Came out with this one fast! It's shorter than the last one, but things are continuing to build up for our two blonde protagonists. Thank you everyone for reviewing this story, and I hope I don't disappoint you with this pairing. I want to make it seem real and get a lot of fans, so hopefully I'm doing it right! I just updated 'His Greatest Hits' as well, which is, well, a much sadder story than this. I hope you all like this chapter, and please review to let me know how I'm doing!
Takeru hadn't seen much of anybody for the remainder of the week, mostly due to finishing up all of the loose ends of
his spring semester from his freshman year of high school. He had one final left and he felt he did pretty well on it, though there could always be room for improvement. The weekend crept up on him, and aside from a few texts from Yamato, Hikari, and Daisuke, he had been pretty out of the loop regarding their trip to the Digital World. But that didn't make him any less excited at the prospect of seeing Patamon again.
Saturday morning couldn't have arrived fast enough for him, and he woke up fairly early in order to get dressed, get a good lunch packed and head to the store to buy some provisions for everyone. Sora had sent out a chain text urging everyone to bring at least one item of food for everyone else so that they could have a 'picnic' of sorts with their Digimon.
He headed to the market down the street from his place that Miyako's family owned and bought several bags of chips (different flavors for different tastes) and decided that that would be enough for his contributions. They were to meet at Koushiro's house where everyone would go into the DigiPort together. That prospect made him a little nervous.
He had been thinking about Wallace way more than he should have over the past few days, and couldn't help but get goosebumps when he recalled the American's subtle touches throughout their dinner. He was confusing the shit out of himself, needless to say, and he knew Wallace would be at Koushiro's because that's where he was staying. Takeru hoped he wasn't the first person to arrive, but then again he could always converse with his nerdy pal from adventures past if he didn't want Wallace's attention.
With his pack and bags of chips in tow, Takeru headed up the elevator of Koushiro's apartment building and walked down the hallway to the place he had been countless times before entering the Digital World. He rang the doorbell and Mrs. Izumi answered with her pleasant, motherly smile. "Good morning, Takeru. How have you been?"
"Great, Mrs. Izumi, how are you and your husband?" he returned politely.
"We're fine, just getting Koushiro ready for his senior year, and then it's off to university for him! It's good to see you again, dear. I'm almost done with the brownies for your little picnic today. Koushiro and Wallace are up in his room, if you would like to head that way."
Takeru nodded and headed towards Koushiro's bedroom. His parents were always two of the nicest people he had ever met, and he considered Koushiro extremely lucky to have such caring people. He remembered how extremely supportive they were of all of the DigiDestined's activities during the initial battle with Myotismon and the Dark Masters. He was pulled from his thoughts when he happened upon the bedroom, the door wide open.
"Hey, Koushiro," Takeru greeted, looking into the bedroom to see his friend typing away maniacally at his laptop. Wallace was sitting on Koushiro's bed, reading a book. It was in English, so he assumed he had brought it from home. "Hey, Wallace."
"Heya Takeru," the American replied, giving him his signature smirk. "You're the first one here…about ten minutes early. Guess you were just too excited to see us, huh?"
Takeru rolled his eyes and grinned. "If by 'us', you were referring to the Digimon, then yeah, absolutely." He walked into the room and noticed Koushiro hadn't taken his eyes off of the computer. "You okay there, Koushiro? I brought enough chips to feed a Monochromon."
Wallace laughed at the joke, and Koushiro nodded, turning to view Takeru. "Hello, Takeru, sorry. I've been caught up in this program. I'm trying to find a decent location in the Digital World for our visit, and to ensure that all of our respective Digimon are going to be present when we arrive. Getting Terriermon and Lopmon was a particular task, since they weren't really near any of the others, but I'm thinking that everything's going to work out." He turned back to his computer and continued typing. "We have to wait for everyone else, so just go ahead and have a seat on my bed until I finish up here."
Takeru looked over to the bed, where Wallace grinned and patted the area next to where he was sitting, indicating for Takeru to come and sit down. Takeru once again lamented that this kid was pretty weird, but he set down his belongings and obliged. "Your mom's brownies smell delicious, by the way."
"I know! She's been cooking all week, and let me tell ya, enjoying Japanese cuisine in a home-cooked fashion is the way to go. I'll have to introduce you guys to some neat American dishes one day," Wallace contributed, setting his book down.
"What're you reading?" Takeru asked, eyeing the book.
"It's called 'Catcher in the Rye'. It's a classic American literature piece, and it's a great story. A lot of people my age think it's boring, but it's definitely one of my favorite books," he answered, picking the book up. "I can let you borrow it when I'm finished if you ever want to give it a shot."
Takeru laughed. "Thanks, Wallace, but I want to spend my summer doing things that I'm not required to do during the semester. My brain needs time to have fun, and I'm taking it easy this summer. Hopefully we can go to the DigiWorld more often than once."
"Suit yourself," Wallace shrugged, tossing the book to his side. "Hey, Takeru. I forgot to ask…how long have you and Hikari been dating?"
Takeru almost choked at the question, and even Koushiro turned away from his activity to raise a questioning eyebrow. "What? What gave you the idea that we're dating?"
"Well, you're always together, and you both clearly have feelings for one another, so I was just making an obvious assumption." He smiled and nudged Takeru on the shoulder with one of his fists. "I guess I guessed incorrectly, huh? Are you two just keeping it under wraps so Daisuke doesn't blow a gasket?"
Takeru suddenly wanted to hit this kid. "Uhh, no. Hikari and I are best friends, sure, but we're not romantically interested in each other. And believe me, Daisuke is just paranoid. He thinks Hikari hung the freaking moon. If he wants to date her, I'm not what's preventing that from happening. In fact, I would be ecstatic if that ever happens, cause then he'll get off of my case." Then Takeru thought of something. "Wait, do you have a thing for her?"
Wallace had the slightest blush on his face, but any hint of discomfort he had faded in an instant and was replaced by his overconfident smirk. "She's cute, sure, but she's way too nice for a guy like me. I guess you could say she's not really my type."
"The way you flirt with her could say otherwise," Takeru countered, wearing a smirk of his own.
Wallace arched an eyebrow. He seemed interested in the conversation now, and Koushiro was trying his best to keep his attention focused on whatever it was that he was doing. "That's just how I communicate with girls. They appreciate the special attention, and I appreciate their responses. It's harmless. Well, in most cases. It's how I talked to Mimi, and of course Miyako, though now that I've learned that she's taken I should probably back off of that. And then there's Sora, but I'm kind of afraid of what your buddy Taichi will do to me if I keep that up."
"Must be an American thing," Takeru sighed. "So, then, Wallace, what exactly is your type?"
Wallace seemed to ponder the question for a minute. "Haha, you wouldn't believe me if I told you, Takeru. It's not like it matters. I'm here to make friends, not go after girls."
Takeru was sort of intrigued by that answer, but decided he would rather not pursue it further. He was afraid of where it might lead to. "That's a good plan. Made any friends yet?"
"Well, there's Koushiro. But we were sort of already friends before this summer. I've been keeping in good touch with Hikari in the years since we've met too, and then of course Mimi. But other than that, not really. Unless you count me 'sort of' meeting you, Daisuke, Iori and Miyako all of those years ago."
"Maybe Daisuke, you two seemed to be pretty good friends after that stint in America we had," Takeru lamented, looking up to Koushiro's ceiling.
Wallace knit his eyebrows. "Is that your way of saying that you and I aren't friends, Takeru?"
Takeru flinched; there was something about the way Wallace said his name. "I mean, we've talked more today than probably the entire time I was in America with you, and we haven't spoken since then aside from dinner. But we're DigiDestined, so I guess I wouldn't be against becoming your friend." Takeru thought that sounded weird. "…if you want?"
"Never thought of it that way," Wallace pondered. "But yeah, I guess that sounds like something that would be cool. You can never have too many friends. Let's make it official."
"Make what official?" Takeru asked, honestly confused. How does one make a friendship 'official'?
"Our friendship. We have to seal the deal with a handshake or fist-bump or something like that," he offered. He raised his fist and held it in front of him, his knuckles out.
Takeru raised an eyebrow. "Weird American things again. I'll bite." He did the same thing as Wallace and connected fists with him.
Wallace smiled. "Yup, we're friends now. Get used to it, buddy."
"It might take some getting used to," Takeru admitted, smiling. Where the hell was everyone else?
Just as if someone were answering his prayers, he heard the door in the other room open and several people walking into Koushiro's house. A few seconds later, Hikari, Taichi, Sora, and Mimi were all flooding into Koushiro's room, all with bags of goodies of their own.
"Mom wanted to make some broccoli fudge cake, but I told her Mimi was on a diet, so instead we just bought some chocolate chip cookies from the store," Taichi smiled.
"Did he just say 'broccoli fudge cake'?" Wallace asked.
"Taichi and Hikari's mom…well, maybe we'll just let you figure that one out for yourself, bud," Takeru said, smiling. "Hey, Hikari."
"Hey Takeru, Wallace," she smiled. "I also brought a bunch of juice and candy for the Digimon. I know how they love their sweets."
"Mimi and I spent all morning making lots of sandwiches, peanut butter and jelly and ham and cheese," Sora explained, holding up an old-fashioned picnic basket.
"And I didn't even chip a nail," Mimi added, looking fabulous as always. "How are you doing, Takeru?"
"Oh just fine," Takeru said, although he was unsure if he was actually doing fine or not. "Maybe a little out of it, but I'm excited to see Patamon!"
"Mhm, I can't wait to see the look on Palmon's face when she sees me!" Mimi responded, drifting off into dreamland. "What are you up to, Koushiro?" She moseyed over to his computer and began to talk to him, pretending as if he weren't trying to concentrate on whatever it was he was trying to do.
A few moments later, and Iori, Ken, and Miyako were at the door. "Hey everyone, sorry I missed dinner the other night."
"It's okay, Iori, good to see ya pal! You've gotten taller since the last time I saw ya," Wallace commented, sitting up from his position on the bed.
"Yeah, I've been getting taller the past few months. Grandpa says it's the prune juice, but I'm thinking it's just puberty."
Everyone shared a good laugh at that, and Miyako busted through the door, hyped up even by her standards. "Are we going to the Digital World or are we just gonna stay in here like cramped up sardines?" She had four full bags of things from the convenience store.
"Calm down, Miyako, there are still a few of us not here," Ken replied, in his normal cool tone. Sometimes it was difficult for Takeru to remember that he was the Digimon Kaiser.
"We're here now," came a cool voice. Takeru immediately lightened up and was surprised to see when his older brother came walking through the door, followed closely by Jyou, who had his first aid bag around his shoulder. Good ole Jyou.
"Yama!" Takeru called, smiling. "I'm glad you could make it!"
Mimi all but squealed and ran over to him, giving him an enormous hug. "Oh, Yamato, you're even prettier than I remember!"
"Girls are pretty, Mimi," Yamato sighed, but returned her hug anyway. "Good to see you too. And you, too, Takeru. I wouldn't miss this opportunity for the world. I haven't seen Gabumon in forever."
Takeru was elated at this point- seeing Patamon and his brother all at once was a dream come true for him. He knew this was going to be a good summer. He then noticed Wallace all but gawking at his older brother. "Take a picture, it'll last longer," he muttered, quiet enough that only Wallace could hear him.
"Wha…I mean, I just didn't know that that's what your brother looked like. He's like, a rock star, or something," Wallace said, a faint blush on his face.
"Well, he's trying to be," Takeru smiled. "So, that's your type, huh?" He was now making Wallace feel uncomfortable, which was kind of fun.
"As if," Wallace smirked, his cool demeanor returning instantly after his second of vulnerability. "He seems like a pretty cool dude. I guess it just runs in the family."
Takeru was once again caught off guard by the sly American. "Um…thanks."
"Can we go yet…everyone who matters is here!" Miyako called, triumphantly.
"I'm actually finished up with the coordinates," Koushiro added, "so yes, we can go."
"Wait!" Iori called, ever the caring one. "Daisuke isn't here yet!"
"I said everyone who matters," Miyako repeated dejectedly, crossing her arms in impatience. "I just want to eat and see Hawkmon! Daisuke's gonna be late to his own funeral."
"I heard that!" the familiar obnoxious voice called, as he bolted in through the door. "And I'm here…I brought enough jellybeans to last a whole month!"
Koushiro rolled his eyes. "Alright, then if we're ready…DigiPort open!"
The computer glowed as a bright light shot out and engulfed all thirteen of them in the bedroom, which was pretty much filled to capacity. They were all absorbed into the computer, and as they passed through the Digital Gate, Takeru could have sworn someone grabbed his hand.
