Jyou sighed, head bent as he once again attempted to light a small fire with the branches and dead leaves he'd gathered at his feet. The match sparked once and went out again, causing Jyou to groan and loudly curse his luck, which in turn caused the body lying nearby to stir slightly. He looked up, alarmed, and looked for the nearest large rock. He picked one out and lifted it onto a knee as he squatted and stared at the woman lifting her head. She shakily raised herself onto an elbow and looked around, eyes unfocused. They settled on him and she blinked several times.
Jyou watched carefully as the woman looked around, taking in her surroundings. They were in a forest clearing, there was a small pile of sticks and leaves on the floor, and there was a tall, blue-haired man she vaguely recognized holding a matchbox in one hand.
"Where am I?" she asked. She shut her eyes hard. "Ooh, my head."
Jyou stared at her, eyes slightly wide. She wasn't supposed to wake for a long time. The woman pressed her palm against her forehead and moaned. She tried to focus on him again.
"Who are you?"
"Well-"
"Who am I?"
His eyes widened farther. She definitely wasn't supposed to have lost any memory. He began searching through the sack at his side for the pill bottle which contained whatever he'd slipped into her drink. Once he found it, he inspected it a while before crying out and dropping it onto the floor. He covered his mouth with both hands, and then the hands slowly slid up to bury themselves in his long, blue hair.
"I knew those pills hadn't looked the same when I'd taken them out of the bottle."
The woman groaned again, drawing Jyou's attention once more to her barely conscious body.
He crawled over to her. He grasped her hand in both of his and looked into her eyes.
"Listen to me. Your name is Mimi. My name is Jyou. We're...going on vacation together. You're, er, you're my wife." He cringed upon saying it and rolled his eyes. He hadn't meant to blurt all of that out, but now that he'd said it all, he figured it was better than telling her the truth.
"Oh, okay." She smiled hazily, her head lolling to one side. "I still feel sleepy."
Without any more warning, she dropped back down onto the floor with a thumping sound, hand going limp in his, once again unconscious. Jyou blinked down at her, looked up at the sky once, and then crawled back over to the fire. He tried to figure out how to properly light a match, and luckily, this time he was able to produce a flame. He immediately held it to the twigs and leaves and watched as it caught fire and slowly spread. He dropped the matchbox back into his sack and sighed, sitting back and admiring his fire, arms resting over his knees.
"Well, what do I do now?"
~ ~ ~ ~
"Isn't there a reason you dragged me out here?"
Takeru looked up, looking a little startled. Daisuke stared at him expectantly. Takeru narrowed his eyes and growled.
"I was just getting to that!"
"Okay," Daisuke said, holding his hands up. "I believe you."
He sighed. Takeru had brought him to a log a fair distance away from the rest of the festivities and people and hadn't said a word since they'd sat down, around five minutes ago.
"This isn't easy for me to say, you know," Takeru informed him. He frowned and cleared his throat. "I just wanted...to thank you."
Daisuke's eyes widened. Takeru glared at the floor, as if angry with himself for speaking those words.
"Excuse me?"
"You saved my life. If you hadn't shoved me aside, Miyako's arrow would have driven straight through my head."
Daisuke blinked and remembered earlier that day. Miyako had shot an arrow at Takeru, thinking he was Yamato, and Daisuke had seen it and pushed Takeru out of harm's way at the last minute.
"Since you saved my life," Takeru continued, looking up from the floor to stare into Daisuke's wide chocolate-brown eyes, "I am now in debt to you. I am going to protect you, from now until you die. I will watch out for you and make sure you are never hurt."
Daisuke's eyes softened as he saw the sincerity in Takeru's deep blue eyes.
"You don't have to-"
"I have to. I...I want to. I want to save you the way you saved me." Takeru's eyes softened. "Do you know why I pick on you so much, Daisuke?"
"No, but I just figured you hated me for some reason," Daisuke said quietly, frowning to himself.
Takeru smiled genuinely and shook his head. "It is for the same reason that Taichi fights with Yamato."
Daisuke's brow furrowed and his mind recalled an earlier conversation, in which Hikari said that her brother and the Prince of Wolves argued constantly to hide their love for each other, neither knowing the other actually returned the love. He remembered looking at Takeru and seeing him blush when Ken had pointed the fact out with a question.
His eyes widened and he gawked at the blonde smiling gently at him.
Takeru LOVES me?
"We should get back to the others," Takeru said, standing up and looking back towards the bonfire. "Ken will be wondering about where I am if he's returned already."
"Where did Ken go?" Daisuke asked, breaking out of his shock enough to remember he hadn't seen the witch when they'd left the fire's side.
"Yamato wanted to speak with him alone," Takeru replied, sounding a little bitter. He glanced back over his shoulder at Daisuke, eyes narrowed. "Just because I've confessed to you doesn't mean I'm going to stop picking fights with you."
"I wouldn't expect you to," Daisuke replied, smiling slightly to himself. He stood up and walked to Takeru's side. "Now, let's go find your gorgeous boyfriend."
Takeru whacked him on the arm. "Watch what you say, moron."
~ ~ ~ ~
Ken frowned at the blonde desperately gripping his long black coat's sleeves in his fists, dark blue eyes so emotional it almost scared him.
"Please, please, please, Ken, you have to do this for me."
Yamato was busy trying to convince Ken he should concoct a love potion that would make Taichi fall in love with him (Yamato, not Ken.)
"I told you already, I don't do those types of potions. I...don't do potions at all."
"Can't you cast a love spell on him, at least?"
"Yamato," Ken sighed, "just tell him, will you?"
"I can't do that!" Yamato cried. "I can't risk losing him! He's everything in the world to me. He's all I want, all I need, all I could ever ask for!"
"Okay, okay, I get it," Ken grumbled, yanking his arms out of Yamato's vice-like grip. "I'll...see what I can do."
"Yes, yes, thank you so much," Yamato said, hugging the smaller boy to his chest.
Ken grunted and fought against Yamato, blushing wildly. Yamato let him go, smiling sheepishly.
"Sorry."
Ken sighed. "Yamato? At least consider mentioning to him that you feel more deeply for him than he knows?"
"I'll consider it," Yamato promised.
Ken wished that he could just tell Yamato that Taichi loved him back, so Yamato would be able to confess his feelings to the Indian chief, but his instincts told him to keep the secret to himself for longer and see if perhaps Yamato finally gathered the courage to confront the boy himself.
Ken stood and brushed himself off, turning and walking back to the bonfire. Yamato followed after composing himself again, and when Ken glanced back at him, he saw the stately, poised Prince of Wolves that he had met that same morning, and if he hadn't just witnessed the blonde breaking down over his immense feelings of love, he would never have guessed Yamato was capable of losing his calm.
He looked forward again and smiled as he approached Takeru and Daisuke, who were both eating the sweet bread the Indians were providing as dessert. Takeru cast frequent glances up towards the redhead with an odd look ever minute or so, and Daisuke was eating just as vivaciously as ever, blissfully unaware of the looks he was receiving from the boy sitting next to him.
Ken plopped down on the other side of Takeru and smiled at him.
"Enjoying your sweet bread?"
Takeru looked up at him and nodded, holding the food in question up to Ken's face.
"Want some?"
Ken smiled and reached up to pull a piece off. He placed it in his mouth and chewed delicately. Takeru marveled at how gracefully all of this was done. Ken somehow knew how to be graceful in everything he did, from just walking to the simple task of eating.
"You're so beautiful," Takeru said softly.
Ken blushed lightly and smiled, reaching up to cup Takeru's face in one hand. They leant towards each other, eyes drifting shut, lips puckering in anticipation of the kiss, and then Daisuke stuck his head around Takeru's back.
"Yeah, Ken, you're very beautiful."
Ken's eyes shot open again and he pulled away. Takeru groaned and turned to send a seething glare Daisuke's way. Daisuke ignored it, pouting at Ken.
"Since I said it, too, can I get a kiss as well?"
Ken laughed and leant forward to leave a small kiss on Daisuke's forehead. Daisuke blinked, and then blushed lightly, grinning widely.
He leapt to his feet and announced to the world, "I got a kiss from Ken!"
Takeru growled loudly and jumped up after him. "That's it, I'm beating you into the dirt."
Ken watched, torn between amusement and worry, as his blonde boyfriend chased Daisuke around the bonfire and the logs surrounding it. He sighed and smiled to himself, resting his chin in his hands. He glanced to the side and saw the forgotten sweet bread laying on the log next to him and, deciding food should not go to waste, especially if it was prepared by someone else, he set to work devouring them both before the other two returned.
