A/N: This chapter is a little different. For my Free Day, I took requests from my Kiss Fic Bingo card over on my Tumblr (azikarue). RedWheeler and roktavor kindly humored me, and I got to write three gratuitous kisses to wrap up this fic. I'm posting them all in one chapter, mostly so anyone following doesn't get three notifications for no reason.

Day 31 | Max/Mariam (parts 1 and 3) Rick/Mariah (part 2) | Rated: M across the board (for implications, language (thanks Rick), and undressing)

DISCLAIMER: All characters portrayed in this fic are adults, despite the first part taking place during a tournament. I want to make that very clear, given the rating.

Free Day
Part 1

Max/Mariam – kissing in dark corners – requested by RedWheeler

"You know, Max, asking me to meet you in front of my teammates makes me think you're missing the point of keeping this a secret."

Max stopped in his tracks, wincing as his sneakers squeaked on the pool deck. Normally he beat Mariam to their rendezvous, but all the excitement of advancing to the semifinals kept his friends up way later than normal. Kenny had still been awake when he left, crunching numbers with Dizzi. At least he'd believed Max when he said he needed a walk to wind down.

"I don't think they heard me, Mariam," he said, looking around for her. The hotel's pool was technically closed at nighttime. The lights under the water were the only thing keeping the room from total darkness; they cast everything in an ethereal blue-green glow. "I could barely hear myself over the crowd."

After weeks of round robin competition, the BBA had decided to announce its semifinalists as soon as the last battle finished. It was unorthodox, but publicizing it ahead of time had caused an undeniable spike in ticket sales for that particular day. When DJ Jazzman shouted the standings, it felt like the fans broke the sound barrier with their cheers; Max's ears were still ringing.

The press conference revealing which teams would face off for a chance at the finals was scheduled for the following day. Kenny said it was trending to be the most-watched BBA press conference of all time. It was safe to say that, in the years following the near-destruction of the BBA at the hands of BEGA, they'd gotten smarter with their marketing.

That wasn't the only thing that changed, Max thought when Mariam slipped out from behind a pillar to give him a look that made his stomach flutter. As the time passed, his relationship with Mariam had evolved into something more than a tentative friendship. It meant a lot to him, even if neither of them were ready to share it with anybody else yet.

"So," Mariam drawled, taking a handful of steps across the tile as Max watched with a widening smile, "Is this the 'I won't go easy on you' speech? Or were you hoping I'd want to go skinny-dipping?"

Max sputtered. He could feel his cheeks heating up as a smirk spread across Mariam's face. She was messing with him. Of course she was. It didn't make his blush fade any faster.

"I – uh – probably closer to the first option," he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Hmm…" Mariam tilted her head the tiniest bit, exposing one of her earrings. She'd been teasing him about the skinny-dipping, but he felt strangely naked under her inquisitive gaze. "I think we've had this conversation before, Max."

He remembered. It was the night the Saint Shields arrived in Japan for the start of the tournament. Mariam had been grumpy and jet-lagged, but had agreed to meet Max at the bridge anyway. That was when they'd decided to keep their budding relationship a secret and, also, not to let their feelings for one another affect how hard they'd fight when their teams inevitably met in battle.

Max had no intention of breaking either promise, but when the Saint Shields and Bladebreakers both advanced to the semifinals, he was hit with the overwhelming urge to speak with Mariam. There was every possibility that the rest of the World Championships would play out without needing to battle each other, but Max's gut told him otherwise. Their relationship was new, and part of him was afraid Mariam would pull away from him in light of the standings. Now that they were face-to-face, in private, it felt kind of silly.

"I just need you to know that the semifinals don't change anything for me," he said earnestly, closing the distance between them and taking her hand in his, "no matter how things play out. We can be rivals in the dish and still have this." He squeezed her hand. Silly or not, his cards were on the table.

Mariam's eyes met his, always greener than he remembered. "I didn't dump you when you beat me in the round robin," she reminded him. "So unless you're suddenly a sore loser, I think you're being a little dramatic."

"It's different, this time." Max felt his cheeks heating up again, a dead giveaway that he wasn't just talking about their battle.

Since the start of the tournament, there had been a marked shift in their dynamic. All the time spent together in secret, getting to know Mariam in dark corners all over the world, had forged a strong bond and made him feel things he knew would scare her away if he dared to put a name to them.

During their last battle, Max had felt flayed alive, like all of his emotions and desires were out there for the world to see. Mariam had fought with just as much feeling and he'd nearly been overwhelmed by everything that Sharkrash helped her express. It was like they were speaking through their beyblades.

He'd dodged more than one suspicious glance from his teammates when all was said and done and he came out victorious. And he and Mariam were closer since, trusting each other with more. More that they could lose if things went south.

Back in the present, Mariam was studying him thoughtfully. Not for the first time, he felt like she could see right through him. She stroked the back of his knuckles, an uncharacteristically gentle gesture that made him feel less off-kilter and seemed to help gather her thoughts.

"If we face each other in the next round, it won't change anything, Max," she said, staring him down with a fierce look that reminded him of being back on the battlefield. "Sharkrash and I won't quit until we have nothing left to give. You and Draciel had better do the same."

Relief flooded Max's veins. "We will," he promised with a nod, unable to keep the smile off his face now that his worry was melting away. "It'll be an even better battle than last time. We've been training hard."

"I know," Mariam said. Another smirk curled onto her lips, this one paired with a coy look in her eye that made him realize exactly how warm it was by the pool. "I've been watching."

Max's heart sped up, falling out of tempo with the gentle sloshing of the water. She looked so pretty in the rippling light. He kept his eyes glued to her as she slipped her hand out of his and began tracing the muscles in his arm leisurely, like there wasn't anything in the world that was more pressing.

"Can I ask you something, Max?" She took a distracting step into his personal space that rendered him unable to do anything other than nod in response. She didn't seem to mind and asked, undeterred, "Is that the only reason you wanted to meet me tonight?"

Something about the way she asked gave him goosebumps. Or maybe it was the fact that she'd switched it up and was dragging her nails across his skin instead of her fingertips.

"I don't need a reason to want to see you, Mariam," he answered truthfully. If it were up to him, he'd spend every waking minute with her. By the time their next battle was over, it was entirely possible that every single beyblader and spectator would know it, too.

"Good."

Then her hand was on his chest, steering him off to the side until his back hit the wall. He knew without looking that they were hidden from anybody who'd happen to wander past the pool doors. If it was getting a little harder to breathe, it was probably the chlorine.

"Mariam—"

"Don't want you to get caught fraternizing with the enemy," she said in a low voice, standing so close that one of her feet was between his and he could feel every single word ghosting over his lips. "Might make the press conference even more of a riot than usual."

Max's only answer was to cup her jaw and kiss her, catching her off guard for once. He smiled against her mouth when she made an indignant noise in the back of her throat, then gave in and let her coax his lips apart with her tongue, in place of an apology.

Mariam seemed to take his early bid for dominance personally. Her hands wove into his hair, nails dragging along his scalp and making chills run down his spine. One of her thighs muscled its way between his and he couldn't hold back a groan; it was a fight to keep his hips from arching off of the wall.

Then she was pulling her mouth off of his, leaving him gasping for air, to kiss her way along his jaw and down his neck, nipping here and there as she went. She tugged his hair, pulling his head to the side to make it easier for herself, and nuzzled into his neck to kiss his pulse point.

"Mariam." Her bangs were tickling him, so he brushed them out of her face.

The sweet gesture must have won her over, because her lips met his again, once, twice, and three times in tender, teasing kisses that gave him more butterflies than the taste of her tongue had earlier.

Then, before he knew it, she was taking a step back. Despite the balmy temperature in the room, he felt a sudden chill in the newfound space between them.

"Mariam?" This time it was a question.

"I've been gone too long," she said, frowning as she smoothed out his clothing and combed her fingers through his hair. He stayed perfectly still, heart thundering in his chest, and let her put him to rights. "They're going to be looking for me."

Max nodded reluctantly. It was late when he left and it was later now. The press conference was at ten the next morning. If he had any hope of being awake in time to have breakfast first, he should say goodbye.

"Do you want me to walk you up?" he asked, even though he knew the answer.

Mariam shot him a look and said, "There you go again, missing the point of meeting in secret." When she was satisfied he didn't look like she'd just kissed him senseless, she backed away even more.

"We're good, right?" Max asked as she peeked over her shoulder in the direction of the doors. It was a funny thing to ask when they'd just finished making out, but he wanted to be doubly sure that her hasty retreat didn't have anything to do with their conversation beforehand.

Mariam snorted and looked back at him one more time; he didn't think he was imagining the fondness glittering in her eyes. "See you tomorrow, Max." And then she was gone.

Free Day
Part 2

Rick/Mariah – kissing on a Ferris wheel – requested by roktavor

Rick didn't make a lot of decisions in life that he regretted. It was entirely on principle. Regret was a waste of perfectly good time – he preferred to shrug shit off and move on with his life instead of agonizing over every imperfection. He'd do it this time, too, if he ever got off this fucking Ferris wheel alive.

"Are you okay, Rick?"

He looked down – a bad idea – at Mariah. She had a quizzical look on her face and thousands of lights from other rides were swimming behind her. On the ground. Where all the sensible, ant-sized people were. She might not have seen any issue with sitting in a metal death trap over a hundred feet tall that a bunch of workers assembled overnight, but Rick was very much not okay with it.

"Fucking fabulous," he answered with a scowl, stomach churning as they rounded the crest of the ferris wheel and started back down the other side. The only consolation was that it was nighttime, so no one should be able to see how tightly Rick's jaw was clenched or the death grip he had on the back and side of their carriage. "How many times does this stupid thing go around again?"

He'd tried counting from the ground while they stood in line, but even looking up at it made him feel like he was going to fall back onto his ass.

"Oh, Rick," Mariah sighed, cushioning her head against his tense bicep, "you're so impatient. Can't you just sit back and enjoy the moment?"

The problem with sitting back was that it made the carriage sway ominously. No fucking thank you.

Any sense of ease Rick enjoyed in the few seconds they spent close enough to the ground that he wouldn't die if the ride malfunctioned completely evaporated as the Ferris wheel kept going and they started ascending again. How often did they inspect these things? He could swear he heard creaking above the grating sound of carnival music. How much noise was normal?

His heart skipped a beat when Mariah scooted across the seat to snuggle into his side. Why the hell was she moving? His grip on the carriage tightened even more as it moved with her – his fingerprints were going to be permanently embedded in the metal. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply through his nose. He'd never hear the end of it if he puked all over her.

He just about jumped out of his skin, eyes snapping open, when one of her hands came to rest on his thigh. They were at the halfway point, on their way down, but the resulting swing of their carriage made his heart thunder against his chest. Rick shot her a glare.

Mariah giggled, probably figuring he was mad about her catching him off guard. "You need to relax, Rick," she said and began to rub his leg teasingly slow. Her golden eyes were looking up at him flirtatiously, darting down to his lips every few seconds.

Normally he was fucking wild about her taking charge, but right now the thought of taking a single finger off of the Ferris wheel to touch her made him feel like he was going to pass the fuck out.

"Mariah…" he warned.

The Ferris wheel was carrying them back up again. The hand on his leg moved to his chest and she must have misinterpreted his racing heart because she leaned up and kissed him squarely on the lips.

Rick thought about reciprocating, taking his mind off of his predicament with the taste of her mouth, but no matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn't get the wires to connect in his brain. His body wouldn't cooperate, frozen in place with fear and refusing to let his desire for Mariah override his survival instincts.

It didn't take her long to realize he was staying stock still. She pulled back and sat down with a thump.

Rick groaned. He hadn't realized she was off the fucking seat. What was she – insane? He pried his eyes open. Mariah was staring at him with a thoughtful frown and her arms crossed over her chest.

"Rick…" He didn't like the way she was looking at him. There was suspicion shining in her eyes with the carnival lights and he got the feeling she was piecing things together. Which would be fucking embarrassing. He was debating whether it was more embarrassing than sitting stiff as a corpse while she tried to make out with him when she asked, "Are you afraid of heights?"

"No!" he answered reflexively. But then the Ferris wheel slowed to a stop, leaving them swinging at the apex, and he could feel the color drain from his face. "Fuck."

"You should have said something!" Mariah scolded.

"It's just this damn contraption!" he shot back, doing his level best not to look anywhere but Mariah's face. The only other option was closing his eyes again because anything else would be looking down. "It feels like it could collapse at any second."

As if on cue, a gust of wind kicked up, rocking their carriage back and forth. Rick ground his teeth together.

"I'm sure they have safety procedures in place," Mariah said, appearing totally unruffled about the whole situation. "If there was something wrong with it, they wouldn't open the ride."

Rick might have been inclined to believe that if the Ferris wheel was a permanent fixture, but a week ago the stretch of land occupied by the fair had been completely empty. Things assembled that quickly tended to fall apart even faster.

"It's dark out," he muttered, pausing to hold his breath while the Ferris wheel started and stopped once more to let people off. "This whole thing could be fucking condemned and no one would know."

Mariah shot him a skeptical look – he wasn't convincing her anytime soon, but he didn't give a shit as long as he got off the Ferris wheel with some fraction of his dignity intact and without having a heart attack.

The closer they got to the ground, the more Rick realized he looked like a complete psychopath clinging to the carriage like his life depended on it. He didn't need anyone in line or the ride operator seeing him freaking out. He made a marked effort to loosen his grip and relax his posture, but all of his progress was lost when the wheel made a particularly squeaky stop.

"Rick, give me your hand," Mariah all but ordered, twisting around and reaching back to try and prise his fingers open.

He scowled at her, but there was less heat behind it than he normally mustered; they were at an awkward middle height where there was nothing but ground below them and he could see the tops of other rides in the sky behind her head. With a gulp he hoped she didn't notice, he let go of the carriage and let Mariah drape his arm around her shoulders.

"There." She tucked her face against his neck – a feat that might not have been possible if he wasn't hunkered down in the seat, making sure his center of gravity was securely in the carriage – and sighed. "Isn't this better?"

If by better she meant he could wipe his sweaty hand on her shirt instead of praying it wouldn't make him lose his grip on the carriage, he guessed it was. He was about to say something to that affect when she fluttered her eyelashes against his skin and tilted her jaw to press a slow, hot kiss to his neck. As she pulled back, only by a fraction of an inch, her tongue darted out playfully to wet his skin.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

The Ferris wheel coasted around another few feet and Rick's stomach flip-flopped, but this time he couldn't tell if it was anxiety or the way Mariah gently blew on the wet patch of skin, making goosebumps erupt all over his arms. His brain was misfiring, getting all its signals confused.

"Mariah—"

She cut him off by digging her fingernails into his thigh hard enough that he'd probably have delicate half-moon indents left behind. The thought made something headier than nausea settle in his stomach and the feeling of her mouth latching onto his neck made him restless in a good way.

He closed his eyes and took a breath to center himself. When he opened them again, they were one level closer to the ground and he hadn't even noticed they'd moved. It probably had something to do with the way she was sucking a bruise onto his neck or the fistful of her shirt he was holding.

"Fuck."

"Almost there," she whispered as they began their final descent and nipped once at his earlobe, successfully taking his mind off of the way the Ferris wheel groaned to a final halt.

Rick could feel the disapproving look the ride operator was shooting their way as Mariah untangled herself from his hold. He made sure to smirk at the kid on his way out, trailing after Mariah on unsteady legs that he could no longer attribute solely to the adrenaline.

Maybe he didn't hate that godforsaken chunk of metal, after all.

Free Day
Part 3

Max/Mariam – kissing in the shower – requested by RedWheeler

Max didn't know the suite had a see-through bathroom when he booked it.

He'd said as much to Mariam the second the door coasted shut behind him and he looked up to see a glass cube, housing the usual amenities, jutting into the middle of their hotel room. Mariam fixed him with a suspicious look, one eyebrow raised and a gleam in her green eyes he should have recognized meant trouble.

"Whatever you say," she teased and unzipped her suitcase.

Max followed suit. Since they were staying for nearly two weeks, living out of their luggage would be impractical, but there wasn't a lot to unpack. He bumped into Mariam as they both plugged in chargers and again when they were hanging up clothes. Each time she gave him a knowing look, like she thought he was doing it on purpose, and rewarded him with a chaste kiss. And, with each passing minute, the excitement buzzing under his skin got closer and closer to bubbling over.

The promise of two weeks alone with Mariam made him feel like he was a teenager again, getting butterflies every time she even glanced his way.

Eventually he finished with his luggage and went hunting for the remote to the thermostat. He was in the middle of trying to find the impossible happy medium on a hotel's temperature gauge, when he heard the shower kick on. He probably gave himself whiplash with how fast he turned around, remote in his hand all but forgotten.

"What are you doing?"

Mariam's eyes flicked over to him again and she shot him a smirk from the other side of the glass. She took her time answering, carefully spreading their toiletries out across the counter before poking her head out of the door. "I'm going to get a shower – we've been traveling all day," she said.

Steam was beginning to fog up the walls of the bathroom and Max's brain felt similarly inhibited.

"Is that okay?"

"Uh, y-yes… yeah," he stuttered. "Take as long as you want." The words slipped out without him meaning to say them, and he felt his cheeks flush red under Mariam's piercing gaze. "I'll be out here." The implication that he'd be standing in the room, staring at her like a peeping Tom, only made him redder.

Mariam's answer was a coy smile. When she closed the door behind her, the lock didn't click.

Max let out a breath and tossed the AC remote onto the bedside table so he could run his hands through his hair. He had literally showered with Mariam before, so he had no clue why the thought of catching a glimpse of her doing so made him feel so flustered. He was shaking his head at his own ridiculousness when movement from behind the glass caught his eye. It was embarrassing how quickly he zeroed in on the bathroom.

Through the clouded glass, he could make out the shape of Mariam undressing. Her arms crossed as she pulled one of his old BBA hoodies over her head and tossed it to the floor. He could see the foggy shapes of her legs bend as she stepped out of her leggings, then her underwear. Her bra came last and, though he didn't have a clear view by any means, Max felt liquid heat drizzle down to coil in his gut.

She was doing it on purpose. She had to be, he thought, as she shook her hair free of its ponytail and stepped under the spray of the shower. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to hear her sigh from the whole way out here, over the sound of the water and the thundering of his heart in his ears.

When Mariam dipped her head back under the spray, his eyes followed the blurry line of her body from the graceful arc of her neck the whole way down her legs. And, when she wrung out her hair, splattering water on the glass that washed away small splotches of steam, he couldn't help but stare at the pinpricks of perfect, pale skin that were revealed.

He wanted to kiss her. Touch her. Skim his hands through the streams of water trickling down her body.

He was probably allowed to, considering this was their honeymoon.

In a rush, he tugged his shirt off and struggled out of the rest of his clothes on the short walk to the bathroom door. He rested his forehead against it for a second, feeling the heat from Mariam's shower through the glass in an attempt to ground himself, before turning the handle and letting himself inside.

A blanket of steam ensconced him, adding to the heady environment and making his flush spread over his ears and down his neck. Despite the heat, he shivered in anticipation when Mariam's eyes locked on his.

"Took you long enough," she said with a smirk that made him either want to kiss her senseless or fall to his knees.

Max stepped forward. Despite being surrounded by glass, he felt like the world outside didn't exist. Existence was only the sound of running water, steam heavy in his lungs, and his wife beckoning him into her embrace with eager hands.

He went willingly, unable to ignore her pull if he'd wanted to, and moaned as she pressed her body against his, somehow hotter against his front than the scalding water at his back. And then she was kissing him, running her hands up over his shoulders and tangling them in his hair.

Max took hold of her waistline and kissed her back. He felt her shiver with the same anticipation rushing through his veins and sharpening his senses. He moved one hand to cradle her face, changing the angle of the kiss just slightly so he could kiss her deeper.

She sighed, the air surprisingly cool in the hot room, and arched into him when he slipped the hand on her waist to the small of her back. This. He wanted this forever.

"I love you," he muttered against her lips, just to feel them smile.

"I love you, too, Max," she whispered breathlessly and pinned him up against the glass.

A/N: And that's a wrap on MayBlade! Only a few months after it's a wrap for everyone else lol I had fun with this event! Currently am on the fence about participating again next year, since it seems to suck up a lot of time I could be devoting to other fic ideas, but I love the challenge of thinking outside my box and utilizing different characters. Whatever 2024 brings, I'm happy with this little collection of fics and I SO SO APPRECIATE everybody who's supported my endeavor. You guys are the best. :)

Thanks for reading!