Digimon belongs to Toei! It's not mine!

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Shi-chan: You dared to tempt me, Jei-san.
The Kensuke is coming.
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Sadness-Colored Sandglass
Part 5
~By Shimegami-chan
Music: "If I Am," by Nine Days

AUTHOR'S NOTE: The title is from an instrumental GW piece. Very pretty, and really works for this story, especially in later chapters. ^_^

Warnings: Shounen-ai; it's Kensuke. At the moment.



The bright sun in Ken's face warmed his body and soul, cleansing him of any remnants of the night before. His eyes fluttered open and he breathed deeply, inhaling the sharp scent of someone he knew very well, an aura of grass and sky and fresh sweet wind. He lifted his head from where it lay against the other boy's chest and blinked sleepily at Daisuke's smiling face.

"Feeling any better?" Daisuke inquired, leaning in to kiss the tip of Ken's nose.

"Much, thank you." Ken noted the presence of Wormmon still half-conscious in his lap and patted the Digimon's head in silent understanding. "Thanks for staying with me, Dai."

"No problem." Daisuke yawned and leaned against the wall, releasing Ken from his arms just enough for the indigo-haired boy to scoot over beside him. "I'd better go before your parents figure out that I stayed the night."

Ken studied Daisuke's face intently: the lids of his chocolate-brown eyes were drooping, and dark circles hung under them. A little guiltily Ken realized just how much sleep the other boy must have gotten since he arrived at the Ichijouji's. Come to think of it, Ken mused, Wormmon hadn't said a word of good-morning to him yet: the insect's bright eyes were shut tightly and his breathing was deep and even. Chibimon, still clutching Daisuke's D-Terminal, was sprawled out on his stomach.

Despite his troubles during the night, Ken felt strangely refreshed and a little more cheerful than usual. Maybe it was having his friends around to help him through this. Maybe it was the tickle of Wormmon's anntennae across his bare arms that brought a smile to his face.

Maybe it was Daisuke, eyes blissfully closed, face relaxed, leaning heavily against him in much-needed slumber.

Ken lowered the other boy's limp body to the bed and pulled the blankets up to Daisuke's chin, tucking a weary Chibimon in beside him. He touched his fingers to the little dragon's forhead. "You two get some rest. Thanks for staying with me."

Chibimon gurgled something in reply and resumed his slumber almost as quickly as his human partner.

Wormmon's antennae twitched nervously and Ken turned his attention to his own Digimon. "You okay, Wormmon?" he asked, patting the insect's head lightly.

"I'm fine, Ken-chan." His sleepy but clear blue eyes belied his words, so Ken pulled his partner into a gentle hug. "How are you?"

"Better, my friend, much better. What say we get something to eat while the others nap?"

Wormmon's drooping antennae perked up. "Okay!"

Ken swung his legs out over the bed and dropped lightly to the floor, raising up on his toes to give Daisuke a quick kiss on the cheek. "Sleep well, Dai."



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Ken munched thoughtfully on a rice cake while Wormmon devoured a dozen chocolate-chip cookies. "Wormmon..."

"Nani, Ken-chan?" The green insect looked much more energetic now. He paused long enough to give Ken his full attention.

"Tell me what happened last night."

Wormmon looked worried. "After you fell asleep, Chibimon and I stayed up for a while and wrote Daisuke-san an e-mail on your D-Terminal explaining mostly what happened when we came home. Then you started having bad dreams so we asked him to come over and check on you just in case. We tried to wake you up, but you wouldn't! Not even for me. So Daisuke-san came over right away, and then you woke up just before he got here."

"What happened after that?"

"Well…Daisuke told us to go to sleep but I was still worried, so he said he'd wake me up if anything happened. And I guess nothing did."

Ken smiled faintly. "He stayed up all night."

Wormmon nodded. "Is that good, Ken-chan?"

"Yeah," Ken whispered. "It's good." He drew his partner into another hug and sighed happily. "I'm okay now."

Wormmon's eyes crinkled into that mouthless smile Ken loved to see. "I'm glad. But what about everything else, Ken-chan? The glasses and the Digivice?"

"I think I understand what happened with the glasses," Ken explained hesitantly. "But the Digivice I'm not sure about. Maybe we should make sure you can still digivolve, before my parents wake up."

"Good idea."

Ken unclipped the D-3 and held it tightly. "Let's go, Wormmon."





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Shi-chan: More soon!