ALL RIGHT!!!!! I hope everyone is satisfied by this. I'm going to put a BIT of shounen-ai between Yama-chan and Taichi, ne? But, there might still be a LITTLE Taiora, just because. And I'm probably going to have a bit of Jyoushirou too. And Takari. And if you want anything else as a pairing, please ask in the review section, because there's a ninety-nine point nine nine nine nine (etc.) chance you'll get it. Oh, and until the end of May, if you submit a review or write me an e-mail (OmoideKeeper@aol.com) and ask for a specific fic (plot, charas, pairings, etc.) then I'll try to write it, ne? So, go ahead. It can be for anything that I know about, or that you'll give me a place where I can learn about it. Not just limited to Digi-fics. Ok, I know, boring, where's the story? Right here. Thanks, minna!
Arms slowly encircled Yamato, and he looked up with a mixture of surprise and a tinge of fear within his shattered sapphire eyes. "T-Taichi?" Yamato asked, voice shaking slightly. Taichi, their brave leader when they traveled to the Digital World all those years ago, Taichi, the one who tried his best to take care of everyone, Taichi was doing what?!
"Shh, Yama," Taichi soothed, pulling his friend a little closer. Yamato shook even more in his arms, and Taichi did his best to calm him. "Relax. It's ok. I'm not going to let anything happen to you, Yama. I promise he's not going to hurt you again."
"YAMATO!!! WHAT THE F*CK IS GOING ON IN THERE?!" Masaheru's voice cut through the door, and Yamato's trembling increased to the point where Taichi could barely hold onto him.
"Don't you believe me, Yama?" Taichi asked softly.
Staring into the deep brown eyes of the other youth, Yamato felt his trembling increase a bit under the gaze of his friend, his best friend, his only friend. Could he truly trust Taichi? Could he trust him to the point where he would be able to ever believe that anyone could stop his father? And if he didn't, who could he trust? What could he believe?
"I don't know," Yamato whispered, and a look of pain shot over Taichi's face. "Taichi...I..."
That genki smile came over Taichi's face, and he gently stroked back a golden lock of hair from Yamato's face. A single tender gesture which somehow soothed Yamato in a way nothing else could've. A simple movement of the hand which brought him a measure of peace and security. "Don't worry, Yama. I'll make you believe me. I'll prove it to you, ok?"
Fear surged through Yamato, though he did his best to keep it from reaching his face. What had happened to the mask he used to wear? He knew it hadn't been long ago when he'd just been able to just grit his teeth and bear it, to just ignore everything else as long as he was alive. He knew it hadn't been long ago he'd been able to fool people into thinking he was just the cold idiot.
And then he'd told Taichi. And his frozen mask which had served him for so many long years in and out had fallen apart. And now he was afraid for Taichi, afraid of what would happen if Taichi confronted Yamato's father, afraid of what would happen if Taichi tried to be the strength of everyone, afraid for Taichi that his parents would never return.
"Taichi..." Yamato swallowed hard. How could he just tell this to Taichi? It wasn't something that most people really thought about doing, they just did, he supposed. But he couldn't do that. He had to try to do something though, even though he couldn't go out and say, 'I want you to understand, I think...' "You should probably go..." Now he had to try to protect Taichi. If he was found in Yamato's room, who knew what Masaheru would do to him?
"YAMATO!!!!!"
Taichi stared at him for a moment after the silence returned, then shook his head in disbelief that Yamato would even consider it. "Not a chance, Yama. I'm not leaving you alone with him."
Yamato suddenly realized he'd tried to protect Taichi all along. He'd told Taichi that the abuse had stopped. It wasn't quite a lie. When he'd said it to Taichi, there was nothing going on, but there was always the bruises, the fear, the pain. It was part of his life. There had never been anything life threatening, not like that long gash, but there had always been Masaheru, and with him, the pain.
"This hasn't stopped at all since that first night, has it?" Taichi asked softly, his eyes full of understanding all at once.
Yamato couldn't help his head from shaking.
Anger came over Taichi's face, and Yamato forced himself to stay put and not shrink back, even though it seemed any moment now Taichi would burst and hit him, kick him, do something. But Taichi's words surprised Yamato: "Damn him."
"W-What?" Yamato asked in shock.
"Your father. Damn him." Taichi got up and began pacing back and forth.
"Taichi?"
"He has no right to do this to someone like you..."
"Taichi?"
"...someone so strong, someone so good, someone so..."
"Taichi?"
"...so..." Taichi trailed off, and silence entered the room once again.
"So...what?" Yamato asked, a mixture of apprehension and curiosity in his eyes.
Taichi stopped in front of Yamato, and looked deeply into those eyes which seemed so brilliant in the meager light of the room, the prison. "So beautiful," he finished, raising a hand to gently brush away a droplet of blood, stopping mid-way for fear of being rejected by the other youth.
"So beautiful," he finished, raising his hand, his fingers wanting to brush away the drop of blood which didn't mar the loveliness of Yamato's face, but instead actually enhanced it, giving him the appearance of an angel who has attended the Lord at the Cross. He stopped himself in time, realizing Yamato would probably dislike--or hate it if he assumed that much about him.
"B-beautiful?" Yamato asked in shock and bewilderment.
A smile came over Taichi's face as he nodded. So lovely when he had that almost innocent expression on his face, so gentle, so caught in the moment. How could Yamato not see how beautiful he was? When he saw Yamato, he could think of nothing else. If he saw a picture of perfection, it would be Yamato's face in the center. "Beautiful, gorgeous, perfect..." Was it fair of him to be doing this now? No, probably not, but Taichi couldn't resist in that moment.
Yamato shook his head, looking down at the floor, and Taichi pushed his chin up until they were looking eye to eye again. He paused a moment, savoring the time to just stare into those sapphire orbs, savoring the moment as it was, finally breaking the silence by repeating his last word. "Perfect."
"No," Yamato shook his head again, but this time with more confidence in both his words and his gesture. This time he didn't look away as he said it, instead kept his gaze locked on Taichi's.
"OPEN THIS DAMN DOOR RIGHT NOW, YAMATO!!!"
"No," Yamato repeated, ignoring his father for the moment.
"I'M WARNING YOU, YAMATO, YOU DON'T OPEN THIS DOOR AND YOU'RE GOING TO REGRET IT!!!"
"I'm not perfect," he continued, holding up a hand when Taichi tried to interject with a denial of that statement.
"F*CK YOU, YAMATO, OPEN THE DAMN DOOR!"
"You are perfect," Yamato finished, glancing at the door now. Before Taichi could answer, he motioned to the window. "Go. Please."
"YAMATO!!!"
"But what about you?" Taichi asked, staring at him in shock and amazement. Had Yamato really just said that about him? "I can't leave without you!"
"YAMATO, I'M GIVING YOU TILL THE COUNT OF THREE!!!
"I'll be fine," Yamato reassured him, trying to be sure of himself.
"ONE!!!"
"Like hell you will!" Taichi whispered furiously.
"TWO!!!"
"He'll kill you!"
"THREE!!!"
"Go!!!" Yamato shoved Taichi towards the window. "Taichi, let me do this. Find Takeru for me, and tell him...tell him I'm sorry."
"DAMNIT, YAMATO!!!"
"Come with me!" Taichi hissed as he balanced on the windowsill, not letting go of Yamato's hand.
The sound of a door splintering broke in, and Yamato glanced over there.
"If I do, he'll know someone was here. Just go. I'll...I'll be fine."
"YAMATO, YOU BASTARD, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!!"
"I can't let you do this!" Taichi replied fiercely, clinging onto Yamato.
"GET THE F*CK OUT OF THERE, BECAUSE IF I HAVE TO BREAK DOWN THIS DOOR, YOU'RE GOING TO BE F*CKING SORRY!!!"
"You're already breaking the door," Yamato whispered to himself, then turned to Taichi. "Go. I'll be fine. And...then...we'll talk. Ok?"
"I'm not--"
"You'll only make it worse, Taichi!"
Pain shot through Taichi's heart, but at the same time he knew Yamato was right. "I'm going to wait for you outside. And if he does ANYTHING to you," he whispered with conviction, "I'm going to kill him."
A small smile reached Yamato's face, but not his eyes. "Ok...just go."
"Promise me you're going to be all right," Taichi begged, hating what he was about to do to his friend, his perfect one, his world.
"I promise," Yamato whispered, but they both knew it was a lie.
Taichi disappeared just as Masaheru burst in.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THEM NEXT? Who knows? Why are you asking me? You think I know? Ha! Only my muse knows! Right, Jab?
Jab: How should I know?
Um...Pay him no mind! Please read and review, and remember, almost any fics requested before the end of May (or fifteen fic requests that i can't combine at one time whichever is first) And remember, you can submit pairings for this fic...and if enough people want, i'll enter Mimi, though I wasn't planning on it...
R&R!!!