Chapter 27: Last One Standing

"Stop moving." I hear a vaguely familiar voice say from the kitchen as I hang my scarf and coat after returning home. It is followed by a loud huffing sound from Tyson. Tyson was home? Wait. Tyson was home and had left his room long enough to argue with someone?

I patter my way to the kitchen.

"I don't know how anyone does this hair thing. It's so hot! And it gets stuck on things and knots." I stop in the doorway and take in the scene. Tyson is seated in a chair facing my direction, his body covered by a trash bag, with my bodyguard standing behind him, a pair of scissors in hand, casually snipping away. "Even when you put it up it's annoying. Girls are crazy! Oh hey, Ray…" Tyson tilts his head up and finally notices me, blushing uncomfortably at my timely arrival. I pat my hair down as if to defend its honor. "No offense." He add with a slightly bitter tone and a sideways look to avoid my eyes.

I smile.

"None taken," I reply as an afterthought. He winces and tilts his head back down as if trying to escape the snipping sounds.

"I said, stop moving," the bodyguard reiterates and Tyson settles down with a pout.

"Alright, alright. You should tell me how you do it, Ray!" he huffs again before glancing over his shoulder at the other man. "What about you, Simon? Have you ever had long hair? How often do you cut yours? Probably a lot since you don't have much… Do you do it yourself?" He takes a minute to consider all the thoughts he had just gushed out. The older man doesn't answer but lets out a hum in agreement as his response.

His name is Simon. Got it.

"You two seem to be getting along pretty well. Almost feels like it was a good match," I grin as Simon goes about finishing up. He sends me a silent glare as if to chastise me before he brushes the stray hairs off of Tyson's shoulders and gives a small nod.

"You are all set," he announces.

"I still don't see why I need a bodyguard." Tyson runs his hands over the now trimmed hair as if to feel what it looks like before standing up. "Although it does make me feel important. Should I be thanking Kai?"

"No!" I burst, taking a hurried step into the kitchen with my hands up to quiet him, before I cough and shake my head. "I mean, no. He knows. I told him. I'll tell him. He totally knows though." I try to put a stop to any communication between them regarding the matter.

Kai didn't need to know how I had convinced his bodyguard that Tyson needed more protection than I did. He had been a bit of a hard bargainer but after explaining that I was more likely to stay inside anyway now that school was out for a while, AND that Tyson had been the actual target in the first place, even being hospitalized because of it, he'd taken the deal to split our time. He was getting paid either way.

I assume he would have to discuss it with Kai eventually but he had agreed to keep it between us for now. Especially since I had taken him with me the first few times and he had seen that nothing was awry. He'd also become a lot more relaxed being in Tyson's presence than he had been in mine. Tyson just had that way of making people feel like part of the family instead of employees. Not that we had had that many employees just up and wandering around but if we ever had, he did. Maids. Waiters. Whomever.

"Alright! Are you ready to go?!" Tyson lifts the trash bag over his head and throws it up behind him on to the floor. He grabs his hat from the counter and tosses it on backwards before spinning me around in the doorway and slinging him arm over my shoulders to walk me out. I toss a questioning look at Simon but I miss any response as I'm walked back down the hallway towards the front door.

"Go?" I worry. What kind of crazy ideas could Tyson be up to now? Should I bring something to protect myself? Do I need an umbrella?

He gives me a side hug and squeezes my shoulder before letting me go and ushering me into the direction of the coat rack.

"We're going shopping! Didn't you get my messages? Simon said he would drive!" He nudges my side then starts pulling on his own coat, while at the same time, shoving mine at me. "Bodyguard perks! I haven't had to take a bus in days!" I smile warily. Shopping doesn't sound too bad. Even if I DID just want to retreat to my room and call Kai back to apologize. Wasn't sure if I really needed to but somehow I felt like I did.

I'd thought about it on my way home. As embarrassed as I was at the time, it didn't feel as bad as the initial shock had led me to believe it was. Although now it just made me miss Kai more than I already had been.

"Haa…what are we shopping for?" I do my best to divert my own thoughts before they wander too far away.

"Christmas is in 4 days, Ray! What AREN'T we shopping for?!" Ahh, my second worst nightmare of this time of year – Tyson and Christmas shopping. Not quite as scary as Tyson AND Max Christmas shopping but it came pretty close. Something about overly energetic children racing around a store collecting shiny and noisy things just wasn't at all appealing. I mean, yeah it was entertaining. Fun as it was happening, of course. But who do you think ended up carrying everything?

I immediately reconsider…everything.

"What if I have plans?" I offer. His face grows dark with concern.

"What? Do you have plans?" he asks timidly, praying with his eyes that it isn't a possibility. We stare at each other for a moment like this as I decide the best way to continue. I start to imagine tears forming in his eyes and break eye contact. At least I think it was imagined…

"Of course not…" I cover my face long enough to hide my defeated sigh to myself as I pull on my coat in reluctance. I guess this was only fair for being such a scaredy cat. Karma must have been on Kai's side today. "But shouldn't we clean up the mess you made first?"

Simon, having finished whatever he was doing in the kitchen, takes that moment to join us.

"It'll be there when we get back!" Tyson waves it off and then we're all out the door and bounding down the stairs.

I guess I should be happy that Tyson was finally speaking to me. Not only that but he seemed somewhat normal. He hadn't blushed or stuttered once in our whole happy exchange. And he didn't the entire car ride either. Poking fun at Simon and jabbing my ribs as he talked about 'our first Christmas as adults' and how it definitely had to be 'the best ever' even if it ended up being just the two (three) of us.

The stores were busier than I had anticipated but I don't know why this was surprising to me. Tyson probably wasn't the only one who had waited until last minute for holiday shopping.

So, both hands, arms, legs, heads, whatever else could be full of bags, and an exhausted collapse into a corner booth in a café later…

"You need to stop having friends, dude," I reply in my exhaustion. "Or maybe just…less of them."

"Oh stoooop. Maybe you're just out of shape!" Tyson fake scoffs and pushes Simon down into the booth next to me (his hands are just as full as mine are…if you were at all wondering) before saying he'll grab the drinks while we relax and darting off into the crowd.

Simon quickly shuffles his bags into the booth across from us and makes a swift debate of whether to follow him but glances back at me for a second before deciding to keep himself planted between me and the rest of the harsh, dangerous world. He makes sure not to lose sight of the other boy as he dodges his way around the crowds of people and into the line waiting to order.

"He's probably right and I hate that," I mutter absently, gaining a snicker in return. I fumble my phone from my pocket and check for any messages. Nothing. I can't help but sulk. Not that I was expecting anything…except that I was. What, I'm not even sure yet. I slip it back into my pocket and try to keep myself from thinking the bad thoughts that want to come out next. "Hmm, so Tyson seems to be doing better. Did he…?" I try to think of how to word my question. Did he say anything? Has he mentioned what was wrong? Has he worked out his thoughts? Was he more comfortable telling a stranger? DID he tell a stranger? It was hard to even know what he was thinking.

"He will tell you when he is ready," is all I get in answer. Which, is more helpful than it sounds. I start to purge up a reply but I decide it is better left without one. Simon wasn't much of a talker anyway. He found his voice in playful facial expressions and telling noises like chuckles and snorts. It probably made him a good listener and I had no qualms about Tyson indulging someone else's ear if it meant it helped him work through things. He still wouldn't mention Max's name or make eye contact if he was brought up but I considered this great progress.

"Hey, check this out!" Tyson comes bumbling back to the table with three red and green, sugary looking drinks and one tall mysterious drink. "I was the 1,000th customer so I got a free specialty drink! Some gingerbread, mocha, peppermint, whatever!" I laugh at the ambiguous description.

"That sounds…" He brushes me off.

"No, it's going to be gre…" he takes a sip between his words only to turn abruptly and spit it all back out away from him. "Ah! Gross!" My laughter continues but Simon's face goes tense. He had been in the process of standing to make sure Tyson got into the booth safely and was now covered in gingerbread, mocha, peppermint, whatever and unsure what to do about it. Tyson shoots back up out of the booth. "I'm so sorry!" he bursts, grabbing at a napkin dispenser that has been previously emptied and offers little to no relief.

"It is…fine," Simon attempts to calm him before he can flee to someone else's table to steal their napkins instead. "Stay together." He orders before excusing himself to find a bathroom.

"Should I at least go help? It was probably hot. No. It WAS hot. Do you think he's okay?" Tyson worries as he slides back down into the booth and tries his best not to look upset.

"Tyson, relax," I steady him. "He'll feel much better if you just…stayed here. Just…tell me what you bought everyone. You must be almost done…" I try to offer him a diversion. "Who else do we have left to shop for?"

"Max." he blurts before cursing silently and looking down at his lap. He absently takes another sip of the specialty drink, cringes, and chokes it down with a bitter look to avoid the same happenstance as before. I'll call that progress. He seems to think it's safer if the drink is farther away and pushes it across the table towards me before taking a sip from his other drink to rid himself of the aftertaste. "You can have that. Maybe you'll like it." He gives the drink one final dirty look and takes another big gulp of the more appetizing one.

"Thanks. I think?" I mumble, setting the offering aside for now. A short quiet wraps around us as I glance around the café in search of a different topic that I can use to fill the space. I open my mouth to comment on a woman who had just knocked over an entire stand of sunglasses with her fluffy fur coat, half of which were now tangled in it, but Tyson makes a loud sound of frustration, grabbing my attention back.

"I just don't know!" he exclaims as if he'd just been broken by some unseen pressure. "It's…different now. I want to say…do…be…different. Can I do that?" He doesn't seem to be asking me as much as he's trying to figure something out aloud. "Maybe I should apologize first." He frowns and buries nose back into his cup.

I wrap my hands around my own colorful concoction and give him a thoughtful look.

"That's a good place to start," I offer, not wanting to divulge into it too much in fears of scaring him off again. He lets out a quiet huff.

"I…" he pauses as if he's just realizing that he's actually talking to me and not the voices inside his own head. "…don't know…how to talk to him anymore." His voice lowers with each word and I almost don't hear all of it, but lucky for me, hearing things that I shouldn't just happens to be my specialty.

"Nothing's changed, Tyson. You're still you and he's still Max." I shrug as if it's no big deal and take a sip of my drink. "You may feel differently but you're still you." He shifts in the booth so he can get into his coat pocket.

"They gave me this too," he says as he pulls out a keychain. "Doesn't it look like Max?" he laughs as he holds it out to me. It's a yellow cartoon looking cat with reindeer antlers and lights wrapped around it messily with the café's logo scribbled across the bottom. I was ready to say that Tyson was just being delusional because he was stressing himself out too much over it but it did in fact resemble Max…quite well actually.

"How did they know?" I chuckle and hand it back to him.

"I know, right?!" He shoves it back into his pocket as if looking at it any longer might incriminate him somehow and then his eyes dart to the window. We lapse into another silence and I am not too confident about whether to break it or not. Lucky for me, I don't have to decide because Simon finally makes his way back to us. Tyson notices immediately and I am forgotten.

"Hey! Are you okay?! Did it come out okay? Were you hurt?" He's out of the booth and babying Simon the way he baby's Kai before a big trip. Looking him over and checking everything that could possibly be wrong. I'm sure it's just because he's happy to focus on something other than his feelings. Maybe I was wrong for trying to pry it out of him so much and wanting to talk him through it just because I thought I knew better. He would deal with it in his own way. Was I being too nosey to think I could offer him some help? Maybe he didn't need my help.

"Oh look, it's snowing again," I alert them to the world outside the window. It wasn't a strange sight, especially today, but it was somehow refreshing. The old snow was beaten and worn down from traffic and kids playing in it but fresh snow would always come to replace it and make it new again. Like the beginning of new possibilities. Just seeing it start was like welcoming the chance for changes.

"We should go to the park and build a snowman and send pictures! I don't think they have snow where they are right now," Tyson says, getting excited at his own idea. "Maybe we can make them look like bunnies!"

I don't know why I find this statement absolutely hilarious but it has me rolling over with laughter in seconds and Tyson is soon to follow. Having forgotten his need to check all of Simon's battle wounds, he pulls the other man back down into the booth with him and starts pointing out the places he wants to go next to finish his shopping.

I let him go, suddenly not needing to know how he is doing or if he needed help doing it. I was content with just waiting it out with him. He knew I was there and that was what mattered.

I pull my phone out to check it again. Still nothing. I sigh at how empty this makes me feel and blindly reach for my drink to take another sip as I decide to type a quick message before putting the phone back out of sight.

"Ugh, this is terrible," I gag after taking a big, painful gulp of whatever they thought was their 'best holiday drink'. "Is it even legal to serve this?" I push it as far away as possible without pushing it off the table. This gets me another full bout of laughter from both Tyson AND Simon as I swipe at my tongue in attempt to cleanse it from the bitter flavors that still linger there.

Simon takes this moment to grab the drink and eye it over carefully, taking a sniff and swirling it around as if mixing it would change the contents. I shake my head in protest of whatever thought process he is having with it but Tyson beats me to voicing these concerns.

"Don't do it, man. You still have to drive us home!" he warns with complete disdain, bringing about another round of shared amusement before Simon smirks and takes the plunge before either of us can stop him. Tyson nearly knocks over all the other drinks as he jumps up in an attempt, but Simon manages to dodge and protect the drinks from becoming Tyson's victims, while he gives us a confused look as to what we are making such a big deal for. He overly expresses enjoyment of the drink, making it clear that he is mocking us, and continues to hold it out of reach when Tyson tries to take it from him before he can further poison himself with it. They don't stop scuffling even when Simon decides to chug the drink until it is gone and Tyson is seizing only an empty cup when he manages to scale the height of the other man and grab it from him.

Mock disgust covers Tyson's face and a short squabble passes between them before Tyson is vehemently tossing the cup away in a nearby trashcan and notifying us that he's ready to move on. I gather up all of our drinks, bags, and other things, double checking that I haven't forgotten anything, and follow the two of them back out into hustle.

AN: Happy Holidays everyone! I know I sound like a broken record but sorry this is so late and so short. It's been…rough…this month. But I wanted to make sure I tried to get SOME of Christmas out before Christmas. Maybe I was secretly timing this out so it all aligned… Not really. I wish that were the case… But! I hope you all have a great holiday and are staying safe wherever you are! I'm going to be working on this a little more tomorrow and over the weekend so hopefully I can get Christmas out before it's too late! Thanks for hanging in with me. Love you all!