Shadow Of Betrayal / YokRay

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Ray's heart was beating up to his neck as he slowly walked towards the quay wall on which Yok was sitting. What he was about to do would be the nicest thing he had done for anyone in the last few years, and he wasn't exactly sure he wanted to do it anymore. But now it was actually too late to back out, he was here, and only a few steps separated him from the Tiger King. Before Ray could even change his mind, Yok turned and grinned broadly at him.

"There you are, took you long enough." Embarrassed, Ray scratched the back of his neck and then joined Yok on the wall.

"Sorry, traffic was really bad, even though it's midnight." A white lie, he'd been sitting on his bike for about twenty minutes debating with himself whether he should leave.

"Yeah sure." Said Yok with a sarcastic tone in his voice and had to laugh softly, he was aware that the Yolo Gang Leader had lied to him, but he didn't want to ask about it.

"I'm serious, Tiger." Ray rolled his eyes playfully and the two started laughing.

"And why exactly did you want to meet now? Boredom isn't the only reason you risked waking me up, is it?" Turned Yok to the other now.

"Yeah...well...the thing is...so uhm... I..." Ray tried to dodge the inevitable question. "Fuck, stop looking at me with your eyes like that." Yok lapsed into laughter again.

"What else am I supposed to look with? With my big toe?" He cashed in a gentle punch to his shoulder. Ray took a deep breath and looked up at the sky to calm himself down.

"I've been thinking and..."

"Awesome, you can think?"

"Hey, I'm really trying to say something nice here, stop interrupting me." Hissed Ray.

"Okay, okay, I'll shut up." Yok made a motion that indicated his mouth was now sealed, and Ray gathered his thoughts again.

"I've been thinking." Ray began again. "And I've come to the... I've come to the conclusion that... Fuck, why is this so hard? So I know about your mom and all. And I just thought, well I have money and you...well I'm making money off you..." He took another deep breath. "I decided to share the profits with you, from the money I get from betting on the fights." He looked at the ground and immediately began to devote all his attention to a crab he had spotted, only to somehow escape Yok's reaction.

"Are...are you serious, Ray?" Yok asked, confused and skeptical, yet quite touched by the other's gesture.

"Of course I'm serious, idiot, otherwise I wouldn't have offered it." Replied Ray without taking his eyes off the crab for even a second. Before he realized what was happening to him, Yok had already hugged him, he didn't resist and to be honest it was good to get a hug again. But then he heard the other's soft sobbing.

"Hey Tiger, why are you crying?" Ray asked uncertainly. Yok just pressed himself tighter against the other and shook his head. The Yolo gang leader was really incredibly unsettled by the whole situation now, and the only thing he could think of was to stroke the other's head. So the two gang leaders sat on the quay wall, Yok crying against the other's chest while Ray stroked his head. After some time, Ray gently removed the younger man from his shoulder and looked at him.

"Are you okay again?" He asked, reaching out to wipe away the other's tears, but stopped himself in his tracks. Yok nodded and wiped the tears from his own face.

"I... I'm just very overwhelmed by your offer. Also, that you, of all people, are suggesting something like that." The Tiger tried a smile. "I hate you for making me cry." Ray grinned.

"Your tears are satisfaction for making me drop my mask in front of you again."

"Watch what you say, or I'll throw you in the water." Yok hissed. Both of them broke out in laughter again.

"Thank you, I mean it." Turned Yok to Ray again. "Also for that time you left my bike in front of my door, after the fight I lost."

"Don't thank me for that. Surely that's the least I could do to help you out."

"I want to say thank you, though...and there's one more thing." Yok scratched his head and thought for a moment if he should really say what he wanted to say.

"Like what? Are you making demands already? Do you think we are friends or something?" Ray grinned and took a cigarette out of his jacket pocket and lit it.

"Not exactly a demand, more like a request, even though I know you probably won't respond very well to it." Ray raised an eyebrow and looked at the Tiger King in confusion.

"It's about Nick. He's my best friend Ray, and it is torturing him to be away from Boston. I have...so maybe you could talk to Boston again. I don't know what happened in your life that love drove you to do something like that, drove you to hurt not only my but your best friend so much. But I ask you to think again whether your ego or your friendship with Boston is more important to you." Ray said nothing, probably because he knew the other was right. But he also felt the anger rising inside him, the anger that the tiger dared to make this demand.

"You're right, you have no idea what happened and therefore no right to make that demand or to put Ton's name in your mouth." Growled Ray.

"I knew you would react like this."

"And yet you asked." Snorted Ray.

"Because I owe it to Nick to at least try."

"You're so..." Ray took a breath. Once again, the tiger had drawn him out, had made him think about himself and his actions.

"I'm what?"

"Incredibly annoying. And yet, I'm kind of glad you're so annoying." Admitted Ray.

"Good, you can't get rid of me now, Ray, I'll be annoying you every day from now on." Decided Yok.

"Oh you will?"

"Yes I will. I'll keep bugging you until you become a good person again."

"You are totally crazy, Tiger King, really totally crazy." Said Ray with a laugh in his voice as he shook his head. And yet, somewhere deep inside, he was sure that the chance of the tiger pulling this off wasn't even that slim.