Disclaimer: see previous

A/N: Hellooo~

Less than a month. Progress? ^^ I can't believe how long I've been working on this story already. Way more than a year. And can you imagine I honestly thought this would be done in 7 chapters? That worked out well :D

So, many mnay thanks to all those who are still reading this, especially to unaisa memon, Blue lightning of the night, IamMakoto and the Guest. You are a huge help in keeping motivated to continue! You rock! :)

For those of you who have been waiting for more TyKa moments, I think you'll like this chapter! Enjoy! :)

Chapter 15

Pillow Talk

"Um, anyone hungry? Gramps made dumplings."

Tyson would not have thought to get away with this flimsy distraction, but much to his own surprise he did. It turned out Bryan and Spencer had not eaten since they'd left Beijing airport, and Bryan was starved to the point where he chose dumplings over a good knuckle-sandwich. That not only meant Tyson got to keep all his teeth attached to his body, but also that Bryan was successfully shut up for a good amount of time. And people said he, Tyson, ate much! Clearly they'd never seen Bryan eat.

"Amazing," Kai whispered as he watched Bryan put yet another dumpling on his plate.

Tyson gave a low chuckle, which he quickly turned into a (somewhat pathetic) cover-up cough.

Kai glanced at him and grinned. Tyson winked back.

He then tried hard to think about something else, something gross or sad or boring... anything but the mischievous sparkle in Kai's eyes just now that was so adorable and sexy at the same time and... Good lord, he really needed help.

"Don't tell me you're done already," Tala's snarling voice interrupted his thoughts.

Bryan leaned back in his chair and patted his stomach. Impressive. If he weren't a guy he would have passed for five months pregnant.

"You know I thought you'd sucked up too many hospital fumes when you cancelled our group conference for dumpling night, but you would have been fucking mad to pass on these."

"Just shut up, Bryan."

While Tyson still wondered if this was a friendly quarrel or about to become a less friendly fistfight, Gramps once more came to his rescue. The bottle of clear liquid Tyson's grandfather passed off as "dessert" instantly caught Bryan's attention.

Another half hour and a few "desserts" later, Tyson felt some serious respect for his grandfather's Bryan-taming skills. Fed and happy and sleepy, Bryan was shoved out the door by his teammates, who thanked Gramps and wished them a good night. Tyson watched the Blitzkrieg Boys disappear through the gates and let out a deep breath. Well, that had gone better than expected. It definitely had been shorter than expected. Kai had probably had the shock of a lifetime, but Tyson figured that was a pretty normal reaction to Bryan. Nothing had been said or done that would trigger anything negative - in Tyson's not so expert opinion, that was.

Tyson sighed again. Then he shut the front door and went back into the kitchen where Kai was already putting away the last of the dishes.

"Oh wow, that was quick. Thanks Kai."

"Sure. Ryuu asked me to tell you he's going to, err, digest dessert."

Tyson rolled his eyes. More like sleep it off.

He scanned Kai's face for any signs of distress. Kai looked a bit tired but other than that absolutely fine - in Tyson's not so expert opinion, of course.

"You ok?" he still asked.

Kai nodded.

"I am. I think I'll go to bed though."

Tyson nodded.

"Yeah you must be beat! Have a good night, Kai."

"Thank you, you too."

Tyson watched him leave and thought that he really was polite, this new Kai...

Right. He clapped his hands and looked around the empty kitchen. What now? With the Blitzkrieg Boys gone and everyone else in bed, Tyson suddenly found himself in need of an alternative plan for his Saturday evening.

Well, since he was in the kitchen already... real dessert would be a starting point!

A quick search of the fridge turned up some chocolate pudding and whip-cream. Very nice, he could work with that. A look in the cabinets revealed a bag of chocolate covered peanuts, some gummy-bears that looked like they'd be of archeological interest and microwave popcorn. Popcorn, huh? Okay, yeah, movie night it was! He left the gummy-bears where they were in case his brother ever decided to drop by, stuffed a bag of corn into the microwave and put the peanuts on a tray with the pudding. His eyes flickered over to the kitchen counter, where Gramps had left his idea of a dessert. After a split second of hesitation, Tyson walked over and opened the bottle. He took a careful sniff, wrinkled his nose and quickly put the lid back on. Ew, no thanks, he preferred his rice unfermented. Another search of the fridge produced a can of coke, which Tyson placed on the tray along with the popcorn. He nodded to himself. Yes, that looked like a promising Saturday evening.

When he settled down in front of the TV he thought how nice it was not to have to fight over the remote control with his grandfather or the choice of movie with his friends. He could actually watch whatever he wanted without any judgmental looks or annoying comments. With a mouth full of popcorn, Tyson began to search for the ultimate movie.

Tyson woke with a dry mouth and pins and needles in his right hand. It took him a few heartbeats to figure out where he was and how he got there. He was lying on the couch. His feet were dangling of the armrest. His arm was hanging off the couch. Hence the pins and needles. The illuminated white thing he was staring at could only be the ceiling, and the howling sounds probably came from the TV, which also explained the flickering of the ceiling. As for the disgusting taste in his mouth... well… he had been curious. After a first sip he had absolutely no idea why Bryan and Gramps loved this stuff so much. So Tyson had taken another. This time he had been able detect a hint of flavor. To make sure, he'd taken one more sip, which hadn't been so bad. He'd then wondered if the taste would continue to improve with every sip he took...

Tyson moaned.

"Want some water?"

Tyson's eyes went wide. He thought he'd gone to bed!

He awkwardly moved his head back. Sure enough, there was Kai. Kai was sitting next to him, the chin rested on a pillow in his arms and the eyes focused on the screen.

Then Kai turned his head.

"So, how did you like the dessert?"

"How did you know I had some?" Tyson croaked.

"You smell like a bar. You must have really liked dessert."

"You know that's not really a dessert, right?"

"I know. I also know that alcohol dehydrates you, so you should have some water."

All Tyson managed was a grunt. He reached for the glass of water sitting on the couch table and emptied it in one go. He flopped back down onto the couch and sighed.

"Better?"

"Much. I was parched."

A few moment passed in silence. Tyson turned his head just enough so he could see the TV. What he saw was in no way familiar.

"What are we watching?" he asked.

"I have not the slightest idea. It involves werewolves, I think."

"Huh. I can't remember putting anything like that on. What time is it?"

"Little past four."

"That explains it."

Tyson focused his eyes back on the ceiling. Now that that terrible taste in his mouth was gone, he actually didn't feel too bad. Certainly well enough to notice Kai's scent faintly in the air. Well enough get all tingly and nervous. He closed his eyes and simply focused on his breathing for a few moments - not because his breathing was off, but simply to distract himself. In and out. In and out. Tyson opened his eyes again.

He cleared his throat and asked, "How come you're up at this odd time?"

"I needed something to drink and couldn't fall back asleep."

He'd probably had too much on his mind, once the first exhaustion had passed. Tyson wondered if he should ask. Kai hadn't exactly been the guy to talk about his feelings... Was the new Kai any different? Tyson had no clue. He was still figuring him out. But surely if he wanted to talk, he would?

Just then something very unexpected happened. In a few swift movements Kai put down his pillow and lay down to mirror Tyson's pose. And there they were, lying head-to-head flat on their backs with their feet dangling off the armrests.

Tyson swallowed hard. So close! So close Kai's bangs were in his field of vision... Yeah, sure, Kai's bangs were pretty long, but Tyson still thought that that was pretty damn close.

"I..." Kai began.

"Mh?"

A few heartbeats later Kai said, "They were not what I expected."

"Kai, I think they're beyond what most people would expect."

Kai gave a low chuckle.

He remained silent for a while, then said, "I honestly don't know what I thought they'd be like."

"You didn't have much to go on, so that's pretty normal I'd say."

"Yeah..."

Tyson thought this, err, pillow talk of sorts was actually pretty nice. He loved this chance to learn what was going on inside Kai's head. He'd been longing to know. Well, technically he'd been longing to know what was going on inside the old Kai's head. Old Kai, new Kai,... He needed to stop thinking in those two categories. This was Kai, the one and only ...wasn't it? Minus his memories. A fact his head still struggled with, but his heart seemed to have accepted already. His heart, that was working overtime again. Haa, he was so hopeless... Tyson suddenly felt the strong urge to pull Kai into his arms and confess. Confess his love for the old Kai, his conflicting feelings for the new Kai, everything! He bit his lip. Oh boy. This was probably the Sake talking. He wished Kai would keep talking and give him something else to think about. Also, he really was interested in what was on Kai's mind.

Tyson waited a few more moments for Kai to continue.

When he didn't, Tyson asked "What did Tala tell you?"

"Not much. He said I'll like Spencer and that I should leave Bryan to him and just keep in mind that he cares."

"That's, um..."

"Not much to go on?"

"Yeah, but somehow a very good summary."

Kai kept quiet.

Then he said, "Yes. Yes, it actually is!"

Tyson wondered for a moment if he should ask this, but before his brain had reached a conclusion, his mouth had already decided he might as well.

"Was it weird?"

"Hn?"

"I imagine it to be super weird. You don't know who you are, you don't know who they are, but you know that you're friends?"

"Oh... Yeah," Kai said. He kept silent for a little, then continued, "It was the strangest thing. I think I've been trying to figure out who I am through who they are and... well ..."

"Bryan."

"Yeah."

Tyson thought about what clues he'd find to his own character from an association with a Bryan. What first came to his mind was not necessarily something he'd share with Kai. But then again, he didn't know Bryan like the Blitzkrieg Boys did. Spencer's comment earlier had made that clear, hadn't it.

Tyson was still trying to figure out what to say, when Kai spoke up again, "You are all so different! Who is this person who is friends with you all?"

That Tyson did now an answer to.

"A great guy," Tyson said earnestly.

"Thank you, you're very kind, Tyson." Kai sighed deeply. "It's probably a mad idea to begin with."

"No, no, I get it. You're only trying to find some hints, something to fill the void."

"Yeah. Something like that. It doesn't seem to work though. ...Hey Tyson? Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Do you think they were disappointed?"

"Disa-... Kai! Why should they be disappointed? Because you're out of shape? I'd like to see Bryan after three months in a coma."

"No it's not that. Because I'm different now and they liked the old Kai better?"

"Freaking Tala and his old Kai, new Kai..." Tyson murmured.

Could it be Kai was asking himself the same question as he was? Whether they were two different people or whether it was just one Kai?

Tyson had been confused about a lot of things lately, but he was sure that he needed to reassure Kai now and not let him know that he'd been wrecking his brain about the same exact thing. He could still do that once he found out the answer.

"Don't worry about it too much. Losing your memories doesn't make you a completely different person, right?"

"If you say so..."

Tyson sat up and put on a big smile as he looked at Kai.

"I do. Come on, let's try to catch some more sleep before the sun is up again."

Kai nodded and got up. They switched off the TV, left everything else where it was and quietly walked to their rooms.

"Good night Tyson," Kai said in a low voice.

"Good night Kai. Sleep tight."

As he watched Kai walk into his room and close the door behind him, Tyson had to resist the urge to follow him and curl up next to Kai on his bed. He vehemently shook his head and quickly went into his own room. Time to sleep off that Sake!

A/N: Thumbs up for Gramps, the Bryan-tamer? Hands down, Bryan is probably my favorite character to write. :D

I hope you enjoyed reading this! Have a fabulous weekend! ~Bird