With My Love This Letter I Send

by theDoctorlies

Yamato keeps finding love letters.

Title: With My Love, This Letter I Send

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon, Bandai does. I am merely using these characters for my own purposes.

Summary: Yamato keeps finding love letters.

That morning when Ishida Yamato opened his locker, a folded-up piece of paper lay nestled at the bottom of it. He wasn't surprised to find that it was a love letter, a typed one no less. This got him to thinking that whoever had written it was trying to hide their handwriting.

"With my love this letter I send?" Yamato said quietly to himself, an eyebrow raised in amusement. To him the whole letter itself seemed like something out of a cheesy romance novel. A familiar cheesy romance novel.

He shrugged to himself then tossed the note into his bag, shutting his locker afterwards. After shifting his bag to his other shoulder, he headed off to the soccer field, where Taichi's soccer practice was just finishing.

"Move it, move it, move it! You have to be faster than that to beat Shinyaku Primary!" Takeda-sensei yelled at the twenty boys littering the field. Amongst them was a bushy-haired teenager, who effectively lost his concentration when his best friend came and sat in the bleachers.

"Hi, Yama!" Yagami Taichi yelled, waving his arm frantically in the air at the blond boy. A soccer ball chose that moment to come sailing at his head.

"Pay more attention, Taichi-senpai." Hannazuki Rentaro sneered, picking up the ball that lay by Taichi's feet and walking away. Taichi just rolled his eyes. Hannazuki liked to believe he was better than everybody, which he most certainly was not.

Takeda-sensei blew his whistle, signaling the end of class, and huddled the team together. "This is it, boys." He said. "We have to win this. The championship is coming up and we have to work harder. Go hit the showers."

At the sound of the whistle, Yamato got up from where he sat and headed down to the field. Daisuke met up with Taichi as they walked towards the blond.

"You don't have band practice tonight?" Taichi asked. Little beads of sweat rolled down his chin and disappeared into the collar of his shirt. He took the cap off his Gatorade and took a drink.

"No, not today." Yamato sighed. He reached up to unbutton the three top buttons on his white shirt. It was a hot day and he was still wearing his school uniform.

"No, huh? Don't you have a gig coming up, though?"

"Yeah, next week. Hiro went home sick so we're short a place to practice and a guitar player." The three boys walked back towards the school where Yamato would have to wait fifteen minutes for Taichi to come out of the locker room. That gave him time to pull that folded up piece of paper from his bag to analyze it.

With my love, this letter I send. You may not know who I am and I may never tell you. You won't ever see me the way I see you. I can understand that. But you should know I love you.

"Short and to the point." Yamato sighed. He re-read the letter eleven times, analyzing every word and letter. Whoever had written it was trying hard to hide their identity. Now that was suspicious.

"All right, Yama. I'm…what's that?" Taichi snatched the paper from the blond's hand, eyes scanning the words. He lifted one of his eyebrows, "What is this? A love letter? It's fucking April!"

"Give it back!" Yamato growled. He made a grab for the letter, but Taichi held him back.

"What does she think she's doing?" Taichi gave the note back then lifted his gym bag onto his shoulder. "Hey, are you hungry?" he asked.

"Not really. Why?"

"Because I am." Yamato rolled his eyes because the brunet was always hungry. Everything he said contained the words 'food' and 'soccer'. It was like Taichi had a one-track mind. "So who do you suppose wrote that letter?" The brunet asked casually.

"What?" Yamato blushed slightly, ashamed at being caught off-guard. He'd been too caught up in thinking about Taichi for the second time that day. He realized with a groan that he had been doing that a lot recently.

"I said; who do you suppose wrote that letter?" Taichi looked at him with an eyebrow raised, as if asking 'were you even listening?'

"Sorry. Got lost in my thoughts. And I have no idea who wrote it."

"That sucks." As they started walking down the hallway, Yamato folded the letter up and stuck it in the pocket of his pants. He was going over names and faces in his head, trying to figure out if they would ever do something so middle school-ish as to write him a love letter.

"What if it's Jun?" The blond suddenly asked, eyebrows drawn together. He chewed on his lip as he listed her motives for doing it in his head. He didn't catch the sudden slump in his friend's posture. "She's liked me for years." Yamato reasoned.

Taichi held the door open for Yamato as the blond took his sweet time walking. "I don't think it's Jun, Yama. She's got a boyfriend now."

"I didn't know that." They walked out into the parking lot towards Taichi's car. It was a slick, red convertible, his favorite color and type. The brunet had to work his ass of to get it. He even went as far as to quit the soccer team for that whole year.

"It feels so good to be playing soccer again." Taichi unlocked his car with a single push of a button and they both climbed into the front seats. "It didn't take long to get back into the swing of things."

"Don't inflate your own ego." Yamato snickered. He put his bag by his feet and bucked his seatbelt into place. "I still think it's Jun." He added.

"Okay, okay." I'll ask Daisuke later." Taichi started the car and pulled put of his parking spot. The car engine purred softly.

"Do you think I'll get another one?" The blond asked. He fingered the hem of his shirt absently, dusted non-existent dust from the sleeve of his blazer.

"I don't really know, Yama." Taichi answered.

After school the next day there was another note stashed in his locker, folded up, and typed out as well.

"'With my love, this letter I send.' It says the same thing!" Yamato frowned. He folded the paper back up and shoved it in his pocket. He had to hurry to the soccer field before Taichi's practice was over.

"Come on, Yagami! What's wrong with you this week? Get on the ball!" Takeda-sensei yelled. The bushy-haired teen had doubled over, hands on his knees and trying to catch his breath. He didn't notice the blond walking up to the stands.

"Sorry, Sensei." Taichi panted, standing straight up, hands on his hips. "I haven't been able to sleep."

"Maybe you should try to go to bed earlier." Takeda-sensei brought the whistle to his mouth and blew it. "That's it for today. Hit the showers."

Taichi grabbed his Gatorade from one of the picnic tables and finally noticed the blond walking down from the bleachers. "Hey, Yama. No practice again today?" he asked as he took a gulp of his drink.

"Nope. Hiro's still sick." Taichi finally reached him and they walked side by side up to the school. Yamato pulled the letter from his pocket and waved it in front of the other boy. "I got another one," he said.

"What's this one say?"

"Why don't you read it for yourself?"

"Do you always answer a question with a question?" Taichi grabbed the letter anyway, scanning the words like he had yesterday.

"It's getting more cheesy. Seems to me like this person has been reading too many romance novels." Yamato wrinkled his nose. "What do you think?"

Taichi smirked, "I think they l-o-v-e you. ' I can only sit back and watch.' Ha! Sounds pathetic to me." He crumbled the letter up and tossed it towards the trashcan, the paper ball bouncing off the rim.

"Hey! I wanted that!" Yamato exclaimed.

"Why? It's just a stupid letter."

"I still want it!" The blond went and retrieved the letter from the ground and smoothed it out on his leg. The words had been smeared.

"Just hurry up, Yama."

"You ruined it, you bastard!" Taichi rolled his eyes and walked on ahead. It seemed to him like his best friend was stuck in his own little world.

"I'm home!" Taichi called into the apartment. He kicked his shoes off and walked towards his bedroom. The house was empty, no sound of clanging pans, or the soft chatter of the television where Hikari usually parked. "Mom? Kari? Anybody home?"

The house was silent. After setting his bag down in his room, he headed into the kitchen to fix something to eat. He found a note taped to the refrigerator.

"'Went to grocery store. Your sister will be home late. Don't go anywhere. Love, Mom.'" Taichi groaned. If his mom had to go to the grocery store, then there was no food. He picked up the telephone and dialed for take-out.

An hour later found Taichi sitting at his computer desk, a plate of white rice, pan-fried noodles, and chopsuey off to the side. He had a word document open and was slowly typing out his third letter.

"With. My. Love. This. Letter. I. Send." Taichi had his fingers poised over the keys, ready to type more, but he was starting to feel like he had used that headline too many times. "I need to put something else down." He took a big bite of his chopsuey then headed into Hikari's room.

There was a bookshelf located in one corner of her room. Manga, DVDs, and most importantly, the romance novels he used to write his letters, were what filled the shelves. He picked a book off the shelf and flipped to a random page. He read to himself for a moment before closing the book with disgust.

"I'm not trying to write him a damn sex letter!" Taichi put the book back and grabbed another one, again flipping to a random page. The first line that caught his attention was one of the author's characters saying, "My life with you means everything." Taichi liked how it sounded in his head. Then he thought, What life?

Now he was back to square one.

When Yamato opened his apartment door the next morning, there was a manila envelope attached to it. His name was on the front in forcedly neat cursive.

He pulled the envelope from the door, opened it, and peered inside. Just as he had expected, there was a folded up letter inside. He pulled it out and unfolded it. The letter read: I wanted to use a new heading. The one I have now seems…overused. I found one, but it made me think about my situation. I can't sleep at night anymore. The fear of dreaming about you keeps me up. And when I do manage to fall asleep, you're always there. I know I shouldn't be asking you this, but I need you to save me.

"Save you from what? Yourself?" Yamato tucked the letter neatly into the envelope and slipped it into his bag. After locking his door, he headed down to the lobby to meet Taichi. They were late for school, and he was starting to wonder if he was being stalked.

He brought this up to Taichi, who immediately disagreed.

"If anybody was stalking you, I'd know. I'm with you almost all the time."

"'Almost' being the key word there." Yamato sighed. "How the hell else does this person know were I live?"

"Maybe you know them?" Something in Taichi's voice cracked.

"I think it's Jun. Who else would it be?" The blond looked at his friend, finally noticed the dark circles under his eyes. "Couldn't sleep last night?"

Taichi startled, "N-No, I couldn't. Been too much on my mind lately."

"Oh. Okay." The rest of the ride was silent.

"Does anyone know the formula for distance?" Yoshida-sensei asked the class. He had a piece of chalk in his hand and was itching to throw it at Taichi's head. Said brunet was snoring softly at his desk. Yamato was sitting next to him, distracted by the contrast of his friend's eyelashes against his tan skin. "Mr. Ishida, if you would kindly wake your friend so he can take the notes…"

"Yes, Sensei." Yamato said. The blond reached over and tapped on the other boy's head. "Wakey, wakey, sleeping beauty." After a moment of no reaction, Yamato tapped again.

"Go away, you bastard." Taichi groaned. He buried his head further into his arms. When Yamato looked up, he could swear he saw steam come out of Yoshida-sensei's ears.

"Mr. Yagami! Put your head up right now!" Yoshida-sensei thundered. The brunet jolted awake and was sitting up in a second; eyes still glazed with sleep. "It's good of you to finally join us." Yoshida-sensei glared at him shortly before turning to the board.

"How long was I out?" Taichi asked groggily. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"The whole hour. We have five minutes left." Yamato said matter-of-factly. He grinned when Taichi set his head back on the table and groaned. "It's not that bad, Tai. At least he didn't give you cleaning duty." The blond whispered this so Yoshida-sensei couldn't hear him.

"Do you have band practice today?" Taichi stretched his arms out in front of him, moaning softly, making Yamato blush a beautiful crimson.

"Hiro's got strep throat, so no practice until further notice." Yamato frowned. He was about to say something else, but the bell cut him off. "Why do you ask?" The blond put his stuff into his bag and hoisted it onto his shoulder. "You've asked me that three days straight. Why?"

Taichi looked away to hide the blush on his cheeks. "Just wondering." He shrugged.

Yamato just left it at that.

The apartment was always empty because Yamato's dad was always working. He left before Yamato woke up and came home when the blond went to sleep. Once or twice, they would run into each other, like when Yamato had days off from school.

When the blond unlocked the door, Taichi sauntered in and collapsed onto the couch, his feet hanging off the edge.

"Are you really that tired?" The blond tugged off Taichi's shoes for him and set them by his own. He sat down in one of the recliners.

"Mm." Taichi grunted.

"I don't think 'Mm' counts as an answer."

"Yes, I'm really that tired."

"Thank you." The blond grabbed the remote from the coffee table and turned the television on. After flipping through a couple of channels, he gave up and shut it off. "Hey, Taichi, are you hungry?"

There was no answer from the brunet, whose eyes had closed and was softly snoring. His right arm lay tucked underneath his head.

"So cute." Yamato grinned. He went into the kitchen and decided to make Taichi's favorite food: chopsuey. It didn't look like the brunet was planning to wake up within the next hour.

An hour and a half later, dinner was done. A bowl of chopsuey was set on the table, as well as white rice, shrimp egg rolls, and a pitcher of hot tea. All of which were steaming.

Yamato wiped his hands off on his apron with a look of smugness then took it off. He really had outdone himself this time. Now he had to wake up Taichi.

The brunet was sprawled on the couch, one leg hanging over the side. Both of his arms rested above his head, his blazer lying crumpled on the floor, his button-up unbuttoned to reveal tan skin. Unfortunately, he was snoring, ruining his otherwise pornographic appearance.

"And it's no wonder I fell for you so hard." Yamato kneeled next to the couch, unable to sit because Taichi had taken most of it up.

Taichi's eyelashes were dark and long, the only feminine quality about him. His stomach was rippled due to years of playing soccer, his skin oddly tanned from the sun. His fingers were long but thick, unlike Yamato's long and thin ones. His hair was still a bushy mass.

Yamato reached out to run his fingertips over the pale scar on Taichi's cheek. It had gotten there the summer they were fourteen, three years ago. Taichi had said something that pissed Yamato off, and the blond had whipped Daisuke's goggles at his friend's face.

"No wonder at all." Yamato said softly. He leaned forward slightly, watched Taichi's eyes flutter behind his eyelids. The brunet smelled like freshly cut grass, cologne, and a memory Yamato lost a long time ago. It swirled inside his head and made him dizzy.

Kiss him, the little voice in his head hissed. He's such a heavy sleeper, he'll never know.

"He'll never know." Yamato told himself shakily. He cupped the cheek with the pale scar and carefully tilted the brunet's head up and to the side. Taichi murmured his approval, lips parting slightly.

If you do it softly, he won't feel it, the little voice told him. That stupid voice was very persuasive and probably right. You know you want to, Yamato.

Yamato swallowed hard and licked his lips, a trickle of courage seeping into his stomach. He figured if he did it quickly, then Taichi wouldn't react. Did people react to kisses in their sleep? He wondered briefly.

The blond shook his head to clear his thoughts. No wasting anymore time, he told himself firmly. He took a deep breath to build up courage and - that plan went right out the window when Taichi murmured his name.

"Taichi?" Yamato whispered, prodding the sleeping teen in the shoulder with his index finger. He sighed when the brunet stayed asleep.

Okay, let's try this again, the blond thought fleetingly. He took a deep breath again and wet his lips. He started to lean down before he chickened out, and finally felt the soft touch of Taichi's lips against his own. They sent butterflies dancing around in his stomach.

Yamato startled when something that sounded like a moan came from Taichi. He quickly pulled away, his cheeks heating with shame and embarrassment. His friend was fast asleep but his lips looked a little pink. Then Yamato remembered that he had to wake the teen up still.

"Taichi." He said loudly, shaking the other boy's shoulder. He wasn't surprised when he didn't get a reaction, so he shook the brunet again. "Taichi, wake up. Dinner's done and I made your favorite."

"Five more minutes." The brunet murmured. He rolled onto his side and tucked his arm underneath his head.

"No five more minutes, Tai. Come and eat." Yamato got up off his knees, poked Taichi in the forehead, then headed into the kitchen and sat in a chair. The squeaking of the couch told him that Taichi was up.

"Why'd you have to wake me up? I was having the best sleep I'd had in days." Taichi pulled one of the chairs out and sat in it. Yamato watched with a raised eyebrow as Taichi piled food on his plate. "And I had this awesome dream where this, uh, girl kissed me. It felt so real."

Yamato blushed heavily, "I really don't want to know what you dream about." The blond put food on his own plate and poured himself a cup of tea.

"I don't see the big deal." Taichi shrugged, "I tell you almost everything."

"Almost everything?" Yamato asked, eyebrows raised so high they disappeared into his hairline. "What do you mean 'almost everything'? What don't you tell me?"

"Yama, there are some things I'd rather keep to myself. It's personal." Taichi started to eat what was on his plate and didn't say another word.

Later, after Taichi had gone home, Yamato would sit and think about what the brunet meant by that and what he might not be telling him.

The end of the school day was fast approaching and the letter in Taichi's pocket was burning through his pants. He had to stash it in Yamato's locker somehow.

"Kobayashi-sensei?" Taichi called softly, raising his hand in the air. When the gray-haired man looked up from his papers, the brunet curled an arm around his stomach. "Can I go to the bathroom? My stomach didn't agree with today's lunch."

"Ah, so you chanced the mystery meat. All right, but be quick."

"Thank you, Sensei." Taichi choked out. He ran from the room with his hand over his mouth. The look Kobayashi-sensei gave him was one of pity.

The hallway was empty, making the task at hand easier than he would've expected. It took six short minutes to reach Yamato's locker, open it, and then stick that folded up letter on the top most shelves.

"Now comes the wait." The brunet gave one last look at the letter before shutting the lockers.

"What are you doing?"

"Huh?"

Taichi spun around, coming face to face with an older, female version of Motomiya Daisuke. Her head was cocked to the side, one of her eyebrows raised.

"What do you mean 'huh'?" Isn't this Yamato-kun's locker?"

"Yeah."

"So what are you doing?"

Taichi stared blankly at her, any brilliant excuse he may have come up with gone. The only thing running through his mind was 'oh, shit.'

"Taichi?" Jun called, waving her hand in front of his face. The brunet blinked dazedly then seemed to come back down to earth.

"I was just checking his locker." Taichi started to walk back towards his class, but he could hear Jun's footsteps behind him.

"What were you checking for?" She asked curiously, falling into step with him.

"Letters." Taichi said simply. When she didn't give up and walk away, he mentally groaned. He knew she wouldn't go away until she got more answers. He was having a hard time trying to figure out what to say. "I have to get to class now, so, bye."

"Are they love letters?" Jun persisted. There was a grin on her face and Taichi was getting a sudden sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Yeah. Why?" he asked wearily.

"I think I know who's writing them!" Her grin widened, almost cat-like, actually. That sinking feeling in the brunet's stomach got worse.

"You do?" Taichi tried to keep his voice nonchalant but he was getting nervous. What if Jun had it all figured out?

"Oh, yeah. I know." She crossed her arms over her chest, still grinning from ear to ear. She was tapping her fingers on her forearm. "And I thought Yamato-kun was smart."

"What do you mean?" He really was afraid to ask because she was already catching on. She had a point, too; was he really that obvious? "You know what, don't answer that. I know what you mean."

"Mmm."

"Just…promise me you won't tell him, okay? I don't want him to know."

"I don't know, Taichi. This opportunity is just too good to be true."

"Jun-."

"-Don't worry; your secret is safe with me." She rubbed his arm gently and gave him an affectionate smile. "You are so lucky Dai admires you." She added.

"Are you trying to kill me?" Taichi sighed. He dug the heels of his palms into his eyes.

Jun just smiled at him, shook her head, then walked away. Taichi wasn't sure if she was being serious or just plain weird.

Yamato tapped his foot impatiently on the tiled floor, the last minutes of the school day ticking away slowly. He was desperate to check his locker for any letters that may have shown up during class. One of his close friends, Izumi Koushiro, noticed his impatience.

"Is something important happening after school today?" The red head asked the blond curiously. Koushiro was going through stacks of papers and looking over his grades.

"Ah, not really." Yamato answered, failing to keep his voice even. If Koushiro had noticed the crack in his voice, the younger boy didn't say anything. He just nodded his head. "Well, it is kind've important." The blond conceded.

"I already know; Taichi's been talking about these letters you've been getting."

"What's he been saying?"

"Just that someone's been putting love letters in your locker. He said that you think you're being stalked." Koushiro looked at him, his face impassive. "So tell me about it."

"There's nothing to tell, really." Yamato told him. The shorter teen didn't seem to be convinced. If anything, he seemed all the more curious. "What? Why are you looking at me like that? There's nothing to tell."

"That's not how Taichi made it sound. He was excited and he did all of his usual hand gestures."

"So you already know the details?"

"Yeah. Pretty much."

"What didn't he tell you?" Yamato sighed, his impatience temporarily forgotten. He silently watched Koushiro shuffle through papers and waited for an answer.

"He didn't tell me what he thought about all this. It was all about you. That's odd even for Taichi."

"Right." Yamato started to tap his fingers on top of his desk. "He's been acting weirder than usual. Do you think he has anything to do with this?"

"One could only assume. It's obviously a boy writing these letters; a girl would just come right out and tell you." Koushiro tapped his chin in thought. Yamato rested his head on his arms and sighed. "We can't overlook the fact that the letters are typed, meaning you know his handwriting."

"It could very well be you." Yamato pointed out. He glanced up at the clock; still ten minutes until class was over. "It could be anybody."

"Or just Taichi." Koushiro suggested. He waited for the blond to react, but it wasn't the reaction he'd expected.

"That's crazy. He isn't madly in love with me," The blond huffed. His eyes were still glued to the clock. "It could be Daisuke, too. Or Ken…"

"Hikari has a shelf full of romance novels." This caught Yamato's attention. His head whipped around, and Koushiro wondered if he could somehow get whiplash from it.

"So you think it's Taichi?" The blond asked.

"The clues lead to him." Koushiro offered. He put the papers he had shuffled through into a tan folder. His eyebrows were drawn together.

Sure, the clues lead to him, but what if it's not? Yamato thought to himself. He secretly hoped it was Taichi; he didn't know who else it could be.

"You should talk to him." The red head suggested. He looked up at Yamato with dark eyes.

"I'll catch him after class." The blond said absently, just as the bell sounded. He was the first student to leave the classroom and reach his locker. He spun the dial and grabbed hold of the latch when someone grabbed his shoulder.

"Yamato-kun, I have a piece of information that might interest you." Motomiya Jun sounded from somewhere near his right shoulder.

"Depends on what it is." He told her. Yamato turned around and leaned back against his locker. He noticed that the Motomiya girl's eyebrows were drawn tightly together. "For instance, I found out who was writing those letters, so I know it isn't you."

"Did Taichi actually tell you?" Jun blurted out. When she caught her mistake, she slapped her hand over her mouth and laughed nervously. "Just…pretend you didn't hear that, okay?"

"I already know, Jun. I figured it out last hour." Yamato turned back around and brutally yanked his locker open. He found the little paper inside, opened it, and read it to himself.

"He's terrified of you finding out." Jun said quietly.

"I'll bet he is." The blond shoved his letter deep into his bag, shut his locker, and then turned on the girl. "I'm guessing you caught him in the act?"

"Yeah."

"Great." Yamato slung his book bag over his shoulder and started walking towards the soccer field. He would most likely catch his friend there instead of the hallways, especially if the brunet was freaking out.

So he likes me, Yamato dropped his eyes to the ground and sighed. No, he's in love with me. It sounded so final to him, like nothing he could do or say would make it any better. And poor Taichi…

"God, I'm such an idiot. All this time we've liked each other and all we've been doing is running in circles."

Taichi pulled on his soccer uniform wearily, not knowing why he had even shown up. His lack of sleep lately had sapped his energy and he couldn't concentrate on anything. He had fallen asleep in three out of his six classes today, and anymore of that was going to get him kicked off the team. Takeda-sensei had yet to yell at him for skipping yesterday's practice. But he couldn't help any of it; only Yamato could.

"You're here early, Yagami." Takeda-sensei said as he walked into the locker room. He held two bags of soccer balls in one hand, his gym bag in the other. "I suppose you're trying to make up for yesterday's practice."

Taichi winced, "About that, Sensei. I-I don't think I'll be able to play in the championships."

"What are you talking about? The team needs you!" Takeda-sensei dropped the soccer balls by his door and pulled his keys out of the pocket of his shorts. Taichi still hadn't answered him when he had unlocked his door.

"My concentration is shot to hell." Taichi said finally. He followed the balding man into his office. "I haven't been able to sleep and that sapped all my energy. I've been thinking too much and I fell asleep in three of my classes today."

"It has something to do with that blond friend of yours, doesn't it?"

"...Yeah."

"Well, fix it. He's waiting for you out on the field, I presume." Takeda-sensei ushered Taichi out of his office and shut the door behind them. "I'll give you ten minutes to do it, but come straight back afterwards."

"Um, okay." Taichi walked away, a little confused at the sudden turn of events. Why was Yamato on the field? And why was Takeda-sensei not trusting the brunet's own judgement? Something told Taichi things were about to get worse when he walked out of the school. He could see a blond head in the distance.

"Yama?" The blond startled out of his reverie and looked up to see Taichi staring down at him. The brunet looked nervous and confused clad in his soccer uniform. "Um, were you waiting for me to come out or something?"

"I figured it out." Yamato said quietly. He folded his hands in his lap and didn't meet Taichi's eyes. "I feel kind of betrayed, you know?"

"What do you mean?" Taichi sat down next to his friend, shaking a little. He could see the raw emotion flooding from his eyes. "How exactly did I betray you? All I did was go to practice." The brunet was pretty sure that wasn't the problem.

"I guess betrayed is too strong a word. Okay, I feel hurt. I can understand why you didn't tell me, but…" Yamato trailed off with a frustrated sigh and finally lifted his eyes to the other boy's. "I had to find out through letters, Tai, not you."

"Oh." The brunet turned his head away, a sudden sting behind his eyelids. His heart had started to race and he knew he was on the verge of tears.

Don't cry, Taichi told himself firmly. You can't let him see how much he affects you.

"I-I'm sorry, Yama. I didn't mean for you to find out like this."

"Or at all." Yamato whispered.

"That's not - I wanted to -" He felt a hot tear trail down his cheek and he wiped it away quickly. That only caused more to cascade down. "God, I couldn't keep it in for any longer. It drove me crazy. An anonymous letter seemed like the best idea."

A gentle breeze ruffled their hair, but went unnoticed by both boys. Yamato was staring at his hands and Taichi was staring off into the distance, rebellious tears still dripping down his cheeks.

"I wouldn't have said anything." Yamato finally said, a blush rising in his cheeks. " If I was in your situation, I'd just keep quiet and love you from afar. I'd probably slip up and kiss you while you were sleeping."

And that's not far from the truth, Yamato thought grimly. He brought his hands to his face and sighed heavily. Taichi was crying and he felt terrible.

"So, what now? I mean, now that you know, how do you plan on coping? Are you okay with it? Am I short one best friend?"

"I know exactly what I'm going to do."

"And what's that?"

"Save you." Yamato reached out to cup the brunet's cheeks and pressed a soft kiss to the other's lips. The butterflies were dancing around in his stomach again.

Taichi made a choked-up sound, as if Yamato's action had surprised him a little too badly. There was wetness on the blond's cheeks, Taichi's tears, and the brunet had started to shudder. Yamato pulled away to breathe and whisper soothing words, then leaned back in and kissed him harder. Everything blurred together; the sound of the wind rustling the trees, the sound of Taichi's heavy breaths, the pounding of Yamato's heart in his ears.

The blond slid his right hand down Taichi's neck and over his chest to rest near his heart. He moved his other hand to the back of the soccer player's neck, and tangled his fingers in the other's hair. He was able to suck on the other boy's bottom lip easily.

"Yagami!" A loud voice thundered, echoing through the field. The two boys hastily broke apart and peered down the bleachers at a very irate Takeda-sensei, his arms crossed stiffly over his chest. "I know you're enjoying the time you have with him, but it's been well over ten minutes."

"Oh! Right! Sorry, Sensei!" Taichi said fervently. He gave Yamato a chaste kiss, then another, and another, then twice more for good measure. "I'll come over after practice so we can kiss more - I mean, talk more." He breathed. He kissed Yamato again, then walked down the stairs, taking two at a time.

"Um, right." Yamato said dazedly. He watched the brunet go with a kind've goofy smile on his face, completely unlike his usual, sarcastic smiles. The blond hoisted his bag onto his shoulder and walked down the stairs after his friend.

Yamato paced in his room, making sure everything was clean, although he didn't know why he was so worried; this was just Taichi, his best friend of seven years. There was nothing to worry about, unless you counted your-best-friend-turned-potential-boyfriend anything to worry about. Which he did and was…so he was worried. What if he sounded like a girl? What would their ­friends think? There were questions like that and more swirling around in his head.

Yamato was still trapped in his thoughts when the front door opened and Taichi's voice echoed through the apartment. The blond sighed heavily then sat down on his bed, just as the other boy came into the room. He was still in his soccer gear, minus the cleats. He was breathing hard, and little beads of sweat were rolling down his forehead.

"Did-Did you run all the way up here?" Yamato blinked incredulously. His voice was oddly high and Taichi had to raise one of his eyebrows.

"Um, kind've." The brunet was fidgeting where he stood, nervous and looking so damn adorable that Yamato just had to kiss him. It was slow and sweet, taking the blond's breath away completely. "Hey, Yama, I need to go take a shower." Taichi murmured against the other boy's lips, kissing him again briefly.

"Not yet."

"But I-"

"Not yet, Taichi."

"But I'm hot and sweaty!" The brunet whined. He tried to pull off a pout, but Yamato kissed it away. "Why do you want me to wait, then?"

"One out of two isn't bad." Yamato chuckled. He nipped playfully at Taichi's bottom lip then soothed the bite with a sweep of his tongue.

"Hey! Stop kissing me! If you keep doing that I'm gonna have a problem to deal with!"

"Eww, Taichi! You just ruined the mood."

"Are we dating now?"

"No, we're just friends with benefits." Yamato said sarcastically. For a second it looked like Taichi actually believed him. "Technically, no. I haven't asked you and you haven't asked me."

"What's the point. We already made out twice today." Taichi grasped the bottom of his jersey and yanked it up and over his head. "At any rate, will you go out with me?"

"I thought you said there was no point in asking?" The blond sighed. He wrapped his arms around Taichi's neck and indulged himself in another kiss. He liked it better when he was pressed up against the brunet while he squirmed uncomfortably. "And you can take that as a yes."

"There's not, but I asked anyway. Now stop kissing me so I can take a shower."

"Then go."

"I will."

"All right, then." Yamato grinned. He tucked his hands behind his back and cocked his head to the side innocently. "But hurry up, okay?"

"You're gonna be the death of me, Yama."

"Mmm, I love you, too."

Taichi shook his head and smiled before he shut the door. Somehow his eyes looked bright and full of life, not like the gloomy color they had been minutes before. Yamato found himself enraptured by the enigma that was Yagami Taichi, and stared until the bathroom door cut his sight off.

The blond grinned. "Damn I love him."

Owari

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