Wait, wait, I'm ALIVE?

Wow.

Damn, I'm so out of practice at this fanfiction thing. I feel really strange posting this. I didn't put much effort into it; what little creative energy I have is going into my new full-length fic, The Bright Edge, which is NOT co-operating AT ALL…

Anyway.

Basically, this is a VERY short let's-screw-with-the-canon oneshot. It contains shonen-ai, TyKa and spoilers. It's my version of what happened between Eps 46 and 47, and I don't own Beyblade.

…no, really, I don't.

Inevitable

He felt a thrill, and for a moment he couldn't breathe. His hands were shaking as he gazed out into the light of the dying sun. The light was thick and golden, scattered with motes of dust that made it sparkle; and the air was on fire as Kai walked towards them.

Tyson was lighter than air; he had no body. He was floating. All he could see was the glitter of the light on the still water, and the lone, shadowy figure moving slowly through it all, a single smudge of darkness on the golden cloud.

And he wasn't surprised, because he had known this was going to happen. He had known one split second of disbelief, and then acceptance had replaced it. He had known all along that Kai would come back to him. He had never, ever stopped believing that they would find their way back to each other in the end. It was inevitable.

Their eyes met, and something electric jumped between them: something silent and powerful and reckless. The blazing sky and the dark glow of sunset melted together, becoming a labyrinth of light; and the centre of it all they stood, silent.

It was Tyson who spoke first.

"You're late."

Rei, grinning: "Look who decided to join the party, everyone!"

Miguel, crossing his arms: "About time you showed up."

Rick, his hand on Max's shoulder: "Big deal. No offence, Kai, but we don't really need you around. We can handle this."

And Max, laughing, stealing some of Rick's supper with his chopsticks: "Ignore him, Kai, old bud. It's great to see you again."

Kai said nothing, picking steadily at his bowl of rice.

"So Kai's going to be blading in the next match tomorrow?" Mariah asked. "Hmph. Typical. I still say I deserved a shot."

"Me, too," Julia said.

"Listen up, you guys, I'm captain of this team, and what I say goes," Tyson said, sharply. "Kai's the best blader we have, and he's gonna do this, you got that?"

"Besides, Kai's the only other person who's fully mastered the Hard Metal system," Kenny put in, patiently.

"Exactly," Tyson agreed, emphatically. "The Chief's right. 'Sides, you guys, can't you be a little more supportive? Kai's gonna win this for us, no prob!" He turned to face Kai, looking up at him. They were sitting so close together at the low table that their knees were touching, and every now and then their arms would bump together, sending a proud, companionable glow of content coursing through Tyson. "Right, Kai?" he asked.

Kai said, very quietly, "Right."

Sometime during the night, he heard a door slide open and closed. Scrambling over Daichi, who was snoring away and hogging most of the blanket while he was at it, he tumbled to the ground, leapt up, and crept outside.

Kai was there, just as Tyson had known he would be: sitting on the porch, his knees drawn up to his chin, a hunched blot of shadow in the semi-darkness. Beyond him, the trees made strange shapes, the leaves glistening in the faint starlight whenever the wind blew.

"Hey," Tyson said, sitting down next to him. Their shoulders brushed briefly; something inside him lurched a little.

"Hey," Kai responded, softly.

It was so strange, acting as though nothing had happened…acting as though he hadn't spent the past few nights sitting out here on this very porch, staring at the stars and wishing that they would fall, wishing that there was some way to find Kai again…and now his wish had come true…

He stared down at his knees, swinging his legs absently. Swallowing the awkwardness in his throat, he said, "Look, I don't know how to say this right, but…thanks, dude."

"For what?" Kai asked, guardedly.

"For showing up." He grinned, and said, almost to himself, "I knew you were gonna come back. I knew you were. You sure took your sweet time about it, though."

There was a pause, and then Kai said, thickly, "I had to come back." He swallowed, and then said, his voice harsh, "I'm not going to let them stand in my way. I'm not going to let anyone stop me."

Tyson had been afraid of hearing something like that. "You wanna take on Brooklyn, don't you?"

"Yes."

He bit his lip. "Kai…"

"Don't say anything, Tyson," Kai snapped, standing up, as though he were about to leave. "I'm doing it and I don't care what you say."

"It's OK, man," Tyson said, hastily, scrambling up to face him. "I know. I know you can win this."

Kai said nothing, but looked away, his arms folded firmly across his chest. After a long time, he said, softly, "It's for us. You and me. I'm not going to stop until I've had one more chance to battle you. I have to win this." He looked up, his face hidden almost entirely by the night, his eyes glinting furiously with some distant light. He said, his voice almost shaking, "This is my battle, Tyson. I don't want you to interfere. I need to do this on my own."

"I get it, Kai, I understand," Tyson said, almost desperately, one hand reaching out to rest on Kai's forearm. The skin was cold, the muscles tightly clenched. Tyson had missed him. It had been so hopeless without him – as though he'd been fighting blindly, without truly believing that he could win.

He had known, somewhere, in the back of his mind, that Kai would come back. It was unthinkable that he wouldn't. Kai always came back in the end, no matter how hopeless it seemed. Kai would never let them down.

"Then promise me that!" Kai was saying, sharply. Tyson could feel his arm trembling; his fists were clenched. "Promise me you won't interfere. Promise me you'll let me do this."

"OK, OK, I promise, alright?" Tyson almost shouted, gripping Kai's arm even harder. "Look, I know how much this means to you! I'm a blader too, Kai! I know! And I'm not gonna stop you from doing what you have to. I'm not gonna try and mess this up, 'cause I know you can do this, dude." His hand had somehow slipped down to find Kai's; fingers curled tightly together, and Tyson said, his voice suddenly very small, "I believe in you, bud."

Tyson couldn't see the expression on Kai's face; but he could see him nod, once, brusquely – and felt fingers tighten around his own. His face suddenly felt very hot, and he was finding it difficult to breathe again. Hesitantly, he said, "Hey, can I ask you a favour, man?"

"What?"

"You've got to promise me something in return, OK?"

"I can't do that," he said, flatly. "Tyson…I can't guarantee anything."

"Don't give me that!" Tyson almost shouted, his heart kicking in his throat. He'd missed him so much… "It's really important, Kai! Promise me you'll come back!"

"Tyson…"

"No matter what happens, no matter what, I don't want you to leave again. I don't…you…I…" Tyson sniffed, his throat beginning to ache from holding everything back. "You know how boring it is without you around? You know what it's like? Everyone was acting like you were dead, like we were never gonna see you ever again, and I was so scared…"

"Tyson…"

"Kai…Kai, please?"

"Tyson…"

"…Kai?"

His other arm had slipped up around Tyson's back, pulling him close, their foreheads touching. They were both shaking now; Kai hand was trembling violently in Tyson's, and his breathing sounded stilted and erratic, and their lips were pressed together. Tyson's arm crept up around Kai's neck, and suddenly they were kissing desperately, and Tyson was crying, because he'd missed Kai so much…

And Tyson wasn't surprised, because he had known this was going to happen. He had known from the moment he'd seen Kai outlined against the setting sun that it would be like this. They had both understood that this would happen; they had looked at each other and seen it. They had seen everything they needed to know in each other's eyes. They had read it in each other, and they knew that each had felt the same loneliness, the same bitterness, the same fear.

Tyson pulled back, breathing shakily, wiping angrily at the tears on his face. "I want you to battle," he said. "OK? I want you to win this. I don't care what it takes, Kai, I – I know you can beat them. I know you can."

Kai looked down at him through the darkness, and kissed him again.

Some things you can't change.

Some things are inevitable.

What the…was that hinted Rick/Max?

My brain is strange.

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY TO RANGER! OK, so it's extremely belated, but who cares? Hee, we're halfway to thirty, loser. Righteous. ;p

And thank you to everyone who reviewed/e-mailed me after I finished Forever. It was a weird time, and you guys cheered me up a lot. Have some cookies, everyone. Don't worry, I didn't bake them, so they're safe to eat. (waves sheepishly)

So…review? Heh, I feel like I'm a newbie all over again… (sweatdrops)