Title: Obsession

Author: PandaPjays

Chapter Title: Jealousy

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: /Prostrates self on ground/

I am so so so so so so so so so sorry for such a late update. Life and writer's block and chocolate have all been playing their part in keeping me away… that and my beloved mother has decided that I'm addicted to the computer.

Actually… there may be something in that… but not the point.

The point is for you all to not kill me.

Because I like my life.

A lot.

…

/hides/

/comes back and hurls chapter at people/

/resumes hiding/

Um… Enjoy?

Kai groaned softly as he began to wake up. Not. Happening. His sleep-fuddled mind decided as he rolled over, trying to ignore the light that had filtered through his window to hit him directly in his eyes.

Predictably, the position that he had moved to soon resulted in a cramp.

Kai swore quietly and sat up, blinking sleepily in the morning- he checked the clock- noon light.

Is it that time already? He wondered, looking at the wall clock hanging above his door to confirm that a catastrophic number altering bug hadn't attacked his clock.

When it had been confirmed that his clock was catastrophic-bug-free and that he had just slept in, Kai began to shuffle to the side of his bed.

Coffee. Is. Needed. He thought as he swung his legs off his bed and rested his feet on the floor.

Kai pushed himself upright and came to stand unsteadily, ignoring the instant headache that the change in altitude had caused. Really. Need. Coffee. He decided as he slowly worked out that he could put one foot in front of the other in order to reach the door of his bedroom.

-o-

Kai sighed as he took his second blissful sip of his caffeinated beverage. Much Better He thought, content as he felt the warm liquid make it's way down his throat to where it could do its magic.

He moved slowly to sit down at his table. Easing down into his seat he turned to contemplate his wall of Rei.

"'Morning" He muttered, not quite registering that he was talking to inanimate pictures.

Kai sighed as a ghost of a hand with the same warmth as the body he had held last night traced along his shoulders. He shut his eyes as he heard the whispered reply to his greeting, the ghost hands coming to rest on the side of his neck. Kai leant his head back on to the arm connecting to the hand.

The warmth evaporated instantly as his head touched nothing but the thin air his Phantom Rei was made from.

Kai opened his eyes abruptly and leant forward on the table, resting his elbows on the table and his head in his hands.

I'm acting like a crazy person He thought glumly, rubbing his temples.

-o-

"I'll be back in a few hours." Kai told the clerk at the counter of the 'Quick Photostop'. He handed over his film to the pimply teen.

As the film left his fingers he felt a slight pang, urging him to take back his only connection to what had happened the night before. He ignored the urge and turned away, striding back through the door of the small shop and on to the street.

He was going to see the real thing soon anyway.

He took one last look back at the shop, he hoped that they would develop his pictures well. He had been careful to take his film to a different place from the one who had developed his Rei pictures last time.

He was very aware that it wasn't quite normal to have an entire roll of film dedicated to one person.

To have two rolls of film dedicated to that one person might arouse the suspicions of the photo developers.

And that was something he couldn't afford.

Kai sighed and began to walk toward the café, thinking about what Rei would look like after his night out. He smirked as he remembered how comfortable Rei had felt in his arms.

Kai crossed his arms and continued walking, the skin that Rei had touched tingling slightly.

When Kai had handed Rei over to Lee he had held the unconscious man awkwardly. It had looked like he would drop Rei at any second. No matter how much Lee adjusted his grip, Rei refused to sit in a position that was natural for Lee.

And yet he had settled into Kai's arms immediately.

Kai shook his head, amused that he put so much significance into one small event like that. Rei had been unconscious. He couldn't have known anything, let alone that it had been Kai who had rescued him from the floor of the bathroom.

And yet the fact still stood.

Kai looked up when he had to cross a road, being run over by a car was not part of his plans for the day. He stepped off the footpath and walked across the bitumen, ignoring the pedestrian crossing about twenty metres down the road.

He may not have wanted to be run over but risk was an essential part of life.

Kai sighed in contentment as he sighted the Gatling. He knew that Rei was inside just because of the feeling the mere sight of the café gave him.

He shut his eyes briefly. He had forgotten what being anywhere near Rei had felt like, even though he had only seen the Chinese man the night before.

Kai opened his eyes again and strode toward the entrance of the café, more determined than ever to see Rei again and to see how well he had coped with the night before.

Kai blinked as the first impression he got when he walked into the courtyard of the Gatling was something pink flitting through the tables.

Tala's decided Pink is the new Orange? The thought flitted across his mind before he noticed that said pink thing was actually a girl.

Eh? Kai thought intelligently as he saw that indeed she was serving someone coffee before running back inside. He followed her slowly, stepping into the doors of the café and watching as the pink-haired girl stepped behind the counter and smiled at the next person in line.

He saw the stress on the girl's face as she tried to keep composed and listen to what the person in front of her was saying.

Kai frowned and looked around the café, trying to find one of the regular staff. What's she doing here?

So engrossed with wondering why the regular staff- and, most importantly, Rei- were missing Kai didn't realise that he was at the front of the line until Mariah started to speak to him.

"What would you like?" She asked.

Kai blinked and looked at Mariah. "Uh..." He said, mind blanking out on him. "Bitter." He blurted out before realising just how freakish that sounded.

"Uh... I mean... something really bitter." He said, trying to not sound like a serial killer.

"Ok..." Mariah said hesitatingly, looking at the selection of coffee. "Um..." She bit her lip and picked one randomly, hoping it would prove to be somewhat bitter.

"Sure!" She said brightly, handing Kai a number. "I'll get you your Moroccan Mixup Coffee in a few minutes." She promised before turning to the next customer.

Kai reached out and touch her on her arm, making Mariah turn back toward him.

"Um... I was wondering where all the normal staff were." He asked.

Mariah gave him a sly smile. "They all had a big night last night." She told him. "So the owner of this place called me in."

Kai nodded and took his number, seeing that his regular table wasn't taken despite how busy it was and smirking.

At least one thing's normal Kai thought as he sat down at the table and turned to contemplating his number, a time-honoured ritual almost every time he came to the Gatling.

47? He thought as he looked at the two digits on the card he had been given. Prime number. Nice He decided before looking up at the counter where the new girl was looking like a deer in the headlights as she listened to a customer.

"Um... I'm not sure I can do that..." She said slowly, looking up at the blonde man towering over her.

He frowned. "But I was told last night that I could come here and get free coffee." He said, puzzled.

Mariah shook her head. "No one told me about it."

Spencer sighed. "Can you go and get one of the people who came to Marcellin last night then?" He asked. "I asked some people about this place last night and they said you had some really nice coffee."

Mariah bit her lip. "Um… Wait a second." She told the blonde, surveying the store and seeing with unhidden relief that there was nothing truly urgent she needed to do. Spencer was the only one in line and number 47's coffee was brewing.

She stepped away from the counter and walked over to the kitchen door, opening it and poking her head in, Kai couldn't help but notice that Mariah had a faint pink blush on her cheeks as she called for Rei to come and help her.

He frowned at that but it was soon forgotten as Rei came out of the doors.

Kai bit his lip to stop from drooling at the sex-on-legs that was Rei as he followed Mariah to the front counter. His night and subsequent morning had left him looking a lot scruffier than he normally appeared.

Kai decided that he liked the 'just got out of bed' look on Rei. It suited him well.

Rei looked at Spencer and smiled in recognition.

"Hey." He said, his voice sounding tired to Kai's ears.

He turned to Mariah and nodded, too everything to notice the blush that remained firmly on the pink-haired girl's face as he spoke to her. "We promised Spencer that he'd get a free cup of coffee here last night." He confirmed to Mariah.

"Now that's what I said." Spencer said with a grin, making Mariah's blush darken.

"Uh... Ok." She said, turning toward the coffee machine and making Kai's coffee to hide her blush. "So... uh... What type of coffee do you want?" She asked, keeping her back to both Spencer and Rei.

Both males exchanged a look of confusion. 'Weird' Spencer mouthed to the Chinese man.

Rei only nodded in reply before walking over to Mariah and touching her on the arm. "Are you ok?" He asked quietly.

Mariah smiled and nodded, looking at Rei, her blush fading. "Yeah. I'm fine." She told him quietly. "What's his name again?" She asked even more quietly, the blush beginning to rise again.

Rei smirked, suddenly understanding. "Spencer." He told her before stepping away, a small smile still on his face. "So what type of coffee do you want?" He asked Spencer.

The blonde man blinked, still trying to understand that there were different types of coffee. He bit his lip. "Um..." He started before shaking his head. "I have no idea." He confessed. "What do you suggest?" He asked Rei.

Rei's eyes widened as he thought. "Uh-"

"I think the... Jamaican Java is nice!" Mariah piped up, picking yet another type of coffee randomly.

Spencer grinned. "Then I'll have that then." He decided.

Rei grinned and looked over at Mariah. "Do you need my help for anything else?" He asked.

Mariah shook her head. "No..." She said, frowning and trying to think if he could do anything. "Wait! Yes!" She said, turning away from Rei and picking up the cup of coffee she had been preparing. "Can you take this to table 47?" She asked, smiling.

Rei grinned and nodded. "Sure." He told her. "Then can I go back in there and die again?" He asked.

Mariah nodded before something occurred to her. "Oh! Did you guys ever get that panadol from that scary guy?"

Rei nodded. "It took all three of us and one of Lee's really big knives to do it though."

Mariah smirked and reached under the counter to produce a brand new unopened packet of painkillers. "Because I found these a little while ago." She told Rei.

Rei's mouth opened and closed as he tried to think of a reply. "You mean I risked life and limb for nothing?" He asked eventually.

Mariah nodded. "Pretty much."

"GAH!" Rei exclaimed before turning around and scanning the café for the number he wanted.

Kai quickly began to look at one of the paintings on the wall, not wanting to be caught in his perve-on-Rei session.

Rei saw Kai's number and walked over to him, putting the coffee down in front of him. "Is this yours?" He asked, half smiling at Kai.

Kai blinked and looked up into Rei's golden eyes, remembering suddenly and acutely exactly how it had felt to have the Chinese man in his arms. "Uh..." He said, searching for words that sounded vaguely... well like words would have been a good start.

Rei frowned. "Isn't it?" He asked, reaching down to take the cup back.

"No!" Kai said, reaching out a hand to stop Rei's, all thought leaving his person as their hands brushed. "Uh..." He said, blinking and trying to ignore the 'are you a crazy person' look Rei was giving him. "Uh..." He began again. "I meant that that was mine." He tried to recover.

"Ok then..." Rei said, taking his hand away from Kai's and reaching out to take his number back. "I hope you enjoy your coffee then!" He said, trying to sound bright and awake.

Kai nodded and watched Rei walk away from him, silently berating himself for sounding so stupid. Nevertheless, he felt his eyes beginning to wander, settling for staring at Rei's posterior as he placed the number on the bench next to the new girl.

"Call me if you nee me Mariah." He said, smiling at the pink-haired girl before he disappeared back into the kitchen, Kai's eyes following him.

Mariah. Kai thought, putting a face to the name of the girl.

His competition.

-o-

Kai sighed as he shut the door of his apartment, holding his treasure tightly but being careful not to damage it in any way.

He moved over to his dining table and placed the small envelope on it, spending a minute adjusting it so it sat square to the edges of the table. He reached out to open the flap of the envelope slowly, eyes never leaving what his hands were doing.

Once the arduous task of opening the flap was over he saw part of the contents of the envelope. His breath caught in his throat as he slowly slid the photographs out of their envelope and placed the pile neatly in front of him, careful not to leave any fingerprints on the first image.

"Rei." He breathed, eyes feasting on the first picture of the Chinese man at the bar, examining his drink. He carefully took the photo off the top and slip it gently to the bottom of the pile, not taking his eyes off the first photograph until it was fully covered by the pile.

He then neatened up said pile before he allowed himself to peruse the next photo.

This was one of Rei's face after he had tasted his drink. Kai smiled fondly at the photograph.

It was in this manner that he went though all of the photographs, he relieved the night, watching Rei take his second sip of the drink to watching him dance to watching him practically mate with anyone in his airspace.

Kai sighed as he finished going through the pictures and stood up, holding the pile like the holy object that it was to him. He looked at his wall of Rei, envisioning each new photograph in its perfect spot.

He set the photographs down on the table again and began to take them individually, sticking them to his Rei wall in the places that he had envisaged them. He caressed the back of each one lovingly before placing them on their final resting place, stepping back to admire his wall only when it was completely finished.

Kai's eyes wandered through all of his pictures, new and old, feeling the presence of his Rei in the room.

The only thing that ruined the experience was the constant thought of Mariah. He remembered the way she'd blushed when she saw Rei and the way that Rei had seemed close to her.

"Please stay away from her." Kai murmured as much to himself as to Rei. "Please." He repeated.

He sighed as he felt Rei's ghost hands wrap around his torso and embrace him tightly. He closed his eyes, leaning slightly back into the phantom embrace. He listened closely as he heard the voice of his obsession whisper his agreement into his ear, making Kai shiver.

Maybe things would be ok after all.

Please tell me what you think!