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Last Chapter. I hope you enjoy!
A small plastic bag. No bigger than a sandwich bag. And inside holds the chard remains of a once large and powerful music box.
A music box that is no more.
Rick lifts the bag up to eye level, looking at it in a mild case of awe. It's almost unbelievable that this is all that's left.
Kai did warn him a few days ago that his choice of music and he fetish to listen to it at inhumanely high volumes will piss someone off so badly, so totally, that he or she will destroy his beloved stereo right in front of him.
But he always thought Kai would be the one to do it.
Walking inside the dojo, in search for the rubbish bin, Rick pops his head into the lounge room, which surprisingly only has three occupants. Michael is laying on the floor in front of the TV, remote in his hand as he cannel surfs. Kai and Miguel are sitting side by side on the couch near the back of the room, a book in between them.
Rick snorts at the sight, inwardly whining that the two should just get together already. It's annoying to watch the two pin after each other all day long. The stares, the blushes. It's sickening.
Tilting his head back when he hears a noise, Michael looks at Rick, immediately noticing a pile of what he considers to be rubbish in his large hand. "Hey Rick?"
Rick immediately snaps his gaze to the teammate. "What?"
"What's that?" Michael asks pointing to his hand.
"My stereo."
Michael's brow furrows in confusion at how calm Rick seems to be handling the destruction of his precious boom box. "What happened to it?"
"I pissed someone off, that's all," Rick answers bluntly before disappearing from his sight, continuing his search for the elusive garbage bin.
Michael blinks and turns his gaze to the blue hair Russian sitting next to a blonde Spaniard a few feet behind him. "Kai?"
Looking up from his book he is sharing with Miguel, Kai has a hint of amusement on his face while Miguel simply raises an eyebrow. "I didn't do it," he tells the American. "As much as I would love to lay claim to that tiny piece of achievement, I can't. Miguel can back me up on that."
Hearing the last sentence, a smile appears on Miguel's face and he nods. "Yeah, he was with me all day, so it wasn't him."
"Oh," Michael murmurs, scratching his head in confusion. "Then who else could Rick piss off so badly that they would destroy his stereo?"
Kai let his eyes turn to the ceiling as he thinks to himself. Suddenly the image of a certain purple hair nobleman flashes into his mind and he immediately springs to his feet.
"Rick!" he calls out, his voice holding a hint of accusation and annoyance, leaving behind two curious teens.
"Oi!" Rick suddenly replies, the remains of his stereo still sitting in his hands. "Where the hell is the garbage bin here."
"What the hell did you do to Robert?" Kai asks him with a firm tone, ignoring his pervious question. He moves to step in front of the strong American, glaring at him with a narrow gaze, his hands set firmly on his slender hips.
"I didn't do anything!" Rick is quick to reply, but not quick enough to stop a smirk from appearing on his face the minute he hears Robert's name. "I swear."
Of course, Kai doesn't believe him for a moment. "You were playing that god damn music in the park, weren't you? I warned you that one day-"
"Yeah, yeah," Rick cuts him off as he waves a hand at him with disinterest. "Sorry for not listening, almighty God of foresight. Now, where's the bin already?"
Kai rolls his eyes, resisting the overwhelming urge to smack the arrogant fool in front of him, instead jabbing his thumb over his shoulder. "It's garbage night tonight, so it's out the front."
"That wasn't so bad, now was it?" Rick mutters, daringly lifting his hand and patronizingly pats Kai on the head, quickly moving to the side the moment he sees a right hook aiming directly for his jaw. The swing misses, but only barely. The little guy is quicker than he looks.
"You don't look too devastated," Kai suddenly comments, peering up at Rick through his veil of stormy gray hair. "But I guess it's because Robert was the one who destroyed it. If it had been anyone else, you would have beaten the crap out of them, am I right?"
Rick stiffens, but makes no attempt to reply. But only because he doesn't know how to reply. What can he possibly say to something like that?
"Tch, childish," Kai chides, folding his arms over his chest in an disapproving manner. "Why don't you just make a move already?"
"You should talk," Rick snaps, turning his steel gray eyes to pin Kai to the spot. "Take your own advice and make a move with Miguel."
"Pardon?" a familiar voice behind Rick stutters.
Kai's eyes immediately widen and a thick, dark blush appears on his cheeks. Rick glances over his shoulder, a smirk making its way to his lips when he sees a certain blonde hair blader standing a few feet behind him, sporting a blush of his own. Talk about perfect timing!
"I'll leave the two of you alone, shall I?" Rick asks suggestively, making his escape to the front door.
He thought about staying and watching the scene unfold just to torment Kai a little more, but he knows his boundaries. Kai doesn't look like it, but he has one hell of a temper when pushed too far. He certainly has a wide vocabulary when he's angry, a fact that Judy now knows far too well.
Yes, he overheard her screaming match with Kai, and Kai won. No contest. He had the young scientist speechless near the end, almost in tears. That's quite an achievement, considering that Judy herself can have a bit of an acid tongue as well.
Besides, she deserved it.
The argument started when Judy found out that Max had stayed out all night and didn't ring to tell anyone where he was. Judy was livid and rang Kai up, asking him what kind of captain would let his teammate out at night alone.
Kai promptly asked in return what kind of mother would dump her son with her ex-husband and not visit or ring him for his birthday or Christmas. A screaming match was issued with Kai telling Judy exactly how he feels towards her and how her selfish actions have hurt Max so much.
Judy then cried that she's trying to do the best that she can and Kai simply told her to get her head out of her ass and try harder to be there for her only son.
The conversation ended when Kai slammed the phone down. Classic.
Finally, Rick finds what he's searching for and promptly dumps the chard remains of his stereo into the bin, dusting his hands off before turning around to head back inside. But as he approaches the entrance, he almost bumps into the nobleman himself.
Robert's eyes immediately widen when he sees Rick, but quickly turns his gaze away, a light shimmer of pink gracing his elegant features. A strong sense of guilt is clearly seen in his demeanor and he shifts uncomfortably on his feet.
"Oh," Rick raises an eyebrow and shoves his hands into his pockets, looking casual. "Back to finish it off, eh?"
The blush on Robert's cheeks immediately darkens, clearly feeling remorseful for his previous actions. "I want to apologize for my actions," he says as he bows his head in shame. "I didn't mean to loose my temper like that."
A gentle smile threatens to appear on Rick's lips and can't help but think how adorable the German is right now. He's more upset about the stereo than Rick is, it seems. It's cute.
"What made you loose it in the first place?" Rick suddenly asks.
A frown appears on Robert's lips as he promptly glances to the side while muttering an answer under his breath, most unlike him in everyway. "Well I am currently boarding at the Granger's dojo…"
"Ah," Rick says, a sense understanding in his voice. "So that explains it."
"It's no excuse either," Robert is quick to justify, lifting his head to look him straight in the eyes.
"Want to make up for it, huh?"
Robert gives the tall American a quick, sharp nod of his head. "That would be the honorable thing to do."
"Hmm, lets see. How can you make this up to me…?" Rick murmurs, tapping his chin in mock thought, drawing it out as long as possible. He turns his eyes to study Robert's profile for a moment, grinning slyly when an idea comes to mind. "Ah, I know."
"Yes?" Robert looks at him expectantly.
Rick smirks almost wickedly at him, turning to face him complete. "Come here."
Robert finds himself blinking at the request and tilts his head to the side in confusion, not sure if he heard him right. "Pardon?"
"I said," Rick's smirk widens. "Come here."
Cautiously, Robert takes the few steps and closes the gap between them, stopping just in front of Rick, finding Rick's bulky build and towering height slightly intimidating. "Now what?"
Still smirking, Rick lifts a hand and places it on Robert's neck and then quite suddenly, pulls him forward into his chest, his other arm immediately wrapping around Robert's waist. With Robert now completely off guard, Rick tilts his chin up and presses his lips securely against his. Slipping his tongue past the petal lips, Rick passionately begins to caress Robert's mouth, searching and tasting.
He will admit that he have had a thought or two about what it would be like to kiss Robert, but he never imagined that he would be this intoxicating. He tastes like an expensive bottle of wine; crisp yet smooth, elegant yet alluring.
Tantalizingly slow, Rick pulls back from the kiss, immediately realizing that not only did the nobleman give into the kiss, but he practically melted into his arms in a daze.
Oh yeah, who's the man?
Robert quickly snaps himself out of his trance and tries to glare heatedly at Rick, but ends up pouting cutely instead, his blush only adding to the look. "What was…?"
"You said you wanted to repay me somehow, right?" Rick says, a sense of smugness in his voice.
"This isn't what I had in mind," Robert murmurs, but makes no attempt to push himself out of Rick's strong and surprisingly protective arms. "But if you think you can-"
Before Robert has a chance to complete his sentence, Rick pulls him in for another kiss, this one much more softer than the first one, giving Robert a tiny indication that he isn't doing this out of lust or to take advantage of him in anyway.
"What was that for?" Robert asks, this time being the one to break the kiss.
Rick shrugs, stilling holding him in his arms. "I just wanted some peace and quiet, that's all."
"What?" Robert bristles. "You arrogant-"
"Tell you what," Rick says, cutting him off by pulling him closer against his chest. "You have to give me a kiss for each dollar that stereo was worth."
"And how much would that be?" Robert queries.
A sly, almost perverse grin appears on Rick's lips. "I'll say when."
Finally, the end. You know what? Rick is becoming one of my all time favorite characters to screw around with in fanfiction. I just love messing around with him X3
Can you imagine if Rick and Robert had kids together? They'd be rude, but disgusted by their own behavior.
Please review.