Note: Hey guys, this is the last chapter of this fic! I'm sorry that it may seem kind of rushed, it's just that I wanted to end this fic before I start my exams because after that, I won't be able to have any time to write anymore for a good while and I didn't want to leave this unfinished! I have a bad habit of leaving things to die when I lose interest in them! Sorry!

But thank you for all your support! NunchukuQueen, ATG, Lilith – your comments really made me smile! I'm glad that you liked the comparison to a child ¦smiles¦ And that it cheered up your days too! Heh, I hope that this chapter isn't too much of a bummer! Thank you!

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When Maxi realised that he was no longer alone, it was too late; an easily recognisable figure now obscured his vision. Frantically, upon identifying his 'attacker', Maxi tried to scramble to his feet and 'escape'; but a surprisingly strong hand caught his fleeing wrist and pulled him back down unto the floor, the figure practically pinning him down. "What is the matter with you!" Kilik's voice was unmistakably strained, and although anger was written upon his features; there was also another emotion fleeting back and forth across the handsomely chiselled face; something that Maxi didn't dare to believe was hurt. "Why are you avoiding me?" he demanded, shaking his head. "Last night, you just walked away – why? You wouldn't even answer me when I called you back! And why won't you even speak to me today!"

"I – get off me!" Maxi retorted harshly, fearing his own reaction more than anyone else – afraid of the words he might say; what he might reveal as he managed to flip Kilik momentarily away; giving him enough time to free himself of Kilik's hold and jump to his feet. "St-stop it! You don't know what you're talking about!" he cried, shaking his head. "I – I just need some time alone! Why don't you just get back down and spend some time with Xianghua, huh!" and with that he turned away, hoping to scuttle down the ropes as fast as was humanly possible in order to avoid this confrontation. I knew this would happen… Maxi thought bitterly. That's why I avoided you he whispered quietly in his mind, one foot over the edge of the lookout when hands flew to his shoulders and promptly pulled him back down; sending him crashing to the floor, but astonishingly, instead of his back meeting against hard wood, it met an unyielding, yet unquestionably soft… thing that was heaving up and down.

Immediately, Maxi froze. He couldn't even tell any longer if his heart was still beating, and his mind refused to register anything.

"Are you… jealous of me, or Xianghua?" Kilik murmured close to his ear, his warm breath ghosting upon the pirate's neck, assaulting him with wave after wave of involuntary pleasure as he firmly held Maxi in place upon his chest, eyes half-lidded as he watched his friend intently.

"Wh-what kind of a question is that! A-And… g-get off me!" Maxi had hoped to sound convincing, but the stutter and quavering of his voice made him oh-so-believable. Who am I fooling! Gods, please… just – just let this end now… I – I don't want to… The raven haired pirate closed his eyes tightly. This is just so wrong… but – I – I'm enjoying it… this closure… th-this should really stop… but even in his own mind; Maxi's voice held no conviction.

"Do you really want me to let go of you?"

"… Ah – y-yea!" came the crucially delayed response, and Kilik couldn't help but smile. "Wh-what's your deal man! D-Don't you have a thing for Xianghua!" Maxi exclaimed, gulping, fiercely racking his brains for a solution to his little 'problem'; of exposing his feelings for Kilik completely and utterly and being rejected for it; and of course, of a possible escape route from aforementioned rod wielder. The situation was beginning to become too much for Maxi to rationally handle, he wasn't even sure how much longer he could control himself. His body and mind – they wanted to run amok; like leashed animals craving for freedom, they wanted to abandon all notion of common sense; of morality. What they wanted was Kilik, and their all too compromising position wasn't helping matters at all. For what seemed like an eternity, Maxi had longed for the staff user, unconsciously, until the previous night; and this, what was happening right now, it threatened to shatter the little vestige of self control and pride that he had left.

However, Kilik, cruelly appeared to ignore Maxi's plight. "Tell me, Maxi," still not loosening his hold on the pirate as he rephrased his earlier question. "What are you more worried about – Xianghua liking me, or me liking Xianghua?" feeling that now, he finally knew for certain what was troubling the nunchaku fighter.

"D-Don't ask stupid things like that! Wh-why would I care what happens between you two!"

"Would you be like this if it had happened to one of your other crew members?" Maxi was paralysed again, finding himself being lured further and further into a corner; feeling very much like a man helplessly sinking in merciless quick sand. "Since I asked you that question last night you've been depressed, haven't you? You're not like your normal self, and trust me, I should know," Kilik admitted quietly. "But what I want to know is who is it that you like?"

"An-And why does th-that matter?" Maxi cursed himself a thousand times over for his sudden reversion back to crushing schoolboy state of mind instead of hardened, experienced warrior. Every time he opened his mouth, he knew that he lost whatever little scrap of dignity he had left; and Kilik? Kilik seemed happily oblivious of the trauma he was causing the poor pirate, and the havoc he wrought upon his emotions. On the other hand, now, Maxi was also curious as to Kilik's motives. Never once had he considered the blatantly obvious.

"Because I want to know for sure."

"Why?"

"Xianghua or me?" at the third repetition of Kilik's question, Maxi regained a little more of his composure as the 'gravity' of the tauntingly simple question registered in his mind. It was then that he realised that the escape he had been looking for; Kilik had given him already; but actually taking it was a different matter altogether. I could… always play off that I'm jealous of Kilik and after Xianghua after all that's the 'norm' isn't it? But… I – I don't want… I don't want to… "Maxi?" the ghosting of Kilik's lips briefly upon his ear made Maxi shiver with unbidden enjoyment. It was then that Kilik decided a different tactic. He wanted a definite answer. So he drew back, as if recoiling from a blow. "It's Xianghua isn't it?" injecting a heavily believable dose of hurt in his voice.

"Wh-wh-WHAT!" at that, Kilik's lips grew to a beautiful smile. "Whatever gave you that impression!" Maxi's response; was exactly the response that he'd been hoping for as the pirate whirled around to face him; only to suddenly pale as he clamped his hand firmly over his traitorous mouth. "W-Wait – I – I can explain -!" the older man began to stumble on his wording once more as he rushed to correct his grave error; only to suddenly find himself being encompassed in strong arms. "K-Kilik?" the amazement and shock in the older man's voice was adorable, and something that, if Kilik recalled correctly, nobody had ever witnessed before; and that made him smile all the more.

"So – it's me then?" he coyly asked, even though he already knew the answer now. For certain, he now knew why Maxi had been behaving so oddly; and it would be an understatement to simply say that he was relieved. His euphoria – man had never created the words to describe it, and probably would never be able to either. Maxi's blushing was all the answer he needed on that note as he gently tilted the older man's chin, capturing his amber gaze directly with his own hazel eyes. "You want to know why I thought you liked Xianghua?" meekly, Maxi nodded. "Don't you know that when boys like someone they usually act the opposite to how they feel? That's why, because you seemed to dislike Xianghua so much, I thought that you liked her."

"What! Gods! Don't be gross!" but then, Maxi opened his mouth again to voice another question, but Kilik gently placed a finger on his lips to silence him, continuing quietly.

"I only wondered if she liked me because then, at least I knew that she wouldn't go after you."

"So you led her on?"

"Only to ensure that she stayed away from you."

"You know… I don't know whether to praise you or hit you, as much as I dislike her…" he sighed, looking to Kilik before shaking his head. "You know… Xianghua's going to be pissed, right? You should really apologise or do something crappy along those lines."

"Yea, I know," the staff user winced, before shaking his own head. "But… I've got you now, so I guess that I don't mind whatever she flings at me," it was then that Maxi pulled back, feigning offence.

"Hey! Who said that you did have me!" and at that, Kilik smirked as he silenced the pirate with a long-awaited kiss.

"Any other objections?" he whispered quietly as he leant his forehead against Maxi's, eyes closed as they sat there in the lookout, enfolded in each other's embrace; away from where others could disturb them, simply enjoying finally being together – in every sense of the phrase.

"You know… why did you have to go all around the bend and pretend to like Xianghua?" Maxi's own hushed voice asked, foreign to the pirate's own voice as unanswered questions rose to mind. "Why didn't you just -?"

"I was scared, Maxi; terrified that you might reject me. You're too close a friend to me to want to do anything that would jeopardise our friendship," Kilik honestly confessed with a small, soft smile. "That's why – I couldn't do anything until I was sure. You know me, I have to affirm everything and anything before I act," he chuckled, before giving a small sigh. "I don't want to… lose control again like I did when -," but at that, Maxi cut him off with a little chaste kiss of his own.

"Don't. That's in the past now, Kilik. You're not a monster," he reassured him gently, truthfully.

"Maxi…"

"I – I'm glad that you… that you came up here," Maxi flushed furiously, trying to hide his burning cheeks as he looked down, feeling all too much like a school girl with her first boyfriend. "B-But hey -! What were you talking about boys picking on the people that they liked? Don't tell me that you didn't think I liked you because I didn't pick on you!"

"In short, yea…" Kilik laughed. "Why do you think I always did things like messing up your hair and other boyish bantering things like that? Then come to your rescue like some knight in shining armour?" for a moment, he paused. "You know, you definitely would fit the 'Damsel in Distress' criteria," he grinned wickedly, teasing the older man as he usually did.

"Oi! There is no way that I am like a girl!"

"Yea. Right, Maxi, whatever you say."

"I am not -!" but before Maxi could finish, his lips were sealed with a fevered kiss; and all protests were soon lost to the ocean around them. Kilik had found a new way of distracting his dear friend, and new found lover, that he found quite to his liking.

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Whew, a massive chapter –sweatdrops- Sorry if that was a kind of rushed ending! Thanks for being with me every step of this joy ride! ¦glomp¦

Dragonfly

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