Chapter 3

Breakfast the next morning was a quiet meal. Tala had thought about asking Elena to make him and Kai some bacon sandwiches, but when he remembered the burnt food that was originally supposed to be their tea last night, he opted to pour a bowl of cereal for himself and Kai.
Putting the bowl of cereal in front of Kai, Tala gave Kai’s hair a little stroke before he retrieved his own bowl of cereal, and sat down at the table opposite Kai. Kai’s stomach did a somersault.
“You feeling a bit better today?” Tala asked, before shoving a spoonful of cereal into his mouth.
“Yeah,” Kai replied, eating his own cereal.
“Do you know what you two should do?” Elena said, sitting down at the table with them, reading the daily paper.
“No, Mother, we don’t. Please enlighten us,” Tala said, rolling his eyes and smiling at Kai.
“You should both join a self-help centre. Kai can get help for his depression, and Yuriy, you can quit smoking.”
“It’s Tala. And maybe I don’t want to give up smoking.”
“I don’t want help from strangers,” Kai said, smiling a little smile.
Elena sighed, concluding that the two boys were utterly hopeless. She decided that the only way they could get better was if they helped each other. She bid them both goodbye, and left the house, going to work for the day.
“I’ll make you better on my own,” Tala said to Kai, smiling.
Kai blushed a little, and lowered his head to his cereal, hoping beyond hope that Tala wouldn’t see his pink face.
“Which reminds me, actually. It’s time for stage one of ‘Tala’s Super Duper Make Kai Better’ plan.”
Kai looked up and raised an eyebrow, but Tala just grinned and left the kitchen, stomping upstairs and into his room. When he came back down into the kitchen, Kai’s eyebrow was still raised.
“Close your eyes. I have a present for you,” Tala said.
“How about you just give the present to me, and I don’t close my eyes?”
“No, you definitely have to close your eyes.”
Kai sighed, and did as Tala said. He closed his eyes and held his right hand out. Tala grinned again, and put his present into Kai’s outstretched hand. Kai, feeling the gift in his hand, opened his eyes and raised his eyebrows.
“It’s an elastic band…”
“That’s not just an elastic band. It’s a magic elastic band,” Tala corrected, nodding.
Kai stared at him.
“Well, OK, it’s not magic. But it is an elastic band.”
“I can see that… Are you going to tell me why you’ve given this to me?”
“I’m glad you asked, actually. Put it on your wrist.”
“Which wrist.”
“Your left.”
Kai did as he was told once again, and put it on his left wrist. Tala then reached out, and pulled the elastic back from Kai’s skin, and let go, causing it to twang, and smack down onto Kai’s skin, making a red mark. Kai looked at Tala furiously.
“What the Hell did you do that for?!”
Tala grinned.
“Well, that hurt, didn’t it?”
“Yes! I’d appreciate it if you didn’t do it again!”
“It’s your new way of hurting yourself - without actually hurting yourself! Isn’t it the greatest idea ever?!”
Kai stared at Tala, before looking down at the elastic band on his wrist. He twanged it again, wincing a little when pain shot through his wrist from where it hit. He wasn’t bleeding, and he wasn’t hurt, but he was still feeling the pain! It was great!
Kai smiled at Tala, and stood up, promptly giving the redhead a hug. Tala was taken aback, but returned the hug happily.

~*~

“Mother, is smoke supposed to be coming off it like that?”
“It’s called, steam, Yuriy. And yes, it is.”
“Stop calling me Yuriy!”
Kai sniggered.
“And you can stop laughing, Hiwatari.”
“Sorry.”
Kai’s grin faded, and he began to fiddle with his elastic band nervously. As tea was served, and eaten, Kai found himself becoming more and more uncomfortable in Tala’s presence. It was the way Tala looked at him… It was in a way Kai liked, but unsure of.
Grabbing boldness by the balls, Kai excused himself for bed, giving Tala a little kiss on the cheek as he left the room. Tala watched Kai’s retreating form with wide eyes, and Elena offered her words of wisdom.
“He likes you, Yuriy, you know.”