Beyblade Fan Fiction ❯ Hallowed ❯ Part 02 ( Chapter 2 )

Authoress' Notes: Here we go! Part 2… I'm having fun writing this one! ^___^ Is it just me, or do conversations in a car when on a trip somewhere always reveal stuff you never knew about someone? O.o

Disclaimer: Don't own! Don't sue!

Warnings: Yaoi, language, fluffiness, etc. FF.Net readers: if you're looking for the NC-17 version of this fic, go to either my homepage (see my bio), Only TyKa Hotness, or Mediaminer.org.

Pairing: TyKa! Hints of ReMa and Kenny/Hilary, too.

~ Hallowed ~

Part 02

With less than a minute to spare, Tyson walked out of the hotel's front doors with his bag thrown over his shoulder. He grinned at the view down the steps from him, where Kai was leaning against a parked car, arms folded over his chest and one ankle crossed over the other casually. The crimson eyed blader wore a pair of dark tinted sunglasses and the wind ruffled his dual shaded hair gently. He looked aloof, bored, and unapproachable. Tyson, however, knew better - or at least he knew that he was one of few people who could (and would) just walk up to Kai and talk to him uninvited without risking life and limb.

And so that's exactly what he did.

"I'm ready, Kai! Let's go!" The dragon stepped up to the car and let the strap of his bag slide down his arm to his hand. "Nice car, Kai. Rental?"

"Hn. It was this or a minivan." Kai made a noise of displeasure at even the thought of driving a minivan as he pushed away from the slick, black, shiny, two door Saturn. "Put that in the trunk." He said, pressing a button on the remote starter he had in one hand while gesturing at Tyson's bag with the other. Then he walked around to the driver's side and got in.

Tyson stowed his bag and slid into the passenger seat. "How come you always get to drive?" He asked, pretending to pout. He couldn't see Kai roll his eyes behind his sunglasses but he could guess that's what the phoenix did. He knew Kai well enough by now, after all.

"Maybe because I'm older and have had more experience than you, Kinomiya." Kai snickered as he pulled way from the curb. "And maybe because it took you how many tries to get your licence in the first place?"

Slouching a bit, Tyson scowled and put on his own pair of sunglasses. "So I failed once or twice. Big deal. If you had taught me how to drive - and how to parallel park properly - instead of Gramps, then maybe I'd have done better."

"You let Gramps teach you?" Kai repeated incredulously. "Shit, Tyson…"

"Who else? Kenny's still too young, Rei wasn't around, Max was visiting his mom, and no way I'd ask Hilary to teach me anything, let alone how to drive." Tyson shuddered to emphasize that horror. "And Hiro was always busy and I didn't want to bother him with it, so…"

"Still! Gramps?" Kai gave the younger teen a quick sideways look. "You should have called me, Kinomiya. At least your chances of getting into an accident would have been a while lot less." He paused. "Why didn't you call anyway?" Kai queried softly.

Tyson sighed. Kai had a point, really. Gramps didn't have a licence either - not for driving, anyway. Fishing yes. Driving no.

"Yeah, well, it doesn't matter much now, does it." He stared out the window at the passing buildings. "And I didn't call you and ask because…I was scared you'd just laugh at me or flat out refuse since you're always busy and I'd just be a bother." The bluenette refused to look at Kai now and because of that, missed the startled expression that passed over Kai's face when he glanced over.

The phoenix had to take a moment to shove back the feeling of hurt that welled up. He had thought Tyson knew by now that he was the one person in the world that could never `bother' Kai. Apparently not. Kai grumbled to himself silently. Honestly. What do I have to do? Hit him over the head with it?"

"I wouldn't have been too busy for something as important as that. And where the hell did you get the idea I would laugh at you? You don't give me any credit at all, do you?"

"What do you mean, `where?'" Tyson demanded, glaring out the front windshield now. "You don't exactly give off an inviting impression, you know. And, if you'll recall the prom, when I asked all of you guys to teach me how to dance you laughed at me!"

"You're never going to forgive me about that are you?" Kai said wryly. "I said I was sorry about that. It just struck me as funny that someone with all your skills and training as a world class blader and with your martial arts training you hadn't learned how to dance yet, that's all. I wasn't laughing at you…just the situation."

"You laughed." Tyson sniffed and crossed his arms. "And you wonder why I don't ask you to teach me stuff anymore."

Silence descended on them for awhile after that. Kai didn't have anything to say (as usual) and Tyson seemed to be content to watch the autumn scenery of New England as they continued driving up the coast toward Salem.

Eventually, however, the quiet got on Tyson's nerves and he reached for the radio. He turned it on and began station surfing. Glancing over at Kai, Tyson raised a questioning eyebrow.

"You don't mind if I listen to the radio, do you?"

"Whatever. It doesn't bother me. As long as it's not that awful twang-y stuff these Americans seem to like so much." Kai clarified, shuddering. "I swear that stuff gives me an instant migraine."

Tyson gave him an odd look, not understanding. "Twang-y? Oh! You mean country music!"

"Yeah. That."

The bluenette had to laugh at the pained tone of Kai's voice. "Don't worry. I don't like it much either. Not my style." He frowned thoughtfully, settling on a rock station before sitting back comfortably in his seat. "It could have something to do with Gramps blaring it at home all the time, though…"

Somehow that didn't surprise Kai much. It sounded like something Tyson's wacky grandfather would do.

"So why don't you like country?" Tyson asked curiously. He was forever trying to learn more about the crimson eyed captain, since he didn't know a lot of the little personal details about him - despite the many years they'd known each other now. "And what sort of music do you like, anyway?"

Kai shrugged. "I don't like country music for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is how it sounds. It all has nearly the same sound to it - there's just not enough variety from song to song for me."

"You have a point there." Tyson agreed with that.

"Then there's the lyrics. I swear it's all the same - he or she gets dumped, or loses their significant other somehow, and they have to bitch and complain about it one way or another. It's like the same old story about love told a million different ways. It gets old." Kai made an indelicate sound. "Basically, they're all about love and all the woes that go with it. What I want to know is if love is so awful, then why do people bother?"

The dragon listened attentively with wide eyes. Tyson was pretty sure that this had been the most conversation he'd ever gotten out of Kai before - not including their many, diverse arguments, of course.

"Do you not believe in love, then?" He inquired in a soft voice.

Kai hesitated, frowning slightly at the question. Something in Tyson's voice hinted that whatever he said was going to be very important to the dragon. Kai didn't have a clue why it seemed to matter, but he was sure it did. "I don't know. I don't remember my parents or if they loved me. My grandfather…well, you know." He caught Tyson's nod of affirmation with a quick side-glance. "And I don't have a relationship of any kind with anyone so…I guess it's possible." He sighed. "Just not for me."

Tyson stared at him in shock and a sad sort of sympathy. "Don't think that way, Kai! I'm sure you'll find someone someday! Some lucky girl…right?" Tyson protested, feeling quite proud of himself for sneaking in a veiled attempt to find out Kai's preferences. He just hoped Kai answered.

The phoenix felt his face heat up and he gripped the steering wheel tightly. "You sound awfully certain of that, Kinomiya. And why does it have to be a girl? I could be gay - or bisexual - for all you know."

"Eh heh…" Tyson blushed and scratched his head sheepishly. "I don't know. So much for being sneaky about it, huh?"

Kai rolled his eyes. "I know you too well, Tyson. It's really hard for you to catch me off guard anymore."

Tyson huffed. "Don't be so sure. I'll surprise you someday."

"Does it matter one way or the other?" Kai asked suddenly. For reasons totally alien to him, he discovered he wanted to know if sexual preference did matter to Tyson at all. He didn't think it did, but he needed to know.

"What? If you're gay or not?" At Kai's short nod, the dragon shook his head. "I wouldn't care if you were flaming gay, Kai. You'd still be you, I'd still be me, birds would keep flying and fish would keep swimming. In other words, nothing would have changed."

"I get the point." Kai smiled slightly, a swell of relief washing through him. "Thanks."

"I didn't do anything." Tyson shrugged it off. "It's just the truth. I'm friends with a robot, after all." He turned in his seat to face Kai, adjusting his seatbelt to accommodate his new position. Feeling bolder now that the older teen appeared to be in a more open frame of mind with him at the moment, Tyson asked bluntly, "So are you?"

Kai had been expecting the question and didn't even blink when he replied innocently, "This is our exit. Am I what?" He steered the car up the off ramp and headed toward Salem on the last little part of their drive.

Tyson looked around, momentarily distracted, before giving his captain a small scowl. "Come on, Kai! I wanna know!"

Sighing heavily with the knowledge of the bluenette wouldn't be distracted, Kai tried diverting the question instead.

"Why do you want to know so badly? It doesn't matter, like you said."

Tyson growled in exasperation. "I just want to know! And I'm beginning to suspect you are because of how you're avoiding answering me."

Kai cursed mentally. How can I explain it to him? He's not stupid. Of course he'd catch on and figure it out. "Alright, fine. If you'll leave me alone about it - and you have to tell me if you are or not, too - then I'll tell you."

"Deal. So?"

"You first."

"No way. You offered, you confess first."

"Crap. Okay, the truth is…"

Tyson unconsciously leaned closer, eager to hear the truth. "Yeah?"

"I suspect I am but I don't really know." Kai said in a rush of words, turning a healthy shade of red and shifting uncomfortably under Tyson's gaze.

"You don't know? How can you not know?" The younger blader held up a hand. "Never mind. I guess it is something that's kind of confusing." He angled his head at Kai consideringly. "Maybe I can help somehow…"

Kai looked at him sharply, a small thrill shooting up and down his spine. "Uh…I don't see how…"

"Not like that! Hentai."

"I wasn't…" Kai blushed furiously. "Tyson!"

"Whatever. I meant maybe I can help you figure it out by asking you a few things." Tyson let it drop, not wanting the older teen to clam up completely at this point.

"Like?" Kai was beginning to dread the entire conversation.

"Well…to start with, what makes you suspect you are?"

"I guess…because…I haven't met a girl yet that interested me." The phoenix replied slowly. The blush was beginning to fade, which Kai was profoundly grateful for.

"Uh huh. Then I assume another indicator would be that you have met a guy that interested you, right?"

Kai fought the urge to squirm in his seat. "Do we have to talk about this?"

"Are you kidding?! It's just getting interesting!" Tyson grinned at him. "Don't worry, Kai. I swear on Dragoon that whatever is said within this car will stay between us." He sat back properly in his seat again, hoping to make Kai more comfortable if he wasn't looking right at him the whole time. "So is there a guy? You don't have to tell me his name or anything…"

"Hn." Kai made his usual noise that could be taken either way. He really didn't like the direction this was going because he just knew Tyson would eventually try to wheedle details out of him and the phoenix really wasn't prepared to admit to even himself yet that it was Tyson who interested Kai that much, let alone to tell Tyson that.

"I'll take that as a yes." Tyson nodded sagely. "Well, I'd have to say that, at the very least, you like guys. So I guess you're at least bi."

The older blader could feel that blush creeping back onto his face again. "Fine. Is that your expert opinion?" He demanded archly, giving the World Champ a raised eyebrow.

For some reason he felt a whole lot better when Tyson blushed hotly and stared fixedly out the front windshield. "Yes." Came the low reply. "Hey look! We're here!"

"I know. And don't change the subject." Kai found a parking spot in front of a flower shop and pulled in, parking. He left the car running and turned to give Tyson his turn at an inquisition. "You got all that out of me and now it's your turn. Spill."

"But…" Tyson tugged at his sleeve restlessly and reached for the door handle, intending to make a run for it.

And found it locked.

He looked back at Kai, who had his hand over the console on the driver's side door. He'd pushed the `lock' button to trap the bluenette.

"Damn it! Stupid child-safety locks!" Tyson cursed and Kai smirked.

"I'm not letting you out until you reciprocate, Kinomiya. All's fair, after all…"

"What exactly do you want to know?" Tyson asked, warily.

"Hmm…how about how you knew you were gay." Kai folded his arms and regarded the bluenette evenly, waiting with determination.

Tyson felt a bubble of pure panic under his embarrassment. Oh Gods, oh Gods, oh Gods! How am I going to get out of this one? I can't tell him it's because of him! He wanted to just crawl under the seat and die.

"Uh…well…you see…I just knew?" He tried, wilting under the disbelieving, faintly annoyed, look Kai gave him.

"What's wrong, Kinomiya? You don't trust me enough to tell me?" Kai made sure his voice was laced with hurt. He didn't really think that, of course. He knew Tyson had always had an almost unnatural trust in him - which Kai was sure he'd never understand why for the life of him.

He was right, too - if the immediate expression of surprise and how quick Tyson was to protest was anything to go by.

"That's not true! Of course I trust you, Kai! It's…it's just that…" the bluenette faltered, lowering his storm-blue eyes to stare at his fidgeting hands. "I…fell in love…with someone. And he's…a guy. So…yeah. That's how I knew."

Kai's stomach dropped to his feet and his heart clenched. He knew the younger blader wasn't lying this time. Swallowing around the lump in his throat, he managed to say, "I see." before he hit the `lock' button again and the doors unlocked with a soft, mechanical click in the heavy silence. Tyson looked up in time to see his captain turn off the car and make to get out of it as he continued in a subdued voice to speak. "That wasn't so hard, was it? Now, let's go see if the trip up here was worth it or not, Kinomiya." Kai stepped out of the car.

Tyson nodded hastily and got out, too. Looking around with renewed interest, he smiled. "Oh wow! Max wasn't kidding about Salem going all-out for Halloween! Look at this place!"

"It's rather…overdone." Kai eyed the street they were on with distaste. "So many decorations aren't necessary, are they?"

Tyson shrugged. "It's all done in fun, Kai. I bet they do most of it for the benefit of us tourists anyway."

"Benefit?" Kai shook his head at that and followed Tyson as he began to walk down the street. "Where are we going?"

"Nowhere specific. Let's walk up and down the street first, okay? Maybe we'll see something interesting or find a cool store or something." Tyson beamed excitedly. "Hey! Think we should get souvenirs for the others?"

"Whatever."

Kai simply followed his eager younger team mate, putting aside the startling confession Tyson had made in the car to analyze and agonize over later.

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Authoress' Notes: I know I put this in a `suspense' category, and there hasn't been anything suspenseful yet, but I swear it's coming! *sweatdrops* Bear with me, folks. Please R/R!!!!