Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ About Nothing ❯ Epilogue ( Chapter 9 )

Epilogue

"Do you feel like dessert?" Yamato asked, setting the last dish from supper into the dishwasher.

"I'm pretty full," Ken mumbled, wrapping his arms around Yamato's waist from behind, and pressing his face into the blond hair. "But if you want something..."

Yamato smiled. "I'm fine." He sighed happily and stood there for a long moment, enjoying the feeling of his lover pressed against him. The apartment was quiet, and neither of them had to be anywhere the next day. This is what he'd missed while on tour, having quiet moments like this with someone he loved. He treasured the calm serenity-

A sharp ringing noise cut into Yamato's thoughts.

"The phone is ringing," Ken mumbled into Yamato's hair, not moving.

"Let it." The blond turned and smiled, pressing his forehead to Ken's. "We're going to spend the night together, just you and me... no one can interrupt that."

Ken's lips turned up in a small grin. "It could be an emergency."

"I don't care. Nothing could pull me away." Yamato ducked slightly and pressed his lips to Ken's, doing his best to ignore the repeated ringing of the phone. Instead he tried to concentrate on how gentle Ken's kisses were, and how it felt to have the younger boy's tongue slip between his lips and-

The answering machine beeped and Taichi's voice could be heard coming from the speaker. "Yamato! Yamato, I know you're there! Look, I'm in PAIN, here! I know you don't have a JOB so it's not like you're busy or anything... pick up the phone, damnit!"

"I'm not answering," Yamato mumbled into the kiss, wrapping his arms around Ken's waist.

"C'mon, Yama," Taichi whined. "Haven't I always been there for you? Even back when we were kids and everyone was teasing you... I stood up for you and got detention 'cause of it, remember? I thought you were my best friend!"

Yamato simply moaned unhappily. "Not again. Doesn't he have anyone else to whine at? This is the third time this week."

"Go on, answer the phone," Ken said, tugging away and grinning. "Or he'll never leave us alone."

Casting Ken a guilty look, Yamato retrieved the phone and gritted his teeth before speaking. "This had better be important, Yagami, or-"

"I miss him," Taichi's voice said softly.

"...Excuse me?" The blond frowned and sat down at the table.

"Daisuke. I miss him."

Yamato rolled his eyes. "Stop pouting."

"I'm not! I don't pout!"

"You are so."

"....Damnit, I am."

Ken sat across from Yamato and sipped his leftover tea from dinner, watching the blond curiously.

"If you miss him so much, do something about it." Yamato crossed his legs and leaned back in the chair.

"But I can't! I did the right thing, so I have to KEEP doing the right thing... right? Or wrong... damnit, I don't know!"

"Taichi, calm down. You're being pathetic."

"Yeah, I know, so fix it! ...I wish you were here to punch some sense into me."

Yamato grinned. "Well, find someone else to punch you. I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to find someone willing."

"No. No one else punches me like you."

Yamato shook his head. "If you care so much about him, then you should-"

Taichi's voice was suddenly much more serious. "I care about him that much, that's why I left."

Yamato's annoyance faded and his voice softened. "Then you need to move on. Go to a club, hang out with your friends. ...Do you want me to come visit you this weekend? We're not doing anything..."

"No, you're busy with your little Ken-chaaaaan," Taichi said in a squeaky voice. "Wouldn't wanna interrupt the love birds."

"For your information, my little Ken-chan can come along."

Ken wrinkled his nose and blushed faintly, mouthing at him 'What's wrong?'

Yamato held a hand over the receiver and whispered, "He misses Daisuke."

"...Good," Ken said, smirking.

Giving him a sharp look, Yamato held the phone back up to his ear only to catch the end of some long tirade of Taichi's.

"-screw everything up but I miss him and I feel like a jerk 'cause I wanna go back even though I did the right thing and DAMNIT why did I do the right thing in the first place?! I don't do the right thing! I do the stupid thing! Why didn't you tell me to do the stupid thing?!"

"You didn't consult me," Yamato mumbled, rolling his eyes.

Ken glanced up and whispered to Yamato, "Did you hear a knock on the door?"

Yamato shrugged. "I can't hear anything over him."

"What was that?" Taichi asked, still sounding mournful.

"Nothing, Taichi." He turned to Ken. "Go on and check the door, I'll be right there." Watching his boyfriend walk out of the room, Yamato sighed. "Taichi, you've ruined my nice quiet evening. What do you want me to do?"

"...Make me not stupid."

"If I could do that I would have a long time ago," Yamato snapped, then he sighed. "But if you weren't stupid you wouldn't be Taichi, and that's why we love you. Now have a beer, go to bed, and try to relax. I'll call you back tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay," Taichi mumbled. "Thanks, Yama."

"Any time, Taichi, any time." Yamato stood and hung up the phone. He felt bad. Taichi had never dealt with heartbreak before, not on this level, and Yamato wasn't sure how much of this his friend could take. 'I'll visit this weekend and we can go to a club or... something,' Yamato thought, walking into the living room. 'I can cheer him up and-' His thoughts stopped midstream when he saw who was standing in their living room.

"Hi, Yamato-san," Daisuke said, smiling nervously. "I uh... wanted to ask a favor."

Ken was sitting on the couch with a concerned expression on his face. "What's wrong, Daisuke?"

"Well, y'know. Taichi-senpai left this at my place," Daisuke said, indicating the bag he held in his left hand. "Maybe you could take it to him, Yamato-san?"

"I'm sure he could-"

"Sorry, I'm really busy." Yamato sat next to Ken and elbowed him, hoping Daisuke wouldn't notice. "We're both very busy."

Giving them an odd look, Daisuke sat on the edge of the coffee table. "Oh... but... don't you think he needs this stuff?"

Yamato winced. He hated it when people sat on his furniture like that. "Probably..."

"If his school books are in there-" Ken began.

"Nah, just some clothes. Couple of shirts, some pants... dirty socks," Daisuke said, patting the satchel.

"No underwear? Typical," Yamato mumbled, sitting back.

"Er........ yeah." Daisuke shifted uncomfortably and averted his gaze.

"What was that?" Ken leaned forward and gave Daisuke a smirk.

"...So you guys can't bring it to him?" the redhead asked, pouting.

"You're bad at changing the subject," Ken teased. "But-"

"We can't." Yamato said again, cutting Ken off. "We're really busy, Daisuke. Sorry. Can't you take it to him?"

"Well yeah... I guess I can, but..."

"Great! I'm sure he'd be glad to see you," Yamato said, smiling.

"...Yeah." Daisuke looked down at the bag and sighed, frowning.

"You could mail it to him," Ken said helpfully.

"But that would cost a lot!" Yamato interjected. "It's cheaper to just take it to him."

"And I don't have much money..." Daisuke shrugged. "Thanks, guys. I guess... I'll take it to him." He stood and shouldered the bag again, turning to leave.

Ken gave Yamato a dirty look and whispered, "It wouldn't cost that much, and we're not that busy-"

"Sorry, Daisuke... we'll see you later. Give Taichi our love!" Yamato said in a cheerful tone of voice, ignoring Ken.

Daisuke walked out of the apartment looking dejected.

"What are you up to?" Ken asked, folding his arms.

"It'll be good for them to see each other," Yamato said, smiling sweetly at his boyfriend.

"You're setting Daisuke up for a lot more pain. He's just starting to get over it and-"

Yamato cut him off with a kiss. "-and if that's true seeing Taichi won't bother him. But if it's not, they'll get together. Either way, it'll work out fine."

"I don't know..."

"Believe me, it's best this way. Now, didn't we have plans for tonight?" Yamato's eyes sparkled mischeviously.

"I think there might have been something..." Ken murmured, deciding to forget his concern for the moment, and instead lead his lover to their bedroom.

***

"Shit, shit, shit! How the hell did I sleep in so late?!" Taichi grumbled to himself as he looked through his dresser for clean clothes. "Stupid finals, stupid alarm clock not being set, stupid everything! Any minute now the guys are gonna come bitch at me for missing lunch with 'em... crap, I hope the professor doesn't fail me out for being late!" While Taichi hopped on one leg to pull on his pants, there was a knock on the door. "Yeah, c'mon in." 'That's gonna be them, no doubt... damnit!'

The door hesitantly opened, and Taichi looked up, one leg in his pants and one out. "Well, you coming in or-"

Daisuke simply stared. "...Um. Hi..." Taichi seemed to have forgotten to put on underwear.

Losing his balance, Taichi tripped backwards onto the bed, grabbing the curtains and yanking them off the window as he fell.

"Are you okay?!" Daisuke dropped Taichi's bag in the doorway and ran over, a concerned look on his face.

"Yeah, I'm okay... I just..." Taichi felt his voice fade. Daisuke was standing over him. Daisuke's burgundy eyes were looking down at him. Daisuke's face was inches from his own... "What are you doing here?" he finally managed.

"I just brought your bag, that's all," Daisuke said quickly, stepping back and averting his gaze to where the bag lay in the doorway. "Sorry, I'll just go if you're busy." He turned and began to leave. He didn't get far.

'He's leaving...' "No!" Taichi panicked. He jumped up and grabbed for Daisuke, wrapping his arms around the boy from behind and pulling him close. "I'm not busy."

Daisuke blushed, feeling a familiar shudder go down his spine. "Taichi-senpai..."

'Shit... I shouldn't have done that. Should let him go... but... he smells so good...' Taichi's eyes slid shut and he smiled slightly, the aching he'd been feeling for the last week fading. "Not busy at all."

Sighing and relaxing back into Taichi's arms, Daisuke smiled. 'Maybe he missed me after all...'

"Hey, Taichi... don't you have a final right now?"

Taichi looked up to see his neighbor standing in the hall. "Shit! I forgot!" Letting go of Daisuke abruptly, Taichi finished pulling his pants on and began searching for a clean shirt.

"I don't think the professor'll think getting laid is a very good excuse for missing the finals," the boy said, smirking.

"We weren't..." Daisuke mumbled, blushing again. He scowled at the ground and felt his stomach tense. 'What am I doing here?!'

Grabbing his book bag and jamming his feet into his shoes quickly, Taichi paused before stepping out the door. 'I can't just leave! Daisuke is here... Daisuke. He came to see me! But... the exam.... shit!' "Daisuke... can you wait?"

"Huh?" The red head looked up and blinked at Taichi in confusion. "Wait?"

"I have to take this test but... after!" Taichi looked at his watch. "Two hours! Two hours and I'll be back! We can catch dinner, okay?" His voice was desperate.

'I should leave. What am I going to do, sit in his room all day and wait for him?' "...Sure," Daisuke said, grinning. 'Oh well.' "But you have to pay."

Taichi felt himself really smile for the first time in a week. "Yeah." He stood there smiling for a long moment, staring at Daisuke happily.

"Taichi?" the other boy asked. "You going or what?"

"Crap! Daisuke... don't go anywhere! Just... just wait here!" Taichi stumbled out the door and ran down the hall, racing to his class, wondering if he had any chance of passing the test knowing Daisuke was in his bedroom.

***

Wondering briefly if the professor would be able to read his handwriting at all, Taichi jumped up and tripped over his bookbag before stumbling to the front of the classroom. Ignoring the chuckles of his classmates, he slammed the sloppily written essay onto the teacher's desk, panting slightly.

"...Yes, Yagami-kun?"

"I'm done. I have to go. Now."

"You've already missed too many classes, Yagami-kun, I expect you to wait for the others to finish before you leave." He peered down at the paper and frowned. "Are you sure you're done?"

Taichi hesitated. He didn't want to fail, but... 'Daisuke...' "Yeah, it's perfect, just lemme go, please!"

"You realize if this essay isn't perfect you'll have to retake my class?" The professor looked up at Taichi through his glasses and smirked.

'Retake... agh! I hate this stupid class... but... Daisuke... in my room...' "Yeah, it'll be perfect! I'm sure!" Turning, Taichi shouldered his bag and ran out of the class, already forgetting about the possibility of failing a class. Running down the hall and out onto the campus, Taichi only paused when he tripped over a girl sunning herself on the school lawn.

"Hey!" The girl squeaked, sitting up and adjusting her bikini. "Watch where you're going!"

"Whatever," Taichi grumbled, gathering himself up and starting back off across the campus. Passing the cafeteria and ignoring the smell of pizza wafting from the door, crossing the street and almost getting hit by a car, Taichi ran as fast as he could. Five minutes later he arrived at his apartment.

Panting, he stood outside his door and tried to compose himself. Running a hand through his hair and brushing the grass off his knees, he finally caught his breath and opened the door. "Daisuke I-" Taichi stopped mid-step.

Daisuke was curled up on Taichi's bed. The covers up to his waist, one leg hanging off the side of the bed, he was fast asleep.

'I should unpack this, I guess... let him sleep.' Taichi closed the door and knelt down next to the bag, pulling out his clothes and tossing them in the vague direction of the clothes basket. 'Shirts, check... pants, check... underwear...' Taichi paused. 'Waitaminute... where the hell... I thought I put it in here!' Looking up at Daisuke, Taichi frowned suspiciously. 'Did I leave it there or did he...' He shook his head and grinned. 'Nahhh. I musta just forgotten it or something. But... he sure is... cute like that...'

Approaching the bed carefully, Taichi knelt next to it and stared quietly at Daisuke's face. The redhead's bangs were getting long, Taichi noted, and brushed them away from the boy's eyes. His nose wrinkled in response and he parted his lips, sighing contentedly. Considering how energetic he was when awake, the younger boy seemed awfully peaceful as he slept, Taichi thought, stroking Daisuke's cheek gently with a finger.

"Mmm?" Daisuke mumbled, rolling over and cuddling up to a pillow.

Taichi grinned and considered waking him up, but decided against it. 'He's too cute to bother, I'll just tuck him in and-' he paused, noticing a bulge in the boy's back pocket. Daisuke was wearing baggy cargo pants, but there was clearly something there. 'What's...' Carefully unbuttoning the flap and reaching into the pocket, Taichi pulled the item out and sat there, staring at it, feeling stunned.

'My goggles. Why's he got these with him? I thought he woulda thrown them out a long time ago...' He smiled and traced his thumb across the lenses, remembering when he'd handed them over to the smaller boy. 'He looked better in them than I did, anyway,' Taichi thought, resting his head on the mattress and yawning. 'Maybe I need a little nap, too.' With the goggles in one hand, Taichi drifted off to sleep.

***

"Taichi-senpai?" Daisuke's voice asked softly.

Taichi grinned. "Daisuke," he whispered, reaching towards the noise.

"Agh!" Daisuke yelped as Taichi yanked him off of the bed and into his lap.

"Huh?" Taichi's eyes fluttered open, only to see the object of his dream sprawled across his legs. "...Daisuke?"

"You were asleep," Daisuke said, sitting up and blushing faintly.

"Oh... right." Taichi frowned, almost wishing he'd been allowed to finish his dream. It'd been a particularly nice one, and...

"Er, Taichi-senpai?" Daisuke asked, averting his eyes. "You uh..."

"What?" Taichi blinked hard, still waking up, and glanced down at his lap to where the goggles lay. "Oh, sorry... they uh... fell out of your pocket, and... why'd you have them, anyway? Do you... keep them with you, or..."

Blushing slightly, Daisuke shrugged. "Sometimes. But that's not what I meant. I meant that." The younger boy pointed to Taichi's lap, a small grin on his face. "Sweet dreams?"

Finally noticing the large bulge in his pants, Taichi scowled. "Well... yes! And you interrupted them!"

Bursting into laughter, Daisuke leaned back against the bed. "Gee, sorry, next time I'll let you sleep. But you were making pretty funny noises..."

"I'll show you funny noises!" Taichi growled and pounced on Daisuke, pinning him to the ground and tickling his ribs.

"Aaah! No!" Daisuke giggled and tried to swat Taichi's hands away. "Stop! No more!"

"What's the magic word?" Taichi asked, reaching under Daisuke's shirt for more efficient tickling.

"Please! Please stop!!" Daisuke gasped, giggling loudly.

"...Close enough." Grinning, Taichi stopped and rested his hands on either side of Daisuke's chest, staring down at the boy. 'He looks really cute when he's all flushed...'

"Taichi-senpai? You're squishing me." Daisuke shoved at Taichi's chest, still panting from the previous attack.

Catching the boy's wrists in his hands, Taichi ducked down and pressed his lips to Daisuke's, his eyes shut tightly, holding his breath.

Moments passed, and still Daisuke didn't respond. He didn't move, he didn't kiss back, and he didn't pull away. Finally, feeling rejection set in, Taichi sat up and averted his eyes. "Sorry. I uh-"

"Taichi-"

"Lemme finish, okay? Or I won't be able to say this." Taichi scooted back off of the smaller boy and sighed, staring across the room and avoiding eye contact with his friend. "I've missed you. And I'm sorry. I'm sorry for being a dick, and I'm sorry for ruining everything, and... I'm sorry for not realizing a long time ago... how much I cared about you."

"Taichi-senpai, I-"

"Damnit, lemme finish!" Taichi turned and glared at Daisuke, taking a deep breath. "I've missed you. I've missed you so much that you're all I dream about. And I know I don't deserve you, and I know that I did the right thing before when I let you go, but... I can't just leave it like that. I fucking fell in love with you, and if I don't take this chance to tell you that, I might never get to again, so..." Taichi swallowed hard and his expression softened. "I know you can't say it back, not after how I acted, but... I love you."

Stunned, Daisuke felt his mouth go dry. "...Can... I say something now?"

"Yeah, go ahead," Taichi grinned sheepishly.

"I... I mean... you're so stupid!" And with that, Daisuke pounced onto Taichi, shoving him to the floor, and kissed him so hard Taichi felt the breath go out of him and dizziness set in. But he didn't care. Daisuke's lips were against his own, and Daisuke's body was pressed tightly to his, and Daisuke was kissing him.

Finally breaking the kiss, the smaller boy sat up only inches, and stared down at Taichi.

"So does that mean-"

Before Taichi could continue, Daisuke's lips were already against his again, and Taichi couldn't help but grin into the kiss. Wrapping his arms around the smaller boy, Taichi rolled them over so that he was on top of Daisuke, and parted his lips, pressing his tongue against the other boy's mouth.

Daisuke responded quickly, then shoved Taichi back only to tug the older boy's shirt off and yank him back down into a hungry kiss.

Next to the boys were the goggles, but they were shoved out of the way quickly, along with various articles of clothing. Outside, the sun was beginning to set, and people were getting home from work. The neighbors arrived home early and turned up their television set a bit louder than usual, to block the interesting noises coming from Taichi's apartment.

As the room began to dim from the twilight outside, Taichi found himself pressed deep into Daisuke, the smaller boy's fingers clenched into his back, leaving small bruises, and his eyes half shut in a look that sent shivers down Taichi's spine. Unable to look away from Daisuke's face, Taichi felt more than saw as Daisuke's back arched and he pulled Taichi down to press against him. The boy moaned something that sounded like Taichi's name, and bit into his shoulder. Ignoring the sting of the scratches and bites Daisuke had left, Taichi soon followed, pressing a firm kiss to the smaller boy's swollen lips, hearing a moan and not sure who's it was, as he thrust deeply into Daisuke and shuddered.

***

The sun had set and the streetlights weren't on yet. The room was dark and hot and humid, and smelled of sex. Daisuke glanced over and vaguely wished they'd moved to the bed. His back was rug burned.

A hand slid up his chest, up his neck, to his cheek, and tilted his head over. Taichi smiled at him and ran the hand through Daisuke's hair. "You still think I'm stupid?" he asked quietly, not wanting to break the spell that had set over the room.

"Maybe," Daisuke whispered back, rolling onto his side to face Taichi. "But I've known that a long time."

"I meant it, y'know," Taichi said, far too lost in the afterglow to be concerned about embarrassment over his feelings. "I really do love you."

Daisuke felt his face flush again, and he smiled. "Never thought I'd hear you say that."

"Well you are." Taichi paused and leaned in to kiss Daisuke gently. "Tired?"

"Mmm..." Daisuke nodded and sat up. "The bed is a better place for sleeping."

Taichi ran a hand down Daisuke's back and winced. "A better place for sex, too... sorry."

"I'm fine. You're no better off," Daisuke grinned mischieviously and ran a hand over the bite mark on Taichi's shoulder.

Chuckling, Taichi scooped Daisuke up and stood, wobbling momentarily as the smaller boy clung to him tightly, and dropped them both onto the bed.

"Wha-what was that for?!" Daisuke asked, panting in surprise.

"You said you were tired," Taichi said, pulling the blanket up over them, and shoving the broken curtain rod off onto the floor.

"Oh, yeah," Daisuke said, yawning. "I guess... I can stay... for the night."

"You can stay longer than that." Taichi's tone of voice was serious.

Daisuke smiled faintly. "I have to go back... next week is the last week of high school, and-"

"And then you're free," Taichi said, grinning. "How do you feel about going to college with me?"

"I don't think I can afford it..." Daisuke said, looking away. He didn't want to admit that he'd already applied and been accepted to another college nearby, close enough to take the train to from Taichi's apartment. He didn't want to admit that he'd been hoping...

"You can if you live with me."

"Huh?" The boy's voice cracked slightly in surprise and he blushed.

Taichi laughed and lay down, pulling Daisuke close, and wrapped his arms around him, forcing him to rest his head on his shoulder. "You heard me. I don't want to let you go again."

"Taichi..."

Reluctantly, the older boy loosened his grip. "But... I have to, don't I?" He smiled slightly and shrugged.

"...You want me to stay with you? Here?" Daisuke only clung tighter to the older boy, not pulling away despite his ability to.

"Yeah." Taichi tightened his grip again and inhaled deeply. Daisuke smelled good...

"...Okay."

Feeling his heartbeat speed up, Taichi's eyes went wide. "Huh?"

Daisuke laughed. "I already said that..."

"Well, I can say it, too! Huh?!" Taichi smiled and tickled Daisuke under the arms.

"Agh! No! Stop it!" Grabbing Taichi's wrists, Daisuke sat up and straddled the older boy's waist and smiled down at him. "No more tickling or I'm not gonna say it."

"Say what?" Taichi asked, but immediately stilled.

"...That I love you, too. But you should already know that."

"Yeah?" Taichi felt himself smile so widely his face ached. "Well like you said... I'm stupid."

"Guess so," Daisuke nodded. "But I love you anyway."

"I love you, too, Daisuke," Taichi said, feeling his throat tighten.

There was a long silence as the two boys stared at each other, then Taichi laughed.

"Okay, enough of that romantic crap, c'mere." He yanked Daisuke down onto the bed next to him, and squeezed him tightly in a bear hug.

"Agh! No!" Daisuke wriggled and reached down to pinch Taichi's ass hard.

"Ow!" Taichi let go and fell out of the bed in surprise.

Laughing, Daisuke rolled over and pulled the blanket up to his shoulder. "I'm going to sleep now."

Taichi smiled and climbed into the bed, slipped under the covers, and lay snug to Daisuke's back, wrapping an arm around him. "Good night, Daisuke."

"Good night, Taichi-senpai."