Title: Mirai no Namida: Promises Broken

Authors: Lucia (miathewarrior@h...) and Jonathan

(jonath@a...)

Rating: PG-13 for mild lime, same warnings as prologue apply.

"I'll make you wanna stay with me

Befriended by the enemy

One more time

And every little thing about this tells me

Nothing out there is ever gonna help me

All these words that I hear spoken

Just promises broken."

-Promises Broken, Soul Asylum

So we find ourselves in the middle of nowhere, camping out- in a cabin,

anyway. Koushiro-kun's fiddling with getting his laptop set up, and I wish I

could help, only too many cooks tend to spoil the broth. He said something

about making a living off designing webpages and transferring money to his

account...blah blah blah. Personally, I've never paid much attention to

financial matters. They bore me.

I feel a stab of lonliness and wish Wormmon was here.

I've heard quite a few stories from Mimi about how anti-social Koushiro can

be. For that matter, I've heard quite a few stories from Mimi

about...everything. (Primarily shopping with Miyako.) He's gotten better

since when he was ten, but apparently, he's still not the most social person

to be around. Usually I wouldn't mind. Senseless chatter, like Miyako's,

annoys me. A throwback to the Kaizer days, I suppose. And I'm just the dark

silent type, I guess. But right now, I'm really messed up. I miss my

friends, which a few years ago was inconceivable. Koushiro's the only one

still around, and I think he understands me to a certain extent, but it

doesn't do me the slightest lick of good if he won't talk to me.

Suprisingly, his voice breaks into the silence. "Hey. Uh....that's a nice

shirt you have on."

I blush. Could he not think of anything else to say, or did he say that

because he really likes it? It could just be his floundering attempt to make

conversation, although either way, the attempt is sweet.

There I am, fiddling around with the computer. Yeah, right! Like I didn't

already have it all set up. I'm just doing this to avoid looking at Ken. But

the silence is getting unnerving. "Hey. Uh....that's a nice shirt you have

on." Mentally, I smack myself, for saying such a stupid thing, but then,

I've never been good with people. Not that I don't like the shirt, I've

always liked blue on him.

He blushes at my comment, the blue of his shirt offsetting the red

perfectly.

"Tha-thanks, I guess," he says, his voice grown softer from his time as the

Digimon Emperor. I always liked his voice, but this is more like... music.

"Th-thanks, I guess," I stammer, not sure how to reply. Someone should write

a book: Conversation for Dummies (and Nerds). I think we could both use it.

Maybe there already is a book like that. Goodness knows people write

everything imaginable, and it's not like there's be any shortage of demand,

either.

I finger my shirt, still blushing. "Do...you really like it? I picked it out

myself, and my fashion sense isn't the greatest...I usually just wear

uniform greys or something non-descript."

I pause for a moment, trying to think of something else to say.

As he fingers his shirt, I move my eyes to his face. "Yeah, I... I do like

it. Blue's a good colour for you." Oh, no! That sounded almost... will he

think I'm coming on to him? Not that I'd mind doing that, but... if he

doesn't like me that way...

*Is he coming on to me? In his own way?* I wonder, and get my answer as he

leans in and touches his lips to mine.

Color leaps to my cheeks again, and I wish I had a darker complexion like

Taichi's, since he seems to cause me to blush an awful lot. That

felt...really good. And it wasn't even a proper kiss, just a brushing of our

lips.

Also, even though I know we're all gay, it's rather strange to actually be

confronted with that fact.

His lips part from mine after too short a time, and he starts stammering an

apology. I grin mentally, but not pysically, since I don't want to offend

him. He sounds like he really needs that book about now. I lean forward, and

he leans backward. I don't think he's too sure of my intent (which is to

kiss him again.) I lean further forward, and he leans even further away from

me. The end result is...I end up sprawled overtop of him. I seize the

opportunity and kiss him again.

I kissed him! What was I thinking? He's leaning into me, oh, no, he - he -

he -

He's sprawled on top of me and kissing me back.

Okay, now that was unexpected. Not that I mind. I start kissing him back...

he feels really nice on top of me like that...

Oh no, he's stopping? Why is he stopping?

"Wow," I say, saying exactly what's on my mind. When I was younger, I

thought I was straight for awhile- I was in major denial. I finally had to

quit hiding from myself when Mimi had innocently made some comment about the

digidestined group's sexuality. That had shocked me, for sure. Their

reassurance helped, especially Daisuke's- I always respected and admired him

for his courage. (Although contrary to popular belief, I have never been

interested in him romantically.)

The thing that always amazed me was the time he was willing to give himself

up to save his friends...not just Hikari, but all of them. Even Miyako, who

was being somewhat selfish at the time.

Anyway, the last thing I would have expected back then was that my first

kiss would come from a guy- and a computer nerd at that. But a cute one.

As we pull apart, I look up into his oh, so beautiful eyes, and I begin to

wonder what I ever did to deserve this beautiful young man. "Ken, I... we

need to talk." He sits up, and moves off of me - oh, why does that have to

feel so bad? - and we face each other, both of us blushing.

I laugh, nervously. *Talk? Arg, I thought I had established that I

_couldn't_ do that!* "You first," I say, at the same time he says, "Go

ahead." This always happens in the movies and in books. It is rather funny,

I decide, and chuckle a little. I hold out my hand in Jan-ken-pon position,

and he imitates me. "Jan-ken-pon!" we both yell, and he comes up with paper,

while I choose rock. "OK, you first," I say."I-" we begin, at the same

time.

*Oh, great, of course, I need to go first!* "Umm... Well, I'd say that I'm

sorry for kissing you, but I think we've established that you don't mind..."

I grin. "Your turn."

I facefault. "That's what you wanted to talk about?" I sigh and run my hands

through my hair. "OK- we've established that you like me, and I like you." I

pause for a moment. "I definitely like you, especially if that kiss was any

indication. So- does this make us an official couple?"

"Are you asking me out?" he teased.

"Probably," I agreed. "Unless you wanted to ask me out. It'll work either

way for me." I grinned at him.

"But what I really wanted to ask is if you have any basic relationship

guidelines. My big thing is no fancy restaurants. I've gotten enough of

being pristine and perfect from when I was younger."

I blink. "Huh... That makes sense, I guess... my big thing? we need to hold

hands in public. I don't need it right away... but it's something that I've

always missed, I guess... I see a couple walking down the street, and I

can't help but think that there's something big that I'm missing out on."

I grin and wink slyly at him. "OK, I can handle that. So...sex on the first

night is still a go?"

I take the shot, and give as good as I get. "Sure, I think I've got some KY

in my bag... You got any condoms?"

I blink innocently. "No, we'll have to go shopping." I can't really tell if

he's serious. He's not really the joking type, but he could be playing

along. I wonder if he's actually bought this stuff before, and decide I

could probably find out. "You go buy the condoms, and I'll fetch some milk

for breakfast while we're there."

Okay, time to end this game - I think he's joking, at least. "Umm... well, I

was just joking. I don't think I'm ready for that kind of stuff right now. I

mean... well, I know we're gonna be living together and all, but I don't

think we should start that quite yet." With his grin, I can tell that he was

joking, too.

"What, buying milk? Milk's essential for a good diet." I give him a look,

and he breaks out laughing, something I haven't heard him do in a long time.

I grin at him. "Believe it or not, that was my first kiss. Even I'd have to

agree that too much more would be moving too fast." I mentally snicker. "The

milk might curdle."

He grins back. "Okay, no sex for now, but I do agree with your other point,

we do need some food... Whaddaya say we go shopping?"

"OK! You drive!" I grin, tossing him the keys.

"Aw, man," he complains. "Fine."

I charge outside of our isolated little "cabin in the woods", which is like

something out of a fairy tale. I skid to a stop a bit to late, smacking into

the car and giggling. Wow, being in love has me acting like...Daisuke. I

pause for a minute. Wait- when did this turn from lust into love? I shrug,

deciding it doesn't matter. As Mama always said, it doesn't really matter

why you're happy if you are, and you're often better off not questioning it.

"What do you say after we get the groceries in the fridge, we go to a

movie?" I asked. Notice- go "to" a movie, not go "see" a movie.

He laughs. "Ken-chan, we can make out here, you know."

I grin. "Yeah, but the temptation to jump you might be too great."

I laugh again, not at him, but just out of pure joy. "Sure, Ken-chan, that

sounds... that sounds really nice."

I never thought a mundane task could be so much fun. We're laughing and

making jokes about milk, still, and cheerfully debating what movie to see.

While the general atmosphere when we left the digidestined was that of a

huge thunderstorm waiting to break, I feel so cheerful and happy now. I

can't remember ever being this happy, except maybe when I found out that

Wormmon was still alive in his incarnation as Leafmon.

Just on an impulse, I grab him from behind, wrapping my arms around his

waist and burying my face between his shoulderblades. He's so tall I have

trouble imagining him as the ten-year-old "Midget boy" that supposedly first

entered the digital world.

He shifts around so he's facing me. "What was that for?"

"Just because," I reply. He chuckles.

"OK, but let's finish the shopping and then we have a movie theatre to

cuddle.

I detach with some reluctance, but then he puts his arm around my shoulder

and draws me close, and I'm in heaven, or maybe someplace even better.

Okay, I'm in heaven. Here we are, making jokes about milk, trying to decide

what movie to go watch, with my arm around the guy of my dreams.

"What about this one?" Ken-chan says, pointing to a poster for some new

Sentai-based movie.

"Gingaman vs. GoGo V?" I say, grinning teasingly. "I didn't know you were a

sentai fan."

I snicker. "I'm _not_. That's the point. I really got enough of the good vs.

evil action stuff in my real _life_."

I nod in understanding. "I suppose. Alright, we'll go see that one!" I grab

his arm and pull him into the lineup, taking my wallet out at the same time.

He goes to reach for his, but I swiftly grab his arm. "Nuh uh, my treat."

I blush. Seems like I'm doing a lot of that lately. It better not get to be

a habit. "All right." I have to admit, it's rather nice to feel protected,

especially with his arm around me that way. I guess it comes from always

having to try to be the best, trying to be someone I'm not. It's nice to

feel like I have no worries and that there's someone going to look after me.

"Hey, we're here for each other, right? We'll take care of each other." He

grins. "Besides, you can pay for the next one."

I grin. "Sure, you're on. Hey, let's get some candy, OK?"

He eyes me. "Are you sure you need it? And we just ate..."

"I'm a teenager! I need my energy!"

He laughs. "OK, OK."

I wrap my arm around his waist and pull him even closer (if that's

possible). "Yay! Twizzlers!"

"You're a licoriche person, huh?"

"Wormmon always liked it..." we trail off for a minute, both reflecting on

our absent digimon partners. No one can understand the pain of losing your

other half except for another digidestined. "I hope he's doing OK."

"If he wasn't, we would have heard about it," Koushirou reassures me, and

orders since we've reached the front of the line.

Why did he have to... well, I know he didn't mean to bring up the pain... I

can't help but snicker when I think of Tentomon and his tree. Ken-chan looks

up at me. "What's so funny?"

"Just thinking about Tentomon and his tree." Ken-chan looks confused for a

moment, then I can see him remember it.

"That was always... amusing. I can remember thinking that if the Digimon

were that... immature, how could they keep defeating me? But I know now

t...there was a lot more to it than maturity."

I stare down at the ground. I'm still ashamed of what I did...he's so smart

and handsome, and he doesn't even have to try. Being the genius isn't some

mask he wears, it's who he _is_. I feel like some evil imposter, like I'm

dimming in comparison with him.

There I am, just standing there... I can tell that being the Kaizer is

hurting him even now. "The Kaizer wasn't just some other person, you know."

His head shoots up, and I can tell he was thinking something dangerously

close to that. "The Kaizer was your dark side, just as we all have a dark

side. And guess what: unlike a lot of people, you beat him. You're one of

the strongest, gentlest people I know, and I wouldn't want to go out with

anyone else."

I hug him. "Koushirou....what did I do to deserve you? I don't deserve you!"

I'm still attached firmly to his arm as we enter the theatre to watch the

movie (or not, as the case may be.)

I sigh as I shove at the armrest between us. These things are so annoying,

preventing cuddling. I sigh, snuggling under his arm and burying my face in

his sweater. "Kou-chan..." I whisper. "I think I'm falling in love with you.

I keep thinking how wonderful it would be to wake up like this every

morning..."

My heart leaps as he says the words. I mean, I kinda expected them... and

honestly, I can say the same without any twinge of guilt from lying... but

it still feels so... so... so good! just to hear him actually say it.

"I... I think I'm falling in love with you, too, Ken-chan." His eyes

brighten as I say the words, and we lean over the armrest and share a brief,

but wholy satisfying, kiss.

As we separate, I smile. "Y'know, I think I could like waking up like this

too." Arms around each other's shoulders, we sit quietly while watching the

movie.

Until, of course, the villain comes on, and Ken-chan starts cheering him on.

Quietly, of course, and wholly in jest, but it still makes me laugh. I just

pull him into me as best I can with the armrest in the way, and we laugh

together. It feels so nice...

"This stinks," I'm whispering. "Why do villans always have to lose? I mean,

poor coyote should catch the roadrunner at least _once_ in awhile...I mean,

doesn't he get hungry?"

He's laughing a bit louder now, and a couple of people are staring. I

continue to play it up. "You know, this character just stinks of redeemable

bad guy. She might as well have "I have a heart, please come find it"

tatooed across her forehead."

"Well, the villains with the hearts always seem to be the most ruthless to

begin with. Look at this one. She thinks she's Queen of the Universe, and

that everyone is here to serve her every whim. And her parents probably

didn't help." I can see him trying to hold in the laughter. "So in a way,

it's probably not her fault, she was probably spoiled as a child."

He grins. "You're saying that being spoiled as a kid turns someone evil? Not

in my experience."

I laugh with him. The parents of the kids around us are actively shushing us

now, but I don't care, and Ken-chan doesn't seem to either. "Well, it

doesn't always work that way. But then, the unspoiled people tend to be

reaching for stuff, whereas the spoiled kids tend to think that it's already

theirs by right."

I grin. "Maybe we should go have our deep philosophical discussion elsewhere

so we don't disturb the people watching the movie. We have a nice front

porch with a swinging bench on it. And it doesn't have this _stupid_

armrest." I punctuate my words by shoving at it.

I nod eagerly. "Sounds good to me!" We grin at each other, and make our way

somewhat-quietly out of the theater. Of course, you can only be so quiet

when you can't keep your hands off of each other.

We arrive at the car, and I go to start it. "Umm..." I said, palming my

pockets. "Keys?"

I grin and hand them to him. "You had me keep them, remember?" The drive

home is mostly quiet, with me resting my head on his shoulder and us making

small talk. I know it's cliche and I've already said it, but I wish that

things could just stay like this forever.

I wish that things could stay like this forever. I know it's cliche, but

it's true. Ken's resting his head on my shoulder... the warmth just feels so

nice, it's like it radiates through my entire body, filling me... okay, now

that just sounds corny. As true as it may be.

As we drive up to the cabin, I grin. "Hey, looks like someone missed us." We

get out of the car, and walk over to the puppy that we still hadn't named.

It was a weak substitute for the Digimon, but it was better than nothing.

"How're ya doing, boy?" He ran over to us, trying hard to decide which of us

to jump up onto first. So it tried to jump onto both of us at the same time,

with mixed results.

I laugh as the puppy, already fairly large, seeing as it's a Golder

Retriever, knocks me into Koushirou. "Hey, guy. What's up?" I scratch his

ears, and he grunts happily, before hopping off my lap, and attacking

Koushirou, who's sitting right behind me.

I could move, but I decide not to, leaning back against him, as his arms

wrap around my waist and his head rests on my shoulder.

"Kou-chan?" I murmur.

"Hmmmm?" he replies?

"I think I know what to name him," I whisper, twisting around and placing my

hand on the back of his head to bring him down for a kiss.

"Nani?" Koushirou whispers against my mouth.

"Zutto."

I feel him smile and pull away.

"Forever. It's perfect."