But, Thank you very much for the review, Hibisha!

My sincerest apologies for not keeping up with my promises... My dog died last Sunday, and I felt absolutely wretched to write. I've just caught up with season 7 of Bleach, and I've been immersing myself in GrimmIchi in an effort to make myself feel better... And I've been neglecting my writing.

But I found so many brilliant fics... I wish they would be completed soon! I really wanna see how they end. Sigh.

I miss my dog. I had him for 13 years. Now my front porch feels empty without him in it.

Anyways... Now we move on to...

When the Stars Cease to Shine

Chapter 8: To The Movies!

After their last coffee together, their correspondence had become a bit more frequent. Kai made sure to text him at least once a day, even if it was only a "good night :)". Tala didn't complain, of course. He was more than happy with what he got, and didn't ask for more. He made sure to tell the other that he was always available if he wanted to talk, but that was that.

"I CAN BE YOUR HERO, BABY!"

"IVANOV! How many times do I have to tell you TO CHANGE YOUR FUCKING RINGTONE?!"

"Sorry, Boss! I didn't count!"

Tala pressed the 'receive' button on his phone and ducked out of the way of a flying stapler, grinning as he did so. "Hello?"

"Hi, Tala."

"Heyy! How are you? It's been 3 weeks already since we last met, and you haven't even called till now! Don't tell me you're too busy for your friend!"

"You know it's nothing like that. Work is being terrible. And I text you everyday, anyway! You have nothing to complain about."

Tala chuckled lightly, liking the indignant tone of Kai's voice. "Alright, alright. And besides, I wasn't saying that you were ignoring me or anything. I was just teasing, you know?"

"Yeah, well, you're mean, always teasing me like that."

"But it's so much fun!"

Kai sighed on the other end of the phone, and Tala grinned.

"Anyway, I didn't call you so we could bicker like this. I got some passes to the new Johnny Depp movie that's releasing this Saturday. Are you interested in coming with me?"

Tala's eyes widened in utter disbelief. "Johnny Depp?" And you, in the same place? "Are sea anemones the coolest things ever? Of course I'm interested! Are you stupid, asking such ridiculous questions? Sheesh!"

There was a moment of silence before Kai responds, "So you really like sea anemones, huh..."

"Yeah, don't you?"

"Ehh, yeah, yeah. So anyways, I'll be coming incognito, so how about we meet up at the theatre entrance and we go in together?"

"Sounds good. What time?"

"Be there at six forty five sharp. The movie starts at seven, so don't be late, okay?"

"Oi! Don't go around underestimating my punctuality. Despite appearances, I'm really organised, you know!"

"Of course."

"Oi! Are you teasing me?"

Kai laughed, and Tala's brain sizzled a bit. "Bye, Tala."

And he disconnected the line.

Tala was grinning idiotically at his phone when Anna's voice caught his attention. "Ooh, is that a date you just spoke to?"

"Ahaha. Not really, it's just a friend."

"Sure didn't seem like it, the way you were practically throwing yourself at them." Peter smirked from behind Anna, scrunching his nose a bit when a few of her blonde strands tickled his nose.

"You were flirting..." She giggled, slightly pushing Peter away from her hair.

"I was not." Tala scowled, crossing his arms across his chest.

Yuri walked past at that instant, rolling his eyes in amusement and exasperation. "Boss is looking at you through the blinds in her office."

He snickered internally as all three of them practically dove for their workstations.

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Tala stood at the entrance of the posh cinema theatre, wearing dark blue jeans and a white T-shirt with a simple black blazer. He scanned the crowds with narrowed eyes, until his gaze landed on a head of slate gray and blue hair.

"Kai!" He yelled, unmindful of the weird looks he was getting. The other boy must have heard him, for he turned abruptly, eyes going wide at the sight of Tala and his frenzied waving.

"What are you doing?" Kai hissed once he got close enough to the red head. "Do you want to give me away? What were you thinking, screaming like that?"

Tala immediately realised his mistake, looking apologetic and chastised. "I'm sorry. I got a bit too carried away."

Kai huffed before flickicg his wrist, like he was waving away smoke. "Well, anyways. Let's get some snacks and head into the hall?"

Tala raised an eyebrow at the man whose eyes had a bright gleam to them. "You a big fan of Johnny Depp, huh?"

"Like you aren't?" Kai shot back, smirking at his friend. Friend. It felt so nice to think that.

"Yeah yeah. Let's get popcorn. None of that caramel coated stuff though. It smells weird and makes me sneeze."

"So weird." Kai laughed, but said nothing else as they walked to the refreshment counters.

After debating for a good five minutes over plain salted, cheese, and pepper-garlic popcorn they finally decided on cheese for Tala and garlic for Kai, along with two large glasses of orange fanta. They walk over to the door to the theatre hall, and when security asked them for their tickets, Kai handed over an envelope.

The guard raised an eyebrow at the pristine white card paper, the writing on it elegant and in NO way looking like a free voucher or coupon that one could win through a contest.

It was addressed to Kai Hiwatari, and a party of 10.

He looked at the two men looking back at him expectantly, and sighed. "Is either one of you Kai Hiwatari?"

Kai looked flustered, but when he spoke, he sounded calm. "No. I'm a friend of his. Since he couldn't make it to the premiere, he gave it to me because he didn't want to waste it. Is there a problem?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you in."

The shorter man looked like his eyes were going to pop out of his head. "What do you mean, you can't?"

"Well, you see, this invite is specifically for , and is for special seats in the box. Since his name is mentioned and everything, I can't let anyone else take his place unless he himself calls and tells us to change the name on the guest list."

"What? But- you can't- how could- how dare-"

Tala dragged Kai away before his face exploded, shrugging his shoulders and giving the usher an apologetic grin.

"How dare he!" Kai finally yelled when Tala pulls him into the garage. "The audacity! I've never been so insulted in my entire life! So embarrassed! He just basically-aargh!" His face was red and he looked enraged, running a hand through his hair in his frustration, not even minding that he was ruining his perfectly coiffed hairdo.

Tala looked at the other man, worry clearly etched on his face. He'd never seen or heard or read that the Hiwatari heir had a quick temper, and a raging one that did not care for logic, at that. "You know, this was not that guy's fault."

"But he couldn't just deny us entry like that when we had the godforsaken invite with us!" Kai hissed, his eyes flashing.

"It's his job to do that. He could get into trouble if he disobeyed his higher ups, you know? Come on. Don't take it so personally. He didn't mean it like that. I mean, he doesn't even know who you really are!"

Kai silently fumed for a few minutes before he let out a loud huff and pinched the bridge of his nose. Then he proceeded to take a few deep breaths, eyes closed as he mumbled something under his breath. "I know. I shouldn't be so mad, but that was the most insulting thing thing that has ever happened to me."

Tala raised his eyebrows as a look of disbelief crossed his features. From what he knew of Kai, he didn't seem like the type who made such a big fuss over his ego. In fact, he'd seemed like someone who was a quite easy going. Something was not right here.

"You aren't really upset just because the guy refused you entry, are you?" He asked, already having an idea of what the real reason was. "It's okay. We're friends here. I won't laugh or anything."

Kai squatted down to his haunches, burying his face in his hands. "It was so embarrassing! How could anyone be so stupid?!"

His voice carried a distinct whine to it, and Tala burst out laughing.

"You said you wouldn't laugh!" Kai yelled before rising and swatting the redhead on his arm, his face red with embarrassment.

Tala just laughed harder, one hand curling around his middle while the other held the roof of his car for support.

"Stop laughing!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

"Damn right."

"So what are we going to do now? I mean, it's only 7 right now, and you don't have to be home before 9 or so, right?"

"Yeah." Kai looked up at the ceiling for a while before he looked at Tala, contemplative. "What happens now?"

"Hm. You wanna go get some food?"

"Sounds good."

They got into Tala's car and straped in. As they came out of the parking lot, Tala turned to Kai with a question. "How did you come here?"

Kai gave him a 'duh' sort of expression before he said "In a chauffeured car. I told him to come pick me up once the movie ended. Which would be around eight forty five or so. I can arrange for him to pick me up from wherever we have dinner, it's not a problem."

"Uhm. Well, That wasn't what I was asking. I mean, do you you come as 'Kai Hiwatari' or do they know about the whole 'under cover' thing?" He said, emphasizing his name with air quotes, taking his hands off the steering wheel and making Kai panic for a second.

"Don't take your hands off the wheel!" He screeched, making Tala curse and swerve a little.

"You almost crashed us!"

"You took your hands off the wheel!"

"Well we weren't going to die because I took my hands of the wheel FOR ONE GODDAMNED SECOND!"

"It is that overconfidence THAT WILL END UP GETTING US KILLED!"

"WHAT OVER CONFIDENCE?"

"YOUR OVERCONFIDENCE!"

"Taking my hand off the wheel for a SECOND to AIR QUOTE is NOT overconfidence!"

"KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD!"

"I WAS UNTIL YOU RUINED IT WITH ALL YOUR SCREECHING!"

"No seriously,please keep your eyes on the road."

"I will, I will, don't worry."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"So. Do they know that you disguise yourself to come hang out with me?"

"My secretary does, because she's the one who handles all my schedules and things and I can't really hide things from her. My butler knows, because he helps cover for me sometimes. My driver does, for obvious reasons." Kai smirked, before he cocked his head to the side, looking confused. "Why did you air quote my name like that, anyway?"

Tala scrunched his face, not taking his eyes off the road just to keep the other from panicking. "Well. There's you. My friend and guy who loves Johnny Depp and likes reading Cheknov and hates wearing skinny jeans. Then there's Kai Hiwatari, the supermodel, the heart throb, the perfect person, practically a luxury brand in himself. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I do." Kai looked out of the window at the passing scenery, the atmosphere not unlike the first time he had dropped Kai off in the morning the first time they met. Kai's face looked pensive, and a little wistful. "I'm nothing more than a billboard."

Tala's eyes widened and his heart hurt, hearing the dejection in the blunette's tone and body language. "Hey, don't say that. Think of all your fans. You have women of all ages, and certainly a good portion of men mad about you. Heck, I know some married women who think you're god's gift to earth!"

"That's actually quite creepy. How would you feel if someone told you there's a bunch of septuagenarians who'd like to get in your pants?"

"Okay. I get it, but still, isn't it flattering that you're admired by so many people?"

"Admired for what? My looks? My heritage is responsible for that, not me. Actually, nothing about 'Kai Hiwatari' is me, even though I am him. He's almost a personality of his own, though he's not really real. But since he the one that's visible, he's the one that actually 'exists' in public, not me. Does that make me... The one that's fake? Jeez, I'm not even making any sense."

"You make perfect sense." Tala said, keeping his eyes straight in front of him. "Perfect sense. Also, you're very real," he looked sideways at Kai for a second, his eyes as intense as his voice. "and I'll always remind you even if you forget it yourself."

Kai looked at Tala, a hint of surprise and gratitude on his face. "Thank you."

"That's what friends are for, dumbass. No thanks necessary. Anyway, where do you want to eat? There's a place not far from here, if you don't mind a slightly rowdy atmosphere, we could go there."

The other startled at the sudden shift in atmosphere, but managed to nod. "Sure."

"Great! They have amazing food! Do you like burgers?"

"I can't eat things that are too fatty because my personal tra-" He trailed off at the 'are you shitting me' look Tala was giving him, and nodded his head. "Okay. Burgers sound good."

Tala grinned at him and took a sharp left, laughing as Kai squeezed his eyes closed and hung onto the dashboard for dear life.

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"Is this your idea of 'slightly rowdy'?" Kai screamed, trying to be audible over the raucous din of the bar.

"What, you don't like it?" Tala screamed back, leaning closer to the shorter male.

They were sitting at the bar, a glass of water in front of Kai, a glass of orange soda in front of Tala. Their burgers are half gone, and both of them are feeling full already.

"So, your driver is picking you up here?"

"Yes. He said he'll be here at around eight forty five."

"Hm. So we have around half an hour left, huh?"

"Yes. This burger is really good." Kai moved closer to Tala, not really intent on screaming himself hoarse for the next thirty minutes. The bar was loud andboisterous, and Kai felt distinctly uncomfortable, not used to such an environment. "Do you always come to places like these?"

Tala tensed, feeling how close Kai was sitting and how his breath tickles the shell of his ear when he leans in to speak to him. He knew it was only because Kai wanted to speak without shouting, but it still made the fuzzies erupt in his stomach. It sounded terribly cheesy, but despite the varied smells that permeate the air in the bar, Kai's scent of pine forests and ozone was all Tala could smell.

He inhaled deeply, trying not to be very obvious about it. He remembered Kai's question, and turned to answer him, but the sight of large purple eyes looking at him with nothing in their depths but innocence made his heart stutter. The small smudge of ketchup at the corner of his mouth made him want to kiss the other till they both turned blue from lack of air.

"Hey." He said, his body moving like a being possessed. He saw himself moving like he was a marionette and someone was pulling his strings, his movements slow and careful but not hesitant. His hand rose, palm situating itself on the apple of Kai's cheek (so soft, he noted absently), his thumb moving in a reverent downward swipe, gently transferring the spot of red from the corner of pink lips that are slightly parted in surprise, and onto a slightly calloused thumb.

Kai's eyes were wide and there was a bright, flustered blush on his pale face, his mouth still hanging slightly ajar as Tala withdrew his hand from his face. Tala inwardly felt like kicking himself and hugging himself at the same time, but managed to keep a calm and unaffected facade as he shrugged. "You had ketchup on your face."

Kai closed his mouth with an audible snap, and turned away. "Thanks."

There was silence between them, feeling heavy despite the din of their environment. It fell around them like a thick and stifling blanket, and Tala wanted it gone.

"So what do have lined up for this week?" he asked cheerfully, as if that particular tension-heavy moment had never happened.

Thankfully, Kai decided to play along, looking thoughtful for a moment before responding. "I've got a photo shoot for Ralph Lauren which will take up at least two or three days, I think. The photographer I'm working with is really good, but he's such a notorious perfectionist and all around ass hole that I hate working with him. And then there's a Paco Rabanne ad for Vogue, and a Tissot ad for Harper's Bazaar. And that's it, I guess. Stuff sometimes changes at the last minute, and photographers sometimes decide that they don't like the clothes you're wearing and aren't satisfied until they make you change your clothes at least 3 or four times. Meh. It all gets boring after a while."

"I can imagine." Tala smiled, picking at the crumbs of his burger. "Is it fun, meeting new people and going to new places and stuff?"

Kai turned to him, a mix of mild shock and amusement on his face. "Who told you being a supermodel meant meeting new people?"

Tala just looked at him. "But you work with so many different people."

"Yeah, but I don't really interact with them. Most of the negotiations are handled by my secretary, and the make up artists and hairstylists don't really talk to you, unless they're trying to flirt or gain some sort of favour. The wardrobe assistants are usually getting yelled at and they're always really busy so they can't hold a proper conversation as well, or they're just trying to feel me up. Most of the photographers I know are real assholes, and the editors and other head honchos don't really talk to me because to them I'm nothing but a kid. The other models see my stardom as plain nepotism and don't even bother talking to me unless it's to make snide comments about me and any random person I may have worked with. It's not a very friendly place, the modeling world."

"So all those documentaries and page three things and gossip columns are real? People are that catty?"

"You know Tala, for someone who knows a lot about some things, you are really naive when it comes to stuff like this. Stuff about 'Kai's' world."

"Yeah, just like you're clueless about the 'real' world."

"Hey, modeling and being famous is 'real' too."

"Yeah, but it's not really 'real'. You know what I mean. Anyway, aren't we just the pair? It's like we're two halfs of a who-" Tala shut his mouth and clamped his hand over it, just to be sure nothing else comes out. "Oh look, it's eight forty five already! Time sure flies when you're having fun, doesn't it?"

Kai looked at him suspiciously, but he's knows enough about Tala now to question his weird tendencies. A happy buzz crossed his mind at the thought that he's actually gotten close enough to a person to understand their quirks. But he just maintained the suspicious look and said "Yes, it does."

"So when are we meeting up the next time?"

"I will let you know by text, because I don't know right now."

Tala laughed, and they both stood up. He paid for their meal, despite the other's protests, and they playfully swated at each other as they walk out the bar.

When Kai's Bentley arrived to take him home, the two were still swatting and shoving at each other, the glee evident on their faces.

Behind the driver's wheel, Andrei smiled warmly at the sight.

**********continues...

So! This is a bit of a longer chapter. You could say it's my way of apologising for the delay, yes? And I do not own any brands and magazines that I've mentioned here. I also don't know much about the fashion industry, and all my knowledge comes from watching the series Ugly Betty, and the bollywood movie Fashion. So yeah, that's not much. And if I've offended any of you who works/have worked/plan to work for the fashion industry, I'm very sorry. The above is just Kai's viewpoint, and each person is entitled to their opinions.

Love and cookies to all.

Thank you for reading! Reviews make my day and make me work faster! I think the next update will be on the 25th of July. Hopefully.

Have a great week, everyone!