Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade.
A/N: More plot development. Huge thanks to those of you who reviewed. Enjoy, and feedback is always greatly appreciated.
"What the fuck do you wa—Bryan." Tala pulled the lavender haired Russian into the penthouse and hugged him, face buried against his neck. "What the hell took you so long? It's been nearly two months since your birthday and I expected you to be here sooner."
Bryan wrapped his arms around Tala's wiry body and leaned against the redhead. They'd always been close and just touching his friend was helping to ease all of his anxiety and tension. "I got sidetracked and pulled into an obligation I can't quite get out of yet."
"Nice to see you Bryan."
The lavender haired Russian shuddered at the warmth that spread through his body at the sound of Kai's low voice. He managed a smirk for the other teen, meeting mahogany eyes squarely. "Hi to you too."
Finally Tala released him and stepped back, hands resting on his shoulders. "Why didn't you call or send me something?"
Bryan dropped his duffle bag by the door and shrugged his coat off. "Because up until yesterday I was completely poor and trying to get through Biovolt's hierarchy to get hold of one of you two is enough to cause anyone to want to commit suicide."
Catching sight of a newspaper on the table next to the couch he crossed the living room to pick it up. The center of the front page was a massive picture of what used to be the Abbey and was now a huge pile of bricks. He looked at Kai over the paper, silver eyes sharp. "How'd you mange to convince them to rip the damn thing down?"
The slate haired teen shrugged. "I practically own the city now, with all the bribes Voltaire was paying out. It wasn't hard to convince them keeping it around was more trouble then its worth."
Holding the page out at arm's length so he could read the paper he scanned the article about the Abbey's destruction. It was refreshing to see something printed in Cyrillic besides War and Peace, even if the letters were a little fuzzy.
"Catch."
Without taking his eyes away from the article he caught the object Tala tossed him. He could tell, just by the weight and the feel of leather against his palm that the redhead had given him his glasses, the pair that had vanished shortly after Tala's disappearance. Growling he rolled the paper up and threw it at the redhead. "Fucking god Tala. I could have used these months ago. Should have sent them to me."
Tala avoided the paper with ease and laughed as he picked Bryan's bag. "I found them when I got here and then lost them. By the time I'd found them again your birthday had already come and gone so I figured I'd just hold on to them until you dragged your sad ass back here."
"Doesn't matter now. I have a pair that hasn't been through hell." He pocketed the old glasses and followed Tala down a hallway, painfully aware of Kai watching them. His friend kicked open door to reveal a bedroom. The redhead dropped the bag on the bed and spun around, hands sliding into his hair, tugging him close. Before he could say anything Tala was kissing him, hard and desperate.
For a brief moment Bryan couldn't help but respond, pushing forward to pin Tala to the wall, needing to feel the other teen. The other teen's groan of pleasure pierced the haze covering his mind and he pulled back with a soft kiss. "I can't Tala. Not wi--"
"I know Bry." Tala wrapped his arms around Bryan's waist and leaned against the bigger teen, head on his shoulder. He smiled as he felt his friend pull him closer. They had always comforted each other. "You should really tell him. I know you're a closet masochist but unrequited love sucks."
Pressing a kiss to the top of Tala's head Bryan pulled away from him. "Four years I've been in love with him Tala. I'll tell him eventually, but I'm not going to die right this minute because he doesn't know. Now get out of here so I can sleep." Ignoring Tala's protests he pushed the redhead out of the room and locked the door behind him.
--
It was early morning, the sun just barely peeking over the edge of the city to paint everything in pale light. Several small cafes and bakeries were already open but for the most part Moscow was still silent and dead.
Bryan stood up from the park bench and continued his trek through the streets of his home city. He'd woken at two in the morning from a nightmare and instead of seeking Tala out like usual (it felt wrong to even share a bed with the redhead under Kai's roof) he had decided to wander around Moscow and see what had changed in the two years he'd been under BBA supervision.
The Abbey had been his first stop. Gone was the imposing stone building of his childhood and in its place was a pile of bricks surrounded by the heavy machinery that had been used to destroy it. From there he'd simply walked, finding the alleys he Tala and Kai had escaped down when they were younger, before Kai had disappeared.
Turning left down a street he head back towards the penthouse. After five hours spent wandering around the city he felt better and more balanced then he had since the World Championships. While the past two months spent in Germany at Robert's castle had been infinitely better then his two years in London it still couldn't compare to being back in Russia with his closest friends.
Over the past three days they'd spent almost every waking moment together, talking and working on straightening out Biovolt, going through the files and making piles of what needed to be copied and what had to be destroyed. They knew it was illegal to destroy the files since the government was still looking into them, but the papers contained data the government didn't need to see. And they'd never really worried about the legality of their actions.
Rather then taking the elevator like he usually did to the top floor he started up the stairs, needing the extra time to finish clearing his mind before having to spend more time with Kai. Pulling his key from his pocket he unlocked the front door of the penthouse and stepped in, pale eyes widening in shock.
Kai was leaning against the back of the couch, his hands fisted in Tala's hair. The redhead was on his knees in front of Kai, giving the slate haired Russian the blowjob of his life if Kai's low groans of pleasure were any indication.
He watched for long moments, mesmerized by the hollowing of Tala's cheeks and Kai's pale skin. The sound of Tala's name coming from Kai's lips snapped him from his voyeurism and feeling hot jealousy spike down his spine he slammed the front door. He smirked as Tala jerked back from Kai, looking horrified at being caught. "Use a little discretion next time guys. Never know who is going to walk in."
Ignoring the guilt he could practically feel radiating off Tala he stalked past them, eyes riveted on the far wall. He could feel his jealousy giving away to anger which was never good; bad things happened when he lost his temper.
He just barely managed to avoid slamming his bedroom door. Instead he kicked it before crossing to his bag to pull out the ledger he'd been working on and his glasses. A desk stood against one wall of the room but he passed it up. He didn't like having his back to the door. Sinking into one corner of the room he opened the book and balanced it on his knees before putting his glasses on and getting to work.
When he heard the first tentative knock on his door what seemed like hours later but was only minutes he didn't even bother to answer. Tala would come in with or without permission. Sure enough the door cracked slightly and Tala poked his head in, cerulean eyes downcast. Out of all the Demolition Boys the redhead could read him the best and knew when it was safe to approach.
He watched over the edge of his glasses as his friend slipped into the room and closed the door. There was no doubt in his mind if Tala had been an animal he would have been on his belly and whimpering, asking for forgiveness. As it was, the redhead was doing a fantastic job of projecting his need for absolution. While Tala had been the team captain, he had always relied on Bryan's input and support.
Tala dropped to his knees in front of Bryan, hands folded in his lap. "I'm so fucking sorry Bryan. We were working late one night and we were both frustrated and pissed off and it just happened." Slowly he raised his head and nearly flinched under the cold, pale gaze. "Vlyubleyennost, please don't hate me." His voice fell to a whisper. "I couldn't stand it if you hated me."
Bryan set the ledger and his glasses aside, oddly calm despite his anger. Reaching out he brushed a finger across Tala's sharp chin. Without warning he plunged his hand into the other teen's hair, fingers curling and pulling cruelly at the crimson strands. If the redhead felt any pain he didn't show it. His voice was flat and devoid of emotion when he spoke. "Four fucking years Tala. I've wanted him that long and you took him from me. You knew."
Of course Tala knew. They'd grown up together and were best friends. They had lost their virginity to one another and knew everything there was to know about the other. There were no secrets between them.
Feeling vindictive he jerked Tala's hair one more time before getting to his feet. "If you want to stay in one piece I suggest you don't follow me." He paused in the entrance to the living room, eyes on Kai. The other Russian was reading the newspaper, acting as if he had no idea of what was going on between his friends. "Don't worry I left your fuck buddy in one piece."
On his way out of the penthouse he slammed the front door again, simply because he could. Once back on the street he headed out towards the edges of the city, oblivious to the cold. He had his anger to keep him warm and he knew it would be hours before he could return to the apartment. Until he managed to regain control it would be too dangerous.
People on the sidewalk got out of his way, many of them remembering the World Championships and him in particular. One glance and the people in front of him would scatter like leaves on the wind.
The cemetery had once been on the edge but as the years had passed the city had grown up around it. Passing through the rusted gate he moved with ease down the small dirt paths to one corner where the weeds were starting to grow up around the tombstones. The newest stone, already thirteen years old was slowly sprouting moss, blurring the names.
Kneeling down Bryan scraped the moss of the stone, pale eyes emotionless. His last name appeared as he removed the plants, followed by four names. Pyotr, Vitaliy, Il'ya and Nikita. He'd been five when they'd sold him to Biovolt and his emotions about them were fuzzy at best, though he vaguely recalled being terrified the first time Boris had come to their small, cold house.
There had been a time when money had not been a problem for his family. His great grandparents had been favorites of Tsar Nicholas the Second. However, after Nicholas II had abdicated and the Bolsheviks had come to power his grandparents had been stripped of their land and wealth. From 1917 on the Kuznetsov family had lived in near poverty.
Once taken into the Abbey they had heard nothing of their families. It wasn't until after the World Championships, when the BBA was looking for his family had he learned of their deaths. Days after they had sold him to Biovolt the faulty wiring in their small house had caused a spark and started a fire. The house had burned down in less then five minutes.
"I hope you are proud of what I've become."
With a final cold glance at the dark stone he got up and headed back into the city. He couldn't go back to the penthouse, not when he knew what Kai and Tala were doing. And he didn't have any place in Moscow to stay and at that point the only place he knew where he actually had a room was at Robert's castle.
Go figure the only place I have to call my home is with a guy I work for. Pulling the phone from his pocket he called the airport and managed to convince them to change his flight, which was due to leave in another six days for one later in the day. With a short laugh he closed his phone and headed back to the penthouse to gather his belongings.
--
Tala bounced to his feet when his friend came in. It didn't take a genius to realize Bryan was still angry but the redhead knew he wasn't in any danger of being physically injured. The lavender haired teen had a tendency towards physical violence when he was first angered. After he had calmed down was when the emotional attacks would start. "Are we okay?"
The taller teen paused in the doorway, a frown creasing his brow. "Fucking god Tal, that has got to be the stupidest question you've ever asked. No we're not okay." Ignoring the beaten look still lurking in the redhead's eyes he went back to the bedroom. Jamming everything back in his bag with the ledger and old pair of glasses on the top he zipped it closed before making sure the glasses from Robert were carefully tucked in the pocket of his vest.
"Where are you going?" He was on the far side of the bed, knowing it was still better to stay away. It hurt to see the pain in Bryan's pale eyes but there was nothing he could do. The damage had been done.
Shrugging his coat on Bryan picked up his bag. "Back to where I've been for the past couple of months. At least there I know I won't get stabbed in the back." Nothing else had to be said. Their fights always followed the same formula. They'd get in a fight, avoid each other as much as was possible in the Abbey and later everything would be fine between them but they never mentioned the incident again