Disclaimer: Still not mine, still no money. C'est la vie.

A/N: Hello everyone! Here's the long awaited next chapter. It's a bit of a break from the romance angle, but maybe this'll ease the pain: Tala's back on stage!

Thanks for the overwhleming support you guys! It was so nice to see how much you guys felt with the characters and liked their big moment. Special thanks to MagicalPhoenix12, kaidatinuchan, Tyka lover 4 ever, Tyka's Flower, Guest, Guest 11, Lun4el and stutimohanty220704. :)

And now, let's continue our journey:

Chapter 24

Hide and Seek

Monday morning came way too quickly for Tyson's liking. He and Kai had stayed up until late Saturday and only with great effort separated for what was left of the night. They had been sneaking around all Sunday too – Kai had even done Tyson's homework, so they could back to the good stuff sooner. Tyson would have been fine with simply not doing his homework, but Kai had insisted. He didn't want to get in the way of Tyson's education, even though that was exactly where Tyson had wanted him.

Now that he was at school, he thought that maybe it was a good thing he'd been forced to leave this morning. With Kai at a safe distance, his mind was clear for the first time in days and he realized that if they kept clinging to each other, they'd be found out in no time. They were lucky if Gramps hadn't noticed something already. And lucky for them Ray and the Blitzkrieg Boys had left town. Three people less who could discover their secret. That left Gramps, Tala and of course Kenny and Hilary. Kenny and Hilary were only going to be a problem at school – if even. Starting now, both of them were going to spin in circles with the preparations for their college entrance exams. Between classes, cram school, homework and studying they wouldn't have much time to snoop around in Tyson's love life. Gramps spent most of his day in the dojo or around town with his more or less senile group of friends. Plus, he'd stopped barging into his room after he'd walked in on Tyson-… different story!

So, Tala was likely their biggest problem. He came and went as he pleased, and usually burst in without knocking. Sure, they could lock the doors, but that would be extremely suspicious.

Maybe they shouldn't bother to hide it? It was going to be such a headache…

Err, yeah, complicated mess, remember? his inner voice said.

Maybe it was right, this smart-ass inner voice of his. Maybe they needed to figure everything out for themselves first. Telling the others would only make this mess more complicated, right? Ugh, maybe he should not have gotten them into this mess in the first place. But it felt so… so good. Still, there was doubt the kept popping up every now and then. Not about his feelings, or Kai's… but whether or not it had been smart to act on them at this point, Kai being in the middle of remembering and all. Tyson didn't get why he still worried about that: it was kinda useless, because it wasn't like either of them wanted (or could) go back. Also, when had his life not been a mess? Yeah. He could handle messy!

With a silly grin Tyson drew a little heart onto the corner of the page of his biology book. Realizing what he'd just done, he scribbled over it so that Kenny couldn't spot it by chance. He shook his head. He needed to snap out of it. Focus on the lesson maybe. Oh god, the lesson. He could have sworn he was still in history, but what was scribbled across the blackboard so weren't historic dates. Damn. Was it really math class already? He seriously needed to focus.

Just then his phone buzzed in his pocket. Ou, was that a message from Kai? Should he check? … Well hell, he'd already day-dreamed away an entire history lesson. One more minute wasn't going to matter! With a glance at the teacher, Tyson carefully pulled out his phone.

His heart fluttered. It really was a message from Kai, asking how his first day back at school was going. Tyson smiled, as he messaged how horrible it was and how much he was looking forward to going home.

"…-on! Tyson!"

Tyson's head shot up.

"Huh?"

To his great relief it was Hilary that stood in front of his desk, not the teacher. Being the Sherlock Holmes he was, Tyson deducted that class must have just ended. That meant he'd missed not one, but two classed, and that it was now lunch break.

"Are you coming?"

"Am I… where are we going?"

Hilary rolled her eyes.

"To get some drinks from the cafeteria," she said. Towards Kenny she added, "Is he on some kind of pills?"

Kenny just shrugged.

"Hey, I am right here," Tyson complained.

But they'd already left. Tyson jumped up and followed his friends with a low growl that would have done the old Kai proud. On pills? How rude! What made her think that? Was it because he hadn't been listening to her? But he never listened to her! Or was it… His stomach dropped for a second. He had been texting Kai. What if he was being obvious? Wasn't a crime to look happy, though, was it. Even if one was at school… Still, he probably needed to be a bit more careful hiding his happiness. Ugh. This was going to be tough. Tyson sighed, then sped up his walk to catch up with Kenny and Hilary.

It soon became obvious that sneaking around was harder than they'd thought, or at least harder than Tyson had thought. His poker face needed some serious work – for one, he grinned like an idiot every time he received a message from Kai. Which was often. Hilary had luckily blamed his dopey expressions on the pressure of the upcoming college entrance exams. Not that Tyson was going to bother taking the college entrance exams. He knew his qualities lay outside of academic achievements, so why waste the energy. But for some weird reason Hilary was under the illusion he was. How she could possibly think that was beyond him. Maybe the fact he'd been doing his homework lately had thrown her off. Anyway, he was glad he didn't have to worry about Hilary. If Kenny was buying the whole Tyson Granger buckling under the pressure of college exams thing, Tyson had no clue. Kenny wasn't the type to pry, though, so he figured they should be fine either way. So, despite Tyson's horrible poker face (or complete lack thereof) they were safe on that front. At home, things were a bit more complicated…

Halfway through their first week of hide and seek, they had been cuddled on Kai's bed, when they'd heard someone come down the hallway. The way that person was stomping, they'd known in an instant it wasn't Gramps. Which only left one person to come and go as they pleased. Tyson had done the only thing he could think of this fast: he'd thrown open the window and hurled himself out of it. He'd barely hit the ground (luckily not that far down), when the door had flown open - he could tell by the loud bang with which the door hit closet.

"Hey Kai, what's up," he'd heard Tala's voice.

"Oh err, hi Tala!"

If Kai had been irritated by Tyson's spontaneous jump from the window, he didn't give it away. Tyson was so proud of him.

"You trying to pretend you're in Russia or why do you keep the window open?"

Kai had laughed. Tyson had heard him get up and move towards.

"I just needed some fresh air."

"Oh of course, most efficient way of achieving that goal. Environmentally friendly, too," Tala had drawled. "Hey, where's that loud-mouthed friend of ours? Detention? It's so quiet."

"He must be around somewhere. I swear I heard him around here somewhere just a moment ago," Kai had said. "Let's go look for him."

Tyson had thought to hear a hint of amusement in his voice. At least one of them was enjoying this. Then Kai had shut the window and Tyson had crawled away to meet them somewhere safe and unsuspicious… like the kitchen. Which, on a side note, Tala had commented with the silence making perfect sense now that he saw Tyson with food in his mouth. Damn Tala.

The days had gone by with more or less close calls and looking back at the past two weeks, Tyson thought they'd done pretty well. Besides him having to jump out of the window and Kai spending half an hour in Tyson's closet when Gramps had come to lecture Tyson about not doing his chores nothing much had happened. Two weeks. He could hardly believe it was their two‑week anniversary already. Well, kinda – they still needed to dtr! In any way, it was their two-week anniversary of successfully seeking each other and hiding together.

When Tyson finally dragged himself out of bed and into the kitchen it was well past eleven. Tyson sank onto a chair at the kitchen table and yawned. How could he still be tired?

Kai strolled in and smiled.

"Good morning!"

Although it was hardly that, Tyson appreciated the gesture. He smiled back at Kai, and when Kai then leaned down and placed a quick kiss on his cheek, his smile became even wider.

"Tea?" Kai asked. "You look tried."

"Yes please," Tyson murmured and yawned again.

"Something keep you up last night?"

Kai gave him a quick look over his shoulder as he filled the kettle, long enough for Tyson to see the amused twinkle in his eyes. Tyson stifled another yawn. Kai had been up as late as he had – why was he looking fresh as a daisy when he'd obviously gotten up before him?

"Yeah, you know, some things I needed to… handle."

Kai gave a low laugh. He hummed to himself while he waited for the water to boil. When it had, he poured a cup of tea for Tyson, put it in front of him and sat down beside him.

Tyson nodded a thanks. He blew on his tea, then carefully nipped on it. Nope, still too hot. Tyson sat the cup down. Way too hot. And tasted a lot more like hot water than, well, tea. It definitely needed more time. He turned to Kai.

"It's Saturday."

"I'm aware."

Smart-ass. He really was a smart-ass. But a very handsome one.

"Do you wanna go somewhere today?"

"Do you have something in mind?"

"How about the coast? I know it's freezing, but we could take a blanket, and there is this little café that serves amazing hot chocolate."

Kai took Tyson's hand in his and stroked the back of his hand with his thumb. Tyson loved it when Kai did that. It was so gentle and somewhat calming. Kai was about to say something, when-

"Well hello there! Am I interrupting?"

Tyson's stomach dropped. How had they not heard him come in, that blasted Tala? One could always hear Tala approach.

Oh, we are so screwed, Tyson thought.

More like he was screwed. If Tala found out, he'd probably tear him a new one! He needed an excuse, some sort of story to explain them holding hands like this. Ugh, but what? Tyson didn't think Tala would buy them greeting each other with a handshake each morning.

Majorly screwed!

"We're thumb-wrestling," Kai then said and flashed a smile at Tala. "Loser has to help in the kitchen later."

He caught Tyson's thumb with his.

"Looks like it's you," he said to Tyson.

He let go of Tyson's hand and turned to Tala.

"Thanks for distracting him, Tala, I was about to lose."

Tyson felt his jaw drop. For various reasons. For one, he was in awe at Kai's quick wits. The boy way absolutely brilliant. Then there was the dazzling smile on Kai's face. Yes, knowing that Kai was flat‑out lying, it was a bit scary… but that didn't change the fact that a smiling Kai was simply stunning.

And, of course, Kai had kind of screwed him over, too.

"Hey, no fair! I want a re-match."

Tala snorted.

"Don't be a sore loser. Hey, why don't you make me a cup of coffee, Tyson?"

"That's not part of kitchen chores."

"Kai, do you want one, too?" Tala smirked.

"Oh, since you're asking…"

"This probably would be an appropriate time to show you both the finger," Tyson muttered.

But he still got up to make coffee – for Kai, not for Tala.

"You're supposed to just do it, not philosophize about it," Tala said and rolled his eyes. "Haven't I taught you anything these past months?"

Tyson showed him the finger.

"Oh, see, you're getting the hang of it," Tala said.

Tyson couldn't help but laugh. Yeah, Tala was a bit of an obstacle at the moment, but he was also a good friend and overall fun to be around. Maybe he shouldn't curse his red-haired friend as much as he did for constantly bursting in… or getting him into made-up kitchen duty… or ruining his date. Oh well, it wasn't like the beach wouldn't still be there tomorrow.

Tyson had to remind himself of the fact that Tala's existence also had some upsides to it, when the guy squatted at their house for the rest of the day and well into the night. Not only didn't Tyson get to spend any time with Kai alone, he also was in charge of making dinner so he wouldn't blow their cover. So, under audible protest, Tyson had gotten to work. Now that he looked down at the food on the table, Kai's attempt to screw him over might have back-fired big time. Because Kai would have to eat that.

His spirits suddenly lifted, Tyson cheerfully called out, "Dinner's ready!"

Tala was the first to stroll into the kitchen. He wrinkled his nose.

"What's that smell?"

Tyson gestured at the bowls on the table.

"I made spaghetti Bolognese."

"Why would you do such a thing?"

Just then, Kai walked in and smiled at him. He automatically smiled back, but quickly reminded himself that Tala was there and watching and so he better not look like a dopey idiot again.

"Ryu says to start without him. He's just got a call from a friend," Kai said.

Tala had meanwhile taken a closer look at their dinner. He picked up a spoon and pocked the spaghetti.

"What did you do to them?" he asked. "Looks like brains."

"Oh, well, might have forgotten to stir while they were cooking," Tyson said.

"Only you can manage to screw up pasta," Tala snorted.

"I'm sure they'll still taste good," Kai said.

Tyson loved him even more for it. They sat down and after Tyson's third attempt to serve the spaghetti with fork and spoon, he got up to get a knife and cut out a chunk of pasta for each of them, which he then generously covered with (or hid under) Bolognese sauce.

Tala poked around in his food.

"What now," Tyson asked irritably.

"I'm not sure if I dare ask."

"Spit it out."

"I haven't eaten any."

"I mean your question," Tyson growled.

"Fine – it's got chunks. Bolognese isn't supposed to have chunks this big. Why does yours have chunks!"

That damn Tala!

"Let's just eat," Kai interrupted.

Tyson gave Tala one more glare, then he picked up his cutlery and loaded a lump of pasta and a bit of chunky Bolognese onto his spoon. Kai and Tala followed his example.

For a moment it was dead silent. Then all three of them simultaneously spat their food back onto their plates.

"Ugh, this is the nastiest thing I've ever tasted," Tala spat.

Tyson couldn't argue with that. From consistency to taste, it was disgusting. Something had gone horribly wrong here… He tried to rub the taste from his tongue with a napkin, while Kai chose the more elegant way of washing it down with his orange juice.

Tala rammed his fork into the pasta – it stood upright in the lump of spaghetti.

"You just had to give Italian cuisine a go," Tala said.

"Kai likes Italian food," Tyson mumbled.

"I do, that's very considerate of you," Kai said and smiled.

"Well order pizza then," Tala thundered. "That's Italian and unlike your cooking it's not gonna kill us."

Again, Tyson could not argue with that. He had to say something, though.

"You try it next time. Let's see if yours is any better."

"Tala is actually a decent cook," Kai said.

"Huh?" Tyson and Tala said in unison.

Tala then added, "I mean, yeah, I am. But how- … do you remember?"

Kai looked surprised. He then thoughtfully tapped his finger against his temple.

"Yeah, I guess I do," he then answered. "Spaghetti carbonara?"

"Yeah baby," Tala said smugly.

"Oh, that's great, Kai!" Tyson cheered. "Did you remember anything else?"

Kai shook his head.

And Tala said, "I think we should celebrate you remembering good stuff about me by Tyson ordering pizza for us."

Seriously, with friends like that, who needed enemies?

A/N: Aw I must say I had a lot of fun bringing Tala back into this. I think he's my favorite to write in this. Whatcha think? More Tala? More TyKa? Next chapter will defnitely be a lot more TyKa than this, but beyond that point it is still a big mystery (that is I havent't even drafted it yet ^^). Stay safe guys, and until soon! ~Bird