Okay, since I have run into a brick wall with "A New Life To Live" I decided to write a TalaxMax oneshot. Actually, I didn't run into a brick wall. I ran into a fork that has about four paths. In other words I don't know how to end that story so to placate my loyal readers who didn't get an update last night I wrote this. I hope you enjoy it and please review!
Max stretched as he waited for his computer to finish shutting down before going to bed. His baby blue eyes darted over to the alarm clock beside his bed and realized that it read 3:23 AM. His parents and/or captain were going to kill him if they found out he'd been up that late on the computer. He couldn't help himself though. He hadn't seen his boyfriend in over two months and his only real means of communication was instant messaging over the internet. The time difference between them wasn't helping anything either. There was about a six hour time difference between their homes and it was driving Max crazy. The blond turtle sighed as he thought over the last part of the conversation. They always set up a time to chat the following day, but his boyfriend had said he wouldn't be able to get to a computer all day. Max wiped a tear off of his cheek that had managed to slip from his eye. He stood and climbed into his bed curling into a ball as he cuddled the plushy his boyfriend had given him the last time they'd seen each other. He severely missed his boyfriend and only wanted to see him again.
Max stared at the ceiling as he lay awake. He hadn't gotten any sleep and was now dreading getting out of bed and going to practice. There was a knock at his door. "Max, time to get up. Breakfast is ready."
"I'll be down in a minute Ray." He threw the covers off his body and dragged himself out of bed. He stumbled over to the bathroom and splashed cold water on his face before joining his teammates and parents in the kitchen. He slumped down into the only vacant chair and closed his eyes. He started to nod off when Tyson, Daichi and Hilary all started shouting at each other. He cringed and pressed his fingers to his closed eyes. "Oh, shut up already. Could you be any more obnoxious?" He snapped at his friends without really meaning to, but his temper was shortened by his lack of sleep.
All conversation stopped in the room as their attention was quickly turned to the blond. "Max, you weren't up all night chatting again were you? We've told you that it's not safe to do that. You have no idea who you're talking to in cyberspace. They could be a stalker, murderer, rapist or anything. You don't know who you're talking to" Judy chided her son. She was visiting for a couple of days and taking every possible opportunity to give Max grief about his bad habits. The American teen chose to ignore his mother and focus instead on the pounding in his temples that was begining to increase. He really needed to get some sleep, but he was still upset over not being able to talk to his boyfriend until the following day if he was lucky.
"Max, are you even listening? We're just looking out for you. We want you to be safe" Mr. Tate added. Max continued to ignore them and stood to walk outside. He lay down on the back porch and stared up at the roof much like he had been staring at the ceiling of his bedroom only a few moments earlier. A familiar face came into view and he forced a smile at his captain.
"What's wrong Max? This isn't like you. You're acting oddly." Kai crouched next to him and tilted his head to the side in a questioning manner. "Who exactly are you talking to online? It's not a bunch of strangers is it?'
Max shook his head no. "It's not strangers. It's actually the same person every night. We're just trying to keep in touch and the easiest way to do that is to instant message each other. My phone bill would be through the roof if we talked on the phone as long as we talk online. If I'm lucky his webcam will be working and we can have face to face conversations instead of just typing." Max sighed as he shifted his gaze from Kai back to the roof. "I miss him."
Kai squeezed Max's shoulder gently. "You like him don't you?" Max nodded and turned onto his side as he closed his eyes. He really didn't want to deal with all of Kai's questions at the moment. All he really wanted to do was mope over not talking to his boyfriend. He heard Kai walk away and sighed softly. He squeezed his eyes tighter as a tear slipped onto his slightly flushed cheek. He slowly drifted off to sleep and stayed that way even when his team walked outside to start training. He was exhausted and completely dead to the world.
The G Revolutions were starting to practice again after lunch when a familiar red head showed up. Max was still sound asleep on the porch and oblivious to the commotion surrounding the new arrival. "Tala! What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in Russia?" Tyson demanded loudly. Tala fixed him with a cold glare that made the world champion shut up.
"Why are you here Tala? You're not the kind to make a trip for no reason" Kai stated firmly as he watched his friend critically.
"I have a very good reason for being here. Not that you'd know what it is." Tala's eyes flitted around the property and finally rested on Max's sleeping form. "He been asleep long?"
"Since this morning. He didn't sleep last night because he was up late chatting with someone. Why?" Kai's look was going from critical to suspicious. Tala smirked and walked over to the blond. "Leave him alone Tala. He needs the sleep."
Tala ignored the order and crouched beside Max before gently shaking him awake. Max blinked sleepily up at the redhead and furrowed his brow. "Tala? 'At you?" he inquired groggily.
"It's me. I thought I'd come for a visit. Of course, if you'd rather I'll get back on a plane to Moscow." Tala laughed as Max sat bolt upright and wrapped his thin fingers around Tala's shirt.
"Don't you dare go back to Moscow! You do that and I'll never forgive you!" Max was about to say more when Tala pressed their lips together in a hungry kiss that the American turtle was more than happy to return. Max's arms looped loosely around Tala's neck as the Russian wolf pulled the younger into his lap. The kiss deepened slowly as their lips moved perfectly in time with each other. Their tongues participated in a well-known, often practiced dance. They broke apart slowly as the others stared on in amazement. "I missed you so much Tala. I thought that I wasn't going to talk to you let alone see you today. You've made me so incredibly happy."
Tala smiled and pressed their lips together once more. "I love you Max. I'll do whatever it takes to make you happy. You sounded so sad last night that while we were talking I booked a flight here so that I could see you. I was getting worried." Max blushed lightly and buried his face in Tala's neck and hummed happily. "Tired?" Max nodded, but stayed silent. "Come on then. We'll go take a nap in your room away from prying eyes." Max fell asleep almost instantly once he was curled up in his wolf's arms. Tala was about to close his own eyes when he noticed the plushy he had bought Max. The turtle had begged him to purchase the wolf plush toy when they had been wandering around a mall. Tala grinned at the memory of what Max had said in justification for getting the wolf and not the turtle. This way when you're not around to hold me I'll still be able to cuddle up to a wolf that is all mine. Tala tightened his grip ever so slightly before allowing himself to drift off into a calm, restful, deep sleep.
Was that good? If it weren't for the fact that I told you it was TalaxMax would you have know that's who Max was pinning over? I hope not. I was trying so very hard to not make it obvious. XD The only part that would have been a real clue would have been the time difference, but that could apply to several people, I think. Oh well. Please review.
Tala: How many people are you planning on pairing me up with?
Let's see here. I already have you with Claude, Johnny, Brooklyn and Max. Maybe I'll pair you up with Lee soon too. That should be it for now. So that's five people. If I ever get an origional idea for a KaixTala I'll write that as well. It's a popular pairing so we'll see.
