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Chapter 7! I hope you enjoy reading it!
Hmm, a fever. A stubborn one at that.
Raking his fingers through two different colored hair, Kai gently coaxes the young circus star into a more peaceful state of slumber. Soft words of comfort fall from his lips in gentle whispers, penetrating his dreams and soothing his tormented soul. A wet clothes lies over Raul's forehead and a bowl of cool water sits in the bedside table, awaiting further use. The fever that is currently ravishing Raul's disturbingly thin body is uncomfortable for the young male, and he is whimpering in his sleep, curled up on his side as if he's trying to make himself as small as possible.
Kai cannot examine the blader thoroughly until he relaxes, so currently he is sitting on the edge of the bed in the spare room of his apartment, running his fingers through his hair to sooth him. This isn't the first time Kai had to nurse a fevered Raul.
Raul cares about what others think of him, maybe a little too much. Kai can't even begin to count the all the times where Tala came to him in the middle of the night with a sleeping Raul in his arms, telling him that he trained himself to the point of exhaustion.
Raul doesn't think he's strong enough. He doesn't think he's good enough. He doesn't stand up for himself whenever someone criticizes him, taking their harsh words as fact.
There are a few things that Kai hates in this world and critics are one of them.
Fortunately, Raul is getting a little bit better at taking critics on the chin. Tala has taught him not to take every comment thrown his way to heart. Tala, himself, couldn't give a rat's ass what anyone says about him. He knows that there are people out there who simply will not like you and won't change their opinions, even if you belt them with a plank of wood.
Tala worries about Raul, a lot actually. He's as emotionally fragile as he looks and all Tala wants to do is to hold him in his arms and keep him safe.
Tala isn't the only one who worries about Raul. Raul has quite a following of 'Big Brothers', including all the blitz boys and their lovers. Thankfully, not all the brothers are here at the moment. Spencer is still at the dojo, keeping an eye out on the little ferals while Garland is keeping Bryan busy and away from him.
Kai emits a soft sigh when he notices that Raul is no longer shaking in his sleep and his eyebrow gives a sudden twitch. "You know," he says quietly as not to disturb the teen before him. "It is really hard to concentrate when you're breathing down my neck!"
Tala physically reels back at the whispered hiss in his direction and takes a step back, almost appearing bashful before he walks around to the opposite side of the bed and kneels on the floor, peering down at his young boyfriend. "Can't you hurry up and help him?"
"What do you think I'm doing?" Kai asks as his eyebrow twitches again. He has only been at his apartment for less than ten minutes and Tala is expecting him to work miracles. He does not yet know all of Raul's ailments as he's been too busy trying to make him comfortable enough so he can examine him.
All Kai knows at the moment is that Raul has a fever and seems to be breathing, better now than before. When Kai first arrived, Raul's breathing was labored and uneven, coming out in short, harsh breathes. But now, after soothing him for a few minutes, softly whispering words of comfort to him, his breathing is now back to a steady rate, much to Kai's relief.
He doesn't even want to imagine what Tala would do if Raul stopped breathing…
"I can't help him if I'm busy arguing with you," Kai goes on to say before he takes a deep breathes and glances over his shoulder. "Miguel, can you get him out of here?"
A moment later, a handsome blonde appears in the doorway and he sends Tala a sympathetic, yet stern look. "Let's go, Tala," he says as he walks over to him and grabs him by the arm.
"But-!" Tala begins the protest, reluctant to leave his boyfriend's side again. After what happened today, he doesn't want to be apart from him again.
Of course, unless it's to confront his sister when no one else is around…
"He'll be fine," Miguel says as he pulls the surprisingly non-resisting redhead towards the door. "He's in good hands, you know he is. Just let Kai deal with him for the moment. You can come back in when he's finished assessing him, ok?"
Tala looks ready to dig his heels in and give him a defiant no, but then he relents and his body slumps forward in defeat. "…Fine," he mutters and leaves the room on his own accord.
Kai watches him leave, knowing that this is pure torture for his childhood friends and he releases another weary sigh. "Thanks, Miguel," he whispers to his lover as he turns to leave as well. Miguel gives him a small smile as he closes the door behind him.
Drawing in a deep breath, Kai turns his attention back to his patient, a sense of relief appearing in his chest when he notes that Raul's breathing is still even and becoming less labored. He can get his fever down in an hour or two, simply by keeping the wet cloth on his forehead.
Good.
Removing his gloves from his hands, Kai sets out to test how high Raul's temperature really is and if he has any swollen throat glands. Raul suddenly gives a small whimper and rolls over onto his side.
"Please don't hate me," he whispers in his sleep.
Kai's eyes soften at those words and he begins to run his fingers through his hair again. Although Raul is suffering physical ailments from his run in the freezing rain, it is his emotional pain that's really affecting him. That explains his complaints of chest pains Tala told him about the moment he stepped inside his apartment.
There is very little Kai can do for Raul at this point in time, other than to make him comfortable by reducing his fever and trying to help him sleep peacefully. Tala is the only one who can help him emotionally. As a big brother figure to the young circus star, there is only so much he can do. It's going to take Tala's unconditional love to help him through the pain his sibling has cast upon him.
He has already done all that he can. The rest is up to Tala and eventually, Raul himself.
"You have to learn to take better care of yourself, Raul," Kai whispers to teen he sees as a brother as he pulls the blankets over his tiny frame. "If you get any thinner, you'll have to run around in the shower to get wet."
"That's the pot calling the kettle black."
Although hating people commenting on his own weight, Kai cannot stop a smile from appearing on his lips when he recognizes the teasing tone in a voice he has come to love. "Shush, you," he says as he climbs to his feet and over to the blonde standing in the door's threshold. "How's Tala?"
"Waiting impatiently," Miguel says as he moves forward and wraps his arms around Kai's body, pulling him into his chest as he rests his cheek on the top of his head. "Can he come in now?"
"Yeah," Kai whispers as he sinks into his arms.
Miguel nods and pulls back slightly, but only enough to turn his attention to the door. "You can come in now," he says and not a second later, a certain redhead appears.
"How is he?" Tala asks, immediately making his way over to the double bed and sits down.
Kai turns around in Miguel's arms so he is now facing Tala and leaning his back against Miguel's chest. "He has a fever and some swollen glands in his throat, but that's from the head and chest cold he got while being out in the rain," Kai explains. "Those symptoms will fade in a day or two, depending on how you can help with his emotional symptoms."
Tala gives Kai a look of confusion as he tilts his head to the side. "Emotional?"
"He's emotional exhausted," Kai says, nodding his head softly in understanding. "After what happened today, I'm not surprised. You just need to reassure him that the two of you will be fine, and that everything will be fine."
Tala, too, nods his head in understanding as he turns his attention back to little Raul. He gazes at him tenderly for a moment or two before turning back to Kai, a look of annoyance on his face. "What about Julia?" he asks, almost spitting the female's name.
The corners for Kai's lips twitch into a small smile. "She's starting to see the light." His smile threatens to grow bigger when he feels Miguel's body tremble around him and he knows that he is trying to suppress his chuckles.
"She wants to speak with him later," Miguel informs the redhead.
"Much later…" Tala murmurs.
"Tomorrow," Kai says as he steps out of his arms and over to Tala to place a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I know you're not going to let him out of your sight tonight. So, stay here and watch over him. There's enough room in bed for the both of you."
"Thanks, Kai."
--
"Ow, ow, ow, ow! Would you stop twisting my ear, already?!"
Michael huffs, but let's go of the abused ear and folds his arms over his chest as he looks around. "Where's Eddy?"
Rick mutters something under his breathe as he rubs his ear with the palm of his hand. He appears disgruntle and irritable, but he too is looking around, a small shimmer of concern in his silver eyes. "I don't know."
"There he is!" Michael says suddenly, pointing to the far corner of the dojo grounds where a certain tall African-American is leaning against a wall, his arms folded tightly over his chest. Michael turns back to Rick, ready to order him to speak with their teammate, but finds him gone. When he turns to look at Eddy again, he realizes that Rick is already making his way over to him.
"Good," Michael murmurs to himself before turning on his heel and heading back inside the dojo. Now, all he can do is hope that Rick doesn't screw this up. Eddy deserves better…
Stopping just short of his teammate, Rick raises an eyebrow in question. "What's wrong with you?" he asks.
However, Eddy simply pushes away from the wall and gives Rick a stern glare, a flicker of annoyance with a sense of self-pity in his eyes. "How about we play our own game of truth or dare?" he asks, suddenly.
Rick blinks at the question with a mild sense of perplexity. "What?"
Eddy ignores his confusion and continues to look at him through narrow eyes. "Truth. Are you homophobic?"
"What?" Rick physically reels back in surprise as he blinks quite a few times, trying to get his head around the sudden question. It dawns on him, his recent behavior towards both Miguel and Kai's relationship and Max and Enrique's. "No, I-"
Rick wants to explain himself, but doesn't exactly know how. He's not very good with words, expressing himself through action is more his thing. His reaction to the oust relationships was not exactly a reaction of disgust, but more of annoyance. He didn't particular want to see them acting all cute and mushy together.
Eddy continues to glare hard at him, a glare that has no place on his usual friendly and docile expression. Suddenly, his face falls and he gives Rick a heartbreaking look. "Are you ashamed of me?" he asks softly, his body slumping forward in defeat. "Is that why your want to keep us a secret?"
With a blank look on his face, Rick takes a moment to regard the teen in front of him…his secret boyfriend. They have been together for three months now, the two of them getting together under innocent circumstances, Eddy teaching Rick how to play basketball. They started to hang out more and eventually they grew close. Eddy seemed to be the only person to understand Rick as a person and where he was coming from. The only other person who knows about their relationship is Michael, who is Eddy's best friend. Which explains why Michael is so ticked off with Rick at the moment...
"Where is this coming from?" Rick asks softly, not entirely sure how his feelings towards Eddy has anything to do with being homophobic.
"Just answer me I need to know," Eddy orders quietly, a look of pure abandonment on his face. "Am I an embarrassment to you?"
Suddenly, it dawns on him. Eddy thinks that the only reason Rick wants to keep their relationship on the quiet is because he doesn't want others to know he's gay. "No, never," Rick says, shaking his head. That isn't the reason at all!
Eddy gives him a pleading look. "Then why?"
Not able to withstand at look of devastation on his lover's face a moment longer, Rick suddenly grabs Eddy by his upper arms, pulls him abruptly against his chest and kisses him soundly on the lips. It's a forceful kiss, so sudden that Eddy has to grasp onto Rick's shirt to keep himself from falling backwards, even though Rick's arms around him holds him securely in place. As suddenly as the kiss started, Rick breaks it, continuing to hold Eddy in his arms.
"I'm worried about your safety!" he tells him, giving him a gentle shake to prove his sincerity.
With wide eyes, Eddy shakes his head to rid himself from the haze the sudden kiss left behind and gazes at Rick with a look of concern. "My safety?"
"Look, I come from a bad neighborhood," Rick says as he pulls away, turning his back on the shorter youth to run a weary hand through his hair, appearing to struggle with the words. "I have enemies, street bladers who want a piece of me. I'm afraid they might go through you to get to me…"
"Rick…"
"I'm not good at this kind of thing," Rick continues, bumbling his way through his speech. "It's just…you're important to me. That's why I act the way I do. If no one knows, then no one can hurt you."
Eddy stares at Rick's back for a moment, a look of surprise on his face. However, that surprise soon gives way to guilt and Eddy moves forward to press himself timidly against Rick's back, his cheek resting between his shoulder blades. "Rick, I'm sorry," he whispers when he feels Rick stiffen at the contact. "I didn't mean to lose my temper like that. It's just, seeing all these couples happy together and…I just thought…no, I wasn't thinking. I was just being a jerk, that's all."
Rick suddenly sighs and takes a step forward, moving out of Eddy's grip, but before Eddy has a chance to feel disappointment at the loss, and Rick draws him into his arms and holds him against his chest. "No, I was the jerk here. I made people think I was homophobic and hurt you."
"We don't have to come out to the world, just to the others," Eddy says as he nuzzles his head under Rick's chin. "I'm sure after what happened here today they'll be fine with it. If they're not, we'll just get Kai onto them."
Rick winces at the thought, his hand gingerly touching his nose. "Don't remind me."
Eddy laughs softly and places a soft kiss to his cheek.
X3 Claim first Rick/Eddy! (Can I?) I bet you didn't see that pair coming, did ya? Poor Eddy, he is always pushed aside and forgotten. Anyway, Tala/Raul fluff in the next chapter, promise!
Please review.