A/N: I think this is the longest chapter yet. Well, sit back and enjoy.
Daisuke stared morosely off into space as he scratched the puppy behind an ear. He was quietly trying to erase any feelings he bore towards the blonde boy. He didn't want to betray Ken any more. He decided he would stop going to Yamato's gigs. It hurt him when he thought of how many times he had considered being unfaithful to Ken with Yamato. He didn't want those thoughts anymore. He didn't want to want Yamato anymore.
His brow scrunched up as he felt something rough underneath his fingertips. He bowed his head to check the puppy's head for whatever it was he had felt. He noticed a scar close to the collar around the puppy's neck. He carefully brushed the fur out of the way and saw that the scar wasn't old.
"What happened to you, puppy?" Daisuke asked quietly.
He suddenly realized the scar on its neck wasn't the only one. He brought his face closer to the puppy as he ran a hand over its back. There seemed to be a bump on it, and there were other small scars on the puppy's back.
Daisuke frowned and quickly began searching the entire area of the puppy's body for other wounds. As he found more, he felt his eyes growing hotter and his vision becoming blurry. His breathing became irregular as his hands shook slightly, sliding over the puppy, feeling the scars under his fingertips that he'd never noticed before.
The puppy lifted its head and whimpered when he brushed his fingers over a particularly sensitive scar, and Daisuke saw that its eyes were watery in a way that shouldn't have been normal for such a young puppy. Without even giving his actions a second thought, he lifted the puppy in his arms, cringing when the puppy whimpered, and began walking in the direction of the busy part of the city in hopes of finding a veterinarian.
~ ~ ~ ~
"Well, I'm sorry to tell you this, but it seems as if your puppy has been abused. Are there any hostile dogs around where you live? Perhaps strays hanging around your house?"
"None that I've seen," Daisuke replied, petting the puppy gently so it wouldn't press down on any scars.
Do hostile boyfriends count?
"Is it possible for you to move the dog inside?"
"No, my friend doesn't want to have him inside."
"Well, I suggest you keep a close watch on this puppy, and if you can, you could maybe keep it enclosed in a fenced-in area where it would be safe from outside attackers."
"I already have a fence around my backyard."
The vet gave Daisuke a slightly confused look. "Oh. Uh...maybe stray dogs come up to the fence and your puppy goes up to them out of curiosity. They could be scratching him through the fence. I don't see how he could get so scratched all over his body that way, though. Are there any small children around your house that could be messing with the puppy?"
"No," Daisuke said slowly. "No one visits us. I don't think the neighborhood kids come near our house."
They're too scared of the people living inside of it.
"I don't know what to tell you, then. I could help disinfect the wounds, but the best advice I suppose I have to give you is to take care of the puppy as best as you can while home. You could keep checking on it from any windows in your house."
"Thank you," Daisuke said glumly. He waited until the veterinarian took care of the puppy's wounds and then carefully began carrying it home.
He said he wouldn't hurt you. I failed to protect you from him. I guess it's my fault.
Daisuke opened the gate to go into the backyard and carefully put the puppy back down onto the ground. He watched as it quickly ran away from him and ran to a corner of the house, where it lay down and curled up into itself, shivering slightly. Daisuke lifted his eyes to glare at the house. Ken must have gotten home by now.
He went through the door and entered the house, looking around. He heard shuffling around in the kitchen and began walking towards it, wondering why his boyfriend loved to hang around that room so much. He found Ken closing the freezer door and narrowly missed catching a glimpse of whatever it was he had stuffed in there.
"Found something new to play with?"
Ken turned around, eyes wide. "Daisuke? What are you doing home? You get out of school later than I do."
"I finally got kicked out. Aren't you proud of me?"
Daisuke walked to the kitchen table and pulled the chair out to sit on it. Ken stared at Daisuke, feeling disbelief.
"You what?"
"I got expelled. Thrown out of school and all of that."
He began walking closer, taking quick steps, face turning from surprised to angry. "Why would you do that? You were supposed to graduate and go to college, like me. We agreed on this."
"I know, I'm sorry, but I can't take that fucking school anymore. I was going crazy in that place. I couldn't stand it anymore."
"You did it on purpose," Ken said, realization dawning on him. "You got yourself thrown out on purpose."
"Yeah, I did, and I did a rather good job, I think. They'll remember me at that school," Daisuke said, pride showing in his voice just as clearly as bitter resentment.
"How the fuck could you do this to me?!" Ken shrieked, reaching out and grabbing hold of Daisuke's shirt. He yanked the boy to his feet and Daisuke's face paled. "You were supposed to go to college so we could both get jobs and support ourselves! I can't get a job and support the both of us! Without even a high school degree, you might as well be shit to the working world! No one is ever going to hire you!"
Daisuke tried to wrestle away from Ken's grasp, all pride and bitterness gone, replaced by real, gut-wrenching fear.
"I'll find a job somehow," Daisuke tried to calm his boyfriend. "I'll hold my end, really! I'll help out any way I can, Ken, I swear!"
"I don't want you to swear, I want you to graduate," Ken snarled. "You're going back to that school."
"They kicked me out, Ken. They won't just take me back," Daisuke tried to explain.
"And that's all your fault!" Ken screamed as he began pounding his fists down onto Daisuke while the red-haired boy tried his best to defend himself, holding his arms over his head.
"I'm sorry, Ken. I'm so sorry," Daisuke tried to tell him, backing away from his furious boyfriend. "I'll go to another school, then. I will. Just watch me, I'll graduate with fucking honors if you want me to!"
Daisuke realized he wasn't being hit any longer and risked a glance through his arms. Ken was trying to calm himself, hands over his forehead, teeth clenched.
"You'd better do just that, Daisuke. You know what I'll do if you don't."
Daisuke sighed as Ken began stalking away. He hadn't even had the chance to bring up the puppy. He didn't want to risk getting the boy angry again, not wanting to be hit anymore. He turned and ran for the back door, flinging it open, and closed the door behind himself as quickly as he could. He searched through the backyard until he found the puppy, whimpering in his sleep, along the side of the house. He lowered himself onto the floor and closed his eyes, letting the pain wash over him.
Abused puppy and abused boy fell asleep side by side.
~ ~ ~ ~
Daisuke sighed as he walked down to the convenient store. It was nighttime again, which meant he had to be anywhere but home. He didn't know when it had started, this unspoken agreement that Ken had to be alone at night hours and Daisuke could only return once he was sure Ken would be asleep, which was usually around five in the morning.
The streets were relatively abandoned, but there were a few night owls walking around on the sidewalks and streets. He finally reached the convenient store and stopped in his steps, eyes wide. He couldn't believe his luck. Sitting on the curb in front of the convenient store, all with various drinks or snacks in their hand, were teenagers that he vaguely recognized from the high school. The one that gave him the most reaction was the blonde leaning back against the wall, talking to a red-haired girl. He considered turning and running like hell before they spotted him, but then remembered he was supposed to start ignoring the blonde, so he wouldn't want to hang around him anymore.
He walked right past the teenagers and into the convenient store, not glancing towards them even once. Yamato recognized him and watched him go in, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. What was Daisuke doing at their favorite hangout so late at night?
"What's with you?" Sora asked, raising an eyebrow at his expression.
"That boy I was telling you about just walked into the store."
"What?" The other eyebrow shot up on the girl's face as she turned to stare through the window of the convenient store. "That cute spiky-haired redhead?"
"Yeah, that's him."
"Oh yeah, the troublemaker. He got kicked out, right?"
"Yeah," Yamato responded softly, frowning. He hoped something wasn't wrong at Daisuke's house. Why else would Daisuke want to get out of the house so late at night? He decided to go into the store and ask the boy himself.
He was only mildly surprised when Daisuke completely ignored him. He was used to Daisuke's moods by now, but he hadn't expected the boy to completely brush him off. He didn't even look up to glare his way. Something had to be wrong.
"What's wrong, Daisuke?" Yamato asked again as Daisuke paid for his purchases and began walking out of the store. Yamato kept in step with Daisuke and pulled on his arm, trying to hold him back. Daisuke tried to wrench his arm out of Yamato's grip. "Did Ken do something?"
This time, Daisuke looked at him. "Let me go, Yamato," he said coldly. "I don't want to speak to you."
"What did he do?"
Daisuke narrowed his eyes even more and tried to pull away to continue walking. Yamato saw no choice but to grab the boy around the waist and hoist him into the air. He carried the boy, kicking and screaming, back to the front of the store, where his friends all stared at him.
As Daisuke's fist connected with his face, he lost his grip on the boy and dropped him. Daisuke cursed as he fell upon the ground.
"Okay, something is definitely wrong with you," Yamato said as he spit blood onto the ground. "You've never actually been physically violent towards me before. What is it?"
"Why the fuck do you care?" Daisuke spat passionately. "Why should it matter to you what happens to me?"
"Because I care about you, and I know something bad is happening in your house. I get worried about you, Daisuke." He saw the surprised look on Daisuke's face. "I'm not stupid, Daisuke. I've noticed the bruises. You didn't punch yourself."
Daisuke looked away, shoving his hands into his pockets.
"Why does he hit you?" Yamato asked gently.
"It's my fault for getting kicked out of the stupid school!" Daisuke cried, turning to him. "I didn't consider how hard Ken's been working to get the best grades so he can graduate and go to the best colleges. He's doing it for me. All I've ever done is be a burden to him, and then I go and throw my education down the drain. I'm such a selfish asshole to him."
"Okay, first of all, he's the selfish asshole, not you. Let me finish," Yamato said as Daisuke opened his mouth to argue. "You should go to school for you, not for him. Yes, getting yourself thrown out of school was a stupid thing to do, but everyone makes mistakes! They certainly shouldn't be beaten up for them."
"You don't understand, Yamato. I knew you wouldn't. No one does. No one ever sees him when he's being so loving and wonderful to me. Everyone just sees his flaws and hates him. They don't see him like I do. He loves me, Yamato, I know he does. He risks so much to be with me and take care of me. He does more for me than anyone else ever has. You just can't understand our love, that's all."
"It isn't love when it involves abuse, Daisuke. Emotional, mental, physical, all forms of abuse are bad. That isn't love, Daisuke. Love is what you wish it could be. You can't change him, no matter what you think. If he hits you now, he'll hit you for the rest of your life, if you let him."
"No-" Daisuke began.
"Listen to me," Yamato pleaded. "You have to get away from him before he does something even worse. You don't know how many times I've wanted to march into your house, beat the shit out of Ken for hurting you, and carrying you away to a better future. I would, too. Don't think I wouldn't do that. I've been restraining myself, though, because I thought you could save yourself. Now I see you can't. You're too weak, and he has too much control over you. He's brainwashed you."
"You're lying," Daisuke said, voice shaking. "You're lying so you can steal me away from him. Ken was right. You don't want to be my friend, you just want to take me away from him."
"I admit it, I do want to take you away from him, but that's only because I don't want him to hurt you anymore. I want to take you to a better place, but you won't let me, and I can't do it if you won't let me."
"Then you never will, because I'll never let you!" Daisuke cried, hating himself for the tears pooling in his eyes and the feeling in his gut that told him to let Yamato lead him to happiness. He couldn't abandon Ken, he just couldn't. Ken had done too much for him, and he still hadn't paid him back. He loved Ken with all of his heart, and he knew Ken had to love him, too. He just had to.
He turned to run away from Yamato but Yamato saw his movement and began running after him. He caught Daisuke before he could get very far. He saw that the boy was shivering and crying, so he carefully wrapped his arms around the shaking boy, holding him close. Daisuke recognized the warmth and leaned into it, wrapping his arms around Yamato's neck. Yamato sighed in relief when he saw the boy wasn't putting up a fight anymore, rubbing Daisuke's back with his hand comfortingly.
"Why does it have to be this way?" he heard Daisuke whisper.
"It doesn't," Yamato replied calmly. "If you let me help you, I'll show you what I mean."
Daisuke lifted his eyes to stare into Yamato's. Yamato looked so sincere and hopeful he almost said yes. "You can't stop me from loving Ken."
"I realize that," Yamato replied, stroking Daisuke's hair. "I'm not asking you to. I'm just asking you to help yourself out."
"How do I do that?"
"First, you have to get out of that house."
"No!" Daisuke cried, fighting him once again. Yamato sighed from the loss of peace and tried to calm the boy down again. "I can't leave him, I can't!"
"Does he hurt you?" Yamato asked over Daisuke's yelling.
Daisuke stopped struggling, head hung, shoulders shaking.
"Yes," he said regretfully. "Yes, he does hurt me."
"Don't you want the hurting to stop?"
"Yes, I do."
"Do you want me to take the pain away?"
Daisuke looked into his eyes once again and Yamato saw the hope lying beneath all of the pain and confusion.
"Yes," Daisuke whispered.
Yamato marveled at how beautiful Daisuke looked right then. His hair was messy and hanging in his face, his eyes were puffy and red, and his expression was one of caution and confusion. His lips were open and soft, and his uneven breathing was somehow sexy. Yamato couldn't help himself as he brushed his fingers over Daisuke's face. Daisuke's eyes closed and he leaned closer into the soft contact. He probably hadn't been touched so gently in a very long time, Yamato guessed.
He carefully ran a finger over one bruised cheek and Daisuke's breath grew shaky as he hissed faintly. Yamato leaned forward to place a soft kiss on Daisuke's forehead. Daisuke stepped forward to bring their bodies into more contact, now craving the warm touches. Yamato sighed dreamily as he stroked Daisuke's back and kissed the side of his face. He heard the faint pleasant noise coming from Daisuke's throat as he kissed Daisuke's face.
He finally couldn't hold himself back any longer and he brought his face down to kiss Daisuke's lips. Daisuke seemed to forget where he was and whom he was with, holding Yamato tighter and returning the kiss generously. Yamato, both surprised and excited about the response, deepened the kiss, wrapping his arms around the boy's waist. Yamato hadn't imagined kissing Daisuke to be this sweet. He'd always thought it would be a rough kiss, like the one Daisuke had given him back outside of the school. He realized Daisuke had just been nervous, and was glad that Daisuke could kiss like this. As Yamato stroked his skin and licked at the inside of his mouth, Daisuke stopped his soft moaning long enough to remember whom he was kissing. He broke apart rather forcefully, pulling himself out of the blonde's hold. Yamato stared at him, breathing erratically, eyes half-lidded.
"What's wrong?"
Daisuke shut his eyes hard and covered his mouth with his hands.
"Not again," Daisuke muttered, muffled by his hands so Yamato couldn't understand him.
"What?" Yamato asked softly, trying to step closer to him again.
Daisuke took another step back and turned away. He dropped his arms. "I...have to go home."
"Daisuke, please don't," Yamato said earnestly, shaking his head. "Stay here with me, okay? I'll let you sleep over at my house. You don't have to go back there tonight."
"No, I have to go home to Ken," Daisuke insisted, turning to walk away.
Yamato hurried to walk beside him. "Daisuke, please go home with me instead. I have an extra bedroom, you can sleep in there. Just don't go back home to that house."
"I have to," Daisuke said, though not with as much force as he'd been using earlier. He actually sounded reluctant to say it.
"Daisuke, I'm begging you," Yamato said, turning to stand in front of him. Daisuke looked up at him, frowning uncertainly. "Please, please go home with me," Yamato repeated.
"But what if Ken gets mad at me?"
"If he loves you like you say he does, he shouldn't mind you having to sleep over, right? He should trust you, right?"
Daisuke shifted on his feet, feeling uncertain and slightly insecure about sleeping at Yamato's house. At the same time, he felt a strange gut feeling telling him he truly didn't want to go home to his house that night.
"Okay," Daisuke said so softly Yamato hardly heard him.
Yamato inclined his head. "What?"
Daisuke nodded, eyes shifting as he came to a decision. "Okay, I'll go to your house."
Yamato grinned, nodding. "Good. Yes. I'll take you right now. You're probably tired, huh? I'll go tell the others I'm leaving."
Daisuke lifted his head and turned to where the group of Yamato's friends were standing, looking over at them and talking amongst themselves as if trying to figure out what was going on. He blushed slightly.
"Sorry for pulling you away from your friends."
"It's perfectly alright, Daisuke. They won't mind. I'll just go and say goodbye and I'll take you to my car, okay?"
Daisuke nodded, staring at the floor again. Yamato smiled widely and began trotting off to find his friends. He bid them goodbye and waved off their questions about Daisuke, saying he'd explain later. He began walking back to where Daisuke had been but then frowned, seeing that the boy was gone.
His gut wrenched as he looked around for the boy frantically. Daisuke hadn't taken off, had he?
Oh no.
Yamato began jogging instead of walking, looking around and calling Daisuke's name. His heart sunk as he thought he'd probably been tricked. His heart soared again when he heard Daisuke calling out to him from his left. Daisuke stood by his car. The terror that had seized his heart slowly left and warmth flooded back in as he watched Daisuke point at his car, tilting his head to the side inquisitively.
"This is your car, right?" Daisuke asked.
Yamato took a deep breath and grinned. "Yeah, you remembered. Great. Well, we'd better go."
He unlocked the car and climbed in, breathing a sigh of relief.
"We'll be there in about ten minutes."
He smiled when Daisuke automatically leant his head against the car window and shut his eyes, looking tired. He reached a hand out to run through Daisuke's soft hair before turning the car on.
