Disclaimer: The characters within this story all belong to Yukiru Sugisaki-san.
Warnings: Clean.
Summary: Daisuke wants to know why Riku's been avoiding him.
Completed: February 17, 2010

Belated Gift
by: Kagome-reincarnation

Daisuke frowned. Riku… Riku had been avoiding him for several days now. He didn't quite understand it. He hadn't been sure at first – he'd thought he might be imagining it – but a couple of arranged and chance meetings had assured him that he wasn't. She really was avoiding him… But why? Was it something he'd done? He frowned as he thought about it. Surely he hadn't done anything to offend her?

He'd bumped into her in the hall when she hadn't been paying attention and she'd dropped her notes. He'd helped her pick them up, but the moment she'd realized that it was him; she'd quite literally dropped her notes and bailed. Daisuke only had the chance to notice her face was bright red before she'd gone and her friend and simply looked at him and giggled.

Daisuke had been very, very confused. Heck, he was still very, very confused. What was going on? If he'd done something wrong, surely Riku would have said something to him by now – and if it was something terrible, her friends would have condemned him for it. As it was, he'd had little to no contact with her for the past three days. He sighed, staring at the ceiling of his room.

What's wrong? Dark asked, amused.

"Shut up," Daisuke muttered grouchily. "Riku's avoiding me."

There was a silence in his mind and suddenly Daisuke was reminded of Dark's last encounter with Riku – had she perhaps discovered his identity? A sudden panic overtook him. Was she afraid of him? Did she hate him? Reject him?

I'm sure that's not it, Dark spoke up, his voice contemplative. What's today's date?

"February 17th," Daisuke answered, a bit confused – Dark had a habit of leaving him hanging, keeping him confused quite a bit of the time. While it usually ended well, he couldn't help but be irritated now. Riku wasn't some silly heist – she was his girlfriend. He didn't want secrets between them that he didn't need to have – Dark's presence had only further emphasized that idea for him. He had no intention of lying to Riku any more than he had to…

And he'd be twice as careful to keep her – and Risa – out of danger. He wouldn't let them be captured again – not after Argentine…

Hey, calm down, Dark scolded him. There's no point in worrying about it now. We'll do our best.

"Sorry," he murmured sheepishly. "I just wish I knew what was going on…"

Well, you won't get anywhere lying around here. Go on – why don't you go see her? Dark suggested.

"Yeah – yeah, I'll do that." Daisuke decided, getting to his feet. A quick call to his mother gave confirmation to his motives as he headed out the door. The trek to Riku's enormous home would have taken an average person over thirty minutes, even if they made use of the trams.

Daisuke, however, was not a normal person. Making use of his training, the rooftops, and his enhanced endurance, he got there in ten. Without using the trams.

He paused before the door – what if she didn't want to see him?

Do it, Dark urged. Better to get it figured out sooner.

"Shut up," Daisuke muttered, his voice lacking conviction. He pressed the intercom button, nervously responding when Riku's mother asked who it was.

Riku greeted him at the door, her face bright red. "D-Daisuke! What are you doing here?"

He couldn't help the frown that pressed itself onto his mouth. "I wanted to talk to you."

She seemed uncomfortable and Daisuke couldn't help but feel out of place as she led him into her house and up to her room. He exchanged quick greetings with Risa, ignoring Dark's stirrings in the back of his mind.

When they got to her room, he didn't bother with going the long way and cut to the chase: "Why have you been avoiding me?"

Riku started, surprised. "Y-you noticed?"

He nodded, frown still in place. Riku's blush deepened and Daisuke wondered what it was that she was hiding.

Just as he opened his mouth to ask, she reacted. "I-I'm sorry!" she cried out, shoving a wrapped box into his hands.

"What?" It took him a moment to realize what had just happened. As he looked at her, she flushed again, before going on to explain.

"It's a couple of days late, but I wanted to give it to you. I'm sorry it took so long."

Sudden understanding lit up his eyes as he smiled broadly at her. "Thanks, Riku!" he said happily before unwrapping his gift. Immediately, he popped one of the oddly-shaped chocolate candies in his mouth. "It tastes great!"

She smiled at him, her face still red. "Liar," she accused half-heartedly.

But neither of them minded – they were happy and together and even though it was a few days late, they were still observing St. Valentine's Day.