When Two Worlds Collide

Tyson's pretty brown eyes gaze up at him. Soulful. Ethereal.

Sometimes, Kai's tempted to stare into their shimmering depths for hours on end. Enchanted. Allured. He couldn't be distracted if he didn't want to be. Not if it didn't have anything to do with Tyson.

Not if it weren't his mouth. His rosy lips. Their shape and texture and contour of such a quality they make Kai want to kiss them with more than just his own lips. More than just his own cock. His dainty jaw. The slope of it so delicate it he could cradle it and be hit by a vague feeling of precariousness. Like he was standing on a cliff's edge. One wrong move and it would all be gone. His neck. Tawny, swan-like, begging for a hand, a bite. The dip of his throat. At the back of his mouth. Wet. Silk-like. He wonders how it would feel to slip his cock past his tongue.

Kai wakes with a tent in his pants. Spotting the fabric with his own lust like he'd never seen a pretty face before. He throws the covers off his body and reaches for the glass of water on the nightstand, along with the metal box of cigarettes.

He lights one up and holds the smoke in his lungs for a moment, waiting for the images behind his eyelids to disappear. They recede one by one, fading away to the back of his mind to come assault him another night, till there's nothing left but darkness in his vision.

He releases his breath then. The tension leaking out of him with it. His chest growing lighter. His skin cooling. He glances at the screen of his phone laid on the nightstand when it lights up with a new notification.

Tgranger posted on Instagram. Check out his latest post!

The time at the top of the screen reads 02:56. Why is Tgranger up right now?

Kai slides the cigarette out of his lips to pick up the phone and give Granger a call when another text message arrives, replacing the IG notification at the top.

02:57 Valkov: I have news of suspicious activity around the perimeter.

He grabs the phone and stands, dialing Yuriy first.

"Can you believe these mudaks? Somebody just tried to sneak in," his words get cut off by a disbelieving chuckle. "Sergei was on the patrol too. He says it was some loser from Denki." The Horsemen attend the Denki university. Kai hears Tala dissolve into another laugh. "What did they think they were going to find there? Our books? Were they coming to steal our books? Were they looking to lick the muck off the ropes? These fuckheads are so stupid I can't take them seriously," his voice compresses at the end of the sentence as he tries to hold back another chuckle.

Kai moves the curtain out of the way to look out the window. The roads along the edge of the campus lie still, yellow streetlights lining them glowing brightly. Directly opposite the window Kai is staring out, beyond a straight road leading out to the city, lies a squat building. Two storeyed and out of use, the building used be a part of faculty housing, which was later abandoned due to plumbing issues and then turned into a secret hideout for dropouts and stoners. Dean Valkov put an end to that when she joined the university two years ago and began a crackdown on the use of narcotics. The building is now abandoned, save for the three guards circling around the area at the moment to make sure nobody goes inside it and interferes with the tournament that is starting tomorrow, which will be held in the basement of the deserted building.

"Where did you find him?" asks Kai, following the shadow lurking around the eastern corner of the fencing.

"He was trying to scale the west wall." The west wall is shadowed. A belt of trees lie on the left side of the property. Street lights don't reach that area.

"He wasn't there to steal anything. Did you search him for explosives?"

"Yep, we did. He got nothing on him except his phone. No wallet either."

That however doesn't mean he's not carrying anything inside of him. "Where is he right now?" asks Kai.

"Fucktard is with Sergei. We're going to make him talk. He looks wet behind the ears."

"Strip him first. May be feel around a bit."

Tala goes quiet for a moment, then he asks, "You think he swallowed a bomb?"

"Could have," Kai says, and listens to Yuriy shout orders to someone else in the room to get the kid naked. He speaks again once he comes back to the phone. "Extract whatever information you can out of him, then let him go," he says. "Don't leave any marks."

"Won't need to. He'll spill on the first try."

Kai draws the phone away from his ear as Tala chuckles, ending the call. Tyson's insta post catches his attention. He taps on the notification and the app opens. It's a picture. A selfie. Tyson lying on the bed in a yellow sleeveless top. Only visible from the chest up. His face and a part of his arm he's using as a pillow in the frame. He smiles lightly, looking into the camera. Kai hovers over the post, his Adam's apple bobbing as he gulps.

He's indecisive for a moment, as the initial effect of the post passes through him, then he calls Tyson, leaning against the wall, facing the dark bedroom.

He answers a single ring in, a tail end of a gasp traveling over the lines to reach Kai's ear.

"Kai?" Tyson speaks first, whispering.

"You an insomniac now?" asks Kai, feeling a thrill settle somewhere in his gut at the sound of Tyson's voice.

"What? No, no. I was completing my assignments. Gotta submit a couple tomorrow."

"What a diligent student you are," drawls Kai. "I never knew."

Tyson gives a sheepish laugh. "I'm not. I'm really not."

"Hmm" Kai hums, shifting his feet on the floor. Then he says, "Your grades don't show any different."

Tyson makes a tiny sound of indignation. "Oh, fuck you. Did you call me in the middle of the night just to insult me?"

Kai's smile shortens into a thoughtful line. "No" No. He called because a side of his bed is cold and the blanket feels too big. "I called to ask you if you'd be free to meet me in café Contigo tomorrow morning at ten."

"Why, why, is it a date?" Tyson teases. Kai can almost hear the wag of his eyebrows.

Kai lets a low chuckle escape him. "Dean Valkov is making me do it."

"Oh" Tyson's tone deflates. "That stupid love exercise thing."

Stupid? "You know, Tyson," Kai starts.

"What?"

"For someone who said he couldn't bear to not see me on campus all the time you're doing an awfully good job of pretending like you don't want to."

There's a lull. Then Tyson says, "Don't be a jerk. I miss you. Do you need me to tell you I miss you every five minutes?"

His choice of words tick something off in Kai. "I don't need you to tell me anything, Tyson," he says, his voice dropping an octave.

"O…kay?" says Tyson, confusion colouring his tone.

Kai rolls his eyes, snorting. "Tyson fucking Granger" He pulls the phone away from his ear.

"What? What?" he hears Tyson shout from the speakers. He cuts the call, then throws his phone on the bed, on his way to the bathroom to take a cold shower.

When the door closes, his phone pings with new texts.

03:07 Takao K: What did I even say?

03:07 Takao K: wait, no.

03:07 Takao K: don't go yet

Missed call from Takao K at 03:07 a.m.

03:08 Takao K: PICK UP MY CALL!

Missed call from Takao K at 03:08 a.m.

03:08 Takao K: ANSWER YOUR GOD DAMN PHONE, HIWATARI KAI!

03:10 Takao K: :(


08:45 to Takao K: Keep texting me and I will send you a dick pic

09:04 Takao K: :O

09:04 Takao K: yes please ~ *drool emoji*

09:04 to Takao K: Bring Hilary. Tala is coming with me.

09:07 Takao K: Aish, I'll try. No promises. We are not on speaking terns.

09:10 to Takao K: Trouble in paradise?

09:10 Takao K: You smug shit. Wait till I get my hands on you.

09:10 Takao K: I told her about us last night. Turns out she already knew. She saw us on the bridge!

09:10 Takao K: She doesn't like me much right now, but she still loves me so...

09:11 to Takao K: Disgusting

09:11 Takao K: I will see you in 45 -_- -_-

09:12 to Takao K: Make sure to bring Hilary

09:15 Takao K: Argh, I texted her and she hasn't even replied! I told you she was mad at me.

09:20 Takao K: Kai?

09:20 Takao K: It's really not up to me.

09:25 Takao K: I don't think she'll come. Sry :(((

09:30 to Takao K: She'll be there

09:30 Takao K: wait what?

09:31 Takao K: how?


"I was thinking of hanging with Em, Mike and Rei later," says Tyson, sitting sideways at his table, one foot up on the chair. A bowl of cereal before him. "You know, sort of like a...sleepover."

"In our room?" asks Max, puppy eyes wide. "Are you kicking me out?"

"You're invited, doofus," he says, leaning over to grab a bite of his cereal. "In fac'" he speaks around a mouthful of fruit loops. "You're the host. I'm planning on coming out to them so I could use your moral support."

"Wait" Max straightens on his bed. "Why all of a sudden?"

Tyson shrugs, chewing. "I'm tired of lying to you guys. No matter the consequences, I'm not going to lie to any of you anymore." It's a Saturday. A whole day off. Tyson's planning on telling as many of his friends as he can by the end of the day. His conversation with Hilary last night is giving him the confidence to do what needs to be done. He's not worried, because he knows he has Hilary by his side now, and somehow, that's all the reassurance and support he needs to come out to other important people in his life. A blissful warmth sits inside of him, solid, comforting. Security.

"Did you tell someone else?" Max asks, catching onto something in Tyson's words.

Tyson nods, a grin begging to break free on his face. "Hilary," he says.

Max's eyebrows shoot up into his hair. "Really? That's what you two talked about last night?"

The grin appears on his face. Eyes crinkling. He nods. "Yeah!" He heart hops a little in his chest. "She's mad as hell, but she already knew. She saw us kissing and she didn't say anything about it because she was waiting for me to tell her first. I was so shocked."

"I'm shocked too," Max murmurs, eyes huge and gobsmacked.

Tyson clutches the spoon in his hand like a weapon, too excited for his own good. "She's not mad because I'm dating a guy," he rushes to add. "She's mad because I didn't trust her, and also because I'm a hypocrite. But she's more mad about the fact that I lied to her so it's fine."

"It is?"

"It is. Everything is fine, Max," he stands to announce emphatically.

His friend stares at him for a minute as he stands there grinning from ear to ear. "You really were worried, weren't you?" he asks him in a soft murmur.

"You have no idea," Tyson sits back down, dipping his spoon into the bowl to scoop up some milk. He sips at the strawberry flavoured milk and hums. "I'm meeting her in like fifteen minutes." He checks the time on his phone to make sure. "Yep" He hurries to finish his breakfast.

"So...tonight?" Max circles back to what they were originally talking about.

"Mike, Rei and Em." He tips the bowl to his mouth, drinking the leftovers. "Gotta buy snacks and drinks in the evening," he says, setting the bowl back down on the table with a thump. Milk lines his upper lip. "I'll pay for this one since it's my treat, but you will come with me."

"Have you texted them yet?" Max asks flatly.

"Yep" Tyson nods, getting up. "I texted them as soon as I woke up. Couldn't wait any longer."

"They're all coming?"

"Of course" He pats his pants for his wallet and keys. All set. He grabs his phone from where it's plugged in.

"Snack purchase at four okay?" Max calls after him as he pulls the door open.

"Yep!"


He recalls that his goldfishes are still with Brooklyn when he steps out of his room and is confronted by the door right before theirs. "Shit" he curses softly. He'll have to come get the goldfishes after he gets back from the cafe. He wonders why Kai hasn't asked after them yet.

They're his too. Heartless motherfucker. He'd make a terrible parent.

Tyson stomps his way into the cafe and freezes when he enters. Wait a damn minute. All of his friends are here. Michael, Rick and Eddie sit at a booth together, and Hilary and Emily occupy another all by themselves. Why are they all here? Tyson takes a deep breath. It's possible the Americans are here by coincidence, and Hilary probably asked Emily to join her (or may be it was the other way around) so she wouldn't feel awkward sitting at the same table with her bestfriend that she's not currently talking to and his boyfriend whom she used to like, while also being forced to have a semi-polite conversation with another guy she really never liked.

He clears his throat and makes his way over to his girlfriends who are talking over a pair of equally explosive-looking milkshakes.

"I want one of those too," he says, sliding into the seat opposite theirs as casually as possible.

Hilary pointedly avoids eye contact, glaring holes into her drink that she's sipping through a straw. God, she's really pissed about this situation, isn't she? Emily stares into Tyson's soul, her gaze ripping straight through him.

"Okay" he says to himself, shifting uncomfortably. He checks the time on his watch discreetly under the table and waves the waitress over. It's five to ten.

"You didn't think I'd leave Hilary to suffer all by herself, did you?" hisses Emily when the waitress takes his order and strides away.

Tyson glances up, stricken. "Why are you making it sound like as if I'm somehow responsible for this?"

"Are you stupid or just plain rude?" berates Emily, slightly leaning over the table. Tyson grits his teeth. "This meeting wouldn't have been half as awkward as it's going to be if you hadn't been a wuss and lied to my girlfriend for months straight. I understand that it's hard to come out," she says, hunching forward a bit more and dropping her voice so others wouldn't hear, "to all of your friends when you're still figuring things out for yourself, but Hilary," she jabs her finger in her direction, "she is your bestfriend, you dumb fuck. She has stood by your side almost from the moment you came out of your mother's womb. The least you could do was to be honest with her."

Tyson exhales. "Listen-"

"No, you listen! How dare you act like a saint and pretend this" she gestures wildly to their current predicament - the palpable air of tension and awkwardness between them, "isn't your fault when you," she punctuates by poking him in the chest multiple times, "are dating an asshole you warned her away from."

"Emily" Hilary intervenes, pulling her back into her seat. "You are causing a scene."

Emily immediately leans back and looks around the cafe, fixing her hair. Then she focuses back on Tyson with a calmer gaze.

"He's not an asshole," says Tyson, holding her stare. "I was wrong. And scared. I didn't know what to do when I started to like him. You've no idea how terrible I felt all these months I was keeping it a secret from Hilary." He looks at Hilary briefly. She doesn't return it, staring down at her drink. He presses his lips together. "I'm sorry I was such a coward," he whispers to her, then shifts his gaze to Emily. "But I'm not sorry that I like him."

Hilary glances up at him at the same time a smirk drags itself across Emily's face. She's about to say something when a hand lands on Tyson's shoulder and shadows fall over the table.

"Scoot over" a deep voice says. He looks up and sees Kai. "Scooch" he gestures with his chin. Tala's with him, looking grumpy and shabby.

Tyson lags for a second, then shuffles toward the corner, catching a whiff of cologne when Kai sits down next to him.

"Hola" Tala drawls drily to the girls as he occupies the seat right beside Kai. "Como estas?"

"Bien" Emily replies, her and Hilary's cheeks pulling in stiff grins. The Blitzkriegs return equally forced ones, Kai's close-mouthed and sharper, Tala's a little wolfish.

"So how are we doing this?" asks Emily, her hands gesturing in that way they do when she's all business. "Do we have to film it...or document it in some type of way?"

"The CCTV will do the work for us," answers Kai. "We just have to sit and chat."

"For how long?"

"Fifteen minutes"

"Should be peachy," mutters Tala, shifting restlessly in his seat already.

Kai glances at Tyson then, who colours hotly in an instant. "You're quiet" he says to him in a murmur low enough for everyone at the table to understand it's meant for only him while also being loud enough for them to hear.

"Hm?" He looks up to meet Kai's gaze, feeling his entire being catch on fire as the girls' attentions zero in on him.

Kai notices the flush on his face and tuts softly, his gaze dropping to his mouth for a second. Tyson's cheeks grow even hotter. He didn't even know that was possible. "What do you want to drink?" Kai asks, his voice velvety.

"I've-" Tyson closes his eyes briefly to gather himself. "I've already ordered mine," he says. Thankfully his voice comes out steady, though still whisper soft.

Kai's eyebrows arch. The waitress arrives at their table with his drink at that same moment. Their heads swing her way and Tyson exhales as Kai's attention diverts to her too. Thank god, if he had looked at him for a second longer Tyson would have turned into ashes.

"One caramel choco chip cookie latte," the waitress says as she places the drink in the center of the table.

"Ew, what the fuck is that?" Tala comments. "That looks disgusting."

"Thank you" Tyson reaches across the table to wrap his hands around the drink. Kai briefly follows his movement before the waitress asks a question and saves him again, "What would you boys like?"

Tyson meets the girls' eyes while the other two are ordering their drinks. Hilary looks at him with a strange light in her irises while Emily looks like she's holding back a joke for the sake of being polite. Neither looks angry anymore however, may be even slightly interested.

He relaxes, slanting his mouth to the straw. He feels Kai's knee nudge his and ignores it, deciding that it's best if they kept touching to a minimum.

"Okay" Tala intertwines his fingers on the table when the waitress struts off. "I'm sure we," he says, referring to himself and Kai, "don't have anything in common with you," he points at Emily and Hilary with an open hand, pointedly ignoring Tyson's existence. "So let's just do what any group of smart people would do in this kind of situation and play a game where we get to know each other."

"That's basically what we're here to do, genius," Hilary sasses him.

"She talks" he retorts immediately, widening his eyes. Hilary narrows hers. "You misunderstand me, cupcake. What I have in mind is a way to make this situation right here suck as less as possible. Basically, I say a word, or you say a word, and one of us has to share an experience relating to that word."

"Experience?" Emily raises a brow.

"From your life. If you have one."

Tyson sees her fist curl, but her smile doesn't fall. "Okay!" she agrees.

He sits away from Kai, more towards the window near their table, sunlight falls on his face and the rest of theirs as he shifts his drink to himself and takes a deep breath. Kai observes him for a moment, and Tyson thinks he catches him frowning out of the corner of his eye, but then he turns his head away and slides his hands into the pockets of his jacket with a quiet sigh, crossing his legs under the table.


He watches sunlight glint off the glass in his hand wondering what Kai's thinking, and misses the first word Tala says to start a conversation.

His arms are heated by the glare of the sun on them by the time he zones back into the cafe and hears Emily talking about that time she went to Australia with her parents and nearly got bitten by a shark.

"That's so cliché I feel like you're making it up," says Hilary.

"I'm not making it up," argues Emily. "This literally happened. I almost had my leg chewed off."

"Happens often enough," comments Tala, pulling on his drink through his teeth. "I'm sad it didn't happen to you."

"Haha" says Emily. "Australia was pretty fun anyway. I'm planning to go back with Michael this winter. It'll be summer in Sydney!"

"Aw I wanna go too," Hilary says excitedly. "I don't think my parents would miss me too much. They'll let me have this Christmas to myself."

Tala's deep in thought for a second, staring at a wet circle of condensation his drink had left on the table as he sips on his cold coffee with extra sugar. "You know what? I don't think my parents would miss me either. Christmas in Sydney sounds great. Kai, what do you think?" he asks, tapping on the guy's arm.

"Sydney?" Kai lifts his eyebrows. He hasn't been actively engaging in the conversation so far, broody and withdrawn.

"This year?" Tala slings an arm around his neck. "Why spend time with snakes when we could be skinny dipping with sharks instead, hm?" Tyson sees him reaching towards Kai's chest, to playfully twist a nipple. Kai knocks his hand off with ease, like it's something that happens often. A sour feeling lodges in Tyson's chest.

Hilary's gaze grows hard and resentful when it settles on Kai.

"Melbourne's a better option," he replies. "It's a beautiful city, or do you wanna go with the nerds?" Kai asks Tala, jutting his chin towards the girls. His gaze landing on Emily, whose eyes immediately narrow.

"As if you're not a huge one yourself," she shoots back. "Or do you think sleeping around compensates for all that nerdiness?"

Tyson hears a thump as Hilary shoves at Emily's foot under the table.

Tala withdraws his arm from around Kai's neck as a humorous glimmer appears in Kai's eye. "Do you have a problem with promiscuity?" he asks.

"Not promiscuity so much as homewrecking," says Emily, her teeth flashing. Tyson holds his breath as Kai's eyebrows jerk. He sees Hilary doing the same across the table. Holding her breath. Waiting for shit to hit the fan. "You seem to want everyone, Hiwatari," continues Emily. "With a penchant for people you shouldn't go after," she says with a glance at Tyson. "It makes me wonder if you're overcompensating for something. Perhaps a need for parental affection?"

Tala's eyes sharpen, frowning at her.

"Overcompensation it may be, but you haven't even scratched the surface."

"Bet you're one of the people who think that wearing your trauma around like armor somehow makes you look stronger."

"Bitch-" Tala tries to interfere. Kai holds him back with a hand.

"Your trauma doesn't give you a right to treat other people like shit," says Emily.

"Oh my god, Emily, he never treated anyone like shit, shut the fuck up!" Tyson shouts. All four at the table turn to look at him. "Shut up" he says, looking into Emily's shocked eyes when they land on him.

She blinks, hurt. Hilary squeezes her hand under the table.

Fuck. He never filled her in on what happened. It's his fault. Partially. He should have foreseen that Emily was going to be with Hilary during the meeting, and she never failed to speak her mind. She still thought Kai betrayed Hilary and then went after Tyson, when that wasn't the case.

He was planning to talk to her tonight and come clean about everything. He had no idea things were going to blow up marvelously in his face before he had a chance to make things right.

Shit. He hopes his regret for shouting at her is visible in his eyes when their gazes lock again. The air between them hangs thickly. Since the café was loud, his shout hadn't been attention grabbing enough to cause the other customers to stare at them and make it even worse.

Tala winces then. Kai doesn't look half as pissed as he expects him to. In fact, he looks entertained. Tyson will never understand his desire for fights. Hilary sighs.

"Well, that was that," says Tala, like he's winding things up. "Fifteen minutes are up." He taps Kai's arm. "It was an absolute displeasure meeting you," he mutters to Emily before he gets up.

Tyson tries to catch his lover's eye to mutter a 'sorry' before he leaves. He is able to mouth 'I'm' to him but Kai looks away too quickly for him to catch the 'sorry'.

The girls stay quiet while the Blitzkriegs are paying their bills and exiting the shop. When they're gone, Hilary puts her head in her hands with a groan. "Why can't you people ever behave like normal human beings?"

Tyson notices the Americans looking over at their table with renewed interest. So they heard the argument, alright. They were pretending for the sake of being polite. They're all eyes and ears now however.

"What the fuck, Tyson?" he hears Emily ask. When he looks at her she's glaring daggers at him.


A/N: I wanted to give y'all something since it's New Year's Eve. Happy New Year everyone! I hope you enjoyed. Mwah.