This is just a really quickly written fic (an hour and a half total) for Valentines Day. Once again I waited until the exact last second to do my V-day fic, but at least I did one this year, right? XP
As always, if you enjoy this, please review! Reviews make for happy! Also, if you like it, check out the TaiDaied Love page, the headquarters for all things taisuke, where you can find all my fics (including the adult ones 'fanfiction dot net' doesn't allow), and many many other awesome taisuke things! We've also got a mailing list, so if you like taidai, you should join! Hope to see you there!
What Makes You Sparkle
or
Chibimon's Question
What exactly did one do with a 'tamp-on,' Chibimon wondered as he watched the television in Daisuke's small apartment. TV was always a good way to learn about the human world, and although he'd been studying for many, many years there were still things that he just didn't understand. Like this 'tamp-on' that women seemed to love so much. What exactly was it for?
Chibimon frowned and cocked his head, staring at the TV for a long time before deciding that this was simply one of those questions that he'd have to call Daisuke at work about and ask him personally. After all, Daisuke had reassured him that his questions were very, very important, no matter what they were. Chibimon hopped up off the couch and ran over to the wall where the phone hung. It seemed an awfully long way up, so he tried hopping as high as he could to reach it, but instead of reaching the receiver, he grabbed onto the cord!
The cord was all twisty and curly and Chibimon squeaked as it stretched to its limit because of his weight, and then bounced back up again, throwing him into the air. Flailing his little arms, he finally landed on his bottom on the floor with a loud thud. He was just getting up to brush himself off when the receiver fell loudly next to him.
Feeling very proud that he'd been able to get the phone down all by himself, Chibimon looked closely at the speed dial buttons on the phone. He stared at the words for a very long time before letting out a very long unhappy little sigh. He couldn't read Japanese! He couldn't read at all! Reading was something humans did, not digimon, and it seemed so hard! Finally Chibimon noticed that one of the speed-dial buttons was all worn out, like it had been pressed a lot.
Chibimon pressed the button carefully (a hard thing to do with paws as big as his, and a button as small as that) and picked up the phone. He had to hold it in both arms to hold it to his head, but he was able to do it after a few seconds of trying.
"Hello?" a voice finally answered, sounding not very much like Daisuke at all.
"Daisuke!" Chibimon said, wondering what was wrong with him that he sounded so odd and deep. "Did you eat something bad?" he asked.
The person at the other end paused for a moment, and then spoke again. "Daisuke isn't here. Is that you, Chibimon?" he lowered his voice for the question, as if he wasn't sure he was right.
"Yeah! Daisuke is at work!" Chibimon said helpfully. "I need to talk to him! It's really, really important!"
"Ah," the person said, understanding. "Well, he'll be home in a few hours, right?"
"No," Chibimon replied sadly, sitting on the floor in a huff. He almost dropped the phone and let out a little wail of shock when it slipped from his grip, but he was able to pull it back up to his head. "Daisuke won't come home. He's sad."
"Why's he sad?" the person asked, sounding concerned.
Chibimon frowned and blinked a few times. "Today is the bad day," he said in the most serious voice he could. "Chocolates day. Daisuke doesn't like chocolates day, 'cause he never gets chocolates. I'd be sad if I didn't get chocolates, too, but Daisuke always gets me some." Chibimon pouted and sniffled loudly. "I wish I could get Daisuke chocolates, but I can't go shopping!"
"Eh, he'll be fine," the person reassured him. "It's not like it's a big deal, right? I'm sure he'll come home soon."
"No, no!" Chibimon said between hiccupping sobs. "Daisuke won't come home! Every year he works extra hard and then he comes home late and he cries!" Chibimon felt himself begin to cry. "I don't like it when Daisuke is sad!"
"Whoa, whoa, he cries?" the person asked, sounding upset. "Why?"
"Because he doesn't get chocolates!" Chibimon replied, crying loudly.
"Well, who does he want chocolates from?" the person asked.
Chibimon froze, then swallowed hard. "I can't tell you, it's a secret! Secrets are important, like questions! I can't tell you."
"You can tell me," the person said. "Tell me and I'll fix it so Daisuke isn't sad, okay? And I'll get you chocolate, too."
Chibimon thought very carefully for a moment. After all, secrets were very important. Still, chocolate was also very important. What was he supposed to do! Finally, he answered, "He's sad 'cause 'Taichi-senpai' won't give him chocolates. I can tell you, but don't tell Taichi-senpai, okay? Then it's not breaking the secret! So can I have chocolate now?"
The person on the other end of the phone was silent.
"Hey, are you gonna give me chocolate now or what? I want chocolate! Please?" Chibimon whined, feeling his eyes beginning to water again. "You said you'd give me chocolates!"
"What? Oh. Yeah, I'll bring you chocolate, Chibimon. Later tonight. I'll bring you chocolate tonight."
With that, the person on the other line hung up, and Chibimon set the phone down on the floor. He smiled at the phone and waved. "Thank you chocolate person!" With that, he hurried back to the couch to watch more TV, leaving the phone off the hook.
Daisuke was sitting at his desk, sketching lazily on a pad of paper. There was plenty of work to do, and plenty to keep him busy, but he didn't care. Today wasn't a day he wanted to work. Still, he was here at his desk when he could be at home relaxing. He sighed heavily and rested his chin on his hand.
"Today sucks," he mumbled, crumpling the sketch he had drawn up as tightly as he could, so that no curious parties could open it up and see yet another sketch of that certain someone he was always 'mooning over,' as Miyako put it.
"Daisuke!" a voice called from outside his office. "Daisuke, I know you're in there!"
Wrinkling his nose, Daisuke stood and sighed. He had told all the employees to tell anyone asking for him that he was out. Today was not a day he wanted to talk to anyone.
His restaurant was just a ramen shop, and it had only become a proper shop two years ago. Until then it had been just another noodle cart, and he hadn't had the know-how or ambition to make it more than that. That is, until a certain senpai had begun encouraging him. Until then many people had tried to get him to go for bigger things, to try to open a shop, or even a chain of shops! But Daisuke had declined. His little cart was enough, he reassured everyone, it was plenty for him.
But when Taichi had grinned at him and said, "Daisuke, you should really open up a restaurant.," he had just replied by smiling and nodding. Encouragement from Taichi-senpai meant that he could really do it. Encouragement from Taichi-senpai was what had gotten him where he was. That was why he'd just called his ramen shop "Yuuki Noodle." When his friends had asked him why, he just shrugged and smiled and played it off as having to do with his first digimental. In reality, it was named after his senpai, and what he'd given him.
Shaking his head hard, Daisuke took a deep breath. 'Remember, it's Valentines Day, couples aren't going to be here! They'll be at way fancier places! So it's safe! It's totally safe to go out there!'
Stepping out of the small office he had in the back of the building and walking out into the restaurant he was greeted by a sight that he definitely wasn't happy about. Couples were everywhere. He gaped around the crowded, noisy restaurant.
"Motomiya-san!" one of the waitresses gasped, running over to him. She smiled widely. "We didn't want to bother you, but that article in the paper last week really helped business! Look at all the people!"
Daisuke grinned weakly at her. "Ah, right, that article."
"They did call you the best noodle place in the city!" Takeru said, grabbing Daisuke's arm from behind him. "Oniichan and I came here just to have the ramen you make, won't you cook it for us yourself?"
Yamato waved at Daisuke a little sheepishly, as if it wasn't his idea to bother him.
"Oh, you were the one yelling for me." Daisuke sighed heavily again and shook his head. "Get one of the others to do it, that's what I pay them for," he mumbled, trying to pull away.
"No, they're not as good as you! Please?" Takeru asked, smiling hopefully.
Daisuke was just about to say no when he noticed that Yamato also looked a little hopeful. He didn't much care for going out of his way just for Takeru, but Yamato was someone he respected enough to do a favor for. "Oh, fine, but just this once. Then I have to go back to work."
Takeru smiled widely and sat down at the bar with Yamato, staring happily over the counter to where you could see the chefs cooking. Daisuke had specifically designed the restaurant this way, because it was always so much more fun to eat something you'd seen prepared.
Washing his hands and grabbing a clean knife, Daisuke put one of the blue aprons on that all the employees used, and began chopping vegetables. The knife felt comfortable in his hand, and he was soon moving with the speed and assurance that only comes from a lot of practice and a little talent.
Yamato spoke to him over the counter as he cooked. "You're good at that," he said.
Daisuke shrugged stiffly, blushing a little. He hoped that the blush would be hidden by the steam and bustle of the restaurant, and that no one would notice. He hated when people saw him blush, even though it happened all the time, especially now that he'd become famous for having 'the best ramen' around.
"Why are you here? Shouldn't you be out on dates?" Daisuke asked, glancing up at them and then quickly back down at the vegetables he was chopping so he wouldn't cut himself.
Yamato grinned widely. "I'd rather have ramen with Takeru than go on a date with a girl," he replied.
Takeru smiled. "Me, too."
Daisuke rolled his eyes and sighed. Even their relationship was making him jealous now. Finally done chopping things, Daisuke tossed everything in a pot and began cooking it together. Standing back a bit and waiting for everything to cook, he tried to get out of the way of the other men and women that worked for him, all of whom were running here and there, trying to get everyone's dinners done quickly.
Despite all the noise of the kitchen, he could still hear the couples just on the other side of the bar. There at a table in the corner a boy and girl were holding hands and staring into each other's eyes and talking about love. There, across the other side of the restaurant, was an older man and woman laughing together. Right in front of him were Yamato and Takeru, sipping their tea and talking quietly. All of the couples around him didn't seem to notice the beeping of the timers and the whirr of the ovens, the clatter of dishes, and the sound of boiling water and sizzling meat. He wondered how they could sit there and talk and not be bothered by it all.
Once Yamato and Takeru's ramen was done, he poured them each a large bowl and handed it to them. "No charge," he mumbled, stepping from around the bar to go back to his office, where it was quiet and peaceful... and lonely.
"Come on," Takeru said, grabbing Daisuke's arm again. "Sit with us!"
Daisuke frowned at the boy, but decided that it was easier to just do what he said than to fight it right now, when he already felt so overwhelmed and far too tired to argue. He sat on the stool next to Takeru's and watched his friends eat, and tried to tone out the constant noise from the people around him. Usually he liked noise, but today was different. Today he wanted silence.
"What are you doing tonight?" Yamato asked after swallowing a bite.
Daisuke shrugged and looked away. "Nothing." 'Why do they always have to ask that when they know the answer?' he thought scowling away at his office door, and wishing he'd never come out.
"Why?" Takeru asked after slurping up a long noodle.
Daisuke snapped his head around and glared at him. "What kind of stupid question is that!"
Takeru looked offended and glared back. "What do you mean? I was just talking."
"Well, talk less! Just eat the stupid ramen, okay!" Daisuke snapped at him, feeling his ears ringing.
Takeru opened his mouth to reply when Yamato put an arm around his shoulders and pulled him closer to himself so he couldn't speak to Daisuke. Looking over the top of Takeru's head, Yamato grinned at his friend. "You don't have to be alone," he said. "You could just talk to that person."
Daisuke felt that damned blush come back, and he shook his head quickly. Yamato's voice was far too perfect after years of voice training, and it suddenly annoyed him. His ears began ringing even louder. He gritted his teeth and got up from the bar. "I need fresh air," he mumbled, and he walked as quickly as he could to the front of the store and burst out into the cool evening, panting loudly.
Crouching on the sidewalk and leaning against the side of his shop, Daisuke began to breathe a little more slowly. He shut his eyes so he wouldn't see all the couples walking past, and he tried not to think.
'Who cares about stupid Valentines Day anyway?' he thought, clenching his hands into fists. 'He doesn't. He doesn't ever do anything for Valentines Day for anyone, so why should I? I shouldn't, that's all. So what if I've never gotten chocolates? Lots of guys probly haven't, right?' He shut his eyes much tighter when he felt the sting of tears beginning to form. "It doesn't matter!"
"What doesn't matter?" a familiar voice asked him from what sounded like about an inch away from his face.
Daisuke jumped and fell onto his ass and let out a little squeak when his bottom hit the pavement. Taichi was standing right in front of him, bending at the waist so their faces were at the same level. His eyes were dark and kind, and Daisuke took a long slow breath, staring into them as if hypnotized.
"Daisuke?" Taichi asked, arching an eyebrow at him. "What doesn't matter?"
Snapping out of it and realizing he was blushing again, Daisuke scowled a little and shook his head. "Nothing. It's nothing."
"Mm," Taichi responded, straightening up so that Daisuke could stand. "I got a phone call from Chibimon."
Daisuke sweat-dropped and gave him an odd look. "Chibimon can't use the phone!"
"Oh, he can, but he can't dial very well. He thought he was calling you. He said it was really important." Taichi grinned a small grin, but it was enough to send a shiver down Daisuke's spine.
"Um... guess I better call him back, huh?" he mumbled, stepping back and bumping into the building. "You wanna come in?"
Taichi nodded and opened the door, nodding towards it.
Daisuke took a deep breath and walked through it, feeling butterflies in his stomach. 'It's not chocolate, and it's not a date, but at least I can see him, right?' He made his way through the crowded restaurant towards his office and let Taichi in, ignoring the strange looks Takeru and Yamato were giving them.
Daisuke closed the door behind them and took another deep breath, sitting down at his desk and grabbing the phone.
"Not bad," Taichi said, looking around the tiny office. He grinned at Daisuke again, and Daisuke squirmed in his seat a little at the look.
"Thanks," he replied, putting the phone to his ear and waiting for it to ring. But it didn't ring. There was only a busy signal.
Daisuke frowned, suddenly a little concerned. "Chibimon called you? What did he say?"
Taichi looked a little uncomfortable for a moment, then shrugged. "Just that it was really important that he talk to you. I couldn't really understand half of it, he was crying, so-"
"He was crying!" Daisuke jumped up and yanked off his apron. "He was crying and the phone is busy?" His mind raced, remembering the times that Chibimon set things on fire by accident (like the toaster and microwave) or the time he got stuck in the seat cushions and couldn't get out and got scared. "I have to go check on him!"
Taichi blinked a few times, then nodded. "I don't think it was that big of a deal."
"Even if it's not, I'll worry," Daisuke replied, blushing a little more. He swallowed hard, hesitating a little. "You just got here, though. Do you... wanna come over? I don't have to come back here tonight, so... we could maybe... hang out a little?" He felt his heart race the same way it always had when he opened up a little to his senpai, the same way he'd felt ever since he was a kid. It was familiar, if not frustrating.
"Sure," Taichi replied.
Daisuke thought there was never a more beautiful word than 'sure.'
When he flung open the door, Daisuke imagined horrible things. Fires, earthquakes, tsunamis that affected only his apartment all came to mind. What had happened to Chibimon? His heart raced and he rushed into the living room with his shoes on.
"Daisuke!" Chibimon said happily, waving his arms from the couch. "Hi!"
Daisuke let his jaw drop. "Chibimon," he said weakly. "You... you're fine."
Chibimon smiled at him. "Yeah!"
Shutting his eyes and taking a long, slow breath to calm himself, Daisuke kicked off his shoes and left them where they were, then walked over to the couch and picked Chibimon up. "What was so important?"
Chibimon frowned and thought for a long moment. "Important?" he asked.
Taichi entered the apartment, slipping his shoes off and glancing around before walking to Daisuke's side. "He's okay, huh?"
Daisuke scowled at Chibimon. "Hey, I was at work! You can't just call people and tell them it's important and make me worry!"
Chibimon pouted and gave Daisuke a guilty look. "I'm sorry, Daisuke! But you said all questions are important, right?"
Taichi grinned widely and patted Chibimon on the head. "Be careful who you call next time, too."
Chibimon's eyes went huge and he flailed his arms. "Wah! You're the chocolates man!"
Daisuke cocked his head at Chibimon in confusion. "Huh?"
"Ah, it's nothing," Taichi said, patting Daisuke on the head now. "Don't worry about it."
Daisuke blushed hard and sulked a bit. "Oh."
Chibimon suddenly grinned widely. "Oh! Oh, Daisuke I remember the important question! What are tamp-ons?"
There was a long pause of silence wherein Daisuke wondered if he was amused or just angry. Then Taichi began to laugh and he felt a grin spread over his face. Soon he was laughing as well, at himself, at Valentines Day, at everything.
"What? Are tamp-ons funny?" Chibimon asked, looking now at Taichi. "What are they?"
Taichi took a deep breath and rested his head on Daisuke's shoulder, as if the laughter had made it difficult for him to stand. "They're uh... band aids for girls. For parts only girls have. Girls don't like talking about them, so don't, okay?"
Chibimon nodded slowly. "Oh. Okay!" He struggled a bit until Daisuke loosened his hold, and Chibimon hopped back down onto the couch. "I want chocolates now!"
Daisuke had already shut his eyes and felt himself going limp. Taichi's head was warm, and he could feel the boy's wild hair brushing against his neck. Once again he felt like he was closer to ten than to twenty.
"Aaah, okay," Taichi said, standing back up. "We'll get chocolates, right Dai?"
Daisuke swallowed hard, his eyes fluttering open at the shortened name. "Sure. Chocolates."
"Yay!" Chibimon cheered. Then he sat back down to finish watching the movie on the television.
Daisuke didn't snap out of the daze he was in until they were outside and the cold air hit his lungs. Then his eyes widened and he felt all the blood rush to his face. 'Dai! Did he call me 'Dai'? Aaaah, Taichi-senpai,' he thought sadly. 'Not fair.'
Taichi walked alongside Daisuke as they went down the street to the corner store. The air was cool and they both had goose bumps on their arms, since both of them refused to dress warmly enough for winter weather. The stars were out, those you could see in the city, and they sparkled teasingly. Daisuke turned up his head and stared at them as he walked, making his steps a little wobbly, but that was okay.
"Whatcha lookin' at?" Taichi asked, looking up as well.
"Stars," Daisuke said, blushing faintly. With anyone else he would have said 'nothing,' but he knew Taichi wouldn't laugh.
"Mm," Taichi replied. "They're all... shiny."
Daisuke grinned widely. "They're sparkly. 'Cause they're happy."
Taichi paused and looked back down to stare at Daisuke. "Happy?"
"Yeah, 'cause they sparkle," Daisuke replied, not thinking about what he was saying. "Everyone sparkles when they're happy."
"How come you're not sparkling, then?" Taichi asked, his tone serious for once.
"I-I am!" Daisuke said, looking back down quickly and forcing a grin. "See?"
Taichi shook his head. "You sparkle when you cook, you sparkle when you play soccer, but you don't sparkle very much the rest of the time."
Daisuke gritted his teeth, feeling immensely stupid. "I do. I sparkle all the time," he said, feeling the words stick to the top of his mouth like peanut butter. He felt stupid suddenly, stupid like he always did when he knew he was doing something dumb but didn't know what it was.
Taichi grinned gently at him, his eyes half-shut. In that light, Daisuke felt like it would be easier than ever to just stand there and stare at his senpai forever. Although he'd been gorgeous in middle school, and even better in high school, and a god in college, he'd only seemed to have gotten more and more perfect as he aged. Now that he was in his late 20s, he was almost too perfect to stand being around. 'After all,' Daisuke thought as he stared at his senpai, 'nobody wants to be around something that perfect without touching it, and hoping it notices them.' He let out a long sigh.
Taichi grinned a little wider. "See? Now you're starting to sparkle again." He poked Daisuke's nose. "What happened? What were you thinking about?"
Daisuke swallowed hard, the expression on his face hardening. "Nothing. Just... spacing out."
Frowning, Taichi poked him again. "Hey, stop it. Stop shutting yourself off. I like you like that, Daisuke. I like you when you're happy."
Daisuke bit his tongue and tried not to say anything. Taichi's rough fingertip brushing his nose was enough to make him want to whimper.
"How can I make you sparkle?" Taichi asked, his voice low and soft.
Taking a deep breath, Daisuke gave Taichi a determined, almost angry look. "This is your fault, okay! You pushed me too far!"
Before Taichi could react, Daisuke and thrown his arms around his senpai's neck and he was on his tip-toes, hugging him tightly. He'd thought of kissing him, but he wasn't brave enough to try that. Instead, he'd buried his face in Taichi's neck and inhaled deeply, knowing that this might be the only and last time he'd get to feel this again.
That is, until he felt Taichi's arms wrap around his waist as well. Feeling himself tremble from nervousness and shock and from standing on his tip-toes for so long, Daisuke froze, unable to make himself move. He didn't know what Taichi was doing, and although he didn't want to hope, he was starting to.
"Is this it?" Taichi asked, breathing on Daisuke's ear as he spoke. "Would this do it?"
Daisuke gritted his teeth hard, and then nodded once, firmly. "Taichi-senpai... is what makes me sparkle." He blushed hard, suddenly realizing that he'd felt stupid for using the word 'sparkle' so much, and that he sounded like a child, and that Taichi could never like a child.
Taichi hugged Daisuke a bit more firmly, then released him enough to lift his chin with a finger and kissed him gently, and all of Daisuke's thoughts were stopped.
When their lips parted and Daisuke loosed his hold on Taichi and went back to standing normally, he felt a huge, stupid grin grow across his face. He couldn't hold it back, no matter how hard he tried, no matter how silly he knew he looked. But he didn't care, because Taichi was doing the exact same thing.
"We need to get chocolates for Chibimon," Taichi said. "I promised him, when he told me why you were sad."
Daisuke's eyes widened, the grin not fading one bit. "What did he say?"
"That you were sad because I never gave you chocolates." Taichi's eyes glittered mischievously in the street light. "You should have told me. I would have given you chocolates a long time ago."
Not caring that he was blushing, Daisuke licked his lips, still grinning. "Okay. Will you get me chocolates today, Taichi-senpai?"
Taichi chuckled that low, rough chuckle of his, and nodded. "Sure."
When they entered the corner store, Taichi took Daisuke's hand, and Daisuke felt dizzy. 'Valentines Day is wonderful,' he thought. 'Valentines Day is the best day ever. Sure is the best word ever, and Taichi-senpai is the best person ever.' He heard himself giggle a little, and he didn't care, because his own thoughts were far too funny for him not to laugh.
Taichi stopped after they'd walked around the entire store once, then he sighed. "Uh, Daisuke? I don't think I can get you chocolates after all."
Daisuke froze, his whole body stiffened. He yanked his hand from Taichi's grip and spun to face him, glaring, tears already building in his eyes. "You can't say that now! You can't say that, it's not fair! I've liked you since I was like five, you know that! I've liked you that long, and nobody else! I only went to college 'cause of you! And I only started my restaurant 'cause of you! I even NAMED it after you! You can't take it back now! You just can't-" he hiccupped, interrupting his own tirade, and then realized what he'd said. He shut his eyes tightly so that he couldn't see the shocked expression on Taichi's face.
"Daisuke... I didn't know that. I shoulda', though. Sorry," Taichi said, reaching out and placing a hand on Daisuke's shoulder. "But that's not what I meant."
Daisuke looked up again, rubbing a fisted hand over his eyes to wipe away the wet. "What did you mean, then?"
Taichi grinned at him affectionately. "It's Valentines Day. They're out of chocolates."
Daisuke blinked once, twice, three times, then grinned slowly, feeling silly. "Chibimon is gonna be mad."
"Yeah," Taichi replied. "But we'll get him chocolates tomorrow when they restock. We'll get him the fanciest kind, with the fillings and stuff. Even if it's a day late, will that be okay?"
Daisuke felt his knees go weak. "Yeah. That'll be okay," he said, trembling again.
"Since we can't get him chocolate, maybe I should stay over and cheer him up," Taichi said, smirking just a little. "Would he like that, too?"
The blush that crossed over Daisuke's face was one he was certain wasn't going to be gone for at least a few days. "Yeah. He'd like that, too."
