"Hope, Courage, Friendship and a Fat Squirrel" by Luke's Dragon

Disclaimer

It's not mine, and it never will be. I do however own a chinchilla, and this fic was inspired by a friend of mine asking the same question that the title and Davis asks.

A/N

Okay the main plot is Daikeru/ Takesuke. There's also a few Taishrio and Yakari references, but mainly for ambiance and background rather than plot references.

Also, being a Daikeru it'll contain some shonen ai, (That is, if my Japanese is up to standard, mild gay stuff, no hardcore sex scenes or anything like that. Wow, who'd have ever thought that reading fan fiction could help you learn Japanese?) Obvious really if you read the summary…You did read the summary didn't you? It's hard trying to write a summary you know and, after all that people don't read it and get offended by what the summary was warning about…

Just one thing I wasn't sure about with the analogy that Davis uses, do they have squirrels in Japan? Ah well such minor details…

Part I "What's A Chinchilla?"

~~~

Daisuke Motomiya, known to most of his friends as Davis sat in the detention hall, musing on the unfairness of life in general, but especially the disciplinary procedures at his high school. An uninformed observer may think that one could not be imprisoned without either a fair trial, or at least some semblance of evidence, and only for major misdemeanors. This view would be entirely wrong. On the say so of an extremely biased witness, and a corrupt jury Davis found himself serving detention on a wonderful summers day when he would much rather be with his friends or playing soccer, or anything but stuck here. This was, he mused all the fault of his so-called friends Hikari 'Kari' Kamiya and Takeru 'TK' Takaishi, and possibly his own recklessness, but never mind such a minor fact. It had all started when TK had got into a fight with the son of the vice principal, a total idiot who thought, usually quite rightly that his father's position meant he could do whatever he wanted. Davis had not subscribed to this view and had leapt to the defense of his friend and leveled his opponent with ease. Now, despite a brief 'free Davis' campaign he was stuck here for another thirty-five minutes. He sighed, leant back in his chair and watched as the second hand of the clock ticked slowly round. Davis thought that even seconds seemed to last forever when he wasn't doing anything. Davis knew full well that all his friends though of him as someone who always had to be occupied, as well as being impulsive. This, he didn't mind too much as deep inside he knew it was true, the two things he hated people saying about him were firstly that he was stupid. True he wasn't an academic, and he could be naive and sometimes a little insensitive, but never stupid. It annoyed him no end that people were always making jokes about his intelligence, especially those made by TK. True he'd retaliate with jibes about TK's hats, but inside it hurt him somehow. That led onto the other thing people were always wrong about, that he was in love, or even just lusting after Kari. That couldn't be further from the truth, but he didn't want to think about the reason that it wasn't true, he hoped that perhaps if he ignored it, it would go away, like a wasp.

***

Much later that same night, after Davis had been released from detention and gone home to bed, still fuming about his treatment his best friend was still awake, wrestling with his feelings and wondering what he was going to do. He was also wondering where Kari had gone tonight; lately she and her boyfriend had been spending so much time together he never saw her outside of school. TK didn't mind too much, in fact he was happy for Kari…no really he was since they could never be together it was for the best. TK was fairly sure that she had made the best choice out of all the digi-destined guys, although even he had been a little surprised, so was sworn to secrecy, at least for now. It felt like he was carrying around a lot of secrets lately, not least of all his own major one. Here at least in the silent darkness of his room with no-one but himself to answer to he could admit it. Admit to himself that he was in love with Davis…whew even now it seemed to be hard to say it even just to himself. He knew, or at least hoped that the other digi-destined would be alright with it, after all he wouldn't be the first member of the digi-destined to be gay, but. Even so he couldn't help worry that maybe some of them wouldn't approve, that maybe they only put up with Tai since he was the leader, also outside their group TK was well aware of the fact many people were extremely homophobic. He still remembered when Matt and Tai had got into a mass brawl sticking up for Izzy, he and Davis had also got drawn into it, and he had ended up with a split lip and two broken ribs for his troubles. He hadn't minded though, it had been the catalyst for Tai and Izzy's relationship, and had also filled him with hope that maybe if he were in the same situation his friends would be there for him too. Maybe he should go and speak to Tai about it tomorrow; but then again he always seemed to put things off until 'tomorrow'.

Perhaps he didn't show it as much as his brother, but TK had been affected by his parents divorce, sometimes he wondered if getting close to anyone was worth the risk, after all it was bound to all fall apart one day, and then he'd be on his own and hurt again. There was a line in one of the songs Matt always sung at his gigs that seemed to be perfect, what was it, "When you can't believe in yourself, you can't believe in anyone else" or something like that. As he settled down to sleep TK thought sadly to himself that if a straight guy told a girl he was in love with her, the worst that could happen was he'd get rejected, if he told Davis how he felt, and Davis didn't feel the same way…He didn't want to think any further on that possibility.

***

Davis considered that Thursdays were some sort of evil scheme, designed to sap the will to live out of students, so that they had no energy left for the weekend, there was probably a secret government agency working with the timetable schedulers to design the week for maximum depression. Davis knew none of his so called 'friends' would ever give him credit for thinking anything more advanced than were the next meal was coming from, or how hot Kari was looking today. Shows how much they know he thought to himself somewhat bitterly. He continued on his walk to school, hoping that perhaps the school would have burned down, or perhaps science had been banned overnight, or some such stroke of fortune, as it turned out the most exciting thing to happen was TK and Kari joining him. Just what he needed?

"Hey Dai!" TK seemed far too cheerful for this early in the morning, mornings in Davis' opinion should happen after lunch, or preferably not until the weekends. He grunted some sort of sound in acknowledgement.

"My, my we do have a limited vocabulary today" TK was starting to annoy him already, soon he'd be telling him all about what he and Kari had done last night.

You'll never guess what Kari did last night" right on time.

"Made out with you again?" he didn't really care what they had done, or at least I don't care what Kari did.

"No" Just for the briefest of seconds Davis could have sworn he saw a pained expression flash across TK's usually happy face.

"I got a chinchilla" Davis looked at Kari, this seemed to be one of the most irrelevant things anyone had ever said to him.

"That's nice"

"Yes, it is." Ouch, if words could kill… "Anyway since neither of you two have seen him yet, I thought you could both come over after school and see him"

"So TK hasn't seen this chinchilla creature yet?" Strange, they usually share everything.

"No, weren't you listening, I only got him last night"

"Without TK? I thought you two were joined at the hip"

"With my boyfriend, anyway I want to go to the library before classes start, so I'll see you two later, don't do anything I wouldn't TK" With that she was gone, leaving Davis more confused than…a very confused person, he'd never been that good with metaphors.

"TK?"

"What?"
"Kari, has a boyfriend, who isn't you or me, so who is it?"
"You don't know? Man you are so dense sometimes"

"All the time, apparently"

"Yeah, but we love you for it"

"Hmm…what was she saying about not doing anything she wouldn't?"

"Dai, I sometimes think those goggles make you as dumb as Tai"

"TK…?"

"Yes?" he was starting to get irritated, was there anything this boy actually knew?

"What's a chinchilla?"

TK was stumped, he had absolutely no idea, however there was no way he was going to admit ignorance, especially after his taunts about his rival's intellect.

"Well..Erm it's sort of…a bit like a rabbit, only smaller, and blue"

"A bit like a small rabbit? You think Kari has adopted a small blue rabbit"

Thinking about it, TK reflected it had not been the smartest answer

"Well you don't know either" he decided to deflect Davis' attention by shifting the conversation.

"So? I never claimed to know, anyway as everyone keeps telling me, I'm stupid so I'm not going to know am I? See you later Takeru."

With that he walked away, TK felt a pang of guilt, he knew how sensitive Davis could get, and it seemed that he was really hurt as he walked away. The thing that hurt him

Most though was the return to calling him Takeru.

***

By lunch time TK was ready to apologize, in fact he had been ready ever since the argument had occurred at ten to nine that morning, but Davis had been ignoring him all day, so TK decided decisive action was required, this involved buying chocolate. TK was thankful that he had been told this special tip, it was one of Matt's favorites when he and Tai had fallen out, and TK was pleased to learn it worked on the younger goggle boy too, well usually.

As it turned out he hadn't needed to bother with the apology, as Davis hunted him down too, carrying a book he had borrowed from the school library; it was called "Caring for Your Chinchilla". On the front cover was a picture of a small gray rodent, which looked a little bit like a squirrel, only fatter, although apparently that was because it was fluffy rather than fat.

"I decided to do some research" Davis was quite pleased about this, the fact TK didn't know what a chinchilla was had spurred him on.

"Oh, it's very nice"

"Hmm, not going to say something witty like 'I didn't know you could read?'"

"Look, Dai…I'm sorry about earlier"

"That's not like you"

"Well you know…you got upset and…well…you know"

"TK, what are you on about?"

"Nothing, sorry"

"Fine, let's get some food, I'm starving"

"It's just, well I really value your friendship, and I'd hate for us to ever lose it" TK reached into his bag and removed the chocolate bars he had bought earlier. With great ceremony he presented them to Davis who was slightly taken aback.

"For chocolate, I'll always be your friend"

"Dai, take it seriously would you"
"We are having a confidence crisis today"
"Dai…just tell me, will you always stick by me, no matter what?"
"Of course, look if it makes you feel any better I'll promise okay?"
"Thank you"

Davis was very confused now, his friend had been acting strangely around him lately, sort of shy, was that the right word? Davis was trying to ignore it though; it was one of his favorite tactics for dealing with problems, for example Physics. It was something that went totally over his head, so he would try to pretend it wasn't happening, and it worked since he got a nice nap during the lesson. I just wish ignoring these stupid feelings for TK would work half as well. This had been going on for quite a while, although he had read a few books that said that developing crushes on your friends was quite normal. Davis was very suspicious of books when they said things like that, thinking that they could provide all the answers with words. Davis didn't like words he was into actions, it was just that he couldn't find any actions to do in this situation, after all there was no way that TK… He stopped himself suddenly struck with a thought, like a meteor crashing into the earth, and possibly just as devastating, although on a slightly smaller scale. Was the reason TK was acting the way he was because he felt the same? It would certainly explain a lot, like his insecurity, and not fighting for Kari against this mystery guy. Davis sighed loudly and started to eat his chocolate, the world always seemed a better place after chocolate.

***

By the end of the school day Davis had convinced himself that TK had the same sort of feelings for him as he did for TK, and he had a spring in his step as he, TK and Kari were walking home from school. He was also wondering who Kari's boyfriend was, not that he really cared but it would have looked bad for his image if he didn't protest about 'his girl' although by now he wasn't sure if anyone really believed it. The silence was killing him though, and he decided it was up to him to make conversation.

"So, in this book I read, it said chinchillas like eating fruit and stuff"

"You read a book?" I may have TK on side, but Kari's a different proposition

"Yes I read a book, ha bloody ha thicko Davis read something"

"You shouldn't be so mean to Dai" Now TK's sticking up for me, but what am I going to do about us? Us…? There isn't an us yet, he doesn't even know how I feel.

"Sorry Davis"

"That's fine, I'm used to it" Doesn't mean I have to like it though, who'd have ever thought I could be so sensitive I guess I get hurt too easily sometimes.

They walked the rest of the way in relative silence, although Davis couldn't help himself 'accidentally' brushing up against TK more than once just to try and get some sort of reaction out of him. He was very pleased to find TK turning a bright crimson as Davis' hand connected momentarily with TK's thigh. Davis was even more pleased to see Kari looking even more embarrassed than TK, although he thought he'd better stop, since Kari always seemed to notice more than was convenient. Davis was slightly disappointed but still tried to liven the trip up by catching TK's eye and grinning like a lunatic every few paces, perhaps it was a little cruel but it was too much fun not to do. Davis was about to launch into a couple of his favorite hat jokes but they had arrived at Kari's house.

Davis' jaw almost hit the floor when they walked into to see none other than TK's brother Matt sat on the sofa without a shirt. Davis rallied his senses and noticed to wineglasses on the coffee table, and soft romantic music playing in the background. If this wasn't enough of a give away, Matt's expression at the sight of his brother and the new bearer of the crest of friendship suggested he wasn't happy to see them. Still Davis couldn't help but to admire the way Matt still kept his cool, even if neither Kari nor TK could.

"Guys" he said simply throwing his shirt back on, Davis couldn't help but feeling a little flustered after catching the sight of Matt's chest. Still those books he had been thinking about earlier would probably say that getting turned on by the sight of your soon to be boyfriends brother was also perfectly normal.

"I forgot I gave you a key" Kari looked as if she was going for the 'most embarrassed person in the world' record.

"Hey, TK I think we should leave these two alone" Davis grabbed TK's arm and turned to leave, knowing full well that Kari would have to do something or he would never let her forget this incident.

"No, you can't go yet remember why you came over?"

"To see you and Matt have a 'special' moment?" Too easy!

"No, to meet Angel" Kari vanished into another room, and returned seconds later with a small gray creature, much like the one from the chinchilla book. Apparently called 'Angel' Davis was pretty sure he didn't even want to know why. The chinchilla book had said that chinchillas were 'proud of their beautiful whiskers' so Davis was sure to tell Angel that he had lovely whiskers. His protests that the book told him so just caused the others to collapse into fits of laughter. Eventually, and with a few subtle hints from Matt, along the lines of 'You've seen it so go home' TK and Davis left. This was going to be it, Davis decided, he was going to tell TK how he felt right now. Forget it, telling him isn't my style, it's time for action. With that he launched himself at TK, pressing up against him the two locked lips at first all the action was from Davis and for a brief moment he thought he might have made a huge mistake, but then TK's expression changed from shock into happiness and he started kissing back. What any passers by must have thought to see the two young men in such a warm, passionate embrace was unknown, but what Davis was thinking was how nice it was to be right, and about the merits of action over words. TK's thoughts were far more muddled; the fact that Davis felt the same way about him too was wonderful. Or was it, he broke the kiss off if things went any further he was in danger of going to far, of falling in love, of needing someone. Tearfully he mumbled an apology and fled the scene, leaving a baffled Davis standing in the early evening summer sun, with the taste of TK's lips still warm upon his own lips.

***

Davis: No way it can't end like this, we've only just got together. Tune in to the next episode of Digimon, Digital Monsters to find out what happens next!

Matt: You've just given away that there's a part two, talk about ruining the tension

Davis: Sorry

Matt: Idiot

Davis: Hey! I'm not an idiot

Matt: Whatever

Davis: No not 'whatever' look it said 'Part I' at the top so everyone knew there would be 'Part II'

Matt: I'm not listening, Kari and me have a date

Davis: Fine I'll go hang out with TK

Matt: Keep your hands off my brother, anyway he's got angst and stuff to deal with at the moment, so you'll have to wait for Part II

Davis: So is that what happens in Part II?

Matt: I'm not telling you, you'll just have to wait

Davis: Damn :(