A/N: An embarrassingly short fluffy chapter strictly about Max and Keisha..... *sweatdrop* Anyway.... here's the next one, hope you guys like it, and sorry it took so long! Only two more left after this one! :)

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Villikosto


Brilliant emerald orbs slowly fluttered open and blinked rapidly until they had managed to focus.

"Wh-what... happened...?"

"You were knocked out after your match with Tala...."

Keisha's head lolled over to the side and starred at the blonde in the chair by her bed. It took her a while but eventually Keisha realized she was in one of the beds in her hotel room.

"I-"

The redhead stopped and cleared her throat, causing the already worried-looking blonde to frown. He reached for a glass of water by the bed and held it in front of her mouth. Keisha gave him a small smile before leaning up slightly and sipping from the straw.

When her dry throat was satisfied, Keisha's eyes turned back to Max.

"I lost the match then." She stated more then asked.

Max gave her a sympathetic look and nodded.

Keisha bit her lip.

"And... Demetra.... Did she..... did she.... win?"

Max bit his lip too and looked away from the redhead. Keisha frowned deeply.

"She didn't..."

Max looked out the corners of his eyes at the girl.

"She... was so upset over your match with Tala that she was completely out of control...... Kai knocked her out in a matter of seconds."

Keisha closed her eyes and cringed.

"So it was all useless...." She whispered painfully. "All our hard work... all our sacrifices.... everything.... all a waste of time...."

Max frowned sympathetically and turned back to the girl. He reached out a took her hand in both of his, giving it a gentle, comforting squeeze.

"It wasn't a waste of time, Kei..." He said softly. "You did what you wanted didn't you? You got recognised, you showed everyone how powerful and good you guys are..."

The blonde smiled and gave the back of her hand an affectionate rub with this thumb.

"And you met lots of new people.... If you ask me, it was anything but a waste of time."

Keisha's eyes opened and she starred up at Max with a watery expression. Finally she smiled and lifted her free arm up to him. Max smiled back before releasing her hand and leaning down to give her a hug.

"No, you're right..." The redhead replied softly. "I can't speak for the other girls, but I got more then I ever expected or wanted..."

Max smiled again and closed his eyes as he hugged the redhead a little tighter.

After a few moments, Max placed a gentle kiss to Keisha's fair cheek before pulling up out of the hug. The redhead watched as he turned to the bedside table and dipped his fingers in a tub of a clear jelly-like substance. He turned back to the girl on the bed with a warm expression as he reached out and gently rubbed the substance into her forehead.

Keisha hissed softly as she felt the sting on her forehead. Max gave her an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry, Kei." He apologised softly, as his fingers moved from her forehead to her cheeks. "You got some pretty nasty burns in your battle with Tala..."

Keisha looked confused.

"Burns?"

Max nodded.

"Frost bite burns. This is something the doctor perscribed. He said it should be fine in a few days if you keep putting this on."

Keisha frowned.

"How long have I been out?"

Max's smile slipped a little as he began rubbing some ointment onto her ears.

"Just... a day or so..." He replied softly. Keisha blinked at him.

"And you've been taking care of me ever since?"

Max turned back to her with another smile after dipping his fingers into the tub again.

"Yea. The girls have been busy taking care of end-of-tournament arrangements and.... dealing..... though they've all dropped in lots of times..... Demi is really beaten up over all of this..."

Keisha looked surprised.

"And you could tell that? All on your own?"

Max shook his head.

"No... not at first anyways. Victoria told me so, and... well, after that I just kinda picked up a few things...."

Keisha was impressed.

"That's incredible, Max." She stated in awe. "You're really perceptive. Usually, no one could tell Demetra's feeling anything, even if one of us tells them. She's usually so hard to read."

Max sighed and paused in his administrations.

"It's not really that impressive, actually." He admitted softly. "Like I said, she's really beaten up over all of this.... she blames herself for what happened to you..."

Keisha sighed and closed her eyes.

"Of course she does....." She whispered with a frown.

The redhead opened her eyes when she felt a feathery touch on her nose. Max smiled at her as he pulled back from the light kiss, before applying a little ointment to the spot his lips had just brushed.

"She'll be OK." He said softly. "You all will. It's a learning experience. Everyone's gotta lose sometimes."

Keisha smiled at the blonde as she starred up at him. It was hard to ignore, but the sudden increase in her heartbeat was beginning to hinder her thoughts and breathing.

Finally Max reached for a tissue by the bedside and wiped the excessive ointment from his hands. He tried to hide it, but Keisha didn't miss his attempt to stifle a yawn.

Keisha's head rolled over and starred at him with a frown.

"You look exhausted..." She said softly, only now noticing the slightly red eyes and shadows on the usually flawless face.

Max looked back to her and gave a small smile.

"I'm fine." He said convincingly. "I just need some coffee."

The blonde moved to stand up but Keisha's hand wrapping around his held him in place.

"You should lie down for a bit.." She again said softly. Max gave her another smile and rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb.

"I'm fine. Really."

Keisha smiled and gave his hand a little tug.

"Come on, Maxie..." She whispered playfully and a little shyly. "Can't you see I'm looking for an excuse to cuddle with you?"

Max starred at the girl for a moment and a slight blush came to his cheeks. Smiling, he lifted the hand in his to his lips for a kiss.

"You don't need an excuse." He said softly. "All you gotta do is ask."

Keisha smiled and scooted over as Max moved onto the bed with her. He peeled back the blankets and slid down next to her before wrapping his arms securely around her waist. Keisha's arms slipped around the blonde and she rolled over to lay on his chest.

There was silence for a while until finally Max finally spoke up, his voice soft and tender.

"I was so scared...."

Keisha's head switched sides as she looked up at the blonde from her spot on his chest.

"About what?" She asked softly.

Max looked down at her, quiet for a minute before finally replying.

"About the match." He whispered quietly. "I was so scared about what would happen to you.... I've seen Tala's other matches and some of the matches he's been in.... no one ever came out the way the went in...."

Keisha starred at the blonde for a moment before smiling and reaching up to caress his cheek gently.

"Well I'm OK now... for the most part. That's all that matters."

Max gave her a lopsided smile.

"Yea.. now."

Keisha's smile widened a little.

"You were really worried? Really?"

Max's head turned slightly to press a kiss to the palm on his cheek.

"Of course I was.... are you surprised?"

Keisha's smile widened again as she lifted her head to give a gentle shake.

"No.." She replied softly. "Not really..... Do you really like me that much?"

The blonde's cheeks took on a slight pinkish tinge as he starred down at the redhead with a small smile. He couldn't believe how forward she was sometimes, it was so adorable, yet so embarrassing at the same time. Still, he loved it.

"Yea..." Max said quietly. "I think I do."

Keisha grinned now as she starred up at the blonde.

"Good." She said simply. "Cause I like you that much too..."

Max's heart gave a sickening flutter and the arms around the redhead tightened a little. Leaning down slightly, he gave the redhead's forehead a gentle kiss, unable to say or do anything else.

Keisha closed her eyes with a warm smile and when Max pulled away again she turned her head once more to stare off randomly.

There was a long silence between the two as Max gently stroked Keisha's hair and the redhead absently drew little circles and swirls on the blonde's chest, each lost to their own thoughts. It had begun to get dark outside and Max had just paused in his motions to turn on the bedside lamp, when Keisha finally broke the silence.

"Max..."

Max placed his arm back around his companion and resumed stroking her hair before answering.

"Yea?"

Keisha bit her cheek and starred off into nothingness for a while before continuing. Finally, after she was sure she had gathered together her strength and courage, she asked the question she wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer to.

"What will happen when the tournament is over...?"

"The tournament is over, Kei..."

Keisha frowned.

"That's not what I mean... you know it's not...... I mean.... when the ceremonies and awards and all that are over, when everyone splits up and goes their separate ways, what will happen..... to us?"

There was a long silence and Keisha looked up at Max again as he paused in the stroking of her hair. She watched him starring off into nothing for a few moments until finally he turned back to her and smiled, though this time it looked very forced.

"We'll work something out." He replied softly, though he sounded a lot less sure of his own answer then before.

Keisha's eyes glossed over with tears threatening to fall. The look broke Max's heart.

"We live so far apart..." Keisha said softly, her voice cracking due to the raw emotion behind it. "And the girls would never want to move. We'll never see each other! I'll never get to touch you, you'll never get to hold me, we'll only hear each others voices over the phone, I-"

A finger to her lips stopped the redheads rant as Max starred down at her with a watery smile.

"Shhh..." He cooed comfortingly, wiping away a few rebel tears. "It'll be OK. We will see each other, I'll do whatever it takes. Don't let this break your heart before it even happens...."

Keisha swallowed hard and blinked back her tears before leaning up to press her lips to Max's.

Max's eyes slid shut and one hand lifted to entangle fingers in the copper curls as the other slipped securely around the redhead's waist. He kissed Keisha slowly and sweetly, his lips softly caressing hers as he melted away her pain and worries.

When the two finally pulled away, Keisha's left arm slipped around Max's neck while her right rested on his chest. She buried her face into the crook of his neck and the caress of her warm breath on sensitive flesh made the blonde shiver.

"Whatever it takes...." Max whispered, barely audible.

The reward for his honesty was a feathery kiss to his neck, causing a slight flush to creep onto his face as he forced back another shiver.

Max placed another light kiss to the top of Keisha's head before resting his head against hers. Closing his eyes, the blonde continued to soothingly stroke red locks as both teens drifted off into a peaceful sleep.