A/N: Inspired by my first two experiences of driving in slippery snow conditions...not fun (aka, I was freaking out, haha). Something tells me that I still don't know what to do when the anti-lock brakes come on, but I wrote of what I know! Haha. Hope you like it.
The rumble of the anti-lock breaks was enough to make his hands grip tighter on the wheel and a tremor shake his entire body.
What the hell!? Brake! Brake! Koushirou's thoughts scrambled as he pressed harder and harder on the pedal. Yet the rumbling sound simply continued, and his car began to slide on the snow with no sign of stopping. Frantically, he put his car in park, threw up the emergency break, and prayed it would work.
Luckily, it did.
"Thank god," he breathed as he sat back in his seat. He exhaled slowly as he looked around. No cars in sight. He had taken some back roads because everyone on the main ones was simply crawling, and he was way too impatient for that – especially since he was going to Taichi's house.
But now that he thought about it, it probably would've been a lot safer since they wouldn't be coated with snow anymore, plus he wouldn't be tempted to drive too fast.
Well, it was a little late for that.
Okay, Koushirou, you can do this, he encouraged himself, placing his foot back on the brake and switching into drive. The car creaked forward and he made sure he was driving no more than 15 miles an hour, flicking on the windshield wipers every so often since it was only a light snow. But there was so much ice on the ground, and that's what made it dangerous.
He didn't know why he hadn't just asked his mom to take him. Then again, he didn't realize how bad the roads really were. Well, as long as I don't do anything to the car – or myself – it'll be okay. He nodded in confidence, that is, until the anti-lock breaks started up again.
He immediately switched into park and huffed in frustration before he decided to just pick up his cell phone and tell Taichi that he was going to be late. He'd understand. Besides, he wasn't in any particular rush...
Okay, that was a lie, but both of them knew what was going to happen once he got there anyway that it would be no big surprise. It was just the anticipation that had dragged on for so long that made it so maddening.
He dialed Taichi's number and held the phone to his ear, glancing into his rearview mirror to make sure he wasn't holding up anyone. The road was still deserted, his tire tracks the only ones that had disturbed the light blanket of snow.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Taichi-san, it's Koushirou."
"Let me guess: You're stuck on the road."
"You would be correct." Koushirou sighed. "I keep slipping."
A pause of surprise. "Wait...you're driving!?"
"Yeah..."
"Wow."
"What? I've had my license for awhile."
"I know," Taichi responded, still incredulous. "I'm just shocked your mom let you drive in these conditions."
Koushirou chuckled. "She and I both didn't realize how bad they really were. I would've asked her to drive me if I did."
"Well, where are you exactly?"
"In an alley a few blocks from the school." He glanced up at the street sign to confirm.
"Alright, well, then you shouldn't be too long. Just drive really slowly. I'll warm up this seat for you on the couch." Koushirou could imagine him winking on the other side of the line.
He couldn't help but smile. He could imagine Taichi: Hanging out in a t-shirt and jeans, his hair a mess, the smell of popcorn coming from the kitchen as he picked out a movie, his natural sunny grin plastered on his face...
"Actually...could you stay on the line? I...need some reassurance."
"What? Err, isn't it less safe to be talking on the phone while you're driving?"
"I'll put it on speakerphone." Koushirou held in the button and waited for the mode to change, then he set it down in the cup holder next to him.
"Well, alright," came Taichi's voice. "Are you parked right now, or are you driving?"
"I'm parked," replied Koushirou, shifting back into drive. "But I'm starting to drive now."
"Okay, where are you going?"
"I'm just going to go to a main road. I'm not taking anymore chances with these back ones."
"Okay."
There was a bit of silence as Koushirou crept his way down the rest of the street, awaiting the main one at the end. He could hear Taichi shifting in the background; he wondered what he was doing. He was nervous, probably; trying to calm his jitters. Koushirou noticed that he was just as jumpy, for his left leg was shaking impatiently. He sighed as he tried to creak his way to a stop, but there went the brakes again!
"Koushirou, I can hear your brakes, what the hell are you doing?"
"How do I stop them!?" He kept pressing harder and harder on the brake, but nothing!
"Um...Koushirou, trying letting your foot off the pedal and then brake again."
He did so, and finally, he came to a normal stop.
He blinked a few times. "Oh...thanks."
Taichi burst out laughing. "Wow... Common sense, Koushirou! You would think that someone like you would've figured that out..."
Koushirou's cold cheeks flushed redder in embarrassment. "Well...this is my first time driving in these conditions..."
"I know, I know, I'm just teasing you." He calmed down. "Well, now you know what to do, so it's all good."
"Y-yeah..." Koushirou couldn't help but laugh a little.
"Please don't give me a heart attack." His voice was sweet and comforting.
Koushirou blushed again. "I-I try not to..." He trailed off. How he wished he could be with Taichi at that moment. He hated making him worry.
That had been what had started it all anyway. It had been a bit difficult to hide his budding feelings for his best friend, and he had started to become much meeker and quieter around him, making Taichi extremely concerned. Then again, the other Chosen Children had been just as worried. The girls had a little "intervention," so to speak, with him and had forced him to admit that he was just nervous around Taichi because he liked him.
So of course, what do they do? They tell Taichi.
The surprise? He was so worried about Koushirou because he returned the feelings.
Their problem? They were both too shy to take the initiative to officially get together.
But they had finally decided to buck up and make it official. And that's what that night was supposed to be all about. They were just going to hang out, watch a movie, and just...agree to be a couple.
They hadn't come out and said it; it was just understood, more or less.
It was kind of awkward when they both knew that the other shared the feelings. Where was the element of surprise?
Koushirou looked to the left. There was a steady stream of cars coming down the road with no possible opening for him. He sighed heavily as he simply watched, hoping one or two of the cars would turn into another street.
"I'm stuck at an intersection," he announced to Taichi.
"Stuck as in you can't move, or stuck as in there's traffic?"
"The latter."
"That sucks."
"Yeah. What are you doing?"
"I told you, I'm warming up your seat for you. Should..." His voice got quieter. "Should I be doing anything else?"
"No," Koushirou replied, his eyes fixed on the everlasting row of headlights. "Nothing in particular."
There was a pause. "I have an idea."
"Hmm?"
"How would you like some hot chocolate?"
A smile brimmed over. "That sounds really good right now."
He could imagine Taichi smiling. "Marshmallows?"
"Excellent."
"If only we had a fireplace...that would make it perfect."
"Yes, well, I think a nice blanket and a good movie will suffice." There seemed to be a temporary break in the line of traffic up ahead.
"Speaking of that movie, what exactly would you like to watch?"
"It doesn't matter." Koushirou readied himself to steer onto the road.
"Hmmm...in that case, should I just look in Hikari and Mom's collection of chick flicks?"
"Yeah, okay," Koushirou humored him as he finally rolled into a slot. "Maybe we can watch something with the beach as its setting, just so we can imagine that we're there."
Taichi laughed. "I hope you're joking."
"Of course I'm joking. But the beach still sounds nice."
"Yeah, you're telling me." A pause. "It looks like it's getting really bad out there."
"It is." The windshield wipers were oscillating regularly.
Cue a Taichi grin. "Maybe you'll get snowed in here..."
Koushirou's stomach somersaulted at the thought. "I don't think our parents would mind..." Thank goodness they didn't know about their sons' love lives.
"Yes, yes, I think they would quite open to it. Excellent," Taichi agreed with a devious voice.
They both laughed a little, but then it died away. It was so strange; they both knew that they were referring to their feelings, yet neither of them could come right out and say it. They didn't know why, it just seemed...strange. Awkward, in a way. Neither of them wanted to be the first one to acknowledge it. It was as though they were waiting...waiting for the other one to do it. So of course, no wonder it never got anywhere.
And neither really knew who was going to do it that night.
Koushirou was stopped at a light when Taichi spoke again. "My mom got this new mint hot chocolate. Do you want that, or do you want the regular kind?"
"I'll stick with regular," Koushirou answered. "I'm not crazy about mint."
"Oh, okay. I'll have to keep that in mind for the future." Koushirou could hear a cabinet door close.
The light turned green and Koushirou pressed on again. Being on the main road was much better; he hadn't slipped at all. Everyone was going under 20, but it was okay, for Taichi's apartment was only 5 minutes away from where he was.
Suddenly, the car in front of him stopped. Koushirou frowned, thinking that maybe a car in front of it had simply turned into another street, but as the seconds ticked by, he realized that it had to be more than that. A car horn honked somewhere. A minute went by. He heard Taichi press the microwave buttons. Then another minute. And then of course – the police sirens.
And that's when he realized that he was stuck behind an accident.
He groaned as he sunk back into his seat, putting his car in park because he knew he was going to be there for awhile.
"Hey, what's wrong? Are you slipping again?" Taichi asked, hearing his disillusionment.
"I'm stuck behind an accident," Koushirou lamented gloomily.
"Oh...oh, man." There was some silence. "How long do you think you'll be?"
"I have no idea." He turned around as he watched a police car stop on the street adjacent to the main one a few feet behind him. "I'd guess a half an hour, at the least."
"You might as well walk here," Taichi said.
"Yeah, let's leave my car in the middle of the street. Great idea." Koushirou raised an eyebrow at the phone.
"I was kidding, jeez."
"Duh."
Taichi sighed. "You can be cold, Koushirou."
"Pardon me, there happens to be a snowstorm outside," Koushirou retorted.
"Whoa, what's with the sudden attitude?"
Koushirou paused before he exhaled. "Sorry, it's just..." He brought up the courage to say it, although quietly. "I was really looking forward to tonight."
Silence on Taichi's end as well. "Yeah...me, too."
They sat in silence as an officer walked past Koushirou's window, probably to check out the damage of the accident up ahead. Koushirou was tempted to walk outside and see for himself, but he really didn't feel like leaving his warm haven; besides, the snow was really starting to get bad. He just prayed that it wouldn't accumulate around his car and make him stuck there.
"Oh, great," he heard Taichi say.
"What?"
"The power just went out."
"Oh...so much for a movie."
"Yeah."
The minutes passed. Neither of them said anything more. Koushirou had opened his mouth several times, but then closed it again. What would he say? He could wait until he got to Taichi's... It would be okay.
"Koushirou?" Taichi's voice whispered over the phone.
He jumped a little in surprise. "Y-yeah?"
"I...I really, really like you, you know."
Koushirou's heart jumped into his throat and he was shaking all over. So. Taichi had decided to say it first. He had wanted that. Taichi was the natural-born leader, and besides, he didn't think it was a hindrance to follow in his majesty. He was kind of disappointed that it didn't happen in the romantic atmosphere they were going for, but that was alright. There were the words he had longed to hear.
"I know."
He could hear Taichi's nervous breathing. "Y-yeah...I figured..."
"And..." Koushirou swallowed. "I...really like you, too."
"I know."
So they had finally stated the truth. No more beating around the bush. There it was, out in the open. Now all they had to do was act on it.
"I...I want to be with you, Koushirou."
"And I with you."
"W-will you?"
"Of course I will, Taichi-san," Koushirou replied, almost on the brink of tears, filled with surreal happiness. "You know I will."
"Yeah," Taichi breathed, his voice caught in his throat. "S-so...so I can't wait until you're here so I can actually kiss you..." Koushirou shivered in anticipation at the thought. "I mean...you'll get here, right?" He had never heard him sound so worried.
"Taichi-san...I'm not..." He started to laugh. "I'm not going to die out here."
"Well...I just wanted to make sure...that in case anything happened...you would know how I felt...and I would be able to hear how you felt..."
"It's not me in the accident..." Oh, Taichi-san. "I-I'm fine, Taichi-san. I'll be fine. You don't need to worry about me."
"How couldn't I?" He could hear Taichi exhale heavily. "Koushi...you're my everything."
Koushirou held his breath, astounded. "Taichi-san..." He couldn't talk. How could he? It was too much. "And you...you're..."
The car in front of him began to move. Koushirou jumped to life, switching his car into drive and starting to advance forward. The accident had been cleared away and it was smooth sailing to Taichi's. "I'm moving again!"
"Huh?" The mood had been broken. "Oh! Great! See you in a few!"
It wasn't long before Koushirou finally pulled into a parking space in front of Taichi's apartment complex.
"I'm here," he announced.
"Okay."
"I'll turn off the phone now-"
"Wait!"
Koushirou paused. "What is it?"
"Can you...can you finish what you were saying before? I...I want to hear it."
Koushirou broke into a meditative smile as he quietly stated, "You're my everything, too, Taichi-san."
All he heard was a gentle "mmm" of acknowledgement before he hung up the phone, climbed the stairs up to Taichi's floor, and knocked on the door.
There Taichi was, opening the door and looking just as Koushirou imagined him.
And they fell into each others arms.
The power was out, the hot chocolate was cold, and a blizzard was rampant outside.
But Koushirou had his Taichi-san, and Taichi had his Koushi.
And that was enough.