I am so sorry for the huge gap between updates, I don't have much of a good excuse, but I am explaining a few things at the end of the chapter because I'm sure everyone just wants to read the update.
Hope you enjoy.
Rei bit his lip nervously as Bryan let him out of the car. Normally Tala would have driven him, but the redhead had hardly emerged from his bedroom all weekend. Though Bryan and Rei could sympathise, so they let him be, knowing that Tala had to deal with quite a few things, most of which they weren't even privy to.
He was a bit pissed off at Bryan, but Rei saw the shimmer of guilt in his eyes when they came into contact and knew things would soon sort themselves out. Tala just dealt with things differently to most. There was nothing wrong with wanting a bit of time to work up the courage to do something.
Like he was trying to now.
He looked around nervously at the crowd of laughing chattering children near him and felt rather self-conscious for the first time in a very long while. Now that someone knew about him, he felt that they all must know, or at least suspect. He wasn't sure if his secret came out if he was able to deal with it so well. He and Tala were rather similar in many regards and a slight edge of insecurity was imbued into both their personalities. Not that it ever showed on the surface, but appearances were deceptive.
"Rei!"
Rei spun around hearing the cheerful call of his name. Spotting a longhaired grinning figure, his heart soared and he found himself smiling back at Tyson brightly, all thoughts of anything else shoved firmly out of his head.
"Hey Tyson."
Tyson reached his side and continued to grin at him, a slightly pink flush to his cheeks as he gazed with his bright eyes at the object of his affection. He opened his lips a few times to say something, much to Rei's amusement before blushing even more furiously and mumbling, "So, uh, how are you?"
"Rather well actually. You?"
Tyson smiled shyly. "Just perfect." He glanced around at the people arriving with them for school. "Do you think we could go in and talk for a bit?"
"Sure, I'd like that."
It was a rather endearing sight, Tyson blushing furiously and smiling that brilliant shy smile at him. Rei almost collapsed a few times on their way to their out-of-the-way spot near the performance block; Tyson's gaze was affecting him so badly. His mere presence and the amazingly cheerful attitude he exuded affected him like nothing else had ever done. It was brilliantly intoxicating just seeing the gorgeous boy so close to him, affected by him just as much as he was by Tyson.
They found themselves at the spot where they would sit at lunch and talk quietly with each other.
"So …" Rei glanced over at Tyson, who was still looking a bit pink.
"Yeah … um …" Tyson looked a bit lost. Rei smiled at him.
"How about I start things off," Rei suggested quietly. Tyson looked at him curiously just as Rei moved in and crushed his lips to Tyson's in a deep searing kiss. Without hesitation, Tyson shifted so he could grab at Rei and pull him closer. Rei knew he should be talking with Tyson … but surely that could wait. What harm could come of telling him some other time rather than right now?
They spent the rest of the morning before class — as well as recess breaks and lunch — sitting in that same spot simply enjoying the amazing feel of each others lips upon theirs.
*~*
"Tala, you know you can't stay in there today."
"Sure I can," Tala replied tersely through the door. "Boris hasn't scheduled me for any jobs this week, so I can do as I wish."
"Not today you can't, we have guests coming over for dinner."
The door slowly creaked open and Tala poked his head around the side of his door. "Guests?" he asked in astonishment. "Since when?"
"Since I asked Kai and his band last week. You obviously forgot." Bryan sniffed and frowned at him. "You can't avoid this one either Tala, so go shower and dress properly then help me finish setting up. I just a have a few more things to do in the kitchen then I'm set."
Tala glared at him then set off down the hallway grumbling to himself. It was amazing what a week of solitude could do for a person's attitude. Bryan sighed, watching him. At least he's not as bad as he was. Looks like his odd cures worked yet again. Bryan shook his head, heading back to the kitchen. The three of them were the oddest people he knew of and so unorthodox it was astonishing to think they even grew up in normal society … well almost normal society. Bryan wasn't quite sure how Tala managed to sort through his problems with a week of total isolation without going insane, but he did it often.
He smiled to himself as he resumed his cooking. About three-quarters of an hour and this would be finished. Give it a bit more time to settle and garnish and it'll be perfect for serving. Entrees would be done soon though. Everyone was due in about twenty minutes; he wanted everything to be perfect.
"Didn't we send you to a psychiatrist about your obsessive-compulsive nature?" Rei asked mildly as he watched Bryan rush around the kitchen. Bryan turned and glared at him and Rei chuckled. "Guess it didn't work then."
"Hey, I'm not as bad as you and Tala, and at least my insane tendencies are beneficial to us all. If I weren't so anal about everything nothing would ever get done around here. Now help me by washing up those few dishes there and getting the serving plates out of the cupboard and putting them on the bench."
"Sure thing." Rei moved around the kitchen pulling things out before he headed to the sink to wash up the few items Bryan had wanted him to. Bryan observed him closely. "What?" Rei finally asked when it had gotten too much.
"You seem rather cheerful," Bryan commented as he stirred his sauce on the stove.
Rei blushed. "I guess I am a bit."
"Anything to do with Tyson?" Bryan smirked as Rei blushed further.
"Maybe."
Bryan chuckled and turned back to make sure everything was still cooking all right. There was a small silence as Rei washed and Bryan cooked.
"You're going to have to be very careful you know," Bryan told him quietly.
"I know." Rei continued washing up.
"Are you going to tell him?"
"Yeah," Rei looked a bit evasive however. "I want him to get used to me first though. But I know that the longer I'll leave it, the worse things will be for us both when I finally do say something."
"Well I guess you don't want to surprise him out of the blue knowing him only a few weeks, but don't leave it too long. Don't let things get to serious before you say something or you'll probably find yourself in a worst case scenario."
"I know."
"Good then. Could you pass me the paprika then?" Rei wiped his hands and passed the small spice jar to him. "Thanks."
"Everything smells delicious," Rei said as he let the water in the sink drain out. "Do you think you might have cooked too much though?"
"With you and Tala around? Unlikely."
Rei chuckled. "Silly question."
The sound of the doorbell interrupted their conversation. Rei opened the door with a cheerful smile for his guests. The enthusiastic Tyson, however, cut off his greeting.
"Where's the food?"
Rei blinked then pouted. "What? No 'hello'?"
Tyson reached up and pulled him in for a quick, yet intense kiss. "Hi," he grinned, pulling back. "Now where's the food?"
Rei chuckled and stepped aside, letting them all in. Kenny shook his head at his cousin's actions and smiled apologetically at Rei, Max grinning and following him close behind. Michael and Lee both greeted Rei with firm handshakes and well wishes while Kai smacked Tyson lightly on the back of the head and greeted Rei politely.
"Hi." Bryan came out of the kitchen to greet everyone looking rushed and a bit worried. "Make yourselves at home, dinner will be ready in a few minutes but if you'd like something, drinks, anything, don't hesitate to ask."
"Calm down Bry," Rei chuckled at the familiar sight of Bryan acting so hectic. He always got like this when guests arrived, but it seemed worse considering who his guests were this time. "It will be fine. I'll grab the entrees and you just finish off whatever you're doing in there." Bryan nodded and headed back in.
"He always like this?" Max asked quietly.
"All the time. 'Perfectionist' seems such an inadequate title to describe him."
"I figure 'obsessive mother' might work," Kai suggested.
Rei grinned. "That it might. Would anyone like a drink while I'm up?" He noted everyone's preferences and went into the kitchen to help out, hearing Tala emerging from his room down the hall.
The others all glanced up hearing someone enter the room, finally being able to meet Tala. Kai smiled at him while most of them looked at him with curiosity. Tala opened his mouth to greet them, but Michael, of all people, interrupted him.
"Holy Shit! Tala Ivahnov?" He looked quite pale as he pointed a shaking finger in Tala's direction.
Tala blinked in surprise and narrowed his eyes at Michael before gasping. "Michael Parker? What the hell are you doing hanging out with a jock like him Kai?" Tala glared accusingly at Kai.
"He's my guitarist," Kai explained patiently.
"Still … Parker?"
"Hey! I'm not that bad." Michael looked a bit wounded. "Not like you anyway. Do you realize what a mess you caused back home? Everyone thought you were dead!"
"So I heard," Tala murmured quietly.
Michael still looked a bit shaken, it wasn't every day that you saw someone you had thought dead for ten years standing in front of you looking quite alive and healthy. He shook his head, still sorting things out. "Well," he began, clearing his throat, "I guess it's good to see you again."
Tala raised his eyebrow. "You guess?"
Michael shrugged. "Well, what else do you expect me to say? I'm surprised that I haven't freaked yet … Kai too." He looked over at the singer. "How can you just stand there so calm?"
Kai shrugged and Tala answered for him. "He wasn't all that calm when he found out."
"You knew and didn't say anything?" Michael seemed incredulous.
"I forgot?" Kai offered.
"Forgot?" Michael was still not dealing so well and didn't realise that Kai was having fun with him. "How the hell do you forget that you met your best friend after thinking him dead for ten years?"
"Settle down Mick," Lee told him, lying a hand on his shoulder, trying to ease the other man's agitation.
Michael looked up at him and nodded, breathing in and letting out a huge breath. "All right, just give me a few minutes." He sunk into one of the armchairs and looked around darkly, his mind still running through things.
Tala chuckled at this. "Jeez, he doesn't change does he?"
"You'd be surprised actually," Kai told him.
Tala looked over at him and noticed something under his words. "Maybe so," he murmured. He turned away from Kai and smiled at everyone else. "Well, as you might have gathered, my name's Tala Ivahnov and I am Rei's second guardian. It's quite a pleasure to meet you all." He shook hands as everyone else introduced themselves. They were about to start a conversation when Rei popped his head back around the doorway.
"Bryan's just finished with the first course," he told them.
"First course?" Max asked in astonishment. "Wow, you really didn't have to do this much for just us." He ignored Tyson's injection of "Yes they did!"
Rei rolled his eyes. "First off, Bryan's always like this and second, yes he does. Huge fans remember?" He grinned and gestured them all into the dining room. "Plus, it's so great to have any excuse to have one of Bry's more formal dishes. He really is brilliant in the kitchen."
"Can't wait then," Max told him with a grin. Tyson was already through the door, drooling Kenny fluttering after him, imploring him not to make too much of a fool of himself. Max followed his boyfriend, Lee beside him.
Michael got up and moved over to Tala. "You've got a lot of explaining to do," he said quietly.
"I'm sure I do," Tala replied. "But for now let's just enjoy the dinner and each others' company." He smiled and moved into the next room, leaving Kai and Michael behind.
"Have you told him anything yet?" Michael asked.
Kai shook his head. "I think we're both still adjusting to each other again." He looked over at the red-haired guitarist. "We'll talk soon enough."
"You've really missed him."
"You and the others know more than anyone how much I did." Not saying another word Kai moved into the dining room, Michael watching him with a worried expression on his face.
"Let's just hope you don't loose each other again, I don't think anyone could deal with that." He sighed and moved in with the others, a smile on his face once more as he joined in with the joviality of the party.
AN: Okay … why I've been away from this fic so long … Basically I've been planning the whole thing out more thoroughly and with more detail. Honestly this is one of my fave fics to work on, there is no way I'm abandoning it, so you need never fear that happening, I'm putting a lot of my effort into this one. I probably estimate 20+ chapters overall. Again, I've still got a lot on my plate with Uni and work, but I do spend time on this and my other fics too, the next update should not be this late again.
Okay, now some of you mentioned a few things in your reviews so I'll be addressing that now:
Redex: I have actually read Golden Phoenix, but that was a while ago, from what I can recall, the only things similar in my fic is the societal group I'm dealing with, the more underworld type of people, but I can see how some things are similar … not quite the same though … that one was more of a whodunit with police and stuff right? … ^^; very long time ago that I've read that fic, it was quite good though.
hiei-luver45: I am actually having the Majestics and the rest of the characters from the teams in this somewhere later in the story … not sure when, but I am putting Johnny in … I've got a good part for him in this.
Dark Dream: Those are some good questions, but unanswerable at this time … it'll ruin the story. However, I am actually still debating with myself whether it will be Tala/Kai or Kai/Tala … guess I'll just have to see how later chapters turn out before deciding.
I'm glad that everyone seems to be enjoying the fic so far, I hope I cam live up to expectations, but I'm still happy about how many people actually like this … 97 reviews already. ^_^. Thank you all for the reviews and for putting up with my horrific time management skills.
Until next time
~Vialana