Talking

Six in the evening, on Wednesday, three days before Tala's deadline for Kai, Tyson knocks on the Blitzkriegs' door. A satchel slung across his torso. A happy smile on his face because Tyson's a happy person. Not the bright and overly enthusiastic, shoots-rainbows-out-of-ass happy, just someone who appreciated life and loved everything in it.

Kai opens the door looking like he'd just rolled out of bed, hair messy, maroon army print hoodie and trousers on. Eyes slightly red. He takes in the boy standing on his doorstep with mild surprise on his face.

"Hi" greets Tyson, even giving him a little wave.

Kai opens the door wider, stepping back and aside so he can enter.

"I brought all my own papers and stationary so you don't have to worry about that," he says as he crosses into the foyer.

Kai closes the door.

"I have tons of homework to do." Tyson taps a tune out on the hard backs of his books inside the satchel made out of cloth. Watching Kai. "Did I wake you? Were you sleeping?"

"Slightly dozed off." He looks in the direction of the hall. Where the kitchen is visible. Eyeing the fridge.

"You forgot I was coming over, didn't you?" asks Tyson, toeing his boots off.

Kai licks his lips, brushing a hand over his face. Attempting to shake the lethargy off. The action brings colour to his pale face. "Yeah" he says, his voice sounds deeper. "Sorry" he whispers. He leads him to the hall. "Would you like something to drink? Beer? Water?"

"No, I'm cool." Tyson sits on the sectional, drawing the bag off his shoulder. "I drank a smoothie on the way over."

Kai goes to the kitchen anyway. Guess he's thirsty. He sees him grab a couple of cans out of the fridge before coming back to sit next to him.

Tyson has his books and stuff out. He smooths his hand over a fresh sheet of paper and stares at it. Wow, his mind is blank.

Kai hauls his bag from somewhere behind the couch and sets it on the low glass table. Popping his beer can open.

He offers the other to Tyson when he catches him staring at him drink.

"No, no" he declines. "I'm good" He draws a sketch pen out of his pokemon pouch and starts writing the heading of his essay. "Did you take this class last year? I think you did."

Kai takes another sip from the can before setting it down, looking at his books.

"Microeconomics I? I took both of them last year. I and II."

"Oh" Tyson shades the bubble letters in the heading with purple. "What about this year? Third year course load is pretty heavy usually, but since you're in the advanced program..." He raises his gaze to glance at him. "Is it heavier?"

"Mm" He drinks.

The house is empty except for the two of them. He wonders where the rest of them are.

"Who's in your seminar group?" The third and fourth years have small study groups that gather throughout their last two years at the university after classes for research meetings and discussions. Seminars are held in the last period every day.

Kai draws one of his books out of his bag and flips it open on the table. "Tala, Sergei, and a couple of fourth years."

"Oh" Tyson brings the butt of the sketch pen to his mouth. "What are their names?"

"Hm?"

"The fourth years"

Kai knocks the beer can against the side of his knee. "Queen and Claude" Tyson's eyes go wide. "I didn't pick the team," says Kai, grimacing.

Queen and Claude? Jeez, those meetings must be hell to deal with.

And he must have said that out loud because Kai answers, "At least they're all competitive. So there's never any lack of motivation to do your best."

Tyson laughs. "Why does that sound like a rehearsed speech? You tell yourself that a lot during those hours?"

"No" Kai cracks open a second can of beer. "That's actually what Professor Mao says to himself when he's stuck in there with us and the discussions get a little...heated."

"A little"

"A little" Kai grins, raising the beer to his mouth.

Tyson stares at him, eyes crinkling with his smile. "You know, I wish we could talk more like this." Kai glances at him and so he feels the need to explain. "I mean between classes and hiding from the public, we don't get to spend a lot of time together. And when we do get time, we spend more time making out than...talking."

Kai gazes at him steadily. Then a wry smile pulls at the corner of his mouth.

"We've been dating for like, what, two weeks now? And we haven't made much progress. I still feel like I don't know you."

Kai nods. But his nod isn't very friendly. "You say that like it's my fault," he says, meeting Tyson's eyes.

Tyson reads his expression. He looks kind of pissed. "Well, you have a habit of distracting me whenever I touch on a topic that's remotely serious and-"

"Do I?" Kai leans back, folding his arms.

"Yeah" Tyson shifts around to face him properly. "Like for example, a couple days ago, when you took me out of the city. I asked you when you moved here from Russia and instead of answering me, you asked me if I'd ever been out of the country."

A light frown grows between Kai's eyebrows. "I asked you that because I'd wanted to know if you'd been out of the country. How is that me-"

"We never returned to that topic again," Tyson interrupts.

"Do you have the attention span of a gnat for you to get so easily distracted?" he argues. Tyson frowns. "If you had really wanted to talk about it, you would have talked about it."

He's gotta be kidding him. He's turning this on him. "Of course I wanted to talk about it!"

"If you did, then you would have swerved back to that topic, but you didn't. It's almost as if you were waiting for me to 'distract' you and bring up something else."

"Why would I do that?" asks Tyson. "I want to get to know you."

"No. I don't think you do," says Kai, taking another sip of his beer. Staring at him. "I think you'd prefer if I remained a mystery or an enigma to you so we never get close." Tyson's protests die in his throat. "And if we don't get close, then you can't get hurt."

He stares at his eyes. The red flecks.

Tyson turns away. The writing pad digging into his stomach.

He thinks back on their conversations. The date in the car.

Kai presses his lips together and looks away. Crushing the can in his hand.

It's silent for a beat.

Kai breaks it after a minute. Speaking softly. "You had two bad breakups, it's perfectly normal if you-"

"Yeah, I don't need a session right now," Tyson snaps. "And especially not from you. You sleep around so much your dick's basically public property at this point." Kai shuts up. Tala chooses that exact moment to walk in. "What would you know about love and relationships?" Tyson packs up his things and stands up.

"Ouch" winces Tala as Tyson rounds the sectional and leaves. He gapes at Kai, who holds his stare for a moment before turning back to his books.


"Oh my gaurr"

"Stop"

"Oh my gaurrr"

"That's so fucking cringe. Don't do it. Don't do it."

A cute blonde girl - allegedly from Australia - walks past them, talking to her friends. Eddie spins on his heel and says loudly, "Oh my gaurr, you're so hawt."

"Shut the fuck-" Michael hisses, but stops when the girl hears his catcall and shoots them an irked look.

"Fucking hell, that was so rude," Mike admonishes when the girl swivels away again.

"But she noticed me. She noticed me."

"She's never gonna go out with you," Tyson tells him, shutting his locker. "Not if you keep insulting her and her people."

"Her people? I didn't insult her people! And last I heard, girls are into that kind of stuff."

"Into what kind of stuff?" asks Michael. "Strangers being rude to them?"

"No. A hot guy being rude to them."

"Oh my gaurr. You hawt?"

"Guys, I gotta blast," Tyson informs them. "My class is starting soon. Bye."

"Bye!"

He leaves his friends as they bicker and argue in the hallway. He has Dr Valkov this morning. He rushes into the lecture hall.

Hilary is already in her usual spot, boredly twirling a lock of hair around a pen. Kai is also there. In the next aisle. A few rows above Tyson's.

He occupies his chair quietly as the Professor sweeps into the room.

The class rises to greet her.

"Good morning! Good morning! Please take your seats. I hope you're all prepared and fired up for today's presentation."

Tyson lowers his butt into the seat and freezes. Presentation? It's today? He smacks his forehead with his palm. Shit, he was supposed to prepare for it last night, but he completely forgot about it after his fight with Kai.

Shit. What the hell is he going to do?

"Alright. I'm going to pick a random number and you're going to have to come up here and present your essay," says the dean.

Tyson sinks. Trying to disappear from view. Please don't call me. Please don't call me.

"Did you forget?" Hilary hisses.

"Yes"

"Shit!" She has hers in her hand.

Oh my god. He is dead. He is so dead. Valkov runs a finger down a page in the register of names and stops at one.

Tyson holds his breath.

"Mister..." the dean raises her eyes, "Granger. Tyson Granger"

Of course. Tyson evaporates on the spot.

Or he wishes he had. He sits up straight hesitantly. The Professor locates him in the hall and nods encouragingly. "You're lucky number one!" She grins. "Have you prepared well, Mr. Granger?"

"Uh" Tyson clears his throat. "Um, actually. I left my e-essay at the dorm." He takes a breath, brushing his hair back nervously.

Valkov considers him. "But you have worked on it, yes?"

"Y-yeah"

"Then you must remember it. Come up here and give the rest of the class an insight into your thoughts on the subject we were discussing last time, why don't you?" She calls, smiling with her wide dark-brown painted lips.

He really doesn't want to let her down. But he had completed the rest of that essay absentmindedly. He cannot recall a single detail from it. Hilary nudges her paper discreetly against his hand.

"Take it" she whispers faintly. "Take it"

Tyson closes his hand around the sheet and stands up slowly. He can feel the eyes of half the hall on him.

Valkov doesn't question the paper in his hands as he makes his way down the steps. To the front of the huge room.

She insists he climb up on the stage.

Hilary's essay begins to quiver in his fingers as he mounts the platform and faces the other students.

Fuck, what was it even about?

The Professor tells him he can begin. Tyson musters a smile for her. Then peeks at the paper in his hands.

The letters are so small. He has trouble reading it from this distance. "The.." he starts, his voice sounds foreign to his ears as he raises it loud enough for people to hear. "The relevance and impli-implications of..." He licks his lips. Cards through his hair.

"Arcer- Arcelor and Mittal's merging for the steel industry was that..." He glances up for a moment and sees blank and miserable faces staring back at him. Hilary looks worried and sympathetic. Kai's expression is neutral. Tala's cringing by his side, his face almost touching Kai's shoulder. Tyson pulls at the hem of his shirt. Wiping the cold sweat on it. He can't bring the usual charm he uses to get out of these situations since he was already in a shitty mood. This is just making things worse.

He ends up reading from the paper. Reading Hilary's essay out to the hall, keeping his head ducked almost the entire ten minutes till he reaches the last line and breathes a relieved thank you.

Valkov does not appear impressed when he turns to her. "I'm disappointed in you, Mr Granger," is all she has to say to him to break his heart.

He likes her. He looks up to her. Hers was one of the classes he actually made an effort in.

Tyson walks back to his seat, hurt and ashamed.


He buys an ice pop from a street vendor and rides around town on his bicycle till the sun sets. At seven he knocks on Hilary's door. Corndogs in a paper bag hugged to his chest. Rainbow pop in his mouth.

She pulls the door open and gives him a lukewarm smile when she sees him.

"What's with that?" he asks, stumbling on his way in.

"What's with what?"

"The shady smile." He hands the corndogs to her. She peeks in and lights up.

"You're imagining things."

"Hmm" He toes his boots off and falls into her fluffy bed. "Oh god, heaven," he moans.

"Where's the ice cream?" Hilary rushes to his side. "Did you get it on my comforter?"

"No" He shows her it's held between his fingers, the ones that are hanging off the side of the bed.

She sighs, then sits down next to him, biting into a corndog. "These are good!"

"I know" he mumbles. "That's why I brought you some." Her bed smells like lavender.

"Are you drunk?"

"I'm laced"

Hilary laughs. "You have the audacity to school your friends on smoking and then you go and do that?"

"Please, I don't need you scolding me too." He lets her take the ice cream from him. She sets it on her table, along with the brown paper bag. Tyson tosses to his back. "Can we cuddle?"

Hilary wrinkles her nose. "No. You're sweaty."

"I'm not," he tells her. "I'm not." He sniffs himself. "Look, I smell like flowers."

"Bitch, please" She finishes up her corndog. Putting the stick away.

Tyson holds out his arms. "Come on. I had a bad day."

Hilary looks at him. He notices she got new caramel highlights in her hair.

"I like your new highlights. They're cool."

She rolls her eyes heavenward, groaning. "Only because you're being cute," she says, then climbs further up in bed and cuddles him.

"Nice" says Tyson, hugging her to his chest and breathing her shampoo. "You smell like peaches."

"And you smell like a used jersey!" she says, her voice muffled in his clothes.

"That's because I am wearing one," he explains, moving his jacket aside so she can see his training kit. "Went to practice earlier. Didn't shower after."

"You've gotta be kidding me." Hilary tries to escape. Tyson makes sure she doesn't. "Ah, get away from me, you ape!"

He grins, snuggling.


20:21 to DICK: Hey, can we meet?

20:30 DICK: Sure

He's stretched out on his Porsche's hood, eating Chinese takeout. Kai's sitting cross-legged near the bumper. Also on the hood. Eating salad out of a takeout box.

Porsche's must be made of tough material because their combined weight would have been enough for any other luxury car's hood to cave.

They're parked next to a park.

"Mariah was my first crush who wasn't a nerd," says Tyson. "I don't know if it's because I'm a sporty person, but I've always had a thing for nerds. First, there was Emily, and then there were a couple others. Small crushes that never lasted long. Mariah was like, this force of nature, who blew away everything in her path. I didn't stand a chance. I fell head over heels when she flirted with me.

"I shared everything with her. Just like I did with Emily, but Emily is still in my life. While Mariah, knows all my secrets, knows everything about me, the good, the bad, the ugly, and I...barely know her beyond her public persona. I thought I knew her just as much as she knew me, but I was wrong. I didn't even know her biggest secret, which almost all of her friends knew, and nobody bothered to tell me." It still hurts to think of that though the pain is faint now. "That she was in love with Rei. And I was just...a temporary distraction."

Kai listens silently. Chewing on his cabbages. God, who likes cabbages?

"I guess that's why I was...doing that thing I was doing with you." He takes a mouthful of his noodles. Eating thoughtfully. Then he says, "Sorry"

Kai shakes his head. "It's cool. At least Yuriy got a good laugh out of it."

"Who?"

"Tala"

"Oh" Tyson twirls his fork in the ramen. Grinning. "I really didn't mean it though. I didn't."

"It's no big deal. Let it go." Kai skewers a cube of chicken in his salad and pops it in his mouth. "Is there some psychological reason why you have that weird rule about sex too?"

"You think it's weird?"

"I think you're weird."

"Fuck you" He touches Kai's jeans with the sandy bottom of his boots, leaving a print. "You nerd"

"You are literally five years old," says Kai, inspecting the damage. He dusts it off with a hand. "And you tanked the presentation earlier."

He brought it up. The incident that must not be spoken of. He brought it up. Oh my god. "I hate you," Tyson whines, mortified. "I hate you so much."

"Tanked" Kai pushes his feet away from him.

Tyson gapes. "Asshole. You don't talk about that on dates. You can't."

Kai grimaces. Lower teeth showing. Like he's embarrassed of him. Tyson screams, bringing his knees up and burying his head in the space between his torso and his thighs.

He clenches fists.

He emerges from his cave of shame after a couple of minutes. Calm and collected. Then picks up the box of ramen he'd discarded in his distress earlier and resumes eating like a civilized human being.

"I, uh, don't actually have any such reason for my nun-like approach to sex." Kai snorts. Tyson narrows his eyes. "I just think it's nice to fall in love before getting intimate with a person."

Kai finishes up eating. He takes a wet wipe out of his pocket and tears it open, drawing the tissue out and wiping his mouth. He hands one to Tyson as well.

"It feels more...intense that way." He cleans his fingers and lips, feeling full too.

"Have you ever done it with someone you were not in love with?" asks Kai.

"No" says Tyson.

"Then how would you know?"

He raises his nose in the air. Considering Kai. "Guess I wouldn't," he says at last. "But have you ever done it with someone you were in love with?"

Kai drops his gaze. Looking away. Toward the bushes behind Tyson. And Tyson recalls a word he'd said before: sad. Sad.

"No" he confesses in a hoarse whisper. A muscle shifting in his jaw.

Tyson watches his face.

Kai stacks the takeout boxes, after sealing the used wet wipes and their wrappers in one of them. He climbs off the hood and comes around to Tyson's side to help him down.

"What happened on Tuesday night?" asks Kai as soon as his feet touches ground.

Tyson looks up. "Hm?" He recalls what happened a couple nights ago. When things had gotten a little hot and heavy. "Oh! I uh..." He rubs his eye. "I just freaked I guess. I didn't want to go any further, that's why I asked you to stop."

Kai stares. "That's all?"

"Yeah"

"It wasn't because I was..." he trails off.

Tyson meets his eyes. "What?"

"It wasn't because I was choking you?"

"No! No" His shoulders go up. "You weren't choking me. I didn't mind that your hand was on my neck. I was cool with that. I liked it." This is kind of embarrassing to talk about.

Kai's eyebrows lift. "You liked it?"

Was he not supposed to like it? Tyson goes silent. "Yeah" he admits carefully after a while. Feeling confused.

He watches him. Like he doubted his statement.

Tyson opens his mouth to tell him it was okay, but pauses when Kai brings his hand to his face. And gently, ever so gently, holds his jaw between his fingers.

He smiles at him.

Kai doesn't return it. He still has that slightly curious furrow between his brows.

His hand slips. Down to his throat. Fitting around it snugly.

Tyson's breath hitches. His heart skips. Just the tiniest bit.

And Kai says, "oh". The incredulousness on his face being replaced with surprise. Then quickly turning into something else.

Tyson looks up and is able to catch his expression for a split second before he cups his jaw in both his hands and kisses him. Hard.

Crowding him against the car. Pressing his hips into his.

He'd looked like he'd wanted to devour him alive.

"Baby" he rasps, kissing his lips numb. His palms are hot on his face. He smells like spice and cologne. The zippers of his jacket dig almost painfully into his ribs.

Kai, he wants to say. Slow down. He's running out of air.

His hands move from his cheeks. He breaks away for a moment to change angles. Tyson takes a breath in between. Kai's fingers descend to his throat. Squeezing lightly.

Heat sears through Tyson.

Kai pushes him down on the hood of his car. Leaning over him and ravaging his mouth.

His dick rubs against the fabric of his jeans. He moans. Kai arrests both his wrists over his head on the vehicle. Tyson sees stars.


"I have news!" Eddie bounds down the stairs. "I have news."

"What up?" asks Michael.

"The Blitzkriegs were in another fight last night."

Tyson rests his back against the window and folds his arms. Doing math in his head.

"They're all pretty beaten up. Kai wasn't there because he was on some date with some girl, but he's pissed. Apparently, it was the Horsemen again, and everybody's saying there's going to be some serious retaliation soon."

He gapes. Michael cleans his teeth with a toothpick. Eddie looks at either of them in turn and then says, "One of you looks like he's about to poop his pants, and the other looks like he doesn't give a shit. I love how diverse my bros are."

The Blitzkriegs walk up the stairs in that moment. Tyson looks at their faces and gasps soundlessly.

Tala has a black eye. Bryan has a bandage around his head and a cut on his lip. Sergei has bruises on his cheeks and Ian's missing. Kai is the only one remaining untouched. Yet he's the one who looks like he got burned.