Quiet Lovers

Summary: Max wants to do anything to help Kai, especially after the ordeal with Zeo and Cereberus, and ends up making a deal with the slate haired boy. If he kept quiet about the phoenix liking him, he would call the blonde his lover, but what do you do when you love someone, and you can't tell anyone he loves you too?

Pairings: Max/Kai, one sided Ty/Max, Rei/Kenny

The black phoenix sat upon his throne that was made out of the bones of his formal servents that failed to serve him in his plans. He was holding in his hand a new bone to add to his collection on his chair. His eyes narrowed dangerously and crushed the skull into his chair, as it broke into pieces, his pupils going into thin slits. He couldn't have been more upset than he was right now. Kame had failed to defeat his old master, Kai, and it lost him his chance to capture Dranzer and it's weilder, and to finish off the young one once and for all. He picked up the orb that showed him a image of the ones that knew about him now.

In the first image, it showed the storm eyed male, sleeping at his desk cause he was still working on his math homework when he fell asleep that night. His guardian, Dragoon was brought out it's blade, and lightly nuzzled his master, as if hoping to make him feel better, cause he knew that the weilder of the turtle spirit could no longer belong to him, and he felt so lonely without anyone with him. It made Black Dranzer completely sick, he hated the way people acted so pathetic after someone rejects another, and act like they can't go on with their life. He was starting to like the fact that he was a bit beast, he had no use for romance.

In the next image he brought up, there sat his former master, who had fallen asleep in the living room, cause he felt like falling asleep alone in his room would cause him to have another nightmare that he would have to watch the one he loved die in front of him. The blonde was lying right next to him, cuddled up against his chest, his fluffy hair pulled up in a ponytail from the shower him and his love had. The scarlet eyed male had his strong arms wrapped around the young boy's body, keeping him in a safe hold, as if nothing could harm the young one while he was in his arms. He growled as he saw this going on, now he really wish Kaze had won the battle between him and his older master.

He quickly went to the other part of the house, finding the room that belonged to none other than the white tiger of his old master's team. His black hair had been set loose from the hair tie no longer being present in his hair, as he had his strong arms placed around what seemed to be the smart one of the team, Kenny. As if he didn't feel sick enough watching his former master with his arms around the pathetic turtle of his team, now he sees the white tiger with his arms drapped around the ether of the team. He gripped the orb in his hand, causing it to crack rapidly, as it exploded into pieces, about to hit him. A small barrier appeared at the last minute, causing the pieces of blue glass to fall to the ground harmlessly. (unless you stepped on them, ouch)

"Oh, Black Dranzer, you are so tense..." A pair of clawed hands appeared, and placed themselves on this shoulders.

A growl came from the phoenix's lips, "And what about you? Why are you here?"

"Me? I came to see you for a few minutes... tomorrow, I do have to face off against the holy white tiger, and a few minutes of pleasure wouldn't kill you, would it?" He purred into the black haired creature's ear.

"Hikaru, you get on my nerves..."

"But I still love you." He joked.

"Of course you do, but I still want you ready when the morning comes."

The tiger demi seemed to give a laugh, "I'll be alright, I won't fail you like Kame did."

With that, the grip he had on the black phoenix died, as he disappeared into the shadows once more, the last thing seen was a pair of dangerous silver eyes, which slowly faded into the dark nothing. From behind him, a bright pair of dark maroon eyes were flashing in the back, making the black phoenix turn, as what looked like a male with long claws, and a long tail appeared at his side, with similar reptile scales below and above his eyes, as he looked at his master, dark blue hair going over his pale face. Black Dranzer rolled his eyes, and reached a hand down and began to pet what seemed to be a dragon demi, wanting him to stop whimpering, since he would be next soon... first the tiger of their team... then the dragon... and then... the turtle would be his to battle.

"I will have you, little boy... and I'll make a fine turtle stew out of you..."

------------------------------------------------

The sun finally began to rise into the sky above, shining through the blinds of the room where the kitten was sleeping, his love snuggled in his arms, as they were bundled up in the bed, basking in each other's warmth. Kenny was clinging to him in his sleep, as if afraid if he woke up, the black haired neko-jin was going to be gone, and he was going to be all alone again, and it would break his heart if that that happened. The door opened, showing the dragon peeking his head inside. He had been looking for Kenny to help him with his homework, but his choice was quickly altered as he found the smart one clung onto his lover like he was a doll.

Well, there went that choice... maybe someone else is up?

The smell of pancakes caught his nose, causing a grin to appear on his face, that must be Kai making something for his turtle to eat, Maxie loved pancakes as much as he loved noodles with... mustard on it. Okay, maybe he thought that was a weird combination, but aw well, don't knock it til you try it. He made his way along the hallway, as he slowly pushed the sliding door open, finding Kai was sitting in the kitchen alone, chewing softly on the pancake in front of him, seeming really tense as of now... he had been like that since the battle the other day with Kaze. He frowned, still remembering the little conversation they had after that life determining battle... that the little turtle was in love with the captian, and the other loved him back. His fingers clutched the side of the wall, before he stepped into the kitchen, causing the red eyes to glance up slowly, seeing the dragon standing there, his eyes narrowed dangerously on the other boy.

"Um... I come in peace?"
".." Kai gave him a look, before swallowing the piece of breakfast in his mouth, "Is there something I can help you with?"
"...Yeah... I wanted to talk to you..." Tyson replied before plopping himself onto one of the chairs across from the red eyed male.

Kai tapped his fingers against the table, "Well, talk then."

The storm eyed boy made a silent gulp, as he stared down at the table, trying to think of what he was going to say? Was he supposed to say he had been in love with Max for a long time now, and finding out that his captian that saw him as a rival had taken him from him? He was already jealous of Rei and how he was able to easily tell Kenny how he felt about him... and in front of Mariah too... that was one scary afternoon trying to keep the pink haired mynx from killing the brains of their team. Was he already beginning to feel jealous of Kai because Max wanted to be with him and not the dragon? He heard a cough, as he looked up, seeing the slated haired boy was beginning to grow impatient, as he breathed a little.

"I just wanted to make sure that you would take care of Maxie."
Kai raised an eyebrow, "Where did that come from?"
"Come on, Kai, was it hard to figure out that I liked Max too?"
"...Not really no."
The dragon did his best to keep himself calm as he spoke, "I've been in love with him for a long time now, and I can see why you didn't want to let us know, aside from the whole problem with Black Dranzer... if it weren't for yesterday, I don't think that I would believe you would be a good choice for him."
Kai made a twitch, "Was that supposed to make me feel better?"

Tyson rose his hands in defense, "Lemme finish. I don't feel that way anymore. I still care about Maxie, but after seeing you fight so hard for him against that creepy Kame... I know he's in good hands while he's with you."

The phoenix had been watching the younger male ever since he came in there. He could only imagine how much it hurt him to admit that the boy he had was in love with for a long time was with someone else, and what's worse, that person was someone he saw as a rival, as well as a teammate. Kai stared at his plate, before putting down his fork, and pushing it in front of the dragon, causing him to look up at the sudden gesture.
"Kai?"
"Here, just eat it. You could use it after already swallowing your pride."

A smile appeared on the storm eyed boy's face as he drenched the pancakes with more syrup before helping himself to them. Kai quickly made his exit, not wanting the remains of the breakfast that didn't end up in Tyson's mouth to end up all over him. He headed down the hall before he found himself staring at the door to his little turtle's room. The blonde had gone through a lot already, and he could tell he was still a bit troubled... even after their little talk and make out while in the shower. He reached for the door, wanting to check on the younger boy. He was three seconds away from opening it when the sound of another door being opened caught his attention. He glanced over, only to see Rei had emerged from his bedroom, his hair a total mess, as if he had rough time sleeping. The kitten carefully closed the door, as if trying to be as quiet as possible... curious.

"Rei?"

I swear if Rei was a actual kitty, his fur would be all frizzed up from the sudden surprise.

The boy looked over, looked a bit shocked, "K-Kai! Good morning."
Puzzlement made itself present on the phoenix's face, "Are you okay?"

"No, not really... last night was a bit rough for me..."
Blink blink, "Okay you lost me."
Rei glanced off, rubbing his arm, "Could we talk about this somewhere else? I don't want to wake Kenny..."
"...Okay."

The kitten headed off towards the bathroom, the red eyed boy close behind as they went into it. Kai sat down on the edge of the tub while the neko-jin stood in front of the mirror, and grabbed his brush, and began to run it through his tangled hair, getting over the small hisses he wanted to let loose cause his hair was always a pain to brush out after sleeping with it out.

"So what happened?"

The brush continued to go through his hair, "I don't really know all the details myself, Kai... but... I was reading one of my books last night when someone knocked on my door. I went to see who it was, cause it was almost midnight. I opened the door, and standing there was Kenny."
"So Kenny came in to sleep next to you, that's not unusual." Kai rested his chin in his palm.
"...There's more to it..." He said softly, fixing his bangs so they were parted. "When I looked at him, he was obviously just waking up but his face looked completely scared. He asked if he could sleep with me, which was pretty normal, but when I tried to ask what was wrong, he clung onto me, crying like a child, and told me not to die..."
"... Not to die?" Kai repeated, not liking the sound of that.

The kitten nodded, before wrapping his ying yang band across his forehead, "I promised him I wouldn't so he would calm down... from what I could tell, I was killed in a nightmare he had... which seems very similar to what happened to Maxie in yours."
The phoenix seemed to nod, as if already getting that feeling, "Maybe it means... another of Black Dranzer's creations is coming to battle us..."
"It's not gonna try and fight Kenny, is it?!" Rei seemed in a total panic about that.
"Woah, woah, try not to tear your hair out," Kai did his best to coax the kitty, "I highly doubt that dark freak would send one of his goons to battle Kenny, he can't exactly fight, you know."
"...Yeah, I guess so..."
The older male tapped his fingers against his arm, "But in the end, from what I can tell, whoever he's sending, it might try and go too far, and try to kill you while you fight him, or..."
"...Or?"
"Or..." Kai did his best to finish, "...go after Kenny, and you'll get hurt trying to defend him."

A small noise was heard in Rei's throat as he tied the bands that held his wrap down on his hair, which was finally brushed out and pulled back so it was out of his way, as he stared at the mirror. He glared at the mirror, his mind going over what happened last night... and from what Kai had told him. From what he was told, no matter what he did, he was going to... no! He promised Kenny that he was going to be okay, he wouldn't go down that easily and give his opponent the chance to watch him suffer... he bared his teeth, trying to keep himself calm, when he heard someone scream. That scream belonged the Kenny.

...Well, all the calmness is gone now.

The neko-jin raced out of the door, seemingly too fast for Kai to keep up with him. The chinese boy threw the door open as Kenny ran into him, bringing his arms desperately around the taller male, beginning to cry once more. Rei knelt down carefully, and wrapped his arms carefully around his trembling love, running his fingers through the other's hair, trying to soothe him. Kai stopped a few feet away, seeing the two in the middle of a embrace, as Max opened the door, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Seems the genius' scream woke him from his sleep.

"What's going on...?" Max asked softly.

"Shh." The phoenix quietly shushed him, as he went to listen to the other couple's words.

Rei ran his fingers through the other's hair, doing his best to calm the ether down, "Shhh... it's alright..."
Words were nearly inaudiable thanks to the Chief's crying, "I was scared... you were gone when I woke up... I thought you were already... already..."
"Stop that. I'm not going to leave you that easily, Kenny... I promised you last night I wouldn't die... so stop crying."
Kenny whimpered, doing his best to wipe the tears out of his barely visible eyes, "I'm sorry... just don't leave me..."
"I won't... I won't..."

The kitten held the younger one close, with Kenny wearing his favorite frog pajamas still and his boyfriend still in his tiger pajamas, this would look really cute if both of them didn't seem so sad. Max clutched onto Kai, looking up at him as if wondering if there was something they could do to help them. The older male clutched his hand, and slowly shook his hand.

"This is something they might have to face by themselves, Maxie..."

The blonde frowned softly, as he looked over at the other two, worried enough about them as it was, and he had no idea what was going on... was it as bad as it sounded?

You all are boring to watch...

A gush of wind seemed to fill the hallway, as Tyson came into the hallway, clutching his empty plate, seeming curious about what the hell was going on, when something knocked into him causing him to lose the grip he had on the plate, as he flew into the air, the harsh wind hitting Kai and Max next, causing Kai to try and keep his balance, as he held onto his little puppy, having a bad feeling about what was happening. A sudden yelp gained his suspicion, as he looked up, finding the blur of wind had left the hallway, and Kenny was left behind while the black haired boy was no where in sight.

"Rei!!" Chief yelled after the tiger, and headed in the direction the wind raced off to.
"Kenny, come back!" Kai called after him, as the others hurried after the little frog, just as the plate Tyson had lost had fallen to the floor, shattering at the impact.

----

With one swift movement, whatever had grabbed Rei just threw him hard from the deck of the Kinomiya house, as the boy went flying, hitting the wall that surrounded the dojo, causing him to gasp before he hit the ground, barely managing to land on his hands and knees, coughing from having the wind litterally knocked out of him. He had one eye closed as he looked up, seeing the wind had faded giving form to the blur that had grabbed him. Standing there was a demi just like Kame, only this one had the features of a tiger, and dangerous silver eyes were shining behind his black and white bangs.

"Tsk tsk... I guess your not as fun to toss around as Kai is... I wish master gave me him to fight and not you..." He pouted... what the hell?
The neko-jin got to his feet, rubbing his lips, "Gee, sorry to disappoint you..."
"Now now, you don't have to apologize to me, just try and make kicking your ass a little more fun."

"Shut up! Who the hell are you?!" Rei snapped, already looking pissed.

"Me?" The tiger demi pointed at himself, seeming smug, "My name is Hikaru, the demi of your bit beast's dna..."

Rei twitched as he saw the smirk on the other's lips... that definatly made him nervous, but has he saw the other turn to face him, having his beyblade clutched in his clawed hands as he brought it forward, seeming to point it directly at the neko's chest... that had bad vibes written all over it.

"My master doesn't really want to deal with you when the final battle comes, so I'm here to kill you. Try and not make it too easy for me, kay?"

The other four had finally made it outside, Kai keeping the turtle close to him, not liking the sudden appearance of Hikaru, and in the meantime, Kenny was clinging onto Tyson for a little support, seeming scared of what was gonna happen to the tiger.
"Rei!"

The young black haired boy rid of his angered look, as he looked over at the genius, seeing his look of fear and concern, as that allowed him to calm down a little bit, as he reached down, and grabbed his launcher, and snapped his beyblade against it, pointing it forward, his grey blade facing the other's black-white stripped.

"I refuse to die here... but this battle won't be easy for you either..."

A/N: *is smacked repeatidly by a few fans for taking so long* X_X I know I know... I'm sorry... I've been in a real rut as of late... and with what's been going on with school, my love life and a few other things, being able to write was hard... so I hope you like it... I'll make sure not to take four years to write another chapter, I promise *pout*