Well, here's part two. I hope it's not too confusing.
Rei stared out of the window, watching the fat, heavy raindrops fall down outside, washing everything in its rebirth.
"Rei?"
He sighed, smiling softly, looking over his shoulder at the not entirely unwelcome intruder. "Hey…" The bedsprings creaked as the intruder sat down in yet another cheap hotel somewhere in Europe. "I'm fine." There was a heavy pause.
"Are you?"
Rei shrugged, running a hand through his bangs. "…I knew it was over. I just didn't know it was up to me to make it stop, the charade…" He contemplated for less then a second before sitting down next to his Russian friend, and for once, it was some distance away. "There was always this illusion…of that somehow I, my tendencies, were looked over.
I talked about the cute boys outside to my mum when I was little, and she always laughed, then it became…more serious." He licked his lips, speaking faster. "We suddenly weren't kids anymore! I couldn't play dress up with Mao, mum wouldn't let me watch when she dressed up for a night out…and boys couldn't hold hands and hug anymore.
It was like everyone outgrew me, and I was left behind." Rei looked up, and realised with a startle that he was sitting next to Kai, their sides pressed together. He hadn't meant to move… "They already knew…I just made it…official."
"To them, there was always the illusion of that it was just that." Kai leaned his head back on the wall, resting it sideways where the walls met. "An illusion."
"I can't go back anymore."
Kai studied his team-mate out of the corner of his eye. "I don't think you've had the liberty to do so for a very long time, Rei. Like you said, it's over…probably since you left."
Rei stumbled in, holding onto the doorpost to remain upright. The room swirled around him, the dark colours of the night blending into a chaos of confusion. Unable to stand, he sank down on the floor, head leaning back on the wall. There should be a table next to him, he knew, along with a phone.
Squinting at it, he pressed the symbol that resembled two moons, and hoped that no one had used it since his last call.
An annoyed voice answered after several seconds, growling out a greeting. "What?"
Rei chuckled. "Kai?"
There was a momentary pause.
"Rei? It's in the middle of the night."
"I know…I-I-" Rei coughed, clutching his chest. "I can't get up, Kai…I can't move…" He heard Kai sigh, and the sound of a soft rustling, cotton rubbing together.
"Where are you?"
"Downstairs." Kai hung up. Rei chuckled weakly again, dropping the phone.
The door to Kai's bedroom creaked open, and soft footsteps padded their way down the stairs, through the kitchen. They stopped in the doorway, and Rei glanced up at Kai, smiling softly.
"Can you stand?" Kai's voice was soft, eyes gentle as he kneeled next to his friend. Rei shook his head, mouthing 'no'. Kai nodded, bringing an arm around Rei's shoulders. "Raise your legs, can you do that?" Rei's legs trembled, and he shook his head. With a heavy sigh, he forced his arm under the neko-jin's seemingly dead legs.
"Is it so wrong, Kai?" The Russian startled at the soft murmur against his chest.
"Hm?"
"…a tart. A tart in a gildy-" Rei coughed, wincing. "My supposed date-" He coughed again, more violently, clutching his chest weakly. "I'm such a fool…a-a tart…"
"You're not a tart, Rei…a fool perhaps…" Kai trailed off, focusing on climbing up the stairs. "A valuable…" He hesitated. "…precious fool, and there is nothing wrong in that."
"…thank you…" Rei sleepily murmured, and Kai knew for a fact that there was no warm, soft kiss pressed against his bare chest.
Rei clutched his chest, gasping for breath. The tall Russian in front of him raised an eyebrow, hesitant and questioning at the same time, taking a step forwards. More coughing, and wide, desperate eyes stared at him. The Russian blinked, moving closer still. "Kon?" Rei gestured at something behind him, before being reduced to coughing, body shaking by the sheer force of them, eyes clenching shut. He moved forward, lifting Rei's face and forcing him to meet his gaze. The neko-jin clutched his throat, one hand on his chest.
Boris slapped him.
"Ah." Rei winced, massaging his throat.
"Alright?" The Chinese nodded slightly, taking deep, raspy breaths, one hand holding Boris' arm tight for support. Glancing down at the mug in his hand, Boris held it out in silent offering, unsuccessfully trying to pry his arm away from the neko-jin. Rei blinked, and hastily let go of the arm, smiling slightly.
"Th-thank you." He sighed, gratefully accepting the water. Raising it to his lips, he closed his eyes again, taking small, measured sips. Bliss. The water was like silk, gently soothing his abused throat.
So absorbed in his water was he, that he failed to hear the approaching pair of shoes. Only when he heard the soft murmurs, did he realise that Boris' now had companions, and Russian ones at that. One of which he'd rather didn't see him like this. Lowering the cup, he opened his eyes. Kai stared at him disapprovingly, forehead slightly furrowed.
"Rei-"
"It's nothing Kai." Kai glared. "Sort of…just coughs…" Rei looked away, smiling softly. "Hello, Yuriy-kun." The redhead, nodded in response, a hopeful light shining in his eyes.
"Ice-cream?" Rei nodded, but didn't move to follow when Yuriy started to walk away. "Rei?"
The neko-jin shrugged, smiling weakly. Then he pouted at Kai, blowing a kiss. Kai snorted, moving to stand next to Rei, holding him firmly around the waist and Rei grasped the arm tight, taking small, wavering steps. Not once did he look at the neko-jin.
"…and they tell you it's not natural…" Yuriy sighed, shaking his head.
"Borya…"
"For once,
there was an unknown land;
full of strange flowers and subtle perfumes,
a land of which it is joy of all joys to dream,
a land where all things are perfect and poisonous…"
Kai nodded, faintest hint of a smile on his face. "Not bad." Rei's face fell.
"Not bad…? I thought it was great…" He spoke softly, fearful of reawakening his horrible coughs.
"I never said it wasn't." Kai carefully sat down next to his friend on the couch, skilfully balancing the tea tray without spilling a drop from the steaming mugs. "But it definitely wasn't bad." He smirked, handing Rei his cup.
"Thank you." Rei smiled politely, scooting closer to Kai, relieving him of the tray, and contently leaned his head on Kai's shoulder. "You're always so warm, Kai…" The Russian shrugged, and with a snort, dumped the blanket on his right in Rei's lap. The neko-jin sighed patiently, gently patting Kai's thigh. "You're really dense, you know."
"Hm?"
"You're meant to hold me, not hand me a blanket."
"Ridicule is no shame, Kai." Rei edged closer to Kai. "It's what you feel that's important." The Russian glanced at the neko-jin, glaring at the wide eyes staring at him.
"Hn."
Rei huffed, stepping back from his friend. "You're so boring Kai." He held out a freshly baked muffin. "Haven't you ever been made fun of?" The Russian accepted the offered treat with a polite nod, nibbling on it thoughtfully.
"Once, at school." Kai took another bite, frowning. "What did you put in them? Camomile?" Rei shook his head.
"Vanilla." He waved his hand, urging Kai to go on, eyes bright and curious.
"It was about me…and another boy, doing something. It was nothing, really." Kai glared. "Just a stupid rumour." He took another bite, chewing slowly. "…I don't actually remember much of it."
Rei blinked. "Oh." Biting his lip, he studied his muffins, thinking. "Is it because you don't want to remember? Or that you can't remember?" Kai's face looked pained for a moment, then frighteningly calm.
"Just forget it." But Rei shook his head, stopping his friend from running off. Kai closed his eyes as Rei started to run his fingers through his hair. "…what are you doing?"
He opened his mouth, then closed it again, before; "It's therapy. Good for your memory." Kai scoffed, but otherwise remained silent.
"…do you ever get…flashes? Sometimes, a memory of something I can't recall just appears in my mind."
"I don't think I do…."
Kai shrugged, breathing out deeply. "Last night when I looked at the moon I remembered that someone once said my eyes were beautiful in the moonlight…and I relived the feeling, but I can't actually remember that conversation ever taking place." Kai opened his eyes, glancing sideways at Rei. "…can I have another muffin…?"
Rei's eyebrows shot up in surprise, and smiling widely, he held out the slightly steaming tray. "Of course!"
Kai grimaced. How anyone could stand being in the same room, let alone in the same house, was beyond him. "Rei!" The only change would be a change of song, as the music continued to blare out its message at the same godforsaken volume.
Halfway up the stairs in their small, cluttered and temporary cottage, he paused slightly, actually listening to the song. It was loud and familiar, preformed by a happy, upbeat electronic Japanese band. But what made him stop was not the song; he could hear the vocal artist.
"You lied to me." The neko-jin jumped around, scarf twirling, a hand over his mouth to cover the coughing.
"You're back." Rei's voice was edged with a raspiness that had almost become a characteristic trait. Almost. It was difficult to associate memories of old with the voices and looks of old, and yet… "I don't put pressure on myself, Kai, so mostly, yes, it's gone." Rei most subtly changed the subject. "I have chop-sticks." He nodded towards the plastic bag in Kai's hand eagerly, still dangling slightly from the walk.
Kai shrugged, dragging the covers and pillows down from the bed to the floor. Then he flopped down on them, leaning back on the bed. The pillow was slightly lumpy, and by the time he was comfortable, Rei held out his box in a silent offering, smiling and bringing attention to his dimples.
"I didn't know you liked squid, Kai."
The Russian frowned, looking down into the box, poking at the rather soggy food. "Me neither. I ordered chicken." Rei's hand froze, chopsticks holding a small portion of his food. Raising his hand, they both peered closer at it.
"Looks like chicken, right?"
"Maybe." What Kai had assumed to be silence, but in actuality was the long wait for the bonus track, abruptly ended with a loud, screeching crash. Rei squealed. "I knew it!" He grinned brightly, swallowing. "I love this song!"
Kai groaned.
The neko-jin narrowed his eyes, lips pursing in a subconscious response. "What's true about music is true about life: that beauty reveals everything because it expresses nothing. I love the feeling such music brings, Kai."
Smirking, Kai pressed a button of the remote he found almost slipping off the bed. "I happen to enjoy the feeling of silence." Bright eyes narrowed further, and Rei faced away from Kai, sniffing. Kai just shook his head, chuckling softly to himself.
Kai grumbled. To say he was not amused was an understatement.
'Charity, money to be given to children'. 'To make the world a better place', they said. 'People like celebrities who give something back.'
He could've walked away. Easily. But of course, Rei just had to rest his head on his shoulder and sigh. "I always wanted to go to school when I was younger, Kai…and things like this might make that possible, someday…"
Kai growled, crossing his arms. He flinched when the brush touched his hair, tugging relentlessly. Another brush, smaller and softer, of a different kind was dragged over his face. Smothering his skin.
'A historical battle', they said. Kai snorted. 'Make it look fancy, the fans will love it'. He could tolerate that, maybe even accept it. But the way they haughtily looked down upon his friend, as if he were worth less than the dirt under their shoes. Lips curved in obvious disdain. 'Of course, we can't let anything go…if you get my drift.'
Takao may have been the world champion, but the name Kai Hiwatari attracted far more attention, money, than his Japanese team-mate could ever hope to achieve. And Kai didn't get his drift. Therefore, once they had to name their conditions, his had been Rei. There was a reason to why he ran away from home, after all. Conceited, stuck-up bastards were the same no matter where, and they wanted profit. And Kai didn't like any more than the other.
Cracking an eye open when all brushes disappeared, he had to suppress a frown. Rei was a village boy at heart; dressing up made him feel uncomfortable under any circumstances, and snickering makeup artists didn't really improve the situation, but surely…
The neko-jin tugged at his sleeves, staring at the floor by his feet, bare in traditional, wooden Japanese sandals. Kai glared at the makeup crew, who suddenly decided they were very busy and almost blocked the doorway in their hurry to get out. Kai stood up, stretching his rather stiff limbs.
"What are you?" Rei absentmindedly rubbed his exposed shoulder, voice soft, hesitant almost.
The Russian shrugged, holding his arms out to the sides, wide sleeves falling out. "Some samurai." He blinked at Rei, frown deepening.
"They wanted me to be Catwoman, but I refused." He grimaced. "So now I'm…some sort of swordfighter…" Some sort indeed. A scantly dressed swordfighter in an…interesting choice of kimono. "At least it's not tight…and I have a sword!"
"Bastards." Rei looked away.
"…it's not the end of the world…I almost expected worse…" He turned around, not wanting to look at Kai. Not wanting to see the glare he knew was there. The kimono flared out, showing more leg by the sudden spin. The Russian blinked, eyes staring unfocusedly at the sudden exposure, humming in response to Rei. Rei cocked his head to the side, slowly turning back around. "Kai?"
A raised eyebrow was the only reaction, and a low, questioning hum. "Hm…?"
Cheeks burning softly as Kai's gaze never returned to his face, he unsuccessfully tried to cover his legs. He coughed, trying to ignore the Russian's open stare, failing miserably, and lowered his gaze. His breath hitched involuntarily, eyes sparkling. A gi revealed so much more chest… "You look handsome, Kai." And what a chest it was…
The Russian frowned, snapping back to reality, looking down at himself. "It's just a lousy outfit." Using the excuse of studying the outfit to stare openly, like Kai had done only moments before, Rei sighed appreciatively, fingers itching to touch and feel. Shaking his head as if berating his companion, he stepped closer until he could feel Kai's breath on his face.
"A real artist creates beautiful things and puts nothing of his own life into them." Rei blushed softly, brushing an imaginary speck of dust off the fancy costume, fingers dipping down to brush against pale skin. "You look lovely. Really, Kai." A faint smile reached his lips, and he took a small step back. "I promise."
Kai caught himself from pulling Rei back, but it didn't stop the camera from going off.
R&R, please. And thank you, to those who reviewed the last chapter.
The last part should be up soon.