Hey guys! I know, ANOTHER TAITO ONE-SHOT, what the hell, right? I should be working on other things! But sometimes stories just won't go away. So this came out.
First of all, I'd like to give partial credit for this story to Physco Weasel. I was talking to her when the idea hit me, so thanks, hun!
Secondly, this story takes place in the same AU as my story Perfect. So, you don't have to read that one, but it might make some of our Yama's behavior make more sense. Also, it will inform you exactly who "Baby" is to Yamato...
I run my fingers through my hair for the millionth time in the last hour. I glance at the clock, again. Only ten more minutes until I can get out of here, and hopefully, immediately be greeted by Yamato. Hopefully. Yamato however, has been distant lately, stressed out over something to do with houses he received when his adopted mother died.
"Taichi," A voice from behind me says, I turn to look at my boss.
"Yeah?" I ask.
"Is there anyway you can stay late, tonight? I need he-"
"No." I cut her off. "My boyfriend is picking me up." I say, definitely emphasizing the boyfriend part.
"Oh." She says, her face falling. She's been trying to get in my pants since I started working here six months ago, it was driving me nuts. No matter how many times I promised her I had a boyfriend, she didn't believe me, because she had yet to meet him.
But since I told her he'd be here, I can only pray he'd show up. After I can finally leave, I pad down the steps slowly, and am not surprised to see Meilin follow me. Outside, I definitely do not see Yamato, or his car. And it's raining. I sigh.
"Where's your boyfriend, Tai?" She cooes.
"Uhm. He probably had something come up." I say, kind of defeated. Figures the one day I could really use Yamato here, he doesn't show. Something smashes into me at knee level, which results in a yelp from it, and a cry of surprise from me. I glance down to find Baby, Yamato's husky, dancing around my feet.
I sigh in relief as Yamato appears a few seconds later. "Sorry, Tai," He says softly, eyeing Meilin behind me.
"It's okay. Did you walk here?" I ask, watching Baby prance back to her human. She rubs up against his leg.
"No," He says. "I left late, and couldn't find a decent parking spot." I wrap my arms around his waist, and I feel him stiffen in surprise.
He's not big on affection outside of closed doors. I kiss his neck before releasing him, taking his hand instead. I glance over my shoulder at Meilin quickly, but she's gone.
"Uhm. What was that about?" Yamato asks quietly as we follow Baby back to Yamato's car. Yamato did not pull his hand away from me, which I can only take for a good sign. Usually he's very picky about when we're allowed to touch outside of the house now that we're older and not teenagers.
"Rough day," I half lie. "Can I spend the night?"
"You don't need to ask, Tai..."
The ride home is silent. Yamato has that distant look in his eyes. He's not really with me, The majority of his attention on the road, the rest of him, the part that can go away while doing something he does every day, is long gone. Lost in his own head, which is some place I really hate for him to be. When we get back to Yamato's house, I climb out of the car, Baby hoping out of the backseat to spring out my door and tear around the yard. I watch her while I wait for Yamato to get out of the car. It takes a few minutes.
"Are you okay, Yama?" I ask lightly once he's finally walking towards the front door.
"Who was that girl?" He asks.
"My boss," I say.
"It looks like she wanted to eat me." He says, unlocking the door. I frown as I step past him. Baby rushes past us both to roll around on her bed. She's not allowed on the furniture when she's wet.
"Well..." I say, quietly. "She probably wanted to jab your beautiful eyes out," I admit. Yamato looks horrified momentarily.
"Why?" He asks me, kicking his shoes off. I don't answer, entranced by him pulling off his sweater, which reveals he's shirtless underneath.
"Hi," I say, eyes trailing down his body,
"Hi," He says back, "You didn't answer my question." I reach out for him. He allows me to take his hand and pull him against me. "You're cold." He says.
"I can strip, too," I offer.
"Sure, as soon as you can tell me why your boss wants to gouge my eyes out."
"She likes blue eyes?" I offer.
"Tai." Yamato says, pulling away from me. I sigh.
"Cause she wants in my pants, and no matter how many times I tell her I have a boyfriend that I'm very happy with she didn't believe me, because she's never seen you." Yamato frowns, but when I strip my wet sweater off, throwing it on floor with his, he slips back into my arms.
"I missed you," Yamato says, kissing my jaw lightly.
"Mm, I missed you, too." I answer. Yamato disengages from our embrace, taking my wrist instead, to lead me upstairs to his room. He gives Baby a pet on the head, and sends her away before closing the door behind us.
When I asked Yamato to sleep over, I meant sleep over. Just holding him, and being with him. What happens is a heavy make out session, and sex.
And maybe I was a bit rougher then I needed to be with him, because afterwards he sat up, and pulled his knees against his chest. His head is resting on is knees and he's trailing his fingers lightly along my arm.
"Did I hurt you?" I ask. Yamato doesn't answer. "Yama?" I ask, sitting up, too.
"Huh?" He asks. "Oh, no, you didn't." But he sounds distracted.
"You look as miserable as I feel." I inform him. Yamato shrugs.
"I'm just tired, Tai." Yamato says lightly, his fingers apply pressure on my wrist briefly. "I missed you," He seems to add as an after thought.
"It has been awhile," I admit. Almost two weeks since we've actually seen each other for long enough to register that we were together. We were both fairly busy. "I missed you, too."
Yamato traces more designs against my wrist, still using the wall as support, still curled up in an almost ball. A scratch at the bedroom door makes me jump. Yamato sighs.
"Coming, Baby." He calls to the dog. He climbs over me, and, without thinking, and wrap my arms around him, pining him against me. He won't fight me, he never does. I nuzzle my face against his neck, and he graces me with a laugh.
"Are you a dog now, too?" He asks.
"Nah, I just wanted to show my affection." Yamato kisses my cheek, my jaw, my forehead, purposely, I'm sure, avoiding my lips. When he begins to move off of me again, I let him go. Wouldn't want to make him feel trapped. As Yamato moves towards to door to let his baby in, he picks up clothes and begins to dress himself.
It's not until the bedroom door is open, and Baby is happily laying by the edge of the bed, that I get up to dress myself. And then of course I have to go hunt a blondie down, because, well, he stole my shirt.
I find Yamato in the kitchen, checking through the fridge. "Hungry?" He asks. "Never mind, you're always hungry. What do you want?" He changes the question.
"I don't care. Can I have my shirt back?" I ask.
"No." Yamato says pulling something out of the fridge and dropping it into my arms to place on the counter. As I turn back, he drops something else into my arms, which joins the batch of vegetables.
"Okay." I say. Yamato pulls out one last thing, then eyes me. I don't miss his eyes trailing along my naked chest. I pretend I don't notice though.
"That was easy.." He says. His tone informs me definitely thinks I'm up to something. I lean against his fridge to watch him cook.
"Well, it just means I'll have to take it off you myself, later." Yamato's cheeks flush a healthy pink. It makes me smile.
Watching Yamato move as he cooks for me, makes me want him again. "Fuck," I say. Yamato turns away from his bubbling water to look at me. His sapphire eyes are filled with concern.
"What's wrong?" He asks, quietly, scanning me quickly to see if he could see what made me swear.
"Nothing's wrong," I say, reaching for my shirt and pulling him flush against me. "You're just..." I trail off, choosing to just kiss him instead. He kisses me back, but pulls away with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm cooking, Tai. You're spending the night, remember? We'll have lots of time." I let Yamato go, and lean against his fridge.
"Are you giving me permission to remove that shirt, then?"
"Mmm," Yamato says, thinking about it. "Yeah, I guess I am." I laugh.
"Good, cause I would've, anyway."
"I know, Tai." Yamato finishes cooking, and I leave him alone long enough for him to get it done. I eat, noticing Yamato doesn't.
"You're not gonna eat?" I ask.
"I will. Later." Yamato brushes it off, so I let it go, too. After I finish eating, I eye my shirt, again.
"So," I start, making Yamato's gorgeous blue eyes come up to meet mine. "Can I take that shirt off you now?" I ask. Yamato gives it a gentle tug before smiling at me.
"I guess so."
I grab my blonde by the wrist, and pull him up the stairs, shutting the door on a very miffed looking Baby.
I wake up and am thrown off my how relaxed I feel. I roll onto my side, and am greeted by the sight of Yamato sleeping. I can't help but smile. He looks at peace. Like everything in his world is perfect. And maybe it is, at least for right now.
His eyes open, and I'm greeted by sleepy blue.
"Hi," He says.
"Hi." I say back. I kiss him, trying to convey to him, exactly how much I love him.
"Mm, you too." He says against my lips. And maybe my world is perfect right now, too.