Boo! Here's the last chapter, for your perusal.
UlTiMaTe KaI LuVa- thanks for pointing that out! U is the lowest grade you can get- Ungraded. I don't take business studies, but I know that a lot of people who do it and hate it…glad I escaped!
Ropponmatsu III- That made me laugh…a twenty pound letter…but it's my fault for not being clearer about the currency, so sorry about that!
If anyone else wants to ask any questions about the school system/currency/something else I haven't explained properly, review telling me and I'll stick it in a note at the end of this chapter (don't you just love the backup/export?)
Many months later, Kai was watching the TV, some pointless chat-show designed to fill the slot between ten and eleven. He was about to change the channel when he heard a familiar voice. Could it be-?
"So, Rei, what have you got to say for yourself? Do you have a girlfriend?" Kai's mouth dropped open. It was Rei. Rei was there, on the screen, sat in a plush armchair, reclining slightly. He smirked, then answered the woman talking to him.
"No."
"Really? I find that hard to believe!"
"Well...can I be honest, Laney?" The talk show host nodded. "I'm not into girls. And I -did- have a boyfriend...a wonderful boyfriend. And I loved him. But when I joined the team, I had to leave him, even though he meant a lot to me. He was one of my teachers."
"What? But that's-"
"Illegal. That's just what he used to say." Kai realised finally that Rei was talking about him. "At first he refused point blank to have any kind of relationship with me, but I pestered him and pestered him until he said yes. He's only nineteen...it's not like it was pervy or anything... But, well, we were together for a while- that was just before my exams started, about a month before I would have left school. He was...really nice to me. I remember, we were sat on his sofa once, and I was joking about spending the night. He..." Rei paused for a second, then continued. "He drew a line across my stomach and said he wasn't going to touch me anywhere below it until after my exams were over."
"And what happened?"
"I...left before my last exam. My English exam. And...he was my English teacher. Kai...if you're watching..." His face was suddenly sad. "I'm still sorry. And I still love you."
Kai let out a noise that was a mix of a gasp a croak and a sigh. Before he knew what he was doing he had grabbed his phone off the coffee table and was dialling the number at the bottom of the screen. A bored voice answered him.
"You have reached the Chatline Hotline, and-"
"I need to speak to Rei. Please. Tell him it's Kai. I am...was...his boyfriend..."
There was a commotion on screen and Rei gasped. "Kai?"
"Rei!" He heard his voice come out of the TV. "Rei...I..."
"Kai..." Rei looked straight into the camera and Kai nearly died. He felt as if he were looking at an angel.
"I've missed you, Rei."
"Oh Kai...I've missed you too..."
"You missed the exam." Kai laughed, throat choked with emotion. "Do you know what the question was?" Rei shook his head. "'What is Jack searching for in chapter four?'" Rei let out a choked laugh.
"Kai...once I get out of here...are you at home, Kai?"
"Yeah. Marking books, like I usually am..."
"As soon as I'm free...can I come over, Kai?"
"If you want to." Kai whispered.
"I want to." The talk show host smiled and laid a hand over Rei's arm.
"Just go sweetie! I'm not one to get in the way of true love." She laughed, good-naturedly. Rei stood up, smiling.
"Kai...I'll be there...soon...I love you!" He ran, pelting off the stage.
"So...Kai, was it? How about you tell us something about your relationship with Rei, while you wait?"
"...There really isn't much more to say, apart from...I love him, and-" There was a knock at the front door and Kai's heart stopped. "He's here!" He whispered, grateful to have an excuse to end his twenty minute rant about how much he loved Rei and to finally get Rei back.
"Well then you go, hon. Nice talking to you!" Kai slammed the phone back down onto the cradle and ran to the door, ripping it open and grabbing Rei, wrapping him in a hug so tight it threatened to squash the younger man completely. "I missed you, Rei..."
"I missed you too..." Rei burst into tears and flung his arms around Kai's neck. "I'm sorry, Kai! I'm s-sorry!"
"Don't be sorry...it...it's okay...-I'm- sorry..." Rei ignored his apology, tears running rampant down his face.
"B-But...I didn't even say goodbye! I thought you'd hate me!"
"Hate you? I could never hate you. I love you."
"Y-you love me? You mean it?"
"Of course I do. You just ran off before I had the chance to tell you."
"Oh Kai...I'm sorr-mmm!" Rei found his apology cut off by firm lips pressing insistenly against his own as Kai pulled him into the flat and shut the door. He felt Kai's hands wander down to his backside, dragging him closer. Rei pulled away panting. "I never finished my exams..."
"What?"
"Your rules. Not beyond my waist until after my exams." Kai smirked and nuzzled into Rei's neck, whispering in his ear.
"Rules are made to be broken, Rei. Do you remember saying that?"
"Kai..." Rei gasped. Kai moved his arms back up to Rei's waist, sensing Rei's nervousness.
"Don't be scared...we don't have to do anything you don't want to...we can do anything you want, it's okay..." Decisively, Rei grabbed Kai by the shoulders and pulled him into a dizzying kiss. "I want you to make love to me Kai..." He whispered breathlessly.
Kai watched the tiny figure of Rei leaping across an impossibly wide gap, fingers closing around a ledge and pulling the Chinese boy up onto another roof. The cat-leap. Rei's signature move. He leaned against the railing, smiling to himself as Rei flung himself down to the ground, leaping and bouncing closer, hopping over railings and walls, all the time heading for Kai. As he did, a storm of other free-runners followed, trying to copy his moves but never quite succeeding in capturing Rei's liquid, feline grace.
Kai stood back and Rei jumped, clearing the railing and landing in Kai's waiting arms. He was panting, his chest falling and rising sharply. "What did you think?"
"I think you earned your nickname."
"It's stupid...the press have no imagination..." Grumbled Rei, getting down and holding Kai's hand, smiling as the other free-runners caught up. "'The Cat'. It makes me sound like some kind of lap pet..."
"Depends whose lap it is, doesn't it?" Rei laughed and hugged Kai as the other runners reached them, all gazing at Rei adoringly. Kai smiled at them all, happy in the knowledge that Rei was -his- and they could only be imitations of his perfection. He leaned in close to whisper in Rei's ear as the other free-runners drifted away.
"You know what you said Ralph was looking for all that time ago?" Rei smiled, immediately understanding Kai's intention.
"How could I forget? I almost died of embarrassment..."
"I know you did. But...about what he was searching for..."
"Kai!" Kai smirked.
"I put up with your sports, so you have to put up with mine!" Exclaimed Kai as they started walking, heading for Kai's flat.
"What, one of your 'sports' being sex?"
"Yes."
"Kai, sex is -not- a sport!"
"Sport, by definition, is a physical activity engaged in for pleasure."
"Remind me again why I'm dating an English teacher who doubles as a walking dictionary?" Kai smirked and wound an arm around Rei's waist.
"Because I'm wonderful." Rei laughed as they reached the door of Kai's flat.
"You're right."
"Hm?"
"I said you're right. You -are- wonderful..."
"Am I so wonderful that I deserve a night of passion with the boyfriend I love so much?" Kai asked hopefully, opening the door.
"No!" Rei laughed, following him in. Kai turned to plead and found Rei pressed up close to him, lips seeking Kai's and touching against them teasingly. "I couldn't possibly wait till tonight..."
Fin
Hehe, finished! I couldn't leave Kai and Rei apart- that would have been mean! R&R, 'cause I love reviews! God I am such a review junkie… Anyway, hope you liked it!