Chapter 2

Saiyan-Chang: Did you know Kevin just took out a restraining order on me? And so did Bryan. I wonder why...

Ashla: Yes, he certainly does need to think it through more.

Senko-sama: Few more chapters to go before Kai and Ray. Sorry.

Castles in the Sky: Just my interpretation. Not really what the neko-jin are like.

Avril fan: Exactly. Nobodies perfect. Not even me. ^_~

Rayz Kitten: Just remember, you can't win them all. :p

Kappy Locks: That's okay. Just so long as you found it. :p

the tigris: Nice to know someone came to my site. What did you think?

Lady Anonymous: Yes and no. I hate seeing them fight, but it interesting to read and write. :p

Shaman Wolf: Um... how do you know they're not killing each other in there!? O_o

Never good to fight, but it gives some quality thinking time. ^_^

Kevin picked at his breakfast, not really hungry. There was a time when he wouldn't have cared about fighting with Lee, but these days… well, things were different. He hated it, but he couldn't just let it slide.

Sighing, he tossed down his fork and stood, casting a glance toward the bedroom door. Catlike eyes narrowed before he turned toward the door of the apartment. He paused, taking the hair-tie from his pocket and tying back his long green strands. Tossing one last glance behind him he left the apartment and stepped out into the corridor, closing the door after him.

Lee didn't like it when he left without telling him. It was something that had carried on since they were little, Kevin's knack for getting into mischief reeking havoc that often left the then imp running for safety of the team where Lee and Ray would be forced to deal with it. Kevin smiled faintly. Yes, he had been a problem when he was little.

He looked up as he made his way through the foyer, noting a group of young ladies watching him. When they saw him looking their way, they smiled, battering their eyelashes and waving, a couple blushing. Kevin returned their smile and nodded his greeting, before leaving the hotel.

Popularity with females was not something he was used to. A year ago he hadn't even received a sideways glance from a girl, but now… He sighed, casting a look at himself in the reflection of the window.

He was taller for starters, a hair taller than Mariah and still growing, though he was at the end of his current spurt. His hair now trailed down his back having grown quickly since he had first decided to grow it. He was beginning to lose some of the neko-jin 'kittenness' that had been a curse in his younger days.

Lee had told him he was hot. Though the elder had complained about Kevin losing the shorts and switching to pants, Kevin's new choice of clothing showed off his well toned body as well as hiding some of the lankiness that was replacing the childlike pudginess. At first he had missed the bag that had been his companion since early childhood, but now he felt better without it, no longer restricted in movement.

Hooking his thumbs through the yellow sash that served as his belt, Kevin let his eyes take in the bustle that was early morning Tokyo. Mr Stanley A. Dickenson had offered him a job following the events that had been brought on after Honesty's birth and the Elders decision, and that invitation had been extended to Lee when it became clear that the Lion refused to leave Kevin's side.

Kevin sighed, running a hand through his hair as he spotted a circle of small children blading on a corner. He had to smile, remembering what it was like back when he had first learnt to blade, the frustration as his launch continued to fall short of the dish, Ray assuring him he would eventually get it right.

Kevin was now ranked #3 in China.

Smirking, Kevin patted his pocket, feeling the familiar shape of Galmon as he rounded the bend, spotting the BBA centre at the end of the street. Today was Kevin and Lee's day off, but he liked coming this way, especially as there was the off chance of running into Ray and the other Blade Breakers when they were called in for something or another.

He wouldn't run into them today, though. Max, he knew, had returned to America. Tyson had not been able to go and was probably at home sulking, pining for the return of his boyfriend. Kenny was attending some sort of convention at who-cares-where, and Kai had taken Ray on a small holiday, destination a surprise. The Blade Breakers were due to reunite in a few weeks to begin their preparation for the Championships and complete the Japanese Qualifier, just as the White Tigers would in China.

They would all meet up again in the Asian Tournament, this year to be held in Thailand.

He rounded another corner, finding more amateur bladers crowded around dishes, despite the early hour. Looking up at a clock on a nearby building, Kevin noted that was approaching mid-morning, so perhaps it wasn't so early after all.

Sighing, he began the journey back to the hotel. Lee would scold him, as always, and Kevin would take absolutely no notice, which would piss Lee off further. Plucking at his tunic, Kevin bit his lip, fangs catching the sun. Lee had said that he didn't baby Kevin, but Kevin knew that he did. At 16, Kevin was still considered young, and the 19-year-old Lee felt that it was his place to watch over the younger.

Kevin hated being babied.

He remembered the look on Lee's face when he had first showed up on the Lion's doorstep, the fury in those orange-gold eyes as Lee demanded to know what Kevin was doing so far from the village and on his own nonetheless. Kevin had rebuked him, reminding Lee that he could take care of himself and was willing to prove it… if Lee would let him stay with him for a while.

Lee had caved in to those innocent eyes Kevin had mastered years before, but that hadn't stopped the fights. The whole time Kevin had wanted to tell Lee, to confess to him just how much he admired and loved him, but stubbornness had not allowed him to do so. In the end they had been in the middle of a fight, Lee reaching out to tighten his fingers around the imps throat, Kevin flipping him onto the bed only to have Lee pull him down with him.

Kevin smiled as he remembered the awkwardness of those few moments, how the two of them had simply stared at each other unmoving, intoxicated by the closeness. How eyes had fallen closed, lips touching ever so slightly and expecting a punch to leave a black eye that would remain for weeks. But then the kiss had deepened, arms had wrapped around him, Lee flipping him onto his back as they lost themselves in the pent up emotion.

It was almost five months now since that day, three since they had left the others to start their job, and the memories of the time Kevin had spent with Lee were both heartwarming and breaking. Yes, they had had their share of fights, but that was natural for their clash in personalities.

Kevin felt his heart swell as he had remembered that proud glint in Lee's eye as Kevin had defeated both Gary and Mariah in an organised BBA battle to determine his new ranking for their home country. He remembered the fire in Lee's eye as Kevin challenged him, only for Kevin to be defeated swiftly.

It took three days to return Galmon to top performance.

The smile faded from his lips as he remembered the anger he had sensed rolling off his lover before he had left. Kevin had always been one to speak his mind, and it was often this trait that landed him in so much trouble. Others often questioned why Lee, Ray, and even Mariah were so eloquent in their speech patterns while Kevin was so rough… but that was how he was. He was the rebel of the White Tigers, always had been, and nothing would ever change that.

Just like nothing could ever change the past.

He stepped back into the foyer of the hotel, the young ladies long gone. A few guests tossed him a curious look as he made his way to the elevator, hitting the button for his level. Few recognised him now, so much had he changed, and in his mind, that was a good thing.

Come the next Championship, he would lose that edge.

He hesitated outside the apartment, poised to unlock the door. Setting himself, he inserted and turned the key, stepping inside and closing and locking the door behind him. Casting his glance around, he noted that breakfast had been cleaned up, the blinds open as music played from the stereo.

Kevin paused, taking in the tune and raising an eyebrow. His cd, a recent edition to his collection. The band was Evanescence, one he had taken a fondness too of late, the music depressive yet uplifting. Lee had questioned the cd when Kevin had first bought it little over a month ago, as many of the songs were about death or suicide, but Kevin had brushed it off, and it wasn't long before Lee had taken to the band as well.

Kevin heard the light step moments before two arms threaded around his middle, drawing him back against the firm chest, the other nuzzling his neck, kissing the soft flesh gently. "I've missed you."

"I was only gone an hour." Kevin closed his eyes, leaning back into Lee's arms. "Needed to think."

"Yeah, me too." Lee paused. "I'm sorry for being so insensitive. I should know that what she did… that you might never get over that. And yes, you're right, I did just 'stick it in' as you phrased it, because I wanted to beat Ray to something. I never thought about the possibilities of consequences. It never occurred to me there would be any until she announced that she was pregnant. I'm just a closed-minded arsehole."

"You are not an arsehole." Kevin sighed. "And I shouldn't have jumped down your throat like that. It's just… the closer we get to meeting up with them, the more it plagues me, the memory. It's making me uneasy. I just… Lee, I don't want to go. I can't look at her again."

Lee's arms tightened around him. "You need to stare your fear in the eye, Kev. You've done it before, you even went as far as calling her a 'conniving slut' to her face. Nothing went wrong then, nothing will next time."

"How can you be sure?" Kevin squeezed his eyes closed, swallowing hard to try and force down the lump in his throat. "She was so innocent and sweet then, as if it was no big deal, which is why it was so easy to trust her. I trusted her with my life, and look what she did to me."

"Kev…"

"She just came in, made me trust her, made me feel as if everything was okay. She took me off guard, preyed on my vulnerability. She made me believe she was doing me a favour, that it was a gift. And when the alarms finally went off I tried to run, I told her it wasn't right, that I just couldn't do that, not with her.

"Did she listen? No! Suddenly she went from innocent and sweet, pink and fluffy, to a demon spawned of hell. She trapped me, she pinned me, she took everything that I was, pressing a hand over my mouth so that I couldn't scream… and then, she just walked away like nothing had happened." His hands clenched into fists, tears streaming down his cheeks despite his efforts to control them. "I'm so sick of everyone acting like nothing happened!"

Lee could feel Kevin trembling and scooped the younger up into his arms, carrying him toward the couch. Sitting down, Lee settled Kevin in his lap, the Monkey burying his face in Lee's shoulder as he sobbed, Lee tightening his arms around him and rubbing his back gently, kissing his forehead.

"I know something happened, Kevin, and I'm not pretending that it didn't. You've been bottling it up for so long its dominating you. When you're ready, tell me everything, but not yet, okay?"

Kevin nodded, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand, trying to regain control as he curled up tighter against Lee's chest.

Lee rested his head on Kevin's, closing his eyes, mentally sensing the turmoil that raged through the younger. No, now was not the time for Kevin to open up. He first had to be able to deal with it himself to some degree, then he could turn to another. Until that time, though, Lee would always be there.

On the stereo, "Whisper" slowly began to fade away to nothing.

"Whisper" is the final track on Evanescence's album Fallen. This cd has got to be my favourite cd to write too, and I use it for most of my material. As you can guess, many of the Evanescence's songs appear on the soundtracks to my stories. I would call it recommended listening. ^_~