Disclaimer: Don't own it.

A/N: There's a huge time jump between this chapter and the first one. I didn't feel like writing that many dinners out and I'm sure that you don't want to read them. Rei owns a small business of some kind. I can't think of anything, so feel free to make it whatever you want it to be. One other thing. The restaurant scene at the end is the same as the one in Wishes and Old Scars, so all the details are there.

Huge thanks to all of my reviewers. You people are the ones that make me want to write.

Rei scrambled through his cupboard, dropping various things onto the counter. "I know I have some. Where is it?" He ran one hand through his hair, golden eyes glaring at the dark cavern. "I know there was some in there." He glanced at the clock on the oven. 6:15. "Shit, just enough time to go get some." He grabbed his keys, jacket and wallet and was out the door like a bat out of hell on crack.

When he got back home, Kai, Tala and Bryan were seated on his stoop, conversing in Russian. They all looked up at him, eyes questioning. The neko-jin grinned, shaking a small red and white container at them. "Sorry. I needed to get paprika." He let them into the house, intent on finally finishing the chicken that was in his fridge. Rei managed to get dinner finished with no more problems, leaving him to enjoy the company of the Russians.

*****

Rei flipped through the file on his desk; golden eyes scanning the computer print. There was a knock on the door, followed by a mop of brown hair. "Rei, there's someone here to see you." He glanced up briefly, smiling. "Thanks Danya. Anyone that's been here before?" Brown eyes glittered with humor as she shrugged. "Don't know. He's got an accent though. Do you want me to send him in?" He nodded eyes back on the file. The office was silent, save the gentle humming coming from the computer in the corner. "Rei." Gold met moonlight and the neko-jin smiled slightly, fangs barely visible.

"Bryan." He set the file to one side, focusing entirely on the Russian. "Dare I ask how Tala managed to get you down here?" Bryan sat back in his chair, face totally emotionless. "Tala has informed me, that you and I are to join he and Kai for their annual Christmas Stockholders dinner tonight." Rei found himself hard pressed to stop his laughter. He gathered the various files off his desk and moved to the filing cabinet, putting each file in its appropriate place. "You have realized why Tala wants us to come, right?"

The lavender haired blader got to his feet and took some of the files from the neko-jin, helping to put the folders where they belonged. "I know exactly why Tala wants us to come. He wants us there so that he has males to talk to and he's tired of having all the females hit on Kai." Rei put the last file away and locked the drawer. "Exactly. What time are we supposed to be there?" Bryan glanced at the clock. "The dinner starts at eight and it takes an hour and a half to get to the manor. So, you have an hour to get ready. Since it's in the middle of nowhere, we'll take one car. Be ready or I'll leave you behind.

Rei watched the Russian leave before falling back into his chair. "He is such a bastard." Somewhere in the back of his mind an annoying little voice popped up. `That's part of what makes him attractive.`

*****

Rei pulled on a black silk shirt and smoothed the wrinkles from the fabric. He adjusted his headband slightly, the normal red on replaced with a black one that matched the rest of his outfit. He bound off his hair with a blood red ribbon, the only color in his outfit. He pocketed his keys and turned off the lights, making sure to leave the porch light on. He pulled on his jacket just as Bryan pulled into the driveway.

"See I was on time." Bryan didn't answer. Rei stuck his tongue out at the Russian, a very childish gesture on his part. The silence in the car was comfortable, leaving Rei's thoughts to wander. ~It's been seven months since Bryan joined up with us. I promised Tyson I'd be careful but there's no point. We've been alone before and he's never once made any kind of move that could be even considered dangerous. That increases my chance of being..No! Don't go there. Not now!~

"Rei." Bryan poked the neko-jin in the side, getting no response. "Rei, I'm going to let the valet have his wicked way with you." Rei finally came out of his thoughts, a blush evident even in the low light. Bryan just smirked and handed his keys to the valet, who was just as red as Rei. The neko-jin reached out and grabbed a lock of Bryan's hair, tugging gently on it before dashing up the stairs of the manor.

Bryan glared at a group of females who were watching him with a strange look, much like that of a hunter. He found his friends standing in one corner of the ballroom, each of them with a glass in hand. "Drinking so early?" Kai just glared at him. "You would be drinking if they were our for your blood. Believe me, it's scary. I've already had three jump me." Rei shuddered and took a drink. Tala nodded and grabbed a glass from a passing waiter for the other Russian. "I'm always afraid that they'll get my keys."

Rei jumped to his feet, digging through the pockets of his black slacks. He emerged with three keys in hand. "Here." He handed one to each of the Russians, smiling at the bemused looks on their faces. "There in case I run out again on a dinner night and you guys need to get in."

*****

Rei hid a smile behind his hand, certain that he had heard Kai growl. Somehow, at the dinner table, Tala had ended up with three females around him, each of them doing they're best to seduce the redhead. Several others were trying their best to get at the lavender haired Russian. Although Rei had to agree with their choice. Rei did think that Tala was an excellent specimen of the male half of the planet's population, but he was Kai's and Rei would not do that to his best friend Bryan on the other hand was free.

Bryan was tall, taller by several inches then Rei's own six foot one inch height. His hair had remained its light tone that matched his silver eyes perfectly. His pale skin covered hard muscle, the result of years of physical training in the Abbey. Rei leaned back in his chair, idly looking around the room. With the exception of him and the three Russians all the other men in the room were in their fifties and sixties. Several had brought their wives, but most of them had brought their daughters, hoping to snare the Hiwatari fortune. Needless to say, they were in for a nasty shock.

*****

"That was fun." Tala slumped down in his chair, idly swirling the glass of vodka in his hand. "It could have been worse Tala. They could have had a hand in your lap." Tala leaned towards Bryan who was sitting next to him at the round table. "Bryan, fuck off." Rei stifled a laugh not wanting to draw attention to himself. Tala, unfortunately heard. He raised one eyebrow at the neko-jin. "What? You've seen Kai's body. You honestly expect me to give that up for them?" Rei took a drink from his glass before answering. "True. Their not worth it." Tala smirked, a glint lighting up his blue eyes. He leaned closer to Rei, one finger pointing at Bryan.

"That's not a body I would give up eith..Ow!" He rubbed at his finger, glaring at Bryan. "What the hell was that for?" The lavender haired blader tilted his head to one side, moonlight eyes blank. "Oh, I don't know Tala." Tala was about to answer when Kai reappeared. He looked at the three of them. Rei was bright red from trying to hold in his laughter, Tala was glaring at Bryan and Bryan was looking far too innocent. "Okay, what did I miss?" Tala reached out, discreetly running one hand down Kai's chest. "we were just talking about your body. Nothing big." The slate haired Russian didn't answer, instead opting to sit down.

One by one the other guests left, leaving the four bladers alone. Rei poked at the pile of paper in front of him, a sigh escaping from his mouth. Each of those pieces of paper bore a phone number from one of the stockholder's daughters. Each one had not so discreetly dropped in front of him, much to the amusement of his friends. A sudden thought came to Rei. "Does anyone know what time it is?" Tala glanced down at his watch. "Its one thirty. Is there something you had to do?" Rei shook his head, ebony bangs flopping. "No. But I'm about ready to fall asleep at the table." Kai got to his feet and pulled Tala up. "Why don't you two just stay the night. There's deer all over the roads. I'm sure you remember where your rooms are and some of your stuff is in there. So until tomorrow." They left the room, leaving Rei and Bryan in the ballroom.

Rei drained his glass and got to his feet, gathering the scraps of paper. The two bladers made their way up the grand staircase and to the east wing. Rei pushed open a set of dark wood doors. "Night Bryan. See you tomorrow." The Russian nodded and continued on down the dimly lit hall.

A fire was already going in the fireplace and Rei tossed the phone numbers on to it, watching the paper crinkle up in the heat. He stripped his shirt off, carefully laying it over one of the chairs in the room. Rummaging through the wardrobe he managed to locate a pair of his sweatpants and a toothbrush. As much as he would have liked to soak in the Jacuzzi tub that dominated the corner of his bathroom he probably would have fallen asleep and drowned.

*****

Rei pulled on a sweatshirt before heading down to the kitchen. A fire was going in the kitchen, warming the room. A plump cook bustled around, placing various things on dishes before putting them on the small island that served as a table. Several minutes later Bryan came in, hair still tousled from the night. He stretched, his shirt riding up to expose several inches of skin. Rei took a drink of his tea, unable to tear his eyes away from the creamy skin. "Morning Bryan." Bryan took the coffee cup from the cook and sat down across from the neko-jin. "Morning."

Kai showed up about ten minutes later, fully dressed. "I have always hated that about you Kai." One slate eyebrow rose as he got Danish from the plate in front of him. "What have you always hated Rei." Rei waved one hand at Kai. "The fact that even at eight in the morning you're more up then I'll be at noon." The slate haired Russian shrugged, the kitchen once again falling into silence.

Tala never did show up at breakfast. Rei and Bryan left their good-byes for the redhead with Kai, and Rei was certain that Tala was going to get a rude awakening from his lover.

*****

Rei dodged the small children, smiling at the Russian curses that were coming from his companion. He dropped into the chair, head falling back. One hand moved to his temple, rubbing in circles in an attempt to get rid of the headache that was developing. "What do you want Rei?" Golden eyes opened slowly, looking at the upside down Russian. "Something that will kill a headache." One pale eyebrow rose. "You're just lucky you're not driving." He went over to the bar, dodging waiters.

He drifted off, lost in his thoughts. Warm fingers closed around his neck, causing him to jump to his feet so fast he almost knocked his chair over. "What the hell was that for?" Tala shrugged and sat down, Kai next to him. "Where's Bryan at?" A glass appeared in front of the redhead. Bryan set the other three drinks down before taking his place next to Rei.

Dinner was quiet, the only sound at their table the sound of silverware on plates. What little conversation there was pertained to the fact that Max and Tyson had finally moved in together. That led to Bryan making a comment about how long it had taken for Kai and Tala to finally move in together.

*****

Bryan watched Rei worm through the crowd, moving with a sensual feline grace. Rei slid into the booth next to him, close enough that he could feel the warmth coming from the neko-jin. Tala had vanished into the crowd, thinking that he had seen one of his co-workers. They sat in silence; Kai lost in thought, swirling the contents of his glass around. Rei was also toying with his glass, eyelids drooping. The atmosphere in the bar was stifling and was putting him to sleep.

Bryan felt a slight thud on his shoulder and looked down to see that Rei had fallen asleep. Their hair twined together, lavender and black mixing in a sensual tangle He heard a slight rumbling sound and looked up to see Kai smirking. The other Russian took a sip from his drink, smirk widening. "He only does that when he's content." Bryan slid one arm around Rei's waist, reveling in the feel of the slim body. "You're just pissed because of dinner. I'll see you next week." He slid out of the booth, careful not to jolt the neko-jin.