Chapter 34

Ashla: He is taller though, in the anime. He's almost as tall as Hiro. However, compared to Tala...

Prozacfairy: Ray/Kai are one of my favourite couples too. My absolute favourite is between Tala/Bryan and Lee/Kevin though.

Blazing Phoenix L: I just see Kai as tall because he has quite the presence. And I think he looks good tall.

Mizuyah: Double meaning? Well, I'll admit I've never looked at it that way before. Hm...

alex: I have a Ray/Bryan story which is called Centrepiece, but it's over at Adult Fan Fiction.

Koneko no Rei: Kai probably agreed to take Tyson to the video store to keep an eye on what he was renting for them to watch. And Kai really isn't short in G-Rev, it's just that the others have grown too. Besides, he's still got time to grow.

lilmatchgirl007: Snow shoved down his clothes. I'd imagine that to be cold.

Kawaii Neko-jin Lover: What do leeks taste like? I've never had them myself. Lets forgo on the leeks and give Tyson something I like but not many outside Australia do: Vegemite. ((evil grin))

Blake-Schawarz: Yes, when Ray next sees Kev and Lee he's certainly going to be in for a surprise. Ray's not a chocolate person, but have you seen Pay it Forward? I'm strong, but I cried.

Zap Cannon: Thankies

Angel Spirit: Kai's got the biggest room there, so it's no wonder Ray wants to move because as Ray was last he's probably got the smallest room there. And you wait until Ketsuron. There are some comparisons between it and the sizing of characters in G-Revolution.

Kuroneko Hikage: I measured myself yesterday and I most certainly am 5'4". And yes, poor Ray needs to grow.

babymar-mar: In my head, Kai is about 6'2" and Ray is about 5'11", or they will be by the end of the series.

Kit-Cat Caitlin: They're both taller than me. And village?

Time to break through the shell.

Kenny looked up at the sound of the knock on the door. He scowled, turning back to where he was tinkering. If he ignored it, then maybe they would go away and leave him alone. Couldn't they take a hint?

"You going to answer that, Chief?"

"Why?"

"Well, for one, they're your friends. And two, they're your team."

"That may be true, Dizzi, but until they come to see reason-"

"Just give them a chance. For me."

Kenny sighed, shaking his head. "Fine."

He moved toward the doorway, hesitating for a moment before he flicked the lock and turned the handle, tugging it open. Just outside Max and Ray looked up, faces breaking into grins at the sight of him.

"We come bearing gifts," Max announced, displaying the tray of cookies and milk before him as he chuckled softly.

"We just want to talk, Chief," Ray said, a strand of hair falling over his eye where it had come loose from his ponytail and bandanna. "Then we'll go, okay?"

Kenny frowned, hesitating for a moment before stepping back and letting them into his room. Straight away Max's eyes fell onto the desk, catching the green paint and moving toward it, grinning.

"New model of Draciel?"

"An experiment, really. I will need you to test it though."

"Well you can count me in." Max set the tray on the desk, picking up a glass and handing it to Kenny, his eyes dropping onto the black casing. "Hiya Diz."

"I was wondering when you would notice me. But oh no, I'm just the unimportant bit beast that everyone would rather ignore…"

"Ah come on Diz." Ray grinned. "You know we would have never gotten this far without you."

"Keep the compliments coming, cutie."

Kenny sighed and rubbed his eyes. "First Kai, now Ray?"

"Whoever said I was over Kai? That guys so hot I feel like my circuits are melting whenever he's in range."

Ray chuckled. "No arguments here."

"Nor here," Max agreed, looking toward Ray. "Nothing implied in that. Just a general observation."

"That's okay." Ray shrugged. "You can't deny the truth. Gotta admit Tyson's not half that bad either."

Kenny let out a cry, slapping his hands over his ears. "Why? Why do you insist upon talking about such things!"

"Oh come on Chief," Dizzi's voice was almost singsong, cheerful. "I like the fact that they're gay. Means I have someone to talk to about hot guys. Speaking of which, I agree with the Tyson thing. However, he's not really my type."

Ray nodded. "You and me both."

Max looked at him. "Well, you do seem to prefer to play with fire, Ray."

"Mm-hm," Dizzi agreed. "Just be careful not to get burnt."

"Kai's not so bad." Ray smiled. "The Phoenix only burns if you don't treat him right, that's all. Once you know how to handle him…"

"Out of curiosity, what's he like in bed!?"

Kenny's eyes widened. "Dizzi!"

"I wouldn't know," Ray answered the bit beast. "Kai and I have slept together, but we've never actually done it. Not yet anyway. We don't want to rule our relationship on sex, so we decided to get to know each other a bit better first."

"Nice move. Any juicy bits of gossip?"

"Nothing I'm gonna tell you, Diz."

"Aw, come on. Just a little bit? I promise I won't tell anyone."

"No, you'll just stick it on the net for all to see."

"Hey! I'm offended by that remark."

Max chuckled. "Ray does have a point, Dizzi. We found your website last year, Mrs so called 'Lady in the Know'."

"Oh boy… that wasn't me. I can prove it!"

Ray raised an eyebrow. "You can prove you were somewhere other than in your laptop and not connected to the internet?"

"Quit playing mind games, boyo, or I'll be forced to resort to drastic measures?"

"Blackmail?"

"Maybe."

"Dizzi!" Kenny sighed and shook his head. "Don't tell me the reason you wanted me to let them in was so you could sit there and argue over which guy is hotter than the other and who you're going to blackmail next?"

"Oh come on Chief," Dizzi protested. "I've missed them. Well, maybe not Tyson and Kai thought they're certainly eye-candy these days, but I've really missed Max and Ray."

Kenny looked at her. "I remember several remarks over how annoying Max was when you first met him."

"That was before we got to know him." Dizzi made the sound of clearing her throat. "Now I do believe you owe them an apology."

"A what!?"

"You've been acting rather immature of late, Chief."

"Who are you? My mother?"

"No, but I do know her phone number."

Ray looked up. "Sounds like it's your turn to be blackmailed, Chief."

"I'll say." Kenny sighed, shaking his head and looking away. "I really have nothing to say to you two."

"Kenny," Max bit his lip, setting down his glass. "We've been friends for a while now, and we've really been to hell and back, especially in the last Championship. We've had our rough patches, like the Dark Bladers, but we pulled through. What I'm trying to say Kenny, is that we're still here for you and that this is just one more rough patch to add to the list."

"We're still the same guys," Ray continued. "It's just that we're dating each other. At least this way we know that the group will be together rather than having an outside influence trying to drag one of us away."

Kenny looked up. "Like Mariah?"

"Exactly like Mariah." Ray frowned. "Also, it's better that we're together rather than just having crushes on each other. You see, when I had the crush on Kai it was distracting me from my blading, and now that I'm with him I'm finding it easier to concentrate. He's still a distraction, but I have better control over it now."

"So what you're saying is that it's a good thing you're with Kai?"

"It is, yes."

"Well you shouldn't have had a crush on him in the first place!"

"You can't control crushes, Kenny," Max said softly. "No matter how hard you try, no matter how much you deny them, you simply cannot control them. In fact, denying them or pushing them aside only makes them worse."

"Sometimes worse to the point that it goes beyond a crush." Ray scratched the back of his neck, frowning. "Which of course makes the distraction thing so bad you see nothing else but the object of your affections."

"Mm-hm." Max shook his head, closing his eyes and remembering. "You can barely even go in the same room as them without breaking into a sweat. Your every dream and fantasy is about them, and when they're not in the room you spend the entire time wondering where they are, and when they are there you wish they were elsewhere cause you're just not sure how long you can control yourself."

Ray blinked. "You went through that too?"

"Yeap." Max nodded. "What happens when a crush turns into full blown love."

Kenny looked from one to the other, trying to bite back his disgust. "So what is it you want me to do?"

"Come out of your room for one," Max said. "Maybe come out with us again to restaurants and stuff like that."

"Go back to the way things were," Ray agreed. "Outside the apartment things are going to be as they always were. It's inside that we're allowed to show our affections, and we promise not to do anything too bad."

"We'll keep it to the bedroom," Max agreed. "No wandering hands."

Kenny narrowed his eyes. "No kissing."

"Can't promise that," Ray said, shaking his head. "Can't make promises in terms of cuddling, snuggling, holding hands and what is said, either. But bedroom kisses, wandering hands and flat out major sexual innuendo to the point of pornography we will keep behind closed doors."

Kenny frowned. "And what do Tyson and Kai have to say about this?"

"Tyson's all for it," Max said. "It's not like we haven't already been doing it."

"Same." Ray nodded. "Some of the ideas were Kai's, including coming to talk to you. He's concerned for your wellbeing just as we are."

Kenny through for a long while before he nodded stiffly. "Fine. I'll go with it, just keep your word."

Max grinned. "Oh, we will. I promise."

"And one other thing." They looked at him. "No more of this sneaking into each others rooms late at night."

"Oh, you don't need to worry about that." Max and Ray exchanged a smug grin, Ray returning his attention to the youngest member of the group. "I spoke to Kai a little while ago, and it's agreed that Tyson will be moving in with Max and I will be moving in with Kai."

Kenny's shoulders slumped. "I can't win."

Poor Kenny. And I think Dizzi has missed her boys. :p

Hm. Today is the 28th December 2004. That means tomorrow is the 29th December, which means I will be 20...