This was written for Darka-Chan’s Birthday which was yesterday, 18th August. Wish her love!

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Chase Race

In truth, Tala hated running. When he did that particular physical activity his feet hurt, his head hurt, god damn it- his whole body started to ache unbearably and he always ended up saturated with sweat.

The horrible, putrid liquid clung to every inch of his body after a simple race and matted his hair to his head, making him look like some red headed duck that had gone swimming a bit too deep.

But this duck was after a certain piece of bread. Special bread! And Tala didn’t care if he would eventually drown in his own sweat trying to eat this bread, he wanted to eat it, and no embarrassing displeasure could stop him.

He’d risk everything!

The bread in question was the track-team’s ultimate champion, Kai Hiwatari. The utterly oblivious dreamboat, who daily got confessions of love in the hallways- yet never really understood what the girls were mumbling about most of the time. In reality they were really just trying to get a smile from his perfect face, with his perfect red eyes. They always got turned down though, even if Kai didn’t really understand. Even the ones who could manage to string a sentence together.

Kai had even turned down Kimochi, the hottest girl in the entire school- from the senior year! Everyone had watched; that was lucky for Tala because it made it easier to take notes on how to approach his dream-man. Maybe it had been her attitude but Tala had noted that Kai hadn’t smiled at her date suggestion. He’d frowned and waved his hand in the air, making up some reason he couldn’t go- not knowing he was humiliating her in the process.

Kai had no ill intention when he rejected girls. That was the only thing that kept Tala going. If he ever did churn up the courage to ask Kai out- which with his nerves seemed very far in the future- he would at least know he wasn’t going to be shot down hurtfully in front of everyone. Not that he’d ask in the middle of the hallway like all those past girls. He wasn’t as brave. No, a nice lonely alleyway in the middle of the night was good enough for him. As long as Kai didn’t think he was going to rape him.

Kai’s method of rejection was one that made the girl’s love him more. He would smile at them, making their hearts melt and would shake his hair as if it were a perfectly natural thing that anyone might do. He was so wrong! Tala had tried replaying it in the mirror at home, but he ended up just looking like a wind bush….on fire (unhappy face).

But it didn’t really matter, because Tala was sure he wouldn’t have enough courage to even face rejection until he was, oh say about 30! And what if Kai died by then? Or if he went bald! If there was one thing Tala hated it was the loss of hair. His father was bald…well had been. Wow, bald AND dead- two of his most hated things, and it made him unhappy that he couldn’t look at pictures of his father without wincing in horror.

His mother would kill him if she knew.

When he’d first told her he was joining the track team her smile had disappeared from her face. Then it had slowly curved its way back and an eyebrow rose to her hairline as she leant her face forward into his.

He’d known she’d known almost immediately after that simple sentence. And he knew that she knew that he knew that she knew. Wait…what? Well, she started laughing with her hands clutching her waist and suddenly rushed forward, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and rubbing her cheek against his.

“Who’s the lucky guy, Tala-Baby?” she had laughed, pulling away from him and doing a waltz turn into the living room, beckoning him to follow.

He didn’t even ask her how she knew it was a guy he was after. He just brought himself onto his tiptoes and copied her exactly, spinning into the room to fall down dramatically on her lap, receiving a kiss to the forehead and then the dreaded SEX TALK- which against all reason’s he enjoyed…

Shaming.

That’s how he guessed he ended up here, racing Kai and about twelve other boys and girls in the 1500 metre race. If he took the time to look upwards instead of focussing solely on being able to breath properly with the amount of spit gathering disgustingly at the back of his throat (when he breathed a bubbled formed- needless to say he felt like throwing up) he would have noticed he was fifth, the furthest position he had managed in any race he had ever ran in.

He simply wasn’t a runner, but he did notice after a few months of embarrassment and uncontrollable sweat that he WAS getting faster. The constant running after school did help somewhat. He was now coming in… second last in his gym class during athletics. Score.

If he had noticed he was fifth he surely would have thought it was because all the kids behind him were even worse than him, decked out in their tracksuit bottoms and ready with a bottle of water at their sides. Tala understood the practicality but it honestly just wasn’t cool… which was sad of him to say so.

However, Tala did not notice and just kept running, thinking of a song he’d heard that morning on the radio, called ‘Why, why, why?’ by some Texan-sounding country singer. It was a pretty good song.

Stuck with the song in his head he mumbled a few of the words and forced a smile to his face. “I’ been your lover, I’ been your friend….I’ been your fai-faithful...” he trailed off breathlessly and paused to catch his breath, hand pressed to his chest with his eyes shut. He didn’t care that the sudden desire to sing country was the thing that made him fall back to last place. He hadn’t noticed he wasn’t in it in the first place. He certainly didn’t notice as Bert, the wobbling boy only on the team because he wanted to loose some of his ninety-nine stones, rolled by, flattening the grass as he did so with a fat smirk on his shining, dripping face.

He did notice that as he started to run again, the grass seemed kind of…wet? His shoes slipped on a particularly damp bit and he yelled out as he fell to the ground, slamming his back harshly against the soggy ground with a squelch that made his stomach churn.

Looking over head at the monochrome clouds he just knew that today wasn’t his day. It looked like it was going to rain and his mother had said they would eat outdoors if the brilliant sunshine from, say about morning till five minutes ago, stayed around.

Did he conduct bad luck or something?

He sighed and sung a little more of the song to cheer himself up. “Why, why, why do you wanna change me now? Ain’t I the one you loved everything about?” he asked the sky.

In reply it started to pee heavily down onto him. He sighed as he rolled himself in the direction away from Bert’s sweat trail.

“Thanks,” he told the clouds bitterly, his face in the mud outside the track course, little bubbles appearing at the sides of his head as he tried to speak while drowning in the thick, glutinous concoction.

He heard coach in the distance yelling for him to ‘get his sorry ass back inside and piss off home’. More bubbles came from the mud as he sighed. The joy, the coach must have marked his time down as another ‘non-completed course’, that almost surely meant Tala was going to run longer than the others at next meeting.

He pulled himself out of the mud, covered in the earth-puke, and he slowly wiped himself some eye holes and stared out across the file at all the retreating backs of the track team. No one even cared if he was left out. How utterly tragic!

As if in agreement the clouds suddenly thundered quietly, indicating they were going to start striking the ground with electricity- but Tala glared up at them, almost silencing them. He did not need thunder right now.

He was a little afraid of thunder…a little? Yet right, he was down scared shitless of it and promptly hid himself under the table or in a cupboard until the storm was over. Sometimes his mother joined him to keep him company. He wanted that part of this horrible day to hold out until he could get near her comforting arms.

He leant forward and pressed his hands to the ground, watching the rain splatter the earth-vomit around his pale, thin fingers, and then he pushed himself up onto his feet. The ground was still slippery of course and he almost instantly fell back down to the ground… or he would have if arms didn’t grab him in mid air, holding him just above the earth’s surface.

He looked overhead and felt his heart burst out of his chest. He imagined it, and all of his precious blood, escaping from his body in embarrassment and running across the field faster than he’d ever be able to run.

Looking down at him were two big, concerned red eyes that made his smile become a curving line of love-dope obviousness. Of course, Kai didn’t get it. Oblivious and obvious went so well together. Tala could be as much of an idiot as he wanted and Kai would never know better.

He had imaged days like this in his bed, cuddled up to his Mum’s side. Imagining that Kai, as the valiant Prince-like character, rescued him, the poor, neglected (but sexy!) pauper, from the certain doom of falling down some surface. It varied - sometimes it was the stairs up at Biology and other times it was the roof of a white-painted castle with little flags flying in their honour at the top.

God, he was so sad.

“Um…..ah-h-h…eh…..um….” he muttered, blushing the same colour of his hair…under all the earth-vomit of course.

Kai just smiled with a dazzling set of pearly teeth that almost blinded Tala’s fragile eyes and then laughed the most perfect laugh Tala had ever heard. He felt the bottom of his stomach fall away with a slam. Now he only had his lungs and ribs - too loose to create a totally empty cavern in his chest.

Kai slowly helped him to his feet but once upright Tala couldn’t help but notice how upside-down the world looked at that moment, and how strange his legs felt, making him shake from right to left like some demented swing set. Oh, yeah…he was totally a dreamboat in Kai’s eyes now…

“Woa, slow down there cowboy,” God! How did that not sound gay in Kai’s voice! “Come on. Put your arm around my shoulder and I’ll help you to get your stuff from the gym”

When Tala did nothing but continue to swing back and forth Kai laughed behind his hand sweetly, turning Tala’s legs to jelly (there was no way he could walk at that moment), and then the blue-haired sex-god in the tiny shorts took the lead himself, wrapping his arm around Tala’s waist, sending sparks of electricity up Tala’s spine, and pulling Tala’s left arm around his shoulder. Slowly they started walking towards the school.

Tala wasn’t even sure what was happening. All he could focus on was the fact that Kai’s hand was around his waist, clutching at his hip…INTIMATELY! There went his lungs, exploding in shock and flying away across the field like escaping balloons, all that was left now were his ribs. How many of them did he have again? Twelve? Or more? Less?

God! What did that matter! Kai was practically snuggled up to him, holding his left hand while his own left arm was strewn across his dream-man’s smooth shoulders, and his dream-man’s arm was around his waist. God, they might as well be having sex!

Tala couldn’t hold it in anymore, despite the fact he couldn’t walk he threw himself out of Kai’s arms and fell to the ground, rolling away from Kai’s shocked face, those blue shark fins looking innocently confused instead of dark and mysterious like the girl’s thought.

Tala knew this was his chance! This was his day! The field was empty and Kai had taken some of his free time to help him through his own generosity! THIS was the moment of truth!

“Tala? What’s-”

“RACE ME!”

Before Kai would finish his question Tala was up and in his face, grabbing onto his milky arms and screaming into his face. He looked up into those determined ice-blue eyes and felt a sweatdrop roll down the back of his head.

“Ex-excuse me?” he asked, a little afraid for his life as the red-head in front of him fell to the ground on his knees, his hands slipping down his arms to grip loosely at his hands.

Tala looked up to Kai and asked again. “WILL YOU PLEASE RACE ME? HIWATARI-SAN?” Yes. He did know he was yelling. He just didn’t know how to stop yelling. So he just hoped Kai would deal with it.

“W-what? Race you? Why?” Kai asked, totally confused; but making Tala happy anyway by not taking his hands back from his grip. There was a chance?

Thankfully Tala found the volume control on his voice and turned it down a good deal before speaking again. Taking a deep breath and trying to look sane.

“Will you race me, Kai? I kind of-” Here he blushed and looked away shyly “- want to ask you a special question…..” Tala braced himself.

He ducked his head in embarrassment and held on tightly to Kai’s fingers. After a time that seemed like forever, Tala felt a tightness in his hands and realised Kai had bent down so they could see eye to eye, holding onto Tala’s fingers with as much force as Tala was holding onto his.

“Do you mean that? You want to race me?” Kai asked, smiling broadly, “That would be so cool Tala-kun!”

Instantly it stopped raining, and the two of them were bathed in sunlight. Kai didn’t seem to notice and just looked skywards, commenting on how ‘that was lucky- it was hard to race in the rain did you know?’

How cool was it that Kai was talking to him like a best-friend? Tala felt a few ribs snap away in pleasure and land at his feet.

Kai pulled him to his feet and started to walk to the start of the 100 metre race track, still holding onto one of Tala’s hands, making Tala’s non-existent heart beat faster and faster until he felt more ribs brake away. If he wasn’t careful, Kai would make him disintegrate to a pile of ash, and then how would he ask him his special question?

“Kai?” He asked as they both bent down into the starting position. He placed his hands firmly behind the white line. Somehow he just knew he had to run like the speed of light soon. He needed to beat Kai in the race so badly that he felt he would burst out crying and run around in circles like a little girl if he didn’t win.

“Yes, Tala?” Kai asked, brushing down his hair out of his eyes. AHHHHHH, the natural touch that made Tala’s face loose all expression for about a second or two.

Shaking his head back and forth to get rid of some indecent images, he smiled and leant a little towards Kai’s head, as if intending to whisper something.

“Would you go on a date with me if I win this race?” he asked quietly. So quietly in fact that he wasn’t sure if Kai had heard him.

By the sudden loss of expression on Kai’s face he guessed that, yeah, just maybe Kai had heard his request. Kai regained the use of his facial muscles again and raised a hand to his mouth, his eyes looking very unsure about something and they kept glancing at Tala every now and then.

Here it comes, Tala thought while keeping a fierce stare on the ground at his fingers, Rejection! At least he had finally coughed up the courage to ask Kai out…it was just his rotten luck that the courage he got was so sickly and old that he could barely stand five minutes ago.

Just his stupid bad luck!

Then… a tiny voice spoke up, causing Tala to look at Kai with a flabbergast look. Did he hear that right! Kai was actually accepting the condition for the race, when he could very easily just smile at Tala and run off the pitch?

Tala felt his heart jump back into his chest and felt a smile fill out his cheeks as Kai stared at the ground, just the hint of a blush alerting Tala to all possibilities he had dreamt up in those fantasies of him and Prince Kai.

He got back into the starting position his eyes on the goal, which was taking on the shape of a pretty blue haired boy who he knew was really crouched down beside him. Two certain lines of the song kept repeating in his head, making his grin widen to the point of a near explosion of uncontrollable laughter. I’ been your lover, your lover, your lover, lover, lover, love!. Ain’t I the one you loved everything about, everything about, love, love, LOVE!

He felt a power surge through his limbs and felt like he could win the London Marathon! He just HAD to beat Kai in this race.

Kai started then off. “Ready-” They rose off of their knees, “-On your marks-” Tala stole a glance at Kai but couldn’t see the boy’s downcast head, only his two glistening lips as they called off the words that might finalise his first date with the man of his dreams. “-Go ahead”

For fun Tala yelled out, “BANG” as if he were the starter’s gun and then jumped up off the ground, pounding his feet forcefully into the brick-red track.

It was only twelve seconds, maximum, but Tala felt like time slowed down as he crossed the finish line, his feet running so set on the goal that he couldn’t actually stop himself until about ten metres afterwards. Where he promptly turned back and ran a mile-a-minute towards Kai who stood at the goal like a lost puppy. Like a hyperactive puppy himself, Tala circled Kai before standing in front of him, out of breath but too happy to make words up to express himself. He reached forward because fidgeting just wasn’t good for him, and took a hold of Kai’s hand, lacing their fingers intimately.

Kai slowly raised his head and Tala’s own heart burst in a bloody mess over his shirt at the happy and super cute expression that decorated Kai’s face.

The blue-haired Prince reached forward and took Tala’s other hand, bringing it to his face and kissing it softly before nuzzling it with his cheek. Tala’s melted on contact and pooled around Kai’s feet, sticking to the person he loved to such an extent he was willing to sacrifice internal organs just to get them in his grasp!

Kai smiled as Tala’s thumb stroked his shark fins and he brushed a piece of red hair behind Tala’s small ears, that he….actually thought they were kinda cute.

“I guess you won, huh?”

With jubilations in mind and an outburst in his throat Tala dived forward and wrapped his arms around Kai, hugging him so tightly Tala was sure he heard a bone snap somewhere. He spun Kai around and in an act daringly brave- braver than anything he’d ever done in his life! -he placed a kiss to Kai’s lips. Pulling back suddenly as if he realised how disrespectful that was, he let go of Kai’s smaller body and apologised.

Kai laughed almost as if he was light-headed and shook his head, going forward himself and making Tala’s arms wrap around him, pulling Tala’s face towards his own and gently pressing his lips to Tala’s, who smirked in happiness of achieving what he’d always wanted and they fell into each other.

Tala felt unexplainably happy and almost considered staying on the track even with having gotten to his ultimate goal in life, because, seriously, if he could beat Kai (the best ever!), when he had the right idea of what winning would let him achieve, then who was to say he couldn’t become the champion himself.

Happily he swung Kai around and around in the sun, his feet not daring to slip in the dampened grass, and telling Kai what he had just thought.

Kai nodded and kissed Tala once more, but what he didn’t know was that Kai simply couldn’t tell him that he’d let him win the race. Nor could he tell Tala that he’d secretly been watching Tala run ever since he’d joined with a lingering wanting feeling in his toes. Nor could he tell Tala that he actually thought sweat was pretty sexy…

And why couldn’t he tell him this? Wouldn’t it have made their relationship all the deeper and more loved? Well! It was simple really…

Kai couldn’t be seen as desperate, now could he?

Now, I wrote this for Darka-Chan and it was supposed to be about Tala chasing Kai because Kai was oblivious to Tala’s on-comings. It changed a little….if you didn’t notice. It was supposed to be about them going to the bathroom and smoking and stuff. But my ‘silly side’ took over and completed mauled that idea. (Sweatdrop)

Did you notice?

Anyway. I REALLY enjoyed writing this, cos I think everything I write in ‘my style’ turns out like this. Awash with jokes maybe only I would find funny. I particularly like the one where Tala imagines him and Kai on the castle with the flags. (Squeeee) Cute. Well, I think so. Let me be sad! (Hugs you all)

Bra-Two

Ps- The new layout on fanfic is quite cool ain't it?