Sunday Afternoon
"You're already dressed," says Tyson, mildly fascinated, touching Kai's arms and shoulders, running his hands over the fabric. "What time is it?" he asks and rubs at one of his own eyes, mouth opening in a yawn.
"Seven-sixteen," says Kai.
"You didn't check," he observes cleverly. There's a smile on his face.
"I came in at seven. I have a good internal clock."
"Internal clock, huh?" Tyson teases, cupping Kai's jaw.
"Don't you have one?" he asks indulgently, before moving in to kiss him.
"Yeah, but I wouldn't rely on it too much," he says against his lips.
"Mine's precise."
"Wanna bet?"
"Sure"
Tyson laughs, the sound like bells. "Okay" He nods. Up for the challenge. He feels down Kai's torso. "Where's your phone?"
His hands touch his slacks.
"Front pocket" says Kai, watching him.
Tyson fumbles around a bit before he locates the right pocket. His cheeks pull in a grin as he holds Kai's gaze. "Ahan! Found it," he says, wagging his eyebrows, drawing his phone out of his pants. "Let me see." He holds it in front of his face, turning it on.
Kai watches as his expression grows a little disappointed. "Well" he says, his pretty dimples showing. He looks up with his big eyes. "Guess I have to pay up."
"It's seventeen now," says Kai.
Tyson glances back at the screen and gasps as the number changes. "You're scary," he says.
Playfully
Kai's thoughts wander back to that morning's events.
Tyson puts the phone away and places his palms on Kai's face, pulling him into a loving kiss.
His lips soft and eager.
Kai breaks out of his head, responding promptly.
He tugs Tyson closer and kisses him into a puddle.
"The others will retaliate," Tala's voice says through the speakers. "Gut may not have been anyone's favourite, but he was a partner, and cutting him is an attack against them. The news should have reached them already and if they're here, they will run now. But they will send the Horseshits after us when we're back in Japan. Along with some of their own men. We'll be lucky if we get a week to brace beforehand."
Kai paces back and forth in the hall, in front of the phone propped on the coffee table. Currently on a call with Sergei and Yuriy.
Tyson's in the bedroom, fast asleep and content after a meal and a couple of orgasms.
"What if that was the plan all along?" asks Sergei, an idea taking hold in his mind. "El Chapo is a small fry. It's possible they used him as a scapegoat in their ploy to get us. They've been trying to take over our business, but they've been weirdly conspicuous about it. Like they were hoping we would go all out on war against the horsemen. Instead we surprised them by calling for a negotiation so they had to change tactics."
"If that was the case, then they could have jumped us all together during the meeting," says Kai, joining in their conversation after remaining silent for a long time.
"But we're in Dubai. We can't attract attention."
"They could have done it in Hong Kong." Kai stops pacing, looking at Sergei on the screen, arms crossed before his chest. "They changed the location."
"It's a bullshit theory," says Yuriy. "We're running out of time. We need to come up with a plan now. Kai?" He looks up at him expectantly. Hopefully. Counting on his brain to get them out of this tight spot like he's done many times before.
Kai takes a deep breath. Empty handed for now. "I'm working on it."
Tala nods. He's chewing on his lip. Appearing tense. The worry right underneath the skin on his face. He sighs heavily. "I don't know," he says, rubbing at his cheeks and blowing out a breath. "I have a bad feeling about this."
Kai resumes the pacing again.
El Chapo had three partners. They were an alliance formed by gangs from Mexico who now base their operation in Hong Kong. This morning, Gut was the only one among the four bosses the Horsemen had, who came to meet them. Sergei's theory would have held weight if they hadn't changed locations so many times.
"You're antsy because Kai's away," Sergei diagnoses Tala.
"I don't need you to therapize me right now," says Yuriy. "You can take your psychology major and stick it up your ass. Or may be Granger's ass, since he seems to like-"
"Yuriy, shut the fuck up," Kai cuts in severely.
Tala's eyes widen at his harsh tone. Him and Sergei falling silent.
There's a tense moment.
Kai's irately wiping a hand down his mouth when he spots Tyson in the doorway leading from the bedroom. "Hi" he says obliviously, in his robe, on his way to the bathroom.
Kai stills.
His voice makes the other two on the call freeze as well. They leave immediately. Blinking out of the screen.
"Hi" says Kai, taking his hand away.
"What are you doing?" asks Tyson, walking in with a small smile.
"I was on a call with Yuriy," he answers, sparing a glance at the phone, which stands erect on the table top, screen dark. He takes Tyson's face in his hands when he comes close. Kissing him.
"He misses you?"
"Mm"
Another kiss. Tyson's feet slightly lift off the ground when Kai picks him up with his arms around his waist.
"I'm sorry I fell asleep again."
"Isn't that my fault?"
He giggles. "It is your fault."
He draws him down to the sofa. Crowding him into a corner of it. His head in the nook between the arm and the back. Peppering kisses on his mouth.
"You know, I haven't taken a bath since yesterday. I reek."
"Not even close," says Kai, his lips on the fuller part of Tyson's. The middle of his bottom lip. Where it's the plumpest.
"I haven't dressed."
"Don't get dressed."
"You don't want to go anywhere? You're not bored?"
"No" Kai rises to his elbows to look at him. "Are you?"
Tyson shakes his head, a smile on his face. He's put on weight since he landed, having been eating twice than he usually did and not working it off. He's chubbier. A tiny dimple in his chin. Cheeks rounder and fuller. He's the prettiest boy he's ever seen.
Kai touches his hair, adjusting the bangs on his forehead. "Tyson?"
"Kai?"
He's let down his barriers. Sometime in Roppongo, between the fireworks and the waves and Julia, Tyson had learned to let go and not obsess over the consequences of his actions as much as he used to. He lost some parts of him there, but also gained more important parts of himself.
When he fell in love is not a real question. Tyson, more or less, always had feelings for Kai. He simply never let the feelings grow stronger. In Dubai, when it was just him and Kai, together round the clock, there was no hiding from the way he felt anymore. If he'd let go of the wheel slightly in Roppongo, in Dubai, he let go altogether.
Kai had gotten sneaky glances and little shy smiles from him since Thursday. By Saturday, he was a mess of emotions around Kai. He constantly fluctuated between confident and awkward like a teenager with mood swings. (He is a teenager and he says things that are startlingly innocent sometimes. Tyson wasn't brought up the way he was. Tyson's from a completely different world and his experiences are far different from Kai's. He has knowledge of a kinder world. A world that is alien to him.) Last night, on their way back from Downtown, Tyson had been uncharacteristically nervous, almost as if he was planning something. And he'd wondered why, briefly of course. He got the answer when Tyson brought up that conversation about him kissing Julia in bed.
He wanted to know if Kai cared, and that spoke volumes. Kai knew where the conversation was heading as soon as it started. And he'd be lying if he said it didn't feel good to kiss Tyson again. And put his hands all over him. Inside of him.
He's hot and tight and perfect. His muscles had gripped hard onto his fingers. Kai could drown in there.
His ass, firm and rounded, he'd wanted to put his face in between his cheeks but Tyson had been too shy. "No, Kai. No. Don't do that. It's too much."
"Too much?" he'd asked, coming up for a kiss.
"Yeah"
"Sorry"
"It's okay"
He's lean in places and fleshier in others. Laid out naked on the mattress, he's a sight to see.
He'd made him feel good. His cum had been painted on his thigh. He'd thrust into Kai's fist with abandon.
He'd made him moan and sigh and clench and gasp in his hands. He yearns to make him feel so much more. So much better.
Till he can't remember his own name.
Tyson's watching him, waiting for him to speak, a finger in his mouth. Biting the tip of the nail partly anxiously.
"Will you stay with me?" asks Kai. "For one more night?"
Tyson's lips close on his fingertip, smiling around it. Eyes twinkling up at Kai with joy. Love looks good on Tyson. Love makes Tyson burn brighter than the sun. His warmth radiates throughout every room he's in and he sweeps up Kai in it.
He uses both his hands to cup Kai's face, grinning excitedly. "Yes!" he says, nodding. "Yes, I'll stay with you."
Kai kisses him, drinking in all that happiness. Gravitating towards it like a moth to a flame.
"Wanna shower together?"
"No"
"Yes"
"No" Tyson pulls away giggling, pushing at Kai's chest with a hand. He runs it up his neck. Kai kisses it when it reaches his face.
Tyson's blushing. His cheeks tinting red at the top like he's wearing rouge. Kai slots his hips between his thighs and watches a shiver go through him. Gasping softly.
He's...
He's inexplicably beautiful. Kai captures his wrists and holds them prisoner over his head on the cushion. The robe riding down to mid-bicep. Kai kisses him then. All over. His face. His mouth. His neck. His collar bones. His chest. His jaw.
Tyson moans under him, body moving. In a wave.
Kai wraps his arms around him and his soft robe and picks him up, carrying him to the bedroom. Tyson hugs Kai along the way. They're not showering anytime soon.
The next time he wakes up, it's eight in the evening. He has crust lining his eyes and a desert inside his throat. The canopy is lopesided above him. The drapes got fucked up when they were tumbling around in bed at some point. Tyson gathers the now nasty robe that he's been wearing since last night. He feels absolutely icky and rotten. His body is lethargic and slow.
He eases off the mattress and tiptoes across the floor to his suitcase.
He chooses a lilac shirt and a pair of jeans before high tailing it to the bathroom.
He's crossing past the main hall when he bumps into Kai along the way, who has just arrived back in the suite.
"Uh" Cough. "Hi" He pastes his back to the doorjamb and gives Kai a very fake, and a very stiff smile. God, he feels like slime. If he tries to kiss him right now, he will die. Then again, who would want to go within a five metre radius of someone whose breath smells like garlic?
He is in no danger.
Kai looks fresh. "Did you go out?" asks Tyson.
"Yeah" He has his hands in his pockets. He looks really nice. That button down fits him so well. Especially in that deep green colour. Kai should wear darker colours more often.
"I'm sorry I keep falling asleep on you." He feels like shit. All he did today was sleep, eat, have sex with Kai, then sleep again. He can count a total of three times when he went to pee. Other than that, he's been a bear in hibernation. A horny bear. A horny bear who has cum sticking to his stomach and thighs. Gross. He's gross.
"It's not a problem," says Kai.
"I'm sorry I slept so much."
"Tyson, it's fine." He takes a step closer. Jesus Christ. Tyson backs into the door frame, the wood pressing hard between his shoulders.
Kai notices it and that makes him feel even worse. He stops in his tracks, and looks at him for a moment longer, before running a hand into his own hair at the back of his head. "What do you want for dinner?"
Can he just die? Tyson wills the earth to swallow him whole. Or an asteroid to hit exactly where he's standing. Something. He grits his teeth. Grinding them together. His lips are dry. And chapped. And bruised. And bleeding too in some places.
"Um" He shakes his head, lifts a shoulder. "Whatever you're having."
Kai's gaze is all too kind on him. And understanding. "Okay" he says, backing away. On his way to the phone near the main entrance to the suite.
"Okay" Tyson shoots him one more fake smile before hurrying out of there.
He scrubs himself clean till he's pink. The bathroom mirror steams. He stays under the spray of the water for a full thirty minutes. When he finally steps out he smells like flowery bath gels and mint. The icky feeling gone. And feeling brand new in its stead.
He walks out to the balcony, where they're having dinner, with a small happy smile. Kai's gaze snags on him when he approaches the table to take a seat across from him.
They eat food from their home country and Tyson lets out a hum of satisfaction when the savoury ramen hits his tongue.
"I missed you" he moans, chewing the last of it down.
"Hm?" Kai looks up.
"Not you. I was talking about the food," he says, signaling at the empty bowl with his fork.
Kai snorts. He lifts a pot of tea to pour some into a cup. He sets it in front of Tyson. "It'll help you regain your energy," he says, like Tyson doesn't drink tea.
"I've drank tea before." He accepts the cup and takes a sip.
Kai raises his eyebrows in curiosity. "You have?"
"Yeah, my dad loves tea." He sits back in the chair with a contented sigh, enjoying the warmth of the drink.
"Have you talked to your dad lately?" he asks.
Tyson stares into his cup. "No" he says slowly, fingering the rim. "He hasn't called since...," he gives a brief shake of his head, "we left Uni." He does the math in his head involunatarily. It's been almost three weeks. It's a grim thought. Tyson laughs a little at his own state of constant neediness when it comes to his father. "Can we not talk about this?" he asks, with a glance from under his lashes.
Kai lets the topic go, lounging back in his chair and wiping his mouth with a tissue.
Tyson's attention diverts to the lovely night around them. The twinkling Burj Khalifa in the distance. They were supposed to leave tonight. Return to normal life at campus tomorrow. He'd told his friends he'd be attending class on Monday. He has to text them and let them know he won't be. Not till Tuesday. What reason could he give them? Kai's jet broke down. We ran out of gas. They will ask questions. What did he do here? With Kai. How was the trip? They will ask. They will ask. What will he tell them?
Kai gets up from the table. He calls for the staff to clear the dishes away. Tyson stands with his tea and brings it with him to the balustrade. Kai takes a seat on the cushions lining the edge of the balcony, sliding his phone out of his pocket.
Tyson watches him for a moment. The breeze in his hair. The line of his collar. Then joins him a minute later, after the staff have left. He sinks into the quilt beside him, one leg folded on the seat, facing Kai.
He deliberately sets the tea on his jean clad thigh to drive his attention away from his phone and towards Tyson himself.
Kai lowers his device and regards him, placing his forearm on the railing beside Tyson's frame. There's a ghost of a smile teasing at the corner of his mouth.
Tyson wants to kiss it.
He unknowingly presses the bottom of the cup further into Kai's lap instead. "You know," he begins, wanting to pout. "I missed you."
Kai sucks in his lips as he watches him, to hide a smile that was going to burst out.
Tyson gazes at him, wanting to kiss him. Kai slides a hand up his nape, and pulls him in to do just that.
He's lost in the bliss of it for a moment. Kai coaxing his mouth open and doing that thing he does with his chin. It makes him melt. Then he remembers where they are, and gently pushes him away with a chuckle. He looks over his shoulder pointedly, at the open air around them when Kai's eyes meet his.
He sits back promptly, reluctance in his expression.
"What are we going to do?" asks Tyson with a small laugh, bringing a hand to his own lips. The thought sobers him up and his grin fades. "When we go back, are we going to keep this a secret like we did the last time?" It makes him sad. "I don't want to. I want to come up to you and talk to you in hallways. I want to hold your hand. I want to kiss you." It was a struggle to not do so when he wasn't in love with him back then. It will be torture if he has to pretend he doesn't know Kai when they get back now. After being able to be with him so freely and constantly for days. He's used to Kai being around now. He doesn't know how he will be able to go to separate classes from Kai and stay in separate rooms and sleep in separate beds and pretend they don't know each other in the hallways and in the cafeteria and on campus grounds. And watch other people flirt with Kai and not do anything about it. The thought of it makes him almost mad. No. He is mad. He can't do that. He won't do that. That is literal torture.
He hears Kai tapping on the railing next to him. His expression's thoughtful. "We can date publicly if you want," he says after a minute. "But Tyson" he turns to look at him. "You have to be perfectly aware of all the things that will happen if we do that. Our campus is kind, but not that kind. They'll back off from me and they may not approach you when I'm around, but I can't promise you they won't get to you when my back is turned. I can't protect you, Tyson. If we come out, the damage that I will sustain is minimum, but you have your future at stake here. If the campus knows, recruiters will find out, you won't get a placement. Your life will be hell for the remaining time in college. I leave next year. I'm doing the abroad programme. You will be here alone. You may have your friends, but it won't be enough. You will be throwing your entire life away for a few moments of happiness with me. Is that what you want?"
Tyson sits quietly. No. No, he doesn't want that either. Seeing Kai at Uni and not being able to go near him will be torture, but he won't lose anything because of that. On the other hand, if he were to come out, he could lose a lot. He's brave, but not brave enough to watch his entire life go up in flames.
Kai touches his shoulder. Tyson bites his own upper lip. Nodding understandingly. "No. I know" He looks down at the cup in his hand and nods again. He frowns. "I was...just wishing for a second. That things could be different." He takes a deep breath. Kai rubs his arm. Comforting him. He looks up at the starry sky. "It would suck. Like hell. We can keep this a secret for now. And when we're stronger..." he glances at Kai. Kai smooths a thumb along Tyson's cheek. "We could come out."
His thumb rubs slow, gentle, circles into his flesh. Tyson leans into his touch. "I have to tell Hilary though. I have to tell her the truth." The prospect of confessing to her scares him. "She'll be mad. She was in love with you."
Kai looks pensive. "If your fourteen-year long friendship means anything to her," he says, "she'll forgive you sooner than you think.
Tyson nods. "I know" Another thought strikes him. "What happened that day?" he asks, righting his head. "Why did you suddenly get mad when you found out I told my friends?"
Kai's hand falls away as he leans back against the cushions, looking into the balcony. "I got mad because that was information about me that spread without my consent."
Tyson frowns. "Spread? It was just my friends. Just two of them I trusted with my life."
"That didn't matter. You acted on your own. You did something without letting me know beforehand. It was a piece of information that could have potentially had dangerous consequences." Tyson opens his mouth to protest. Kai touches a finger under his chin to shush him and let him explain. "It would have leaked without my knowledge. You took the control of the situation away from me, and I got pissed about that."
Tyson sighs. Thinking. "Because you're a control freak?"
Kai nods, his tired eyes on Tyson.
"You didn't keep it a secret like I told you to. You didn't listen. But you never listened anyway." He smiles, and it's almost fond. He gives Tyson a pat on his back. "It's why I like you."
"Oh?" Tyson sits closer, interest piqued. He cradles the tea in his hands. "Is that why you like me? Because I don't think you're lord almighty and worship the floor you walk on?"
Kai's grin grows. His teeth showing. He caresses his thumb down Tyson's cheek once. "No"
"No? Was it the small dick insults then?"
"Oh yeah" Kai nods. "Definitely that."
Tyson laughs, leaning into Kai's space. Kai watches him, biting his lip as though he's holding himself back from kissing him.
Then his gaze grows serious, and Tyson's smile shrinks. Kai looks down at the tea Tyson's still balancing on his leg. It's going to go cold. Tyson picks it up and takes small sips. The drink is lukewarm.
"I like you because you're not afraid to stand up for the things that matter to you. The small dick rumour started because you stood up for me once - regardless of how it backfired on you," he halts when he sees the surprise on Tyson's face. "Hilary told me," he explains. "You defended me because you won't let another person be reduced to their body parts in front of you. That's a very admirable trait," he says, gazing at Tyson, whose chest warms.
He takes the tea off Kai's lap. "Can we go inside?" he asks softly.
Kai nods. Standing up. Tyson follows, leaving the cup on the seat.
When they're back inside, Tyson closes the door and draws the drapes to cover them from view. Once away from prying eyes, he reaches for him at the same time Kai does.
