Author's note: This should be interesting. I know where I want this to go, but, so far, they keep running off into different directions when I get them almost there. It's like walking backwards up a slide. The closer you get to the top, the more you seem to slide back down. Should anyone have found this chapter completely out of place and out of sync with the rest of the story so far, please feel free to say so.
Disclaimer: I, being of unstable mind and body, do hereby claim ownership of the following items: my car, my computer, my radio, and a cool pair of pants that I keep trying to kill myself with.
Warning: Yaoi, and my easily amused brain.
___________________________
Author: Rae (penname)
Title: Weekend Rain
Content: Read above warning and previous notes.
By the time they got to the mall on foot, another hour of fighting had passed in the rain. Matt had spent that time hoping that somebody would come up with a better plan, and that his hair wouldn't be permanently damaged. Takeru was wishing for a video camera and looking forward to this new game. Tai was trying to come up with his first attempt at embarrassing himself.
"First thing's first." Announced Daisuke as they stepped into the air-conditioned building in their wet clothes. He approached the information desk and gave the woman behind it his most disarming grin. "May I have a pen and paper, please?"
She smiled back, impressed by the polite young man in front of her. "Of course, dear. Here you are." Takeru rolled his eyes. He, at least, was impervious to that look, though he knew that his own brother had fallen for it once, when they were at a soccer game and Dai had wanted a hot dog.
"What's that for?" Tai asked curiously as the younger brunette wrote each of their names down on the paper.
"This is how we keep track. For every trick one of us pulls, the other three rate it, and we accumulate scores. The scale is one to ten, ten being the most embarrassing."
"How do we know when to stop?" Matt took the paper from Dai's hands, then the pen. With a sheepish grin, the latter shrugged. "How about a time limit then? We'll stop in..."
"Two hours!" Tai supplied. The others agreed. They began to wander in a seemingly random pattern among the shops, Daisuke in the lead. He stoppd and motioned for them to wait a moment. He walked off, and Takeru turned to his brother.
"You do realize that this isn't fair, right? Daisuke manages to embarrass himself ten times a day without trying. Last week, in the hall, he slid on a spot on the floor where someone had spit, and went flying through the glass trophy case by the gym. He ended up with one of the trophy cups stuck on his elbow. Then, when they got him out, they found out that the gum he'd been chewing had stuck between his hair and the wall."
The story, though unsurprising to the other two that had known the boy for several years, managed to catch Tai's attention in the gentle and affectionate tone that Takeru used when speaking of his friend. It resembled, slightly, the way that he oftimes spoke of Yamato when he was with his sister, or Takeru. Yet, it was softer somehow, but whether that was age, or a deeper emotion, he couldn't tell.
There was a difference between loving someone, and being in love with them. He was 'in love' with Yamato.
They looked up as yelling across the store they were in alerted them to the fact that Daisuke had started his turn. They ran up, then stopped short as Daisuke jumped on top of a glass case, muddy shoes and all, and began to speak loudly.
"And I tell -you-. Yes, -you-! I tell you all that this is the true evil!" He held up a fur-lined purse, waving it in the air. "The slaughter of defenseless animals, for the sheer perfect fashion disaster! Fur is out of fashion! Get with it, people! It's leather. Black leather, and dark accessories. Get with the fad wagon now! Or you're all doomed! Doomed, I say!"
He jumped down, sat the purse on the counter, and walked past them on his way out of the store. He left a stunned clerk and disgruntled manager in his wake, as the customers slowly closed their mouths and let their eyes grow small again.
"That was at least a seven." Takeru fell into step next to Daisuke.
"Nah, that was barely a three." Tai argued from behind them. Matt was too busy trying to duck his head out of sight as Tai grabbed his shirt collar to keep him with them.
"Matt? What do you think?" The blonde just glared as Dai asked. "Okay, then. My score's a five. Who's next?" Tai looked at Takeru, who looked at his brother, who was silently plotting ways of killing a certain auburn-haired trouble maker. "Come on, guys! It's really not that difficult. Start small."
"What, exactly, constitutes 'small'?" Takeru asked cautiously. Daisuke thought for a moment.
"Small would be tripping, slipping, kissing, and snorting in public. Medium would include...a groping session, knocking a big display over, making a loud and useless public announcement, and wearing an umbrella hat in the middle of summer."
"Then what's big?" The four paused outside the doors of a toy store. Tai had asked the question.
"I'm not telling you guys anymore. Just, be creative, and try to have fun." Simple enough advice, from his point of veiw. "Oh, and you can, like, use the others without their permission, but they get points, too."
"So, we not only get to embarrass ourselves, but each other as well?" For Matt, the day kept getting worse and worse. Daisuke nodded with a grin. "Then I'm next." That surprised all of them. Matt was actually going to play along.
He pulled Tai into the middle of the quadrangle amongst the shoppers running this way and that. Daisuke looked at Takeru. "I thought your brother would kill me before he played along."
"I thought so, too. It almost worries me that he's volunteering to go."
With a determined stride, Matt made sure they were almost exactly centered between the nearest shops. Earlier, he and Tai had started to have a conversation, but Tai had finangled his way out of it. He wouldn't be so lucky again. They were going to discuss the events of that afternoon, if Ishida Yamato had to embarrass them both to do it.
Tai wanted to sink through the pavement. After nearly a decade of being the best of friends, and almost as long a time in love with the blonde, he could read the determination emanating from the teen pulling him through the throngs of people. The expression on his face didn't bode well for Tai.
In a loud voice, Matt started to yell at Tai, and the two younger teens that had stayed behind could hear them in the sudden silence their little display created.
"WHY DID YOU KISS HER?" Tai looked around as the people nearby stopped and turned to them. "WHAT DID YOU HOPE TO ACCOMPLISH?"
"I didn't kiss her, Yamato." He said it quietly, not quite figuring the reason behind his best friends sudden actions. "I thought you knew that."
"No, I didn't, -Taichi-! Remember, you didn't bother to talk to me today. You chased me down, spoke to my brother, told me that meeting had been her idea, and then you ran back to T.K. and Dai. How am I supposed to know anything from that?"
His voice was lower, but still loud enough to attract unwanted attention. "I didn't kiss her. She kissed me, and I did't have a chance to stop her until after you were running away. I pushed her away and tried to find you."
A new voice interrupted. "But you told me you loved me, Taichi! You told me that Yama didn't deserve me, and that you'd take care of me." Matt gave a strangled gasp as Sora walked up and looked at Tai with tears in her eyes. He turned fiery blue eyes to Tai, who was looking at the girl with a startled and confused expression.
He pulled his arm away when she reached out to grab it, and turned a worried gaze to Matt. He was looking at the two of them as if he didn't know which one to kill first. Takeru and Daisuke pushed through the expectant crowd with difficulty. They were watching the unfolding drama with renewed interest. They shoved past a large man as Matt asked, "Are you in love with her?"
"Yes!" Sora shouted as she once again tried to grab him. He sighed and shook his head as he evaded her grasp.
"No, Yama." He looked away, his disappointment evident. Matt didn't see it, but Takeru and Daisuke did, and understood its cause. His best friend was questioning him, grilling him as if he were untrustworthy, as if he didn't know better than to believe that Tai would do such a thing to hurt him. "It was never Sora."
"Then who?" Matt asked angrily. "You broke my heart today, Yagami Taichi! At least prove to me that it wasn't with her."
Given time, and a less strained situation, and they might have realized exactly what Matt had said. But, as it was, neither noticed his slip, too lost up in the pain. "Don't ask that of me, Yama. Please." Brown eyes met blue with a pleading look that was ignored.
"Tell me who, Tai. If not with my girlfriend, who are you in love with?" Daisuke and Takeru looked at each other grimly as two best friends faced off in an arguement that could ultimately ruin their bond. For Tai, being stubborn was an obvious flaw, or trait, depending on your point of veiw. Matt could share that characteristic, and was trying in spades to prove it.
The were in a large circle of people now, Sora pushed the the edge of the group, Daisuke and the younger blonde standing to the side, but close enough should they be needed. "Why are you pushing this, Yamato? Sora's yours if you want her. I've told you before, I don't care for her like that. I'm sorry about what happened today, but she's lying when she says that I started it. I would never hurt you like that, even should I have loved her."
"Right, Taich. And the fact that you two were inseperable before we started going out? That was you not being in love with her?" Sarcasm dripped from his words, his eyes cold and resolved. "Simply tell me who, then. If you can name off one person with a semblance of sincerity, then I'll get down on my knees and beg you to forgive me."
"You want the honest-to-goodness truth, Yamato?" A nod affirmed that. "Then here it is." Tai pushed his face up into Matt's so that their noses were almost touching. They stared at each other, Tai a pained, angry gaze, and Matt with his anger and an expectancy of pain. "I have only ever loved one person in this world, Yamato. I started out being in love, then realized that that phrase, 'to be in love', was overused, and actually quite immature at times. You feel jealousy and envy towards a person you're 'in love' with. I realized that it was beyond that."
He swallowed nervously, but kept his voice steady. "I realized that to love someone was to put their happiness before you're own, whether they knew the sacrifice you made, or not. To watch the person you love go through each day totally oblivious to how you feel is the hardest thing that I've ever had to deal with. And keeping silent, especially for me, was -so damn- hard, Yama. Can you realize how hard it is to watch the person you love love another? Love someone who you know doesn't share their depth of emotion, but who makes them happy? It hurts!"
His hands curled into fist, and he clenched his teeth momentarily. "It hurts, Yamato. But I've done that everyday for four years. I've watched kisses and caresses, dried the tears, been the rock that kept everything together. But my world fell apart, and no-one was there to pick up the pieces. I died the day you told me that you were going out with Sora."
The pain that flashed through Matt's eyes cut at Tai, but he continued. Takeru had gone to stand beside the brunette, and Daisuke had stepped up beside Yamato. Tai went on. "You thought I was 'in love' with her because we spent a lot of time together. In a way, you could have been right. Closeness can breed affection. But you forgot something rather important. I spent everyday with -you-. We were together for nearly twelve hours a day, every day, Yamato, and you never knew. Yes, I loved my best friend, but she was never that to me, not since we came back the first time."
Sudden understanding seemed to dawn, and Matt gasped. Tai put a hand to his cheek, gently touching the pale skin. "I've only ever loved one person in this world the way I love you, Yama. How could think that I would do something to hurt you?" He moved his hand away and stepped back. "How could you lose your faith in me?"
With that parting question, Tai turned and walked throught the crowd as people parted the way for him. Their was almost complete silence as Matt stared after him. Takeru looked at his brother, and then Daisuke. An imperceptible nod, and the redhead touched Matt's arm as Takeru took off after the brunette, pushing through the crowd that had closed in again.
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End note: I suck, don't I? /evil grin/. Cliffhanger. Kill me later, after I finish my work of art /rolls eyes at egotistical self/. Anyways. I hope that everyone's having fun so far. If you like this, please review at some point in time. If you have any ideas, put it in the review, or email me at raegan_1@hotmail.com.
Disclaimer: I, being of unstable mind and body, do hereby claim ownership of the following items: my car, my computer, my radio, and a cool pair of pants that I keep trying to kill myself with.
Warning: Yaoi, and my easily amused brain.
___________________________
Author: Rae (penname)
Title: Weekend Rain
Content: Read above warning and previous notes.
By the time they got to the mall on foot, another hour of fighting had passed in the rain. Matt had spent that time hoping that somebody would come up with a better plan, and that his hair wouldn't be permanently damaged. Takeru was wishing for a video camera and looking forward to this new game. Tai was trying to come up with his first attempt at embarrassing himself.
"First thing's first." Announced Daisuke as they stepped into the air-conditioned building in their wet clothes. He approached the information desk and gave the woman behind it his most disarming grin. "May I have a pen and paper, please?"
She smiled back, impressed by the polite young man in front of her. "Of course, dear. Here you are." Takeru rolled his eyes. He, at least, was impervious to that look, though he knew that his own brother had fallen for it once, when they were at a soccer game and Dai had wanted a hot dog.
"What's that for?" Tai asked curiously as the younger brunette wrote each of their names down on the paper.
"This is how we keep track. For every trick one of us pulls, the other three rate it, and we accumulate scores. The scale is one to ten, ten being the most embarrassing."
"How do we know when to stop?" Matt took the paper from Dai's hands, then the pen. With a sheepish grin, the latter shrugged. "How about a time limit then? We'll stop in..."
"Two hours!" Tai supplied. The others agreed. They began to wander in a seemingly random pattern among the shops, Daisuke in the lead. He stoppd and motioned for them to wait a moment. He walked off, and Takeru turned to his brother.
"You do realize that this isn't fair, right? Daisuke manages to embarrass himself ten times a day without trying. Last week, in the hall, he slid on a spot on the floor where someone had spit, and went flying through the glass trophy case by the gym. He ended up with one of the trophy cups stuck on his elbow. Then, when they got him out, they found out that the gum he'd been chewing had stuck between his hair and the wall."
The story, though unsurprising to the other two that had known the boy for several years, managed to catch Tai's attention in the gentle and affectionate tone that Takeru used when speaking of his friend. It resembled, slightly, the way that he oftimes spoke of Yamato when he was with his sister, or Takeru. Yet, it was softer somehow, but whether that was age, or a deeper emotion, he couldn't tell.
There was a difference between loving someone, and being in love with them. He was 'in love' with Yamato.
They looked up as yelling across the store they were in alerted them to the fact that Daisuke had started his turn. They ran up, then stopped short as Daisuke jumped on top of a glass case, muddy shoes and all, and began to speak loudly.
"And I tell -you-. Yes, -you-! I tell you all that this is the true evil!" He held up a fur-lined purse, waving it in the air. "The slaughter of defenseless animals, for the sheer perfect fashion disaster! Fur is out of fashion! Get with it, people! It's leather. Black leather, and dark accessories. Get with the fad wagon now! Or you're all doomed! Doomed, I say!"
He jumped down, sat the purse on the counter, and walked past them on his way out of the store. He left a stunned clerk and disgruntled manager in his wake, as the customers slowly closed their mouths and let their eyes grow small again.
"That was at least a seven." Takeru fell into step next to Daisuke.
"Nah, that was barely a three." Tai argued from behind them. Matt was too busy trying to duck his head out of sight as Tai grabbed his shirt collar to keep him with them.
"Matt? What do you think?" The blonde just glared as Dai asked. "Okay, then. My score's a five. Who's next?" Tai looked at Takeru, who looked at his brother, who was silently plotting ways of killing a certain auburn-haired trouble maker. "Come on, guys! It's really not that difficult. Start small."
"What, exactly, constitutes 'small'?" Takeru asked cautiously. Daisuke thought for a moment.
"Small would be tripping, slipping, kissing, and snorting in public. Medium would include...a groping session, knocking a big display over, making a loud and useless public announcement, and wearing an umbrella hat in the middle of summer."
"Then what's big?" The four paused outside the doors of a toy store. Tai had asked the question.
"I'm not telling you guys anymore. Just, be creative, and try to have fun." Simple enough advice, from his point of veiw. "Oh, and you can, like, use the others without their permission, but they get points, too."
"So, we not only get to embarrass ourselves, but each other as well?" For Matt, the day kept getting worse and worse. Daisuke nodded with a grin. "Then I'm next." That surprised all of them. Matt was actually going to play along.
He pulled Tai into the middle of the quadrangle amongst the shoppers running this way and that. Daisuke looked at Takeru. "I thought your brother would kill me before he played along."
"I thought so, too. It almost worries me that he's volunteering to go."
With a determined stride, Matt made sure they were almost exactly centered between the nearest shops. Earlier, he and Tai had started to have a conversation, but Tai had finangled his way out of it. He wouldn't be so lucky again. They were going to discuss the events of that afternoon, if Ishida Yamato had to embarrass them both to do it.
Tai wanted to sink through the pavement. After nearly a decade of being the best of friends, and almost as long a time in love with the blonde, he could read the determination emanating from the teen pulling him through the throngs of people. The expression on his face didn't bode well for Tai.
In a loud voice, Matt started to yell at Tai, and the two younger teens that had stayed behind could hear them in the sudden silence their little display created.
"WHY DID YOU KISS HER?" Tai looked around as the people nearby stopped and turned to them. "WHAT DID YOU HOPE TO ACCOMPLISH?"
"I didn't kiss her, Yamato." He said it quietly, not quite figuring the reason behind his best friends sudden actions. "I thought you knew that."
"No, I didn't, -Taichi-! Remember, you didn't bother to talk to me today. You chased me down, spoke to my brother, told me that meeting had been her idea, and then you ran back to T.K. and Dai. How am I supposed to know anything from that?"
His voice was lower, but still loud enough to attract unwanted attention. "I didn't kiss her. She kissed me, and I did't have a chance to stop her until after you were running away. I pushed her away and tried to find you."
A new voice interrupted. "But you told me you loved me, Taichi! You told me that Yama didn't deserve me, and that you'd take care of me." Matt gave a strangled gasp as Sora walked up and looked at Tai with tears in her eyes. He turned fiery blue eyes to Tai, who was looking at the girl with a startled and confused expression.
He pulled his arm away when she reached out to grab it, and turned a worried gaze to Matt. He was looking at the two of them as if he didn't know which one to kill first. Takeru and Daisuke pushed through the expectant crowd with difficulty. They were watching the unfolding drama with renewed interest. They shoved past a large man as Matt asked, "Are you in love with her?"
"Yes!" Sora shouted as she once again tried to grab him. He sighed and shook his head as he evaded her grasp.
"No, Yama." He looked away, his disappointment evident. Matt didn't see it, but Takeru and Daisuke did, and understood its cause. His best friend was questioning him, grilling him as if he were untrustworthy, as if he didn't know better than to believe that Tai would do such a thing to hurt him. "It was never Sora."
"Then who?" Matt asked angrily. "You broke my heart today, Yagami Taichi! At least prove to me that it wasn't with her."
Given time, and a less strained situation, and they might have realized exactly what Matt had said. But, as it was, neither noticed his slip, too lost up in the pain. "Don't ask that of me, Yama. Please." Brown eyes met blue with a pleading look that was ignored.
"Tell me who, Tai. If not with my girlfriend, who are you in love with?" Daisuke and Takeru looked at each other grimly as two best friends faced off in an arguement that could ultimately ruin their bond. For Tai, being stubborn was an obvious flaw, or trait, depending on your point of veiw. Matt could share that characteristic, and was trying in spades to prove it.
The were in a large circle of people now, Sora pushed the the edge of the group, Daisuke and the younger blonde standing to the side, but close enough should they be needed. "Why are you pushing this, Yamato? Sora's yours if you want her. I've told you before, I don't care for her like that. I'm sorry about what happened today, but she's lying when she says that I started it. I would never hurt you like that, even should I have loved her."
"Right, Taich. And the fact that you two were inseperable before we started going out? That was you not being in love with her?" Sarcasm dripped from his words, his eyes cold and resolved. "Simply tell me who, then. If you can name off one person with a semblance of sincerity, then I'll get down on my knees and beg you to forgive me."
"You want the honest-to-goodness truth, Yamato?" A nod affirmed that. "Then here it is." Tai pushed his face up into Matt's so that their noses were almost touching. They stared at each other, Tai a pained, angry gaze, and Matt with his anger and an expectancy of pain. "I have only ever loved one person in this world, Yamato. I started out being in love, then realized that that phrase, 'to be in love', was overused, and actually quite immature at times. You feel jealousy and envy towards a person you're 'in love' with. I realized that it was beyond that."
He swallowed nervously, but kept his voice steady. "I realized that to love someone was to put their happiness before you're own, whether they knew the sacrifice you made, or not. To watch the person you love go through each day totally oblivious to how you feel is the hardest thing that I've ever had to deal with. And keeping silent, especially for me, was -so damn- hard, Yama. Can you realize how hard it is to watch the person you love love another? Love someone who you know doesn't share their depth of emotion, but who makes them happy? It hurts!"
His hands curled into fist, and he clenched his teeth momentarily. "It hurts, Yamato. But I've done that everyday for four years. I've watched kisses and caresses, dried the tears, been the rock that kept everything together. But my world fell apart, and no-one was there to pick up the pieces. I died the day you told me that you were going out with Sora."
The pain that flashed through Matt's eyes cut at Tai, but he continued. Takeru had gone to stand beside the brunette, and Daisuke had stepped up beside Yamato. Tai went on. "You thought I was 'in love' with her because we spent a lot of time together. In a way, you could have been right. Closeness can breed affection. But you forgot something rather important. I spent everyday with -you-. We were together for nearly twelve hours a day, every day, Yamato, and you never knew. Yes, I loved my best friend, but she was never that to me, not since we came back the first time."
Sudden understanding seemed to dawn, and Matt gasped. Tai put a hand to his cheek, gently touching the pale skin. "I've only ever loved one person in this world the way I love you, Yama. How could think that I would do something to hurt you?" He moved his hand away and stepped back. "How could you lose your faith in me?"
With that parting question, Tai turned and walked throught the crowd as people parted the way for him. Their was almost complete silence as Matt stared after him. Takeru looked at his brother, and then Daisuke. An imperceptible nod, and the redhead touched Matt's arm as Takeru took off after the brunette, pushing through the crowd that had closed in again.
__________________________
End note: I suck, don't I? /evil grin/. Cliffhanger. Kill me later, after I finish my work of art /rolls eyes at egotistical self/. Anyways. I hope that everyone's having fun so far. If you like this, please review at some point in time. If you have any ideas, put it in the review, or email me at raegan_1@hotmail.com.