Author's notes: ::rubs neck:: yeah.. it's been a while, huh? Gaahhh.. the holidays are almost over! waaaahhhh!!! well here's the next chappie!!

Thanks to all the reviewers!! I don't have time to name each and every one of you, but I am soooooooo grateful to everyone who reviewed!!! XD

You know the disclaimer and stuff so I'm gonna shut up now

Chapter 3

It was Mariah's turn to stare at him in frank shock. Rei wondered vaguely whether he had looked like that when Mariah had proposed to him. Her mouth hung open, and her eyes widened in disbelief.

"Y- you're gay?" she asked, in a hoarse whisper.

Rei nodded. "That's why I can't marry you Mariah. I'm in love with Kai."

"H- how long?" her voice sunk to a barely audible mumble.

"How long have we been going out? Well, around 3 months now. I'm sorry, Mariah."

"I can't believe this." Mariah's voice suddenly grew stronger. There was a determined, almost fanatical look in her amber eyes. "I won't believe this. Unless you have true proof that you and Kai have been together, then I won't believe anything that blue haired idiot makes you say. I know he's forcing you to say this to me- there's no other explanation for it!"

Rei gave a loud gasp of exasperation. "Would you just accept the fact that I do not love you?"

Mariah simply shook her head, still trying to cope with everything she had just heard and started to leave the room. She paused at the doorway of the dojo.

"Do you have any proof that you and Kai-" she said his name with utter loathing "-are together?"

"I'll find you all the proof I can get." Rei replied confidently, though his heart was hammering away inside his chest.

A large teardrop rolled down Mariah's cheek, and she slunk off, dejected. Rei felt all the tension leave his body, and he sagged to the ground, exhausted.

"You look like shit, Ko- Rei." Kai stood above him, appearing from nowhere, an amused smirk twisting his lips. "I guess she found some pathetic excuse and won't accept the fact that you're screwing me in your spare time?"

Rei choked at Kai's blunt words, and stared at his captain in shock. Kai laughed, and it was a genuine laugh, carefree and happy. Rei realised that he had never really seen Kai happy in all the time that he had known the Russian boy.

"Hn. I didn't mean to be so... frank." Kai reached out, and gave a small smile as Rei let him pull him up. "So what did she say?"

"She thinks you're forcing me to do this, and she wants proof that we're together."

"What kind of proof?" Kai's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Does she want a tape of us-" he broke off, blushing a little. Rei also went red, and he nodded quickly to show he understood what Kai was getting at. "Because she could use that as blackmail."

"I'm truly sorry for bringing you into this, Kai. You don't deserve any more trouble in your life. You can back out at any time if you want." Rei said softly, hoping desperately that Kai wouldn't back out. He couldn't do this alone.

"Why would I do that?" Kai reached out and laid his hand on top of Rei's, liking the way their skin contrasted- his deathly pale, Rei's a nice golden tan. "I'm with you all the way."

Rei grinned at him. "Arigatou. This means a lot to me." he twisted his hand so that his palm lay flat against Kai's, and interlaced their fingers together. "Mm. I'm so tired. I suppose we've got to get some evidence, now. What about some photographs? We can get Kenny to take some for us, then put them around the dojo. Hopefully Mariah won't delve too deeply and check the dates for them or anything."

"Hn." Kai bent down slightly and wrapped one arm around Rei's knees and the other around his slim waist, never letting go of his hand while he did so.

Rei laughed as Kai picked him up bridal style, and swept him off towards the bedroom. He caught sight of Mariah glaring at them from one of the windows.

I guess she didn't stray too far. Oh well, at least she saw this, Rei thought, his spirits dampened slightly. Shit- what's she going to think? Has she realised that we're only pretending? If only Kai hadn't said that he would be back by 6pm...

"Is this our honeymoon then?" Rei asked, grinning broadly.

Kai shook his head, a small smile playing on his lips. "Wedding night." he whispered, his voice husky and low.

Rei felt the breath hitch in his throat. "R-really?" he whispered into Kai's smooth, creamy skin.

"Hai." Kai played Rei gently on the bed, looked at him for a moment or two then headed back for the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" Rei whispered. He felt disappointed and rejected. He had been expecting... something... he just wasn't sure what.

"To get the camera. We need some pictures and now." Kai hesitated. "You do realise that we're going to have to get in some pretty compromising positions."

Rei nodded slowly, gulping visibly. He couldn't help but suppress a shiver of excitement.

I'm going to have to kiss Kai... Rei's stomach was doing bellyflop after bellyflop.

Kai disappeared then came back a second later, carrying the digital camera. He climbed onto the bed next to Rei. "We're going to have to make it look like we took the pictures ourselves, while- umm- while..." he trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck.

Rei had never seen Kai look so uncomfortable before. Usually the Russian was cool, calm and collected. He was never flustered, never bothered by anything. If someone took out a machine gun and started blasting everything away, Kai would never have blinked an eyelid.

But now... now he was as uncomfortable as a first time mother discussing where babies came from to a 10 year old kid.

Probably worse, Rei mused.

Kai switched the camera on and beckoned to Rei to come closer. "Take off your jacket and switch your shirt with another one, so that Mariah won't know that the pictures were taken today." he instructed, as he took of his and replaced his grey shirt with a black singlet. "Help me to rough this bed up a bit."

Rei pulled the blankets off the bed and shoved them back on roughly, making it look like some strenuous activity had taken place on the bed he and Kai shared.

Kai grabbed Rei with one arm, and held the digital camera in front of them with the other. He pulled the neko jin close, so that their bodies were perfectly aligned. Rei wrapped his arms around Kai, feeling decidedly uncomfortable, yet there was a sense of ... well, he didn't know how to describe it. But it felt so right. It seemed natural.

Perfect... a voice at the back of his mind whispered. So perfect...

He pushed the voice out of his mind. After all, it was just longing. Kai would never love him.... and besides, he wasn't even sure he was gay!

Kai twisted around so that his lips were against Rei's neck, and he sucked at the patch of flushed skin. He felt Rei jump, obviously startled, then give in -extremely quickly- to his administrations.

"Quick. Take. Picture." Kai mumbled, making his way down Rei's neck. He couldn't help but feel that he was taking advantage of Rei. He wanted Rei, no, he needed Rei, but the neko jin hadn't given any sign of needing or even wanting him.

I shouldn't do this- this was my idea in the first place, Kai thought guiltily. He's probably disgusted by this. Oh God, what am I doing to him?

Rei quickly took some snaps, hoping that he was aiming in the right direction. His mind was everywhere but on the camera.

Oh God... please don't stop... please don't ever stop... Rei begged silently.

He gave a small mew of disappointment as Kai pulled away, an undecipherable look on the blue haired boy's face.

Kai sat back on the bed, smoothing the wrinkles out of his shirt and pants. He couldn't bring himself to look at Rei, not after what they- or rather, he had just done.

"Did you take enough pictures?" Kai asked, taking the camera from Rei's loose grip. He still couldn't look Rei in the eye, and opted instead to stare at Rei's hands, which were shaking slightly.

"Ummm..." Rei's mind quickly snapped back into focus, and out of the gutter. "Er, yeah. I think."

Kai glanced at the pictures that Rei had taken and had to suppress a gasp of surprise. The neko jin's golden eyes were filled with desire, and he seemed to be enjoying the kisses that Kai had planted on the raven haired blader's graceful neck.

Impossible. It's simply a figment of my imagination, that's all, Kai thought firmly.

"Hn. They'll pass, I guess. The only question now is whether Mariah believes them or not." Kai grunted, and got to his feet.

He stuck out his hand, heart pounding desperately within his chest. Would Rei accept it? Or would he reject it?

To his delight -though he would die before he admitted it- Rei accepted his hand, somewhat hesitantly, and stood next to him.

"So... what are we going to do now?" Rei asked softly.

"I have some business to take care of." Kai lied. "I'll see you tonight."

Rei hid the hurt he felt. Was Kai disgusted by him? But surely he had done nothing wrong- had he?

"Yeah. See you tonight." Rei called out as he watched Kai walk off, before he collapsed onto the ground, tears sliding down his tanned cheeks.

I wish I could just tell Kai how I feel... why does it have to be so damned hard?

Kai hadn't gone 10 steps away from the dojo befrore he was beset by a whirlwind of pink.

Mariah.

"What do you want?" Kai demanded coldly, before attempting to push past her, though he was inwardly wondering what she had to say. Had she finally given up on her conquest to win Rei's love?

Mariah sniffed audibly, her amber eyes filled with hurt. "Stay away from Rei, you bastard." she hissed.

Kai frowned. "I'll do whatever I like. Don't tell me what to do, and what not to do."

"You don't love him!" Mariah almost screamed out. She was nearly hysterical with rage and sorrow. "I do!"

"I love him, more than you'll ever know. He is everything to me." Kai replied truthfully. "And what's more, he loves me back."

"Rei could never love you." Mariah sneered. "First of all, he's not gay. He can't be- the elders would never allow it! And how could anyone love you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kai demanded through gritted teeth. The words hit a particularly soft spot within him.

She's right. No one could ever love me- how could they?

"You're an iceberg, Hiwatari. A cold block of ice."

"I am perfectly aware of what an iceberg is, Mariah." he spat out her name with utter loathing. "If you have nothing else worth my time?"

Mariah glared icily at him. "You'll never win Rei's love, Hiwatari, no matter how hard you try. Keep that in mind." she stormed off, leaving Kai standing by himself.

Kai leaned against the wall, frowning darkly, trying his hardest not to let his emotions show. He couldn't let that pink haired bitch know how badly her words had affected him.

He headed out towards the park, and sat in the same tree he and Rei had sat in the day before, and the day before that. He leaned back, relaxing as he felt the rough bark against his smooth, porcelain like skin.

What she had said was right. He was an iceberg- he had never shown any love to his teammates, and they were his only friends. How could Rei even consider loving him? It was impossible.

I'm living on an immature dream.

But Rei had seemed to enjoy what they had done earlier. Unless that was just a facade to make it look like he was enjoying it, so that Mariah would lose interest in him.

But the desire in his eyes... how could he fake that? Kai shook his head, trying to clear his muddled mind. He had to start thinking properly again- he couldn't act on his emotions. He had been taught from a young age not to have any emotions -they were weak, and useless.

But the other bladers had always been nagging at him to live by his heart, and not always by his head, Rei especially. But could he do that? Could he go by simply his emotions and tell Rei how he felt? What if Rei rejected him, and left the Bladebreakers? How could he live then?

Kai sat there for countless hours, musing over his true feelings and a certain raven haired neko jin. When it grew dark, he returned to the dojo, dragging his feet through the dirt, forcing himself to enter the dojo and face Rei.

"Heya Kai!" Max grinned almost maniacally at him.

Kai blinked, snapping out of his thoughts, and spotted the (empty) packet of sugar in the blond's hand.

"Granger!" Kai bellowed.

Tyson sprinted from his room. "What the hell?" he burst out as soon as he reached Kai. "What was that for? What have I done now?" he demanded.

"Is it, or is it not, a rule in our team that we never, ever let Taite have too much sugar?" Kai asked dangerously.

Tyson gulped. "Whoops..." he grinned sheepishly.

Kai rolled his eyes. "Deal with him. Where's Kon?"

Tyson grinned. "He's hiding from Mariah in the wardrobe. Mariah's been searching for him all afternoon."

"Where is she?" Kai clenched his fists angrily.

"Dunno." Tyson shrugged before running after Max.

Kai growled angrily, and entered the bedroom he and Rei shared. To his absolute anger and disgust, he found Mariah snooping his drawers.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" Kai shouted.

He'd obviously caught her unawares, judging by her shocked face. Kai advanced upon her, reaching for the closest object to throw at her. He was beyond pissed- one of the things he hated most was someone sorting through his personal belongings. His privacy was incredibly important to him, and he valued it dearly.

"Who the hell do you think you are, going through my stuff? Get the fuck out of here you goddamn whore!" the normally cool Russian grabbed her by the shirt and threw her -literally- out of the room.

Silence filled the room, broken by muffled sobs from outside. Kai sat down on the bed, seething with anger. He felt like throttling the pink haired girl.

"Kon. Get the hell out of the closet." Kai growled, though he felt too drained of energy to do anything except snap.

Rei slipped out of the closet, and sat down next to Kai. "Are you alright? What's the matter?" he asked, concerned. The neko jin reached out and laid his hand on top of Kai's, squeezing it gently.

"Mariah." Kai muttered. "She's leaving. And soon."

"What was she doing? I couldn't see anything except the closet door."

"She was looking through my stuff." Kai had regained most of his calm. "I think our act is working."

Our act... Is that all it is to you Kai? An act? Rei wondered sadly. He managed to smile at the boy next to him.

"Why?

"She gave me a lecture." Kai smirked.

Rei stifled a laugh. "She gave you a lecture? What did she say?"

That's rich, Rei thought, grinning. Mariah giving Kai a lecture.

Kai shrugged. "Nothing much. Nothing important, anyway."

Rei's eyes narrowed. "What did she say Kai?"

Maybe that's the reason why he's so angry at her, other than the fact that she was looking through his belongings. If she said anything to hurt him... Rei thought protectively, though he knew that Kai could take care of himself fine. But he's always had to look after himself. If it was me, I would be so tired of having to pick myself off the ground every time I fall. Surely Kai must be tired too? After all he's gone through?

"Just that you could never love me."

Well that's a lie, Rei mused. "And?"

A bitter smirk twisted Kai's lips. "And she called me an iceberg, and said that nobody could love me, and that I didn't deserve you."

"That's not true Kai!" Rei protested immediately, forcing Kai too look into his golden eyes. "And besides, surely you must be aware of the fact that most people only see the tip of the iceberg? There's a whole lot more underneath the surface."

Kai managed a tiny smile, though he didn't look convinced.

Kai's never this insecure, Rei thought anxiously. What's wrong with him?

"Kai? You want to go get something to eat?" he asked.

Kai paused for a moment, then shook his head slowly. "I might just go train for awhile. To unwind."

"Of course." Rei felt a little disappointed that Kai had rejected his offer of dinner, but he knew that training was extremely important to the blue haired Russian. "Well, I'm heading off to Rosie's- you know, the bar down the road. If you need me I'll be there."

Kai nodded. "Hn." he grunted half heartedly, his eyelids fluttering shut.

Rei watched him for a few seconds, then he stood up and left the room, immediately missing Kai's warmth. He grabbed his wallet and started walking down the road to Rosie's.

Rosie's was a small bar/ nightclub. It was divided in two, and Rei decided to stick to the bar part of Rosie's. The neko jin took a seat on one of the stools, and ordered a vodka cruiser, choosing to stick with low alcohol drinks. He didn't want to end up in a stranger's bed, or on the street, completely disorientated and without memory of what had happened. He hadn't been sitting down for long when a voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Let me buy you a drink."

Rei turned to face the owner of the voice, a good looking man in his mid twenties. He was tanned, with tousled light brown hair and blue eyes.

Rei smiled shyly. "No, I'm fine thanks." he said politely, feeling decidedly uncomfortable.

"Aw, come on, please?" a lazy grin had somehow spread its way across his rugged face. "Just one? Go on- it won't hurt."

Rei struggled to find a way of turning him down but still remain polite. He couldn't find one, so in the end he just nodded, a small, tight smile on his face.

"Sure. Why not?" Rei murmured.

The man gestured at the bartender, and ordered some alcoholic beverage Rei had never heard of before.

"I'm Mark by the way."

"Rei." the neko jin replied, looking suspiciously at his drink before taking a cautious sip.

Holy shit what the hell is in this? was the first thought that flashed through Rei's mind, as he choked on the drink.

Mark chuckled and patted him lightly on the back, his hand lingering a bit longer than necessary. "It takes a while to get used to, but you'll grow to like it. I know I sure did.

"I suppose..." Rei said doubtfully. He put the drink down, deciding not to drink anymore. "I take it you're not from around here?"

"No. I only just moved here from America. You a local?" Mark asked, moving his stool closer to Rei's, so that their knees were touching.

Rei was beyond uncomfortable now. Although Mark seemed nice enough, Rei didn't trust him one bit.

"No." Rei replied. "I travel a lot."

"Oh. That's a shame. So... how old are you?" Mark asked, somewhat slyly.

"17." Rei fiddled with his glass, and took another sip. Although he had decided not to drink anymore, it was a way to ignore Mark's piercing gaze. "And you?"

"26." Mark didn't look the slightest bit disturbed by the age difference. "Want to come around to my place?"

Rei stared at him in shock.

Now that was blunt.

"C'mon." Mark wheedled, and rested his hand on Rei's thigh.

The raven haired boy stiffened and pulled back. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing." Mark replied innocently, tracing an imaginary pattern on Rei's thigh. "So, will you come? It'll be fun!"

"Iie." Rei shook his head. "I really don't think it's a good idea."

"Why not?" Mark demanded.

"Well, for one thing, my boyfriend doesn't want me to be out for long." Rei accented the word, watching Mark's face carefully.

The American flinched, and went a little pale, but recovered quickly. He obviously didn't think that his boyfriend would be able to match him in strength.

Rei smirked. Oh, was he wrong. Kai may be younger, but he was definitely a lot stronger.

So what if Kai isn't actually my boyfriend... I'm sure he won't mind... at least, I hope not...

"I'm sure your boyfriend won't mind." Mark's voice was husky and seductive. "He doesn't even need to know."

"It wouldn't be right." Rei said quickly and started to climb off the stool.

However, Mark had other plans. His arm shot out, trapping Rei. "I don't think so."

Rei turned to face him, angry. "Let me go. Now."

"I just want to have a little bit of fun." Mark drawled, the lazy grin back in full force.

The neko jin bared his fangs at the American, who pulled away instantly, shocked.

"What the hell-" he began.

Rei used Mark's shock to his advantage and quickly jumped off. He had underestimated the American, however, as the blue eyed man grabbed hold of Rei's slender waist, and pulled the neko jin against his firm body.

Rei shuddered in disgust, and struggled wildly, but the older man was a lot stronger than him.

Mark grinned victoriously, and pulled Rei even closer. He felt someone tap his shoulder, but he ignored it.

The person who had tapped his shoulder cleared their throat. Mark gave a low growl of annoyance and turned around, keeping a firm hold on the still struggling boy in his arms.

"What do you want?" he snapped.

He came face to face with a boy around 18 or 19 years old, with two toned slate coloured hair and narrowed crimson eyes. He couldn't help but be intimidated by the younger male.

"If you could kindly keep your hands off my boyfriend?" the boy asked icily.

Mark cursed silently. Of course, the kid's boyfriend just had to come along.

"Oh, I never knew he was with someone!" Mark put on his best innocent expression.

Rei twisted around. "Kai?" he quickly ran out of Mark's now loose grasp and to his captain.

Kai wrapped strong arms around Rei's lithe figure, letting the neko jin bury his head into the crook of his neck.

"I think you did." Kai said to Mark, his crimson eyes showing no mercy whatsoever. "Bother Rei again, and I won't be so kind."

He twisted on his heel, holding Rei close to him, hoping the neko jin couldn't hear the thundering of his heart.

I can't believe that man had the nerve to hit on my Rei like that, Kai seethed silently. He remembered then that Rei wasn't his, and grinded his teeth together.

"You okay?" he asked Rei, concerned, though he tried his hardest not to show it.

"Yeah... I'm fine, I guess." Rei mumbled. "Why are you here?"

Kai flinched, hurt by Rei's words. What did he mean by asking him that? Didn't he want him here?

Did he want to stay with that man? Surely not...

Rei sensed that something was wrong, and pulled away so that he could look at Kai properly.

"I'm really glad you came." he said softly.

"So am I." Kai muttered unconsciously. "The bastard."

"Kai?" Rei stared at him. Was that jealousy in his captain's voice?

Impossible, Rei thought, bewildered.

Kai blinked several times, and realised that he had talked aloud. "He shouldn't have hit on you like that. Forcing you to drink alcohol, and asking indecent things."

"You heard? You were listening to our conversation? You were there?" Rei asked, frowning. "And you didn't do anything?"

Kai also frowned. "I didn't think it was wise to interrupt without knowing what was fully going on. Besides, surely you can take care of yourself?"

Rei flushed, and his mouth opened and closed as he tried to think up an excuse to Kai's remark. "I- I-"

Kai smirked. He pulled Rei close to him, his arm firmly wrapped around the neko jin's shoulders. "Let's go back to the dojo."

"Hai." Rei yawned. "It's late, and that alcohol did me no good. Thank you Kai.

Kai didn't reply, lost in his thoughts.

What would happen if I hadn't arrived? Kai wondered, dreading the answer. I'm just glad that Rei is safe and sound.

Author's notes: Kai was so totally OOC that chapter. I'll try my best to get him back to normal for the rest of the story, but I can't guarantee anything, sorry!!

I'll try to get the next chapter up more quickly but the exams are soon and yeah