Hmm...well, here's the first chapter of a new fic for all you guys. It's...a bit different to how I usually do them, but hey. Happy reading!
Lee sighed and looked down into his half-eaten cereal bowl, then ate another spoonful. Sleepily, he yawned. He was still getting over the jet-lag, and it didn't help that Mariah had woken him up playing on her gameboy -far- too early. She never seemed to be bothered by jet-lag, no matter how far they travelled, and it made Lee very jealous.
"Lee?" Rei appeared at his shoulder, looking concerned. "You okay?"
"What? Yeah...I'm just tired...Mariah woke me up early..." Rei sat down, smiling brightly.
"I could get you some of Kai's caffeine pills if you like..."
"Nah. I'll be alright." Rei put his finger under Lee's chin and lifted it, smiling still. Lee was about to say something when there was a snigger from behind him.
"Romance over breakfast, hm?" Lee turned, glaring, and found Tala and Bryan standing behind him, with Ian in their wake.
"What do -you- want, Ivanov?"
"Oh, nothing. Don't let me interrupt your romantic little tete-a-tete." Lee stood up, brows almost meeting in the middle.
"What are you talking about?" Tala smirked.
"You two. I mean...it's obvious you're together..."
"What did you say?" Tension crackled in the air, but Tala just snorted softly.
"Don't be offended. I have nothing against gay people." Lee bared his teeth.
"Excuse me?"
"I think it's sweet, actually. Two little kitties-"
"Don't say that." Lee growled, baring his teeth. Rei stood behind him.
"Lee...just leave it...he's doing it to provoke you-"
"See, little kitties getting defensive of each other-"
"Don't call us fucking -kitties-!"
"Fucking! Mm, naughty kitti-" With a yell, Lee launched himself at Tala and knocked him to the floor. Tala sneered and they started struggling, punching and kicking each other as they rolled around the floor. That was, until Rei grabbed a pitcher of water and hurled it at them, yelling. "STOP IT!" Tala and Lee broke apart spluttering and wet, while Rei stood over them, fretting. The other demolition boys just stood there watching dispassionately. Rei knelt down and pulled Lee further away from Tala, frowning. "We're not -cats-. Now just...go away. Stop starting fights!"
"I'll do it even more if I know it'll make you stand around like a worried idiot." Rei sent Tala an offended glare and offered a hand to Lee, helping him up. The neko-jin squeezed excess water out of his ponytail and stalked out, muttering angrily in Chinese. Rei sighed and took Lee's breakfast things over to the kitchen hatch, looking back as Tala dried himself off with napkins.
Later on in the day, Mariah and Lee were trying out the jacuzzi, splashing each other and laughing.
"Well well." They both stopped short and looked up to find Bryan hovering over them, wearing black swimming trunks. "You get around, don't you Lee?" Lee's mouth dropped open.
"What? She's my sister you freak!"
"Really?" Bryan's lip curled. "I thought incest was approved of in China." Mariah gasped.
"How dare you?" She stood up, hands on her hips. "Who do you think you are? I heard about your little friend trash-talking us for being neko-jin at breakfast time! What's your problem?" Bryan looked her up and down and Lee fumed.
"Don't look at her like that you pervert!"
"Why would I choose to look at -her-?" Lee was about to get up and defend his sister's honour, when Mariah got out and squared up to Bryan, glaring.
"Just quit it and stop being so nasty! What have we ever done to your team, huh?" Bryan's snorted.
"You exist. That's enough." There was a ringing slap and Bryan's head snapped back. He laughed. "You just be glad I don't hit women."
"Oh don't you? Afraid I'll hit you back?" Bryan laughed again, and Lee stood up.
"Mariah, leave it. He's just being a prick."
"No, I want to know what's wrong with him! Why does he suddenly have a thing about our team? Well? Do you have a reason, you jumped up weirdo?" Bryan walked past her, ignoring her completely, and dived into the main pool, shooting up to the other end under the water. He surfaced, then immediately started swimming, a powerful front crawl that sent him shooting up the pool and back again. Mariah snorted and got back into the jacuzzi. "Stupid Russian freak..."
"Aw, that's not nice..." Mariah turned and found the rest of the Russian team behind her, all wearing the same black trunks. Spencer flitted his eyes over Mariah's pink bikini before smirking, making Lee fume. "Why don't you just go away?" He asked hotly, not at all liking the way Spencer kept leering at Mariah, whose eyes were narrowing and narrowing as the Demolition Boys made no attempt to move.
Tala put his head to one side, smirking. "It was nice rolling with you this morning, Lee." Then, laughing, he walked over to the pool, diving in as Bryan had and taking up the lane beside him. Spencer and Ian followed suit, each of them keeping routinely in a lane and swimming as if it were the only thing in the world. Lee clenched his fists in rage. "Those guys...really get on my nerves..."
"Let's just go. I'm sure there's somewhere we can go where those freaks won't follow us..." Lee nodded, and they got out, both enraged.
"Oof!" Kevin went flying as something tripped him over. He stood up, looking at his scraped palms before looking up at Ian, who was smirking and leaning against the wall. "What did you do that for?"
"What for?"
"Trip me up!"
"I didn't." Kevin frowned.
"You did!"
"No I didn't."
"You did!"
"I didn't." Kevin stamped his foot and walked off, bumping into Rei as he went.
"Don't go round there, Rei, Ian's there. And he just tripped me up!" Rei sighed. There was something funny going on. First the thing at breakfast, then in the pool, and now this... Well...first it had been Lee, then Mariah, then Kevin. He supposed it would be him next. Well, they'd have to go a long way to provoke him! He turned the corner and found not just Ian, but all of the Russian team there, blocking the only path to his room. "Excuse me."
They didn't move. Rei folded his arms. "I have no idea what this is about, but stop being so petty. It's ridiculous." Still no reply. "You'll give up before I do, believe me." Nothing. "I suppose," Rei said conversationally. "That this is because we're different from you. Do pointy teeth scare you?" Rei laughed softly. "Seriously, what is it with you? Why have you been going out of your way to get at us?" When no reply was forthcoming, Rei sighed. "So you're horrible to the others and just ignorant to me? Well that doesn't seem fair. Don't I deserve some insults as well? Or maybe you'll trip me over, I'd like that. It'd really make me feel equal." The Demolition Boys looked ahead, faces stony. Rei moved over to Tala and looked into his eyes.
"Why do you all have the same swimsuits? Does Boris make you? Does he choose all of your clothes for you? He seems to run your lives pretty well..." Rei let the comment hang in the air, watching as Tala's eyes focused on him, like twin sapphires. "Am I right? Boris has a lot of control over you all. Did -Boris- tell you to be mean to that team of nasty Chinese neko-jin?" Astonished a his own sarcasm, Rei found himself pressed against the wall. "There you go, a nice bit of -equality-!" He smiled. "What are you going to do now?"
"Stop being so fucking cheerful." Tala spat.
"Would you rather I tried to kill you? I could, if you wanted me to." Playfully, Rei lifted his knee and poked it into Tala's midriff. The Russian growled. "You were horrible to Lee this morning. And Mariah. And Kevin. What have they done to you that was so bad? What have -I- done? As I recall, it's usually you guys beating up on me!" He looked pointedly at Bryan. Still wanting to annoy Tala with his happiness, he giggled. "Have any of you ever played on one of those arcade dance machines? They're really fun. I found one in the airport before we came over, and I beat Kai on it. He's got no sense of rhythm. Maybe it comes from being ordered to do things all your life. You don't know how to take your cues from the music because it isn't your precious -Boris-."
And then someone slapped him. Hard. Feeling his cheek stinging, Rei opened his eyes. "You shut the fuck up you little -cat-!"
"I'm not a cat. Don't call me that. I don't call you wolf because your bitbeast's one, do I?" Tala shoved him harder up against the wall, snarling.
"You just shut your fucking mouth!" Rei shook his head sadly.
"Tala...let go of me. This isn't going to get you anywhere. I'm a very patient person. You'll give up before I do." A fist slammed into the wall beside his head, and Bryan glared down at him. Rei smiled at him. "Does it make you feel special knowing that you're Russian and far taller than me?" Bryan glowered.
"I suggest you keep your mouth shut."
"Oh no, I won't do that. What are you going to do to me if I don't? Slap me again? Because you won't hit me. I know you won't. You would've done that before now if you were allowed to. You're on -orders-. If you leave visible marks...well, I wonder? What would Boris do to you then?" Tala ground his teeth, then picked Rei up by his front and threw him to the floor. The neko-jin looked up to see the Demolition Boys walking away silently, then went into his own room.
Next Chapter: Something is revealed, Bryan gets a little hysterical, and Lee gets angry.
R&R please!