Notes: again- it's not Shinwa. But, I started this a while ago, nearly a year I think, and I really liked it but never finished it. Shinwa really has got me all blocked and messed up at the moment. Honestly, I'm really sorry because I know people are waiting on it. But hopefully the next chapter will be completed soon. Otherwise… Summer is here and the days are longer but that doesn't mean you shouldn't make every second of every night count…

Warnings: yaoi, if you've read anything I've written before the yaoi shouldn't come as a shock, but for those of you that have, you know what to expect. Still, I will say this: beware the random pairing(s)…

Disclaimer: Don't own Digimon- never have, never will. This is for fun, but not profit.

The Free Fall- 1

"Ow! God dammit, Yamato! That was my fucking foot!" Taichi screeched as he tried to remove the offending end of his new couch from the aforementioned foot. Heaving the awkward, heavy piece of furniture into place he collapsed onto said couch and continued to wail. "Son of a bitch this is painful."

"Not quite as painful as listening to you scream about it," Yamato said dryly, a smile quirking his lips. After being favored with a dark look from the brunette he shrugged and then rolled his sapphire eyes as his friend kept on bemoaning his pain. "Move your fat ass over and let me take a look at it."

Automatically shifting, Taichi winced as the blond removed his sock and inspected the damage. "Hey! My ass is not fat, thank you very much." He paused a moment, "Since when did you know how to inspect a possibly broken foot?"

Glancing up into luminous chocolate eyes he felt an eyebrow rise. "Since I started hanging out with you."

Tai stuck his tongue out at that. "That's not what I meant and you know it."

"Really? Because I answered what you asked…" Yamato snickered at the playful smack he received.

"Shut the fuck up! What I meant was… since when did you become Doctor Yamato? Where did you learn this?"

It was quiet for a few moments while Yamato gently massaged his friend's foot, looking for any serious damage. Finally he answered, voice hushed, "Jyou."

Silence enveloped the pair for a few minutes longer as Tai thought about the statement. "Oh," he murmured. And Taichi never murmured unless something was wrong. Everyone knew that. However, he had known of his illustrious blond friend's… involvement with Jyou. But that didn't mean he had to like it. Frowning a little he pulled his foot away from the delicate touch being applied to gauge his injuries. "Look okay?"

Swallowing around the tension in his throat Yamato nodded. "It doesn't look broken or like anything really bad happened. Just a bruise."

"Thanks." He knew he was being harsh, but studying is friend he noticed something else. Gods he felt like such an asshole. "Hey, Yama… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring him up. I just didn't realize…" Placing a gentle hand on the blond's shoulder he could feel the young man's frame shaking a little and heard a tiny sigh escape his friend's mouth.

"You didn't bring him up, Tai. I did." Closing his sapphire eyes only made them burn more. But he refused to cry. He had spent too much time already sobbing over his heartbreak, the reality of his last boyfriend's parting words echoing in his mind.

"I know you don't love me! Stop pretending, Yamato! I'm not the one you love…"

A warm embrace pulled Yamato out of his painful memories. Leaning into Tai's arms he felt a wave of comfort wash over him. It was true. What Jyou had said, it was the truth. But he didn't dare speak it aloud. No matter how accepting Taichi might have been, he would still say no. Rejection wasn't something Yamato handled well. But maybe…

"Hey, don't be sad Yama-sama. Tai doesn't like it when you're sad. Tai wants you to smile, or at least not cry. Hey don't give Tai that look. Taichi's gettin' upset!" Reverting to third person always lightened Yamato's mood. It was a trick he had learned after they watched some American television show. Without fail Yamato gave a tiny smile, right on schedule…

"Don't call me Yama-sama," he squirmed out of Tai's embrace and scrubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands, feeling like he was a child again. What was wrong with him? He knew he didn't love Jyou. He knew they were only supposed to be having fun. But then, why did it hurt so much…?

Lifting Yamato's chin, Tai looked squarely into two rapidly liquefying eyes that threatened to spill at a moment's notice. He gave in and pulled his friend into another comforting hug. "It's okay," he whispered. "Just let it out." A muffled response came from somewhere against his shoulder. "What was that?"

"No," Yamato said firmly. "I'm sick of crying." He scrubbed at his eyes again. "I'm fucking sick of it. It's not worth crying over anymore. And I'm sick of feeling pathetic." Drying the last bit of salinity from his eyes he stood with the definite purpose of finding something to take his mind off of the navy haired… boy he had dated for nearly two years. "I'm sick of all this fucking drama," he growled at the brunette on the couch. "This is life, not some soap opera. You coming?" Pulling his leather jacket on he turned to look at Tai sitting on his new couch in his sparsely decorated apartment.

"Um, if I can get up sure. Where are we going?" Standing, he felt a flash of pain in his foot, but it was forgotten the moment Yamato gave him a warm smile and threw his coat at him.

"We'll figure it out when we get there." Eager to let go of the past once and for all, he felt impulsive and wild. "Who's driving, you or me?"

"Fuck driving, we're taking the train," Tai replied. "You're acting too much like me right now to drive and we all know what I'm like behind the wheel, so fuck it. Besides," he added grabbing the blond's hand and pulling him out the door, "it's one of those nights where what we really need is to get piss-ass drunk." Locking the door to his new apartment he tugged his closest friend downstairs to the city and all the wonders of nightlife in Tokyo.

***

"Tonight is one of those nights where everybody just needs to get piss-ass drunk," Daisuke said and knocked back a shot of 100 proof Southern Comfort. Steadying himself on the counter he took a deep breath and almost immediately regretted the action. "Damn, that shit burns like a bastard going down."

"I was unaware that a bastard child had flammatory properties, Daisuke," came a sardonic voice.

"Shut up, Iori," the burgundy haired youth replied. "When you grow some balls and take a shot of this shit, then you can talk like that. Until such time- shut up." As he spoke he picked up his shot glass and turned it to look at the world through his improvised monocle and yelping when it was taken away.

"You look like a retard," Iori stated. Ushering the inebriated Daisuke to the stool he had pulled up, he sat beside him.

The two young men surveyed the scene. Noting, with acute interest, the actions of the couples around them, they each heaved a sigh. The younger of the two watched as two angels swayed together in their own dance, lost to the world. Shining with hope and light they moved together in a synchronous fashion that plagued him with jealousy. Beside him, the older one kept casting quick glances to another couple, each with odd hair color. They fawned over one another like the young lovers they were. Each youth frowned in heartbreak before giving matching pain filled sighs.

Turning his glassy eyes to the luminous angels, Daisuke grimaced at their embrace. "Are you sure you want to stick around, Iori? We can always leave. There's nothing saying we have to torture ourselves."

A snort came from the solemn young man. "No, I'd prefer to stay. Even if I can't have what I want it's nice to know that it still exists. That it's not a fairy tale or just some dream I had as a child." His words became soft, thick with emotion. He turned his jade gaze to Daisuke. "Are you sure you want to be here?"

"Shit yeah! Don't you know I have 'masochist' tattooed on my forehead?" Giving a drunken laugh he poured himself another shot. "Want one?" His companion shook his head. Shrugging, the burgundy haired young man eyed the amber liquid losing himself in quiet contemplation. "Yeah," he said slowly, "I just love to torture myself." Raising the glass to his lips he swallowed the whiskey and tried not to cough from the afterburn.

Iori frowned and followed his friend's gaze to the fawning couple. Ken and Miyako sat entwined on a chair talking with Mimi, Jyou, and Koushiro. Their arms wound around each other, blissful smiles on their faces. Though Iori might have seemed unemotional he was perfectly capable of understanding what was going on. After all, he was human, and everyone felt something at least once in their lives. "Don't do this to yourself Daisuke," he placed a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. "Don't sit here and watch them and make yourself miserable."

Looking up into Iori's face he couldn't keep a grin away. "Pot calling kettle black? Pot calling kettle black? You're table is ready." Laughing at the younger man's frown he stretched a little- sitting on the same stool all night was becoming tiresome. "Like you're any better? At least you've got one up on me. I know for a fact that the dumbass blond over there likes you," he pointed to the angel in question. "Hell, he loves you even!" Arms moving in wild accentuation of his words he flailed for a minute nearly losing his balance. Recovering he chuckled again, but the sound lacked its usual mirth. "I know Ken doesn't want me that way. He never will. As god awful corny as this is going to sound, at least you have hope."

Staring into Daisuke's shining cinnamon eyes, he let the words sink in. The two exploded into laughter over the ridiculous sentiment. When their amusement quieted they were wiping away tears. "Oh that was a good one, Dai," Iori commented wiping his eyes. He noticed the puzzled looks coming from the couples they were observing. Accepting defeat he reached for a shot glass. "Pour me one of those will you?"

Eyebrows shooting up he grabbed the bottle. "You sure?"

"We need to get piss-ass drunk remember?"

Smiling and pouring he toasted to a long, miserable life and swallowed his drink. "Want another?"

Iori's eyes were watering again. "Yeah," he coughed a little. "You were right. That shit does burn like a bastard."

Daisuke laughed and poured another round. The night was young and they still had a lot of liquor to get through.

***

Whoever said that getting completely plastered with close friends was overrated had obviously never had friends like Taichi. Chuckling to himself, Yamato followed the brunette out of yet another strip club- all male revue. They had each gone through far too much money but they were also having way too much fun to care. Pausing on the sidewalk the blond leaned against a brick building letting the world swim before his sapphire eyes.

"Hang on a second. I need to get a grip on things," he breathed through more laughter. Passersby gave the duo peculiar looks which Yamato only chalked up to jealousy. They were able to be open and laugh in the face of misery. Oh yeah, life was good. "You know," he said thoughtfully, "my baby brother is having a party at my mamma-dukes' place tonight. Wanna crash?"

Chocolate eyes radiated with skepticism. "A high school party? Dude, we're almost out of college and you wanna crash a high schooler's party?" Leaning beside his friend he eyed him critically. "May I ask why?"

"Free liquor." A drunken grin spread across his face Yamato laughed at his own joke. The sound was abruptly cut off when he felt Taichi lean into him, pressing their sides together. Taking a deep breath he fought an internal war: pull him close versus pull away. In the end he stayed put without engaging in further contact. "You're awfully cuddly this evening."

Giving a tiny shrug he smiled into the leather clad shoulder beneath his cheek. Alcohol gave him a nice excuse. "I guess…"

"And when did you find out where all the gay strip clubs were?"

"Since I realized I like guys."

Startled, Yamato pushed the brunette away and stared him down. "And when the hell was that?!"

Thinking a moment, Tai could feel the alcohol in his bloodstream sinking in, being absorbed more by the second. "I think it was around the time you started dating Jyou." He said the words flippantly, not realizing how much he was revealing.

"What?!" When his companion turned to leave, Yamato grabbed him and spun him around. "Taichi…" His eyes began to water at the warmth radiating from Tai's smile.

"Yama, Yama, Yama… You're so beautiful. Did I ever tell you that? No? Well, I'm telling you now. And there's something else I want to tell you..." Leaning closer he let his breath fog the blond's mind, brushing across his face.

"Yeah, Tai? What is it?" Heart fluttering in anticipation, he could barely believe the moment was real. Tai's words brought him crashing back down.

"I think I'm gonna boot…" And he bolted into an alleyway and threw up in a trashcan.

Sapphire eyes flashed with pain- dazzling in their beauty- before calming into concern, compassion, friendship. The role he would always play. The consummate friend…

***

Several rounds of shots gone by and Daisuke sat trying to prop up a very drunken Iori. The task was proving difficult as Dai, himself, was also fairly wasted. They had long since made the switchover from whiskey to Bacardi 151- so hardcore it was nearly flammable going down the throat.

"Daisuke," Iori slurred, "why is he such a pussy? Why? I mean, I know he cares, know he'd marry me if he could. But NO! Instead he's with the perfect little June freaking Cleaver of Tokyo. Why?" Swaying on his stool, Iori tried to move his hands and arms to go along with his speech. It didn't work out too well for him.

"Shit, man… I don't fuckin' know. I just know that if you went over to him and kissed him he would never push you away or anythi-" he stopped completely. "Hey! Tai and Yama are here! Ooh, looks like they've been pre-gaming it."

The younger of the drunken duo swerved to look at the main door where the blond was busy trying to help the brunette remove his shoes. It ended with both men on the floor, laughing hysterically, and trying to take off more than just shoes.

Jade eyes wide, Iori spun on his stool again- an action he regretted immediately. "You don't think they've been…?"

"What? Fucking like bunnies?" Daisuke shrugged and poured another round of shots. By then, something else had caught his attention. "Could be. Although they don't seem to have that glowyness about them, you know?"

The younger one scowled. "Glowyness isn't a word. And you sound too freaking sober. I think you need to drink both of those! Bottom's up!"

After tipping back one shot, Dai shook his head trying to clear it. No luck. "I was planning on taking both anyway. Did you see where they went?"

"The Genius and The Bitch? Yeah, they wandered off to one of the back bedrooms a while ago." Thinking for a moment, Iori tried to form a logical train of thought, because he was dealing with Daisuke- and who knew what Dai was planning. "Eeeewww… You aren't gonna go watch them are you? That's gross!"

Giggling a bit, the older boy shook his head. "No. Oh no, no, no. You obliviously… obviously… yeah, obviously failed to notice that Miyako came stumbling back out here five minutes after they vanished and proceeded to puke in the garbage over there."

"Really? No shit? How long has she been out here?"

At that point, the newest party-goers interrupted the conversation. "Dai and Iori!" Taichi enveloped them both in a hug. "How's it goin'? You feelin' as good as me right now?"

"Give me a couple minutes and I'll get back to you on that." Saying his piece, Daisuke wandered away and headed towards the room where he thought Ken was probably passed out.

"Where's he off to?" Taichi tilted his head in that adorable way drunks can manage. "Ooh, 151… that takes me back! Want one, Yama?" Turning to the blond for an answer he noticed his friend was busy staring elsewhere. He followed the direction of two very riveted sapphire eyes and spotted the mess in the corner. A rather interesting mix of JyouMiShiro action was taking place. Too drunk to be pissed off, the brunette sighed and shoved a shot glass into Yamato's hand. "Drink this, it'll make you feel better."

Without really paying attention, the blond downed his shot… and then proceeded to have an enormous coughing fit. "Fuck, Tai! What the shit did you just give me? Kerosene? Jesus Christ…" Still coughing, Yamato leaned on the counter for support as his friend rubbed his back.

"Bacardi 151," Iori answered, voice full of barely concealed amusement.

"Kills brain cells like nothing else," Taichi chimed in. Biting his lip, he added, "Seriously though, do you want to stay? I mean, we can jet any time. You just say the word and we'll give this party a big jerkoff."

At that, Yamato shifted his head so he was looking upwards at Tai from his comfortable resting spot on his arms. "You just wanted to say jerkoff," he cracked a smile. "And yes, he is." Standing and trying to clear the haze in his vision he glanced around the room. "Pour me another one of those while I try to go find my brother."

Taichi gave Yamato his most dazzling smile. "You're the boss." Turning to the younger boy he snapped his fingers. "You heard the man. Start pouring, bitch!"

Chuckling to himself, the blond wandered a few feet away from the scene to move closer to the living room. Off to his left he glanced down the hall in time to see Hikari running out of the bathroom and straight for him.

"Arethereanypapertowelsinthekitchen?" As drunk as Yamato was, 'Kari sounded like she was talking at the speed of light.

"Huh? Paper? You just came from the bathroom, there's toilet paper in there!" He waved a hand at the open door in the hallway. A rectangular spray of light spilled from the room and he staggered towards it. "TK in there with you?" Barely catching Hikari's nod he moved down the hall while she moved to see her brother getting even more intoxicated in the kitchen.

When the blond finally reached the doorway to the bathroom, the smell hit him first. Someone was quite obviously sick. Another second ticked by and the sound finally registered with him. Someone was definitely sick. Hesitantly looking in, he found his brother holding back Miyako's hair- his face looking a bit greener than it should have.

"What up TK? How much did she have?"

Before the younger brother could answer there was a loud moan followed closely by a scream from down the hall. And the scream sounded like someone was having the best orgasm of their life. Eyes widening, Yamato scratched his head and asked the dumb question to end all dumb questions: "Where's Ken?"

At that, Miyako's head shot up from the toilet bowl. Groping for the roll of paper in Takeru's lap she wiped her face and spun around. All this, and the moaning and screaming were only increasing in volume. Amber eyes narrowed behind her glasses as she carefully rearranged her hair and hissed, "I'm going to fucking KILL Daisuke."

***

Daisuke, of course, was having the time of his life…

When he left Iori, Taichi, and Yamato in the kitchen area he had carefully walked down the hall. Even in his stupor, Dai knew well enough that if anyone in the bathroom spotted him, his mission would end right there. He winced at the sound of Miyako throwing up and dared to look in on the action. Hikari and Takeru were whispering to one another over the sick girl's head and they shared matching looks of quiet upset and understanding. And while Daisuke thought it was all highly suspicious and would have loved to get the gossip material firsthand… he had a friend to talk to.

Moving past the bathroom he found two doors. Luckily, one was already open and revealed Ken was not inside. Pulling it closed, he then opened the door the next room and stepped inside. A lamp by the bed was on giving the room a grand total of, maybe, two watts of light. Closing the door, Daisuke moved over to the bed and found his best friend laying on his side, eyes closed in what looked like sleep- but Dai knew better. Ken was trying to make the spins stop.

Quickly turning off the light, Daisuke blinked against the darkness and let his eyes adjust. With all of the adrenaline pumping through him, he was beginning to sober up. As soon as darkness blanketed the room though, the figure on the bed stirred.

"Miya?" Ken's voice sounded tired. "You okay? I hope it was just a false alarm."

Daisuke only held his breath. He couldn't have replied anyway, Ken kept talking.

"Listen, I really don't think this is the time or place for us to… you know… I mean, it's our first time and all, and really, we're both cocked and it's not a good idea-"

Daisuke couldn't contain himself any longer. "Excellent choice of words, Ken." He tried to pitch his voice like that of the absent girlfriend. Apparently, Ken bought it.

Slapping out at the empty space in the room Ken groaned in frustration. "You know what I mean!" Sighing, he sat up on the bed. "Tonight just doesn't feel right, Miya. I don't want to lose my virginity in some drunken blitzkrieg of bad sex."

The more his friend spoke, the more Daisuke had to bite his tongue. Or rather, he bit his finger to keep from laughing. To him, it sounded like Ken didn't want to sleep with Miyako at all- ever. Forget about waiting for the right time. So, being the bold young man that he was, Dai decided to prove that to both Ken and himself. Leaning forward he whispered, "Shut the fuck up and kiss me."

When their mouths met, Ken knew something was different. For one, the style was much better than Miyako's usual way. Hmm… perhaps he should get her drunk more often. He decided to just go with it and let her push him back onto the bed. Ken trusted his instincts to kick in and stop everything before his girlfriend tried to screw him. It was getting more and more difficult to come up with legitimate reasons to avoid sleeping with Miyako. Drunkenness, however, provided a perfect excuse. Unfortunately, though, it made his mind wander the way it usually did, but it took out the middleman between his brain and his mouth. The thoughts in his head escaped as his girlfriend moved from mouth to ear to nuzzling at his neck. With her hands roaming over his body and the thoughts in his head, the name came out of his mouth before he could stop it. "Oh god… Daisuke…"

Daisuke froze. No…fucking…way… "How did you know it was me?"

Wait just a minute now… Ken's eyes snapped open. Sitting up too quickly he bumped foreheads with whoever it was on top of him and reached for the light. When it snapped on, he felt his face go slack with shock. Still perched above him, Daisuke's chest was heaving and his cheeks were a little flushed… and he had certainly been enjoying what he was doing to Ken. "Dai," he sputtered, "what are you doing here?"

A bunch of possibilities ran through his mind. All of which seemed way too hectic to go through. Ultimately, Daisuke shrugged and looked his friend dead in the eye. "Does it matter?" Slithering forward, he breathed against Ken's neck and finally lowered his hips, rotating them a bit in the process. "You don't really want her anyway, Ken," he breathed.

At any other time, Ken probably would have tried to defend himself. But at that point? Hell no. The feeling of Daisuke pushing against his hips and breathing in heavy pants against his neck was overwhelming. And it was better than it had ever been in Ken's fantasies. He let his friend continue his movements for a few minutes before responding. "I don't want to talk about her anymore. Just fuck me, Dai-chan." Then he pulled Daisuke closer for a kiss.

It was music to Daisuke's ears. Desire flooded his system, and he let it do all his thinking from that point on. He knew what was happening. Part of him wondered about the consequences- but it was a mere gossamer thread in the back of his mind. The rest of him was too caught up in the sensation, the sounds of Ken's screams mingling with his own throaty moans. Everything he had ever wanted was reaching a crescendo- Ken was crying out declarations of love and begging for more, and Dai was just giving it to him...

And when Miyako burst through the door with flames in her eyes… all Daisuke could think to say was, "Could you just give us, like, another five or ten minutes?"

*************

to be continued

I'm sorry… but this was just so much fun. And trust me, it's going to get a lot more interesting. Again, sorry it isn't Shinwa- but it's some nice, light fun! Feel free to review, but you don't have to.