Kai: You know, the only reason I'm shirtless in this fic is that someone stole my pyjamas.
Reshki: Oh, d'you mean these? The ones with the little fluffy sheep everywhere?
Kai: …those aren't mine.
Reshki: If you must know, you're actually shirtless because Tyson bribed me.
Kai: Oh…um. (blushes, which is not something you see everyday) Well. I guess…I guess that's alright, then.
Tyson: Heh.
Warnings: Guy-on-guy stuff, and vague vandalism of property. Be afraid.
Disclaimer: Um…duh.
Tyson yawned, and stretched, and glanced at the clock. Seventeen minutes of complete silence…not that that was anything new, when you were around Kai.
He glanced over at the other boy, who was leaning back in his chair, his arms folded across his bare chest. He was obviously awake, as he was tapping a finger irritably against one arm, but his eyes were closed. Tyson grinned, only slightly evilly. This looked like a perfect opportunity to drool over Kai unnoticed…as if he didn't do that way too much already.
So Tyson stared.
He decided that he could get used to this: sitting in the kitchen eating cookies while gazing at a half-naked Kai. The long, familiar scars gleamed slightly against the older blader's pale skin, and the soft, smudged shadows shifted as his chest rose and fell with each breath, and the skin of his throat looked so smooth, and soft, and warm…and…and…and…
Kai opened his eyes. "Problem?" he enquired.
Tyson immediately chomped down on a cookie. "Nope!" he said, cheerfully, his mouth full. "No problems at all…ow!"
"What now?" Kai sighed.
"Ow!" Tyson yelled, clamping a hand over his mouth and bobbing up and down in pain. "Man! I bit my tongue! Ow, ow, ow…"
Kai rolled his eyes slightly, which made Tyson forget about his aching tongue. He hated it when Kai rolled his eyes. It made him so mad he couldn't think straight…even though it was very, very adorable.
"You could at least show some sympathy, you know," he said, reproachfully, his words slurring slightly. "It hurt."
"Are you done being pathetic?" Kai asked, completely ignoring him. "If so, you should get back to bed."
"Aw, dude!" Tyson protested. "I'm still wide awake! Just a little bit longer?"
"Fine. Not like I actually care." Kai closed his eyes again.
Tyson, growing bored, began humming very quietly: just a small, pointless, slightly off-key tune that was as annoying as possible. He kept his eyes on Kai, waiting. Any second, now, he was going to snap…his eyelids were flickering, and his jaw was clenched…Tyson hummed a little louder…any second now…
Kai's eyes shot open, and he glared at Tyson, who gazed back, as innocently as he could. "Hey, Kai!" he said, brightly. "What's up?"
"Knock it off," Kai said, sternly, and closed his eyes again.
"OK, OK," Tyson sighed. "Geez, I'm just teasing you, dude…lighten up a bit."
Silence.
Tyson studied him, and said, eventually, "You know what your problem is?"
"No, and I don't want to."
"Your problem," Tyson declared, forging on ahead bravely, despite being met on all sides with the standard, meticulously indifferent cynicism, "is that you never have any fun."
"Oh, that's strange," Kai drawled, caustically, "seeing I've been enjoying myself so much this evening."
"Come on!" Tyson insisted, brushing the sarcasm aside. He didn't mind it as much as he used to. Being mean and sarcastic and grumpy was what Kai did. It got annoying, but he didn't mind. After all, Kai was…
…special.
In about a hundred different, grouchy, pain-in-the-neck, unforgettable ways.
There were times when Tyson had absolutely no idea why he liked Kai so much; and there were other times when it seemed like the most natural thing in the world. It didn't really make a whole lot of sense, but that didn't bother him to much. Kai very rarely made a lot of sense, anyway. They were friends, and Kai was safe with him, and that was all that mattered.
"Let's do something fun!" he continued.
"…Let's not."
"Like…like…hey, hey, I know! Follow me!" Tyson enthused, having been struck by sudden inspiration. He was going to make Kai get sappy – something which, to date, only he had ever been able to able to pull off. It was something of a privilege, and one of many. For example, no one else, Tyson knew perfectly well, ever touched Kai; no one else could make him feel guilty; no one else spent nearly as much time with him. Most importantly, Tyson was the only person Kai ever smiled at.
He was quite proud of it all. He liked to know that Kai considered him to be special.
So he plonked the mugs down next to the sink, chucked the now-empty cookie packet into the dustbin, and jumped up, firmly grabbing Kai's hand and towing him out of the kitchen. He flicked off the light with his free hand as he did so, so that a deep, velvety darkness blossomed around them.
"Tyson, this is pathetic…" Kai muttered, as Tyson began dragging him down the corridors of the dojo for the second time that night.
"No, it's not! Just a little further now!" Tyson said, excitedly, practically bouncing up and down as he fumbled his way along, stumbling over old schoolbooks and discarded Beyblades. At last he slid open a door that led outside, and felt the scented night air, cool and dark as water, cover his skin in coldness. He shivered slightly in his thin, green sweatshirt, and felt Kai give the smallest shudder, before resolutely tensing his muscles. Oops. He hadn't realised how cold it would be out here…it didn't matter. It would only take a second, and then they could get back inside.
"I take there's a point to this?" Kai asked, sounding very fed up.
"Yup," Tyson told him, pulling him over to one of the wooden pillars that ran all around the dojo. "You remember this, don't you?"
He could have sworn he heard Kai's breathing hitch, and then speed up just the littlest bit. "…yes," Kai said, eventually. "I do."
Tyson dropped Kai's hand, squatting down next to the pillar, squinting at the worn, grained surface of the old wood. "Right – here," he pronounced, jabbing his finger at a certain spot. "See?"
"I see," Kai said, kneeling down next to him, his chin almost resting on the younger boy's shoulder. Tyson could hear his breathing, which was shivery, trembling out through chattering teeth. "I…remember."
In the faint light, it was just possible to make out a few, small, carved letters etched into the base of the pillar: BLADEBREAKERS FOREVER.
It was accompanied by seven names, each in their owner's handwriting: Tyson, Kenny, Max, Rei, Hilary, Daichi, and, lastly, Kai, squeezed onto the bottom of the list and slightly off to the side, where he had deliberately chosen to write it in his steady, precise, unremarkable characters.
"After that last Beybattle with Brooklyn, remember?" Tyson said, unnecessarily. "You and me and the rest of the guys out here…I still say you should have been in the hospital, but you had to be all tough, didn't you? Heh, it seems like it was ages ago now, but it was only a couple of months…" He paused, grinning into the darkness. His plan was so working. Any minute now, Kai was going to make a nice, sincere, adorable comment, like he did every now and then, and Tyson would be able to go to sleep happy…
Kai just laughed – and not a very nice laugh, either. It was more of a snicker – and a very evil snicker at that.
"Hey!" Tyson protested, feeling hurt. "You're supposed to get all mushy and say something nice to me, you creep!"
"Is that why you dragged me out here?" Kai asked, still chuckling. "Sorry, Tyson, but I'm afraid I won't be making any profound comments tonight."
"Hey!" Tyson said, again. "You…you're…hmphf. I feed you cookies and hot chocolate and this is all you have to say?"
"Evidently," Kai said.
"Dude!" Tyson scooched around, dangling his legs over the edge of the porch, crossing his arms and sticking his nose in the air. "Well, if that's the case then I have nothing to say to you."
Kai gave a soft snort; and then Tyson felt him shift slightly, so that he sat with his back leaning against the pillar, his legs drawn up to his chest, directly behind Tyson's back. Tyson, despite his alleged bad mood, couldn't help leaning back against Kai's legs, wriggling his shoulders slightly, and sighing in comfort, staring up at the night sky, his head resting on Kai's knees.
"It's kind of nice out here, don't you think?" he asked, after a while.
"If you say so," Kai intoned.
"What kind of an answer is that?" Tyson demanded.
"It's the only answer you're going to get."
"Have you ever considered seeing a shrink?" he enquired, deciding that this could be a fun new way to annoy Kai.
"No."
"Well, dude, your people skills sort of suck."
"Thanks for pointing that out," Kai said, acidly. "I'll keep that useful bit of information in mind."
"I'm just saying, there's nothing like good help…" Tyson pointed, smiling gleefully into the soft inkiness of the night.
"Don't even start," Kai warned.
"OK, relax, dude, I'm only messing with you," Tyson said, laughing. "Hey, you don't need anyone poking around in your head. You're fine the way you are."
There was a pause. Tyson had the distinct impression that Kai was embarrassed at that, and felt something akin to triumph. No matter how grumpy Kai got, he could still coax a smile out of him…
"If you're still trying to get me to reflect on friendship and say something nauseating, it's only fait to let you know that it's really not working."
…or not. Pah. He'd work something out eventually. For the moment, though, he contented himself with picking up a leaf and throwing it at the older boy; it drifted on the air and fell short, twirling down idly to the ground.
He leant back against Kai's legs, letting his hands fall flat onto the wooden porch, closing his eyes. It was still pretty cold, but Kai, surprisingly, was warm, and very comfortable, so he supposed it wouldn't really matter too much if he just zoned out for a bit. He let his thoughts wander, shifting to his side slightly to get more comfortable.
He heard Kai say, "Tyson…?" but wasn't really listening. He liked being here, snuggled up against Kai; he liked being anywhere near Kai, even if Kai was being mean…he moved again, trying to get more comfortable, and found himself with his face pressed against something smooth and cold, with a pair of very strong, very muscled arms wrapped firmly around him.
OK.
That was certainly an interesting development.
There was only one person in the entire world with arms like that.
"Erm…dude?" Tyson asked, opening his eyes and sitting up, realising at the same moment that was cuddled up against Kai's chest, practically sitting in the guy's lap – and Kai had his arms around him, and one hand was reaching up to brush his cheek…
"Dude?" Tyson squeaked again.
Kai's face was very close now…his eyes, glinting softly in the soft, cold darkness, were curiously frightened…and his lips were parted ever so slightly…
Tyson, deciding that Kai was being way too slow, moved his head forward and closed the gap between them.
Reshki: Ish still unfinished! Twill continue!
Tyson: …eventually.
Reshki: That "Bladebreakers Forever" thing was unbelievably corny...erk...sorry. Feel free to flame me. It's raining, and I'm cold.