Note: Allow me, first of all, to apologize for my absence. It's simple as school and work this time, thankfully. On the bright side, I have been working ahead on updates and this is the first of a few that I have prepared.

I'd like to wish a happy birthday to AzikaRue394 and a happy belated birthday to Kamakaze Kheri! This chapter is dedicated to the two of you as I know both of you are big MaxMariam fans.

Great thanks to Player Zero, Kamakaze Kheri, MePo, Kenrai, and AzikaRue394 for reviewing! Truly means a lot. Love hearing what you guys have to say!

Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade.

Dad/Daddy

It was always worse back home for Mariam.

She'd return to the small village she grew up in every few months, but she knew the time in between was growing longer. Joseph would be a few inches taller and his tongue would be sharper to catch up on lost time; her Mother would envelope her in a big hug, thankful to have another female around and to add that flavour that was missing to their household. Her Father, on the other hand, would behave differently.

It was evident to Mariam that he missed her a lot, but he was a silent man and often did not know how to handle his oldest child. Their conversations often ended in arguments and neither party knew how to express themselves properly, a lifetime of misunderstandings between them.

It didn't help that her Father went back and forth in acknowledging that she was involved with someone. One moment he would be spitting over her relationship with Max, the next he would be bringing boys over to their house as if he didn't exist. This, of course, lead to some disastrous blowups and the mounting conflict and stress eventually brought on the decision to bring the blond with her on these trips for support.

Max was unable to do much in the village, let alone these situations. He often just listened to Mariam after she reached her breaking point, nodding no matter if he could understand the language she was speaking or not. He didn't intrude or push, merely standing back with open arms. And though she was reluctant to admit it, Mariam found that his embrace was more soothing than anything she could ask for.

She felt bad with how her village treated outsiders, especially those carrying sacred bit beasts. Max was often left sitting under trees while Mariam took up whatever business her Father discovered for her. The first few times this occurred, she'd see Max in passing, lazing about by himself on the outskirts of town. He would later say this didn't bother him, but Mariam could see it in his eyes that he was uncomfortable. Max didn't have a very hard shell and was visibly hurt that a lot of the villagers didn't approve of his presence or their relationship.

And by a lot of the villagers, she meant the majority of the men. They were either too centered on what was once their mission, like her Father, or had their eyes on her in a way she did not appreciate. Max was in the way in any case. This meant they treated him with scowls or with harsh words in a language he did not understand.

The female population of the village, however, adored him. Older ladies in town would go out of their way to greet him, make sure he was comfortable and have small talk. Teenage girls would flutter about as well, breaking into giggles if he did as little as smile at them. Luckily this did not make Max arrogant, too oblivious to notice their affection and too absorbed in his own feelings to see any traces of jealousy Mariam gave off.

But for a long time Max remained by himself under some tree while Mariam was away. Then, one day, it suddenly changed. She had been cooling off after an argument at her Mother's work when chatter sprung up amongst some women who were looking out a window. Hearing something about the "sweet blond visiting" Mariam decided to peek out the window as well and there Max was, surrounded by a group of young girls. Intrigued, Mariam raised an eyebrow and watched closer.

Sitting cross legged on the ground, Max watched the girls, who were about five or six, weave flowers together to make crowns for their heads. Their laughter could be heard throughout the town and they seemed to be overjoyed at something Max had said to them. Moments later Max had flowers of his own in his hands as he concentrated on doing the same weaving movements, the little girls coaxing him with glee. Sitting around him, they helped him finish another flower crown and the moment he put it on his head with a smile they erupted into excited shrieks.

This started a multitude of things within the village. For one, whenever Max was under a tree he was no longer alone. The little girls in town loved the blond and quickly opened up their imaginative world to include him. Max told Mariam that they liked to pretend they were princesses, hence the crowns, and he'd go along with their games because it made them so happy. It was sweet, but Mariam acted indifferent to his actions as she did not want people to think she was going soft.

The men in town rolled their eyes and their tongues were weighed down by countless snide remarks. The women, alternatively, found Max's behaviour to be one of the sweetest things they had ever seen and it had become the talk of the town. They'd monitor windows to see what game they were playing and even Mariam would throw the blond a curious glance throughout the day.

The little girls just oozed adoration for Max. Mariam overheard the odd conversation between these girls' Mothers as well as the discussions that erupted when the girls themselves came into earshot. They would speak about how he lifted them up to reach the best flowers that were in bloom on the trees or how he gave them piggybacks pretending to be their trusty steed.

The snide boys in town personally loved how Max just let the girls put flowers in his hair as he sit or lay nonchalantly under a tree. They made it a point to tell Mariam that her boyfriend wasn't much of a man, leaving the blue haired girl to roll her eyes. She found this side of him endearing and truthfully she didn't mind picking the odd flower out of his hair afterwards if it meant she could get close to him.

And it wasn't just the older males in town that were standoffish towards Max; it seeped down to the younger generation. Mariam took note that the young boys in town, when not in training to follow in the warrior footsteps, regarded the blond playing with the girls skeptically. Their eyes were trained in curiosity as Max would lift the girls high above his shoulders or scramble around in their antics. It was clear they were confused as to why a boy the same age as some of the warriors was fooling around in such a way and as the games continued they seemed to feel a little left out.

Of course, Max also noticed this. One day he called out to them to join in some imaginative game the little girls created and they did, reluctantly, join. It took them a little while, but they did eventually warm to the idea of acting their age and just laughing giddily as events unfolded before them. In a few days they were tackling Max to the ground and wrestling with him to protect their princesses, though they too enjoyed the odd piggyback ride courtesy of the young teen.

The warriors saw this as a disgrace and openly scowled at the behaviour their younger generation was displaying and the little boys would stray from the activity for a little while. Fun always trumped their closed mindedness in the end as the boys would be leaping back at Max in a matter of hours.

The women in town loved Max's patience and attitude with the kids, constantly commenting about how sweet he was to them for never turning them away. These comments were mentioned even louder when they noted Mariam's presence, their eyes locked on her with their all-knowing gazes. They went out of their way to tell the girl that Max was absolutely perfect and she knew very well that their top priority in that definition was for children. Mariam merely ignored the impending subject, often acting as if her boyfriend's behaviour was average.

Deep down she knew it was spectacular. That Max was absolutely amazing with children and that he loved spending time with them indefinitely, as long as she wasn't around to get distracted by, and that without a doubt his life involved kids of his own. Unfortunately, Mariam knew kids were never part of her plan, not having that deep affection and patience for them like her boyfriend. As lovely and heart-wrenching watching Max fool around was, Mariam simply couldn't imagine being a Mother.

"Excuse me, Mariam?" One day Mariam had been taking a break outside when a little girl had wandered over to her, hands behind her back shyly. "Max wanted me to give these to you!" She revealed a handful of picked flowers and held them forward for the blue haired teenager.

"Oh?" Mariam asked taking the flowers carefully.

"He said he was too shy to give these to you…," the little girl continued in a hushed tone, leaning on her toes forward to spread the secret. "We helped him pick the flowers because he didn't know how to tell you how much he liked you. He said you were really, really, really beautiful." The girl giggled. "Are you his girlfriend, Mariam? If not, I think you should be. He talks about you a lot and he gives great piggyback rides."

"Well, he might have to be my boyfriend if he keeps saying such nice things about me." It was hard for Mariam, having to withhold her typical sarcasm at his cheesy gesture. Instead she locked her gaze on Max, who was under a tree as kids slowly dispersed away from him as lunch time settled in. "I think I'll go thank him for the flowers."

The little girl smiled, "Okay! Bye Mariam."

Max had noticed Mariam approach him, a smile on his face as he lifted himself up off the grassy ground. "What do I owe this honour? I usually don't get to see you until it's pretty late."

"I heard a rumour that you may have a thing for me; wanted to go right to the source to see if it's true." Mariam sighed taking in his appearance now that they were reunited under one of the trees that decorated the village. His hair was more disheveled than usual and his clothes showed signs of grass stains and mud, but what bothered her was the fresh scrape that stood out on his chin. "What happened to your face?"

"Huh? Oh, I was accidentally kicked by one of the kids when we were wrestling." Mariam's hand gently reached out to cup his cheek, her thumb brushing against the wound with care. Max had never been fond of being nursed over, but when Mariam let her guard down enough to shower him with her undivided attention and care he found himself not bothered too much. "I'd appreciate it if you kissed it better."

"Hmm." Mariam hummed in amusement, dropping her hand down to his shoulder. "I think you should stop hanging around Michael and Eddy, you're picking up some bad habits."

Max laughed, "I was just kidding." He took in her appearance with his usual dorky smile stuck to his face, her eyes rolling at his utter admiration. "Your Dad giving you a hard time?"

"As always."

"Is something else bothering you…?" Mariam eyed him curiously; concern was etched on his face as he read into her expression. "It's just… usually you're angry. You kind of look like something is bugging you. Do you want to talk about it…?"

Max never pressured situations with Mariam. He knew all too well that she just bottled things up until she exploded and there was no real use in constantly poking at the truth. When Mariam wanted to talk about something, she picked the time. Rushing her only caused monumental arguments with word flinging of varying languages and the odd soul-crushing silence that tormented Max. The blond quickly realized it was best to just be there when she wanted him around, silent but as doting at ever.

She bit her lip in deep thought for a moment, removing her hand from her boyfriend's shoulder to cross her arms. "Just you and those kids…."

Max quirked an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"It's nothing." Mariam tried to shrug him off, her voice clearly on edge as she turned her attention elsewhere. She decided to walk further away from the tree and the village.

Max followed her. "Doesn't sound like nothing." He wiped at his forehead with the back of his hand removing the beads of sweat that had gathered from his adventurous morning. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No." She answered swiftly. Silent, Mariam listened to Max's footsteps behind her. "You're just really good with those kids. You're the talk of the town." This wasn't necessarily new to the American; he caused gossip in the village when he wasn't even there.

Picking up the pace, Max ducked in front of her. He sighed reaching out and putting a stop to her journey; he placed his hands softly on her arms. "Listen… I can stop hanging out with the kids so much if the people in town are bothering you…."

"No…," Mariam hesitated, "It's not that either…. It's… it's…. I don't want kids."

Max stared at her blankly for a few moments, opening and closing his mouth in confusion a couple times. "I… what? Where did that come from?" His face turned a slight shade of red and his tender grip on her arms faltered at the subject matter.

"It's pretty obvious Max. You're great with kids, you love them. It would be stupid for you to grow up and not have them," Mariam explained curtly. His blue eyes were locked on her incredulously; he had been struck right out of left field and was now floundering to know where this was going. "I'm not. I don't have the patience and, to tell you the truth, I've never wanted any. It would be selfish of me to keep you from something so important in your life…."

"Are you trying to break up with me…? When did this suddenly become such a big thing?" Max's grip tightened on her arms again, shuffling closer. "Mar, we're still just teens. I haven't really decided if I want kids yet, so…."

Mariam's gaze hardened on him. "Liar. I think it is pretty obvious we have completely different ideas on our future. I can't imagine you without kids. My future doesn't have that."

"If that's what you think then I guess our ideas are really different," the blond sighed. He pulled a smile, letting his eyes fall to the grass and their feet. "The only thing I know for sure about my future is that you're in it. I don't see kids… at least not yet, anyway."

"You don't see kids?" Mariam challenged. This was love struck Max they were talking about, the boy who fell over his words when she got within a foot of him.

"Well… not seriously."

"My point exactly."

"You're mad because I think of our future together?" Max said skeptically. "Mariam, I was trying to say… no matter what I daydream up, only one factor stays the same. You. You're my future, not these imaginary kids. Maybe one day they'll mean a lot more to me, but for right now when I think about what is going to happen down the road, I see you. If we have kids, we have kids. If we don't, we don't. All I know is that I want you."

"You're ridiculous." Mariam met his gaze cautiously; a smile was worn on his face sincerely. "You can't tell me… I couldn't live with myself if I stopped you from having something you really wanted."

"Then don't break up with me over something that doesn't matter right now," Max said honestly, "We have plenty of time to talk about this stuff in our future. I don't really know how to make it any clearer that you're the only thing I really want right now in my life. I don't really know what you want me to say."

"I don't know," Mariam admitted. She felt like she was just dumping all of her built-up emotions on Max and she really didn't know what she expected. She didn't want to break up with him over something that was, as he had stated earlier, so far in their lives. But the way he put her up on a pedestal made her feel uneasy, as if he truly believed she trumped every other situation in his life when she knew that was impossible. "Promise me that… I don't know…. Just promise me you won't throw your life away for me."

It was obvious to Max that she was being completely serious. She didn't want to hold him back from something he hadn't even really thought of yet. "I promise," he nodded, "But you have to promise me the same thing. For anything, not just kids."

Mariam nodded in agreement. The serious tension between them was draining and the blue haired girl just gave up and embraced the boy, her arms locked around his neck tightly. He returned the gesture instantly knowing how hard it was for the girl to open up.

"Can you do me one more favour?" Mariam requested, her breath at his ear. Max hummed in acknowledgement. "Could you tone down how cute you are with those kids? It's distracting."