Disclaimer: I don't own the series, characters, etc.

Fandom: Beyblade

Genre: Romance/Angst/PWP

Pairing: Kai/Takao

Rating: PG-13

Warning: Language, Yaoi

Beta: None.

Summary: There always seems to be more time than there actually is.

Time

SilverYoko

As Takao grew older he found out easily that a lot of things that he used to take for granted had changed. His friendships with his teammates and the others had changed a lot because now he knew how easily it was for a friendship to end. He would spend more time with his grandfather, talking, going out to eat, things that he used to do when he was a child.

He was also able to see that as he grew older everyone else also grew older. His grandfather got slower, he was always tired now and barely had time to run the dojo. Takao ran the dojo for him now, while Grandpa oversaw it all. He still had the energy to thwack Takao when he did something wrong though.

He kept in contact with his old teammates, well after he had found out about his grandfather. In a way learning about his grandfather had turned his world upside down. He hadn't thought that everything would end so quickly, only in a matter of months that is. He had still believed years left in his grandfather's life.

When he had first found out his grandfather was suffering from cancer his first reaction hadn't been that bad. After all people recovered from it didn't they? But soon after his grandfather had refused chemo and Takao began to worry. His grandfather wouldn't get better he knew now so he did his best to spend time together with him. More than before at least.

Takao wanted to know all about his grandfather now, everything about him. From his past to what his dreams were to who his first love was. He had never really taken the time to get to know his grandfather. Sure he had grown up with him and knew that his grandfather had a great interest in martial arts and things like it but other than that he didn't really have a chance to really understand his grandfather. He worried that he never would really have a chance.

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Kai had suffered greatly from this; Takao barely spent any time in their apartment now and even less with Kai himself. The normally outgoing boy had seemed to slowly withdraw into himself. Kai had known that this would take its toll on Takao but he didn't know how badly it would affect his younger lover.

Takao had Jin and his father but neither of them spent time with Takao like his grandfather had. Takao had mentioned moving into the dojo after this was over and Kai hadn't argued. If it made things easier for his lover then he'd do anything. He didn't really think that spending time in the place that would only give him bad memories would be healthy. Not that he doubted Takao would only the bad ones though. He'd just focus on the bad ones for awhile, more time than he needed to anyway.

He didn't know how to deal with Takao. He'd like to believe that he knew how, he wanted so badly to hold him and whisper words of safety to him. He couldn't though. He wasn't raised like that and he had no idea about how to go about it. The only comfort he could offer was when Takao curled against him, on those rare nights now, and would listen intently to his heart.

'To just make sure that you're still here.' This was what he had told Kai once when he had inquired about the point of his attachment. Takao had Kai worrying and fretting which was something that he had just never done before. He should've expected something like this though because he knew that being with Takao was a whole new experience he had never ever thought would happen.

Takao had begun to get paranoid about Kai leaving him, about something being wrong with Kai. Even Yuriy had commented on Takao's weird behavior as of late. Not that Kai really cared about Yuriy's opinion in the first place.

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Takao smiled hesitantly at the tiny form of his grandfather. The man who had once stood so tall and so strong before him now lay in the bed so weak that he was barely able to move on his own. It hurt so badly to watch and he just wanted to close his eyes and make it all disappear. Sometimes he was able to almost make himself believe none of it was happening.

He wanted to have his grandfather see him graduate! Takao had wanted him to see what he had planned for the future. He had honestly believed his grandfather would have been there for a lot longer, he thought that there would've been years for them to spend together but now with everything slipping like sand through his hands he had no idea what he wanted to say. If he had only been given more time. If he had only been told that there might've been a chance for this to happen then he might've been able to say all that needed to be said.

All the words were stuck in his throat now. They lodged there painfully stealing away his breath and his voice. He couldn't sleep and he no longer ate, his training had slacked off and even Kai's venomous barbs had lost their intensity. It made him slightly angry to think that he was being pitied but he couldn't help it. He had tried so hard to be happy and be strong for his grandfather but as soon as the strength left his grandfather's body he felt as though he had been drained. He didn't want to do anything anymore because it just hurt too badly.

He had always heard about people talking about lost time, or time wasted. He never really understood what people meant until now. Takao had spent so much time being embarrassed about his grandfather or trying to shush him and make him "normal" while ignoring all the quirks that his grandfather had that he loved.

The time he had with his grandfather was coming to a close; he knew that it would take time for him to get over it. Time. It all came down to that simple word. He couldn't even begin to picture his life without the quirky old man in it, he still had times where he thought of his mother and believed he would be able to walk to the dojo and see her again. It would be no different after his grandfather passed on.

He was causing Kai to suffer with him though and Kai deserved better than that. He wasn't doing it on purpose and he knew Kai was doing his best to help as much as the older blader knew how. There were times that Takao would dream that Kai was the one with cancer and he was forced to watch as his lover would slowly fade from view. If he awoke in the dojo he was left alone to sit in the large bed and hold himself as he tried to remind himself that it was all okay and that Kai wouldn't leave him.

If he awoke and he was in bed with Kai he would cling to the larger male like no other. It was always a comfort to feel the gentle rise and fall of Kai's chest, and the warm breath that would caress his face. He would press harder against the larger form, biting back his whimpers as he tried not to cry. Kai would only stroke his hair gently as he let Takao cling and curl against him through the rest of the night. He never asked what was wrong or for him to explain.

Kai would only toy gently with the loose navy strands and let Takao take comfort. Kai had never been through a problem such as this and he never would. He had no family and if his grandfather died he would truly care less. So he would watch Takao and if things got too bad he would take him into his arms and lay his head on the smaller boy's and just sit in silence.

So as the days grew into months and the condition of Takao's grandfather worsened Kai would watch as Takao would seem to wilt with his grandfather. They had moved into the dojo and had taken over most of the martial arts training and even started giving Beyblading lessons.

Even though Kai knew it would take Takao months to get over this, and he knew Takao wouldn't completely recover but he knew the boy would bounce back as quickly as he ever had if only to pretend to be okay.

So he would watch Takao and his grandfather and make sure that each ended up being as okay as they could be and when the time came he would be there for Takao just like always. Takao wouldn't be the only one who missed the old man anyway.

END