Author's Notes: Yes. A Hwoarang + Kazuya fic. I guess I decided that there were far too many Hwoa + Jin, and Lee+Kazuya’s out there, and only one HwoaKazzy fic that I’ve read. I guess this is my first fic where Julia is an important character… It’s hard resisting the urge to kill her off, but I’ll try.
**Disclaimer**: I, Chloe, do not, in any way, own anything related to Tekken. Nor do I, in any way, shape, or form, promote drug use, or being unfaithful. In fact, I am completely against people who cheat on their partners.
Stuck In My Ways
Chapter 1 - World So Cold
Large snowflakes slowly drifted down in the still air. A couple sat on a bench, watching the Frozen River under the sunset. A romantic couple under a romantic sky, not even allowing the noise from passing cars to disturb them.
Julia Chang gazed at the couple, green with envy. Her fantasy struggling to live through the roaring engine of the motorcycle beneath her. Why couldn’t he tell? Why didn’t he care? The man driving made a sharp turn, allowing the romantic view to disappear. So uncaring. How could he be so blind? Julia held on tighter, terrified that another turn like that would throw her off. She promised herself that her boyfriend of two years would see again. He’d become a new man.
The bike stopped by a hotel. Julia got off, still shaking from the force of the vibrating engine. Her boyfriend lit a joint and revved the engine. She gasped, “You’re not going out tonight!” The man just ignored her and drove off, tossing a set of keys that landed at her feet. “Hwoarang! Get back here!” She called after him, hopelessly.
Julia grabbed the keys off the white sidewalk, before the snow buried them. She had trouble trying to figure out why he had agreed to go on that trip with her in the first place. It wasn’t supposed to be fun. She was there in Nebraska researching more into the G-corporation. They had located the ruins of where Heihachi’s son had been resurrected. Her and her team were going to investigate. Of course she knew that Kazuya had competed in the fourth tournament, but she wanted to know more about the devil gene before she sought him out. Maybe Kazuya would be able to help her in her plans for reforestation.
Maybe it was all just wishful thinking. At that point both of her goals seemed next to impossible. Would Hwoarang ever change? Would Kazuya Mishima ever help her if she found him? They were nice goals to try to live up to, but how would she live if she failed? Her boyfriend was almost impossible to be in the same room with anymore, but she didn’t want to let him go. She loved him. How could anyone live with themselves after failing to save the environment? She had to succeed in both tasks for the sake of the world, and the sake of Hwoarang.
A rush of warm air met her as she opened the door of the hotel. It wasn’t a very classy place. There was no restaurant or any other place to eat at. There was only a small bar on the top floor, and of course, with her luck, she got a room right under it.
Six floors and no elevator. Peachy. Julia trudged up the stairs, praying for something to stop her from killing her boyfriend when he returned.
Please let her be asleep. PLEASE!
Hwoarang opened the door slowly and peaked inside. It was One am. If he had kept her awake that late, he knew he wouldn’t live to see the Korean sun again. Julia may have been a kind-hearted, spiritual, tree-hugger, but boy did she have a temper! Of course, that’s what Hwoarang liked about her and would purposely set her off at least a dozen times a day. But even he knew not to make her angry when it came to her work, and keeping her up half the night would be doing just that.
The lights were off. A good sign, unless if she was meditating. The room was completely silent. Hwoarang walked in, quietly closing the door behind him. He blindly made his way to where he was sure the bathroom was, but smacked right into a wall, “Shit,” He cursed in a whisper.
“Hwoarang,” Julia’s irritated voice came out of the darkness, “It’s a little to your left.”
He felt to his left and found what he was looking for. A mumble escaped his lips that sounded somewhat like a thanks before he locked himself in the bathroom. She was awake. There was bound to be an interrogation, as there was every time he came home late. They didn’t officially live together. Julia just stayed with him when she was in Japan or Korea, and he often tagged along on the little digs she went on.
Maybe Julia would wait until morning. Hwoarang splashed warm water on his face and changed into some looser pants before leaving the bathroom. Unfortunately all the lights were turned on, and Julia was sitting on a chair by the window, waiting. Oh yeah, she was pissed.
“Where were you?”
Hwoarang shrugged and leaned against the wall by the bathroom door, “Cheating on you.”
Julia glared, “Sometimes I wonder.”
He laughed and ran a hand through his fiery mane, “Oh give me a break, Julia! The only people who stay in this town are farmers and hillbillies. Oh yeah, and your friends.”
“So then you shouldn’t have a problem telling me where you were,” She pressed, still glaring at her boyfriend, finding it hard to believe that she was strangely attracted to him at that moment, “Why are you always dodging my questions?”
“Because I’ve answered them a million times before. I was just riding around. What do you expect? I can’t cheat because I don’t know anybody here, and I’m not that kind of guy. I wasn’t buying drugs because all they fucking have here is ‘chew’. I wasn’t drinking, because I’m not drunk right now. What the hell do you want me to say?”
Julia sighed, “Stop swearing.”
“Fuck you.”
“Hwoarang,” She shot him a nasty look, “Now is not the time to test me.”
The Korean lit a cigarette, being thoughtful enough not to smoke another joint around her, “What the fuck do you want me to do? Stay by your side 24/7 like an obedient little pet? I might as well be on a fucking leash! I’ll make you a deal. I will stop swearing when you start trusting me.”
Julia shook her head, “How can I trust you when you act like this? Going off for hours at a time. I can understand that you want time for yourself, but you could at least tell me where you’ve been and come back earlier.” She sighed looked at his clothes, “Let me take you shopping tomorrow after work. Sarah and Tom want to take us out for Dinner.”
Hwoarang couldn’t believe he was hearing that, “A double date with Sarah and Tom, huh? How cute. The most yuppie couple out of all your friends. I’ll bet you plan on dressing me up in a sweater vest or a tie or some preppy shit like that!” He looked at her through suspicious eyes, “You know, I haven’t the faintest fucking clue why you insist on dating me when you’re trying to fucking change everything that I am. You’re trying to turn me into Jin Kazama, aren’t you?”
“I am not. It just would be nice if you acted decent for one night. Maybe then we’d get along.”
“Decent? If you think that I’m so indecent, then why the fuck are you with me?” Hwoarang asked, feeling his face heat up with insult.
Julia frowned, “I’m not going to give up on you.”
“Give up on me?” Hwoarang repeated slowly, realization forming on his face, “So that’s what this is.”
“What?”
Hwoarang grabbed his coat and turned back to his girlfriend, “I’m not one of your fucking digs where if you dig long enough through the dirt, you’ll find some priceless artefact! I’m your boyfriend, not your fucking project!” He opened the door.
“Wait!” Julia jumped up, “I’m sorry Hwoarang! I love you!”
He laughed bitterly, “Don’t you get it? You’re in love with the idea that maybe, just maybe, you’ll be able to turn me into a new man. I’m not about to pretend to be something I’m not, just to tickle your fancy.” He glared at her and stepped out into the hall.
“Hwoarang wait!”
“Fuck you,” He snapped before slamming the door behind him.
Julia collapsed against the door, dropping her head in her hands. Tears streamed down her cheeks. She eventually cried herself to sleep.
The roaring engine had a way of maintaining Hwoarang’s sanity. It had stopped snowing hours ago, and the temperature had dropped a few degrees. At least Julia’s work hadn’t taken them to Alaska like last time. Now that was cold.
Hwoarang parked the bike on the side of a street, and climbed off. It was so relaxing to be alone. He knew he wasn’t cut out for relationships, but he had thought that maybe once in his life, he met someone who accepted him. Beautiful delusions. Did he really need to be humbled by reality? Baek accepted him, but Baek was dead. Killed by Toshin. Killed by that so-called ‘Fighting God’. Anyone who could label that creature with the word God, should have been shot.
It was the same place where Julia had been gawking at the couple earlier. Of course the couple was long gone, but it did seem like a peaceful place. Hwoarang pushed snow off the bench and sat down, lighting a joint. The frozen river glistened under the moon peaking out of the clouds. It looked like a river of crystal. A touch of beauty in the hideously boring state of Nebraska.
“Doo San.”
Hwoarang jumped to his feet, startled by the voice behind him, and he went immediately into fighting stance. His eyes widened in recognition. “Mishima-san.”
Kazuya smirked and crossed his arms over his chest, “So this is the boy who one of my blood could only manage a draw against.”
The presence of the older man was bone chilling. It was a man who had been thrown into an active volcano and was still walking and talking and kicking ass! Hwoarang never thought he’d ever fear another living soul, but there were always exceptions. “Uh… Yeah.”
“Relax, Doo San. There will be no fight today,” Kazuya said, his voice soft with amusement.
Hwoarang did as he was told and fell out of his stance. Although, he remained rigid, ready to lash out at any sign that Kazuya’s intentions were less then honourable. “Do you have a specific reason for sneaking up on me, or did you just want to see me freak out?”
The older man laughed, “I’ve been wanting to meet you ever since I watched you fight at the Fourth Tournament. I was rather disappointed that I wasn’t matched against you, but my father has a way of setting things up so that nobody leaves satisfied,” He assessed Hwoarang carefully, “Are you afraid of me, Doo San, or am I imagining that tremble?”
Hwoarang scowled, “It’s cold.”
“So it is,” Kazuya smiled, glancing at the Crystal River. “Stunning view. Reminds me of a painting I once owned. Although I’m sure it would have made a much more interesting piece of art,” He looked back at Hwoarang, “If it contained a contrast such as this,”
“Such as what?”
Kazuya didn’t answer. Instead, he watched Hwoarang, studying the Korean as if it were his painting. The arrogant smirk not leaving the Japanese devil’s face for a second. Finally, after seeing Hwoarang squirm slightly under his gaze, he spoke, “You look so out of place in this snowy paradise. As we speak there are people on the other side of the road, staring suspiciously, convinced that you must be trouble… You don’t belong where people will judge you so quickly.”
Hwoarang rolled his eyes and sat back down on the bench, “I don’t need a demon to tell me that I don’t belong in this place. I didn’t come here to belong. I came here for Julia. And don’t ask me why because I don’t fucking know.”
“Your eyes tell me different,” Kazuya said, sitting on the bench next to the redhead.
The old man was right. Hwoarang did know why he came, and it disgusted him. He came because he was afraid that if he didn’t become a little of what Julia wanted, he might have lost the one person who he thought had accepted him. Tagging along was just a subtle way of being supportive. He frowned, knowing that all along, he had really known that Julia was trying to change him. The fantasy was warm, but the woman, herself, ripped it away, leaving Hwoarang with nothing but a world so cold.
Hwoarang glanced at the man beside him, realizing that he wasn’t the only one who looked out of place. Kazuya was so dark in more then one sense. It just seemed strange seeing the demonic man surrounded by the soft white snow as he stared out at the crystal river. His face was distorted by years of hate, anger, and pain. Even the smirk on his face didn’t seem cruel and hateful enough to belong there.
“Let me buy you a drink,” Kazuya offered.
“Why? So you can fucking hit on me in a warmer place?” Hwoarang accused, grinning.
When Kazuya’s smirk deepened, Hwoarang’s grin disappeared. He was JOKING! What was wrong with that guy? And Kazuya responded, “Let’s not be bothered with details. Unless,” He paused to add emphasis, “You are still too afraid of me.”
“I think your expectations are a little too high there, bud,” Hwoarang stood, and started toward his bike, “You are possessed by a devil, you survived falling into an active volcano, and you’re hitting on me. You’re fucking right I’m afraid of you!”
Kazuya laughed, “I didn’t fall into an active volcano, I was tossed in.”
Hwoarang turned to him, “Oh, well in that case,” He said sarcastically, “You must be a great guy! Let’s fuck!”
“Don’t tempt me,” Kazuya taunted.
“Fuck you,” Hwoarang shuddered and turned back to his bike only to be tackled to the ground, face first into the snow, “FUCK! Get off me! Fucking cold! You said no fight today, man! I’m too tired for this!”
Kazuya turned Hwoarang around so they were face to face. The Korean blew snow off his mouth and glared at his attacker. Kazuya wiped the rest of the snow if his prey’s face, remaining in control by pinning down the Korean’s arms with his knees. Before Hwoarang could bark some nasty comment, shockingly soft lips grazed his own.
A/N: Yes, ok, I admit it, No.. No I don’t. I won’t admit anything!!!!!! BE GONE!