First of all… Oh… my… GOSH! You've really liked this fic so far, huh? Thank you from the deepest bits of my soul for those breathtaking reviews! I still can't believe something I've scrabbled up could become this popular! (sends hugs all over) (And yeai, I actually managed to send a PM!)
Um… Spoiler alert here! IF everything goes happily, and the twins are born safely… Well, I tried to write about the twins at home – to test if I could – but as it appears, newborns are pretty much as inspiring as earwax, so… But don't worry, IF all goes well, you'll get to see at least a sneakpeak on them.
And about the sequel… I suppose I should spill it out it here and now, I've been delaying the announcement for far too long; it tears my heart, but I'm retiring. At the moment, my life is so crazy that I barely have time to take care of the two stories I have rolling, and it's only going to get busier, so… I'm sorry, but I afraid I won't have time to start out with any new story. It pains me not to get to write to you guys anymore, but I afraid that I have no other choice. (wipes away tears, crying) But before you get worried, I promise you that as long as reviews keep rolling (hint, hint), both Nine months and Shadows of past will be finished, just as I've promised.
Okay, before this gets all too depressing, let's get on with the story! In case you've been wondering how Voltaire and Boris were presumed dead, you'll find out now. Hope you'll like!
¨
May/ Oliver's heart was pounding unlike ever before as he rushed through the shiny hallways of a hospital that held a stomach-churning scent of death. His violet eyes – widened, almost glazed by shock – were oblivious to the old newspapers laying all over. Most of them held the same, month-old headline.
Tyson Granger repeats as a world champion!
It seemed to take forever before Oliver finally reached the waiting-room, where a group of people had already gathered, all almost grave expressions upon their faces. Tyson's grandpa was phasing around the room, muttering something to himself. In a more quiet corner, Hiro and Tyson's dad were talking to Mr. Dickinson, who seemed like he'd been crying. Max's dad was also there, his face buried into his hands, as were Kenny's crying parents and devastated-looking Emily. It didn't surprise Oliver; he'd noticed her crush on Kenny for ages ago, and had been anxiously waiting for them to take a step forward. The Demolition Boys – save Tala – and White Tigers were also there, all serious expressions upon their faces. But there was one person who's presence took Oliver by surprise. He gave a deep frown when seeing the much too familiar boy with violet eyes and spiky, dark-green hair slumped to a bench, as far away from everyone else as possible. " Jacques? What are you doing here?"
Seeming startled, the boy who was about two years older than he snapped his head up and blinked, almost like waking up. It took for a while before Jacques spoke. " I could ask you the same thing."
Too shocked and worried to wonder what the boy was doing in Bey-city, Oliver blinked his stinging eyes and ran a hand through his hair. " I… Mr. D called… There was… an explosion." Eyes filled with desperation, he looked at the group. " What the hell happened?" he gave a teary cry, feeling a couple of tears escape. It was the first time in his life he cursed.
Look of utter, absolute heartache upon his old face, Mr. D turned to look at him. " Voltaire happened." The man took a shuttering breath. " The Bladebreakers, they… they found out that Boris' newest base was in this… underground storeroom in Bey-city… They didn't think the police would get there on time, so… they tried themselves, and…" The elder had to compose himself for a long time before he could continue. " Voltaire was also there – God only knows when he'd got out prison – and… There was an explosion… Voltaire and Boris are dead." Suddenly, something dark appeared into Mr. D' s half-glazed eyes. " But… Someone told Voltaire they were coming – he was prepared… Someone actually warned that bastard."
Oliver was too blinded by fury to see the look of immense guilt that flashed in Jacques' eyes. " Who the hell would do something like that!" he roared, shuttering with rage unlike anything he'd ever felt before. " How could anyone…!"
His question was interrupted when the door of the room suddenly opened, and Judy – who's eyes were red and puffy – entered. Everyone was immediately up, fear and anticipation written all over their faces. " How are they?" Ian asked in a tight, tense voice no one had ever heard from him before.
Judy sighed exhaustedly; it had been a long night for her. " Kenny will be alright, he only received some small burns and scratches. He's allowed to leave the hospital tonight. Tyson got a concussion and broken leg; he'll be kept here overnight for observation. Ray just got out of surgery. He received some internal injuries when pieces of wood-debris fell on him, but he'll be alright – despite his damaged wrist."
Mariah's eyes immediately flashed. " Can I see him?"
Judy nodded, understanding in her eyes. " Of course. He should wake up soon." Suddenly, something came to her mind. " Oh, and you should thank Kai once you get a chance."
Mariah's eyebrows furrowed. " Why?"
" If he hadn't knocked Ray out of the harm's way, Ray could've died", Judy replied, eyes flashing with nausea when she said the last word.
Bryan's eyes were widened with something close to terror as he looked at Judy. " Is Kai okay?"
Judy nodded, slight worn-out smile upon her face. " His injuries also required a surgery, but… He's just waking up, Tala is there with him. He'll be fine as soon as his back-injuries and broken ribs heal."
" What about Hilary?" Never before had Oliver witnessed such horror he saw upon trembling Mrs. Tatibana's face at that moment.
Judy turned slightly more solemn. " She hit her head, and doctors are still not completely sure of how severe the injury is. We'll know more when she wakes up." She smiled encouragingly. " But she's young and strong. I'm sure she'll be just fine. I think Tyson just sneaked in to see her."
Seeming like she might collapse at any moment, Mrs. Tatibana fell to her seat, millions of emotions struggling over control upon her ghostly-pale face. Her lips formed inaudible words as she buried her face into her hands.
For a long, dull moment it was completely silent. That was until Oliver heard his own teary, weak voice speak. " What… What about Max?" It was nothing more than a whisper, but everyone heard nevertheless.
It wasn't hard to see the tears that gathered into Judy's eyes. Tears that made Oliver's blood run cold. " He… He's still in a surgery…" She shook her head, eyes filled with desperation. " I… I just don't know…"
Dull, shocked silence filled the room as Max's dad walked up to Judy and wrapped his arms around the crying woman, barely managing to suppress his own tears.
Oliver watched almost like through some kind of a sleep as the two blading-teams reluctantly left the hospital with Mr. D. Emily, on the other hand, quietly sneaked towards Kenny's room. Hiro and Tyson's grandpa talked something about sneaking into Hilary's room with her mom to go and get Tyson. Judy and Max's dad, apparently, decided to go closer to the OR to wait for news of Max's condition. And for some reason that at the time was completely beyond him, Oliver would've desperately wanted to go with them.
When he finally came out of his trance, he noticed that it was only he and Jacques left. And just then, as Oliver saw all the quilt and pain upon the older boy's face, he understood. Horrifying realization made his eyes widen. " Oh my God…", he gasped, so quietly that the other couldn't hear.
Not looking at him, Jacques whispered. " You're falling for Max, aren't you? That's why you came here, so fast…"
Oliver barely heard the boy. His eyes lit into a flame of uncontrollable fury, burning tears of rage and sorrow rolled down his paling cheeks. " You were the one who told Voltaire they were coming, weren't you? You work for that bastard", he hissed, then paused for a while, muted by horrifying rage that almost suffocated him. " You are my… my brother! My parents… They raised you like their own child!" he roared through spilling tears. " HOW COULD YOU!"
Tears could be seen all over Jacques' face as well when the his foster-brother looked at him. " I… Oliver, I'm so sorry…"
But if anything, those desperate words only increased Oliver's flames of wrath. Completely losing control over himself, he rushed over to his brother before the boy could over see him moving, and punched the older teen with all the might there was in his body. " I hate you!" he cried, breaking down into hysterical sobs. When Jacques tried to touch him, he slapped the boy's hand away, unforgiving flames raging in his eyes. " Don't… touch me… ever again!" he hissed. " And if I ever see you again, I'll kill you with bare hands." With those words, he turned around and ran away as fast as he possibly could, tears escaping all the way. /
¨
Month away from the crucial date, Kai gave a deep sigh of relief when the last boxes were finally carried away from the house he and Tala had once upon a time called home.
Standing in the middle of empty living room, he gently rubbed his massive bump. " This was the place where your lives begun, little-ones", he whispered gently. " Now, it's time to turn another leaf and see what life has in store for us."
" You still haven't picked names for them, have you?" suddenly came a gentle, slightly amused voice of Ray's from behind him.
Blushing a little, Kai shook his head, not looking at the neko-jin. " No", he confessed. " It's just…" He couldn't find right words to explain what he would've wanted to say.
" You're afraid you might jinx it?" Ray offered.
Kai gave a small nod. " Yeah."
During the past two months, he'd been having so many 'twinges' – as he called the agonizing attacks of sharp pain in his stomach – that for several times he'd feared he might lose the two precious miracles growing inside of him. After Kai's blood-pressure and anemia had once again spun out of control, Ray had eventually managed to convince him to spent two more nights in a hospital under all-too-familiar Dr. Perez's observation. Deeply worriedly, the man had ran yet another huge series of tests and explained that because Kai's pregnancy was… unusual, to say the least, it could also include complications unlike the ones during average pregnancy – after all, Kai's body was one of male's; it hadn't been planned for childbirth. Therefore it could be dangerous for both Kai and the twins. Despite the risks, however, Kai had strongly and stubbornly refused to go into caesarian before it was time for the babies to be born; according to all he knew, every single day the twins got to be inside of him made them stronger, and thus provided them better chances to survive. Now, he could only pray his decision hadn't been a lethal one…
" Kai." Ray's voice cut the flood of thoughts. Turning his head, he saw the neko-jin stood behind him, hand on his shoulder. " Everything's gonna work out just fine, okay? There's no need for you to overstress yourself. Worrying does you or the twins no good, you should know at least that much by now."
Kai couldn't help but smile at the motherly, deeply concerned tone his friend was using. He wondered if the neko-jin had any idea of how important his care and support had been to him. Heck, without Ray, he would've probably lost his mind in the middle of all that had happened during the past eighth months. In a sign of gratitude, he gently placed his hand onto his shoulder to cover Ray's. " I know", he whispered.
Ray was just about to say more, when Tyson appeared into the room, face completely red from all the carrying and packing he'd been doing. (Understandably, Kai hadn't been able to participate to the moving-process – Ray would've probably tied him to a chair if he'd tried.) " Max and Oliver just got the last two boxes into your new house, Hilary went up to do what she called 'last-minute-shopping'. She took Emily with her now that Kenny is watching over Theo and Hannah", the bluenette informed, panting slightly. " Oh, and Bryan called. He and Ian are juts done with cleaning the house, Spencer's finished up with the nursery."
Kai couldn't help but smile. To think there was a time when he'd thought he'd have to go through the pregnancy alone… " Okay. Thanks", he said, trying his hardest to get just how grateful he was squeezed into those simple words.
The wide grin upon Tyson's lips told that the bluenette – though he hadn't been blessed with too much intelligence – understood. " No problem." With that, the Japanese disappeared from the doorway.
For another while Kai stood still with a slightly sad, lost look upon his face, giving a one last look to the house that had become precious to him during the years he'd spent in it. Despite all the painful memories, he knew he'd miss the place. Saying goodbye to it… felt almost like saying goodbye to Tala all over again. And it hurt, deeply.
" I think we should go", Ray told him in a gentle tone, understanding what was going on inside his head.
He nodded in slight daze. " Yeah", he murmured.
Without saying another word, Ray wrapped his other arm around him, once again giving that familiar, warm feeling into Kai's stomach. Without a single glance behind their shoulders, the two walked out of the house, closing the door softly behind them.
¨
Meanwhile in Kai's new house, Oliver – one of his greatest gifts being cooking – had decided to make a dinner for everyone. After all, they were all hungry after hassling around all day, and Kai was eating for three – although he still ate hardly a thing.
Cutting salad, he was powerless to keep his thoughts from straying. No matter how much he despised, hated, Jacques after all his foster-brother had done, he couldn't help thinking if his warning had been a real one. Jacques' words kept echoing in his ears.
" Please, you have to listen to me! He… He isn't dead, Oliver! He isn't dead!"Suddenly feeling a sharp slash of pain, he let out a small yelp. He then gave a loud growl when noticing the small, yet nasty wound on his finger, caused by the sharp knife he'd been using. " Oh great…", he muttered, absently realizing that his knees were going weak for the sight of blood.
Just when he was trying to bandage the wound, Max walked into the room, followed closely by Kai and Ray, who'd just arrived. Seeing his wound, the blonde's eyes immediately widened. " Oh my gosh!" came a gasp of utter shock, and before Oliver could blink, Max was by his side.
A frown of worry furrowed Kai's eyebrows. " Are you okay?"
" You seem a bit pale", Ray continued, his expression mimicking Kai's. " Perhaps I should take a look at the wound?"
Beginning to feel embarrassed by all the attention, Oliver firmly shook his head, desperately trying to smile convincingly. " No, no, it's just a gash. I… I'm fine." And just then – almost like fate itself had been mocking him – his knees buckled, and he fell against terrified Max.
His mind was a bit hazy for a while, and all he could sense was Max's petrified voice. When his head worked properly again, he discovered that his husband had – with Ray's aid – helped him to sit on a kitchen-chair. Ray skillfully bandaged his wound while Kai was getting him a glass of water. Feeling his cheeks blush due to all the fuss, he ran his good hand through his hair. " Sorry… I just… I'm not good… with seeing blood."
Kai gave him a small smile. " Believe me, you're not the only one."
Max's fret, however, hadn't eased a slightest bit. The blonde's blue eyes were shining with immense worry as he looked at him. " Are you sure you're okay?"
Feeling half annoyed, half amused, Oliver smiled and nodded. " Yeah." He then frowned, remembering something, and looked at Kai, who was just approaching him with the full water-glass. " Hey, do you know if anyone around here has a midnight-blue Corvette? Because one's been parked just outside the house all day."
The seemingly innocent question had a massive impact on Kai. The Russian immediately went even paler than Oliver, and the glass fell from his hand as he started to tremble, eyes becoming wide with sheer terror. He muttered something incoherent in Russian, and before anyone could do a thing to stop him he dashed out, all the way to the front-yard the house. The others immediately followed, only to notice that the car had already disappeared.
Frowning with worry, Ray placed a hand onto the still shivering Russian's shoulder. " Hey, what's wrong? Why did that car make you so upset."
Kai's eyes were still slightly wide when he spoke, not looking at the others. " Because… I used to know someone who had exactly the same kind. But… He's dead now…", he whispered.
Max frowned. " Who?"
Kai's eyes squinted to slits when he spat out the name. " Voltaire."
¨
Meanwhile in a small, beautiful baby-store, a saleswoman walked up to a man with a well-trained smile upon her face. " Good afternoon, sir. Can I help you?"
Chills immediately ran through her when the man's cold, soulless eyes met hers. " I need you to deliver certain items into my home as soon as possible." The man handed out a piece of paper. " Here is my address and everything I need. I want only best quality; money is not a problem."
As she took the paper, their hands briefly touched, and she discovered that his skin was ice-cold, almost like one of dead person's. Her smile turned into a nervous one. " It shouldn't take for longer than a couple of days, sir", she assured him.
Something horrifying flashed in his eyes. " That's good. Because I don't want you to waste time; these twins are special. Do you understand?"
Her blood ran cold. " Y – yes, I… I do."
" Good." With that the strange, creepy man turned around and walked away, not saying another word or giving a slightest glance to all the people staring at him timidly.
On the other side of the store, Hilary was gazing through the list of things to be bought with Emily, when she suddenly felt a small, chilling breeze of someone walking by. Shivers immediately ran down her spine, and her mind filled with shrill warning. Eyes slightly widened, she swiftly turned her head to see a strangely familiar man walk out of the store. Who the heck was that?, she wondered, frowning. If only I'd seen his face…
" Hil?" Turning her head again, she met Emily's worried gaze. " You okay?"
Deciding that she'd been foolish with letting her imagination play tricks on her like that, Hilary smiled and nodded. " Yeah." Her smile widened. " Let's start shopping, shall we?"
Not too far away from the store, Kenny was having huge problems with trying to keep an eye on Theo while desperately attempting to soothe Hannah, who'd been crying frantically for over five minutes. " Theo, wait up!" he yelped, then shifted his attention back to his daughter. " Oh, sweetie, please, please stop crying… I'm begging you… Shh, it's okay…"
And just then, Theo really did stop, so abruptly that he almost bumped onto the child. " Hey, what are you doing?" he inquired, frowning.
A fervent look came into Theo's eyes as the child pointed at something or someone. " Uncle-Kenny, I've seen that man before!" the child announced in a anxious tone.
" Theo, it's rude to point fingers", he lectured gently, then lifted his gaze, just on time to discover that the man Theo'd been pointing at had already disappeared into a parked midnight-blue Corvette. He frowned, eerie feeling in his guts. " Where did you think you'd seen him?"
" Nearby the orphanage, back when there was the cake-party", Theo replied, still anxious. " He said he was daddy's friend."
Smiling, Kenny shook his head. " You have such a imagination, you know that?" He gently took Theo's hand. " Come on, let's get inside."
Back inside the store, Hilary and Emily buzzed excitedly around all the stuff they could get their hands on, going through the list of things they needed. Luckily Kai had given them his credit-card, so money was no issue. " Oh my gosh, Hil! We've gotta get one of those!" Emily half-squealed all of a sudden, pointing towards a beautiful, sky-blue babysitter, gesturing excitedly with her hands.
Hilary gave a small laughter, shaking her head. " And you always act out as such a cool, rational scientist. No one would believe me if I'd tell them about this side of you."
Emily responded with showing Hilary her tongue, and both started laughing hysterically, earning some rather weird looks from other customers.
All of a sudden, Hilary's gaze moved to the tiny baby-clothes nearby, and in a matter of seconds a dreamy look appeared into her eyes as she was struck by a beautiful daydream…
Noticing the look upon her friend's face, Emily gave a small, confused frown. " Hilary, you're zoning out again."
Waking up from her thoughts, Hilary looked at her, blinking. " What?"
Emily shook her head. " You just had… the look." Suddenly she gasped, eyes widening. " Oh my gosh! Are you…?"
Hilary quickly shook her head, laughing. " No, definitely not!" Slowly, a small flush covered her cheeks. " But… I've been talking with Tyson, and… Well, we're trying."
Giving a squeal of delight, Emily hugged her friend tightly. " Oh Hil, that's just amazing!"
Hilary laughed. " I know. Just… don't tell anyone just yet, 'k? We're taking things slowly, so…"
Emily smiled. " My lips are sealed."
" Now what are you two gossiping about?" Kenny's voice startled them both. Turning around, they saw the man standing almost right behind them, Hannah finally asleep in his arms. Theo – who's hand the brunette was still holding – quickly ran to Hilary. " Theo woke up from his nap and started to cry after his mom, so I decided to bring him here. Besides, I thought I could help you two carry all the stuff."
Gently taking Theo into her arms, Hilary gave her friend a grateful look. " Thank you."
Smiling, Emily walked up to Kenny and kissed him tenderly. " You're amazing, you know that?" she whispered, so quietly that Hilary couldn't hear.
Kenny smirked. " I guess I should do stuff like this more often if the reward is this great." He then rubbed his hands together, looking at both Emily and Hilary. " So, should we get started, or are you planning on emptying the entire store?"
¨
Some hours later, after the gang had helped Kai with unpacking some boxes of his stuff (though it'd been next to impossible to make Kai let Oliver help with the injury), Max and Oliver had returned to the orphanage they were still staying in. As it appears, their 'few day's visit' had turned into a much, much longer one as they'd figured out that they'd be able to take care of business-stuff from Japan for a while.
Laying himself down to the bed, Oliver gave a deep sigh. " I'm just glad Kai didn't have more stuff than that."
Searching for something from his pockets, Max smiled. " Well, he's never really been the type that collects mountains of stuff into closets and corners."
Oliver smirked, looking at his husband. " Unlike some people I know."
Max gave him a look that was supposed to be nasty through widening smile. " Says a guy who practically owns half of Paris", the blonde snickered, then growled. " Damn, I forgot my cell-phone downstairs. I'll be right back."
Sly look appeared onto Oliver's face. " I'll be waiting."
Rolling his eyes in amusement, Max headed out. Pretty much as soon as the American had left, Oliver's cell-phone started to ring demandingly. This time recognising the number, he gave a loud growl before answering. " Jacques, I told you to leave me alone!" he hissed.
" Oliver, this is important! Please, listen to me!" The young man's voice was so filled with desperation that even though all of Oliver's senses told him to hang up, he couldn't. " I… I'm so sorry for what I did back then! There's nothing I can do that would erase it! But… I have to warn you."
Despite the rage flooding through him, Oliver couldn't help becoming curious. " What the heck are you talking about?"
He could've sworn he heard a sob. " I… I don't have much time…" A strange, almost choking voice came to his ears. Was Jacques crying? " Oliver, he isn't dead. You have to warn Kai, before it's too late."
Oliver frowned. " Who isn't dead? And too late for what?"
" Too late to stop the end of the world." This time, he was certain the quiet voice he heard was a sob. " He's…" All of a sudden, the sentence was cut by a feral scream. A clinking voice came to his ears as the cell-phone fell from Jacques' grasp. " Master, I… I'm sorry…"
Despite all the rage he'd been just feeling, Oliver felt his heart pounding with fear and worry. " Jacques!" But someone hang up from the other end.
" Jacques?" came another, dangerous voice from behind him. Slowly turning his head, Oliver saw Max stood by the doorway, blue eyes flaming.
He gave a loud gulp. " Max…"
" Before we were married, I only asked you to promise me one thing", Max hissed, interrupting him. " Our entire team almost died because of that bastard foster-brother of yours! All I ever asked of you was to stay away from him!"
He felt his eyes stinging. " I'm so sorry…", he whispered.
Visibly enraged Max shook his head. " Not… a word… Not now." With that the blonde spun around and stormed off, slamming the door shut after him.
¨
In a old house not too far away, Jacques watched with widened eyes as the man before him allowed his cell-phone to fall down to the stone-floor. " You betrayed me, Jacques."
He gulped. " I… I'm sorry…"
The man blatantly ignored him. " And you know how traitors are punished."
His violet eyes became even wider as the man approached him, eyes gleaming.
After some seconds, yells of immense horror and agony could be heard from the house.
¨
Later that night, Kai had rather gladly accepted Ray's offer to stay with him for that night. With all the twinges, blood-pressure problems and being in a new house for a first night, he thought company would be good. Besides, for some reason, it felt strangely… calming and … nice to have Ray around.
When clock showed eleven pm., the movie they'd been watching ended and Ray turned his head to look at Kai, who had – probably without self noticing it – been leaning onto him. A smile graced his features. Apparently, the Russian had been more exhausted than he'd claimed; his head was now resting against Ray's shoulder, slightly disheveled two-toned bangs shadowed his face. The deep, calm breathing confirmed Ray that the other was definitely sound asleep.
He felt extremely reluctant to wake Kai up; the Russian had been through a lot lately and hadn't been able to sleep pretty much at all for a long time, so he certainly needed all the rest he could possibly get. Therefore he carefully – not wanting to disturb Kai – cradled the surprisingly light Russian into his arms, yet again feeling his heart race for their closeness.
He'd just reached the stairs when Kai stirred with a confused look upon his face. " What…?"
" You fell asleep in the middle of the movie", Ray replied gently. " I'm taking you to bed."
Giving a nod, Kai once again closed his eyes and rested his head against Ray's chest. This took Ray completely by surprise; though they'd became really close after Tala's death, Kai had never before seemed to enjoy of his touch and babying. Heck, usually Kai would've scratched his eyes out rather than let himself be carried around like this. Apparently, Kai was really tired.
Ray thought Kai had fallen back asleep as he gently laid the Russian onto his bed. That's why he was surprised when the burgundy eyes suddenly cracked open, watching him tiredly. " I'll be sleeping on the couch", he whispered. " Go back to sleep." He was just leaving, when Kai's hand suddenly graphed his wrist. Stunned, he turned his head. " Kai?"
" Stay?" Kai murmured.
Feeling his heart leap all the way to his throat, Ray nodded in total stun, unable to believe what was happening. Carefully, almost like trying not to hurt Kai, he laid down to the huge double-bed, subtly leaving some space between them. He frowned when Kai gave a quiet hiss while shifting to other side. " Another twinge?" he asked, chest tightening.
Kai shook his head, smiling slightly. " No, just the stupid back-pain."
For a long time Ray laid still, not sure if he should do what he was about to. Eventually deciding to go ahead, he sat up. " Perhaps I can help you", he stated. Receiving a look of confusion and suspicion from Kai, he smirked, revealing his fangs. " Trust me and relax. I need you to sit up."
For a while Kai debuted whether he should follow Ray's orders or not. Eventually he also sat up, hissing again as his back protested against the movement.
Well, I doubt he could do anything that would make this worse…A gasp of surprise escaped him when Ray's hands suddenly graphed his shoulders, gently beginning to massage. " Just relax", the neko-jin murmured.
Usually, Kai would've beaten up anyone trying to massage him – especially now with his maternal instincts kicking in. But those hands, Ray's hands… They felt good, made him feel warm and safe, content. His eyes fell closed and he leaned back slightly, trusting himself completely into Ray's hands.
This time it was Ray who gave a gasp of surprise when Kai suddenly leaned back, completely relaxed. His heart was beating so fast he feared it'd fall apart, and he felt his cheeks go furiously red as he sensed the intoxicating apple-scent of Kai's shampoo, felt the Russian's soothing warmth so very close…
It was almost impossible to resist the temptation.
Oh crap…Another surprising thing thankfully ripped him away from those thoughts. There was this strangely familiar sound, first quiet, then stronger. He gave a small laughter. " I thought only neko-jins can purr."
" Mmm", was Kai's only reply.
He didn't know for how long he'd been massaging Kai's tense back and shoulders (with the Russian purring), when he suddenly felt the Russian go completely limp in his arms. At first he startled, thinking Kai had collapsed, but relaxed and smiled when realizing that the other was merely asleep, still purring barely audibly.
Working as gently and carefully as he possibly could, he laid Kai down to the mattress and softly pulled a blanket to cover the Russian's slightly shivering body. For a while he just sat there, watching the beautiful, almost unearthly creature below him, again feeling the temptation almost getting the best of him. Eventually, however, he managed to fight away his urges and, giving a deep sigh, laid himself beside Kai, without noticing it wrapping one, protective arm around the sleeping Russian. " Goodnight", he whispered, before drifting off to sleep himself.
¨
When Kai woke up in complete darkness, the first sensation he got was searing panic as he didn't immediately realize where he was. Slowly becoming aware of his surroundings, he got another shock when feeling an arm around his waist.
Tala was… It couldn't be his arm. So who…?
Shifting side, ready to knock down pretty much anyone, he gave a small gasp when seeing Ray there, sleeping serenely with a small smile upon his face. What was Ray doing in his bed?
Then he begun to remember. He'd asked Ray to stay. But… why?
At first he didn't realize what he was doing when his eyes observed Ray's face that held this eccentric glow in the moonlight shining through the window. For once he saw the neko-jin's incredibly long, raven hair open; they spread all over his back, shoulders and the pillow under his head, framing his face.
Kai felt like he'd received a heatstroke. This fire seemed to gnaw his insides as he carefully, dazedly, reached out two fingers, running them through Ray's perfect face. Forehead, nose, lips, jaw, back to slightly parted lips again…
Suddenly realizing what he was doing, Kai quickly pulled his hand away with a gasp, almost like Ray's skin had burned him although it was he who was on fire.
Still feeling like he'd been burned up alive, he kept staring at Ray, poor heart pushed to its limit.
Why… Why was Ray causing this… feeling into him – especially now, when everything was finally beginning to clear out?
What the hell was happening to him?
¨
TBC.
¨
A/N: Uh-huh… People, we have heat in the air!
So… Jacques is Oliver's foster-brother – but was his warning a futile one? Will the gang manage to sense the threat on time? And will the twins be born safely?
You all know what'll happen in the next chapter – the BIG day! Hope I'll meet you all then! But as for now… PLEASE, review! You must know how important those comment of yours are!
(Just to clarify, because I don't want to leave anyone of you confused; Oliver's parents indeed had adopted Jacques. Little did they know what they were getting…)