Disclaimer: We don't own it.
A/N: Holy crap. The long update time is completely my fault. I got caught up in working on a different fandom and my original stories. We hope you all enjoy.
Rei closed his laptop and jammed it back in its bag before collecting all of the papers scattered on the desk around him. One of the benefits of working for Kai was the fact he got to work when ever he wanted and technically only had to come into the office on the days they had meetings. Setting his bag aside he picked his jacket up off the back of his chair and slid it on. As he flipped the collar of the jacket out his fingers brushed over a fine metal chain, the touch of which brought a soft smile to his lips.
Zipping his coat up his fingers lingered over the bitbeast suspended at the hollow of his throat. The feel of smooth plastic under his fingers never failed to soothe him, even after a bad day at work. Picking up the bag he dropped the strap over his head and settled it across his chest before walking out and locking the door behind him. It was Friday night and he didn't have to be back into work until Wednesday since Kai had given him some time off.
Whistling he made his way down the twenty flights of stairs to the ground floor. He tried to avoid the elevators at all costs (they made him feel claustrophobic) and especially during the day when it was almost always full of people.
Rounding the corner hiding the stairs from view the sounds of someone arguing with the secretary at the lobby desk caught his attention and he stopped, golden eyes widening in surprise.
Bryan was leaning on the desk, staring the poor woman down and from what Rei could see it looked like the woman was ready to burst into tears. And he couldn't really blame her for shrinking away from the Russian. After all, he knew first hand how intense the other male could be when he was angry.
Not wanting to be seen he eased back around the corner, his eyes never leaving Bryan. The last ten years had been good to the older man, of that there was no doubt. He was over six feet tall with broad shoulders, strength evident in every line of his body. Lavender hair that had once brushed his shoulders was gone, cut so short they were gelled into soft spikes Rei wanted to brush his hands over.
A silver earring glittered in the curve of his left ear, brilliantly set off by the black clothing he was wearing. The hem of his dark jacket brushed the floor with his every movement and to Rei he looked like the Grim Reaper come to collect souls.
"Just tell him Bryan Kuznetsov is here. I can guarantee he'll be more than willing to see me." Bryan's low voice echoed through the empty lobby, sending a shiver down his spine. It was the same tone he'd used when he'd told him 'The times I've wanted to pound someone, push them down the stairs, or even drown them.'
The secretary finally gave in and picked up the phone, her eyes never leaving Bryan as she dialed Kai's personal number. The Russian leaned against the desk, fingers beating a tattoo against the marble. Seconds later she set the phone down and pointed towards the elevator.
Rei could see the tension drain out of the woman as Bryan gave her a wolfish grin before heading towards the elevator. The moment the doors slid shut he whirled around and started back up the stairs, taking them two at a time. He had a pass card into Kai's personal office suite at the top and while he had never yet found reason to use it, Bryan's sudden reappearance seemed like a good time to abuse the privilege.
When he reached the twentieth floor he peered around the edge of the frame, the doors of the elevator and of Kai's office just barely in his line of sight. The brushed steel door was just sliding shut and the quiet click of the office door reached his ears and he knew Bryan had already entered the office.
Moving quietly he crawled from the access door to the desk angled across one corner. Feeling like he was ten again he carefully pushed his laptop bag against the back of the desk before following it in. Even with his acute hearing it was impossible for him to make out the exact words between the two men but he could hear the rise and fall of their voices, make out the emotion behind the words. Surprise and anger in Kai's and cool indifference in Bryan's.
Seconds later the sound of flesh striking flesh echoed out of the room and the neko-jin couldn't help but wince at the sound. He knew Kai had hit Bryan. Even ten years later Kai was still angry about the bruises that had marred his wrists for nearly a week and a half and was getting even with the lavender haired Russian for the pain he had caused. And even after Kai had left the Demolition Boys he still held the respect of all four of them.
Their conversation continued for a few minutes more before the door opened. Knowing Bryan was on the other side of the desk Rei felt his chest tighten and his breath catch in his chest. Even now he could still smell Bryan's scent from the sheets of the bed he had abandoned years ago. He had slept in the bed until the lavender haired male's scent no longer clung to the sheets and had never actually moved back to his own bed.
Once the elevator doors had closed he wriggled out from under the desk only to find himself face to face with Kai. He forced a smile as he picked at the sleeve of his jacket. "Hi."
The slate haired man jerked his head towards the office door. "Don't hi me."
Rei grabbed his bag and passed Kai pausing in the door of the office. Bryan's slightly metallic scent hung in the air, sending a shiver down his spine. Feeling Kai's eyes on him he moved to sit in one of the dark leather chairs in front of the massive desk, bag between his feet. "How did you know I was here?"
"The security system chimes every time someone comes on to the floor. And you were the only person in the building who would care about Bryan being here." Kai perched on the edge of the desk, eyes serious. "Why did you come up here?"
Finding he couldn't meet his friend's eyes Rei focused on his hands. "Because I needed to see him. Needed to know if I was really the reason he left and to know if he managed to fix whatever he thought was wrong with him."
Kai watched as the neko-jin's hand reflexively rose to his throat, tan fingers gently touching the bitbeast he knew hung around his neck. He'd known about the keepsake since the night Bryan had left and how it brought peace to the neko-jin. Moving forward he tipped the other man's head back with gentle fingers, forcing the man to look at him. "Rei, just go home for right now. Take a hot shower, relax and try not to think about Bryan."
The neko-jin bowed his head and got to his feet, bag clutched to his chest.
-----
Rei locked the door and flipped the light switch, blinking as the light filled his living room. Prints of Chinese art hung on the wall, adding character to the plain white walls of his tiny living room. Stalks of bamboo decorated the flat surfaces of the room reminding him of the village he had grown up in with the bamboo forest only half a mile away.
Kicking off his shoes he set his laptop in the closet along with his coat before making his way back to the bedroom to change into a pair of well worn flannel pants and a dark long sleeved shirt that had once belonged to Bryan. It had been forgotten in the laundry when he had left and someone (he thought it was Tala) had put the shirt with his stuff one day after doing laundry.
He crawled onto the bed and pulled one of the pillows to his chest, curling around it. He carefully undid the clasp of his necklace and took it off. His fingers brushed over the metallic purple bit, eyes focused on the image of Falborg, rising out of a tornado, wings spread, looking defiant and untamable.
Pressing his face into the pillow his hand clenched around the chain and bit, giving him physical pain to match the emotional one he could feel building in his chest. For days after Bryan had left he had refused to leave the room and only Kai and Tala had been allowed to come in.
It had taken him nearly three years to realize why he had been so distraught by Bryan's disappearance. At first he had tried to convince himself it was simply because they had managed, despite their previous history, to become friends. But as the days and months had passed and the pain in his heart had intensified he'd slowly come to the realization he's some how managed to fall in love with the surly, anti social Russian.
He couldn't pinpoint exactly when it had happened. There were so many different memories of times he had spent with Bryan, from his first swimming lesson in the pool, the first Beyblade match they'd had since the World Championships to the night Bryan had thrown him aside, the only sign of his passing the bruises on his wrists and Falborg, both of them forgotten by the troubled man-child.
Slowly sleep claimed Rei, lost in the thoughts of ten years ago.