Happy Holidays! This chapter will serve as my Christmas present to all you guys. It's not exactly late, according to my time zone :D. Go me! XD
To the reviews I did receive, though… (not very many considering this chapter's up hours after I uploaded the other one… what? I had to finish it! And I tried to make it longer. And it is longer. I did write "-hinthint-" in my note at the very bottom.) You guys really like Ian, huh? Heh heh… don't know if I'll be making him do anything stupid/funny anymore, though.
Since this was done kinda hurriedly (distracted by various anime I have lying around on my desk that I haven't watched), there might be more mistakes than usual.
Disclaimer: Merry Christmas! Err… um… no. I don't own anything. –sweatdrops–
Chapter 8
Time passed quickly as the Neoborg busied themselves learning the ways around their home, playing games like Hide and Seek and tag. Days trickled by quickly, and soon enough, Christmas was upon them.
The boys gathered around the warm fire with their mugs of hot chocolate. They had just come in from a vicious and cold snowball fight, and a blizzard had started up before anyone could be announced the victor.
"I'm bored," complained Ian.
"We're completely aware of that. You've been saying that once every five minutes since we came in," said Spencer.
"Let's play hide and seek!" exclaimed Ian, excitedly.
"Again? But we've been playing that everyday for the past couple weeks!"
"So what? It's fun! Come on. It can be your guys' Christmas present for me, this year!"
The others raised their eyebrows.
"Ian… you know—"
"How 'bout we play a different game for your present?" said Tala. Bryan and Spencer looked at their leader, confused.
"Oh goody! Another game! What game? What game?" asked Ian.
"How about… pin the tail on the donkey?"
"Huh? But we don't have a donkey."
Bryan and Spencer grinned maliciously. "Sure we do…." Bryan and Spencer stood up, towering over Ian with the fire lighting their faces in a menacing way. "You can be the donkey…"
Ian's eye twitched. "Um… guys… you really don't have to… forget what I said. Come on, you guys—ahhh!" Bryan and Spencer pinned Ian to the floor. "Tala! Come on! Help me out, here!"
Tala smirked. "You said you wanted a present, so here it is."
"But not this!"
"You should know better than to ask us for presents."
"I'll go get the costume and blindfold," said Tala, running out of the room.
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"Now where did I put it?" muttered Tala. Every year, Bryan, Spencer and Tala liked to play pin the tail on Ian. They would dress Ian up in a costume they found and tie him to the wall. They would play for hours upon hours, slapping the tail onto Ian's rear end and laughing endlessly.
Tala looked in his dresser, in his closet and between the cushions of the couch, but it was no where to be found. Getting down on his hands and knees, he crawled around the floor, looking under his dresser and chairs. When he finally looked under the bed, he found his bag.
"Bingo!" Tala pulled out the small brown costume with the various "tails" stuffed in the pocket. Looking for a blind fold, he pulled out a long white scarf.
"Eh? Oh, I forgot about this." Tala smiled and buried his face into the scarf. Pulling out the various items he found that last day at the abbey, he looked them over carefully. He gazed at the photo again, his attention focused on Kai, and smiled sadly.
"Kai, I want to see you smile again. Like you used to." His finger grazed over Kai's image. "Just for me," whispered Tala. Tala leaned back against his bed and watched the snow float to the ground.
'What could I do for him to do that, though?' Tala glanced at the scarf. 'Maybe I could give his stuff back. A present… for Christmas.'
With that, Tala piled up the notebook, half the necklace, the stuffed dog, and the photo and wrapped it with the scarf, before disappearing down the hall.
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Tala came to the door of the library. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door. No answer. Nudging the door open, he saw a bright fire crackling in the room, surrounded by leather chairs. In one of the chairs, was Kai. Tala hid the present behind his back and cleared his throat. Kai's eyes shifted towards him, before drifting back to a book. Tala slipped in and stood in silence a few feet away from Kai.
"Sit and read or leave." Tala didn't move. "You need a hand?" Tala didn't answer. Kai put down his book and got up. "A good kick in the ass should do the trick," he muttered as he neared Tala.
"It's Christmas."
Kai stopped. "So?"
"Um…"
Kai raised an eyebrow. "Do you have anything worth saying?"
"Err…"
Kai narrowed his eyes and made for Tala. Tala bit his lip before bringing out the present from behind him. Kai stopped, surprised.
"M… merry Christmas, Kai," mumbled Tala. When Kai didn't take it, Tala said a little louder, "It's a present. For you." He pushed the present into Kai's hands. Kai stared at it, stupefied. "Well? What are you waiting for? Open it."
Kai paused, before whispering, "why?"
"Huh?"
"Why are you doing this?"
"'cause it's Christmas." Kai narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Tala.
"You're not supposed to give out Christmas presents. We never did when we were little, because none of us could afford anything. I remember you saying spending time with friends would suffice. It was a rule. No presents. At least… no material things."
"Then don't think of it as a present. Just me… returning things to you."
"Returning?"
Tala nodded. "Open."
Kai unravelled the scarf. His eyes widened in surprise. "Where did you find all of this?"
"In your room. Right before we left."
Kai turned around and sat on the couch examining everything carefully. Tala sat down beside him. Kai picked up the dog. He put it in his lap and stroked its fur gently. Kai was about to hug it when he glanced at Tala. Tala looked away abruptly, letting his eyes wander over the countless number of books on the shelves. When he returned his gaze to Kai, Kai was examining the scarf.
"You gave me this, didn't you?"
"Mhm. You used to always complain about the snow and how cold it was whenever we went out. I remember I used up almost all my savings to get you that so you'd shut up. After that, we went out a lot more. I can't believe you got a replacement scarf. You bastard, I thought you lost that one or ruined it, and thought I wouldn't notice you and the new scarf."
"I… I didn't want to ruin it," mumbled Kai, clutching the scarf tightly.
Kai picked up the notebook and flipped through it quickly. Kai glanced at Tala.
"Oh. Don't worry. I didn't read your diary."
"It's not a diary," growled Kai, "it's a journal."
Tala chuckled, "right right. If that makes you feel any better."
"Hn." Kai glanced at the photo. He bit his lip and looked away before slipping it into his journal. Tala glanced at Kai worriedly. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. Finally, Kai picked up the chain, which flowed between his fingers. He looked at it confused.
"Maybe this'll help." Tala pulled out the charm and fitted it onto the chain in Kai's lap. Kai gasped slightly. Tala saw Kai bite his lip. "Remember?" Kai picked it up, the wolf glimmering in the firelight. Kai looked sadly at it, before dropping both parts into Tala's hands.
"Kai?" Tala looked at Kai, confusion evident in his eyes.
"It's yours."
"Yeah… but I gave you the chain. The chain's yours. Don't you remember what it means?" Kai didn't answer. Tala's eyes narrowed. "It means we're friends, Kai. Friends. Doesn't that mean anything to you? Anything at all?" Kai didn't answer.
Tala gritted his teeth. "Kai! Answer me! Doesn't it mean anything to you? Don't I mean anything to you?!" Tala took hold of Kai's shoulders and twisted him around. "Answer me!" Kai's hair shaded his eyes. "Kai!"
"You do. All of you do. But me… I… I don't have any friends." Tala was taken aback. "I don't deserve any." Kai stood up and his scarf slipped to the floor.
"Kai! Stop thinking that way!" yelled Tala.
"Why? No one cares—"
"I care!" Kai's heart seemed to stop. "Kai…I care about you. After all these years, I've been waiting; waiting for you to come back. I don't care what others think. I can't forget all the great times we spent together. I don't have any right to hate you. I want things to be the way they used to be, Kai: to have fun, to relax, not to have a worry in the world, for us to be friends, again—best friends. Can't we go to the way things were before?" Tala paused, before continuing, "It hurts me to see you like this."
Tala watched Kai in silence, when a thought dawned on him. "Kai… you… you don't really want to lose everything we had, do you? As if… it were nothing?" Tala watched Kai anxiously.
"No."
A great weight lifted off Tala's heart. "Then… then things can go back to the way they were. We both want it that way. Like the good ol' days—"
"But they can't be. Things have changed. They've changed a lot, Tala."
"Maybe, but they've changed for the better! Our lives will be better than they were before!"
"Better, huh?" Kai glanced at the fire, crackling happily in the fireplace. "Tala, do you… do you really want me back?"
"Of course I do! I mean… I've missed all the times we had together, the laughs we shared, the pranks we pulled… I…I've missed you, Kai."
Kai whispered, "I've missed you, too." Kai turned around and wrapped his arms around Tala, tears brimming in his eyes. "I've missed you a lot." Tala hugged Kai back gently.
"You know what?" murmured Kai.
"Hm?"
"This is the best Christmas I've ever had." Tala pulled back. On what seemed to be a face that never seemed to be content, Kai was wearing a genuine smile. Tala smiled back.
"Me too."
The blizzard had calmed to a quiet snowfall, that afternoon: a warm and beautiful snow. It swirled around in the sky, covering the land in a white and cozy blanket. It decorated the tree branches with its white crystals. As the clouds drifted apart that night, a large moon rose from the horizon, and the crystals glimmered in the moonlight.
-starts singing- I'm dreaming of a white Christmas. Just like the ones I used to know; where the treetops glisten and children listen to hear… sleigh bells in the snow…
Alright, that's the enough of that. It was my final thought while writing that last part. I was going to keep on writing, but what I was going to put would ruin the mood.
-sigh- I'm losing my touch. It didn't nearly come out as well as I planned. Dunno how to change it, though.
Anyways, happy holidays! Here's a little something I made for all you Beyblade fans: (the link's at the bottom of my bio/profile)
I hope you like it. :) I know I know… no TalaKai… it's not like Kai's extremely happy there… and it's funnier to have Tala with the snowman rather than, say, Ray/Rei.
Review please!