Make good the escape

It took half an hour to reach a road. They were lucky, because the stretch that they came upon had a moonlit sign advertising the highway, and telling them that left would take them west.

They were both tired from the strain of supporting Takeru's ankle. "Maybe we should rest?" The blonde stopped at the sign to lean against it. "I don't know about you, but I'm hungry, and tired, and really wishing that we could find a ride right about now."

Ken smiled, Takeru's arm still around his shoulders. "This doesn't look like a busy part of the highway." The hand on his shoulder slipped away a little bit, pausing at his neck to squeeze there lightly.

With the moon overhead, they could see each other better, and Ken was aware that Takeru's eyes were dark with something more than shadows. He let himself be propelled forward until they stood front to front, and an arm hooked its way around his waist.

He sighed with pleasure as the blonde brought their lips together, kissing him with gentle persistence until he opened his mouth. Takeru slipped his tongue inside, tenderly stroking his tongue and the inside of his cheeks. Pale hands came up to grasp his shirt, bringing their groins in contact. They both moaned, and Ken's tongue slid its way around the blonde's.

The sound of the car didn't penetrate until the headlights flashed over their heads as it topped a hill. With quick reflexes, Ken pulled them both down and back, rolling into the ditch. They lay in the grass, Takeru on top, as they brought their breathing under control. The blonde smiled down. "Hi."

Hazy violet eyes peered up at him, and then the genius smiled. "Hi." His voice was raspy, and his eyes remained hooded with desire. Takeru was about to lean down and kiss him again when the car screeched to a halt.

"Takeru?" They both looked up over the side of the ditch. "Ken?"

They rolled away from each other, Ken standing up, and Takeru into a sitting position. Ken's hand reached out and helped him to his feet. Takeru didn't let go of his hand as they peered up at their friends. "Daisuke!"

Arms reached down to help pull them out of the ditch. Daisuke hugged Ken, and the genius was more than a little taken by surprise by his enthusiasm.  "I'm so glad you're okay. We were so worried, especially after you said that you were going to run away."

"How did you see us?" Takeru asked over Iori's head. He had Kari under one arm, and the little brunette under another. With a slight smile, Matt stepped forward, and pulled the little blinking light off of his hat. He handed it back to his brother to turn it off. "Oh."

He looked at Ken, but the dark-haired teen wouldn't look his way, and he frowned. With a sinking feeling in his stomach, he allowed the others to push him into the middle seat of the car while Daisuke, Ken, Koushiro, Iori, and Hikari climbed into the rear. "It was lucky that we were coming when we were." Tai smiled at them as he got into the front seat. "We got lost, and something happened with the motor, and then the tire."

Matt turned around in his seat, bumping both Sora, who was driving, and Tai, who was stuck next to the door. "We had a little trouble following your directions. We just got the car started, and were heading back toward the intersection to try again when Daisuke spotted the light. The rest of us ignored it."

Takeru looked back at Ken, who was watching him from the back. He held the little blinking light in his hand in a questioning manner. It was off, but he didn't know if he should keep it, or give it back, since it had already served its purpose. After a moment's hesitation, Ken shook his head, and smiled as Takeru put it back on his hat.

"So, what did you two do while you were waiting?" Miyako, her elbow pressed painfully against his side, was smiling at him with a suspicious gleam. "I hope the two of you weren't bored."

The emphasis she placed on the last word made Takeru blush and turn away. He didn't want to answer her questions, so he shrugged.

She shifted, and Mimi giggled as her left elbow brushed her side. "Watch it, Miya."

"Sorry." The violet-haired girl leaned over so that she could whisper in his ear. "Did you at least talk to him?"

He looked back, but Ken was facing the rear, watching the taillights fade as they got farther and farther away from their captors. "We kissed."

She squealed, and he drew back, covering his ear protectively. "What are you two doing back there?" Matt turned around, one brow cocked. Takeru sighed, and then glared at Miyako.

"Nothing." Miya replied, smirking at Takeru. "Is that all?"

"Yes. We didn't really say much of anything to each other." He looked out the window, wishing that he could be the one in the back with Ken, or that they'd had more time in the ditch, or in the woods, or if they'd waited before they left.

She sighed dramatically, pressing her hands to her chest. "I'm glad that my love life is more exciting than yours." Her voice was loud enough for everyone in the car to hear, and he blushed in the darkness as eleven pair of eyes peered at him.

Daisuke snickered, then grunted as someone poked him in the stomach. Takeru didn't dare risk a glance at Ken. He couldn't have a love life if his feelings weren't returned.

_______

Eight hours later, they still weren't home. Conversation had disappeared after the first three hours, and the radio droned on endlessly. Those that weren't tired and trying to sleep were either driving, or staring out the windows as they waited for the next rest stop.

Daisuke stretched carefully, shifting towards the interior of the car as Koushiro slept against his side. He wasn't exactly certain when they'd snuggled together, but he wasn't about to complain. He kissed the redhead on the forehead before closing his eyes to go back to sleep. Jyou glanced over, taking his eyes off of the road to peek a glance at them. With a smile, he returned to his driving. Behind the redheads sat Iori and Hikari. He was holding her as she slept, her head resting against his chest. She was laying crooked on the seat, and no one was quite certain how she had managed to fall asleep in such a position, but slept she did, snoring lightly as Iori rubbed her arm.

Sora was staring out the front window on Hikari's left, her feet supported by the back of the front seat so that her knees were up. Takeru sat next to her, staring out the window, trying to ignore Ken behind him. The genius hadn't bothered to speak to him since they'd been picked up. Mimi and Miyako sat behind Hikari and Iori, sleeping in the spoon position. They had settled down that way, so there was no question of it being an accident. Ken wasn't quite sure why, but she had winked suggestively at him before she went to sleep.

Stretched out beside them as much as possible was Tai, sleeping with his arms flung out, and his legs against the window. Matt and Ken sat on the other side of him, behind Takeru. The blonde was glancing out the window across from him, tapping a rhythm on his knee. The blue-haired teen was thinking. He moved closer to the seat, until he could kiss the top of Takeru's head without moving too far, though he didn't touch the blonde. It was enough for a moment that he could. Takeru shifted uncomfortably, but didn't turn around.

Neither moved for several minutes. Jyou changed radio stations, flipping through the buttons at random. Tai and Daisuke were both snoring loud enough to be heard, but not at full volume. Matt began to hum under his breath as he leaned back, and stretched his legs across Tai's. Takeru touched his head for a moment, adjusting his hat. Ken held his breath, but the blond didn't say anything, or turn around. Behind them, the sun was making its way higher in the sky.

With a quick twist of his hands, Takeru turned the light in his hands on, let it blink green three times, and then shut it off. He waited, his throat tight. Nothing happened, and he couldn't tell if Ken had even seen it. With a quiet sigh, he let the little metal object sit in his fist as he stared out the window. A gentle hand touched his shoulder, and his body tensed. He relaxed, and the hand moved down his shoulder, and around his neck. Behind him, Ken was kneeling in the back, and leaning over the seat. His breath was warm against the back of the blonde's head as he hugged him from behind.

"You know, this wasn't what I had planned when I asked you to spend the weekend at my house." Takeru smiled as Ken pressed a little closer and wrapped both arms around his neck.

"And here I thought that you were just into the kinky stuff." Their voices were low, but Sora and Jyou were the only two awake to see, and they both smiled, turning their eyes away so that the two boys could have privacy. "I'm glad that we got out of that."

"So am I. It makes for an interesting story, doesn't it?" Takeru lifted his hands to cover Ken's and tilted his head back.

"Mmm." The dark-haired boy pressed his lips against his cheek, humming as he did. "I don't think I'd want to do this every weekend." Daisuke mumbled something in the front seat, and sat up as best he could, rousing Koushiro gently as he did. Takeru watched them through hooded eyes, but didn't pull away. Ken's eyes were closed, his head resting against the blonde's. The younger redhead turned around, took in the picture they made, and grinned at his friends. With a smile, Takeru closed his eyes.

____________

They stopped for lunch at noon, twelve teenagers climbing out of a single car. A truck driver looked at them oddly as they stretched, but shrugged and decided that it wasn't any of his business. The restaurant was small, a little place on the side of the highway. Koushiro stumbled when he got out, and would have collapsed to the ground when his legs gave out if Daisuke hadn't caught him.

"Morning." The redhead grinned, and helped his friend stand up straight. When his hands were free, he adjusted the goggles on his head, and stretched. "Sleep well?" His smile said that he had. Koushiro shrugged, looking away from the intensity of his gaze

"Well enough, I suppose." He looked back up, his expression friendly. "I don't suppose you know why my legs were jammed between Jyou and I?"

Daisuke blushed and chuckled. On the other side of the car, Jyou gave him a bland look. "Since you were lying in Dai's lap, your feet had to go somewhere, and they weren't going to be in my lap while I was driving."

Koushiro blushed, and then looked back at Daisuke. Brown eyes met his with an unusual amount of hesitancy. "I slept in your lap?" He'd woken up to Daisuke pulling him out of the car by his shoulders. It would make sense that he'd slept in someone's lap if he'd been laying down.

"Yeah." With a self-conscious smile, Daisuke brushed his palms against his legs. "Hungry?" Black eyes regarded him for a moment, searching his dark brown eyes. With a smile, Daisuke grabbed his hand and started toward the building.

"Starving." Daisuke lead a grin, waving at the rest of his friends as they walked away. Sora waved back, smiling.

"That's so sweet." She turned to Jyou, who offered her his arm. She took it, smiling up at him with something more than gentle affection.

Hikari and Iori shut the door on their side of the car, and walked up to the door. They didn't hold hands, but Iori did hold the door open for her. Takeru looked at the people that were left, and smiled as Miya and Mimi passed, their arms around each other's waists.

Ken started forward slowly, his head high. He didn't look at the blonde, but he felt his gaze with every step. Tai leaned against the car, and tapped Takeru on the shoulder. Blue eyes blinked at him, and he watched as his brother passed them.

The brunette smiled at him. "I don't know what it is you want, exactly, from this thing you've got going with Ken, but talking to him would definitely be a good idea. That way, neither one of you gets hurt."

"It's hard."

"What is? Being friends with him, and nothing more? Or telling him how you feel? As far as I can tell, he doesn't seem too resistant to your charms."

"What if it's just physical?" Takeru looked up, his eyes dark. "We just started making out in the dark, and now we have a problem keeping our hands to ourselves." He swallowed. "I don't want this to be some drawn-out make out session. I really like him."

"Here's the way I see it. You guys have known each other for years without jumping each other. You've been friends, and you've gotten rather close. At this point, the physical aspect of your relationship is rearing its head due to frustration. Sleep with him, and if he respects you in the morning, you've got it made."

"Thanks." His tone was sarcastic, but Tai shrugged.

"Let's eat."

They entered the restaurant to find everyone sitting at different booths. Tai found Matt, and scooted in next to him, across from Sora and Jyou. Takeru looked around, and saw that there was an empty seat by Ken, sitting with Daisuke and Koushiro.

The redheads had their hands clasped together, and were sharing the same menu to decide what to have. He slid in next to Ken, and smiled at him. "I'd like to see them try to eat that way."

Brown eyes peered at him over the blue cardboard. "We could do it." His gaze held a challenge.

"I'm sure you could." They returned to the menu, and he looked up. Ken was staring at him, his eyes dark. He noticed that the hands that held his menu seemed to tremble. "We need to talk."

The genius nodded, and moved to sit his menu down. Takeru placed a hand on his arm to stop him.  

"After we eat."

______________

Eating turned out to be a major event. The cook was unable to make such an amount without notice, and they got their food in groups of twos and threes. The eggs were runny, the toast burnt, and the only thing that turned out edible was the pre-packaged orange juice served to them in un-matching plastic cups.

Ken took a sip of his water and tried to keep his hand from shaking. Ever since the blonde had sat down next to him, he'd had a problem keeping his physical reaction under control. His whole body seemed wired in expectation, and the lack of contact seemed to heighten his awareness of every move Takeru made.

For his part, Takeru seemed to be unwilling to talk, and he answered Koushiro's questions about their plight with monosyllable replies. Daisuke seemed to know what was going on, and he kept smirking at them knowingly. To put an end to his smugness, Takeru finally asked the question that he had vaguely been wondering about.

"When did you two start going out?" His voice was curious. Black eyes met brown as the redheads looked at each other. With an uncertain glance, Koushiro drew his hand back and looked away.

Daisuke nudged him. "Move. Out of the booth, let's go." The genius stood up, and waited for Daisuke to follow. "We'll be back in a moment." With that, he grabbed Koushiro's hand, and drew him outside, leaving two half-eaten plates of food.

With an uncertain smile, Daisuke let the door to the restaurant close behind him as he and Koushiro stepped out into the sun. The computer genius was regarding him steadily, his dark eyes unfathomable. His hands were resting casually in his pockets, and to the world, he looked relaxed and calm. But Daisuke could tell that his breathing was a little to strained, and his pulse was almost ready to jump out of his neck.

After several moments of silence, Koushiro looked away, smiling sadly. "Maybe we should eat our food, Dai. Food's always a good thing."

"You don't think I'm stupid, do you?" It was almost more of a statement than a question, and black eyes peered at him wordlessly for a moment.

"No, I don't. Your mind amazes me, Daisuke. You come up with some of the quirkiest things, plans, jokes, and all kinds of things. I don't think that a computer would hold all the stuff you have implanted in your brain." Daisuke grinned, blushing slightly at the compliment.

The younger redhead straightened up, squaring his shoulders. "So, you've never thought that I was too stupid, and you've never doubted me?"

"I wouldn't go as far as saying that I've never doubted you, Dai." The black eyes were smiling at him now, Koushiro's lips turning up at the corner. "I'll put it this way. If I were stuck on a desert island with one person, and I wanted to either survive, or find a way off, I would want to be stuck with you. I think you could save the world better than I either Ken and I, simply because you wouldn't give up until you'd figured it out."

"I'm persistent, eh?" Koushiro nodded, eyeing Daisuke warily as he approached the older teen. "And I never give up, huh?" Another affirmation. "Then you'd just give in to me, because you know that an irresistible force cannot coexist with an immovable object."

"Laws of Physics. An object at rest will stay at rest until acted upon by an outside force." Daisuke circled around him, and started backing him toward the wall.

"And an object at motion will stay in motion until acted upon by an equal or greater force. Like a wall." He grinned devilishly as he cornered the genius, and pressed both palms against the wall on either side of him. "I think that a wall is definitely a greater force than you, 'Shiro."

__________

Ken watched them go, and then glanced sideways at Takeru. The blonde turned toward him, and their knees touched, and Ken's blue-violet gaze darkened perceptibly. He'd managed to keep himself in a semblance of control through most of the meal, but he was slowly being driven insane.

"That was interesting." Takeru's voice dropped a few notches below normal conversation, until it sounded more like a whisper. His gaze was intense.

With some difficulty, Ken swallowed. "Yeah." His voice was husky, and he licked his lips. He slipped his left hand down into the seat between them, wanting to touch the blonde badly enough to risk it in public. He was saved from temptation when Daisuke dropped back into his seat with a grin.

"Thirty seconds." Koushiro sat down as well, looking more than a little stunned. The look that Takeru gave him was blank, at best. With a glance at Koushiro, Daisuke picked up his hand again. "We've been going out for thirty seconds."

"That's nice." Takeru turned stiffly to sit straight in his seat. He placed both hands on the top of the table, and gripped them tightly about his water. "Congratulations, guys. It's great that you've decided to get together despite your differences."

Koushiro smiled teasingly, but Daisuke beat him to the joke. "I didn't have much of a choice. Either I asked him out, or he stopped tutoring me. My grades can't handle that."

"Smartass." Takeru studied them both, noticing the look of excitement and joy in their faces. He couldn't remember seeing either of them so happy or content.

"Brainiac." They laughed, sharing a look between them. His expression suddenly turning serious, Daisuke tugged on Koushiro's hand until the redhead leaned down, and he could whisper in his ear. "I love you."

He closed his black eyes, and when he opened them again, they were wet with unshed tears. "I love you, too."

"Get the kissing out of the way, and we can leave." Every one at their table turned to look with surprise at Tai. They'd been so immersed in the situation between Daisuke and Koushiro that they hadn't realized that everyone was heading out the door, and the waitress had already received payment for their food.                          

"Don't be such a jerk, Tai." Matt walked by, his expression annoyed. He glared at his best friend, and then smiled at his brother and the other three. "We're leaving. If you guys want to stay here, and find a ride later, that's fine, but we need to get back on the road. We have a good few hours left."

___________

Takeru sighed as they once again crammed into the car. This time, Sora, Jyou, Iori, and Hikari had called the back, claiming that it was their turn to lay down comfortably. Taker was stuck in the front seat with his brother and Tai, leaving Mimi, Miyako, Ken, Daisuke, and Koushiro in the middle seat. It didn't look comfortable. Mimi was on Miya's lap, Koushiro on Daisuke's, and Ken stuck against the door, behind Takeru. If the blonde hadn't know better, he would have thought that it was some form of conspiracy to keep him and Ken apart.

They didn't have a chance to talk to the genius after breakfast. His brother had been in a hurry, and they had been back on the road in two minutes, grumbling and complaining the entire time. With a grimace, he moved closer to the door, trying to remove Tai's elbow from his side. The brunette was staring out the windshield, his eyes as dark as Matt's, his body tense. Takeru knew from experience that something was going on, but he couldn't read his brother's moods as easily as he could Tai's.

"Can you guys fit another person up there?" The voice was shot out by Miyako, as she tried to move her left leg to relieve the stiffness of her joints. "It's getting cramped back here. We should be able to fit four in a seat, and the back's full." Tai turned around and regarded her for a moment before looking at Matt. The blonde shrugged without turning away from the road.

"Red rover, red rover, send the genius on over." He grinned at his own joke, and then tapped the blonde driver on the shoulder. "Pull over for a second, and Ken can squeeze out and fit up here with us." There was a sound of relief from the middle seat when the car stopped, and Ken opened his door. Takeru opened the front door for him, and moved over, shoving Tai against his brother as he did so. The genius looked at him shyly, got in, and shut the door. Takeru grunted as Tai moved him over, causing him to crush Ken against the door. "Make some room, TK."

After several more grunts, the four in the front seat settled down as much as possible, Tai turning a little in the seat to accommodate everyone, and turning his back to Takeru and Ken as he did. The dark-haired genius was trying to become part of the door as he tried to move out of contact with the blonde. Blue eyes looked up, and met his, and they both held their breaths for a moment.

"What did you want to talk about?" Ken broke the silence between them, then jumped when Tai turned the radio on. Takeru licked his lips uncertainly, and glanced sideways at his brother and Tai. They were pointedly ignoring them, fazing them out to afford them some privacy.

"I wanted to talk to you about…us…and what happened…and…stuff." He trailed off, swallowing hard when Ken frowned at him, first in confusion, then in mistaken understanding.

"Don't worry about it." He tried to shrug and turn away, but Takeru's body, pinned up against his, refused to allow him such movement.

"It's not like that." He stared into his violet eyes intently, wanting him to fully realize how he felt. "The whole kissing thing. I like it. I like touching you, and being touched by you. I like kissing you, and being kissed by you. When we were back at the house, and I suggested not resting, and not going, I was hoping that you'd agree, and we could, you know, do more. But when you said no, and we went back to sleep, I was also relieved. Because I don't want that with you."

Ken winced, and tried to draw back, but Takeru brought his hand up, and forced his chin up so that he had no choice but to look at him.

"I don't want only that with you. I don't want some dark night, when we're both a little on edge, to define everything that I could have with you. I want more. I want to talk with you, and be with you like we've been together these last couple of weeks. I want to be able to kiss you, and touch you, but I also want to know everything about you. What makes you happy, and what scares you. How you think, how you feel, where you're at. I want to be able to call you at nine o-clock at night, and say that I've missed you, and know that you feel the same."

He paused holding his breath as Ken stared at him in amazement. A shrill whistle caused them to snap out of their trance, and Takeru turned to glare at Daisuke. The people in the back of the car were looking at them, and clapping. Tai smiled smugly as he turned the radio back up, eyes twinkling. "Gods." Ken hid his blushing face in the crook of Daisuke's shoulder, his hand reaching for and grasping the blonde's. "Remind me to kill him later."