Hi people, I decided to post another R/M one-shot. Here it is and I don't own any form of the original story but I own a plastic model of Driger S. *_* And happy Lunar New Year! It's coming round the corner. Yay!

After the Storm

By

Aquarius Galuxy

(This fic takes place right after the World Championships, where everyone starts to challenge Tyson and he launches Dragoon.)

(=+=)

A pink blade flew into its owner's palm. Mariah smiled. Tyson was good. He had just beaten Tala at the World Championship finals and everyone was challenging him to a beybattle. Tyson agreed, of course. She'd joined in, but she was beaten in some minutes.

Mariah shifted her gaze over to a certain raven-haired boy standing some distance away from her. Ray – her childhood friend, her ex-teammate, and the holder of her heart. His confident stance remained even as Dragoon bashed Driger hard in the side. His determined and yet sparkling golden eyes were fixed on his grey blade, willing to go further. Ray was always this determined when it came to beybattles… Well, maybe except for a few, like in the Asian Tournament where he first officially battled her.

The pink-haired girl sighed softly, memories that had seemed to pass by a short time ago replaying before her eyes.

*Flashback*

Seven-year-old Lee caught Galleon in his hand and smiled, revealing little fangs. He had nearly perfected a new attack that should be able to beat Ray's Driger. On a sudden impulse, he called over to Ray, who was training with Driger.

"Ray! I challenge you to a beybattle!"

The seven-year-old boy called Ray looked up from where he was blading and grinned.

"Fine. I accept your challenge, Lee!" He caught Driger and walked confidently up to a stone dish, where Lee was waiting. "And I won't go easy on you just because you're my best friend!"

"Neither will I!" Lee replied.

Five-year-old Kevin was the announcer, standing at the midpoint of the dish's arc, between Lee and Ray. Mariah stood opposite Kevin, on the other side of the dish, a few feet away from the edge of the rocky object. She inched closer to Ray, subconsciously hoping that he would win.

"Players ready?" Ray and Lee nodded, their eyes on their blades and both hearts set on winning.

"3- 2- 1- let it rip!" Kevin shouted.

"Go Driger!"

"Galleon!"

Both bladers launched their blades, which began circling around each other, as if sizing the other up.

"Galleon, attack now!" Lee suddenly shouted. His black beyblade spun near the side of the dish, then charged at Driger at high speed, making contact with it and sending the grey blade skidding.

Ray's golden eyes widened slightly in shock, but he quickly recovered.

"Don't let him beat you, Ray… You can do it!" Mariah whispered, not really meaning to let the raven-haired boy hear what she said. But he did. Ray turned his head slightly in her direction.

"Don't worry, I'll win… Mariah." He gave her a small smile, and the pink-haired girl was positive that it was for her. For some unknown reason, her heart skipped a beat. Dismissing it, she turned back to the beybattle.

Ray stood his ground, his eyes glowing with determination. Clenching his fists, he shouted, "Driger! Tiger Claw!"

The grey blade carried out its attack, and once again, Lee lost to the unbeatable Ray, speaking of whom had turned to look at Mariah.

"Thanks, Mariah."

"What for?" she replied, a little puzzled.

"For encouraging me just now." Ray gave her a warm smile.

The young girl felt herself blush and looked away. "It's… nothing, really."

The small crowd that had gathered around was already gone, and only Ray, Mariah and Lee remained. Lee looked up from Galleon, which he had been staring at for the past few minutes.

"I'll beat you the next time, Ray!" Lee told his best friend, then called his little sister. "Come with me, Mariah!"

"Yes, Lee," she replied. Lee was walking away from the stone dish. "I'll see ya tomorrow, Ray." Mariah turned towards the boy.

"Bye, Mariah. I like you." His golden eyes shone with sincerity. He smiled and waved at her. "You'd better go now, or Lee may burst, you know."

Mariah grinned at him. "Bye, Ray!"

She waved, then turned and ran after her older brother.

*End flashback*

Mariah sighed again. 'I lost the chance to tell him that I liked him… no – love him… I wonder if he loves me too…'

At that moment, Ray turned to look at her; the precise second she decided to steal another glance at him. Both parties turned away, embarrassed and blushing.

'Why did I do that?' Ray wondered. 'I'm supposed to concentrate on the beybattle!'

'Ah. But there are enough blades here to battle Tyson,' a little voice in his head said.

'But one more blader doesn't make much of a difference, does it?' Ray asked the little voice.

'Then why did you look at Mariah?' The voice asked him back in reply.

Ray was stumped for a while, then an image of the pink-haired girl floated in front of his mind's eye. Ray drew in a sharp breath. She was so beautiful… The Chinese boy couldn't help but be distracted by her. He liked her a lot, ever since the day he met her; they'd grown a lot closer, and upon feeling the heartache without her when he left the White Tiger Village, he knew that he loved her.

'Mariah…'

*Flashback*

Ray lay in the hospital bed, a few hours after his beybattle with Bryan. He had regained his consciousness, but had decided to keep his eyes closed for a while.

'Thanks, Driger, for helping and protecting me. I really appreciate it.'

'It was my duty, young one.' The deep voice of the tiger bit beast echoed in his mind. 'Beside, you deserved it.'

'Driger…'

'Before I leave you alone, there is something which may be of interest to you.'

'What is it?'

'You have a female visitor.' Driger then withdrew from his master's mind.

Ray felt his heart beat faster with hope… He opened his eyes…

A pink-haired female was sitting in a chair by his bed, her golden eyes clouded over with worry.

"Ray! You're awake!" she exclaimed softly. Her face brightened with relief. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine…" he managed to croak.

For the next ten minutes or so, Mariah stayed by him and tended to his every need. She did not seem to like the idea of calling a doctor or a nurse in, and it was as if she was afraid that a nurse might just chase her off and prevent her from seeing him.

Ray caught sight of tearstains on her cheeks, and it tore at his heart, having a clear idea what – or who – she was crying over.

"I think you should go back to sleep, Ray. You need more rest." Mariah looked at him, concerned.

He nodded and closed his eyes, not wanting her to get more upset. But – how could he sleep when he could feel her intense gaze on him?

About twenty minutes passed, and Ray wondered what Mariah was doing, when he felt a hand being placed on his left cheek, softly, lightly, as if not wanting him to be awakened…

Mariah sat quietly by Ray. Quite some time had passed, and she was sure he had fallen asleep. The sight of him melted her heart, and she was aware of the fact that they were alone in the room. Not being able to control herself any longer, she reached over and softly rested her right hand on his cheek, savouring the moment, and yet not wanting him to awaken. He was just so handsome and sweet… however injured he was…

A single tear trickled down her cheek.

"Oh, Ray… Please get well soon… " She whispered. There was a long pause. Then the pink-haired girl continued. "I love you, Ray… I always have, and I always will…"

Ray felt his heart swell with love for the feline girl. She loved him! And all the while, he had been thinking that she only thought of him as a good friend, nothing more. And now… he knew that he loved her more than anything else in the world. Not giving any sign of consciousness, he remained in his position, afraid that he would startle her. After all, her whispered speech was not meant to be heard by anyone…

*End flashback*

Mariah had been with him the next day, and the day after that, which was today. She had given up her chance to watch the tournament finals with her own eyes, instead viewing it from the small television in the hospital room, just to stay with him and make sure that he was feeling alright. Ray then knew what he had to do, after trying to hide his secret for so many years…

Ray called back Driger suddenly, half-worried that the tiger bit beast would leave him again. That did not happen.

"Ray – why did you stop battling Tyson? Don't you want to try your hand at beating him?" Mariah asked in surprise.

"I do, but that can wait. I have something more important to do now." Ray replied, grabbing her hand. "Come with me, Mariah, I need to talk to you."

Ray gazed into her eyes pleadingly. Mariah nodded. What had she to lose? The feline girl followed him into a coniferous forest. It was starting to snow, and the colour of snow on green pine trees was pleasing to the eye. Mariah nearly believed that she was in a dream, being alone with Ray in a beautiful pine forest that was covered in snow. Only one more thing could make it perfect…

"Wow… There's something there that meets more than the icon." Dizzi said. "Love is in the air, and there's nothing better we could do than to leave young lovers alone…"

"You're right, Dizzi," Kenny said, looking up from his laptop. "We'd better not say anything about it."

"Smart move," the bit beast replied.

Another person had also seen the pair leave.

"Well, I guess I can't say anything about that, since the World Championships has ended, and the teams will most probably break up… What can I say, after seeing my best friend and little sister take off like that, anyway?" Lee made up his mind to let the matter rest.

Just then, Galleon came skidding back to him. 'Sheesh.'

"What did you want to talk to me about, Ray?" Mariah asked a little shyly, standing in front of the boy who filled her dreams every night, her heart beating madly, hoping against hope that he would say those three little words to her…

"I just wanted to say that –" Ray took a deep breath. 'It's now or never.' "— I love you, Mariah." He felt his face flush.

His large golden eyes shimmered with love and hope – that she would not reject him, that she would say the words that would bind their future together – although he knew in his heart that any worry was unnecessary.

Mariah pounced on him and wrapped her arms around his neck with happiness.

"So do I, Ray… so do I…"? She whispered in his ear.

The raven-haired boy placed his arms over her back in a hug, closing his eyes. He could finally be with her, after all the years of hoping and wishing… Ray hugged her even more tightly. He would never let go of her again, not if he could help it. He missed a chance of telling her before leaving the White Tiger Village, and that had caused him the additional years of wishing, yearning, and regretting. At least it would be over now… He made up his mind to follow the White Tigers – and Mariah – back to the White Tiger Village, where he could almost see the many days of pure happiness spent with a certain feline girl.

"Mariah…" he heard himself say. He couldn't help it… He loved her so much…

The aforementioned girl pulled back a little, looking deep into his shimmering golden eyes with her almost-identical ones somewhat questioningly.

"Ray?" She whispered, barely loud enough for him to hear.

The sight of her beautifully sculpted face overwhelmed him, and he wanted nothing more than to just hold her in his arms and kiss her. He tilted her chin up with his finger, so that her face was directly across from his. Sealing the gap between them, he gently brushed her soft lips with his.

Mariah wasted no time in returning it, getting Ray to deepen the kiss as much as he could. Their bottled-up emotions sprung to the surface and the pink-haired girl purred with pleasure as Ray ran his hands down the small of her back. She pressed herself closer to him, threading her slender fingers through his smooth raven tresses. Both shivered when their tongues made contact for a moment, not hesitating to do so again.

Abruptly, they broke apart, albeit unwillingly, to get the oxygen they needed for survival.

That was the first kiss for each lovebird, neither experiencing anything like it before, neither disliking it. Both faces were flushed, each person's eyes gazing lovingly into the others', unable to speak, as they were panting rather heavily.

Ray rested his right hand on her cheek lightly.

"You're beautiful, Mariah." She blushed; still not very accustomed to their intimacy, although it was more than welcome to her.

"You don't look too bad yourself, you know, Ray." It was his turn to colour. He grinned at her shy smile.

"You're so adorable, Mariah." He leant his forehead against hers, looking deeply into her large, golden eyes and breathing in her feminine scent, before tilting his head to meet her lips in another passionate kiss.

Mariah melted against Ray, leaning against him comfortably, her arms locked around his neck. The Chinese boy didn't mind the extra weight (Who would?), as he secured his strong arms around her small waist.

After a few more kisses, the couple stood in a long embrace…

The pink-haired girl sighed softly. "You know, Ray, I think we should be heading back now… the others may be worried…"

"And Lee may send a search party, too," He grinned as he replied. "Come on, Love, let's go." He let go of her waist, catching her right hand with his left one. Slowly, they set off on their way back to the other bladers

"Well, I don't think they missed us, seeing how much they're enjoying themselves," Ray stated dryly. They'd just stepped into a restaurant they'd been told to go to, and they found the rest of the bladers there.

Tyson was, as usual, at the buffet table. 'Honestly, aren't the waiters and chefs afraid of them yet?' Ray wondered.

The other bladers were either eating or just lounging about. Lee approached Ray and Mariah, who were still holding hands.

"I see that you are finally together, then." Lee smirked. The two people in front of him blushed furiously.

"Don't bully my sister, Ray," Lee continued.

"I won't."

"Take care of her, or I'll be after your head."

"Don't worry, I will," Ray said, his golden eyes sparkling. He squeezed Mariah's hand in a gesture of affection.

Lee nodded, smiled, and turned away to join the rest of the White Tigers.

"Ray – where are you going after this? After all, the World Championships are over," Mariah asked him curiously, praying that he would be staying be her side.

Ray looked at her for a while, and then replied.

"Back to China with you, of course." The raven-haired boy smiled, giving her a small kiss on the lips, which she returned shyly.

Only one person saw that. The leader of the White Tigers smiled to himself. His younger sister was in good hands.

#*#*#

Please review! Thankew!