Chorus:
Could it be,
You and I,
Never imagined!
Could it be,
Suddenly,
I'm fallin' for you?
(I am falling!)
Could it be,
You were right here beside me,
And I never knew?
Could it be,
That it's true,
That it's you?
Note: Inspired by Maxi's ending scene and Christy Carlson Romano's 'Could It Be' I planned on this to be a oneshot at first, but instead, it turned into a multi-chapter fic in my head, but hopefully, it'll be quite a short one! This is my first SC fic, so I hope that it isn't too bad! Lol Oh, and just a little warning – there's a little bit of Xianghua bashing here; no offence to you Xianghua fans, it's just vital for the fic –apologetic smile-
Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Calibur or any of its characters and such otherwise there'd definitely be a lot more shounen-ai loving!
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Scenes flashed through Maxi's mind, each as vividly as the last – scenes of when he was overtaken by Soul Edge, the memories that he lost… but most of all; at the very end, the clearest memory, when he had found Soul Edge once more, and hoped to destroy it, only to possessed by the sword again – so narrowly saved by a dear friend that he had forgotten; Kilik. The pirate didn't know why, but the name alone sent pleasurable shivers down his spine; and when he looked at the twenty-three-year-old rod-wielder, he couldn't help but look away, finding his face oddly heating up.
If Maxi was to be honest with himself, he'd have to say that he didn't like Xianghua; not one bit – and when he saw her hanging off of Kilik's arm on his ship, after they had started travelling together once more, he wanted to make her walk the plank; but of course, he only refrained from doing so, because he knew that that would upset Kilik; but oh so many times had he been sorely tempted.
Whenever Kilik and him would just be on deck, enjoying the sunset in each other's company, miraculously she'd appear to latch unto Kilik's arm and start nattering on about something absolutely useless that Maxi couldn't care less about. However, Kilik showed deep interest in whatever Xianghua had to say; and Maxi thought him to be a saint for it. Left in a room with Xianghua on his own for thirty minutes or more, Maxi thought that he might just 'accidentally' nunchaku her to death, because his already damaged, newly restored sanity would simply snap.
How can he stand her! Maxi asked himself at least once a day, especially now when he was alone in his own cabin, staring up at his own ceiling; as wanton thoughts drifted through his mind about a certain brown haired staff user. Shaking his head furiously, Maxi cursed his now flushed face. Geez – I am not gay! He told himself that about the same number of times he wondered: 'How on earth can he stand her!' in a day; sometimes even more frequently, especially when Kilik simply wore nothing upon his torso; shamelessly oblivious to the effects that he had on females, and a certain dark haired pirate; but still, Maxi believed that he wasn't gay – and not falling for his saviour and friend.
Giving up on trying to get any sleep that night, Maxi wandered from his cabin unto the deck, to breathe in the cool, crisp night air. Scanning the area around him, to his delight, he found a solitary figure sitting upon a crate, staring out at sea from the ship's front. As he approached, Maxi's heart decided to try running a marathon whilst doing a myriad of acrobatics, including somersaults.
"Hey," he greeted in a coarser voice than usual, and a familiar brown bob of hair jerked and soft brown eyes met his own ochre hues.
"Maxi?"
"Who else?" he laughed, shaking his head as he took a seat beside Kilik; thankful that the dark night hid his blushing face as his arm made contact with his; skin on skin. "Hey – where's that annoy – I mean Xianghua?" he didn't even have to look at Kilik to know that his eyebrow was quirked, but in amusement or anger, Maxi didn't know.
"The 'annoy – I mean Xianghua'?" Kilik mimicked perfectly. "Hey – what's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing," Maxi gave a low chuckle, hoping to play it off as a joke. "Anyway! Where is she?"
"Sleeping downstairs," Kilik answered with a small frown. "What are you doing up anyway?"
"Could say the same for you," the older man answered evenly.
"What? Having nightmares about mussed hair?" Kilik quipped with a wicked smile before locking Maxi into another headlock and ruffling his hair in an almost merciless manner.
"Wha-wha!" struggling in their usual frolic, Maxi couldn't help but smile, secretly enjoying their little banter as he readied himself for his usual retort of: "Aw man, you messed up my hair," when Kilik let go of him.
Laughing, the two men returned to sitting side-by-side, quietly enjoying the peace and quiet before Kilik spoke again. "… So – why are you awake?" he asked, turning to face the pirate with a curious gaze.
"Honestly? I have no idea, I just couldn't sleep, you?"
"Hm, you could say that. Truthfully, I just wanted to come outside and see the stars," Kilik smiled, looking upwards into the night sky, dotted with those tiny globes that seemed so teasingly near.
"Ooh, who's in a romantic mood, huh?" Maxi couldn't help but jest.
"Yea, you wished," Kilik's voice was strangely despondent as the younger man looked down at his hands with the kind of forlorn look that only a kicked puppy could truly master; but his impression came pretty close to perfection as Maxi felt a strangely protective feeling wash over him, a need to hug the other man, but instead, he settled for second best, and placed a comforting hand upon his shoulder.
"Hey man, why so down?" he asked, as much concerned as he was curious. Kilik wasn't exactly the Easter Bunny sort of always happy kind of guy, but rarely was he ever as down as this. In fact, if memory served correctly, this was the first time Maxi had ever seen him like this. "Is it Xianghua?" Maxi dared himself to ask, finding it suddenly harder to swallow than before.
"Y-yea… you could say that," Kilik replied, and for some reason, unbeknown to him, Maxi's chest was abruptly hurting; but not the sort of pain that you felt when you've just been hit or struck down in battle – no, this was a different sort of pain; an internal kind – he felt as if he'd just been stabbed in the heart; and as Kilik continued to speak, it felt as if the blade was being continually twisted. "You know… I can't help but wonder… if she likes me, y'know? Xianghua can be so hard to read at times," Kilik sighed, shaking his head. "Do you think she likes me, Maxi?"
"…" Maxi wanted to cry right then. "Yea… she does, Kilik, she really does," he sighed, letting his hand slip from his friend's shoulders. He couldn't understand why Kilik's 'confession' hurt so much, but he knew that he didn't want to stay and hear anymore. "Yea, Kilik – all you have to do is… well – talk to her. I bet you guys would make a swell couple," and no matter how hard he tried to force some imitation of cheer in his voice, his tone was still lifeless and drab as the pirate stood up and stretched. "Well… uh – I'm gonna be going back to bed now," and with that, Maxi walked away, trying so hard not to run.
"Maxi?" Kilik called out, blinking, wondering what was wrong with his friend as he stared at Maxi's retreating back. "Maxi!" but his friend didn't turn.
In the safety of his own cabin, Maxi locked the doors. He couldn't believe it. He was crying. Even when his crew had been slain by Astaroth, he hadn't cried; but now, hearing Kilik's voiced longing of Xianghua – it hurt. It hurt so much that here he was, shedding a mini river upon his bed.
M-maybe… I am gay… but… I'm a gay that's hopelessly in love. Aw, man… that sucks!
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Phew –breathes a sigh of relief- Well – that's the first chapter done! Lol
Dragonfly
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