Before I take your bit-beast, Ray, I'm gonna put you through the wringer…
I don't get emotional very often, Ray. But when you stole that victory from me, you made me angry…
You're finished, Ray. Your heroic victory…drained all your strength…
Panting heavily, Ray jerked upright, hands convulsively clutching at the duvet.
All right, Ray, he told himself. Just calm down. The battle was over a month ago. Bryan can't hurt you now.
That's just my way of saying "hi"…
Get out of my head, you insane freak! Okay, Ray. Deep breaths. In…and out…and in…and out…that's it. Good. No more freaking out. Excellent.
Ray collapsed back down and stared at the ceiling, his breathing still ragged. The nightmare had been the same every night since the battle. At the beginning, it had relived every second of that day, but now it just contained random phrases. He hadn't been this afraid of it for…it had to be almost three weeks now. God, why now? he groaned mentally.
Are you all right in here, Ray? He was half out of bed before he registered the intruder's nonchalant voice and saw the twin points of emerald gleaming in the dim room.
Ebony gazed in shock at Ray, who sank slowly back down onto the bed, his heart racing madly. The neko-jin's amber eyes were wide with fear, his face ashen and slick with sweat. His long hair was wrapped tightly around his arms. As she watched, he seemed to realise this and detangled himself clumsily. Ray? she asked. What's wrong? Ray blinked, forcing himself to speak.
"Nightmare." he choked out.
Do you want to talk about it? Ray shook his head again.
"It…nothing…I'm fine…" he mumbled.
If you're fine, I'm a green and purple spotted dog. Ebony said sarcastically. She jumped onto the bed and began checking him over carefully.
Ray dragged a hand across his eyes, willing himself to get with it. A dull throbbing pain in his shoulder suddenly made itself felt, and he groaned in annoyance. He'd never get to sleep with that bothering him. Reaching under the bed, he fumbled around inside his bag until he found the box of pain-killers. Bringing them up onto the bed, he took one out and placed it on his tongue, hesitated, then took out a second one and swallowed then both.
Should you be doing that? Ebony asked, a disturbing memory flying into her feline mind. She shuddered. You're not going to do anything stupid, are you? she demanded anxiously. Ray shook his head weakly.
"No," he murmured. "But it's the only way I'm gonna sleep tonight…" His voice trailed off, the numbing qualities of thepainkiller taking over. Nervously, Ebony paced up the bed and gently nuzzled Ray's cheek. Ray mumbled something incoherent and smiled slightly, letting out a gentle sigh as he was overtaken by sleep. Ebony sat down and watched his sleeping face almost fondly, reassured.
He looks so- She was cut off in mid-thought as a barrage of thoughts hit her ever susceptible mind. If the owner of these thoughts was conscious, they would be screaming in terror. Eyes widening, recognising the signs only too well, Ebony shot off Ray's bed and streaked towards the other bedroom.
Kai!
Ray came round slowly, very slowly,and lay motionless in the bed for several minutes, trying to work out where he was. He was in Kai's flat, yes that was it. Damn it, he knew that he shouldn't have taken that second pill! Damn, damn, damn, damn… Muttering furiously under his breath, he sat up gingerly. His ears waking up faster than the rest of him, he heard somebody rush into the bathroom and throw up loudly.
"Hey, Kai?" he called weakly. "Are you okay in there?" Silence followed his question. Mind made up, Ray swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. He waited patiently for the room to stop spinning, then made his slow way into the bathroom.
Kai leaned over the basin and vomited again, his stomach twisting agonisingly. Panting, he straightened up, then slumped to one side, resting his head against the cool porcelain. Eyes closed, he waited for the nausea to die down, both arms wrapped around his painful abdomen.
"Kai?" a voice asked him anxiously. "Are you all right?"
What do you think? Kai snarled mentally. His throat contracted yet again and he lunged for the sink. He watched as the vomit trickled slowly down the plughole, wondering why it was starting to tilt sideways. God, he felt awful…
"Kai!" The cry of alarm ripped from Ray's throat almost without him knowing as he watched Kai crumple to the floor. Moving as fast as he could, he stumbled over to Kai's unconscious form and started shaking his shoulder.
"Kai? Kai, wake up!" Faintly, Kai heard someone calling his name. Concentrating, he opened one eye. Wake up? Why did he need to wake up? He was awake. Wait, if he was awake, why was he lying down? Where was he, anyway? What was going on? Panic rising inside him, he tried to lift his head.
"Kai, it's okay." That voice again. He knew that he should know who it was… "This is Ray, Kai. You're in the bathroom. You passed out. Can you hear me?" He blinked dazedly. "Can you try to sit up for me?" Ray sounded worried, he realised. Taking a deep breath, he pushed himself a little way off the floor, and felt Ray slip an arm underneath him and ease him upright.
"That's it." Ray said encouragingly. "Now, we're just going to sit here for a few minutes. Is that okay with you?" A slight nod. Kai's eyes were half closed, but Ray had no doubt that they would be taking in at least most of what was going on. His own sight swam for a moment, and he put out a shaking hand to steady himself. Suddenly, a hand was at his shoulder, supporting him.
"Ray! Are you all right?"
"Yeah…yeah, I'm fine." Ray murmured. "I took too many painkillers last night. They've knocked me out a bit. How are you feeling?" Kai shrugged.
"I've been better. I'm…okay, I suppose."
"What was it, a nightmare?" Kai looked evasive.
"Something like that."
"Mine was." Ray said quietly. "It was Bryan again…I hate being so scared of him!" he burst out, slamming his hand angrily against the floor. "Anyway, I'm gonna go and get dressed."
Ray swore irritably as he tried to brush his hair with one hand, his shoulder hurting too much to attempt holding either the brush or his tangled hair.
"Here, let me help." a voice offered. Ray was suddenly very aware of Kai as he came in and sat behind him. Kai dragged the brush through Ray's long, thick hair, stopping every now and then to tease out a particularly stubborn tangle.
Ray suddenly felt cold. Shivering, he leaned back against Kai, then turned and wrapped his arms around him, his cat side telling him to seek out warmth. "Ray? What's wrong?" Kai's low voice made him feel slightly better, but only slightly.
"I…I don't feel so good…" he whispered faintly. Kai felt his forehead gently.
"You're hot." he said abruptly, cursing himself for not noticing any signs before. "Come on, you need to lie down." Ray clung to him stubbornly, coloured spots dancing in front of his eyes.
"I'm cold…" Kai gently removed his clutching hands and held one of them carefully, feeling the feverish heat coming from it.
"Ray, you're ill." he said quietly. "You need to rest."
"No…no…"
"Ssh, ssh," Kai murmured, rubbing Ray's back soothingly. "Come on. Lie down." He tried to prise Ray off of him, but to no avail. Ray was shivering violently, both arms wrapped tightly around Kai, eyes half-shut and glazed. With a sigh, Kai used his full strength to physically wrench Ray from him and lay him down in the bed. Ray went limp, his eyes losing their battle to stay open. His head flopped to one side and his breathing slowed. Kai got up off the bed and looked down at him. Ray's face was peaceful now, his lips slightly parted. Kai allowed himself the luxury of imagining what it would be like to bend down and kiss those soft, full lips, to put his arms around that slim, lithe body and hold it close… He pulled his mind away from the enticing images and went out of the room. He had a lot to do today.
The doorbell rang. Kai opened it and gave a cold, emotionless smile at the couple standing outside.
She was aged twenty. Her delicate, oval shaped face was covered in a thick layer of make-up, obscuring her true beauty. She was dressed in a short, tight black dress, her long blonde hair curling attractively at her slim shoulders.
He was aged nineteen. The paleness of his angular face was accentuated by his navy T-shirt and black jeans, both close-fitting to his lean, rangy body, and his jet-black hair.
"You're early." Kai said simply, the Russian slipping off his tongue as easily as if he hadn't spent a year not saying a word of it. They nodded.
"Is that a problem?" the girl asked in a husky voice.
"No." Kai stepped aside, letting them through. "Business as usual?" The young man nodded. "We need to be quiet, if it's possible. I have a guest who is sick sleeping in the spare bedroom."
Two hours later, Kai shut the door behind them, fingering the five crisp notes in his pocket. It had not been a particularly successful meeting. His entire thought process had been taken up with the sleeping neko-jin, his mind carrying on with the images that he had mistakenly allowed himself. Because of his distraction, he had been paid less than half his usual amount and they had left with a darkly muttered comment about "decreasing quality of work". He spat after their departing backs, crumpling the notes in his hand. He looked blankly at the creased notes for a few seconds, then scowled and shoved them deep into his trouser pocket. He swung around and went into the kitchen, with half a mind to put the money in the blender, or soak it in boiling water. It was dirty money, filthy money, which didn't deserve to be kept. He pulled the cupboard door open violently, sending packets of food flying everywhere. Food… He looked his watch and was surprised to find that it was nearly three o'clock. He wasn't hungry, but Ray probably was…
No, you just want another chance to gawp at him.
"Shut up, Ebs," he muttered. "Where'd you go?"
You think I was going to stay there, with what you were doing? I-
"Okay, okay." Kai sighed and dragged a hand through his hair. Today was not a good day. First, he'd had that nightmare again. Always the same one, why wouldn't it ever stop? He slammed his fist on the counter in frustration, then dropped into a chair and rested his head in his hands.
"Are you okay?" a voice asked. Kai looked up and saw Ray leaning against the doorway.
"I should be the one asking that." he replied, standing up. "How do you feel?" Ray shrugged slightly.
"A bit woozy, but I've definitely been worse." Kai nodded, forcing himself to look away.
"Do you want anything to eat?" Ray nodded.
"Yeah, I'm pretty hungry. You?" Kai shook his head. He couldn't have felt less hungry if he'd tried. "Oh, I don't want to bother you…"
"Nonsense," Kai said firmly. "It's absolutely no bother. Now, what would you like?"
"How about a salad or something?"
"All right."
Kai looked one side as Ray came in and sat down on the sofa next to him.
"Hi." He nodded by way of reply. "Do you want a drink?" He looked at Ray, surprised. Ray grinned widely. "I feel like getting drunk."
"Is that a good idea?" Kai asked distractedly. He was lecturing, but his heart wasn't in it. He could really do with a drink. Or several. "Oh, fuck that. There's beer and other stuff in the fridge."
Ray drained the last drops from his can, then sank back into the soft cushions. Okay, accepting Kai's offering of vodka had not been a wise move. He was seriously drunk. Beside him, he heard Kai, who had spent the entire evening drinking solidly, mumble something about how hot it was, and peel his top off. He looked, despite himself, and was instantly spellbound by the well-formed muscles, there without bulging, the taut six-pack…
Kai felt Ray's eyes on him and turned. Ray was staring outright at his chest, his lips slightly parted. The drink had made his amber eyes turn a faintly brown colour, like autumn leaves. Suddenly, something snapped inside him. He leaned forwards and pressed his lips to Ray's, his hands coming up to cup Ray's face.
Ray's eyes widened in delighted surprise at the feel of Kai's lips meshed with his, kissing passionately. He responded eagerly, running his fingers through Kai's hair.
I'm dreaming…I have to be…
Kai was lost, not noticing when Ray responded, his whole being was focused on the kiss. It swept his mind clean, banishing the depression that had been on him all day, the waves of heat pouring through him only making him press harder, Ray's mouth falling open under the force he applied. He drew back to take a much-needed breath, his head spinning. He reached out blindly to find a handhold, only to hit the floor with a bang that shook his already confused head, disorienting him completely.
Ray gasped as Kai slipped off the sofa, his eyes closing, his head snapping back and hitting the ground with a bang. He got off and knelt down beside him. Actually, he fell beside him. He had underestimated how drunk he was. Undeterred, he wriggled closer and put his arms around him, still not quite able to believe that this was really happening. Kai's eyes opened slowly, dazed and glassy. He gave a bewildered moan. Ray's heart melted.
Kai lay still, his eyes closing, his head spinning in circles. He didn't know where he was, he was hard pushed to remember who he was. He moaned softly. A gentle voice was speaking to him, a soft hand stroking his cheek soothingly.
"It's okay, Kai, you're okay." He shrank away, his old instincts reasserting themselves. "Kai, you're safe, don't worry. You're safe with me. Just rest." He tried to get up, but any movement increased the nauseating feeling of vertigo in his head. "Stay still, Kai, okay? You'll feel better lying down." He felt a gentle kiss on his cheek, then a longer, lingering kiss on his lips. This was strange…the kiss felt right…not like the others… He felt the comforting presence draw away slightly and gave a protesting whimper, frustrated at not being able to do more than make these feeble sounds. "Ssh, Kai, ssh, you're okay now. Ssh…" He was kissed again, much longer this time. He responded weakly, making an effort to raise his hand. The feeble twitch was halted by another warm hand clasping it gently. "It's okay, Kai. Go to sleep." He didn't want to go to sleep, you were defenceless when you were asleep, the bad people would come and get you… "Go to sleep. I'll stay with you, I promise." Despite himself, he drifted off, lulled by the tender, calming voice and the hand still stroking his cheek.
This is the penultimate chapter, ie, there's only one more to go, but I still need (want) reviews! Thank you!
