Gah, my posting is getting slower and slower, I apologise profusely...
Anyway, this is just a little YuriyKai, with a bit of BrookieRei and TakaoMao alongside it. Enjoy!
Rei stood leaning out of the back door of Yuriy's house, trying to decide if it was cold or warm. He decided in the end that it was cold. Not terribly so, but enough to warrant a jacket. He shut the door and walked back through the small kitchen, picking his coat up from the back of the chair in the living room, pulling it on and snuggling up inside the warm material. He had purposefully left it close to the fire so it would be warm when he came to leave the house.
He zipped it up and went this time to the front door, flicking the latch aside and slipping out into the chill air. His eyes took in the greyness of his surroundings- the road, the pavement, the clouds- and he sighed. Yuriy really had chosen a dull place to live in. And while it was nice to have a holiday and see the Russian again, Rei couldn't enjoy himself. Something wasn't right. Yuriy was a vibrant, interesting person...so why had he chosen this -dump- to be his home?
Still thinking about it, Rei set off in the direction Yuriy had vaguely indicated was where the shops were. After all, it would be nice to have some presents to take back home with him. Maybe there would even be a mother and baby shop so he could buy something for Mao's new baby...
As he passed through more grey streets, Rei thought about Mao. She and Takao had really settled down together, despite everyone saying that they were doomed from the start. As the person who'd arranged their first date, Rei felt extraordinarily smug that they were still together, now married and with a lovely daughter, Hana.
Takao had changed a lot since their beyblading days, really. He was a lot more responsible, and just a bit more serious about things, though still with immense amounts of energy and enthusiasm. He was in partnership with Max working on some beyblade project that would revolutionise the sport forever. Or so Takao had told him over the phone, with shouted interjections by Max.
Max was doing well for himself these days too, though he hadn't settled down yet. Rei was certain it was only a matter of time before he found the right person. After all, if Kyouju (who was a complete klutz around women) could find himself a nice girl, someone like Max (who was quite the hit with the ladies) shouldn't find it too hard.
Kai was reasonably settled these days too. Not with anyone, which didn't seem too shocking...but settled in his job. A CEO at twenty-two. It made Rei feel proud, to see one of his best and most trusted friends with such a wonderful job and having such a good time doing it. Accounts were where Kai felt at home, so Rei was happy for him. The neko-jin had debated over whether or not to tell Kai that on the flight over, but he'd decided in the end that it would only make Kai feel awkward, so he'd kept his thoughts to himself...
An empty crisp packet blew across the pavement and over Rei's foot as he waited for a gap in the traffic. He watched it flutter away as he crossed, looking back at it floating under a car. Drifting.
He himself had been drifting for a very long time. Going from place to place, just travelling and never stopping, never putting down roots in any one place. But that had changed. A trip to New York had done it. And in such an unexpected way as well.
He'd walked into a coffee shop looking to get a cup of hot chocolate one evening and to his shock he'd found Brooklyn there behind the counter. A brief ten minutes of talking while Brooklyn took an impromptu break was enough to show Rei that the redhead had changed, just like everyone else. So he'd waited around until closing time, had drunk more hot chocolate and talked long into the night with Brooklyn.
And then...he remembered the hand touching his leg, the warm breath tickling his neck...
He remembered turning his head and melting into a passionate and furious kiss...
Remembered dragging Brooklyn back to his hotel room and...
"WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING!" The memory was ripped away as a car whizzed past, horn blaring. Rei realised belatedly that he'd walked out into the road. He ran over to the pavement on the other side and rounded a grey corner onto a row of shops.
About three quarters of an hour later, he was done shopping. He set off back towards Yuriy's with a few bags clasped in his left hand. One from the jewellers, containing a new earring for Yuriy as a thank you for letting him stay, one from the toyshop, full of a large fluffy duck for Hana, one from the gift shop full of cheap pens and weird fridge magnets for anyone he might encounter when he went home, and one from the newsagents which was stuffed with chocolate.
The journey back seemed to take less time than the journey there, but that might have been because Rei had turned his thoughts to Brooklyn and felt immensely more cheerful. The thought of that mop of hair and that wide smile made the grey seem a bit less...well, grey, in a way. So Rei swung the bags back and forth as he walked, smiling.
A pair of seagulls swooped over his head as he turned the corner into Yuriy's street, drawing his attention up to the sliver of light peeking out from behind dull, sullen clouds. It all felt very symbolic, as if the sky was acknowledging his good mood. He smiled up at the sun and carried on.
He winkled a bar of mint chocolate out of the bag from the newsagent's as he walked up the path to Yuriy's door (Yuriy's front garden, of course, was paved, and grey), ripping it open and nibbling the very corner of the first piece. Savouring the heavenly taste, he unlocked the door using the spare key Yuriy had given him and slipped inside.
After dropping his bags at the base of the stairs, he shrugged off his jacket and stretched, bones clicking into place again. Scratching under his headband thoughtfully, he walked over to the living room door, intending to put the jacket back on the chair near the fire. However, when he heard Yuriy and Kai talking in low voices inside the room, he stopped short.
Maybe they were discussing something very personal? Something sensitive, from their younger days? If so, Rei didn't want to intrude... He hesitated there, wondering whether or not to go in, and then decided that if it was -that- personal they would just stop talking.
But.
Well, when he walked in he realised that they weren't...talking, as such. Kai was standing there with his arms around Yuriy's neck, on his tiptoes, while Yuriy had an arm around his companion's waist and a hand laid firmly on his backside. They were kissing, short, little kisses, and whispering to each other in what Rei took to be Russian. He watched for a second more before realising that it was a private moment between the two of them, and not one he should be gawping at.
So he put his coat back on and picked up his bags, slipping out of the front door and sitting down on the front step.
Kai and Yuriy, eh? That was...unexpected. Kai had never shown any indication of liking men, and while Rei had had his suspicions about Yuriy he had never seen those two on such...compatible terms. Still, they looked to be happy with each other, and that was what was important.
A car trundled past, reminding Rei that he was in Greysville again. So he took his mobile out of his pocket and started to text Brooklyn. 'Hey you, I'm missing you so much. Hope you're okay and you haven't burned up the flat trying to cook. Love, Rei.'
The thought of Brooklyn reading that message all those miles away made Rei smile again.
And then it hit him. The reason why Yuriy didn't find living in Greysville that bad. It was because of Kai. Kai, and the thought of Kai. Just like Brooklyn made the grey seem less grey...Kai probably did that for Yuriy. The notion gave Rei a warm feeling in his stomach. He knew it was terribly cheesy...the person you love lighting up the darkest of situations...but weren't the cheesiest lines usually the most true ones?
Setting aside his philosophy, Rei took a bite of the mint chocolate, sighing. He felt a little offended that neither Kai nor Yuriy had ever told him about their relationship. Then again, he could see why they wouldn't want to. They were both very private people, very secretive and guarded. Well now they could guard each other, and that would be just perfect...
Rei jumped slightly as his phone started to vibrate in his pocket, informing him that Brooklyn had texted back.
'Miss you too, flat is fine but feels lonely without you around. Can't wait for you to come back. Love Brookie.'
Rei couldn't stop himself from smiling as he pocketed the phone and stood up, slipping his key into one of his bags and intending to 'forget' he had it. He pushed the doorbell and got himself ready to pretend he didn't know anything. As he heard footsteps coming closer, he sighed happily. Someone else settled down, for the moment. And now the only one left was Max.
Well, he would have to do something about that. But not before he'd gotten home and stopped Brooklyn from feeling so lonely...
Fin
R&R please!