It happened every single time they had a fight. Tyson would be doing something normal, something easy, or just talking about a random topic and Kai would made a small comment. Nothing major enough to flip out about, but something that made Tyson a bit irritated. It was like Kai purposely tried to find something to complain about.
The one time Tyson was boredly watching 'The Sound of Music' on television. It wasn't his favorite film or anything, it was just on from watching 'Grease' previously. Kai walked into the room, watched it for half an hour, then said, "Why are you watching this crap?"
Tyson bit his lip, irritated that he'd call a classic 'crap,' but tried to stay neutral. "It's not crap. A bit much, but not crap."
Kai rolled his eyes and said, "It is crap. It's over hyped, the acting's bad, and the costumes are ridiculous."
The younger boy bit his lip again. Does he not realize that it was an old movie? Musicals are supposed to be over the top. The costumes are period correct and the acting was so-so, but it was the storyline that you were supposed to be intrigued by.
"Kai, it's just a movie. Yeah, there's some flaws, but nothing to really complain about."
"I could find several things to complain about," the Russian retorted, crossing his arms.
It was times like these Tyson wasn't sure why they were even dating for. It was like when they were just friends. Kai would make snide remarks, Tyson would yell at him, and they'd bicker back and forth until someone separated them or fists were thrown. Now, it took all of Tyson's restraint to be a good boyfriend and put up with Negative Nancy's pissy attitude. Underneath it all, he knew Kai was a good guy, but sometimes the 'I don't give a damn' facade was annoying.
"If you don't like the movie, you don't have to watch it," Tyson informed Kai, purposely raising the volume a little bit.
"But, you're watching it."
"I can change the channel."
"But, you're the one who wants to watch it."
"So what do you expect me to do?"
"Nothing."
There'd be a slight silence between the two before Kai found another thing to comment on. Tyson shrugged it off, but every few minutes, there was something new to complain about, to correct, to comment on. Tyson didn't even know how hard he had been gripping the remote when he heard the sound of plastic snapping. Kai turned his head to see what happened, but Tyson tucked the remote under the seat cushion and suggested going out to eat instead of tv. Kai shrugged and said okay.
Things like this happened too often for Tyson to count. From the way he washed the dishes, to the way he cooked soup, to the way he bladed. It was a never-ending line of nitpicking comments that would stew inside of Tyson until the end of the week.
The end of the week, he'd snap at Kai out of the blue, spewing all the things Kai had talked about, calling them all bull, and claiming that Kai shouldn't say anything until he does any of the activities himself, including making his own damn musical that wasn't over the top or lame.
Kai would remain completely calm, watching Tyson turn redfaced, squinting his eyes, throwing his hands over his head and swinging them as if he was a monkey in fury. Tyson didn't understand how he was so still when Tyson was saying the usual things that would rile Kai up. Maybe he was whipped and Tyson didn't even realize it.
Amidst the complaining, Kai would stand up, trying to interrupt the whining, and put his arms around Tyson, apologizing for all the stupid remarks he made. Tyson's pissed off face would slowly fall into a facial of relaxation, knowing that at least Kai understood when he crossed a line with Tyson.
They'd hug, they'd kiss, then hands found naughty spots that led to the love ritual between the two behind closed doors. With every movement, Kai would murmur sweet nothings into Tyson's hair, earning forgiveness from the younger boy.
Other times, Kai would just grab the boy in the middle of his ranting and plant a fat kiss on him, shutting him up. Tyson would still be mad, but never turned down an advance from Kai. They'd aggressively kiss one another until clothes were torn and someone was thrown into the bedroom for pissed off sex. Near the end, Kai would apologize, moaning Tyson's name whether or not Tyson was actually inside of him. Tyson would chalk this up towards his ego and forgave the boy either way.
Yet no matter how many times he forgave, Kai would repeat the same process. Sometimes with more comments, sometimes with less. He wasn't understanding that Tyson didn't want 24/7 commentary.
Tyson was about to give up on the matter when Max read him something out of some health and sex magazine.
"Some couples purposely create tension in their relationship to garner more spice to their dynamic."
Tyson blinked and looked up at Max who casually stared down at magazine on the breakfast table.
"One person may initiate behavior that they know the other person doesn't like, from loud gum chewing to white lies to even simple things like snide remarks about something frivolous."
Tyson was awe-struck. Was that what Kai was doing to him?
"It's meant to build over time until an explosion of emotions occurs within the targeted partner. How the person want their target to respond depends on their methods of annoyance, along with a clear understanding of what type of person their significant other is. "
Kai did know that Tyson had a limited temper, even if it had dampened once they dated. Tyson didn't want to do anything that pissed off Kai. They're supposed to be considerate of each other in a relationship.
"Some may find their typically calm partner frazzled as something appealing because it's different from their usual persona. A change in personality and behavior become alluring because it's new territory rather than the same footprinted trail."
Well, Kai already knew Tyson was high-spirited and energetic before they dated. He may have calmed down knowing he annoyed Kai when he was off the wall, but that wouldn't be a reason for why he'd piss him off.
"Others may seek the previous reactions prior to dating. A once spitfire friend may dull when domesticated. If the spitfire's partner original attraction was to the attitude, they may find themselves disappointed when they don't spark as often. As a result, they may themselves walking a thin line between causing drama and making the target reconsider their relationship."
Oh. My. God. That was spot on. It was like the writer of the article spied on Kai and him for the past three months and wrote that little section just for him.
Maybe Kai was trying to piss him off because it was like when they were just friends. They exchanged heated words followed by fists, but at some point, just a month before they started dating, one fist ended up into a kiss. Kai grabbed Tyson's fist, twisted away, and leaned down to peck him.
Tyson immediately jumped away, not expecting anything like that to happen in a million years. He ran off, frightened at this new discovery of Kai's and his own feelings. They would continue this pattern for the next three weeks. Words, fists, kisses. Until Kai pinned Tyson against the wall, admitting that he was tired of this game and wanted Tyson to be his.
He agreed of course. Since then, Tyson's attitude had been diminished from fear that he'd drive Kai away. He did it when they were just friends, so what would happen if they were dating? Would Kai break up with him? According to Max's article, he wouldn't. He craved the energy that poured out of Tyson before, to the point that he risked Tyson's feelings towards Kai.
A surge of happiness, relief, and anger boiled through his blood. Tyson smirked to himself, gaining an odd look from Max.
That bastard thought he could get away with manipulating Tyson's feelings? Oh, he had another thing coming. If he wanted spitfire, he sure as heck was going to get it now.
Tyson quickly excused himself from the table and ran to his and Kai's bedroom. He almost kicked opened the door, gaining a pissed off look from Kai who sat in bed reading.
Kai held the book near his face, asking, "Yes?"
Tyson grunted and walked forward, grabbing hold of the book and flinging it across the room. Kai seemed astonished by the behavior before returning to his cold look.
"Any reason you're throwing my stuff?" He growled through clenched teeth.
"Because that book is stupid!"
"You don't even know what book it was."
"SO? Every book you read is stupid! It's all old, ashy people from the 1900's, holding teacups, and discussing politics over crumpets!"
Kai's eyes flashed anger like they did when they were friends. "At least it holds literary value compared to the millions of comics you have holed up in your closet."
"Those comics have more monetary value than your crusty, 1800's books!"
"Which one is it, 1800's or 1900's? Because if you're going to insult my taste in books, you can at least be consistent with it."
"It doesn't matter because they're dusty, old, and everyone talks like they're freaking British!"
"That's called proper English. Something you should study up on. I offer lessons for a hundred bucks."
"Yeah, because I need English lessons from the freaking Russian immigrant!"
"I know more about English than you do, that's for sure."
"Says who?"
"Says your grades in English class, dumbass."
Tyson pulled at his own hair, screeching, "I hate you so muuuuuuch!"
He launched himself at Kai, wanting to shove his fist so far down his throat that he could tickle his stomach. The two exchanged half-hearted hits, wrestling to try to pin down the other. Tyson's anger faded quickly, realizing what Kai went through. He did miss the look in Kai's eyes when it looked like he was going to dominate Tyson, pinning him down, and holding that smug smile Tyson wanted to slap off his face.
It wasn't even the anger, it was the competition between the two. Being in a relationship, Tyson wanted to be equal to Kai since they spent most of their friendship seeing who was top dog. But their determination to become the best was what brought them together. Who won the argument, who won the fight, who won the beyblade battle, who would get the last slice of cheesecake without blood splattering the walls. All silly as it sounded, equality would never become a part of their dysfunctional relationship. The battle of wills was what brought them together and what would keep them together.
At some point, the two tangled their limbs with one another's, sharing small kisses on the messed up bed. Kai gave a kiss to Tyson's neck, asking, "You don't really hate me, do you?"
Tyson shook his head. "No. I was just getting mad at you pissing me off."
Kai nodded and sighed. "Glad you figured it out now."
The younger boy chuckled, shuffling closer to Kai's chest. "You could have told me."
"No."
"Why not?"
"Too easy."
"Shut up, Kai. You and your crusty books..."
"You and your scribbled comic books."
Tyson smiled, feeling more at place in their relationship than he had for a while.
"Hey, Kai?"
"Yeah."
"I love you, even if you have bad taste in books."
"...I love you too, even if you have the attention span of a four year old."
"Do not."
"My mistake. A squirrel."
"Do I need to pin you to the bed again?"
"Is that a promise or a threat?"
"A little of both."
"Go for it."
Yep. Tyson was right at home.
A/N: Kind of random, but the plot just popped into my head while I was walking the dog. It was supposed to be flufflier. Oh well.
SHAMELESS FANFICTION PROMOTION: My TyKa fanfiction 'OneTwoThree,' the last part is almost done. Just have to write the last scene and it'll be complete. Give it a few more days, I promise.
Read up on hurr: h t t p : / / www . fanfiction . net / s / 7553869 / 1 / OneTwoThree