This fic is PG 'cause there's some angst and Miyaken/Kensuke. Not a bad mix, after all. ^_^
Here's my two cents on the Miyako/Ken relationship:
I can see it. Vaguely. Miyako definitely has a crush on Ken (like she does on half the cast), and I suppose there are hints that Ken likes her. I dislike very much that it's canon, and heck, there are enough hints to show that Miyako's in love with Hawkmon, Hikari, and Daisuke as well, not to mention Koushirou. ^_^ My personal favorite Miyako coupling is Koushirou/Miyako. My second favorite is Daisuke/Miyako. I have my reasons for this, which are varied.
Now, Ken, I see only one choice -- Daisuke. And I have my reasons for believing in this, which I won't elaborate on here.
Now, I can see Ken liking Miyako -- but only as a socially-accepted substitute for Daisuke, because Daisuke and Miyako are a *lot* alike, minus the gender difference. And then there's the fact that Daisuke's strongest traits are Courage and *Friendship*, while Miyako's are Purity and *Love*. That might not mean anything, but heck, I believe it does. ^_^
So, my beliefs are pretty much outlined by this fic. However, I don't see any reason that my future fics will stick to this version of the canon, or anything *in* the canon -- personally, I believe canon are the lines inside which one must color in a coloring book. I never did learn how to color inside the lines. ^_^
Oh, and Midorikawa Hikaru is a Very Cool seiyuu, who's done a bunch of famous roles...Heero Yuy, Tamahome, Zelagadis...very drool-worthy. ^_^
I don't own Miyako, Ken, Daisuke, or anyone else in this fic. In fact, I don't have any part in Digimon at all, nor did I have any part in the ending. But daaa~aaang! Iori looks *good* as an adult! ::fangirl sigh:: He's *mine*!
by Rb
Weddings are always magical times, filled with good spirits and bustle and the full range of emotions, from the bride, groom, and everyone even vaguely related to the wedding.
For Inoue Miyako, who had planned out her entire wedding when she was six years old, it was a dream come true to be able to finally put those plans into action. Sure, some of the names had to be changed, and some of the color combinations would have to be adjusted, and it wasn't Midorikawa Hikaru that she was marrying...
...it was someone much, much better.
Hasn't every girl dreamed of her first kiss, her first true love, her prince, her knight in shining armor? Miyako had been through them all of the daydreams, all of the secret fantasies. This man stuck in her heart and head and had fulfilled all of of her wishes, even the one where he'd proposed and she'd said, breathlessly (for you must be, you know, no matter how sure you are) "yes."
Miyako knew her own heart intimately. It always surprised her when she found people who were conflicted in their hearts. It came to her naturally to know herself, a gift that had come with possessing the traits of Love and Purity.
Possessing those traits, however, didn't stop her from being flighty and indecisive. She'd fallen in love with at least thirty boys, over the years -- bouncing from boy to boy with a cheerfulness that masked her secret desperation to find someone, someone, oh please, someone...
She was happy, even radiant, as she swept through her duties of being a bride-to-be like a tornado of good cheer. Her face was always full of smiles. Buy flowers here, arrange for things here, mailing out invitations and receiving the RSVPs, the gifts being flown in from everywhere, she was so busy, busy, busy!
Perhaps what made her happiest was that all of the Chosen Children that she'd been friends with -- even those she'd met while in Russia -- were coming. Maybe it was Iori shyly asking for an extra invitation. "Miyako-san," he'd said (always polite!), "I'd like to bring a friend."
Someone special? she'd replied, eyes smiling, and the younger boy -- no, the man! -- had blushed, giving her all the answer she needed.
It could have been her mother whispering to her the secret of a happy and fulfilling marriage, which Miyako now held in her heart like every Inoue woman.
Maybe it was just a combination of everything that made her so overjoyed.
It was the night before the wedding. Miyako was secluded in a room with a dozen of her closest female friends, including her two older sisters and the three older Japanese Chosen Children, Sora, Mimi, and Hikari. None of them were married yet, although Sora had a rather secretive 'understanding' with Yamato. They were celebrating, as women do, the end of Miyako's life as a single woman and supporting her on the transition to married life.
"Ne, Miyako," started her oldest sister anxiously at a lull, glancing at her other sister for a moment. "What makes this guy so different from all of your other crushes and loves?"
"It seems so sudden..." said the other sister.
"It isn't," laughed Hikari, "although to be honest, I didn't really expect it."
"But still, Miyako...what makes this guy so special?" Her oldest sister, who saw herself on the verge of spinsterhood at the age of twenty-nine, wished desperately to know...
Miyako gave a gentle, beautiful smile. "Neechan...he's kind."
---
Ichijouji Ken felt rather removed from life at the moment. If life was a bubbling stream, then he was a large rock in the middle of it, letting life flow around him and over him and all around him, but never letting it move him.
He wasn't sure how he'd gotten there, he wasn't sure what he was doing, or why he was walking around the streets of Tokyo at such a late hour. He supposed he should be scared, a well-dressed man in such a place and time, it wasn't safe. But he was a police officer, after all. He could take care of himself.
At least, physically, he could.
He wasn't sure what he felt about the wedding. He wasn't supposed to feel this way, he was supposed to be full of strong emotions of love and happiness. Ken wasn't really one for strong emotions, though. Strong thoughts and ideas, yes, and strong opinions, yes, Ken had plenty of those, but once he got into the realm of emotions, he was actually rather iffy on the subject. He'd always had someone to dictate his emotions for him -- Osamu-niisan, and then Wormmon, who would teach him how to feel, and interwoven in all of that...
He shut his mind off to that. It was something that Ken had perfected over the years. He could turn off parts of himself, consciously. Turn off these feelings. Turn off that thought. Don't think. Don't concentrate on it. It's immaterial.
It's the kind of thing that made him so successful.
At everything he did.
At everything.
Ken continued to walk. He half-wished that he'd brought Wormmon along on the midnight sojourn, but Wormmon...no, not even Wormmon would completely understand these problems.
His wandering brought him to an alley, which he entered. About half-way down, on the back stoop of a small resturant, a hunched figure sat.
"Hello, Daisuke," said Ken.
Daisuke jerked his chin up. "Ken." Dangling from two fingers was a lit cigarette. By his side was a half-full bottle of beer.
"What are you doing?" asked Ken, his voice cool.
"Trying to get drunk," Daisuke said cheerfully -- he did everything cheerfully.
"Why?"
"Don't wanna go to the wedding tomorrow," Daisuke replied.
That makes two of us. "Why?" he repeated.
"I hate weddings." Daisuke ran his free hand through his hair. "Weddings suck. Don't you remember Jun's wedding a few months ago? Hell, you were there. I invited you. I was in the wedding party, and there was such a big fuss, and it was all elaborate, and Jun was bossing everyone around...god, weddings are horrible."
Ken said nothing.
"Hey, Ken, I didn't get invited to your bachelor party," Daisuke said after a moment's silence.
"Didn't have one."
"Miyako wouldn't let you?"
"Got it in one."
"She's really got you whipped, huh?"
"Eh?"
Daisuke smoked his cigarette and said nothing.
"You shouldn't be smoking that," Ken said. "It's bad for your health."
"I don't care." He took another drag and breathed out the smoke, watching it dispell into the night.
"I said, you shouldn't be smoking that."
"Since when do you care?" Daisuke said, deliberately provoking, returning the cigarette to his mouth.
With a smooth, elegant movement -- Ken had always moved like a tiger, liquid grace personified -- Ken plucked the cigarette from Daisuke's mouth, dropped it onto the concrete, and ground his heel into it.
"Since always, Daisuke." Ken's voice held a hint of anguish. "Since always. You know that."
Silence stretched.
"Damn, the moon is so beautiful," Daisuke laughed suddenly. Ken looked at him in surprise. "It's so big and full and...damn...it's a full moon, how romantic. I suppose Miyako planned it that way?"
"Mm."
"And the sakura trees are in flower. Cherry blossoms." Daisuke gave another laugh, this one cynical. "It really is a fairy-tale marriage, huh."
"I suppose."
"Ken, didn't you have any part in your own marriage?" he said teasingly.
"With Miyako planning the whole show?" Ken made a noise that, if it had been made from someone less elegant and refined than Ichijouji Ken, would be called a snort. "The only thing I did was nod."
"Who asked who?" asked Daisuke, his white teeth flashing in a grin against his dark skin and the darker surroundings.
Ken's voice dropped several decibels. "I asked her."
When Daisuke spoke, his voice was even quieter. "Why?"
Ken shrugged. "Does it matter?"
"Yes," said Daisuke, but his voice was so quiet Ken didn't hear. At least, that was the command that Ken sent to his ears.
There was a mutual silence at that point.
Ken thought about his mother's one request to him before she died, his father having passed away two years before her. Her request was simple enough: to name his son after Osamu.
That simple request, however, was fraught with complications. First, he still wasn't sure what he owed Osamu. Every time he thought he'd figured out everything, something else would pop up. Finally, he decided that yes, he would honor his mother's wishes and his brother's memory.
And then he needed a wife to have a son with.
Which meant, frankly, he needed to find a girl.
Which is where Miyako came in.
Ichijouji Ken had never been all that interested in girls. They were too flighty and inconsistent and...well...feminine for his taste.
But Miyako had come for a visit when Ken had been pondering his dilemma, and they had begun to talk, and Ken realized how friendly and nice she really was, and one thing had led to another, and before he knew it, he was 'courting' her, the gossip columns aflame. And so, he made the most of the situation and asked her to marry him.
After all, who was it that had taught him that friendship can lead to love in the first place? It was Daisuke, of course...friendship can lead to love, if nurtured properly.
"A bitter truth, ne? Friendship can lead to Love."
Ken didn't realize he had spoken his latest thoughts aloud until he heard a muffled gasp from Daisuke and looked back at him, seeing the pain in the warm brown eyes.
Daisuke still didn't speak.
"Daisuke," the blue-haired man started, finding his thoughts jumbling, as they always did around Daisuke. How much had he spoken out loud? How could he have let his guard down?
Silently, Daisuke groped for his beer bottle and started to chug down the liquid.
"Stop it, Daisuke!"
Daisuke continued to drink.
"Damnit, Daisuke!"
The bottle was empty. Daisuke looked at the empty bottle in surprise for a moment, then set it down carefully on the stoop.
In a swift, deliberate movement, Ken grabbed the bottle and smashed it on the ground.
The crash echoed throughout the alley.
"I'll have to clean that up in the morning," Daisuke noted finally.
"You shouldn't have been drinking," said Ken.
"You shouldn't have lied."
"You never asked!"
"You should have known."
The silence was even louder than the broken glass had been.
"How the hell was I supposed to know?" Ken said finally.
"You -- " Daisuke started, but Ken was in a rage.
"You still have this picture of me as this wonderful, perfect genius! And I'm not! That was just a mask. I'm not perfect. I'm not wonderful. I've made mistakes. I've made plenty of horrible mistakes. I've killed. You know by now that I'm not perfect. You know I've made plenty of mistakes. You've seen my falls from grace. After all -- " his tone modulated, and the gentle smile that had come to characterize him appeared as if by magic, " -- after all, you've always been the person to pick me up."
Daisuke looked stunned for a moment. "Ken..."
Words always left unsaid spiraled through Ken's head. It would be so easy to open up his mouth and let the other man learn his innermost feelings. It would be so easy. It would be so...
No. Ken shook his head. If he let those words out, he would never be able to recall them. This isn't the time. Ken looked Daisuke in the eye. "Daisuke, you have to promise me...you'll stay with me."
"What do you mean, Ken?"
"I know you don't agree with...with what'll happen tomorrow, but it is my choice. I don't want to lose you, though."
"You never had me." Daisuke's words were cold, but the look in his eyes told Ken he understood.
"I don't want to lose...all of you that I've had. Your friendship. Please, don't leave me."
This isn't the time.
You'll never get a better time.
How much would it cost you to...
...lean forward just a few inches...
...let your lips press against his...
...and change yourself...
...let your heart decide...
...betray her...
...betray your mother, your family...
...what will you do, Ichijouji Ken? What will you do?
Daisuke broke the raging debate behind Ken's eyelids with a laugh. "You'll never lose me, Ken. I can't leave. I'm like a boomerang, I'll always come back."
"Thank you, Daisuke. It means a lot to me to know that."
The two men shared a look that was more eloquent than anything else that could have been said.
"Well," said Daisuke finally, "save me the bride's first kiss, right?"
"Daisuke, I've always saved you the first kiss."
Daisuke smiled. "Mm. Miyako's a lucky girl. But she does deserve the best. And so do you."
Ken kept an answering smile on his face, feeling his lips tingle.
She isn't the best. She isn't Daisuke. But she's close enough.