From Heat and Heart, a digimon fanfic

Iori: And now, Lira returns, bearing TRUE insanity. She insists that it'll be "fluff," but we all know this is a ruse.

Lira: (pouts) It'll be a good fic! I promise! I don't even make you do much! What do you have against me? ;;

Iori: (arches eyebrows) Against you…? Nothing. Nothing at all. Just- readers, beware. This may be CLASSIFIED as Kensuke, but Lira spent over two hours lying in the sun before writing it, and she's on some sort of "Miyakari" rush.

Lira: (pouts more) Alright, HALF an hour was spent playing with the tadpoles, and a good forty-five minutes were spent walking to and from the seven-eleven, to get a liter of Dr. Pepper for the fic! It's not MY fault that it's sweltering out! The heat is what INSPIRED this fic!

Iori: Oh, and Lira doesn't own Dr. Pepper. Or Digimon. So don't sue her; she just blew fifty bucks on manga and she's flat broke.

Lira: (muttering under breath) Done yet? Just a little one-shot inspired by me lying in the sun dying from the heat, while thinking about the 02 destined in the same broiling boat. Should contain Daiken, Miyakari, and fluff, but it's only a rough idea, so let's see where it goes.

Iori: And the insanity begins…

FROM HEAT AND HEART

-by: lira-chan-

"I'm hot!" a feminine voice forced out through a groan, as the voice's owner slumped over, sprawling on her side on a red-and-white checkered mat spread carefully on the grass. The owner in question was a one Inoue Miyako, and judging by the look on her face, she was utterly miserable.

Before sprawling out on the blanket with all the grace of a dancer falling off a stage, Miyako had been leaning on the shoulder of a friend. The friend in question was Motomiya Daisuke, who was now given the honor of being used as a pillow for the broiling Miyako. They weren't alone, either; with her head pillowed on Daisuke's knee- rather uncomfortably, Miyako might add- she had a wonderful view of the… Chests… Of two of her other friends- Yagami Hikari and Takashi Takeru. Oh, the joys of obtaining uncomfortable positions were endless- odd views of friends were only just the beginning.

"Too bad," Daisuke returned plainly, and Miyako felt the muscles in his legs shift… Before the auburn-haired boy was shooting out from under her, causing Miyako to bang her head painfully on ground that was even harder than Daisuke's knee bones. The boy continued to back away, on hands and knees, chocolate eyes sparkling mischievously. From the way he'd been squirming the whole time she'd been leaning on him, probably from the unpleasant added body warmth she provided, Miyako should have expected something like that. She flopped swiftly onto her stomach, cutting off the view of Hikari and Takeru, but not the faint laughter coming from the two old friends at Daisuke and Miyako's antics. The laughter was a bit strained and pale from the heat, but the amusement in the sound was still there.

When the group had put down their blanket, they'd chosen the place for a reason- there was an enormous tree to the right of the blanket thanks to their careful planning, and its long shadow covered most of the red and white cloth. Despite this, the space beneath the tree still felt a million degrees too warm to Miyako. Not only that, but sitting under that very same tree was the genius-boy they all knew and loved, Ichijouji Ken. Glaring fiercely, Miyako continued to squirm, Daisuke scrambled, and Ken grunted in a very undignified manner, as the air was forced out of his lungs by one rather heavy red-head landing suddenly in his lap.

Miyako stopped in the middle of her advance, Takeru and Hikari resumed their soft, heat-disheartened laughter, and Daisuke adjusted himself smugly in his new seat. Ken had the good grace to look rather uncomfortable, gazing almost beseechingly over Daisuke's shoulder, and Miyako was almost certain she'd heard a chuckle from Iori as well- she'd almost forgotten about him, seeing how quiet he usually remained. He was on Takeru's other side, but wasn't sitting as close to the blonde as was Hikari.

Miyako realized that she was still staring at Ken, even though Takeru and Hikari- and even Iori's- laughter had subsided, and the indigo-haired boy was looking more and more uncomfortable by the minute. Smiling with amusement, Miyako glanced away from Ken, before pulling her legs up in front of her into a pretzel shape, and throwing her arms back behind her for support.

"You're such a pain, Daisuke," she muttered, but she actually didn't sound quite as irritated as she usually did when reprimanding Daisuke, and on that particular day there was the heat playing into the situation as well.

"No, what's a pain is having a stupid girl leaning all over you and whining in your ear that she's 'hoooot,'" Daisuke countered, sounding good-natured as usual for the most part- save for during his imitation of Miyako. Then, he sounded downright whiny.

"I do not sound like that!" Miyako exclaimed, sounding indignant and looking more than just a tad bit insulted. "And I am hot. I'm still hot! It is so fucking hot!"

Miyako thought that Daisuke would counter in his usual manner, continuing the squabbling as they always did. Sure, the tables had been turned a bit- usually Daisuke whined, and Miyako bitched, but a little change never did anyone any harm. However, all Miyako received for her pain was a laugh from Daisuke. Daisuke laughed, and wriggled back against Ken yet more, as if to make himself comfortable. With ease born of what could only be innocence, not practice, the auburn-haired boy threw one arm around his friend's shoulders, twisting around a bit in Ken's lap and leaning the side of his forehead against the other boy's.

"I'm not hot," Daisuke declared, and almost to Miyako's surprise, his voice was perfectly even and calm- Daisuke wasn't lying. No one but them had spoken all throughout Miyako's little tirade; the others had laughed, but they stayed silent. Ken… Ken was probably way too pink in the face to say anything even if he wanted to. If Miyako hadn't been so infuriated with the heat and with Daisuke, she probably would have taken a good couple of moments to enjoy the boy's misfortunate embarrassment. "Why are you hot, then?"

Miyako just blinked, at that; she was sure Daisuke was telling the truth, for with the way he was snuggling up to Ken- and doubtlessly sending the other boy's hormones into overdrive, without even noticing it- he couldn't possibly be hot. If he wasn't already, the warmth from Ken's body would be sure to heat him up. And what about Ken? Ken looked quite hot in the face, but other than that… The boy could be the king of ice. What was wrong with them? Why didn't anyone else feel the heat?

Then Miyako paused.

Daisuke had pressed against Ken, leaning their foreheads together, but with another subtle shift, the tops of their heads moved apart once again. As they did, Miyako watched the hair on Daisuke's head stand up oddly beneath his ever-present goggles; his hair was… Damp?

Yes, Daisuke's hair most definitely was damp, and even more importantly, it was damp with sweat. More beads of sweat trickled slowly from beneath that same hair, rolling over Daisuke's brow and running slowly down his forehead and around his eyes. He looked as if he'd spent the past two hours running back and forth on a soccer field non-stop, not sitting idly beneath a tree with Miyako practically attached to him at the shoulder. Maybe he wasn't hot because he was sweating so much. But as much as Miyako didn't want to think about it, she was sweating too, and she still felt like a roasted duck. Maybe Daisuke just wasn't hot because of the soccer. Maybe it tempered him so he was used to the heat. And that would explain why Ken looked so cool, too- they hadn't called him Ken "the rocket" Ichijouji for nothing, after all.

"I think the heat's gone to her head, Ken," Miyako heard Daisuke murmur, in a tone that could almost be categorized as "sagely." "She's spacing out on us."

Ken just nodded three times in succession, cheeks burning hotter with each nod, if Miyako was any judge. Daisuke had turned from her to face the other boy, and apparently having Daisuke's undivided attention was not helping Ken's plight.

"Actually, Daisuke," Miyako hissed, through clenched teeth; the heat was getting to her again. "I'm perfectly alert; I'm hearing everything you say."

"That's nice," Daisuke replied cheerfully, and Miyako had to wonder whether or not the heat had gone to his head. Usually, when they fought, they both got jumping mad, yelled at each other until they both ran out of steam, and "made nice" as if it were no big deal. But with a cheerful and overall unaffected Daisuke… Miyako was becoming just that much more irritated, and she might start to say things she didn't really mean.

For instance, in a right state of mind, Miyako always "played by the rules." In her little catfights with Daisuke, they could bring out any artillery pertaining to the other, but everything else of a personal nature was strictly off-limits. But with the heat, and the anger, and the irritation in general…

"No, Daisuke, that's not nice," she hissed, voice dropping to a threateningly low volume and picking up a strangely ominous air. "You really should think before acting, once in a while. If you can," she continued, seemingly randomly. From the look in Daisuke's eyes, he wasn't following. Yet. Miyako would lead him around. "Because I might not feel as hot and ticked off as I do if I were shoving myself onto pretty-boy Ken as if my life depended on it. Oh wait… Your life might depend on "it," so to speak- your social life, that is. 'Cause no one would ever go out with you. Not Hikari-chan, not any of the girls you'd ever asked. Don't think anyone here doesn't know. Everyone's turned you down."

At that point, Miyako was merely treading on thin ice. She hadn't quite crossed the line past information that merely pertained to Daisuke, but it seemed as if she just might do so- and if she did, she'd do it some time in the very near future. She hadn't tuned the other children out; she could hear Iori, Takeru, and Hikari shifting uncomfortably behind her, could see some semblance of normal coloration returning to Ken's cheeks- but mostly because he was threatening to go from bright scarlet to parchment-white in under sixty seconds. Takeru and Iori were exchanging soft words; Miyako did tune that out. Hikari, on the other hand… Might have been moving closer. Still, Miyako ignored the girl- she wasn't done with Daisuke, and the boy had irked her.

"But you haven't given up, have you?" Miyako hissed again, tone colder than ice and tempered to sting. "You've got it all figured out, haven't you, Daisuke? If you can't get a girl, then you'll get a guy. And who better than your first crush's male clone? Our little genius, Ichijouji Ken. Wonder-boy turned best friend… Turned lover? I think not, Daisuke-chan. Our perfect little cookie-cutter Ken looks rather uncomfortable with you hanging all over him, wouldn't you say? Perhaps you should think of someone other than yourself for once. Perhaps you should release poor Ken, Motomiya Daisuke-kun, and at least try to get on with your life. Without embarrassing anyone."

By the time Miyako had finished her piece, she could feel Hikari's warm presence behind her- how could she not, with the way the heat had been bothering her?- but by then she didn't care. She'd said her bit. She'd done her part. And maybe, just maybe, she'd won. After all, how could Daisuke top that?

For a frozen moment, everyone was still. Miyako continued to sit on her haunches before Dai and Ken, neither of whom had moved an inch, and Hikari hadn't shifted from her new position behind Miyako. Miyako was fairly certain that Takeru and Iori were also still in place, for she still heard their hushed murmurings. The moment dragged on, and Miyako felt as if it were actually stretching, like a gossamer strand pulled as far as possible by delicate faerie fingers, before breaking.

And break the moment did- Takeru and Iori's muttering cut off abruptly, Miyako heard Ken let out a breath she definitely hadn't realized he'd been holding, and Miyako saw Daisuke throw his other arm around Ken's shoulders, so the boy was planted firmly in Ken's lap, twisted sharply at the waist, with both arms around the neck of the other boy. Daisuke pressed his face into Ken's shoulder, and almost in a delayed reaction, Miyako realized how small and childlike he suddenly looked, despite the three years passing since their digital days… Despite the fact that Daisuke was most definitely no longer a child, despite his prolonged semblance of innocence.

"I don't make you uncomfortable, Ken," Daisuke said thickly, words muffled by the fabric of Ken's shirt, with Daisuke's mouth pressed closely to it. "You don't hate me. The heat just went to Miyako's head, like I said. She didn't mean any of that."

As Miyako continued to watch on, along with the three others, Daisuke pressed closer yet to Ken, were that even possible, somehow swinging his legs out from under him so he was no longer perched in Ken's lap, but straddling it, arms around the boy's neck, head pillowed against the boy's chest, and eyes peacefully shut. He looked utterly untouched by a word that had exited Miyako's mouth.

Daisuke had most definitely "topped that." And without even trying.

Defeated, Miyako sagged backwards, unwittingly leaning against Hikari. Immediately, the other girl reached around Miyako's waist, supporting her, fingers lacing delicately across Miyako's stomach. She was still looking at Ken, by then rather remorsefully, but the indigo-haired genius' expression had softened into one that clearly stated, "I know he can be a pain, but really- how can you resist this?" Maybe Miyako had just been jealous. She really knew that Daisuke and Ken would just be too cute together. She'd be charmed at first, but after a week she'd probably attempt to gag herself to save herself the pain of their company. Or maybe it really had been the heat- Miyako might insult Daisuke as stupid, but he wasn't clueless. Ridiculous stuff like temperature did tend to get to people.

Miyako glanced back up and Ken and Daisuke, in an almost surreptitious manner. Ken was smiling lightly, eyes half-lidded and back still pressed against the trunk of their chosen tree. Miyako was fairly certain, she decided then, that if it weren't for the tree, all of Daisuke's wriggling would have knocked the two over long before her little tirade. But Daisuke… Did he… His eyes, too, were half-lidded, face half-turned towards Miyako. Slowly, he winked at her, before closing his eyes once more.

If Miyako hadn't already been so drained, she would have leapt up and killed the boy right then. She had actually been worried that he was crying into Ken's shoulder, she'd actually gone and felt guilty… And it had been a trick? Miyako didn't give Daisuke enough credit; he could be sneaky when he wanted something. Shaking her head, Miyako glanced away again, catching a bit of Takeru and Iori's conversation at last.

"-I told you we should have gone to a movie, instead of the picnic-"

"-but our friends were already planning it, and they invited us- we couldn't turn them down! We didn't know they were going to fight-"

Miyako shook her head again, trying to clear it. That was just the icing on the cake, wasn't it? They tried to organize a little picnic so the destined could spend some time together, what with school making it near-impossible for them to see each other except in twos or threes- a group reunion by chance had definitely been out of the question. So Miyako and Daisuke had set out to plan a little reunion picnic for the whole dozen destined children. Only… Somehow, none of the older children could make it. They all had college courses, or jobs, or just… Flat-out couldn't come. So only the six younger children arrived at the "party."

That in and of itself wouldn't have bothered Miyako too much. It was nice to see all of the younger chosen again. The problem was that first the older "children" couldn't make it, then the temperature on their chosen day had shot up above anything Miyako could possibly tolerate, and on top of all that… It seemed that she was the only person coming to their picnic without a hidden agenda. Everyone else seemed as if they would have been happy enough if she'd never planned the picnic at all- Takeru and Iori would have hung out together, and of course Daisuke and Ken would have been together, and-

And…

Well. Miyako supposed she didn't know what Hikari would have done, but it didn't matter! Her picnic was already ruined, and that wasn't even the worst part, for…

"It's still so Gods-be-damned hot!"

Miyako shrieked the last word at an eardrum-shattering pitch, slumping forward a bit and dropping her head into her hands. That was when she realized Hikari's arms were still wrapped lightly around her middle, just gently resting there. Glancing over her shoulder, Miyako caught sight of a short-lived yet almost saddeningly sweet smile, and then Hikari pulled away, quietly serene and unreadable as always.

"Maybe you dressed a bit too warmly today," the petite brunette offered, running slender fingers through the strands of hair falling in front of her ear on one side of her face. Miyako blinked, but she was sure there had been something odd about Hikari's tone of voice. Still… Takeru and Iori were still a conjoined lost cause, and Ken had begun making some decidedly strange little sounds within the past sixty seconds, and Miyako didn't even want to think about what Daisuke was doing.

"Say what?" she murmured in response, finding herself speaking more quietly than usual, possibly because of the way Hikari always spoke so softly, yet with certainty.

"You might be wearing too much," Hikari said with a shrug, sitting back on legs folded neatly beneath her. Hikari always seemed to think about everything she did… And it always looked perfect, to Miyako. Miyako was a bit like Daisuke in the thinking respect- not thinking before speaking, and often paying for her rashness in the end. "You should take off a layer of clothing, to cool you down."

Hikari just shrugged again, nonchalantly, tossing off this statement. It really was a perfectly unobtrusive statement and suggestion… If one wasn't looking at what Miyako was already wearing. She'd heard about the heat before the picnic, but hadn't called off the get-together. For the occasion, she'd actually "dressed up"- nothing too fancy, but something that would let her feel the occasional breeze, were a breeze to blow up. Miyako wore a simple white sundress with a lavender floral print to match her hair, and white sandals. It had looked nice enough in the morning when she'd gotten dressed… But sitting on the blanket that afternoon, perspiring and broiling and experiencing all sorts of general discomforts… Then the dress didn't look quite so nice.

The problem with Hikari's suggestion, as it was, was that Miyako's sundress was the only layer Miyako wore. Most sundresses were loose-fitting, and Miyako's had a fitted bodice and spaghetti-strap sleeves, but that fact still held true. If Miyako rid herself of the dress, she'd be sitting there in her bra and underwear. Sure, she'd be cooler, but she'd probably be more embarrassed than Ken had been when Daisuke had fallen on him.

"Hikari…" Miyako just shook her head, finding herself at a loss for words for once. She really would not have expected such a suggestion out of the slender girl, but… There really were a lot of things about Hikari that she didn't know, weren't there? Perhaps it'd be nice to find out…

Hikari smiled, the expression as sweet and innocent as any similar smile she might have worn during their digiworld days. And then she laughed lightly, just for a few moments. "What would the boys do? Really? None of them are straight, and all four of them are coupling up shamelessly right in front of us! Even Iori! Takeru… I've known him so long that it wouldn't be too much of a big deal, for me… And if you do it… I'll do it. Sound alright?"

Miyako just continued to stare, shaking her head. She had the strangest feeling that Iori had heard that comment about him, but that was the least of her worries. She also wondered if Hikari would act quite the same if her brother had been there… If the older chosen had been there… And for the first time, Miyako was glad that none of the older children had been able to make it.

"Let's do it."

The smile from Hikari then was somehow both sweet and mischievous, as the smaller girl leaned towards Miyako, kissing her gently on the cheek with the most tender of care, before slipping arms around Miyako and under the other girl's own arms, finding the zipper at Miyako's dress's back and pulling it down easily. At the same time, Miyako hitched the skirt of her dress up above her knees, around her waist, before shoving Hikari's shirt up under her elbows. The two parted then, Hikari pulling off the shirt she'd worn, Miyako removing her sundress. Hikari lost her shorts with the shirt.

It was probably at about that point that Ken managed to squeak something at Daisuke about their female friends, between the other little noises he was making, and Iori and Takeru had already taken note of the little show of sorts.

"-I think I'm beginning to agree with you about the picnic; we should have opted for the movie-"

It was one of the two that murmured the line, but Miyako wasn't sure which, and she didn't really care. She was leaning over Hikari, who had her back to the ground with the blanket between the two, and one of Miyako's hands was between Hikari's head and the blanket, protecting the girl from the unpleasantness of lying entirely on hard earth. The other hand skated across Hikari's stomach and up her right arm, before ghosting over to the girl's cheek and cupping it gently. She returned Hikari's peck to her cheek in kind, with a soft kiss dropped to Hikari's lips; Hikari returned the gesture.

By then, Miyako had more or less tuned out the actions taken by the boys; the heat was forgotten, the humans almost as unknown. However, one last line from Daisuke managed to catch Miyako's ear.

Having glanced up in time to see Miyako and Hikari's display, putting whatever unspeakable act he was involving Ken in on hold for a few moments, Daisuke seemed to have just one thing to say.

"Ewww… Girl sex stuff!" The auburn-haired boy made a face of pure disgust, before turning away from the girls, turning back to Ken, and pulling the other boy away from their friendly, shade-providing tree. Doing so, Daisuke had Ken on his back on the blanket in an instant, and was calling over to Miyako quite loudly, trying to get her attention before she and Hikari went off into la-la land to cuddle and make out in a truly despicable fashion. Having attained a bit of the lavender-haired girl's attention, Daisuke smirked charismatically, pressing his lips to Ken's and sealing their mouths in a very energetic and, if appearances were any guide, passionate kiss. Breaking away after a minute, eyes shining brightly and lips only slightly bruised, a triumphant smile spread across Daisuke's face.

"And that's how it's done. I win. Again."

Miyako just shook her head, not sure whether she should frown or laugh. Hikari solved her problem for her, wrapping slender arms around the girl's neck and merely snuggling quietly against her. Daisuke stuck his tongue out at that, but neither girl saw him. Still on his back on the blanket, and looking as if he'd be happy to stay there for quite some time, Ken began to laugh quietly, unable to keep in his amusement at Daisuke's antics. Apparently, that had been the wrong course of action to take; Daisuke frowned slightly, then pounced on Ken again, determined to do a more thorough job of kissing the boy, so he wouldn't be able to laugh at Daisuke.

Finally, trying quietly to pretend as if they knew neither of the couples making out shamelessly in the middle of a public park, Iori and Takeru edged quietly to the edge of the blanket, but didn't leave their friends.

"It probably wouldn't be too late to still catch a movie," Takeru said conversationally, speaking rather softly so as not to disturb their friends- although by the look of things, "disturb" was not an option.

"You're probably right," Iori returned, in the same tone of voice. "We should have just gone in the first place, like you said. Our friends are shameless."

"But they wouldn't be our friends if they weren't," Takeru chided, even as he tugged Iori to his side, turning up the younger boy's face and pressing a kiss to his cheek. Iori blushed a bright crimson at the gesture, but that didn't stop him from nodding swiftly in agreement. They were shameless, but that was merely how things went. Just a typical day with the youngest digidestined, was all.

Iori: And there you have it. Didn't I warn you about this piece? This is why Lira should not write fic on zero sleep or after drinking an entire liter of soda. That was over ONE HUNDRED grams of sugar. And who KNOWS how much caffeine!

Lira: (grins) Yes. Yes it was. And the soda was HEAVENLY. But… The fic sort of went in a different direction than I'd been intending. There really wasn't much of an original plot, just a REALLY hot day, all six of the youngest children, a bitchy Miyako, contrary Daisuke, and Ken and Hikari thrown into the mix. This was the result.

Iori: (points to Miyako and Hikari stripping, and coughs) I don't think they'd actually do that. Can you say "OOC"?

Lira: (cringes and hides) I admit to being worried about Miyako's characterization- how was it? Too much reading of fanfiction results in fanon characterization, instead of canon. And I apologize. But my Miyako WOULD go insane on a hot day. I'm just not sure if she'd take it out on Ken and Daisuke. And she might strip in public. But only for a good reason. Hikari is a good enough reason- but Hikari actually SUGGESTING she strip might be a little off. Whoops.

Iori: looks at watch Alright, that's enough. You've had your babble. Anyway, this is the fic. It did turn out with Daiken, as promised, and plenty of Miyakari. Lira lied. This was originally a Miyakari fic, but Ken owns her brain and he wanted Daiken. The surprising bit was the Takori. Stupid Lira.

Lira: That's right, I'm such a fangirl. And it's a wrap! Whaddaya think?