Other Fan Fiction ❯ Running Scared-Dir en grey ❯ The Subway ( Chapter 1 )

“I like some of their bracelets and shoes, but I think it's all geared towards the younger people. It all looked kinda kidish.”
Kyo pushed out the glass door of “Putomayo”, ahead of Kaoru. He let go of the door and walked into the middle of the crowded sidewalk and looked back. Kaoru was holding the door open for three girls who had walked up laughing about something. A handsome grin from Kaoru added to their giggles. His eyes followed theirs until they where submersed in the store clothes racks. Finally he left the doorway. Kyo had his hands tucked away in his wide, baggy jean pockets giving Kaoru a blank stare.
“What?” Kaoru asked with a little more exasperation than was necessary.
“See what I mean,” Kyo said as he began to walk away. “…Young.”
Kaoru followed and matched Kyo's sluggish pace. They ignored the annoyed pedestrians that were in a hurry as they tried to shoot in between and around the pair.
“At least it was all in your size.” Kaoru snickered down at Kyo and waited for his reaction. To his surprise a throaty growl rose up from Kyo and blacked eyes glared through his bleached bangs. To a normal person those fake pale blue eyes would be mighty uncomfortable when weighted on you but Kaoru just laughed it off.
“What, so you're not gonna beat me? You must be gettin' old.” Kaoru voice shook as he giggled.
Kyo just growled again and shrugged. After ten years of Kaoru and Die' s short jokes they had come to expect a certain reaction. Kyo had become too lazy to deliver.
“Fine….jeez.” Kaoru's voice still hid a chuckle but he acknowledged Kyo's growl and ended the teasing.
They walked all the way to the crosswalk without talking again. They both seemed content with listening to the street sounds of cars, people, TV announcements on the big screen, the constant clomping and tapping of footsteps. They stopped at the crosswalk and stood with the usual clump of people. To Kyo's left a man's cell phone beeped as he dialed a number.  Kaoru watched a two year-old girl in a sailor suit try and pry herself from her mothers grip on her hand. She whined as she tried and tried to twist away. The sign changed and the mass started to move. The girl and her mother where lost in the group. The man with the phone was shouting to be heard over the noise of the city. The pair walked faster to keep with the group. They stepped onto the sidewalk and made a sharp right down the sidewalk.
God…..someone say something.
Kyo growled for the third time that night to express his boredom.
“What?” Kaoru asked as though he didn't know and merely for the sake of conversation.
“I am as bored as all hell!” Kyo clenched bits of hair on either side of his head as he walked.
Kaoru stopped and spread his arms out at Kyo. “What do you want me to do about it? Do you want me to dance?!”
Kyo stopped with him, resting a hand on his hip. He held his chin thoughtfully and smirked. “That'd be nice. A strip tease sounds more inviting though.” His voice was full of fake intrigue.
Kaoru laughed at Kyo's joke but his face still turned red. “Sorry, I work in the music biz only.” He began to walk again in the direction of the subway station.

“How disappointing.” He heard Kyo say behind him. Kaoru could have sworn it sounded a little more sincere then Kyo may have originally intended. But then again, maybe it was sincere. No way. Kyo was notorious for lying and had amazing control of his voice. That could have been an act too.

All the way to the station they were once again mute of words. This time Kyo made no “I'm bored!” outburst. Perhaps their late dinner, walk, and the late hour were finally getting to them. Kyo was surprised to find how slow they had been walking. The train they originally intended to catch had left and another was on its way.
“Crap.” Kaoru muttered. “I guess we lied about when we'd be back.” More people shuffled down the stairs to the platform as the time for the second train neared.
“We'll take this one I guess.” Kaoru continued.
“Wait, does this one go by the hotel?” Kyo shook himself from his half caring state to ask.
Kaoru scratched his head. “Um…” A wind came out of the tunnel and blew Kaoru's purple hair. “Hmm…” He hummed as he thought as read the train route hanging from the ceiling. Halfway through the route he felt eyes on him. He glanced downward and found Kyo looking up at him with unusually wide and interested eyes. The rest of his face was blank of emotion.
“Kyo…” Kaoru said cautiously. Kyo blinked his eyes and they narrowed down to normal. He shifted his eyes.
“What?” He answered quickly in a higher pitch then normal. There was an awkward pause between them until Kaoru cleared his throat.
“Um…if we get on this next train and get off at the fourth stop we'll be in walking distance of the hotel.”
“Oh…right.” Kyo said gruffly. He dropped his shoulders and pocketed his hands in an attempt to act normal. Despite this he couldn't stop his face from turning red. Kaoru raised an eyebrow.
“You okay?” He chuckled as he spoke so as not to sound too serious.
“Being stoned gives me hot flashes.” He grabbed a folded train schedule from its holder and fanned himself.  
That's a lame ass lie, Kaoru thought to himself.
And like it was a theme for that night they remained without conversation as they waited out the last few minutes. Finally, to their relief, the silence was broken by the train's horn. A persistent mass of people shuffled closer to ensure a ride on the train. Instinctively, Kyo and Kaoru shortened the space between them to avoid getting separated. The train's lights blinded the two as it rode up out of the tunnel. The clacking sounds of the tracks slowed to a stop. As soon as the doors hissed opened Kyo aggressively moved forward. He rudely elbowed equally rude people aside as he board the train with less grace than a giant bear. Kaoru, who had been caught off guard by Kyo's retreat, stumbled in behind him and tried to keep up. Kyo was only a few steps into the train stationed against the opposite door. Kaoru moved to join him but there was a sudden shove from the gathering mass behind him and he was thrown in the direction. To get out of the way he quickly reassembled near Kyo.
“Damn.” He commented humorously and looked at Kyo. He was preoccupied with his ipod, which he'd just pulled out of his pocket. Kaoru looked away and leaned his hand on the door that Kyo had his back to. The faint crashes of heavy music that came from the tiny headphones meant that Kyo was gone for now. God, did he have mood swings. Kaoru sighed at his abandonment and entertained himself with people as the train moved away from the platform.
Chatting in two seats were two grown women. They had shopping bags piled on their laps to show what they had been up to for the last few hours. A teenager with a green Mohawk was playing air drums on the door window as the song he loved played through his headphones. All around were men in suits. One was on the phone trying to explain something to someone. Another was loosening his tie with one hand and had his bag under the other.  Another one was reading today's newspaper that he never got to finish at work.
Kaoru sighed again. “How boring is this?” He sighed out loud. The train ride dragged on for what felt like days. Kaoru could have hyperventilated from all the sighing he was doing. Eventually he decided to make a game out of trying to figure out what song Kyo was listening to judging by the beat he could hear. Of course, he had no way of telling if he was right or wrong so it lost its thrill fast. It wasn't until the third stop did he begin to feel relief. One more stop to go!
The train pulled up to the station and came to a slow stop. Beyond the heads and through the windows Kaoru could see the next group to board was a big one. Great, prepare to be knocked breathless, he thought with annoyance. At least it'd be over soon. The door opened and unfortunately more filed in then out. The mass moved in closer into him and he had no choice but to scoot in closer to the door. He looked down at Kyo for help but he found him with his eyes closed and waiting for Kaoru to wake him up when they got there. Kaoru grumbled but it turned into a grunt as the whole group behind him shuffled in closer.
Kyo jumped and opened his eyes as Kaoru was pushed up against him. Kyo once again gave him a wide eyed stare. Here he was dozing off and suddenly Kaoru was on him. Kaoru could practically feel the confusion coming out of those darkened eyes. Kaoru tried to give off his usual chuckle but Kyo's childish stare made it die away into an awkward and shy smile. Kaoru pulled out one of Kyo's earphones and leaned closer. “Sorry about this.” He said a little louder then normal so that he could be heard.
Kyo's eyes shifted away from his and his head turned.
“It's fine.” He turned his body so that his shoulder was at Kaoru's chest. He replaced the earphone and tried to look out a window.
They rode like this for the next ten minutes but even now again Kaoru caught Kyo looking in his direction. And every time he did Kyo would either quickly look away or pretend he's looking at someone else. Finally Kyo just watched the lights go by and Kaoru tried to daydream.
“And now we are at the fourth stop on our route…” As the speakers spoke Kaoru jumped awake. He felt every nerve get anxious, like he was just gonna jump for the exit. This time the train seemed to take longer to stop. And when it finally did stop Kaoru felt Kyo roughly push pass him. He watched as Kyo did every thing but knock over old ladies to get out. Once again he was shocked by Kyo's attitude but this time he followed at a comfortable pace. He expected to find Kyo waiting for him so when he stepped off he stopped to let his eyes filter out Kyo among the busy throng of people. He looked left, he looked right, he looked ahead…..
Where the hell was Kyo?
He stepped farther into the station and swiveled his head in all directions looking for a bleached head. Just as his heart began to beat faster he calmed himself by remembering Kyo had a cell phone. He returned to his cool state and pulled his own out of his pocket. He walked off to the side wall as he dialed the number. As he put the phone to his ear he turned to glance at the stairway and his eye caught the sight of a familiar figure.
“Hey!” He yelled out to no one in particular. He closed the phone and bolted after Kyo.

By the time he zigzagged between people, pushed passed people on the stairs and reached the street above he was lost for breath. He realized that is was time to say “fuck it” and just go back by himself but to his surprise Kyo standing a little way ahead next to a stone bench. Apparently he didn't want to lose Kaoru completely.
“Damn you.” Kaoru breathed and he made a staggering jog over to Kyo. Kyo turned around and moved quickly out of range. Apparently he still wanted to be left alone.
“Hey, hold on you little fucker!” Kaoru made sure he sounded serious despite his lack of breathe. He decided it was time to exercise his power as a leader. But Kyo ignored him and kept walking.
Kaoru stopped. He leaned forward and let his arms hang there lifelessly. He took in deep breathes but he choked on freezing air as a breeze from the ocean came. He shot up and straightened himself. He gathered what was left of his strength and ran after Kyo. Finally, the distance between them was gone. He grabbed Kyo by the arm and yanked him to a stop. Kyo jerked his head to glare back at him.
“What the hell is wrong with you?!” He voice was weak from running and came out like a wheeze.
“I'm tired of you!” Kyo boiled with pure frustration that made no sense to Kaoru. Hadn't they just been shopping earlier? Hadn't they been teasing and joking? Where did this come from! Kaoru couldn't help it as his own emotions turned sour.
“What do you mean you're tired of me? What the fuck did I do to you?!” Kaoru exploded back. A group of teenagers a few yards away had turned to watch what seemed to be a lover spat.
“Nothing!” Kyo yelled back as he spread out his arms in a wild gesture.
Kaoru rolled his eyes and let out a growl.
“What the f-that doesn't make sense! Why are you angry if I've done nothing?!” Kyo was just being crazy! What the hell had gotten into him?
Kyo grabbed his head, shut his eyes and growled deeply. “But that's just it!” He yelled as he walked away then paced back. “You've done…you're doing nothing.” Kyo's voice died down as he finished. He looked at the ground quietly and when Kaoru didn't respond he crossed his arms and pouted. He grumbled and turned his back on Kaoru.
“Kyo…” Kaoru called softly from behind.
“What?” His muffled voice answered back.
“Kyo…”
“What?!” Turned to face him and found he was looking into Kaoru's chest. Kaoru's long arms wrapped themselves around his shoulders and his head came to rest on Kyo's. Kyo's tense body relaxed.
“What's wrong?” Kaoru whispered into his mass of hair.
“Nothing.” Kyo sounded like a stubborn child hiding under a blanket. Kyo felt Kaoru pull him in closer.
“It must be something. Are you going to tell me?”
Kaoru felt Kyo's head shake under his chin.
“No.” Kyo sounded smaller now, calmer then before.
“I can't read minds Kyo. You have to tell me.”
“I'm not gonna.” Kyo felt the vibration of Kaoru's chuckle on his cheek as he pressed into his chest.
“Why not silly?” Kaoru teased.
“Because you're too stupid to figure it out for yourself.” Kyo pushed away and pouted again. Kaoru saw the frustration coming back anew. He mimicked Kyo and crossed his arms.
“What makes you think I haven't figured it out?”
Kyo's anger disappeared into an abyss called shock. That wide eyed stare returned and was full of hope. Kaoru looked back into the contact colored eyes with a calm expression.
“What if I just want to hear it from you?” He continued. Kaoru's face turned into a sly smirk. “Well?” He urged. Kyo noticed the change and growled.
“Stupid asshole.” With his hands in his pockets he looked away.
“Not gonna say?” The playful voice of Kaoru asked.
“Fuck off.” So much for that little ray of sunshine, Kyo thought hopelessly.
To his surprise Kaoru started to laugh loudly. Kyo looked behind himself and all around for something funny.
“What? What's so funny?!”
“You.” Kaoru practically yelled through his giggles.
“Me?” Kyo pointed to himself and looked offended.
“Yeah,” Kaoru said as he leaned down to Kyo's eye level. “You're cute when you're grumpy.” Kyo was about to rage about the word cute but it was sucked away by Kaoru's kiss. The kiss was small and friendly but the length in which it held suggested something unsaid. Kaoru pulled away from a red faced Kyo and grinned.
“Want to tell me?”
“N-no…” Kyo stuttered.
“Will you ever tell me?”
“Maybe!” Kyo crunched up his shoulders and growled.
“I'll be patient then. Come on, let's go.” Kaoru walked around Kyo. Kyo blushed again but relaxed. He turned around and jogged to catch up to his leader.
“Kay.”