Disclaimer: I don't own snow, an army, 10 cats or beyblade.
I apologize for the lateness of this chapter. Remember Nawmay? The guy who wrote the chapter in Borderline where everyone died? Well Nawmay's father ended up passing away February 1st. Nawmay and I have an 8 year old daughter together so I was making sure I was there for him and her and whatever else. Nawmay is still going through hell right now, so I'm spending some of my off days making sure he and his family are doing ok. Nawmay and I have been separated for 6 years now, but he's a very dear friend to me. His family is my family. He's gone through a lot of changes this year besides his father's death. Which has been a partial reason why the chapters are so sparatic. I could go on, but you're here for Breach, not our life story.
Also, my job will be having me work from home. The schools have also been closed, so I will be homeschooling my daughter and half the city has been shut down. Welcome to the Apocalypse!
Once again we come to a heavily re-written chapter. It was so bad, I really rushed through it on the first draft, because there is so many other, bigger better scenes I wanted to write, but these chapters are absolutely 100% necessary for character development. The other reason, is I kinda hate Christmas. Halloween is way more my scene.
The problem is Tyson and the Bladebreakers love Christmas. So it's been a lot of wrestling with the characters and my own wants and needs. But this is one of the chapters I kinda let the characters write.
I know a lot of you are like "hurry up and get to the plot", but much like Borderline, this story will slowly unfold. There's a LOT of loose ends from Borderline that need to be tied up. I'm basically re-writtng all the chapters from this point forward from scratch. Expect longer chapters for the Christmas arc cause I'm just trying to get it done so I can move on with the plot.
No warnings for this chapter, just another light-hearted, fun chapter.
There was only one problem with the four psychotic, beyblading Russians; They were fucking alcoholics! After the Hiwatari-Kinomiya house was fully decorated, and they had gone to see the Christmas lights around town, they spent the night drinking, playing several rounds of Russian Dice, a drinking game that was designed that the more drunk you were, the better you were at rolling what you needed. At least that's what Bryan claimed. Whether or not it was true, Tyson couldn't remember.
All he knew was he woke up to the smell of bacon and when came to his senses, he found himself on the living room floor.
"Heeeyy Tyson!" came the cheerful voice of Spencer. "You were a real trooper! Drank an entire two-six of vodka to yourself!"
"I did?" That's when his stomach did a somersault. He raced to the nearest bathroom and started hurling last night's festivities into the porcelain bowl. He heard Ian's voice from the doorway.
"Hung over? Nasty. This will help."
When Tyson was sure there was nothing in his guts, he looked at the water and the Tylenol the indigo-haired beyblader was offering. "Thanks man." he shoved the pills into his mouth and gulped down the water. He coughed as he felt the awful liquid burn down his throat. He coughed in surprised. "DID YOU SERIOUSLY HAND ME VODKA?!"
"Hell ya I did. It's called 'Hair of the Dog', simplest way to cure a hang over."
Tyson stared at the ruby-eyed male like he had sprouted a second head. Unsure if he was just pulling his leg or if Russians really cured hang-overs with more alco- Nevermind, they're Russians. That's probably exactly how they cured hang-overs. "Um...thanks." He said after a long pause.
"Breakfast!"
"Food!" Tyson blew past the smaller male and made a beeline for the kitchen table. There he found love at first sight. Bacon, sausages, waffles, eggs and WATER! He sat down, immediately pouring himself a drink. Drinking it one gulp, he started coughing when he felt the familiar coarse burning. "DO YOU RUSSIANS DRINK ANYTHING EXCEPT VODKA?!"
"My bad Tyson, I thought Ian was going to sit there." said Bryan, sliding over a glass of orange juice.
Tyson gave the silvered-haired beyblader an incredulous look before carefully sipping the orange juice. "...This is a screwdriver, isn't it." It wasn't a question. It was a statement. His answer was a smile that would send shivers down the devil's spine. He sighed, defeated. Reluctantly. He sipped on his drink. Slowly.
At the dejected look, Bryan clapped a hand on the younger's back with enough force to knock the wind out of the bluenette. "What?! It's the holidays! Get drunk! Be merry! Nothin' like a bit o' Christmas Cheer!"
Tyson noticed the redness in the boy's face. "You're seriously already drunk?!"
"It's 5 o' clock somewhere!"
Tyson sighed. Then peered around the room. "Where's Kai?"
"Oh, he and Tal' got up HOURS ago. They're out back, looks boring."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, tried calling them for breakfast, but your boyfriend unleashed his damn fire chicken on me!"
"What?!" Tyson grabbed a handful of bacon and shoved a waffle into his mouth before racing towards the backdoor to see what was going on.
Carefully, he opened the backdoor noiselessly and peered outside. Sitting in the snow, sat Tala and Kai locked into a heated staring contest. In front of them was their beyblades spinning in front of them. Wolborg and Dranzer seemed to be guarding the two beybladers.
"Give it up Tala. I've been doing this since I could pull a ripcord."
"Maybe, but I know your toes are getting cold. Even you can't keep spinning forever Kai."
"My element is fire. I'm warm as can be. You should be more concerned about your bladder wolf-boy. 7 hours is a long time to go without a potty break."
Tyson took a closer look. Dranzer did seem to sharing her energy with Kai, but it did seem like she was reaching her limit. Especially since Kai was wearing nothing but a black wife-beater, a pair of navy-blue sweatpants and a pair of white socks. With the way Kai's toes were curled, the bluenette had no doubt that he was freezing.
Tala, on the other hand, didn't seem to be nearly as cold, but he didn't look nearly as comfortable as Kai did.
"They've been out here for hours." stated Spencer, who came up behind Tyson.
"What are the stakes? I mean, that's Kai's game-face."
"Pretty sure it's just a pride thing."
"Well that's Kai for you."
PPPPrrrrrssssssshhhhhh.
Both Tyson and Spencer looked for the source of the sound, only to see that the snow was rapidly turning yellow underneath Tala.
"Aaaahhhh. Much better. With that out of the way, I can stay out here ALL day Kai."
Kai burst out laughing. Not just a small chuckle either. No, full-blown laughter. "Fuck this I'm out." He stood up, caught his blade and walked past Tyson and Spencer, still chuckling. Tyson watched the enigma pull up a seat. To the kitchen table. He decided to follow.
A few moments later Tala burst into his house. "Bryan! We're calling a taxi after breakfast! We're getting an all-expenses paid vacation!"
The silvered-haired male raced up to his lover. "How'd you manage that?"
"By pissing my pants! Got that grouchy sourpuss to laugh! This vacation and the next 4 are all expenses paid!"
Bryan laughed. "You crazy genius! Go get some fresh pants."
Tyson sat down next Kai who was still snickering in between bites of bacon. "Who are you and what have you done with Kai Hiwatari?"
"I'm drunk and that was hilarious. Was not expecting him to piss himself so casually and be so damn proud of himself." he chuckled. "He gets points for creativity and boldness."
"Yeah. Gotta hand it to him. Orange juice?"
Kai gratefully accepted the orange juice and sipped it. "This is a screwdriver." He deadpanned.
"Blame these fuckers. They've been trying to give me alcohol poisoning all morning." he thumbed to Ian and Bryan who were filling their plates across the table.
"Fucking alcoholics." He got up and went to the coffee table and pulled out a few bottles of water. "They may have rigged the taps."
The Blitzkrieg Boyz froze.
"How'd you figure it out?!" asked Ian.
"Cause I remember that time at the abbey where Boris rigged up the pipes so alcohol only came out and we were all drunk and expected to give the same results. Then someone managed to un-rig it 3 days later."
"Bryan was a true hero to us all."
"Yeah, Boris kept me in isolation but gave me the same treatment, since I wasn't as heavily guarded, I just had to figure out advanced plumbing at age 8. No biggie." he shrugged, before laughing. "Actually it wasn't hard at all. I figured out that they must've had a vodka water tower. So I went out, found the tower, destroyed it with Falborg and then re-hooked the lines to the normal water tower."
"Y'know, a few years ago I would've called you all liars, but after dealing with Boris, I don't put anything past him." Tyson finished the rest of his screwdriver, anytime he thought about how Boris kidnapped and tortured him and Kai, it always put him back in a drinking mood. He poured himself another screwdriver.
Kai noticed this and frowned. He handed his lover a bottle of water before he could take another sip. "See if you can keep this down first. Then worry about day drinking."
"Ay Ay Captain." Tyson gave a mock salute, then drank the life-giving liquid. "I forgot how good water feels when your throat feels like it was fucked by sandpaper." He quickly downed the rest of the bottle. Kai resupplied him with another.
"Bryan, you're not leaving this house until my water lines have been restored."
The silvered-haired Russian sighed. "Fine."
"Food first." said Spencer, his plate towered with waffles and bacon.
"Agreed!" said Tyson stuffing his face with bacon. "Thanks for the meal Bryan! It's really good." he said between bites.
"Yeah, well staying home all day, with nothing but cooking shows for entertainment, you pick up a few things."
Tala came down the stairs in a fresh pair of orange slacks and joined everyone at the table. He was looking up expensive hotels in the area on his phone. "This one has a Jacuzzi tub."
"Big enough for 2?"
"Says big enough for 8."
"8?!" exclaimed Tyson. "Care to let me come with you?"
"With your snoring? Hell no." stated Tala. "I'm surprised Kai hasn't smothered you yet."
"I've been tempted." admitted the CEO, sipping his orange juice.
"Awwwww."
"Besides Tyson, aren't you susposed to be getting ready for Max and the others." pointed out Kai.
"Fuck! We gotta go shopping. We're making christmas dinner this year and we're going to need like, 3 turkeys and a ham and-" He stared at his boyfriend, well more specifically, he stared at the rosy cheeks that were not fully concealed beneath the blue face paint. "...You're too drunk to drive arn't you?"
"Completely out of commission" he confirmed.
Tyson crossed his arms and sat in deep thought. "I know! I'll call Gramps! He'll know exactly what I'll need to get."
"Um...dude. I've seen your grand dad drive. He's a lunatic!" stated Ian.
But Tyson was already dialing his grandfather's number. "Hey! Wanna spend the whole day with your favorite grandson and help him out with Christmas dinner?"
Ian eyed Kai wearily. "You sure this is a good idea?"
The younger blader nodded. "He's terrifying when he's driving stick. But I got him a truck that's an automatic. He's no longer a road hazard."
"Well that's a relief."
"Does he even have a license?" asked Bryan.
Kai shrugged and continued nursing his screwdriver. He could finally feel his toes defrosting.
Once breakfast was done, the house cleared out fairly quickly, soon leaving Kai with the 10 cats. Picking up Kei and Takao in each hand, he trotted up the stairs to his bedroom and laid down in the soft mattress. His body perfectly sinking into the softness. Kei and Takao immediately made themselves comfortable on Tyson's side of the bed. Kai felt his eyes growing heavy. He had been up all night drinking, then did that crazy contest with Tala. He was finally on vacation and he was going to get the sleep he deserved. Fuck training. Fuck work. Fuck the Russian Prince and his schemes. Today was his day off from life and he was going to enjoy it.
Grandpa Kinomiya, was thrilled to get his grandson's call. He had been bugging the youngster about paying him a visit, but his request was always met with the same answers: Work, training or some special project Kai and his grandson were working on together.
In some ways it was a relief to see what a hardworking citizen Tyson had become, at one point he had been really worried, with the boy's blatant refusal to get out of bed, his low grades and calls from his teachers about his defiant behavior. But ever since he had gone pro with the game of Beyblade, it's like he finally had an outlet for that defiance and started to finally take things seriously.
Furthermore, it seemed like Kai knew exactly how to direct all the energy Tyson had into a force that couldn't be stopped.
The beybattle that he had with Kai last year had him in total awe. Kai had literal wings coming from his back and Tyson was actually flying.
He knew the spirit of Dragoon aided and helped his grandson in his beybattles, but it was in that moment did he realize the deep bond he and the great spirit had formed.
Since last year's world tournament, he had worried for his grandson. Especially hearing how Dragoon and the other bitbeasts had suddenly disappeared. He could tell that Tyson had been hurting deep inside, despite putting on a smile for the rest of the world. He realized then how strong his grandson had become.
Fortunately, it seemed like Dragoon had found it's way back to Tyson. The day Tyson had told him the great blue dragon had re-appeared, Tyson's smile shone like a thousand suns.
With the way his boy sounded on the phone, it seemed like that cheery demeaner hadn't diminished in the slightest.
He was truly looking forward to spending the day with his sweet grandchild.
So imagine his surprise when Tyson jumped into his truck, reaking of alcohol. "Been tanglin' with the devil's drink eh?"
The teenager sighed. "Russians are fucking alcoholics!"
"Kai too?"
"No, he's fine. Well, not fine enough to drive...but I'm talking about Tala and the others! We picked them up from the airport last night and they just kept shoving vodka down our throats! Going as far as tampering with the pipelines!"
"Oh! So you were tanglin' with Russians?"
"More like kidnapped and them justifying it by saying "It's 5:00 somewhere!"."
The old man let out a hearty laugh. "Oh Stanley and I ran into some Russians and they did the same thing to us. Those were some wild nights T-bone. They staying long?"
"Until the holidays are over, but they're moving to a hotel tonight."
"Sounds like that's the best plan. Have you decided where you're doing christmas dinner this year?"
"Yeah, I was thinking about that. Considering we're susposed to be hosting nearly everyone, I don't think we have the room. I mean the cats and us have an understanding, and even if we go out and get a kitchen table, we don't really have a spot to put it. The backyard is covered in snow."
"Well it's a good thing you do know a person with the room." he gave sly wink.
"Honestly Gramps, you are the best."
"Still might need a bigger table."
"Good thing you have the truck. Unless you feel like you're too old to be carrying a giant table?"
"OLD?! OLD?! I'll show you whose old!" the old man then revved the engine and began to weave in and out of traffic. It wasn't cool and smooth like when Kai did it. No. They were nearly missing front and back bumpers.
About the 5th time they got honked at, Tyson shouted, "DUDE! You don't need to kill us to prove you're not old!"
"YEEEHAAW!"
Somehow, they made it to the supermarket in one piece with Tyson saying a small thank-you to Miss Lady Luck under his breath.
Back at the house, Kai had woken up from his nap and was at a total loss. The Blitzkrieg Boyz had indeed fixed the pipes, had grabbed a cab to the best hotel money can buy, and Tyson was out. Usually he would finish some kind of paper work, but he didn't even have that to do. Dranzer was exhausted from his drunken antics with Tala. And looking at the case files of the Russian Prince would just piss him off. He looked in the sink for dishes, but it looks like Spencer had taken care of them before he left.
He looked around the house. Everything was decorated and everything was set in its place. He scanned the floor, preparing to see one of Tyson's articles of clothing. But bare, sparkling floors shimmered at him. He had to give it to Tyson, he was one hell of a housewife when he was motivated.
But still. This was Tyson he was taking about. There had to be a giant pile of stuff shoved into a closet somewhere. He took his time stalking the house, opening up closets and cupboards, looking for something to clean. Nothing but immaculate clean greeted him.
This was starting to get weird. Tyson wasn't exactly a slob, he had been raised with his Grandfather's standards after all, but there was NO way he was this OCD. He couldn't even find dust! He wracked his brain hard.
Wait a minute. Bryan, Spencer and Ian helped out yesterday. Maybe they helped clean too? He whipped out his phone and texted Tala. /Odd question. Can you ask Bryan what exactly Tyson made him do yesterday?/
The response was nearly instant. /Why? Missing something?/
/Exactly the opposite. My house is so clean, it's creepy./
/OH. That's Bryan. When he drinks, he cleans./
Kai stared at his phone for several seconds. / Explain./
/In short, he's got some pretty severe OCD. It's usually under control, but if he's drunk and bored, it tends to come out in full force./
Kai stared at his screen for several minutes, trying to process the events that had happened in the last 24 hours. His Vice President and his alcoholic friends, just got him and his boyfriend shitfaced, cleaned their house and made them breakfast. If it was Max or Ray, he wouldn't be questioning it. But fucking Bryan?! /You have a hell of a housewife./
/Jealous?/
/Nope./ He left it at that.
"Meow." Looking down, he was greeted to the sight of his sweet Tabby. He gently picked up the cat.
"What do normal people do all day?" he asked the kitty.
"Mew." The feline kissed his cheek.
"Hn. What would Tyson do?" Images filled his head of Tyson staying in bed all day, watching TV. While he wouldn't mind doing those things while Tyson was here, doing them by himself sounded so dull.
"Mew mew!" he heard a different cry and it was Yuki, the small white kitten he had adopted after the training trip with the BBA. In her mouth was a cat toy. One of the mice on a stick and string. He looked at the toy, then into her big blue eyes.
"Fine. We'll play."
4 hours, 3 different grocery stores and one furniture store later, the Kinomiyas had finally finished their shopping. While Tyson was a bit woozy on his feet in the beginning, after the first hour he had made a full recovery. In total they had bought 3 turkeys, 2 hams, 3 sacks of potatoes, a 20 pound bag of rice, everything the needed to make homemade stuffing, and 5 different kinds of deserts and 5 bags of toilet paper. They knew how Ray was so insistent on making everything from scratch. The only thing that came in the can was the cranberry sauce.
They unloaded the huge haul of groceries and placed everything into the cupboards of Grandpa Kinomiya's kitchen and set up the 30ft table in the main room of the dojo.
"Phew! Now all that's left is people!"
"How many you expecting T-Dawg? The whole neighborhood?!"
"Well they're always welcome!" laughed the bluenette. "I don't know exactly. I just want to be prepared for anything."
The old man laughed. "No plan is the best plan. You're a chip off the ol' block."
"Make sure you invite Mr. Dickenson! He's the last one I would want to be alone on Christmas."
"I'll be sure to send him the message."
"Oh jeez! Is that the time?! Kai's probably gone and cleaned the whole house by now!"
"Hahaha, you don't like leaving him alone do you?"
"He's got a habit of overdoing things if I'm not around to distract him."
"I'll take you home on one condition."
"Oh?" Tyson turned and his Grandfather had a solemn expression on his face. A pit started to form in his stomach. "Grandpa?"
"Well I'm getting old and it's awfully strange not to have my house full of boys. So you best be visiting once a month, ya hear?"
A small smile formed on the younger's lips. "Aww, who knew you'd be such a sap."
"I-" He was interrupted with his grandson giving him the tightest hug.
"Don't worry, I'll come visit. I miss you too."
Tears pricked the old man's eyes as he returned the hug. Tyson might have finally grown up and got a life of his own, but he still was that sweet kid he raised.
When the red truck pulled up to the Hiwatari-Kinomiya residence, Tyson thanked his grandfather for the ride and entered in the house. He stopped dead in his tracks.
There was Kai, in the middle of the living room floor, with bits of string, mice, catnip and 10 mighty warriors trying to catch the string. The male's face was serene and filled with pure joy as he teased the felines.
The click of a camera alerted the dual-haired male to the doorway, where he saw his boyfriend standing.
"Awww damn, forgot my phone wasn't put on silent." Seeing his father, Takao broke away from the Clouder and rushed into Tyson's arms. "Was Papa Sourpuss playing with you? Did you have fun?"
The cat responded with a joyous mewl, and quickly jumped out of the Asian's arms and went back to hunting the string. Tyson sat down. "Looks like you've got your hands full."
"Care to help?" asked the Russian, handing him another string.
"Of course. You can't hog all the kitties to yourself!"
"Is that a challenge?"
"Maybe." The teen stuck out his tongue and started wiggling his string.
The cats pounced.
Azure eyes gazed out the airplane window, his heart thudding steadily in his chest as the buildings and trees came closer and closer into view. Half-way flying over the pacific ocean and the air itself seemed to have changed. America was fun, exciting and always had new things to explore and do...but it wasn't home. He gripped his green Draciel beyblade tighter. "We're almost there buddy."
He could feel Draciel's excitement and power grow by the minute.
It was a secret, but Draciel got more powerful the closer he was to the other 3 sacred beasts. It seemed there was a bond between them where they could share their strength. He had first noticed it after the first tournament they had back in 2000. When they split and gone their separate ways he had really noticed the difference. It was almost like his bitbeast was depressed. As soon as they had reunited, it seemed like Draciel was back to his old self again.
For the round robin tournament in 2003, that had been a bit different. He and Draciel were excited to face the others in real fight. Draciel seemed to show no quarry to his opponent.
But for the Justice 5 tournament, Draciel seemed to be even more ferocious knowing that Dragoon and Drigger had his back.
Max could completely relate. He glanced over fondly at his boyfriend who was snoozing in his seat, his volume on his Walkman at max levels as the metal music could be heard from the ear phones. Ever since he and this man had gone out on their first date, there was a level of comfort and security he hadn't quite felt before.
Rick was big and bold and he had no problems using that to his advantage. But Max had discovered that the muscle head was surprisingly tender.
Right after the tournament, they were in the boys' locker room that was deserted, save for them. They were gathering the last of their belongings before they headed back to their hotel. Rick walked up to him and said. "You, me dinner. Noodle house. 7:00pm. I'll pick you up."
After just loosing Draciel, eating was the last thing he was concerned about. Honestly, he had just wanted to curl up into a ball, in front of a computer screen wishing the past had been nothing but a dream. "Not tonight Rick." He had said, waving his hand dismissively.
"Not with that pathetic look on your face. Yes tonight."
"What look?"
"Max, you look like someone just ran over your dog, not like your friend just won a tournament."
Max was taken aback. He always tried so carefully to keep his smile intact. "What do you mean? This is how I always look."
"Yeah, except your eyes look like they lost all light in them."
Max was stunned. Not even his parents knew when he was depressed. Hell, he had managed to even trick Kai and Ray over the years. "I-"
"Save it Max. I don't want to hear your excuses. Just meet me at 7:00."With that, the towering giant took his bag and walked out of the room.
Max honestly hadn't planned on showing up. But after two episodes of Pokemon, he had gotten bored and decided to go for a walk to try and clear his head. His feet had taken him to the noodle house. Surprised, the blonde checked his watch. It was 7:00pm on the dot. He took a deep breath and steeled his nerves and entered the building.
He blinked. He blinked again. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things. Rick was wearing a suit. And damn...he looked good. Max shifted his gaze and there was 2 steaming bowls of noodles and a large bottle of mustard.
He didn't know why at the time, but he felt his heart skip a beat. He approached the table and put on the best smile he could. "What's with the fancy get-up?! If you had told me, I would've dressed more formal!"
"It's fine. You always look good- I mean, I just wanted to wear something different."
"It's definitely different." agreed the boy, taking his seat. "You didn't forget the mustard! Thanks Rick! This looks delicious!" He missed the blush appear on the older's tanned cheeks.
They sat and ate in a comfortable silence. "Yo Max, after this you wanna hit the dish?"
Thinking of beyblading, made him think of Draciel and how the water turned bloody. "No, I'm not feeling up to-"
"Max, what's going on?" There was something about Rick's tone that seemed to cut through the visions. "You never in the last 3 years turned down beyblading once. What's wrong?" Ebony met Azure.
Max sighed. "Let's eat first. Then I'll tell you everything." He made a sweeping motion around the room with his eyes. Rick understood immediately.
They ate quickly and Rick didn't even give Max enough time to take out his wallet before paying the waiter, leaving a hefty tip.
The pair walked out out of the Noodle House. Max was just following his feet, but Rick could see that they were heading to the river where Max did a lot of training. The fall air was brisk and the moon hung in the sky, almost perfectly cut in half by the Earth's shadow. It was only when they made it to the river did Max finally stop.
"Draciel's gone."
"What?! A bitbeast can't just leave!"
"They can and will. Ray's Drigger left him once because he was fighting half-heartedly."
"But I saw you out there, you were giving it everything you had!"
"I know." Max took a deep breath, his breath could be seen in the cold. "Look, the story I'm about to tell you is crazy and I don't blame you if you don't believe me, but I swear it's true."
"I'm listening."
So Max told him, discovering that he had water manipulation due to his bond with Draciel, about Boris, about the murders, about the bomb, about turning back time. He even shared about his crush on Ray, and how it tore apart his heart because he ended up choosing Mariah in the end. He shared every last secret he held in his heart, bearing his pain and weakness. "So there you have it, because of some Psychopath, Draciel and the others sacrificed themselves to give us another chance. Tyson made the right decision. But-" His form began shaking. "-I lost a part of myself."
"So that's it then? Because you lost your bitbeast, you're just going to quit?"
Max shook his head. "I have no intention on quitting. I just need a little time to process this and make a new blading style, because I can't count on Draciel to make up for my own short comings."
Rick stared at his own beyblade, a few short years ago he would've laughed at the notion of bitbeasts being anything more than tools, but his time with Max and watching the Bladebreakers, and Tyson and Kai's epic battle only a few short hours ago. He knew that Max had a relationship with Draciel that he could only fathom. Gazing at his Rock Bison, he wondered how strong he would actually be without the Bison's incredible power. "Then let me help." He said finally.
"Help?"
"I want to help you train. To help you find a small part of yourself. Most of all, I want you to smile again."
"What?"
"You were too busy wrapped up with Ray, but I think you're amazing. You have the strongest heart of of anyone I've ever met. I understand that right now may not be the time, but after watching Kai's confession, I couldn't not tell you. So maybe once you've had some time to sort things out in your head, maybe you could consider giving this guy a chance?"
Max's mind was reeling. When did this start? When he first met the American he made it very clear he wanted nothing to do with him. He thought hard. Rick was there just before his fight with Mystel and had given him the confidence to continue with his defensive style of beyblading. A decision that had lead to their victory. He remembered his battle with Alceed and those strong arms that had caught him and carried him to safety. He remembered Rick being the first person that he saw when he woke up. He remembered in the battleship Rick had been the one to pick him up and carry him before he could be incentigrated by the ship's lasers. Rick really had been like his guardian angel, and he hadn't noticed at all. "Yes."
"Yeah?"
"I can't believe I hadn't noticed it sooner, but you've always been there for me since we we met, haven't you?
"And I'll continue being here for you." They exchanged smiles. A cold wind blew. "It's getting late, let me walk you home." Max nodded. On their way back, Rick pressed for more details on their history with Boris. "Honestly, what is his obsession with you guys?"
"Who knows? I just know whenever he's involved it never ends well. He keeps coming up with more elaborate schemes everytime. He really has it in for Tyson. We're probably have to go to court again to make sure he stays in jail. Now that he's been basically classified as a terrorist, I don't think they'll let him out for anything."
"And how did this all start again?"
"He wanted to create the ultimate bitbeast. In the beginning he had Black Dranzer. Kai said he's basically hid it so no one can ever use it again. Boris has never come back for it either." They stopped when they realized they were in front of Max's door. "Well this is me. I'll see you around Rick. Thanks for the wonderful evening, I definitely needed to get things off my chest."
"Anytime." He watched as Max walked up the steps. "Hey Max!"
"Ye-" Max was cut off by a smooth pair of lips on his own. He closed his eyes and leaned into the kiss.
After a few seconds, Rick pulled away. "Me. You. 2:00pm tomorrow. Lunch. I'll pick you up."
"Yeah." Max smiled, a true smile this time.
Rick smiled and waved back.
When Max got into the house, he saw his mom at the table sipping a cup of coffee. He panicked. Did she see?!
Seeing the look on her son's face, Judy Tate just smiled. "I thought Ray would've been more your type."
"Wait! You knew I like guys?"
"A mother always knows. Not just guys either, you'd date anyone your heart told you, wouldn't you?"
Max blinked. "Y-yeah. Does dad know?"
"Sweetie, we've known for years. We just want you happy."
Max felt tears well up inside his eyes. "Mom, I need your help." He poured his heart out to her that night, telling her all about loosing Draciel, how Ray broke his heart and how Rick just confessed his own feelings to him.
The scientist listened with an open ear and heart, knowing everything her son was telling her was 100% the truth. "I'll dive into research and see if we could find anything on your bitbeasts that might help them return to you."
"Thanks mom. But what do I do about Rick?"
"He might be exactly what you need right now."
"Really?"
She nodded. "When your father and I first met, I was just out of college and was working really hard to make myself stand out amoungst the other young talent. At first I turned him down, but he was persistent. Then one day I was doing some research in a coffee shop, he just happened to be passing through, and he pointed out that I was missing several practical components to my beyblade research. Things he knew because he had been studying that field as well. We decided to combine our research and publish a paper together and it was groundbreaking. I realized that he added more into my life and I'd be lost without him. Even when we're far apart, he's my rock and lets me realize all my dreams."
Max thought briefly about Kai and Tyson and how they were always each other's drive and rock. Rick had always been a reliable person since they became friends. He was unafraid of all the chaos being friends with Tyson got him into as well. "Thanks mom." He pecked her on the cheek.
The following day he informed Rick he wanted to give it a shot and agreed to start dating him.
They had been nearly inseparable ever since. The first thing Rick had done was memorize all his favorite foods so whenever he was sad or sick, he always knew just the thing that would cheer him up. Max also paid him back in kind and ended up getting the bodybuilder addicted to Sailor Moon. They were currently on season 4 episode 20 and Rick couldn't wait for them to curl up later and watch more. They hilariously found out they had quite a few common interests when it came to music, and often went out at 2am witch Rick driving, singing car karaoke. Rick was a lot more fun than he ever imagined the muscle head to be.
He was glad he had said yes that day.
Spending Christmas with the entire gang, Rick and his bitbeast was like a dream come true for the fair faced teen. 'It's good to be home.'
Meanwhile on a different flight headed to the same destination, Ray smiled softly as he felt Drigger's soul began to thrum with excitement deep inside his beyblade. He had always been like this when they would get close to the other bitbeasts. It made him realize the 4 sacred beasts' bond went deeper than any of them could imagine. Just being near each other made each bitbeast swell with power. It made him wonder how the 4 of them ended up on different sides of the globe in the first place and what caused the separation. None of the bitbeasts ever seemed like mortal enemies, not even Dragoon and Dranzer. Rivals yes, but never bitter enemies. At one point he had tried asking Drigger, but the Great White Tiger said he did not know, he just knew that the other 3 bitbeasts were beings that he could place his absolute trust in.
A feeling that the Neko-jin understood all too well. Even when Kai went mad with Black Dranzer's power, he had known that the real Kai was in there somewhere. They just had to help him claw his way through the darkness.
"Mmm, Ray." mummered the pink haired girl who was resting her head on his shoulder. He noticed the blanket that he had draped around her had fallen on the floor. Carefully he picked up the blanket with his free arm and placed it gently around her.
He was so glad he hadn't been forced to choose. Both the White Tigers and the Bladebreakers were like family to him. He had been ready for a fight, to have Mariah insist they stayed in the village this year. But she had surprised him, announcing that the whole White Tiger Team had decided to spend Christmas in Japan. As long as they were back for Chinese New Year, they had no issues with spending Christmas in Japan and away from the cold mountains. Ever since they had started dating, she had calmed down and had matured and blossomed into every man's perfect fantasy.
Granted, she could more than hold her own in a fight and her tongue was still as sharp as ever, but she seemed to trust him more and seemed to do everything she could to make moving back and forth between Japan and China easier on him.
When he had revealed to her of the true course of events that had lead to the disappearance of Drigger, she was sickened and shocked. He also revealed that he had to bear a future where she wasn't apart of it, and he quickly realized that it wasn't worth living. He poured out her heart to him, but stated confidently that he felt Tyson had made the right choice and allowed the bitbeasts to turn back the clock, and he could handle living the rest of his life without Drigger as long as he could see her smile everyday.
She accepted his feelings, but refused to let him give up beyblading. Everyday, they trained, she pushed him to go beyond his limit. He couldn't summon lighting, nor have the ground break under his feet, but he focused on his speed and dexterity. He fought against Lee and Mariah over and over until he could surpass them even with their bitbeasts summoned. Mariah refused to allow his skills to deteriorate and gave him a clear goal. To enter into the next tournament and enter in the top 10.
But with Drigger by his side, his new goal was to take Kai's title.
He wasn't just coming by to enjoy Christmas, he was coming to declare war.
Patience was never Tyson's forte. Never. He hated waiting. In beyblade tournaments, it took every ounce of his self-restraint not to jump into the match and just take on whomever was battling all at once. In school, it took all his willpower not to jump out of the second story window. And right now…
It was taking everything he had not to just use Dragoon's power and just fly to the terminal and grab his friends and drag them back here.
Every 3 minutes he checked his texts to see if Max had landed yet. Each time he sighed and stared at his Dragoon blade.
"I can't believe he's as impatient as you are." remarked Kai, pointing at the top.
"I can't believe how not excited you are!"
"We saw them literally last month for your birthday Tyson." Kai deadpanned.
"SO?! That means I haven't seen them in almost a month!"
The dual-haired male sighed, "You're hopeless."
"And you're-"
DING DONG
Tyson and Kai looked at each other. They hadn't been expecting anyone.
Swiftly Tyson walked to the door and opened it.
"MERRY CHRISTMAS!"
"MAXIE!"
The blonde glomped the bluenette so hard the pair tumbled to the floor.
"I thought were going to pick you up!"
"My flight got in early."
"Awesome!" Tyson looked to the doorway and suddenly realized there were so many people standing in the doorway. "Ray! Mariah! Holy Shit the Whole White Tiger team!"
"Merry Christmas Tyson!" they greeted in unison.
Tyson gave him his warmest smile. "Isn't it?!"
Thank god this beast is done! There! Please leave a review as they're the only things that inspire me to write this at 2 and 3am. At the time of writing this, I'm officially working from home and writing between calls. The apocalypse might be exactly the cure to more stable updates!