Title: Obsession
Author: PandaPjays
Chapter Title: Hating Me
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: -dies-
I didn't realise quite how long I had left this until I read the reviews for the last chapter and realised people were wishing me happy BIRTHDAY. Then I felt much remorse and sadness.
However, I'm actually quite happy with this chapter. I wrote about half of it within a week of posting the last and wrote the other half tonight XD. The rest of the time was spent staring at (I kid you not) ONE sentence and deciding how to go from there. Because it could have gone like crap or it could have gone how it went (If anyone can pick the sentence they get cookies)
This chapter also featured at some point in my frustration an ending from that sentence where both Kai and Rei were killed by the Kraken. That ending was, unfortunately, vetoed. But it lives on in my heart.
NOW For very exciting news! I was browsing mine library (as one is wont to do) and my eyes fell upon a book (as one's eyes tend to do in a library) And then I stopped. And then I loled.
Obsession by Julia Lawrinson
Go read it. Because it's great. NOTHING like this story but still great.
Anyways I hope you enjoy this chapter and don't send me too many death threats for more updates. I finish school for good in 6 weeks so don't go hoping before then. Because I have assignments up to my ears already and I don't want to fail. Because I'm like that.
Kai sighed as he slammed the door of his apartment and rested against it, Rei's inert form carried bridal-style in his arms. His nose wrinkled as he smelt the pungent smell of the alcohol he had splashed on to the front of Rei's shirt.
He had thought to buy a small bottle of the strongest smelling alcohol he could find before he had begun waiting for Rei outside the café and was glad that he had. Anyone who had the slightest concern for the Chinese man had approached and quickly backed away when they smelt the alcohol, giving Kai a sympathetic look before they lost interest.
Kai sighed and slid down the door until he sat on the floor with Rei's body clumsily resting on his lap and the Chinese man's head resting on Kai's shoulder. "You're safe now." He murmured into Rei's hair, running his hand through the hair that wasn't caught in the wrap Rei always styled his hair with. "I promise."
Upon receiving no response from Rei, Kai sighed again and stood, hefting Rei's weight and heading toward his bedroom and the only bed in his apartment.
He lay Rei's body down on the bed gently, arranging the pillows around Rei's head. "I'm sorry it happened like this." He said, admiring how, even while unconscious, Rei still managed to affect him. "It was the only way."
Kai looked up at his window and realised that night had fallen quite some time ago. He leant over and turned on his bedside light, unable to understand how he had been seeing before.
He shook his head and rose slowly, resisting the urge to run his hands through Rei's hair again just to convince himself that he had truly done what he had done.
He slowly exited the room, glancing backwards at Rei every second step or so. He could already feel the calming effect that Rei produced lessoning as he shut the door of his bedroom behind him.
"Thank you." His phantom Rei said as the click of the door shutting echoed through the apartment. "You know you're doing the right thing."
Kai nodded distractedly, ignoring the fact that, by rights, His phantom Rei should have disappeared. "That doesn't mean that it's not hard."
"The right thing generally is the hard thing." The phantom figure agreed as it watched Kai key-lock the door to his apartment and stash the key in his pocket. Kai checked the door to make sure it couldn't be opened without the key and nodded in satisfaction.
"Can you just leave me alone?" He asked the phantom. "I've done what you wanted. I just need to think."
Kai cringed as he heard the pout in the phantom's voice. "I thought you loved me," It said, looking at Kai sadly.
Kai rand his hands over his face and squeezed the bridge of his nose. "I do. I promised. I just need time to think without you getting me to confirm that to you every five minutes. I love you and I will do this for you. It's just hard. You have to give me some time to see if I have a choice."
"You don't." Rei warned. "It has to be done."
"There's always a choice." Kai said finally, flopping on to his couch. "Now will you go away for a bit?"
Kai closed his eyes, trying to focus his thoughts. It was hard without the aid of hot water or the more effective anaesthesia of Rei's presence. He scowled to himself and shook his head, trying to think clearly about what he was doing.
Failing, Kai rolled over on the couch with a disgruntled sigh. He folded his arms and rested them on the arm of the couch, glaring at the unassuming wall in front of him.
"Having Fun?" Rei's voice asked with a hint of wryness in it. "You know there's no choice. Nothing to think about. You promised to protect me."
Kai looked away from where his phantom stood in front of the wall he had been staring out. "I know." He said quietly. "I still want to see if there is a choice." He said finally. "I won't know until he wakes up."
Kai heard the exasperated sigh of Phantom Rei and closed his eyes, not wanting to be a part of it. He wanted a choice. He didn't like the option already presented to him. "I'm going back in with him." Kai announced to the empty room, standing and quietly padding his way to the bedroom door.
He opened the bedroom door quietly, expecting the room to be dark. He blinked when he saw the light was on before he realised he had left it on before leaving the room the first time. Idiot. He reprimanded himself, already feeling the muddle of his mind slowly start to fall into place at the sight of Rei.
The Chinese man lay exactly where Kai had left him, no movement except for the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest stirring him. Kai let out a small sigh of relief and turned off the light in the bedroom, leaving the room bathed in faint moonlight.
"I want to know if I can keep you safe." Kai said quietly, kneeling beside Rei on the floor and laying his head next to Rei's, careful not to disturb the Chinese man. "Would you let me?" He asked aloud, ignoring the cramp in his neck that was beginning to form.
The sound of Rei's quiet breathing filled the room in answer.
Kai sat up and smiled softly down at Rei, brushing a stray lock of hair out of his face and simply enjoying the feeling of being so close to the person he loved. He inhaled deeply, relishing in the unique mix of scents. He could smell the strong smell of the alcohol he had poured on to Rei's shirt front but underneath he could smell the familiar warm scent of the café and a much stronger scent of cooking that could only come from the café's kitchen, a place Kai had only seen in glimpses, he could also detect the faint, fruity scent of Rei's shampoo. However, underneath all of those scents was one Kai could only define as Rei's own unique one.
He leant down to place a soft kiss on Rei's forehead before he sat back on his heels simply admiring how the moonlight fell on the Chinese man's face. The image it created was far superior to anything his imagination could conjure up.
It was an image worth protecting.
Kai sighed and shuffled back awkwardly to sit down and brace his back against the wall of his bedroom. He brought his legs up so he could rest his arms on them comfortably and laid his head on his arms. He sighed softly as he felt the warm tendrils of sleep begin to take him.
I can't see if I have choice until he wakes up. Kai reasoned to himself as he allowed his body to fall into the dark abyss of sleep that he so desperately needed.
-o-
Rei woke up slowly, a killer headache alerting him to his semi-conscious state. He groaned softly as consciousness invaded and his headache grew more acute. Rei cracked open one eye, looking for his alarm clock to tell him what pre-dawn hour it was.
When he didn't see his clock Rei sat upright in alarm, his mind quickly taking in that the bed was softer than his, there weren't as many pillows as he generally had scattered on his bed, the different position of the bed and the fact that he was still fully clothed.
All factors pointing towards the obvious conclusion that this wasn't his home.
Rei's nose then picked up the pungent smell of alcohol coming from the front of his shirt. "What the hell?" He murmured as he struggled to remember what had happened.
He had helped Mariah with her Spencer issues and then…
Rei frowned as he tried to figure out what had happened after that. Surely it couldn't be normal that he couldn't remember anything after that. The smell of alcohol explained some memory loss and the headache but there were problems with that theory as well.
For one, his mouth didn't feel like a toilet.
Rei cautiously swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood, trying to ignore the way the world spun as he did so. Not good. Not good. He thought as he flailed an arm to catch on to anything that would support him. Failing that, Rei collapsed in an undignified heap, startling the room's other occupant.
Kai opened his eyes when he heard the crash. "Rei?" He asked, shaking off the last vestiges of sleep. "Rei?" He asked again, uncurling from where he had been leaning against the wall and putting out a hand to try to find the Chinese man.
"Who are you?" Rei asked in a small voice as he sat up, leaning up against the bed he had woken up on. "I can't remember…" He trailed off, as he looked frantically around the room, trying to find the source of the voice in the dark room.
Kai's hand hit one of Rei's feet before it was hastily drawn away with a sharp gasp from the Chinese man. Kai drew his hand back carefully, trying not to startle Rei anymore. "It's ok…" He tried. "I won't hurt you."
"Who are you?" Rei asked, trying to place the voice. He knew that he had heard it before but could not place from where.
"I'm…" Kai trailed off, unsure of what to say. "I'm Kai."
Kai watched as the shadow that was Rei's head nodded slowly. "Kai." He repeated, still trying to place a face to the voice. "...Is this your home, Kai?" Rei asked, leaning against the bed he has fallen off earlier.
Kai shook his head, unaware that Rei couldn't see him. "This is our home"
Rei blinked and peered into the darkness that blanketed the world just before dawn, unable to see anything other than the vague shape of his companion. "Sorry?" He asked, controlling the note of panic in his voice.
Kai's face fell slightly. "You don't like it?" He asked before continuing without waiting for an answer. "I know it's not great but it's just until I can find us something that's away from this city- where it's safe.
Rei felt the sense of panic, dormant since his waking, rise again to grip his heart as he realised that Kai wasn't joking.
"...What about my home?" Rei asked, this time unable to hide the panic making his voice rise a few notches.
"This is your home." Kai said, confused. "Don't you understand?" He asked, shifting his position on the floor and stretching some of his aching muscles. "I can't protect you when you're out there. You're not safe."
Rei blinked. "What the hell does that mean?" He asked incredulously, shock and surprise even overriding the panic that had become a permanent feature in his stomach.
Kai's face fell at Rei's lack of understanding. "It's too dangerous outside for you. You're only safe when you're here with me, where I can protect you." Kai reached a hand out to touch the object of his obsession, trying to make the Chinese man realise that this was the only way for Rei to remain safe.
Rei snatched himself away from Kai's touch as if the Russian's mere touch burned. He stood, ignoring the head spin he got as a result of the change of altitude, as his panic joined with anger at his captor. "I think I can decide what's safe for me and what isn't." He said with as much dignity and disdain as he could muster when facing an unknown adversary in a dark room. "I'm going to my home now and want I don't want you to ever bother me again, whoever you may be, Kai." He said firmly before heading in the direction he thought the bedroom door was.
Rei pulled open the door, slammed it, and, squinting against the sudden light, hurried toward the front door, only refraining from sprinting because of the sudden terrible need to hide his fear from the person in the other room.
"Rei!" Kai scrambled to his feet, ignoring the pain that came from sitting still for hours, and ran after the Chinese man.
"Rei!" He called again as he pulled open the bedroom door to see Rei reaching for the handle of the front door. "Don't!"
Rei's hand closed around the doorknob and twisted.
Click
He twisted again, putting both hands on the handle and fighting the lock, panic overtaking the need for dignity.
"Rei..." Kai said gently as he slowly approached the Chinese man. "You're not safe out there." He stopped a few metres from Rei. "You're only safe when you're here with me."
Rei stopped his efforts and turned with the air of a hunted animal facing its last seconds on Earth.
His eyes widened as he saw Kai. "...You?" He forced out of a throat suddenly much tighter than he remembered it to be as snatches of memories of his captor assailed him.
Kai sitting in the corner of the café
Kai casually flirting with him
Catching Kai watching him as he waited in line
Seeing Kai through a haze of alcohol in a non-descript bathroom.
"You..." Rei said again, his face a mask of confusion. "Why?" He asked faintly as he felt the events of the morning combined with the light-headedness borne of panic and the pain that had been assailing his head since he had regained consciousness.
Kai leapt forward to catch Rei as he fell into unconsciousness once more.
-o-
Lee poked his head out of the kitchen, the scents of the morning already wafting out around him. "Is Rei in yet?" He asked.
When Bryan shook his head Lee frowned. "He's never been this late..." He murmured more to himself than to anyone else. "Can you give him a call?" He asked.
-o-
The ring of the phone in Rei's apartment echoed through the empty hallways, unable to be heard by the Chinese man or his captor.
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