Once again, Kai is just a fun little bugger to play with.

Enjoy

(Part 4)

Shortly after taking their seats, Kai's father had departed from the room, informing the occupants that he was going to fetch Kai's present. The silence stretched on, Kai's mother and lover staring at the hands clasped in their laps, waiting for someone to speak up or for Kai's father to return, as Kai himself fixed his bored stare at a random spot on the wall.

"So, Kai, what did your friends get you for your birthday?" the blue- eyed lady spoke up, finally taking the initiative to break the quiet. Kai snapped his attention to her, dragging his cerise gaze from the cream wall and dismissing his thoughts on the one present in particular he was looking forward to receiving.

He shrugged nonchalantly.

"Hn, stuff," he answered. His mother rolled her eyes once again.

"…like?" She prodded, causing Kai to sigh and frown.

"I dunno, a…'thing'… from Kinomiya, the fat one," he explained, aware that his mother would most likely not be able to associate the images of his team that she had seen on the television with their names, "a bird toy and socks from Max, the blonde one, a very nice new attack ring from Kyouju, the little one with the glasses and a shirt from Hiromi; the girl," Alexia smiled and nodded before flicking her gaze to the other boy perched on her settee.

"And what did you get him Rei?" she enquired, interested in what her son's boyfriend had deemed to be a suitable gift. Rei blushed as Kai sent him a lecherous grin, subtly elbowing him in the ribs as he replied.

"Well, it's a surprise ma'am, Kai's very hard to buy for since there's only very few things that he likes, so I've got a couple of things planned for him," he smiled, patting said captain's knee affectionately, "and I've got a little something wrapped up, hidden away from prying eyes," Kai let out a short chuckle when Rei casually 'forgot' to mention his other present, the one that Kai was looking forward to so much.

"Oh, a mystery! I'm sure that Kai's very excited," She said with enthusiasm. Her comment caused her son to grin and bite back a chuckle.

"Oh yes, I'm very excited," he almost purred. Rei's blush grew hotter and he threw a warning glance at his boyfriend. If Mrs. Hiwatari had noticed any of the open flirting on Kai's part, she graciously chose not to acknowledge it, as she turned her gaze to the door. As if in answer, a small shuffle was heard and the door was opened.

Mr. Hiwatari quickly entered the room, closing the door behind him with a soft click, before making his way over to his son and setting a small, extravagantly wrapped box upon his lap. Kai merely stared at it.

"Well go on son! Open your gift!" The elder man cheered. Kai sighed in response and pulled his arm from where it was nestled around Rei's waist to tug at the ribbon. Without much haste, he pulled the soft material off the box and dropped it into his lap before lifting the lid off, revealing two small gifts.

"Keys?" He questioned, boredom lacing his voice. His mother and father nodded enthusiastically in response, before the woman stood and grabbed one of Kai's hands dragging him up.

"You have to come and see what me and your father got you! Come on!" Kai bit back a growl and obediently followed, cursing his mother for her 'Max- like' behaviour.

After a trip that seemed far shorter then the one that had led them into the house, they reached the driveway around the back of the house. Kai paused.

"Why are there two?" he inquired, the note of boredom once again in his voice. Rei could only stare ahead, awed by the sight before him.

"Well, we weren't sure whether you wanted to spend more time in Japan or in Russia, so we got you a left- hand drive and a right- hand drive," Kai's mother answered, grinning broadly, choosing to focus that smile on the astounded partner of her son and ignoring the slightly unimpressed boy that was her son.

"What are they then?" The younger Hiwatari asked, trying to make an effort. Kai's father seemed pleased enough and stepped forward towards the gleaming figure on the left.

"Well son, this' he announced, moving his hand in a sweeping arc over the dark, rich metallic green body, "is a Maserati GranSport." He spun to his right and repeated the gesture with his left hand, "And this," he continued, indicating to another streamline automobile, this time in a simple, yet seductive metallic black, "is the Aston Martin DB9. Two of the most beautiful and –dare I say- fastest cars available today. The Italian is left hand drive; the English is right hand drive. You can have one now and one at Christmas." Kai's parents turned to him expectantly, awaiting their boy's answer.

Kai shrugged.

"I'm planning on spending more time in Japan, so I'll take the Aston. Besides, I like the colour more,' Rei's jaw nearly dropped at the wholly unenthusiastic answer. How could Kai be so neutral about such an amazing gift? He knew that Kai had emotional issues, but he didn't imagine that his impassive mask could hold up that well.

Mr and Mrs Hiwatari seemed more then a little disappointed in their son's disinterest, but smiled and nodded nonetheless.

"Well, let's go back inside, I'm sure that you're both hungry," Kai's mother announced after a short while, and the brief flutter of tension in the air passed. The parents turned and led the way back into the house, Kai and Rei choosing to trudge along a couple of paces behind. Kai's mother chatted away in Russian to her husband, of which Rei understood very little, but did grasp that she was on about lunch. He flicked his gaze to the side, finding that Kai was silent, deep in thought. Rei thought better then to pester him, and continued on without uttering a word.

After no more then a minute, they reached another sitting room; this one adorned with soft creams various hues of blue. Alexia ushered the three males into the room, and headed off in another direction, leaving the three alone. Once again, Kai broke through the slight awkwardness by striding forward and flopping down onto a navy blue leather sofa, his expression for a moment, one of surly displeasure, though it quickly passed. As if fearful that the now empty air besides him would cause him to crumple, Rei quickly moved to sit next to his lover once again, watching as the eldest Hiwatari settled down into a comfortable chair, just across from the beech coffee table. Silence resumed.

After a few moments Rei could feel a pair of mahogany eyes settle upon him, so like he was used to, yet this time it unfamiliar and unwanted. He pretended to admire the room, which, to be fair he did which made the job easier, but after a while, he started to worry that it looked like he was becoming unnaturally enraptured with the room. He started lightly when a warm hand covered his own, and snapped his gaze back to lock with soft cerise eyes- the ones that he was used to, and adored so much- and a small smile. Kai motioned downwards with a brief flick of those eyes, and Rei followed that indication, colouring lightly when he realised that his hands were wrapped around the material of his red shirt. He had been fidgeting without even realising it. He looked back up, glancing from Kai to his father, finding a soft sort of amusement mirrored in the father and son's faces. It struck him then how much Kai looked like his father and he graciously smiled at his silliness in return, freeing his digits from their confines of cloth.

"So Rei, how long have you bladed for?" Rei smiled inwardly, grateful for the father's tactful way of breaking the uncomfortable silence.

Sending a quick glance up to Kai, he returned his gaze to Susumu's face, meeting his gaze and holding it in an effort to look less meek. "Well sir, I first spun a blade when I was six years old. It took a while, but eventually it became apparent that I had a certain gift for the game, so I stuck at it."

"And look at where you are today," The eldest replied, sending him a satisfied nod, "Have you ever bladed with anything other then… Drigger was it?" He questioned. Rei felt Kai subconsciously relax next to him and smiled lightly when he found a familiar hand resting against his hip. Apparently Kai was pleased with the level of questioning at the moment, choosing to wrap his arm about his boyfriend's waist and slump further into the seat, listening intently.

"Well sir, before I got Byakko, I bladed with different types of blade, such as combination types and endurance types, but I found that, with my fast reflexes, I handled speed types with the most efficiency. This became more apparent when I got Byakko, as he represents 'Gold', so his attacks flow and require accuracy, rather then, say with Takao and Seiryu, who can just turn his power up and storm around the dish. In the past couple of years I've tried out Dranzer with Suzaku, Dranzer with Byakko, Wolborg with and without Byakko, Cerberus and Galeon, though that one was without Byakko in it," Rei replied, watching as Kai's father nodded occasionally.

"And what did you find the easiest to handle?" The man asked thoughtfully.

"I'd say Dranzer, though I seemed to work better with Suzaku, rather then Byakko in that one, which is strange since Suzaku isn't my own bit so it should have far more difficult to handle. I mean, it felt very foreign to me, and when I say that I handled that one best, I mean, I bladed like am amateur with it, though I managed to beat Max. Wolborg was nearly impossible for me as it was the opposite to mine. Slow where Drigger was fast. It was like using a tank when I was used to a fighter jet," Rei smiled as Mr. Hiwatari let out a short chuckle.

"Why is it that you were so much more compatible with Dranzer I wonder?" he wondered aloud.

Kai answered this time "Probably because our bit's sense the closeness that we have to one another, and feed off of that. Besides, we share some of the same attributes and have a similar attack style, in which both blades need to be light and rely on precision moves and fast execution,"

"Aye, that would make sense." Susumu agreed.

Just then the sound of a door opening interrupted the pause, Kai's mother re-entering the room. She had a jolly smile upon her face and said, "Lunch is ready. I hope you boy's are hungry!" Quickly, Rei followed the Hiwatari's as they rose to stand, eager to follow as he didn't trust in his ability to find the dining room alone. Just his luck, they'd probably have about five anyway, he thought with a quick roll of his eyes.

He found himself trailing behind the other three as they stepped out into the corridor, absentmindedly flicking his gaze from wall to all, talking in the decorative pictures and various other forms of art dotted around. Before he was even aware of it, he had walked into something broad and firm.

Kai immediately turned around, his eyes amused and questioning.

"Rei, much as I must look like a door, could you wait for me to enter the dining room before trying to walk through me?" Rei could only blush at the sarcastic tone. He mumbled an apology. Kai merely shook his head and smiled lightly. He knew that the other hadn't been paying attention and didn't realise that they had reached their destination, but the opportunity to poke fun at him was too good to pass up.

And he was really very cute when he blushed.

What wouldn't I give for an Aston Martin DB9

:drools: Kai's one lucky sod, yet all he can do is moan. Talk about keeping him in character XP!