This is my second installment of my fic for Nemesi-chan's contest!
Well...*rereads installment before posting* Um...well now. I don't know where half this stuff came from. I blame my Muses for the whole thing. I don't know where, but somewhere along the line if got incredibly fluffy...and it's getting fluffier by the minute…for all involved.
To be totally honest, I have no idea where this is headed...
Just give me some feed back, 'k?
Disclaimer: You know the drill. I do not own Digimon...Digimon belong to a lot of rich people that I envy. I am making no money off this fic, and frankly I have no money so it would be pretty pointless to sue me.
This is an original fic by me, if you would like to use it or post it somewhere else, please let me know first.... That's about all I can think of now...
Rating-R
Warning-This fic contains an unparalleled amount of fluff between Dai and Ken, as well as Veemon and Wormmon. If One Digimon loving another makes you queasy, then you might not want to read this.
Be warned: All flames will be used to make smores!
--Of Young Love and Digimon--
-Part III-
It was early morning, several hours after the Digidestined had split up to look for their missing leader.
Gatomon moved around the clearing slowly, looking at the signs. Footprints. Disturbed ground. Crushed grass. Broken twigs and branches. All the signs of a struggle. But that struggle could have been between two Digimon. What really separated the struggle in this clearing from any struggle between two Digimon was the smell. It was so obvious to Gatomon that she was surprised that Hikari couldn't smell it until she reminded herself that most human senses weren't as sharp as most Digimons'. What really separated this struggle from any other in the Digital world was the smell. The clearing practically reeked of human.
One she was familiar with, and one that she was unfamiliar with, but knew nonetheless. Hikari looked around the clearing and ran a hand through her light brown hair, "What happened here Gatomon?" she whispered.
Gatomon sighed as she stood from where she was crouching and examining some crushed grass, "Daisuke and Veemon were here, as were the Emperor and a Digimon that I think must have been Wormmon."
She pointed to a two openings in the foliage around the clearing, "Daisuke and Veemon came from that direction, the Emperor and Wormmon came from that direction," she pointed to the disturbed ground, where the grass had been uprooted and rich black-brown soil showed through, "Daisuke and the Emperor fought from here," she moved her arm in an arc across the clearing, "To here, but for some reason it doesn't look like Veemon and Wormmon did anything other than sit on that log."
She moved over to the large area where the grass had been crushed, "When they fought, they rolled around right here, probably trying to get away from each other," she pointed back the way the Emperor had entered the clearing, "Then they all went that way together."
"Something's bothering you," Hikari observed.
"It doesn't make any sense!" Gatomon's brow wrinkled as she walked over to the Emperor's entrance.
"What doesn't make sense?"
"The way Daisuke and Veemon left!"
"Weren't they carried off by the Digimon Emperor's slaves?"
"No, the only Digimon here were Veemon and Wormmon," she turned and looked at Hikari over her shoulder, "And they weren't carried."
"What?"
Gatomon crouched next to the path and pointed to the footprints there, "The pattern on these boots is unfamiliar, therefore they belong to the Emperor," she moved to the next set, "these tracks belong to Wormmon," she moved to the next, "I recognize these boot prints-they're Daisuke's," she moved to the last, "And these tracks are Veemon's." She stood and shook her head, "For some reason, after the fight, both Daisuke and Veemon walked out of this clearing under their own power-with or after the Emperor."
"You mean they wanted to go?" Hikari gasped, her head spinning at the implications.
Gatomon shook her head and closed her eyes, "I don't know. It just doesn't make sense!"
Hikari opened her D-Terminal with hands that shook almost too much to hold the device, looking at the reflection of her pale face in the blank screen before she started typing the message she would send to the others.
----------
Daisuke came out of sleep slowly, wondering were he was for a second before remembering what had happened when he had met the Emperor last night. And that led him to start thinking about what he and his Ken-chan had done last night after they had returned to the base.
He felt himself smile in his sleep. He felt warm. Warm and safe. As he woke up more and more he slowly became aware of his environment. There was an arm wrapped around him, holding him close to a warm body, which he in turn had his arms wrapped around. There was a soft, warm blanket covering him to about the middle of his chest. The mattress that he was lying on was soft and wonderfully comfortable as it shaped to hold him, molding to his body. He came to realize he was naked, and wondered for a moment where his pajamas, or failing that, his boxers were, then remembered that he hadn't brought any pajamas, thinking that they would have no trouble foiling the newest of the Emperor's plans to conquer the Digital World and return before bedtime, then thought that his boxers were probably lying somewhere on the floor where they had landed during last night's activities.
He felt someone running their fingers gently through his hair, and made a soft sound in his half-asleep half-awake limbo. He heard someone whispering softly to him, almost as if they were afraid of what they were saying, as if they didn't want anyone to know but had to say it.
"Aishiteru Daisuke. I love you…"
He slowly opened his eyes, "I heard that Ken-chan."
Ken barely paused as he ran his fingers through Daisuke's short red hair, now cast a deep burgundy by the dim, flickering light of the dozen or so candles he and Daisuke had lit before going to bed. His fingers barely paused before continuing through the soft silky strands, "And what do you say to it?"
Daisuke snuggled against Ken's chest, wrapping his arms tighter around his love's body, "Aishiteru Ken-chan, I love you too."
"I was beginning to wonder if you were going to sleep all day," Ken whispered.
"I usually do," Dai mumbled, half to himself.
He sat up suddenly, almost throwing the covers off his own (and he noticed Ken's as well) naked body, "Where's Veemon?"
Ken propped himself up on one elbow almost lazily, looking at Daisuke through his blue-black bangs, "Don't worry Dai-chan, he's with Wormmon."
Daisuke looked back at Ken, pulling the covers up some with a slight blush, "What?"
"He's sharing Wormmon's room. It seems they had an ulterior motive for getting us together."
"You don't mean they're in love?"
"Well, we are," Ken shrugged, motioning for Daisuke to lie down again. Daisuke leaned back into Ken's arms with a smile, and closed his eyes with a contented sigh.
"You know your friends will eventually figure out that you're here with me, and come to," he cleared his throat, " 'Rescue' you."
"I know," Daisuke muttered, "So what do we do when they come?"
Ken smiled as he held his redheaded love in his arms possessively, "When the time comes, we'll decide."
----------
The D-Terminal fell from Miyako's nerveless fingers. Hawkmon spun around at the sound of the gray machine hitting the ground and ran back, "Are you alright?"
Miyako didn't respond right away, and when she did, it wasn't verbal. She pointed accusingly at the screen of the open 'Terminal.
Hawkmon stooped to pick it up, and read the short message:
Daisuke has been captured by the Emperor. Found signs of a struggle. No sign of Daisuke or Veemon. Please come quickly.
-Hikari
It was followed by a set of coordinates that could be followed to the clearing on the map in the 'Terminal's memory. "Oh, my…" was all he could think to say before Miyako fell to her knees and wrapped her arms around him with a sob, grabbing onto his feathered torso like a drowning woman would grab anything to keep afloat.
----------
Wormmon woke to a soft kiss on his forehead.
He looked up into the liquid warmth of Veemon's red-brown eyes, and the gentle smile on the blue dragon's lips. "Good morning Worm-chan," he whispered.
Wormmon snuggled farther into the strong blue arms around him, "Good morning Vee-kun," he responded, "How long have you been awake?"
"Long enough to know you're cute when you're sleeping," Veemon whispered, "Long enough to realize how much I've missed you all those night when we weren't together."
Wormmon sighed, "Aishiteru Vee-kun."
Veemon blushed and drew back a little, Did Worm-chan just say he loved me? he thought. He hugged Wormmon tighter and closed his eyes, "Aishiteru Worm- chan, Aishiteru."
They stayed like that for some time, just enjoying the company of the other. Feeling the warmth of the body pressed close to their own, the arms wrapped around them.
After a while, Veemon sighed and sat up, pushing the covers off as he swung his legs over the side of the small bed. "Where are you going?" Wormmon asked, rolling from his side onto his stomach and coming to the edge of the bed.
"I don' know about you," Veemon started, "But I have to go to the little Digimon's room in the morning!"
Wormmon jumped off the bed after Veemon, "I'll come with you!"
Veemon felt a large patch of redness spread across his face, "Huh?!?"
"I have to show you the way," Wormmon explained quickly.
"Oh," Veemon sighed as he remembered that he didn't know where anything was located in the base.
"What were you thinking?" Wormmon asked, looking out the corner of one eye.
"Oh, nothing," Veemon smiled, "What's for breakfast?"
----------
They had all assembled in the clearing, and had congregated around Gatomon as she told them all that she had found out. Iori sighed and looked at the Digimon standing next to him, a concerned look on his face as he regarded Armadillomon. As soon as he had heard that Daisuke had been captured, the Digimon had gotten up and started walking out. Well, limping out. He kept his injured hind limb off the ground as much as possible.
Iori had tried to stop him of course, but the Digimon had refused to listen to him, in fact seemed like he wasn't interested in listening to reason. No matter what Iori had tried, no matter what he had said, Armadillomon just kept on walking.
He had walked all the way, even though Iori could see that every step he took caused him pain, seeing it in the way his lower eyelid flickered when his leg was jostled, the way his jaw was clenched the entire trip, the way he grunted and panted, stopping to rest frequently, the way every muscle in his body seemed tight and tense. And yet he had come all the same.
Iori was concerned too, even worried about Daisuke and Veemon, but Armadillomon seemed to be taking it personally, as if something that affected them affected all of them. He supposed it did. He had to admit that he was worried about them too…but to go through all that…he just didn't know if he could do that.
Armadillomon seemed to realize he was being watched and turned a quick smile to his partner. Underneath the way his face was drawn and pale, the smile almost seemed to say, 'It's all right, I'm fine now. It was just something I had to do.'
Iori forced a smile. He guessed that he had just done what he felt he had to.
He returned his attention to the discussion at hand, picking up on what Takeru was saying. "We can't just leave him there!"
"We all agree you," Hikari stated, "But just how are we going to get him out?"
"We go in just like we did the other day, we'll go in, find him and Veemon, and get them out before the Emperor even knows we're there!" He punched his fist into his open palm, "Then we teach him not to do this sort of thing ever again!"
"When do we move?" Gatomon asked.
They all turned to Takeru, acknowledging him as the leader now that Daisuke wasn't there to lead. Takeru thought for a moment, then nodded, coming to a decision, "Tomorrow morning, at dawn!"
Iori turned and looked at Armadillomon, "Do you think you'll be ready?"
Armadillomon smiled, "When it comes to friendship, I'm always ready!"
Iori looked back at the others, concern evident on his face. When the time came, they would all be ready. He hoped so, for all their sakes, he hoped so.
----------
They had remained in bed together all day, getting up only to go get something to eat, bringing back food and drink on trays that sat on the bed stand. They lay in each other's arms, enjoying the other's warmth and company, knowing that this was what they really wanted. Daisuke started asking himself what it was he had been expecting from Hikari, why he had chased her for so long. He guessed that it had seemed like the thing to do at the time.
He sighed as Ken started running his fingers through his hair again, trailing his soft lips over his tanned body. Ken kissed his lips first, then his chin, then the top of his neck, working his way down the neck to his collar bone, stopping in the middle to nibble the neck and the delicate collar bone bared before him. He then started kissing down Daisuke's chest, pausing at the nipples, sucking and nipping the soft flesh.
Daisuke moaned with a smile. He knew where this was headed…at least, where it had headed last night. He whimpered as Ken's kisses trailed lower, onto his belly, pushing the covers lower and lower.
"Ken-chan?" Daisuke panted.
Ken came up and looked at him, his eyes sparkling with lust, "Yes Dai- chan?"
Daisuke swallowed, not wanting to spoil the mood they were in, but he had to know what all the fuss was really about, "What is the gateway?" he asked.
Ken drew back some, sitting up, "Is that why you're here?" he asked, a hurt note in his voice.
Daisuke responded by coming up behind him and whispering huskily in his ear, "This is why I'm here…" he licked Ken's ear, then began nibbling on the pale flesh of the finely sculpted lobe, "I'm here for you. I just want to know what this is all about."
Ken smiled, "Fine then. I'll tell you," he turned so he was looking Daisuke in the face, "You see, what we call the Real World and the Digital World are actually two separate dimensions, do you understand?"
Daisuke nodded, his eyes shining, Ken-chan was talking to him! Not like he had always thought he might, condescending and rude, but as if they were on the same level. He was being treated like an equal!
Ken nodded, "Well, those two worlds are not the only two dimensions out there. In fact, there are an infinite number of dimensions out there, called the Megaverse. Now, if it's possible to move between two worlds in the Megaverse, it stands to reason that it's also possible to move between more than just the two we know, right?"
Daisuke nodded again. When Ken was explaining it, it seemed to make perfect sense! And speaking of perfect things, they were both completely uncovered, and Daisuke took a moment to contemplate Ken's body.
Ken smiled, "Well, that's what the gateway is for. Digiports only work between these two worlds, so the only way to get to the other worlds in the Megaverse is to build a gateway that can open to new dimensions!"
Daisuke smiled dreamily. Ken-chan was so cute when he was explaining something that he had been working on.
Ken spread his hands, forming shapes in the air, "With all the power I have now, I can open a gateway to another dimension with more than enough raw energy ready for the taking to take control of the entire Digital World!" Daisuke's face fell. That's right, he thought, That's what we came here for, isn't it? He looked away.
Ken smiled, noticing his Dai-chan looking away, "Is there something else you wanted me to explain?" he asked softly, wanting Daisuke to look back up, to look at him again with those bright pools of warm chocolate.
Daisuke looked up again, and frowned, "Ken-chan?"
Ken smiled, "Yes Dai-chan?"
"I…" Daisuke paused, this meant so much to him, but at the same time, he pressed on, "I want you to stop working on the gateway," there. He said it.
Ken looked at him for a moment, then it was his turn to look away, "Why?"
Daisuke thought for a second, "It makes me…uncomfortable," he said, then snuggled closer to Ken, "Besides, we could spend more time together if you weren't working on it."
Ken smiled. He did have a point there. He decided that he would only work on it after Daisuke was asleep. That way he couldn't complain that it took away from the time they were together.
He cupped Daisuke's cheek with one hand, "All right, you win. So what do you want to do about the rest of the Digidestined?"
Daisuke smiled and started running his hands up and down Ken's back as he hugged him, then running his hands all over Ken's naked body, caressing the soft, pale skin until his love moaned and purred in the back of his throat. Then Daisuke placed a hand on Ken's chest and gently pushed him onto his back, then ran that hand down his chest, over the taunt muscled stomach, finally coming to rest between his legs.
"Don't try to change the subject Dai-chan!" Ken grinned.
"You didn't seem so disinterested last night koi…"
Ken gasped and moaned contentedly in the back of his throat, "You're insatiable!"
"Tell me what that means later…" Daisuke whispered, licking Ken's neck and chest.
----------
Ken stood in the well-lit room before the Gateway. It was finally complete. He chuckled in the back of his throat as he contemplated the final power sources he held in his hand.
He had sent all the Digimon he had summoned back to their rightful places, with the notable exception of roughly three dozen he would take through the Gateway with him. He smiled as he dropped the power sources onto a table near the Gateway, chuckling to himself.
First thing in the morning. He would open it first thing in the morning. Then he would have all the power he could ever want, and then some.
----------
Daisuke woke up slowly for the second time that day. He looked around, not seeing Ken anywhere in the room. He guessed that he must have fallen asleep after…talking Ken out of the gateway project.
He got out of the bed and stretched lazily, groaning as his muscles warmed up. He pulled on his clothes, and was about to go out and look for Ken when he heard a knock at the door. He opened it and found Veemon on the other side. "Hi Daisuke!" the dragon smiled.
"Hey Veemon," Daisuke grinned, motioning him in, "I wondered where you were last night."
Veemon colored, "I was with Worm-chan," he said, "And you?"
Daisuke grinned and got a faraway look in his eyes, "I was with Ken all night," he turned slightly to look at his partner, "We made love last night, just him and me…do you have any idea what that's like?"
Veemon shook his head.
"It's wonderful," Daisuke whispered, "Just knowing that you love someone, and they love you back…knowing you can do anything with them…I wouldn't give it up for the world!"
"Wow…" Veemon whispered.
"Speaking of which," Daisuke started, "Have you seen Ken-chan? I fell asleep and he was gone when I woke up."
Veemon shook his head again, "Nope, haven't seen him since yesterday."
"I'm going to go look for him," Daisuke stated, then waved, "See you later!"
----------
That night, Veemon and Wormmon are in Wormmon's bed, holding each other. Veemon looked down at the sleeping caterpillar and thought about Daisuke, positive that he and Ken were making love again as he lay there with his Worm-chan.
"I wonder what it feels like…" he wonders aloud.
Wormmon stirred in his arms and opened his eyes sleepily, "Did you say something Vee-kun?"
Veemon blushed furiously and smiled, "Just talking to myself," he rubbed the back of Wormmon's head with one hand, "Go back to sleep Worm-chan."
Wormmon closed his eyes and snuggled closer to the warm dragon, "Good night Vee-kun."
"Good night Worm-chan," he whispered.
He watched Wormmon sleep until the caterpillar's breathing became deep and regular, a dreamy smile on his face. When he was sure Wormmon was in a deep sleep, he lay back and snuggled closer to his love, holding him close.
As he drifted off, Veemon felt his face color as he thought to himself: I wonder what it feels like…
----------
The Digidestined were back in the snag, getting ready for their offensive to retrieve Daisuke and Veemon. Halsemon volunteered to carry Armadillomon until they were ready to actually attack. They left the snag, moving to the edge of the forest, hoping to get there before the first light of day.
----------
Ken had left Daisuke asleep, feeling that he needed his sleep after the past couple of days. He stood in the Gateway chamber, holding the last power sources in his hand, inserting them into the slots made for them one by one.
Courage.
Friendship.
Love.
Reliability.
Sincerity.
Knowledge.
Hope.
Light.
When the last Crest was in place, they all glowed with barely controlled power, then dimmed. He moved to the protected room adjacent, separated from the Gateway by a thick glass wall, and moved to his control panel.
He brought the console to life with a wave of his hand, and brought the Gateway up with the press of a single button, flooding it with the power he had been collecting.
The Crests glowed with an unnatural light, and the entire base felt like it was shaking around him. Without warning, bright blue bolts of pure energy lashed out from the Gateway, arcing against, the walls, the floor, and the Gateway itself, searing the air and crackling as they danced across any surface they came into contact with.
He threw back his head and laughed. The time had come.
----------
The Digidestined looked up as unnatural thunder rolled across the sky, already turning a bright, burning blue through the branches overhead. At least, it had been blue. Now swirling masses of pitch black and sickly green clouds moved swiftly across the sky in the direction of the Emperor's base.
The ground began to shake beneath them, throwing them to the ground.
"What is this?" Takeru yelled over the din, "Some kind of new weapon?"
"No!" Gatomon yelled, staring into the distance, "He's opening the Gateway!"
----------
Koushiro yawned as he stared at the map his computer generated of the area surrounding the Emperor's base. He almost fell out of his chair when the deep red in the middle seemed to be bleached out, becoming white again. He shook his head, wondering if they had done it, then noticed that the area was spreading, and a bright white light was shining around the black grid lines. Then the lines themselves seemed to disappear from the center of the grid outward in an expanding circle. Soon the entire screen was nothing but bright, blinding white light, bleaching all the color out of the room, pure black shadows cast by anything that stood in it's way.
Then the monitor just turned off, plunging the room into darkness.
Koushiro blinked rapidly, trying desperately to clear his eyes, which seemed to have become just one giant light spot, as if he had stared at a giant light bulb for too long and it had left an afterimage that covered his entire eye.
When his vision cleared enough, he brought his monitor back up and tried to access his monitoring program again, with no success.
That was when he realized that the Digidestined had been too late, and the Gateway was open.
-TBC-
Well...*rereads installment before posting* Um...well now. I don't know where half this stuff came from. I blame my Muses for the whole thing. I don't know where, but somewhere along the line if got incredibly fluffy...and it's getting fluffier by the minute…for all involved.
To be totally honest, I have no idea where this is headed...
Just give me some feed back, 'k?
Disclaimer: You know the drill. I do not own Digimon...Digimon belong to a lot of rich people that I envy. I am making no money off this fic, and frankly I have no money so it would be pretty pointless to sue me.
This is an original fic by me, if you would like to use it or post it somewhere else, please let me know first.... That's about all I can think of now...
Rating-R
Warning-This fic contains an unparalleled amount of fluff between Dai and Ken, as well as Veemon and Wormmon. If One Digimon loving another makes you queasy, then you might not want to read this.
Be warned: All flames will be used to make smores!
--Of Young Love and Digimon--
-Part III-
It was early morning, several hours after the Digidestined had split up to look for their missing leader.
Gatomon moved around the clearing slowly, looking at the signs. Footprints. Disturbed ground. Crushed grass. Broken twigs and branches. All the signs of a struggle. But that struggle could have been between two Digimon. What really separated the struggle in this clearing from any struggle between two Digimon was the smell. It was so obvious to Gatomon that she was surprised that Hikari couldn't smell it until she reminded herself that most human senses weren't as sharp as most Digimons'. What really separated this struggle from any other in the Digital world was the smell. The clearing practically reeked of human.
One she was familiar with, and one that she was unfamiliar with, but knew nonetheless. Hikari looked around the clearing and ran a hand through her light brown hair, "What happened here Gatomon?" she whispered.
Gatomon sighed as she stood from where she was crouching and examining some crushed grass, "Daisuke and Veemon were here, as were the Emperor and a Digimon that I think must have been Wormmon."
She pointed to a two openings in the foliage around the clearing, "Daisuke and Veemon came from that direction, the Emperor and Wormmon came from that direction," she pointed to the disturbed ground, where the grass had been uprooted and rich black-brown soil showed through, "Daisuke and the Emperor fought from here," she moved her arm in an arc across the clearing, "To here, but for some reason it doesn't look like Veemon and Wormmon did anything other than sit on that log."
She moved over to the large area where the grass had been crushed, "When they fought, they rolled around right here, probably trying to get away from each other," she pointed back the way the Emperor had entered the clearing, "Then they all went that way together."
"Something's bothering you," Hikari observed.
"It doesn't make any sense!" Gatomon's brow wrinkled as she walked over to the Emperor's entrance.
"What doesn't make sense?"
"The way Daisuke and Veemon left!"
"Weren't they carried off by the Digimon Emperor's slaves?"
"No, the only Digimon here were Veemon and Wormmon," she turned and looked at Hikari over her shoulder, "And they weren't carried."
"What?"
Gatomon crouched next to the path and pointed to the footprints there, "The pattern on these boots is unfamiliar, therefore they belong to the Emperor," she moved to the next set, "these tracks belong to Wormmon," she moved to the next, "I recognize these boot prints-they're Daisuke's," she moved to the last, "And these tracks are Veemon's." She stood and shook her head, "For some reason, after the fight, both Daisuke and Veemon walked out of this clearing under their own power-with or after the Emperor."
"You mean they wanted to go?" Hikari gasped, her head spinning at the implications.
Gatomon shook her head and closed her eyes, "I don't know. It just doesn't make sense!"
Hikari opened her D-Terminal with hands that shook almost too much to hold the device, looking at the reflection of her pale face in the blank screen before she started typing the message she would send to the others.
----------
Daisuke came out of sleep slowly, wondering were he was for a second before remembering what had happened when he had met the Emperor last night. And that led him to start thinking about what he and his Ken-chan had done last night after they had returned to the base.
He felt himself smile in his sleep. He felt warm. Warm and safe. As he woke up more and more he slowly became aware of his environment. There was an arm wrapped around him, holding him close to a warm body, which he in turn had his arms wrapped around. There was a soft, warm blanket covering him to about the middle of his chest. The mattress that he was lying on was soft and wonderfully comfortable as it shaped to hold him, molding to his body. He came to realize he was naked, and wondered for a moment where his pajamas, or failing that, his boxers were, then remembered that he hadn't brought any pajamas, thinking that they would have no trouble foiling the newest of the Emperor's plans to conquer the Digital World and return before bedtime, then thought that his boxers were probably lying somewhere on the floor where they had landed during last night's activities.
He felt someone running their fingers gently through his hair, and made a soft sound in his half-asleep half-awake limbo. He heard someone whispering softly to him, almost as if they were afraid of what they were saying, as if they didn't want anyone to know but had to say it.
"Aishiteru Daisuke. I love you…"
He slowly opened his eyes, "I heard that Ken-chan."
Ken barely paused as he ran his fingers through Daisuke's short red hair, now cast a deep burgundy by the dim, flickering light of the dozen or so candles he and Daisuke had lit before going to bed. His fingers barely paused before continuing through the soft silky strands, "And what do you say to it?"
Daisuke snuggled against Ken's chest, wrapping his arms tighter around his love's body, "Aishiteru Ken-chan, I love you too."
"I was beginning to wonder if you were going to sleep all day," Ken whispered.
"I usually do," Dai mumbled, half to himself.
He sat up suddenly, almost throwing the covers off his own (and he noticed Ken's as well) naked body, "Where's Veemon?"
Ken propped himself up on one elbow almost lazily, looking at Daisuke through his blue-black bangs, "Don't worry Dai-chan, he's with Wormmon."
Daisuke looked back at Ken, pulling the covers up some with a slight blush, "What?"
"He's sharing Wormmon's room. It seems they had an ulterior motive for getting us together."
"You don't mean they're in love?"
"Well, we are," Ken shrugged, motioning for Daisuke to lie down again. Daisuke leaned back into Ken's arms with a smile, and closed his eyes with a contented sigh.
"You know your friends will eventually figure out that you're here with me, and come to," he cleared his throat, " 'Rescue' you."
"I know," Daisuke muttered, "So what do we do when they come?"
Ken smiled as he held his redheaded love in his arms possessively, "When the time comes, we'll decide."
----------
The D-Terminal fell from Miyako's nerveless fingers. Hawkmon spun around at the sound of the gray machine hitting the ground and ran back, "Are you alright?"
Miyako didn't respond right away, and when she did, it wasn't verbal. She pointed accusingly at the screen of the open 'Terminal.
Hawkmon stooped to pick it up, and read the short message:
Daisuke has been captured by the Emperor. Found signs of a struggle. No sign of Daisuke or Veemon. Please come quickly.
-Hikari
It was followed by a set of coordinates that could be followed to the clearing on the map in the 'Terminal's memory. "Oh, my…" was all he could think to say before Miyako fell to her knees and wrapped her arms around him with a sob, grabbing onto his feathered torso like a drowning woman would grab anything to keep afloat.
----------
Wormmon woke to a soft kiss on his forehead.
He looked up into the liquid warmth of Veemon's red-brown eyes, and the gentle smile on the blue dragon's lips. "Good morning Worm-chan," he whispered.
Wormmon snuggled farther into the strong blue arms around him, "Good morning Vee-kun," he responded, "How long have you been awake?"
"Long enough to know you're cute when you're sleeping," Veemon whispered, "Long enough to realize how much I've missed you all those night when we weren't together."
Wormmon sighed, "Aishiteru Vee-kun."
Veemon blushed and drew back a little, Did Worm-chan just say he loved me? he thought. He hugged Wormmon tighter and closed his eyes, "Aishiteru Worm- chan, Aishiteru."
They stayed like that for some time, just enjoying the company of the other. Feeling the warmth of the body pressed close to their own, the arms wrapped around them.
After a while, Veemon sighed and sat up, pushing the covers off as he swung his legs over the side of the small bed. "Where are you going?" Wormmon asked, rolling from his side onto his stomach and coming to the edge of the bed.
"I don' know about you," Veemon started, "But I have to go to the little Digimon's room in the morning!"
Wormmon jumped off the bed after Veemon, "I'll come with you!"
Veemon felt a large patch of redness spread across his face, "Huh?!?"
"I have to show you the way," Wormmon explained quickly.
"Oh," Veemon sighed as he remembered that he didn't know where anything was located in the base.
"What were you thinking?" Wormmon asked, looking out the corner of one eye.
"Oh, nothing," Veemon smiled, "What's for breakfast?"
----------
They had all assembled in the clearing, and had congregated around Gatomon as she told them all that she had found out. Iori sighed and looked at the Digimon standing next to him, a concerned look on his face as he regarded Armadillomon. As soon as he had heard that Daisuke had been captured, the Digimon had gotten up and started walking out. Well, limping out. He kept his injured hind limb off the ground as much as possible.
Iori had tried to stop him of course, but the Digimon had refused to listen to him, in fact seemed like he wasn't interested in listening to reason. No matter what Iori had tried, no matter what he had said, Armadillomon just kept on walking.
He had walked all the way, even though Iori could see that every step he took caused him pain, seeing it in the way his lower eyelid flickered when his leg was jostled, the way his jaw was clenched the entire trip, the way he grunted and panted, stopping to rest frequently, the way every muscle in his body seemed tight and tense. And yet he had come all the same.
Iori was concerned too, even worried about Daisuke and Veemon, but Armadillomon seemed to be taking it personally, as if something that affected them affected all of them. He supposed it did. He had to admit that he was worried about them too…but to go through all that…he just didn't know if he could do that.
Armadillomon seemed to realize he was being watched and turned a quick smile to his partner. Underneath the way his face was drawn and pale, the smile almost seemed to say, 'It's all right, I'm fine now. It was just something I had to do.'
Iori forced a smile. He guessed that he had just done what he felt he had to.
He returned his attention to the discussion at hand, picking up on what Takeru was saying. "We can't just leave him there!"
"We all agree you," Hikari stated, "But just how are we going to get him out?"
"We go in just like we did the other day, we'll go in, find him and Veemon, and get them out before the Emperor even knows we're there!" He punched his fist into his open palm, "Then we teach him not to do this sort of thing ever again!"
"When do we move?" Gatomon asked.
They all turned to Takeru, acknowledging him as the leader now that Daisuke wasn't there to lead. Takeru thought for a moment, then nodded, coming to a decision, "Tomorrow morning, at dawn!"
Iori turned and looked at Armadillomon, "Do you think you'll be ready?"
Armadillomon smiled, "When it comes to friendship, I'm always ready!"
Iori looked back at the others, concern evident on his face. When the time came, they would all be ready. He hoped so, for all their sakes, he hoped so.
----------
They had remained in bed together all day, getting up only to go get something to eat, bringing back food and drink on trays that sat on the bed stand. They lay in each other's arms, enjoying the other's warmth and company, knowing that this was what they really wanted. Daisuke started asking himself what it was he had been expecting from Hikari, why he had chased her for so long. He guessed that it had seemed like the thing to do at the time.
He sighed as Ken started running his fingers through his hair again, trailing his soft lips over his tanned body. Ken kissed his lips first, then his chin, then the top of his neck, working his way down the neck to his collar bone, stopping in the middle to nibble the neck and the delicate collar bone bared before him. He then started kissing down Daisuke's chest, pausing at the nipples, sucking and nipping the soft flesh.
Daisuke moaned with a smile. He knew where this was headed…at least, where it had headed last night. He whimpered as Ken's kisses trailed lower, onto his belly, pushing the covers lower and lower.
"Ken-chan?" Daisuke panted.
Ken came up and looked at him, his eyes sparkling with lust, "Yes Dai- chan?"
Daisuke swallowed, not wanting to spoil the mood they were in, but he had to know what all the fuss was really about, "What is the gateway?" he asked.
Ken drew back some, sitting up, "Is that why you're here?" he asked, a hurt note in his voice.
Daisuke responded by coming up behind him and whispering huskily in his ear, "This is why I'm here…" he licked Ken's ear, then began nibbling on the pale flesh of the finely sculpted lobe, "I'm here for you. I just want to know what this is all about."
Ken smiled, "Fine then. I'll tell you," he turned so he was looking Daisuke in the face, "You see, what we call the Real World and the Digital World are actually two separate dimensions, do you understand?"
Daisuke nodded, his eyes shining, Ken-chan was talking to him! Not like he had always thought he might, condescending and rude, but as if they were on the same level. He was being treated like an equal!
Ken nodded, "Well, those two worlds are not the only two dimensions out there. In fact, there are an infinite number of dimensions out there, called the Megaverse. Now, if it's possible to move between two worlds in the Megaverse, it stands to reason that it's also possible to move between more than just the two we know, right?"
Daisuke nodded again. When Ken was explaining it, it seemed to make perfect sense! And speaking of perfect things, they were both completely uncovered, and Daisuke took a moment to contemplate Ken's body.
Ken smiled, "Well, that's what the gateway is for. Digiports only work between these two worlds, so the only way to get to the other worlds in the Megaverse is to build a gateway that can open to new dimensions!"
Daisuke smiled dreamily. Ken-chan was so cute when he was explaining something that he had been working on.
Ken spread his hands, forming shapes in the air, "With all the power I have now, I can open a gateway to another dimension with more than enough raw energy ready for the taking to take control of the entire Digital World!" Daisuke's face fell. That's right, he thought, That's what we came here for, isn't it? He looked away.
Ken smiled, noticing his Dai-chan looking away, "Is there something else you wanted me to explain?" he asked softly, wanting Daisuke to look back up, to look at him again with those bright pools of warm chocolate.
Daisuke looked up again, and frowned, "Ken-chan?"
Ken smiled, "Yes Dai-chan?"
"I…" Daisuke paused, this meant so much to him, but at the same time, he pressed on, "I want you to stop working on the gateway," there. He said it.
Ken looked at him for a moment, then it was his turn to look away, "Why?"
Daisuke thought for a second, "It makes me…uncomfortable," he said, then snuggled closer to Ken, "Besides, we could spend more time together if you weren't working on it."
Ken smiled. He did have a point there. He decided that he would only work on it after Daisuke was asleep. That way he couldn't complain that it took away from the time they were together.
He cupped Daisuke's cheek with one hand, "All right, you win. So what do you want to do about the rest of the Digidestined?"
Daisuke smiled and started running his hands up and down Ken's back as he hugged him, then running his hands all over Ken's naked body, caressing the soft, pale skin until his love moaned and purred in the back of his throat. Then Daisuke placed a hand on Ken's chest and gently pushed him onto his back, then ran that hand down his chest, over the taunt muscled stomach, finally coming to rest between his legs.
"Don't try to change the subject Dai-chan!" Ken grinned.
"You didn't seem so disinterested last night koi…"
Ken gasped and moaned contentedly in the back of his throat, "You're insatiable!"
"Tell me what that means later…" Daisuke whispered, licking Ken's neck and chest.
----------
Ken stood in the well-lit room before the Gateway. It was finally complete. He chuckled in the back of his throat as he contemplated the final power sources he held in his hand.
He had sent all the Digimon he had summoned back to their rightful places, with the notable exception of roughly three dozen he would take through the Gateway with him. He smiled as he dropped the power sources onto a table near the Gateway, chuckling to himself.
First thing in the morning. He would open it first thing in the morning. Then he would have all the power he could ever want, and then some.
----------
Daisuke woke up slowly for the second time that day. He looked around, not seeing Ken anywhere in the room. He guessed that he must have fallen asleep after…talking Ken out of the gateway project.
He got out of the bed and stretched lazily, groaning as his muscles warmed up. He pulled on his clothes, and was about to go out and look for Ken when he heard a knock at the door. He opened it and found Veemon on the other side. "Hi Daisuke!" the dragon smiled.
"Hey Veemon," Daisuke grinned, motioning him in, "I wondered where you were last night."
Veemon colored, "I was with Worm-chan," he said, "And you?"
Daisuke grinned and got a faraway look in his eyes, "I was with Ken all night," he turned slightly to look at his partner, "We made love last night, just him and me…do you have any idea what that's like?"
Veemon shook his head.
"It's wonderful," Daisuke whispered, "Just knowing that you love someone, and they love you back…knowing you can do anything with them…I wouldn't give it up for the world!"
"Wow…" Veemon whispered.
"Speaking of which," Daisuke started, "Have you seen Ken-chan? I fell asleep and he was gone when I woke up."
Veemon shook his head again, "Nope, haven't seen him since yesterday."
"I'm going to go look for him," Daisuke stated, then waved, "See you later!"
----------
That night, Veemon and Wormmon are in Wormmon's bed, holding each other. Veemon looked down at the sleeping caterpillar and thought about Daisuke, positive that he and Ken were making love again as he lay there with his Worm-chan.
"I wonder what it feels like…" he wonders aloud.
Wormmon stirred in his arms and opened his eyes sleepily, "Did you say something Vee-kun?"
Veemon blushed furiously and smiled, "Just talking to myself," he rubbed the back of Wormmon's head with one hand, "Go back to sleep Worm-chan."
Wormmon closed his eyes and snuggled closer to the warm dragon, "Good night Vee-kun."
"Good night Worm-chan," he whispered.
He watched Wormmon sleep until the caterpillar's breathing became deep and regular, a dreamy smile on his face. When he was sure Wormmon was in a deep sleep, he lay back and snuggled closer to his love, holding him close.
As he drifted off, Veemon felt his face color as he thought to himself: I wonder what it feels like…
----------
The Digidestined were back in the snag, getting ready for their offensive to retrieve Daisuke and Veemon. Halsemon volunteered to carry Armadillomon until they were ready to actually attack. They left the snag, moving to the edge of the forest, hoping to get there before the first light of day.
----------
Ken had left Daisuke asleep, feeling that he needed his sleep after the past couple of days. He stood in the Gateway chamber, holding the last power sources in his hand, inserting them into the slots made for them one by one.
Courage.
Friendship.
Love.
Reliability.
Sincerity.
Knowledge.
Hope.
Light.
When the last Crest was in place, they all glowed with barely controlled power, then dimmed. He moved to the protected room adjacent, separated from the Gateway by a thick glass wall, and moved to his control panel.
He brought the console to life with a wave of his hand, and brought the Gateway up with the press of a single button, flooding it with the power he had been collecting.
The Crests glowed with an unnatural light, and the entire base felt like it was shaking around him. Without warning, bright blue bolts of pure energy lashed out from the Gateway, arcing against, the walls, the floor, and the Gateway itself, searing the air and crackling as they danced across any surface they came into contact with.
He threw back his head and laughed. The time had come.
----------
The Digidestined looked up as unnatural thunder rolled across the sky, already turning a bright, burning blue through the branches overhead. At least, it had been blue. Now swirling masses of pitch black and sickly green clouds moved swiftly across the sky in the direction of the Emperor's base.
The ground began to shake beneath them, throwing them to the ground.
"What is this?" Takeru yelled over the din, "Some kind of new weapon?"
"No!" Gatomon yelled, staring into the distance, "He's opening the Gateway!"
----------
Koushiro yawned as he stared at the map his computer generated of the area surrounding the Emperor's base. He almost fell out of his chair when the deep red in the middle seemed to be bleached out, becoming white again. He shook his head, wondering if they had done it, then noticed that the area was spreading, and a bright white light was shining around the black grid lines. Then the lines themselves seemed to disappear from the center of the grid outward in an expanding circle. Soon the entire screen was nothing but bright, blinding white light, bleaching all the color out of the room, pure black shadows cast by anything that stood in it's way.
Then the monitor just turned off, plunging the room into darkness.
Koushiro blinked rapidly, trying desperately to clear his eyes, which seemed to have become just one giant light spot, as if he had stared at a giant light bulb for too long and it had left an afterimage that covered his entire eye.
When his vision cleared enough, he brought his monitor back up and tried to access his monitoring program again, with no success.
That was when he realized that the Digidestined had been too late, and the Gateway was open.
-TBC-