This fic started as a bit of a joke, really. One of my friends was round and she started typing up a list of her favourite Beyblade pairings. After BryanTala, KaiTala, and ReiTala, I said "You put Tala with everyone, don't you?" So she went on to write "TalaLee (after that other story of mine called Freak) TalaHimself (no thanks) and TalaThemilkman. So, I decided to do a fic where Tala's dating the milkman. And then of course I had to put Bryan with someone, so I put him with Mariah (I love that pairing...but not as much as BryanTala...), and then I had to do KaiRei and because Lee came into it as well I decided to make him go out with Michael randomly. After that it just escalated... Anyway, here it is, hope you like it! You know, I'm still not exactly sure what the plot of this one is...and I have a sneaking suspicion that it doesn't have one at all...

Anyway, all the best beybladers are staying in Russia in a hotel, but because Bryan and Tala live there permanently, they're
staying in their own house.

NOTE: The formatting is all screwy because of my useless computer. Sorry if it's a bit harder to read than normal...

"Bryan?"
"Nn?" Bryan looked up from his coffee, blinking. Kai sat down next to him with an apple and bit into it thoughtfully.
"Bryan, why is Tala up this early?"
"Wha?"
"Well...last time I stayed over he swore he didn't get out of bed till at least twelve...and it's only half seven..."
"Mnf." Bryan reached for the newspaper and started reading it, sipping at his coffee.
"Bryan...is that...Bryan, what's he doing to the milkman!"
"What? Stop squawking, it's far too early!"
"Bryan, he's assaulting the milkman!"
"No he isn't."
"But look!" Kai pointed out of the window to where Tala had leapt at the milkman and tackled him to the floor. Bryan sighed and turned a page.
"Kai, he isn't assaulting him."
"He's sat on top of him! What the hell-? He just -kissed- him!"
"Idiot. Tala's dating him. Why else would he get up early if he wasn't flirting?"
"Tala's dating the milkman?" Bryan nodded and Kai burst out laughing. "The milkman? Seriously?"
"Yeah. His name's Mike or something." With a smile, Bryan put down his newspaper. "Tala discovered him one morning when we had Ian's dog for the weekend... After that he used to make me get him up early so he could go and hang around outside and seduce the poor guy. You'd be shocked how easily he fell for the 'eyelash' gig. I think Tala kissed him about nine times before he realised there was no eyelash, and then he asked Tala out."
"Really?"
"Yeah, really." Kai shrugged and went back to his apple. A couple of minutes later Tala came in, snatched Kai's apple and Bryan's coffee, and proceeded to finish them off with the utmost rapidity. "Mike's coming over later, Bry."
"I'll be at Spencer's then."
"Oh come on, we're not -that- loud!"
"Whatever you say, Mr. Moan." Kai laughed and Tala glared at him.
"Hey, at least I have something more than crumbs in my bed! I'm yet to see either of you with a boyfriend OR a girlfriend!"
"As if I would bring anyone back here. You'd scare them to death." Snorted Bryan. "And for your information I have a girlfriend."
"Really?" Bryan winced. Telling Tala about anything like that was basically asking to be tortured to death over it.
"Yes."
"Who is it?"
"Mariah."
"What, Mariah from the white tigers?" Bryan nodded, and Tala smirked. "Well, that makes me the only one of us who doesn't have my eye on a chinese person."
"Hn?" Bryan looked at Tala, then at Kai, who was blushing furiously. "Kai?"
"Astute bastard." Muttered the slate-haired teen. Tala ruffled his hair annoyingly.
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone you fancy Rei."
"Rei?" Bryan exclaimed, disbelieving. Kai nodded and Tala threw an arm around his shoulders.
"You haven't noticed? They both sit there and stare at each other when they think no-one's looking!"
"Tala! Don't joke about it!" Kai cried. Tala frowned.
"But you do- you're both as bad as each other. I bet if you asked him out he'd say yes!"
"Tala, stop acting like a date doctor and make me some more coffee, seeing as you stole mine."

Tala stood up and filled up the kettle, putting it back down and flicking it on. "Seriously, Kai. He likes you. I wouldn't tell
you if it wasn't true."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. If it wasn't true I'd set you up with someone else!" Bryan sighed.
"Tala, quit with the date doctoring already!"
"Fine, fine. But ask him out. Honest to God he'll say yes. You can come and kill me if he doesn't." The kettle boiled and Tala picked it up, spooned the coffee into the mug one-handed, then poured it, stirring vigourously. He turned and dumped it in front of Bryan, then yawned. "Know what? I'm going back to bed. Later."
He walked out and Bryan sipped his coffee dubiously. "If there's one thing Tala always manages to screw up, it's coffee." He
leaned over and poured it down the sink. "You might want to take his advice though. Slut that he is, he knows what he's talking about." He smiled. "You know, I would never have thought you were gay."
"Thanks." Said Kai sarcastically.
"What? It's the truth. But...you and Rei would go well together, I think."
"Um." Kai thought for a second, then stood up. "I'm gonna go and ask him. If he says no, I'm coming back here with a torture rack, and the milky bar kid up there is getting put on it!" He walked out and shut the door behind him.
Bryan waited until he was sure Kai was gone, then roared with laughter. "Milky bar kid? Oh, that's a good one..." He heard a
small beeping noise and took his cellphone out of his pocket. The text icon flashed in the corner. He clicked it. Ah, it was Mariah again.
He sat back in his chair and started composing a reply.

"Rei?"
"Yeah?" When Kai didn't reply, Rei put down his book and sat up, patting the bed to invite Kai to join him. His pulse started racing as Kai sat down, tilting the mattress so that Rei brushed against him slightly. "I was wondering...if you..." Rei raised his eyebrows questioningly. Was Kai going to ask him out? No...no, he couldn't be. Kai wasn't even interested in men-
"Would you like to come out with me sometime?" Rei blinked.
"Out?"
"Uh..."
"Out...like a date?" Kai nodded and blushed furiously. Rei was obviously still into Mariah. He shouldn't have bothered asking. He was going to KILL Tala! "I...I wouldn't mind...if..."
"You-you mean you would?" Now it was Rei's turn to blush.
"I...like you Kai." He leaned against Kai and smiled. "I'd love to go out with you." Kai opened his mouth and then closed it again.
"So...you're not still thinking about Mariah?"
"What? Oh Kai, I thought you of all people would know that I've never been interested in Mariah!" His voice dropped to a
conspiratorial whisper. "She scares me... Anyway, she's with Bryan now! Didn't you know?"
"No...I knew. I just didn't know if you did..."
"Oh yeah. Lee made me tell Bryan that if he hurt his little sister he'd castrate him with a blunt stick!" Kai bit his lip then spoke again.
"So...when...?" Rei looked up at him, smiling.
"What are you doing tonight?"
"Um...nothing..."
"Well Tyson and Max are out, and Kenny's gone to stay the week with Hillary..." Kai's eyes opened wide. Alone? In the house -alone-? With Rei? "I'll cook you dinner!" Rei offered, glad their room had a kitchen.
"I...I'd like that." He stood up. "Excuse me. I have to go and thank Tala."
"Huh?"
"He told me to ask you out...I was...too scared...before..." He started to walk away but Rei grabbed his arm.
"No, don't go! Or at least let me come with you!" Kai reached out and took hold of his hands, pulling him up. He overestimated Rei's weight, however, and Rei knocked into him. They looked into each other's eyes for a second, painfully aware of the closeness of their bodies, then a flash of some mutual agreement hit them and they were soon embroiled in a heated kiss.

When lack of oxygen became a major issue, they broke apart, panting. Rei retracted his arms from around Kai's neck and
trailed them down the arms that were currently wrapped tightly around his waist. "You know..." He said, voice barely above a whisper. "You could always thank Tala some other time... Kai nodded, then moved his arms further up Rei's back, pulling him close and kissing him
again.

Bryan knocked at the door of Mariah's room and then waited, whistling to himself. The door was opened by a tall, handsome
Chinese, a raven haired young man whose eyes were currently glaring in Bryan's direction. "Um...is Mariah in?"
"Yes."
"Is she, um...around?"
"Yes." Lee stepped back from the door, and Bryan took it as an invitation to enter. He stood awkwardly inside as Lee walked into the kitchen, but a second later Mariah appeared and ran to him, stretching up and kissing him softly. "Hey Bryan."
"You ready?"
"Yeah!" Mariah snatched up her coat and tugged it on, then took Bryan's hand. "Lee, we're going to the zoo, so I won't be back for a while!"
"Have you got your key? 'Cause I might be going out later." Mariah checked her pockets then nodded.
"Yeah, I've got my key! Bye!"

Lee watched them walk down the path together, then sighed. He still wasn't happy about Mariah dating an eighteen-year-old,
not when she'd only just turned sixteen, but it was not his place to argue, or to criticize. As far as he knew, Bryan was making Mariah happy, and for that he couldn't be faulted.

Lee scratched his nose absently, then got up. He stretched, yawned, then went upstairs and got out his swimming trunks and a
towel on impulse. It had been a while since he'd been swimming, and there was a sports centre a few blocks away from the hotel.

"So what about him?"
"No."
"But he looks pretty gay..."
"Eddie, do you want to date every girl you see?"
"No."
"Precisely. I don't want to date every guy I see." Michael sighed and pushed himself off the side of the pool, going underwater. Eddie followed him, trying to keep up but failing. When Michael surfaced, he began to ply him with more questions, and Michael sighed. He was starting to wonder if telling Eddie he was gay had been such a good idea...

"So what's your, like, ideal guy?" "Dunno. I couldn't stand being with someone taller than me though. And they'd have to be into sports...not really ugly...nice hair?"
"What about him?" Michael instinctively turned to look, and almost drowned. That guy out of the White Tigers was standing there about to dive in. He was only wearing a tight pair of black shorts, and Michael could see every smooth, toned muscle on his chest and legs. As Michael watched he jumped, turned once in the air, and landed in the water smoothly, with no hint of a splash. "Well?" Prompted Eddie.
"Geez, stop asking, will you? I only told you 'cause I thought you'd want to know, not so you could pester me!" Thankfully, after that, Eddie shut up. After another five minutes, he gave up too.

"I'm gonna go and catch the basketball game in the gym, so see you later!" Michael watched him go, thankful, then turned his
gaze back to the neko-jin. He was attracting a lot of attention by sweeping up and down the pool with strong strokes and a determined expression. Michael was sure that if he was on land he would be going weak at the knees. After a few more minutes gawping, he went over and joined the neko-jin as he stopped for a break.

"You're pretty good, huh?"
Lee turned and regarded the person next to him. Wasn't he that guy out of the All Starz? "I thought cats didn't like water."
"I'm not a cat." Lee said coldly, starting to take deep breaths.
"You look like one."
"Whatever." Michael watched his strange breathing for a second more, then commented on it.
"Are you okay?"
"Nn?"
"You're breathing all weird..."

As if in answer, Lee took one last huge breath and shot down under the water, kicking off the side with a mighty push of his
legs. Michael followed him, peering underneath himself ever now and then to see the neko-jin flitting across the bottom of the pool, only to reach the other end completely. Michael stared back at the distance he'd covered, waiting for the guy to surface.

"Do you have elastic lungs or something?" For the first time, Lee smiled slightly.
"No, I just didn't grow up in a polluted city like you probably did." He regarded the American beside him, and decided that even though he was probably one of the straightest people on the planet he was still hot. "You here on your own?" Michael nodded. "Where's your entourage?"
"Huh?"
"Where's all the other guys you hang around with?"
"Oh, right. They're all somewhere in here. Eddie's in the basketball place, and Emily's in the tennis arena. Max and Tyson are somewhere around too... What about you?"
"Me? Well my little sister's on a date with Bryan, Gary's still in China, and Kevin wouldn't go near a pool unless his life depended on it. Maybe not even then..." He added musingly. Michael smiled.
"What about Rei?"
"Hm? Oh, him and Kai are off snogging in a bush somewhere..." Lee caught sight of the strange expression on Michael's face and laughed. "Sorry. Not exactly the most sensible thing to tell a straight person, is it?"
"Huh? What makes you say that?"
"Are you gay then?" Michael blushed at the bluntness of the enquiry. Not even -he- would have been so utterly un-subtle.
"Sort of..."
"Sort of?"
"Well...I don't have a boyfriend or anything...but I like guys."
"Well I still call myself gay, and I don't have a boyfriend."
"Well...I'm gay then."
"I wondered why you were watching me."
"Huh?" Lee laughed, a purring rumble from deep in his chest that sent shivers down Michael's spine.
"I only noticed because I was watching you too!" Michael blushed slightly, the wondered why he was. He supposed it was because he'd never had a guy stare at him before. Women, yes, but never men... "You're blushing." Lee trailed a finger across his cheeks, and Michael snapped. He hated to be seen as some shy, blushing uke! He grabbed Lee by the shoulders and pulled him closer, kissing him passionately.

Lee, however, gave as good as he got. Michael soon found himself squashed between Lee's body and the wall of the pool, with
his tongue being tortured in a very pleasurable way. When they broke apart, Lee was grinning. "Where'd you learn to kiss like that?"
"Girls." Michael replied. "Before I realised I liked guys better. What about you?"
"Oh, I had a boyfriend back home. Dasu. He moved to the city and ended up in a triad, so I finished with him."
"A triad?" Lee nodded.
"Mm. But I didn't want to be connected with triads in any way. It's not like he was anything special."
"Oh."
"But, living in a tiny village, there wasn't really a lot of choice in men. I'm surprised you haven't had a string of boyfriends, actually."
Michael shrugged, leaning against the side and kicking his legs aimlessly. "It took me a while to admit it to myself...I've had a lot of girls, but they were never really enough."
"Mm." Lee glanced down at his fingers. "I'm going all wrinkly. You coming?"
"Uh...yeah, okay." And so Michael followed Lee out of the pool.

"Bryan?"
"Yeah?"
"I love you." Bryan slipped an arm around Mariah's shoulders and hugged her close to him. They were sitting on a bench watching the penguins, eating ice cream. Bryan leaned his head against Mariah's and smiled. "I love you too." Mariah sighed happily and licked her ice cream.

"I didn't think penguins existed until I was about ten."
"Really?"
"Mm. I didn't think things like that could, really."
"Did you believe that you would ever find someone to love?"
"I hoped I would. But I don't know if I believed I would. What about you?"
"No. I never thought anyone could love me. Hate me, yeah, or fear me, but never love me."
"-I- love you." Mariah smiled and hugged Bryan tightly. "You know what Bryan? You remind me of those big birds we saw before."
"Falcons? Why?"
"Because you're always so alone, but you're really nice and friendly."
"Falcons aren't friendly."
"They liked me. They let me feed them."
"They don't usually." Bryan smiled. "But then, I'm not usually friendly."

Mariah giggled and nuzzled into his chest. "See? You -are- like a falcon!"
"Then what does that make you?"
"I don't know."
"You know what I think?"
"No. Most of the time I don't."
"You're like a penguin. Because I never thought someone as gorgeous as you could exist." Bryan finished his ice cream and pulled Mariah onto his lap. She smiled and kissed his nose, so he kissed her back, pressing his lips against hers with uncharacteristic gentleness. He felt something cold smear across his cheek as Mariah wrapped her arms around his neck, then felt the cold thing wipe against his neck. He pulled away. "Hey!" Mariah suddenly realised what she was doing and let go, bringing the ice-cream back round and laughing at it. She leaned round and licked Bryan's neck clean, then kissed the ice cream on his cheek away.

Bryan held her close as she finished nibbling at her ice cream, then picked her up bridal-style. "Bryan..."
"Yeah?"
"I love you."

Kai stood leaning against the table as Rei whirled around the kitchen. "Rei..."
"Yeah?" Rei didn't turn, as he was currently doing something complicated involving a colander and some kind of vegetable.
"You're beautiful." Rei smiled, then turned, wiping his cheek and getting flour on it. Kai walked closer and brushed it off. Rei gave him a quick kiss and went back to cooking.

When he'd finished and presented everything to his exact standards, he took off his apron, revealing a black tabard with a
dragon emblazoned across the front. He scrubbed his hands and picked up the two plates, placing them on the table. Kai stood up only to sit down again, across from Rei. Delicious as it was, the food was hard to concentrate on when he was sat across from Rei. When they'd finished, Rei went to pick up the plates, but Kai took hold of his hands. "Let me. You cooked it, after all..."

Rei stood behind him as he washed up, arms locked around his waist. Kai scrubbed at the plates, then let the water out. As he did so, Rei slid his hands up the front of his shirt, palms flush against Kai's skin. Kai blushed and tried to speak. All he managed was a sort of squeak. Rei felt his way higher, and Kai gasped, feeling Rei brush over his nipples. "Rei..." Rei purred into his ear and moved his hands, turning Kai round and kissing him fiercely. Kai grabbed Rei's tabard and yanked it over his head, only pausing in kissing Rei for a brief moment. Rei almost ripped Kai's shirt off, then pressed himself closer, needing to feel Kai's skin against his.

"Rei...I don't...I don't think I'm ready for this..." Kai said nervously. Rei nodded.
"I'm not so sure I am either." He kissed Kai again, less desperately, then pulled away gently. "But would you?"
"I...think so. I-I'm just a bit...I'm not used to being so close to people..." Rei sighed with relief and hugged Kai, snuggling up against his chest. "I love you...but...I'm still a bit unsure..."
"I...know what you mean. D'you...just want to watch a movie or something?" Kai nodded and let Rei pull him down onto the sofa.

Michael murmured in his sleep and curled up further in Lee's arms. The neko-jin held him close, tracing delicate fingers over
the smooth skin before him. He brushed back some of the hair shrouding Michael's face and smiled. The American boy was really quite beautiful, and he was a most...satisfying... bed-partner...
"Lee?" Mariah walked into the room while Bryan waited outside. "Hello? Lee?" She turned to look at Bryan. "I don't think
he's here..."
"He said he was going out, didn't he?"
"Mm. Bryan...will you stay here with me until he gets back? I don't like being in on my own..." Bryan hesitated then came in, closing the door behind himself. They talked for a while, and just as Bryan was starting to get suspicious about Lee coming back at all, Mariah fell asleep. Bryan smiled down at her and then closed his eyes, falling asleep himself.
In another room, Kai and Rei were lying on the sofa, twined around each other and snoring softly.
And a few streets away, well outside the hearing radius of the hotel, in a small house, there were some very strange noises
coming from the bedroom...

fin

Hehe...Tala and the milkman, in a bed...

Anyway, R&R, you know how much I appreciate it!