Title: Love Bug Summary: Max is concerned when he spots fellow bladers all sporting the same bite marks on their necks, each one reassuring him that it's merely an insect bite, before blushing and hurrying away. He just hopes that the bug doesn't get him!
Pairings: Many.
Warnings: Yaoi. Oneshot. Pretty pointless.
Disclaimer: Ok, I don't own, all right?

Don't ask me where this came from, some things are better left unknown. Enjoy!


With a bounce in his step, Max walks through the streets of Sydney, Australia, enjoying the summer sunshine, the pleasant sea breeze invigorating him, filling his mind with the images of the sea, the waves crashing, the gulls squawking for attention as they fight over a scrap of food, the pelicans lumbering about.

He loves the water, especially since his bitbeast is a tortoise, and since arriving in Australia a week ago, the weather has been perfect for swimming and generally spending the entire day at the beach. He's go glad that Mr. Dickinson granted him and the other bladers permission for a holiday. He said that they deserved it after everything they've been through.

Max couldn't agree more.

Glancing to his left, Max notices pink love hearts hanging in a shop's window. Yesterday was Valentine's Day, and with the day over and done with, store owners are beginning to process of taking down all the red and pink Valentine decorations.

Yesterday, was strange. True Max himself doesn't like nor hate the day, but a few others do, Kai being the first to come to mind. Every year, the Beyblade enigma would dread the coming doomsday, fearing it with every fiber of his being. He didn't seen hide nor hair of his captain yesterday, when he and the others arranged for everyone to spend the day at the beach. He also didn't see many other bladers. Some claiming that they have other plans, while others simply disappeared for a few hours.

Though, he did manage to catch sight of Kai this morning, but from a distance. Whatever he did yesterday seems to have done him a world of good. He was practically glowing!

"Where are you going with such an intense look on your face, Max?"

Ah, speaking of Kai.

"There you are, Kai," Max says happily as Kai appears to stand before him, unsurprisingly Miguel standing not far behind him. They've been inseparable from day one of this vacation. "Hey Miguel!"

"Hello Max," Miguel greets, a friendly smile forming on his lips.

"Looking for me?" Kai asks, his lips twitching into a small smile.

"Yeah, I was wondering…" Max pauses, his eyes widening slightly when he spots something. "What's that on your neck, Kai?" he asks, an abundance of concern.

Immediately, Kai's hand flies up and covers his neck, a light dusting of pink gracing his features. "Nothing," he says quickly, glaring over his shoulder as Miguel chuckles behind him. Miguel raises his hands in front of him in a peaceful gesture, but the cheeky smile still gracing his face, humor dancing in his sparkling blue eyes.

"It looks painful," Max says, moving forward to try and get a better look, but ends up short when Kai takes a step backwards for every his step forward. "Can I see it?"

"No, it's nothing," Kai once again assures, swatting Max's hands away and suddenly elbowing Miguel in the ribs who is still chuckling.

"It looks like an insect bite," Max tells him, eyeing off Kai's neck as he notices a couple more.

"Yeah, it was one of those annoying little blood suckers," Kai sneers, his eyes narrowing fiercely, but it proves be to ineffective as he is now sporting a deep crimson blush on his cheeks, crossing the bridge of his nose.

"Do you have a fever, Kai?"

"Ah, it's nothing to worry about," Kai reassures the small blond. "Just, er, a side effect of the bite, that's all."

"You should go rest," Max suggests, nodding his head with slight determination.

Kai opens his mouth to protest, but Miguel butts in, looping an arm around Kai's neck, pulling him up against him. "That's a good idea," he says. "He does have a few of them."

"Really? Where?"

"There's a couple on his shoulder."

Once again, Kai shoots him a look of annoyance and embarrassment. "I wonder how you know that."

"Don't worry," Miguel chuckles, moving Kai in his arms to suddenly turn him around and start leading him back to their five star hotel. "I'll take good care of him."

Max watches them leave, giving them a small wave, concern clearly in his expression. He hopes Kai is ok, those bites look nasty. Maybe a mosquito did them, Kai did say a blood sucker did it. An annoying one at that.

Shuddering, Max continues on his way, strolling the streets, being a tourist, when he turns a corner and literally finds himself on his butt, after bumping into something that feels like a brink wall.

"Onya, Rick."

Max snaps his head up as he recognizes the voice. "Hey Rick! Hi Michael! Watcha doing?"

Rick shrugs, bending his tall frame over to heave Max to his feet without effort. "Nothing much, you?"

"Just out for a walk."

"That's all we're doing as well," Michael says, his hand fiddling with a necklace around his neck, no doubt a souvenir from one of the shops.

Max smiles at them, before his frowns again for the umpteenth time in the last five minutes. "What's that on your neck, Michael?"

"Nothing!" Michael replies quickly, his hand shooting up and covering his neck, much like Kai did not moments before, blushing just as deep.

"Oh man, you've got one too?" Max says, once again concern in his voice. "It looks like the one Kai has."

"Wait," Rick suddenly butts him, a smirk on his lips. "Kai has one?"

"He has a few of them, actually," Max replies, a finger resting on his cheek in thought. "Miguel said that he has a couple of his shoulder too."

A silence falls over the small group, then Rick starts to laugh suddenly. "I knew it!"

"Huh?" Max says, tilting his head to the side in an adorable way, blinking his big baby blues.

"Nothing," Michael says, smacking Rick on the arm and glares at him angrily. "Did Kai say how he got the, er, marks?"

"He said a nasty, annoying blood sucker did it!" Max says, his eyes wide in fright, his arms flailing about with enthusiasm. "Did it get you, too?"

"Oh yes," Michael replies, muttering. "Except mine was big, useless and loud."

Max once again blinks his eyes in confusion, watching as Michael turns on his heel, punches Rick on the arm and storms away, leaving Rick to watch him leave, rubbing his arm and wincing. Rick mutters under his breath for a moment, then goes to follow the slightly seething American.

"That must be another side effect of the bite," Max muses. "Irritation."

"Who's suffering from irritation?" a precise voice with an heavy accent asks the small blond from behind.

Max nearly jumps out of his skin and abruptly turns around, looking upwards to see the sharp, refine face of one Robert Jurgen. "Robert!" Max gasp, grasping at his heart. "You scared me."

"My apologies," Robert says, tilting his head slightly. "That was not my intention."

"That's ok!" Max chirps happily.

"What are you doing?" Johnny asks as he steps out from behind Robert, looking at Max, raising an eyebrow in question.

Max's eyes drew fearful suddenly. "There's this bug, insect thingy going around, biting people's necks!" Max warns them, and when Robert tilts his head to the side in query, Max sees a small reddish mark on his neck. "Ah, it's got you too!"

For the third time today, Max watches as a hand flies up to cover someone's neck, a light red blush gracing their face. "I told him it would leave a mark…" Robert mutters under his breath.

Behind him, Johnny laughs, almost hysterically. "Oh my god, a bug! Hahahahahahahahahaha!"

"Don't you laugh, Jonathan," Robert warns him, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly. "You have one too." Johnny immediately stops laughing, whipping around to face him, his eyes wide slightly. "I saw," Robert smirks.

"I can't believe it!" Max says, starting to fret, torn between fearing for his own safety, and concern for everyone else. "What did it look like?"

"Tall and blond," Robert mutters.

"Platinum for me."

"Wow," Max mutters in awe. "So it's an annoying, loud, big, useless, tall, blond, platinum bloodsucker!"

"What?" Johnny says, his brow knitting in annoyance and confusion.

"This bug thing has already gotten Kai and Michael!" Max tells them, ignoring the way their eyebrows suddenly reach for their hairlines and continues to fret. "I've gotta warn everyone."

"Wait-a-minute!" Robert says, but too late, Max has already starting to jog towards their hotel. He turns to Johnny, who is also sporting a almost frighten look on his face. "We better stop him."

Johnny nods and together they begin running as well.

Max reaches the hotel first, where everyone is starting to gather in the hotel lobby when they spy the panting blond. Max leans against his knees, trying to bring his breathing to normal. He stands up to warn everyone, when, from the corner of his eye, he spots Kai making his entrance, seemly limping into the room. Miguel follows not far from behind him, a smile of satisfaction on his lips, growing slightly when Kai shoots him a glare and carefully lowers himself into a couch.

"Ah, Kai!"

Kai whips his head towards the blond, surprise and confusion in his eyes. "What?"

"You've got even more bites!" Max cries out, gaining the attention of everyone in the room.

Kai blushes a deep shade of red as he feels all eyes on him, waiting nothing more that to sink into his seat and disappears. "That bug has been bothering me again," he says, trying his best to down grade the blush and ignore Miguel, who is chuckling next to him.

Max suddenly feels an arm loop around his neck and glances over his shoulder to look into the half idle eyes of Enrique. "Lets talk." he then wraps an arm around his shoulder and leads him away, while whispering something in his ear.

"Huh?" Max mutters, pulling back slightly, a look of confusion on his face. Enrique merely smiles and begins whispering again into his ear, as they slow begin to walk out of sight. "Oh," Max says, kinda getting what the other blond is saying, then, "Oooh," he says, getting it and realizing how naïve he has been, but taking it in all good humor.

"Get it now?" Enrique asks, letting his arm drop from his shoulders.

"Yep!" Max smiles widely, turning around to face everyone. "They've been bitten by the love bug!"


…X3

That all I have to say, really.

Please review.