Finally another chapter up and ready to go. February has been the worst month, but here's to making things better from here on out. More than anything I hope everyone can enjoy this new chapter. First chapter of the year! Oh... dear. I am running behind on this.
I cannot thank slr2moons enough for going above and beyond to beta this one with all of my tweaking (and for giving me a kick in the pants and telling me to stop picking at it and post already).
Kai was used to blocking out most of the commentary during his matches. Whether it was the roar of the stadium, or shouts from the announcer, or heckling from anyone he wasn't facing off against. Without even having to think about it he could automatically ignore everything except his opponent. Over time, however, his brain had started to let a few voices through the filter. A few, very specific, voices. In spite of the fact that there were times when he didn't want to pay attention to them, he couldn't help picking up his teammate's shouts.
Case in point, while he was trying to focus on pinning down Driger he didn't want to be distracted by chatter. He didn't need to know if Max called dibs on a match with the winner, nor if Tyson was annoyed because Max beat him to it. He really didn't need to be distracted because Max was chatting with Kenny and Hilary nearby, especially when their conversation contained nothing that could directly impact his strategy.
Hilary had apparently hooked up a webcam to her computer, giving her a video-phone connection with Kenny and allowing her to actually watch their practice matches again. The video of her face was now sharing the screen with the changing patterns that represented Dizzi. Having one more person in the audience normally should never have the slightest impact on Kai's focus, though it wasn't specifically her fault that her presence led to distraction.
What Kai found the most distracting was Max playing at being the commentator for their match. His boundless energy was making him a frustratingly irresistible attraction. Kai was sure he was trying to make Hilary laugh.
When he spared half a second to shoot a glance over at Max he found the blond practically bouncing on the balls of his feet and shouting into his launcher in absence of a real microphone.
"Kai has just been on fire this season, I mean he's literally burning right through the competition! Ray's keeping his attacks lightning-quick to avoid the power Kai's got stored up, but will this hot potato be too much for him to handle!? Keep those eyes open, ladies and gentlemen, because Ray can turn the tables faster than you can blink!"
The whole thing wouldn't have been so irritating if Max weren't going about it with such enthusiasm and volume that he was impossible for Kai to ignore. He paid for his lack of focus as Ray took advantage of his distraction to strike. Kai found himself driven back, almost to the rim of the dish.
"Oh no! In a sudden turn-about, Kai is pushed right up to the edge by Ray's attack, and he's already starting to wobble! Is it all over for him? Come on Kai, keep fighting! You can't go down that easy!"
Ray was too quick for him to dodge around and get into a safer position to regroup, and had reached the point of batting him closer and closer to the edge like a cat toying with its prey. The situation didn't look good, but Kai wasn't done fighting by any means. He didn't know if it was his frustration with Max for distracting him at a key moment, or if having Max cheering him on got him even more fired up, but he had too much raw energy pounding through him to possibly lose.
His blade was barely spinning fast enough to summon a bitbeast, but Dranzer immediately answered his call. All he needed was the sudden looming shape of a phoenix head and a pair of fiery wings that swept out to attack Ray's blade before he could summon more than Driger's shadow to counter.
The low-angled attack sent Ray's beyblade tumbling end over end down the side of the dish to land on its side at the bottom. He could hear Max whooping with unrestrained energy and announcing his close victory even while Ray still looked stunned by how suddenly Kai had brought Dranzer out.
"Those were some nice moves, Ray! I thought you had him there!" Max just had to share his enthusiasm with both participants, win or lose.
Ray had never been a sore loser, and seemed to learn from defeat more calmly than any of them. Even as he offered congratulations for the win Kai had snatched, Kai knew from the look in his eye that such a half-baked surprise attack wouldn't work the next time. He did take a minute to say something to Max in a low voice while they were setting up for the next match, but if he was warning him off Kai didn't see the point. Max knew what he was up against by now, and he was obviously too eager to listen to warnings at the moment.
Kai momentarily entertained the idea that Max had wanted him to win so that they would face each other in the next practice match. He had been cheering for both of them indiscriminately, but it had felt like Max was trying to push him to victory just the same.
And then he was facing down Max. He almost smiled to see how Max's boundless energy became so utterly focused the minute he set his mind to something. Suddenly Max had the sort of intense calm that showed in nothing more dramatic than the gleam in his eye and the tight grip on his launcher.
Kai hadn't found himself facing Max one-on-one across a beydish since they had gotten back from their short stay at the new training center. Kai shifted, grounding himself for the launch, and felt his pulse jump as Max did the same. He hadn't realized how much he wanted to face Max again until he was right there waiting. The playful little twist of Max's smile suddenly existed only to goad him on.
There might as well have been nothing in the world outside of Dranzer, Draciel, and Max for all Kai could see or hear. Kai found himself completely swept up in the moment.
Max was playing coy with him, dodging away from Kai's opening attacks though Kai knew he could have absorbed them easily. The new strategy put him off guard for a second, letting Max get in a few quick strikes meant to harry Kai more than properly destabilize him.
Letting out a little breathless laugh as he backed off to circle halfway up the dish, Max was surely inviting a chase. How could he refuse? Kai went after him with a will, and though Max could duck and weave, his blade just wasn't designed to be as fast as Kai's.
Sparks flew when they collided, ricocheted off of one another and collided again. Excited tension was radiating through Kai's body as Max pushed back into him, forcing them into a momentary stalemate. Of course Max wouldn't go down so easily. Kai wouldn't want him to. He wanted to play even more.
When he looked up to gauge his opponent he found Max's face flushed. He was breathing heavily with excitement, and his whole body appeared as tense as Kai's felt. For an instant he looked directly into Max's eyes and found them darkened by his passionate focus, pupils dilated in concentration.
Kai was struck with the vision standing across from him with a vividness that completely shocked him. He had seen Max like this so many times before, but it was as if he had somehow never really looked. Max was beautiful in his intensity, even as he was a challenge that Kai burned to meet.
The realization took only an instant, but the shock of it was enough to break Kai's concentration. When their blades collided again he could hardly direct Dranzer, and he paid for it. One of the hooks on his attack ring slipped under Max's, and caught, and in the next instant Dranzer was flung out of the beydish by the momentum.
Kai thought it was an instant after his that Max's blade flew out in the opposite direction from Dranzer, straight for him. Everything happened too fast for Kai to consciously process. He instinctively threw up an arm to shield his face, only to have Draciel fly under it and hit him in the throat. Max didn't have time to block anything before Dranzer hit him directly in the face.
Time jerked back to its normal pace once the two blades were no longer spinning through the air as out-of-control projectiles, but Kai felt his brain had somehow been left behind. The blow to his own throat was immediately forgotten, because Max had one hand clasped over his left eye.
Kai's stomach clenched, but the tension wasn't anywhere near the pleasant thrill it had been during the match. His first thought was to get to Max. He found his way blocked by Tyson, who'd apparently had the same instinct to get to his friend but hadn't been frozen in shock. Kai had completely forgotten any of the others were even in the room.
"Are you okay Max?" Tyson wanted to know. The others were all asking variations on the same question, but Kai couldn't seem to get his voice to work.
"I'm fine!" Max reassured them, trying to laugh it off. "It just startled me."
Kai would not be put off that easily. Even Tyson's voice yelling at him to leave Max alone might as well have been on the other side of the center instead of right in his ear. He was far more focused on the telltale wetness making Max's uncovered eye gleam. Max's cheeks were still flushed, but the look on his face was no longer one of excitement.
"Let me see," Kai said. He hadn't meant for his tone to come out so demanding, and he couldn't entirely blame Max for starting away from him.
Kai caught Max's hand and pried it away from his face, trying to be gentle even as Max squeezed his uncovered eye closed. He expected to see a little bruising, something that could be fixed with an apology and an ice pack. Instead. . .
The moment his hand was lifted out of the way, a bloody tear trickled down Max's face, following the curve of his cheek. Kai's stomach gave a sick twist at the sight of blood on Max's face and hand. He'd smeared it all the way from his cheekbone to his eyebrow by keeping his hand over the spot, so that Kai couldn't even tell where he was bleeding from.
Max reached up to wipe away the tear, but Kai grabbed his other wrist before he could touch his face.
"I told you it doesn't hurt, I just-"
"Max, your face is all bloody!" Tyson exclaimed.
"Keep your eye closed," Kai commanded, overriding Max's startled gasp of, "What?"
Panic was crawling around at the back of Kai's mind, but he ruthlessly smothered it, forcing himself into a state of dead calm. Everything else would have to come after he had taken care of Max. The first thing was to find the extent of the damage and the source of the blood. Then he would decide what he could do about it.
"I need a towel to clean this up," Kai announced.
He tried to lead Max off towards the bathroom in search of what he needed, but Max seemed rooted to the ground and wouldn't move unless Kai was willing to drag him. Luckily, Ray volunteered almost immediately and just about sprinted out of the room. Kenny followed him, saying something about getting the first aid kit. Judging by her repeated questions of what was going on, Hilary couldn't see them from the angle the computer was at, and Tyson. . . .
"Stop picking on him!"
Tyson remained convinced that Kai was trying to hurt his friend. Kai couldn't blame him, since Max had been hit thanks to his carelessness, but he was going to set it right. He held his ground and shrugged Tyson off when the shorter boy tried to separate him from Max.
"I am not 'picking on' him," Kai ground out between clenched teeth. "I'm trying to help." He was being calm, Kai forcefully reminded himself. He ran his thumb over Max's captive wrist, trying to tell him it would be okay. The message obviously didn't get through, and Kai couldn't bring himself to say it in words in case it wasn't true.
"Max, can you open your eyes?"
"Don't open your eye. You'll get blood in it."
Max tried to obey both of them at once, opening his right eye just enough to squint at Kai while keeping the other shut. Even like this, Max's one bright eye showed a sort of unconditional trust that made Kai's stomach roll uncomfortably.
"Is it really bleeding?"
"Yeah, does it hurt?" Since he couldn't physically get rid of Kai, Tyson settled for putting a friendly arm around Max and stealing his attention.
"No," Max insisted.
Kai didn't care what either of them said. He wasn't letting Max go as long as there was blood on his face. Luckily Ray made it back with a washcloth and the first aid kit before he and Tyson started fighting seriously over Max.
Now that Max had stopped trying to touch, Kai released his wrists and took the washcloth from Ray. He cupped the back of Max's head with his free hand to hold him in place, then moved close to blot the blood from his face. He didn't want to risk pressing too hard on Max's closed eye.
Soon enough Kai uncovered a slanting cut just below the arch of Max's eyebrow. It didn't look very deep, but he kept having to press the washcloth over it to keep blood from trickling down over Max's eyelid. Max wasn't bleeding from anywhere else that he could see.
"Now you can open your eye," Kai told him, keeping the washcloth pressed over the cut.
Max did as he asked, and Kai didn't think he'd ever been so glad to look into Max's bright blue eyes. Even though Max's eyes were noticeably damp, and there was a slight bruising already starting to show around the left one, Kai couldn't see any lasting damage.
Kai let go of the back of Max's head and cupped his hand carefully over Max's unhurt eye.
"Can you see me alright?"
"Uh-huh."
"Tell me honestly, does it hurt?"
"No! I don't know why I can't stop-" Max interrupted himself to forcefully blink back tears, his face getting a shade redder as he did.
"You just got hit in the face. Of course your eyes're watering."
How could Max be embarrassed about such a stupid thing when he'd been worried that he'd put Max's eye out? Kai would have liked to be exasperated, but all he could feel was pure relief. Without thinking, Kai wiped away the tears threatening to escape Max's eyes, then rubbed away the bloody tear-track with his thumb. He couldn't stop looking into Max's eyes, trying to convince himself that it was a small injury and everything was obviously fine.
Kai didn't think to move away until Tyson elbowed him in the side to make him relinquish his grip on Max. As the world outside of Max came back into focus, he noticed Ray had been rummaging for some kind of bandage to put over the cut until it stopped bleeding. Kenny was trying to explain the situation to Hilary, who Kai thought sounded unreasonably upset for finding out that Max had been hit in the eye after they knew that he was fine.
"Kai? Where are you going?" Ray wanted to know when Kai detached himself from the group and headed for the door.
"To get him an ice pack."
The last thing Kai wanted was to be interrogated, but Ray followed him anyway. He left Tyson to help Max bandage his cut, not that being unable to see what he was doing was stopping Max from trying to do it himself.
"Are you okay?"
Kai made himself busy fishing around in the freezer for an ice pack and sharply deflected the question without looking around. "Shouldn't you be worried about Max?"
"I am worried about Max, but that doesn't mean I can't check on you," Ray informed him. "You've been really intense lately. Like when you took on that Kit guy at the training center before, and now today. If you need to blow off steam, that's one thing-"
"Do you think I hit him on purpose?" Kai snarled, his hand clenching painfully hard around the ice pack he had found. The relief he had felt at seeing Max's eye unhurt was slipping away from him by the second. Now that he no longer needed to keep a cool head to take care of Max he found a well of anger pushing up inside of him.
"Of course I don't. Do you?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"If you could've seen the look on your face when you saw him bleeding. . ." Ray sighed and changed tack, apparently reading the tension building up in Kai. "I'm not trying to start a fight with you. It just seems like you're under a lot of pressure. Whether you want us to help you or give you more space, you need to tell us. I know it's hard for you to run off when you want to be alone out here."
Kai didn't want to answer. He pushed the freezer door closed and leaned on it for a moment, tensing along his shoulders and down his arms so that he wouldn't give in to the anger churning up inside of him and lash out. He had learned this self-control long ago, and he wouldn't lose it now.
Ray matched his silence, letting him stew until he was ready to talk.
"I lost my focus. He never would have been hit if I had been concentrating on the match, and because I slipped up I could have put his eye out." There was nothing else to be said. The hot band of anger tightening around Kai's chest was directed only towards himself, for what he might have done to Max. "I love his eyes," Kai muttered.
Ray didn't have a response for that. Max might have tried to touch him in sympathy, and Tyson would have tried to shake some sense into him, but Ray didn't even need to reach out to him. His company alone was like a hand at Kai's back, steadying him and draining some of the tense heat from his anger. The silence between them was familiar to the point of being comfortable, but Ray's waiting presence still nagged at Kai until he had pulled himself together enough to speak once again.
"Was that what you wanted to hear?"
"What do you mean, 'was that what I wanted to hear?' It was an accident. It happens. Max's eye is fine, and you know he won't even be mad at you. So what are you really beating yourself up over?"
Kai shook his head. Ray should understand. He was always searching for the same finely-tuned control that Kai desired. They were the same in that respect, weren't they? Except now Kai was losing his hard-won control over the tiniest things.
"You're right. I need to be alone for a while." Kai pressed the ice pack into Ray's hand. "Give this to Max. Tell him he won the match."
"I think it was a draw, actually."
"No. Dranzer definitely left the dish first. It's his win." Kai wasn't giving Max anything out of pity. He'd earned that victory by being the one who didn't lose his head, and he would have it.
Without giving Ray a chance to corner him with more questions, Kai fled the kitchen and went directly out, not even slowing as he stepped into his shoes. He knew perfectly well Max wouldn't blame him. That was just how Max was. It was his own personal condemnation that he needed to clear out of his head so that he could think. After today, Kai suspected he needed time to think long and hard about a lot of things.
Kai had always been able to think better outside, especially when he gave himself a little distance from the problem he was focusing on. The fresh air on his face was better than any sympathetic ear. Any moment now the wind would whip away his tumultuous thoughts of Max and the chill would calm him back to the point where his good sense would return.
There was no one here to goad or distract him but himself. For a moment Kai turned his eyes down the road, to a turning so faint it was more remembered than seen, and the path he sometimes took when Max didn't follow along with him. He didn't steer his steps that way today. He was alone for once, and right now he wanted to stay that way.
Max might not be physically following him, but Kai had less success banishing the enthusiastic blader from his head. Without him noticing, Max had become the focus of more and more of his thoughts. What he had dismissed as being protective of his youngest teammate, which was a reasonable reaction, was getting out of hand.
Kai had thought he was simply letting all of his teammates's voices through the mental filter that was meant to keep him focused on his matches, but now he realized it was Max more than anyone else. Max's voice had been impossible to ignore, even when he wasn't addressing Kai. When he had faced down Max there was no distraction to rival him.
Well, they were on the same team, Kai tried to reason. Max was as close as he let anyone get to him. It was natural to pay some attention to Max, and to want to care for him when he was hurt. Kai would look after the others the same way. Probably. Unless they brought it on themselves and really needed the lesson or something.
Max would have insisted he didn't need such special treatment, but he was too nice for his own good sometimes. He kept forgiving people for things Kai would have marked down with eternal suspicion. He would forgive Kai now without the slightest hesitation, and knowing that only made Kai turn more anger on himself to make up the difference. He wouldn't let anyone get off lightly after harming Max, especially not himself.
For some time now he had been avoiding thinking about it, but Kai was aware that the intensity of his feelings towards Max was not normal. Some of the thoughts drifting through his head were not normal for him at any intensity.
Kai couldn't deny being suddenly struck and destabilized by the thought that Max was. . . attractive. Or at least there was something appealing in the focused energy and stance he had during a match. Determined yet obviously enjoying himself, that was the impression Kai always had. Before he could stop himself, Kai remembered Max's sneaky admirer making a similar comment, though Kai had disregarded it as a cheap trick to shock and distract Max at the time. Kai wanted to think he was just somehow appreciating the way Max was during a battle. A little twisted, maybe, but not an obsession with Max by any means.
Even as he struggled for benign explanations to his own wild thoughts, Kai realized there was no telling how long he would have kept staring into Max's eyes if Tyson hadn't snapped him out of it. It wasn't just relief, though that certainly played a part. It was Max's eyes on him in return. It was the subtle shift of his expression from embarrassment to acceptance.
The importance of what he had said to Ray suddenly struck home. What had he been thinking to say that out loud? If he loved Max's eyes it was only because he'd been threatened with the thought of losing them, both in his nightmares and in the training accident today.
In spite of the fresh air and quiet and the solitude he so desperately needed, Kai couldn't seem to calm himself. There was a sickening tension in his stomach, a sour tang in the back of his throat, and an almost painful feeling of angry heat crawling under his skin. He was strangely tempted to relish the discomfort, to wallow in his own condemnation, but he knew better than to allow anything so self-destructive.
Kai pulled himself around with a mental jerk. What had happened was an accident, Ray was right about that much. It had been entirely his fault for losing focus, and so it was his responsibility to set things right and be sure his carelessness didn't bring harm to Max again. He was not going to be able to do that by drowning himself in guilt. It had to be a matter of regaining his self-control.
Just thinking of Max almost made him feel worse. Each thought kept feeding into a spiral of anger so powerful he was swept up in the physical reaction of it even as he tried to force calm. Was it guilt fogging his thoughts? It was as if there was something in the back of his mind that wanted to reject Max, but Kai knew himself better than to believe that. More likely it was some irrational instinct that he didn't deserve the forgiveness Max would unthinkingly give him. Maybe he didn't deserve a thing from Max, but to push him away would only serve to hurt him. Kai would not do that intentionally.
No matter how he tried to smother the thought, there was no denying that Max was very important to him. The fact had snuck up on him somehow, much the same way as it had surprised him when he had originally become attached to his teammates. Now Kai found himself blind sided by the comfort of Max's voice pushing away dark thoughts in the middle of the night. More than that, the intense rush of relief when Max's eyes had opened and focused on his less than an hour ago might have been the only moment of peace he had felt all day.
There was a small part of Kai that even wished Max had followed him out here. Even if Max's presence made him completely unable to think, he had a feeling it would somehow soothe the anger that kept nipping at him. Even after taking time to sort through his thoughts his face still felt hot with emotion.
Irritated with himself, Kai paused to wash his face with a handful of snow, as if cooling his skin would also put his erratic temper to rest. It wasn't until then that he realized that he had stormed outside without either coat or gloves. At the moment the sun was warm enough to leave the snow damp and slushy, and he hadn't even felt the wind on his bare arms, but it was still too cold to be doing such a stupid thing. He knew better than this! Had he really been so caught up in one unreasonable reaction after another that he had failed to notice?
Kai still didn't feel particularly cold even after realizing his situation, which was no comfort against what felt like shocking stupidity. He tucked his hands under his arms and retraced his steps back to the center immediately.
Making it back with his temper a little cooled by the weather if nothing else, Kai still wasn't ready to join the others at their training. He watched from the doorway to the training area for a moment, his gaze fixing immediately on Max. It was just to make sure that Max was all right. To prove it, Kai tore his attention away from Max once he was sure his obsession had suffered no permanent damage.
When he quickly directed his attention towards his other teammates he found Ray was visibly tense, obviously unsettled about something. As soon as he looked up at Kai he seemed to relax significantly. Kai wouldn't have been surprised if Ray had noticed him being so stupid as to run off without his coat.
The look Tyson gave him was refreshing in contrast. He might have been mirroring Kai's thoughts, expecting that Kai should be back to normal now. He jerked his head in a gesture for Kai to come join them.
Kai retreated from the training area back into the common room and set himself gracelessly down on the couch. Once he finally let go of the tension that had been carrying him, he found himself completely worn out. It didn't help that he had slept badly again the night before, waking before dawn feeling as exhausted as if he had literally spent the whole night running from his personal demon instead of simply dreaming it.
It didn't take long for Kai's mental exhaustion to catch up with him. He slumped against the armrest, and for a little while at least there was nothing left to distract him.
Kai was definitely acting strangely. Max had thought they were having a great time, right up until their match had ended in a draw (he still thought it had looked like a draw no matter what Ray said) and he had been hit in the face. It was just an accident, but Kai had reacted badly and run off immediately after making sure Max's eye wasn't injured. Even when he finally came back it was just to lurk in the doorway for a few seconds and then disappear again.
At the moment Max didn't quite want to face him either. The memory of being pinned in place by Kai's stare, and having Kai wipe away the tears he hadn't been able to help, still made him want to squirm in embarrassment. Max was determined to not think about it for as long as he could get away with, hopefully until everyone else had forgotten as well.
If he didn't want to think about Kai at all, he was pretty well sabotaging himself. Kai had left Dranzer behind, and he still hadn't come to retrieve his beyblade. Max had discovered that at some point during their match one of the hooks on Kai's attack ring had been badly damaged.
He was probably stuck taking a break from training for the rest of the day, or at least until everyone forgot about his accident, so Max didn't have anything to do except fiddle with Dranzer. After some wheedling he'd convinced Kenny to let him help with the repairs. Then again, maybe Kenny was still annoyed because he'd insisted on picking up some spare parts that could be modified to fit Kai's blade. He had echoed the same response Kai had given when Max first showed him the parts, that if Max wanted to spend his time modifying them that was up to him. Max was grateful to have something to keep his hands busy.
He still didn't have much experience working on anyone's blade except his own, and it made him nervous to have Kai's blade carefully disassembled and arranged in front of him without Kai there. He had set Draciel next to the chip that held Dranzer, as if the presence of his own bitbeast might somehow help show Kai's that he would take good care of her home.
As long as his hands were busy, Max felt almost meditative. He watched Tyson and Ray working on their own training, and listened to Kenny chatting happily to Hilary, and thought of nothing in particular. Even the thought that Kai might be using a beyblade that he had contributed to was a quietly pleasant one, instead of driving him mad with wild stomach butterflies.
Max ran his fingers over each edge of Kai's damaged ring, as well as the modified replacement, trying to tell by feel if he was finished. His fingers were so coated with fine dust from filing that his grip was becoming slippery. Max wiped his fingers on his shorts and tried again, feeling carefully for the slightest bump or flaw.
"Hey, Chief, could you scan this for me?" Max asked Kenny, taking advantage of a lull in the conversation next to him as Hilary paused to yawn. He wanted to be sure Kai's blade would be perfect.
"Oh, sure. Are you done already?"
"I think so. Could you check?"
"Is Kai still not back? I can't wait up for him any longer," Hilary yawned again.
"I don't think he's coming back. You might as well get some sleep. What time is it there?"
"Late enough for a school night. Goodnight, you guys. Don't beat each other up too much, okay?" Hilary gave them a playfully stern look which prompted a sheepish laugh from Kenny in the midst of the team's answering chorus of 'goodnight!'
"Goodnight, Dizzi. Thanks for letting me share your screen. And thank you again for helping me set this up," this directed at Kenny. "I never would've thought I'd miss seeing the crazy things you guys get up to!"
Once Hilary had logged off the normal display on Kenny's computer snapped back to fill the full screen. Dizzi let out a computerized sigh. "Ah. . . It's good to stretch out again."
"Okay, Max, did you just want to check if it's the same as the old attack ring or are you trying to upgrade it?" Kenny asked. He was suddenly very focused on bringing up the scanning programs on his computer, his face tilted down to help his overlong bangs hide his face.
"Just make sure it's the same as the old one was. Um. . . thanks for letting me do this." Max rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "I really needed something to do with myself or I was gonna go crazy."
"Don't mention it," Kenny told him, so focused on what he was doing he probably didn't even notice Max's fidgeting. "It just seemed like you really wanted to do it, that's all."
That was an understatement. There had been begging involved on Max's part, and many a wary reminder that this was a relatively new design and nothing like Max's blade. None of that mattered now, of course. Max was confident he was close to a complete fix.
"Yeah," Max agreed, watching the scan. "I really did want to, just this once."
Kenny's final analysis was that he was a close as they were going to get with the tools at hand, leaving Max free to reassemble Kai's blade.
Max had been hoping Kai would at least come back for Dranzer, even if he didn't want to be around the rest of them. The fact that he hadn't made Max worry that something was really wrong. Now that he was out of distractions, Max began to think that he needed to do something more than wait.
"I should go find Kai. I'm sure he'll want Dranzer back already."
"I still don't see why you're doing a favor for the sourpuss," Tyson put in, plopping himself down next to Max. Kai's disappearance had really gotten on his nerves for some reason. He seemed to take it as a personal insult, and he'd been in a bad mood every time it came up since.
"I just wanted something to do," Max explained. It was true, but he left out the fact that he would have wanted to fix Kai's blade anyway, just because it was Kai's. He was pretty sure saying that would only annoy Tyson further.
Max didn't understand why Tyson was so irritated with Kai all of a sudden. It wasn't unusual to see them snap at each other occasionally, of course. Max suspected that was inevitable when putting two very strong and competitive personalities in such a small space with limited ways to let off steam. Until today their differences had been mostly limited to–and settled in–the beydish.
What had happened today that was so different? The only thing they had butted heads over that Max knew about had been his own accidental injury, but now Tyson was holding a grudge as if Kai had leveled a personal insult at Dragoon.
"Hasn't he been a total jerk to you lately?"
"Well. . . not really." Max didn't quite want to come out and say that Kai was being perfectly nice to him. Tyson always insisted their small arguments were all Kai's fault, and suggesting that Kai was getting along with everyone but Tyson would probably only make him angrier.
"But he's after you all the time! It's like he's waiting for you to screw up so he can jump on you. Back me up here, Ray, you must've noticed it too."
"Hm," was all Ray had to say on the subject. He had stayed a little apart with his arms folded tight against his stomach, and he looked distinctly uncomfortable. It was strange he didn't want to weigh in. Ray had even mentioned before that Kai was acting differently, especially toward Max, though he'd definitely had a different take on it than Tyson.
"He hasn't been picking on me at all," Max tried to reassure his fuming friend. He actually felt more like Kai was being protective of him, which he didn't think he really needed, but it was good to see Kai caring so much about his role as their captain. . . and it was a guilty pleasure to feel as if Kai cared about him as well. He was definitely keeping that to himself.
"So he's not harassing you?"
"No!"
"I still think he's more of a grouch than usual."
"It's probably just because he hasn't been sleeping," Max argued, before he could think not to say it. He didn't realize until the words were out of his mouth that all the times he'd run into Kai in the middle of the night were a secret that he didn't want to share with anyone, not even Tyson.
"How do you know that?"
"Well. . . he's always up at the crack of dawn, and his eyes are all red half the time, and he keeps going off to take naps."
Tyson took that at face value, thankfully, and Max escaped in search of Kai before he let anything else slip.
Kai hadn't run out again. Max found that the reason he hadn't joined them was because he had fallen asleep on the couch, which only further supported Max's reasoning that his temper came from being badly rested. Max was reluctant to wake him when he looked so peaceful.
As Max lingered, hanging on the back of the couch to watch Kai in case he decided to wake up, he noticed a bruise on Kai's neck, the edge of it showing over his high collar. He had thought Draciel had hit Kai, but he hadn't gotten a chance to ask. He winced in sympathy, because apparently Draciel was heavy enough to leave quite a mark.
His first idea was to go get the bruise ointment out of the first aid kit. Kenny had been adamant about not putting anything so close to Max's eye, but there would be no problem using it on Kai.
When he had fetched the ointment, Kai was still napping. Max hesitated, watching him with the tube of ointment in one hand and Dranzer in the other. He really didn't want to wake Kai up if he was that tired.
Deciding that he could wait for Kai to wake up if he really wanted to talk to him, Max settled down beside him on the couch.
He picked up one of the magazines on the table and flipped through it at random, looking for something he hadn't read. Unfortunately, no interesting new articles had materialized since the last time he had tried that, not in any of the magazines scattered around the room.
Kai was still asleep. Max would have woken him up out of sheer boredom if not for the fact that it was so rare to see him looking this peaceful.
With nothing else to do, Max entertained himself trying to get Draciel spinning on in his palm, and then balanced on one finger. Draciel was impeccably balanced, but trying to spin on a narrow, soft fingertip was tricky. He was actually getting the hang of it when he was interrupted.
"So here's where you went," Ray said, leaning over the back of the couch between them to talk to Kai. He looked at Kai for a moment before turning to Max instead. "Is he really asleep?"
"I think so." Max remembered Ray taking him aside before their disastrous match to warn him about Kai's mood. (Max had already noticed that Kai seemed stressed, although his attempts to lighten the mood with some lively commentary apparently hadn't helped.) Ray could often pick out clues that Max missed. "Do you know what's going on with Kai?"
Ray definitely looked uncomfortable as he shook his head negative, but Max couldn't tell why. They both looked over at Kai, as if he would offer an explanation. Kai didn't so much as stir, his breathing deep and even and not giving up a word of his secrets.
"Maybe just cabin fever or something," Ray finally offered.
"Yeah. I was thinking maybe we need to give him more space, but I wanted make sure he got Dranzer back."
"That's a good idea," Ray agreed. "It should probably be you, anyway." He kept looking between them, as if checking if Kai was awake yet. Max was surprised to see his normally cool-headed teammate so flustered about something when he couldn't even see the problem.
"Max, you should know. . ."
"Hm?" Max tried to encourage Ray. If Ray had any extra information he definitely wanted it.
Ray glanced sideways at Kai once again, and Max was pretty sure he had just thought better of whatever he was going to say.
"Just make sure he knows that accident wasn't his fault, okay?"
"Well, sure. Of course it wasn't." Max hadn't even thought such a thing needed saying.
Ray didn't offer up any more information, though Max suspected he could have really used some. Instead he clasped Max's shoulder for a second and left him to watch over Kai.
He didn't have long to wait. Almost as soon as Ray was out of the room, Kai opened his eyes.
"Hey. Did we disturb you?" Max was tempted to ask if Kai had been awake the whole time just listening to them, but if Ray could be sneaky then so could he. Kai didn't need to know they had been talking about him.
"No." Kai still looked groggy and bleary-eyed and it almost made Max want to laugh at the sight. Kai was adorably cranky when he was woken up from a nap. "How long was I asleep?"
"Not long. I brought you Dranzer," Max placed the blade in Kai's waiting hand with care. "I had to modify a new attack ring for you, so make sure the repairs are all right. Do you want to have a rematch with me later?" Max suggested hopefully.
"No."
"But-"
"No."
"You know, what happened before wasn't your fault."
"Ray told you to say that."
"That doesn't mean it's not true!" Max protested, leaning closer to Kai, even as he was blasted by an icy look that plainly told him to stay out of Kai's personal space. "You even got hit too! I can see the bruise."
Kai put one hand to his throat, confirming for Max that Draciel had caused that bruise.
"I got this for you," Max added, suddenly remembering the bruise ointment he had fetched for Kai. He held it up, feeling pleased with himself.
Kai looked into his face for a moment, and Max could have sworn Kai was about to take it, but in the end he turned away again.
"I don't need it."
"What, after you made such a fuss over me?" Max protested.
Kai didn't dignify that with a response, but gave Max a look beneath lowered brows as if he was crazy for comparing those two things. That only irritated Max more.
"Come on, Kai. It was Draciel that hit you, so I'm responsible."
Kai was just sitting there with his arms crossed, having apparently decided to impersonate a statue. Max had more experience than he could have ever wanted with this attitude from Kai, and was not about to be put off that easily.
"If you don't want to take care of yourself, I'll do it for you."
Kai was still ignoring him, and the offer quickly became a threat.
"I'm serious. I'll do it."
Max was about to pull the loose collar of Kai's shirt down when something occurred to him. "You don't like having your neck touched. Is that why you didn't want this stuff? You'll be mad if I try to put it on for you, right?"
At least that got Kai to look at him, but Max couldn't tell what Kai wanted. It was all he could do not to squirm under that scrutiny.
"No," Kai finally told him in a low voice.
"Huh?" Max drew his arm back, thinking Kai was telling him to back off.
"No, I won't be mad at you."
"Oh. I thought you wouldn't want me to. . . I'll be really careful, okay?" Max promised.
Kai gave him a stiff nod, and Max stopped to squeeze a little of the bruise ointment onto his fingers. He carefully pulled down the open collar of Kai's shirt to reveal the bruise, which was no bigger than his beyblade, but had bloomed a nasty shade of purple.
The first touch made Kai hiss through his teeth and jerk away. Max froze guiltily.
"Sorry. What's wrong? Is it too cold?"
Kai didn't give him an answer, so Max tried to warm the ointment with his hands before reaching for Kai a second time.
"Okay?" he asked.
"Okay," Kai agreed.
He was looking right into Max's face, so that Max felt he was pinned in place. He couldn't look at anything but his target as he touched his hand to Kai's neck.
This time Kai didn't flinch, but Max tried to keep his touch light. He rubbed ointment over the bruise as carefully as he possibly could, letting the path of his fingers slowly spiral outward to touch the unmarked parts of Kai's neck.
Slowly growing more daring, Max dipped his fingers low enough to find the junction between neck and shoulder. Then he let his fingers trail up again, each pass delicately rubbing ointment into the bruise without pressing on it. He felt Kai's pulse jump under his fingers, and his own heart was pounding in response. It was the thrill of doing something he was sure Kai would never let anyone else do, something almost intimate.
He heard a sharp breath from Kai, but instead of being pushed away he found Kai's hand on his face. Kai was just checking the faint bruising around his eye, but Max still felt a thrill shiver through him when Kai's palm cupped his cheek, thumb stroking softly over his cheekbone.
Even as he was struggling to keep his attention on Kai's bruise, Max couldn't help leaning his face into Kai's hand. No matter how sure he was that the giddy happiness he felt being around Kai was an honest crush, he didn't know what he was supposed to do about it. He didn't know how to tell Kai. He couldn't act on it unless he told Kai. He shouldn't keep greedily soaking up Kai's attention in secret.
Max found he wanted to say something, to give voice to a confession of just how much he liked Kai. In this sort of personal anything-might-happen moment, it almost seemed possible. Maybe, if he could find exactly the right way to say it, Kai would accept him. Obviously they had a deep enough connection to fight for each other and care for each other, and maybe that was amazing enough that he shouldn't get greedy. But Kai had wanted to touch him, and Max knew him well enough to understand how rare that was. Maybe it wasn't impossible to hope that Kai would accept him. For all he knew Kai might even tell him that of course he felt the same, wasn't it obvious? And then Max would be too happy to even feel stupid for waiting so long.
Slowly Max drew back his hand, leaving most of the ointment worked into Kai's skin.
"Crazy day, huh?" Max said weakly.
Kai's hand trailed down his cheek and fell to rest on his shoulder, not demanding anything of Max but giving him an excuse to stay close.
"Max," Kai's voice settled over him, leaving him holding his breath. Maybe it was his anticipation, but Kai seemed to pause before speaking, though his words didn't sound like they needed to be carefully chosen. "I want a rematch with you."
"Really? Alright!" That broke the tension in Max's stomach in what had to be the best way possible. He practically jumped off of the couch, unable to contain himself. "Let's do it right now so you can test out the repairs to your blade!"
Kai was almost smiling. Max got the feeling he had amused Kai, but he didn't mind. Kai was back to his usual self. Surely that meant everything was good again.