"You run way too fast," panted Anastasia as they finally stopped. Gasping for air, she rested her palms on her knees and doubled over, breathing deeply. She heard Kai make a noise of disapproval and threw him a dirty look. "You said you'd go slow."

Kai rolled his eyes. "You said not to go easy on you."

"And you took me seriously?" she demanded. She slapped away his hand as he reached for her and stalked off towards the nearest bench.

Kai followed her. "You wanted me to take you seriously," he pointed out.

Anastasia glared and collapsed onto the bench, stretching her aching legs out in front of her. "I hate you."

Kai snorted. "No, you don't," barely sweating, he ran a hand through his hair and glanced at his watch. He didn't sit down. "We've still got time."

"If you think I'm moving from here, you're mistaken," shot back Anastasia.

Kai sighed. "I told you not to come with me."

Anastasia ignored him, folding her legs under herself neatly and holding out her hand for her phone, which Kai took out of his pocket to hand to her. Her breathing was steadier now, but her chest hurt and her leg muscles were aching. She hated running – and all other forms of exercise – but when Kai had off-handedly mentioned the night before that he wanted to go running the next morning, Anastasia had invited herself along. She was now blaming her decision on her euphoric state that night, along with Kai himself, who had been too busy distracting her with kisses to actually warn her that he would be training, and therefore would probably cause her to have a heart attack in the park. Groaning softly, Anastasia closed her eyes and massaged her temples, feeling a headache coming on.

"Hey," Kai's voice was soft, and the rickety bench creaked as he sat down next to her. Anastasia didn't open her eyes, but she felt him smooth her hair off her sweaty forehead, his fingers lingering against her cheek. "You okay?"

Anastasia opened her eyes and saw that Kai was watching her, looking about as concerned as it was possible for him to look. She smiled grimly. "I hate to conform to stereotypes, but I'm a technician and I belong behind a computer. Physical fitness is not my thing," Kai smirked a little, and Anastasia rested her cheek against his palm, offering him a half-teasing, half-apologetic look. "I'm sorry I ruined your training."

"You didn't," his thumb brushed against her lower lip, "I liked having you here."

"And you're not still hurt, from last night?" she persisted.

"Just bruises," Kai shrugged. "I've had worse."

Yeah, he had. Anastasia bit her lip, remembering the glimpse she'd gotten of his back. "I'm sorry," she mumbled. "I never wanted you to get hurt like that, because of me."

"Anna," Kai sighed. "There's no one else I'd rather throw a punch for."

Despite her trepidation, Anastasia felt butterflies erupt in her stomach at his comment. "Wow, you're a sap."

Kai snorted and took his hand away, causing Anastasia to pout. Rolling his eyes, he allowed her to rest her head against his chest and tangled his fingers into her ponytail, admiring the sleek curls that spilled across his fingers. Anastasia was on her phone, texting Tala and Alice and at least three other people at the same time. Taking advantage of her distraction, Kai examined her hair, trying once again to decipher what exactly was so fascinating about her curls. He was convinced she spent hours on her hair, but it was barely eight in the morning and he had seen her looking bleary-eyed when he'd picked her up, so that didn't make any sense. Did she –

"What are you doing?" suddenly, her phone was face down in her lap and Anastasia was straightening up to look at Kai, catching him completely off-guard.

Kai scowled. "Nothing," he snapped. He dropped the curl he had been playing with and flicked at her ear in annoyance.

She laughed. "Every time I get distracted you start playing with my hair. You can just tell me if you like it, you know," winking, she tossed her ponytail over her shoulder.

"Do you like asking questions you already know the answer to?"

"Yes," Anastasia rested her chin on her palm, balancing her elbows on her knees as she continued to watch him curiously. "Anyway, I'm never exactly sure what the answer is with you."

Anastasia's phone chirped suddenly, before Kai could reply. Grateful for the distraction since he wasn't exactly sure what to say, he took it from her hands without invitation and began flicking through her messages with pretend-idleness. Anastasia clicked her tongue, but didn't stop him.

"How often does Tala text you?" asked Kai. Anastasia's recent messages were full of his own and Tala's, ranging from long ones to a one-word responses. Kai didn't open them, even though he desperately wanted to. As casual as Anastasia was about him looking at her phone, he didn't think she's appreciate it if he invaded her privacy too much.

"Too often," Anastasia rolled her eyes. "What does he want now?"

Kai opened the message. "Breakfast."

"Only if he pays."

"Apparently, I'm paying."

Anastasia shrugged. "That's fine too."

Her phone beeped again. Kai glanced at the screen. "What's he saying about a date?"

"He wants to know if breakfast counts as our first date," Anastasia took her phone back and typed out a message – containing a multitude of colourful words detailing exactly where she would shove Tala's phone if he didn't stop texting her – before yawning. "Okay, I told him to shut up and that we'll meet him there. Can we go now? I want pancakes."

"I have practice," pointed out Kai.

"Your solo practice can wait, and your team would appreciate a few more hours of sleep," Anastasia stood up and held out her hand impatiently, clearly not taking no for an answer.

Kai sighed but got up anyway, making a mental note to text Kenny to make sure the rest of the team had at least gotten in a run before he met up with them. In an ideal world, he would have spent the whole day with Anastasia, but he couldn't. And despite her insistent tugging on his hand, he knew she knew that. He had no doubt that if he told her he wanted to cancel practice to be with her, she would hit him.

"You're thinking pretty loudly," Anastasia nudged his shoulder playfully, and Kai felt his lips twitch. He wanted to smile, he really did, but he was too good at stopping himself now to try and change. Still, he couldn't remember wanting to smile this much in a while.

"Only when it's about you," he replied. Anastasia blushed, and Kai smirked. They were still holding hands, and he tugged her closer so he could wrap an arm around her waist. She threw him a look of amusement, but didn't say anything.

The car ride to the diner Tala had told them to come to was quiet, but comfortable, and Anastasia was glad for the small sense of normalcy that settled over them as Kai began to drive. This was something they did every day; it was routine, and it didn't make her want to smile like an idiot, even though she was biting her lip to avoid doing just that as Kai casually drove one-handed, the other one resting on her knee.

It had barely been a day since they'd decided to give this – whatever it was – a try, and despite the fact that Kai had been insistent in saying he wouldn't and couldn't change, it had only taken Anastasia a few hours of his company to notice that he had changed. It was too soon to tell if they were permanent changes or if she was only just picking up on them now, but she knew that Kai liked being around her, and not just because she knew when he wanted quiet. Now, she could tell he liked being around her because it was her – she had never felt this confident in someone's presence, and it almost unnerving how comfortable she was sitting next to him in complete silence. It wasn't like before, where she would interrupt the quiet and speak because she felt like she had to, or because she wanted to tease him, or because the electricity crackling in the air between them was driving her insane. Now, she knew she didn't have to break the silence, and she had plenty of time to tease him if she wanted to, and if the electricity got to be too much she could simply reach over and kiss him. It was a luxury, and it wasn't one she was going to get tired of any time soon.

"You know he knows, right?" Kai interrupted her reverie suddenly.

Anastasia shook herself out of her thoughts. "Hmm? What?"

"Tala," said Kai. He wasn't looking at her, but he sounded slightly tense. "He knows."

"About us?" Anastasia frowned. "Did you tell him?"

"Did you want me not to?"

"Oh, I don't know," Anastasia ran a hand through her ponytail absently. "I mean, it's Tala, we see him way more than your other friends. It isn't like he wouldn't have figured it out eventually. But did you tell him?" she asked curiously. The thought was faintly amusing. "Oh my god, what was that conversation like?"

Kai glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "You're not mad?"

"Why would I be mad?"

"You freak out every time the press publishes a picture of us."

"Oh, that," Anastasia shrugged. "That's different. That's the whole world, people you're going to battle, people who might want to hire me. This is just Tala."

"Explain."

Anastasia frowned. "What, did you think I'd throw a fit just because you told your friend we're dating now?" Kai gave her a look that told her that's exactly what he had thought. Anastasia huffed. "Okay, first of all, that's rude. Second of all, I have no problem with Tala knowing, because if you hadn't told him I probably would have. And thirdly, not wanting the whole world to know we're dating isn't only for my benefit, it's for yours too. I thought you of all people would get that."

"I don't."

Anastasia sighed. "Okay, just hear me out. I don't want the press knowing too much about you and me, because you're a beyblader and I'm a technician. I don't want people thinking the only reason I worked hard on Dranzer is because it was yourbeyblade; I want people to hire me because I'm good, no matter who I work for. And do you really want your opponent in a battle knowing your girlfriend who made your beyblade is sitting in the front row, cheering for you? Or what if someone makes a comment about me when we're out in public, knowing you're insane about that kind of stuff, so you can punch them and then get disqualified?"

Kai frowned. "That actually makes sense."

"The fact that you sound surprised is offensive."

"I'm not surprised."

"You're annoyed because you didn't think of it yourself?"

"You're asking questions you already know the answers to again."

Anastasia laughed.

!

"Someone's worked up an appetite," said Tala mischievously. Anastasia ignored him and continued to shovel pancakes into her mouth, relishing the hot food. Her body was unused to exercise and early mornings, and the sugar rush was exactly what she needed.

Kai rolled his eyes and took a gulp of his coffee. "Why are you awake, Tala?"

"We've been sitting here for an hour and you only just ask me that?" asked Tala wryly. "What, you got a girlfriend now so I don't matter?"

"Yup."

"You wound me."

"Shut up."

"Come on, Kai, am I that easy to forget?"

"Yes."

"But I missed you so –"

"Tala, if you keep flirting with him while I'm sitting right here, so help me god I will take apart your beyblade and put it back together in less than fifty seconds so it explodes in your face next time you try and launch it," interrupted Anastasia calmly. Kai choked on his coffee at her comment, and she ignored him, keeping her eyes locked on Tala's face. "Do you understand?"

For a few seconds, the only sounds were Kai's coughing and the buzz of activity around them in the small diner. Then, Tala blinked. "Damn, you're hot."

Barely recovered from his past fit, Kai began to cough again, this time glaring at the redhead opposite him. Tala held his hands up in surrender, his eyes twinkling mischievously. Anastasia snorted. "I know," for good measure, she kicked his shin and then stole his untouched glass of orange juice. "Did you enjoy your evening with Alice?"

Tala smirked. "Very much. She say anything about me?"

"I wouldn't know. She hadn't woken up when I left at the crack of dawn."

"It was only eight," Kai rolled his eyes at her pointed glare. "And I said you didn't have to come with me."

"You should have been clearer," shot back Anastasia.

"Getting up early won't kill you."

"Says you!"

"Says science."

"Well, I'm smarter than you!"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Aha!" Anastasia smiled triumphantly. "So you admit I'm smarter than you?"

Kai narrowed his eyes at her. "Are you being funny?"

"I'm always funny, but mostly I'm pretty," flicking her hair over her shoulder, Anastasia leaned slightly closer to him and fluttered her eyelashes innocently. "Don't you think so?"

Kai smirked and tilted his head down so it was level with hers. The booth was small, and Anastasia had already been sitting closer to him than she normally would have, so her scent had been flooding his senses for a while. But she was looking at him now, her hair framing her face in a messy way he had grown to like. There were flecks of green in her eyes he had never noticed before, and the pale pink lip gloss she wore on her lips was smudged slightly. From experience, Kai assumed it was strawberry flavored, and he suddenly wanted to check, to see if he was right.

"Wow," Tala's voice cut into the silence suddenly. He sounded amused and fascinated at the same time. "I can practically see the sparks. How have you two lasted this long without jumping each other?"

"You think if we ignore him he'll go away?" asked Anastasia.

"Doubtful," said Kai.

"Hey!" from the corner of his eye, Kai could see Tala waving a hand in their direction. "You guys want me to go?"

"Yes," they both answered simultaneously. Anastasia's gaze flickered to the side for a second, but Kai didn't look away from her face. She was biting the corner of her lip now, and something in her eyes told him she was doing it on purpose.

"Tough luck," Tala threw something at them, and reflexively Kai swatted away the plastic fork before it could connect with the side of Anastasia's head. Immediately, she turned to glare at the redhead, who grinned. "You can be cute when you're alone."

"You know, if you hadn't tried so hard to make this happen we wouldn't be in this position," pointed out Anastasia.

Tala looked like Christmas had come early at her words, and Kai groaned softly, knowing what was coming next. She threw them both questioning looks, but Tala was already speaking. "So, it was me," he sounded unbearably smug. "I knew it. I told Hilary it would work."

"Annoying us to death didn't work," said Kai bluntly. "You didn't do anything."

"Anna said I did."

"She doesn't know what she's talking about."

"Hello? Sitting right here," Anastasia poked him in the ribs, deliberately, and Kai winced. She gave him a look of triumph before turning back to Tala. "Ignore him. I give you partial credit."

"Yes!" Tala exclaimed, a little too loudly, and Anastasia suddenly felt the people around them turn to stare curiously. She turned red and glared at Tala, who didn't seem to notice. Next to her, she felt Kai's hand come to rest on her knee, and the gesture was oddly soothing. A quick glance at his face told her he knew exactly what he was doing, and she smiled.

"For a guy who claims to suck at romance, you're not half bad at being a boyfriend," murmured Anastasia, so only he would hear. Tala was on his phone, talking about how he needed to tell Hilary it was all him and not her – he was too distracted to notice no one was paying attention to him anymore.

"I am bad at it," Kai frowned at her. "You don't expect much, do you?"

"Not really," Anastasia rested her head against his arm, trying not to let it bother her that people were still watching them. "Isn't that a good thing?"

"Hn," Kai lifted his arm so she could curl up against his side, and Anastasia felt his fingers running up and down her bare arm gently. "I don't think it's a good thing for you."

"If you want, I could order you around like Hilary does to Tyson," offered Anastasia. "You'd think it would lessen the attraction, but he's still crazy about her, so it probably works."

Kai snorted. "I don't think tactics that work on Tyson would work on me."

"Now you're just being mean," rolling her eyes, she picked up her phone to check her messages.

"Hey, do you guys want to head out?" asked Tala, oblivious to their conversation. "Anna, you joining us for practice?"

"No, I have some stuff to catch up on."

"I can take her home, if you need to leave," offered Tala, addressing Kai.

"I'm fine," said Kai. "Where are you going?"

"Chief wants me to help with tag-team statistics," Tala rolled his eyes. "The kid knows I'm not a technician, right? Can't you help?" he turned to Anastasia pleadingly.

"Don't look at me," Anastasia sighed. "I've already meddled with your team enough. The American BBA is going to bench me for the season."

"What?" asked Kai sharply.

"Well, yeah," Anastasia gave him an odd look. "We knew that was a possibility when I was offered the job. Mr. Dickinson said I'd probably have to give up working with the All Starz for the season if I ended up fixing Dranzer. Conflict of interest or something like that. They can't guarantee I'll be impartial. And now?" Anastasia snorted and held up their joint hands. "What do you think?"

Tala let out a low whistle. "Benched," he repeated slowly. "That must suck."

Anastasia shrugged. "If I didn't take this job, I'd have stayed with the All Starz, they would be the American champions again and I'd be exactly where I was before. If the BladeBreakers do well this season, though, I'll get a lot of credit for fixing Dranzer, because you guys will definitely go to the finals. Either way, it wasn't a hard decision to make."

"Well, if we get to keep you for longer I'd say it's a good decision," Tala winked, and Anastasia stuck out her tongue at him. They said goodbye outside the restaurant, and Kai gave instructions to Tala for them to start practice without him. Anastasia didn't understand why he'd suggested that until they were in the car and, instead of starting the engine, he turned to look at her seriously.

Anastasia blinked. "What's wrong?"

"You didn't tell me you'd get benched," said Kai.

"I assumed you knew," Anastasia said confusedly. "I can't go and work with Emily again after everything I've analyzed and done here, Kai. It would be impossible for me to keep the two separate."

"So you'll spend a whole season doing nothing?"

"Not nothing," Anastasia sighed. "They'll give me a project or something, I guess, a new upgrade they want tested. I just won't be involved with the championship team. It's not a big deal," she added, when she saw that Kai still looked irritated. "I knew they'd suggest it, there was a clause in the fancy contract I signed that said I might end up having to give up involvement with my original team if I got this job, but Dickinson said he'd make sure I wouldn't be fired. Why are you so worked up about this?"

"I'm not," said Kai shortly. He started the car and began to back out of the parking lot, but the knuckles of his hands were white, and his shoulders were tense.

Anastasia rolled her eyes. "Okay, as flattering as it is that you're annoyed on my behalf, you don't need to be. I'd make the same decision if it was offered to me today, even if it meant getting kicked off the American team. Especially today," pointedly, she reached over and pried one of his hands off the wheel, holding it in her own. Kai glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, and she flashed him a smile. "Aren't you glad I took this job?"

"It's not that," Kai sighed. He squeezed her hand. "I didn't realize they'd make you sit around and do nothing after this. You're too talented for that, Anna, and you're going to hate it."

"Amen to that," Anastasia snorted. "But they're right to do this. I couldn't go back to the All Starz now and work on beyblades that I know for a fact wouldn't survive against the one I'm making for you, and I couldn't use that information to upgrade their beyblades because that wouldn't be right. But I can't be your team's technician, because this is the last tournament for most of you guys, but the American BBA has four other teams lined up, ready to take over. I'm better off waiting for their time to come."

"Hn."

"Oh, don't stop talking now," teased Anastasia. "You were ready to be my white knight a few minutes ago, weren't you?"

Kai snorted. "I wasn't. I just didn't think it sounded fair."

"It's the fairest option," said Anastasia diplomatically. "I don't mind watching my beyblade kick ass on TV, honestly. It'll be pretty gratifying, plus it'll be easy to take sides."

Kai raised an eyebrow. "It should be easier to take sides now."

"Oh, I don't know," Anastasia took out her phone and scrolled through her messages, pretending to contemplate his words. "I hear Michael's been working out, and Johnny is such a charmer. And don't even get me started on those White Tiger boys, they're so – hey!"

"You'll get this back when you're sure whose side you're on," said Kai calmly. Anastasia glared at him and tried to snatch her phone out of his hands, but he was too quick for her, tossing it into the compartment by the driver's side door and giving her a smug look when he saw that she couldn't reach it now.

"None of those boys would annoy me like this," muttered Anastasia sullenly.

"That's because they're scared of you."

"You should be scared of me."

"I'm not," Kai smirked and the car began to slow, as her apartment building came into view. "Last chance, or your phone goes home with me."

"I liked you better when you were still pretending you didn't like me."

"No, you didn't."

There was something in Kai's voice that made Anastasia's snarky reply die on her lips. He still sounded indifferent, and his tone was just light enough for someone like her to know he was teasing her, but there was an underlying emotion Anastasia couldn't quite pinpoint. There was affection, and happiness, and maybe even a little bit of flirtation, but the combination was so strange that Anastasia was almost struck dumb. One look confirmed her suspicions – Kai was looking at her expectantly, but he was smiling a little, and it was the kind of smile she rarely saw him give anyone. It made butterflies erupt in her stomach.

"No, I definitely like you more now," she admitted smilingly. Kai looked triumphant, but Anastasia didn't give him a chance to respond. The car had stopped, and she took advantage of the stillness to close the distance between them, giving him a quick kiss. It was chaste, and she could tell Kai was caught slightly off guard by her actions, but he was smiling a little bigger now, which meant he had enjoyed it. Anastasia nudged his nose with hers playfully. "So, will you still like me even when you're a world champion and I'm unemployed?"

Kai hummed in response, leaning in close again. "No problem," he said easily, his lips brushing against her temple. "I'll just hire you again."

Anastasia raised an eyebrow. "For what? You won't need a technician."

"I'd need an assistant, if I was a world champion," he pointed out. He kissed the corner of her mouth, and Anastasia sighed quietly, her mind going blissfully blank. But Kai made no attempt to kiss her properly, and she cracked open an eye, unwilling to keep talking. He gave her a questioning look.

Anastasia huffed. "I can't be your assistant. I can barely organize my own life."

"I know," he nuzzled her cheek softly. "Good thing you're dating the boss."

Anastasia laughed softly. "You're cute. Now I don't want you to leave."

"I don't want to leave either."

"Don't," Anastasia groaned. "Me saying that is funny, you saying that will just tempt me to make you stay."

"And what if I want to stay anyway?" asked Kai. He began to trace circles onto her bare knee with his free hand.

Anastasia caught his fingers in her own, shaking her head smilingly. "Not when you have practice."

"I can cancel practice."

"For me?" Anastasia raised an eyebrow. "I won't come between you and this sport, Kai, I know how important it is to you."

He gave her a long look. "You're important too, you know," he said finally.

"I believe you," she kissed him again, and she could tell from the way his fingers tightened around hers that he did not like her pulling away so soon. "Will I see you tomorrow?"

"Are you busy tonight?"

Anastasia frowned. "No, but what are you doing tomorrow?"

"We're working tomorrow," he said simply. "So, tonight?"

Anastasia blinked. "What, you want to see me again tonight?"

"I want to take you out on a date tonight," he said, slowly, as if she was an idiot. "Is that okay?"

"I – yeah, of course," Anastasia shook her head. "Sorry, I didn't think you'd want to go on a date."

"So I'm dating you, but I'm not actually dating you?" Kai gave her a weird look. "When did we decide that?"

"No, never mind," Anastasia rolled her eyes. "Tonight is fine. Text me what time?"

"I will," he leaned forward and gave her another kiss. "And take a nap. Running isn't your thing."

"I'll try not to fall asleep on you tonight."

"Or we could skip my practice and our date and just take a nap together," said Kai suggestively.

His tone was so ridiculous and so unlike him that Anastasia burst out laughing, causing him to chuckle quietly with her as well.

The smile didn't leave her face for the rest of the day.