Free Fall

Summary: Bryan and Tala share their first kiss in the snow.

Disclaimer: This authoress does not own Beyblade or any of the respective characters.

A/N: My second (and favourite) YuBo story. The thought of a younger Bryan and Tala rolling around in the snow seems to appeal to me for some odd reason... but yes, this is a fluff kind of story, in which the two are both twelve years old.

Tala, cheeks flushed pink with excitement and the cold, bounded ahead of Bryan through the snow, oblivious to the fact that he was sinking deeper with every step. The taller of the two watched his childish antics with a half smile, which instantly turned back into a frown when the redhead turned to look at him.

"Hey, Bry, catch me if you can!"

Bryan scowled. "No."

"Aw, come on!" the redhead playfully tossed a snowball from one gloved hand to the other, flashing a mischievous grin. "Or I might have to make you…"

"Tala, how old are you?"

"Same as you."

"Then try acting like it for a change!"

"So to act your age, I should scowl all the time and say 'hn' a lot. Right?"

Bryan scowled again, but then remembered what Tala said about his expression and stopped. "I do not scowl all the time," he said flatly, keeping his expression carefully bland.

Tala laughed. "Yeah, you do. You were probably even born scowling!"

"Was not!"

"Was too- I bet the doctor got scared when he saw your scary face, all frowning like this…" Tala set his features in a ridiculous parody of Bryan, pouting his lips in a fierce glower and going cross-eyed.

Bryan twitched. "Hey, Tala…"

"Hn?"

"Did you know that when someone annoys you, it takes forty-two muscles to frown about it, but it only takes four muscles to extend your arm and punch the crap out of them?"

"It does?"

"Yeah."

"Oh."

"I think you better start running," the falcon suggested, bending down to scoop up a handful of powdery ammunition and rolling it into a lethal weapon.

Tala grinned, scraping together another snowball to increase his own arsenal. "I think you better start getting ready for battle," he retorted. "Unless we declare a truce and build a snowman instead."

Bryan dropped the snowball he had been rolling, the dangerous gleam in his eyes turning to one of surprise. "A snowman? Shit, Tal, how juvenile can you get?"

The slightly shorter boy gave him an injured look. "Spence is helping Ian make one," he said accusingly, pointing to where their two team-mates were smoothing out a snowman that looked suspiciously Kai-like, complete with red berries for eyes and a fluttering white scarf. Unable to find anything blue for hair, they had improvised by using sticks and brambles that imitated the shape of his usual hairstyle. Only the effect that had was to make the Kai-snowman look like he tangled with a lawnmower and got spat out.

"Does Kai know they stole his scarf?"

The redhead giggled. "He does now," he pointed to a rapidly approaching figure, who was swearing loudly in Russian and brandishing one finger threateningly. "Ha, I never knew Ian could run that fast! And look at Spence go!"

Bryan laughed along with him, giving the wolf a sideways glance out of the corner of his eye. He seemed distracted enough… a perfect target.

WHAM!

"Ow!"

The snowball caught Tala on the side of his head, the cold powder splattering across his face and Bryan burst out laughing, collapsing onto the snow and clutching his aching sides.

"No fair! You cheated, Bryan!"

"So?" he said mockingly, a smug smirk curling his lips. "What you gonna do about it?"

Tala smirked right back and hefted a snowball in one hand.

The unspoken challenge… bring it on.

An hour later, two boys (both very much out of breath and tired, but too proud to admit defeat) collapsed on top of one another.

"I… win…" Tala panted, "got you last…"

"No way!" Bryan scowled. "I got you last!"

"You wish!"

Tala rolled over onto his back, scrabbling for another handful of snow. Never one to be beaten easily, Bryan already had fresh ammunition to defend himself with.

"Take this, Ivanov!"

Before he could react, Tala found himself pinned beneath Bryan, his face covered with freezing snow. The redhead struggled fiercely, spluttering and gasping for breath before finding the energy to heave the older boy off him.

Bryan surveyed his handiwork proudly and pushed himself to his feet, offering his friend a hand.

The redhead glared balefully at the outstretched hand but took it anyway. "You cheated again," he said accusingly, "and you promised you would play fair!"

The falcon shrugged, pulling Tala to his feet. "Whatever… I won."

"Fine, fine," he grumbled back, too tired to start an argument that could (and probably would) last for days- both boys were far too stubborn for their own good. He looked up when there was no answer from Bryan and saw grey eyes studying him intently. Way too intently.

"What?" he said defensively, all of a sudden getting a fluttery feeling in his stomach. Why was Bryan staring at him?

"Tala."

The butterflies multiplied into a raging tornado. Why was Bryan looking at him like that? And why did he say his name in that voice? All breathy and low, like they were in some bad romance movie.

Not knowing what else to do or how else to react, Tala edged away quickly, laughing nervously. "H-Hey, we better get back before they guys start worrying."

Still that same intense stare.

"Um…"

Panic seized him. Bryan was acting weird, even weirder than he usually did, which was really bad. But before Tala could bolt, a gloved hand grabbed his arm, trapping him in one spot.

"B-Bry?"

"Come here," the falcon said simply, tugging gently on his hand. "I want to show you something."

An uncertain Tala allowed himself to be led deeper into the woods, close to the edge of a shallow ravine.

"What did you want to show me?" he asked suspiciously.

"This."

Before Tala could push him away, Bryan seized him by the shoulders and kissed him fiercely, flicking his tongue between lips parted in a surprised gasp. When Tala did nothing to stop him, he took that as encouragement and deepened the kiss, wrapping his arms protectively around the redhead as fresh snow began to fall around them.

When Bryan finally let him go for air, Tala blinked and wobbled unsteadily. "Wow…"

What is this feeling? Like he was flying and falling at the same time…whatever it was, it was magic.

The taller boy smirked, masking his own uncertainty. "Like it?" he asked casually, reaching out to steady his friend.

Tala stared at the ground. "It was… nice…" he said cautiously. "But now…"

Bryan frowned. "Tal…" his voice trailed off worriedly, wishing Tala would look him in the eye.

But when Tala did look up, an impish grin was reflected in his eyes.

"…Now I have to get you back." he launched himself at a startled Bryan and kissed him enthusiastically, succeeding in knocking him off balance. They tumbled to the ground, a tangled mess of limbs and laughter.

Their laughter faded though, when their eyes met. Bryan reached for his hand wordlessly and they lay there on the snow, ignoring the cold even began to seep through their clothes, simply marvelling at this new discovery in comfortable silence.

"Why did you kiss me?"

Bryan propped himself up on one elbow to look at him and shrugged. "Because you just looked so damn kissable."

"Be serious!"

The normally harsh face softened. "Because I wanted to. Because-" he stopped, flushing.

"Because-?" the redhead encouraged him softly, wanting to hear it, needing to hear it.

"Because I like you a lot… more than just a friend."

"I… like you too."

They smiled shyly at each other, instinctively huddling closer together. After five minutes of tranquil silence, Tala turned to say something to Bryan, but the falcon shook his head, placing a finger on his lips and frowning for him to keep quiet.

"Save it, Ivanov, and put those lips to better use."

Their mouths met again and again, snow falling even more thickly around them, covering them in a blanket of sparkling diamonds as they embraced under the darkening sky.

"Hey, Bry?"

"Hn?" his eyes were shut, but they cracked open to look at him curiously.

"You think Kai ever caught Spence and Ian?"

He snorted, "Way to ruin the mood, Tal."

"Oh… sorry."

Bryan rolled his eyes, gathering the redhead to him. "Never mind," he sighed, placing a gentle kiss on the tip of a cold nose. "Idiot."

Tala bristled, but was too snug and warm to really care. They probably should be getting back soon though…but…

"Hey, Bry…"

"What now?"

"… I love you."

There was a pause, before Bryan replied with a soft "I love you too".

And then there was time for one more kiss, one more free fall into a world where they could be free…

Together.

The End