Title: Promises Unkept

Rating: R

Warnings: Yaoi, Lemon, Angst

Pairing: Heh, heh, heh, my little secret until you read further and find out!

Disclaimer: I don't own shit so please don't sue. The song, Shattered (The Cranberries) obviously isn't mine, so don't say I said it was!

AN: Well, well, well, you all decided to keep reading! Wonderful! Well, now you get to see who the mystery pairing is! A lot of people guessed Kai/Max while others said Tyson/Max…you'll just have to see!! Don't hurt me, those of you who hate the pairing, please, I'd rather not die before the fic is finished *knocks on wood*.  

My Definition of Alone...

The morning came and went, soon the time slipping into the late afternoon and still no movement from the young blond who lay tranquil in the hotel bed. Everyone was thankful that his wounds hadn't been so deep to arouse questions, hoping to keep their American friend's secret just that for a little longer.

It came as quite the shock to all of them, especially Tyson who thought he knew Max from outside to in like no other. The Japanese blader hadn't left his side since he had found out about what had happened. Even then he blamed himself for not noticing anything. It was Kai who gave him a good jolt back into reality, telling him no one could have known.

~I'm trying to control myself
So please don't stand in my way
I've waited for the longest time
This is what I wanted in my way
~

Actors perform for a reason, so nobody else can see who they are. That's exactly what Max Tate was, an actor, a faker, someone pretending to be something he's not and never could be...someone happy and at peace with everything.

The clock continued to tick menacingly behind the one who currently stood, looming over Max, his thoughts racing. Had he not found the boy just then, than there wouldn't have been any hope, Max would have died the night before without anybody knowing until long after. Thank God that hadn't happened.

~Move over, move over
There's a climax coming in my way
Move over, move over
There's a climax coming in my way
~

The blond stirred, his eyes squeezing further closed before opening widely, and searching the room for any other signs of life.

Rei rushed forward, settling himself down on the bed beside his teammate, gently cradling his hand. He brushed a few strands of soft cornflower hair away from the seemingly innocent blue eyes which had glossed over in fear and doubt. He had paled considerably, worried about what the Chinese boy would think of him.

~I don't like you, don't compromise
Shattered by your weakness
Shattered by your smile
And I'm not very fond of you, and your lies
Shattered by your weaknesses
Shattered by your smile
~

"Maxie, are you...feeling better?" Rei regretted asking that question. He knew Max wasn't feeling okay; otherwise they wouldn't be in the situation. It was stupid of him to bother trying to be nice, though he had to be for the younger male's sake.

Despite all he was feeling inside, Max nodded in response to Rei's question, slowly trying to raise himself off of the mattress, but he was forced back down again by the pain stemming from his wrist and coursing through the rest of his body, clutching his heart none to gently in a tight envelope of ache.

"Take these; they should help the pain..." Rei mumbled, lines of soft crystal tears streaming down the length of his face, falling sorrowfully down onto Max's outstretched hand. Rei placed two painkillers in the other's palm, closing his fingers around them.

"Rei? Do you hate me now too?" Max asked pitifully, leaning closer to the one sitting before him, his head bent low to his chest, body shaking with silent sobs.

"Of course not!" The Chinese beyblader muttered, his voice abnormally lifeless. "But..." An uncomfortable silence rested over the two in a tight fitting blanket of unsure emotions.

~All the kids are going back to school
The summer's over it's the golden rule
And now I'm coming out to play
So please don't stand in my way
And all the things that seemed once to be
So important to me
Seem so trivial now that I can see
~

"Why?" The sudden question surprised them both and Rei blushed at his forwardness, immediately lamenting when he saw the hurtful look which graced the blonde's features.

"I-I..."Max paused, so many memories charging to the front of his jumbled mind before he had the time to sort any of them out. "You wouldn't understand..."

"You're right, I probably wouldn't...What could be so horrible that you'd have to throw your life away and leave others with the blame---"

"I didn't mean---"

"You can't just do that to us Max! Why didn't you say anything to anyone before!? We would have helped! Instead you go off and---God, I---" Rei choked on his words, burying his head in the crook of Max's neck, his fingernails biting into the skin of the fair haired boy's shoulder. Max held him, stroking the amber eyed boys hair while he shook with cries of despair and betrayal...

~Move over, move over
There's a climax coming my way
~

He hadn't even known what kind of effect this would have on the others. He never thought for a moment that they would have felt this way...That he would feel this way about him...A warm feeling burst in his stomach, enveloping him in a delicious cloud of peace and calm, something he hadn't found in years.

"Please don't cry over me..." Max whispered, nuzzling the side of his face into the long strands of raven hair. He didn't want to let go of the only warmth he had felt in years, the only affection he was able to grasp. He wondered if any of the others would feel this way, drugging him with their touch, their very breath. Why hadn't he felt this before when the elder boy was around?

Because this never happened before, His mind reasoned, shaking off any possibilities of real emotion.

~Don't like you, don't compromise
Shattered by your weakness
Shattered by your smile
And I'm not very fond of you, and your lies
Shattered by your weaknesses
Shattered by your smile
~

On the contrary, Rei knew exactly how he felt, how he'd felt for more than a year and a half. Max was his only link to life itself, his only beam of light when the darkness surrounded him. Never had he known that it would come down to this. Life and Death, Light and Dark, Cold and Hot...all so different. All so much within Max...

How he loved him. Of course, Rei knew love was a stronger word than how he felt but he identified the feeling as there and real. 

"Promise me," Rei began, not too certain of how he could phrase what he had to say next. "Promise me you won't do anything like that again..."

The silence stretched for an eternity, the atmosphere in the room hazed with the different emotions flying freely within it.

"Max, please?"

Slowly the boy nodded, leaning into Rei's embrace, pressing himself against the Asian boy as more of the warmth engulfed him.

"I'll help you through this; just don't ever do that again..." Rei tightened his grip on Max, fearing that if he let go, Max would slip away forever.

~Please don't stand in my way~

I want to believe you can help me, Rei, but somehow...I can't…I'm so sorry…