Chapter Two

REI'S POV

"I thought it didn't matter." Lee said, laughing as he stirred. I laughed with him, grabbing his wrist.

"Why would your grandmother write it down AND underline it if it wasn't important?" I asked, smiling. "Put down the damn spoon." I demanded. He chuckled but obliged and set it down.

"I don't see why you wanted to make these specific noodles. We haven't had them since we were six." Lee said.

"Exactly! I want to know that no matter how much time goes by, some things stay great." I said, smiling thoughtfully at the pot of noodles. Lee sighed, touching my shoulder.

"Rei, these aren't going to be the same. She had this recipe memorized because she made it so much. We just found it in one of her photo albums." He said. We laughed and I leaned against the counter.

"You're probably right, they won't be the same." I admitted.

I looked better than I had since he had gotten to China. It had been a week now, since I arrived, and I had slowly began to heal. Not heal precisely more so I could be happy again. I would wait for Kai, I decided that, but I knew I needed to live my life too just in case I couldn't wait eventually. It had been the evening of my fourth full day. Lee had dragged me out of the house finally, me looking terrible. We had climbed to one of the highest cliffs in our village and sat there as the sun dipped lower in the sky. The pink leaves had brushed over us as we talked, about love, feeling so broken, pain, everything we shared in common when it came to relationships. I could remember when we were smaller and talked about growing up to become famous, beyblading and all. So soon we had began to talk about when we were smaller, memories we had. And then that breeze carried those pink leaves and I was enveloped in that carefree feeling again. Of course the pain wasn't just magically erased, but it dulled enough for me to smile and enjoy the feeling of being relaxed.

When we had arrived back home that night we dug out the trunk of photo albums, different art projects, awards, more pictures, everything we had. We looked through it for the next couple days and about three hours ago we had found the recipe of noodles Lee's grandmother had made us all the time. So I said we would make them and there we were. Standing there with him, it was easy to feel comfortable in the warm kitchen with the familiar smell floating in the air.

"I think they're done." Lee said as he glanced at the pot.

Quickly we finished everything, cleaned up and dished out. We sat in the living room, eating and laughing. They didn't taste the same, but they did taste pretty close and we definitely enjoyed them. We were talking again, long after we finished and were sitting in the dim light from the lamp beside the couch. I rubbed my eyes and yawned, noticing that it was one in the morning.

"I'm gonna turn in." Lee said, standing and grabbing our bowls. I nodded and stood, stretching.

"Hey Lee?" I said softly. He looked at me, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"Thanks. For letting me come here, helping me. Being such a great friend." I said, knowing there were so many more reasons.

He smiled, nodding.

"Goodnight Rei." He said. I smiled and nodded.

"Night Lee."

As soon as I reached my room I didn't even bother to pull off my sweats and long sleeved shirt, perfectly aware that I would end up sweating through the night. I was too tired to care and slipped into the blankets, welcoming the comfort they gave.

NORMAL POV

Rei shifted, feeling someone shake his shoulders.

"I'm sleeping." He groaned, turning his face into the pillow. Lee chuckled, patting Rei's head.

"You have company Rei." He said. The male spoken to frowned, sitting up. He looked adorable, eyes wide and golden it the morning light. His long black hair fell around him, looking soft but in knots.

"Who would visit me?" He asked, head tilting to the side in confusion and bottom lip jutting out in a cute pout. Lee chuckled again.

"Rei, just get ready and come down." He said. Rei moaned.

"No~. I just want to go back to bed." He said, though his curiosity was perked at who was visiting him.

"Just do it lazy." Lee said. Rei stuck his tongue out and they laughed, Rei's a light sound of childish happiness.

"Fine." He said with a smile and Lee walked out. Get ready?

He slipped off the bed and walked to his closet, flipping through it. Well what was he to wear? He hadn't actually gotten ready for a few days, he had mostly been wearing sweat pants and a shirt of some sort. So he dug through until he found a pair of black pants with a silky red Chinese styled shirt. He went through the process of brushing his hair, a five minute process of painful tugs, then tied it back with an elastic into a low ponytail. Tying his red bandana around his forehead, he looked around himself in the mirror. There were small flaws like the faint dark circles under his eyes which had just started to go away but overall he looked pretty good. Stretching and yawning, he opened his door.

"So your trip was good?" Lee asked, voice steady with some sort of emotion playing in it.

"Long." A familiar voice said.

"You two didn't seem to mind." Oh my god…Rei's eyes widened and he almost turned back but Lee caught sight of him.

"Rei." He said gently, eyes locking with his. Rei's bottom lip trembled and he sighed, taking a deep breath before stepping out into the main room.

Sitting on one couch was Tala and Bryan, close together. Lee sat on one of the single chairs, and leaning against the wall by the door was…Kai. His two toned hair looked soft and his pale face looked stern but smooth. The regular blue triangles were painted on his cheeks and he pretty much looked the same. Tala and Bryan looked at Rei, both smirking and then Rei dared to look at Kai. The Russian blader was looking at him, crimson red eyes focused directly on him. Rei shifted uneasily, not knowing how well this was going for him.

"Lee…" He murmured numbly, blinking. His best friend was silent as was everyone else as Kai pushed off the wall, walking over to him.

Kai walked straight to his path, looking down at Rei who refused to look up at him. Rei said he would wait, but now he was nervous. What if Kai were here to tell him he shouldn't wait? What if Kai was still too confused? He wasn't too sure he could leave Kai a second time without having to sheepishly go back. And then Kai was close to him, head tipped down to look at Rei still. Rei could feel the body heat form Kai, whose smell was making him dizzy, and bit his bottom lip harder.

"We need to talk Rei." Kai murmured, voice low and smooth. God, how did he survive without that voice for a whole week?

Rei felt like he was going to crumble at any moment, his body was trembling and he was hit again with that shock of pure emotion he had for Kai.

"Okay." Rei whispered. Kai was about to take his elbow but he flinched away and the Russian sighed.

They walked to the door in the silence of the room then left, closing the door behind them. The air was warm with a cool breeze dancing around. Rei was trying to steady his breathing and Kai glanced down at him every few seconds. The Chinese led him to the forest, through the familiar paths. Kai followed silently, staying close to him, and soon they entered the clearing. From where they were, looking over the cliff you saw the whole village and Kai took a moment to admire it. Rei stared out at every familiar house and sighed, turning slightly to look up at the intense red eyes that stared at him.

"Well?" He breathed, feeling his heart hammer.

Kai didn't know how to do it. Tala had told him it was simple, open up enough to show Rei he cares then, even more, to show him it was true. But he was scared again. What if Rei had finished waiting? It had only been a week, but it felt different between them now. He swallowed and stepped closer, feeling Rei tense up slightly. Moving even closer, his arms slipped around Rei's slim waist and Rei looked up just as Kai bent down to kiss him. Staring into each other's eyes, Kai felt Rei reach up to wind his arms around his neck. Golden eyes slowly fell shut and Kai deepened the kiss, holding Rei close. They fell back, the soft grass making a good landing, and the kiss broke for breath. Rei was shaking, his golden eyes filled with tears. Kai pulled Rei in between his legs and kept his arms wrapped around him, swaying slightly.

Rei turned and buried his face in Kai's chest, gripping his shirt with clenched fingers.

"Kai…" He murmured and Kai felt the warm tears. He rubbed Rei's back and held him against his chest, kissing the top of his head.

"Sorry I made you wait so long." Kai whispered, looking down into Rei's golden eyes as he looked up.

"I love you Kai." Rei breathed, heart speeding as he wondered what the Russian would answer back.

Kai found Tala's advice partly true. It seemed that Rei understood even when he allowed his crimson eyes to soften, his lips curving up into an actual smile and his arms tightening around his neko. Yes, his.

"I love you too Kitten." He murmured, watching Rei's eyes widen adorably.

He was pushed onto his back as Rei attacked his lips again, tears dampening Kai's cheeks. Shocked at first Kai didn't respond but soon chuckled and wrapped his arms around Rei again to hold him close through the kiss. Rei was crying again as he broke the kiss, bright golden eyes happy with tears. He kissed Kai's cheek, his jaw, his neck, the his ear.

"Thank you." He breathed into his ear and Kai shivered slightly.

He flipped them quickly and began to devour Rei's delicious skin, leaving small love bites here and there with bright red marks left behind. Rei whimpered, finger burying in Kai's hair and the Russian brought his lips back to Rei's. It was an immeasurable amount of time before they finally calmed down, the heat of the moment lessening for a few seconds. They both panted, Rei looking down at Kai who he was on top of. Kai chuckled, brushing back Rei's hair.

"You are amazing." Rei said, pink blush warming his cheeks. Kai chuckled again and wrapped his arms around Rei, sitting up and curling the neko into his chest.

"And I'm never going to let you go." Kai whispered into his ear. And that was just the perfect thing to say.