Subconsciously Speaking

by Lira-chan

When you're as impulsive and unpredictable as Motomiya Daisuke, sometimes it takes your subconscious to tell you what you really want. Sadly, Daisuke can't remember his dreams and thinks he's having nightmares. [taisuke]

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LIRA: Welcome, welcome, welcome, to my very first official fanfic. ^.^ To start us off- I'm stealing an idea from my darling Dragonflie, and all other ff.net authors who use it.

IORI: She means she's making the characters speak for her.

LIRA: That's right! I am! DANCE, boy!

IORI: …Dance? In this?

LIRA: Iori is my belated birthday present. He's Iori the mini-goth of DOOM. Credit for that one to Dragonflie. But if he can't dance in a skirt, he'd better get disclaiming.

IORI: Alright, Alright (how'd I get myself roped into this…) Digimon doesn't belong to Lira-chan. Obviously. Or else half the characters would have committed suicide before the second season.

LIRA: That said, this is –taisuke.- Taichi. Daisuke. You got it. Don't like, don't read, and love to my best people on the web. *hugs*

IORI: This is also dedicated to Lavie, a.k.a. "Lavender Feline," because she's such a sweet taisuke fan, and because SHE would never dream of putting me in a skirt. Or fishnets. Thank goodness.

LIRA: And now- THE FIC! …It'll be saner after the first scene. Fourteen-year-old Daisuke, seventeen-year-old Taichi, so it looks legal to someone in the US.

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SUBCONSCIOUSLY SPEAKING

-by: lira-chan-

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      Daisuke peered into the gloom around him, wishing that his head didn't *hurt* so much. He didn't feel like he had a usual sort of headache; rather, his head felt foggy. It felt as if someone had turned on a blender inside his brain, and then left the resulting mush to stagnate. It wasn't the sort of fog associated with waking from a deep sleep, for before the shadowy room had appeared within his vision, Daisuke remembered nothing. Not even sleep. He let his mind wander- perhaps he had been drugged. Perhaps he had been kidnapped. Knocked over the head and dragged off to this dimly lit space.

      Then again… What sort of kidnapper brought you back to their own place? Didn't traditional kidnappers have some sort of hideout where they stashed the victim until their loved ones paid the ransom? If that was the case, then who would be bailing Daisuke out? While Daisuke was asking stupid questions, he might ask if he was really alone in some weirdo's house. If he were, he'd do best to get out. Immediately.

      Daisuke shifted, as if to lift himself from the position he was finding himself in. However, up until that point, he hadn't bothered with finding out where in the room he was, or what sort of room he was in. His experiences in the digital world seemed to have taught him nothing; he was still the same straightforward Daisuke. He was straightforward Daisuke, sitting with legs out before him, arms supporting his weight behind him, in a… Bed. A stranger's bed. What a delightful place to find oneself.

      Oh, but there were silk sheets. Cool, smooth, seemingly black silk sheets. Black silk sheets that glided deliciously against Daisuke's bare- oh. Shit. A stranger had *stripped* him, before putting him in the intriguing bed with the black silk sheets. Daisuke was leaving. Right then. As soon as he found his clothes…

      "Daisuke…" came a calm voice. What right had this person to be so *calm*? The voice seemed to freeze the panicked boy in place. He was going to die. No, worse, he was going to get raped by an old *pervert,* and *then* he was going to die. Even better.

      So why did the old pervert have such a nice *voice*?

      A light clicked on halfway across the room, a tall figure silhouetted in the glow before the lamp. The person was holding something; Daisuke couldn't see what, with the backlight cloaking the figure's features in darkness and obscuring the object in the figure's hand from sight. The figure moved toward the bed, which proved to be an expensive-looking four-poster affair, slowly emerging from the shadows and into proper view.

      What Daisuke saw was a surprise, to say the least.

      "Taichi-senpai!" he blurted out, confused. He bunched up the silk sheets in his hands, clutching the thin black fabric over his bare chest and leaning back against fluffy pillows in matching black cases. So much black… So somber.

      The warm yellow glow of the lamp contrasted the stark black of the bedcovers nicely, illuminating Taichi and outlining him in gold. Hearing his name, Taichi just smiled; the same warm, friendly smile that he always wore around Daisuke and his other friends. He just smiled, as if it weren't *strange,* to be alone in some room with Daisuke, clad only in black boxers and bearing a single red rose. Something was definitely off, but Daisuke was speechless, for once. Everything was just so *strange.*

      "Hey," Taichi said casually, closing the distance and seating himself on the bed. "What's up?"

      "…What's up?" Daisuke wondered if he sounded as shocked to Taichi as he did to himself. What was his senpai *doing*? "Why don't you tell me what's up?"

      "What's up?" Taichi repeated, still smiling that familiar, friendly smile. Daisuke almost wished he would stop… The smile was unnerving him… But if Taichi wasn't smiling, he didn't know what he would do. "As in what's going on? Or why you are here?"

      "Either might be nice," Daisuke agreed weakly. Then, in typical Daisuke form, "What's the difference?"

      Taichi laughed, and leaned over Daisuke. "I love you," he said bluntly. He held out the rose. Daisuke didn't know what else he could do, so he reached out a hand, and accepted the flower. "That's why you're here."

      "Then what's going on?" Daisuke asked jokingly, selecting the other option. His mind hadn't quite caught up with his mouth just yet. Perhaps it never would.

      "I guess I'm telling you what's going on," Taichi said honestly. "I guess what's going on is… Us?"

      Everything was so strange. It was all only getting stranger- and something was off. Daisuke didn't know what it was, but something in the entire scene just wasn't right. Daisuke had never been the most perceptive one. So far… Everything Taichi-senpai had said and done had been rather cliché. A single long-stemmed red rose, a confession of love, the prompting to speak about the undying "us." So why wasn't
Daisuke freaked out? This was his *senpai.* The person he looked up to, the person he adored, the person he idolized. Perhaps being around Taichi so long had dulled Daisuke to any strange behaviors.

      "So… What now?" Taichi asked. What now? How would Daisuke know! This wasn't his twisted idea. Sure, it was sort of fun, in its own odd way… But it was *not* his idea!

      "What now?" Daisuke echoed.

      Taichi just shook his head once, as if to silently say that he could never do anything with Daisuke. Idly he leaned back, spine arched over Daisuke's legs and arms thrown back behind him for support. He just sat there calmly, looking very gold and glow-y and huggable, as if he had all the time in the world to just *sit* and elicit less-than-admirable thoughts from Daisuke. As if on a whim, Taichi rolled over, planting one palm beside Daisuke to support his weight and sliding the other beneath Daisuke's head, still cradled on the scary black pillows. Well. "Now you're supposed to say something in reply. But if you aren't going to do that…" Leaning down, while also lifting Daisuke up, Taichi brushed his lips against Daisuke's in what was almost a maddeningly chaste kiss. What sort of a way was *that* to kiss someone after you'd told them you loved them? And where were *those* thoughts coming from?

      Thoughtlessly, Daisuke reached up and wrapped his arms around Taichi's neck. There was no way his senpai was getting away after confusing him like that, no way, no how. "…Taichi-senpai…" was all he said, clinging onto Taichi rather happily. If Taichi could kiss Daisuke, Daisuke could hug Taichi.

      Still not thinking, Daisuke put all his weight on Taichi, relying on the other boy keeping him propped up. However, Taichi turned out to be unable to keep Daisuke from falling over, and fell on top of the smaller boy when he found himself unable to stay upright. Almost to Daisuke's surprise, Taichi began laughing. Hmph. It wasn't funny- Taichi was *heavy.* Kindly, Taichi rolled off of Daisuke and onto his side on the bed, rolling Daisuke over as well so as to look at him.

      "I suppose that's answer enough," Taichi said, much to Daisuke's continued confusion. Rather than explaining, Taichi leaned forward and closed the distance between them, capturing Daisuke's lips with his own. Well, Daisuke thought that was all well and good. However, this time Taichi didn't draw back; instead, Daisuke felt Taichi deepening the kiss, felt Taichi's tongue on his lips, felt himself parting his lips as he silently mouthed the words "Taichi-senpai."

      Without thinking about it, Daisuke slid his arms around Taichi, pulling himself close. At the same time, he felt Taichi's arms around *him,* holding him as he was kissed with quiet passion. The words "Taichi-senpai was in love with him," repeated over and over inside his head, a dizzying litany that simply would not stop. It was a nice feeling, being loved… It was sort of wet, but that was okay, because it tasted and smelled like Taichi-senpai. Which was also nice.

      After a few more moments, Taichi was the one to lean back and away, somehow appearing under the lovely, silky sheets just moments later. Daisuke blinked. Well. Then Taichi's arms were around him again, and he was sleepy, and his head was pillowed against Taichi's chest. Never mind that he was still blissfully nude. Yawning sleepily, he turned over in Taichi's embrace; encircling Taichi's middle with his own arms and snuggling close. It would be nice to fall asleep like that always, Daisuke thought. If only.

      "I love you, too," Daisuke whispered, tired. Then he was asleep.

      That Sunday morning, Daisuke sat bolt upright in bed, discovering that, for some reason, his heart was racing, and his palms were clammy, cold, and damp. Looking around his bedroom worriedly, Daisuke saw no cause for alarm… So he leaned back against his pillow, trying to figure out what had startled him awake. It *could* have been a bad dream, only… That would make it the third time in one week that such a thing had roused Daisuke from otherwise peaceful sleep. At least this time it was Sunday, so Daisuke wouldn't have to go to *school* after waking up in such a delightful way. The other two days had been school days, and whatever was plaguing Daisuke's sleep had followed him into wakefulness, leaving him curiously jittery all day.

      However, Daisuke still wasn't completely happy about his nighttime state of affairs. He had no idea what could have bothered him enough to haunt him in his dreams as something had been doing those three days that past week. He might have thought that it was something from the digital world, but as far as Daisuke could tell, no digital ghosts haunted him. There weren't any ghosts in the real world that might haunt him, either. None he could think of. Despite it all, he was *still* having this recurrent nightmare.

      Daisuke might have been able to handle it… *If* he had any idea what his dream was about.

      Nightmares weren't so bad. Not really. They were just products of your imagination, dreamt up to scare you. It was only when you *couldn't remember what had happened in one* that the dreams really began to get to you. At any rate… Daisuke was awake, and even if it was Sunday, he wouldn't be getting back to sleep. Maybe Daisuke could find someone who would listen to him rant about dreams he couldn't even describe. He was still in touch with most of the other digidestined. Hikari and Takeru had just recently started going out, which meant both of them would rather be with each other than with Daisuke… But he could still talk to them. He'd long since gotten over his crush on Hikari from back in the digital days, and it wasn't even very awkward any more…

      Daisuke wasn't in touch with Yamato and Sora as much as before, but he was in touch with Taichi-senpai. But… He didn't want to bother Taichi-senpai with something as stupid as a nightmare he couldn't explain. Come to think of it, he wouldn't want to bug Hikari, either. It was a while back… But after having Hikari find out that he'd *liked* her… Well, Daisuke didn't need to make himself look even *more* stupid in front of the girl. There was Ken, too. The genius was possibly Daisuke's closest friend out of all of the digidestined… But Daisuke thought he remembered Ken mentioning some big project or other that he had to work on, and for all that things with Takeru could be a bit strange… Daisuke might do best to talk to that boy. Takeru would probably be the most helpful of his digidestined friends.

      Having decided that he would have to call Takeru and see if they could meet up somewhere, perhaps at the park or one of their houses, Daisuke moved to get up and get dressed. Doing so, Daisuke found himself still painfully aroused by the nightmare. Well- it always helped to know what turned you on.

      Too bad Daisuke still didn't know what it was about the dream that… *Bothered* him, in so many ways.

      "…And this morning I woke up like a nervous wreck again, with my heart beating like I was going to have a heart attack, and the skin of my palms all sweaty and cold. To be honest, I don't really know *what* it is, but I'm pretty sure I'm having recurring nightmares… Or whatever you call them. I just don't know what it is that I'm having nightmares about," Daisuke was trying to explain.

      He was sitting in the dappled sunlight filtering through the branches of the tree stretching over his and Takeru's heads. He had called Takeru that morning, after getting himself properly awake and ready to "greet the day" or some other such nonsense. Somewhat to his surprise, Takeru hadn't already made plans with Hikari, and had agreed to meet Daisuke to talk. They were still friends, Daisuke supposed, but they didn't seem to do much any more, after they stopped visiting the digital world together.

      "And what do you want me to do?" Takeru asked carefully. Daisuke was quite suspicious that the other boy was trying not to laugh at him. His predicament wasn't funny; he was just having nightmares he couldn't remember, and he was beginning to lose sleep over them. All Daisuke wanted was to be able to sleep at night.

      "I don't *know,*" he admitted dramatically, rising from his seat on the ground abruptly, moving to tower over Takeru. Frustrated, he actually began to pace back and forth. What *did* he want Takeru to do? It wasn't Takeru's dream they were talking about. Did that mean that Daisuke was just going to live sleeplessly until his stupid brain got over it? Maybe he would have to. He just wanted someone to complain to while he did.

      "So you're saying you have these dreams that wake you up, and when you wake up in your own bed, you're terrified," Takeru reiterated. "But when you wake up, you're also *turned on*? By these dreams?"

      Daisuke just nodded. Was Takeru mocking him?

      "You're not dreaming about my girlfriend, are you?" Takeru asked. Daisuke honestly didn't know if the boy was joking or not. They both knew he didn't like Hikari. Not after she'd turned him down so clearly. At least… He thought they both knew. Maybe Takeru just had a strange sense of humor. After all, Hikari could be pretty scary, Daisuke thought to himself- and Takeru wouldn't date the girl if she didn't turn him on.

      Daisuke didn't know what Takeru would say, if he was being serious, but- "I really couldn't know if I am. I have no idea what I'm dreaming about at all. But we both know that it wouldn't be Hikari. How could a dream about her bother someone like that?"

      "You're right," was all Takeru said at first. "Hikari's too wonderful to give anyone nightmares. So what else turns you on? Maybe you're dreaming about that. Whatever it is."

      Well. Takeru was actually being logical. It was just up to Daisuke to think of an acceptable, logical answer. Too bad thinking still wasn't Daisuke's strong point.

      "I don't *know*!" Daisuke said, starting the melodrama up all over again. Spinning, he ceased his pacing right in front of Takeru. "I don't even know how to think about- about- about *that* sort of stuff any more. Up until not even that long ago it was always Hi- I mean, even when we were back in the digital world and I- Um… Oh!"

      "Daisuke…" Takeru interrupted, still seated beneath the spreading branches of the tree they had chosen. During his little outburst, Daisuke had been waving his arms, gesturing wildly; by comparison, Takeru was unnaturally still. "Don't worry about offending me or anything, I know that you don't think you're in love with my girlfriend any more. Still… I don't think I'm the person you should be talking to, because you just don't sound comfortable talking to me. You should talk to someone who knows you better, like Ken, or maybe even Miyako. And for all that you probably don't want to talk to Hikari about your nightmares… She could probably help you, too. I was going to call her up after this, and go see a movie with her or something… But if you called her house in the evening, she'd probably be happy to talk to you."

      "I guess…" Daisuke agreed reluctantly, trying not to sound relieved over the fact that he wouldn't have to explain his confusion over the circumstances surrounding falling out of love with Hikari. "Ken said something about a big computer project thing for school… But if he's at home fiddling with programs, he'll be able to take a little time off to talk to me, right? And there's no *way* I'm talking to Miya about this. Do you know what her reaction would be?"

      At that, Takeru laughed, but at least it didn't sound mocking. "You're right," he admitted. "Miyako would have to find some way to torture you with this. Go find Ken. He's pretty much your best friend, so he'd have to understand- right?"

      "…Right," Daisuke agreed, after a pause. He didn't know if Ken would understand, or if even the genius could help him with his silly problem, but he did know that Ken was too nice a person not to try. He was the bearer of the crest of kindness, after all.

      "Alright then," Takeru said, rising. "If that's all you wanted me for, I'm going to go see about meeting up with Hikari. Later."

      Takeru punctuated the line with a grin that was borderline cocky, eliciting a sneer from Daisuke in response. Takeru still liked to rub it in his face that *he* had a girlfriend, while Daisuke did *not,* even if Daisuke no longer cared that the girlfriend was Hikari. Daisuke didn't let it bother him, however; his sneer melted into a smile, and he waved to Takeru as the other boy ran off along the path winding between the trees in the park. He *had* grown since the digital days, and wasn't so quick to jump on someone just for making a friendly joke.

      He stood under the tree for a few moments more, watching as Takeru disappeared around a bend in the path. Coming back to himself, Daisuke turned to run up the path as well; he *would* go see Ken, and interrupt whatever computer programming he was doing for his big project. Ken wouldn't mind, of course- he never did. Daisuke would drop by Ken's apartment and see if his friend was up for a chat.

      "Good afternoon, Mrs. Ichijouji," Daisuke politely greeted Ken's mother, as she opened the apartment door for him.

      "Oh! Daisuke!" The woman returned, smiling at him. "Ken's in his room, working on some program or another on his computer. Is he expecting you?"

      "Is he ever expecting me?" Daisuke countered with a cheeky grin, not wanting to actually come out and say that he hadn't bothered to call before coming over.

      "I guess not," Mrs. Ichijouji admitted, laughing lightly. "Come on in."

      That said, she moved away from the door, and turned her back on Daisuke. Daisuke walked in, kicking off his shoes in the entranceway and closing the apartment door behind him. Mrs. Ichijouji had already vanished from sight, but Daisuke knew where Ken's room was- he'd been there often enough- so there really wasn't any sort of problem. Daisuke was still a bit unnerved by his mysterious nightmare, but the familiarity of the hallway leading to Ken's room was reassuring, and Daisuke found it difficult to remain too strung up as he opened the door to Ken's bedroom.

      Daisuke stood quietly in the doorframe, but Ken didn't even look up from his seat at the desk halfway across the room. Oblivious to the world around him, Ken stared at the screen of his computer, fingers racing across the keyboard as he typed. Daisuke smiled to himself, contemplating his best friend's single-mindedness, before stepping into the room and moving to walk up behind Ken.

      "Hey Ken," Daisuke said cheerfully. He kept his voice fairly quiet, seeing as he wanted to surprise his friend, not scare Ken out of his wits. True to form, Ken jerked slightly in his chair, but that was all Daisuke got for his pains.

      "Daisuke," Ken replied, still typing. He didn't turn around right away, but after a moment he *did* swivel his chair around, looking up at Daisuke expectantly. "What're you doing here?"

      "Got a problem," Daisuke admitted a bit sheepishly. Ken was his best friend, but he didn't want to look like he couldn't even take care of himself. "Thought I could use a little advice from my best friend, the boy genius."

      "I'm glad you think so highly of me," Ken said dryly, although he was smiling, only slightly. "What's going on?"

      "Well, I wasn't gonna bug you, 'cause I knew you were working on something this weekend… So I went and talked to Takeru, first. Thought he might be able to help me more, 'cause you're good with facts, and numbers, and stuff, right? Only I was having these really weird dreams, and dreams are a bit silly, to be asking a genius about.

      "Still. What happens is that I'll go to sleep like I always do, and while I'm asleep, I'll dream- but when I wake up, I can't remember a second of it. Not only that; I'm always really jumpy- anxious- when I wake up… But… Um… Turned on, too. I just want to be able to get a normal night's sleep, without any weird dreams."

      "A 'genius' might know more about dreams than his stubborn best friend would think," was the first thing Ken said, mystifying Daisuke- was Ken amused? "Supposedly, a person's dreams say a lot about the inner workings of their mind. Some people even think that you can 'read' your dreams as a way of predicting the future. Even if you don't believe the more far-fetched claims, your dreams can tell you how you really feel, without having to worry about the opinions of others, and other factors that might interfere with decision-making when you're awake."

      "So you think my dreams are trying to *tell* me something?" Daisuke asked, looking at Ken as if the boy had grown a second head. Ken was supposed to be the *reasonable* one. He wasn't supposed to spout nonsense about meaningful dreams!

      "If they are," Ken said, putting on a superior air for just a moment, before realizing who he was speaking to, "then you probably don't see how that helps you. Even if you don't do anything with the dream's 'message,' simply knowing might help you sleep better again. People seem to have a lot of problems that are pretty much just the person convincing their brain that a certain thing should happen, until certain circumstances are met. Knowing the 'meaning' of the dream might be the circumstance, breaking the cycle. Then the dreams will go away, if they're recurring."

      "So what's the meaning of my dreams?" Daisuke asked anxiously, starting to bounce around. "Let's get this figured out, so I can sleep!"

      "Dai," Ken began, "I can't tell you unless you give me something to interpret."

      "But I don't remember!" Daisuke moaned, offering Ken a pleading, puppy-dog look. "That's the whole problem!"

      "But you remember waking up," Ken stated, relishing in this fact. "You said you were, ah, 'turned on'?"

      Daisuke got the distinct feeling that Ken was making fun of him.

      "Yeah…" Daisuke agreed, sounding suspicious.

      "Then it shouldn't be so hard to put two and two together. Sex dreams."

      Somehow, anything having to do with sex sounded *very* wrong to Daisuke, coming from Ken. "So you're saying my dreams are telling me I want to get laid? That's all?" Daisuke was dumbstruck. He almost felt as if he'd been cheated out of something.

      "I don't think that's precisely it," Ken said delicately, and he had the look of someone who was choosing his words with the utmost of care. "You know how I said that in your dreams, your mind sees things without the interference of other points of view- without the interference of your own worries and fears, even. I think the, ah, 'meaning' of your dream might be a bit more specific."

      "Oh! You think I know who's supposed to have sex with me, in my dream?"

      Judging by the way Ken dropped his head into his hands, the answer was a "no." Belatedly, Daisuke remembered that he didn't usually talk about sex stuff with Ken. They were best friends, and they'd been through it all once… They'd never *done* anything together, even though Ken was gay and Daisuke was as interested in other boys as he was in girls. They'd sort of come to a mutual agreement that they weren't interested in anything like that, not with each other, and that had been the end of it. Ken knew Daisuke better than anyone- down to Daisuke's blunt way of speaking about a *lot* of things.

      "Don't focus on the sex so much," Ken suggested. "For now, why don't you try not focusing on the dreams, too? Just think about your life in general. Is there, oh, maybe someone you have feelings for?"

      "After Hikari… No, not really. Nothing *major.*" With Ken, Daisuke was comfortable talking about his obsession with Hikari years back.

      "Are you sure?" Ken pressed. "No one you like, at least a little? Not anyone we both know, maybe?"

      "Nope, no one."

      Ken paused for a moment; maybe he was thinking. Maybe he was changing tactics. Daisuke wasn't sure. Daisuke just wanted to know the meaning of all his strange, recurring dreams.

      "Daisuke, do you like Taichi-san?"

      "Taichi-senpai? Well of course I like Taichi-senpai!"

      Ken didn't seem to like that answer much. "No… Do you… *Like*… Taichi-san?"

      "Oh… Umm… Why would you ask that?"

      "The '-senpai' bit is a bit of a tip-off, but the way you idolize him helps a lot. Idol-worship is also hard to ignore, or to miss- and you can't help interpreting the reverence portion of your… Friendship."

      Daisuke was actually silent for a long moment. He didn't like Taichi-senpai! He liked Hikari-chan. Only he *didn't* like Hikari-chan. He didn't like anyone! …Did he? Ken was making his head hurt. Taichi was really cool, but he couldn't actually be with Taichi- it was just unimaginable. Right? He couldn't… And…

      "I'm supposed to have sex with Taichi-senpai! Ken!"

      Face in hands. Again.

      "Daisuke, calm down. I told you to forget about the sex. I also said I'd interpret your dreams, and 'sex' was only part of it. Do you want to know what I think, about your dream? I think that your subconscious was just trying to tell you that you *like* Taichi, because you were just too in denial to see it when you're awake. Now that we've figured this out… Or now that we *think* we've figured this out, you should be able to sleep alright. Still, the only healthy thing to do is to talk to Taichi-"

      "I can't!" Daisuke exclaimed immediately, panicked.

      "Why not?" Ken's manner in asking was very matter-of-fact.

      "Because it's *Taichi-senpai*! What if he doesn't *like* me? What if he just thinks I'm a stupid kid? Then I won't even be able to hang out with Taichi, or play soccer with him, and it'll be hard to see everyone when we're all together, because I'll see Taichi, and it will be *awkward*!"

      "Calm down, Daisuke," Ken said soothingly. "I have a better idea."

      "What? Going home and sleeping? A lot? Without ever waking up?"

      Ken laughed lightly, but shook his head no. "Talk to Hikari. Taichi is *her* brother; if anyone knows any secrets he's keeping, or of any feelings he's harboring for *anyone,* it's going to be Hikari. She's also much too nice to tell Taichi that you like him, if you tell *her.* She'll leave that part up to you."

      "Funny. That's sort of what Takeru said."

      "That's because it's good advice. Take it. Things will turn out for the best, I promise."

      "I hope you're right!" Daisuke said earnestly, moving to bounce back out of Ken's bedroom, allowing the genius to return to his computer program. Deciding that he was in like… Or love… Or *something* with Taichi wasn't even a big deal, when Daisuke thought about it. Maybe he'd always liked Taichi, and he just never really noticed. So why would it be a big deal all of a sudden, when it had never mattered before? What *was* a big deal, now that Daisuke had decided to *do* something, was whether or not Taichi liked Daisuke *back.*

      Determined to at least figure things out, Daisuke left the Ichijouji residence. He would head back to his own house, since Hikari probably wouldn't be back from her date with Takeru just yet. From there, he'd be able to call the girl, and maybe she'd even have time to talk to him that same day! Everything was working out just fine.

      Back in his own apartment, after an hour of channel-surfing, Daisuke had picked up his home phone, and was halfway through dialing Hikari and Taichi's number before his brain caught up with his body. There was one *big* problem he hadn't fully considered- Hikari and Taichi lived in the same *house.* Taichi might hear everything Hikari said on the phone- and he wouldn't even be *trying* to eavesdrop! Or Taichi might pick up the phone *himself*… And then what would Daisuke do? He didn't want Taichi to think that he was still holding a torch for Hikari! That was one of the worst things Taichi could start to think…

      Almost as awful as Taichi thinking that Daisuke was just a stupid kid harboring hardly defined feelings for his older friend. It would be *horrible* if Taichi thought it was just another crush, like with Hikari… Because it wasn't! Ken had been completely right, and Daisuke just hadn't realized it. Taichi meant a *lot* to Daisuke- more than… More than a *lot* of things that Daisuke couldn't even *name.* He couldn't screw this up.

      Having nerved himself back up, Daisuke punched in the rest of the phone digits, listening anxiously as the phone on Hikari's end began to ring. He only realized that he'd been holding his breath upon hearing a feminine voice answer; when the person picking up the phone turned out *not* to be Taichi, Daisuke heaved a sigh of relief. One hurdle crossed.

      "Hikari!" Daisuke exclaimed into the phone, probably causing Hikari to hold *her* phone away from her ear on her end. Daisuke knew the difference between Hikari's voice and Mrs. Yagami's voice; he *had* been obsessed with the girl for an entire year, and a person tended to pick up on things like voices.

      "Daisuke?" was Hikari's tentative response. She didn't know his voice well enough to know that it was Daisuke for sure, but she *did* know how Daisuke acted- and Takeru had tipped her off to a problem of Daisuke's while they'd been on their date.

      "Yeah! It's me. I need to talk to you really badly… I already talked to Takeru, and he seemed to think that you could help me… And he's probably right, 'cause Ken said to talk to you, too. I've got a problem, Hikari."

      "So I've heard," Hikari replied wryly. "Takeru happened to mention talking to you, when I saw him earlier. He said you were having trouble sleeping or something. For some reason, he *did* seem to think that I could help. I really don't see how… Takeru said something about nightmares?"

      "Not nightmares," Daisuke said carefully, still worried Taichi might come into the room Hikari was in and hear something that would sound odd. "Just… Recurring dreams, not recurring nightmares. Did you know that Ken knows a lot of stuff about dreams? He's like… A dream analyst, I think it was. He can interpret dreams, and he helped me a lot, but…"

      "Daisuke?" Hikari prompted, when the boy didn't continue immediately.

      "Where's your brother?" Daisuke asked, answering with a seemingly random question. In reality, Daisuke's paranoia was mounting.

      "Taichi?" Hikari sounded confused. "I don't know, he's here somewhere. What, do you want to speak to him instead? Takeru made it seem like you'd rather speak to me, but I can get Taichi for you…"

      "No, no!" Daisuke said quickly; having Hikari fetch Taichi was one of the last things he wanted at that particular moment. "Don't get Taichi-senpai!"

      "Did you two have a fight, or something?" Hikari asked curiously, doubtlessly wondering why Daisuke had reacted so strongly to her suggestion.

      "Oh… Nothing like that…" Daisuke said. "I just don't want Taichi-senpai to come in and overhear your half of the conversation."

      "I don't think you *need* me to point out how odd that sounds," Hikari replied, sounding amused. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were trying to keep something from Taichi. Maybe you are, but you said you had a problem. And *Takeru* said you were having trouble sleeping. Oh!" –Hikari almost sounded mischievous- "Maybe you have some sort of surprise for Taichi, and you're losing sleep over it! That would explain why you need to talk to me… I'm Taichi's sister."

      Hikari seemed pretty proud of herself for coming up with that conclusion, even if it wasn't exactly the truth. Daisuke was only surprised by how close to the truth Hikari had come. He knew Hikari didn't mean a "surprise" as Daisuke was thinking of it… But Hikari was pretty much right.

      "Depends what you mean by 'surprise,'" Daisuke said a bit guardedly, voicing his thoughts. He had a tendency to just say what he was thinking.

      "I get the feeling that this conversation would be better handled in person," Hikari decided diplomatically. "I think you're keeping something from me, Daisuke, and I'm becoming curious as to what that is. Mainly because it seems to involve my brother, but also because you're my friend. Maybe we should get together and talk."

      "That might be good…" Daisuke said slowly. "But Taichi-senpai will be at your house… Hikari…"

      "Don't worry about it," Hikari said dismissively. "You can go ahead and come over right now, if you like."

      "Alright!" Daisuke was getting excited again, as if he anticipated something happening just because he was going over to *Taichi's house.* Maybe that wasn't a good thing… Just visiting Taichi hadn't been such a big deal before. But it was alright; so long as Taichi didn't somehow decide that he didn't want to see Daisuke any more, everything would be fine. "I'll be right over!"

      "I'll see you soon," Hikari agreed, amusement in her voice once again.

      "Bye!"

      With that, Daisuke hung up the phone, skipping over to the apartment door and pulling on his shoes as he went, hopping on one foot to get a shoe on while grabbing for the door handle. Not giving himself time to wait and worry about acting weird around Taichi if he saw him, Daisuke ran out the door, heading for the Yagami apartment.

      When Daisuke showed up outside Hikari and Taichi's door, out of breath because he'd decided to run, Hikari opened the door just seconds after Daisuke's knock.

      "I'm going for a walk!" she called back into the apartment, and Daisuke thought he heard someone- maybe Taichi- yell something back in reply. "Hey, Daisuke. This is alright with you, right? If we go for a walk, you won't have to worry about Taichi hearing whatever secret it is you've been keeping from both Taichi and me. I do admit that I'm getting curious as to what's gotten you so worked up."

      "It's fine," Daisuke replied. He was sort of bouncing in place, unwilling to actually stand still as he spoke with Hikari. Walking was probably a very good idea; it would give Daisuke something to do while he talked. That decided, both Daisuke and Hikari headed for the apartment complex's elevators. A few minutes later, and they were both outdoors.

      "So, Daisuke," Hikari began carefully, walking along slowly. Daisuke didn't usually do *anything* slowly, but he managed to walk at the same pace Hikari was keeping. "This is what I've gathered. First, Takeru calls and tells me that you've been having trouble sleeping, that you might be having nightmares, and that you'll probably call me later. Then, you call, and you say you have a problem. But instead of telling me about this problem, you start to ask paranoid questions about my brother. What is going *on*?"

      "I was having trouble sleeping," Daisuke agreed, just a bit defensively. He hadn't *lied* to Takeru or anything, the situation had just… Changed… A little, since he'd spoken to Takeru. "I was having some odd dreams, I think, only I couldn't remember what was happening. I didn't want to bother Ken, but Takeru said Ken might be able to help me after all… And he did! I mean, he's my best friend, and a *genius,* and he knows about dreams! He says they tell you stuff, and he interpreted my dreams, even though I couldn't really describe them."

      "What were your dreams telling you?" Hikari asked patiently.

      "Oh… Um…" Daisuke was less worried about talking to Hikari, now that he had someone else to focus on. A little crush on the girl was nothing, when compared to his newly realized love for Taichi. The problem was the little matter of blood between Hikari and Taichi- it was still hard to tell a girl you used to like that you thought you were in love with her brother. What if Hikari laughed at him? What if she didn't believe him? What if she thought it was a joke…? Daisuke shook himself; Ken told him to trust Hikari, and Daisuke already trusted Ken. He'd go for it. "Y'know how I was asking you about your brother before…"

      "Yes, Daisuke?"

      "And y'know how I'd had that, you know, little crush on you before?" That part was a bit harder…

      "Yes?" Now Hikari was listening even more intently. Anything involving her personally really caught her attention.

      "Well, I'm over that and all, but now I like someone *else,* and Takeru and Ken both said to talk to you, and… I dunno, you're my friend, maybe you know if h- they like me too."

      "Daisuke…" Hikari voiced his name fondly, smiling gently over at him. "It's fine that you like someone new now. It's a good thing. So… Who is it? Maybe I know her- I'm guessing that's why Takeru and Ken said to ask me."

      "It's not a her," Daisuke said, not as loudly as before, and while looking down. He wasn't embarrassed about admitting he liked a guy- Hikari already knew about all that. The problem was who the guy *was*- now Daisuke had to actually go out and *say* that he liked Taichi. Hikari couldn't make things easy for him… "And people say I'm dense… You were supposed to *guess* by now!"

      Usually, Hikari might have said something about the insult of sorts. However, she was already curious about Daisuke's mysterious love interest. It didn't help that Daisuke seemed to think the identity of the boy would be obvious.

      "You don't mean…"

      "Yeah," Daisuke admitted, still looking down. "I like Taichi, your brother- got a problem with that?"

      Daisuke was being defensive, but Hikari didn't even seem to notice. "Oh, Daisuke! That's so cute!"

      That was a bit of a surprise. "Uh… Hikari… I dunno if I'm just out of the loop or something, but I don't think you're supposed to say that it's 'cute' when one of your male friends admits that he's crushing on your *brother.* It might just be me, though."

      "But it's great! It really is… This'll be so perfect…" Hikari was trailing off, her eyes glazing over. Daisuke was afraid she might walk into something, wandering around like that, but thankfully Hikari stopped walking. Then she actually turned to Daisuke, and *hugged* him. "It's so sweet!"

      "I really think I'm missing something here…" Daisuke was beginning to feel like the unwitting butt of some sort of joke, and that wasn't a pleasant feeling. He didn't like being left out of anything, and he didn't like having fun poked at him when someone didn't have the nerve to actually make comments to his face.

      "You really should tell Taichi how you feel," Hikari declared seriously, after a moment. She had released Daisuke from the spontaneous embrace, and her expression was no longer that of a person entranced.

      "You don't think he'll laugh at me or something?" Daisuke asked, voice full of tentative hope and some amazement at how well telling Hikari was going.

      "I don't think he'll laugh at you at all," Hikari decided, sounding completely sure of herself. So sure of herself that Daisuke was considering asking if she was keeping something from *him,* but the smile she presented him with was just so warm and reassuring that Daisuke couldn't actually bring himself to ask. "You could even talk to Taichi today, if we head back now."

      "Alright!" The enthusiasm in Daisuke's voice was enough to earn another wide smile from Hikari. They turned and began to walk back the way they'd come, the sun beginning to set behind them. It was evening, but it didn't feel quite that late to Daisuke. Then again, he'd spent the entire day visiting his various friends, trying to get advice on dealing with his disturbing dreams, and time had passed swiftly.  

      Upon reaching the apartment building, Hikari and Daisuke went back inside, riding the elevator up to Hikari and Taichi's floor. Standing outside the apartment door, Daisuke took a deep breath, to calm himself. The moment of truth had arrived. He didn't want to wait long enough to get worked up over talking to Taichi, though, so he smiled to Hikari, and they both went inside.

      Inside, Hikari had smiled at Daisuke one last time, before wandering off into the kitchen, so as to avoid putting Daisuke on edge during his confession. With Hikari relatively far from Taichi's room, Daisuke wouldn't feel her presence- and he wouldn't become any more nervous than he was already. This was it. This was *Taichi's room.* Which, of course, he'd been in hundreds of times, but never before telling Taichi that he *liked* him. That was different. There was only one thing to do- get on with it.

      "Taichi-senpai?" Daisuke called tentatively, not wanting to surprise Taichi or anything. Everything would have to go perfectly, in order for Daisuke to pull his confession off. "You in there?"

      "Daisuke? Is that you?"

      Well, Taichi was *there,* and he hadn't said *not* to come in. Daisuke took that as an invitation to enter; it was what he would have done before deciding that he loved Taichi- why do anything different after?

      "Yeah, it's me." Daisuke was a bit more subdued than usual, probably from nerves, but he still managed to bounce into the room, plopping himself down on Taichi's bed without asking any sort of permission.

      "You aren't just here to mooch food off of us, are you?" Taichi asked, although his smile alerted Daisuke to the fact that he was joking. "It *is* almost time for dinner, you know."

      "No… I didn't come for food. This time."

      Taichi laughed at that, moving over to where Daisuke had stationed himself and ruffling the younger boy's hair. Daisuke hadn't really noticed how Taichi would do that, before he'd "come to terms" with his love for Taichi. And… If Daisuke thought about it, Taichi ruffled his hair a *lot,* didn't he?

      "Do you *have* to do that?" Daisuke asked, pouting and trying to look cute. He could take his time with the confession if he wanted to. "I'm not a little kid, you know."

      "I know," Taichi agreed, sounding just a *bit* more serious than he had before. He sat down on the bed next to Daisuke, but he didn't ruffle Daisuke's hair- something Daisuke took note of. Taichi had *listened.* Although, truth be told, Daisuke kind of missed the hair-ruffling already. At least then Taichi would be touching him. As if he could read Daisuke's mind, Taichi then asked, "What, you don't want me touching you?"

      In response to that, Daisuke half-frowned, half-pouted; Taichi wasn't supposed to ask questions like *that* until *after* he'd made his confession! Now he was confused, because he didn't know if Taichi was joking or not, and he didn't want to look stupid if Taichi *was* joking.

      "Well, if you really *want* to, then I suppose it's alright," Daisuke decided, trying to be diplomatic. He wasn't sure how well he was doing, though. The fact that, in response, Taichi only looked at him in a rather curious manner didn't exactly reassure Daisuke. He was beginning to wonder if he'd said something wrong, and he didn't know what to say to make it *right,* which was *bad,* because the confession had to go smoothly! If it didn't, Daisuke still didn't know what he would do.

      Taichi kept looking at him, but the look was becoming more of something Daisuke could recognize. Taichi's expression was a thoughtful one- and that made Daisuke wonder what Taichi might be thinking about. Finally, in what almost felt like slow motion to Daisuke, Taichi lifted up his hand as if he was going to ruffle Daisuke's hair again. That would have been a bit strange, seeing as Taichi didn't really have a *reason* to ruffle Daisuke's hair, but Taichi's hand sort of… Fell short. Instead of placing his hand on Daisuke's head, Taichi merely brushed his fingers against Daisuke's face, stroking down Daisuke's cheek before following the line of Daisuke's jaw with light fingertips- then withdrawing the hand.

      Daisuke felt his face heating up immediately, and by then he *really* didn't know what to say. After all, Daisuke had just said that it was alright for Taichi to touch him after all, and wasn't that what Taichi had done? Wasn't that the sort of thing Daisuke *wanted*? The problem was comprehending Taichi *wanting* to comply with his fantasy. And he hadn't *said* anything yet! That wasn't how he'd *imagined* things going… Although he hadn't been given much time to daydream in earnest, so that wasn't saying much.

      "Taichi-senpai…" he said tentatively, not wanting to break whatever spell was hanging over the room. It felt as if time had stopped, and Daisuke didn't have any desire to leave the moment he found himself trapped in.

      Regretfully, Taichi wasn't complying with all of Daisuke's wishes; apparently Daisuke had alerted him to the fact that he was just *staring* at the younger boy, and Taichi was now shaking himself, and grinning apologetically.

      "Sorry, Dai. I think you said you'd come over here for something, and it wasn't the food? What's up?"

      *That* was when the part of Daisuke's mind in control of his mouth caught up with the rest of him- but it only showed up in time to point out that Daisuke had *no* idea how to go about confessing his feelings for someone. He'd only tried something like that once before- it had been with Hikari, and it had *not* gone well. It probably hadn't helped that Hikari had already *known* that Daisuke was pathetically "in love" with her, but… The memories were something Daisuke would just as soon forget.

      Half of the problem was that Daisuke just wasn't a touchy-feel-y person. When a *girl* confessed to a guy about how much she loved him, she got all emotional and sappy. Daisuke didn't want to have to do that- and, thankfully, he didn't think Taichi would have expected it of him. Taichi wasn't exactly a touchy-feel-y person, either. Mere moments before, Taichi had reached out to touch Daisuke in a tender, reverent fashion- a gesture that might have spoken volumes, if Daisuke hadn't been so confused. Taichi was capable of that- but he wasn't capable of putting his feelings succinctly. For that matter, Daisuke wasn't exceptionally skilled with words, either.  

      That was why Daisuke launched himself at Taichi moments later, deciding that a nice, enthusiastic hug would speak just as clearly as a thousand overly-emotional words. It didn't matter that Daisuke had actually done that sort of thing a *lot,* before deciding to make an official confession of his feelings. Taichi was still Taichi-senpai, and as such he would just *have* to understand, even if Daisuke didn't know how to explain it without sounding foolish.

      Daisuke had faith in Taichi's magical ability to read into the meaning of that one hug, but he couldn't help continuing to feel a slight paranoia. What if he had been wrong? What if Hikari had been wrong? What if Taichi *did* think he was a foolish little child? Daisuke scrunched his eyes shut, unwilling to entertain these possibilities for an extended period of time. Determined for everything to be *perfect,* Daisuke continued to cling onto Taichi, rather than hear whatever it was Taichi would say. He had wrapped his arms around Taichi's middle, lacing his fingers together and knocking Taichi onto his back. Quite comfortable where he was, Daisuke buried his face in Taichi's chest, breathing in deeply, and then sighing happily.

      Daisuke had faith in Taichi, but Taichi still seemed to require a moment to process exactly what had happened. When that moment had passed, his arms did reach out to encircle Daisuke in a considerably more tentative embrace. That response merited some consideration; Taichi hadn't shoved Daisuke away, and he *had* returned the hug, which was good. But he hadn't been very enthusiastic about it… Maybe Taichi just didn't know what else to do! Daisuke's paranoia just wouldn't leave him alone…

      It didn't help that, after a moment, Taichi had lifted Daisuke off of him before struggling to sit up. Daisuke's despairing disappointment was short-lived, however; apparently Daisuke was heavier than he'd thought.

      "Need… Breathe…" Taichi had gasped, after Daisuke was seated on the foot of the bed, up on his knees and facing Taichi, who was actually on his butt with the pillows just behind him. Daisuke *hadn't* put his full weight on Taichi, but he had been squeezing Taichi around the middle…

      "Sorry," he said sheepishly, ducking his head before looking up for forgiveness.

      "'S alright," Taichi said, grinning. Grinning was good, right? Grinning *looked* good- it looked *very* good. Daisuke wanted to tackle Taichi again, but he did realize that it might be just a bit counterproductive. He still wasn't entirely sure whether or not his confession had been successful.

      "'M glad," Daisuke agreed, not knowing what to say. He was still waiting for Taichi to *do* something, so he would know that Taichi understood. Maybe he should just say it after all- he thought Hikari would guess, but he ended up just telling her that he liked Taichi. Would the same thing happen with Taichi himself? Daisuke didn't *know* how confessions of love were supposed to go, so he wasn't *sure* what to do.

      Daisuke settled on scooting closer to Taichi, who appeared to have recovered from the hug. Taichi was still grinning, though. Daisuke *liked* Taichi's grin. He'd decided that Taichi had a sexy grin. He also realized that he now wanted to kiss Taichi, with Taichi just sitting there and grinning like that, only he wasn't sure if he was allowed to do that or not. Daisuke didn't exactly have much experience kissing people anyway, so maybe it didn't matter. And Taichi still wasn't saying anything! Just staring. And grinning.

      "What's so funny?" Daisuke asked petulantly, after another minute. He began to pout again, scooting a little bit closer yet to Taichi.

      "You're cute, you know that?" Taichi decided, rather than actually answering the question.

      "Y'think so? Really?" Daisuke asked happily, bouncing closer to Taichi, so that he was nearly sitting on the older boy again. Taichi thought he was cute! Him! Daisuke! Maybe the whole "love confession" thing wasn't so hard after all, when you took out all the *really* mushy stuff.

      "Mmm hmmm," Taichi murmured, nodding seriously and leaning in toward Daisuke. Daisuke's heartbeat sped up just a bit, with Taichi's breath fanning his face and smelling of the older boy, and his own breath caught in his throat. Maybe Taichi would kiss *him.* That would make things easier…

      "Taichi-senpai?" Daisuke asked again, voice soft. He was rapidly moving out of his depth… And it was *nice.*

      "Yes, Daisuke?" Taichi asked, with the utmost gentleness. Taichi leaned closer as he spoke, and Daisuke thought his heart would just *explode,* it was beating so loudly in his ears, but Taichi's lips just brushed up against Daisuke's ear as the older boy finished speaking. Taichi hadn't chosen to seek out Daisuke's lips, and Daisuke was trying to decide whether he was relieved or disappointed, when he felt a warm moisture within the shell of his ear. Taichi's tongue swiped downward, and then the older boy carefully took Daisuke's earlobe between his teeth, nibbling gently.

      It was strange, really; Taichi seemed to be carefully thinking through everything he was doing. Taichi usually wasn't that careful about anything. He was the kind of person who believed in the "act now, think later," philosophy. Still… Daisuke wouldn't argue. At that moment, there was nowhere else he'd rather be. Sighing happily, he relaxed completely, head rolling a bit to the side as Taichi moved to nip and suck his way from Daisuke's earlobe diagonally down Daisuke's neck. If a confession of love hadn't been made by then- or at least *understood,*- Daisuke wasn't sure such an occurrence would *ever* happen.

      The licking and the nipping and the sucking were nice- or at least that was what the rather insistent hardness in Daisuke's pants seemed to think, and the rest of Daisuke was inclined to believe. Still…

      Taichi must have understood whatever was bothering Daisuke, for he broke off the attentions he'd been bestowing upon the younger boy's neck, leaning back only to the point where he could look Daisuke in the face and actually *see* the younger boy's features, in place of a featureless blur. Smiling slightly, Taichi tilted up Daisuke's chin, before leaning in slowly. Daisuke had been given fair warning, and knew what was coming before soft lips were pressed against his own.

      Daisuke knew well enough that kissing didn't *work* if you just *sat* there; you had to actually respond to the person kissing you in order for it to be any good. Daisuke *wasn't* an experienced kisser, and he had been caught up enough in just kissing Taichi that he didn't think twice about parting his lips when Taichi tongued them. That, of course, was different, but Daisuke had already known that. He was used to having only his *own* tongue inside his mouth, so another tongue made things feel *very* crowded. Still, with Taichi's tongue stroking his own, Daisuke quickly got over the odd feeling… But not quite quickly enough; Taichi drew back, and Daisuke realized that it might be in his own best interest to *breathe* a little.

      Feeling like he was in heaven, Daisuke scooted the last few inches right up into Taichi's lap, wrapping his arms around the older boy and snuggling in close. He might not have completely realized it until just earlier that day, but this was most *definitely* what he'd always wanted. He didn't even notice when Hikari poked her nose into Taichi's room, turning the lock on the door handle before pulling the door shut behind her as she left. Daisuke tilted his head up to kiss Taichi himself; a kiss not as thorough as the first, and perhaps a bit sloppier, but definitely enthusiastic.

      "Taichi-senpai-" Daisuke managed, voice soft, content- but after that, he yawned. It really wasn't that late; it was dark, but only a little while past dark. He'd be able to stay longer… He could still go home later… He just wanted to stay in the room with Taichi for a little while more. And maybe he wanted to sleep, but that wasn't quite as important.

      Taichi grinned through Daisuke's yawn, amused. Taichi actually leaned forward and kissed Daisuke lightly on the nose, which Daisuke figured could very well be one of the silliest things Taichi had ever done- but then again, with all the hair-ruffling Taichi used to do, Daisuke couldn't be sure.

      "Sleepy?" Taichi asked, the warm amusement from Taichi's grin spreading into his voice.

      "Maybe…" was Daisuke's response. A response that earned a bit of soft laughter from Taichi.

      "You could take a nap, you know. You've slept over before." It probably didn't help that Taichi was still holding Daisuke close when he said this, or that Taichi had returned to nuzzling Daisuke's neck between words.

      "Mmm…" was all Daisuke "said;" he wasn't sure if he actually wanted to sleep, for things seemed much more interesting with him awake. Taichi must have decided to give Daisuke time to make a real decision, for he continued to nuzzle Daisuke's neck, while also sliding one hand up under Daisuke's shirt, tracing soothing circles with the hand on Daisuke's skin. His other arm was still wrapped around Daisuke's shoulders- that was how Taichi was holding Daisuke close.

      "Sleep is good," Taichi murmured coaxingly. The stroking of his back didn't particularly help; that was only relaxing Daisuke further, and making him sleepier. Slowly, Taichi drew back, until he was sitting right in front of Daisuke, but not actually touching the younger boy. Daisuke couldn't help feeling almost betrayed.

      Taichi wasn't paying attention, however- in fact, he was making a point of not paying attention. Instead, he was sitting where he was, taking off his shirt and tugging back the covers on his bed. He turned back towards Daisuke, causing the younger boy to flush just slightly… And Daisuke wasn't even sure *why.* Deciding not to argue, Daisuke mimicked Taichi, tossing his own t-shirt down onto Taichi's already cluttered floor. Taichi grinned at Daisuke then, once again encircling the younger boy with his arms and tugging him close. Dropping back onto the pillows at the head of the bed, Taichi threw the covers over the both of them, reaching out to turn off the lamp by the bedside before repositioning the arm around Daisuke.

      Taking stock of himself, Daisuke found things to be more than satisfactory. Taichi knew that Daisuke was in love with him, even if Daisuke hadn't been required to come right out and *say* so. He could always do that later, when he wouldn't feel so silly about it. Not only that, but Taichi had been kissing him and hugging him and now Taichi was going to *sleep* with him. He *was* tired, but Taichi's arms were around him, and he was warm and relaxed with his head pillowed against Taichi's chest. There was nowhere else he'd rather be.

      *That* was when the dream from the night before came back to him- for the first time, Daisuke could remember one of the dreams that had been waking him up and depriving him of his much-needed rest. It was because of those dreams that he was so tired now. But remembering the dream… All Daisuke could do was smile. Things had turned out a bit differently in the real version, but Daisuke was still pleased with the outcome. Still… Something did occur to Daisuke.

      "Taichi-senpai?" he asked softly.

      "Daisuke?" Taichi responded.

      "I love you." That said, Daisuke closed his eyes, snuggling closer to Taichi.

      For a minute, Taichi was silent, processing what Daisuke had just said. Then, after the pause- "I love you too, Daisuke. For longer than you would believe."

      The last caught Daisuke's attention, and he knew he couldn't just drift off to sleep without saying *something* in reply. "I think I can believe you… I think I've liked- loved- you for a really long time too. I just didn't completely realize it, you know?"

      "I know," Taichi said, and then Daisuke felt Taichi burying his face in Daisuke's hair. Daisuke was more than a bit tired, and he was halfway asleep when a last fragment of his dream from before prompted him into doing something while still conscious. Wriggling just a little, seeing as he didn't want to actually leave Taichi's embrace, Daisuke squirmed out of his pants, and his boxers, too. He wasn't entirely sure why, but that was how things had been in the dream- and it was more comfortable, too. Now the only thing missing was the black silk sheets, but Daisuke didn't miss those too much. Moments later, and he was asleep.

      Daisuke wouldn't know it, but Taichi wasn't as tired as the younger boy, and he hadn't been asleep when Daisuke drifted off. Taichi hadn't eaten dinner, but he didn't leave the bedroom the entire night, even though he usually ate as if he hadn't seen food for a year. He did wonder at the nudity, but allowed it to slide as just another quirk of Daisuke's- not like Taichi had any *complaints* about sleeping nude, anyway. Daisuke also wouldn't know about Hikari covering for Taichi and Daisuke at dinner. However, none of these things were as important as the uninterrupted night's sleep Daisuke got that evening, or the warmth he felt, waking up in Taichi's arms the next morning.

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Lira: *.* Holy fuck, but I am *queen* of the fluff. Wow. This was… Sappier and fluffier and LONGER than I'd originally planned, but I'm just hoping that's a good thing. ^.^;

Iori: If you ask me-

Lira: That's exactly why I'm not asking you. Quiet, shrimp-boy, for the fluff is GOOD. …Or is it? Well, tell me what you think. Questions? Comments? Loved it? Hated it? Any of that stuff can go in the review box, 'cause you know I'll love you for it.

Iori: In other words, "review please." Only I'm too dignified to beg.

Lira: *whaps him* Stupid gnome. I'm not begging. But that's it! It's done! I actually wrote this in spurts over about two months, so I am PLEASED! Hope you liked. Hope you don't have any cavities now. Or maybe I hope you DO! ^.^

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