An Outlet Other Than Violence
It's cooler than usual tonight. Julia tips up her face and smiles with closed eyes, enjoying the breeze caressing her face as she walks down the street alongside Tyson.
The city is bustling with activity.
"They're estranged," she says, talking about her parents. Continuing the conversation they were having earlier. "My mother's a winemaker and she owns many of the famed wineries in Barcelona. It keeps her quite busy. And my father's a lawyer. They used to fight a lot when I was younger and then they decided it was better to split up than to stay together. They got joint custody and both wanted to raise me in their own ways. I couldn't deal with all the parenting squabbles they would have over me every other weekend. I had to get away. So I came here." She shoots a smile at Tyson, finishing her story.
"I never met my mother," he says in turn, sighing. Strolling with his hands in his pockets. "She died giving birth to me."
"Oh" Her eyes grow sad. "I'm so sorry."
He shrugs. "It's alright. I mean I wish I could have met her, but…" he trails off, shaking his head. It's stupid. He's saying stupid things. He glances at Julia, wondering if it's okay to bring it up now. If it won't be too sudden. He decides to just do it. "I saw Kai's mother last night."
Her reaction is instant. She stiffens, and turns to search his face with a guarded look. "Kai's mother?" Julia asks softly. Her feet still on the pavement.
She's trying to figure out if he knows about her condition.
"I went to the care home…with Kai." It's only a partial lie. His heart picks up pace. The images from the night before flooding his mind. Not that they had ever left. He sees her face every time he closes his eyes. His face. The look of shock and anger and betrayal. Painted behind his eyelids.
Tyson can't get it out of his head.
"He took you to see her with him?" she prompts, making sure.
Tyson nods. Hoping his guilt doesn't show on his face.
Julia takes a deep breath and exhales through her nose. If her eyes had been sad before they're sadder now as she thinks of Kai. "Did he tell you what happened?"
He shakes his head. "What…what happened to her?" he asks hesitantly, feeling the anxious (and still guilty) thrumming of his heart against his ribs.
Julia turns forward and resumes walking again. Tyson falls into step beside her. "It happened not that many years ago. We were 15. Mera, Kai's mother, tried to kill herself."
His breath catches in his lungs. Why is it worse than what he'd expected? He didn't know he could feel shittier than he already did.
"She was depressed for a while and then, she discovered Kai's father was cheating on her."
"Oh" Is all Tyson can muster.
"He remarried and lives with her now."
"Who?"
"The woman he cheated on her with. She used to be just his business partner but now she's also Kai's stepmother." Julia seems to hold a lot of hatred towards that woman and Kai's father. Tyson understands.
"Mera is getting better though. She's making progress, slow, but she can move her mouth to eat now. She couldn't even do that before. Kai brings her home every few weeks if she's doing well. He really takes good care of her."
"Kai?" Tyson asks.
Julia nods affirmatively. "Kai isn't on good terms with his father and his new wife, you know? Who would be after something like that, right? He moved out, took up part time jobs till he found one that pays him well, and transferred his mom to a better facility than the one his father put her in. He's very protective of her."
Tyson nods. He would try to do the same if he was in Kai's shoes though he's not sure how successful he'd be at it. Despite Kai's behavior with him and Hilary, and how he feels about it Tyson can still admit that what Kai did and continues to do for his mother is admirable. Very admirable.
He wants to talk to Kai, try to apologize to him again because what Tyson did last night was terrible no matter who it was done to. Intruding upon his privacy, sneaking up on him and his ill mother whom he's very protective of (and rightfully so). The guilt clawing at his chest is all too familiar now. And it's only increased tenfold after the conversation with Julia.
He'd tried to catch Kai that morning in the hallway but he'd walked past him without any acknowledgment. His face an impassive mask. Frustrated and stuck with a lot of free time on his hands (because Kai wasn't calling him), Tyson had gone to Boris' office, on the hunt for the tape again, slipping in while the man was out. He expected him to have a copy with him since he was the one who had confiscated the drive from the members of the theatre club, but he came up empty handed.
Boris had happened to walk in on him as he was scouring his office and asked him who he was and why he was lurking around his space.
"Test answers," Tyson had blurted out in panic.
Boris had looked at him funnily. "I don't remember teaching you. You're not my student."
"My friend is," Tyson had said. It's true. Lee is in his class.
"What's your friend's name?"
"Can't say. Bro code."
There was a long silence after which he'd said tiredly, "Get out of my office before I report you."
He'd grimaced and stepped out of there with a tight nod to Boris. He would have bowed to him if he wasn't a slimy bastard.
Kai avoids him the whole day, never giving him the chance to apologize. He also seems busy throughout the morning and afternoon. At 3 p.m. there is an event for students majoring in economics and business studies which Tyson attends with his mates. There are several speakers at the event, alumni as well as prominent figures in the field. And Kai. Participating as a speaker and as the student representative for the event.
He's a different person when he's up on that stage, clad in a fine suit and with just a hint of a smile on his lips, he's every bit the 'Future of Japan' that both his peers and professors laud him as. Nothing like the boy who was sitting beside his sick mother and feeding her carefully last night. The figure he cuts on that podium is powerful, sharp, brilliant. He shines as he speaks, charming and enthralling the audience in front of him and behind him.
Tyson can't help but listen and take every word he says to heart. He's feeling weirdly proud. This man could lead an entire nation right off a cliff if he wanted to. The grip he has on the population of Toho University is understandable. They can't be blamed.
Tyson can't be blamed either for thinking Kai is handsome and captivating for a whole hour and a half. Because he is. The person speaking on that podium is.
Too bad he's not like that all the time.
The figures on the clock on the desk shift from 11:59 to 12:00. Tyson stares at it and sighs. That's an entire day of no calls from Kai.
He'd come straight to the dorm after having dinner with Julia in a Korean restaurant earlier. Then he'd face timed Hilary and talked to her for a while, with the thought of Kai's loud and telling silence swirling at the back of his mind.
He decides to go to bed. Might as well get a good night of rest without having to worry about waking up in the middle of the night to run errands for Kai.
He falls asleep quickly with his phone set on silent mode, dreaming about home. The device lights up with a call from Kai a half hour later. It goes unanswered. He calls another time. And Tyson doesn't wake. The screen stays lit longer the second time around then goes dark for the rest of the night.
Tyson calls him back in the morning as soon as he's out of bed. But Kai doesn't pick up.
He doesn't try again. He spies him hanging out with the Blitzkriegs in the courtyard before heading to class.
Tyson gets an idea as he watches them all disappear into the main building.
"Hey" he says into his phone when she picks up.
"Hi, what's up?" Julia's bright but throaty voice answers.
"I'm so sorry to ask you this," he says, putting some desperation into his voice. "But I lost the house key Kai gave me this morning. And I still need to get his textbook from in there but I kinda don't want him to find out I lost the key."
"It's fine. I don't think he'd care." Julia laughs. "You can borrow mine for some time anyway and make a new copy. It's not a big deal."
"Thank you"
"Always glad to help," she says with a snort. "Meet me in front of the central library in five."
"I'll be right there." He hangs up.
When did he get so good at lying to people?
He climbs all the way to the third floor this time, checking out the space thoroughly. It's basically a well furnished rooftop. A large outdoor pool takes up most of the space, the walls here are all glass except for the one corridor on the right leading to a small bedroom and beside it, a library.
It's a nice, cosy space. There are shelves of books lining the walls, a small window letting in ample light, desks and comfy chairs. Books are on the desks as if someone had been reading them and will come back to them soon.
He walks around the library, looking at the type of books it holds. Mostly educational, some fictional. He's perusing the shelves built in to the wall under the window when he notes CDs tucked in between the books. He slides one out and reads the writing in blue ink on it. "2001: A Space Odyssey" Isn't that a movie?
Tyson frowns and puts it back on the shelf, flicking through the other ones.
He jumps when he hears a door suddenly slamming shut behind him.
He whirls around and rises to his feet with a hammering heart. Kai stands there, before the closed door, eyes alight.
Silence stretches between them.
"I got a call from my security guard yesterday," says Kai, in a calm voice. "Telling me that someone other than the six of us had accessed the second level of our house. That was sloppy, don't you think? You could have at least found a way to turn the cameras off."
Tyson's stunned. Still in shock over being discovered. He was so sure he'd gone to class. He has a lecture he should be attending this very moment. He'd skipped it just to catch Tyson in the act.
"I didn't know you had a security guard," he mutters, half reeling.
Kai snorts, a slight smirk curling up his lips. He undoes the buttons of his suit jacket and slides a hand into one of the inner pockets, pulling out something small. He holds it up with his fingers for Tyson to see. The pen drive. The tape. "This is what you're looking for, isn't it?"
Tyson's eyes widen as it falls on the tape. He'd been looking for it so desperately the entire week. Spent hours and days obsessing over its location. He's shocked to see it now. Had it been on Kai's person all along? Or did he remove it today from where he'd been hiding it just to hold it up in front of Tyson?
The look on his face must be enough of a confirmation because Kai lowers his hand and slips the tape into the left pocket of his pants, sliding his fingers in along with it. "If you're that desperate for it, come get it," he says. Like it's the simplest thing in the world. With both hands in his pockets, he's the perfect picture of cool and collected if not for the tension in his jaw and the blazing fire in his gaze.
"How do I know if you've made any copies?" asks Tyson, thoughts flying through his head double time.
"There aren't any copies. Just the one."
"How do I know you aren't lying?"
Kai lets a beat pass, then says, "Guess you'll just have to take my word for it."
Tyson considers it. Seriously. Considers the offer he's making. The challenge he's throwing at him because he thinks Tyson can't do it. Can never beat him. He scans his body from head to toe, taking in his features, his built, his stance. He's taller than him. Broader. He's good at punches and kicks. Tyson's watched him train. To take that small device from his pocket, getting past all his defenses, is near impossible. "I'm supposed to take it from your pocket?" asks Tyson.
"You were so brave when you punched me at that party. When you threw me against the wall on top of the staircase. What happened to that bravery? Am I no match for you anymore? Am I too…strong for you?"
Tyson snorts at those words. At the mere notion of it. Of what he's implying. "I can take you in a fight," he says, offhandedly.
Kai doesn't say anything in response to that. He just holds up the drive again between his fingers. Taunting him. Daring him to try and take it from.
Tyson walks up to him slowly, sizing him up. Looking for weaknesses. Thinking of strategies. His eyes fall upon the device in his hand, that he's holding so loosely. Confidently.
Tyson makes a grab for it. Kai swipes it away from his grasp just a split second before. He's fast. He makes another attempt for it with his other hand but Kai dodges that too, quickly moving the object to the safety of his pant pocket.
This is not going to be easy. At all. And he knows he's going to be getting really frustrated in the middle of it, but he reminds himself to not give up when it eventually happens. To keep at it. Make Kai lose his cool too. He'll make mistakes then.
He throws a punch at his face. Kai steps out of reach, reacting swiftly. A cruel smirk plays in the corner of his mouth, growing with every hit he dodges. Tyson aims another punch, this time at his jaw but he swerves away again, almost too easily.
He's got a small smile on his face now. Eyes glinting with amusement.
He thinks this is funny.
Tyson feels himself getting frustrated already. The smirk getting on his nerves. He curls his fists, acting like he's going to strike with his hands again, but surprises Kai by directing a kick at his stomach instead. He doesn't move in time, the heel of Tyson's boot collides with Kai's left hip. Quite hardly. It takes him off balance and throws him to the floor.
Tyson is momentarily stunned that his trick worked, and met his mark that he misses Kai's leg sweeping in an arc across his feet, knocking Tyson to his ass too. He lands with a thump but bounces back onto his feet faster, not wanting to be pinned down by Kai because if he gets pinned down it's over.
He's stronger. There's no doubt about it. He can't overpower Kai. He can only get the tape by knocking him out. Or incapacitating him for at least a few minutes.
Kai gets back on his feet too, removing the jacket and rolling up his sleeves. Tyson can't help but ask, albeit savagely, "Why are you wearing a suit? Aren't you supposed to be in class?"
"I had an interview," replies Kai, flashing his teeth at him in a fake smile for a moment. He's terrifying. Tyson throws a sharp right hook to Kai's jaw, wanting to break it, but he evades. If it had landed Tyson's knuckles would have done a number on that pretty face.
He may have dodged that one but not the one right after it. It's not nearly as powerful but it gets his jaw, snapping his face to the side. Tyson uses that slight moment of surprise to deliver a powerful kick to his side.
Kai staggers back a few steps. He meets Tyson's eyes, looking at him in a different light and then finally balls his fists, seeing him as an opponent.
Tyson's ready for the swing that comes in his direction. He successfully cuts out of its way, and the feeling it gives him watching Kai's knuckles meet nothing but air is glorious.
Now they're fighting.
He steps out of another fast one that follows the first and is ready to strike when Kai's boot hooks around Tyson's ankle and yanks. He goes crashing to the floor but promptly kicks Kai straight in the groin before he can climb on top of him.
He cringes and grits his teeth, falling to one knee. Tyson uses that time to stand up and make a grab for the drive in his right pocket. Kai's hand grips Tyson's as his own fingers curl securely around the tape. Their eyes meet, sweat clings to Tyson's hair. He's winning. He aims a kick to his elbow to make him let go of his wrist.
For a crazy moment he's free. The tape locked in his fingers. Kai still on his knees. Tyson turns on his heel and runs for the door. He takes one, two, three steps and a strong hand clamps like a vice around his ankle and wrenches him down. Tyson nearly face plants on the floor, landing painfully on his side. The hand remains on his leg. No. He twists and stomps Kai in the shoulder with his free leg before he's even fully opened his eyes.
His hand is arresting his knee now. He can't let him pin him. Or it will be over. He will lose. Tyson reaches blindly for whatever's on the low table beside him, his fingers close over a lamp and without another thought, he flings it Kai's way, yanking the cord out of the plug.
The lamp bounces off Kai's forearm as he ducks his head and blocks it from hitting him. Tyson kicks at his hand, stomping on the fingers curled around his leg, intending to crush them if he needs to. Kai grunts, no doubt in pain and drags Tyson down the floor.
Tyson, desperate and panicked, aims a kick at his face, his boot strikes Kai's forehead and jerks his head back.
"Let me go!" he yells at him, preparing for another kick, this time at his nose, but Kai grabs ahold of that foot and pins it under his arm.
"Not a chance in hell," he growls through gritted teeth, blood trickling from the gash on his head.
Tyson wildly searches for something to throw. He's half-sitting, refusing to be incapacitated no matter what.
His eyes fall upon too heavy empty tables and floors nearby, tears form in his eyes from frustration and impending defeat. He was so close. He was almost out. He looks at Kai, angrily, as he forces him down and takes hold of his hands. A wild animalistic cry rips out from Tyson's throat as Kai fully pins him to the floor.
He's lost.
He keeps his eyes closed. Not wanting to open them and face his fate. Not wanting to admit defeat. His whole body trembles with rage, with frustration. Yet he doesn't have anymore energy to act on them. He's all out and dry.
Long moments pass with just his loud breaths filling his ears. Kai's ones can be heard too faintly. But he doesn't want to hear them. When he finally opens his eyes, he expects to meet victorious ones. But instead he finds pools of crimson that are troubled, agonized as they flit over his face. Tracing his features. Conflicting emotions swirling in them.
Tyson, confused and curious, opens his mouth to make a comment, but warm lips descend upon his, robbing him of all speech.
A gasp escapes him as soft lips wrap around his own, pressing and pulling in gentle but firm movements. Heat washes over his body as he realizes what's happening, who is kissing him.
He pulls away, just as quickly as he'd drawn close and holds himself above Tyson, looking just as stunned and dazed as Tyson feels.
A dizzying, bewildering second passes where neither of them move.
Then he lowers himself again and this time, Tyson closes his eyes.
The tear that had slipped out the corner of one eye dries there as Kai angles his head a little to access his mouth better.
Where his grip had been brutal and punishing before, his fingers rub soothing circles into his skin.
Tyson lets Kai kiss him the way he wants for a few seconds before he starts kissing him back more eagerly and takes control. He raises his hands and cups Kai's face in them, pulling him closer and devouring his mouth, pouring into it all the want and frustration that's been torturing him for months.
Catharsis
That's what he feels.
Every word, every look, every hook they've thrown each other's way since that day they met many months ago, has led to this.
They writhe on the floor, attempting to take everything they can from each other. Tyson runs his hands into Kai's hair, those silk-like strands slick with sweat. Tugging, caressing, admiring.
Kai sucks on his tongue and groans into his mouth, the beautiful sound and the implications of it sending shocks of pleasure through Tyson, both physical and mental.
For once, they're in complete agreement with each other.
This
This is-
Kai abruptly breaks the kiss. Moment shattered Tyson meets his gaze with a breathless, pounding heart, the tension that had been quickly liquifying between them snapping back into place just as rigid as before, and may be even more now after what just happened.
What they'd just done.
Irrational apprehension rises in Tyson's chest as he sees a sudden panic appear in Kai's eyes. "Kai-"
He gets up, his wide eyes running all over Tyson who awkwardly moves into a sitting position trying to get him to calm down. Kai brings the back of a hand to his mouth, the mouth that Tyson had been kissing just moments ago, like he can't believe what he'd just done. Neither can Tyson. But Kai turns and walks out of the library without another word, leaving Tyson there with innumerable questions.