So! Next chapter up guys and only one to go!

Disclaimer: Don't own it.

Paint - Middle

They had been painting for an hour, and the silence was painfully killing Tyson.

At first, he was quite happy, though confused, when Kai had ended up joining in. Wasn't it the fact that Kai didn't want to help, that had got them into this mess in the first place? Tyson quite rightly pointed that out to him - just to receive the remark that Kai couldn't trust him to paint his own room without blowing something up.

Just because he had accidentally blown up a refrigerator once (no one had been able to figure out how that actually happened yet), didn't mean he'd actually blow up Kai's room. How could you with paint anyway?

Since then, the two had finished two walls together and were now working on the third - all in a comfortably seeming silence. Kai looked quite happy about that fact (well, as happy as someone who didn't outwardly show much emotion could), but Tyson felt like it was pure torture.

It could never be as bad as having to keep quiet for a day, to get to this point, mind you. Hilary, Daichi and Max had teamed up against the bluenette to try and get him to say something (strangely using the techniques he used on them later to get them here at the start) - but no matter what they did, nothing worked. Tyson wouldn't give up - even though it seemed like he was on a loosing deal if he won the bet.

Now though? Now the silence was something put on him without choice. When he did that bet, at least he had a reason to be quiet.

So, as anyone in Tyson's position would do (he convinced himself), the bluenette began humming random tunes as he painted - off-key and with hi eyes only focused on the wall in front of him. This of course meant he never noticed Kai's slow reaction to it.

At first, the Russian just stopped painting the section he was painting and looked at the younger teen next to him.

A minute later, that look turned into a glare.

Half a minute after that, his eye began to twitch, and the grip around his paintbrush tightened enough to turn his knuckles white.

"Would you stop that idiotic humming Kinomiya!"

It was another minute after that when Kai had finally snapped. Tyson, being oblivious to what had happened during his few minutes of noise-filled bliss, looked at the older teen in slight shock. What had got into him? Kai usually showed some sign of being annoyed before he finally let go and let anger take control. After all, Tyson had spent the few years around him to know exactly what buttons to press to get the Russian so riled-up. In fact, he was becoming quite the expert before this.

"Well excuse me Kai, but I found that humming was more fun than having to paint in silence!"

Tyson turned to the Russian with his paintbrush in hand. He wasn't going to back down.

"Whoever said this had to be fun Kinomiya?" Kai glared, not breaking eye contact once. "And I found the silence much more peaceful than having to hear your pathetic excuse for a conversation."

That got Tyson's temper flaring.

"Trust the sourpuss to prefer silence," he replied, raising his voice with an edge of hurt he had tried to hold back. "You know what! I'll go. You're better off alone!"

With that, the bluenette turned to leave, only to have Kai grab his wrist and bring him back. The same wrist that had the paint brush in. The same paintbrush that recently was loaded with a big amount of red paint on. So, as with the natural order of things, the motion ended up with Kai having a sploge of paint on his nose - without Kai knowing himself.

"Look, Kinomiya I..."Kai's tone had held an apologetic tone, but he trailed off. Probably at the expression on Tyson's face.

The bluenette was honestly trying - but the way that the red paint blob on Kai's nose clashed with the Russian's blue triangles, just left Tyson with one word. Adorable.

It was a split second later when his brain realised this, and hence caused Tyson to try his best not to burst out laughing. Kai and adorable in the same sentence? Now the world was definitely going to end.

If only he had a camera.

"What's so funny Kinomiya?" Kai asked with a glare. This didn't help one bit though, and brought Tyson into stitches as the paint on Kai's nose just lost the glare's usual effect.

"Paint..." Tyson breather, trying to speak between concealed laughs, "...on your...on your...nose!" Before laughing loudly without any restraints, or any thought over the consequences. In fact, the bluenette laughed so hard, he missed the strange gleam in Kai's eyes and the slight calculating smirk to his face. The only sign as to what was going to happen next.

One empty paint tin later, and Tyson's laughing had stopped.

Had Kai? Had Kai just...?

"Back to work Kinomiya." Kai smirked at the bluenette's spluttered state whilst painting his own section again. "This wall will not get painted with you standing there. Though you do look a little red in the face-"

"Kai" Why did you...why did you...why?"

"Why did I empty a can on red paint over you?"

"Well yes...you...why!"

"Payback. Now back to work."

Leaving Tyson speechless for over ten seconds was a feat in itself. After all - most of the former BBA Revolutions had tried. Kai held the current record after he yelled at Tyson that he did care during an argument - leaving the bluenette with a goofy smile for half a minute before noticing Kai had left. This time it wouldn't be so long - no matter is Tyson was covered from head to toe in red paint, and dripping onto the floor.

"Kai! Why the heck did you do that!" He shouted, wiping the paint from his eyes in a vain attempt to see the Russian better.

If Tyson had looked into Kai's eyes then, he would have seen mostly amusement in those lilac-grey irises, but as it was - all he could see was the usual smirk. Kai didn't even turn from his painting to spare the bluenette a glance as he replied, "Payback. I told you."

"Well jeez sourpuss! All I did was laugh at you 'cause there was paint on your nose! Which, by the way, is still there!" Tyson would have stuck his tongue out at that, but he didn't want to get any paint in his mouth. "And anyway Kai, you didn't have to tip the whole can over me! That took it way too far. This stuff isn't going to come off me for ages! And...and...where are you going?"

During the bluenette's rant, Kai had (in order) rolled his eyes, put his paint brush on a safe surface, rubbed off the paint on his nose, and began to walk towards the door and past Tyson.

"Well," Kai stopped and turned around, only a foot from Tyson's face. "it seems we have run out of red paint."

"Only because you tipped it over me!" Tyson yelled, pointing at himself as if to prove his claim. It wasn't hard to hell - being nearly completely red all over - but he thought it added to the effect. Especially seeing as Kai was acting as though it wasn't a big deal. Of course it was a big deal! Though, the bluenette thought, it would have been worse is he had his trusted cap on.

"Hn."

With that sound, Kai had begun to move away again, but he was not going to get away with it so easily! Not if Tyson had anything to say about it.

Using an action similar to the one Kai had used earlier (which had gotten him covered in paint in the first place), Tyson grabbed onto the Russians arm. For a brief moment, he was satisfied with how his hand left a red print onto Kai's arm. After that - not so much.

With the large puddle of red paint still dripping off Tyson's clothes, and the sudden force in one direction, the two ended up in a situation.

Tyson, somewhere at the back of his mind, silently congratulated himself for getting Kai as covered in paint as he was. That was promptly squashed as he noticed how close he was to the Russian's face, with Kai on top of him like that.

"K-Kai?" Tyson mumbled with a slight amount of fear. If he didn't get Kai's mood right - he knew he was going to have a very painful death. Probably involving sharp pointy things.

When Kai didn't reply though, he knew the final reaction was going to be an extreme.

"Kai? I'm so sorry! I-I didn't mean to pull you over, even though it was kinda funny if you think about it. Right? 'Cause now you're as red as me! And I did mention I was sorry right 'cause I don't-"

"Tyson."

Kai's reply quietened the bluenette with quite a speed. Though that may have something to do with the hand covering his mouth. A look into the Russian's eyes didn't help either. He wasn't mad? Then what was he? Tyson couldn't tell.

"Shut up."

It was at this point most of Tyson's brain had switched off.

All he could feel was Kai's body-heat, this undeniably strange yet familiar feeling spreading from his stomach (leaving him tingly all over), and how Kai's breath danced across his face gently. He found himself looking towards Kai's lips and, with an instinct he found hard to deny, his eyes had lidded slightly and he had moved his head upwards.

Kai had moved even closer so there was barely any room between their faces, and moved his hand to cup Tyson's cheek.

Just an inch left and...

"Hey guys! I thought I should come down sooner in case you kil-" Hilary's voice shouted through the door, trailing off to see the position the two world class bladers were in for a split second.

At the sound of Hilary, Kai had rolled off Tyson, had sat up with an alarming speed, and had schooled his face to its usual emotionless expression. When she had walked in, she caught it all, but was unsure of the circumstances.

"What's going on?" She demanded, looking for answers in Tyson's general direction. It nearly always involved him.

Tyson however was looking for reaction on Kai's behalf with a lost and dazed expression. What was that? What was going on? Why did he want-

"I'm going to go clean this mess from me." Kai's voice broke him out of his rambling thought. It was colder than usual, and reminded the bluenette of the same tone Kai had used when he had left them all those years ago, for the lure of Black Dranzer. "You know your way out."

With that, Kai had gotten up and brushed past Hilary, sparing one last glance at Tyson with something indistinguishable passing over his features.

"Tyson?" Hilary asked, raising and eyebrow "Why are you covered in paint?"

ooooOOOOoooo

As night-time fell, a figure unable to sleep moved stealthily through (though more out of habit) with a dray paintbrush in hand. Arriving at the right place, turning on the lights, (and sparing a strangely fond glance at a patch of drying red paint on the floor) the figure picked up a tin of dark sapphire paint and set to work on the last wall of the room.

End of Middle

Hope you're liking it so far and the next chapter is being properly written as you read this (unless it's already there XD )

Reviewers get pancakes seeing as it was Pancake Day yesterday!

Lokie