Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade or any of its characters, merchandise, TV rights, ect… (I think you get the point.)

Summery

ONE SHOT – The pounding of the base line. The pounding of the blood through your veins. The pounding of your heart every time he looks your way. (Rick/Rei) (Yaoi)

Like all of my work this is just something that happened to float through the empty void inside my head. Like it or hate it please R and R as honest opinions are always welcomed, as are random acts of worship.

Muse: And welcome to yet another piece of pretentious crap.

Dedi: Damn boy you are getting on my last nerve. So just sit down and shut up!

Muse: You are going to pay for that!

Lamb: Someone just do the dedication before I get really pissed off.

Dedi: This fic is dedicated to zekesbabe cus it's her Xmas present. So zekesbabe this is for you.

Lamb: As always sorry for any bad spelling and if you feel the need to throw things at me please wait until I've hidden behind the sofa kay!?

Muse: On with the fic!

Take me to bed,
That's where all our prayers are said,
Whispered silent in the night,
That's how all our dreams take flight,
Let them all go by,
All go by,

Feel the Rhythm

Rei growled in the back of his throat and pulled the pillow over his head in an effort to block out the sound of the pounding base that was reverberating in the air around him. The thump, thump, thump, filled his head as he pushed his face deeper into the mattress, a frantic rocking rhythm that pounded through his body.

It was coming from two rooms down, he knew that. The only sound system in the place was the property of the All Stars Rick and he never let the thing move from his room unless he was carrying it with him. Even then, it irked the well-built American to have to disconnect it from its multitude of speakers, as he had had to do that day. Rei recalled the day's training, the blades spinning, the music pounding, and how he had been standing with his pink haired cousin.

Every time he had looked up, Rick had seemed to be looking in their direction, his dark eyes running intently over the place where they stood, and Rei had felt a twinge of fear twist at his gut. He had thought he had his feelings under control, that he had starved himself into submission. But whenever he caught Rick's chocolate gaze flickering over Mariah, it was as if another small part of him withered and died.

It was unfair, he thought bitterly. All his life he had been looking out for his cousin, who, he would be the first to admit, was too pretty for her own good. And now the one person he wanted beyond reason was seemingly infatuated with the pink haired neko-jinn.

Rei pulled the pillow over his head even more tightly, trying to black out the banging on the music, but to no avail. The more he tried to block out the sound the more intense it seemed to become, until it pounding through his very soul. He buried his head in the soft bed, pushing his face a deep as he could until blinding white stars erupted behind his eyes. Around and around his head, the images chased each other. Rick. Mariah. The insistent pounding beat.

With a snarl Rei threw back the covers and swung his legs over the side of the bed, his body tensing as his feet made contact with the cold floor. Mad, he was driving himself mad. And more that he was doing it over something that probably wasn't even happening. But the music filled the air and the pictures danced on the stage on his mind.

Fear and self-loathing welled within Rei as he stood and headed for the door. Had he really sunk so low? What did it really matter if she was with him? Mariah was his cousin and Rick…Rick was just some crush that he would get over soon enough. Yet he continued to move out of his room and down the hall, tossing his head to free his face from the ebony strands that fell into his eyes. Goose bumps ran in waves over his tanned skin, and for an instant Rei thought he should just turn round and go back to his bed. The air was cold and he was in nothing but black boxer shorts, and he was only here because of an overactive imagination anyway.

Then from the other side of the door, carrying through the music, came the sound of a familiar female laugh. Rage and some deeper, darker emotion blazed hot trails of fire through Rei's bloodstream as he stood outside Rick's room. The music, if it could even be called that, was almost deafening where he stood with the continuous thump, thump vibrating the floor under his bare feet. Thoughts crashed and ricocheted wildly around the neko's head as with a trembling hand he reached for the door handle.

The force with which the door flew open had it rattling in its frame and even over the roaring of the sound system the crash of the wood hitting the wall drew the attention of the room's occupants. For a moment the world seemed to tip like a seesaw around Rei as he stared at the scene set out before him. Yes his cousin was there and so was a member of the All Stars, the only thing was it wasn't Rick but Emily, as well as the three other female bladers who were staying at the camp. Mariah flicked up one perfectly plucked pink brow at her older cousin and fixed him with an 'and what the hell do you want?' kind of look.

Golden orbs swept over the room, the magazines lying scattered across the floor, mingling with bottles of nail varnish and CD cases. "Well, did you want something?"

"Music…s'too loud." Rei mumbled, his anger draining away a swiftly as water pouring down a drain. Why had he barged in? What had he really expected to find? The questions flew around the inside of his skull, bringing up answers that he didn't like.

"Yeah well next time just say," Mariah snapped, acid dripping from her every word. "Don't go around smashing up the place."

"It woke me up." It was a stupid thing to say and even to his own ears he sounded sulky and petulant, but relief was flooding his body. Relief that had less to do with not finding his cousin in bed Rick, but more to do with not finding Rick in bed with anyone.

"Well sorry about that, but we wanted music." Matilda sounded apologetic as she stood biting on her lower lip her large cherry orbs fixed on Rei's face.

"And Rick would hardly let us move his sound system would he?" This time it was Emily who spoke and the look that she directed at Rei was so scathing that he found himself shaking his head, that no Rick wouldn't have let them do that.

"No," Mariah said mockingly as she walked over to where he stood and pushed the door shut in his face. "Bye bye Rei."

Rei stared nonplussed at the wooden door in front of his face. A mix of feelings swirled within him but relief was uppermost. Of all the things he had expected to see when he opened that door a girl's night in had not been one of them and when what he was seeing, or rather not seeing, had registered he had felt light headed with happiness. And that was something that scared him slightly, for when had his crush become so deep-rooted in his heart?

"What d'you want in my room?" Rei tried and failed to control his reaction to the low voice with its confident American drawl, and Rick saw the way the neko's body twitched before Rei turned to face him.

Of their own accord, Ray's eyes flickered over the body less that an arm's reach from where he stood. The masculine beauty, at the strong symmetry of corded arms and muscled thighs and the solid body in between, the well-defined muscle covered by smooth skin like melted chocolate. The tattoo of the bull Taurus that was splayed across Rick's right shoulder and the dark, almost black eyes that were studying Rei intently.

Suddenly Rei became all too aware that he was standing half naked with his hair lose and falling around him in a dimly lit hallway with his crush who was also clad in nothing but boxer shorts. Conflicting instructions assaulted his mind; stand still, move, say something, keep quiet.

In the room behind him one song ended and another began, and, perhaps because of his recent outburst, the hard rock had been replaced by a more sensual tone.

"Come on Rei, it's not a hard question," Rick said shifting his weight so that he could lean against the wall opposite Rei who was silently cursing his cousin for getting him here and for her new choice in music that was not helping him think clearly.

No it wasn't a hard question.

Great choice of words there, he couldn't have said 'difficult' could he? Oh no, it had to be 'hard,' as if his mind could get to the gutter any quicker …

"No it's not," the dark haired male agreed as he tried to force himself to relax. "I was looking for Mariah as it happens."

"And you just thought she'd be in my room?" There was a sharp edge to Rick's voice and his face had hardened, but he kept his eyes fixed on Rei's.

"Well she is," Rei mumbled defensively at which the American gave a non-committal shrug. For a while the two just stood in silence, the tension in the air steadily increasing while from the stereo in the room beyond a carnal jungle rhythm drifted.

In spite of the cold of the night and the chill in the air Rei felt sweat forming on his bare skin. Everywhere that Rick's eyes swept the neko felt his skin burn, and wondered if the other was aware of what the effect his mere presence was having on Rei. He couldn't stand still, he shifted his weight from foot to foot, brushed sooty bangs from golden orbs, folded his arms over his chest only to let them drop to his side a moment later.

All the time Rick stood leaning casually against the opposite wall never once shifting his gaze from the younger male. For two minutes, Rei stood, feeling the American's eyes roving over his body, for two minuets before he mumbled something that might well have been "night" and scurried for the safety of his room. Closing the door firmly behind him, he half walked, half stumbled across the room and leant his head against the cool of the window. It had only been a matter of minutes, but somehow it had seemed longer.

Rei jumped violently as the click of his door opening crashed through his train of thought like a bullet through a pain of glass. Turning so quickly on the spot that he almost lost his balance and had to grab onto the chest of drawers to keep from falling, Rei focused his eyes on the doorway and the person who stood silhouetted against the light from the hallway.

The neko felt his heart skip erratically in his chest as Rick stepped over the threshold and pushed the door shut behind him.

Swiftly he moved across the floor and grabbed the younger boy by his shoulders. For one long moment Rei stared up into intense dark eyes that were watching him in such a way that caused his breath to catch in his throat. Time seemed to slow until Rei thought he could so easily drown in those eyes, but he was jerked back to reality when Rick's mouth came crashing down on his own.

Roughly Rick pushed the Chinese teen back until he had him pinned up against the wall, his mouth working greedily. Rick's hands were everywhere - it seemed to Rei that his whole body was alive with sensation.

He was helpless to do anything other than cling tightly to the American who was the only thing keeping him from sliding to the floor. Around him the world span crazily, as electric impulses shot frantic messages through his nervous system.

As he landed on his bed with a thump and the sensation of Rick's rough hand at his waistband, he dimly registered that the music had stopped.

Muse: See I told you pure crap!

Dedi: Really!?

Muse: Well no. Not the last line, which was written by Squish but the rest, however was.

Lamb: Please someone just shoot me now.

Dedi: Careful what you wish for. Well zekesbabe we hope you liked it.

Please R and R as I'd love to know what you thought

Merry Christmas

Big luv see ya

Lamb