Chapter 8: Reunions and Opportunities

Kai allowed a small smile to pass over his lips as he awoke to the sun beginning to rise. The redhead next to him continued to sleep, deep within his own dreams. Kai laughed gently and headed for the shower. He was determined that they would begin this day on the right side of the bed. After his shower he softly padded down the hallway towards the stairs. He stopped briefly at Bryan's door so that he could peek in on the tiger and falcon. Sure enough they were both still sound asleep, curled into each other's arms in the middle of the bed. Flare merely opened one eye just enough to see who was intruding on the pair. Kai laughed and softly closed the door again to make his way to the kitchen so that he could make breakfast.

Even though Kai had closed the door as quietly as he could, the tiger had still awoken to the disturbance. He smiled to himself and shifted further into the arms surrounding him. He enjoyed waking up to the presence of the falcon. He looked above him on the bed when he heard a soft mewl. Flare noticed that his friend was awake and slowly stepped his way in between the two, trying to burrow in between the two men. Bryan frowned at the disturbance. "Cat, you really need to settle down. Just who do you think you are?" Bryan opened one eye to glare at the fur ball that now sat in between him and his kitten. Flare just looked at Bryan and mewled again. Behind the orange cat, Rei laughed at the pair.

Bryan raised an eyebrow at the tiger. "You really think it's funny that he walks all over me don't you?"

"Aww, Bryan he's not walking all over you. He's trying to lie in between us to get in the middle of all the body heat and it just so happens there's no where else for him to walk."

Bryan smiled as he closed his eyes again. Rei slid an arm around Bryan's waist, covering Flare at the same time. "Hey Bryan, how are you feeling this morning? You seemed pretty upset last night."

Bryan pulled both cats closer to him. "I'm alright Rei. It was just a dream. My mind was just making me see a few things. That's all. I feel better now though so it's ok."

"Are you sure? It really seemed to upset you last night. Even Flare was worried. I don't want you to be upset Bryan."

Bryan smiled and sat up, pulling Rei from the bed. He wrapped his arms around Rei as he breathed in the scent of the tiger. "I'm fine Rei. I promise I am. Let's go have breakfast. That was probably Kai I heard peek in earlier. I can guarantee that he was on his way down to make breakfast before we all head off to work. So let's go join him."

Rei smiled and both boys made their way to the kitchen. Tala was the last to arrive at the table. Once everyone was seated, Kai placed two heaping plates full of pancakes and French toast in the middle of the table. He was determined to get a good routine for breakfast started so that hopefully they could get Rei back to a healthy weight. Things were definitely looking good for the tiger and he didn't think there would be a problem trying to boost the moral of his friend any longer.

Over breakfast Kai had programmed everyone's cell phone numbers into Rei's new cell phone, as well as the number to reach them at the abbey and the number to the house. "Just remember to take this with you if you decide to go out Rei. That way if we need to get in touch with you or you with us, you'll be able to."

Rei smiled and clipped the case onto the belt he had worn with the baggy jeans.

"Alright guys, it's about time to head to work." Tala spoke up as he set the empty dishes in the sink. He started running warm water into the sink as well.

Rei slid up beside Tala at the sink. "Don't worry about dishes Tala. I'll wash them. You guys go ahead and get to work. You don't want to be late. I'm just going to take that application back to the restaurant. So I'll do the clean up around here this morning."

Kai frowned. "Are you sure you can get there ok Rei? You've only been there once. You can use one of the cars, of course. I really don't want you using the bus, but do you remember the way there and back?"

Rei smiled and hugged the phoenix. "I'll be fine Kai. Don't worry about me. You guys get to work. I'll be here when you get home."

All three Russians helped clear the table and then started heading towards the garage to head to work. Bryan paused by the tiger as the other two left the room. "Are you sure you'll be ok on your own Rei? You can always come check things out at the abbey. There're plenty of things the three of us take care of there now. I'm sure you could keep yourself busy for the day."

"Bryan, don't worry, I'll be fine. Get going already, you'll be late." Rei smiled and pushed the falcon towards the door.

Bryan quickly turned around and pulled Rei flush against his chest. "Just take care of yourself while you're out, okay? Call if you're going to be later than us."

Rei returned the embrace, comforting the falcon. "Don't worry Bryan. I'll run out and be right back. You won't even notice that I was gone."

Bryan pulled away from the tiger in his arms and simply lost himself in the golden eyes for a few moments before Tala yelled for him. Slowly, Bryan turned away and left with the other two.

After everyone else had left, Rei gathered his wallet and application and left for the mall. Just as he had told Kai, he had no problems finding his way. He had watched the area and streets during the whole drive the day before. It was easy to find his way back. Once inside he dropped off his application to the same girl that had been their waitress the day before. She asked him to wait a few moments so he could do a short interview with the staffing manager. Things seemed to be going very well for him. After the brief interview, the manager asked him to come back the next day for a trial run. She would have him fill out the paperwork and follow someone around during the afternoon for a couple of hours. Things seemed to be going very well for him. He would be working in a restaurant. He would have the opportunity to work in the kitchen as a cook if things went well. The manager had told him that they were more in need of waiters and waitresses than cooks at the moment. But if they could hire someone else for the position in the mean time, they would shift him to the kitchen if he worked well.

On his way out the door he waved to Michelle and headed out towards pet shop. He wanted to get a few toys for Flare. The kitten had already shown that he could be a playful one at times. There had been times that Rei had caught him stretching to catch the length of hair that fell down Rei's back. It was a simple temptation for the cat. Rei found some small toys that Flare could chase around when he had no one to play with.

By the time he had made the rounds and found himself back at the food court, it was just about lunch time. Just as he rounded the corner to the food court, his cell phone rang.

"Hmm, it says it's Kai's number. It must be lunch time for them as well." Rei hit the answer button and placed the phone to his ear. "Hello Phoenix. Is it time for lunch for you too?"

He heard Kai's laughter on the other side. "Hello Tiger. Yes, it is lunch time. I tried calling the house but you didn't answer. I assume you're at the mall by the sound in the background."

"Yup, I dropped off the application and picked up some toys for Flare."

"How did it go?" Rei thought Kai was just as eager as he was about the job.

"It was wonderful. I think Flare will love the toys I bought for him."

Rei laughed when he heard Kai grumbling on the other end. "Not the shopping Dopey, the job. How did it go when you dropped off the application?"

"I know what you were talking about. It went very well. I had a short interview and I come back tomorrow afternoon for a couple of hours to do the paperwork and learn my way around. I'll be following Michelle for a little bit to learn the routine of how things run. If everything goes well over the next couple of weeks and they can hire and keep enough waiters and waitresses, they'll move me into the kitchen as a cook for a test run."

"That's great Rei. I'm happy it worked for you."

"I am too, Kai. Look, I'm going to let you go. I'm going to grab something to eat and then head home. I'll see you guys when you get home tonight okay?"

"Okay, Rei. Take care and we'll see you tonight. Bye."

"Bye, Kai."

Rei then hung up the phone and turned to scout out what he wanted to eat. As he started walking towards the middle of the area, he bumped into someone coming from the other direction. "Oh, I'm sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going."

"It's not a problem, Rei."

Rei quickly spun to see who would know him. Looking up he saw Josh grinning down at him. He smiled at the other man and took a step back. "Hi Josh, how are you? I didn't think I'd run into you again today."

Josh smiled and put his hand on the small of Rei's back, guiding him towards a nice Chinese stand in the food court. "I work at a game shop down the east wing. Sorry, I never got to tell you yesterday."

Rei just followed as the other man guided him to the stand and then a table with their food. "It's ok. It's not like that topic popped up in conversation."

"This is very true. So what are you doing here again today?"

"I was dropping off an application at a restaurant down the west wing."

Josh grinned at the tiger. "So I'll get to see you more often then huh? Maybe we'll run into each other since we'll both be working in the mall, you never know. Maybe we can have lunch sometime again?" He looked at Rei with hope.

Rei laughed. "Yeah, I think we can do that."

"You have a really nice smile, Rei. You should smile all the time. It makes you're eyes just glow."

Rei blushed and looked down at his plate. Josh reached across the table and placed his finger under Rei's chin. He lifted slightly, forcing Rei to look up at him. "You are a wonderful person Rei, and definitely easy on the eyes. You should be happy more often. I know you have friends who care for you. So why do you seem so down when I compliment you?"

Rei shrugged. "I guess I'm just not use to getting compliments like that."

"You should receive them more often. It's only the truth." Josh leaned across the table and gently brushed his lips across Rei's. Rei gently placed a hand up to Josh's chest and pushed him away.

"Josh, please. I didn't mean to lead you on. I'm sorry if I did."

Josh smiled and sat back down in his seat. "That's alright. You didn't lead me on exactly. I just figured it was worth a shot. But I guess with someone like Bryan, I just didn't stand a chance, did I?"

Rei shook his head. "Josh, you are someone wonderful. Bryan's and I aren't attached. I'm just not ready at the moment for a relationship. I'm sorry. I don't want to hurt you. I understand if you don't want to, but couldn't we be just friends?"

Josh nodded and smiled. "Of course we can be friends Rei. Are you sure you and Bryan aren't attached? He seemed really protective of you yesterday."

"I've been through a few things within the last few weeks. Bryan and the others are protective of me since they took me in. They saved me from myself. They just don't want me to get hurt. Bryan is very protective of me, but it's nothing like that. He's just the one I've leaned on when the nightmares come. He's the one that's there to help me sleep at night sometimes."

Josh nodded. "I see now. But, Rei, I think you deny what you don't want to see. Did he ask you about me yesterday after you guys left?"

Rei nodded while pushing his food around his plate.

"Did he worry about you when you said you'd be coming here again today?"

Again Rei nodded and frowned at his food.

"Does he hold you at night when you're upset? When the nightmare's come, does he sleep next to you to chase them away?"

Again Rei nodded as a blush spread across his cheeks.

"Rei, I need you to look at me."

Rei looked up at Josh with shy eyes.

"Rei, when you wake up in the morning who is the first person you want to see? Don't tell me who's there for you. Tell me who you feel you always want there."

Rei looked back down at his food and once again Josh reached across the table to force Rei to look at him. "When I wake up, every time I turn around, I can't imagine Bryan NOT being there one way or another. He's always there. He's there to hug me when I need the contact and support. He's there to listen when I need a shoulder to cry on. It's just how it's been since I've gotten here. Josh, it can't be like that. I'm not ready for a relationship yet, it's all moving so fast."

Josh laughed at the man across the table. "I think you are ready Rei, you're just denying yourself because you don't want to be hurt. Bryan won't hurt you if he can help it. I think you should take the chance with him Rei. He won't let you down."

Rei smiled as he thought about things. "Do you really think it could work?"

"You'll never be ready for the chance if you don't try it Rei. You and Bryan are already close, why not try it? If you guys are as close as you tell me, nothing will really change. You don't need to be ready for a change that won't happen yet. If something should change later down the road, you two will find your way with time."

Rei smiled and they both stood and emptied their trays. "Thank you, Josh. I think I'll take your advice to heart. I should head back home now though. I have a few things I need to get done there. Let me give you my number. That way we know we can get together again?"

Josh nodded as Rei pulled out his cell phone and gave Josh the number as well as the home phone number. Rei gave Josh a hug as they separated and Rei headed home.

Flare was happy to see his new toys when Rei set them in a corner of the living room. While Flare was busy playing with his new toys, Rei put some more food and water in his bowls. Rei then continued to put together a pan of lasagna to bake for dinner. Afterwards, both cats curled together on the couch and watched the television while they waited for everyone to come home.

When Tala came through the door, the first thing he did was pull Rei into a tight hug. "Congratulations Rei. We knew you could get that job. And the opportunity to work in the kitchen is awesome? Things are going to go well for you, kitten. I just know they will."

Rei laughed as he pulled himself away from the hug. "Thank you Tala. Now, if you're done squeezing the life out of me, dinner should be ready. I made lasagna when I got home."

After hanging up coats and removing shoes, everyone made their way into the kitchen for the dinner Rei had made.

"So Rei, what else did you do today?" Kai asked from the other end of the counter where he was pulling down plates.

"Not much. Like I said, I bought some toys for Flare. Maybe that will give him something to spend that excess energy on. He was quite the feisty kitten this morning. After that I ran into Josh again at the food court and we had lunch. After that we swapped numbers and I came home. He works in one of the game stores in the mall, so we thought we'd get together for lunch sometime."

Bryan frowned and Rei noticed. "What's wrong Bryan? Did it not come out right? I could have sworn I did everything right."

Bryan shook his head. "No, it's not that. It tastes wonderful. I think I'm just more tired than I thought today."

Rei frowned for a moment but shrugged it off as everyone continued eating. Bryan volunteered to help Rei with the dishes while Tala and Kai made their way to the living room to watch the television.

Bryan frowned as he was putting the last of the now clean dishes back into the cabinet. "So you ran into Josh again today?"

Rei nodded as he wiped down the counters. "Yeah, I think it's going to be nice having a friend like him. He really is a nice guy."

"How do you know? You haven't even known him longer than a day yet, Rei? How can you know he's a good guy or not?"

Rei stopped and looked at Bryan. "He seemed like a pretty nice guy Bryan. He at least deserves a chance."

Bryan leaned on the counter. "He didn't try anything on you did you?"

Rei blushed when he remembered the very brief kiss they had shared.

Bryan's eyes widened as he took in the blush. He didn't even give Rei a chance to respond. "He did, didn't he? I knew it. And you're defending him?"

"Bryan, it was only a small kiss…"

"And you let him do it? Rei what are you thinking?"

"Bryan, you aren't listening."

"I don't need to Rei, you let a practical stranger kiss you and now you're defending him and calling him a nice guy. Rei he doesn't know you. You're probably just a celebrity to him. You were everywhere on the news during the championships."

Rei's frown deepened. "Bryan, it's not like that."

By now, Tala and Kai had heard the shouting and had run into the kitchen. They both just stood in shock as the falcon kept shouting angry words and the tiger kept trying to explain. Unfortunately, Bryan wasn't listening to anything.

"Forget it Rei. If you want to let him take advantage you, go for it. But don't expect me to stand here and watch you do it." Bryan finally stormed out of the kitchen up to his room.

Kai ran for Rei when he saw the tears begin to fall. He reached the kitten just in time to catch him as his knees fell out from underneath him. Kai eased them both down to the kitchen floor. Rei continued to cry into Kai's chest as Tala sat down on his other side and wrapped his arms around them both, whispering soothing words into the tiger's ears. "It's going to be ok Rei. Bryan's just jealous of Josh and he's not thinking straight. Give him time. He'll realize what he's done and he'll apologize until he's blue in the face."

Rei continued to sob into Kai's shoulder. "He wouldn't even listen to me. Yes, Josh tried to kiss me, but I pushed him away and told him I didn't want a relationship like that with him and he listened. He told me that he thought Bryan and I were already together. I told him we weren't and he told me we should be. Why would he tell me to give things a chance with Bryan if he wanted to take advantage of me? Bryan wouldn't even listen to me. He wouldn't let me explain."

Kai rubbed his hand over Rei's back. "It's okay Rei. I think it's time to call it a night though. Why don't you sleep with Tala and I tonight? I don't think you should be alone."

Rei just nodded as Tala helped him stand and guided him up stairs. Kai went into the living room to turn off the television and pick up Flare. The kitten looked a little spooked after hearing the raised voices. Kai held him securely in his arms and headed up the stairs. He paused at Bryan's door and knocked. "Bryan, can I come in for a minute?" Kai asked softly through the door.

"Go away Kai. I don't want to talk tonight. Maybe I'll talk tomorrow, but not tonight. Please. Just leave me alone for now."

"Alright" Kai answered softly. Flare mewled softly from his arms. Kai understood and set the kitten down at the foot of the door. "Watch over him Flare. Take care of our Falcon tonight." Kai smiled and headed to his own room, leaving the door cracked so that Flare could slide in to be with Rei if he so chose. When he entered the room he noticed that Rei had already cried himself to sleep. Kai slid into bed on Rei's other side and together they surrounded him in a cocoon of body heat.

Tala frowned at his lover. "They can't pull away from each other Kai. We have to help them fix this. Bryan has to see reason. Once he knows that it's him that Rei wants he'll feel so stupid."

Kai nodded and ran his fingers through Rei's hair. "He can't go through that depression again so quickly. He was just pulling himself out of it. Somehow, we will fix this. Maybe he'll see his mistake himself. He was just jealous. He'll see it when he calms down." They both wrapped their arms securely around the tiger, hoping he would at least sleep through the night.

Down the hall, Flare scratched on the door in front of him. When he didn't get a reaction, he mewled at it and continued scratching. After a few moments, Bryan finally opened the door with teary eyes. He looked down to see the orange kitten looking up at him. "Oh, Flare, what have I done?" Bryan bent down and picked the kitten up. He left his door cracked open just in case Flare wanted to be with Rei at any point in the night. The night before, he had slept through the night in his bed. But the night before, he also had Rei in his bed all night. Crying to himself over the angry words he had shouted at the tiger, he held Flare close as he curled back into the bed and cried himself to sleep.