TITLE: Balance

AUTHOR: Macx and Lara Bee

DISCLAIMER: not ours. Definitely not! We just play with them and hope we tread on no one's toes.

Author's Voice of Warning (aka Author's Note):
English is not my first language; it's German. This is the best I can do. Any mistakes you find in here, collect them and you might win a prize g> The spell-checker said everything's okay, but you know how trustworthy those thingies are.....

ARCHIVE: yes

WARNINGS: let's see… Dark ouchies, Krad ouchies (major ouchies!)… you want more???

TYPE: yaoi

RATING: R-rated version (for FFNet specifically)
all NC17-material has been cut down.

ATTN: I do not cut a scene right before the kiss. These guys do kiss and touch, I do NOT believe a kiss or a loving touch between men is NC-17! If anyone has a problem with the men touching and kissing (aka lime....), please let me know before flaming the heck out of me. I will take the story down the moment someone objects to the scenes in here.

The full version will eventually be hosted on my site. Check the profile for the link.

Thank you.
Macx

PAIRING: Daisuke/Satoshi

FEEDBACK: empty inbox seeks emails g>

The world had ended from one day to the other. Without warning, the final stage of the countless confrontations, the missions and operations, had arrived, bringing with it chaos and destruction.
He had had no time to be really prepared. Everything had been a rush of adrenaline, of trying to understand the implications behind all that had occurred the past two years. He had felt emotions that were his, but also the ones of the entity he was bound to so intimately, who was part of his very soul.
Power clashed, two magical entities fighting for the ultimate victory, but in the end it had cost them all.
Part of the city had been destroyed by the earthquakes, by the raw magical force, taking with it what the Hikari family had created and had called the Black Wings. Their ultimate art work, their ultimate curse. In its wake, the wave of destruction had left two wounded souls. One would heal, the other would forever feel that a part of him had died in that battle.
'I'll always be with you.'
Around him, there had been nothing but destruction. He had no idea how he had been able to get free of the Black Wings, how he had found Satoshi, how they had made it back. Supporting his friend, they had staggered out of the ruins, one free, the other wounded deep inside.
'I'm inside you.'
He drew a deep breath, eyes going to the sky, searching for an answer that hadn't come in six years.
"Dai!"
Niwa Daisuke gave a startled yell and whirled around, glaring at the tall man standing behind him. A grin spread over the narrow features, the dark blue eyes sparkling.
"You're losing your touch, Dai. You didn't hear me coming. Daydreaming?"
Daisuke shook his head. "Thinking."
"Don't hurt yourself."
He chuckled. "You're the brainchild of this outfit."
Long, light brown, almost blond, hair moved in the wind, held together at the nape of the neck in a pony tail. Spiky bangs hung into the suntanned forehead and Hikari Satoshi grinned. The glasses from long ago were gone, so was the bland mask of detachment. Pale skin had long since turned a healthy color. Daisuke loved the smile, the strength, the warmth that had blossomed when his friend had been freed of the burden and curse. He loved those eyes, unguarded and full of spirit. He loved the simple power this man showed.
"So true."
Satoshi slipped an arm around the other man's waist and pulled him against him. A kiss was placed on Daisuke's neck and Daisuke leaned back, clasping his hands over the ones holding him.
"Thinking of him again?" Satoshi murmured, nibbling at a spot that he knew well.
"No."
"Liar."
Daisuke sighed and hung his head. Of course Satoshi knew about the way he felt. After three years together, there was little his lover and best friend didn't know. Their shared past and pains made sure of that as well. After it had all been over, after things had suddenly become so normal again, both teens had talked. Daisuke had learned more about his schoolmate than he had ever thought. It had fused them together, their past, their pain, their families.
Satoshi nuzzled his neck affectionately, one hand rubbing over his stomach in a calming, reassuring gesture. "Talk to me," he murmured.
"It's just strange. Lately, I've been getting these feelings… like echoes…"
Satoshi frowned. "Echoes?"
"Yeah, like he's there, somewhere. Calling for me to come."
His lover's face grew serious, slightly worried even. "Dai… he and Krad were sealed six years ago! The Black Wings was destroyed."
"Only because you destroy the portal, the world behind it still exists." Daisuke turned in the embrace, looking into those clear blue eyes that had always fascinated him so much.
"True." Satoshi kissed him lightly.
"I know you don't miss Krad, but Dark…"
"Was part of your soul. Dai… don't obsess over this, please? I know the anniversary is coming up…"
Daisuke buried his head against the taller man's shoulder and felt strong hands caress his back. Yes, two more days and it would be the day he had lost Dark to the Black Wings. Every year, that day reminded him of what had been, what could never be again, and he was glad he had someone to share it with each time. In the first two years it had been Riku, as well as his parents. Then Satoshi had become a greater part of his life and he had understood more than any of them, even his grandfather.
The wind ruffled his hair and faintly he thought he felt echoes of another entity, a being that had been so close. He swallowed and resolutely fought down the melancholy. He finally detached himself from Satoshi and smiled valiantly.
"Let's go. Mom's probably waiting. She's been so excited about getting reservations at the Panhandle, I guess she'd flay us alive if we're late."
Satoshi chuckled. "Let's not forget we're celebrating your university degree."
"Uh, yeah, that too."
Both left and walked down the streets, shoulder to shoulder, close but not holding hands. Daisuke heard the wind whisper, heard the call of someone he had had with him for close to two years.
'One day I won't be there any more.'
'I know, Dark, I know.'

Dinner had been great and the restaurant was truly excellent. The whole family had had more than enough to eat and while Daisuke wondered what it had cost, he really didn't want to know. It had been a truly pleasant evening, his mother glowing with pride at his degree, his father and grandfather talking about what possibilities he had, and Satoshi just being his silent support as he had been for so long.
That his family had accepted the deep friendship with a Hikari and later the relationship had never surprised Daisuke. Of course, there had been reservations at first, but after it had become clear just how much Satoshi was suffering from the curse, how much he fought his destiny, even Emiko had turned a kinder eye on him. Kosuke had accepted him almost immediately. Now he was part of the family, having none of his own any more after the death of his stepfather, and it felt so normal to be with him.
Daisuke turned in his bed and looked at the slender form next to him, sleeping soundly. Hair almost white in the light from outside spilled out over a slender but muscular back, a body so different from the thin and almost underweighted boy Daisuke remembered from eight years ago when they had first met. Hiwatari Satoshi, a boy who had been forced to become a toy to the cruel entity residing inside him, Dark's antithesis, his other half. So much had happened since then and Satoshi had taken back his old family name, had grown, had lived his life.
With Daisuke.
Smiling, Daisuke snuggled closer to the man he loved. There was a questioning noise and strong arms came around him. Satoshi didn't really wake, just accommodate the other body, then slipped into sleep once more.
Daisuke listened to his breathing, aware of something else at the far end of his perception. It was calling for him, painful and alone, a cry for help.
He screwed his eyes shut.
Dark was gone.
He was lost inside the destroyed Black Wings.
Right?

Another week passed and Daisuke tried to ignore the increasing amount of strange sensations, things he hadn't felt since Dark's disappearance. They came mostly when he let his guard down, always the same. It was like Dark needed him, was calling for him, and it was getting worse at night. Satoshi had taken notice of the changes and by now he watched his lover with worried expressions.
"That's no longer just memory, Dai," he said, looking at the man in his arms. They had sat down on the couch for the evening, watching the news, but Daisuke had been tense all day. "Something's going on."
Daisuke sighed. "I don't know. Maybe it's… I don't know."
The anniversary had come and gone, and except for the whispers there had been nothing at all. They had spent a pleasant day by the sea, just among themselves, enjoying each other's company. Satoshi had never been jealous of Daisuke's feelings for Dark. They were different than a lover's connection. Dark had been him, he had been Dark.
"We should go and ask your parents. Maybe there's something somewhere in your family history."
Daisuke looked unsure. "No one ever lost Dark like this, Sato."
"They all lived without him after finding their true love."
"Yes, but they had that other person then. I mean… Riku and I… we had a great time and all… I missed him nevertheless. The voice in my head, laughing with me, teasing me, listening to me when no one else was around…"
Satoshi caressed the man in his arms, smiling tenderly as dark brown eyes looked at him. He would never understand this feeling because he had been more than glad to be rid of the demon that had used his body, abused his very soul. But Dark had been different. Daisuke had once described him as a warm blanket, a safety net.
"Let's talk to Daikii. He might be able to help."
Daisuke nodded. "Yeah, maybe."
"Until then…" Hikari leaned over and kissed his lover, coaxing his lips open to meet his tongue.
Daisuke wrapped his arms around him, pulling him closer and down with him as he sank onto the couch.
Distraction was good, Satoshi mused as he skillfully seduced his lover of three years. Very good.

Niwa Daikii looked at the two young men sitting on the couch of the Niwa home, a frown creasing his features.
"Why do you ask now?"
Daisuke rubbed a hand over his face. "Because lately… it's like he's calling me, grandpa. I can hear him. It's not just the feeling I've had since he left that I miss something. It's more now. I can actually hear it like whispers. Please tell me I'm not going insane!" He turned pleading eyes on the only Niwa alive in the family who had been a host, too.
Daikii studied his grandson, then looked at the tall man sitting beside him. "You are free of these feelings, I suppose."
Satoshi smiled wryly. "Completely. I'd be more than disturbed if they were the same."
"Me, too." Daikii grinned briefly. "Well, Daisuke, to answer your question, I had your late grandmother to distract me. She was the love of my life and it helped over the loss of something that had grown on me, too. It's not easy to go from being the phantom thief one night to being Niwa Daikii the next. It's a sudden event, almost no warning, and I missed the presence and his voice in my head. He could be annoying sometimes, but he was a friend."
Daisuke smiled a little. "Yeah."
"But to tell you the truth, I never had the close relationship you had with Dark, Daisuke. I did what was necessary and was glad when I could do it under my own power." Old eyes regarded him seriously. "You and Dark, you were very close. You went through more than any of the prior hosts."
Daisuke sighed deeply and Satoshi shot him a worried look. "That doesn't really help."
"Maybe it does, Daisuke. You had a very intense bond with Dark. We don't know what happened to him after the Black Wings sealed them both." Daikii stroked over his beard, thoughtful. "The Black Wings was destroyed, its pieces nothing but dead metal and stone. I wonder… Hm…"
Satoshi frowned. "You can't think that there is a way…"
Daikii met the blue eyes. "I've seen a lot I never thought was possible, so have you two. I'll see what I can find out about this. Daisuke, if it gets any worse, tell me immediately."
Daisuke nodded. He and Satoshi left, promising Emiko to come by this weekend for lunch, and walked down the sun-dappled streets. At one of the many look outs that showed the rugged coast line, both stopped and Daisuke leaned onto the railing, gazing out over the sea. Satoshi was by his side, silent, eyes hidden behind a pair or sunglasses.
After a while, Daisuke leaned closer, seeking comfort, and Satoshi gave. He wrapped an arm around his lover and pulled him over to a bench. His own mind was racing about what was going on. Daisuke hadn't complained about such aftereffects ever. Not even right after the separation. Why now? Why was it affecting him so strongly such a long time later?
"I love you," Daisuke whispered, hugging him close.
He smiled, feeling the familiar warmth rush through him at the words. Daisuke loved him unconditionally, just like he had been his unconditional friend in junior high. It was still a small miracle for him. He had found such peace in this relationship, it was hard to think of a time without his partner and best friend.
Framing the beloved face, Satoshi kissed him. "I love you, Dai. We'll get through this."
He prayed they would.