The Dreamreaders

It was a strange sort of annual ritual that involved a particular amount of discretion and an exact number of carefully selected lies. It was never a problem for neither Taichi nor Koushirou, and the age-old rendezvous always succeeded perfectly without a single hitch.

The Digital World hadn't changed much, and neither had their respective feelings. Being together officially was impossible, they agreed, and therefore their enchanted game had come into being. No one visited the mystical land much anymore—the novelty had long worn off—and the world was finally blessed with perplexingly few problems, so the two knew that they could spend their time alone together relatively undisturbed. So undisturbed, in fact, that their Digimon had never even encountered them despite many years of them undertaking this escapade. It was a welcome getaway from the fast-paced lives of a political ambassador and a computer scientist/researcher.

Koushirou laid his head on Taichi's chest after yet another day of expressing their pelt-up longing. It was a peaceful rhythm, the up-and-down of Taichi's breathing, and Koushirou exhaled, satisfied and calm, the most content of smiles creeping up onto his face.

"Have you found a solution to your problem yet?" Taichi's words, echoing from his chest, vibrated against Koushirou's skin.

"Which one?" Koushirou replied coyly. "The program that I've been attempting to crack? Unless you mean my other problem, which I believe I have just resolved." He lifted his head and smiled upwards towards Taichi's smirk, and he placed a gentle kiss on his lover's parted lips before resting his head on Taichi's chest anew.

Taichi chuckled. "The former, I meant. I'm fully informed about the latter."

"I don't know. The Digital World is an ever-interesting enigma. I doubt we'll ever fully understand it."

"But you seek to?"

"Of course. Is that not my nature?"

"It's what makes you interesting."

"So you say."

Koushirou set his hand over Taichi's trembling palm and laced his fingers through his.

"How is the Japanese government facing rejection?"

"Not well. They claim that some of the natural resources the country needs are bountiful here in the Digital World, and that both could benefit from trade, but no one has ever attempted to take plant life from here to the real world before, you know? We just don't know if—"

Koushirou sat up, astonished. "No one? Not even for study? Seriously?"

Taichi blinked a couple of times. "Well…no, actually. I guess now that I think about it, I'm surprised, too."

Koushirou mused for a moment. "How would the Digimon feel about that?"

"Honestly, if it were to happen, a team of researchers would probably be better off setting-up camp here. At least initially. As I said, no one has taken plant life from the Digital World back to Earth before, so we don't know what would happen."

"Right…hmm. Maybe I'll ask around and let you know if there's any interest in researching it." Taichi nodded and Koushirou lay back down on his chest. "How's Agumon?"

"He's good. Tentomon?"

"Also well." Koushirou grinned up at Taichi with false snobbery. Taichi playfully smacked the back of his head.

"And Kimiko? Chiya?"

"Fine, and as curious as ever. Reiko? Taro?"

"Fine, and as headstrong as ever."

That's all they needed to say about their wives, daughter, and son. They were silent for a moment, the native birds of the Digital World readily available to fill any potential empty silence.

"You still dream about the same things?" Koushirou asked, staring straight up at the sky.

"Yeah. It's pointless though, I guess. I just…" Taichi drifted off.

"What?"

"Forget it."

"No, what?"

"Didn't I just say to forget it?"

"Taichi—"

"Koushirou."

Chirp, chirp, chirp.

"You ask that every year. Every year," Taichi declared pointedly. "Tell me, if we even considered acting on our dreams, would we actually do it?"

"Well, why not take it into consideration—"

"Do you love your daughter?"

"Of course, how could you even ask—"

"Then this conversation is over."

They hadn't moved a single inch since the conversation had begun.

They never did.

"Chiya would come with me, you know," Koushirou asserted. "She's getting older. She's not an idiot. She knows that things aren't normal between her mother and myself."

"And Kimiko? What do you think she thinks?"

"I don't know."

"How long since you guys have…?"

"A long time. Years."

"And?"

"She hates it."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"So…"

"So what, Taichi-san?"

"Stop calling me Taichi-san."

"No."

"Do you really dream about it that seriously?" They shared a precariously tense gaze. However, Taichi was the first to break it, fearing inevitable hypocrisy. "I mean…"

"Taichi-san, I… I can't even dare to dream seriously. I mean… You'd almost barely take her place. I'm busy. I work long hours. This yearly…meeting...is one of the rare breaks I get. There's just so much to be learned, discovered—"

"Yeah, and when you discover everything about the Digital World, then what?"

"Well, it could provide technological breakthroughs for us in the real world—"

"Koushirou, I understand how the knowledge you collected for us when we first came to the Digital World was helpful. We needed to survive, to save the worlds. But now this just feels silly, it just feels… I dunno… I honestly think that what I do is a bit more important at this point."

Koushirou sat up, scowling, furious. "You couldn't even begin to comprehend even one iota of what I do every day!"

"Yeah, and you could understand what I do? You're about as socially competent as that rock over there."

"Gee, thanks a lot."

"Why the hell do you need to work so hard? Don't you think that spending more time with Chiya—spending more time with me—is more important? The Digital World isn't going anywhere. There's no rush. There's just—"

"I understand the aims of your job, Taichi-san, and I would hope that you could understand mine!"

"I've never understood anything that you do! I admire you because of it! But you've always put people you care about—and people who care about you—aside for your work!"

"Oh, because you've never done that before in your life—"

"I didn't say that!"

"Well, you're the one who didn't want to be together in the first place…"

"You know my reasons why—"

"I don't even know why you even come here every year…"

"Koushirou!"

Taichi had caught Koushirou's face in-between his thumb and forefinger, and he forced Koushirou to look at him with a frustrated grip. Angry, desperate, and grief-stricken tears filled their eyes, and it wasn't long before they were in a clumsy, tangled mess of passion and yearning.

Their relationship hadn't changed much over the years—it was still covert, fiery, and eternal.

When they finally broke away after several slow minutes, they stared at each other for a long while, Taichi gracing the edge of Koushirou's cheek with the back of his fingers.

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

Within minutes, their clothes were back in their proper places and they had begun to head towards the Digital Gate in relative silence.

Then: "Do you think they know?"

"Who?"

"Kimiko and Reiko."

"No. I mean… Kimiko's fine. Our relationship is good enough. Reiko, though…I've always gotten the sense that she knows it's all a convenient sham for you, but I don't think she knows why."

Koushirou gave an "mmm" in agreement. "And the other Chosen Children?"

"Don't wanna think about it."

It wasn't long before they reached the familiar television. They stood across from each other like stubborn statues.

"When can I see you next?"

"Same time next year, I—"

"No, Koushirou. Like…can't we get dinner sometime or something? I just—"

"Taichi-san…"

"Please."

Koushirou was quiet, solemn. Then he said, "The next time Chiya and Taro get together. Then maybe."

"That's more and more often lately."

"Yeah. I'm glad they're becoming friends."

"Me, too."

They stood apart still for another few moments before helplessly falling into an embrace.

"Has this been as hard for you as it has for me?" Taichi asked, his voice muffled into the sleeve of Koushirou's shirt.

"I don't know," Koushirou replied, buried in Taichi's suit jacket. "But don't think it has been easy for me, Taichi-san. Unlike you, I am not even remotely attracted to women."

Taichi's silence was an uneasy acknowledgement, Koushirou knew. This had been Taichi's wish, not his. It was tragic and unfortunate, Koushirou thought, that he would do anything for Taichi.

Chiyaka had certainly been an unexpected joy, though, he had to admit.

They broke apart, shared a sigh, and passed through the Digital Gate within minutes.

Nearby, the berry bushes rustled. Behind them, a ten-year-old redheaded girl and an eleven-year-old brown-haired boy held hands, skin tingling with the excitement of a forbidden discovery.

"I knew there was a reason," Chiya whispered, her voice shaking.

"It was meant to be," Taro agreed, grasping her hand tightly. "It's our destiny."

"Promise me we won't be like our fathers," Chiya begged, turning towards Taro with desperate eyes.

"Never," Taro swore, meeting her gaze with a hard, steadfast look. "We gotta do what they were never able to do: Love without fear."

"Love without fear…" Chiya whispered, in awe of the concept.

And with that, their fate was sealed, following in the footsteps of their fathers in a more convenient, accepted manner, that would invoke in their parents a peculiar jealousy and a unusual longing for what-could-have-been.

A/N: I am drunk. What the fuck is going on.

Not-drunk A/N: Whoa, hello. Yeah, so this has been a plotbunny that has been sitting around for literally years and it somehow spilled out last night? Haha. I fixed it up this morning and I guess it's pretty alright. Is anyone interested in a continuation of this idea? "Samson" will still have priority, but just wondering.