¤ -No Time Like the Present- by Destiny Quill

¤ Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Name, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Bakuten Shoot Beyblade ©Takao Aoki

¤ Summary: (BL-Brooklyn/Kai) Brooklyn has trouble describing his feelings, until Rei and Tala give him a birthday present he's sure to like – a sleeping Kai.¤ Pairing: BL- Brooklyn/Kai
¤ Side Pairing: N/A
¤ Warnings: I've seen few episodes of seasons 2 and 3 of Beyblade. This fic is not beta-ed, but English is my first language, so feel free to correct any and all nit-picky grammar and spelling errors.

This is an experimental two-shot. Expect formatting explosions and randomness.

"Opportunity is the basis for a future."

-No Time Like the Present-
Part One

-¦-

Rei had never thought that lullabies could be so useful.

He also would never have thought that Kai fell asleep almost instantly when he heard a lullaby. Be it Brahms' Lullaby, composed by Johannes Brahms, or Berceuse élégiaque by Ferruccio Busoni, or any other lullaby – Kai would instinctively curl up and doze off.

A mischievous grin formed on Rei's lips as he pondered that potentially useful morsel of information.

Tala had told him such after he saw Kai nearly nodding off in a store with a gentle song playing in the background. They were shopping for a present for Brooklyn, whose birthday was fast approaching.

Ever since BEGA's downfall, Tala had opened up to Rei. Rei learned of Tala's roguish tendencies, while Tala relied on Rei for support. The two quickly became close friends.

Both were sitting on a plush leather sofa in the expansive parlor of one of Kai's many estates.

"What could someone possibly buy for a guy like Brooklyn?" complained Tala, leaning his hands on the back of his head in a gesture of frustration.

Indeed, there seemed to be nothing that the genius found interesting or desirable, save for a certain blader that stayed out of his reach. Rei had seen the way Brooklyn looked at Kai; the way he seemed hurt every time the bluenette backed away from him in fear or spite.

Brooklyn simply did not know when to give up.

Noticing Rei's thoughtful expression, Tala attempted to snap Rei out of whatever trance he was in. "Earth to Rei," he called. The raven-haired neko-jin was still completely out of it. Leaning down to his ear, Tala cried, "Brooklyn's at the door! Hide the presents, hide the presents!"

Rei nearly gave himself whiplash by lurching forward to the edge of the couch. With a dazed look in his eyes, he frantically glanced around. "Tala… we didn't buy any presents yet," Rei's amber eyes narrowed.

"That's exactly my point. We don't even have the slightest idea of what Brooklyn enjoys or wants."

"He likes nature, doesn't he?" Rei pointed out.

"And what are we supposed to get him, a butterfly catalogue? I'm sure that most of the others have come to that same conclusion already."

"Does he have any pets?"

The redhead shrugged. "Pets are too personal, and most people like to pick them out themselves."

Rei and Tala sat in contemplation until the latter thought that the former had fallen into a stupor yet again.

Tala was wrong, as Rei soon spoke up. "I was thinking about what you said concerning Kai and lullabies."

"Go on," said Tala, looking at his friend with curiosity.

"Brooklyn doesn't display a need for material possessions, right?" When Tala didn't respond, Rei continued, "He does, however, seem like the lonely type."

"So we should give him a friend," Tala snorted. "Sorry Rei, but I don't think friends can be given as presents."

Drigger's master smiled, his canines flashing dangerously. "No, we can't give Brooklyn a friend, but for one day, we can give him his heart's true desire."

"Ok, now you're dancing around the topic. Dancing while wearing a frilly pink tutu."

Rei cut to the chase. "We can give Kai to Brooklyn."

Tala really wasn't expecting that. But then again, as the sheer brilliance of that idea dawned upon him slowly but surely, he found himself in favour of it.

"That way we can kill two birds with one stone. I can sedate Kai while testing Kai's reaction to hearing a lullaby, something I've been dying to do. Then we pack him up and bestow him on Brooklyn." Rei rose from the couch and stretched like a cat. "How 'bout it?"

The Russian was already concocting a plan.

-¦-

'Brooklyn's birthday, huh,' Kai mused idly as he lay on a grassy slope, half-lidded eyes scanning the cloud-spotted cerulean sky. He rarely had quality time to himself and his two favourite blades – Dranzer and that wonderful monocotyledonous green plant, grass.

Right now, he balanced a limp blade of grass between his lips with deft expertise, all barriers dropped, basking in the full sun and serene breeze.

"Kai!"

The stalk of grass drifted to the ground as Kai rose out of his reverie. He performed a set of veiled stretches for the benefit of his slim frame before heading back to the dojo. All of the G-revolutions agreed to gather at Tyson's residence before heading to Brooklyn's place.

The phoenix was informed of the surprise birthday party only two days before the event itself. Thus, he thought he had an excuse for not buying a gift. He had no idea who exactly was invited, but they probably also didn't know what to give Zeus' blader, anyway.

Brooklyn and Kai hadn't parted on the best of terms, but they were changing simultaneously. Apparently, they both had related interests. Kai wasn't too fond of the other's formidable presence, but if he blocked out the dark aura surrounding Brooklyn, his company was almost comforting. Maybe even more than comforting. There was an emotion he couldn't quite place, and the closer he got to Brooklyn, the stronger it became.

Kai was loathe to admit that he liked being around Brooklyn.

It seemed that the ginger-haired teen enjoyed Kai's company as well. Hopefully, by simply being at the party, the bluenette could make up for his lack of present. He was filthy rich, but Brooklyn didn't need any bought substance.

"Kai, come on!"

Beyblade parts were definitely out of the question. Brooklyn had partially retired from beyblading in favour of research and other such pursuits.

"Where could he be?"

"I don't know, but we're going to be late if he doesn't get here soon."

It was a well-known fact that Brooklyn loved nature. Perhaps he shared Kai's obsession with grass. Shaking his head, Kai completed his descent down the hill outside of Tyson's dojo.

"Yo, K-man," greeted Gramps in his usual dialect once Kai had passed through the open shoji, or sliding doors.

Rei was holding a backpack as Max placed his small, square gift inside. Tyson was doing some last minute wrapping while Hilary berated his sloppy work. Partly tucked under Kenny's arm was a map to the apartment suite that Brooklyn had recently rented and now shared with Garland.

"Are we ready to go yet?" implored Kenny, looking towards Kai, who plainly assumed the leader role whenever he was in the room. The captain gave a curt nod and the rest of the team began to file out of the dojo.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kai observed Rei slipping an mp3 player and two other devices with stubby antennas into his backpack. The phoenix doubted that the tiger was going to be bored enough to listen to music in the same room as a lot of other beybladers. Kai was the antisocial one, not Rei. But he didn't have much time to ponder that as the G-Revolutions left for Brooklyn's apartment.

Rei grinned. 'Walkie-talkies – check. Lullabies – check.'

-¦-

Evidently, someone living in the apartment was a neat freak. The walls were a pristine, creamy olive, marked only by paintings of wild animals portrayed in the African veldt. The door opened to a cozy kitchen with a hardwood floor. On the far end of the kitchen was a typical glass sliding door, leading to a balcony and sporting lightly patterned drapes.

What struck Tala the most were the number and variety of plants. Brooklyn, the obvious nature fanatic, had placed some orchids, Lady's Slippers, and African Violets near the sliding door. Like everything else in the apartment, they were carefully groomed to near perfection.

Tala could have sworn that the cutlery was smiling at him from its place near the practically glowing sink and next to the wrinkle-free tea towels, which were sitting on a spotless marble counter.

The Blitzkrieg Boy wanted to shut his eyes tightly, and not just to escape the glare reflecting off of the sparkling white dishes stacked precisely in a column.

'Everything about this place screams clean…' Tala mentally shuddered, trembling imperceptibly.

There was no divider between the kitchen and a sizeable living room, which held a glass coffee table, a grand amount of potted plants, and two luxurious, dark green couches.

The Rebellion, Miguel's aptly renamed team now that Barthez was gone, was already setting up for the surprise party, along with Brooklyn's own team. Garland had let them in and was now moving some furniture to create hiding places for each blader to pop out of when Brooklyn arrived.

Matilda was standing on a ladder stringing up red streamers with the help of little Monica while Crusher held the ladder in place. MingMing was sitting at the kitchen table, giving decorating advice. Mystel was simply floating around and observing, Claude seemed to be taking a list of inventory, and Aaron was busy helping Garland. Hardly anyone looked up from their work to acknowledge Tala.

The redhead couldn't understand why Garland didn't just invite his own team but invited The Rebellion, the Blitzkrieg Boys, and the G-Revolutions as well. Nevertheless, it was fortunate that no one had inquired about Tala's team's presence, especially not the large, pre-wrapped cardboard box that Bryan and Spencer were balancing easily.

Tala really didn't want to explain why the box had breathing holes.

On his right side, there extended a dark corridor, which probably led to the washroom and bedrooms. He beckoned for Spencer to carefully follow him with the mysterious box. It was empty and not heavy at all, but it was large enough to block the view of anyone carrying it.

At that moment, the G-Revolutions arrived. Rei spotted Tala immediately, but kept quiet, deliberately blocking Kai's view of the hallway on his right.

"Hey, guys!" called Tyson, bounding over to help, with Max at his side.

"Thanks for coming," Garland set a mahogany end table on the ground. "Brooklyn's out at the park with Hiro. He won't be back for another couple of hours."

"Right, so, what's the plan?" Rei subconsciously directed his question to Tala, who had finished depositing the box off in a spare multipurpose room.

"We just need to finish decorating. Claude's already ordered refreshments, and I've hidden the presents for now," explained Miguel, returning from the washroom.

Rei hid his glance at Tala. "Plans are underway?"

Tala responded, "See for yourself."

If anyone noticed the pair's peculiar behaviour, they kept their suspicions to themselves.

-¦-

"Hiro, when a perennial dies, no one mourns. There are plenty more flowers to choose from, some even more beautiful. Is a human life so different than that of a plant?" Brooklyn abruptly stopped walking, head tilted up at the leafy green crowns of the elm trees lining the park path.

Light filtering through the substantial branches caused Hiro Granger's shadow to flicker. "Of course."

"How so, then?" wondered Brooklyn.

"Humans have emotions."

The simple answer was exactly what the young genius was expecting. He was still staring at the sky that Kai had looked at only a short time ago. Neither he nor the bluenette had dealt with much human emotion before. Brooklyn's neglectful scientist parents had never had the time to socialize with their only child.

Needless to say, Brooklyn was a lonely soul.

His fragile trust in Hiro had already been broken. The only one he had faith in was Garland. On the other end, hardly anyone trusted Brooklyn after the BEGA fiasco and the disaster his last beyblade battles had caused. There was one person that he wanted to trust and be trusted by. It was possible that Brooklyn wanted more than just trust.

That person was the one thing he truly coveted. Then, maybe, he might uncover some emotions within himself and within the other – emotions beside anger and sorrow.

-¦-

"Yuriy to Sunbeam, Red Hawk is in the spare room. Over."

"Roger that, Yuriy."

Rei and Tala were using their ingenious codenames to communicate using walkie-talkies. At the moment, Rei, or Sunbeam, lay in wait inside the wall-length closet in the spare room, keeping the large box company. How it fit in the closet was beyond Rei, but his focus was on the fact that it was severely restricting his leg space. Tala, codenamed Yuriy, was stationed across the hall, sipping punch and looking like he was talking on a cell phone while actually giving updates to his partner.

Kai glanced at Tala, unsure as to why Tala was bobbing his head, leaning against the side of the hallway. Making up his mind to go greet his best friend at last, he left his spot where he was watching Garland restrain Tyson's attempts to eat the birthday cake.

"Tala," said Kai nonchalantly. Oddly enough, Tala stuffed his hand into his pocket before turning to look at Kai.

"Hey, can I talk to you alone? It's about Brooklyn," Tala recovered quickly.

"Hn." Kai knew well enough about his friend's qualms about Brooklyn growing closer to the phoenix. Kai didn't mind at all, since Zeus' master was such a good silent conversationalist.

Tala led the shorter teen into the spare room, sitting in an extra armchair. Kai sat down as well.

'Comfortable? Good. Phase Two, Rei.' Tala thought. Out loud, he stated, "I know my position on Brooklyn. I'd like to hear yours."

Kai was ready to launch into a sentence or two about how he didn't mind Brooklyn just being there and how they were respectable acquaintances.

"Hold on, though, I'm out of punch. I'll be back in a sec," interjected Tala before Kai had the chance to speak. He exited the room, closing the door, holding his empty plastic cup, leaving Kai alone with his thoughts.

'Why did he close the door? Maybe I'm worrying too much. When Brooklyn arrives, it should be easier to concentrate, though,' he thought. Contrary to what he first predicted, he found it soothing to be around the ginger-haired blader. Not to mention, Brooklyn was quite easy to look at.

Closing his eyes, Kai tried to sum up what he felt for Brooklyn, using the few emotions he could properly identify. 'Companionship, no doubt. We actually did spend some time on the pier last week in friendly conversation. Empathy, as well. He's so similar to me that I can read him almost instantaneously. He probably has the same issues with feelings as me.'

Truth be told, Kai was curious as to what the dark genius thought of him. There was definitely something deeper to Brooklyn than he had foreseen.

-¦-

"Yuriy, this is Sunbeam, why couldn't you have been posted in the closet?" Rei muttered into the walkie-talkie, aching to flex his sore legs. The musky scent of clothes – presumably the sweats belonged to Garland while the trench coats belonged to Brooklyn – was starting to suffocate him. The neko-jin wanted nothing more than to escape the cluttered closet.

"Sunbeam, Red Hawk is in position already. It's too late now."

"I hear you, Yuriy. Over and out."

The thin slot of light that Rei was trying to see through allowed a small view of Kai with his back to Rei, apparently in meaningful contemplation. Carefully groping around for the mp3 player that had been hooked up to a speaker, both of which he brought in his backpack, the tiger pressed the 'play' button.

-¦-

Soft, tinkering notes and trills began wafting out of the closet in the beautiful solo piano melody of Frédéric Chopin's Opus 57. Kai didn't recognize it, but realized it was a famous classical berceuse, or lullaby.

'Oh, shoot.'

Had it been any other sound coming from a closet of all places, Kai would have immediately jumped up and assumed a defensive stance. However, his senses involuntarily dulled and he refrained from opening his eyes. His eyelids felt like Tyson was sitting on them.

The world was no longer there, it was a hazy outline, like seen from underwater. This was warm, calm water, nothing like the icy liquid of Brooklyn's darkness.

'Brooklyn... Brooklyn's surprise birthday party... tired...'

Kai promptly fell asleep, slouched in the armchair.

-¦-

From inside the closet, Rei snickered. Tala's information was correct. "This is Sunbeam. Phase Two is complete."

"Roger that. Move out for Phase Three."

Tala inconspicuously slipped away from the crowd of bladers still helping with last-minute preparations. Most of the presents were set in nearby hiding places already, but he wanted to keep the box in the spare room until Brooklyn had opened the rest of his gifts. There were simply too many questions to answer if the box was revealed beforehand.

Already, Bryan had asked what Tala was planning. Being an expert at looking innocent, the wolf merely replied, "A large joint present among Rei, Kai, and me."

It was partially true, anyways, only Kai had no say in the planning.

Entering the spare room, Tala was relieved to see that Kai was thoroughly asleep. Rei was already out of the closet, stretching the kinks in his back and legs. "I got Red Hawk right where you want him," he flashed a cheeky smirk at Tala, motioning to where Kai laid, white earphones in his ears. The earphones, connected to the mp3 player, would make sure that Kai didn't wake up and escape the box, which Rei had dragged out of the closet.

Together, the partners in crime lifted Kai's body and positioned it in the open gift box, on top of a soft, baby blue blanket. Then they replaced the lid, which was dotted with breathing holes.

"Kai, Rei!" Max called from the living room between laughs as he watched Garland bind Tyson's hands together. Dragoon's blader protested verbally, but it was futile once Garland tied a handkerchief around his mouth.

"Now we're at a sub-phase – the excuse. Sunbeam, if anyone asks, say that Kai was feeling nervous about socializing and went for a walk. He told me not to send anyone looking for him, and to have fun without him."

"That doesn't really sound like Kai."

"Fine, take out the 'fun' part. Wow, Kai's actually purring!"

"I never expected that, to tell the truth."

Kai, of course, was sleeping like a baby.

-¦-

"There's a new emotion, Hiro," Brooklyn had absolutely no idea why he was spilling all his confusion and secrets to the older Granger sibling.

"Think about it carefully. It takes time to sort out your feelings." The birthday boy and Hiro were in an elevator, heading to the eighth floor.

Ding. Another floor passed. 'Kai is special, I'm aware of that much,' thought Brooklyn.

The fourth floor zipped by. Ding. 'He's... cute. Adorable, really,' the green-eyed teen struggled to find the right vocabulary.

Hiro shifted his position. Ding. 'But I want to know what's inside that exotic exterior.' Ding. 'I want to be closer to Kai. It feels right when he inadvertently brushes my arm. It felt wrong when I hurt him during the battle. It felt right when he forgave me.' The seventh floor approached as Brooklyn tried to work things out step by step. 'Kai seems like one to hold grudges for a long time. Why did he forgive me so easily?'

Ding. 'Maybe we feel the same. Something passionate, yet indescribable.' A final 'Ding' resounded as the elevator came to a stop. Brooklyn was still trying to put words around the unfamiliar sentiment as he and his companion opened the door to the apartment.

"Garland?" Hiro called casually.

Brooklyn sensed there was something wrong. The flow of the room... it felt like some invisible force was pushing down on the apartment. Cautiously slipping off his shoes, the passive teen followed Hiro. He half expected to find dead bodies littering the hallway.

Someone giggled, followed by a frantic 'shh!'

Now, Brooklyn relaxed. He was sure there was no catastrophe lying in wait.

Hiro flicked on the kitchen light.

"SURPRISE!"

Brooklyn gave a wide smile to Garland, who was standing behind a potted fig tree. The martial artist no doubt arranged the odd spectacle. Crusher and Monica were craning their necks around the corner on Brooklyn's left. Mystel was floating behind the TV in the living room. MingMing, Hilary, and Matilda had been hiding behind one of the couches, while Miguel, Claude, and Aaron were now standing near the other.

Tyson, still bound in ropes, appeared to have been rolled underneath the kitchen table, on which lay a cake decorated with the words: "Happy Birthday Brook!" There was no space on the end of the circular cake to add the rest of Brooklyn's name, he noted with slight amusement. Max and Kenny were also huddled beneath the kitchen table.

What really gave Brooklyn an almost-fright (he was still unwilling to admit fright), though, was not exactly the fact that Tala and Rei had nearly knocked over the wooden stands holding his precious flowers, or that Spencer had suddenly popped out of a nearby closet.

Actually, it was the realization that Bryan was flat against the wall behind the open apartment door... holding a knife.

Garland took one look and strode over, closing the door and allowing Bryan some breathing space. Hiro looked seriously spooked. Indifferently, Bryan advanced on the kitchen table, causing Kenny, who was under the table, to whimper. Then, the lilac-haired falcon set the knife down beside the birthday cake.

"Well?" he turned and questioned. "What about cake?"

The tension in the room evaporated. Hiro sighed in relief, ushering Brooklyn to cut the cake.

Meanwhile, Kai slept.

-¦-

"Sometimes opportunity must be created."

NOTES:

• I split this one-shot into a two-shot since it was getting quite lengthy. The fluffy next part should be up soon.

• You may now laugh if my experiment failed. Har-de-har-har. xD

• All my base may belong to them, but all of the sentences and quotes in this fic belong to me.

• Procrastinating is the ultimate tool for writing fan fiction.

• Please drop a review for my first fic.

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