Archive of Our Own ^beta

Suvarnabhumi Airport was a gleaming building of glass and steel. From the air it was shaped like a giant 'H' with long white corridors that stretched for miles. The flight attendant welcomed them to Thailand with a gleaming smile, and a basket of mints as white as her teeth. After breathing cold, dry recycled air for six hours, leaving the inside of the plane was like walking into the height of summer. Kota’s sliver carry-on case bumped over the rivets on the jet bridge and onto the smooth white floor. Ahead was the security checkpoint. Queues were already forming behind the wall of metal detectors and x-ray machines.

"It’s a bit redundant,” Kenny complained, “We were already checked to get on the first flight.”

“It doesn’t matter, we don’t need to rush.”

They had a three-hour layover, as the next flight didn’t go till 9 o’clock. Kota waited while Kenny dug out his collection of electronics in preparation. Kota understood he needed them on the tour, not why he needed them on the flight.

“Why not put them in the hold?” he’d asked Kenny when they met that morning to go to the airport. “You aren’t going to play all these on the flight are you?”

“I don’t want them to get damaged,” Kenny explained, lifting the rucksack onto his back.

“So get insurance.”

Kenny looked at him, scandalized, as if Kota had suggested he throw them off a cliff.

“But then they’d still be broken, besides it’s fine. I can carry them.” He’d flexed his arms and Kota had accepted it. It was Kenny’s load to bear, if he was willing to carry it.

That was why it took them an extra ten minutes to get through security in Narita, and why it was going to be an ordeal here too. It was worth it to be travelling together again though, Kota reminded himself. Besides, it didn’t matter how long it took them to get through security; he himself had said as much.

They went to the second shortest line to avoid Suzuki-gun who were already in the shortest. Hopefully the airport was big enough that they wouldn’t have to interact. Kota found them obnoxious at best and hostile at worst. The entire faction had been on the flight with them. There was no sign of the rest of their competitors, who had all been mixed in with the sea of people churning through the gates. However as soon as they got into line they were followed by Sho and Yoh of Chaos, along with their faction's newest recruit, Jay White.

“How was the flight?" Kota asked them. 

"As well as it could be," muttered Yoh.

"Well, well, Kota Ibushi and Kenny Omega," leered Jay in a mocking tone. "Right on time." Kota didn’t reply. Kenny rolled his eyes and rifled through his backpack for his travel documents. Jay stepped out of the queue to approach Kota menacingly.

"Let’s just try and get through the line," said Sho with gritted teeth, tugging Jay back by the sleeve of his jacket. 

Kota wondered what Roppongi 3k had done to end up travelling with him. Most likely it was the bad luck of being the second newest Chaos recruits, and therefore at the bottom of the chain of command. Someone must have ordered them to keep an eye on Jay, as they both seemed like they would rather be anywhere else. Jay wriggled and shed his jacket like a snake’s skin, leaving it in Sho’s hands as he leapt free. He stood inches from Kota’s nose, arms wide.

“It’s painful to see you like this,” he said mournfully. “I’m going to find you later. I know exactly where you’ll be,” He turned his head to return Kenny’s glare. “I can see it all.”

Kota took a step back; Jay’s breath wasn’t great. He stepped forward to close the distance again.

"Fuck off Jay, I'm not going to fight you here," said Kenny, putting an arm between them.

Jay looked from the scowl on Kenny’s face to the big clock on the wall and backed down.

“All things come, in time,” he said at last to Kota. Roppongi 3k marshaled him over to a different queue. Sho looked apologetically at Kota as they went. Kota nodded at him in return, with no small amount of pity.

"That guy has really lost it hasn't he?" Kenny said when they were alone again. His arm was still hovering in front of Kota's chest.

"Excursion can make or break a person." Kota moved slightly, bumping against Kenny's elbow. Kenny realized his position and dropped the arm. Something in Kota’s chest fluttered and died as he did so.

"Sorry," he muttered.

"It's fine," said Kota.

...

When they got inside the main departures hall, they had nothing but time and the rediscovered pleasure of each other's company. They wandered through the shops and restaurants with no real aim in mind. Kota was pleased to see that Kenny hadn’t changed much since the last time they traveled together. He still had only a cursory knowledge of fashion. While he tolerated Kota’s interest in the brand stores, it wasn’t long before he found other ways to amuse himself. Kota drifted away for a few minutes and came back to find him in a pair of Prada sunglasses, making faces in a mirror.

Kota crept up behind. 

“We can go.”

Kenny jumped and Kota grinned at him.

Not to say that there were no differences at all. Kenny was a little bigger now in the arms than ten years ago, his hair a little longer. Even though he had dyed it back to the shock of blond it had been before, it wasn’t quite the same. Too light at the bottom, not thick or unruly enough. He was slower to smile and the smiles that came were stiffer, more subdued, than what Kota remembered. He didn’t think he himself had changed much. Not on the outside anyway. He could feel the difference in his neck and in his knees. Ten years ago, he hadn’t thought about any of that, or if he had, only thought of the pain as an enemy to be fought past, not the warning system that it was.

The airport was huge and grey, modern and cold and impersonal, every surface of it clean and sparkling. The central concourse was filled with people killing time, shopping for trinkets and staring blankly at the boards. But, as they walked further away from the centre towards the gates the number of people dwindled. They found a quiet corner of departures with no shops and no reason for anyone to be there. Sofas were scattered around next to a barrier that looked down on the departure gates C1 through 6. With an hour to go for their layover and half a day to go in the air after that, Kota and Kenny sat in comfortable silence for a while, each tapping away on their own device.

At another time, Kota might have fought with the screen for Kenny’s attention but he found himself welcoming the time to decompress. His thoughts drifted back to Kenny’s request from the previous week. He still hadn’t given his answer on that. Decisions for Kota generally came straight away or not at all, but this one was different. It wasn’t that he hadn’t decided, because he had. He would second Kenny at Dominion. There was no easy way to get out of it now Kenny had asked so publicly. It couldn’t be helped, but whenever he thought about it Kota found himself wanting to kick something until it broke.

"I'm going to get a lemonade," announced Kota, with thirty minutes of waiting still to go.

"Do you want anything?"

"No, I'm good, thank you Ibushi." Kenny's eyes were locked on his game and Kota took advantage of the distraction to really study him. He was bent over the screen, eyes narrowed in concentration. His lips tightened in frustration when he missed a jump and had to restart the level. After a minute, Kenny looked up to see why he wasn’t moving and only then did Kota manage to tear his eyes away and leave.

 Going to Starbucks turned out to be a mistake. Not one minute after Kota had purchased his peach green tea lemonade, he was again waylaid by Jay White. The guy looked rough, even more so than he had getting off the plane, hair messy and black jacket lopsided. Too bad for him, they still had a thirteen-hour flight to go after this.

“As constant as a star!” Jay said, stepping out into Kota’s path. “Where’s Kenny? Isn't he with you?”

“He's around," said Kota. Jay made a sour face.

"I don't know if you're crazy or just an idiot. Do you honestly think you can trust Kenny? You're more delusional than he is!” Jay White was carrying the US title in his hand luggage, Kota could see the shape of it stretching out the left side of his back pack. Kota remembered when he’d won his first belt. How the weight of it sang to him. The confidence of gold flowed into all aspects of life. Which was his only explanation for why Jay might think he wasn't on the road to a smack in the jaw right now. 

"I'm not delusional," said Kota with more certainty than he felt.

“Then you’re an idiot. You’re going to let him break your heart all over again.” Jay shook his head.

Kota started walking.

Jay followed, hopping along like an angry crow in his full black. “Wait! wait! That was rude of me, I'm just trying to warn you!" 

"Then consider me warned."

Jay looked at him with a mixture of patronizing exasperation and fondness. It was extra obnoxious attitude coming from someone ten years Kota’s junior.

“Hang on a moment. There’s something else I need to tell you. I feel like I'm going mad, but I don't think I am." Jay eyed the people milling around them with suspicion, lowering his voice as if they might be eavesdropping. “Let's talk over here." He gestured to where it was quieter, which also happened to be back in the direction of Kenny.

Kota stopped. He couldn’t bring himself to dismiss Jay entirely. This man had helped him once upon a time. It felt like another life. He was happier now than he had been in a long time, but that didn't mean he could afford to forget the past. At that time, when he’d felt most alone, he remembered Jay, so young he was unrecognizable as the strange angry man in front of him now. He remembered him, and his steadying presence as he shouldered Kota out of his darkest nightmare.

"Okay," said Kota, hoping Jay would be quick.

"I can't leave the airport! I keep trying to go out, but it stops me!" explained Jay.

"Does Thailand allow entry without a visa to New Zealanders?"

"Not like that!" Jay insisted. They were near to where Kenny was now. Maybe once Jay saw they were together he would leave.

"Then what’s the trouble?"

"Come closer." Jay’s face was grim.

Kota did.

"I’m sorry about this. You'll understand soon... I hope."

And then he seized Kota's head with both hands and kissed him right on the lips.

The kiss was cold and strange. It made the world spin in a sickening circle and lasted only for as long as it took for Kota to shove Jay away hard with both hands. The young man staggered back and almost fell over with the force of it. He was lucky he got the extra distance because Kota’s immediate instinct was to punch him right then and there in the middle of the airport, security and international relations be damned.

"What the fuck?" came a yell from in front of them and Kenny was there at his side, quick as a bullet. Jay ran, barely avoiding knocking into people and luggage until he was out of sight. "Are you okay?" Kenny put his hand on Kota's shoulder, squeezing it protectively.

"No." Kota wiped his lips with the back of his hand. He sipped at the lemonade, but even its sharp taste didn't rinse the disgust out of his mouth.

Kenny’s hand was still on his shoulder. The warmth of it bled through his t-shirt and the comfort of it was almost worth the unpleasantness. 

"What the fuck is that guys issue!?" Kenny’s anger helped to cool his own. It was better that they let Jay run for now, he decided. They could deal with him when they got to London.

...

"Attention passengers, Flight LH304 will be delayed until 22:20. We apologize for the delay." The clear, robotic announcement played in Thai and English.

"It's delayed?!" Kenny exclaimed.

"That's such late notice too. They must have known earlier than this."

"Want to go to the spa thing?"

"Not really," said Kota. He'd seen Suzuki inside when they'd passed by it. 

They ended up back in their secluded spot above the C gates. Kenny turned on his switch again and began to while away the time on his game, but Kota found he couldn't focus on anything for long. The same worries cycled around his mind. He closed his eyes and listened to Kenny's fingers clicking. Unwelcome thoughts bit at him, given teeth by what Jay had said. It was a waste of time. He was already doomed. Whether he could trust Kenny or not, the man held Kota’s heart in his hands. It felt like for the last few years he’d been climbing out of a ditch and had now slid back in again, all progress lost.

Sitting here with Kenny close enough to reach out and touch would have been unthinkable even just a few months back. That Kota from a year ago would have killed for this, and now it wasn’t enough.

“Are you okay? You seem out of it. What exactly did Jay say to you back there?”

Kota watched the curved ceiling of the terminal building and thought about how to answer.

“He said I shouldn’t trust you,” he admitted and then immediately wished he hadn’t. It was just going to encourage drama. Kenny let out a long breath and put down his console. The moment stretched. Kota could feel an apology coming and he found suddenly that there was nothing he wanted to hear less. “He said some other things too, called me delusional, crazy.” Kenny scoffed.

“You are crazy,” he said. Kota stuck out a leg and kicked him playfully. “Seriously though…” Kenny took another deep breath and brushed a curl of hair from his eyes.

“Don’t,” said Kota.

Kenny stayed silent.

...

When they finally got on the plane it felt like a victory though the journey was not even halfway over. Kota hated travelling but refusing to do it entirely wasn't an option. It was too much a part of the wrestling life.

Kota’s lips still felt strangely cold. The air con was on at full force in the cabin which made it worse. The feeling seemed to seep from his mouth all over his face and drench his whole body with the same strange feeling. He shut his eyes as he felt the plane rumbling around them, the lights in the cabin went dark for the take-off and he evened out his breathing to tempt sleep. He could hear Kenny next to him, fingers still for once as the plane took off. The impulse to reach out and hold his hand was like the call of the void.