A/N: Here it is! The morning after with my two little deviants. God I love these two boys so much... I know this is supposed to be a Kai x Ray but... ehh.. xD
Anyways, if you've not read it yet, I highly, highly recommend you hop onto archiveofourown and read Luxahheart's "Fire and Ice" as I am 100% claiming it as my own chapter 6.5 (She won't mind, she loves me, don't ya Luxy?) It showcases Kai and Tala's evening in a little more detail, shall we say. It's not 100% necessary for the chapter (though I do take some quotes from it) but.. no actually, all lemons are necessary, go read it.
As always many thanks for the reviews 3
"Upstairs."
Kai's voice shook with desperation as he turned back around to face Tala, his voice transitioning now to a firm command.
"Upstairs. Now."
Chapter 8. Regrets
Crimson eyes slowly flickered open as the morning sun poured through the bedroom window, and the brightness caused him to wince some before screwing his eyes back shut and cover them with a limp forearm.
It was unusual for Kai to see the turquoise coloured room so late in the morning, in this light, as more often than not he was up before the sun itself and got ready for the day in darkness.
Taking in a deep breath he willed himself to come round more and rubbed at his eyes to rid them of last night's sleep, his hazy vision clearing momentarily as he squinted up at the ceiling.
He could feel a raging headache coming along, and after internally cursing the brightness of the sun once more the arm came back over and covered his face.
Having heavily binged for two nights straight now he truly felt like death warmed up. It had been a good while since he had drank like that on consecutive days and his body clearly could no longer tolerate it like he used to.
He felt drained, weak.
Thinking about it, his whole body just ached.
Still shielding his eyes from the blinding beams, Kai prized one of them open and took a quick peek at the digital clock on his bedside table to see that it was almost 11am.
A low groan escaped his throat at the slight disappointment in himself and his laziness. Even when he was sick he'd never stay in bed this late.
There was no way he was going to make it into work today and with how he felt he wasn't even sure if he could bring himself to open the door of his home office. The mere thought of sitting at a computer right now, staring at that screen, made him want to hurl.
No. There was no way this was going to be a productive day.
It would be a day of wallowing in self-pity knowing that Ray wanted to be with that pink haired slut over him.
He'd seen the photos and saw how happy he looked. It was obvious.
Oh, and to top it all off, he still hadn't gotten in contact with him since his flight, so, that just said it all.
Well... he hadn't actually checked his phone since last night so Ray very well might have been in touch by now but he probably hadn't because he hates him so, whatever.
Last night...
Kai groggily rolled over onto his side and pulled the bed covers up to his face in an attempt to block the sun's relentless rays that only seemed to intensify the pounding in his head. He drifted back in and out of sleep, his mind wandering and his thoughts tracing back to the dream he'd had last night.
Tala had come over, and it had been raining – hard.
His wet clothes clung to his toned body, every indention of his muscles clearly visible as his white t-shirt was practically see-through.
God he looked so hot...
He remembered grabbing him a towel and a change of clothes from upstairs, and then fetching him a hard drink to warm him up and by the time he'd returned Tala was wearing one of his shirts. Just an old black band tee. It fit him well considering the redhead wasn't as broad in the shoulders as he was. The extra height on him evened it out.
It looked good on him...
It also looked good on his bedroom floor.
Everything that followed was so vivid yet unclear at the same time, and he couldn't quite work out what had actually happened and what were simply his desires.
He'd had many a dirty dream before but for Kai this was a whole new level of wild imagination that made him question if it was even a dream at all.
Horny bastard he was.
He must have sent Tala home at some point though, before it all got out of hand, because his next recollections were definitely that of a rated M nature so can't have occured.
Contrary to their first meeting since Tala had finished the work in their yard, it was Kai in the driver's seat, taking back control. The small amount of liquor he'd been sipping on earlier in the evening reminding him that he was Kai 'fucking' Hiwatari.
"Either get out, or get up those stairs. I won't repeat myself."
As he dozed Kai's lips twitched slightly, a small smirk slowly appearing after envisioning the look on Tala's face again upon hearing his demanding words.
It was priceless. Oh, how the tables had turned.
Scenes of the two drinking straight from the vodka bottle then played back which would explain his headache.
Whose bright idea was that again?
His brows then furrowed in his slumber and the uncomfortable sensation of carpet fibres rubbing against his bare skin came back to him.
Were they on the floor?
Had he lost the control?
Yes.
But he had wanted to. Tala's earlier words to him being more than correct and for once in his life he didn't want to be the one in charge.
"Fuck me."
Kai couldn't say for sure how many rounds the two had endured. The liquor in his system royally affecting the timeline of events and blurring the line between reality and fantasy.
Pain, pleasure, pain, pleasure.
Licking, sucking, biting.
It was all so clear.
The smell of vodka on Tala's breath as he told him all that he was going to do to him. The sharp nails sinking into delicate flesh and being dragged along his skin causing angry red lines. The warmth of his bare chest pressed against his as he pinned him down on the bed, and the tight grip he held on his wrists as he restrained his arms by either side of his head as he drove into him.
He could almost hear himself moan out the redhead's name again as he took him whole in his mouth and how amazing it felt having the very life fucked out of him shortly afterwards.
A soft sleepy sigh beside him tugged him from the memory and at the sense of movement beside him he was dragged out the rest of the way. His eyes snapping open so fast it almost hurt.
There right next to him, laid out on his back with his left arm up behind a head of red hair, was Tala.
None of it was a dream. Everything he'd just replayed had happened.
Fuck.
He watched with bated breath whilst the other almost insultingly inhaled deeply, his bare chest slowly rising and falling peacefully as he dozed.
The bed sheets were barely covering him from the waist down, his lean toned body on full display, and with Tala's head tilted away from him, Kai could see every mark that had been left too upon his slender neck.
Had he really been that animalistic? Kai hadn't given anyone a hickey since, well, ever.
His heart was already racing but skipped a beat as a thought hit him, his hand slowly creeping up to touch his own neck.
If he had done that to Tala… What had he done to him?
With the realisation setting in that the 'dream' was in fact all real, the answer was obvious – a lot.
A sickening pang of guilt hit his stomach like a kick to the gut that had him feeling nauseous.
W-What had he done? He wasn't a cheater!
Sure his loyalty was pretty questionable when he was younger but... he'd changed... hadn't he?
Slowly, due to the aching in his muscles, Kai grit his teeth as he eased himself up and attempted to creep out of the bed without causing too much movement to the mattress.
He wasn't quite sure why he didn't want to disturb the other male. It was his fucking house after all and Tala was going to have to leave at some point. But he'd seen it in movies and figured that's just what you did after a one night stand...
As he turned he caught a glimpse of the picture of him and Ray on his nightstand and darted his gaze away like the very sight of it had burned his eyes.
He couldn't face him right now, not even as a still image. He'd felt an asshole on many occasion during the course of his life but this, this moment definitely topped them all.
This was a whole new low.
Another sleepy sigh then emitted from the redhead's throat and his eyes slowly peeled open.
He took in his surroundings, familiarising himself with where he'd actually spent the night before half open blue eyes then met Kai's bare back who had managed to only get halfway off the bed.
A small smirk made its way to the corner of Tala's mouth as he admired his artwork. The evidence of their night of passion proudly displayed all over his skin for all to see.
Had been a good time.
10/10 - would come again...
Stretching out his whole body he then exaggerated a loud yawn so the other would be aware of his presence, though by the way Kai was trying to sneak off it seemed he had already noticed.
"Morning princess," he purred out with hint of amusement in his voice, "Where ya goin'?"
At the sound Kai instantly tensed and mentally cursed him.
More things in common. Light sleeper. Figures.
"You need to leave," he spat, sitting himself upright on the edge of the bed knowing he didn't have to creep around anymore, and with the sheets no longer covering him, his eyes trailed to the matching grazes on both his knees.
Damn carpet...
Catching his boxer shorts on the floor in his peripheral vision, Kai quickly grabbed them and shoved them on to try and regain some form of dignity before sitting back down on the bed.
He was sure Tala had seen enough of him in the past 48 hours to last him a lifetime.
Smugly rolling on to his side to face him, Tala rested his head on his hand with his smirk growing as he caught a quick glimpse of Kai's ass again.
It was a really nice ass.
"What, before breakfast? Surely that's the least you could offer me considering how good you got it last night," he proudly said, now looking over his nails on his free hand.
Kai clenched his jaw at having never felt such regret in all his life. The arrogance of the other immediately becoming what it should have always been – an instant turn off.
He rubbed over his eyes before resting his fingers on the bridge of his nose. He just knew of the expression that would be sat behind him right now, and if he saw it, he might just have to punch it.
Tala eased himself up and prowled over to the other side of the bed, going to embrace Kai from behind but upon feeling the contact of his arms around him Kai instantly stood up and flung them off of him.
"What part of leave do you not understand?" he snarled at him causing Tala's whole expression to falter and become wary.
He knew Kai wasn't the overly chirpy type but didn't think he held this kind of fire. This was a whole new side to him. A whole new side he didn't really like...
"Babe it was just sex, chill out."
Kai raised a hand at the blasé response before his voice managed to sound even more threatening.
"Do not, call me, babe."
Hearing the same pet name Ray uses for him come from that mouth almost made him cringe. He was Ray's babe, not his.
"Alright fine, Kai." Tala's eyes narrowed at him as he now spoke back in the same icy manner he was receiving.
"It was just sex. What's your fucking problem? I didn't see you complaining last night? Didn't see you trying to stop any of it?"
His words had lost all sense of play and cockiness that they usually held and instead were more of a scolding nature.
If Kai really hadn't wanted any of it he could've just told him to stop and he would have done. He wasn't that kind of guy. He understands the meaning of the word 'no' but it was the exact opposite word that he had Kai moaning out all night so he really didn't see the problem here.
Kai growled in frustration as Tala was right. He couldn't be mad with him as he'd only done what he'd deep down wanted him to do. All what he'd craved and desired. He'd only acted upon all the signs he had given him, and hell, it was him who told the bastard to get upstairs in the first place. He didn't have a leg to stand on. He had no argument.
"Just- Do what you fucking want then!" he barked suddenly feeling like a trapped animal as he stormed in to the en-suite bathroom hoping to wash away a fraction of the sin.
Tala rolled his eyes at the dramatic slam of the door.
If he wanted to get bitched at for no reason he'd have just stayed at home. Which reminded him he'd need to think of an excuse as to why he never came back home last night... Meh, he'd think of something...
Around 15 minutes had passed and though he was now squeaky clean to look at Kai still felt filthy as he placed his hand on the bathroom door handle.
He couldn't believe his stupidity at not grabbing himself some clothes so he could reappear in front of Tala in a decent state but of course in his anger that wasn't exactly the first thing on his mind.
He placed his ear to the door to try and hear for any movement in the room and at hearing nothing but silence he took in a deep breath to brace himself and hesitantly opened up the door to peer into the bedroom.
Both the bed and the room were empty.
He released the breath he'd held on to and wandered in to the room, straight to the full length mirror in the corner with his towel wrapped tightly around his waist.
He could clearly see the aftermath of their evening together now.
Some teeth marks sat on the right side of his neck along with a hickey and two more sat on his left.
Another sat on his collar bone. One on his chest.
He turned around to try and get a look at his back and at what he saw almost had his mouth drop to the floor.
More teeth marks paired with scratches sat along his broad shoulders and trailed all down his back. Thin angry red lines marking his skin like he'd had a fight with a cat and lost.
It was a mess, and he could see some of the scrapes had actually drawn blood...
He turned to face the mirror again and coyly looked over his shoulder before unwrapping his towel to inspect his body further.
He caught the two grazes on his knees again from when Tala had him down on all fours on the carpet, and the several bruises on his legs from where he'd been gripped hold of when he had him on his back.
His body was battered... No wonder he ached so much.
He covered himself with his towel again before grabbing some baggy sweats and a t-shirt from his drawers, making sure to glance over his shoulder again to ensure he was alone before dropping his towel and dressing into them.
Checking himself over in the mirror again, all evidence of his affair was conveniently hidden by clothing apart from the handful of love bites that littered his neck. Thankfully he had no intentions of leaving the house today.. and apparently for the next few days until they were gone.
He rubbed his hand down his face, still feeling like utter shit even with how refreshing his shower had been.
He needed coffee.
Heading out of the bedroom he accidently kicked the empty vodka bottle with his foot causing it to roll across the carpet, more shame washing over him as he picked it up from the floor and looked it over.
It had been pretty much full when he'd poured his first drink last night...
With another deep exhale and shake of his head he made his way to the stairs and began his search for the other male as he didn't think for one second that Tala had just upped and left. (Even though it would've been for the best if he had of done.)
It wasn't like they were going to kiss goodbye, say how it was nice to see each other and they should do this again sometime – no. This whole thing had gone far enough now.
Well – what occurred last night would be considered too far but there was nothing he could do about it now. What's done is done, so there was no point getting pissed off with the redhead either as he couldn't exactly blame all this on him.
It takes two to tango as the saying goes.. and like Tala had said, he hadn't put up much of a fight to stop him...
At hearing the sound of birds from the living room, Kai sneaked a quick look in through the doorway to see Tala leisurely stood by the French doors, which he'd taken upon himself to open up. He was gazing out into the yard shirtless with some sweats on and a cigarette intertwined between his long fingers.
Kai shook his head before going through into the kitchen wordlessly to make the coffee.
Just make yourself at home Tal, s'all good...
Oblivious of the other, Tala took a drag of his cigarette and exhaled a tired sigh through his nose as he rubbed at his forehead, a long stream of smoke flowing from his nostrils as he racked his brain for a believable story...
Flat tyre? Nah she'd never buy that...
He flicked off the ash from the stick and stared out at nothing in particular as he took another drag.
Bumped in to Dimitri at the convenience store, went for a few drinks... couldn't drive home, so stayed at his? Oh- and his phone died too. Of course.
Deeming the tale somewhat worthy for now he nonchalantly shrugged to himself as another plume of smoke escaped him, and several minutes later, with a mug in each hand, Kai reappeared in the living room.
As he stepped to offer the drink he noticed his phone face down on the rug by the sofa. He must've dropped it at some point.
Swallowing down the nerves, he walked past it, avoiding it for a little longer as the thought of a new message sat waiting from Ray on the screen caused another churn of guilt in his stomach.
With his focus now back on the redhead, who seemed to be in his own little world by the door and hadn't noticed he'd walked in, he stood behind him for a moment examining the marks he'd left on him, before awkwardly clearing his throat and holding the cup of coffee out towards him.
Turning to look over his shoulder at the sound, Tala nodded his head in appreciation, accepting Kai's silent apology for snapping at him earlier and took the cup before attempting to lift the tension that lingered over them.
"Thanks... babe," he added after a brief pause, quietly but still intentionally loud enough to be heard, though both the smirk and his words had gone completely over Kai's head as his attention went to his phone on the floor.
He braced himself for a moment as he picked it up and pressed the home button, his slate brows instantly knitting together at the no new notifications staring back at him.
None? No missed call or, anything?
He wasn't sure whether to feel relieved that Ray hadn't been in touch so hadn't been sat wondering why he hadn't replied, or be royally pissed off that he'd broken his promise and hadn't called him when he said he would.
He'd be at the village by now, surely. Why hadn't he texted him at least?
Noticing the death glare that Kai was currently giving his phone, Tala took the final drag of his cigarette before flicking it out carelessly into the yard and blowing the smoke out along with it.
"Y'alright?" he dared to ask with a tint of caution before taking a slurp of his coffee.
Kai threw him a quick glance before flinging his phone on the couch.
"Mm."
Tala watched the phone bounce on to the sofa before cocking an unconvinced brow and looking at him again.
"Uh, doesn't really seem like it..."
Kai just ignored him, knowing full well that the redhead didn't give a rat's ass about him or how he was feeling right now and was only asking to be nosey.
He wasn't stupid. He knew that Tala had no actual feelings for him. He didn't care if he was happy or not. He had just been yet another notch in his mile long belt last night.
It's like he'd said – 'It was just sex.'
Taking a heavy seat down on the couch Kai lounged completely back into it and sipped on his own coffee, his gaze staying low as he let his mind just wander.
Tala tutted knowing full well he wasn't going to get an answer from him and took a seat back down on the sofa himself, the same spot he was in last night opposite Kai.
Silence fell upon them, Kai seeming to forget the other was even there still, or simply not caring as he sat moping, holding the mug underneath his nose with the smell of caffeine sedating him somewhat as a million thoughts about what Ray was doing right now ran through his head.
The other male was sat with one foot up on the couch, holding his cup in one hand as he switched his phone back on in the other.
It had pinged several times causing Kai to come out of his daydream and scowl over at the fellow Russian who was disturbing his morning brooding.
Seeing his head move to face him Tala glanced up and threw a lopsided smile.
"Well, she isn't happy."
Kai wasn't sure why he cared enough to ask but he did anyway. This being one of those rare occasions that curiosity got the better of him.
"..What's she said?" he almost sounded hesitant, worried on Tala's behalf of the answer.
Thankful Kai was actually talking to him now Tala shrugged a shoulder as he read the texts out in his standard blasé tone.
"Just the usj.. 'Where are you?', 'Do you have any idea what time it is?' 'I'm going to kill you when you get home'… y'know, usual stuff crazy chicks say."
Kai slowly nodded, though he couldn't exactly relate. His 'crazy chick' hadn't even sent him so much as a smoke signal.
"Ray messaged you at all?" Tala redirected and Kai just shook his head.
Putting two and two together, Tala had figured with him just flinging his phone away that it had something to do with Ray. But even with the information being brought to light it still caused him to frown in doubt. The guy had seemed to be pretty smitten when he'd first saw them both together that day. Even he thought the behaviour was odd.
"You think it's got something to do with big tits?"
Though his words came out seemingly taunting, like he was rubbing it in, Tala was just genuinely invested in this mystery now. He didn't think the little pussy cat had it in him in all honesty.
Kai internally recoiled as he was reminded of Mariah's chest. How anyone could find those things attractive was beyond him. They were grotesque.
He shrugged in response; though that was the exact conclusion he had come to also.
"Your guess is as good as mine," he mumbled before taking another sip of his coffee.
Tala's phone then started to ring out, dragging his eyes from Kai back down to his lap where they rolled at the caller ID.
"Fucks sake..." he muttered to himself, taking another quick swig of coffee before placing it down on the table in front of him.
Kai's own heart skipped a beat. Noo.. it wasn't?
Clearing his throat Tala stood up from the sofa and shot Kai a look, placing a single finger on his lips before he answered in a put on weak voice.
"Heyy babyy..."
With the greeting confirming his suspicion Kai scowled at him. Did he really need to be told to stay quiet? What was he thinking he was gonna do? Shout 'Hey! Tell your girlfriend I said hi?' Fuckin' moron...
A high pitched voice then blared through the receiver and Tala instantly pulled the phone away from his ear. Kai couldn't hear the exact words that were being yelled from where he was sat but the woman sounded beyond pissed.
Rightly so...
"Baby, baby listen, if you'd let me explain?" Tala cooed in the same weak voice, throwing in a cough afterwards for good measure.
Kai took a slow sip of his coffee trying to be as quiet as possible, his eyes not knowing where to look right now as the redhead adopted a leisurely pace back and forth.
Was it too early for popcorn?
"So listen, you know that I was going to go check on that job a few blocks away?" he coughed. "Well, they wanted some trees cutting down so I got up the ladder and then it started with that heavy rain, and.."
He paused for some kind of dramatic effect, the woman on the other end of the phone waiting in silence.
"I fell off the ladder… yeah... no, no, I'm okay.. I mean I'm covered in a shit ton of scratches and bruises 'cos there was like this big thorn bush underneath... yeah got me real good," Tala chuckled before turning to Kai and throwing him a wink.
Kai just sat there stunned as he listened to his bullshit story. He knew Tala was a smooth talker but this guy could talk himself out of handcuffs. Could probably sell snow to a polar bear if he wanted to.
Hell, he could literally be stood outside a burnt down house holding a can of gas and a box of matches and the fucker would more than likely still get away with it!
Kai had been there and even he was starting to believe the story!
He was just such an asshole! So why was he finding him so fucking hot right now?!
"... So yeah the client drove me to the hospital 'cos they weren't sure if I had a concussion or anything and my phone had died.. it was just a nightmare of an evening, baby, I'm so sorry if I worried you.. Yeah, I know baby, I should be more careful.. but hey listen, they're releasing me soon so I'll be home in a little bit okay?.. Yeah.. Okay... I love you too, baby."
Hanging up the phone Tala exhaled a contented sigh with a smile before meeting with the astounded gaze being thrown his way.
"What?"
Kai raised his brows and shook his head, throwing him an innocent, and slightly impressed, "Nothing."
Tala huffed a small laugh before stepping back to retrieve his coffee.
"Well anyways, unless we're gonna fuck again I best get a move on," he stated, gulping down the remainder of his coffee and letting out an audible exhale as he placed it back down and made his way towards the living room door.
"I can use your shower, right? Yeah? Cool," he threw guns with his hands and clicked his tongue at him before leaving the room and bounding up the stairs and all Kai could do was scoff at not being able to get a word in edge ways with him.
Un-fucking-believable.
x-x-x
After the feast that could have realistically fed the entire village three times over and a flow of drinks that rivalled the Atlantic, Ray's eyes began to feel heavy as the homecoming celebrations were still going on until the early hours.
He'd been awake for over 27 hours now and with all the travelling on top of that he was struggling to stay awake.
Excusing himself from the conversation he was barely partaking in with a handful of the elders, he snuck out of the main hut and scuffled along to his cabin, dragging his exhausted feet along the dirt path not even bothering to pick up an oil lantern to light the way.
Pushing open the wooden door Ray was greeted to the complete mess that was his room and a small groan sat in his throat as he'd completely forgotten he'd left it that way. The whirlwind search for his phone had been pointless and now he had to clear everything away again.
If he had the energy he'd have uttered an expletive, but instead he silently climbed over his possessions on the floor whilst reaching around himself to pull off his top half of clothing and collapsed face down on his bed, everything bouncing up around him as he fell on to the mattress.
He was sound asleep almost instantly, his body too fatigued to even twitch as a faint snore rumbled in his throat. He was completely dead to the world in a matter of minutes, so much so that the creak of his door opening a few moments later didn't so much as cause him to stir.
Having noticed that Ray was no longer at the party, Mariah too had excused herself for bed but hoped she could catch a minute or two with him alone before he passed out.
Seeing she was too late she was undeniably disappointed but despite herself a warm smile appeared on her face as she gazed over at him.
He looked surprisingly comfortable to say he was practically buried underneath all his stuff.
Carefully, so as not to disturb him, she started to clear up his things around him, placing them either down on the floor or in his bedside table drawer and once the bed was solely occupied by him and not a load of clothes and electronics, Mariah gently sat herself down beside him and stroked lightly at his head.
She'd love to just curl up to him right now. Get under the covers and have his strong arms wrap around her, snuggle into his chest and breathe in his scent. It didn't seem two minutes ago since they last did that. All those years they were together she was convinced it would have been forever. But she was young, and with youth can come stupidity.
It wasn't that she had ever become bored of Ray as she loved him very much. Always had done. But as she got older and blossomed into the attractive young woman she is now, she started to receive quite a lot of attention from other boys their age as the white tiger team travelled around the world, and keeping up a long distance relationship was difficult.
It was the same for Ray. He had grown in to a very handsome young man and it was no secret he was a BBA heart throb. But the extra attention he used to receive from both genders never really fazed him. He loved Mariah and only had googly golden eyes for her.
They had both agreed that they were just too serious too young, and vowed that they would always remain friends. Mariah had also held on to the hope that once they were older and had both retired from blading they would eventually reconcile and their flame would be reignited when they had no other commitments – but then he came along.
Whenever Ray and Kai became an item Mariah wasn't 100% sure. With the village having minimal amenities, internet for media coverage was pretty much non-existent and that's why when the white tigers had visited Japan one year for a BBA reunion it came as a total shock to see the two of them a little 'touchy feely.'
She'd had no clue, so after asking to speak to Ray alone, pulling him to one side, he simply nodded in confirmation with a loved up smile dancing on his face.
She'd returned it, and claimed she was happy for him, but she was heartbroken, and had been ever since.
Removing Ray's headband she placed it on top of the bedside table before placing a soft kiss on his forehead.
As a firm believer in fate Mariah knew that if they were meant to be together they would be. She didn't have to do anything to try and help destiny along. There was a reason Ray was here right now and Kai was at home. She just had to put her trust and faith in the stars and hope and pray that they aligned in her favour.
Standing up from the edge of the bed she pulled Ray's phone out from her pocket and glanced down at his things on the floor, contemplating setting it down amongst them though after a moment slipped it back into her pocket.
A few more days won't make much of a difference...
She crept back out of the room and looked over her shoulder to gaze at Ray again who was still sound asleep before closing the wooden door behind her and making her way back to her own hut.