Chapter 20

"Lift your hips … higher … that's it … try to move … faster … like this … that's it, Red."

"Kai … I'm …"

Tala jerked up, his blue eyes wide open, breathing heavily.

"You alright?" Kai asked in a low voice behind him. Slowly the redhead recognized the wooden hut and its pathetic furnishing in the dim light of the daybreak. "You made such cute little noises in your dream; I couldn't help it."

"What?" Tala asked not knowing what the other was talking about, but when he shifted a little to look at Kai, he felt something hard. A fake excusing smile on the other's face, the crimson eyes glistered with mischief.

"Slept well?" the dual-haired teen asked innocently.

"What time is it?" Tala asked back, ignoring the hardness in his pants.

"Dunno. Early morning." After a moment of silence Kai continued, "Need a hand?"

"What?"

"I could jerk you off," he whispered into Tala's ear, "or suck you off. If you prefer it that way."

The redhead took a deep breath to calm down, then he replied sarcastically, "Thanks, but I don't need your help. Believe it or not, but I'm totally capable to do it myself." His heart beat so fast that he was sure Kai could hear it but said only sighed in defeat.

"Sure." There was so much sadness in this one word that the redhead almost regretted his harsh reply but the crimson eyes were still sparkling playfully. Tala turned around fully, which wasn't so easy in the small bedroll, until he was breast to breast with Kai. Before he could crawl out, the younger grabbed his neck and pressed their lips together. Perplexed, Tala opened his mouth to protest, but Kai used the opportunity shamelessly to slip his tongue into the other's hot cavern, exploring it with great passion. A frisson of excitement ran down Tala's spine. Without any resistance Kai deepened the kiss until they went out of breath and he had to pull back. Both sucked in the fresh air like a marathon runner after his run. Silently, as if nothing had happened, the redhead continued his earlier intention and this time Kai didn't stop him from crawling out of the bedroll. Avoiding looking at the younger teen, he walked up to his backpack.

Kai had anticipated a furious reaction, even a punch in the face, but not the silence he faced now. For the first time he didn't know what to say, so he freed himself from the bedroll as well and began to wrap it. While he collected their belongings, Tala prepared a meager breakfast. The silence continued during their meal.

"Kai," the redhead said suddenly, after thinking everything through again and again, "if you tell anyone about this, I'll kill you. This isn't a joke, I really mean it." He sounded dead serious.

"You mean the kiss?" The teenager sounded unimpressed.

"The kiss, the night, everything."

Seconds passed while crimson eyes looked into blue eyes, searching for anything that could hint at the owner's thoughts. Not breaking the eye contact, Kai replied, "If it is so essential to you. Who should I talk about it anyway?"

To clarify the subject's end Tala changed the topic. "Let's go. The snowfall isn't that thick anymore and the wind almost stopped completely."

The way to the nearest village took longer than they had expected due to several times of losing the way. It was almost totally dark when they saw the welcoming lights of the few houses at the foot of the mountain.

"Hey, Tala!" Kai said loud enough to hear for the other who was some meters ahead. In the last hours the wind had freshened again and the snowfall had increased once more. The redhead stopped and waited for the other to catch up.

"What?" he asked annoyed. "We are almost at the bottom."

Instead of an answer Kai crashed their lips together but this time Tala wasn't as surprised as in the morning. Angry, he pushed the dual-haired teen away and glared at him. If looks could kill, Kai would be dead by now. Said didn't seem to mind. Cheerful he whispered to low for Tala to understand, "I love the way you look at me, Red." One step closer and loud enough for the redhead to hear, he continued, "Don't worry. A kiss doesn't take your virginity away."

"My …" Tala wanted to reply but was silenced by Kai's right index finger on his lips. Only then the red-haired teen realized their proximity. 'When did he come so close?' He felt warm breath against his ear and the next words made him shiver.

"If I really wanted to fuck you, I would have done it the day we met."

Tala swallowed. 'Too close,' he thought but he wasn't able to step away. In an equally low voice he replied, "What do you want from me?"

"What are you willing to give?" Kai whispered back.

"Nothing."

"Everything." Tala assumed that Kai misunderstood him, so he wanted to correct him but before he could say anything the other continued, "I want you to answer with 'Everything'. And you will, sooner or later. I promise you." Kai stepped back out of the redhead's personal space and began to walk in the direction of the lights, leaving behind a baffled looking Tala.

"You can wait until you die!" the redhead screamed after him before he followed.

The village was small. Only a few houses, a little shop where the people could provide themselves with necessaries in case of an emergency and a shady boardinghouse at the edge of the village. The latter one was their destination. It was a miracle to Tala why those people lived in such a place. In the past, when the mines were still active, it had to be a somewhat lively place but the mining stopped years ago and many people moved away. Why did some of them stay, Tala asked himself since the first time he passed the village. Every time they went to train in the mountains the secluded village was their starting point. There was a bus from the nearest city that drove there one time a day. Although they took the bus each time, he had neither stayed in the village overnight, entered the shop nor talked to one of the residents. It reminded him of a movie he had watched not too long ago. A horror movie.

Kai knocked at the door of the boardinghouse. Nothing happened. He knocked again and said, "We are looking for a room for the night." When nobody opened he added, "I know, Misses, that you are standing behind that door and considering the two punk-like looking guys in front of that door I understand your hesitation. But at least one of those guys is a rich spoiled kid who's willing to pay a lot for just a simple bed." A smile sneaked onto Tala's face listening to Kai talking to a closed door. Finally, the door was unlocked and stood ajar. Before the old woman could close it again, Kai waved 15 000 ruble in front of her face. She took the money and opened the door fully. They entered a dark vestibule that was also used as a reception somewhere in the past. The woman eyed them and acted a bit oddly.

"I'm not used to customers at a time like this. What are you doing here?" She spoke to Kai since he was the one who gave her the money.

"We were surprised by the storm yesterday and had to take shelter in a hut in the mountains. And now, we ended up here," Kai replied. This wasn't an answer to her question, but he assumed that she just asked out of curiosity.

The old woman shrugged. It was none of her business anyway and from the look of the house she needed every guest who was willing to pay for a room. "Please, follow me. Your room is on the first floor. The heating is still off so it might be a bit cold in it at the beginning but when you turn it on maximum it will get warm soon. A good heating is Alpha and Omega in a place like this. And, you have to put clean sheets on the bed yourself." The stairs cracked dangerously under their feet while they went upstairs. The owner stopped in front of a wardrobe, fetched a fresh bed sheet, duvet cover and pillowcase and handed everything to Kai. When the woman closed the wardrobe Tala harrumphed shyly.

"My bedding?"

"There's only one bed in the room. You have to share it," the woman explained while they walked up to a door on the left side.

"What about a second room?" Tala asked hopefully. "This is a boardinghouse, so there have to be more than one room, right."

"Well," the old woman beat around the bush, "as I mentioned before. I'm not prepared for any guests at this time of the year, so all the other rooms are used for … other doings."

"No," Tala said silently, more to himself than to the others. He could feel crimson eyes on his back and without looking he knew Kai was smirking.

"This is your room. Please, don't smoke or use any other kind of open fire."

"Don't worry. We are not planning to set your house on fire," Kai replied politely.

"I'll leave you alone now. If you need anything, I'm below." She left the two teens alone in their room for the night.

Tala sighed in defeat. "Jeez, it's cold in here." He turned on the heating on maximum like the woman had suggested. Kai put the clean sheets on the bed. It was bigger than he had expected and looked very comfortable. After sleeping on a cold floor for two days, every bed would look great.

'I could sleep in my bedroll on the floor or share this comfortable looking bed with Kai. What should I do? Sharing a bed with Kai just after what he said earlier, this would be ridiculous.' A pillow hit him in the face and brought him back from his thoughts. "What?!" Kai had finished his task and was examining him.

"Don't worry. I'm tired as hell and won't molest you tonight. It's safe to share. As safe as it can be." When Tala didn't react, he continued, "I'm going to take a shower. There must be one on the floor or at least a toilet with a sink." The door shut behind him, leaving Tala alone in their room. He didn't know what to do next. The room was almost empty, just the bed and a cupboard. To shower was a good idea. He reeked of sweat after days without the opportunity to wash himself. 'I hope Kai found a shower or even a bathtub. A hot bath would be great now,' he thought while waiting for the other to return. His thoughts wandered off to the morning and the previous night, to the dream he had. 'Was it really a dream? A dream about Kai? And me? It felt so real. Maybe he did something to me while I was asleep. He promised me not to, but can I really trust him? What we did, what I did, felt right. Was the me in my dream more sincere as the me living in the here and now? Who am I?' Again, he got hit by something fluffy in the face, a bath towel. Kai stood in the doorway, hair still wet and totally naked. For a moment Tala just stared at him, then he noticed that the other had said something. "What did you say?" Was this the body he felt in his dream? It was definitely the body that pressed against him this morning.

"I know I look gorgeous, honey, but don't forget to breathe." Tala blushed slightly which made it even worse. Thankfully, Kai seemed to be tired of mocking him and just said, "There's a shower. It's the last door on the right side."

Tala picked up the bath towel from the floor and headed out of the room in said direction. Head down, so that Kai couldn't look into his eyes and see his hidden thoughts. Who knows what these crimson eyes are capable of?

The bathroom was tiny like everything in the house but it was clean and smelled of fresh lemons. He showered extensively, washed all the sweat away. 'It's a shame that one can't wash away all the bothering thoughts in the head like this sweat. I wish I'd never agreed to this training trip.' And again, his thoughts drifted back to the person he wanted to think about the least. 'Kai, do you think I fall for you by running around naked, showing off your perfect abs, your well-trained body … no Tala! Don't think about him. This is his goal: he wants you to think about him all the time.' After the redhead stepped out of the shower and dried himself, he had to chuckle softly. 'Tala, you are so stupid. Forgetting the fresh clothes. At least a pair of boxer shorts … ha. Maybe that's what happened to Kai as well. But he could have used the towel to cover his genitals, at least. Instead, he … left it here for me to step on.' Tala sighed in defeat. 'I'm unable to make head nor tail of him.'

He swung the towel around his hips and went back to their room, prepared for any snide comment that could come, but Kai was already sleeping in the bed. He slept on the right side, leaving enough space for the other. Tala silently went to his backpack and fished out the boxer shorts. As noiselessly as he could he changed into it and crawled onto the bed. The bed itself was big enough for the two of them but the blanket and pillow weren't. He bedded his head on his arm and snatched a corner of the duvet from Kai to cover at least his lower body with it. Within a minute he was fast asleep.

Tala opened his eyes and found himself embraced by strong arms. Kai nuzzled a "Good morning" against his neck. He must have changed his position during the night since he was now lying on the left side of the bed, hugging Tala from behind and covering their bodies with the blanket. The pillow, lost and forgotten, stayed on the place where the teen's head had rested earlier. Annoyed by their proximity the redhead got out of bed in a hurry and glared at the other.

"Hey, I didn't do it intentionally," Kai argued. "It happened out of habit."

"I know," Tala replied unnerved. He didn't want to deepen the topic, but Kai didn't want to let him go so easily. He left the bed as well, presenting his naked body in the sun's rays of light.

"See, I'm not even hard." To avoid looking down at Kai's manhood Tala's eyes wandered off to the little window. The sun was shining brightly, long forgotten was the storm of the last two days. He sensed the crimson-eyed teen more than hearing him approach since Kai moved totally soundless. "Look at me, Tala." The redhead's gaze shifted back to the speaker's face. "My dick is down there, not in my face." Tala's eyes remained on the other's face, searching for anything that could provide a hint to the answer of Kai's behavior. There was nothing but amusement in those crimson orbs. "Yesterday you didn't have any problems looking at me." Now, the amusement was even audible in his voice. Surprisingly, he didn't go further this time; instead he walked up to his backpack and extracted some clothes from it: a pair of black leather pants and a tight fitting black top. Out of the corner of his eyes Tala watched Kai putting on the clothes. He noticed that he didn't put on any underwear.

"Do you have a date or why do you dress up like this?" Tala asked jokingly but his voice sounded rather serious than amused.

"Yes. Jealous?" When no reply came Kai turned around to look at the redhead. Within a second the expression on Tala's face went blank, but Kai would bet that he saw something like a little shock in the blue eyes. "Although we missed the bus to the city, I don't plan to stay for another night."

"What?" Tala interrupted him. "We missed the bus? … What time is it?" There was no clock in the room.

"Somewhat past eleven," Kai replied calmly. "Don't worry. We just ask somebody from the village's residents to drive us."

"Is this the reason that you … wear this?" Tala asked a bit embarrassed.

Surprised by the question Kai didn't answer immediately. Then, he laughed. "Well, I wouldn't mind seducing someone to get what I want but I intend to use money this time."

"Oh."

"You haven't answered my question yet. Are you jealous?"

"No!" The reply came too fast to be honest but Kai let it pass again.

"I've booked us a flight back to Moscow for this evening," he explained uncalled, "and I intend to spend the rest of the night with a willing body."

Since Tala didn't know what to say he kept silent. 'Am I jealous?' he asked himself. 'No, it can't be. I'm just confused.' Deep in thought he didn't notice that Kai walked up to him again and was now standing right before him.

"Kiss me, Tala," he challenged him huskily.

"No," the redhead said promptly but it sounded half-heartedly.

"Are you scared that we could end up wallowing in the sheets?"

"Considering the bulge in your pants that could happen."

Kai looked down at his crotch and grinned mischievously. When their eyes met again he was still grinning. "Don't worry, I can suppress my needs. Kiss me," he added throaty. Tala hesitated for a brief moment. "Come on. Making me all hot first and then …"

"I didn't do anything!" Tala interrupted sharply.

"So being jealous of some guy is nothing?"

"I said, I am not jealous! Fuck whoever you want to fuck. I don't care." The last part came out as a whisper.

"There's no need to be jealous," Kai whispered back. "No matter who I fuck, you are the one in my mind, Red."

"Red?" Tala repeated confused and blushed slightly, which didn't go unnoticed by Kai, of course. Said stepped back, examining the other from head to toe.

"Don't like to be called this?" he replied while he thought, 'What do you now about the night before last?'

"No, it's not like this. I was just surprised."

"You should better adapt to it. I'd love to call you this when you come." Although his tone was provoking he didn't take his eyes of Tala, waiting for any revealing action, but Tala's expression was blank once more.

"Kai, I'm not interested in any kind of intercourse with you." The redhead's voice was steady but the determination didn't reach his blue eyes.

"And I say, I don't care," Kai replied irritated. After a while he added a bit more forgivingly, "We're not making any headway. I let you off this time."

"Ha, don't let it sound so tragic … Did you plan to have sex with me during the trip?"

"Yes and no. Man, you are toughie." The dual-haired teen sighed audibly.

"There can only be a yes or a no. What is it?" Tala's voice sounded genuinely interested, neither angry nor accusatory.

"I'd hoped you'd be more open. I'd never intended to force you or even rape you, or anything like that." More cheerful he added, "Well, the kiss was good, though I shouldn't complain."

"Two. Two kisses," Tala corrected him.

"The second doesn't count, it wasn't a real kiss."

"Hn, if you see it like this," the redhead began ironically, "and here I thought all good things come by threes."

"Don't tempt me, Tala," Kai warned his opponent. "I'm still unsatisfied. Before I lose myself we should get going instead."

Tala nodded in agreement. They stripped the bed, cleaned the room as good as they could and collected their belongings. They met the owner in the kitchen where she was cooking while a man in his mid-twenties studied a newspaper at the table. "Thanks for the room," Kai said to the young man who didn't look up but nodded as a sign that he had heard him.

"Who is this, Kai?" Tala asked quietly.

"I assume he is the grandson," he answered without dropping his voice. "The boardinghouse closed a long time ago, that's why you couldn't have a second room."

"You are right," the old woman said. "The room you slept in is the room of my grandson here. He lives in the city though he doesn't stay here often," she explained to the surprised looking Tala. "Seems like your friend didn't tell you anything of this. He came down here yesterday, shortly after I left you alone, requesting bath towels and asked me if I have a grandson or son who stays here occasionally. He then asked me to call him because you would most probably miss the bus that drives to the city. My grandson will drive you, so don't worry. He really didn't tell you anything of this?" She gave Kai a blaming look before she continued, "We'll eat and then he'll drive you back." Her grandson nodded again in agreement. "Please, sit down and eat with us. It's nothing special but you two look hungry enough." She chuckled softly.

"Thanks," Kai and Tala said in unison although the redhead gave the other an evil eye before they sat down.

'Why didn't you tell me all this, Kai? You fucking bastard.'

"You know what," the dual-haired teenager whispered suddenly, "from yesterday to now you haven't mentioned Beyblade with even one word."