A/N: Well, that was a bit bigger wait than I thought there'd be... ::slaps self::. There is no excuse except chronic laziness and upcoming GCSE's. ::whimpers in fear::. This chapter is also not as long as I wanted it to be...whoops, sorry?
Disclaimer: See first chapter
Warnings: Again, see first chapter, but also there is mention of SI in this chapter, but nothing bad.
And now, the important bit: This chapter is dedicated to Crowkeeper, as without the...motivational emails I doubt I would have gotton off my lazy arse and written this. Poor reward, I'm afraid! Thankies!
Review Responses:
Summing Up The Stars: Update ASAP? Ehehe, I have problems with that...::tries to hide huge update gap::
Fluffys-sidesick: Thankyou! And lookies...update!
Crowkeeper 990: You're a star, you know that? ::glomp::
Babymar-mar: ::blush:: Thankies!
blue-winged-donkey-rabbit: Nope, it appears that Ian and Spencer are doomed to last name anonymity. Tala and Kevin? O.o I didn't know there was such a thing...and pet names? ::evil grin:: Oh yes, there are possiblities there...
Pyro-At-Heart: Living nightmare? I wasn't so sure it was living...::prods story, story bites off fingers:: Cool, you're right!
Ilex-Aquifolium: Hehe, thankyou! And I'm sorry about the wait...
Rejiita: Thankyou!
Devilburns:Thankies!
Lilmatchgirl: Update soon? Define soon...::sweatdrop::
Himeko Sukie: Bryan is indeed sick, but only mentally so, which is why we love him...
Kia: Again, define 'update soon'...
Kai-lovr: Tala/Kai rules. Indeed it does. ::nodnod::
Lefty: Yup, the evil guys are evil and Kai and Tala are cute. That about sums it up! Thankies for reviewing!
Devlinn Reiko-sama: Heh...if I blush anymore I'll self combust....thanks for reviewing!
I really appreciate all the reviews I get, so thankyou so much for letting me know what you think. ::Huggles:: Here's the third chapter...finally.
Chapter 3: Even Emotionally Deficient Teenagers Can Be Melodramatic (Part A)
Kai yawned and stretched luxuriously as he wandered into the apartment's small kitchen and nodded to Spencer. Today was the third day at the new flat, and he had plans for today. Tala was still sleeping – for once Kai had managed to sneak out without waking him. By the looks of things, Ian was still asleep too, and who knew what Bryan was doing?
Spencer nodded back as he sat at the table nursing a mug of coffee. The bluenette raised an eyebrow at the slightly hassled expression the big blond was wearing.
"Coffee? Ian keeping you up past your bedtime?"
Spencer didn't miss the double meaning. He groaned and gripped the coffee mug.
"No. I swear, he's completely oblivious! Sometimes I feel like a damn paedophile he acts so childish, and I feel like just throwing it over! But then he goes and makes one of those dirty jokes he likes so much, and I remind myself that he's only a year younger than me, and aaarrrghh! There I go again!"
Kai raised an eyebrow in mild surprise.
"He really must be stressing you out. You didn't get this worked up at the finals."
Spencer looked slightly embarrassed.
"Yeah, well, Ian drives everyone up the wall, you know that." He muttered, staring into his cup.
"Yeah, I know. I'm the one that has to baby sit you lot, remember?" Kai replied, sauntering over to the small electric cooker and mentally deciding on pancakes for breakfast. He really had to teach the others how to cook...he was rapidly exhausting the few recipes that Rei had taught him to make. He allowed himself a brief pang of regret at the loss of Rei's cooking, and steadfastly ignored the thought of Ian or Bryan near a stove. Spencer ought to be all right...
"Hey, Kai, what's got you into Agony Aunt mode anyway? Trouble with Tala?"
Spencer jerked him out of his daze, asking the question with such casual indifference that Kai nearly answered. Nearly.
He snapped around, brows drawn and crimson eyes narrowed dangerously.
"What are you talking about?"
Spencer frowned right back.
"I know there's something between you and Tala, Kai, but that's really none of my business. What is my business is whether he's sick or not. I've noticed how weird he's been acting lately. Hell, even Ian's noticed something's up. So what is it?"
Kai glared defensively.
"It's Tala's business, not yours."
"It affects us all, Kai, and you know that. We have to know if Tala is operating at lower efficiency than normal so that we can compensate."
The bluenette suddenly collapsed into a chair, and ran his fingers through his silvery bangs.
"You know Tala doesn't think of it that way. He sees it as weakness. Boris spent so long hammering that into him he just can't see it any other way."
Spencer put down his mug and briefly leaned to touch his shoulder.
"He's a team mate. We're all we have left, and we stick together. All of us." He said quietly, and Kai looked up in surprise, meeting Spencer's pale eyes in barely covered surprise. Then the corner of his mouth quirked up in a brief smile. Like with Ian, it was easy to only see the big Russian as muscle, and forget that to survive in the Abbey, they both had to be extremely canny.
Spencer reinforced this a second later.
"Seen Bryan this morning?" he asked, tactfully changing the subject and the mood. Kai shook his head, wondering if Spencer had a hidden motive for the apparently innocuous comment.
Spencer got up for a refill of coffee.
"He's been acting...oddly, lately. More oddly than usual, I mean." He said, with his back to Kai. Kai smiled inside at the studied casualness of Spencer's tone. The blond cared a great deal about his team – for all of them.
"I know. I noticed." Kai replied. "Do you know what's wrong?" he said bluntly.
"No...but I think he's having problems adjusting to life without a strict regime," Spencer admitted. "And..."
"And we've not exactly been there to support him, even if he'd accept our help." Kai finished. Spencer nodded, looking uncomfortable. The bluenette continued.
"We've been ignoring him – you're busy with trying to beat your way through Ian's head and me through Tala's."
"But that's no excuse. He's our teammate, and we're the closest thing he has to a family he has. He may be as frustrating as Ian sometimes, but he does care for us, under all that 'no emotion but hate' shit that Boris beat into him. We're letting him down." Spencer nearly growled with suppressed self-disgust.
Kai firmly quashed the little flare of warmth at being included in the 'team' and considered the situation carefully.
"Hmmm. So you don't know what he's been doing locked up in his room since we moved here?"
"No, but I can guess," Spencer rolled his eyes. "Brooding. What Bryan does best."
"Everyone's allowed a few melodramatic moments when they're teenagers, Spencer." Kai watched the other carefully.
"Yeah, I know, but still, he's acting differently from usual. He'd laugh and then rip you a new one if you suggested that he needs stability in his life, but it's true. Not that I can blame him. I would have expected him to have completely fallen apart by mow, and it makes me worried about what exactly he's doing to stop himself from doing so..."
"What do you mean?" Kai asked sharply. If Spencer was going where he thought he was with this, they were in trouble. Damn, but the blond was observant.
"I think you know what I'm talking about." Spencer met the cold crimson eyes with his own narrow blue ones. "Normally I'd be expecting Kunetsov to go out and beat a few punks up, or at least smash a few things up. It makes me wonder what he's using as a control mechanism. Bryan's control is absolute, but so was yours."
"I know. I'll look into it." Kai sighed and rubbed his eyes again, yawning daintily as Spencer sat back down with his refill, unaware of the big Russian's scrutiny. Spencer smiled behind his mug. He was completely devoted to Ian, but Kai was very cute when he was in full mother hen mode. He mentally chastised himself for the thought. Tala would kill him if anyone even looked at Kai like that. The blue-haired world champion might not be aware of it, but Tala had his own little campaign going on. All in all, he thought, there were far too many intrigues going on in the flat for his peace of mind. They were all acting like...well, teenagers. Oddly enough, the thought comforted him and he shoved Bryan to the back of his mind, thinking of more important matters.
He looked up at the stressed looking blader before him and grinned maliciously.
"So, Kai, what's for breakfast?"
Kai groaned and dropped his head onto the table. Tala wandered in at that moment and raised an eyebrow.
"Torturing our nanny, Spencer? How unsporting."
He headed for the coffee pot, mentioning over his shoulder,
"So, what's for breakfast?"
---------------
(Later that night)
"Oh god," Kai groaned, dropping onto the bed, then growling as Tala dropped on top of him. "Hey! Off. You have your own bed, right over there. I'm no one's pillow."
"Shut up and take it like a man. And to think your team managed to win the Tournament. Pathetic." Tala showed no signs of moving from where he was sprawled over Kai's legs. Secretly, Kai was rather pleased Tala trusted him enough to make casual contact with him. If anyone else tries it they'd be dead meat, of course.
"As I remember, we won by kicking your arses into next week." He needled Tala mercilessly. The redhead retaliated.
"I recall Spencer kicking your arse, actually. I would have obliterated you in seconds." He stuck his delicate nose in the air, looking uncannily like Johnny from the Majestics.
"You can dream, Tala. And you look like that redhead from that team of rich bitches."
"I don't! His hair is practically purple anyway. And what do you mean 'rich bitches'?"
"Oh yeah, you never go the chance to talk to them, did you? Lucky you. Robert is an honourable opponent" Here Tala sniffed in derisive amusement, "but Johnny was just irritating. Kind of cute though."
Tala hit him.
When Kai uncurled from around his stomach, he found himself laid out on his back, Tala frowning down on him.
"Thought that would get your attention," he smirked trying to ignore his abused gut. Tala didn't pull his punches.
"Cheating on me already?" The redhead glared. Kai rolled his eyes. He never would have taken Tala as the jealous type...
"Hey, he was the one who liked me, not the other way around. I was somewhat...preoccupied, at the time."
Tala eased back.
"He's gay too? We seem to be popping up all over the place. I never would have taken him as the type to like someone like you. Figured he'd go after the green haired girl on his own team."
"Green haired gi- Oh, you mean Oliver. Actually, Oliver's a guy as well. Guess you wouldn't know that, you never fought him, after all."
The other blader stared in disbelief.
"Really? That's just...weird. I didn't want to know all this. I suppose he's gay too?"
"I have no idea and I don't particularly care. Just accept that I'm hardly interested in anyone else and leave it at that."
"Yeah, but...is anyone on the Beyblading teams straight?!"
"Tyson, Max I think, Kenny for sure, Rei reckons the White Tigers are, with the possible exception of Lee in my opinion, Michael from the Allstarz is obviously bisexual...are we done yet? I can think of more interesting things to do than gossip about other peoples' sexualities like teenagers."
Tala rolled his eyes.
"Like what, the- Mmmpfm!"
The kiss involved a lot of moaning and grunting, and later on a lot of tongue. When Kai came up for air, he grinned at the sight of Tala gaping like a fish.
"Like making out like horny teenagers?" He smiled in a way that if it were anyone else would have been classed as 'tender' but as this was Kai it obviously wasn't. Obviously.
The oh-so-not romantic and mushy moment of their first kiss was broken by a mysterious rumbling noise.
Both bladers stopped from certainly not staring into each other's eyes and looked down. Tala flushed bright red as his stomach rumbled again, and Kai frowned.
"Did you eat dinner? Ian didn't do so badly the third time around..."
Wolborg's master looked at him incredulously.
"Not so bad? Did you taste that stuff?! I didn't even know you could burn pasta!"
The two-toned bluenette grimaced.
"I certainly can't. And yes, I did taste it. I was designated taster, remember? I drew the short straw." He wriggled out from under Tala and rose from the bed.
"Stay there. I'll go see if Ian's left us anything edible in the kitchen."
He wandered out, only to return a few minutes later with a packet of chocolate biscuits in one hand. He grinned at Tala.
"They were behind the semolina. Probably Spencer's stash. He's used to Ian by now. They'll do well together."
He sat down crossed legged at the end of his bed, which Tala was still occupying, and shared out the biscuits. He hesitated as Tala started to nibble hungrily at the chocolate.
"Tala..."
The other looked up sharply at the serious tone.
"What?" He studied Kai's face. "It's Bryan, isn't it?" he said hesitantly. Kai was half-relieved that Tala had lost none of his observant nature, but also even more worried that everyone but Ian had apparently noticed something was up. Come to think of it, he'd bet Ian knew too. Bryan would be pissed. Majorly. But then, that was nothing new.
"Yes, it's Bryan. When is it not Bryan? I told you he's been acting weird, and today Spencer took great pains to point it out to me."
"Spencer? It must be bad then. I've never known him to openly take a hand in the running of the team. He's a rank and file soldier through and through." Tala chewed worriedly at his lower lip, distracting Kai for a moment as his teenage hormones decided to make their presence known He dragged his mind back with an effort.
"Heh, he could give you a run for your money when it comes to the title of Team Momma, Tala."
"I thought that was supposed to be your title? Now tell me what's up with Bryan. I need to know, so spill, Hiwatari."
"You asked for it. I've been watching him, and he's been even more antisocial than usual. He retreats to his room whenever he can, enough so that even Ian notices and even gives him deliberate openings to get them into that eternal bickering they have. Bryan just ignores him completely, which is beyond weird. Bryan may deny it all he likes, but that's just his and Ian's weird-arsed way of showing that they actually like each other."
Tala frowned and stared intently at him, playing devil's advocate.
"That doesn't mean shit, Kai. Bryan's probably just trying to readjust to his new lifestyle."
"I don't doubt that. It's just how he's adjusting that's worrying me. That night you decided to go cold turkey, I saw him pressing down on his stomach during the meal. Like he was tracing something on his belly..."
The redhead's eyes narrowed in worry, but he continued playing his role. He sounded even less convinced with his own argument now.
"So maybe he has indigestion. You've admitted yourself that you're a bad cook."
"He smells like blood, Tala. He's either a vampire, a serial killer or he's self-harming."
The statement hung in the air between them, in a momentary silence that seemed to stretch forever.
Kai broke that looming silence.
"Come to think of it...he might be a serial killer. This is Bryan we're talking about here..."
Tala hit him. Again.
Kai wheezed and looked up again from where his abused stomach had folded him over just in time to see Tala stomping towards the door with the look of a cyborg with a mission stamped all over him.
He was reaching for the door handle when he was hit by a flying tackle from behind, narrowly avoiding slamming his head into the door only by twisting with his attacker and flipping himself on top. Unfortunately, his attacker had clearly anticipated his move and Tala found himself flat on his back with two mocking crimson eyes looking down at him.
"Where the hell do you think you're going?"
"What does it look like?" Tala snarled back, trying to buck him off. "I'm going to go and beat some sense into that bloody idiot Kunetsov, that's what!"
"At quarter past twelve at night? It'll be the last thing you ever do if your wake Bryan up, you know. And you aren't going to help him by confronting him directly like that. He'll just clam up."
Tala sagged with unspoken surrender and Kai helped him up, moving them both to the bed. Wolborg's master still wasn't fully recovered from the ordeal he'd been through, and it showed in the tightness around his mouth. Kai handed him the by now much-abused chocolate biscuits and he absently started to lick the chocolate off the top of one.
"I know you're right. But why the hell does he feel the need to cause himself pain anyway?"
Kai leaned back against the end board and considered the question carefully.
"I'd guess it's a control method. You know what a control freak Bryan is, and his whole 'feel-no-emotion-but-hate' thing doesn't help him at all. He bottles everything up, and the only thing that lets him let it all out is training and sparring. None of which we've been doing a great deal of. I suspect he's pouring all of that frustration back at himself."
"But why?" Tala whacked the wall at the top of the bed. Kai hated to think what the neighbours were assuming was going on...
"Probably so that he doesn't end up lashing out at anyone, like Ian. He's isolating himself to make sure that none of his inner turmoil spills over...onto us."
"That...sounds about right," Tala sighed and scrubbed at his eyes. "Who does he think he's kidding? What happens to him affects us all. And what the hell is up with that psychologist shit, anyway?" He gave Kai a narrow-eyed stare.
"That's what I'm being paid for." Kai shrugged carelessly.
"You're being paid?"
"You didn't think I took this job because of the company, did you? Then again," he added, "The fringe benefits are pretty damn good." His leer made it clear what he meant.
Tala stuck out his tongue, but pulled it back in when Kai looked like he might take that as an invitation.
"Now we know the problem, what's the solution?" He asked logically. "You've already said that we can't just go barging in there. So what does the great nanny suggest?"
"Well..."
The two bladers bent their heads to planning.
TBC (hopefully)
A/N: Ehhehehe, Kai just can't seem to keep his mind on the job, can he? I wonder why? Again, I apologise for the relative shortness of this. I wanted to have one chapter per 'issue' but I'm evidently too lazy to achieve that. Sorry!
R&R would be nice, if you feel I deserve it. If anyone can point out the glaring plothole that I'm sure is lurking somewhere in here, I'd be reeeeaaallly grateful. I know it's in there somewhere...
I will try my very best to update sooner this time. Promise...