SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1I don't own any of the Beyblade characters or the plot. If I did, Mariah would disappear into an endless abyss, along with Salima from V-Force. *Huffs indignantly*.

Kai/Rei shounen ai, with some Tyson/Max. I saw V-Force today and read a bunch of fluffy fics, and so felt compelled to do one of my own. This is pretty much the opposite of "Arrogant"…I was in a relatively good mood when I wrote this.

Dating for Dummies

Kai's POV

It's all Tyson's fault. Really, it is.

That may sound mean, but when you consider the fact that a: This is me, and b: I've lived with Tyson for an ungodly long period of time, then I think I am justified in blaming my current situation on him.

It all started yesterday. Rei and I had been "dating" for about two weeks. He and Kenny were getting groceries and I was left with him and Max.

~Yesterday~ Normal POV

"Do we have training today?", asked Tyson curiously, as he finished off his fifth helping of breakfast. "Why?", asked Kai coolly, from where he was leaning against the wall.

"Maxie and I have a date tonight", said Tyson, smiling at his boyfriend. Max blushed slightly and smiled back.

"A date?", asked Kai skeptically. They both looked at him. "...Yes?", asked Max. "Haven't you gone out on one with Rei?".

Kai's raised eyebrow answered his question. "Kai! You mean you and Rei haven't gone out at all?", asked Tyson, surprised.

Kai blinked, thinking back. He and Rei had gotten together about two weeks ago, when he had finally given up and admitted his affection towards the raven-haired blader. Rei had been ecstatic, and asked if they could be boyfriends. He had just nodded. Since then they had just stayed together around the apartment the Bladebreakers were staying in, sometimes talking, other times not.

"No", he replied at last. "Why does it matter?". He was genuinely curious, much to his chagrin.

"So that's why Rei was unhappy!", exclaimed Max, before he clapped a hand over his mouth. "Oops", he muttered sheepishly. Kai narrowed his eyes. "Rei was unhappy?", he asked suspiciously. "Err...well, he's been a little off lately, and I asked him why, but he just sighed and told me it was nothing", said Max, squirming slightly.

Kai frowned. Was this "date" thing bothering Rei? If so, why hadn't he talked about it? He suddenly felt very guilty. He wanted Rei to be happy...

"Why don't you take him out tomorrow?", suggested Tyson enthusiastically. There was a long silence before Kai gave up his pride and asked, "Where?".

They stared at him for a long time. "I was in the Abbey or stealing bit beasts most of my life, remember? I don't exactly know what people do on a date", said Kai defensively.

"That's so cute!", cooed Max, before hiding behind Tyson as Kai glared at him. Tyson was laughing, until Kai glared at him too. "Haven't you watched T.V. or the movies before?", asked the blue-haired blader. "You go out to dinner or a movie or something and talk to each other. Have some fun".

Kai frowned. This "date" thing sounded...uncomfortable. What was he supposed to talk about with Rei for so long? But...if it would make Rei happy, he would do it, albeit reluctantly.

~Back to the present~ Kai's POV

So there you have it. I guess I can blame my current predicament on Max too. And now my heart and my body aren't listening to my brain and I'm heading towards Rei's room to ask him out on a "date". This is ridiculous. I've faced everything from a gun to my head to killer bit beasts, and asking out a guy who's already my boyfriend scares the hell out of me.

The door opens as I walk in, and Rei glances up and smiles at me. "Hey, Kai!", he greets. Damn it, I really just want to turn around and walk out now. Unfortunately, my mouth opens and I greet him with a, "Hey".

"What's up?", he asks. Oh, nothing. I'm just talking to myself and going insane over this stupid date thing which apparently has you depressed.

"U-Um...I...", I begin. No! I stuttered! Damn the stuttering, I am *not* supposed to sound nervous...even though I can admit inwardly that I am.

"There's an amateur beyblade competition tomorrow. Want to go watch it with me?", I find myself asking at last.

Oh, that's just wonderful! Beyblading. I asked him to a Beyblade match. Am I the most idiotic person on Earth? What kind of moron asks their boyfriend to a *Beyblading* match?! It's what we do for a living, you'd think he would be tired of it.

I think any romantic inclinations in me got stomped out and eradicated in the Abbey.

I half-expect Rei to start laughing at me, but no, he just smiles and replies, "Sure, Kai!".

He said yes. And suddenly I'm unusually happy. A warm feeling spreads throughout me before I crush it down and say, "We can get dinner ahead of time, alright?". Rei nods in agreement and I abruptly turn and walk out. My cheeks feel warm, and I'd damn well better not be blushing.

~The next day~ Still Kai's POV

We bundle up, as it's freezing outside, and head out to the restaurant. Tyson and Max wave goodbye, smirking at me. I really hate them right now.

We arrive and Rei exclaims, "I love this place!". Yeah, I know. That's why I chose it. I feel rather smug.

The waitress arrives at our table and smiles. "Hey, Rei", she greets. "Hi, Masiya", greets Rei, smiling politely. I just stay silent.

"On a date?", she teases. I stiffen at this and Rei is about to respond when a shout comes from another table. She winks at Rei. "I'll be right back to take your order", she says, heading out.

Rei's sort of blushing at this point, and I'm pretty sure that he doesn't consider this a "date". I mean, the Bladebreakers often catch competitions together. This is probably nothing special to him.

We order our food–the waitress is now swamped with orders and is too busy to talk to Rei, much to my relief, and sit back.

Rei watches the sky outside. "It looks like it's going to snow", he remarks, golden eyes looking back at me. "Hn", I reply, distinctly uncomfortable with it just being him and me, with nowhere to escape. Then our drinks come, and I'm fairly sure that someone slipped something into mine, as I begin to talk a little bit more to Rei, and loosen up.

"So the All Stars are coming to visit?", asked Rei curiously. I nod. "They're arriving with Max's mom next week. It's supposed to be a surprise for his birthday".

Rei smiles. "It's nice of you to let them drop by", he says. No! I'm blushing again! I bow my head slightly to hide it and thankfully, our food comes.

Before we're even done, I see smoke from the kitchen. That is *not* a good sign. "Fire!", screams a voice from inside, right before a chef comes running out, followed by others.

Rei and I look at each other, surprised. Then the first chef knocks into someone's table, toppling the candles and creating another fire.

"I think we're in the middle of a madhouse", said Rei, raising an eyebrow as people start screaming. It's a fire the size of a table, people. There's no reason to panic. There's a damned fire extinguisher right there.

Seeing as how no one seems to spot it, I say, "Wait here", to Rei while walking over. I take the fire extinguisher off the wall, follow the idiot-proof instructions, and take out the first fire.

People stare at me, and I walk into the kitchen. Okay, that fire is a lot bigger. I toss the extinguisher to the nearest person and say, "There's probably another one around here somewhere".

Hey, I did my good deed for the month. Hell if I'm going to stay around and get burned. I walk back to Rei and we leave. He doesn't ask questions, knowing me far too well.

I feel like going home and wallowing in my failure at this point. But we keep going to the arena where the match is being held.

We're seated fairly well, being who we are, and the match is about to begin. Then the announcer opens his big mouth. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have quite the crowd here tonight, don't we?!", he begins.

The bad part is when he continues with, "There are a ton of bladers waiting to show off for you–hold the phone! I've just spotted Kai Hiwatari and Rei Kon of the world champion team, the Bladebreakers, here tonight! What a treat for these young beginners to have the best in their sport witness them in action!".

Then a spotlight hits Rei and me. The people next to us stare, having not recognized us before. Rei just smiles and takes it in his typical easygoing style. I glare at the spotlight and the people surrounding us until they stop staring and the spotlight goes away.

The match begins, and I am unimpressed by the bladers in the first few rounds. "Their form is terrible and they need work on their launches", I mutter. Rei shakes his head at me. "C'mon, Kai. They're just beginners. I think some of them have potential", he says, smiling.

I roll my eyes and we continue to argue about some of the bladers, until I remember that this is supposed to be a date and we're not supposed to fight. I really hate this. I don't like not knowing what Rei thinks about all of this–I tried for him, after all.

The match ends with some guy winning first place by using a strategy based on a mix of offensive strikes and defensive patterns. I can admit that he could go places, as well as a few of the others.

I turn to Rei and we're about to leave when we're swarmed. God damn my luck.

First are the bladers from the tournament, who want autographs and words of advice. I reluctantly sign a few things, though I don't believe in idolization, and remain typically silent. Rei smiles and signs as many autographs as they give him, handing out a few words of advice to groups of the bladers.

Surprisingly, contrary to this little display, Rei hates being idolized almost as much as I do. He believes that people should blade to be the best they can be, not to be as good as someone else or to emulate them. But he's always happy to give advice, unlike me. He'll make a great instructor, which is what he wants to do in the future.

Next are the reporters, who snap a few pictures of us, then leave. That's easy enough, and as long as they don't follow me around I could care less about being in the news.

Then comes the worst part. The females. I hate the stupid shrieking fan girls. They crowd Rei and I, asking for autographs and if we have girlfriends. If only they knew.

I'll admit that I'm jealous. I'm a possessive person by nature, and those stupid banshees hovering over *my* boyfriend does *not* make me happy in the least. It comforts me slightly to see Rei glaring slightly at the girls who are surrounding me. I imagine releasing Dranzer and burning them. That girl looks like she uses a lot of hair spray, which equals 'very flammable'...

Tyson always complains that Rei and I have the largest girl fan bases. I'd *gladly* give this up, believe me. I think Rei would, too. He dislikes being the center of attention.

The girls don't go away, and so I pull Rei away by the arm, though he doesn't resist at all, being happy to get away. "Rei! Kai! Come back!", they yell, chasing after us. Oh, dear God.

"Run for it!", yelps Rei, before pulling away and hightailing it out of the arena. I curse him for being faster than me before following him out the door.

We finally lose the damn clingy fans a few blocks away. Rei's panting, but laughing in between. "That was interesting", he says, gasping for breath.

"Interesting!?", I exclaim indignantly. "They tried to kill us!". Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a little, but I think I'm justified in that.

Rei smiles at me. "Aww, they weren't that bad, Kai", he says. I just arch an eyebrow. He laughs before we head around the corner.

I find my hand inching towards his as we continue walking. What the hell is wrong with me? Before I can figure that out, my hand is holding Rei's, and his fingers are intertwined with mine. Rei doesn't seem to notice as he continues chatting about whatever's on his mind.

The sad thing is that at this point he could talk about wanting to date Tyson and I would still be enraptured by him. I'm so...soft. And that was a really bad mental image–Rei and Tyson, I mean. Damn it. Eugh.

We make it home and I reflect upon the disaster that has been this night, from the waitress to the fire, to the announcer, and to the fan girls. I *never* want to embarrass myself like this again.

Rei kisses me, and to my utter shock and complete disbelief, says, "I had a really nice time tonight, Kai. Thanks for the date, we should do this more often".

Hold everything. He just acknowledged this as a date. And he said he had a nice time? And that we should do this more often?

He must've seen me gaping at him, because then he laughs and hugs me. "I had a great time, Kai. It was...unconventional, to say the least", he reassures me.

I can tell that he's telling the truth, so I just decide to shut up and for once, take something for granted.

"So you're happy now?", I question, holding him at arm's length. Rei blinks. "Unhappy?", he asks, confused.

"Max said you were unhappy for the past few days", I say, not liking the fact that he seems confused.

He ponders this for a moment before he blinks. "You did this all because you thought I was unhappy with us not going out?", he asks suddenly. "Err...", I respond.

Suddenly I have an armful of Rei–not that I'm complaining–and he's kissing me ardently–again, not that I'm complaining. Though I am confused.

He breaks away and grins happily at me. "Kai, though I'm flattered and ecstatic that you did this all for me, us not going out wasn't the reason I was sad. I was upset because Mariah was angry at me about you and I, but she talked to me last night and gave us her support". 

I blink. This takes a second to process. "I'm going to kill Max and Tyson", I growl out. They will suffer dearly for making me go through all this hell...though Rei's reaction was kind of worth it.

Rei shakes his head. "I don't know why Max thought I was upset about us", he muses. "I'm perfectly happy with you, Kai".

That makes me pause in my thoughts of death and chaos, and get that annoying warm feeling again. Before I can think, my mouth opens and I say, "I'm happy with you too".

Rei hugs me, and I decide that killing Tyson and Max can wait until tomorrow.

I wrote this after seeing the V-Force episode this morning. (The one where Kai faces Cyber-Dranzer). Grr…Wyatt…I don't like him paired with Kai. Anyways, despite being a Bryan/Rei fan as well, and Tala/Rei, Kai/Rei will always be first with me. Therefore, I rebel against this Wyatt character and produce Kai/Rei!

Please review, and forgive my spirited rant…Wyatt's an okay character…I just dislike seeing him paired with Kai.