Lira: Now, this is one of my stranger fic ideas-
Iori: (muttering) You can say that again…
Lira: (glare) Anyway… This is definitely a strange little taisuke, written because I wanted to write something fluffy… But had been reading ancient Chinese stories…
Iori: So forgive Lira for destroying the concept of a traditional Chinese wedding. She knows the characters from Digimon are Japanese, so she COULD have looked into traditional JAPANESE weddings, but was too lazy to do so. She'd also like to say that this is AU- and that she doesn't own Digimon. That should be obvious by now.
Lira: (pats Iori indulgently on the head) That's right. This one's dedicated to my best people on the web, as always, and to the folks in the taidai ML. Love you all.
Iori: (holding a pad of paper) Disclaimer- check. Dedication- check. Dismissing how bizarre and AU this fic is… Check. On to the fic!
THE WEDDING NIGHT
by: lira-chan-
For the most part, Ishida Yamato was fond of his life. It wasn't a particularly difficult life, seeing as he had a cozy position as close friend to the son and heir of a rich city official. For the most part, being friends with Yagami Taichi, said son and heir, was more than enjoyable. On the other hand, the friendship had its moments when Yamato would have done anything to have never heard of a one Yagami Taichi. Currently, Yamato was experiencing one of those moments.
"Yamato? Are you listening to me?" Taichi asked, giving the back of Yamato's head a rather painful whack.
"No. I'm not," Yamato replied honestly, rather pissed off at being hit, and rubbing his throbbing head while a dark look spread across his face. "Feel free to repeat yourself."
Taichi just scowled in return, before his features relaxed back into a more friendly expression. "I was only trying to figure out," he began again, tone of voice indicating that he felt grievously wounded by Yamato's ignoring him, "whether or not you'd heard about my engagement."
"Say what?" Yamato asked. He hadn't been paying attention, just as he'd said, and the declaration caught him by surprise. Taichi? Engaged? This most definitely merited an explanation. "Tell me… How did this happen?"
Taichi scowled again, seeming to dislike Yamato's amused tone, but Yamato just ignored it. He wanted to know what was going on with this engagement Taichi was talking about.
"I said that I'm engaged," Taichi repeated, in response to the first from Yamato. "It's my father's idea- he set it up. Seeing as I'm his one and only son and heir, its high time I start pulling my weight around here. Marriage and getting him grandsons and the like, you know? At least, that's the sort of thing he told me when I asked him about it. Personally, it's all a load of crap."
Yamato laughed. Taichi scowled. Again.
"It's not funny."
"Yes. It is," Yamato said, merely grinning at his rather bitter best friend. "Your father's right when he says you need to start pulling your weight- but you? A father? Never in a million years could I see that. Your father must be insane."
"You can say that again," Taichi agreed, tone dark.
"So, who's the lucky girl?" Yamato asked. The look Taichi shot him then clearly stated that he shouldn't be enjoying his friend's misery to such an extent, but Yamato couldn't help it. It wasn't every day you heard your best friend was getting married, after all. He wanted to have fun while it lasted.
"That's the worst part," Taichi muttered. To himself, Yamato thought that Taichi was being just a bit melodramatic- quite uncharacteristic of him- but that was only Yamato's opinion. "I don't even know who the chick is."
"What, you've never heard of her? What's her name?"
"Yamato. Two words. 'Arranged marriage.'"
Well, Yamato certainly felt stupid. Of course Taichi didn't know who the girl was- he might not know her name, either, if everything was being arranged without any say-so from Taichi. Perhaps Yamato would have to sympathize.
"So you don't have any idea who the girl is- not even a name? A picture?"
"She lives in a cloister," Taichi disclosed, the small fact accompanied by a bitter-sounding laugh. "You know those 'Goddess of the Light' freaks. They wall their girls up to keep them 'innocent' and 'pure,' and my father thought it might be a nice idea to marry me off to one of those girls, seeing as the only way they do marry is through arranged marriages. Can you believe it? I'm supposed to marry some Goddess-worshipping holy freak who probably doesn't even know what 'sex' means!"
"Poor, poor Taichi," Yamato chanted, grinning a bit and unable to help himself. Taichi glared at him, balling one hand up into a fist, and Yamato backed off.
"Honestly… Yamato… It's bad enough that my dad has to marry me off to some chick, but does it really have to be some girl from one of the most insane holy orders ever devised? What did I ever do to deserve this?"
"Well, it could have been when you-"
"Yamato!" Taichi cut in, shooting his friend another annoyed look. "I'm actually being serious about this, believe it or not. I do not want to be getting married. And it looks like there's nothing I can do about it."
Yamato might have enjoyed teasing Taichi when he could, but he wasn't entirely heartless. They were best friends, after all. If he could do anything to make Taichi feel better about the wedding, then he would- and Yamato had a feeling that there was something he could do to help.
"Listen… Taichi…" he began. Apparently, Taichi noticed Yamato's newfound seriousness, and immediately listened up. "You said the girl's from the followers of the Goddess of Light, right? I happen to know one of the priestesses at the cloister, and… I know it isn't much, but I could go over there before the wedding, talk to my friend… See about meeting this girl you're supposed to be marrying. I know it isn't much, but at least you'd know if she's a total loss- right?"
"I guess you're right…" Taichi agreed, reluctantly.
"Of course I am."
That earned another look from Taichi, this one more along the lines of "Who do you think you're fooling?" Yamato didn't particularly mind.
"I'll go over there tomorrow, so I can talk to the girl and my priestess friend before the wedding, alright? It won't be too awful, Taichi. Don't worry about it."
"Alright… And Yamato… Thanks."
Yamato grinned; Taichi wasn't exactly the kind of person who was especially free with words, especially when they pertained to anything even vaguely "mushy"- like thank-yous- and Yamato was glad he could help Taichi out. After all, they were friends, and if nothing else, Taichi had most definitely made Yamato's life interesting, for all the years that they'd known each other. It was time for a little payback.
"Don't cry, Daisuke, don't cry. It's not that bad- really. I'll take care of everything. Don't you worry."
"But what'll we do? Who will take care of us? And what happened to mom and dad? Jun…?"
A sigh. "Daisuke… Don't do this to me." A pained look. "I'm going to do my best, okay? I'll do my best for the both of us. There are lots of people who will take care of little kids, and you don't have to pay them any money or anything. Like… The cloisters. They take in little girls, and clothe them, and shelter them, and give them food…"
A tug on the girl's skirt, little fingers curled tight around the fabric, desperately. "But I'm not a little girl…"
A smile; a calculating look, an approving look.
Daisuke had been only, what, seven? When that conversation had taken place… He'd been so young. Jun hadn't been too much older; she only had three years on him. That made her… What… Ten? They were both so young back then. They'd always just been siblings, fighting and squabbling and doing what a brother and sister just did… Until Jun had been forced to try to be mother and father for both of them- and look where it had gotten them.
"Daisuke!"
'Crap… Did it again…' Daisuke looked down at the ground, where an overturned bucket was spilling water across the polished wooden floors inside the cloister mess hall. For the past decade, Daisuke had taken three meals in that room almost every single day. He could hardly believe that it had been so long…
"Daisuke…"
Upon hearing his name a second time, Daisuke looked up and into the furious eyes of his sister. Jun was frowning, a mop in one hand, the other hand running through her hair, pushing it out of her eyes. She looked positively exasperated- not that that was anything new. Daisuke seemed to exasperate his sister a lot- he couldn't help it.
"Sorry, Jun," he muttered, sheepishly. "It's just…" He trailed off, reaching up and fiddling with the itchy collar to the cotton blouse he wore. It was an inexpensive thing, something Jun had picked up for him from the clothes-bins the Sisters of the Light set up for the girls in the cloister. And it was itchy and brown, with a starched, scalloped white neck and wrists. But it wasn't the shirt that bothered him.
It was the skirt.
It was… A skirt. Nothing special; it, too, was brown and made of cotton, although it was dyed a darker shade of brown. The problem wasn't the color or the material, however, it was the fact that it was a skirt- and Daisuke just couldn't mop in a skirt.
Jun sighed at Daisuke's apology, the sound as exasperated as her expression, if not more so. Leaning her mop against the wall, she stalked forward, putting her face right up near Daisuke's.
"Don't tell me it's just the skirt," she hissed, glaring. "Daisuke… You've been dressing like this longer than you've been dressing as a boy, so it can't be a problem! Honestly… Is it really too much for me to ask of you? Dress like a girl, do some simple, mindless chores for the Sisters… And in exchange we get room, board, food? Is it really so hard?"
"No…" Daisuke agreed quietly, the hand not on his collar tightening around his mop, still clutched in one hand, knuckles turning white. Of course it wasn't too much to ask, to have his dignity forcibly removed, to be forced into this charade, this game, to dress and act and live as a girl, every day of his life… Of course not. Daisuke could do it. He could do fucking any-
"-And if you'll just step in here-"
"Daisuke!" Jun hissed yet again, darting away from him, snatching up her mop, and righting the now-empty bucket of water they'd been using for the mopping. "Get back to work! Quick!"
Daisuke didn't have to be told; he was already mopping up the spilled water, squeezing it back into the wooden bucket. He and Jun both recognized the voice that had spoken, and while the girl the voice belonged to wasn't actually cruel or mean-spirited, she was a Sister, and if they ever gave her reason to be displeased with their work… Well, needless to say, Daisuke and Jun might not be living on the charity of the cloister any longer.
"Jun!" the same feminine voice said, as the girl it belonged to stepped around the corner of the door to the mess hall, coming into Daisuke's view.
It was a one Takenouchi Sora, accompanied by… A stranger? And even stranger than the fact that Daisuke hadn't seen the man before was the fact that he was a man. In the Sisterhood of the Light, the hierarchy of priestesses worshipping the Goddess of Light, no males were allowed entrance. For that reason, Daisuke had spent a decade of his life dressing as a girl. If he'd allowed the Sisters to know he was male, they never would have admitted him into the cloister with Jun.
"Yes?" Jun replied cheerily, ceasing her mopping and beaming at Sora. "Do we have… Company?"
"We do, in fact," Sora replied, stepping forward and leading the man into the mess hall. The man was blonde, and looked to be the same age as Sora and Jun, if Daisuke was any judge. He couldn't help wondering what it was a man wanted with the cloister.
"Well then? Who is it?" Jun's tone was still polite, although her question was more straight-to-the-point than it was tactful. This, however, earned a smile from Sora- not any sort of reprimand.
"This is Ishida Yamato," Sora said, introducing the blonde man. With a smile, the man in question nodded. "Yamato, meet Motomiya Jun and Motomiya Daisuke. Daisuke is the girl I was telling you about…"
Before, when the strange man was the only thing out of the ordinary, Daisuke had only been vaguely curious about the situation. Now, hearing that Sora was telling the man about him, Daisuke's interest was properly piqued.
"Me?" he asked softly, coming forward to stand behind Jun. He had to pitch his voice whenever he spoke to anyone except Jun; if he wasn't careful, he'd slip up and speak without altering his voice, and one of the Sisters might realize he was a male. "Why would you tell this man- this Yamato- about me?"
His question earned an indulging smile from Sora, a smile that sent a shiver down Daisuke's spine. Before, he'd been interested, curious- now he was worried. Something was up.
"Daisuke…" Sora's tone was a careful one. Daisuke could tell that she was choosing her words with thought, and he usually wasn't all that perceptive. "This is Yamato… A friend of mine… But in addition to being my friend, he is also the representative of the Yagami family. The eldest son of the house is to be engaged… And his father made a request of the cloister, that his son would have the hand of one of the daughters in marriage. You know that we only marry our daughters and Sisters off to the most respectable of men…"
"No…" Daisuke breathed softly, although he hoped Sora didn't hear, hoped Sora would just continue, and prove him wrong. Or, better yet, she'd stop entirely. Daisuke didn't think he wanted to find out whether he was wrong or not- there was a fifty percent chance that he was right, and if he was right… "It can't be."
Sora offered him a curious look, but she did continue without saying anything about his tiny outburst. "Daisuke… You've been with us for a full decade, as has your sister Jun. Now… We've been considering Jun for the Sisterhood, and she has expressed some interest in joining the ranks of the Priestesses of the Light… But you… You express no such interest. And so, when the Yagamis made this proposal…"
Daisuke's heart sank. He was right. He just knew it; he was going to be right.
"Daisuke, I'd like to inform you of your engagement to the junior Yagami. Congratulations."
Daisuke breathed out, and almost laughed; he hadn't realized he'd been holding his breath. He realized that he was receiving odd looks from the strange man, Yamato, and his sister both, but he didn't do or say anything about it- there was nothing to be done.
"You have to be kidding me."
"Of course I'm not kidding you," Sora said, and then she sounded just a bit irritated. "Daisuke, this is good news. You are happy, aren't you? It isn't very often that an orphan is married into a respectable family like that of the Yagamis. You should be grateful."
Daisuke wanted to tell Sora just how grateful he was. So grateful he could just drown himself in his bucket of dirty mop water- his nearly empty bucket of dirty mop water. It might be hard, but he was fairly certain he had the incentive to succeed. Posing as a girl for the past ten years might have been hell some of the time, but Daisuke had been sure that it couldn't get any worse. He was almost eighteen, and then he could get a proper job, and wouldn't have to live on the charity of the cloister and the Sisters any longer. He only would have had to wait a year more, and then he could toss away the ruse, and get on with his life. And now… This. His life truly was over.
Looking up, Daisuke saw a hopeful look on Sora's face, a calculating, thoughtful look on the face of the stranger Yamato, and a blank, guarded look on the face of his sister. No one was going to say anything that would be of any help to Daisuke. That was it… His life was over. Truly over. And there was nothing he could do about it.
"Juuun!" Daisuke moaned, tossing a bitter, desperate look in the direction of the sister in question. "Why didn't you say anything? Why didn't you help me? You know that I can't marry this Yagami guy! I just can't!"
Jun was on her stomach on one of the two cots in their cell in the cloister, staring over at her brother, who was rapidly moving into hysterics. The gaze she directed his way was cool, which didn't please Daisuke at all. How could she be so calm at this time? Her brother was going to be married off to a guy, and she didn't even have anything to say about it?
"And just why can't you?"
Daisuke blinked, completely taken by surprise at the question. Why couldn't he marry the Yagami guy? Was he hearing his sister correctly?
"Juuun! What are you saying? What do you mean 'why can't you'? I can't marry this guy because I am a guy! I'm not really a girl, and they're bound to find out now! What do you think will happen then, huh? You're my sister. Maybe they'll think you're a boy, too. Or even if they don't, they aren't possibly going to let you into the Sisterhood after this! You have to do something. Help me!"
"I don't think I have to do anything," Jun said, still so horribly cool and calm. Daisuke just wanted to strangle her, for her tone alone.
"Of course you do! I'm your brother, and I am not going to marry this guy. And that's final!"
"Really?" At that, Jun pushed herself up and off of the bed she was lying on, moving into a sitting position, legs crossed. Just moments more, and her arms, too, were crossed, as she leveled her brother with a cold stare. "And just what are you going to do to prevent this marriage from happening?"
"I'll… I'll… Well, I don't know what I'll do, but I'm certainly not going to sit back and watch it happen!"
At that, Jun laughed. She just… Laughed. Daisuke stared at her, open-mouthed, as she did. He couldn't believe she'd make fun of him like that.
"Daisuke… Get over it. If you don't go through with the marriage, then they'll figure out our little secret. But if you go through with it…"
"Juuun…" Daisuke moaned, yet again. He couldn't believe her. "You're only saying that because you couldn't stand to lose the position they're going to give you as a Sister! But you don't know the first thing about being a real sister. A real sister wouldn't abandon her brother like this!"
"Daisuke…" Jun sighed, exasperated. "I'm not abandoning you. Honestly. Listen… Don't you see what you could get out of this? You've been planning to ditch the cloister as soon as you hit eighteen, get a job; pretend none of this ever happened. Am I right? But think about this. If you go through with the wedding, you spend, oh, a year with your 'husband.' You suck up to the guy for all that you're worth, and get every penny you can out of him. At the end of the year, as soon as you're eligible for work in the real world, you split. That way, even if you can't get a job right away, you're set. It's perfect."
"Yeah. Real perfect," Daisuke muttered, even as he was trying to figure out if his sister was for real. Did she honestly think he could get away with mooching money off of his "husband" for an entire year? He was bound to be discovered as a fake long before that.
"Come on," Jun began, finally getting up off the bed, but only in order to bounce over to Daisuke and fluff his hair. "You know that you'd be able to pull it off, and that's the only reason you're not admitting that I'm brilliant. You've been living as a girl for almost all of ten whole years. What's one more year on top of that? You can do it; I know it. I have faith in you."
"Gee, thanks." Daisuke's tone was a bitter one, but he was genuinely touched by Jun's faith. True, she was often just fucking with him, but this… To him, this was something serious. It was a marriage, and it would be a false one. She was saying he should stick it out, continue the charade, and ditch his "husband" when the time was right. It was a bit low, a bit dirty, but if Daisuke couldn't pull it off… He had to try. And honestly… Did he have a choice?
"Another pint."
Taichi raised his mug with one hand, waving at the bartender with the other. The ale at the bar he'd decided to frequent wasn't exactly anything special, and Taichi was beginning to wish that he'd chosen to go somewhere a bit nicer to drink away his sorrows… But that didn't mean he couldn't drink the stuff like a dehydrated horse. He was already on… What… His fourth tankard? And not even drunk yet. Pity. He still knew what he was trying to get smashed over.
The wedding.
It had been over two weeks since Yamato had promised to go to the cloister on Taichi's behalf- two weeks since Yamato had returned with news of the girl Taichi was supposed to marry. According to Yamato, Taichi's bride-to-be wasn't bad-looking- rather, she was quite the pretty little thing, if not overly feminine. Short red hair, chocolate-brown eyes, and caramel skin. It sounded as if Yamato were trying to turn the girl into some sort of dessert to be eaten. Chocolate, caramel… Maybe the hair was supposed to be a cherry on top. If only Taichi's father was really just getting him a sundae, not a bride.
Yamato hadn't stayed at the cloister long enough to get a real impression of the girl's personality, or so he'd said. Still… He also said that when Sora told the girl that she was supposed to marry a one son and heir to the Yagami house… The girl had looked completely and totally crestfallen. It was as if Sora, the Sister Yamato had mentioned knowing, had shattered the girl's entire reality. If Taichi weren't feeling so bitter, he might have been able to pity the girl. As it was, he just wanted to laugh, seeing as she sounded as unhappy about the engagement and upcoming wedding as Taichi was.
When Taichi asked for his fourth drink in what was only about an hour, the bartender shot him a warning look, but Taichi was Yagami Taichi, and his name actually bore some weight in the town they were living in. With a father who was a high official… Someone as unimportant as a mere bartender didn't dare disobey a request from the boy, lest news of his failure get back to Taichi's father. Such failure might result in loss of a job- or worse. The bartender took the tankard from Taichi's outstretched hand, refilled it, and plunked it back down on the bar in front of Taichi.
Unhappily, Taichi raised the thing to his lips, sipping at the brew and nursing his drink, rather than gulping it. In all honesty, he didn't have any real desire to get drunk. He just wanted to forget, despite knowing that any forgetfulness he attained would only be temporary, and that he would still have a wedding to attend the following day, and after that… After that, his life would end. After that, he would have a wife. And with one of those… He wouldn't be able to do anything. No more going to bars, no more "living it up," no more nothing, save for "settling down" and "starting a family." It was definitely going to be hell.
Despite his morbid thoughts, Taichi wasn't deep enough in his own misery to miss hearing the opening of the door to the bar, or to miss seeing the boy in the doorframe. Who could miss the boy? He didn't look old enough to drink, but that didn't mean he didn't look good. Yeah… Getting married tomorrow, and here Taichi was, eyeballing some boy who thought he could pass himself off for being above the legal drinking age in their town, who probably had never had a sip of ale in his life.
The boy was walking over, headed straight for the bar where Taichi sat, and all Taichi wanted to do was laugh. To think… Yamato had given Taichi a description of the girl Taichi was to marry, and it had meant nothing to Taichi. Nothing at all. She was a girl after all, and Taichi just wasn't interested. But to take the same description, and to apply it to Taichi's under-aged bar-crawler? That would create a delicious little "sundae" that Taichi wouldn't mind taking the time to "eat," so to speak…
Oh, but Taichi could just smack himself. He was getting married. He had a fiancé, a wife-to-be, and guys who were engaged, who were getting married the next day… Guys like that didn't drool over little boys in bars. If only his future wife were there then, to see Taichi looking over this child like a piece of meat… Well, that might send the innocent little girl running straight back to her mother- or her "Sister," as the case very well might be.
"A pint, please."
The voice was soft; the boy speaking hadn't made much of an effort to speak up or to catch the bartender's attention, but what did Taichi expect? He didn't look old enough to be cruising the bars, and he wouldn't know what he was doing unless he had some experience talking to the men who worked in such places. After a minute, the bartender did look up, but when he saw the boy addressing him, he just snorted and turned away. Taichi had been right; the boy couldn't pass himself off as old enough to buy a drink, and the bartender knew it. He wasn't desperate enough for coin to drop the kid a pint of ale. Too bad, really. If the kid were drunk-
Oh, Taichi, no. Eyeballing children is one thing, but-
"Hey. Bartender. I believe my friend here asked you for a pint of your wonderful ale. You not hear him? Well, I'm buying. Put a second pint down for me, and put it in front of my friend, you hear?"
At "bartender," the man looked up. Hearing Taichi's request, he shot a curious look Taichi's way, but he wasn't going to argue. Grabbing another tankard off the racks hanging over the bar, he filled the mug up from the taps behind the bar, plunking the second tankard of ale on the counter in front of the kid, so that the foamy head overflowed just a little, liquid pouring over the edge of the tankard and pooling around it on the bar, in a little circle.
For a moment, the kid just stared at the tankard of ale, newly materialized before him. He didn't turn to Taichi, just stared at the drink; his drink. A few moments more, and he reached out both hands, wrapping them around the mug, lifting it to his lips, taking a sip. Sighing heavily, he looked up from the mug and over to Taichi, eying the older boy warily.
"Loosen up," Taichi suggested upon receiving the look. His voice was cheerful enough, despite all of the angsting he'd been doing over the wedding coming up the next day. Angsting really wasn't his style, anyway, and he was pleased with the distraction the kid was providing. "The name's Taichi, kid. You got one yourself?"
"Loosen up. The name's Taichi, kid. You got one yourself?"
Daisuke had been eying the older man beside him warily, right after the guy had bought him his drink… But the guy didn't really seem like a bad sort, and now that he was asking Daisuke his name… He really did sound friendly enough. Daisuke could at least give his name, as some sort of half-hearted payment for the ale the man, Taichi, had purchased.
"Yeah… I'm Daisuke," Daisuke said, by way of introduction. He knew he wasn't exactly a smooth talker; he'd already tried to order a drink, and all the bartender had done was laugh at him. Of course, Daisuke knew that he looked underage, and not only did Daisuke know it, but the bartender knew it, too. Still… For some reason, he almost wanted to impress this Taichi guy, which meant not stumbling over his words constantly.
"Daisuke. Nice name, kid. So… What brings you in?"
What brought him in? As in, why was Daisuke, someone who obviously didn't belong in a seedy little bar, in the bar? Well, he could be totally honest and admit that his sister had gotten him into cross-dressing, so to speak, and now he was about to be married off to a guy he'd never seen, let alone met- and the wedding was tomorrow. Why was he there? Oh, he was merely trying to celebrate his last hours of freedom by spending some time as a male, before he'd have to watch his step twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, to make sure his disguise as a female was flawless. But he couldn't tell this stranger that.
"Nothing, really."
"Lucky you." Was that… Did the stranger- Taichi- sound almost… Bitter?
"Something wrong?" Daisuke asked curiously, almost gently. He really did want to know if something was up… If there was anything he could say or do to help.
"Oh, of course nothing's wrong." A sarcastic laugh, and Daisuke was certain that Taichi was bitter about something. "I'm just celebrating my last hours of freedom by getting piss-ass drunk, possibly collapsing in a gutter somewhere, the works. I've got a wedding tomorrow, and I don't even know the bride. It's my father, you see. He arranged the whole thing, wants me to get him some cute little grandsons and carry on the family line. Doesn't care that I'm only twenty and that I have no desire whatsoever to become a father. Hell, I have no desire to marry some girl, no matter how pretty she is. But hell… You don't want to listen to me rant, do you?"
"It's okay, really." Daisuke smiled; listening to Taichi complain about his problem really was interesting. Not only that, but… "It's funny. You sound a little bit like me, but… My problem's just a bit different."
"Oh, tell me what's up. I've already strained your ears; lay it on me."
"No… I don't really want to… It's just… Well, I'm supposed to get married tomorrow, too. And… I don't want to. I mean, I don't know the… Person I'm supposed to be marrying either, but… I'm certainly not the… Person they think I am, and… I'm just really worried that after the wedding everything will fall apart, and I don't even want to be in the wedding."
"You're right, that's funny." Taichi laughed again, and this time the sound was less sarcastic, less bitter. In fact… It was a rather nice sound. Daisuke found himself wishing he could make Taichi laugh again, for him. But that was odd… Wasn't it? "We're two bachelors on the eve of our weddings, trying to escape by drowning our sorrows in some… Well, slightly less than quality ale, but it's the thought that counts, right? Especially since you're hardly old enough to drink, huh?"
"I'm seventeen, and isn't that close enough?" Daisuke said, defensively. For some reason, he was a bit indignant about the insinuation that he was too young to be in the bar talking it up with Taichi. He didn't want Taichi to think he was just a little kid.
"'Course its close enough," Taichi agreed, and he laughed again. In response, Daisuke smiled; Taichi had just been joking about the age thing, it seemed, and that made Daisuke just that much happier.
"But really," Taichi continued, suddenly becoming rather serious. "I hate this whole arranged marriage thing. Not only do I not know the girl, but… It's a girl. My father expects me to magically produce grandsons for him, to keep the family name going, but… It's just not that easy, you know?"
"I'm not sure," Daisuke replied, softly. He was being honest; he really wasn't sure whether he knew or not, but he was fairly certain that he could guess at what Taichi was saying…
"It's like this-" Taichi said, running a hand through his hair, and looking almost embarrassed at having to explain. Daisuke felt a pang of guilt, but he was fairly certain that he knew what Taichi was talking about, and he just wanted to find out for sure. "-I… Don't like girls. Not… Like that. My father wants me and this girl of his choosing to have lots of little baby boys, so he can be a granddaddy. But… Marrying this chick is bad enough. I really don't want to have sex with her."
At the mention of "sex," Daisuke colored just slightly. It wasn't that he hadn't thought about it or anything- really, for someone who lived in a cloister, he probably thought about sex just a bit too much. But a new and more than horrible thought had only just occurred to him. Posing as a girl was difficult enough on its own, but he'd only been a girl before. Tomorrow, he would be a wife as well- and what if his new "husband" wanted to have sex with him? What then? There was no way he would be able to maintain the charade then.
"I can completely sympathize with that," Daisuke said at last, hoping that Taichi hadn't noticed his lag. And Daisuke could sympathize- Taichi didn't want to have sex with a girl, Daisuke didn't want to be asked to have sex with his guy, because then he'd be found out for sure.
"You can, can you?" Taichi asked, eyebrows raised, but Daisuke was a bit too busy worrying over his "husband" wanting to have sex with him to notice the way Taichi had controlled his voice in asking that one question.
"Yeah, so?" Daisuke asked in response. He did sympathize, no lie there. And… If only Taichi was Daisuke's "husband"-to-be. Then everything would be perfect. With Taichi not wanting to have sex with a girl… Daisuke could maintain the ruse of being a girl, no problem.
Daisuke was mentally proving that he did sympathize, but even then, it took Taichi so long to say anything by way of response that Daisuke was beginning to wonder if Taichi had succeeded in drinking his way into oblivion after all. If Taichi's brain was out of Daisuke's reach due to all the ale, it would give Taichi an excuse not to reply.
However, this was not to be the case. A few moments more, and then: "Come away with me."
The words were spoken suddenly; out-of-the-blue. They took Daisuke by surprise, just a little, but he could tell right away that Taichi wasn't just joking. His tone had been serious, despite the spontaneous-ness of the moment, and Daisuke was already rather fond of the other boy… Still…
"'Come away'? Like what, we both run away from our weddings together, and start a life of crime or something?"
"Nothing as drastic as that," Taichi replied carefully, although his voice was laced with amusement. "Just… We both came to this bar to drink away our sorrows, to spend the last few hours before our weddings doing something completely unrelated to vows and commitments. But it's not like drinking yourself into a stupor is really any fun. So just for tonight… Just for the last couple hours before we both go our separate ways, go off and get married… Just a little more celebration. Just a little more fun. Just a little more… Enjoyment… Before we commit the rest of our lives away."
Taichi's little speech was enough to make Daisuke smile. Grinning cheerfully, he replied, "A little more enjoyment, huh? I don't know where else you'd want to go… But wherever it is, it's bound to be better than this, and whatever it is, I'm up for it. You just lead the way."
When Daisuke told Taichi to "lead the way," he really hadn't known what he was getting himself into. Taichi had led him out of the bar and down the street- then down a dozen more streets, and with each successive turn, Daisuke lost a little more of his sense of where he was, until he couldn't have found his way back to the bar to save his life. They ended up on a street that was still rather brightly lit, despite the fact that it was growing late. There were still people on the street, coming in and out of the buildings lining the road- buildings that all looked more or less alike. Daisuke wasn't sure why Taichi had chosen the building, but moments after turning onto the street he was opening a door and beckoning for Daisuke to precede him inside.
Inside, the building did look nice enough. The floor was carpeted in a rich burgundy and the interior was completely illuminated, with a desk to the left of the door and two doorways opening off of the small entranceway. At the desk sat a man, who seemed to recognize Taichi; Taichi paid the man an amount of money Daisuke hadn't had time to count and the man passed Taichi a little golden key, waving the two of them onwards toward the left-hand door. Taichi thanked the man and turned back to Daisuke, and if Daisuke hadn't known better, he would have thought Taichi looked just a bit uneasy. Still, the place they were in seemed to be a respectable enough establishment, so Daisuke dismissed the feeling.
Daisuke followed Taichi up the stairs and down the hall the stairs opened onto in silence. He watched quietly as Taichi unlocked one of the doors lining the hall with the golden key he'd been given… And then Taichi gently nudged the door open, providing Daisuke with a view of the room beyond.
When Daisuke looked into the room, he felt first subdued… And then his heart began to beat just a bit more swiftly. The room was done up entirely in pristine whites, deep wine-reds, and rich mahogany tones. Daisuke recalled the small heap of gold coins Taichi had paid for the room, beginning to feel nervous himself. The room was nice- very nice- but its contents seemed almost lacking. The only furniture consisted of a pair of mahogany end tables, two over-stuffed couches… And one enormous bed.
Daisuke felt Taichi's eyes on him, and immediately glanced over at the older man. Taichi was still holding the door, and if Daisuke wasn't mistaken, he'd say that a look of unease had once again crept into Taichi's eyes. The expression of uncertainty hovered precariously over Taichi's features for a moment more… And then it was gone, replaced with a comforting grin.
"C'mon," Taichi beckoned then, sounding sure of himself, "don't just stand there. I know the stools at the bar weren't particularly comfortable, so let's go have a seat. Okay?"
Daisuke merely nodded, still feeling nervous and confused. He'd lived in the cloister most of his life, and yet he'd heard of places like the building he'd been brought to by Taichi. He was certain that the place was one of the inns that catered to lovers requiring a bit of… Privacy… But even knowing what he knew, he couldn't bring himself to do anything other than what Taichi had requested. After nodding, he walked into the room and perched on one of the couches. He was completely unable to relax.
From his new seat, Daisuke watched Taichi move away from the doorway and into the room. Taichi's grin had faded slightly, but the unease Daisuke thought he'd seen before hadn't made a reappearance. Taichi sat down beside Daisuke, draping an arm across the back of the couch and leaning towards the boy, but not actually touching him.
"You know, I really wish I wasn't marrying a chick," Taichi murmured, still leaning in towards Daisuke, as if sharing a confidence. Daisuke was getting the feeling that the alcohol had finally gotten to Taichi- some sort of delayed reaction, or something- but he remained silent.
He listened.
"I told you that I don't like girls, right?" Taichi's words were slurred just slightly, and he slumped forward, bringing his face closer yet to Daisuke.
Daisuke nodded. In a small voice, he added, "I… Kind of… Don't want to marry the person I'm engaged to, either. I… Wouldn't want to have sex with them."
Daisuke colored slightly, but Taichi merely grinned in response. Something about his grin, however, sent a shiver up Daisuke's spine. "You're a lot like me, I think. …Would you wanna have sex with me?"
After speaking, Taichi's grin morphed smoothly into a smirk. Daisuke could feel his face heating up further, and he had no idea what he wanted to say. Sex with Taichi? Sex with someone who was a near-stranger? What he was worried about in the first place was the thought of marrying a man, and maybe even being forced to try and have sex with a man, but…
Wasn't it the thought of being found out that really worried Daisuke? His charade of masquerading as a girl for ten years had always been his own painful secret, and he didn't want to share it with anyone. He didn't know anything about the junior Yagami, and he couldn't trust someone he didn't know at all with such a secret. He had only just met Taichi… And yet Taichi felt like someone Daisuke would be able to trust. Would he have been able to trust a girl?
Would he even have been able to have sex with a girl, were he being forced into marriage as a male?
Somehow, Daisuke felt as if the answer to both of those questions would be a definite "no."
"I-" he started to say, before Taichi sighed, not hearing him. Taichi had made one half-hearted attempt to straighten himself, but only succeeded in slumping over again, this time leaning heavily on Daisuke. The arm that had been supporting Taichi against the couch slipped around Daisuke's shoulders, and Taichi's face was brought dangerously close to Daisuke's own. Their faces were barely two inches apart.
Daisuke froze.
His mind had gone completely blank the instant Taichi touched him, his heart was racing, and Taichi's warm breath on his cheek was sending more little shivers up and down his spine. Fortunately, his cheeks weren't overly red- mostly because a great deal of blood was sent rushing to other places. That, on the other hand, was a bit more unfortunate.
"Guess I should've known better than to go jumping to conclusions," Taichi said then, tone of voice laced with something Daisuke didn't presently have the presence of mind to place. "After all, you couldn't even get the bartender to serve you on your own."
"But I'm seventeen, and you said that was close enough!" Daisuke blurted out in immediate protest, before realizing what he was saying. Regardless, speaking seemed to release Daisuke. He leaned across the last few inches separating them, not wanting to wait lest his muscles seize up again, and kissed Taichi squarely on the mouth.
It was only a quick peck on the lips, really. As soon as rational thought managed to catch up to Daisuke- or approximately five seconds later- he panicked and broke off the contact. He'd forgotten about Taichi's arm across his shoulders, however. Before Daisuke could back away too far, he felt Taichi's hand tightening on his shoulder. Taichi used the arm to pull Daisuke close once more.
"So you're saying that you aren't too young, is that right?"
Daisuke meant to reply to the words being whispered into his ear. He'd had every intention. Of course, Taichi chose to move his lips from Daisuke's ear to his neck without waiting for a response. All that managed to escape Daisuke's lips was a choked sort of whimper.
"I'll take that as a yes," Taichi murmured, sounding amused. Taichi paused just long enough to offer Daisuke a moment or two to try in vain at regaining his composure. Instead of allowing Taichi to return to kissing at his neck, Daisuke dragged the older boy's face back up towards his own. He felt like taking another stab at proper kissing.
As Taichi thrust his tongue into Daisuke's mouth, Daisuke couldn't help thinking that perhaps entering into marriage as a girl wouldn't be so bad. Taichi was pushing him onto his back on the couch, and he desperately wanted to stop thinking about the wedding, but… But…
Taichi kissed Daisuke once more, tugged Daisuke's pants off and away, and dropped his head lower, leaving Daisuke with just time enough for one last coherent thought. If only Taichi really were Daisuke's husband-to-be.
Taichi took Daisuke in his mouth then, driving away both wistfulness and coherency. Oh, yes, Taichi would have made a wonderful husband. His bedroom skills alone could prove that much.
Before Daisuke's wedding, being with Taichi had driven any thoughts of nervousness from Daisuke's head. After the wedding, however, his nervousness redoubled. When Daisuke had been with Taichi… The older boy had seemed so very calm and sure of himself. Taichi had been careful with Daisuke, and incredibly, surprisingly gentle. It… Hadn't hurt nearly so much as Daisuke had thought it might.
Realizing what he was thinking about, Daisuke shook his head hard, as if trying to force the thoughts from his mind. He was being foolish. He was presently sitting in the bedroom belonging to his new husband- the bedroom belonging to the man his hand had been bound to mere hours before. Thinking about sex with Taichi was pure insanity. Thinking about the man's hard,sure kisses and gentle, calloused hands was crazy, especially considering that Daisuke's "husband" would be joining him shortly.
Thinking about Taichi would only make Daisuke's heart hurt, seeing as he'd never see the man again- and furthermore, it was dangerous. He was back to disguising himself as a girl- wedding dress and all- and it wouldn't do to be greeting his "husband" with a hard-on. Girls weren't supposed to get those.
Daisuke took a deep breath, calming himself, and leaned back on the bed he was sitting on. The wedding dress wasn't itchy, like Daisuke's cotton skirt, but he couldn't see anything. He'd entered into marriage as a daughter of the Goddess of Light, and a tradition among Light-worshippers was for the bride to remain veiled throughout the wedding. The husband wasn't supposed to know the identity of his wife-to-be, and vice-versa. Even though Daisuke's "husband" wasn't in the room yet, he had to wear the veil. He was prohibited from removing it himself; only his "husband" could do that.
At that precise moment, a faint creaking of door-hinges heralded the arrival of Daisuke's new "husband." He gulped air in through his mouth, panicking only slightly. The moment he'd been dreading for the past few weeks had finally arrived.
For a minute, Daisuke strained his ears to listen to the muffled footsteps belonging to his "husband." The mattress sank slightly beside Daisuke, and he knew that the man he'd been married to was now sitting beside him. He held his breath, feeling the fabric of the veil shifting before slightly rough fingertips slid against his temples. The heavily-embroidered veil was removed.
All at once, Daisuke exhaled the lungful of air he'd sucked in. He was left staring into warm, brown, familiar eyes, and he had no idea what to say. He continued to stare at Taichi's face- the expression gracing it was guarded- as the older boy ran the fingers of one hand through his thick hair. Daisuke wasn't sure if Taichi could recognize him, thanks to the dress and the make-up the Sisters had administered… But he was sure there was a quick and relatively painless way to find out.
Daisuke threw his arms around the neck of his now quite-surprised "husband," resting his chin on the older boy's shoulder as relief continued to flood through him. When he'd woken up in the lovers' inn that morning, Taichi had already been gone. He thought he'd never see the man again, and he'd almost been late to his own wedding.
"Guess you really can't tell who I am, huh?" Daisuke was more-or-less sitting in Taichi's lap as he cheerfully voiced the question, but he did lean back in time to witness Taichi's shock as recognition dawned on him.
"Oh, shit!"
Out of all the possible reactions Daisuke had foreseen, the one actually exhibited by Taichi was the least expected. He could feel his face falling, and Daisuke was suddenly much less elated about being face-to-face with Taichi. Daisuke didn't think he wanted to know why Taichi had reacted so poorly in seeing him. To delay his finding out, Daisuke launched into an elaborate explanation of how he'd come to enter into an arranged marriage with Taichi. He explained about being orphaned, about Jun's brilliant idea to live in the cloister- about everything, right up to Yamato's visit and the events from the night before.
"It's… Still kind of funny, right?" he concluded rather lamely, after telling his tale. He'd scooted off of Taichi's lap and back onto the bed, and didn't bother to look up at the older boy while finishing speaking.
"My father is going to kill me."
"…Wha? Why?"
"Daisuke…" Taichi trailed off, as if searching for words. "You can see how your not being a chick might be problematic, right? I mean… My father wants grandchildren. He's going to be pretty disappointed- and then he's going to be angry."
"Can't we just… Tell him what I told you?" Daisuke suggested, weakly.
For a few minutes, there was silence. Daisuke was beginning to think that maybe he'd made Taichi angry- and then the older boy laughed.
"You know, Daisuke, that just might work," Taichi agreed rather heartily, sounding amused. "You're supposed to meet him formally tomorrow. If we go dressed up in our assigned roles, and explain things to him as if telling a story, he'll probably think it's hilarious. We'll ask him what he'd do if he was the father in the story; ask him if he'd forgive the son and his 'bride.' Knowing my dad, he'll probably say yes. We tell him the truth then, and if he tries to do anything other than forgive us, he'd be going back on his word."
Taichi grinned, and Daisuke just stared. It took him a moment to process what Taichi was suggesting- especially since it was technically Daisuke's own suggestion- and then he smiled as well. Put like that, he didn't see how the plan could fail.
"I think you're right," he agreed, trying not to sound too excited. It looked as if his charade of playing a girl was finally over, and he'd be staying with Taichi from then on, too. He didn't want to jinx anything. "But… Won't your father still be disappointed about the grandchildren?"
"Oh, there's always Hikari."
"…Huh?"
"Never mind," Taichi said, just shaking his head and leaving Daisuke with no choice but to agree. He didn't want to jinx everything, after all.
"…Now what?" Daisuke asked tentatively, after another minute had passed. A smirk spread slowly across Taichi's lips, and Daisuke wondered somewhat absently whether or not he really wanted an answer to his question.
"Now we go to sleep, Daisuke," Taichi murmured lowly, leaning in towards the younger boy and moving to undo the clasps on the wedding dress Daisuke still wore. "We have a big day tomorrow, after all."
Daisuke shivered a bit, but said nothing, holding carefully still as Taichi undressed him. The older boy seemed to be just as sure of himself as he had been the night before, and Daisuke didn't want to doubt him. He had no trouble believing that Taichi's father would forgive the deception Jun and Daisuke had orchestrated, not with Taichi's presence acting as a firm reassurance. He crawled into bed when Taichi held back the covers. Then, when Taichi climbed in after him and wrapped his arms around Daisuke's waist, he found that he also had no trouble believing that everything would turn out all right.
Iori: …All right, you are aware of how incredibly fluffy this turned out to be, correct?
Lira: (sighs) Quiet, midget. At least I'm fairly adept at writing fluff. So long as people like it-
Iori: …then it "doesn't really matter," right? You're definitely too optimistic. Regardless, feel free to tell Lira what you think.
Lira: Yes! The review button is still your friend!