Reviews: -squeals and glomps everyone who reviewed- Here, have some chocolate!

Oh, and happy Easter to everyone!

Matilda gazes out onto the street, making sure to keep her eyes to the ground, so not to give anyone the impression that she's staring at them, or start any confrontations. It doesn't really happen much to her, but it's better to be prepared. She sighs and shifts in her chair, trying to tune into what her friend, Hilary is saying as they sit down at a nice street side café, sipping hot chocolate.

"What's wrong, Mattie?" Hilary suddenly asks. "You seem down."

Matilda immediately snaps her head up to look at Hilary. "Oh, no it's nothing."

Hilary narrows her eyes in disbelief. "Uh ah, you can't fool me with that line, I don't believe it. Now, what's wrong?"

She fidgets in her seat, her hands falling to her lap where he folds them neatly. "It's just, Miguel and Claude, they're acting strange."

Hilary leans back in her chair, taking her drink with her and nods her head in agreement. "The boys are acting strange period," she says. "I mean, Tyson is more obnoxious and loud than usual. Hiro loses his temper with him quicker than usual as well and always seems to be in Claude's company," she sighs and places her drink on the table in front of her as she continues. "Kai is taking off more in the last few days, and Miguel is constantly with him. I know that Kai is injured, but I get the feeling that something else is involved," she shakes her head. "Now Ray and Aaron are also acting strange, it's like they're sitting around, waiting for something to happen, and it usually does. I don't know Tala all that well, but he seems to be getting in trouble with Kai. I heard from Aaron that Kai belted him with a kendo stick, or something. The only normal person here is Max, who seems to be taking everything in good stride!"

"What about Grandpa?"

Hilary lets out an undignified, ungirly snort. "Heh, he's always strange, so there's nothing unusual with him."

Nodding slowly, Matilda keeps her eyes downcast. "Hilary?"

"Hmm?"

Matilda clenches her hands in her lap, looking for the right words. "You remember that time, when Miguel accidentally kissed Kai? Do you think that has something to do with the way he's been acting?"

Hilary takes a sip of her drink, thoughtful. "Hmm, it could. You don't think they're secretly pinning after each other?" she suddenly lets out a small squeal. "Oh my God, that would be so cute!"

"I…I want Miguel to be happy," Matilda says, softly. "Will being with Kai make him happy?"

Hilary gazes at the younger girl in front of her, and her eyes soften in understanding. "Listen," she says gently, placing her drink back down. "Kai might look and act a little rough around the edges, but he's one of the most considerate guys you'll ever meet. I've known Kai for a few years, and I can safety say, he's one person you can definitely rely on." Matilda lifts her head and Hilary smiles at her. "So, if Miguel is indeed in love with Kai, he couldn't have picked a better person to fall in love with."

Matilda blinks in silencer for a moment, then smiles brightly, clearly happy with the answer. "Kay."

"Besides," Hilary giggles. "Wouldn't they make the hottest couple ever?"

Matilda giggles as well and nods her head in agreement.

-------

"No!" Claude cries, as he takes a couple of steps backward and falls back into Hiro chest, who immediately wraps his arms around him. "He can't!"

Kai sighs as Miguel stands up from his position on the couch next to Kai to comfort his friend, who is clearly frighten. "Claude…"

"I'm sorry," Kai says wearily as he runs a hand over his face, "I wasn't able to keep him out of the country."

"How long has this being going on?" Hiro asks as he momentary lifts his eyes from the shaking teen in his arms to look directly at Kai.

Kai chews on his bottom lip, reluctantly to reply. "About four months…" he finally whispers.

"What?!" Hiro immediately yells, clearly angry. He carefully places Claude back on the coach and stands before Kai. "Four months and you're only just telling us now?!"

Miguel immediately jumps to his lover's defense. "Don't yell at him, he's doing the best that he can."

Hiro trains his angry gaze on the blond. "Well, that doesn't seem to be working, does it?" he hisses.

Miguel narrows his own eyes and snarls in reply, "He's doing a hell lot more than you are!"

"If I had known earlier I could have helped!"

"And what could you have done that Kai already hasn't?!"

Claude watches the whole scene in complete silence, shock and surprise preventing him from saying anything. He glances to the other side of the room, where Kai is sitting. He's sitting on the coach, his hands clenching tightly into fists on his lap, his eyes hiding behind a veil of stormy gray hair. As he gazes at the other teen, Claude can clearly see that Kai, too, is suffering from all of this, and Hiro isn't helping him very much. Kai suddenly flinches.

"Stop it!" he yells, as he too climbs to his feet to stand directly between Hiro and Miguel. "Don't you think I know that I could have done more?!" he yells at Hiro, into his face, causing him to subconsciously take a step backwards. "I know I'm relatively useless, I don't need you reminding me!" He then hisses sharply and collapses to the floor, grabbing his leg in pain.

Miguel immediately kneeling next to him. "Kai!" He wraps his arms around Kai's shoulders, holding him against him. "Please, don't put anymore stress on yourself."

Kai says nothing, opting to still perfectly still, holding his leg, his eyes hiding behind his hair again.

Claude quietly stands up and then surprises everyone by dropping to the floor in front of Kai and throwing his arms around Kai's neck, hugging him. "You didn't want us to worry, so that's why you didn't tell anyone."

Kai releases a shaky sigh and then smiles wearily. "I thought that if I could get rid of him without you knowing, then it would be better. I didn't want you guys to relive the horror of last time."

"But doesn't this make you remember what you've been through?" Claude asks, his arms still around his neck.

"…It does."

"You're so unselfish that it isn't fair," Claude says as he pulls back to look him in the eyes. "You shouldn't have to suffer alone."

Kai shakes his head. "I'm sorry…"

Miguel gazes at his best friend and boyfriend, a small, sad smile forming on his lips. "Kai…"

-------

Claude sighs wearily as he leans back into the armchair in Hiro's apartment. After the, er, 'showdown' at the dojo, Hiro thought that it would be better for everyone to take some time off to let this information sink in. However, Claude feels that the only reason Hiro suggested that is because he's feeling slightly guilty for getting angry at Kai like that. He understands why Hiro is so angry, but he also understands why Kai kept the information to himself all this time.

Hiro enters the room, with a cup of herbal tea in his hand. "Are you ok?" he asks as he sets the cup down on the coffee table in front of him.

Claude lifts his head up to look at his boyfriend. "I'm ok," he says, then gives him a look that's a cross between determination and understanding. "But I think you should apologize to Kai. He's doing his best, you know?"

Hiro sighs heavily as he runs a hand through his hair and takes a seat next to him. "Yeah, I know," he says, with a hint of guilt. "I'm just annoyed that he didn't tell someone about this earlier. I might have been able to help."

"Hiro…," Claude says, before he sighs and sinks next to him, laying his head on his chest. "I must admit, I'd prefer not knowing. It would have been easier to deal with after they settled everything, you know?"

Hiro lifts his hand and begins to run his fingers through the silver stands, massaging his scalp. "After everything that's happened, I don't want to loose you now," he whispers.

Claude smiles, a hint of pink on his lips. "Hiro…It'll be ok. Kai knows what he's doing. Everything will be fine, you'll see."

"Yeah, I hope so," he whispers in reply. He slowly lets his hand slip to the back of his neck, gently tilting Claude's head back, then he slowly lowers his lips, placing them on Claude's.

Claude sighs into the kiss, and clings to the front of Hiro's shirt, before gasping in surprise when Hiro suddenly moves him into his lap, deepening the kiss and holding him closer. Claude can sense the urgency and desperation in his kiss, and sinks against his chest, releasing his own emotions into the loving display of affection. The fear that any day now, Barthez can waltz back into his life and take control is terrifying. He knows that the chances of that happening is pretty slim with the BBA on the case, but there is always this chance that it can.

Claude sighs as they part and snuggles into Hiro's chest, before telling him bluntly, "You're still going to apologize to Kai, though."

Hiro sighs in defeat. "Ok, ok, I get it."

------

Miguel carefully changes the bandage on Kai's leg, pushing him back down on his bed when he tries to stand up. "Don't strain yourself, Kai."

"Sorry," Kai says, a small bashful smile on his lips, a little embarrass at all the trouble he's has caused. "I'm ok now," he says, trying to assure his boyfriend. "I just put too much pressure on my leg and I collapsed, but it's ok."

Miguel kneels in front of Kai, hands either side of his hips and looks him straight in the eyes, concern evident. "Are you really alright? I'm sure Hiro didn't mean what he said."

"I don't know," Kai says softly, leaning forward to gently lean his head against Miguel's, his hands on his shoulders. "Maybe there was more I could have done."

"You've done more than anyone could have dreamed of," Miguel tells him. He slips onto the bed next to him and pulls him into his arms, resting his chin in his hair. "It's ok, we'll be fine. Your plan will work, I know it."

Kai clings to him. "I won't let Barthez hurt you again."

Miguel nuzzles his cheek in his hair, breathing in his aroma. "Everything will be ok."

"I hope so…" Suddenly Kai's mobile phone starts ringing, causing the two to jump slightly in surprise, successfully pulling them back to reality. Kai grabs his bag and digs around for his phone. After a few more rings, he finally finds it and quickly pulls it out and flips it open. "Hello? Oh, Viktor. Yes. Really? When? What happened?" he suddenly sits up straight, a smile on his lips. "You're kidding? So, how long should it take? Ok, but the interview is still happening, but postponed? Yeah, ok, it gives us more time to gather everything we need. Yeah, ok. You do that. Bye."

Miguel sits in silence for a moment as Kai holds the phone to his chest and mumbles something under his breath. "What happened?" he asks softly, wrapping an arm around his shoulders again.

"The meeting between Barthez and the BBA has been postponed," Kai tells him as he smirks, clearly happy with this turn of events.

Miguel's eyes widen with surprise, not really believing it. "Really? Why?"

Kai chuckles. "Apparently when they were holding him in custody at the airport, they found an illegal substance hiding away in some of his luggage. He claims that it's merely medication for his bad back, or something. They want to keep him there for a little longer until they can either confirm his story or destroy it."

"You're kidding?" Miguel blinks, before smiling with relief and throwing his arms around Kai once again, pulling him into his lap and breathing a sigh. "So, the meeting has been postponed until further notice?"

"That's right," Kai nods, relief also in his voice, resting his head on his shoulder. "It gives us more time to prepare, and to go over our strategy with a fine tooth comb. This isn't over yet, but with Barthez' recent brushes with the law, his chances of actually succeeding diminishes immensely."

Miguel smiles. "His credibility is placed in doubt."

"Exactly. This couldn't have happened at a better time," Kai says, picking up the phone once again, and scrolling through the phone book, "I'll get Viktor and his team to do more research, anything that might help us. This also gives you more time to prepare," he lifts his head and looks him straight in the eyes. "That's good, right?"

Miguel smiles and gently kisses him. "Yeah, that is good."

Hah! Bet you didn't see that coming, did ya? Hiro has some serious groveling to do, doesn't he?

Hiro: I'm just grateful that you didn't have me insult Miguel in someway. Kai would have killed me!

Hmm, now that you've mentioned it, that would be interesting to see. He could have thrown the couch at you! X3 -laughs evilly and runs out of the room-

Kai: Er, Gypsy is busy at the moment, so please leave a review?

-suddenly pops back- Oh, and question. Should I pair Ray and Aaron together, or keep them as comedy relief? It's your choice, I don't mind either way.