rei's taking notes from a textbook.
Anyways, disclaimer…
I don't own beyblade. OCs are mineminemineminemine. :P
~`~,*|*`~,~
Kai was seated with the newspaper in front of him when the telephone wrung. He groaned and stood up quickly, catching it before it woke his partner.
"Yes?"
He frowned as a bubbly voice came over the speaker.
"Hello Kai, its Mariah. How are you?"
Kai said something noncommittal and continued: "So, if you're looking for Rei, he's still asleep and I don't want to wake him."
He didn't particularly like his boyfriend's childhood friend.
"No, actually, I was looking for you."
That raised an eyebrow from Kai.
"What's up?"
Kai sat back down at the table and pulled the newspaper open again.
"I know you've been helping with the orphanages from the Abby
and I was wondering if you could come out and help me."
Kai shut the paper again and looked up as Rei walked in.
"You know I'm not a kid person, Mariah."
Rei yawned and pulled open the fridge.
"But Kai!" she complained. "This girl, she's had a hard time. We can't get her to talk to anyone or let anyone touch her. The authorities say she was probably abused."
Kai sighed and rubbed his hands over his eyes.
Rei looked at him and sat down, mouthing "what's up?"
Kai muttered "just a sec" to the woman on the other end and covered the mouthpiece.
Rei looked at him quizzically as he sipped a cup of slightly cold coffee.
"Mariah wants me to come into the orphanage and talk to some little girl," Kai sighed, looking at his lover imploringly.
"So?" Rei asked. He had no misconceptions about Kai and Mariah's relationship.
"Well... apparently this girl's been abused. She sounds hurt and…"
"and you can't stand that," Rei finished, a small smile twitching up the corner of his lips.
"Indeed," Kai sighed, pulling the phone back to his ear.
"When can I come down?"
~~
Rei and Kai stepped into the large building and looked around. They were immediately picked up by the pink-haired and lead to a side room off the main entrance way.
"I'm so glad you came!" she chirped, a large grin plastered on her face.
Kai resisted the urge to wince.
"So, what's she like?" Rei asked, playing mediator between the two.
"Well," Mariah started, ushering the two to follow her out another door. "she's rather introverted. She will play with some of the children in the playroom, but as soon as an adult approaches her, she runs off. She's becoming hard to deal with because she won't talk about her past either, even though we know some about it."
The reached a room with windows on the side, looking out onto a play-room filled with toys and little children.
"One-sided window?" Kai asked, laying a palm on the glass.
"Yes, of course," Mariah answered, irritated that he figured it out so quickly.
Rei's lips twitched, but he held himself back as Mariah pointed out a little girl sitting in a corner by herself.
"That's Claire," she said quietly.
"Does that door lead into there?" Kai asked nonchalantly, nodding towards another door, painted white, in the wall.
Mariah said yes without turning, and exclaimed when she saw him through the window, looking very misplaced in his dark clothing.
Mariah growled angrily and spun around to face Rei. Her pupils were constricted and she looked frustrated. Rei smothered the laughter struggling to get out of his mouth and watched as Mariah hissed at him and then turned to watch the proceedings.
~~
Kai stepped around several toys and messes in the making before reaching the unsuspecting child. She looked up at him when he crouched down beside her and made a small noise. Her large blue eyes looked up at him fearfully and glanced around like a caged animal. Kai realized he had blocked her into a corner and backed up a little bit.
"Hello," he murmured, sitting down with a groan on the carpeted floor.
"Hi," Claire replied, her quiet voice almost inaudible under the noise created by the other children. She had a worn teddy bear hugged against her chest.
"My name's Kai," he said, when the little girl didn't seem to be willing to speak any more.
"I'm Claire," she whispered, looking him straight in the eyes for the first time.
Kai smiled slightly and she gave him a shy smile in return.
"So, do you know why you're here, Claire?" he asked tentatively.
The smile vanished as though he had flipped a switch. He watched her carefully as she fiddled with her teddy bear, avoiding the question. He didn't push it, but she answered just as Kai opened his mouth to say something else.
"Because my daddy was a bad man and he hurt me."
"Really?" Kai asked settling himself cross-legged. "My grandfather hurt me too. When I was little like you."
"Really?" she answered, her eyes lifting up to his again. "Do you still hurt?"
Kai was startled by such a deep question from such a little child and thought it over.
"He changed my life, that's for sure," Kai said. "I sometimes still hurt, but now it's mostly better."
The girl nodded in understanding, surprising Kai yet again.
"Do you still have bad dreams?" she asked, breaking eye contact again.
"Sometimes…" he murmured, chafing his hands together. She looked up at him, a sympathetic look in her eyes. Kai smiled at her early wisdom. "But I have someone who holds me now when I sleep and I don't get them much any more."
Claire looked interested.
"Who?"
Kai wondered how to answer her, and decided on the simple truth.
"My…boyfriend."
"Can I have a boyfriend?" Claire asked quickly.
Kai chuckled. "I'm afraid you're a little too young, Claire. Maybe when you get older you'll find someone."
The little girl's bottom lip stuck out in a pout.
"Who's going to keep my bad dreams away then?"
"The people who work here are really nice; they can keep the bad dreams away for you."
"So people have to be nice to make the bad dreams go away?" Claire rationalized.
"Yes," Kai stated with a smile. Hearing his name being called above the noise, he twisted and looked over the many heads. Mariah and Rei were standing in another main door and ushering for him to come out. The blue-haired man stood up and stretched, making his new-found friend giggle.
"I have to go now," he said seriously, straightening his jacket. Claire's face winkled up and Kai rushed to finish before she started crying. "I'll come and visit you soon, though." He held out a hand in front of her and she looked at it in surprise. "I promise."
Claire grinned and took his hand. They shook on it and then Kai pushed his way back out of the child-infested play-room to the silver and grey world outside.
Rei smiled at the relaxed feeling Kai was radiating.
"So I guess it went well?"
"Yes, it did. She's a really nice kid, but she's scared," Kai replied, following Mariah to the exit.
"We gathered that," she said scathingly, pink hair swinging.
"She has nightmares," Kai snapped back. "She needs someone she can trust to keep them from her."
Mariah spun around as they reached the door and said, "So you're implying that she can't trust me?"
"Exactly," Kai growled back. "You have no idea what she's been through. All the well-wishes in the world will not replace that. You need to find someone who's dealt with this sort of thing before."
"I can imagine the pain…"
Kai cut her off. "No, you can't. Have you ever…"
"Kai…" Rei murmured, catching his lover's arm. Kai sighed and stopped. Giving a final glare at the pink-haired woman, he walked out the doors into the crowd on the side-walk outside.
"Are you ok?" Rei asked as they walked along to where Kai had parked the car.
"I'm…a little upset. It was her father, Rei. Even I can't imagine what that would feel like."
Rei sighed and slipped into the passenger's seat.
"There are some things I'll never be able to connect with you on. I think this is one of them."
"You're right. But I'm going to go back and see her again soon. Make sure she's alright."
"Alright," he answered and then quipped: "I'm sure Mariah will be thrilled."
~`~,*|*`~,~
hey, wouldjalookatthat? I actually got all that written! A pretty good chunk of a chapter, wouldn't you think? Took long enough, yes yes I know. We'll try and get the next chapter done a little bit faster. ^^; So please review, it's always nice to know what I'm doing/not doing well. ^^ CC is always welcome.