It was roughly 3am. Taichi and Yamato were draped over one another on the couch watching the fuzzy news on the rebuilding of Tokyo and making comments here and there about some sort of permanent committee on saving the world. Sora was in the kitchen feeding Sam with Miyako, Midori and Shinobu. Daisuke was staring out the window.
The door opened.
Hikari stepped inside. Followed by a very thin and pale version of Ken and Takeru.
Daisuke practically flew at them. "How many times do I have to think you guys are dead!"
"It's over." Hikari said, through her brother's squeezing arms, and after a moment, Miyako's.
"I know." Koushiro stated. "You linked the worlds. I saw what you did. It a fairly clever solution."
Taichi stepped back in surprise. "What?"
"We reset the worlds. They're all one now." Ken replied. "One world, three layers."
"It was the only way to keep this from happening again." Takeru added, running his hands through Daisuke's hair, and looking at him adoringly. Ken caught sight of Sam and ran over to Sora, who released the child to her father.
"Oh... Sam. I missed you so much." He could feel his eyes watering. Hikari smiled and walked over to gently touch her head.
"But how did you guys manage that?" Koushiro asked. Hikari smiled weakly.
"Our world didn't naturally have a person looking after it. Neither did the Digital World, except for the Digigods. But they are naturally connected. So..."
"She made herself the pillar for our worlds. She's keeping them stable with her mind." Takeru said, almost accusingly. "You could have told us you were going to do that."
Miyako's eyes bugged. "You can do that?!"
"With our help. Take chan and I support." Ken told her, still completely absorbed with his child.
"It had to be me. Take chan is a lesser pillar for this world, so he couldn't take on what we were doing without losing lives here, and Ken is the pillar for the Dark Ocean, and I might need his power if something else comes up. It has to be me... and I'm okay with that. It's who I am." Hikari faced them and leaned on the arm of the couch. "Somehow, I think I always knew that. The position is going to put restrictions on me, but it's okay. One of them is that I really can't be in a relationship. I need to stay solitary so I can do my job. Which is alright. Because I know you all love me. And I have Sam. I can do this. If nothing else, we will never have to worry about this particular problem again."
"Just a million other ones." Shinobu snarked. Yamato grinned wolfishly.
Daisuke laid his head on Takeru's shoulder. "Can we... go home?"
"That's a good idea." Ken smiled. He held Sam up, talking to her. "Let's go home."
By some small miracle, Ken managed to pass his courses, but decided after graduation that he wanted to stay home with Sam for a little while. In gratitude for his part in her experiment, Dr. Tanaka kept him on payroll as a consultant, which he could do from their apartment.
Hikari soon moved out, but visited often to see her daughter, and how her three friends were getting on together. Ken, Takeru, and Daisuke had to buy a bigger bed.
That summer, there was a triple ceremony, although, two of the marriage performed that day were not legal for another eight years. Miyako joined Koushiro's company, and renamed it Consciousness Vehicle Corporation. They still aren't certain if that was a good thing.
Mimi continued doing recordings of her songs in Japan, and used the Digital Plane as transport to keep up with her dealings in the fashion world. Nuriko continued her education, collecting people for her charter school as she went along. Iori seriously considered joining as the school psychologist, if only part time.
Later in the year, Jade Crue found it necessary to set up a coming out interview for Yamato. Because, with the tabloids at it again, everyone knew that not only did he have a husband. His husband was pregnant.
Despite the success with Ken, Dr. Tanaka still needed to try putting the genes of two men together. She asked if they wanted a boy or girl. Taichi told her to surprise them. She gave them twins.
Koushiro showed up to the baby shower with reservations, but he loved those children so much it didn't really matter. Then he got a surprise.
"Oh, Kou kun I'm so nervous." Miyako chattered at him. He wondered how she'd managed to get him in the corner. "Sora chan's going to be coming here with our new little kid and I'm so frikkin nervous."
"So you said. Kid?"
"We're adopting. Not that there aren't enough squealers around here. Everyone's having kids what if it doesn't like me!!"
Koushiro raised his hands in self defense. "How would that be possible?"
"That's true. I'm fun and smart and pretty. It would have to."
"Does it have a name?"
"Ano... probably. I'll find out later tonight. Sora chan's going to bring the kid over. She's been fighting with the adoption agency for weeks to let her take a kid."
"A baby?"
"You think we're lacking for babies around here? No, probably kinda young, but older than a newborn."
Koushiro smiled. "That's good."
"Yeah."
"OH!" Their heads turned to look at Taichi, who was bracing his back and looking pained and flushed. Yamato dropped the tray he was working on in the kitchen and ran into the room to his sweatsuit clad husband. Taichi's cheeks were reddened and angry.
"Are you okay?"
"If by okay, you mean an overblown beach ball, yeah. I'm great." Taichi really wanted to crawl under something and hide. He was feeling everything at once, even though he'd never been one to cry for no reason before. Yamato leaned down and kissed the tears streaming down his cheeks.
"You have no idea how sexy you are."
"I am not.." He wanted to punch him.
Yamato caressed Taichi taut round belly lovingly, feeling the twins kicking and moving within. He supposed that was what had caused Taichi to cry out in the first place. The twins had been making him pretty uncomfortable. Yamato ran his hand along the little bumps, pressing back and playing with them as he sang softly.
"They love your voice." Taichi sniffed, trying to control himself. Their friends pretended to look away.
"It's only fair they know their daddy. Since he'll be around a lot this year to make sure they don't run you crazy." Yamato looked up to see Taichi's eyes light up.
"Really? You're breaking tour for me?"
"Are you kidding? I wouldn't miss this for the world!" Yamato placed his hand on Taichi's back and helped him ease slowly onto the couch so he could rest before the shower started. "Besides, you've done all the work so far. You need a vacation."
Taichi set his feet up on the ottoman and reached up to kiss Yamato, who obliged unyieldingly. "Damn, I love you."
"Wow."
Both men looked over to see Masaharu and Natsuko standing in the doorway.
"Oh, I'm having grandchildren! I don't believe it. Why didn't you say something sooner?" Natsuko smiled knowingly and ran over to Taichi's side and began to gush. They had told her right away. Masaharu stood back, taking in the site of Yamato's pregnant spouse.
"Congratulations." He said finally. "This is quite an event."
"Thanks, 'Tosan." Yamato replied. Masaharu nodded stiffly and stood nearby.
"Do you have any names yet?"
"Saki and Takeru." Taichi told him, a little uncertainly. Mimi bounced over with her son.
"It's great. We have Maki and Saki and Taki!"
Natsuko laughed. "That's fantastic."
Ken's natural energy as an over achiever had landed him as a part time volunteer for several groups aimed against domestic violence, so he found himself running rather late to the baby shower, and taking a shortcut in the taxi that he hadn't expected. But he stopped the taxi suddenly in front of a dilapidated apartment building in a rougher side of Odaiba for little to no reason, and told him to wait.
Listening to his instincts had often boded well for Ken, so when his heart tugged on him to go in this direction, he went. And up the stairs he went, unhurriedly, feeling out the building with his expanded awareness. The scene was familiar to him.
I dreamed this. Ken thought to himself guardedly. Since Hikari had become their World Pillar, they hadn't exchanged thoughts so easily, but it was still worth his while to be careful.
From door to door, floor to floor he felt the building, the energies of the people living there, and who had been living there once. And then he felt it, acutely, like a punch in the mouth.
Because it was. But not his own.
Ken dashed to a door on his left and tried the handle. It was locked. So Ken began to slam himself against the door.
"Get out of here!" Came a rough and angry voice. Ken slammed harder and broke the door down.
The first thing he saw was a pair of wide frightened eyes.
The party was going well, even if a few of their friends were horribly late. Daisuke was in the middle of his latest story about the gallery when his cell phone went off.
"Hold on!" He put his ear to the phone. "Moshi moshi! ... Ken chan!! Huh? Are you pregnant again?"
A few heads turned, and could hear Ken's voice on the other end. "NO!"
Taichi laughed.
"Okay, Ken chan, you just come by when you're ready." Daisuke ended the call looking confused. Takeru sat by him.
"What did he say?"
"Y'know, I'm not sure."
Sora entered carrying a small child on her hip, who blinked at the people around him shyly. "Hey everyone, say hi to Morio!"
Miyako darted over and waved at the child excitedly. He blinked his eyes quickly. She stopped, afraid he was start to wail.
He laughed. "Hee hee. Funny."
"Mori chan, this is Miyako." Sora told him. He shook his light purple hair and pointed at her.
"Miyako!" He made a small bow. Sora set him on the floor with Makoto and Sam.
"Sorry we're so late. You wouldn't believe the paperwork." Sora smiled up at Miyako radiantly. Her lover dropped to the ground and took Morio's hands, and danced them around. He laughed again happily.
"Oi, I like you kiddo." Miyako smiled, nervousness melted away. The door opened again.
"Ken!" Daisuke and Takeru rushed the door in unison. To their surprise, he was carrying a child as well, a small girl of perhaps two or three years, with mussed black hair and a welt on her face.
"Hey, everyone."
"Who's your friend, Ken chan?" Hikari asked, holding Sam in her lap.
"This is Rei. She'll be living with us for a little while." Ken smiled, asking Takeru and Daisuke a question with his eyes. Daisuke took her from him and raised her in the air. Her pale face froze in terror, and she closed her eyes. Daisuke blinked, then handed her back to Ken. She cling to him, frightened.
"Rei... hasn't said much yet." He said softly, taking a washcloth from Natsuko and washing a little blood off her face. "But I think she'll be fine, given some time."
Sora nodded solemnly and gave Rei a reassuring smile. Rei hid her face.
Ken set her down with Hikari and Sam to step aside and explain to Takeru and Daisuke about how he'd found her at her father's mercy in their apartment. He'd been beating the small child. Their place was filthy, and there was no food. Ken had broken the man's jaw when he saw him strike her. Then he had called the police. With no where for her to go, he offered her a temporary home, but he knew, from his previous conversations with Anubis that Rei would be staying with them. They would have to find a way for her to cope with her father's treatment and to accept them as a family that would love her.
The serious mood was broken by a giggle. Ken turned.
Rei was sitting with Sam, saying nothing, but giggling happily none the less. Sam clapped her hands together and then pressed her small hands to Rei's abused face. The small child healed before their eyes.
"Oneechan!" Sam laughed and hugged the little girl to her.
Ken leaned back with his two lovers. This hardly ever happened to him. Even if for just this moment, he felt as though he were completely in synch with his surroundings. As though he were exactly where he needed to be.
"And the lived happily ever after." Midori said softly, pressing her nose against her life partner. Shinobu rolled her eyes, but smiled. It was a True Telling.
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