A/N: So, this chap is related to the next one. This takes place before Sano and Chi are openly a couple. Still no one-shot, eheh…
Kai squinted his eyes, stealing a glance over at Chi. The tall teen was carrying a rather large plank over to the pile where it belonged with seeming ease. The slate-haired man rubbed his sweaty, by-now red neck. The sun was merciless high in the light blue sky, but they had sheduled the job for today, and there was no going around it. Tyson and Sano were ordered to stay away from the construction area in the backyard, both of them so clumsy Kai would feel nervous letting either close to nails and hammers.
His husband and son were sunbathing on the other end of the yard instead. Kai wasn't complaining. Chi was great help at work that required patience, mathematic skills and balance. The quiet, pink-haired boy hadn't complained once about the heat, unlike Sano, lying in the refreshing shade of the apple tree, who had been jeering them all afternoon. A small smirk on his face, Kai shook his head and picked up another bag of tile. All other things aside, this was a very welcome opportunity for him to chat one-on-one with the Neko-jin.
Something he'd wanted to do for a while now. Or ever since he started wondering, really. He glanced over at his "godson", though the word had lost meaning to him since the boy became a teen. He had noticed Chi had stopped calling them uncle Kai and Tyson. Quite a while back, actually.
"Earth calling Hiwatari Kai!" came the cheerfull shout, starting the Russian out of his thoughts. He looked over at his two most precious men, grinning insanely at him from the blanket.
"You got a sunstroke or what?" Sano laughed.
"Don't tease your father, he's been working his butt off all morning," Tyson scolded. The teen lay back and stretched.
"So have I!" he insisted.
"Aha."
"What? It's hard work being so sexy," he huffed, gaining an affectionate slap on the head from his dad. Chi had halted close to Kai, waiting to ask him some question. Sano grinned at his best friend and cleared his throat.
"Chi?" he called disturbingly sweetly. Slightly cautious and blushing, the Chinese looked over.
"Yeah?"
"It's okay if you talk to him, you know!" Chi blushed like mad and twitched. Kai frowned and turned to him, a tinge of confusion in his auburn eyes.
"What did he say?" he asked; he had been lost in his thoughts again. Chi cleared his throat and pressed his gaze down.
"Nothing. Where do I put these?" he asked, showing a set of tools. Kai pointed at the table absent-mindedly. Having Tyson and Sano here was a distraction from both work and trying to figure out this thing that was bothering him, but there was nothing he could do about it. He glanced over at his son who had propped his head with his elbows and was grinning at his best friend. Kai knew his son was affectionate, always had been. They hadn't held back with the hugs and kisses when he was small. And Tyson still didn't, much to Sano's embarrassment.
And Sano and Chi had always been close, Kai knew that. It was one of those token things you never question, because you don't know of anything else. Sure, Sano had herds of eager fans at school, because of his smile and radiating charm, and especially because of his world-famous parents. But despite the popularity, he had always spent most of his time with Chi. This was where Kai became a bit baffled. The Neko teen had his own takers at school, but he mostly kept his thoughts to himself, and spent all his time, it seemed, with Sano.
Kai knew they had sort of "grown together", and something like that could be very influencial to teenagers. But there was a but. A but that had risen into his consciousness in the past couple, say 4 months. Something had changed. A little bit, but still.
Hitching the bag higher on his lap, Kai made to walk to the pile of bags. Chi jogged to him.
"I can help," he offered. Grey brows furrowed.
"No need to," he said, a bit surprised by the tone of his voice. Golden eyes widening slightly, Chi turned around and walked back quickly. His long, swaying pink braid didn't seem to be in his way at all, even in these conditions, and he was a lot stronger than he appeared. They'd have a break soon, and the linguistic part of the work would be done before 4 at noon, so it seemed. Dropping the bag with a grunt, Kai wiped sweat off his brows and leaned against the white fence of the yard. They were building a small hut next to the pool, just a cozy little shelter from the sun and unpredictable summer rains.
He had started planning it this winter, but now his mind was pre-occupied with something else. He saw Tyson walking towards him, wearing red shorts which suited him just as well as they had 15 years ago.
"Come on, time for a break," Tyson smiled, laying his hands on his husbands shoulders, "You gotta drink something." Kai leaned in for a soft, lingering kiss.
"Nothing tastes as sweet as you," he murmured, making the bluenette squirm with awkwardness from the sugary comment, but secretly, a very small part of him believed it and relished it. It was just one of the things Kai loved about his dragon.
"Retard," Tyson mumbled in a feeble attempt to regain his composure and try to act indifferent. Kai loved making Tyson squirm like this, and wrapped his arms around the shorter man's tanned, bare waist. He inhaled the deep blue hair, smelling of apple flowers, and looked up. Sano and Chi were standing by the pool. Standing close. Kai tensed inside. The way his son leaned forwards, eyelids drooping, smiling secretively ad mumbling something… If Kai didn't know any better, he'd say that was a young man flirting.
He didn't see Chi's expression, only that his posture was tense and alert. Sano knelt and glanced at his best friend mishievously, waiting. The Chinese turned around idly, and yelled suddenly when water was splashed on him. Laughing wildly, Sano splashed more and more water on the older teen, whose fidgety dance looked rather amusing for a few seconds before he regained corntol and lashed back. Tyson turned to look as the boys tried their damnest to get each other wet without dropping into the pool. Laughter echoed in the air.
"Damn. Looks pretty tempting, but I'm gonna get that ice tea now," Tyson said and headed for the porch. Kai nodded absent-mindedly, watching something he had seen so many, many times, trying to see something he hadn't noticed before. Was he making things up? Was it the sun getting to his head? Sano fell in the water with a terrified shriek, even though he was wearing swim trunks. Chi grinned silently at the scowling, soaked head that popped up, water squirting out of the pouting mouth. Sano glared at his best friend, trying to ewoke somekind of guilt in him. Kai knew that look all too well.
Suddenly Sano grabbed Chi's ankle and pulled him in with a huge splash, in full clothing and all. After all, getting a spare shirt and shorts was never a problem at this dojo. The boys wrestled playfully in the pool. The Kinomiyas had taken Chi along with them on quite a few trips to warm, southern islands full of beaches and waterfalls, so the boys were excellent swimmers. Sano just didn't want to spend a long time apart from his best friend. Not as a child, not now.
The boys drifted closer to one another, laughing and chatting, too quietly for Kai to hear from the fence. A few more devilish flicks of water, and they just floated, smiling at each other. Kai shifted his weight uncomfortably. Their gazes were locked, their smiles wistfull. Like they had a secret nobody else knew. Kai grit his teeth and looked at his toes. It may be just his imagination. Teens just happened to be like that. But maybe…
"Peach or lemon?" came the perky voice. Kai looked up at the man with the tray, a blank expression in his eyes. Tyson frowned, and Kai grabbed a glass quickly.
"I don't care, I'm parched," he groaned and downed the glass at once. Tyson stared at him.
"Is everything ok?" he asked. Kai grabbed another glass and downed it silently, then set it back.
"It is now," he sighed. Tyson glanced over at Chi who was trying to lift Sano on his shoulders to throw him in the water.
"Want to take a swim?" Tyson asked, pouring more iced tea into tall glasses. Kai shook his head. Still a bit baffled, Tyson turned and walked to the pool.
"Ok guys, time for hydration," he announced, and Chi swam to the edge, climbing out with Sano on his heels.
"Thanks," the Neko panted and downed a glass at once, like Kai. He grabbed another one when Sano appeared by his side.
"Ooh, is that peach?" he asked, reaching for the jug, but Tyson pulled it back.
"And what have you done to deserve you chilled drink?" he asked. Sano's dark blue eyes widened and his mouth flopped open in disbelief. Smart as he was, he immediately turned his puppy gaze on Chi.
"But it's my favourite," he whined, "Chi? Ol' buddy ol' pal?" The Chinese handed the glass towards Sano.
"You can have some of this," he said, and when the younger boy was about to grab it, pulled it back, "Not." Tyson laughed loudly at Sano's morbid expression as Chi downed the glass all by himself.
"Everyone hates me," Sano pouted, crossing his arms. Tyson grinned and wrapped an arm around his son's shoulders.
"Aww, daddy's little monchichi," he cooed, wiggling his shoulders. Sano glared at him.
"Dad! Don't call me that in front of people!" he snapped, then realised what he had just said, blushed hotly and glanced at Chi. "I-I mean, don't call me that at all! I'm t-too old!" But it was too late; Chi was grinning like the Cheshire cat, his fangs showing. Sano slapped his chest in irritation, which resulted into a slapping battle, and Tyson decided to take the tray back in where it was safe. Kai followed his husband into the kitchen, taking a pear from the counter and rolling it in his hand absent-mindedly. He leaned against the counter, watching the boys play around on the yard, as Tyson filled the dishwasher, whistling.
The pony-tailed ex-blader put the rest of the tea in the fridge and stopped to admire the contents, just because he liked watching food almost as much as eating it. Plus, the fridge was nice and chilly.
"Close the door, you're waisting electricity," Kai mumbled, not even looking. He knew Tyson all too well. Blushing, the bluenette closed the door and walked behind Kai, curling his arms around the bare, toned waist and nuzling the sweaty neck.
"Mmm… construction man," he murmured. Kai smirked and tore his eyes from the window, pulling Tyson close.
"Is that your fantasy or something?" he murmured. Tyson grinned, his lids drooping slyly.
"U-huh. You in a big, yellow egg-shaped helmet. Rawr." They chuckled and kissed tenderly. Tyson nuzzled Kai's neck, knowing his husband was fully capable of supporting his weight effortlessly, even if he decided to go slack against him. Kai pressed idle kisses in the dark blue mane, his gaze floating around. Suddenly he froze completely, and stared out.
This couldn't be.
It just couldn't.
TBC…