This is wholly unedited and half of it was typed on my phone so excuse any errors you may find. I was so desperate to get this chapter off of my hands, I didn't even bother to read it once I finished. I will go back and correct all of them later.
Also, the last section falls in Kai's POV. Demarcated with an * to avoid confusion.
When he came to again, it was silent. No fire crackling, no tasteless music blaring and definitely no raucous laughter. It was significantly warmer too, and when he tried to sit up he felt considerably more in control of his limbs.
Rubbing his eyes, he found himself in the dorm room, nestled comfortably in his blankets. Somebody had taken his shoes and jacket off. Remembering what made him faint in the first place, he lifted his shirt and took a look at his newest piece of body art. Well, it was his first one and going by how he had royally embarrassed himself, possibly his last. It didn't even sting that bad, but the feeling of a needle piercing through his body had shocked his alcohol ridden mind into a state of panic. Turns out he really wasn't the sort of person who found it easier to bear pain in a drunken state.
His nipple definitely looked a little swollen, and a faint thread of pain made it obvious that something had been done to him but overall it wasn't that bad. He found he would live.
The familiar bang of their door caught his attention and he saw Kai stumbling in, eyes on the glowing screen of his phone and the other hand holding up a bottle of water.
"So you're awake.", he muttered, pre-occupied and never even looking up.
He couldn't resist the urge. "No, for real? I thought I was still asleep." It was childish as anything but both the friends grinned at each other. The stumble of Kai's step made it clear he was drunk himself. Reaching Tala, he offered the bottle of water to him and took a seat beside.
"You're drunk.", Tala stated the obvious himself.
Kai looked up from his phone, where he was watching Mariah's live stream of the riverside. A sweet alteration of his usual smirk appeared on his lips. "Yes, but I was sober enough to take a screen recording of you screaming like a girl and fainting the moment the needle touched your skin."
Tala groaned and covered his face. "I was out of it, okay?" He snapped.
"You are a baby is what you are." Kai chuckled before swiping the bottle out of Tala's hands and taking a few thirsty gulps himself.
"I am not!" Some of his usual sarcasm would be helpful right now but it was nowhere to be found.
"You were terrified of the very sound of the tattoo gun." Kai's face leaned forward, the phone now lay forgotten to the side.
"I wasn't terrified. That sound just makes me uncomfortable. It's too much like a drilling machine! I don't want to think of a drilling machine… well, drilling into you."
"A what now?!" Kai burst out laughing. "Have you ever actually heard a drilling machine? There's a world of difference between their sounds!"
"No!" He shook his head stubbornly. "A tattoo gun is essentially a miniature drilling machine and I don't know why you think it's a good idea to have one be used on you."
Cocking a brow, Kai lifted the shirt on his side, baring his tattoo for Tala to see. "You don't think this is a good idea?"
… Now, that was unfair.
Distinctly aware of the fact that he was gawping, Tala tried to close his mouth, failed, tried again and succeeded.
Ki scooted closer to him, reaching out a hand, then thinking better of it and pulling it back against his side. "Ray said… he said you might like me."
What…?
Choosing to tread lightly, all he said was, "What gave him the idea?" His heart was galloping around in his chest chasing, and simultaneously stomping on the hopes that this might be going where he had always wanted it to go.
"Is it true?"
Why had he never before noticed how overpowering Kai's cologne was?
Warm fingers took a leap of faith and inched closer to where Tala's hand lay between the two of them.
A faint voice rose in protest inside Tala's head. This was the voice that whispered deprecating abuse into his ears every time that he was stood up in favor of Ray. This was the voice that told him to give up every time that the thought of the two together made him cough up bile. This was the voice that snaked into his dreams and conjured phantoms of them kissing and touching each other night and night after the day he and Kai had made out, and Kai made it clear it meant nothing to him. This was the voice that reminded him to be cautious of everything he said, for fear that he might be giving too much away.
Quite fortunately, it was easily overridden by the other part of him, the one that felt like dancing every time Kai would turn to him and ask him if he had tried that new coffee shop, or read this new book, or watched this latest movie. This was the part of him that made prolonged eye contact out to be a long-winded romance, casual touches to be the hints of something more profound and small smiles to be secrets he kept safe and guarded.
This was the part of him that lit up whenever he saw Ray and Mariah being overtly in love with each other because he knew that meant he was one step closer to winning Kai.
So pretty obviously, that was the part he listened to when he covered Kai's hand with his own and leaned forward to meet his parted lips halfway, catching them with a tenderness that only ever manifested itself when he was with the Russian.
Apparently tender was not what Kai had in mind.
A sigh escaped the Russian and moments later, his arms were locked around Tala's neck in frightful demand. The redhead tilted his head more to the side, to accommodate Kai's sloppily inquisitive tongue as he rested his hands against the Russian's thighs, squeezing and he could feel the urgency in his own movements increase. Their teeth clashed painfully together and a sharp hiss got swallowed by the bruising kiss. It was only when Tala tasted the metallic taste of blood and found he couldn't figure out which one of them it had come from, that he pulled back.
A trickle of red ran down Kai's chin which he wiped away with a mocking smile. Gesturing pointedly at the blood on his fingertips, he mouthed 'baby' at Tala in a manner that can only be described as smugly seductive.
Feeling annoyance crawl up his back, Tala lifted his shirt off of his chest and threw it down by their feet, cocking a brow in challenge. Immediately, Kai's eyes zeroed in on his piercing. He reached a hand out to stroke the skin and metal and Tala bit back a wince for fear of being called a baby again. It was still too new to be touched or tugged, yet.
"Does it hurt?", Kai looked up into his eyes.
Tala opened his mouth to tell him that it didn't when he saw that look in Kai's eyes again. The look that always made him feel like he had no idea what Kai actually meant.
As his response went from delayed to not-coming, Kai leaned in and pressed a soft kiss against the base of his throat. "Does it hurt, Tala?"
Years of jealousy, pain, and anger flushed over the redhead and rendered him speechless. Nodding dumbly, he felt his heart squeeze at the guilt in that beautiful face. What was the point of denying anything now? No, he had been lying for long enough and it hadn't done anyone any good.
'I love you, Kai.' The thought rose unbidden and was silently breathed past his lips in feverish kisses that he laid against his partner's temple. Kai's hand quivered against his chest like that was the most sensual thing anyone had ever done to him.
Biting his lip, Tala grabbed Kai's waist and shoved him on to the bed, kneeling above him and making quick work of his own jeans, tossing them aside to where they flew and landed on Ray's bed. Smirking at the irony, he leaned down between Kai's legs to catch his smiling lips in a quick smooch before the idea of getting to touch his skin became too much to handle. His arms went from encircling the slim waist to crawling up underneath the black top, rubbing against the Russian's sides and drawing faint breaths from him as he felt Tala's nails dig and wound his skin. His fingers traced the tattoo on his side out of sheer memory and his mouth hovered down Kai's neck to nip below his collarbone.
He felt fingers snake into his hair, and drag against the buzz of his undercut. Kai's legs lifted to slide against the back of his, and a hand drew back to grope his briefs-clad ass. He exhaled gruffly against Kai's skin as the palm landed a rough smack against his ass. The fingers in his hair tightened their hold till his scalp stung and Kai jerked his neck away to lean up and kiss the column of it.
He felt his balance waver as Kai tried to sit up, distracting with him haphazard kisses up his neck, hands tugging and impatient. With slight effort, Tala pushed him to lay back down, catching his lips in a ferocious kiss so as to stop Kai from turning him into putty with his breathy nips.
Pushing the shirt up to bunch below Kai's armpits, he dug his fingers into the Russian's ribs, pressing his squirming form down into the mattress. Finally resigned to his position below Tala, Kai relented and spread his legs apart, so that the growing bulges in their pants pressed together. Satisfied with his partner's surrender, Tala ran a languid tongue across Kai's jaw, ghosting kisses to the soft spot right behind his ear lobe. Immediately, Tala felt urgent hands grab at his hips and push their groins together. Kai rocked beneath him, mouth open, chest heaving, demanding urgent friction.
"What are you doing?", Tala whispered even as he started tugging on Kai's pant, eager to please the Russian just like he had been his entire bloody life. Under his breath, he cursed him for not wearing jeans like normal teenagers. It took Tala about a minute to figure out where the zip on Kai's trousers was.
He removed his boxers along with the trousers, the back of his hands brushing the underside of Kai's cock. For the first time in the night, Kai let out a small moan at the contact.
Smirking to himself, Tala wasted no time in getting on his knees in between Kai's wide-spread legs, taking in the sight in front of him. For all of Kai's pasty lack of colour otherwise, a very pleasant flush had made its way up the front of Kai's thighs, rendering them quite similar to the dark erection that was presently throbbing in Tala's wrist. The redhead's black painted nails ran up the insides of his legs, contrasting beautifully with the twitching skin underneath. Kai jerked his hips up in response, demanding to be touched where Tala was deliberately ignoring him.
"Tala, you jerk.", Kai growled as he thrust his hips again, the head of his dick smacking Tala's chin. Tantalising, Tala stuck his tongue out and Kai jerked into it again, biting his lips for the two or three seconds that he felt the wetness of Tala's tongue against his cock. The redhead's hands tightened on Kai's quivering thighs and he felt his cock become painfully hard.
"You are literally shivering, Kai." Tala smirked, extending his tongue out again.
"Will you hurry up?", his partner hissed in frustration. Then his brow evened out, as another trademarked Hiwatari smirk curled on his face. Gazing into Tala's eyes, Kai spread his legs farther and his hands came down to part his ass cheeks, giving the redhead a clear view of his reddened hole.
Transfixed, Tala leaned down to drag his tongue up his asshole to the underside of his balls, nuzzling Kai's cock and taking a lungful of the smell. His mind had pulled a stop on all rational thoughts now, as his life long crush remained spread out beneath him, so vulnerable. Tala's nails dug into Kai's skin and his teeth nipped into the delicate skin where his thigh met his groin as he felt his own dick straining against his briefs now.
This was not how he planned to do it. He wanted to take his time with Kai, kiss him and touch him everywhere and milk the moment for as long as possible but he didn't think he possessed enough self-control. Especially when Kai himself was so obviously writhing for him to speed up.
Straightening, he quickly tugged and tossed his briefs off of himself before grabbing on to Kai's waist and pulling him up. Kai reached out to kiss Tala, but the redhead really couldn't be bothered to wait anymore. With every ounce of his strength, he flipped Kai to his front, on his hands and knees.
"Hands against the headboard, now." Tala rubbed Kai's entrance as he growled his command. Tossing an arrogant smirk over his shoulder, the Russian scooted forwards to obey his commands and Tala climbed up on to the bed behind him.
Watching that ass sway and Kai's back arching as he pressed his chest against the headboard, Tala had to do everything in his power to keep himself from pushing his way into the Russian, dry as he came. Not liking the delay, he growled out to Kai to tell him where the lube was. Startled at the change in Tala's formerly adoring tone, Kai informed him it was in the top drawer of his bedside table. Immediately, Tala flung himself over to it, ripping out the drawer and grabbing the lube, never stopping to close the drawer back.
Behind Kai once again, now with his fingers and dick coated in lubricant, Tala spread Kai's ass apart and thrust a finger into him. He heard Kai wince at the sudden intrusion.
"You good?"
A breathy yes came back in reply, so Tala started moving his finger, rapidly pulling out and driving it back into the knuckle. Not even a full minute into this and he had inserted another. Kai was now panting, his shoulders shaking as he actually clung on to the headboard for support as Tala drove his fingers into him.
Laying gentle kisses down his spine and slapping his ass alternately, Tala worked at getting Kai appropriately loosened up. When he felt the resistance relax, he pulled his fingers out and immediately thrust his dick into Kai. A cry of pain shot out of Kai's mouth as he felt Tala bury himself to the hilt inside him.
"Oh fuck." Kai's head dropped down between his arms and Tala's fingers immediately reached out to grab the front of his throat and pull him back against him. Feeling their bodies come into full contact, Tala reached forward and grabbed Kai's dick.
Fisting the Russian's cock roughly to take his mind off the pain, Tala waited for Kai to give the go-ahead. When he felt the slate-haired boy rock his hips backward, he started moving, trying to remind himself to mind the pace. Kai would need time to adjust. But it was getting increasingly difficult as the Russian panted and moaned against him, his back arching and his butt bouncing every time Tala's hips came in contact with him. These sounds, this image, this feeling, it felt like he had waited his entire life to feel Kai like this, touch him everywhere and now that he finally could he no longer wanted to wait anymore, even for a second.
Pressing a kiss to the back of Kai's flushed neck, Tala found he couldn't really hold back anymore. His teeth bit down harder on the flushing skin of Kai's shoulder. Increasing the force of his thrusting, he was pleased to find, made the pitch of Kai's cries rise as the body in front of him convulsed and shivered just like his own.
Pressing Kai's head back against the headboard again, Tala thrust himself as fast and deep as he could go, biting roughly along Kai's spine. Apparently, Kai was really sensitive down his spine, because his moans became lengthier, dirtier and his shoulders tensed in anticipation.
Sensing Kai's orgasm coming, Tala jerked him off faster, drove into his ass harder, till his hand was cramping and his own high was fast approaching. Tala buried his face between Kai's shoulder blades as he fucked Kai the best he could, hoping he was hitting the right spot. Kai seemed so into it, it hadn't even occurred to Tala to look for his prostrate. Well, he couldn't really experiment with angles without changing the pace now so he kept going and soon enough, he heard Kai's voice crack, saw his arms shiver and give away as his orgasm hit.
Along with it came a needy cry. A cry of a name that was not Tala's.
Belly cold and eyes wide, Tala drove into Kai almost out of instinct till his own empty orgasm came. He was doing it without a condom for the first time and it should have felt more intimate, but in minutes what had been the sweetest experience of his life had turned into a foreign, detached activity that he only seemed to play a passive part in.
As Kai collapsed on his stomach beneath him, Tala, still as speechless, moved away. Feeling tears gather in the corners of his eyes he made to quickly exit the room and get into the bathroom, but a hand snagged his wrist and pulled him back before he could take one step towards the bathroom.
Furiously blinking his tears away, he did not look back as Kai pressed open-mouthed kisses down the right side of his back. 'Tala' he whispered the name with each breath he took, like prayers for forgiveness that were meant to erase that one name between them. The other one, the one that had come first.
Craning his neck to the side, to give Kai access to more skin he could worship, Tala felt a sob tear out of him. Arms extended to wrap around his waist but he refused to face Kai because he knew he would break down if he did.
'Tala, Tala, Tala'
Except it sounded hollow now and seemed to reek of resentment. To Tala, it sounded hateful, even.
Like the option Kai had settled for because his first choice wasn't available.
Carefully, Kai pulled Tala back and eased him down on to the pillows. Nervousness ran rampant on his face and the redhead was surprised to see his own tears being mirrored back in Kai's guilty countenance.
"Do you ever think I might fuck this up again?"
Kai's words from that night floated around Tala's head and at this point, everybody knows, if somebody held the strings of Tala Ivanov's entire world, it was Kai Hiwatari.
Through teary eyes Tala leaned up and cupped Kai's face in his hands, meeting him in gentle kisses. Kai took Tala this time after he had kissed down every inch of his body. He went slow and passionate, making Tala writhe and pant in pleasure. He raked his hands down his sides, left giant bite marks over his chest, taking care to move exactly how Tala seemed to want. If his own ass hurt from the pounding it had previously received, he gave no signs as he rode out Tala's orgasm and then his own, all the while refusing to look away from the redhead's eyes.
When they finished, Kai cleaned Tala's chest up and drawing the blanket over them, cuddled into the redhead's chest, quite easily falling into the role of the little spoon. Tala scoffed and just for a few minutes let himself believe he was the only person Kai had shown so much vulnerability and openness to, and he smiled and kissed the Russian's cheek, before opening the floodgates of reality. Five minutes into Kai's snoring, Tala slipped out of the bed and into his own.
…
Morning greeted him with the very familiar scent of a certain Kai Hiwatari and he found his nose buried in slate hair. Turns out, Kai had crawled into his arms at some point in the night. Just to be petty to the sleeping Russian, Tala exaggeratedly double-checked if he had fallen asleep in Ray's bed.
…
When Kai woke up, he did not know. Why Bryan and Ray never returned last night, he did not bother to find out. What class was he bunking right now, he didn't care to think about.
Tala had been hiding in the library since before breakfast. It was in the middle of the second period that Kai found him.
"Look,", he didn't even pretend to be cool or casual. "I know I messed up last night. I am sorry, Tal…-"
"No, you didn't. I just misunderstood what we were doing. You just needed a distraction and I was right there and I should've known…-"
"No! What?! No! That's not what…", Kai trailed off and dropped down in the seat next to Tala. He ran a hand through his hair, making a couple of strands fall into his eyes and Tala couldn't help remembering how his fingers had looked clasped in that soft grey hair last night.
"I was drunk and confused last night." Kai sighed, and his stentorian mask fell away to reveal uncharacteristic panic. "I want to give this, us, a real chance, Tala."
He couldn't stop his scoff from exploding, and if his tone was venomous, really, that was Kai's own fault. "Why? Because your precious Ray said so? Like how he, without asking me once, gave it away that I was into you?"
Kai took a deep breath. "As a matter of fact, he did, yes but even if he hadn't it won't change my mind. I won't drop this here Tala. I… you mean too much to me."
"I clearly mean nothing more than an interchangeable fuck in the dark of the night that you can pretend is him."
"It was a mistake, okay. You are not like that. Give me another chance. Go on a date with me tomorrow and I promise I will make it up to you."
…
"Kai said you were mad at me for telling him you liked him." That evening, a familiar voice interrupted Tala's steady deliberation of what he needed to wear for his date with Kai early the next morning. Kai had proposed they skip school and spend the entire day together. Despite his misgivings, Tala liked the idea.
"I seem to be the only topic of interest between you two these days." He had never hated Ray half as much, as he did just then. The want in Kai's voice when he had called out this bastard's name the night before cut Tala to his very core.
"We are best friends. We tell each other stuff." Ray's voice tightened in response to his own tone. "Exactly how you went and blathered about your little crush on Kai to your best friend Bryan instead of talking to either of the two people who actually had something to do with the situation."
Tala whipped around to face the Chinese, who was lounging gracefully on his bed like he owned the damn thing. Typical Ray, acting entitled to stuff that was by no rights his.
"Did Bryan tell you that?"
"No."
"Mariah?"
A defensive growl echoed deep in Ray's throat. At times like these, Tala amused himself by imagining the man was some sort of a tiger hybrid. "She didn't. Don't go dragging her into this."
"I know she is your girlfriend, Ray but that's no reason to get so defensive. She's my friend too and…-"
"I know she is your friend, it's you who needs constant reminders of that. I won't stand for you pointlessly accusing her of something she didn't do again."
Some of Tala's anger flooded away as guilt assaulted his mind. There was also the fact that he had watched these two pine behind each other for so long, he couldn't help but feel all giddy inside whenever he saw proof of how happy they were, in love with each other.
"I said sorry a million fucking times."
"And if you think that was you doing a favour to us, then its all for nothing, Tal."
"Why are you acting like this? You know what I meant!"
"No, I don't! None of us know what you mean because you don't talk to us about it!"
"When the fuck did I not talk to you, and about what?"
"About Kai, of course. I had a niggling feeling in the back of mind since the beginning and…-"
"Wait. So you knew and yet you went around sleeping with him in front of my face."
"Would you rather we did it behind your back while you went around chasing him hopelessly lead on by the lie that he could ever be interested? At least we were honest Tala which is more than what you ever did."
The venom in Ray's narrowed eyes stunned Tala. It felt like too much of a possibility for him to produce a comeback. He knew these were bullshit words spouted in anger but they carried so much wait it made his spine quiver.
"Are you,", he took a deep breath, tried to center his mind and recall exactly what Ray said just then. "Are you telling me he's not ever gonna be interested?"
Ray rolled his eyes, but his expression softened. "No, I am saying I was very, very attracted to him and I figured if my stupid instinct was true, at some point you'd speak up about it. You didn't so I put it out of my bloody mind."
"Could I have spoken up though? How could I come in between you two?"
Ray's arms flew out over his head, exaggeratedly. "Come in between us? Tala, it was just sex!"
"Really?"
A flicker of doubt crossed Ray's eyes and the millisecond of hesitation would latch on to Tala's heart and twist it into painful knots for many more nights to come.
"Of course! I have been in love with Mariah forever."
Well, Ray you can be in love with two people at the same time.
"I couldn't be sure of that. Sometimes you'd look at him with this look in your eyes and then there'd be this little smile. You'd just reach out and take his hand and it happened so frequently! I just… I thought, ugh!"
"Wow. If friend-watching was a sport, you'd be the coach."
Tala ignored the jab. "What I am saying is, I thought there was more going on there and that's why I kept shut about it all. I couldn't very well walk up to you and demand you stopped being with Kai because I wanted him. He isn't a thing either of us could claim."
Belatedly he realized this was the only thing that kept Ray from realizing what Kai felt for him. Sex was such an impersonal concept to this guy that every time he took the Russian to bed it was a point scored. For those few hours, he was not Ray's best friend. He was a conquest, a good lay and that was why he couldn't see how much more it all meant to his partner.
"Of course he isn't, but you are my friend like he is and I am not okay with sleeping with a friend's crush or whatever. You should have said something. If not to me, then to him."
"I am not sure about that. It always felt like there was a spark between you guys."
Ray rolled his eyes. "Yes, there was. It's called an orgasm."
"Even if there was nothing romantic there, he needed you, Ray. I couldn't make you abandon him."
In quite a surprising turn of events, Ray's eyes scrunched in guilt. "No. He was all alone and I was his first friend in the world. He thought he needed me and I let him believe that because I liked having him rely on me. I liked it when all those years ago when we were lonely kids in those expensive parties and he would turn to me and only me and smile like he was happy I was there, and I still do. I was an asshole and I have apologized to him. I needed to say sorry to you too, so well, I am sorry."
Tala bit his lip and scoffed. "For all the times that we have called him an asshole, it seems we are the bigger ones."
Ray looked away and a trembling voice rose in assent. "Yes, like loose shots fired in the dark and the target always ends up being Kai."
Bracing himself for the truth, Tala launched into his next question. "Are you sure he is actually serious about this entire thing?"
Ray smiled. "His lips are about ready to fall off because he has been smiling all day since you said yes to that date, Tal. He is very serious about this. I mean I know last night was a disaster but it was probably because he was shitfaced." The smile morphed into a grin. "I mean you can take it on good authority from me that he's actually quite good in bed."
Tala tried hard to bite back the smile slowly curling on to his lips.
Wait, what?!
Kai told him about last night?!
"What… what did Kai say?"
"That he didn't prepare you properly and then passed out on you before you were done. I mean I can see why you'd be angry but really, it was probably the booze working."
If only that was why he had been angry.
"Uh… yeah, it was not what I was expecting."
Ray nodded in sympathetic solidarity before his eyebrow rose, and with a near girlish wiggle of his butt he excitedly questioned, "Well, what are you doing with your hair tomorrow?"
…
He didn't do anything with his hair the next day but he did apply Kai's favorite nail paint and put on his best casual shirt and leather jacket, along with the skinniest jeans he could find.
The plan was to sneak out after break-fast because chances were higher of a teacher noticing if they didn't show up in the morning itself.
Bryan and Ray bid them goodbye with overly enthusiastic winks, almost as if them going on a date together was the best thing that could happen to either of them. Mariah pulled him aside and congratulated him and the two had a silly moment just trying to muffle their squeals because they had their men, and now everything seemed right.
As the guard, generously paid for his indiscretion, held the small side door open for the two, Kai grabbed his hand and casually walked away with their fingers intertwined. The crisp morning air made the warmth between their joint hands seem like the best thing in the world. Tala felt a giddy smile cross his face and he subtly pulled the Russian closer.
Kai's shoulder bumped into his and he muttered, "Hey."
Kai, who had previously been sort of nervous about how Tala would react, broke into a smile himself. Tentatively, he leaned up to peck his cheekbone. "Hello."
They looked away with shy grins, chuckling at how they were behaving as they strolled aimlessly around, in the vague direction of their favorite coffee shops, and for all they were aware of people could be on fire around them and they won't notice. The nervous fascination that accompanies your first date with someone was loud and clear in their mannerisms, never mind the fact that this was the first date either of them had had with anyone.
Tala tugged on Kai's hand with a sheepish smile. "I don't wanna get coffee today."
Amused, since Tala had lead Kai on to believe he shared his love for the bitter monstrosity, the Russian raised a brow.
"What do you say to a good, large blueberry milkshake?"
"You like blueberry milkshakes?", Kai scoffed.
"You don't? You have no idea what you are missing out on."
"You are scared of the tattoo gun, pass out while getting pierced and like blueberry milkshakes. You really are a fucking baby!"
Smirking Tala ran a finger over Kai's wrist. "Was I a baby the night before when I was fucking you so hard you couldn't stop shivering in my arms?"
Kai looked up, truly surprised now. It was clear he hadn't been expecting Tala would bring that up. Seeing consternation grip Kai's features Tala spoke in a soothing voice. "I wanna give us a real chance, too."
Kai actually let out a sigh of relief before placing a quick kiss on Tala's cheekbone again. Tala gave him an adoring smile he would have relentlessly mocked others for displaying. Then, fastening their hold on each other's hands again, they started for the milkshake shop.
…
They reached the place in about fifteen minutes and Tala ordered the mocha shake for Kai which was the closest thing he could find since he told him to order a cold coffee and they didn't actually sell. When their milkshakes arrived, Kai scowled at all the ice cream and foam heaped on top of his drink, along with the generously poured chocolate syrup. He looked up at Tala with a visibly disgusted expression.
"You're supposed to be sucking up to me." Tala pointed out.
Kai smirked. "Not really. You already said you wanted to give it a shot."
"I might change my mind."
"All it takes is fifteen minutes in my presence for you to give in to me, Tala. Who are you kidding here?"
Not trusting himself to believably counter that statement, Tala just flipped Kai off and smugly went to sipping his own less-monstrous looking blueberry milkshake. Occasionally he'd look up at Kai glaring sullenly at his glass and roll his eyes. Five minutes into Kai's sulky brooding, he slid his own drink towards him.
Kai raised a brow, though a victorious smile sat on his lips.
"I can guarantee it will taste better than whatever the fuck is in your glass."
Kai looked down at his drink one final time, pulled a face and snatched Tala's milkshake.
…
Tala gave his watch one more look. Kai had been gone for fifteen minutes now, and he had been standing outside the milkshake shop alone like an idiot. Whatever it was the Russian needed to do, couldn't have struck while they were still inside and comfortably seated because he had been busy obsessing over Tala's milkshake.
The stupid joke made the redhead giggle again and he mentally chided himself. They were too old to be laughing at shit like this, not to mention far too classy. He snorted.
Pulling out his cell phone from his pocket, Tala did a doubletake to find 14 missed calls from Ray, 11 from Bryan and a couple from Mariah too. He felt worry overtake the feeling of euphoria he had been grappling with all morning today, and just as he was about to hit redial, he felt a presence by his side.
Looking up, he found an uncomfortable and miffed looking Kai glaring at him.
"You can't leave your phone alone even when we're on a date?"
Tala's jaw dropped open. "You disappeared on me, you asshole!"
Kai raised a brow but his expression did not even out. "So uh, I was wondering, are you enough of a baby to like flowers?"
Tala was about to sarcastically point out that he wasn't a fourteen-year-old kid on his first date (though he was very much an eighteen-year-old kid on his first date), but he stopped himself when he noticed how Kai held his hands behind his back and there was a certain degree of sheepishness to his irritated expression that wasn't easing out.
Feeling warmth coil in his sternum, he couldn't bite back his smile when he said, "Yes, actually I am."
As expected, Kai's expression brightened, even as he blushed a little, and he produced a bunch of white roses from behind his back. Holding them out to Tala, and never looking up to actually meet his eyes, he mumbled something the redhead didn't bother trying to decipher for he was busy trying to calm his racing heart.
When he reached out to take them though, he felt a thorn prick his finger and he drew his hand back in a haste, looking at his blood ooze out of the small prick and flow down his digit.
Kai opened his mouth to say something and began to withdraw the cute little offering but Tala grabbed the flowers with his other hand, carefully this time and placed a quick kiss on Kai's lips. "Thank you.", he whispered before sticking the pricked finger into his mouth.
Kai smiled a little.
That was when Tala remembered what he was about to do beforehand.
"Check your phone.", he said to Kai.
Just as he expected, Kai had been flooded with calls and texts himself. With a questioning look at Tala, he called Ray back and the Chinese teen picked up on the second ring itself.
A moment later Kai was hanging up.
"What happened?"
"He's in class. Said check inbox."
…
By the time, they reached the school building, they were both out of breath. Looking back Tala wonders why neither of them thought of calling a cab, it'd definitely have been faster.
There was a different man in place of the guard this time, and they were escorted straight to the principal's office.
…*
They lay sprawled on the bed again, side by side and silent. Tala's breathing was soft and relaxed and he didn't seem all that bothered with the in-school suspension they had just received. To him, it was just a solid reason to not attend classes for the next two weeks. To Kai, it was anxiety-inducing because he didn't know if his parents would be called or not.
He could already imagine the shit he'd have to endure if they actually were.
Fiddling with the buttons on his shirt, he lay cursing the principal mentally, and whoever had gone and snitched, and himself for not checking his phone. Would he take it all back though? Chances were, he won't.
He struggled to keep a grin from spreading across his mouth. He had enjoyed this date. He definitely had feelings for Tala. The idea that someone fancied him did funny things to his stomach. That wasn't it, though. Tala was someone he could potentially see himself developing a real bond with. He liked him, liked his sense of humor and the small coy grins the redhead carelessly tossed at him like they didn't carry the weight of the entire world in them. He liked how logical and grounded he was, and he definitely adored his body.
Memories of another boy, shorter, tanner and a lot leaner rose in his head and he fought to grind them back down to the dark vestiges of his heart. He didn't need to be thinking about Ray. He didn't know how he could stop though, the Chinese boy was the only one Kai had ever looked at in that light.
Truth be told, he couldn't remember his life before he knew Ray. They had met first when they were both four, and Kai definitely couldn't recall how that happened either. To his mind, Ray had always been there, the only person in his life who seemed to genuinely care about him back then, as they bonded together in their lonely little corner, lost in those crowded parties both their families were so fond of.
It was as if Kai had never existed in a world where he didn't love Ray.
To shrug all those feelings off wasn't going to be easy. He'd need time, but Tala was someone he could potentially have something good with. Tala was someone who knew him in ways even Ray didn't, even if he had yet to fully understand him and Kai isn't willing to give up his one chance at actually being loved how he had always craved Ray would love him, even if it came from somewhere else.
So he would teach himself to turn to Tala first and not Ray whenever he saw something of interest. He would teach his mind to think of Tala and not Ray whenever love was the topic at hand. He would teach his body to crave Tala and not Ray whenever he found himself wanting.
And he would teach his heart to call for the redhead, not Ray when the skeletons in his closet refused to lay quiet.
He figured it won't be all that difficult. He loved being around him as it was. If he could, he'd take both Ray and Tala and shackle the three of them together for life, but there was this thing called Mariah that put a huge damper on that plan.
Well, it wasn't all bad. He loved how good Tala made him feel about himself. He won't give that feeling up for the world.
Following said train of thoughts, he turned to his side and reached out a hand towards his companion, slowly stroking the skin of his cheek. It was soft and smooth, and if he closed his eyes he could imagine it was…
No. He won't close his eyes, and he won't imagine Tala as anyone else. He didn't deserve that.
The redhead leaned his cheek into Kai's palm and smiled softly at him. For a second, Kai lay marveling at the image. Those soft cerulean eyes forming a stark contrast with the deep red bangs that dusted across his forehead, the curling of those thin lips and the rapidly rising color in his cheeks. He hadn't seen Tala blush in years now, and it was still as delightful as when he used to blush all the time over everything in middle school. Unable to help himself, Kai leaned in and bumped their noses together, an innocent gesture that made both of their hearts race.
With a devilish smirk, Tala sat up and came to straddle Kai's waist. Before Kai could similarly raise himself, he found hands pressing down on his shoulders and a mouth attach itself to the soft spot behind his ear. Sighing and rolling his eyes simultaneously sighing and rolling his eyes. There they went, fighting for dominance again and it amused Kai to no end.
Truth be told, if he really wanted, he could flip Tala over in a second but it felt nice to let him take charge sometimes. The boy was very eager to please him, and he liked the maddeningly hungry look in Tala's eyes whenever Kai gave in to him.
Conceding control again, he let Tala manipulate him so he was on his back and propped against the pillows, even as they engaged in some toe-curling kissing. Kai's arms lifted to drape around Tala's shoulders, pulling him closer so their chests brushed together, and crotches pushed right into each other's. Thin fingers began carding up his shirt, and running over his sides. Feeling the force in Tala's kisses increase, Kai arched himself into his body, so as to be able to feel each other more fully. Tala pushed his school shirt out of his way, kissing Kai's heaving chest, focussing on his nipples. Kai's hands, on the other hand, traced Tala's spine and went to dip inside the waistband of his pants, cupping the redhead's ass.
Tala followed his lead, deciding pants were an inconvenience they didn't really need. He sat up, making Kai groan in frustration, though he stopped his complaining the moment Tala's fingers met his growing hard-on over the fabric of his pants, once blunt nails were done trailing a blazing trail on his lower belly. He cupped him harshly, and Kai registered his appreciation for the gesture by releasing a short and shuddering sigh.
Immediately, Tala was undoing the buttons on his pants. Kai felt his breath hitch when one of his hands held up the front of his trousers, and the other dipped in to grab a hold of Kai's semi-hard cock. Giving it a fleeting stroke, Tala cocked an arrogant grin at the Russian before drawing his length from the confines of his pants. Kai bit his lip.
A hand trailed up to tease the twitching skin around Kai's nipples, the other continuing to apply excruciatingly mild pressure to his cock as it stroked up the shaft. Every so often, a finger would move to flick over the head of his cock, or press more delightfully onto it, making Kai squirm with pleasure.
His mind fogged over, and it became increasingly more difficult to focus on the room around them with every lazy stroke and tug of Tala's fingers. Expert fingers stroked his dick right to the base of it, stopping to fondle his balls and rising back up again with faint sweeps of the tips of his digits, teasing the moaning Russian to the very edges of pleasure.
"Quiet.", Tala cheekily mouthed at him.
His long fingers finally came to fully wrap around the base of his cock, thrusting and pumping in quick succession as Kai bit back a sigh and arched up into Tala's hands. This was how he liked Tala best, demanding and caring at the same time. His hands shook and lowered to fist the sheets beneath him as Tala continued his painfully slow movements with a self-satisfied look on his face.
"You know all of this could've been avoided if the two of you would just be attentive on your phones!" Ray's voice reached them before the door was even swung open, and Kai immediately sat up and threw Tala off himself, making the redhead land on the cold floor of their dorm room and hastily trying to cover himself.
In the doorway, Ray froze as his eyes took in the scene in front of him.
For a second, he looked like somebody had slapped him around the face. To soothe his own heart, Kai, for a mere moment, let himself revel in the fact that it very much seemed like now when the first obvious proof of Kai being with someone else was registering with the Chinese teen, he had quite lost himself as to how he was supposed to react.
Ray's face melted into his perfected mask of mischievous nonchalance and his eyebrows raised. "Am I interrupting something?" His voice though held a silent demand. His tone was miffed. He wasn't happy and seemed to feel entitled to some sort of compensation from the two teens, Kai especially, as his amber eyes weighed in on his hard cock.
"Yes, actually."
Turning away from Ray (which was an action wholly unfamiliar to him), Kai offered a hand to the teen on the floor by his feet. Tala's face broke into a disbelieving half-smile.
"Stay out of the dorm room for a while."
Kai didn't turn to look at Ray's face, but considering how there were no doors slammed, he had to credit Ray's self-control. The two teens smirked at each other and Kai drew Tala into a passionate kiss again.
Yes, he would teach himself to un-love Ray.
Review, y'all!