Title: Obsession
Author: PandaPjays
Chapter Title: Screwdriver
Rating: T
Warnings: Yaoi. KaiRei TalaBryan if you don't like, don't read it. Fairly creepy themes and violence towards the end.
Disclaimer: If anyone has ever thought I owned Beyblades they were WRONG. I just like stealing the characters and using for my own amusement
Author Note:Hello everybody!
I am sooo sorry for the delay. Brick has decided that he hates the world and so has killed his floppy drive which is the only way I can communicate with him… meaning that I had to retype this entire chapter.
Not happy, Jan.
So, in essence, Brick and I have decided to part ways. This may be for a long time or permanently. It depends if my friend can scrounge up a better laptop for the same price that it would take to fix Brick as he has faithfully promised he can. So we shall see.
But while Brick's parting of the merry company is sad there's a new arrival! Kumi-kun. Kumi-kun is the panda plushie I got for Valentines day. He's a distant cousin of Panda-chan and is also helping with the creative processes.
AND one last note. I'm going on a literary search for the WORST books. Be they sappy crappy plotless romances to uninteresting 100000 page drabbles what is the worst book you've ever read? Already suggested are Mills and Boon and Danielle Steel (Who I like - Silent Honor Rocks my socks )
And I think I may end it there Enjoy the very late chapter
- Panda, Panda-chan and Kumi-kun.
P.S. Brick wishes me to beep for him.
Rei watched the clock apprehensively. Tonight was the night.
Tala had not shut up all day about how he was going to make Rei dance. He had told absolutely everyone who had so much as looked at the café, let alone those who had walked into it.
It had led Rei to conclude that the redhead really didn't have any other life apart from the one that he gleaned out of the enjoyment of enjoying others pain/embarrassment/suicidal thoughts.
Now that he thought of it, Tala was a lot like Lee.
Except it was possible to have an ordinary conversation with Lee without looking around for escape routes.
Speaking of, Rei had been hiding in the kitchen with Lee for the last hour of the day, finally tiring of Tala's constant ranting and retreating into the slightly less insane realm of Lee's kitchen.
He had immediately been set to work as the dish boy.
"I'm meant to own this place," Rei grumbled as he washed a coffee cup for what he swore was the fifteenth time. "Doesn't that make me exempt from doing stuff like this?"
"No." Lee replied simply as he began to pack up all of the random utensils and appliances that he had used throughout the day. "You're either in here doing that or you're out there having to listen to Tala tell everyone about how he's going to make you do the hokey pokey."
Rei grinned at the imagery and sighed before checking the clock again. "Do you promise that you won't leave me to Tala's mercy?" He asked Lee, looking over his shoulder. "I don't think I could deal with him and the nightclub crazies."
Lee smirked and saluted. "Aye aye, mon capitan" He said in a French accent before rolling his eyes and finishing putting away his stuff. "I won't let Tala get to you."
"I heard my name!" Tala said as he walked into the kitchen with Bryan close behind him.
"That's because we were talking about you." Lee told him. "Are you done out there yet?" He asked, indicating to the main café.
"Would we be back here if we weren't?" He clapped his hands together in delight and smirked at Rei. "You know what that means, don't you?"
"You suddenly have the urge for a quiet night in?" Rei hazarded.
"Uh… no." Tala told him, smirking. "That means that, for once in your poor, sheltered life, you, my friend are going to have some FUN."
Tala threw his hands up at the last word and managed to hit his hand on a random hanging pan. "SHIT! OWOWOWOwowowow!" He whimpered, holding his injured hand gently.
"It's a bad omen!" Rei said seriously, "Tonight's a bad night to have fun."
"Says who?" Tala asked curiously.
"An ancient Chinese proverb" Rei said sincerely.
Tala looked across at Lee who shook his head. "Liar!" He told Rei, pouting.
Rei shrugged. "It was worth a try."
Tala rolled his eyes and let go of his hand, wincing slightly at the pain that action caused. "You're not getting out of it ReiRei."
Rei sighed in defeat and slumped against one of the counters.
"I'm so glad you agree! Now, Bryan and I will meet you two out front of that club near that weird boutiquey place with the model wearing a ferret on it's head in the window."
Rei and Lee blinked in unison. "Uhhh…"
"Where?" Lee asked Tala.
"You know! That place! With the weird flashy things outside." Tala elaborated unhelpfully. "I can't remember the name of the club- It started with an M"
Lee blinked before something clicked. "Oh! You meant that place- with the red stuff at the front? The one that looks slightly evil?"
"That's the one!" Tala said happily, nodding enthusiastically.
Lee nodded in reply. "Ok then. Rei and I'll be there." He promised the redhead before turning to Rei. "Which means that we actually have to leave."
Rei, who had been sneaking toward his office in the hope of escaping the looming night blushed and stopped moving, sheepishly. "Ok… Bryan? Can you kill all of the lights while I set the alarm?" He asked the as yet silent Russian.
Bryan nodded and moved away from the group with Rei turned toward the alarm. He quickly flipped open the cover of the alarm keypad, revealing the numbered buttons beneath. His password was a weird one. He wasn't sure where he had picker it up but he always remembered it. Rei had always figured he'd read it in a book somewhere.
He quickly keyed in the numbers- 274437
Driger
Rei mentally shrugged at the password as he had done a million times before. Whatever worked.
"Come on." Lee ordered him when they were outside. "I stuck my clothes in my car this morning so we can go straight to your place to get changed." Lee grinned. "Whatever possessed you to not get a car anyway?"
Rei shrugged. "It's not that bad, plus there's the bonus of non-traffic." He said, gesturing to the cars already piling up on the street outside the café. Lee shrugged and grinned. "Details." He said offhandedly. He eyed the traffic again. "… How about we walk to your place and walk back here when we need the car to get to the club." He suggested after a moments hesitation.
Rei grinned and nodded. "Sounds like a plan." Ok, you get your stuff and we'll start walking. It isn't far."
Lee nodded and walked to his car, unlocking it and searching through it. "So… where do you live, anyway?"
-o-
Rei stared at Lee in horror. "What is that?" He asked, staring at it in a mixture of revulsion and fear.
"What the hell do you think it is, Dickwad?" Lee snapped, scowling at Rei.
Rei shook his head, eyes wide with the sheer horror of the sight before him. "I-it's hideous"
"HEY! This is my outfit we're talking about, you know." Lee said crankily, gesturing down at his clothes.
"That's not an outfit." Rei said simply. "That's an abomination. I don't know how wise it was to let you choose my outfit. It could have turned out like that."
Lee scowled before looking slightly uncertain. "It's not that bad is it?"
Rei considered between telling his friend the truth or a complete and utter bald-faced lie.
In truth, Lee looked like he'd fit in on the Australian side of an Australia vs South Africa cricket match.
The Chinese man was dressed in green and gold. And not in a way that looked becoming. It was a mixture of shades that Rei could only describe as mustard yellow and snot green.
All in all it was a terrifying sight. Lee had a black shirt on with another open shirt on over the top. It was the top layer that was sending out the hideous images. It had some sort of tribal looking pattern in the aforementioned colours on it. To complement the eyesore, Lee was wearing a pair of pants in a slightly nicer shade of green that clashed horribly with the shirts green. All in all it was a candidate for burning.
"Is it?" Lee asked. "My sister picked it out. She wants to be a fashion designer for the stars or something like that. Normally I tune out whenever it gets to her rambling about her dreams and aspirations and so on."
"You're such a caring big brother." Rei said sarcastically.
"Oh, I know. So? Your verdict?"
"Tell your sister to find another career and take that God-awful shirt off" Rei said distractedly.
Lee raised an eyebrow. "Rei! I never knew you felt that way!" He said mockingly.
Rei rolled his eyes. "Whatever you reckon. Just take off that shirt before I pass out."
Lee took off the yellowy-green thing and threw it on the floor. "Better?" He asked.
"Much." Rei told him, grinning. "I can foresee my sight returning in the near future."
"That's good to hear. Tell me how that works out for you." Lee told him before catching sight of the clock. "Shit point five! We're late!"
He grabbed Rei's arm, and began to drag him toward the front door of his apartment while Rei was still trying to figure out what Lee had just said.
"We're late?" He asked, confused.
"Very much so." Lee said as he continued to pull Rei down the corridor of the hallway of his apartment, dragging him towards the lifts.
Rei began to realise just how difficult it was to move in his pants
He was meant to dance in these things? Let alone…
"Uh… Lee?"
"Mm?"
"I don't think I can sit down."
Somehow or another Rei had managed to sit down in Lee's car, not without a lot of swearing and severely lowering his chances of ever having children. But they had arrived outside the club Tala had told them about.
"Marcellin?" Rei questioned as he looked at the sign above the door.
Lee shrugged and walked over to where Tala and Bryan were standing, the former of the two looking decidedly pissed off.
Tala was clothed in shades of black. Rei was sure that he could be arrested for his outfit of a tight black semi-see-through mesh top combined with low-riding pants that had lines of mesh running down the legs. There was more mesh than actual pant material.
"You're late!" Tala told them crankily.
Rei shrugged. "Couldn't be helped. Lee was having a slight wardrobe crisis."
Bryan frowned as he looked at Lee. "What wardrobe?" He asked.
Lee scowled. "You're one to talk." He told Bryan who had gone for a simple black and white look, wearing a striped shirt with a small bird on the back embroidered into it and plain black pants.
Bryan shrugged but said nothing more.
Tala watched the brief exchange and sighed before gesturing to a rather frighteningly tall blonde guy standing outside the door of the club. "You two are so lucky that while you were dealing with Lee's wardrobe malfunction I got to know Spencer here. Seems he has an affinity with coffee. I've told him to look us up sometime. He can't wait for his free coffee."
Rei blinked. "Free coffee?" He wondered out loud as Tala walked up to the blonde again.
"Spence! My friends finally arrived with a lameass excuse, as expected but they are here! Mind if we go in now?"
The tall blonde man nodded and stepped aside from the door, allowing the foursome to pass him, Rei bringing up the rear.
Rei's first impression of the club was a wall of noise. It took him a few seconds to get used to the feeling of being deaf but still being able to hear while he inspected his surroundings.
Despite the impression of space created by the pure white décor Rei noticed that the club wasn't that large at all. He silently blessed Tala for taking them to a relatively small club- at least on the scale of things. Rei noticed a spiral staircase leaning to the second level of the club. He looked up to see people walking above him on the industrial metal framing of the second level.
I sure as hell hope that thing doesn't fall.
"So? Are you dancing?" Tala asked, already unconsciously bouncing along to the beat.
Lee looked across at the dance floor that took up pretty much all of the floor space of the room and the sea of moving bodies on it. I need a drink, he decided. "No, Rei and I are going to check out the view from the bar. We'll be there if you need us." He said quickly before dragging Rei through the crowd and toward the bar on the other side of the room.
None of them noticed a dark figure slipping through the doors and stopping to stand out of sight of Tala and Bryan.
Kai wondered if Rei knew how hard it had been to follow him to this place. Not that he begrudged the Chinese man for it; it added a bit more challenge to his pursuit of Rei.
He had had to wait near Lee's car until Rei and Lee had returned to it. He had heard Lee grumbling about having to drive all the way to a suburb in the city and had hailed a cab, telling the cabbie to go to that same suburb.
Then he had followed the two Chinese men by foot. Thankfully, the traffic had been rather horrific and Kai was able to keep up with them easily.
It had been interesting getting past Spencer but eventually Kai had managed it, slipping into the club and straight up to the second floor, where he could scan for Rei easily.
He watched Rei wake to the bar in the wake of Lee.
I wonder if he's actually been somewhere like this before? Kai wondered as he settled himself against the railing of the second floor, bobbing his head vaguely in time with the music blaring throughout the club as a way of fitting in while he watched Rei intently.
Rei, oblivious to Kai's scrutiny was about to try his first ever cocktail/alcoholic drink in general.
"What do they call this again?" He asked Lee who was grinning ferally as he watched Rei eye off the beverage.
"That, my friend, is called a Screwdriver." Lee told him. "Now drink it."
Rei sniffed at the drink before recoiling at the strange smell. "I… don't think I want to."
"Ah- but you must." Lee told him in the style of a freakish monk. "Just take a mouthful."
Rei nodded unsure but trusting as he raised the glass to his lips and took a sip of the drink. He gagged. "What the hell is that?" He gasped.
"I told you before, that's a Screwdriver. Have another go."
Rei tentatively sipped the drink again, hating the taste but finding it semi-addictive. In its gross taste and addictive nature it was like coffee… Rancid coffee, but still coffee.
Lee nodded in satisfaction. "Good Lad." He said grinning. He noticed a drinking competition being led by a vague acquaintance of his nearby. It looked interesting. "I'm off." He told Rei before moving over to join them and say hello to the person he knew.
Rei sighed and looked around at the club, drink held loosely in his hand. Why the hell am I here? He wondered as he took another sip of the drink and made a face. He felt a weird cloudiness settle itself around his head. It wasn't unpleasant- just strange.
Rei wrinkled his nose and took another sip of his Screwdriver. It figured that his first drinking experience would be a cocktail in a nightclub.
Rei had always tried to stay out of trouble and so had skipped the stage of doing everything against his parents- finding that it was easier to just go along with what they wanted. It led to a peaceful home life and meant that Rei could get on with his life the way that he wanted to.
He still hadn't figured out what had possessed him to come to Japan to start a café of all things.
He had always dreamed of coming to Japan. His father had been mildly obsessed with the country and Rei had learned Japanese along with his native language when he was a small child. It probably only made sense that he would one day end up living here.
He never could have predicted what his life was like though. He couldn't, even yesterday, have guessed that he'd be ordering his second Screwdriver while watching the person who he considered to be his best friend drinking something with a really strange name in a complicated three-step process.
Rei shrugged and began to drink his second cocktail. It tasted ok now. Rei could only theorise that he had killed all of his tastebuds with the first drink.
Rei grinned and began to listen to the all-encompassing music that throbbed throughout the club. I wonder where Tala and Bryan got to? He wondered as he took another sip of his drink.
He mentally shrugged and began to barge his way through the crowd to find Lee who was grinning happily as he prepared to drink a shot glass of something.
"What's that?" Rei asked in Lee's ear, startling the Chinese man.
When Lee had recovered from his shock he smiled idly and gestured to the glass. "That, my friend, is tequila. It is the closest thing to kerosene that can be ingested", he told Rei seriously before turning back to the others participating in the competition.
"You ready?" One of them asked, grinning wickedly.
Lee nodded. "Let's go."
Rei sighed and left Lee with a vague wave. "I'm going to go find Tala and Bryan."
"You do that."
Rei rolled his eyes and finished his screwdriver. He was sure that he'd read something about that first-time drinkers should only drink in moderation. The problem was that he didn't quite know what moderation was.
I knew I should have told someone I don't drink He thought vaguely, blinking to try to clear his thoughts. Stupid people with their stupid ideas to bring me here.
"Rei!" Came a familiar voice as Tala made his way through the crowd to him. "I've been looking everywhere for you! You really should come out on to the dance floor! It's great!"
Rei frowned. "But I don't know how to dance…"
Tala rolled his eyes. "You think anyone here does?" He gestured to a pair of people who looked like they were in a complex fight to the death rather than dancing as his example.
Rei blinked. "Right. I need another drink."
Tala stopped what he was doing and reached out to grab Rei's arm, suddenly serious. "Are you ok?" He asked, blue eyes concerned. He had noticed a slight slurring of Rei's speech and the vague way he was looking around, eyes never truly focussing on anything.
Rei nodded and smiled. "Yeah. Yeah. I'm fine. I just want another of those screwdrivery-thingys." He said vaguely.
Tala nodded. "Right. You, my friend, need to dance. It's the only way guaranteed to make you feel better", he said wisely, pushing Rei into the mass of bodies that consisted of the dance floor.
"But I feel fine!" Rei protested as he was swept up into the crowd. He pulled Tala with him. "Perfectly fine!"
Tala nodded, humouring Rei. "You don't look fine. How much have you had to drink?"
Rei frowned as he thought about that question. It hadn't been that much… He'd only had two Screwdrivers…which were probably worth a few drinks each… Rei scratched the back of his head, trying to think. It wasn't going so well.
"How much?"
Rei shrugged and grinned. "It doesn't matter, does it?" He asked. "You're meant to drink in a place like this." Rei threw his areas out expansively, grinning and allowed himself to be swept away from where Tala stood.
Tala watched him go, frowning in concern. He felt a glass being pressed into his hands and gripped it instinctively. He inspected it carefully before looking behind himself at the man who had given it to him.
"Bryan? What's this?" He asked sipping it cautiously in case if it was a poison of some sort. He wouldn't put something like that past Bryan.
"That's a Fallen Angel." Bryan said, gesturing to the glass of faintly green liquid. "It sounded interesting so I got one."
Tala took another sup and closed his eyes, enjoying the taste. "So you decided to test it out on me first?" He asked. "It's good." He passed it to Bryan. "Try it. I think you'll like it."
Bryan nodded his consent and took a small sip. "It's ok." He said eventually, smirking at the face Tala made at that comment.
"It's ok? Is that the only comment I'm going to get out of you tonight? You've barely said a word!"
Bryan shrugged and took another sip of Tala's drink. "There didn't seem to be much to say." He explained.
Tala rolled his eyes and sighed, looking at the drink Bryan was once again stealing a sip from. "Are you going to give me back my drink," He pouted.
"But I bought it!" Bryan protested, raising the glass to his lips again, this time taking a long, slow drink from it.
"So? It's mine!"
Bryan sighed and wrapped an arm around Tala's waist before whispering in the redhead's ear conspirationally. "What's yours is mine, what's mine is mine."
"Well that's hardly fair, is it?" Tala asked.
Bryan shrugged and drank from the glass again. "Life's not fair." He said in a matter of fact tone. He smirked and fended off Tala's attempt to snatch the glass from him.
Tala sighed and threw up his hands. "Fine! I don't care! I'm getting my own drink!" He detangled himself from Bryan's arm and began to stalk off.
Bryan smirked and took another sip of the cocktail. This happened almost every time Tala dragged him to a club. Soon Tala would turn around and-
"Brrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyaaannnn."
"Hm?" Bryan asked, smirking.
"Give it to me!" Tala ordered petulantly.
"For a price." Bryan answered simply, taking another sip from the glass.
A sudden light of understanding turned on in Tala's eyes "Ooooh" He said slowly before making his way back to Bryan slowly and seductively.
He reached the lavender haired man and looked up at him. Tala moved his hand up to rest in the middle of Bryan's chest. "And what would that price be?" He purred.
"Buying yourself another drink."
Tala scowled and hit Bryan's chest, hard. "I could really hate you sometimes." He told Bryan petulantly.
Bryan smirked. "You could never hate me." He said so quietly Tala only caught it by lip-reading. Bryan took a mouthful of the cocktail and took hold of Tala's chin. He tilted the redhead's face upwards and kissed Tala.
Tala shut his eyes and reached up to wrap his arms around Bryan's neck, pulling him closer. Bryan smirked into the kiss and deepened it, feeding the mouthful of the drink he had just taken to Tala. Tala half opened his eyes in surprise before making a small sound in the back of his throat and drinking what Bryan gave him, not before enjoying the unique combined taste of the cocktail and Bryan.
"Bryan! I've been looking for you everywhere!" Lee exclaimed, looking at the Russian's back and not seeing Tala's arms. He began walking around to Bryan's front. "I was wondering if you knew where Rei and…Tala…is…" He finished, staring at the pair.
Neither Bryan nor Tala heard anything Lee had said, whether this was because of the loud music or because they were too wrapped up in each other is unknown.
Lee stared at them in shock before turning away from his workmates. I didn't just see that I didn't just see that I didn't just see that. He chanted to himself as a mantra as he began to search the crowd, trying to find the missing Rei.
He caught sight of Rei's hair and began to make his way toward it, barging and elbowing his way through the crowd. He had left the drinking competition when he had begun to feel tipsy. He could definitely feel the effects of the alcohol on him now.
Rei was in the middle of a mass of people, both men and women. From what Lee could see, he was dancing with both indiscriminately.
So much for not wanting to rub yourself against random strangers Lee thought ironically as he pushed his way through the crowd. "Rei!" He said, getting the other Chinese man's attention.
"Lee!" Rei said happily, making his way over to his friend and draping his arms around Lee's neck and pulling him close while still moving to the beat of the song. "You've come to dance with me!"
Lee blinked at the very very intimate way Rei was pressing himself against him. "Uh… no, Re…" He said slowly, trying not to overexcite Rei.
Obviously, the bug of temporary insanity, known better as 'Le Alcohol', had bitten Rei.
I really should have given him the non-alcoholic stuff. Why oh why did I give him a cocktail? Lee berated himself as Rei continued to move against him.
"Why aren't you dancing?" Rei asked, confused.
"I…uh… can't dance?" Lee offered, looking for his escape route.
"That's no excuse! Here, I'll show you!" Rei told him enthusiastically, increasing the speed of his movements, completely out of time with the music.
"That's some nice demonstrating you have there." Lee said placatingly, before detangling himself from Rei's grasp. "But I have to go and do important things."
Rei pouted before grinning and waving. "Ok! Come back to me when you're done!" He called out to Lee before wrapping his arms around the closest person to him, who happened to be a brunette woman, who was all to happy to return Rei's attention.
I need a drink Lee decided, making his way to the bar for the second time that night. Rei's fine. I need to get drunk to handle his sexy dance though.
He reached the bar. "Give me the strongest drink you have." He told the barman, leaning on the counter.
"Lee!" Tala said, coming to lean on the bar beside the Chinese man. "What're you doing?" He asked.
"Getting drunk, you?"
"Oh, same, same." He said airily before looking at the drink the bartender place in from of Lee. "What the hell is that?" He asked.
Lee shrugged and took a gulp of it. His eyes bugged and he coughed long and hard after swallowing it, trying to control the fire that had started in his throat. "Jesus!" He said hoarsely.
Tala smirked and looked at the bartender. "I want two of that."
-o-
Some time later
Rei grinned as he finished dancing with another person. He hadn't realised that a night like this could be so fun. He grinned as he pressed himself fully against a new candidate for his attentions.
The blonde man in front of Rei grinned and wrapped answering arms around Rei's body, drawing him closer, still moving to the beat of the music.
The old Rei would have pulled away quickly, blushing, but the new, alcohol-friendly Rei smirked and purred in the back on his throat.
Kai watched Rei, slightly jealous of the attention the blonde man was receiving but not begrudging Rei for it. He knew that the blonde meant nothing to Rei so he was able to watch with barely constrained lust as Rei ran his hands over the other man.
Kai imagined himself in the place of the other man and shut his eyes, briefly, making a small sound in the back of his throat as he imagined Rei's hands all over him, tracing the intricate patterns that only Rei could make sense of.
Kai looked down at his camera mournfully. He had taken all of the pictures the film would fit in the earlier parts of the night. Now all he had to rely on was his memory.
He wasn't going to forget this night in a hurry.
Rei excused himself by the man by pressing himself fully against the stranger one last time before detangling himself from the blonde's arms. "I'm getting another drink." He offered by way of explanation before making his way through his surrounding crowd, toward the bar.
He saw his three workmates by the bar and went over to them. "Hey!" He said happily.
Lee turned around to him and raised his glass. "Hurro!" He said loudly, placing his glass back on the bench roughly, making it slosh over the edges. "We mished you!" He said, leaning over to give Rei a friendly hug and instead falling over.
Tala let out a high-pitched cackle and pointed at Lee. "You're drunk!" He said, taking another gulp of his drink.
"So're you!" Lee muttered, pushing himself off the floor and slinging an arm around Rei, leading him to the bar. "You're gonna haf'ta try thish stuff." Lee told Rei sincerely, giving the other his glass. "'s blurry good."
Rei nodded and took a gulp of the drink coughing and gagging when he had swallowed it.
"Wha' did I tell ye?" Lee asked, grinning.
Rei wiped tears from his eyes and took a smaller sip. He didn't see the need for words. They only got in the way, anyway.
He suddenly felt a sick feeling in his stomach. He looked around urgently for the sign to the bathroom. He spotted one and began to run towards it, leaving Bryan and Lee confused and Tala in fits of giggles.
Rei reached the bathroom and looked around desperately for a toilet, he found one and threw up in it almost immediately. He gripped the sides of the toilet bowl tightly as he emptied the contents of his stomach into it.
When he had finished, Rei tried to control his breathing and shaking body to no effect. He felt himself become light-headed, even more so than when the alcohol had begun to take effect and shut his eyes to try and ease the feeling. He forced himself to his feet and staggered to the door of the cubicle. He opened his eyes again and noticed that the world was spinning.
Rei wobbled where he stood, still trying to get a hold of himself. I'm never drinking again. He vowed as he lost his balance and fell to the floor, unconscious and still gripping the doorframe.
Kai walked into the bathroom a few minutes later, when Rei hadn't reappeared he had begun to get worried and had come to investigate. He was glad that he had.
"Rei?" He asked quietly. When he received to reply, he walked over to where Rei was lying and touched his cheek gently.
Rei made a face and moaned quietly but didn't stir, otherwise.
Kai smiled softly and gathered the Chinese man in his arms, thrilling at the contact between them. He unconsciously held Rei closer than was necessary; enjoying and wanting every bit of contact he could get from the café owner.
He freed one of his arms and traced the outline of Rei's face gently. He was shocked when Rei responded by snuggling into Kai more.
Is this what you want? He wondered, feeling an overwhelming surge of protectiveness settling on his shoulders. He stood and began to make his way out to Rei's friends, still holding Rei in his arms.
Kai had found it interesting how each of the employees of the café had reacted to alcohol. Both Lee and Tala seemed to be freakishly happy drunks while Bryan just seemed to sink deeper into his normal stoic depression. His observations of them gave him something to do in the few brief moments when Rei had been out of sight.
"Is this your friend?" Kai asked, changing his voice and giving himself an accent, it wouldn't do for them to recognise him. "I thought I saw he was with you."
Lee blinked as he recognised Rei. "Shit! Is 'e ok?"
Kai nodded and handed Rei's unconscious form over to Lee, ignoring the urge to steal Rei away forever. He noted with some satisfaction that Lee held Rei awkwardly. "He's fine. You just might want to take him home." He said easily.
Lee checked his watch. "Is it that time?" He asked, showing his watch to Tala. The redhead blinked and reached out to grab Lee's arm, holding it still so he could read it a little bit easier.
A sudden thought occurred to him. "Shiiiit. We have to go to work tomorrow." Tala told them, staring at the watch that clearly read 3AM.
"Says who?" Bryan asked, wrapping his arm around Tala's waist and pulling the redhead toward him, nuzzling his neck.
"Do you really think that our darhling Rei is going to let us all have a day off on Saturday? We're screwed."
Lee thought about what Tala had said for a second before slumping against the bar, holding on to Rei tightly. "Craaaaaaaaaaaap." He groaned.
Kai had made his exit while they were talking about the coming day. He could still feel a tingling in every part of his body Rei had touched.
He thought about the way that Rei had been totally at home in his arms, unlike the way he had looked in Lee's. Had Rei known that it was Kai who was holding him?
Kai smiled to himself as he left the club and began to walk down the street, looking for a taxi. He must have known. That meant that Rei had made a choice.
He had chosen Kai.
And Kai was perfectly ok with that.
Please tell me what you think!