Kiri: Chapter 9

“Ryo! Are you here?”

With a disgruntled groan, the black head disappeared beneath the covers of the queen sized bed. He had only had one class today, being Friday, and he had come back to his apartment immediately afterwards and had slept soundly since then.

“I know you’re here,” Kite said loudly as he threw his backpack into the corner of the living room. He glanced into the second bedroom or the library as it had become for the young author. Not seeing his friend, he pulled his head back out and headed to the bedroom. “You said you would be here today.”

“Go away,” Ryo grumbled curling into a loose ball beneath the covers and squeezing his eyes closed.

The auburn haired boy grinned as he crawled onto the soft mattress. Kyon-Kyon lifted his gray head to stare at the disturbance before yawning largely and stretching as he came to his feet. Kite petted the soft fur briefly before the young kitten leapt from the bed and slunk out of the room to investigate his food bowl.

Reaching the lump under the covers that was the college student, Kite grabbed the comforter and pulled it back. He laughed as the blankets were jerked away from him again and pulled firmly around the half-awake form. Persistently, he reached for the covers again, and this time was successful in pulling them from the curled form of his friend.

“You’re wearing your shoes in bed,” Kite said with a bemused raise of his eyebrow.

Not even bothering to open his eyes, Ryo none the less managed to glare daggers at the boy as he toed his shoes off and snatched the blankets back over his head.

“It’s cold,” he muttered unhappily.

“It is not,” retorted the youth as he poked the man in the back. “How long are you going to stay under there?”

“Until you give up and let me sleep again?” Ryo offered with little hope of it becoming reality. He was quickly proved correct when a foot was placed in the middle of his back, and Kite began pushing him toward the edge of the bed. “Hey! Stop that!”

“Nope,” the boy replied simply and grinned with satisfaction as the older man began fighting back as he nearly slipped over the edge.

“I’ll get up! I’ll get up!” Ryo shouted grabbing the sheets trying desperately not to fall the two feet to the hard floor. When the boy stopped pushing, he stuck his head out from under the covers and glared at the angelically smiling face. “Your horns punctured the halo…”

Grinning wider, Kite leaned over the man and retrieved his glasses from the bedside table. Passing them to their owner, he settled back as Ryo put them on and sat up on the bed.

Sliding on his glassed, Ryo glanced at the clock and was startled to see that it was after six in the evening. Damn, he swore mentally rubbing his forehead. He hadn’t intended to sleep all day, but he hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before because of a sudden burst of inspired writing.

Glancing at the boy at his side, Ryo finally relented a little and grinned reaching out to ruffle the reddish-brown hair adoringly. “How was work?”

“Good,” Kite said settling a little with a warm smile. It faltered slightly, and he pouted. “We sold Brutus today.”

“Brutus?”

“The pomeranian puppy I wanted,” Kite said with a small shrug. “I guess it’s not so bad though. The lady who bought him decided to name him Crivé but said that if she ever got another one she would be sure to name him Brutus. I think she was just humoring me because Justin had to take over the sale because I was almost in tears.”

“You were almost in tears?” Ryo repeated with a pitying smile.

Laughing sheepishly, Kite nodded. “I really wanted that puppy.”

“I’m sorry,” Ryo said tugging lightly on a strand of auburn bangs. The intense green eyes met his shimmering brightly despite the strong smile, and the man stilled as his face suddenly flushed with warmth.

Turning his head away, Ryo dropped his hand and threw the covers back from his bed to stand up. He stretched for a moment before smoothing the wrinkles down on his clothes.

“I can’t believe I slept in this all day…” he groused frowning down at the khakis and dress shirt. He grinned at Kite. “Come on. I’m fixing dinner tonight.”

“That was the deal. Oh, and do you want your key back?” Kite asked, following him into the kitchen.

“I told you last week to keep it,” Ryo said as he dug through the cabinets gathering pots and a saucepan to make spaghetti. He jerked his chin over at the cat that was circling around Kite’s legs. “Could you feed him for me?”

“Sure.”

Forty minutes later, the cat was fed, and they sat down to the small table in the kitchen to eat their meal. Ryo had just put the first bite of sauce covered noodles into his mouth when the phone rang loudly. Chewing and swallowing swiftly, he pushed back from the table and went to answer it.

“Hello?” There was a moment of silence, before he gasped. “Loren?! Is that you? Where have you been?”

Kite raised his head to watch his older friend. A slight frown marred his face at the bright eyes and flushed cheeks that lit up the smiling face.

“Yeah, I’ve got a friend over… Wait! You’re coming now? But, my friend… but…. I’m… Loren!!”

Ryo stared down at the phone in a state of shock as it went to dial tone on him. He raised blue eyes to meet Kite’s across the room before he hung up the phone.

“Um… My friend Loren is coming over. I’m going to go take a quick shower, all right? I’ll be out in about fifteen minutes.”

“Ryo—“ Kite’s voice trailed off as the black haired man disappeared around the corner already beginning to unbutton his shirt. He sighed heavily and propped one elbow on the table. As the shower came on, he began pushing his noodles around on the plate with a slightly depressed scowl on his face.

About ten minutes later, there was a knock on the door, and the auburn haired boy pushed back from the table scowling in earnest now. He heard the shower cut off and a scramble from the bathroom as he started walking towards the door. A second after his hand touched the doorknob, Ryo came running into the room.

“Kite! I’ve got it,” Ryo said, breathlessly.

Raising his eyebrow in appraisal of the Asian’s appearance, Kite backed away from the door, letting the older man walk forward as he moved further into the room. Ryo’s black hair was loose and dripping water around his face. He had apparently only taken enough time to pull on a pair of black slacks before coming out but not enough time to put on his glasses.

Opening the door finally, Ryo was pinned against the wall by a tall blonde, who caught the back of the black hair, and tilted the sweet mouth into a deep kiss. Kite’s eyes were huge on his face as he watched his friend raise his arms around the narrow waist and pull the man closer.

Grinning as the blonde finally, Ryo raised deep blue eyes to the strong face of the man. “Hey, Loren,” he said in a husky voice.

“Hey, beautiful,” the man replied, tucking a wet strand of black hair back over the shell of Ryo’s ear. “I told you that you that I’d come see you when I got back into town.”

Still smiling adoringly at the man, the black haired man leaned forward to kiss him lightly. “Come on. We’ve got dinner on, and I need to get dressed.”

“Do not.”

“Loren!” Ryo’s face turned pink with a blush.

Staring at them, feeling more than a little embarrassed, Kite shuffled from foot to foot. Ryo shot him a glance, blushing a little darker and clearing his throat. He pushed Loren back a little and straightened from the wall.

While he took a moment to close the door, the younger boy studied the blonde in greater detail. His mouth fell open slightly as he finally got a good look at the taller man. He was without a doubt, one of the most beautiful men Kite had ever seen in his life. His face was softly framed by soft shoulder length, wavy blond hair, and his eyes glittered like bright amethysts set into the lightly tanned face.

Swallowing hard as the man returned his once over and smiled in approval, Kite ducked his head to the side blushing scarlet. Ryo returned just then and laid a hand on Loren’s arm.

“Loren, this is Kite. He’s going to be staying with me this weekend. Kite, this is Loren. He’s—“

“I’m his boyfriend.”

Kite’s eyes widened, and Ryo nearly choked. “Loren Davenport, I am not your boyfriend, and you know it!”

Smiling cockily, Loren slid a hand down the muscled back to rest just above the waistband of his pants. He leaned down to kiss Ryo’s cheek and murmured, “But I want you to be, and you’re so good in—“

“LOREN!”

Chuckling, the blonde relented and drew away. He held out a hand to Kite who took it uneasily. “I’m Loren Davenport, model and close—“ He glance at Ryo. “Very close friend of the greatest author in the world.”

“Flatterer,” Ryo muttered pinching Loren’s side. He turned a bright smile on Kite. “Would you mind setting another plate out for him? I’ll be dressed in just a minute.”

“Uh, yeah sure…” Kite replied with a glance at the blonde. He turned around and walked back into the kitchen.

“Who’s the kid?”

“Be nice,” Ryo hissed at Loren. He shot a look at the doorway. “His sister was my teacher from high school. We met about a month ago, and he’s a good friend. Don’t hurt his feelings.”

“Oh, I won’t,” the blonde promised, hugging his friend. “I’m just a little jealous of him. He’s gotten to spend a whole month with you, and I haven’t gotten to see you in six months. When did you say he was leaving?”

“Saturday evening. I have to give him a ride to work.”

“Good, then I’ll come back and see you again when he’s not here.”

“You’re going to leave?” Ryo asked with wide eyes. He caught Loren’s forearm and drew him back around into a gentle kiss. “Don’t. Stay for dinner at least.”

Humming happily, Loren nodded stroking the smooth throat. “Alright, I’ll stay, but I might be tempted not to leave later.”

“You can sleep on the couch then,” Ryo replied with a warm smirk. He ducked away and disappeared into the bedroom.

“I might just do that,” Loren said softly to himself as he headed into the kitchen. Kite had already set out a plate for him and was getting a glass down from the cabinet.

“Um… What would you like to drink?”

Smiling at the boy, Loren took the glass from his hands and turned to the refrigerator. “I’ll get it. You’re older than you look, aren’t you?” he asked bluntly.

Turning a pale pink, which set the blonde chuckling when he noticed, Kite shrugged. “I’m almost seventeen if that’s what you mean.”

Loren nodded. “It was. You don’t look it you know.” He turned to face the younger man with a full glass of orange juice. “If I had met you on the streets, I would have thought you were about fourteen or so.” When Kite’s jaw tightened with irritation, he held up a hand. “It’s not a bad thing by any means. I think it’s wonderful.”

“I don’t,” Kite muttered as he turned and walked over to the table. Resuming his seat, and none too sure he liked Ryo’s friend, he began poking at his food again

Sighing heavily, Loren sat down as well just as Ryo returned from the bedroom, fully dressed and now wearing his glasses. He smiled brightly as he joined them and began shooting questions at the blonde model as they ate. He had been filming a small part in a movie for the most part and had also had a couple of photo shoots in so pretty exotic locals, including the Great Barrier Reef and several small Mediterranean islands.

Intrigued by the stories the model regaled them with, Kite soon forgot his earlier irritation over the comments on his appearance. On a particularly ridiculous story about a fellow model managing to remain on the ship during a sudden storm then slipping in a puddle once they had reached land again, Kite had relaxed enough to ask him a question that had been plaguing him.

“Doesn’t anybody tease you when you tell them you’re a model?”

Raising an eyebrow at the sudden query, Loren sat his fork down and wiped his mouth with his napkin before smiling at the boy. Ryo’s groan should have warned him, but Kite suddenly found himself tilted back in his chair being supported by the blonde’s arms around him.

“If anyone ever did,” the blonde began his reply his lips hovering just over Kite’s own. “They never think to tease me again.”

The boy’s breath was catching in his lungs as wide eyes stared at the beautiful face above him. He felt the soft lips touch his own for a fraction of a second before Ryo barked, “Loren, that’s enough!”

The blonde pulled back grinning and quite pleased with himself. Ryo, however, shot him a dark look, and he at least had the decency to stop smiling.

“Sorry about that… habit, you know,” Loren said breezily as he rose to his feet and began clearing the table. “To answer you though, yes, I was teased when I was younger.”

“And he gained a terrible sense of humor and razor sharp tongue to keep them from teasing him anymore,” Ryo said with a sigh. He reached over and patted Kite on the shoulder. “Are you alright?”

Blinking for the first time, Kite nodded slowly. His hands shook, but he kept them hidden beneath the tabletop. “I… Yeah, I think so.”

“Good, then let’s go rent a movie while Loren cleans the kitchen.”

“Hey!”

Grinning as he pushed back from the table, Ryo shook his head at his friend’s protest. “You know my rules. No kissing my friends unless they say that you might, and Kite is totally off limits for you.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s too sweet for the likes of you,” Ryo said winking at Loren. He ruffled the auburn hair of his younger friend. “And he likes my books.”

Snorting softly, Loren made a shooing motion at the two of them. “Go on then. Get out of my way. Be sure to get a good movie alright?”

“Okay,” Ryo said as he led Kite from the room. He hugged his young friend before they got to the front door. “Sorry about that…”

Shaking his head, Kite smiled up at the taller man. “It’s alright. He’s your friend, so I know he wouldn’t hurt me.”

Chuckling, Ryo opened the door and nudged Kite out into the evening darkness. “No he never would.”

***
End Chapter 9
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