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“Hey there big guy! Long time, no see.”
Boris stopped in between and placed the weights down, while craning his head to the side to see who had decided to join him so early at the gym. Once he noticed the newcomer, a smirk broke out on his face.
“Ah, doctor! To what do I owe the pleasure?”
The man with the unruly black hair laughed and shook his head. “Getting out of the house is important dude. And no calling me doctor! I’ve had enough of that already.”
Boris quirked his eyebrow but the mocking smirk still stayed on his face. “Already? Why, this is just the beginning my man!”
“Oh, don’t remind me. But its Ken for you,” he replied and bumped his shoulder with the taller Russian. “Man, you never stopped coming to the gym, did you?” Ken asked as he rubbed his own shoulder.
“Nah,” Boris replied as he flexed his arm and kissed his biceps. “It’s all I got bro. Wouldn’t skip gym for anything.” He lifted his hand in the air and slammed it down on the older man’s shoulder, who gave a slight wince at the force. “And? How’ve you been?”
“Fine, I guess” Ken replied as he started his warm-up. “I stay around patients most of the time and you’d think by now I’d be used to that. But then comes my brother, and now I’m really having second thoughts.”
Boris snickered and went back to his weights. “What did he do now?”
“Our parents went out on Friday. So, like any typical highschooler he decides to throw a party. Good enough. But then in the midst, he and some of his fellas find out these two girls who weren’t invited and enjoying the free stuff1. And my brother decides to act tough and…….” He waved his hand around in a vague gesture and sighed. “Look, I have no idea what he was trying to accomplish there but he and some guys chased those chicks around the house or something but somehow he fell down and broke his nose and leg.”
Boris laughed out loud. “Oh, your brother’s a riot!”
Ken snorted. “Riot? More like an idiot. You should have seen him. Crying his eyes out because of the fractures. Now, I know that it’s supposed to hurt, but he really knows how to go overboard. Goddamn drama queen.”
Boris groaned. “Oh, don’t start about drama queens.”
Ken grinned. “Why not? Seems like you got your own story to share. I’m all ears here, you know?”
When is the story ever my own? thought Boris. He cleared his throat once and said, “Not my own really. It’s about Yuriy.”
Ken smiled. “Yeah, I know that.”
Boris had known Ken for about a year now. The gym was the place they’d met for the first time, and he got along well with the older man. They’d bonded together over their shared love for football. Ken hadn’t had any idea that Boris himself had once been involved in the sport of bey blading, because in his own words, football was his “eternal love”, and watching anything other than that made him feel like “he was cheating”. Boris didn’t question his frightening devotion to the sport, but was secretly glad that he didn’t know the first thing about blading or his career.
Ken knew most of the things that went on in his life. Which inadvertently meant, he knew most of the things which went on in Yuriy’s life. So, even though Ken had never met Yuriy in person, he had developed an estimate about what this person around whom his Russian friend’s whole life revolved, was like.
“I told you that Yuriy was dating this guy, right?” Boris asked and Ken nodded.
“Yeah, a brief info about this person. Yura and I have known him for several years. His name is Kai. Never liked him much to be honest. And back in those days, neither did Yuriy…..” He stopped fleetingly to wonder when exactly that had begun to change and Yuriy and Kai had started developing feelings for each other.
“Ah, the overused enemies to lovers trope! How delightful!”, Ken replied grinning.
Boris glared at the back of Ken’s head at that but then sighed. Was kinda true, anyway. He continued, “So this Kai; where do I even start? He’s arrogant and an absolute drama queen! I mean, just hear this. In our childhood, he used to be really tall, taller than me actually. But then after a year or two he started wearing this weighted scarf, and it used to be really heavy. Like it could crack the ground, when dropped!”
“No shit! Really?!” Ken asked incredulously with his eyes widened.
“I know right!” Boris exclaimed. “And all this shit just because back in those days he wanted to defeat the reigning Beyblade world champion. All that drama…. I swear the scarf was extra-long just so it could flutter dramatically when he turned his back on others. He used to do that a lot.” He snorted and then dropped the weight for a little pause to catch his breath. He could hear Ken mutter, “your acquaintances, god, your acquaintances…….” softly to himself. Nothing new there. He had had the habit of muttering stuff to himself as long as Boris had known him.
“And all that extra weight gotta have some repercussions, right? And course it did! Remember how I said he used to be taller than me? You should look at him now. That scarf totally fucked up his height!2” he finished with a loud chuckle.
“I don’t know, dude. I mean, you’re like…. really tall. I’m the tallest in my family and you’re even taller than me by a good few inches,” Ken replied with a shrug
“Kai’s shorter than you.”
“Noted. Now we get to make fun of his height together!” Ken shot back laughing and Boris’s own loud laughter joined his. He was once again reminded why he got along with the older man so well.
“So yesterday, Yuriy was telling me about how Kai had kept frowning for a few days over some risqué text he’d mistakenly sent to Yura which caught the eye of his ex. I mean, would you even consider that a thing to be upset about?”
“Uh…no?” Ken quirked his eyebrow. “Maybe a tiny bit embarrassed, but frowning for days? No way!”
Boris nodded his head vigorously. “Precisely! So I suggested that maybe that wasn’t the underlying cause at all. It had to be something else!”
“Did you figure it out then?” Ken asked with a twinkle in his eyes. His Russian friend always had the quirkiest of incidents in his life. Well, Yuriy’s life but still. The most that happened in his life was his brother having a bad fall and biting his head off because of the fractures.
“Well, Kai kept frowning, yeah? And he was talking a lot less with Yuriy. So I suggested that maybe he was just constipated. I mean it sounds legit right? But for some reason Yuriy didn’t share my opinion and went ballistic at that.”
“Why though? Sounds legit enough to me.”
“Yes, yes!” Boris exclaimed, earnestly happy at having found some validation. “I don’t know why he didn’t accept my reasoning. Stupid redheads and their tempers.”
“Hey, my girlfriend’s a redhead”, Ken said with a frown. “And let me tell you she’s the calmest, coolest woman you’ll ever meet.”
“Okaaaaaay…….” Boris drawled. “But maybe she dyes her hair?”
“Nah, I don’t think so.”
The workout at the gym and his talk with Ken had cleared his mind some, but he was still a bit disturbed. He hadn’t heard anything from Yuriy since yesterday, and he’d been wondering if his friend had been able to fix whatever was going on between him and Kai.
Kai. He couldn’t say that he hated him even now like he had in his younger years but he couldn’t go as far as to say he actually liked the guy. Was alright, at best….. But Yuriy was genuinely happy with that drama queen, and since he always wanted what was best for Yuriy, he tolerated Kai.
At times he wondered, if he needed a long-term relationship in his life as well. All he’d ever had till this day were short flings and one-night stands. Never anything serious….. But then again, all of it seemed emotionally exhausting and…… Yuriy may have problems in his relationship so he couldn’t help him if he was busy with his own stuff…..
He stopped his trail of thoughts as he felt a sudden anger swell inside him. No, that wasn’t right. He was his own person and he had every right to lead his life whichever way he wanted to. He couldn’t just throw away his own life for the sake of Yuriy.
But Yuriy never asked him to.
In the end, it was his conscious choice. Boris didn’t think it had ever been about him; it was always about Yuriy. He had been a second figure even in the story of his own life. Yuriy’s problem was his problem, Yuriy’s happiness was his happiness, Yuriy’s life was his life. In conclusion, he didn’t have a life of his own. And all of it was his choice. No blame games.
He knew, in some ways, he owed his life to Yuriy. He didn’t think he would have survived and come this far, if he hadn’t met Yuriy all those years back in Severodvinsk. Yuriy taught him never to lose hope in the darkest of times, fend himself in those cold, dark streets. And then all those years spent together in the Abbey. He had followed him with ferocious loyalty. ‘Like a lap dog’, was what the other bladers used to say. That was what he had been ordered to do by Volkov.
But Yuriy never asked him to.
He knew what hierarchy meant. He understood how important that concept was in a place like the Abbey. He was the vice-captain and just that; nothing more. Everyone had a place, a rank, their own place and limits; and the moment someone crossed it, consciously and unconsciously, they were in the danger of losing their lives. Maybe that was what had led him to become the way he was? Old habits die hard, they say. Maybe that was why he always followed Yuriy. Followed him to the end of the world, literally. He would have rather stayed back in Russia with Sergey and Ivan, but Yuriy had decided to stay here and so did he.
But Yuriy never asked him to.
So yes, he owed his life to Yuriy. Yuriy had been the leader, the better blader, the better human. Yuriy Yuriy Yuriy………………, But he had done his part, didn’t he? He’d done more for Yuriy than Yuriy had ever done for him.
But then again, Yuriy never asked him to.
He found himself wondering if Yuriy would be all that bothered if one day he just stopped. Found the strength to break out of this routine and stopped following Yuriy once and for all. Definitely? Maybe? Boris didn’t know for sure. Though a bit selfish, he knew he wanted Yuriy to be bothered.
When he reached home, he searched for his phone only to find it switched off. Boris frowned and noticed that though he’d plugged in his phone the last night he’d forgotten to turn the switch on. Grumbling, he turned the switch on and sat on his bed with his legs crossed, face resting on his hands and waited. After about a minute or so, he long pressed the power button of his phone, bringing it back to life. The first thing he noticed was three texts he had received from Yuriy.
Yura: We made up. Mostly...
Sorry for losing my temper yesterday.
A smile crept on his face at that. Whether Yuriy asked him or not, when he thought about it he didn’t really mind following Yuriy all that much. He’d never been much of a leader anyway.
But you didn’t have to send that text to Kai. That was really unnecessary3
Text to Kai? Which text was he talking about? He didn’t-
Oh wait….. Yeah, he did send a text to Kai. And sure enough, Kai had replied. Though he didn’t need to as all of the text was visible in the notification, he tapped on it.
Hey Hiwatari, heard they’re looking for ya in the isle of Eroda 4 . So stop frowning already
Kai: Fuck off
“Huh, fucking drama queen”, he mumbled, flipping the phone in his hand. “Well, at least those two made up, mostly or whatever. So that’s a relief.”
He had just placed his phone back on the nightstand when it buzzed again. Boris raised his eyebrow and picked up his phone again.
Ken: Dude! You wouldn’t believe what I just came to know!
MY GIRLFRIEND ACTUALLY DYES HER HAIR!!!!
His eyes widened when he read the text and then a huge grin spread on his face as he typed back.
Told ya 😉