Kai: You've written yourself into a corner in Forever, haven't you?
Reshki: Aha, ha…not…exactly…
Tyson: Yes, you have.
Reshki: Fine! Yes! I have! (bashes head against convenient hard surface)
Inspiration: It's my fault. I quit on her. (grins evilly and waves chainsaw around)
Reshki: OK, I solemnly swear that I am NOT abandoning Forever. I don't abandon stories. If I post something, I finish it – it's as simple as that. However, until I do manage to finish it, I will be writing…
Kai: Here it comes.
Reshki: …A THREE-SHOT! It's not very original, but it's something. Please enjoy…or don't. It's your choice.
Warnings: Well…it's a TyKa fic…which means that Tyson, who is a guy, falls in love with Kai, who is also a guy. Also, it's not exactly an exercise in characterisation; it's focused more on vague, fluffy humour than soul-searching. Forever is getting so heavy that I decided to do a lighter fic. Incidentally, if anyone can guess what literary device I used in Chapter Eight, I will be very, very impressed!
Disclaimer: Beyblade is not my property…as I have said many, many times before…
Kai was woken by the sounds of someone falling over and swearing very loudly.
He glanced through the darkness at the table next to his bed, remembered that Max and Tyson had abducted his alarm clock, and sighed crossly, blinking twice to clear the sleep from his eyes. The sounds from outside his door continued; it now sounded as though someone had walked into a wall, and wasn't very happy about it.
He got up, sighing in annoyance, trying and failing to repress the small, tender smile that came to his face, and opened the door, peering out into the dark passage.
"Either you're an unbelievably incompetent burglar, or you're unbelievably incompetent, full stop," he announced in a bored whisper, leaning against the door frame and staring fixedly at the ceiling, folding his arms across his bare chest, ignoring the surge of helpless affection that was filling him.
"Hey! Kai!" Tyson whispered back, enthusiastically, from the floor. "C'mon! Let's go sneak a snack!"
"Go to bed, Tyson."
"Ah, why not?" Tyson asked, getting up and bouncing over to Kai, grabbing his arm, looking up hopefully into his face. "It's midnight, isn't it? OK, so actually it's twenty past, but who cares? I'm hungry! Let's eat!"
"No thanks," Kai said, trying to pull his arm away. Tyson held on with both hands, and started tugging him up the passage towards the kitchen.
"You," he puffed, "are having a midnight feast with me – and that – is final."
"I'm not hungry," Kai told him, firmly.
"So? I am," Tyson said, comfortably, and pushed him into the kitchen. Flicking on the light, he yawned happily and yelped, "Cookies!"
Kai, wincing at the sudden burst of brightness, sighed, and sat down on a chair, hooking one leg over the other as he leant back and folded his arms again. Letting his eyelids fall closed, he listened drowsily to the sounds of Tyson darting around the kitchen, the sharp cracklings of plastic packaging, the clink of mugs, and the soft, rumbling roar of the kettle beginning to heat up. It was only then that he realised that, if it were past midnight, then the date would be…that date.
For a moment, he almost considered mentioning it, but decided against it. It would only give Tyson an excuse to get excited, then nostalgic, and eventually sappy – and as if Kai hadn't already been far too obvious about how important Tyson was to him over the past few months. Mentioning this would be about as tactful as hitting him over the head with a bunch of roses and several large boxes of chocolate…an idea which, admittedly, had its upsides. Tyson would probably spend the rest of his life at the beck and call of anyone who provided him with chocolate, but…
Kai didn't actually intend on tellingTyson anything in the near future. Kai didn't talk about his emotions at all. The fact that this particular emotion left him feeling helpless and dazed, as well as coming very close to completely eradicating any self-control he had, didn't make things any different.
The fact that he was in love didn't make things any different in the slightest.
He shook himself, opening his eyes to the deep, yellowy glow of the kitchen light, shivering slightly. It was getting colder; it was the middle of autumn, now.
"Tada!" Tyson sang into his ear. "Look what I made!" His arm curved around Kai's back, and set a mug down on the counter with a small, dull clink, spilling a little of the hot chocolate as he did so.
"Thanks," Kai said, quietly, unable to stop himself from leaning back against Tyson's arm, which was now draped companionably about his shoulders. He coveted Tyson's friendship, even if he didn't show it; he loved Tyson's touch.
"And…" Tyson was grinning against his cheek, "…look what I found!" He waved a packet of chocolate-chip cookies around triumphantly.
"Am I supposed to be impressed?" Kai enquired sourly, regaining some self-control and jerking Tyson's arm off his shoulders. "Because believe me – I'm not."
"We'll share them out!" Tyson enthused, pulling up a chair and sitting down, his knees squashing against Kai's. "One for you…one for me…one for you…no, wait, hang on, you can just have one, and I'll have the others. How d'you like that?"
"Whatever," Kai said, taking the cookie that Tyson was dangling in his face and staring at it resolutely.
"So!" Tyson began, munching away. "Any reason why you ambushed me in the passage?"
"I'm only surprised you didn't wake up the entire house," Kai responded. "You have to be the most uncoordinated person I've ever met."
"I wasn't that loud, was I?" Tyson asked. "Whoa. If Hilary catches us, we're in trouble. She's out to get me, I swear."
Kai said nothing. He knew from long experience that Tyson would go on talking for a very long time before he noticed that he was getting no response.
"D'you miss your alarm clock yet?" he continued. "Maxie and me figured that you were going to kill yourself waking up at five in the morning like that. How d'you like being normal for a change?"
Kai shrugged noncommittally. He wasn't in a talking mood, but he didn't mind listening to Tyson. It comforted him, in a strange way. He just didn't feel like responding.
"I mean, there is no way you can survive waking up that early your entire life. The whole point of being a kid is that you get to sleep in! And watch too much TV. And eat a lot. And do…other stuff that adults can't do."
Kai gave a neutral grunt.
"Dude?" Tyson asked, after a slight pause. "Uh…are you…OK?"
"I'm fine, Tyson."
"Cool. It's just that…you haven't looked at me at all, and…"
"I'm fine," Kai repeated, still studying the cookie intently. "I just don't appreciate being woken up and force-fed junk food at twenty-five to one in the morning."
Tyson said nothing for a moment, and then put down his mug and leaned against Kai silently, resting his head on the other boy's shoulder. Kai held very, very still, feeling that same pang of yearning shoot through him. "It's today, right?"
Mutely, Kai nodded.
"I thought so!" Tyson said, popping a cookie into his mouth and chewing thoughtfully, wriggling up against Kai a little more, cuddling against him. Kai, having realised that his heart rate had sped up considerably, bit down on his lip hard, and tried to ignore the miserable, whimpering longing that was growing inside him. "I didn't get the date wrong after all!" Tyson continued, happily. He considered something for a moment, before checking, "It is three years, right? Or is it two? Hang on…"
"It's three, you idiot," Kai managed to say.
"I knew that."
Kai snorted.
"I did!" Tyson insisted, in as injured a tone as he could with his mouth full of chocolate chips. "How could I forget, dude? Three whole years since I met you…it's kind of cool, don't you think?"
"No."
"Oh, come on!" Tyson twisted around, his chin digging sharply into Kai's shoulder, so that he could look up at him. "I survived three years with you as my friend. I deserve a medal for that." Kai shrugged, hitching his shoulders back uncomfortably. He was still staring at the cookie. It wasn't that he was afraid to look at Tyson; he was afraid that if Tyson looked at him, he would see.
Tyson knew him too well by now. Tyson had always understood him: he had understood that when he needed solitude and when he needed support. Tyson was the only one he was interested in blading against anymore; Tyson was the only one he could trust to be strong, to keep fighting until the end, to truly challenge him. Everyone else was just practice.
"Are you going to say anything?" he was asking, in a small, nervous voice.
Again, Kai shrugged, wanting very badly to hit himself.
"Are you going to look at me?"
"No," Kai said, hoarsely.
"Why not?"
He drew in a deep, steadying breath, and said, "I don't have to if I don't want to."
"Three years and you haven't managed to figure out how to be nice yet?"
Kai did look at him, then; he turned his head slowly, and looked down into Tyson's hopeful, expectant face, and smiled, just the littlest bit, lifting one corner of his mouth slightly. Tyson, for his part, beamed back up at him, his entire face lighting up, his eyes brightening, and he laughed, and almost shouted, "You do like me!"
Kai felt something inside him twist up and melt. Tyson was more alive than any other person he'd ever known, and that was one of the many, many things he loved about him. He gave the smallest "huh" of derisive laughter, and bent his face further downwards, resting his forehead against Tyson's, pressing their faces together, and said, gently, "No, I don't."
Tyson flung his arms around Kai's neck, and squeezed him tightly, still laughing. "Yeah, you do! Heh, Kai, admit it! I have got to be the most popular guy in the world if I can get Kai to like me!"
Kai ignored him, slowly letting his hands creep up Tyson's back and into his hair, feeling almost frightened by the swirling, tumbling sensations zipping through him. His heart was beating so rapidly that he was almost shaking with it; and Tyson was pressed against his chest and laughing, and he was holding Tyson against him so closely, and he was smiling so much that he thought he couldn't stop, and…
Tyson slipped off his chair, and pulled slightly away, his arms still linked loosely around Kai's back. "You just hugged me!" he said.
"So?" Kai snapped.
"That's…like…impossible!" Tyson exulted. "And it happened! OK, I had a dream about it once, but that was…um…yeah…" he broke off, looking embarrassed.
"Excuse me?" Kai asked, deciding that deciphering Tyson's babbling this late at night was not the easiest thing to do.
"What? I…you…joined up with the Blitzkrieg Boyz, and I went training with Daichi, and I…had this weird dream…and you were in it, and…yeah. You hugged me. No big deal." Tyson drew in a deep breath and steadied himself. He was, Kai noticed, blushing slightly. "Are you going to eat that cookie?"
Kai snorted. "Is that all you ever think about?" he asked.
"Not exactly," Tyson said, grinning, and, picking up the cookie, held it against Kai's lips. Startled, Kai took a bite, chewed and swallowed, and frowned up at Tyson. "Hey, I have to make sure you eat something sweet this year," he shrugged. "It's, like, a requirement of being a teenager! Seriously, dude, eat it!"
"Tyson…" Kai began, trying to sound stern, but Tyson poked the remainder of the cookie into hips mouth before he could close it again. Kai, glaring up at him, chewed it mutinously, and swallowed it. Tyson just smiled, his fingers still brushing Kai's lips; Kai, shivering in a web of violent, trembling feelings, forgot to be angry.
"Yay! Chocolate conquers all!" Tyson said, happily, trailing his hand up Kai's face and slipping into his hair, the other arm still looped around his shoulder. "Come on, Kai! Just one more smile for me? Just one? Please?"
Kai smiled.
Reshki: Ah, well. I write better in the first person, I think. So…yeah. More weird TyKa stuff. It's not done yet! Three-shot-ness prevails! In related news, I've finally managed to get hold of an actual Yu-Gi-Oh! manga (sighs happily and rereads for the billionth time), which of course got me back into the whole Yu-Gi-Oh! thing…
Bakura: …which means that I might be appearing in a oneshot very soon! Worship me, mortals! I'm hot!
Kai: You just keep popping up, don't you? You are not a Beyblade character! Go away! And, just by the way, since when did I sleep shirtless?
Reshki: (sings) It's my fanfic and I'll do what I want to…do want I to…do what I want to…I would be thrilled if people reviewed!
Kai: There is something very wrong with this world.