Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade or any of its characters. Otherwise Rei wouldn't be married to Mao . . . --sniffles-- It's so sad . . .
Warnings: This story contains KaiRei shounen ai. If you don't like that you should probably not read this. For everyone else: Have fun reading!
Thanks to my beta reader Shauna. You're a great help!
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Cats And Other Strange Things
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" . . ."
" . . ."
We have been staring at each other for about twelve minutes now. Twelve minutes of staring. I begin to wonder why Rei won't look away. I won't look away because that would be against my pride. So I keep staring. He does, too, whatever reason he may have.
" . . ."
" . . ."
Rei has nice eyes. Even when he narrows them like he does now. He could narrow them even further and they would still be sparkly and golden. I know that when he gets angry his pupils will become a thin almond shape. After all, he is a bit like a cat. What did he say it was called? Neko-jin?
I called him 'cat-boy' once. He nearly ripped my hair out that time . . .
I always thought I was faster than everyone else, but on that day I proved to be a bit lame, actually. Before I could step back, Rei already had his hands clamped in my hair. But what was even more humiliating than my lack of speed was the shriek I exclaimed when he began to pull. I mean, he pulled really hard. I was afraid he'd tear my head off completely.
When he heard me shriek, however, he loosened his grip – only a tiny little bit, so that it would still hurt. That little sod . . .
Before letting go completely, he hissed at me for amoment. I think Rei told me off for daring to insult him. While calling me an idiot, airhead, freak, asshole and even more unpleasant things. He's not very logical sometimes, our Rei.
He also kindly informed me that what I meant to say was 'neko-jin'. As if that was something different . . .Oh, but if I 'wanted to be able to reproduce' myself, I should be using that 'neko-jin' instead of 'cat-boy'. Otherwise he'd do something I won't repeat again. It even hurts to think about it.
Well, at least that's what I think he said. With all those hisses and spits he did . . .
He isn't hissing or spitting at me now. He's just staring at me, with those lovely eyes of his. We're alone in the kitchen, sitting on opposite ends of the table. Why? Because 'Idiot Number 1' thought it was fun to lock us up here. I don't know what he was thinking when he did it – or if he thought anything at all.
Another mystery is Blondie's and Kyouju's behaviour. I don't understand why they won't let us out again. After all, they're pretty clever. Maybe they thought Rei and I would need some time alone to solve our 'problems'. I don't have a problem with Rei. Rei doesn't have a problem with me. Our constant fights have just been misinterpreted by the others. We're just--
A low, seductive moan startles me out of my thoughts. "Oh, Kai . . ."
I blink at him. "What was that?"
"Huh?" Rei blinks back at me, and I scowl. I know he does that on purpose. Just to annoy me . . .
"What did you do?" My voice turns into a threatening whisper. Rei mock-shutters.
"Oh . . ." He looks at me as if he only now became aware of his previous act. "I moaned your name."
I narrow my eyes. Rei widens his own innocently. "I heard that. Why did you do it?"
He shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly, inclining his head slightly to the right. "It crossed my mind."
I swear he's going to drive me insane one day. He's always doing things like that. Being seductive and then acting as if he didn't know he'd done anything that wasn't completely innocent. That's why we're always fighting. He must know I have a fling for him. Maybe I shouldn't have stared at him so often. He must have noticed it that one time when Takao wrote 'Ice-Block' on my cheek – with some paint based on alcohol – and I wouldn't react to it and just continue staring at Rei's face.
I had to ask the receptionist-woman for some nail polish remover to scrub that stupid paint off again. That had been more than embarrassing. The only good thing was that Takao had had a cramp from all the laughing. Training had been hell for him the next day. He he he . . .
"Why would moaning my name cross your mind?" I decide to play along with Rei, because I know that it pleasures him immensely. He likes being in control. I wonder if he's always like that . . . It should be fun to see him in a relationship. I'm sure he'd be submissive if he was with me. Wait a sec – as if I'd ever want to be in a relationship with my quarrelsome little kitten . . .
Right now he smiles at me. Somewhat cute, I must admit. "Just like that . . ."
Oh, I hate him . . . 'Just like that.' Why can't he just admit he's got a fling for me, too? Why can't he make the first step?
A sudden idea crosses my mind. I'm a genius! "Oh, Rei . . ."
He chokes, his eyes narrowing into dangerously small slits. I wonder if he can still see me? After checking twice, I can affirm one of my assumptions: Rei's eyes are always sparkly and golden.
After approximately three seconds he hisses at me – again. "What was that?"
Ha ha! Funny . . . Now we've turned the tables. But I'll enlighten him immediately. "I thought I'd try it myself . . ."
Resting my chin on my hand, I smile at him. "Moaning your name, ne . . ." I pause, attempting to create suspense. It works. Rei furrows his brows, and I finish my sentence. " . . . cat-boy."
Sentence? Yeah . . . A sentence indeed. I'm as good as a dead man. Before I can even move my pinkie-finger, Rei jumps over the table and tackles me. We fall to the ground with a tremendously loud crash. I wince when my back hits the ground – that stupid backrest hurts like hell. Why did I have to sit on a chair? I'll sure have bruises all over my back – and no-one to soothe the pain. Judging the current situation, Rei is really furious and won't be willing to be my darling.
You see, right now he is hissing and spitting again and I can't understand what he's saying. Not one word. He's sitting on top of me. We must make a strange picture: I'm lying on the ground with my legs sprawled around that damn chair, and Rei is sitting in my lap. Man, I never wanted to look submissive . . .
Rei is reaching for my head automatically. He buries his hands in my hair, and I'm afraid he'll succeed in beheading me this time. I open my mouth to scream for help – you can't imagine how dangerous Rei looks right now. Sexy – but dangerous.
My scream is, however, stopped by a purr. Closing my mouth again, I raise my eyebrows at him. Rei's not looking at me, though. His eyes are a bit glazed over, and he's staring at nothing in particular. Purring . . .
Then he whimpers. "Kai . . .?"
I'm kind of worried. About my safety and Rei's sanity. What's up with him? If he would at least let go off my hair . . . I really do like my hair and would very much prefer to keep it.
I touch my hand to his forehead – you never know, maybe he's got a fever or something. "Rei?"
He's purring again. "I'm sorry . . ." he sniffles. Then he leans down and kisses me.
Really kisses me. On the lips. With tongue and all and -- oh, that feels good . . .
But his hands . . . they're still in my hair. Oh, please loosen your grip, darling . . . What is he doing with his tongue? Why is he doing it?
After a while, Rei's hands let go of my hair. He trails his fingertips over my cheeks, and I can feel him tremble. Taking hold of his hands, I decide to kiss him back. Maybe he'd be furious again if I didn't do it.
Ok, it was a mistake. The moment I started to play with his tongue, Rei became squirmy. With a sudden strength, he pulls his hands away from mine and tugs at my scarf. If he keeps this up it'll rip. Or I'll suffocate . . . I'd tell him to stop – if only he took his tongue out of my mouth.
The sound of something tearing apart makes me groan. He's finally managed to destroy my scarf. Just great . . . Really! And then Rei has to have the audacity to mistake my groan as one of pleasure. He kisses me even deeper. His hands move down my chest, slipping under my shirt.
Oh, I like that . . . His hands feel good against my skin. When Rei's lips leave mine to trail down my neck, I sigh contentedly – even though that chair is still poking into my back, which hurts a lot.
A sudden pain near my collarbone makes me wince. I decide to ignore it-- oh, scratch that – he does it again, and it hurts!
"Stop biting me!" I all but shout at him.
Looking at me, Rei whimpers. "I'm sorry, Kai-chan . . ."
Kai-chan . . .?
Ugh . . .
This thing has to end before Rei decides to bite my head of. He's already sucking at my neck again. Maybe I should let him continue this treat a bit . . .
Uh, I can feel his teeth again – so I decide to push him away. I'm lying on the floor, with Rei sitting on top of me. He blinks, and he's looking so cute again.
"Did I do something wrong?" Rei asks, disappointment clearly evident on his face.
"Besides first tackling and then kissing me?"
Rei nods.
"Well, kitty, you bit me. Repeatedly," I inform him.
Rei nods again. "I thought you liked it."
My eyes widen as I raise an unbelieving eyebrow at him. "Why would you think that?"
"Because you were moaning my name all the while . . ." he says with a smart grin while leaning down to lick across my cheek.
When did I moan his name?
"Ah, stop that Rei!!" Taking a hold on his shoulders, I try to keep him at distance. With little to no success . . .
Struggling against my grip, Rei clamps his hands around my wrists.
"Why won't you let me be nice to you, Kai?" he mutters between angry gasps.
"Because we're not going out or anything." Rei is still struggling very hard and I have problems stopping myself from pulling him down to kiss me again. It actually feels nice, the way he rubs against me . . . He probably knows and does it on purpose. Psh . . .
Rei's next words startle me to no end. "Then lets go out."
I'm so shocked I let go of him. My eyes are wide open, and I can see a blur of gold and ebony-black before Rei presses his lips gently against mine. Moving them in a slow motion he tries to get a reaction. When he doesn't get one – because I'm still paralysed – he takes the next step, tracing his wet tongue over my lower lip. Nothing new. He did that a few minutes ago, but it still makes me shudder.
When I start to kiss him back, Rei sighs happily. The way he snuggles against me makes me think he also took it as an affirmation to his 'let's-go-out-statement'.
Closing my eyes, I let my arms slide around his back. So we're going out now. Great. One moment Rei tries to kill me, the next one he's my boyfriend . . . or lover . . . or whatever one calls that.
Being deep in thought, I forget about my hands completely. I only realise what I'm doing when Rei gives a low purr – I'm caressing the hair at the back of his neck. Drawing back from the kiss, I look at Rei's face. His eyes are still closed, and his lips are stretched into a blissful smile. Damn, why does he have to look so adorable at times?
Suddenly, there's a flash of darkened gold, and Rei opens his eyes. Then he raises an amused eyebrow.
"Why are you still lying there? Isn't that uncomfortable?"
I don't know why, but somehow I think that he has developed a talent for spoiling every possible mood. Today is not the first time. Lately, he's been doing it every now and then. When I'm trying to be stern, he does something extremely funny – and I have to laugh. When I'm trying to relax, he gets in my way, poking at my nerves until I snap. He probably knows I can't relax for about seven hours when I get angry . . . And now I can add something new: Rei being sarcastic when I'm trying to be tender and loving.
Sneering at him, I prop myself up on my elbows. Our noses are nearly touching. "Of course it's uncomfortable! I would love to stand up – but you're sitting on top of me, so I can't."
"Why is that?" Rei asks, playful amusement glittering in his eyes.
"Because, my dear, you're heavy."
He pouts. Then he grins at me. "I thought you were stronger than that . . . I'm disappointed, Kai."
I shrug my shoulders. "Can't help it."
Rei remains sitting on me, motionless. Maybe he has decided to never get up again? I decide to ask him. "Now, Rei, will you get up, or not?"
I blink at him as he shakes his head. "Nope. It's actually quite comfortable." To prove his point he wiggles his hips. "Don't you think, boyfriend of mine?"
I groan.
"Who says I'm you're boyfriend?" I knew he took my compliance earlier as a 'yes'.
"You said so."
"With no words." He can be so annoying sometimes . . . Maybe I should call a divorce. Oh, wait! We're not even married . . .
Rei bats his eyelashes at me and grins. "A kiss, Kai," he begins, "can say more than thousand words."
Then he leans forward to kiss me on the lips. Nothing more than a soft touch. I automatically lean into him to get more. Rei emits a soft laughter. "See? I told you, ne?"
Breathing out through my nose, I turn away from him. I say and do nothing for a while. Rei moves his hips again, and I ignore it.
"Kai . . . If you don't want me then tell me. I don't bite." He does sound sincere when he says that, so I turn back to look him in the eyes, a smug grin on my lips.
"You did bite me. More than once!" I incline my head to the left, waiting for Rei's reaction.
Tapping his forefinger against his lower lip, Rei frowns. I can even see him thinking.
"I guess you're right," he replies after about four and a half minutes. Then he stands up, offering me a hand to do the same.
We stare at each other. I don't like his stare. It makes me uneasy. So I bend down to put my chair back in place. While I do so, Rei hops on the table, dangling his legs over its edge. When I push the chair back under the table, he puts his feet on it. Eyeing his slippers, I ask him the question that had bothered me the whole time:
"Why did you kiss me?"
Rei blinks at me. "I don't know . . . I'm sorry."
"For what? For kissing me, or for not knowing?" He looks kind of sad, and I don't like that. Not at all. It makes me want to protect him. To hold him in my arms. So I sit down on the table next to him, brushing my shoulder against his.
Leaning his head on my shoulder, Rei sighs. "For both probably. And for being so harsh all the time. Pulling at your hair and such . . ." To make it clear he gently strokes my hair.
I chuckle. He's so cute sometimes, my little Rei. Turning my head to the right, I lean down to kiss his forehead. Sighing again, Rei seeks my lips with his own. Slinging my arms around his waist, I deepen the kiss. The next instant, Rei breaks the kiss.
I feel a bit confused. I thought he'd like it gentle, now.
"Did I do--" I begin.
"--nothing wrong." Rei interrupts me, shaking his head. "I only wanted to prevent a cramp in my neck."
With that he moves into my lap, straddling my hips. He seems to like it very much in my lap. But I like him there, too, so I don't mind.
Circling his arms around my neck, Rei continues our kiss. Warm soft touches, the occasional flicker of his tongue against my lips. I could continue like this forever. Drawing lazy patterns on his back I pull him a little closer. When I slip my tongue into his mouth, I can hear him giving a soft moan. Exploring his mouth further, I can feel Rei leaning against me heavily, sending both of us lying on the table.
At that moment the door opens, and Takao storms in. Before Rei and I can react, he first gasps and then shouts for the rest of the team.
"MAXIE! KYOUJU! IT'S AN EMERGENCY! YOU HAVE TO COME FAST!!!"
Rei jumps away from the table and me. His eyes are wide. The moment I sit up, Max and Kyouju come running into the kitchen. They hurry to stand next to Takao, ignoring us completely.
"Did they kill each other?" Maxie exclaims, panic written all over his face.
Pointing at me, Takao nods. "Nearly. When I came in, Rei was throttling Kai. On the kitchen table! Where we eat!! And look at him! Kai's scarf is all torn apart."
Oh, right, my scarf . . . I forgot about that. Eh he . . .
Kyouju walks to my side, inspecting my neck for any damage. "Are those strangle marks?" he asks, pointing at my collarbone.
"Eh . . ." Stupid situations make me lose my eloquence, I'm afraid.
"No. Bite marks." That was Rei. Why did he have to tell them? Stupid boy.
"You bit him?" Takao, Blondie and Kyouju exclaim in shocked unison.
I groan and leave the kitchen. I will absolutely not listen to Rei going on about how he forced me into this 'relationship' of ours. I enter my room and lie down on my bed. It's already dark outside, but I decide to keep the lights switched off. I don't need to see anything right now. Closing my eyes, I let the last past hours pass my mind.
First, I got locked into the kitchen with Rei, because, in Takao's opinion, we seem to fight too often. That those fights were never anything but a call for attention – for contact and affection – didn't matter at all. Then, Rei and I stared at each other. I insulted him, he tackled me. Then he started behaving strangely and kissed me. And now I'm his 'boyfriend', as my dear Rei called it.
In the end, I come to the conclusion that cats are very strange at times. One moment they purr, the next they hiss. They either lick or bite you, depending on their even stranger moods.
The sound of the door opening makes me open my eyes – the sudden brightness of light and Rei's smile make me close them again.
"Hey, Kai!" Rei waves at me. He sounds way too joyful, and I growl at that.
I open my eyes again and glare at his pretty face. "Go away!"
"Man, are you sour . . . We should be all flirty now, don't you think?" Rei informs me, closing the door behind him.
Sitting up on my bed, I cross my arms over my chest. As he walks over to sit next to me, I raise an indignant eyebrow. "I can't believe you told them!"
"I didn't," Rei replies, resting his head on my shoulder. I tear my shoulder away and so Rei's head lands on my lap. Turning on his back, he grins at me.
"What do you mean, you didn't tell them? Of course you did! 'Bite marks' . . . Remember?" I can't believe it. I'm not stupid, and I heard what I heard!
Caressing one of said marks, Rei shakes his head. Silken strands of ebony-black hair fall into his eyes, intensifying their colour. "I told them I bit you because we had a fight and that I was going through a phase . . . With my cat genes and such. You know what I mean . . ."
My interest being awakened, I also shake my head. "No, I don't know what you mean. What phase?"
Pulling his fingers away from my neck, Rei's cheeks turn a light red -- the colour of strawberries. He tries to sit up, but I stop him. Placing a firm hand on his chest, I keep him in place. I use my other hand to brush Rei's hair out of his face.
"You can tell me, honey. I'm your boyfriend . . ." A small wrinkle starts to form between his eyebrows. He doesn't seem to like the mocking tone of my voice.
"I'm . . . Maybe you could call it . . .-no, that's not the right word- . . .eh . . .maybe . . . 'heat'?" At that last word Rei's cheeksdarken. He looks like a cherry now. Very tempting – and hot.
Leaning down, I let my breath grace his slightly parted lips. His golden orbs glaze over as his eyes flutter shut. "And it's true what you told them? That you're in a 'heat'?"
I can feel him shudder at our proximity as he nods. "Yeah," he breathes out softly. "It is true . . ." Leaning up, he seeks my lips. "Kiss me. Please."
I must admit, I get a tingly feeling at the pit of my stomach. How can one person be so cute and . . . sexy? Rei emits a soft mewl, and I lean down to close the small gap between us. Gently pressing my lips against his, I start kissing him. After a moment, Rei sits up. Shifting around a bit, he somehow manages it to lie down and pull me on top of him. I like it very much that way. Being on top and all . . .
When I push my tongue into his mouth, I can hear Rei moan. Slinging his arms around my back, he pulls me closer, aligning our bodies full-length. I let my hands slip under his tunic, enjoying the feeling of his soft skin against my fingertips. Rei seems to enjoy it, too, as he moans again, deep down in his throat this time.
"Kai . . ." he manages between short gasps. "You need to stop that."
Continuing my administrations, I turn to look him in the eyes. "You started all of this. Why should I stop now?"
"Because I'll lose my control if you don't . . ." he pants, digging his fingernails into my back. When did he get his hands under my shirt, I wonder?
"What if I don't mind?" To prove my point I kiss him again.
That matter seems to be closed . . .
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When I awake the next morning, I can see Rei curled up next to me, his head resting at the junction of my neck. Our clothes are strewn about the room, so we're probably both still naked. I can see my ripped scarf lying near the door. A pity it didn't survive yesterday . . .
My back hurts. I probably should have taken hold on Rei's hands last night so he couldn't scratch me while moaning with pleasure, but I had been so preoccupied with stifling the sounds he made. I don't want the other three nosy little brats to know anything about my love-life. Hence I didn't even notice Rei's scratches – I do notice them now and they hurt, damn it.
Seeing his pretty smile, however, I think it was worth it. Kissing his forehead, I close my eyes again, breathing in deeply.
I'm in love.
Very much.
And it's not as much of a cliché as I thought it to be.
Before we fell asleep last night, Rei told me how he always had mood swings in his 'heat' – he still had to struggle with the word, thinking it out of place. He apologised for tackling me, but he had felt bad tempered then. When his mood changed he became sorry and wanted to be tender – that's why he kissed me. After saying that he had grinned sleepily. 'And of course I also did it because I--'
The last part had been whispered into my ear, and I won't repeat it. It had been way too cute . . . My sweet little kitten.
Before I drift of into sleep again, a thought pops up in my head:
First, cats are strange.
Second, there are even stranger things than cats. Rei is one of them.
Third, I like that. A lot.
Hugging Rei close to me, I burrow my face into his hair. It's still so soft . . .even after last night's activities. I think I won't get up today. To hell with training. Rei and I are ill. We'll stay in bed the whole day. The others will have to leave us alone.
Problem solved . . .
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end.
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So . . . What do you think? Just send me a review (as a Christmas present --grins--) if you have time to.
I wish all of you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year! Especially Hatti, Donya and Shauna.