A/N: Here it is, and so soon! Wow! Yeah, I love you guys so much that I wrote it right away. Hmm. Hope you like it! Leave a nice little review at the end, and maybe I'll be motivated to get the next chapter out just as quickly? O.o'

Disclaimer: Don't own Digimon or the characters.

Missing One

Matt stared at the ceiling and tried to make figures out of the dots dancing in his view. He had woken up to Dai's screaming. He'd immediately woken his troubled mate, and held the boy as he cried. Dai had only fallen back asleep a few minutes ago, his face sticky with sweat and tears, with Matt stroking his hair and back to soothe him.

Matt hadn't had horrible nightmares the way the younger boy had. He couldn't have, anyway; he hadn't slept a wink since they'd fallen into bed. He listened to the redhead's breathing, felt it as it stirred his golden locks of hair. He remained that way, allowing his thoughts to travel far away from the room.

Why had Tai run away from him? From them? Where was he? Was he doing okay? If anything happened to him...if he wandered onto enemy territory...he didn't know what might happen. He was incredibly worried. Yeah, that was an understatement.

He felt like pacing the room, but he also felt that it was his duty to hold Daisuke as he slept. He didn't want the redhead to wake up to an empty bed, for that would surely only set him off sobbing again. Poor Daisuke. Matt looked at the boy's face. He was so beautiful. Beautiful and heart-broken.

He loved Tai so much. He usually flirted with Matt, hung off of Matt, tried to get Matt to pay more attention to him than to Tai, but Matt knew that Dai loved Tai deeply. Dai felt like Tai was his idol, his big brother, his bodyguard, but he also felt like Tai occupied a chunk of his heart, and he'd die before letting go. But where was Tai now? Wherever he was, he'd run off with that chunk of heart, and it was leaving Daisuke hurting badly.

Daisuke shifted on the bed and it broke Matt from his thoughts. He opened deep cinnamon eyes.

The two stared at each other for a while, and then Daisuke whispered into the still air.

"He's going to come back, right?"

Matt couldn't bare to look away the way he wanted to. He smiled gently and trailed a finger down Daisuke's jaw line, smiling when the redhead's eyes fluttered and his wrapped his leg tighter around Matt's.

"He needs us, Dai-baby. He's got a third of each of our souls, but we've got two-thirds of his right here, in this bed. Whether he likes it or not, he loves us as much as we love him, but he's just too stubborn it admit it right now."

Daisuke smiled slowly, seeming satisfied with the answer. "Of course. Why didn't I think of that? Of course, you're right. You're always right...dear Matt..."

He trailed off, staring out the window. He watched the moon, and wondered to himself if Tai, wherever he was, was watching it, thinking of them, too.

~ ~ ~ ~

"Where's Tai?"

That was the first thing out of his mouth. Of course it was. Seeing Matt and Daisuke there, sitting on his bed, looking as if they were fighting to keep fake smiles, and losing, he had to wonder where the hell the brunette was. It was so odd seeing the two without the third that he half expected it to start raining marshmallow chicks.

"Tai's gone," Matt whispered, brushing Koushirou's hair from his face.

Koushirou waited for them to explain, knowing they would get around to it. Eventually, Matt swallowed and told him about the procession. Koushirou listened intently, looking back and forth from one to the other, studying the expressions on their faces as they told each part of the story. He watched the expressions change, and right at that moment, just for a split-second, Koushirou hated Tai for doing this to the two he was supposed to love and protect.

The moment passed, and Koushirou's eyes took on sympathy. "It's hard to lose the one you love like that. It's hard to watch them walk away from you." For a second, he recalled the horrible, self-loathing feelings he got when he watched his parents talk to the doctor as if he wasn't even there, and then leave him in the office, without looking at him, without saying goodbye, nothing. It was as if he really had killed himself. Well, he really was dead. He was as dead to them as he could possibly get.

Koushirou let his mind wander back to the boys sitting miserably on his bed and staring at the sheets as if they expected them to show them a picture of where Tai was.

"Thanks for coming and letting me know what happened. I really was anxious to know how the procession went. I guess I would have been better off not knowing, huh?"

Koushirou gave them both a weak smile, and they barely managed to return it.

"Hey, listen. Go out and get some ice cream, have a romantic dinner, dance under the stars, do something uplifting to get your minds off of what you lost and back onto what you have."

Matt and Daisuke looked at each other, and then at Koushirou, smiling slightly.

"You know, I think we'll do that. I haven't taken either of them out on a date for ages," Matt admitted. He gave Daisuke an apologetic look and Daisuke smiled at him and shook his head, as if to say it was okay.

As they stood to leave, Matt turned to Koushirou, smirking. "You know, it's really weird to hear someone that tried to rip the bone out of his arm tell me to do something uplifting and cheer up."

Koushirou knew that Matt was joking with him, and he smirked back.

"What a smart mouth. No wonder he left you."

Matt and Koushirou shared a knowing look. They were even. Matt turned and walked out the door, joining Daisuke outside. They walked on down the hallway, and as they passed the nurse at the front desk, she called out to them. They approached her, and she gave them chocolate candies. They thanked her and left the hospital popping the candy into their mouths, and they headed for the club.

The atmosphere in the club changed entirely the second they walked in. People turned to stare at them, giving them sad looks, or just looking plain surprised.

Matt looked around, raised an eyebrow, and laughed.

"Who died?"

The other vampires all looked away at that question. He was feeling better. The word had spread that Taichi had left Matt and Daisuke at the procession, and they were all expecting him to do something explosive at the club that night. Self-destruct, or just plain destruction. Either way, it would be fun to watch.

Matt knew what they thought. He knew they expected him to blow up. He smirked knowingly and walked to the bar, looking for Ken. Ken saw them and came over to them, sliding them drinks.

"On the house," he called over the music.

Matt blew him a kiss, winked, and sipped at the drink. Daisuke grabbed Ken by the sides of his face, pulled him towards him, and planted a kiss right smack on the middle of his face. Ken pulled away again, rolling his eyes, and walked off. He never got a "thank you" from them. Kisses, hugs, slaps on the ass, blown kisses, and winks. That was what they did to express their gratitude.

Matt downed the drink as quickly as possible. He slammed the glass on the table and whirled around in his seat, looking over the crowd. For some strange reason, he felt like looking for Tai. That was stupid. Why would Tai come back here, where Matt would easily find him? Matt stood anyways and leant in towards Daisuke, yelling that he was going to check something out, and to stay there. Daisuke nodded, knowing better than to question Matt, and asked for another drink.

Matt walked through the club, looking around, searching for anything. He was feeling a strong sort of...what was it? A weird feeling. He felt like he was *needed* there at the club. He felt like he had something to find there, but he couldn't tell what. A person? A thing? He saw only strangers. Sure, he knew a few of them, had danced with them, had fucked them, but what were they to him? They were nothing to him.

He searched the entire dance floor, found no one. Nothing. He began looking into different rooms. Nothing in any of those either. He found himself walking out the back door of the club. He stood outside, staring around, his eyes piercing through the dark, searching for something. For anything. His gaze fell upon a tall, lean vampire leaning back against the wall, staring at the ground, smoking a cigarette.

He didn't recognize this vampire. He'd been going to the club forever, but he'd never, ever seen this man. He walked towards the vampire, leaned against the wall next to him, looked over his face. The vampire looked straight at him, raising an eyebrow. Suddenly, the vampire's eyes went wide, the color draining from his face, and he leapt backwards.

"Shit! It's you!"

Matt spread his feet upon the floor and felt his muscles tighten immediately. His teeth clenched without him telling them to. He eyed the other man.

"Who are you?"

"Aren't you the one that always hangs around with the brunette and the cute redhead?"

"Yeah...what's it to you?"

Matt looked him over carefully, tilted his head slightly. He needed a different approach. He needed to find something out from this guy.

"I've never seen you here before."

"I never come here."

"You're not from around here, are you?"

The other vampire seemed to tense at that, and Matt felt a slight feeling of triumph. That was it. He wasn't from this part of town.

"You aren't a Fang...are you?"

The vampire turned and began to run, and Matt sprinted after him.

"Wait! I need to ask you something!"

Matt ran after him, gained speed, and jumped on him as soon as he saw the man's step falter. He lay on the man and slugged him twice, hard across the face, just to get the message across that more would come if he tried to get away. The man immediately lay still, showing that he didn't intend to go anywhere, but Matt remained on top of him, holding his fist up.

"Tell me what I need to know."

"Yeah, just ask me anything, I'll tell you, I'll tell you what I know."

"Stop rambling!"

The man shut up. Matt slid off slightly, but kept his fist up.

"Have you seen Tai anywhere?"

"Who's Tai? I don't know a Tai. Nope, never heard of-"

"The brunette. The brunette I hang out with. Have you seen him tonight?"

The man looked away. "I-No, I mean...not here."

"What do you mean not here?"

"I mean..."

"You mean not at the club? Then where? Where did you see him?"

The man looked flustered. Matt knew that if he got the man any more worked up he wouldn't be able to get a straight answer for a while. He backed off, moving completely off of him and sitting next to him.

"Where did you see Tai?" he asked, more gently.

"Your friend went onto our territory. We chased him out, but I think he went back. What was he doing over there? If you don't get him, someone might get angry and hurt him. Why did you let him go over there?"

"Tai is hanging around Fang territory?"

Matt felt his heart beating faster. What the hell was Tai getting himself into this time?

He leapt up and began running back towards the club as fast as he can. The man called out after him, screamed something, but Matt was too far away to hear. He reached the club and went in, searching frantically for Daisuke. He saw him dancing with a young white-haired boy and grabbed him, dragging him out of the club. Daisuke squealed in protest and tried to wrench himself free from Matt's grip, but he couldn't.

Matt let go after they got out of the club and Daisuke rubbed his wrist, groaning.

"What the hell was that for, Matt?"

"Tai's in the Northside."

Daisuke stared at him blankly, stopping where he stood. Matt glanced back, saw that he'd stopped, and walked back to grab him and pull him onwards.

"Where are we going?" Daisuke asked, fear creeping into his voice.

"We're going to tell Sirius about this. We need to go get Tai out of there before he gets himself killed."

"They'll handle it well, won't they? Yes, they'll get Tai out of there in no time!"


"We're going, too. Well, I am. You can choose whether you want to go or not, but I suggest you stay. We need strong people over there."

"What?" Daisuke's voice squeaked. He cleared his throat and went on, "Matt, no. No, no, no, you can't go. You'll get hurt. I'm not letting you go after him-"

"You don't understand, Dai. I have to do this. I have to save Tai."

"No!" Daisuke screamed. Matt stopped in his tracks and turned to look at the boy, bewildered.

"No, Matt, you don't understand!" the redhead screamed at him. "You don't even fucking *try* to understand!"

"Daisuke, what's wrong?" he asked softly.

Daisuke bit his lip, tears running down his cheeks, and looked at the floor. "Have you even considered how badly I'll feel if *both* of you are over there? Do you know how horrible, shitty, paranoid I'll feel? Have you considered my feelings at all, or is this all you? Is this you going to save your beloved, while you leave me to worry about you both and wonder if you even thought about how much Tai will love you for saving him? What about me, Matt? What about me? Will he be happy that I stayed home and didn't even bother going after him? You *know* I can't go, Matt. Sirius would never, ever, ever let me go on a mission like that. If I don't go and rescue Tai..." he looked away.

Matt suddenly felt like the scum of the earth. He hadn't even thought of how horrible he must be making Daisuke feel. He knew he was telling the truth. Sirius would say no way, no how, if Daisuke asked to go. He'd *make* Matt go, and Matt wouldn't dare stay behind anyways, and when they went off to save Tai, he would automatically be the good guy. Daisuke would be the invalid. Daisuke would be the one who was too weak to save the one he loved. Daisuke, whether Matt liked the idea or not, would be left out of the action yet again, because he wasn't as good in a fight, wasn't as brave or strong as Matt. Daisuke must feel like shit.

Matt put his arms around Daisuke and held him tightly, sighing into the redhead's hair.

"I have to do this. I have to go and save Tai. I'm so, so sorry for not thinking of your feelings, Daisuke...but every minute we waste here is another minute Tai is a sitting duck, stuck in the hands of the enemy."

Daisuke knew this was true, and took a deep breath. "Right. I can't break down now, I have to be brave, have courage..." he smiled gently. "I have to wait for my two loves to return safe and sound to me."

And with that, they fled to the elder vampires' office building.

~ ~ ~ ~

Sirius had told them to go back to the house and get some rest. They would go after Tai the first thing next sunset. Tai would be safe during the day. They had already established a safe house in the Northside part of the city. Someone would be waiting for them. They were going to leave at sunset, keep well hidden, reach the safe house, and then wait for the large clock in the center of the Northside to strike ten o' clock. When that happened, they would spread out and search the entire Northside looking for Tai. Tai would probably be in hiding, trying not to get caught and chased out again. Hardly any vampires ever wandered out of their homes until one, so they would probably reach the safe house around nine, spend an hour sorting out exactly who was going to search where, and all start searching at the same time, as soon as the clock rang out ten times.

It sounded like a good enough plan. Matt had agreed to go on the search, and Dai would stay at the office to watch over things while they were gone. Sirius, Rufus, Cyrus, Sora, Ikarus, Jyou, and Iori would all be going along with him. Matt was lucky to get all of the elders on this mission, but they knew that, as they had said before, losing Tai would be like suicide for the city's future.

Matt and Daisuke lay in bed, stroking each other, staring into each other's eyes. They both knew that there was a small chance that either Tai, Matt, or maybe even both or one of the elders, might not make it back home. The Fangs were more vicious than their clan, and if they thought there was going to be trouble, they didn't mind murdering, even if it was their own kind. To them, the laws changed in their part of the city. To them, murdering another of their own clan was bad, but murdering a vampire from another clan was perfectly normal.

Matt breathed Daisuke's scent in deeply, memorizing the scent of him, the taste of his skin, the beautiful look on his flushed face when he moaned in pleasure. They made love that night, for the first night in quite a while in their own bed, gently, tenderly, and passionately.

Daisuke cried when he reached his peak, and when they were laying curled up in each other, afterwards, Matt wiped his tears away and rested his head on top of his lover's head.

"I will come back to you, with Tai, and then we're going to have a hell of a threesome."

Daisuke laughed gently, nuzzling Matt. "I'll be so utterly disappointed if we don't."

Soon, they fell asleep, exhausted from their previous activities and everything that had happened that day.

When sunset came, they would be ready, but for right now, they were content to lay in each others arms and memorize the breathing and warmth radiating from the body laying next to them.

~ ~ ~ ~

A/N: Aw, what a sweet scene. Hehehe...pretty. It's so weird, how different the scene in the very beginning with them lying is bed is compared to the very last one with them also lying in bed. I just noticed that. Hmm, oh well. We'll see how this rescue thing goes, eh? Oh, and how do you like how quickly I got this uploaded, eh? Yeah, I wanted to get something up early for a change. I, the queen of writing procrastination. Bleh. I hope you love me for this...anyways, review!