Like Twins

They had all gathered at a cheap restaurant for breakfast. Kazama was there too, of course, which was the first the Blood Talon had seen of him since they had the meeting to distribute rooms. Still as breathtaking as ever, but there hadn't been a doubt in his mind about that.

Babo was sitting across from Hwoarang with his legs crossed, grinning like an idiot. He had barely touched his breakfast – it was beginning to look like he had a bit of an aversion to eating. "So, who's the wimp now? You didn't get Hiro down, did you, mister wimpy?"

Hwoarang's lip quirked irritably. "If you don't stop talking to me, I'm going to violate your Doormat chihuahua."

Said Doormat leaned against Babo's shoulder. He looked up at him with wide eyes and handed him a small can. "Can you help me open it? It's too hard for me..."

"Of course, honey." Babo took it and easily popped it open. Once he returned it to his weak partner, he went back to grinning at the annoyed Korean. "Those are some gross looking scratches. I bet they hurt. Did you get beat up by Hiro? That means you're a wimp because Hiro's nice to everyone else. He didn't hurt us when he turned into a monster and flew away!"

"Alright, I see what this is." Hwoarang flashed a sarcastic smile and slowly leaned forward on the table. He over-dramatically eyed both members of the couple before continue. "You're hitting on me! Well if you want me that badly, why don't all three of us get a little down and dirty in that public restroom over there?"

The Blood Talon sighed. As far as he was concerned, it was too early in the morning for sexual harrassment. At least the food wasn't as bad as he had feared. Mostly, he was trying to sneak in glances at Kazama, trying not to be caught. Why did sitting with the weaklings mean he still had to put up with 'Hwoarang'? It was supposed to be just him, the wimps and Kazama! The world clearly wasn't cooperating with him these days...

Hiro, seemingly uncomfortable with the conversation, decided to speak up for the first time that morning. "Now that you mention it, I should apologise, Hwoarang. I have very little control over myself when that happens and my other half isn't entirely accustomed to... socialising." His eyes darkened as he turned his attention toward the weaklings. His voice deepened with a clear intensity as he added, "I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't use the issue for your childish games."

And then it happened. Kazama, who had been sitting at the next table, came walking over. His dark eyes scoured their faces for a moment, then he addressed Hiro. "I'd like to talk to you about what steps the group should take in the near future. Are you available in a couple of hours? I will exercise now, but have no plans beyond that."

Taking a sip of his water, Hiro seemed to take a good long time in coming up with a response. He eventually nodded and smiled at Kazama. "Yes, we really should have a discussion without pointless distractions."

Zekkai, looking up from his second helping, quirked a curious brow at Kazama. "I don't know how you can work out right after you eat... Or does that just apply to swimming?" With a dismissive shrug at his own question, he stretched through a yawn and then blinked lazily at a waitress walking past. "Well, I need something to wake me up. Need a sparring partner?"

The question raced down Blood Talon's spine like a bucketful of ice water. That nervy idiot! Kazama gazed calmly at the guy for a moment, then nodded. "Sounds useful. Come along," the Japanese said, then started walking away. Was that it, then? It took a good amount of self control to refrain from attacking that meddling Zekkai, and the redhead felt heat rise up into his cheeks. He hoped noone would notice, but realised that was a bit much to hope for...

As Zekkai stood up, grabbing one last mouthful of rice, and followed after Kazama, Hwoarang's amused gaze landed on Blood Talon. He leaned back in his seat and his brow furrowed in thought. "Hey, BT... What's the problem?"

He so wasn't in the mood for that. "If you start with me now," he growled, "I'll tie you to my bike and take you for a trip around town." The Blood Talon wondered whether to just get up and leave, but he wasn't done eating, and he really didn't want to be seen backing down in front of so many of the group.

The other redhead sneered and looked over at the other table. He didn't appear to have any intention of continuing, but soon changed his mind. "I'm not going to start anything, okay? All I wanted was to talk to you about something."

If that was a trick, 'Hwoarang' would regret it later. The Blood Talon picked up his chop sticks and resumed eating for a bit, hoping to calm down a little. Besides, he was not about to let the guy off the hook that easily. When he felt he had waited long enough, he responded, "if it's what you think my problems are, I'm not interested."

"No, I've got a problem of my own." Hwoarang got to his feet and walked over to crouch by the Blood Talon's chair, fixing him with a sincere gaze. "You really piss me off, but I think you can help me. I can't talk about it here. Some little brats might listen in and decide to mock me about it, and I don't feel like wringing their necks so early in the morning..."

Finishing off the rest of his food, the Blood Talon pushed his chair back and got to his feet. "I need some fresh air, so I'm going for a walk. You can come if you want." With that, he started towards the door. Should be safe now, right? He didn't want to see Zekkai and Kazama together for fear of losing his cool, but they left over a minute ago.

Hwoarang grunted, but followed behind anyway – not without casting one last glance at the others. He cleared his throat and shoved his hands into his pockets, and as soon as they were out of earshot of the others, he started. "I wasn't going to bother talking to you about this because I figured you were the competition, but maybe I'm wrong. If you want Kazama, you have no idea how big of a relief that is. Hell, I'd buy your wedding rings myself!"

Okay, so it was to talk about his problems, but the guy deserved credit for getting away from the others before bringing it up. The Blood Talon nodded, giving a mild shrug. Maybe he could switch the topic onto Hwoarang without admitting anything. "Well, what do you want? Don't worry, I'm not sharing anything from this conversation unless you do."

"I want Jin. I want him to want me, and I'm sick and tired of him telling me I'm not the best." The other Korean's voice had softened considerably, as if he were afraid the one in question could still hear them. Still the frustration behind it was more than obvious. "He likes you, though, so I figure I might as well ask you for some tips, so long as they don't include me getting on all fours and begging like a dog. Just name your price."

The Blood Talon smirked. He liked the sound of that. Perhaps position could be established after all. Probably not, but it was worth a shot. "You know what I hate the most about being part of this group?" He asked in a contemplative voice, gazing idly over the other man's face.

A subtly proud grin pulled at Hwoarang's lips. There's wasn't even a second of hesitation when he answered jokingly. "Most people would say the part they hate the most is having to put up with me. No, I don't know what you hate, so why don't you tell me?"

Claiming firm eye contact, the Blood Talon spoke slowly and clearly. "I hate being surrounded by street punks, and suddenly not being in charge. I hate being in a group where what needs to be done will not be done because the most dominant one is more interested in sex than in progress. And most of all, I hate seeing you around, knowing you can be the backing I need to make this work, but realising you're not any more interested in doing the backing role than I am."

"So that's what you've been so bitchy about? Jesus fucking Christ, BT, we could have settled this issue last night!" He laughed and his hands left his pockets. No doubt he wasn't feeling as insecure anymore. "I'll tell you a little secret. I care about who's leader of this group as much as I care about who Heihachi goes to for prostate exams. I'll back you up if you give me your word that you won't abuse the power and start bossing me around."

That wasn't so hard after all, then? Blood Talon shrugged. "I give you my word that I won't abuse the power." He wondered whether he should go into details about it, but decided it was time to go back to the 'Jin' topic. So he flashed his friendliest smile, trying to avoid breaking the good mood. "Well, with that settled... let's move back to your favourite Japanese, shall we?"

"Yeah, my favourite subject. I've gotta look good, there's no question about that, though it won't be easy thanks to Hiro. After that, what the hell am I supposed to do to make a guy like that interested?" Hwoarang groaned at the dilemma and glared off at something in front of them.

The Blood Talon couldn't help but be amused at it being phrased that way. "You say a guy like that as if he's difficult! Have you looked around? He's definitely the easiest to get laid with. I could've had him last night, and that wouldn't have included any begging on my part..."

The guy didn't appear to like that idea. His lip curled in an annoyed sneer and he shook his head. "Just sleeping with him won't be enough. I don't want him to think about anyone but me. I definitely do not want to share him, so somehow I've got make him forget about that slutty little masochist, Zekkai."

With a sigh, the Blood Talon studied Hwoarang's face. How could something like this be said to a guy without sounding like a master of stating the obvious? "I know Jin slept with Zekkai, but I don't think he'd ever be serious about a drug addict masochist. If you can satisfy Jin, I doubt you'd have to share."

"Alright, fine, that won't be a problem in bed. The problem is, I need him to want me before all that. That's what I want you to help me with." Hwoarang eyed the Blood Talon critically, and then looked away with a shrug. "I can't figure out why he's more interested in looking at you than me."

BT let out another sigh, this time a longer, louder one. He thought for a while, but eventually gave up. "There's no way I can answer that question without offending you." Then he frowned. This was a dead end, he'd have to switch approach a little. With an attempted lighter voice, he added. "If I help you, we'll pull it off. Don't worry."

The response was a skeptical roll of the eyes. "If you were going to say you're hotter than me, that's a load of bullshit... Yeah, alright, I know my best chance at getting what I want is listening to you. So help me. I'm all ears!"

"You realise pointing out things that you can do better can sound like criticism, right?" The Blood Talon shrugged. If the guy took offense, then that was simply the end of the tips session. His problem. "Starting with the easiest: Those clothes don't work. Not your shirt, not your pants. If you want to turn him on without groveling, you're going to have to dress better than Zekkai..."

"... So what am I supposed to wear, then? It's not like I've got a whole boutique in the bag I brought." He crossed his arms, obviously trying to hide that he took offense. "I'm open to suggestions. I've got a little bit of cash too so I guess I could go out and buy something. I was thinking of hitting the shops anyway for some warmer clothes if we're going to Nebraska."

Shaking his head, the Blood Talon looked skeptically at the other redhead. Was this guy for real? He sighed, then wrapped an arm behind the other guy, flashing a smirk. "You know what? I'll pick up some clothes for you, go over some things to say before you meet him and give you a few other pointers. Should insult you less than telling you what's currently wrong."

Hwoarang stayed silent for a moment before caving and smiling bitterly. "Insult me all you want. If what you say works, who am I to argue? After all, you're the leader, right?"

"Feeling sorry for yourself, huh?" He couldn't help it; that smile coupled with how leadership was brought up set him off, and he continued angrily, "I think you should be more grateful. If I want, I can have him, and then he'll forget all about you. If I don't, then I might suffer with blueballs for the rest of my life for that. This mission we're on isn't exactly safe."

"Oh don't get your panties in a knot, BT. You can't fucking have-" He suddenly stopped, his jaw set as the stared in the Blood Talon's eyes for a long moment. His fists were shoved back into his pockets and he focused his attention on the ground in front of him. "If you're not going to help me, at least spare me the attacks. I get enough shit from everyone else without having you add to it."

"Not going to help you?" The Blood Talon spat, less angrily than earlier after that last request. "Well, forgive me for not feeling enthusiastic about making sacrifices when you seem to take them for granted."

Hwoarang turned around and starting walking back toward the restaurant. "I told you to name your price, didn't I? This is goddamn important to me, and I will hold up my end of the goddamn deal. I will back you up, I will respect your position in the group, but that doesn't mean I'm going to walk on eggshells around you."

"Nobody asked you to walk on eggshells. Now get used to the idea of respecting me and my advice properly. Then we'll talk." He turned his back on the other redhead and walked onwards. Did the guy really not understand that getting on other people's nerves didn't exactly turn them on?

~~~

This is a collab, written together with Chlover. You can find her author profile here:
http://games.adult-fanfiction.org/authors.php?no=26260