A/N: I am so sorry for the wait, all of you, your reviews have been wonderful, and I am so glad that this story is worth your time. I just can't believe how long it's been, and for that I really am sorry. I promise not to make it a habit ;;;

Before I let you all go one more time however, I would like to address something that came to my attention in a recent review. The pairings remain as they stand. Kai/Rei, and Tala/Bryan. I don't plan on changing them. However, I would prefer it if my reviewers didn't dictate to me how my pairings are supposed to be.

They can be friends sure that's fine…

Actually they can be what ever I want them to be.

No I do not plan on changing the pairings. No, there isn't a hint of Tala/Kai although I could see where some of you may think that way. Kai and Tala are best friends. As close as brothers. They'd feel a little weird if they were ever to go out with each other (in this fic at least ;D). In anycase, no hard feelings, I simply needed that to be addressed. All reviews are important to me, I promise you.

And as for shameless smut…we're getting to it, I promise XD

So, here you are, chapter seventeen

Disclaimer: See chapter one.

Rei moved through the kitchen as silently as possible, trying to busy himself with pointless things. He didn't want to wake Kai, but the truth was he had absolutely no idea what to do with himself. Glancing at the clock, he realized it had been an hour and a half. Maxie would be home soon.

Stretching, for lack of anything better to do, the Chinese teen softly made his way towards the couch.

"Rei?" Kai's voice from his bedroom made him jump slightly.

"Yeah?" he answered gently, walking up to the door. Opening it, he peered in. The blunette was smiling at him, from where he was lying on the bed.

"What are you doing?" he grinned, propping his head up on his hand. Rei blinked owlishly for a moment, making Kai laugh.

"Did I wake you?" the tiger asked, smiling in confusion. His koi shook his head.

"Not really," he shrugged. "I was only half asleep anyway."

They stood in silence for a moment more before Rei sighed, his face the picture of calm. Kai watched him closely before moving to one side of the bed. The tiger smiled and entered the room, shutting the door behind himself.

Tala started badly when Max placed a pale hand on his own, nearly spilling his coffee all over the table and down the front of his shirt. The blonde frowned, and pulled away to grab some napkins.

"Are you alright?" he asked worriedly, ignoring the looks that the rest of the shop was giving them.

The redhead blinked before looking up at him. "I'll be fine…" he trailed off vaguely.

The truth was that he wasn't fine. He was scared, and unable to believe that anything would ever be fine again. Glancing back over at his companion, it was clear that Max knew that he had lied through his teeth. He felt suddenly guilty, and looked away.

"Sorry," the American teen offered quietly. "Stupid question."

Tala smiled in spite of himself. "Thanks."

Max understood and smiled back. Politely, he waited for Tala to finish off his drink before standing up, and starting their way home. For the most part, the last thing that either of them heard after that was the small tinkling of the bell over the shoppe's door as it closed behind them. They were both completely submerged in their own troubled thoughts.

The redhead glared at the sidewalk as they headed back to the apartment. He wasn't really aware of what was going on around him. Pictures…

Afraid of the answer, he wondered what they could be of. They had worked Bryan up…Bryan, his Bryan, the only one he could count on to ALWAYS be calm and collected given any circumstance. How could anyone help him stand and face this monster if his lover could not? Tala snarled to himself, angry that he'd begun to wilt so quickly. He had to be strong now, for everyone. The task sounded impossibly daunting, but it had to be done. None of them could give up now.

Max was trudging alone, keeping pace with Tala and dragging his feet at the same time. He was watching the people on the other side of the street with a seemingly calm, detached interest. But it was difficult to watch them, especially the ones with children; the ones who were happy. It was like watching a joy in life that he never know; in more ways than one.

He would do anything for his friends, he thought to himself, turning his gaze back to the streets ahead of him. That was one thing that he had always had the courage to do. But he couldn't help but feel that in some ways, the favor wasn't always returned. Frowning, the blonde reprimanded himself for even thinking that way. Tala, Kai, and Rei didn't want him involved in what ever it was that they were dealing with, because they wanted to protect him. They didn't want anyone put at risk. He should be glad that they would care that much, but a pang in his chest retaliated, opening the gates of rejection in his heart.

Did they think that he wasn't up to it? Or…perhaps he was just a liability to them all? The thought struck a chord deep inside of him. He hated the thought of being a burden to anyone. Max wondered suddenly what would happen when this whole fiasco was over. Would he be worth anything to them at all?

He was the one who told Rei to go for Kai. He was the one who supported him completely when Rei thought it couldn't be done. And now he was left to himself, forgotten for who he really was. Max was incredibly happy for his best friend, who had found so much in Kai and who had given him the strength he needed to find his own love. But the prickling sensation behind his eyes reminded him that he had been left behind, and no matter what he had now, he felt utterly alone.

Rei had Tala and Kai…and who knew if there were others that the Chinese teen hadn't told him about?

He didn't need Max anymore.

And what made the tears finally leak from his usually bright, blue eyes, was the reality that it had been he who had started it all.

"Maxie?"

The American teen jumped. He had almost forgotten that he had company. Hastily wiping his eyes, he looked up at Tala with a forced smile.

"Yeah?"

Tala's eyes narrowed at the sight of the younger man. He opened his mouth to ask him what was wrong but thought better of it. Instead he reached over and squeezed Max's small hand lightly.

"We're here."

The blonde blinked and turned to look up at the apartment building. For a long moment he just stared, before shaking his head, and letting go of the redheads hand. The older Russian watched him anxiously, wondering what had gotten into the cheerful teen. Finally, Max reached into his pocket and unclipped a key from his set of various others. Handing it to Tala, he forced another smile.

"Here, you go on ahead…tell Rei I'll just spend the night at Tyson's. I have my cell if—" he stopped short, as if the words pained him. "If he needs me."

Tala glanced from the key in his hand, to the large eyes in front of him and back again. Before he could say anything however, Max turned around and headed back up the sidewalk, burying his hands in his pockets. The redhead watched him for a few seconds, before he realized that Max really was walking away.

"Wait!" he cried loudly, closing his fist over the key and throwing up his hand in protest.

The blonde stopped, letting his answer to Tala's unspoken question float over his shoulder before he continued.

"I'll be fine."

Kai felt awkward and whole at the same time lying on the bed with Rei next to him. It was a strange set of emotions to experience at the same time, but he wouldn't have changed the moment for anything. Still, he flushed at the thought that he really had no idea of what to do next.

Rei had fallen asleep a few minutes after lying down next to him. He had been careful not to do anything to push Kai into a situation that he wasn't comfortable in. It had surprised the Russian to see this new level of understanding. But after his koi had drifted off, he couldn't help but think that he should have done more than lie next to Rei, admiring his golden eyes, and the way that his long midnight bangs fell against his handsome face.

Tentatively, he draped an arm over his koi's waist, and pulled him inches closer, pressing their bodies together only slightly. Rei stirred, sighing happily at the new proximity. He curled up closer to Kai, nuzzling his chest until he was comfortable again. Feeling better, the crimson-eyed teen grinned to himself and rested his chin delicately on the top of Rei's head. He shut his eyes, and let the moment wash over him.

It was then that he noticed it: a faint sound that hummed in time with Rei's breathing. It was coming from the tiger, from deep in his chest and the back of his throat. Kai couldn't stop himself from being surprised.

His koi was purring.

After the initial shock faded, he furrowed his brows and slid his hand up further, to rest flat between Rei's shoulder blades. He bit his lip as he grinned, feeling the vibrations of his breathing while he purred. And unable to stop himself, he buried his face in the tiger's hair and laughed as quietly as he could. Kai couldn't explain why it made him happy to hear the low, almost inaudible sound that Rei was making as he slept. Maybe it was the fact that it suited his koi so well, or the fact that it was him that had caused it. Whatever it was, it was perfect.

Kai looked over his shoulder suddenly, affectively waking Rei up, albeit reluctantly. Frowning, the Chinese teen stretched before turning to him.

"What is it?"

There was a knock on the door, and then a small 'click' as a key was turned in the lock out in the hall. Kai relaxed immediately with a long breath. Rei was bewildered. Kissing him lightly, the Russian stood up and waited for his koi to join him.

"It's Tala," he answered simply. Relieved, the tiger sighed and followed his lover out into the kitchen where Tala had just finished taking off his shoes. He looked troubled.

And he was alone.

Rei's heart skipped a beat. Not even glancing at Kai for an explanation he walked up to the redhead purposefully.

"Where's Max?" he asked, trying to sound casual. He was met with a cold blue gaze.

"He gave me this," the slender teen answered, handing him the key to apartment. "And told me to tell you that he'd spend the night at Tyson's, and that if you need him, he has his cell phone with him."

Kai watched his best friend closely. Tala was determined not to look him in the eye. The slate haired teen frowned deeply at this, and took a few steps closer as well.

"What happened?" he asked his friend firmly before Rei could do it. Finally, Tala met his gaze. What was disconcerting about it, was the deep breath he seemed to need to take to steel himself for their inevitable encounter.

"I don't know," he said truthfully. "But I—there's something you need to know." He swallowed hard, shifting his sharp stare between them both.

They all sat down at the table and listened as Tala recounted what he'd discovered in the alley, minus his phone call from Bryan. He was wise enough to keep that piece of information to himself until he and Kai were alone. Although, he wasn't sure if that was the reason he'd skipped over that part, and not because he was honestly afraid to bring up the subject with his best friend.

After he was finished, Kai nodded in agreement. Rei was glaring at the tabletop as if it was the furniture's fault for everything that had happened to them.

"It makes sense," the blunette finally admitted, rubbing his eyes. "Too much sense…"

"What does?" the tiger asked numbly.

"It's Boris," he answered in a breath. "It has to be."

"But he's in jail." Even as the words left his mouth Tala wanted to smack himself for being so ignorant. Like steel bars could stop Boris. Kai gave him a look that shared the thought.

"Well…Tala's right you know," Rei sighed. "It can't be him…it must be someone working for him."

The Russian's blinked. After a long silence that drove the seriousness of the situation into their very skin it seemed, Tala pressed the palms of his hands into his eyes.

"So Boris knows where we are," he muttered. "What a welcoming party."

Kai shook his head. "We don't know that he knows."

"But someone does," Rei countered. "Someone who may or may not have access to him."

"He's in Russia," Tala reminded them. "Whoever this person is, they're here in New York."

None of them could dispute the fact that this news rattled them to the core. Boris and Voltaire weren't going to go quietly, that much had been obvious. Suddenly this seemed like so much more than a charge of child abuse…

"Why is he so determined to get to you?" Rei spoke up, voicing these disturbing thoughts. "Why not just go through with the trial, and try to hold onto some shred of dignity among his colleagues?"

"Because his charade is over," Tala shrugged, keeping a close watch on Kai's reaction to the question. He seemed oblivious to it having ever been asked.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

The redhead turned to Kai for help. His friend glanced away fiercely.

"He doesn't care about any of that," the blunette finally answered. "I told you they were both sick."

Both men waited in a confused silence for the other to elaborate. And not even Tala expected the cryptic answer that they received.

"It started with me, and that's where they're determined to end it."

A/N: So there you have it. I felt bad for the thoughts running through Max's head during this chapter, but I could definitely see why he would feel alone. He's doing everything that he can to help and he isn't really being acknowledged for it. It definitely does seem like Rei is forgetting about his friend.

But you know he'd never do that.

…right?

Hmm, I guess we'll just have to see. Next chapter to be out soon I hope, as first term is creeping up on me, and I need to do too much for it. Ah well, I'll deal with it. Thank you again for all of your kind words and encouragement!