The next person to find him was Jyou. He had slowed to a walk and was still catching his breath when he passed the hospital, where the young man interned. The some-day doctor had been leaving, having started work at midnight. The ER had been busy, and noone could be spared to leave on time.
After recieving the message from Takeru, he hadn't actually expected to find the young redhead, but he figured it was his luck, after being up for twenty-four hours already.
"Motomiya-san?" Brown eyes darted to him quickly, filling with both relief, and dread. "What are you up to?" He tried his best to sound interested, but knew it as a lost cause as the other's eyes flashed.
"Nothing. Excuse me." He made to brush past, not wanting to be yet another charity case to someone else.
"Wait. Daisuke? Please?" That stopped him in his tracks, and forced him to turn around. Jyou'se eyes were compassionate, but not pitying. "I haven't sat down in the longest time. Would you like to have coffee with me?"
He might not have been the most unselfish of the digi-destined, but he wasn't blind. The red of Daisuke's eyes, and the pain they reflected made his heart ache. He regretted his initial desire to let the boy pass.
"Not really, Kido-sempai." He didn't elaborate, didn't offer an excuse.
The blue-haired one persisted. "Why not?"
Searching his mind for a reason, Daisuke found none, and shrugged. He didn't fee like lying to anyone, because that only made things worse. A perfect example was the situation with Ken the day before.
"Good. You don't have a reason, so you can come. I'll even by you a coffee, if you want."
"I don't drink coffee." Dai smiled uncertainly.
"Now's as good a time to start as any." And he walked down the street. Dai followed. They went to a diner halfway between Jyou's and the hospital, and found a window booth. "What's up?"
"Nothing." Dai lied, before remembering his thoughts on honesty. "Everything, at this point."
"Wanna talk?" A waiter delivered two cups of steaming coffee, and Jyou wrapped his hands around its warmth.
"Not really." He paused. "Actually, yeah. I spoke with Miya last night, but something new happened, and I don't want to go back to her building." Takeru's building.
"I'm all ears." Jyou offered, studying the boy across the table from him. Not only did he look like he had cried recently, but he also looked as if he hadn't slept well, either. There was an air of sadness and confusion around him, adding to the dispirited look. Putting aside his own problems, he leaned his elbows on the table.
"I should probably start at the beginning, huh?" When the older digi-destined nodded, he began, starting with, "I guess you should know that I'm gay", and ending with, "and I ran away after he kissed me."
Jyou sat through it all, listening quietly, nodding at some points, and frowing at others. When the redhead fell silent, he waited before asking his first question. "Why did you run from Ken? Yes, you were hurt, and offended, but you don't normally run from that."
"I know. I was afraid that if I stayed, it would be too easy to let him handle everything for me. I didn't want him to be responsible for everything, and I didn't want him to pity me, and I didn't want him to be scared of me, and for me."
"And this afternoon with Takeru? Why did you run then? You could have just told him you weren't interested."
"That's actually along the same lines as the Ken thing." He blushed, and Jyou smiled. "I just don't want to hurt him, and I don't want to lose his friendship. At this point I need all the friends I have not to abandon me."
"Why would he do that?"
"Because he thinks I need to feel loved? I think that that kiss was his way of taking care of things. I told you that he hit that guy yesterday, right? And then he spent this whole morning with me? I think that he's trying his best to be as supportive of me as possible, and he thinks that a relationship with him would make me happy. Kind of like Ken."
"I don't think that was ever Ken's intention to let it go that far. He got you out of a sticky situation, and then put his foot in his mouth. If things had progressed naturally, I'm sure that he wouldn't have faked love to keep you from hurting yourself."
"I think you're right, now, but I wasn't exactly thinking clearly yesterday. My first instinct was to get away."
"Flight or fight reaction. Apparently, you opt for flight more often than not. You've run away from two of your friends in as many days, for similar reasons."
"What should I do?" Brown eyes searched blue hopefully, and Jyou felt his affection for the boy across the table grow.
"I don't know. Try talking to Takeru. Maybe Miyako has more advice. You can email her. Don't jump to conclusions everytime something new happens. Stick around, and find out exactly what's going on. You said you didn't want Ken and Takeru to have to handle it, and that means that you have to be responsible for yourself, and your actions. No more running away when things get difficult. Start talking the truth, so that the misunderstandings stop."
"You're right, Jyou. Thanks." He stood up, and smiled at the elder. "I'll see you around."
Jyou watched him leave, exiting the diner quickly. Now that he was alone, the fatigue and aches came back to haunt him. He slumped against the booth, and laid his head against the table. Some days, it didn't pay to get out of bed.
Daisuke, while Jyou wished for a quick and painless end to his suffering, walked back towards Miyako's, determined to find everyone, and start taking control of his life again.
Takeru would come first.
Then Ken, and then all the digi-destined together. Miya was rounding them up for Monday, and that would be soon enough to suit him. His parents could wait, as far as he was concerned. They were last on his list of important people, and he'd be damned before he spoke to them over his friends.
He stopped suddenly, and looked around. Something was wrong. He didn't know what, but the feeling was there, in the back of his mind. His breathing became shallow, and the noises around him were suddenly muted.
The corner he was standing on was close to where Takeru had stopped him, and he wasn't surprised to see that the blonde had left. The coffee with Jyou had taken almost an hour.
He turned in a circle, trying to place the feeling. Fear? Confusion? Doom? "I'm not psychic, dammit." Frustration caused his voice to growl out. Suddenly, his ears popped, and the world returned to normal, leaving him feeling light-headed, and disoriented. He looked up, and his heart stopped in his throat.
The bully from the day before was bearing down on him, with two of his buddies in tow.
The day had gone from bad to worse, again. Everytime he turned around, life seemed to throw another cog in the works for him to deal with, and he was getting tired of it, personally.
To take over his life, he would have to face the obstacles before him. That sounded easy in theory, but facing three brutes, who outweighed, and outnumbered him, was asking too much of anyone.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't the little faggot boy. Where's your protector now, Motomiya?" They grinned at him mockingly, fists clenched, intentions written in the lines of their bodies.
"Sorry, Big and Ugly, but it's only me today. Nobody else is here to whoop your ass." That only caused them to laugh.
"Right, bitch." He took a threatening step forward. "We'll deal with you, and then find your little bitch. Which of your little friends would that be? Takaishi, who thinks he can take me on? Or the girly Ichijouji, who probably begs to be taken by anything with a prick."
Daisuke wanted to charge at him. It wouldn't do good for him if they knew how pissed their trash-talk made him.
"What, no response? Maybe you're too pussy-whipped." Ha, ha. Another good laugh. Daisuke didn't stop himself that time. He clenched his fist, and took a step forward.
"Shut the fuck up!" The one on his left reached out and backhanded him. His head snapped back. His eyes turned cold, and he looked at them as if peering at roaches. "My life. I'm in control. And if I have to overcome the obstacles myself, then that's what I'll do." They laughed again, finding his determination amusing.
"Sure, queer-bait. Overcome this!" The leader swung out with his left hand, and Daisuke only had a moment to react.
__________________
End note: Sorry, not going there today. I couldn't have the fight in this chapter, because you're not going to read about it, only about its outcome. It has some interesting consequences.
After recieving the message from Takeru, he hadn't actually expected to find the young redhead, but he figured it was his luck, after being up for twenty-four hours already.
"Motomiya-san?" Brown eyes darted to him quickly, filling with both relief, and dread. "What are you up to?" He tried his best to sound interested, but knew it as a lost cause as the other's eyes flashed.
"Nothing. Excuse me." He made to brush past, not wanting to be yet another charity case to someone else.
"Wait. Daisuke? Please?" That stopped him in his tracks, and forced him to turn around. Jyou'se eyes were compassionate, but not pitying. "I haven't sat down in the longest time. Would you like to have coffee with me?"
He might not have been the most unselfish of the digi-destined, but he wasn't blind. The red of Daisuke's eyes, and the pain they reflected made his heart ache. He regretted his initial desire to let the boy pass.
"Not really, Kido-sempai." He didn't elaborate, didn't offer an excuse.
The blue-haired one persisted. "Why not?"
Searching his mind for a reason, Daisuke found none, and shrugged. He didn't fee like lying to anyone, because that only made things worse. A perfect example was the situation with Ken the day before.
"Good. You don't have a reason, so you can come. I'll even by you a coffee, if you want."
"I don't drink coffee." Dai smiled uncertainly.
"Now's as good a time to start as any." And he walked down the street. Dai followed. They went to a diner halfway between Jyou's and the hospital, and found a window booth. "What's up?"
"Nothing." Dai lied, before remembering his thoughts on honesty. "Everything, at this point."
"Wanna talk?" A waiter delivered two cups of steaming coffee, and Jyou wrapped his hands around its warmth.
"Not really." He paused. "Actually, yeah. I spoke with Miya last night, but something new happened, and I don't want to go back to her building." Takeru's building.
"I'm all ears." Jyou offered, studying the boy across the table from him. Not only did he look like he had cried recently, but he also looked as if he hadn't slept well, either. There was an air of sadness and confusion around him, adding to the dispirited look. Putting aside his own problems, he leaned his elbows on the table.
"I should probably start at the beginning, huh?" When the older digi-destined nodded, he began, starting with, "I guess you should know that I'm gay", and ending with, "and I ran away after he kissed me."
Jyou sat through it all, listening quietly, nodding at some points, and frowing at others. When the redhead fell silent, he waited before asking his first question. "Why did you run from Ken? Yes, you were hurt, and offended, but you don't normally run from that."
"I know. I was afraid that if I stayed, it would be too easy to let him handle everything for me. I didn't want him to be responsible for everything, and I didn't want him to pity me, and I didn't want him to be scared of me, and for me."
"And this afternoon with Takeru? Why did you run then? You could have just told him you weren't interested."
"That's actually along the same lines as the Ken thing." He blushed, and Jyou smiled. "I just don't want to hurt him, and I don't want to lose his friendship. At this point I need all the friends I have not to abandon me."
"Why would he do that?"
"Because he thinks I need to feel loved? I think that that kiss was his way of taking care of things. I told you that he hit that guy yesterday, right? And then he spent this whole morning with me? I think that he's trying his best to be as supportive of me as possible, and he thinks that a relationship with him would make me happy. Kind of like Ken."
"I don't think that was ever Ken's intention to let it go that far. He got you out of a sticky situation, and then put his foot in his mouth. If things had progressed naturally, I'm sure that he wouldn't have faked love to keep you from hurting yourself."
"I think you're right, now, but I wasn't exactly thinking clearly yesterday. My first instinct was to get away."
"Flight or fight reaction. Apparently, you opt for flight more often than not. You've run away from two of your friends in as many days, for similar reasons."
"What should I do?" Brown eyes searched blue hopefully, and Jyou felt his affection for the boy across the table grow.
"I don't know. Try talking to Takeru. Maybe Miyako has more advice. You can email her. Don't jump to conclusions everytime something new happens. Stick around, and find out exactly what's going on. You said you didn't want Ken and Takeru to have to handle it, and that means that you have to be responsible for yourself, and your actions. No more running away when things get difficult. Start talking the truth, so that the misunderstandings stop."
"You're right, Jyou. Thanks." He stood up, and smiled at the elder. "I'll see you around."
Jyou watched him leave, exiting the diner quickly. Now that he was alone, the fatigue and aches came back to haunt him. He slumped against the booth, and laid his head against the table. Some days, it didn't pay to get out of bed.
Daisuke, while Jyou wished for a quick and painless end to his suffering, walked back towards Miyako's, determined to find everyone, and start taking control of his life again.
Takeru would come first.
Then Ken, and then all the digi-destined together. Miya was rounding them up for Monday, and that would be soon enough to suit him. His parents could wait, as far as he was concerned. They were last on his list of important people, and he'd be damned before he spoke to them over his friends.
He stopped suddenly, and looked around. Something was wrong. He didn't know what, but the feeling was there, in the back of his mind. His breathing became shallow, and the noises around him were suddenly muted.
The corner he was standing on was close to where Takeru had stopped him, and he wasn't surprised to see that the blonde had left. The coffee with Jyou had taken almost an hour.
He turned in a circle, trying to place the feeling. Fear? Confusion? Doom? "I'm not psychic, dammit." Frustration caused his voice to growl out. Suddenly, his ears popped, and the world returned to normal, leaving him feeling light-headed, and disoriented. He looked up, and his heart stopped in his throat.
The bully from the day before was bearing down on him, with two of his buddies in tow.
The day had gone from bad to worse, again. Everytime he turned around, life seemed to throw another cog in the works for him to deal with, and he was getting tired of it, personally.
To take over his life, he would have to face the obstacles before him. That sounded easy in theory, but facing three brutes, who outweighed, and outnumbered him, was asking too much of anyone.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't the little faggot boy. Where's your protector now, Motomiya?" They grinned at him mockingly, fists clenched, intentions written in the lines of their bodies.
"Sorry, Big and Ugly, but it's only me today. Nobody else is here to whoop your ass." That only caused them to laugh.
"Right, bitch." He took a threatening step forward. "We'll deal with you, and then find your little bitch. Which of your little friends would that be? Takaishi, who thinks he can take me on? Or the girly Ichijouji, who probably begs to be taken by anything with a prick."
Daisuke wanted to charge at him. It wouldn't do good for him if they knew how pissed their trash-talk made him.
"What, no response? Maybe you're too pussy-whipped." Ha, ha. Another good laugh. Daisuke didn't stop himself that time. He clenched his fist, and took a step forward.
"Shut the fuck up!" The one on his left reached out and backhanded him. His head snapped back. His eyes turned cold, and he looked at them as if peering at roaches. "My life. I'm in control. And if I have to overcome the obstacles myself, then that's what I'll do." They laughed again, finding his determination amusing.
"Sure, queer-bait. Overcome this!" The leader swung out with his left hand, and Daisuke only had a moment to react.
__________________
End note: Sorry, not going there today. I couldn't have the fight in this chapter, because you're not going to read about it, only about its outcome. It has some interesting consequences.