Hey guys, sorry for the wait. Okay, there is lots of yummy yaoiness in this chapter, so I hope this makes up for the delay. Enjoy.

Chapter Six — Do You Remember?

More people had arrived overnight.

The Majestics had shown up, along with their various entourages. Max's parents were both there along with Takao's father and grandfather. Mr. Dickinson had also arrived overnight with a few Beyblade officials and high profile Beyblade figures, like Jazzman, Brad Best and AJ Topper. A few more family members from the other teams were there, but Kai had no interest in them. One person alone occupied his mind

Rei.

Kai had no idea what it was he was feeling every time he looked over at the smiling tiger, all he knew what that it was uncomfortable, yet warm and delightful at the same time. /Is this really love?/ Kai studied the graceful blader more, unaware that as he did so, another studied him.

Tala watched his former comrade with unreadable eyes. From the argument they'd had the day before, most people would assume that he was resentful and angry, but those close to him would have known different. He was deeply troubled and very upset about something, and it had to do with Kai.

/What the hell does he think he's doing, playing with me like that?/ Tala's eyes narrowed as he studied Kai further. /Pretending like he doesn't remember. Asshole./ Tala snorted and looked at Rei, trying to find out what was so fascinating about the blader to have caught Kai's attention.

/He is attractive I suppose, and graceful, but Kai was never one for a purely physical relationship. What is it about Rei that Kai likes so much? Personality?/ Tala smiled at the thought. /Perhaps, but there's something deeper to this./ Tala watched as Rei approached Kai and started a conversation with him, managing to elicit a smile from the stoic blader. Tala's eyes narrowed again. /What was that in Kai's eyes? Does he … could he even be capable of trusting Rei?/ Tala's eyes widened.

"It can't be," he whispered, shocked to find emotion in his voice. His vision blurred and he knew that he had tears in his eyes. Horrified. Tala walked stealthily over to the exit and walked out the door, hoping that no one else noticed his distress.

He leaned against the wall in the corridor outside the room, trying to regain his composure.

/What was that? I thought I was over all of that, but I suppose I'm not./ Tala flicked a glance to the room. "Kai," he hissed with a glare and walked out of the stadium and away from the merriment.

Two people noticed Tala's departure.

Kai dismissed it almost immediately, putting it to the back of his mind to deal with later. Right now, he was occupied by Rei.

The neko-jin noticed a small flicker of something in Kai's eyes as he watched Tala leave and Rei got a bit nervous. "Kai? Is something wrong?"

"No, everything's fine." There was something up, but Rei knew that if it was important Kai would tell him later.

"Cool." Rei smiled. "So, later do you wan to show me around Moscow? Last time I didn't get to se too many of the sights."

"Sure." Kai smiled at Rei's excitement. "We can go now if you want. It'll take more than a day to show you everything of interest, but there's a few things that I'd like to show you straight away."

"Do you think anyone will mind?" Rei looked around and noticed that everyone else was occupied by something. No one would notice their departure.

"Probably not. Do you want to go now? We don't have to if you don't want to."

"No I do. Let's go." Rei smiled and they made their way to the exit, saying goodbye to a few people as they passed.

"I wonder where they're going?" Max looked after Kai and Rei curiously than dismissed them as he turned back to his companions smiling. "I guess Kai's showing Rei around town."

Takao smiled, trying not to let his mind wander too far as he thought of the implications of Max's statement. "I guess. I wonder why everyone's leaving though?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, all the officials left after an hour, including Mr. D, all the parents and my grandpa have gone off to a bar some place. Tala's just gone and now Rei and Kai left too. So now it's just us, Kenny, the All-Stars, the White Tigers and the Majestics." Max looked around. Takao was right, only the three teams and the three members of the Bladebreakers were left in the huge hall.

"Hey, you're right. I don't think any one cares though. Look how much fun they're all having."

Well, fun was an interpretive word, but everyone did seem to be enjoying themselves. Gary, Kevin, Mariah and Lee were with Emily and Kenny, the later two being teased by Mariah. It was obvious that Kenny liked the American girl, he just wouldn't say anything and by the embarrassed look on Emily's face, she felt the same way. Lee was smiling at the two of them and holding onto Mariah's hand the whole while, as if stressing his claim to her, while the other White Tigers were laughing at Mariah's comments.

Having met the previous year at the world championships, the Majestics and the All-Stars got on fairly well and were enjoying a discussion about various things. Apparently, for their holiday, Judy had taken her team to Europe and they had toured much like the Bladebreakers had on their way to Russia. Robert and the others were talking about various sites they could have visited on their tour and offered to let them stay at their huge castles if ever they visited again.

Takao sighed. He wasn't having much fun. He really enjoyed being with Max, but all he really wanted to do was be somewhere alone with him.

"Hey Max?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you mind if we went somewhere more secluded?" /Damn, that so came out wrong. Sure it was what I was thinking, but I didn't mean to say that out loud./ Takao may have been berating himself quietly, but his expression hadn't changed at all.

Max looked at his friend closely, trying to find out what exactly Takao meant by his comment. When he couldn't find any sort of guile of hints in his voice or one his face, Max's heart drooped slightly. /I'd thought … but I shouldn't have. Takao has probably never thought of me like that./

Like his friend, Max didn't show any form of disappointment on his face as he agreed. "Sure." /At least I'll be alone with him, even if he doesn't think of me like I do him./

"Great, I think there's a garden or something around here somewhere." /Oh man, I wish he felt the same way I did./ Takao lead him through the same door that Kai and Rei had gone through the night before. They walked silently through the cold dead garden to the centre where the frozen fountain and the cold stone bench were situated.

Takao sat down, shivering slightly at the cold and gestured for Max to sit beside him.

"So Max, I never got to ask, how was your trip to see your mother?"

"It was great. I got to train with the All-Stars for a while, then dad and I went for a trip around America. He stayed with mum for a while after I left to come here with you."

"So, you think things will be going back to normal between them?"

Max smiled at his friend. "Hopefully. Dad understands why mum has to stay away a lot, but he still misses her a lot. So do I."

"I know how you feel. It's tough when dad leaves on one of his digs, but with Grandpa there it's not so bad."

"So, Takao, what did you do while I was gone?"

Takao sighed. "Not much. You're a fun person to be around Maxie, nothing much happens when you're not there."

"Oh, you're just saying that." Max pushed him playfully.

"No I'm not." Takao's sudden seriousness caught Max's attention. "I really missed you when you were gone, after all, it was almost six months."

Max looked at Takao intently. "I missed you too Takao, it wasn't the same without you." Max laughed. "It's strange, we've only known each other for whet, two years maybe and we sound like we've known each other a lifetime."

"It feels like a lifetime. I mean, in that first year everything happened, my whole life changed." Takao took Dragoon out of his pocket and smiled down at his bitbeast. "I'm a member of the world champion beyblading team, and I have the greatest friends in the world, that I trust and cherish more than almost everything in my life."

"More than food even?" Max's eyes twinkled.

"Hey. Let's not go to far." They both laughed at Takao's statement.

Max looked over at Takao, touched by his words. Well, maybe not the food joke, but by everything else. /Although I suppose he's not just talking about me. He just thinks of me as a friend. I hope I can be okay with just that./

"Hey Max?" Takao was worried by the serious and slightly melancholic expression on his friend's face. "You okay buddy?"

Max smiled cheerfully. "Sure."

Takao returned the smile. "That's good. Max, you know that I think you're my best friend don't you?"

"You do?"

"Yeah. I'm closer to you than anyone else on the team." /I guess this is it./ Takao steeled himself and looked directly into Max's eyes. "Do you remember when we first met?" Max nodded. "I took an instant liking to you. I know you think otherwise, but it takes a while before I completely accept other people as friends. But you were different. Do you want to know what I thought the first time I saw you?" Takao asked nervously.

"What?" /Where's this headed? He can't possibly be nervous around me, could he? Why would he be nervous … unless … no, he couldn't possibly think of me like that, could he?/ Max's breath hitched slightly and he grew a bit nervous too.

Takao shifted closer to Max, so that they were almost touching. Neither of them noticed the cold wind whipping around them, or the way their breath still steamed in the air even at the warmest part of the day. Both boys were captivated by the other's eyes.

"I was thinking about what it would be like to get to know you better, so I could …" Takao drifted off and looked down nervously.

"So you could what?" Max moved over so that they were now touching. He drew Takao's chin up so that he was looking Max in the eyes again. "So you could what?" he repeated.

"So I could kiss you." Takao's face flushed as he breathed those words and he looked away as Max's eyes widened in shock. "Max, I know you probably don't ever want to talk to me again, but I just had to —"

Takao's ramblings were cut off by Max's mouth on his own.

The blond boy kissed him gently, but forcefully, conveying his own intentions to his friend. Breaking it off after a short while, he stared into Takao's dazed eyes and smiled.

"I had the same thought running through my mind." Takao's eyes widened at the realisation that his crush returned his feelings and grinned.

"Well then, maybe we should do that again."

"I totally agree." Max smiled then Takao captured his lips again in a passionate kiss.