When Life Hands You Lemons...
by Keri (hiya!)

Okay, I know this is very short but it's only the beginning. I just want to see if it's good. If people like it and review
positively, I'll write MUCH more. This is dedicated to Inkiemouse, who inspired it. Um, enjoy it! Tell me what you think!
Taichi and Yamato are both 31. Taichi lives in Highton View Terrace while Yamato lives in America. Ep. 50 never happened.

~@~

Ishida Yamato threw down his car keys and fell into his large green armchair. He ran his fingers through his thinning hair
and sighed. He had been losing his gorgeous blonde hair for several months now, and he was only thirty-one. His remaining
hair was still golden and beautiful, but there was still a widening skin patch that grew every week. He had tried numerous
hair-care products that were supposed to make hair grow back, but none of them worked. He had always taken great pride in
the way that he looked, and just the thought of going bald devastated him. His doctor thought that the problem causing his
hair loss was stress. But the idea of stress being the issue wasn't very likely. He had an easy job, great pay, and very
dependable friends. What could be stressful about his seemingly perfect life? Yamato knew. Yamato had a secret that had
been haunting him for a while now. His one secret could destroy his reputation and tear his great life into shreds. Yamato
had a secret that could ruin him forever, but the thought of telling it was worse than the hair loss.


Yagami Taichi lived in Highton View Terrace, a few apartments away from his childhood home. He wanted to be close to his
family and he worked not far from there. He still had a full head of wild brown hair, and his eyes held the same childish
sparkle that they always had. He was still hyper and wild, acting as he had at age eleven. At thirty-one, the only sign of
aging he had were the small lines at the corner of his bright eyes. That, and the obvious stomach that he had developed. He
had first drank alchohol at his twenty-first birthday celebration. Since then, whenever he had problems he turned to
drinking. He wanted to stop, but Taichi's problems constantly egged him to drink. Every bartender in town knew his name,
and all of them had refused Taichi numerous drinks per visit. He had been thrown out of bars many times. He managed to
remain sane and calm while he drank, but he often kept pleading for another drink. He often walked home for his alchohol
level would not permit him to drive, no matter how sober he acted. His famly and friends were concerned with his problem,
as were his doctors. No one could understand how intelligent, responsible, honest Taichi could do something so stupid as to
drink his life away. He alone held his reason for drinking, and that reason hurt him more than drinking ever could.


Yamato pulled himself out of his chair and dragged himself into the kitchen. He grabbed a box of rice out of the cabinets
and began defrosting some chicken. After it was thawed, had added spices and sauces until the chicken looked as though it
had been cooked by a professional chef rather than a bachelor. When the chicken had been cooking for a bit, he prepared
the rice and put it in a pan on the stove. Then he pulled out a can of peas and began cooking them. Somehow, through years
of practice and timing, all of his dishes finished at the same time and not a single one burned as he set them on his
small table. He grabbed a cola from his fridge and popped the top, sitting down to his meal. He wished he could have
invited someone over to share his meal with him. He mentally slapped himself. The reason he was balding was for the person
he wanted to ask over! Yamato squeezed his eyes shut, wishing he could confess and get the whole mess over with. 'So what,
Yamato? You love a boy. Alot of people are like that. Don't beat yourself up about it!' his mind told him. 'Yeah,' he
replied, 'but do alot of people love their best friend?'


Taichi tossed some money at the bartender and stumbled out into the street. He hailed a cab and sulked the entire way home
from the small pub. His beer belly was a constant reminder of his secret. Not thinking, he spoke to the driver. "What's
wrong with being gay?" He asked. The driver looked at Taichi in the rearview mirror. "Guys is s'posed to like girls. If
guys is s'posed to like other guys, then why was da first two peoples male and female?" the driver replied gruffly. Taichi
hung his head. He had known he was gay for a while now, but it was painful every time he thought about it. He climbed out
of the cab and walked up to his apartment, tears flowing from his eyes. "Why am I like this? Why? Everything used to be so
perfect." He said to no one in particular. He slipped off his shoes, socks, shorts, and shirt and climbed into his bed. He
looked aroung his room. On the wall next to the bed was a window. At the foot of the bed was a closet and a dresser.
Nothing was on the dresser except for some change and a lamp. On the wall at the other side of the bed were posters. On
one was a picture of Yamato in his band, and the others were just random things. At the head of the bed was the door and
another window. His eyes fell on the bedside stand. On it were several pictures: all of the Chosen Children; him and
Yamato; and him, Yamato, Takeru and Hikari. He sighed and felt another tear slip down his cheek as he drifted off to sleep.


Yamato set down the phone in shock. Mimi and Miyako, two of his past friends, were arranging a reunion. He had agreed to
come, but the thought of seeing Taichi scared him. What is he couldn't take it? And what would everyone think of his new
hairstyle? He walked into the bedroom and grabbed a suitcase. He lived in America now, and it would be a long trip to
return home. He packed several outfits, his reading glasses, his toothbrush, and some toiletries. He picked up his bottle
of gel and frowned, remembering how he used to spend hours on his hair. He shoved the bottle in his case and slammed it
shut. He called work and told them he was taking a vacation, and would be back in a few weeks. He called the airport and
arranged for his tickets, planning to leave that very night. He grabbed his bags and car keys and drove to the airport,
mentally preparing himself for the confrontation with Taichi.


"Mimi! Hi! When did you get here?" Taichi asked his old friend over the phone. "I flew in from America last week to visit
Miyako. We decided it would be fun to see eveybody, so we planned this get-together. How are you?" Mimi asked. Taichi
placed a hand on his large stomach. "I've been better." He said grimly. Mimi laughed. "You haven't changed a bit, Yagami
Taichi!" She giggled. Taichi smiled. "I'll be there. Miyako's at 7:00 PM on Friday, right?" He asked. "Right." Mimi
answered. "Okay, bye." Taichi hung up and looked around his apartment. 'What do I need to take?' he asked himself. 'A-ha!
Clothes are good!' He went to his closet and searched for the outfit that would conceal his stomach the most. He picked
out one and was feeling pretty good. "I can't wait to see everybody!" He cried out loud. He frowned. 'No matter what, NO
alchohol Taichi.' he told himself. He called his mother, explaing the reunion, and anxiously began looking forward to
seeing all of his old friends. "I wonder what happened to everybody..." He murmured. He smiled and thought of all the
possibilities. He looked at the calander and sighed. "Friday can't come soon enough..."

TO BE CONTINUED...