You've Got Me Feeling Emotions (Zach)

[Malachai Roen]

Kai's face softened just a little, and he gave Zach another soft touch on the arm. "I'm... I'm glad you were there," he mumbled. "Probably would've ended up with some random one-night stand if you hadn't..." Hadn't that been what he'd planned to have with Zach too? So what had happened? "I mean... You're not... I don't just... Want that from you," he admitted sheepishly. "I want to... Do other things with you too." Ugh, he needed to stop. This was so out of his normal behavior.

He nodded, impressed, with Zach's plans. "Sounds like you know what you're doing," he said, thinking. "I'll... Probably go that route too, when I graduate." It's not like his parents would expect anything less. He peered over at what Zach said next, wondering if he was reading too much into things. "So... We'll be limited more to my schedule than yours," he replied boldly, cheeky smile falling back into place.

Actually.... Did Kai really want to share his time with Zach with anyone else? He almost regretted bringing it up. "Sounds like my kind of woman," he said anyway, trying to ease off the subject.

"Tch, who needs pants?" Kai waved a dismissive hand, turning his back to Zach with a laugh. Nope, boxers was the way to go. As much as Kai liked to dress up, it was nice just to be comfortable, and it was plenty warm in his apartment. "Whatever, your choice." He waited for Zach to confirm he was staying over, but when it didn't come, he peered back again. "I'm not letting you walk back to your place in the dark and cold," he chided. "I'll even sleep on the couch and give you my bed if that would make you more comfortable." Another teasing grin.

"Syrup? Boring, but alright." Kai got out the requested item, but also pulled out various fruit preserves, butter, yogurt, and even peanut butter. "You're not allergic to nuts, are you?" he asked out of the blue. Just for future reference, in case he cooked for Zach again. "Because... I know all about allergies." He had to carry an Epipen with him whenever he was going to be out in the wilderness; he'd been sent to the hospital twice in his life for getting stung by bees. "Well, then, maybe I'll have to start cooking for you more often," he declared, flopping the first finished pancake onto a plate, along with a few strips of bacon, and carried it over to Zach. "Bon appetite," he smiled, going back to make more. "Anyway... Family. Yes?"

[Deleted]

"Yeah, sure..." Okay, now they were getting into the territory that was getting weird and that Zach would prefer to not think about. If Zach hadn't gone to that party, then he and Kai would never have "hooked-up" and all would be well in the world and Zach wouldn't be ten kinds of confused and uncomfortable. The idea that he and Kai might just be hook-ups was unappealing to Zach, he wasn't a guy who did that kind of thing and he honestly couldn't see himself having a plethora of sex-friends like Kai did just for the convenience of getting a release when he needed. However, the idea of actually trying to make this more than what it probably was had Zach circling back into a state of denial, unwilling to admit that there might be something there. He might actually be terrified of where this interaction might lead...but the fact that it was this kind of interaction disturbed him the most.

Why couldn't this just be simple? No, because if it were simple, then all those high-value morals that Zach had been trying to live by went right out the window.

What was his life?

Stupid Kai. Making Zach think all these things when he least needed them and prancing around the kitchen in his boxers while Zach was all modestly clad in his jeans and no shirt. Just the lack of shirt was making him feel over-exposed. Zach shook his head, resigning himself to Kai's request. "Fine, I'll stay over," he said, leaning against the table.

Boring? So Zach's taste in condiments was boring? Yeah....that wasn't irritating at all. "No," he said, trying to ignore Kai's comment. "I don't think I have any allergies..." And no, he did not ask Kai if he had any, he was still miffed about that "boring" comment.

"You're choice. I'm not...I'm not going to force you," he uttered, totally not being passive aggressive. "I can live off ramen just fine." Yeah, this was....annoying. Zach gloomed down at the "fancy" plate of pancake and bacon that Kai had made and served for him like....they they were some sort of couple or something! "...Kai," he started, not-so-obviously irritated. "What's my last name?" Okay, maybe it was obvious.

[Malachai Roen]

Nothing about this was simple or easy, and Kai was having a hard time accepting that fact, too. Why couldn't he just treat Zach like any other one of his hook-ups? Was it because Zach was so incredibly different from all his others, and actually bickered and fought and made it difficult for Kai? But did that mean... Kai wanted more than this physical stuff, and just talking, and... No, he couldn't think about that, it just was not something he had time or energy to even consider.

Even if Zach was driving him crazy without even trying.

But he was staying over, so that was a relief! No, not a relief, it was just... Fine. Why would Kai expect anything else? "Good," he said simply, giving Zach another once-over but not saying anything more about his modest choice in clothing.

If Kai was any good at reading people, though, he realized that the atmosphere changed all of a sudden, and goosebumps rose on his arms despite the warm room. "Alright," he replied, trying to stay light. "Just wanted to make sure." He expected Zach to ask him about his own, but when he didn't, he shot the guy a look, a crease forming between his brows. "Did I say something?" He was awfully dumb for someone so smart, sometimes. Yes, Kai, sometimes people got offended by things.

"I don't mind," he replied, still trying to keep the moment from getting heavy. "It'd be nice to be able to cook for someone else." He enjoyed cooking, unlike a lot of people. "Ramen?" he replied, looking absolutely horrified. "Zach, that stuff has like... No nutritional value at all." Yep, still oblivious to his potentially offensive comments. He flipped another pancake on his own place as Zach began speaking, and looked up at the question, lips parting slightly. "Uhh..." Had Zach told him his surname? Was this a trick question? "..... Smith?"

[Deleted]

"No," Zach obviously lied. Of course Kai hadn't said something and nothing Kai said bothered him, especially not that "boring". comment. But Kai was just ignorantly digging himself even deeper, he really should just shut up and let the tension die before he made things worse.

"Well, excuse me for going with what I can afford." Yeah, ramen had no nutritional value, but it was only 46 cents a cup and all you had to do was put some water in it and stick it in the microwave for three minutes. Did Kai actually think that Zach had time for regular healthy meals? You know, something other than tv dinners? Or splurging on a large pizza on sale for $9.99 to last you out for three days? Yeah, okay, Zach's diet was anything but healthy and he probably never got anything of nutritional sustenance unless he went home but….that's about how 90% of college students lived. On no money, no time, and ramen!

Zach turned his head towards Kai, looking at him from behind as he mulled over such an easy question. Well, it would have been easy if Kai every actually asked or bothered to do more with him than fuck around. "And that's why this whole….thing we have going on between us bugs the hell out of me. You don't even know my name! You know nothing about me! The only thing that you know is that I have a mole on my right butt-cheek and have a boring taste in food!" Was Zach yelling? Not in the exact definition of the word, but the intensity was there.

He paused a moment, looking down at his boring pancakes. "It's Bishop. My name is Zachary Crystobal Bishop." And he let out a frustrated sigh.

[Malachai Roen]

Kai realized this was quickly going downhill, but he didn't really understand why. He hadn't meant to offend Zach, he just... Was way too sensitive, letting his panties get in a bunch over this! "I didn't mean..." he began, rubbing the back of his neck. Then he sighed, shaking his head. ".... Never mind." He would have liked to see... Well, all college students eating more healthy, honestly (he was a bit of a health freak at times), but since Zach now had someone willing and able... Whatever. It was his choice. Still, Kai was more than happy to do it if Zach wanted.

And... Now Kai'd done it. He winced as Zach started his little mini-rant, keeping his back turned to the guy as he 'didn't' yell, finishing up the last of what he was cooking and putting it all on a plate as he slowly walked over to the table, letting Zach finish before he said anything. Kai... felt bad. Even if he didn't think he should, because he'd done this sort of thing so often before, Zach just had a way of twisting his emotions all over the place. "I..." Kai sat down across from Zach, setting the plate between them and mulling things over. "... Alright. So tell me about yourself." He rested his chin on his palm and finally looked up, a small spark of challenge in his eye. "For the record, you don't know my last name either." Nope, probably shouldn't have said that....

Bishop... That last name rang a bell. "Wait... You mean Bishop as in the giant meta family with like twenty kids?" he mused. He hadn't known any of them personally, but who didn't know of them? "... Mine's Roen. Malachai Joseph Roen." Well, there was something out of the way, at least. He started cutting into a pancake, slathering it with butter and jam and stuffing a bite in his mouth. Kai wasn't sure if he was irritated, guilty, ashamed, or something else, or all of the above.

[Deleted]

It's a good thing Kai hadn't said any of that panty business out loud. Zach was not too sensitive, Kai was just being a stupid-poo-head! Childishly flaunting his status and money about and expecting everyone else to meet those standards. So Zach was boring and poor, huh? (He didn't say that.) Well goody-good for Kai who didn't have to worry about a thing in the world so he can put all his efforts into studying and sleeping around with random people!

Of course, Kai had to be looking away while Zach was "not yelling" at him, was he even listening to a word Zach was saying? But when Kai came back with his question, such an obviously diffusing one, Zach froze. He'd expected Kai to....ugh, Zach didn't know what he expected Kai to do, but the fact that he was so quickly moving to the point of why Zach was upset just irritated Zach even more. "You--!" Alright, calm down, just take a breath. "You...you're doing it in the wrong order! You should have asked me that before you...you rammed into my ass!" God, did he just say that? He felt his face flush. Yeah, Kai had a point, Zach never bothered to learn Kai's full name either.

Zach waved a hand around as if that explained everything. Yeah, the Bishops. And so far, Noa was the only person who hadn't made excessively unnecessary comments concerning them, to which he was greatly appreciative. "Y-yeah..." he finally managed, sliding his hand down his face and then resting his elbow on the table. "Twelve," he clarified. "Six sisters, six brothers...I'm the second eldest. Plus our parents make 14 total. Don't even get me started on pets." He palmed his hand onto his forehead again, exasperated.

Though...when he heard Kai disclose his full name, Zach had to laugh. Short, quick chuckles that wouldn't stop. He looked back at Kai with a smile somewhere between irritated and amused. "Well...it's nice to meet you, Malachai Roen." God, this all seemed so dumb now, making that fuss for nothing it seemed. He picked up a fork and started cutting up his plain, boring pancake with only syrup.

[Malachai Roen]

Kai was definitely listening.... He just wasn't all that great at confrontations like this. He never got into situations that led to bickering, this was all so weeeird and new and strange... He was going to have to get used to it, he supposed, if he wanted to pursue Zach like he planned. Kai's gaze darted up as Zach gave a little outburst again, and he let out a guffaw despite himself. That had sounded so un-Zach-like. "Well, sorry.... I'm not the best of company when I'm drunk," he mumbled. "I get even more touchy than I already am, and my brain gets.... Fuzzy and unresponsive." He shrugged, taking another bite. "And... I don't know, I guess tonight I just thought that was why you were really coming over in the first place..." When he'd learned otherwise, he was already too far along with his plan to back out, so he'd gone for it. And Zach had hardly resisted.

Twelve siblings.... Kai couldn't even imagine. "I have one sister, and she is already more than enough trouble for me," he huffed. "Twelve... Yikes." Diamond was a terror, and Kai's greatest rival, if he had such a thing. He was already thinking about how much he should give each of them for Christmas... Fifty, maybe? "Mmm... Man, if you can put up with twelve siblings, surely you can put up with my stupidity, right?" He shot a cheesy, wide grin Zach's way, hoping to lighten the situation.

He pouted, though, when Zach laughed at his name. "What? Don't laugh, Zachary Crystobal." Kai smirked, downing a piece of bacon. "Maybe I should just call you Crystal." Ugh... Was he never going to learn? He started finishing up on his pancake, hoping if he ate fast enough he'd keep himself from saying dumb things. "Um... What's.... Your favorite color?" .... Good job.

[Deleted]

Not the best of company…? As if that was an excuse! "More 'touchy"? You gave me a lap-dance, how is that just 'more touchy' to you?" And Zach being Zach was oblivious to what Kai was trying to do. He thought he was just drunk and fooling around, like when Noa did her thing. But that time, Zach was sober. When Kai did it, he'd been drunk himself and not completely thinking straight enough to turn the guy down. Then they went to Kai's apartment. Got more drunk and… He sighed. "Fine, you get touchy and unresponsive when you're drunk. When I am I….sing..karaoke….and apparently sleep with random strangers."

Dumb time to learn that about himself now.

But tonight he hadn't been drunk. No…Zach was just…ugh! Zach didn't know what he was thinking! Just that Kai had gotten him all worked up in that dressing room and Zach was so mad about that but apparently not enough to not continue it in a more private setting. Zach continued to hold his head in his hands, completely ashamed of himself. "Yes…it was…" he said monotonously, "But…I wasn't expecting….to do it right…away…." Zach should really get over this, he was just going around in circles and making himself more stressed out.

Yeah, that was the reaction that he got from most people, which was why he made a point of not bringing it up. But if Kai was going to be joining them for the holiday, then it was probably best to prepare him for it. "Yeah…It's..it's a mess every year." He had to laugh, though, at Kai's misinterpretation. "Eleven siblings. I'm the twelfth. And no, sometimes I want to murder them too." Especially JJ.

"Don't you dare. I'm…I'm not a girl." Even if he acted like it sometimes, especially around this guy. Zach shook his head. "Nah, back in high school, I did the hipster thing and tried to go by Crys….It-it really didn't work as well as I thought." Man, he was such a stupid kid. Kai's next question, however, had Zach holding back a smile. Really!? That was the best he could come up with? Zach shook his head. "Umm….blue." Yup, great answer.

[Malachai Roen]

Kai let out a laugh. "What, that little thing? Pff, that was nothing. You should see some of the other stunts I pull of when I'm wasted." He didn't get drunk all that often, so when he did, he really went all-out. It was his way of relieving all the stress he had on a daily basis. He grinned at Zach's admission. "What, you sing? We're gonna have to get you drunk again, then, I want to hear that." Oh man, he would pay to see something like that. Not that he hadn't done it before himself...

Seeing Zach hold his head in his hands, Kai reached across the table and wrapped his hand around the man's arm, giving it a squeeze. He knew he should feel guilty - and maybe he did a little - but mostly he was just... Amused. It wasn't like he had hurt Zach or anything... He was just taking this all too seriously! "Well... There was no reason to wait," Kai responded, scritching the stubble on his chin. "I was hungry." His lips twitched into another smile, and it broadened to show his teeth. As if to annunciate his point, he took another last, large bite of his pancake and chewed merrily.

"Oh, eleven siblings. Okay, good to know." He'd make sure he had enough for everyone. Parents too. Kai wished he was more creative with gifts, but... Money would do. He chuckled at Zach's admission. "I can imagine. That many people in one house... Sheesh." He would have liked to be an only child, honestly. One sister was too many.

"Wait, you're not?" Kai replied, pretending to be flustered. "You sure had me fooled!" He snickered as he stood and took his plate to the sink, leaving it there to be taken care of tomorrow. "Crystal." Yep, it was gonna stick. "I like it better than Crys." Heh. Zach was just sooo amusing. Kai came back over to the table and rested his palms on the top, smirking at the fact that Zach had even bothered to answer him. "Blue. I'll remember that." Maybe he'd get him blue socks or something. Kai yawned then, covering his mouth as he stretched and relaxed a moment later. "I don't know about you, but I'm beat." He tilted his head towards the bedroom. "Shall we...?"

[Deleted]

Yeaaah, no. Zach decided he didn't want to know what other kind of things Kai did when he was wasted. He definitely didn't want to know what other kind of things he himself would do if he got wasted enough. Zach already knew he was typically more relaxed and less awkward with alcohol in him, but….damn, at this rate, Zach was never going to drink that much again! Or maybe at all? "I'm not so sure I want to be drunk around you again. Who know what you'll do..?"

Zach peeked out from under his hands at Kai's "hungry" comment. "Yeah…so was I. For real food." Man, that was irritating. Kai was too stupidly attractive for his own good.

On the topic of his family, Zach sighed. "Yeah….there's always something going on. And never a moment of peace and quiet…" He looked to Kai. "I'm not really trying to scare you, by the way. I'm just…well, I'm just warning you. But, don't let me, uh…don't get the wrong idea! They're not all bad! I think the worst is probably JJ." Zach paused for a second. "But that's probably because he killed my cactus…."

Zach just rolled his eyes at Kai next bout of idiocy and glared at him. "Don't you dare start calling me that." There had to be a line somewhere and Zach was drawing it there.

Shall we…? Right…Zach had agreed to stay the night. Where was he going to…was Kai expecting them to…again or….? Zach stood and rested his hands on his hips. "I think…I think I'll take the couch…if that's alright with you…?" If Zach was going to sleep, then he actually wanted to sleep. Not do whatever it was that Kai no doubt had in mind.

[Malachai Roen]

Mmmm... Yep, Kai was determined to take Zach to a club or something now. Or somewhere where they did karaoke. Nice guy much? Yeaaah.... Whatever, Kai embarrassed himself sometimes when he was drunk too, it was all just for fun. "Oh trust me, we could do all sorts of things," he replied with a sly wink, taking a sip of water. "Just you wait and see."

Kai stuck his tongue out as Zach peeked at him. "Eh, well, you got real food now, so... You happy?" Kai smirked and waggled his eyebrows, wondering for the umpteenth time why he felt like a kid around this guy. It was weird.

"How did you ever get anything done with so many people around?" he mused aloud. "I bet it was a relief to move out." No wonder Zach hadn't gotten laid more often - who knew when a sibling might've barged in! He smiled at the reassurances. "It's alright. I mean, I only gotta deal with them for one night, right?" He could handle that much. He snorted aloud and almost spat out another sip of water at the 'cactus' comment. "That sounds... Traumatic," he said, trying to keep a straight face, but he burst into giggles again.

"Oh I'm gonna call you that," he jeered. "I'm gonna cry it out when I'm banging your ass." He was mostly just teasing, since Zach had reacted so much to it, but he might do it once or twice just for shits.

Kai was actually expecting to just sleep - surprise surprise - so he pouted as Zach said he'd take the couch. "I mean... If that's what you want to do..." he mumbled, shrugging his shoulder. "There's plenty of room in my bed, though, if you change your mind." He paused, then circled around and placed another kiss on Zach's lips. "I'll, uh, grab you a couple blankets...?" He went to his room and pulled out several thick, fuzzy blankets, and deposited them on his couch (which was easily as comfortable as any bed). "Um... I guess... Good night?" Kai shot a sort of shy glance at Zach, biting his lip.

[Deleted]

"Don't expect me to be looking forward to it," he said blandly. What he didn't say, however, was "no'.

"Very," Zach said, a smug little look on his face as he sat up all entitled. He finished off his pancakes, ignoring Kai's waggles.

Hearing Kai say out loud what he'd been asking himself a lot after he moved made him think….well at least now I know I'm not crazy. It was hard. Zach had to dedicate every once of his attention to school in order to get to where he was today. Unfortunately… "It was….but I still miss them. Though actually, even after I moved out, they still somehow manage to pull me back at least a few times a week. In fact, that's where I was just a few hours ago." He scowled when Kai laughed at his plight with the cactus. "Hey! I liked that cactus, a very good friend gave it to me and they killed it! I mean, how do you kill a cactus!? You gotta water them like maybe once a week, how much more low maintenance can you get!?" Clearly, Zach was still upset about this.

"Oh no you don't!" Zach said, pointing fiercely at Kai. "If you even dare, I'll….I'lll…." Shit, what could he do to retaliate? Though it was funny how the question of whether or not it would be happening in the first place never even came up. "I'll…think of something…"

Ugh….he kissed him again. Kai really needed to stop doing that….getting past Zach's defenses so easily. Zach sighed, holding his arms close. "I won't. But thanks." Yeah, the couch was definitely the safest option. He imagined that even if they didn't do anything tonight, he could definitely see Kai wanting something in the morning and Zach was…..no, that was not okay. Zach just needed to put his foot down and draw the line somewhere because surely he had no intention of coming back to this apartment for this sort of thing, at least that what Zach was telling himself.

"Yeah…good night," he looked down, resting his hand against the back of the couch, then slowly bringing them up to look at Kai. Zach gave an awkward smile to Kai then started working on getting the blankets and pillows spread out.

[Malachai Roen]

Kai wished he could relate about the family stuff. Well... Maybe not so much all the siblings, but the closeness. His parents probably would hardly react if he showed up without telling them beforehand. "Mmm.... Man, it must be nice going home and not having to cook your own meals sometimes," he mused. Not that he minded it terribly, but sometimes he wished he had someone else to do it for him. Kai continued to snicker about the cactus thing, though - he just couldn't take it seriously, especially with that adorable scowl. "If you're really that traumatized, I could by you a dozen cacti," he replied with a puff of his chest. "Huge saguaros that would be impossible to kill." God... He was being a moron.

He continued to keep a smug expression at Zach sputtered at him, feeling completely unthreatened. "You think about that and let me know," he winked. "Crystal."

Kai wavered once Zach responded with his own goodnight, feeling bad for letting his guest sleep on the couch. But that was Zach's choice, and after a moment he just nodded and turned away, stretching his arms out a little as he went back to his room and climbed into bed. He laid there for a while, eyes open and mind racing, until he eventually closed his eyes and started to drift off. It was slow coming, though, and after ten minutes, he was still half-conscious, wondering if Zach was asleep, or awake, or if he'd just tried to sneak off...

[Deleted]

It was nice being able to go home every so often and sample the cooking of one of the many occupants of that house. Their mother did sometimes but was often busy with her job(as was their father), so that job had fallen to one of the more culinary savvy siblings of the family. The biggest problem with going home was...Zach was here, at the university, and the Bishop household was all the way back in Pilot Ridge.

The cactus thing....Zach just rolled his eyes. "As if your giant saguaros could replace a gift from close friend." Besides, having a whole giant cactus in your house? Zach had heard that someone tried to do that and it exploded with baby tarantulas. Literally exploded. No...if Kai really wanted to do that, he'd have to let Zach inspect it first because the chronic creeps was the last thing he wanted. It was hard enough just living with his ability as it was.

Zach turned away, super scowl on his face, clearly detesting that nickname.

Once the goodnights were said, Zach simply climbed into the couch and blankets like that, in his jeans and socks, and curled up in them. He shut his eyes tight in an attempt to go to sleep. But honestly, his mind was racing, thinking over the events of that day, what was he thinking anyway? Thinking over the events from when they first met, Zach had been irritated with Kai then too. He never thought that the next time they met the two of them would gone home together like they did. And despite being drunk, Zach remembered quite a bit from that night. All of it, in fact. Especially the atmosphere, the mood...they were all about as clear as it was this time, only a couple hours ago. And the same as earlier that day in the store, sneaking around in the dressing room. Shit, what the hell was wrong with him...? He forced his eyes closed again, trying to will himself to sleep, to force those thoughts and images and memories from his mind.

After about 20 minutes of that, Zach pushed the blankets off of him, stood, and silently headed towards the bedroom. He didn't even bother to check to see if Kai was still awake. Zach just invited himself inside and under the covers.

[Malachai Roen]

Mmm... Nope, Kai wasn't going to be asleep anytime soon, at least not completely. His thoughts were racing too much, thinking over every word said between them, every feeling he'd had over what Zach had done, reliving moments of earlier tonight... He was going to go mad at this rate. Over it all, it upset him more than he wanted to admit that Zach had decided to sleep on the couch. Why did it bother him so much? It didn't matter, Zach was just another hookup, wasn't he? Sure, there was some sort of odd friendship/hateship(?) thing going on, though the hate mostly seemed to be coming from Zach every time Kai did something remotely stupid or offensive, or just plain something Zach didn't like. It was like a game, a challenge, and Kai was hooked.

The floor of his room was heavily carpeted, so he didn't hear the guy approaching in his half-awake state until the blankets shifted. Kai jolted a little, surprised, and peered over at his now-bedmate, a slow, smug smile creeping up his face. "Change your mind?" he asked, a very slight tease in his voice. As Zach pulled himself under the covers, Kai rolled onto his side and took the risk of wrapping himself around the guy, smothering Zach in his warmth. "I... Didn't think I was going to be able to sleep, knowing you were out there on that uncomfortable thing, when there's plenty of room in here." Yeah... Plenty of room that Kai wasn't giving Zach, holding him like he was.