JF: Well, whaddya know, I'm back from the dead. Here's a little ReiMao one-shot dedicated to all ReiMao fans and supporters! XD

Disclaimer: If I owned Beyblade, there would be no deleted or edited scenes, and I would fire the people who drew Season 2! But alas, I do not own the show – a man by the name of Aoki Takao does – and so I live with the fact that the show itself cannot be changed and instead I write fanfics about it.

-

Under the Stars

By Jadis Fazer

-

The sun had sunken far below the horizon hours ago, and now it was the moon's turn to illuminate the sky, aided by the blinking dots of light that made the stars.

A chilly breeze had come in, and it was unnoticed by the sleeping figures inside the Kinomiya Dojo. Everyone had felt much more light-hearted with the return of Kai – despite the fact that he was still pretty beat up – and all of them had wanted to celebrate, but Kai and Tyson just kept practicing until it was too dark to see your own hand in front of you.

Right now, only one person was awake. This person was G Revolution member Ray Kon. He was currently lying on the roof of the Kinomiya Dojo, his head filled with jumbled thoughts about everything.

Firstly, there was the tournament, as much as he felt that Crusher had deserved the win against – and the large male definitely had deserved it – he still felt as though he had let everyone down. Then there was Max's battle against the mysterious Mystel. As much as he still felt guilty for putting so much weight on the boy's shoulders, he was also proud of the American, though he felt mad at himself at the same time.

He was mad that he let his team down while Max had at least tied to give them more time, and now that Tyson was battling – and Kai for that matter – he was sure that they were going to get the wins that they needed.

Then, there was after the tournament. What would he do then? Would they want him to stay on the team, or would he be allowed to go back home again?

Home… the word instantly brought a longing to his heart. Over the past few years, he had barely been home at all – he constantly had to leave to do things for the BBA, including tournaments at times. The question was, would they let him go back home again?

He really did want to go home, his hunger for travel had long since passed and now he wished for nothing more than to go home and relax and spend time with his friends and family, to spend times with the people he loved.

His eyes squeezed shut as he thought about her again. She was always on his mind. Mariah, that is. She always haunted his mind when she wasn't around, and when he wasn't doing anything, it was hard to tear his eyes off of her.

The emotions he felt for her were too strong to be put into words, and he had realized this a while ago when he had contemplated some thoughts that had been bugging him. He had felt bad for the girl, because she had wanted to battle in the dish like him and Lee, but he knew that she couldn't. As much as he wanted to let her battle, it was his decision as team leader, and he knew that Lee was a better choice than she was. He wasn't saying that she wasn't strong – she had won the exhibition match on her own, though him and Max had been distracted – it was just that he knew that the level him and Lee were competing in was much different than the level of the exhibition match. At times he was even unsure of Lee.

Now, the feelings were much different. He was sure that they had always been there, growing stronger with every moment they shared, but perhaps it was only now that he had come to realize and understand them.

And now… he was scared.

He knew one thing about that pink haired girl that always managed to infiltrate his thoughts. He loved her, and he wanted to be with her, and only her. He didn't want anyone else.

So caught up in his thoughts, he failed to notice the figure behind him until it plopped down next to his own figure, "I finally found you."

He blinked, and looked up at the figure next to him, masking his surprise with a pleasant grin as he spoke to the pink haired beauty that sat next to him. When he registered what she had said, he became mildly surprised, and asked, "You were looking for me?"

"I came to ask you something, hoping that you weren't asleep, but you weren't even in your bed!" Mariah exclaimed, "I got a little worried, I must admit, but then I realized that you were probably up here. You always liked to stargaze back home…"

Home.

The word hit him hard again and there came the sense of longing yet again. But this time, that sense of longing was different, because along with it came the visions of them living back at the village, with a family of their own - them, as in him and her.

"Ray?"

He blinked and looked up at the girl – had he spaced out?

"Huh?" He let out a breath as he realized how stunning she looked, with the moonlight gracing her form. It was… stunning, and his breath caught in his throat.

"I was asking you if you're going to come home after the tournament…" she said, and he looked away instantly when she turned to face.

She noted how his eyes had been locked on her, and both flushed, staring back at the sky.

"Uh…" he stammered slightly, trying to come up with an answer, "I… really don't know. It depends if they keep the team together or not…."

"Do you want to come home?" she asked.

He flinched at the tone of her voice, the way she had said it had made it seem like he didn't want to come him, and their was slightly hurt tone to it that matched the hurt he felt for making her feel that way.

"Of course I want to come home!" he exclaimed, looking up at her. He didn't want her to be upset, and he it was quite true that he wanted to come home.

"You do?" she suddenly looked at him, catching his gaze.

No words were spoken for the time that they had their eyes locked together, and neither knew how long they were looking at each other. All they knew is that by the time they realized that they were looking at each other, Ray had managed to prop himself up on his elbow, and Mariah was leaning over them.

Their faces were millimeters apart…

Both gasped at the closeness, but did not pull away, and instead, their lips met in a soft, light, and slightly awkward kiss.

They didn't know how long they held the kiss for, but when they both broke, they were heavily flushed and their breathing was slightly labored. They did not break eye contact, however, and neither could ignore how right the contact of their lips had felt.

Never leaving the other's gaze, nor averting his own, Ray pulled himself up into a sitting position, cupping the girl's cheek next to him.

He leaned over her, and she tilted her head up to look at him. His breath fanned across her nose and cheeks, and her own breath caught in her throat.

"Of course I want to come home…" he said, wrapping his other arm around her waist and pulling her close.

Her arms instinctively wrapped around his neck and shoulders. There was silence for a moment before he continued, "I want to be with you…"

He dipped his head down, and gave her another light kiss. She accepted the kiss eagerly – he didn't know that she wanted him too – and it was deepened when she entwined her fingers in his raven hair and pulled him closer, trembling as he brushed his tongue over her lips.

She parted her lips for him, their tongues intertwining in a fiery dance, erupting a deep-throated growl from Ray as he ran his tongue over her canines. Their tongues rubbed together playfully, and they broke apart, more flushed than before, their breath coming out in heavy pants.

He clutched her tightly to himself, and wrapped his arms around her back in an awkward hug. He nuzzled his head into the side of her neck; his still slightly labored breaths were tickling her neck.

She hugged him back, her arms wrapping around him and resting on his back. She nuzzled her head into his raven hair, her breath tickling his ear.

"Mari…" he whispered softly, "… Love you…"

She smiled and snuggled closer to him, though that was practically impossible. She pulled her head back slightly and pressed her lips to his jaw, pressing kisses down his jawline before moving to his neck.

Stopping when his collar got in the way, she shifted her head so that her lips were right near his ear, "I love you, too…"

He pulled back from her, gazing into her eyes, he had a slight look of disbelief in dancing in his eyes, but when he saw her – the smile on her face and the emotion in her eyes – he smiled to, and tipped her head up for another kiss.

Her stroked her cheek and tipped her head up to kiss her more passionately, and she moaned into the kiss. She trailed her fingers playfully down his chest and abdomen, causing him to shiver slightly.

Their tongues rubbed together once more, and he shifted slightly against her, before breaking the kiss and nibbling her jawbone before shifting again and trailing butterfly kisses down her jaw and throat, causing her to tremble as he slid his hand down from her cheek to rest on her side.

They broke away, their faces flushed, but they were no longer embarrassed about showing their affection for each other. He hugged her closed to him once more and whispered, more to himself than to her, "Doesn't matter what happens tomorrow… I will still love you…"

She smiled and hugged him back, "Don't worry, everything's going to work out…"

He smiled and found that the only thing that he could think about at the moment was how much he loved the girl that he was holding right now, and he wondered what life would be like when the tournament was over and he returned home…

-

JF: Erm… hoped you enjoyed it and RR…? Well, TTFN and I hope that I put up a new story soon!