A/N: See the first chapter for the Disclaimer.
…
Rei parked his car, staring out into the street for a moment, seriously contemplating driving back over to Kai's hotel. Sighing in defeat, he took his keys from the ignition and got out of his car. He didn't want to seem desperate, and the other teen had been really sweet about what had happened…he couldn't bring himself to ruin the night by showing up awkwardly on his doorstep after they'd only just said goodbye.
With a deep breath he turned his gaze to his apartment building. Shaking his head, he stepped up onto the sidewalk, letting his feet carry him to wherever they chose. He didn't feel like going home just yet, and his heart was still fluttering. He allowed himself a smile as he blushed, twirling his keys on his index finger.
Rei had been in his fair share of relationships, but he felt that he knew very little about love. He didn't know if you could fall for someone so soon, but one thing he did know was that he wanted Kai to be happy, and he was willing do anything to make sure he stayed that way.
Still smiling, the Chinese teen picked up his pace a little bit, feeling the surge of energy in his chest. It felt wonderful. He found himself further in town than he had originally planned to be, but it didn't matter. Right now, he could accomplish anything-
With a startled yelp, the raven-haired teen found himself flat on his back, with a lap full of teenager.
"Maxie?" he called out, sitting up as the blonde pushed himself off of his friend.
"Rei?" The older male gave his friend a look. Max grinned. "Oh, sorry, my bad. I thought you were someone else." Ruffling the smaller teen's hair, the tiger pulled them both up and off the sidewalk.
"What are you doing?" he asked after a moment. "I thought you'd still be at Tyson's?" When the glimmer in those sapphire eyes flickered out at his words, Rei felt slightly nervous.
"I was," Max replied quietly. "But…I…" he glanced up at his best friend then, looking like a lost puppy.
"What happened?" the neko inquired, taking the younger male's hand and leading him to a nearby coffee shoppe. The blonde heaved a deep breath that seemed to hurt him.
"I freaked. I mean…I woke up and it was just…I forgot, and then I realized…and I freaked."
They paused as they entered the shoppe, ordering hot chocolate and sitting down at a small table before continuing. The American teen looked really distressed, but Rei just waited, sipping on his drink. Finally Maxie picked up the conversation again.
"I really like him Rei, but I when I woke up on his couch…I couldn't believe it. So I ran." The Chinese teen blinked a few times.
"You mean, he doesn't know that you're gone?" The other shook his head slowly.
"I didn't know what to do! I panicked!"
"Why?" he asked incredulously.
"I don't know!" he whined, as if he was close to tears. It startled his friend, who wasn't quite sure how to respond.
"It's alright Maxie. I'm sure-"
"But it isn't all right! I'm sure he thinks I'm a loser and he's probably worried and now I'm going to have to face him and he's probably going to call everything off-" he rambled until Rei cut him off sharply.
"Calm down. He's probably worried and yes you're going to have to face him, but I don't think that you have anything to be anxious about. What happened dude? This kinda thing never used to scare you."
"I'm not scared!" at the look from his friend he wilted, playing with the napkin holder idly. "Maybe…it's because I want this too work…and I'm just not sure if he wants it as much as I do."
"Oh Maxie…" the tiger smiled gently. "You like him a lot huh?" Shyly, the American teen nodded.
"I can't explain it…" he trailed off, his demeanor becoming wonderfully peaceful. It seemed to warm the room around them. Rei grinned.
"You don't have to." Standing, he offered his friend his hand again. "Come on bud, let's go home. You can call Tyson when we get there, 'cause I'm sure he left nearly forty messages by now."
…
When the two reached their apartment building, Tyson was already there. He was sitting on the front steps, his elbows digging into his knees, and his face buried in his hands. He kept glancing back at the building, as if expecting to see someone lean out the window and call to him.
As they approached, Max seemed to pull back a little, his grip on Rei's hand becoming harder and harder to bear. He nearly turned around and walked away, but his friend nudged him gently in the right direction.
"You'll be fine," he whispered. "I'll be right upstairs if you need anything okay?" When he received a hesitant nod in return, he pecked the younger teen lightly on the cheek. The blonde smiled, squeezing his hand once more for comfort before finally letting go.
Walking past him, Rei made for the back alley of the apartment, heading for the fire escape instead of the door. When Tyson didn't notice him, he glanced back at his friend with a wink, before disappearing around the corner.
"Max?"
His head jerked up at the sound of his name, startled that Tyson had noticed him from down the sidewalk. Swallowing hard he nodded, meeting the blunette halfway.
"Max, what happened?" he cried, enveloping the younger male in a firm hug. Blinking back his surprise, he returned the embrace. "You scared me…"
Pulling back, the American teen studied his boyfriend. "I did?" Tyson laughed.
"I come downstairs and the one I care about is missing…no I wasn't worried." They laughed.
"But, Max? What did happen?" The blonde shook his head, looking up at his lover fondly.
"I was, just a little nervous. That's all. Sorry I ran out on you." The Japanese teen studied him curiously for a moment, before brushing back his fluffy bangs.
"You don't have to be sorry, but you should know that you can talk to me about those things, we're in this together ri—mph?" In one motion, Max threw his arms around Tyson's neck, and pressed his lips sweetly against his. The blunette stumbled a moment, but recovered quickly, wrapping his arms around the petit waist, and pulling his partner close.
…
Rei grinned, finally climbing up the fire escape to his apartment. Climbing in through the window, he shut it and locked it. Resting his forehead on the glass, the neko sighed happily. Maxie would be fine.
Turning slowly, he surveyed the apartment, a cold shiver running down his spine. Narrowing his eyes, he allowed them to adjust before quietly heading into the kitchen. Reaching for the light, he paused, his fingers freezing centimeters away from the switch.
The hair on the back of his neck stood on end, his throat tightening painfully causing his heart to race in his chest. His nerves were prickling all the way across his shoulders, and it was making him very nervous, very fast. Something was wrong.
Letting his hand fall to his side, Rei slipped around the kitchen table, glancing quickly at the door. It was locked. Good. At least Max would need to take out his keys to get in first, that could work to his advantage. Moving swiftly, he checked his friend's room first, finding nothing out of the ordinary. Taking a deep breath after closing the door, he took a quick look over his shoulder before pushing the door to his room open.
Stepping inside, he scanned the room, frowning slightly when he discovered everything in its proper place. He ran his eyes over the bed, the walls, the closet, his-
A soft 'click' reached his sensitive ears, nearly freezing him on the spot. Whirling around, he opened the door a crack, searching the apartment.
"Max?" he whispered into the darkness. Rei shook his head then, realizing that if Max had entered, he would have turned on a light. Besides…the door was still locked.
He gripped the door handle, his golden eyes slitting down the middle when the 'click' reached his ears again. The window!
Stepping back into the apartment, he jogged around the furniture, pressing his back against the wall that separated the kitchen from the living area. The window was just around the corner. He waited, listening; his sharp nails digging into the soft plaster behind him. Finally, he turned his head, blowing his long bangs out of the way.
There was no one there. The Chinese teen blew out a long breath; his shoulders slumping a little as he fully came around the corner, facing the window. Walking up to the large portal, he ran a slender hand over the wood, his fingers stopping when he reached the lock.
Swallowing hard, he felt his blood run cold.
The window was unlocked.
Suddenly the light snapped on, and with a startled yelp, the neko spun on his heel, falling back against the wall when he was greeted by a pair of concerned cerulean eyes.
"Max!"
"God Rei, you look like you've seen a ghost!" the American teen quipped. The tiger laughed nervously, scratching the back of his neck.
"Yeah…a ghost…" Tipping his head the side, his friend lowered his voice a notch.
"You okay dude?" With a sigh, the older male nodded, heading for his room.
"Fine bud, just tired. I'll…uh, see you in the morning okay?"
"Sure," he replied, although Rei knew he wasn't convinced.
When the door finally shut behind him, he relaxed, reaching up to flick on the ceiling lamp. His stomach was in knots. What had just happened? Had there really been someone in the house? Biting his lip, he knew that it was true. The window was unlocked. Maybe…I forgot? He shook his head. No. He had locked that window. And now he was starting to think that it really was a problem to leave it unlocked for his own use. Apparently, someone else had the same brilliant idea.
But who? And why? Nothing seemed out of place. Nothing was stolen, or vandalized. His eyes wandered to the phone as he vaguely wondered whether or not he should call the police. Deciding against it, he tossed his coat on the bed. There was no evidence to suggest a break in…
Blinking, he stopped mid-thought, his golden gaze fixed on his computer desk. The monitor was on, the computer humming softly under its pale ivory glow. It didn't seem out of the ordinary, but had he left it on? Moving closer, he pulled out the chair and sat down, placing his hands in the keyboard. Pulling up his archives he worried his lower lip as he read. The last user to log on was unknown. A guest on his server at 10:28 PM. His frown deepened considerably. Maxie never used his computer…
His eyes shifted towards the clock.
11:12 PM
His hands were shaking as he lifted them from the board. Immediately he searched the desk, pulling out drawers, flipping over papers, and searching for anything that was missing. Nothing. Turning back to the monitor, he opened his files once more, choosing a different archive.
Download…80 completed Error Transmittion Interrupted! ScanningQuery?
Saving…
Transmittion Stopped.
Lunging for the receiver, Rei grasped at the phone, shaking so badly now that he could barely dial the number. It was hardly logical to call the police now…there was only one person who could explain this.
Even though he already knew the answer was clear.
"Hello?"
"Kai! I-I'm sorry to call like this…but I-I need to talk to Tala." The Chinese teen was sure he sounded hysterical, but hoped his voice wasn't wavering as bad as he believed it to be.
"Slow down. What is going on?" the Russian asked firmly.
"I-I don't know…I-I don't…"
"Rei. Take a breath and tell me what happened." Kai soothed, his voice softening. "I'll get Tala, just tell me what is going on."
With a deep breath, the neko ran a hand through his ponytail, loosening his hair from its bond so that he could twirl it, a bad habit of his when he was nervous. It took him a moment, but his partner didn't push, just waited patiently for him to continue.
"I didn't get home until about twenty minutes ago, because I ran into Max on the street. Anyway, I went up the fire escape alone, Max had something to take care of so-"
"The fire escape?" Rei laughed shortly.
"Yeah, I uh…I don't normally use the door. I go through the window."
"You are weird." The neko growled.
"We've been over this Kai…" when he received silence as his only reply he continued. "Right, so, I came in and locked the window, but…something wasn't right."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, well, it was just a feeling I got. So I checked the door, but it was still locked so I searched the house. Nothing was out of the ordinary, so I was going to go back out to the kitchen when I heard a noise. When I heard it again I realized it was the window, but when I looked there was no one there."
"You think someone broke in?" Glancing around nervously, the raven-haired teen shifted so that his back was against the headboard. He felt safer that way.
"That's just it…at first I wasn't sure, but I checked the window again and, it was unlocked." For a long time, the other end of the phone was quiet. When Kai spoke again, he only seemed calm.
"What do you need to talk to Tala for?"
"I found something," he swallowed, fixing his eyes on his computer. "A recent download was recorded on my archives."
"We'll be over in five."
…
Tala and Kai walked in quietly, slipping out of their shoes and into the apartment. Rei watched anxiously, leading them to his bedroom when they gave their silent confirmation. The key was to not wake Max.
The redhead instantly sat down at the computer, reading over the file that the Chinese teen had left up on his monitor. His companion stood behind him, his hand now clasped in Rei's. Almost immediately the slender male went to work, his graceful fingers flitting over the keys, calling up files and searching them all. His eyes never left the screen, his face set in a deep frown.
"You really should get better security on this thing," he whispered quickly after a moment. "This is a cake walk."
"Sorry." The blunette glanced at him, shaking his head.
"You couldn't have known."
"But he has to," Tala bit out sharply. "He's involved now, he doesn't have a choice."
Rei didn't respond, knowing that the other male was just worried. The neko knew that he very well may have put them all in danger with his carelessness, and he deserved to be reprimanded for it. Kai inhaled deeply, understanding this fact as well.
"And you left the window unlocked as well I suppose?" he practically snarled.
"I wasn't thinking," he offered quietly, twirling at his hair. Absently, his partner realized for the first time that his hair was loose, long and flowing in midnight cascades over his broad shoulders.
"Clearly."
"That's enough!" the younger Russian snapped. "It's over with. Nothing to do but be prepared the next time."
Reluctantly, the other two nodded.
"Good. Now Tala, do you know what's going on or what?"
"Did I not just tell you that this was all a cake walk?" Kai growled dangerously in his throat, warning his friend. The redhead caved, wearily rubbing at his eyes.
"The download initiated was of the files and sources used to run Rei's story."
…
