54Roomies was written a long, long time ago by the talented MistyEyes and me. It was originally posted on greatestjournal, but the site closed down, and I thought this fun, romantic-comedy was gone forever. Luckily, I found it in the depths of the university computer's hard drive, and I really wanted to share it with the TyKa fans still out there
This is dedicated to MistyEyes. Thank you for sharing your talent and writing this hilarious story with me!
Warnings: There is shounen-ai, which is slash, which is boy/boy action.
Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade or any of its characters.
Chapter One: Yellow Light
Tyson stared at the stone architecture, mouth open. He couldn't believe that he actually stood in front of Aoki University, one of the most prestigious universities in Japan. Most potential students failed the entrance exam. Tyson failed the entrance exam. But only—despite his best friend Hilary's skepticism—once, thankfully.
Tyson adjusted his red and blue baseball cap, pumped his fist, and thread his way through the throngs of students towards Ryuu-Fushicho, his dorm. As he head into the building and entered the elevator, he wondered how living away from home would be like. He wondered whether the food would be any good. He wondered whether he'd fall asleep in every lecture. And just as the metal doors opened to the 4th floor floor, he wondered what his roommate would be like.
"Let's see…someone funny, nice, and great taste in food! Yeah. That'll work," Tyson grinned as he strutted down the hallway.
Tyson fished into his pockets for the scrap of paper he had written his room number on and squinted at it. Room 417. He counted off the numbers aloud as he passed closed doors and stopped in front of the designated one. He reached into his pocket for the key, but paused. Instead, Tyson took a deep breath, put a huge smile on his face, and rapped on the door three times.
After a few seconds, Tyson heard someone unlocking it. He smiled even harder, anticipation bouncing inside of him. Before he knew it, he was staring into the face of a young man with slate colored hair and magenta eyes.
"Hi!" Tyson greeted vivaciously.
The young man gave him a slightly bored look. "You need something?"
"Well, uh, actually, I'm supposed to be staying here. Room 417, right?"
"Right."
"I guess you're my new roommate!" Tyson exclaimed.
The other didn't reply for a moment.
"You're kidding, right? You look like a freshman to me."
Tyson scratched his head. "Well, I am."
The other boy sighed. "Someone is going to pay dearly for sticking me with a freshie," he muttered darkly.
Tyson blinked and decided to pretend he didn't hear that.
"This isn't your first year?" Tyson inquired.
"This is actually my sophomore year."
Tyson frowned, taking that little bit of information in. He was staying with someone a year older than him. A year smarter than him. He shrugged it off and realized something with a laugh.
"We haven't properly met. Sorry about that." He extended a hand. "The name's Tyson Kinomiya."
The young man took the offered hand with an air of slight reluctance. "Kai Hiwatari."
"It's nice to meet you," Tyson said, flashing another grin. Kai moved away from the doorway and walked inside. Tyson followed slowly, taking in the room.
There were two beds, each on one side of the room. The bathroom was on the far left. There was a desk near Kai's bed with a few textbooks stacked neatly to one side and a lamp on the other. Near the empty bed was an equally empty desk that Tyson guessed was his. The longhaired boy dropped his belongings onto his bed and took another deep breath, inhaling the scent of his first dorm room.
So what if his roommate was a year older? And…err… so what if he hadn't made him feel especially welcomed? Tyson was certain that beneath that standoffish front, Kai Hiwatari was a loving, fun-filled person, much like himself.
He must be shy, Tyson thought.
"So…" began Tyson, "how's it like here?" he asked, plopping himself on his bed.
Tyson was positive that he just had to make a little small talk to get this Kai person talking. Tyson was a genuine people person after all, and he wasn't going to let a little friction from his new roommate get him now. Besides, he had a knack for getting people to like him. What could he say? He just had great charisma!
"So! Kai…do ya like it here? What do you like best about this place? Are the people nice? How are classes like? Are there any Profs that I should be wary of?"
Kai bit his bottom lip, his left eyebrow twitching slightly. This freshman talked too much.
"I have something to do," he declared, getting out of his desk and heading to the door.
"Oh! Okay, that's cool. Where you heading? Maybe we can get to know each other more when you get back? Hey, that reminds me!"
Kai cocked an eyebrow as he watched the child suddenly rip open a duffel bag and started throwing his things all over the place. A pair of boxers with what-looked like spinning tops on it landed at the foot of Kai's bed. Kai glared at the boxers, glared at Tyson's back, and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Yes! I found it!" Tyson grinned triumphantly, as he pulled out a plastic bag. "You see, I had this brilliant idea of having like a 'breaking the ice' gift. Uh…well, I'm not sure if you'll like it though…" he suddenly stammered, staring at the bag. "It's kind of for someone who likes to have fun—wait! No, I mean, that's not what I meant. I'm not saying you don't like to have fun…you just seem the type that wouldn't like this gift because it's kind of spontaneous, and you seem…um…more like the…just…well…here!"
Tyson suddenly stood in front of Kai with the plastic bag shoved in front of his face. Kai lifted an eyebrow. This boy moved surprisingly swift. He took the bag in silence, while Tyson seemed to stare at him in much anticipation. Sighing, Kai half-heartedly reached into the bag and pulled out its contents.
Kai stared at it. "You got me…Yellow?" he read the title out loud, peering at the cover with some sort of interest. "What is this? Some kind of manga?"
Tyson's stomach jumped into his throat, and before Kai could blink, he had suddenly snatched the book away from him. His breaths came out in pants, as he held the volume possessively against his chest. Panic-stricken, he seized the plastic bag in Kai's possession, which was probably filled with a few other volumes. Tyson darted back to his mattress, nearly tripping himself over excess baggage that found its way to the floor, and buried the manga back into the depths of his duffel bag.
Kai watched all this, quite confused, aggravated, and most unimpressed.
"What the hell was that for?" he glared. "What happened to your whole 'breaking the ice' theory?" Kai rolled his eyes, shrugging. "Oh. I get it. You were just pretending to be all friendly, right? Well whatever, I don't really care."
Kai turned his back on him and reached for the doorknob, but was caught off guard as his roommate suddenly grabbed his wrist.
"No!" Tyson shouted quickly. "That not it!"
Kai let out a low growl as he snatched his hand back. Whipping around, he gave the freshman an extremely annoyed stare. "Then? What is it?"
"I-It's…it's…I mean…this is…" Tyson struggled with his explanation, avoiding any form of eye contact. This was so goddamn embarrassing! How was he supposed to explain this without making an even bigger fool of himself?
"I'm leaving."
"No! I'll explain!" Tyson quickly protested. He took a deep breath, rationalizing that Kai would probably understand. Maybe. Hopefully. Well he'd better! Giving Kai a fierce and determined look, Tyson clenched his fist. "Yellow is a yaoi manga!" he finally exclaimed.
There was a long silence. They stared at one another. God this was awkward.
"Y-y-yaoi…err… it's a…w-well i-it's when g-guys…they…um…they—"
"I know what it is," Kai cut in, grinding his teeth. "This gift really is for someone fun and spontaneous."
"It's not for you though! It's not even mine!" Tyson defended himself. "My friend…she's a yaoi fangirl. She helped me pack. She probably accidentally put it in my bag or something!"
"Right."
"But it's true!"
"Of course it is."
"You don't believe me!"
"Your words, not mine."
"But—!"
"I'm leaving."
Before Tyson could utter another word, Kai was gone. With his shoulders slumped, the freshman dragged himself back to his bed and dropped onto it like lead.
"Ah…somebody kill me," he groaned, smothering a pillow over his face. This was not how he envisioned their first meeting to be like!
Kai walked down the hallway, took the elevator, and headed outside. He didn't really have something to do, but Tyson had managed to drive him out with his nonstop babbling. He stepped into the bright sunshine and scanned the campus, quickly spotting his redheaded friend. He briskly made his way over to him.
"Hey! Get out of my sunshine," the redhead complained as he looked up from his book to his friend. He was lounging under a tree with his legs crossed lazily.
"You're in the shade, Tala," Kai pointed out flatly. Tala shrugged and marked his page before closing his book. Kai leaned his back against the tree and crossed his arms, closing his eyes.
"You'll never guess what stumbled through my door today," Kai said. Tala lifted his eyes.
"Oh?"
"I got a roommate."
Tala laughed. "Is that such a horrible thing?"
"He's a freshman. He talks. A lot. I mean, he never shuts up."
"What's his name?"
"Tyson Ki…something. It was long and stupid sounding."
"Well, aren't we just a bundle of joy today," Tala chuckled.
Kai gave him a glare. "This isn't funny."
"I never said it was funny." Tala paused for a moment. "Is he cute?"
"Tala! He's like…a child! I can't live with him. It's just not going to work out."
"And why is that?"
"He's loud. He's messy. He's pigheaded. I know his type. Soon he'll try to get me to go out and have some "fun." He'll be obnoxious and pry into my life and try to help me but will end up screwing everything up. I just know it. He's just not someone I can live with. His voice…makes me want to scream. It's actually painful listening to him go on and on. Tala, I felt pain. Literally."
Tala stifled a laugh. Kai shot him another glare. Tala composed himself and shifted his position.
"Well, maybe it won't be so bad. Maybe he'll surprise you. He seems like a nice guy. And hey, cut him some slack. This is his first shot at university life. He's probably really nervous and pretty clueless as to how you act."
"He tried to give me a gift."
"There you go!" Tala grinned. "He doesn't seem so bad."
"It's called Yellow. A yaoi manga, to be exact."
Tala lifted his eyebrows. "Hmm."
"He's weird," Kai ground out. "And then he tried to cover up by saying it was his friend's manga. She's supposedly a yaoi fangirl. That's another thing! I know those types, too. She'll probably try something. Something that would annoy me greatly. I can feel it."
"Well, gosh, Kai, you just seem to know everyone's type," Tala drawled. "Would you give the kid a chance?" Then he snickered. "Well, it's not like you have a choice or anything. He's your roommate and he's here to stay."
"Shut…up."
Tala glanced at his watch. "Oh, look at the time. You should be heading back to your room." He grinned at Kai as the other boy gave him a glare of death.
"I hate you."
"You wouldn't want to keep Tyson waiting, now would you?" Tala smiled innocently. Kai pushed himself off the tree trunk and stalked away, leaving Tala laughing rather loudly behind him.
Stupid idiot, Kai thought. He has no sympathy!
But as Tala had suggested, Kai headed back to his room. He had to show Tyson who was in charge, after all. He had been there first. Tyson was just an inhabitant—no, a minion in his kingdom. Yes, that sounded about right. Kai reached his door and twisted the knob.
His mouth fell open.
He had been gone for hardly ten minutes. Fifteen at the most. Yet, his room—yes, his room—looked as if a hurricane had hit it. Clothes were strewn about, Tyson's desk was already cluttered, and his suitcases took up much of the floor since they were wide open. Tyson had even managed to unmake his bed without sleeping in it first. Said boy looked up when the door opened.
"Oh, hi," Tyson said quickly. "I was just unpacking a little. Come on in!"
Kai fumed. Tyson was inviting him into his own room! He closed the door behind him and delicately stepped around a heap of clothes.
"You're unpacking a little?" Kai asked, incredulous. Tyson nodded.
"Well, most of my stuff is already in my closet, so I guess you could say I'm about done."
"I see. I trust you'll be cleaning up this mess shortly, right?"
Tyson looked around. "What mess? Oh! Well, I guess I could pick up those clothes over there."
Tyson walked over to where Kai was standing and picked up a stack of clothes sitting at his feet. He stumbled over to the closet and dumped them inside, slamming the door shut. He brushed his hands off, laughing as he made his way back to the bed.
"There! I think the room looks—whoa!" His foot caught onto the strap of a bag lying on the ground and he tumbled forward, toppling straight into Kai's arms, who reflexively caught him. His baseball cap was knocked onto the floor.
"Um…" Tyson stammered. "Sorry about that! I wasn't watching where I was going."
Kai released his hold on his roommate and Tyson straightened, scratching the back of his head. Kai reached down and picked up his cap, handing it to him. Tyson took it and thanked Kai, feeling as if they just had a massive breakthrough in their short acquaintance. He was just about to give a hearty laugh, slap Kai on the back, and tell him that living together was going to fun, but Kai sidestepped another pile of Tyson's belongings and went to his desk.
"You're clumsy," he stated, making Tyson feel extremely inferior. Tyson frowned and stuck his tongue out at Kai's back.
This might take some work, Tyson thought.
Kai opened a notebook and scanned over a neat page of notes. Mentally, he was cursing his luck.
There is no way this is ever going to work out, Kai thought. He's… annoying!
Tsuzuku
So how was it so far? Let me know what you think (especially since fanfiction dot net got that neat function that actually lets author reply to reviews, heh). Thanks for reading!