Disclaimer - Do you think I would be writing this right now if I owned Digimon? Here's a hint, it looks kind of like, 'no'. Pretty simple, huh?

A/N: No randomness this chapter, figured I'd spare all of you the pain. ^^ Hannio, you seemed like you wanted a lemon so bad. Sorry, not going to happen... Yet. ^^

Behind The Curtain
Chapter Six

He was never going to be able to leave the bathroom. Never. Taichi sighed exasperatedly, why did this have to happen now? He took a deep breath, and tried to think of something else other than the blonde sitting just on the other side of the bathroom door. He felt that it might be working, but a knock on the door made him jump. Taichi didn't say anything at first, maybe it had just been his imagination playing games. "Taichi, are you okay?" He heard a few moments later. Taichi began to panic, what was he supposed to do? Open the door and let the object of his 'affection' see everything?

The brunet cleared his throat. "I'm fine." He said through the door his voice sounding a little anxious. "I'll be out... Give me a minute," Or two. Or ten. Or forever, he thought. He heard a sigh came from the other side of the door and sighed himself. He looked down at himself and almost cried out with happiness. He'd gone down, meaning he could leave the bathroom. He opened the door triumphantly, and strode towards their table. He stopped abruptly when he realized the blonde wasn't sitting there. He searched the restaurant with his eyes frantically. Where had the blonde gone? He rushed out the exit, and found Yamato walking down the sidewalk away from him and the restaurant.

Taichi ran after the blue-eyed beauty, when he reached him he grabbed his arm. Yamato pulled away from him defensively. "Don't touch me!" He yelled, his eyes icy. "Get the hell away!"

The brunet jumped in surprise. He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could the blonde turned and started walking away again. He ran after the blonde once again, but instead of grabbing him (A/N: mind is not in the gutter, I promise ^^;;), he fell into step beside him. Taichi stared at him for a few moments, then said, "Yamato, I--" He closed his mouth in mid-sentence when the blonde sent him an icy glare.

Yamato stopped, his glare never leaving Taichi. "Do you have a problem? Didn't I tell you to get the hell away from me!? What the hell do you want!?" Taichi didn't want to answer, afraid that if he said anything it would trigger more yelling and screaming. People were already staring. So instead he just shook his head. That was enough for the blonde, so he started walking again. This time Taichi didn't follow. He was so confused, but he watched the blonde go with sad eyes. He wondered what was wrong with Yamato. What did he do to have the blonde get all upset?

Taichi sat in a cafè drinking a cappuccino when a blonde young man sat down at the table next to him. He did a double take, he'd thought it was Yamato at first. He watched the boy, he looked as tired as Taichi was. He looked like he was feeling about the same as well. "No matter how long you know someone, they can still confuse you." The blonde boy said, Taichi didn't know if he was talking to him or not. He answered anyway.

"No matter how well too." Taichi added. The boy looked over at him, his expression surprised. This told Taichi that he hadn't been talking to him. Then the boy nodded.

"It gets frustrating. You want to help someone, but they don't want or think they need it."

Taichi nodded. "They can change it a matter of seconds. Whatever had happened moments before forgotten... Even if it was pleasant." Taichi didn't really know what either of them were talking about, or how the conversation erupted into it. All he knew was it sounded like they were talking about the same person.

"Then they act as if nothing happened. But, then sometimes, they get upset about it. They go for so long without anything happening, then when you let your guard down they get upset again and you don't know what to do to comfort them." The blonde looked over at Taichi again. "I'm Takeru."

The brunet knew he should know that name from somewhere, but he couldn't place where. "I'm Taichi." Takeru nodded, and Taichi studied him. He looked so much like Yamato, it was almost scary. The crystal blue eyes were identical, expect, Takeru's didn't hold hatred. They were soft, comfortable. Yamato's eyes were icy, and held hatred. They were hard, and made chills run down your spine. He watched as Takeru took a sip of his coffee, every move the blonde made reminded Taichi of the blue-eyed beauty he'd met only days ago. When Takeru looked at him, Taichi averted his stare to his cappuccino. Nothing like being caught staring. Hadn't his mother ever taught him that staring was rude?

Takeru took another sip of his coffee. "The day started out so beautiful, and now look at it. It looks like it's going to storm. What a shame."

Taichi's vision went to the outside of the cafè. Takeru was right, it looked like it was going to be one hell of a storm. Taichi felt like it should be storming anyway. If fit his mood perfectly. His thoughts went back to the blonde that left him in the middle of a crowded sidewalk hours ago. He wanted nothing more that to go see how he was doing, make sure he got back alright. But, the blonde obviously didn't want to be near him, so why should Taichi even try? He couldn't figure out why it mattered anyway, nothing ever made him give up. He wasn't the type to give up easily. He was usually very persistent. Why wasn't he now?

The brunet snapped out of his thoughts when Takeru stood up from his seat. He set down a couple of dollars, said a quiet good-bye to Taichi, and left. Taichi sighed. He really should be getting home before it started pouring. He didn't need to get drenched. Taichi paid for his cappuccino and left.

Taichi walked out of the elevator. He turned the corner of the hallway, and saw two figures standing by his door. He stopped and stared at them for a few seconds. Who the hell would be standing outside his apartment? It couldn't be any immediate family, they would have a key. Taichi sighed, and made his way towards the figures. As they got into better view Taichi realized it was Daisuke, and, some other kid. Another guy.

"What are you doing?" Taichi asked as he approached them. He eyed the boy standing next to Daisuke. "And who are you?" He knew he sounded very rude, but right now he didn't care. He was tired, wet, and cold. He wanted to go into his apartment and go to bed.

Daisuke looked at Taichi apologetically. "I didn't know where else to go." Taichi raised an eyebrow, and Daisuke continued. "Can we stay here for the night?"

"We? Who's we? You and him? Who the hell is he?" Taichi knew he sounded a little upset, and he kind of was. He was pissed at himself for ever telling Daisuke that he was welcome anytime. Why couldn't he just have a peaceful day, where nothing happens? It was the only day he'd been off of work in who knows how long, and he was even more tired than he is on any other day.

"Ken. This is Ken." Daisuke answered quickly. "Look, if you don't want us to. That's completely okay, we--" Taichi stopped him by holding up his hand. He shook his head and sighed exasperatedly.

"You two can stay. But, you're going to tell me why you're at my apartment at nine o'clock at night." He said unlocking the door and letting the two boys in. Daisuke nodded and smiled gratefully. "Are either of you hungry? I think my mom dropped something off while I was out, 'cause that definitely wasn't there when I left." He rambled as he looked through the refrigerator.

Ken shook his head, then realized that Taichi couldn't see him so said, "No, thank you."

"What is it?" Daisuke asked, "Your mom? Your mom is still taking care of you? How old are you again?" The mahogany haired boy was grinning stupidly after he said it.

Taichi closed the frig, and gave Daisuke a hard look. "Man, who's letting you sleep in his apartment tonight? Should you really be making fun of him right now?" Daisuke laughed. "You think I'm kidding? I'll kick your ass out, man."

Daisuke's expression went serious, and he stared at Taichi wide-eyed. "You wouldn't!"

"Oh, try me." Taichi replied, and Daisuke apologized quickly for what he'd said. Then Taichi smiled and said, "Thank you. But, seriously, have I ever kicked you out?" Daisuke shook his head, his expression going from serious to smiling.

"No, but you seemed upset... So I thought..." Taichi gave him a 'don't be stupid' look, and Daisuke laughed. "Okay, geez. I get the point."

Taichi's attention went from Daisuke to Ken. "So what're you doing with Daisuke? I didn't think he had any friends." Daisuke huffed and stuck a tongue out at Taichi, making the brunet laugh. "Oh, I get it. He's paying you."

Ken laughed and shook his head. "No. There's just some problems at home."

The brunet nodded, even though he didn't really know what the boy was talking about. Why couldn't they stay at Dai's? "We can't stay with my parents. You know my dad, he's an asshole." Daisuke cut in, reading Taichi's thoughts.

Then it all hit Taichi. His eyes widened, and he voiced his realization. "Your dad knows." He said, it wasn't a question. He looked at Ken. "And you're Dai's... Holy shit."

[tbc]

Aero: Yes, another sucky place to stop. But you know, I could write a whole damn story based on Dai and Ken's situation. I don't know if I should be starting another story though. I have two already, plus, I have some shorts I need to get posted. ::sighs:: Damn it. Well, please review! -Ciao