Disclaimer-I don't own beyblade. I sure wish I do, though.

Warning- Yaoi. Don't like, don't read.

When the stars cease to shine

Chapter-2

When Tala came up over the bridge, what he saw almost made his heart stop beating.

There stood Kai, his hands gripping the railing, leaning dangerously over them. Tala was not sure whether he was trying to puke or fall down, but he sure as hell didn't like what he saw. He couldn't see his face clearly, and was certain Kai hadn't noticed him yet. He was standing almost twenty meters away from him. Tala began running. "Kai!" he yelled, as the inebriated blunette began to sway and leaned over further. "What the hell? KAI!" just as he almost fell over, Tala grabbed his wrist and pulled him away from the edge and into himself, in a solid embrace as they both landed on the deserted road. He was panting hard, as he sat up and let go of the petite person in his arms.

"What the bloody hell did you do that for!" he demanded. "You could've gotten killed!" When he got no answer, he tried again, softer this time. "What were you trying to do?"

Kai simply turned away, refusing to meet his eye.

"Hey, are you all right? Do you feel sick?" He tried to catch his chin, but his hand was pushed away.

"Thank you." He didn't even look at him.

"That's ok. What were you trying to do back there?"

"It's nothing."

"What do you mean nothing? You could have died!"

"Who are you?" Kai finally turned, but his expression was almost angry, annoyed. His eyes were flashing as he glared at him. "Were you following me? What were you doing here? How did you know who I was? What do you want?"

This was not the reaction Tala had been expecting. Sure, he would have liked it if Kai just smiled that drop dead gorgeous innocent/naughty at the same time smile of his and asked Tala if he wanted to make torrid love in the backseat of his car as a token of gratitude. If not that, then maybe a smile and an invitation to have coffee at some at some high class place perhaps. At least a smile and a 'thank you'. Or just a smile. What he wouldn't do for that smile! But definitely not this. He had degraded him to the level of some cheap stalker! The nerve. It was only then that Tala noticed that Kai looked somehow different. There was something that looked like shark fins on his cheeks and his eyes were a different colour, almost purple. Almost as hot as the red ones, but not quite as enchanting. He found it in himself to speak nicely and hide the irritation bubbling up within him. He wouldn't yell back, no sir, and he would show Kai what a sweet, polite, decent guy he was!

"Hey, calm down okay? I'm Tala Ivanov. I found your wallet at the bar and I just wanted to return it to you. I knew it was you because I saw your driver's license. I'm not a stalker, and I'm not press. So you don't have to bite my head off, okay?"

"Ah- um- sorry then…" Ah, what a cute embarrassed blush! And the volume level was a lot lower this time. He liked it better this way. And was that a slight slur in his words?

"What were you trying to do?"

"You're a stubborn ass, aren't you?" Damn, he's gone back to being a loudmouthed jerk again. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted.

"Don't change the topic!"

"Listen, I don't wanna talk about it okay? So why don't you just leave me alone, go back to wherever you came from, and forget that this ever happened? Good bye and don't bother me again!" with that he roughly got up and stalked back to his car. What the hell?

Now Tala was really mad. He had saved his life, for God's sake! And this was the thanks he got? He just wanted to know what he was doing, surely that wasn't too much to ask for! And besides, why was he behaving so weirdly? All sweet one minute, wanting to tear things apart the next. Just what was he hiding?

"Hey!" He chased after Kai and got there just as he got to his car.

"Now what?" he rolled his eyes, looking exasperated. Even in his anger, Tala couldn't help but notice that Kai looked adorable as he did that. Something was definitely wrong with him.

"I saved your life. Surely you can show me a bit more gratitude than that."

"Of course. Thank you for saving my life, and thank you for returning my wallet. There. Happy now?" Oooh… feisty…

"A bit more than that, please."

"Oh. So that's what this is about." He took out his cheque book. "How much do you want?"

Tala felt insulted. His features twisted into a scowl. "I don't want your money. Just give me the answer to my question." He could be pigheaded at the best of times. And a downright pain in the neck during the others. Now was one of the other times.

"I don't know you well enough to tell you that."

"We have the entire night."

"Oh come on! You can't be serious!"

"But I am! And tomorrow's a Sunday and thus a holiday and I don't have to wake up early so I will wait here for as long as it takes to get what I want out of you. So there."

"Damn you." And he sighed. He sure sounded down. So did that mean he would talk, therefore admitting defeat? He hoped so.

"Hmm… so are you planning on telling me anytime soon?" Kai looked so mysterious with those shark fins… hey, so are they tattoos and did he wear make up to cover them up, or are they just painted on? And what colour were his eyes really? He couldn't wait to get on with his questions. Hehehe.

"Do you want me to call the cops on you?" Sigh. This was getting old.

"Ahem, you're the one who had been driving under influence. If anyone's gonna get arrested, it'll be you." Ha! Take that, Hiwatari! "I should be the one calling the cops. You were the one driving like a maniac. And behaving like one as well. What happened to the famous Hiwatari Good Manners? It's all an act just to fool everyone, isn't it? You're just like all those other celebrities, a real jerk. All I want are a few words in exchange for my saving your life, is that-"

"I DIDN'T ASK YOU TO SAVE ME, DID I?"

Tala backed off quickly, as Kai slumped against the car and sat down on his haunches, clutching his head in his hands. He felt miserable, and the alcohol was kicking in again, making his head spin. Everything had been fine until this stupid guy had come into the picture. His mind felt clouded and his thoughts were distorted. He tried to get up but he failed, almost falling before Tala caught him, holding him steady. He felt woozy, like someone had hit him on the head with a sledgehammer.

"Ungh…" he could barely stand. Tala felt sorry for the state Kai was in, as he hugged the boy closer in an effort to stop him from crumbling to the ground. It was quite obvious he'd never had alcohol before, and the effects were quite new to him.

"Hey… I'm so sorry… I didn't mean for you to get all worked up about it, you know…"

No response.

"Do you want me to drive you home?" he tried to be a bit more helpful. This way, he would just have to say yes or no.

"C- Could you take me to a hotel?" His speech was slurred and it looked like he had taken a lot of effort to speak. Most possibly he was having a splitting head ache.

"Why?" Tala shouldn't have asked that, but his curiosity got the better of him.

"Any hotel. Just not my house."

"In that case, you'll come home with me. I'm not going to leave you alone in this state. No way in hell."

Tala helped Kai get into his own car, and went to his old beat up blue Volkswagen to retrieve his keys and lock it up. He could rest assured that no one would try to mess with the second hand car, but he'd be up all night fretting if he just left the Mercedes on the road like that.

qpqpqpqpqpqpqpqp

As Tala drove back home, he wondered what had triggered such a reaction within Kai. He seemed fine till he said something about his putting up an act. He stole a quick glance at the male next to him. A part of him felt excited that he was in the same car as his object of desire (heck, who wouldn't be?) But he also felt sad for the dismal blunette. The purple eyes looked lost and empty as he looked at the darkness passing by. He looked like he was tired of life; there was an air of gloom around him. He didn't look like the confident Kai Hiwatari who had the world at his feet. He looked like a broken and lost soul who was in some serious need of comfort.

Before long they reached his apartment, and Tala got out of the car praying for the lifts to work. He went over to Kai's side and opened the door for him, and helped him out of the car. Slinging his left arm around his shoulder and holding his hip with his right, Tala led Kai inside to where the lifts were. Crossing his fingers, he pressed the down button on the panel.

After a few minutes, just as he was about to turn towards the stairs, the doors dinged open.

Sighing happily, he stepped inside, guiding Kai. When they reached his floor, he carried Kai in his arms, bridal style. Kai was too disoriented to do anything but clutch his collar like his life depended on it. Tala didn't complain. He couldn't complain. Kai was going to be his for an entire night! All his dreams were coming true in a single day. He truly was blessed.

When they reached his door, Tala gently put him down and opened the door. Leading him inside, he switched on the lights and then lifted him up again. He walked over to his bed, laid him on the bed and pulled the covers over him, securely tucking him in. He would have to sleep in his couch tonight.

"Good night, Kai."

**********continues…

So? Nice? Bad? Tell me what you think!

Reviews are always welcome!

Thanks for reading!