no ownie anything. written and illustrated for my friend that got accepted into her phd program. yay for smart friends! older daiken, one-shot, sicky sweet fluff.
There were several reasons why Daisuke liked Ken's apartment. The first, and probably most important reason, was that it was positioned a few blocks away from an American style bakery. Like his digimon, he had a debilitating sweet tooth and, luckily, the metabolism to wear it all away. So, it was only customary that they both made a visit to the store before hunkering down for a snowy evening at home.
Home. That was the second reason. For the past three months, Daisuke had kind of unofficially moved in. They had never discussed it, it's just that Ken never told him to go away. Two weeks ago, he returned to his parent's house, his intention really only to stow away more clothing into his overflowing duffle bag.
"Are you moving out, Dai?" His mother asked from the living room couch. She didn't even turn her head. The boy was twenty three, had opted out of college, and his sister had already been on her own for a couple of years-the woman had internally been hoping for an empty nest.
"Aahhh," Daisuke clammered, the duffle bag hanging heavily at his hip. For some reason, he felt guilty. "I dunno."
"How could you not know?" She wrapped her arm around the back of the couch and looked at her son.
Daisuke ran a hand along his neck and shrugged. "I'm just helping Ken out while he's studying for his big exam this month. You know how he is. If somebody isn't there to put food under his nose, he'll literally forget to eat."
She smiled and nodded. "Well… Just make sure you call more. Love you."
"Yeah. I will. Love you too."
And well, what she didn't know was that even if he did end up moving in, that Ken's apartment was only one bedroom. Or that Daisuke's designated futon had turned into the centerpiece of the nightly blanket forts their digimon constructed. Or that whenever the other returned from work or school, they were greeted with a smile and a kiss before even leaving the doorway.
But it did feel like home. Being with Ken had always felt like that. Going on weekend errands like this were so delightfully… Domestic? Daisuke smiled behind the pile of books leaning against his chest. Textbooks, research documents, non-fiction books… They were all necessary for Ken to pass his qualifying exams… Whatever that meant. All Daisuke knew was that it was important, and that Ken had been killing himself over them for months. Mixed within the academia was Daisuke's lighter reading-his distinguished set of comics.
Below all the books were two boxes-their structure bending under the weight of the books-full of colorful macaroons, cookies the size of Chibimon's head, and cupcakes decorated with five different frostings. And, well, that was just to name a few.
"When we get home," Daisuke started, "I'm gonna make you the best katsu ever, Ichijouji." He smiled, "And you'll stu-" A very rude snowflake interrupted him by flying into his eye. Shaking his head, the disturbance threw him off balance, causing his foot to slide on some slush. He was able to regain his footing, but not before losing a casualty from the top of the pile.
The pair stopped as Ken bent over and picked up the stray book, wiping off the wet snow from the edges of the pages. "I told you that you should put the books on the bottom." He placed the book under his arm, and they both continued down the sidewalk.
"Ah, w-well you'll study, right?" Daisuke continued, ignoring the fact that Ken had been right. "But you know!?"
"What?" Ken said. Even without looking, it was clear in his voice that he was smiling as well.
"Nine 'o clock. You're done. Then," Daisuke tapped his finger on the box of sweets, "Then, we get under some blankets, put on a movie, and eat all of this shit. All of it."
Very unexpectedly, Ken wrapped his arm around Daisuke's, drawing his body closer to the shorter man's. Truthfully, they never talked about what their relationship was. Daisuke left Ken to make all the decisions for the rules of which to follow. The stinging on the tip of his nose and ears weren't completely coming from the freezing weather anymore.
"Sounds great, Dai." Ken squeezed Daisuke's arm, tugging the man closer to him still.
The affection was sweeter than the pastries in his hands, and electricity ran through Daisuke's every muscle. Even though they weren't a mystery to each other, they had certainly been turning a blind eye to world until now. The empty streets didn't matter-Ken had accepted him in a public space.
Awesome.
A squeaking giggle passed Daisuke's lips. Coughing as he noticed his own indecency, he resorted to a toothy grin. "Good. You didn't really have a choice."
"I never do. But neither do you."
"Oh?"
"Eleven-thirty…" Ken trailed off, a shy chuckle following.
Daisuke grinned wider. "You bet your ass I'll be there."
In due time, they may figure what they were doing. But for now, they didn't need labels or officialities or rules. Textbooks, comics books, sweets, and kisses… That was their life status. Honestly, Daisuke was pretty sure neither of them would have it any other way.