Thanks again for all the nice reviews, they are greatly appreciated. I present to you another chapter and another day at the Japan BBA office. They were never intended to all take place there, but now I refuse to make them take place anywhere else. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade.
Autumn
"You don't know it's bad news."
Hilary didn't even believe herself, but she hoped for his sake, Tyson couldn't tell. For as long as she'd known her boyfriend, a phone call from either his brother or dad only brought bad news and a downward spiral for Tyson.
His silence only made her turn to look at him. Their shoes on the freshly waxed linoleum echoed in the quiet hallway of the BBA. Tyson's expression was blank. Out of respect, Hilary remained silent for the rest of their journey toward her office.
They had been in the main training facility when a page alerted Tyson to a phone call from his father. Hilary had immediately watched for his reaction, but he only made a self deprecating joke about his dad losing his cell number before asking Hilary if he could use her office for privacy.
Which was what brought them here, standing before Hilary's locked door. She glanced to Tyson briefly, his expression still masked. Flashing her I.D. Card over the scanner, the door clicked open. Hilary pushed inside first, switching lights on in her usual ritual. Tyson followed blindly, rounding the desk and sitting in her comfortable office chair.
Hesitating, Tyson reached for the desk phone. He released a deep breath Hilary hadn't realized he had been holding, bringing the receiver to his ear. He looked at Hilary, now almost standing guard at the corner of her desk, before his focus went back to the phone. He punched in the extension.
He waited a beat then said, "hello?"
Hilary felt her stomach flip-flop studying Tyson. She folded her hands over the corner of the desk, poised for something. Tyson's dad was supposed to visit for the first time in years. Literal years. Her boyfriend had been beside himself when he had first found out. She knew he had been let down in the past, but Tyson kept saying things would be different because he had purchased flight tickets or shown him approved vacation screenshots. Hilary was optimistic, but now thinking back, grandpa had been oddly silent every time Tyson's father was brought up. She gripped the desk harder.
"Yeah, I'm at work." Tyson rubbed his eyes with his free hand, but otherwise seemed rigid in her chair.
Hilary let herself get closer, her vice grip on the desk released. She opted to stand beside Tyson, hands finding comfort on his stiff shoulders. The touch alone caused him to relax some and he glanced up at her with a strained smile.
"Okay," he said, an unsure tone to his voice. Hilary couldn't make out the words of the deep voice on the line. He spoke for a while before Tyson cut him off. "Dad, just get to the point."
The deep voice continued without hesitation. Tyson slightly shook his head in response, clearly annoyed. He carefully stood up from the desk as to not hit Hilary, a tired expression forming on his face. Her hands dropped slowly from his shoulders, sliding down to remain on his back. Tyson was slightly hunched over, focusing intently on the call.
"You're breaking up." True to his words, Hilary could hear brief sounds of static breaking up the voice. Pockets of silence before the voice reappeared. "Yeah... that's better."
No matter how hard she strained, she couldn't make out the words on the line. But she could feel how stiff Tyson's body was under her hands, muscles tensed further as more words were said. Hilary rubbed his back, a reassuring circle between his shoulder blades.
Tyson glanced at her again, eyes meeting in brief gratitude. He shuffled the phone receiver to his other ear as he refocused. The voice never seemed to stop and Tyson's annoyance quickly reappeared.
"Are you coming late?" Tyson interrupted. Hilary's hand faltered in its pattern. She could feel his sharp inhale under her fingertips as brief as it was. "Or are you not coming at all?"
The answer was short, but it was enough for Tyson to hit the desk. He left his knuckles against the wood when the voice picked up again without any inclination of the reaction.
Hilary wrapped her arms around his middle when she felt a tremble in his body, as much as he tried to hide it. She pressed her head to his shoulder, mouth against his t-shirt. She could see him biting his lower lip even if his face was turned away.
She laced her fingers together over his abdomen in case he tried to pull away. Instead he seemed to deflate in her arms.
"I need to get back to work dad," Tyson said after a while. Hilary could feel the exhaustion in his voice. She didn't hear the response but it made Tyson sigh. "Yeah, I'll talk to you later dad. Bye."
Hilary refused to let go of Tyson, even after the click of the phone being hung up. Neither said anything, Hilary burying her face into the crook of his neck. Their breathing synced up in the quiet. Tyson seemed far off as he stared into the corner of the room.
He eventually covered her hands with his, squeezing them gently. Hilary left a brief kiss against his neck before perching her chin on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry." Hilary never knew what to say when this happened. Now as his girlfriend, holding him was the only solution she could come up with. "I know how much you wanted to see him."
"I should know better by now," Tyson admitted, his disappointment evident. He ran one of his hands up her arm absentmindedly, head turning to look more in her direction. "I just really wanted him to meet you."
Hilary gave him a small smile. "Well, I'm not going anywhere Tyson."
He smiled back, an interesting combination with his tired eyes. He twisted in her arms, Hilary loosening her hold around his abdomen. She looked at him curiously before he was in a proper position to kiss her.
Her heart was full when he pulled away and could only feel the sincerity when he said, "I know."