You Deserved It

He wants to apologize.

Every time Tyson turns his back it's there on the tip of his tongue. Every waking moment he's ridden with guilt. Troubled with a want - a need - to make it right. Fix whatever was broken between them, even though there had been nothing to break in the first place. They were never friends. Never had a chance for it. May be the fleeting, fledgling friendship that had glimmered between them for a moment…Kai wants it back.

It had however died the moment he raised his hand against him. Let his ego and pride get the better of him.

Truly he'd thought he was better than that.

"What's the difference between him and an opponent in the ring?" he'd asked in a moment of weakness, his mind half clouded.

"You're not in a ring," Julia had reminded him, her tone soft and reasonable. "He's not a trained professional. He's just a boy who wants to protect his friends, Kai. He's not one of the Horsemen either. He's just a boy."

He wants to apologize. But every time he looks into Tyson's eyes, those eyes that accuse him, judge him, rip him into pieces, all 'sorry's dissolve on his tongue. He could never apologize as long as Tyson was still Tyson.

He's just a boy.

He isn't. He's so much more. There's a fiercely protective dragon in Tyson that would burn anyone to keep his loved ones safe.

And Kai had the hurt someone whose life he values more than his own.

There isn't a chance in hell that he'd ever forgive him. Or even believe he's genuine.

It's pointless to apologize.

The guys are pestering Tyson, and Kai couldn't honestly care less. There are things he needs to apologize to Kai for too, starting with his nasty attitude towards him.

He doesn't even use honorifics while addressing Kai unless explicitly demanded of him. It's as if he has no regard for the fact that Kai is a whole year older than him.

Julia is attending a lecture and without her around to stop them his friends act like dogs with a bone. Tyson tries to meet his eyes, no doubt attempting to appeal to the kinder side of him and escape somehow, but Kai deftly ignores him, engaged in a text conversation with Enrique.

They're on the sprawling campus grounds, under a tree. Granger is being hazed in broad daylight.

"Give me your phone," says Tala all of a sudden, seemingly tired of tormenting him with small tasks. "Come on Granger, let's see what's in there."

"I'm not giving you my phone," says Tyson resolutely. Firmly drawing boundaries. Kai looks up from his own phone, intrigued.

"Why?" Tala smiles slyly. "What are you hiding in there?"

"Nothing. I just don't want you getting your slimy hands on it."

Tala says something but Kai misses it because Granger meets his gaze. He frowns lightly, his eyes flick up and down Kai's form then he looks away with his lips curling in disdain.

"What's that look?" asks Kai. The guys quieten.

"What look?" shoots back Tyson wearing the same expression he's talking about.

"That look"

He pauses then snorts. "You don't want to find out."

Oh. He's seemingly full of fire today. Kai is tempted to snuff it out. Reduce him to tears once more.

It's a result of the not so hostile time that they spent together yesterday.

Kai cuts him some slack for a day and Granger immediately forgets his place and starts acting brave again. What is it? A consequence of having a poor memory?

Does Kai have to remind him every single day that this is not a fight he can win?

"I'd like to find out," says Kai.

He raises a brow, then his jaw, holds it in the air as he says, "Okay. It means I'm disappointed in you."

"Because…you expect great things from me?"

"No, I expect you not to be so horrible but you somehow manage to surprise me every time."

"The nerve-" Tala starts speaking but Kai cuts him off.

"You're blaming me because you're finding it difficult to lie in the bed you've made?"

"I'm not blaming you. I'm blaming myself. I should have known what I was getting myself into. I should have known that you're not half the man I thought you were."

Kai's struck speechless. He realizes that this is not an argument that they can have out in the open.

He closes the distance between them in two strides and leans down to whisper in his ear. "And you're not half the man you think you are if you can't keep up this bravado with me in private."

He sees Tyson clench his jaw. Hears his breath become shallow. "I could cut you down to size anywhere."

"Really? Then how about we take this to an empty classroom?"

He meets his stare dead on, the brown of his eyes rich and deep.

"Look at that, you're quiet already".

"I'm not."

"But you are." He reaches around him to click the lock into place and watches Tyson take a breath. "This is where your courage dies."

"You're delusional if you think that," he fires back but his voice is an octave softer. And his gaze is guarded. Wary.

Kai pointedly looks down at Tyson's arms, crossed defensively across his chest. To protect himself. Kai tugs at it, making him drop the posture.

"Don't touch me," he warns, backing away a step.

"What is it about being in a locked room with me that terrifies you so?" asks Kai, slowly prowling forward.

Tyson's back hits the door. "I'm not afraid of you," he says, folding his arms again. Holding his chin aloft.

Kai reaches forward but stops when Tyson says, "Touch me and I will hurt you."

He's like a live wire. A cornered animal. Ready to snap at any moment.

Kai's tempted to grab him just to see what he would do. It would probably end ugly but it's hard to resist. To let his hand drop to his side.

Tyson follows the movement with his eyes and relaxes the tiniest bit.

"What's the difference," asks Kai, "between being in here with just me and out there where everyone can see, if you aren't afraid of me?"

He doesn't answer right away, quieter than earlier, but he refuses to admit to it. "Nothing. I've already told you that you're delusional if you think it matters to me whether we're out there or in here." He blinks once. "Do I have to keep repeating myself?"

It's gone now. The apprehension in his eyes. Masked by stubborn bravado. And Kai is taken back to the thought he'd had before. About this being a fight Tyson can't win because Kai can make him cry so easily.

But despite managing to reduce him to tears he's never been able to smother the fire in him. Kai realizes that as long as he can't do that he can't win either.

Tyson breaks his stare and unlocks the door. "If you have nothing more to say I have a class to get to," he says. "I can't just stand here and stare at your face all day."

Kai lets him go, despite oddly not wanting to.

"Ty, when's the Date Challenger?" Michael leans back in his chair, chewing on a crouton.

"Next week" answers Tyson, biting into his giant beef burger.

"I've been wanting to meet Crusher," he says. "I haven't seen him in a while."

They're hanging out in the coffee shop where they regularly meet. Michael, Rei, Eddie and Tyson.

"Are you coming with us?" asks Tyson.

"Yeah. I'm going to try and sneak into your bus."

He laughs. Dipping his fry into garlic sauce before adding it to his burger.

"Guys, I've been having an existential crisis lately," says Rei, head down balefully, looking stressed.

"When are you ever not having one?" comments Eddie.

"I don't know. I've been having these thoughts. Like what if I'm not on the right path? Did I choose my major wrong? Should I have gone to a college back home? I don't know." He worries his lip. "And Mariah's been kinda icing me out lately. I don't know what I did wrong."

"Sounds like there's a lot on your mind," says Mike. "You know what we should do? Go to a sauna. Sweat it out. That's always helped clear your mind before and we haven't went in a while so…"

"Yeah" says Rei in agreement. "That's probably a good idea."

Tyson munches thoughtfully on a fry. "Tala's mad I'm running all the events next week. He thought it would finally be his 'opportunity' to shine but coach gave me the green light yesterday and he's pressed about it. Gave me a hard time this morning. The prick."

"How come he gets to give you a hard time?" Michael asks intrigued, rocking back and forth precariously on the hind legs of his chair. "What are the terms of this deal between you and Kai again?"

"That his friends are allowed to harass me as long as he doesn't disapprove."

Eddie grimaces. "Jesus, having to put up with just one of them is torture. The whole gang is crazy."

Tyson shakes his head, shrugging it off. "I don't take them seriously anyway. They're all like this one big old lame joke. I couldn't give less fucks about what they try on me. If push comes to shove I'll just go to one of their parents. Take those fucking credit cards away. End of story."

Michael looks impressed. "You know we don't give you nearly enough credit for your balls."

He shrugs, haughtily. After that scare with the Land Cruiser, he doesn't feel nearly as afraid of Kai or the Blitzkriegs anymore, even though a small part of him says he should be.

He hopes this lack of fear would stay with him for a long time and helps him out of this whole mess.

He's helping Julia tonight. She's lost one of her diamond earrings and he's been searching her room fruitlessly for the past hour.

"I really appreciate you doing this, Tyson," she says for the 90th time that evening. He can tell she feels guilty for some reason. Though she doesn't have to be. She did nothing wrong. And he wants to help her. He'd rather be around her than…

He doesn't want to think about him. He punts his name and face out of his mind and continues to rummage through her closet.

"Oh I used to love this dress," Julia exclaims, picking up a gown he'd moved out of the closet while looking for her earring. "It's so gorgeous. I didn't get to wear it to nearly as enough events as I liked." She holds it up to her frame and inspects herself in the mirror. "People judge you know and our circle is small. They overlap quite a bit."

Tyson looks over his shoulder. "They all know each other? Your friends and family?"

"Yep" She wears a sad pout. "Either they all know each other or know of each other. Everyone goes to the same parties. The same events. No clique is completely isolated from the rest. You get tired of it quickly." Julia glances at him. "You should come to one of these events once. It will definitely be more fun with you there."

He snorts, shaking his head. "I couldn't. I wouldn't know anyone there."

"You would know me." She smiles at him.

"Thanks, I appreciate the offer." He smiles back at her.

Julia nods. "Think about it. Our parties are not that boring. They could even be quite exciting for someone new to the scene. You might enjoy it a lot."

"Alright, I'll think about it," he promises with a grin.

Julia puts her dress down and glances around. "I think we've looked everywhere in this room. We should probably start checking the other rooms."

"Right" He stands up, dusting his knees out of habit.

"I'll take Bryan's. You do Tala's."

"Okay"

They scour most of the house with the aid of a couple of cleaners they call every now and then as well. Julia's in the upper floors when Tyson enters Kai's room. His bedroom is the only one left. He'd put if off for as long as possible and even tried to make Julia do it but she wanted to check the second level and Tyson wasn't allowed there.

He decides to make quick work of it. He turns on all the lights in the room, till it's glowing like the sun's surface in there and searches through the drawers, the cupboards, under the bed, the quilt, the closet. He's pulling open a cabinet next to the dresser when he hears footsteps behind him.

Oh

Luck is obviously never on his side. He should have expected this. He turns around feeling as if he was caught doing something when he wasn't doing anything wrong.

"I'm helping Julia find her earring," he offers as explanation.

"She lost it?" asks Kai, standing in the doorway.

"Yes"

"What does it look like?" he asks, stepping inside the room and closing the door.

Tyson roots through his pockets for his phone and holds up the screen for him when he finds the picture. Kai walks around the bed and takes a glance at the photo.

"Have you seen it?" asks Tyson.

"No" says Kai, meeting his eyes.

Tyson pockets his phone and tries to be on his way but Kai rests a hand on the dresser, right in front of him, blocking his path.

He lets out an annoyed sigh and looks up at him. "What?"

Kai lets his fingers drop, hang by his side. Tyson licks his lips and backs a tiny step. He knows his heart is hammering in that chest. Behind his ribcage. Yet he puts on a bold face.

"Why haven't you been answering your phone?" asks Kai.

He frowns. "What are you talking about?" He pulls out his cell and takes a look at it. "Oh. I must have, accidentally, put it on silent mode."

He glances up at Kai and says, "Sorry".

Just like that.

"So you do know how to apologize," says Kai.

Tyson's brows jump. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you owe me an-"

"An apology?" He speaks over him, furious. "I owe you an apology?" He barks a laugh. "You're fucking unbelievable. You're the one who-"

"I'm the one who what? Punched you? Pushed you down a flight stairs? Oh wait that was you."

"You did punch me," hisses Tyson.

"Because you didn't apologize for doing the same thi-"

"I would rather die than apologize to you for rightfully punching you in the face," says Tyson loudly. "You deserved it. And more."

Kai tries to grab hold of his wrist but he moves it out of the way in time. "Don't you dare touch me."

"What'll you do?"

"I'll hurt you," he promises.

He takes that same wrist in his hand before he can dodge it and pulls it toward him. Tyson shoves at his chest with his free hand but Kai traps it between his fingers too.

"How will you hurt me?"

"I've done it before. I can do it again. I can do worse." He grunts, fighting in his grasp, and ends up with Kai forcing both of his hands behind him, locking him in between Kai's arms.

He breathes hard, and it must have hurt when he pushed his hands back against his strength, and it must still hurt because his eyes are wet when he meets his gaze. He's outraged. Indignant. And he can see the hatred pouring out of his entire being.

He parts his lips, pink and flushed, to speak, but nothing comes out. His warm straining body is pressed against Kai's, chest to thigh. Faint sweat glistens along his collarbones and the tendons at the base of his neck moves in tandem with his breath.

He smells like berries.

Kai is floored by the force of the sudden lust that hits him. It slams into him like a semi truck and leaves him breathless.

Tyson notices the change in the air. The way it turned from hostile to something tense but different in the blink of an eye. He thinks he's imagining it but it's hard to ignore. It's not the same as it was before.

Something had changed.

It had changed. He's sure of it and when he looks at Kai, though his gaze remains mostly the same, he notices an absence of malice in it.

Does he… does he feel it too?

His grip on him has loosened.

"Let me go." Tyson tugs at his own hand and it comes free.

Weird

He uses the opportunity to slip away and walks out of the room. Kai lets him go wordlessly. Tyson sees him drag a perplexed hand down his face when he looks back at him over his shoulder for a second before exiting the bedroom.