A/N: I'm really, really, really sorry for the lateness of this part but I had a lot of.... problems. At least you finally get your kiss ^__^ and conclusion. I have exams coming up next week and though I know I should be studying, I won't, never do (and oddly enough, I never get bellow 80% on them -_-) So hopefully I can manage to come up with another fic... hopefully is really the key word here.

Oh, and WARNING: this is a bit limish....

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Without Your Breath

~Kai's POV~

As I look at him, a strange half-smile or half-smirk tugging on his lips, I know that he's feeling the same thing I am. There is something huge and monstrous in my stomach and I feel just a little bit sick from dizziness and anxiousness. I feel the air rush into my lungs and out, but it's a sort of involuntary reaction, more visceral than real. Dimly, at the back of my head, I wonder whether he could feel my heart pounding and hear the blood churning in my veins.

I truly don't know how things got carried away so far. At one point we were both independent variables in a very simple equation. He existed and I existed, I didn't need him to exist, parallel-y he didn't need me. We just... were. I would get up in the mornings, take my scheduled shower and breakfast, train and sleep to wake up the next morning to the same routine. I never bothered paying much attention to anything outside of beyblading – nothing else truly mattered. After all, what use do I have with things that can give me nothing, not even external pleasure? He was just a part of that little bubble-world that was around beyblading, never truly mattering one way or another, never sparing me with anything other than fleeting glances. And then he looked back for longer than usual and caught my eye and everything changed. And I stopped, looked at him and felt my world stumble and slowly fall to pieces.

There was – is – no more straight way for me, no simple 'victory of defeat'. No, now there is also all these extra things intruding into my world – people and things, and emotions and feelings. And everything is just so overwhelming. Rei had become another variable and somehow joined my equation, which beforehand consisted only of myself and battling. He became a very important variable. I find myself wishing his presence when he's not there, imagining him if he was. I look – with a painful amount of anticipation – forward to a fleeting, accidental touch or a glance he has a tendency to steal when he thinks no one notices. And when I would feel his glance, even if not answering, this great something would swell up inside my chest and I'd find my world shrinking to exclude everything but the two of us.

And this is what's happening right now. My world gets dimmer and dimmer, shrivels up in on itself until only he and I remain.

"Good," I say, "because I'm ready for that kiss now." I'm surprised my voice sounds steady and confident when in truth there is something leaping at my throat. I don't want to admit but I know I'm nervous. A tiny bead of sweat trickles down the back of my neck.

He grins crookedly up at me and I know that he's as nervous as I am.

"Hai," he replies hesitantly, almost shyly.

I just stand there, looking at him looking at me. Neither of us moves of inch. For a moment I wonder whether it is too late to run, to pretend that nothing ever changed in my ordered little world, that he didn't come and disrupted anything. I'm terrified and I don't want to admit it.

I don't know what to do, where to step, where to touch. I've never kissed anyone before; I never felt the desire for such inane human things. But then he asked if he could kiss me, which meant that he wanted it, and frighteningly enough, I found myself wanting him to do it.

"I-I've never done this with another guy before." I hear him say.

"Nether have I." I make no attempt to mention that I've never done this, period.

"God, Kai." He murmurs and it comes out as a cross between a plea and a moan. Does he regret this then?

Rei brings one hand to my face, touching my skin as if it was made from spider's web. I'm surprised that his hand trembles slightly as the slender digits trace the outline of the dual triangles on my left cheek. I find the distance between us shrinking again, but this time the nothingness around us is pleasant, welcoming. Everything has ceased to exist except for this moment and the two of us.

"Don't hate me." He whispers before leaning into my frame.

For an instant, I forget everything. I panic; I want to struggle, to escape. This is so unfamiliar, so strange and new it frightens me. I'm strong enough to endure pain and torture and humiliation, I can handle defeat and misery and anything – the world, God. But this thing inside my chest, this sensation against my skin is too raw, instinctual and real and pleasant and terrifying.

I don't notice when my eyes drift shut or when his hands move to clasp behind my head. All at once his lips are on mine, soft and trembling against my own. It was as if he is scared to touch me. We stay like that, lips pressed together, bodies locked by some sort of a bond. There is a fine, thread-like trail of fire running along my skin where his body meets mine. A little gasp escapes my throat when his tongue flicks out, lightly grazing my lips. Something pleasant and warm slithers along my back. Tentatively, I mimic Rei, earning a little gasp from him.

And then things change pace. Everything is fast and slow at the same time. I can feel every graze of his lips, every touch from that sensuous tongue with clear precision, but at the same instant, it is fleeting and momentary and doesn't last for nearly as long as I want it to. It is gentle and teasing and new. I can feel him tremble as my hands find a sensitive spot on his nape; he gives me the same sensation when his tongue plunges into my mouth suddenly and wantonly.

I feel the air rush out of my lungs only to be filled with his scent – he smelled of flowers, roses maybe, and work and strength and something so distinctly Rei. I don't need to breathe anymore, because he became my air. In this tiny universe surrounding the two of us, he is everything – the giver and the given, light and warmth, and strength and peace, sex, God.

And then suddenly, as he draws back from me, everything settles back into its usual place; everything becomes dull in comparison. He is staring up at me, eyes hooded by long, black lashes; I can see their colour was molten gold blended in with fire and fervour. More strands of hair fall out of their bind, brushing against his forehead and lips. The cheeks and the bridge of his nose were tinted dusty rose. I touch the heated skin, wondering whether I'd really done that to him.

"Kai..." This was said throatily. I knew then that he was feeling the same tingly sensation in his chest – whatever it is called – and along his skin. I wanted to die.

"Ooooh, can't you fe~el the lo~ve tonight?" An ear-splitting falsetto reaches my ears; I think it might be the Brainless Wonder. I can feel their eyes on the back of my neck like an annoying twitch.

"Kai... I- I'm sorry," Rei whispers, stumbling on words, face darkening. He doesn't let me answer but dashes off, a long trail of hair behind him. I find myself unable to breathe again.

Takao's still belting out the old tune, oblivious to how painful it sounds to the outside ear.

"Takao, it broad daylight, not night" Kenny says, barely hiding amusement from his voice.

Blondie giggles but the human vacuum continues to sing.

There's another something swelling in my chest. This time it is deep and dark, almost like a void. It's difficult to make my lungs work. "Oh will you just shut up?!" I hear myself shouting at the idiotic trio though it sounds disjointed, outside of my body. The three promptly do as instructed, dashing inside the dojo to hide from my wrath. I barely notice them leave.

My lips are still tingling. I have to fight down the urge to touch my swollen bottom lip. For a moment there, as we were suspended in time and space, I think I tasted bliss.

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I know he's awake even before I open my eyes. When I do, darkness envelops the room, a slither of moonlight filtering through the curtains. Sometimes I wonder whether there is some kind of metaphysical bond between him and me. His presence, his spirit is so close to my own, I can feel it wherever I am.

I remove the sheets covering my body. I know he's been in my room, his scent still lingers on the curtains and beside my pillow. It reminds me of other things, of sensations and touches, of burning lips and caresses. I shake my head and get up, walking to the sliding glass door separating the room from the adjoined balcony. I know he'll be there.

Noiselessly from long years of training I come to stand beside him leaning on the railing. I can feel how he jumps slightly at my approach; the heat of his body is dizzying. We look out to the city. A thousand or so tiny lights flicker on and off throughout the cityscape, the little specks of cars barely distinguishable from such distance. The light of the city blinds even the stars. It disgusts me, this loss of natural for the new and technologically advanced. But the moon, it alone remains unchanged, unmarred by human hands.

We don't say anything, just looking out for minutes or hours. At one point he turns to me and watches me instead. His face seems paler in the moonlight, almost an eerie iridescent shade. His eyes look huge and dark, but not cold like that void – a warm and comfortable darkness. He nibbles on his lip as he has a tendency to and brushes a raven lock behind his ear. I think I've lost the ability of speech. I've never seen him like this before.

"Kai?" He asks and it sounds like the voice of the wind when it blows through the trees during spring.

"Hn?"

"Am I dreaming?"

I glance down – at his pristinely white nightshirt, at his bare feet, at the clutch he had on his rope of hair – anywhere but his face. "No, you're not dreaming," I reply just as quietly as he does.

"How can you tell? I mean, I know what I'm seeing and hearing, I know what I feel and how. But... how can I be sure that this –" he spreads his arms wide"– is not just a dream? How can I be sure that what's happening right now is outside of my mind? How can I tell that I'm truly standing here with you like this, thinking and feeling these things, and truly hearing you replying to me?" His voice has gained a passionate ambiance, the look in his eyes is wild.

My throat tightens.

"Can you prove it to me that this is real?" He asks me and it sounds like a plea and a demand at the same time.

I bring my hand to his face, brushing the sensitive skin at the corner of his lips. The softness of his skin compared to my own calloused hands amazes me. I can feel him swallow and chew on the inside of his cheek.

"Do you feel this?" I ask.

"Hai."

"How about this?" I lean in, my nose touching his. His warm breath fans my cheek; something inside me jumps.

"H-hai," he replies his voice small and choking.

"And this?" Tentatively I graze my lips against his, withdrawing after less than a second.

"Hai, Kai, Hai," Rei says and then suddenly all the walls I've erected since this afternoon come down.

Before I could fully realize it, my lips were crushing his, curious fingers digging into his silky hair. This kiss was different from before, hot and teasing and wild like that something inside my chest. Somewhere at the back of my mind, I had wondered how his lips – how he – would feel, taste? He tastes of sweetness and spice and pain and love and everything all at once. It was more than my senses could conceive. I plunged in and ravaged, he gave and took just as much. It was an intricate dance all its own, lips crushing against lips, tongues vying for dominance.

I bite down on his lip (not hard enough to hurt) and feel him whimper.

"Kai..." he moans into both our mouths. It rumbles like a purr deeply in his throat, reverberating off my teeth and down my spine. I have the impression of liquid fire dancing along my skin, travelling southward.

I disentangle my lips from his, far enough so I could look into his eyes. They were heavy-lidded and I could tell that the pupils were dilated with need and want. His lips are parted and moist; I feel an odd sense of pride swell up inside me. I was able to do that to him, to make him moan my name with such abandon.

"Sweet," I murmur before placing a trail of feathery kisses along his jaw line.

"Nani?" He asks but it comes out disjoined and husky, as if he is as starved for air as I am for his touch.

"You taste sweet," I reply against his skin and feel another wave of pleasure when he moans again.

"You taste like fire and wilderness and hell and heaven," Rei replies against my nape where he decides to bombard with his kisses.

"Was that..." I breathe out, "your first kiss?"

"Iie..." he answers airily. "When I was nine or ten... there was a girl in my village that liked me... She cornered me one day behind the local food store and kissed me..."

I feel my chest tighten. "Was... was it...?"

"Better then this? No, nothing can compare to this."

He doesn't stop his assault on my neck, his lips move downward, to the juncture of where my shoulder and neck meet and then over my collarbone. His hands are moving along my chest, skin sliding along bare skin. It is electrifying; I can't explain it, but there is just something-momentous building up inside me and I no longer feel terrified. It is... Oh God! I groan into his hair as his cool fingertips brush against my skin, a teasing digit brushing my nipple, almost feather-like; his lips remain grazing on my against my collar. Heedlessly, my nightshirt slides off my shoulders to fall noiselessly onto the ground.

I flick my tongue against the lobe of his ear and feel him suppress a shudder. Ever since I first met him, his ears fascinated me – the odd shape of them, the delicate curves of the lobes, the pointed ends. I suck on the tender flesh there, running my tongue along a crevice. He moans throatily, nibbling on my collar as punishment. I grin into his hair, inhaling his unique smell. It is as much a game of give than it is of take.

"Do you still think this is a dream?" I breathe into his ear.

He shudders and teasingly licks my skin. "Not unless you and I are sharing the same dream. And even if it was, then please, never wake me up."

It is almost like a joining of the same image split in two, or a dual reflection of the same entity. At the back of my head, a thought flickered that he completed me. There used to be a cavity in that world of mine, where nothing but the victory and I exited. Something in that equation did not add up, I now realize; the results always had a sort of painful barrenness, though I ignored it. I would wake and train and sleep and wake again and again. Everything was a repetitive cycle. Now that Rei's joined my world, that void, whatever it is... it's no longer there.

He kisses my skin softly and I smile fully into his hair, hoping that he won't notice. I think this is how things are supposed to be. Another feathery kiss and I lose myself to the taste and sensation and him.

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His presence is warm and comforting beside my own. Heat and fuzziness spread through my chest but I don't dare to wake him.

The sunrays slither in through the breaks in the curtains, landing on the bed and his form. Rei glows almost. He scrunches his eyes against the sun's brightness and burrows his face into the crook of my shoulder, curling into my side. I brush a long strand out of his face (his hair came undone during the course of the night), allowing my fingers to graze along his skin for longer than necessary.

I smile to myself and think, 'I would give you anything – everything, the world – if you ask it, but only when you won't hear it will I ever tell you so, only in the private of my own mind. Without your air in my lungs I feel transparent, like glass or rain or tears. That is what you do to me.'

Once I've heard him say that love was the most wonderful sensation in the world. Is this love then, this warm feeling trapped inside my rib cage? I think it is.

~*~Owari~*~

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Ano... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make Kai sound so very poetic.... But hey, at least you peoples have your kiss, and if you tell me that wasn't enough, then I'd have to scream.... Oh, and sorry for going a bit overboard..... hehehe... though I don't suppose you mind much #^___^# And just so you know, they did NOT go beyond serious making out, no, not the whole way (I still imagine them innocent in my head).

*Big sigh* I FINALLY finished with this!!! Ya! Ya! Ya! I'm so happy to get rid of this fic ^___^ Oh, and thankyouthnakyouthankyouthankyouthankyou to everyone who read this story and left such nice comments ^___^