A/N: Wai, Bex typed the next chappie up! -^__^- Unfortunately, it was received at four a.m., so forgive us any typos- I edited this while only semi-conscious. ^_^;; Meh.

Hm, this is a lot longer than my usual chapters- that's what comes from writing it on paper first, I guess.









"Love Among the Eggs"









This is probably the scariest thing that I'll ever do. The others would kill me if they knew what we were up to- bringing the Digimon Emperor back to the Digital World? I'll admit that it's far from being one of my better ideas.

Chibimon is hanging around my neck, and I've got my Digivice in one hand and Ken clinging to the other for dear life. I've never felt less heroic or more worried in my life as I lift my digivice to face the computer in front of us. We'd had to break into the school's computer lab because mine was down and getting to Ken's would've been next to impossible, seeing as he was still supposedly a missing person.

"Digiport, open!" I yell, pleased to hear that my voice remains totally confident.

"DAISUKE!" I hear Ken shriek as we pass through whatever it is that keeps the digital world apart from ours. He tightens his grip on me and buries his face in my shoulder. I automatically return the embrace and cast a quick glance around as we tumble through that brief slice of infinity, riots of color and binary code sending my head spinning. This instant- sometimes I think I live for it. No matter how often we do this, it's still such a rush.

Our feet hit the ground and I stagger slightly under V-mon's increased weight. Ken's still clinging to me, tears streaking his cheeks, and I'm this close to falling on my butt, but the others don't seem to notice my lack of equilibrium and neither lets go.

"Ken, dude, you've probably come here more than I have, " I point out after a quick balancing act. "What's with the panic attack?"

Ken finally lets go of me, slumping to his knees and turning bright red with embarrassment. "I'm sorry," he mumbles. "It's just- For a moment, I was afraid that when I came back, I'd . . . I'd be bad again." He laughs unconvincingly. "I- isn't that silly?"

I soften instantly, kneeling beside him. "It's okay, Ken," I say, hoping that I sound at least slightly soothing. "You're not evil anymore. You'll never be evil. Remember what I told you last night? You're one of us. A Chosen Child. So even if you do fall, we'll always be there to catch you."

"You promise, Daisuke?" he whispers, expression pained.

"Dude, I swear it on my digimentals!" I tell him with a grin, flashing the 'V-for-victory' sign with one hand and putting the other over my heart. "So cheer up! Wormmon's gonna hatch any day now; don't you wanna be there when he does?"

"Uh-huh." Ken nods timidly and I pull him to his feet.

"Then let's go find Primary Village!" I urge, dragging him forward.

"Daisuke, Primary Village is that way." V-mon points in the opposite direction.

"I knew that," I say quickly, turning a one-eighty and heading off again. Behind me, I hear Ken chuckle, and everything's suddenly warm and kind of fuzzy around the edges. I've never heard him laugh before, unless those psychotic hysterics the Digimon Emperor used to pull count.

"Dai . . . Daisuke . . ." Ken begins hesitantly as we enter a sparse forest. "Are you sure that Wormmon's going to be there?"

"Of course I'm sure!" I promise fiercely. "Digimon who die like Wormmon did don't stay dead, they get reconfigured!"

"Daisuke's right!" V-mon pipes up. "Patamon told me he did it once!"

I blink and stumble over a root; Ken tries to steady me but instead I knock us both over into a tangle of arms and legs. To my alarm, we roll through a pricker bush and down the hill hidden behind it.

"Oww . . ." Ken mumbles as soon as we hit bottom.

"Daisuke, are you okay?!" V-mon cries, running down the hill after us. "What happened?!"

"When did Patamon die?!" I demand as I struggle to detangle myself from Ken. Veemon launches into a long explanation about the first group of Chosen and some nutjob called Devimon, but I'm not really paying attention anymore.

Ken stares up at me, his eyes large and dark and face flushed. I'm half-straddling him, and I can feel my own face heating up. He shifts slightly and his hip brushes the inside of my thigh. Is it possible to die of embarrassment?

We quickly pull apart, and Veemon, oblivious to our crippling humiliation, bounces into my lap and points ahead. "Daisuke, look! It's Primary Village!" he cries gleefully. "I told ya it was over here!"

"Yeah, you did," I admit ruefully, rubbing his head. "C'mon, let's go figure out where they keep the eggs." I slide down the slick hillside in a standing position. Veemon and Ken follow me, Veemon gliding down on his stomach. Ken tries to imitate me, but his feet shoot out from under him when he hits a mud puddle and he winds up skidding down the hill on his backside and landing in an even bigger puddle.

"Augh!" he cries, whipping his head up and sending mud splattering every which way. "What a mess!"

"I could always give you another bath . . ." I suggest with a little grin. Ken quickly looks away, blushing fiercely. I pull off my glove and help him up, careful not to fall in myself.

Ken was right; he is a mess. His hair's hanging in gritty clumps, his clothes are soaked, and his skin is smeared with mud and grass stains. I find myself thinking back to last night, when he was in the bathtub and looking particularly pathetic. Then, I thought he was amazing. Right now, though . . .

Right now he's beautiful.

On impulse, I kiss his cheek, then manage to find a tissue in my pocket and try to clean at least his face up a bit. "We'd better go find that egg," I tell him, rubbing at his nose with the tissue.

Ken nods and swallows hard, suddenly looking nervous. "What if . . . he doesn't want me?" he asks hoarsely. "After all that I've done, I couldn't blame him."

"Ken," I say firmly, "he died to protect you from yourself. He's going to be so happy when he sees that you're yourself again that he won't care about the past." He's still kind of muddy, and his hair's almost as bad as it was when he was the Digimon Kaiser, but I don't think that Wormmon's going to mind so I pull his digivice out of my pocket and turn on its tracking program.

"Which way?" Ken asks softly, tucking a dripping lock of hair behind his ear.

I glance at the screen. "Northwest, " I reply, and then return it to him. After all, if Ken's going to join us I going to have to start trusting him completely. Might as well get a head start.

We start towards the village and tumble across the nursery almost immediately. Hundreds of eggs stretch before us and Ken gasps in shock at the sight.

"H-How am I ever going to find Wormmon's?!" he stammers, horrified.

"Don't worry, the tracker on your digivice is really accurate!" V-mon promises cheerfully.

"B-But it's like looking for a needle in a haystack!" Ken cries, still not calmed.

"Well, at least you've got a magnet!" I say just as cheerfully as V-mon. This can't be that hard with Ken's digivice guiding us, after all.

Two hours later, I change my mind.

"Man, this totally stinks!" I complain, flopping to the ground and sitting Indian-style, arms folded across my chest.

"I'm so hungry!" V-mon whines. "Daisuuuke, can we go home yet?"

"At this rate I'll never find Wormmon," Ken says despondently, dropping to his knees beside me.

"Well, I hope you don't!" a squeaky voice pipes up from behind us.

"Huh?" We turn around to find ourselves face-to . . . knee with a small black Digimon with large, luminous yellow eyes and tiny, catlike ears.

"Where'd this guy come from?" I wondered aloud, though it's not hard to guess. A broken eggshell is right behind him.

"Why don't you want us to find Wormmon?" V-mon asks the little digimon, puzzled.

"That's the Digimon Kaiser that you're helping, didn't you know?!" the digimon demands. "He'll only hurt Wormmon if he finds him!"

"That's right!" A second tiny digimon, this one white, joins the first.

"I-I wouldn't!" Ken stammers, clearly striken.

"You did before!" a hot voice says. Another small red digimon bounces up next to her fellows. "Why should we believe you wouldn't again?"

"Hey, bug off, small fry!" I snap as I see Ken cringe. I half- step in from of him and glare at the offending digimon, clenching a fist. "Ken's not like that anymore!"

"Are you sure?" the white digimon asks cruelly. "What if he's using you so that he can try again?"

"Wh-What?!" I choke, my eyes widening in disbelief.

"He IS a genius," the red adds. "He could be tricking you and you'd never know it until he wanted you to."

"That's . . . That's not . . ." I begin, and then trail off. It makes sense, doesn't it? Because I am the stupid Chosen Child. Even Iori tends to figure things out before I do, and he's just a kid. And why else would Ken have kissed me last night? After all, he's a 'charismatic boy genius,' and I'm . . . well, me. The only thing that I can do is play soccer. Everybody wants to be Ken. Me, I always wanted to be like Tai. And yeah, Tai's awesome, but . . .

He's not the kind of guy that someone like Ken Ichijouji would go after. And since, as everybody knows, I'm basically a bad Xerox of Tai, that makes me undesirable by association.

I shake my head, trying to snap myself out of it. It doesn't matter if Ken wants me or just physical comfort. That doesn't have anything to do with the issue. I promised myself that I'd give him a second chance, and that's what I'm giving him.

For an instant, I glance behind me. Ken's head is hanging and he's hugging himself, looking truly miserable.

"Is-Is that all there is for me, then?" he asks hoarsely. "I know I don't deserve another chance, but . . . I'm -I'm so sorry, and I want to make it up to everyone . . ."

"You think you can just say you're sorry and make it all okay?!" the black digimon cries in disgust. "This isn't a fairy tale!"

Ken takes a step back, eyes bright with tears again and looking as if he's been physically struck. Instantly, all my doubts vanish in the wake of a sudden rush of protectiveness.

"Exactly!" I cry right back. "It's not a fairy tale! The difference between good and evil is all a matter of perspective, and Ken's has changed!"

"Yeah!" V-mon agrees confidently. "So stop picking on him! He isn't here for you anyway!"

"Shh," a friendly voice scolds before the digimon trio can form a retort. "You'll wake the rest of the babies."

"Who-?" I begin, spinning around. The speaker is a short red Digimon, about V-mon's height, with large blue eyes and a pleasant smile.

"That's Elecmon, Daisuke!" V-mon tell me excitedly. "He's the caretaker of Primary Village!"

"Shhh! You'll wake the baby!" Elecmon shushes us, gesturing to the small green Digimon in his arms. "Yes, I am in charge around here, and you're lucky I don't kick you out!"

"I'm so sorry, honestly, I'll leave the moment I find Wormmon, just don't throw us out until then!" Ken begs desperately.

"Just keep it down!" Elecmon hisses, holding a finger (claw?) to his lips.

"But Elecmon, he's the Digimon Kaiser!" the trio of infant digimon cry in horror.

"I know that," Elecmon replies patiently, seeming more concerned with rocking the sleeping baby in his arms than speaking with us.

"B-B-But he's evil!" the black digimon squeaks.

"He was," Elecomon corrects, and my heart skips a beat. "But I believe . . ." Elecmon continues slowly, "that friendship is a very powerful thing, more so than all of the powers of darkness combined, and love is the same. And, as long as you have someone to care for you, you can never be totally evil, because that person sees something there that's worth saving."

"Even when you destroy that person?!" the white digimon demands. Ken cringes and I automatically step in front of him again, feeling strangely defensive.

"Buzz off, you overgrown marshmallow!" I bark, balling my fists. "Stop tryin' to make him feel even worse!"

"The babies!" Elecmon warns. "Not all of them are being reborn, you know. Some of them are one their first tries."

The trio looks guilty and mutters a few apologies, and Ken, Veemon, and I do the some. No sense in getting thrown out now, is there?

"As I was saying," Elecmon continues, looking a little annoyed with us. "A long time ago, a little boy and an Patamon taught me that fighting usually isn't worth the trouble."

That must have been the first time T.K. was in the digital world, I realize, but keep quiet so Elecmon can continue.

"Sometimes, you can't help but fight," he goes on. "But sometimes, there are better ways to defeat your enemy. It's very hard to fight someone who cares for you."

He falls silent, content with rocking the baby in his arm as the rest of us let that sink in.

"So . . ." V-mon lets the sentence hang.

Elecmon turns to Ken. "So that's why I'm going to let you take Leafmon," he finishes, holding out the still-sleeping Digimon in his arms, a little green thing with a pinky-pacifier mouth and a leaf-like antenna on top of his head.

"Leaf . . . mon?" Ken's eyes widen in surprise. "Is-Is this-?"

Leafmon's eyes suddenly blink open. The first thing he sees is Ken, and the little digimon instantly throws himself at the ex- Kaiser, squealing, "KEN-CHAN!"

Ken automatically catches him and stares down at him in disbelief. "W-Wormmon? Is-Is that you?" he stammers in disbelief.

Leafmon puffs up happily. "Of course it's me!" he declares. "Or it will be after I digivolve!"

"Wormmon- I- I mean, Leafmon!" Ken corrects himself with a choked sound that might be either a laugh or a sob. "I'm so glad that you're okay!" He starts to cry again, this time happy rather than sad, and hugs Leafmon to himself.

I'm getting one of those funny feelings again- warm and fuzzy, and maybe a little jealous too. V-mon leans against my leg and the jealousy fades slightly. Leafmon's been waiting a long time for Ken to be kind to him.

Ken suddenly looks up from Leafmon, scrubbing his tears away self-consciously. "Daisuke . . ." he says, and his voice has regained a measure of its old calm. "Thank you for bringing my here- I never knew about this place."

"Probably a good thing," the red Digimon grumbles.

"Give it up, wouldja?" V-mon growls, aiming a half-hearted kick at her.

"You're welcome Ken," I tell him loudly, ushering the trio away and flashing him a grin. "Ready to go home?"

Ken pales. "Mama and Papa," he half-whispers. "I'd almost forgotten them!" He grabs my hand and my body temperature shoots into the triple digits. "Come on, Daisuke, let's go! I miss them so much!" he says urgently, tugging me forward.

"Okay, okay!" I laugh and follow him, V-mon on my heels.

"Goodbye, Elecmon, thank you so much for your help!" Ken calls back to the digi-babysitter, bowing as well as he can with Leafmon under one arm, Veemon running around between his legs, and his free hand holding mine.

Elecmon smiles and waves goodbye as Ken runs off, dragging me after him. I offer a quick wave back at Primary Village, then turn to face forward so I won't wind up falling flat on my face just as we reach a handy TV in the middle of the field (don't ask me how the things get here, I'm just glad that they do).

Ken looks at me expectantly, and I pull out my digivice. "Digiport, open!" I call, and the TV glows bright white, sucking us in.

One awe-inducing digital headtrip later, the four of us land on the computer lab floor in a hopeless knot. Leafmon's squeaking, Chibimon's chattering about food, and Ken's laughing giddily. Hearing that, I almost don't mind that the other three are crushing me. Almost.

"Would you guys get offa me?!" I growl, trying to sit up. Ken moves aside, hugging Leafmon to his chest and looking sheepish.

"Sorry, Daisuke," he apologizes, biting his lip. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I mumble, getting to my knees. "Just a little flatter than before."

Ken smiles and suddenly leans towards me; a lot closer than I'd like. I can't think with him that close . . . not that I usually bother to think much anyway.

"Ah, Daisuke . . ." he begins hesitantly. "What time is it?"

I blink at the question but glance towards the clock. "Eleven forty-five."

"It's almost lunchtime!" Demiveemon cheers.

"I'm really hungry," Leafmon mumbles, his antenna drooping slightly.

"I hope Mama and Papa have something for you to eat, Leafmon," Ken says worriedly.

"You might wanna eat before you go home," I advise him. "Your parents are probably going to be too busy freaking out to feed you or Leafmon."

"Why, Daisuke!" Ken smiles slyly, suddenly leaning even closer. "Are you asking me out to lunch?"

"W-What?!" I squawk in alarm, nearly falling over. "Y-You mean, like on a date?! No, I- I mean- that is-"

"Because if you are," Ken continues, putting Leafmon down on his lap and scooting slightly closer to me. "I'd love to go."

La-la-la-la-la. Hearts and flowers and pretty pastels everywhere with rainbow-colored soap bubbles in the background. Tra-la-la, welcome to 'I-Like-Ken'-land, population: Daisuke Motomiya.

"Well?" Ken asks softly, his voice betraying a trace of nervousness.

I can't help but grin. "I know this awesome place- it serves the absolute BEST sushi in Kyoto."

Ken's face lights up. "Sound wonderful . . ." he says with a slightly dreamy smile. I get to my feet, still grinning, and help Ken up. Aww, he's blushing again! How cute!

"First things first, though," I say teasingly. "You need a shower!" I point to his mud-caked clothes with a smirk and his blush deepens.

"Oh, you're gonna give Ken another bath?" Chibimon asks brightly.

"Daisuke's going to do WHAT?!" Leafmon's beady little eyes bug out. "Ken, you're not old enough to do things like that!" he protests.

"Gah!" Ken chokes and turns and interesting shade of pink, staring at Leafmon in horrified disbelief. "LEAFMON!"

"I just hope that you're being safe," Leafmon says with a sigh, his antenna drooping slightly.

"Dear God, I did not just hear that!" Ken sputters, clapping his hand over his ears.

"Do you know about it?" Leafmon demands.

"What?!" Ken yelps.

"You know- 'it'," Chibimon says slyly, smirking slightly.

"Oh my God, please stop talking!" I cry, covering my own ears. "We so do not need a talk about the birds and the bees from a root and an overgrown teddy bear!"

"But do you KNOW?!" Chibimon presses, jumping onto my shoulder.

"Of course I know!" I squawk in embarrassment, feeling my face heat up. "We've got cable, don't we?!"

"So you know HOW to-" Leafmon begins.

"YES, we know, Leafmon!" Ken moans, hiding his face in his hands.

"Do you know everything?" Chibimon asks suspiciously.

"I am NOT having this conversation!" Ken wails, collapsing into a chair. I fall to the floor at his feet, not sure whether I should laugh or cry. As Leafmon and Chibimon keep up their merciless interrogation, I reach out and give Ken's hand a reassuring little squeeze.

He smiles at me and squeezes back, then leans down to wrap his arms around my neck. I get up on my knees and return the embrace, resting my head on his shoulder and hugging him as hard as I can.

I've decided: I'll laugh. I'll laugh from now until forever; laugh for him, with him, at myself . . . Whatever happens, I'll always laugh. Because I've got him with me.

And I adore him.









* tbc . . . *









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