How long since I last updated this fic… 14th December?! Yeesh…

Sorry it's taken so long, but my case of WB is still persisting, and this chapter resented being dragged out of my head. This fic is just so infuriating! Sometimes I just feel like giving up on it for good… I have an ending in mind, and maybe the one before that too, thanks to a suggestion, but I have no idea how to get top that point. Aargh…

Hmm, not sure how much I like this chapter. Some bits yes, other bits, no. Enough of me talking, I'll let you read the fic so you can make your own mind up.

Thanks must go to Atsuko, for agreeing to beta this for me, and assuring me that this didn't stink like I'm sure it does. I just cannot judge my own work. And to Nanaki Lioness, thank you for that wonderful review! That is just the most amazing compliment, and I'm sorry I was so hard to find. I hope this chapter lives up to everyone's expectations.

And ending up at Matt's place? *smiles* No, I had something else planned…

Late Night Radio Pt.3

Of Hotels and Haircuts

Taichi awoke with a start, and stared about the room he was in, in confusion, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

What the...

Where the hell was he? The last thing he could remember was falling the sleep in the back of the limo with Yamato. And now he was waking up... Where?

He stared about the room again. Now that he was reasonably awake, he could begin to take in the details.

The brunette was half-sitting, half-lying in an enormous bed that would barely even fit in his room at home, but only took up a fraction of this one. The walled were papered in a subtle pale blue, the curtains looking to be made out of some heavy luxurious material, held back from the window by matching ties. To the left was a door, firmly shut, and to the right the door stood slightly ajar, leading to another, similarly decorated room, though without the bed.

In fact it looked just like...

The answer dawned on him belatedly.

He was in a hotel room. And if the decor was anything to go by, an expensive one at that.

Yawning and stretching, he became aware of a soft sound coming from the closed door. It sounded like... Just like water. And that meant that it was obviously an en suite bathroom, and the soft singing he now picked up told him that Yamato was in there, showering.

The water was shut off a moment later, the same instant that Taichi caught sight of his reflection in a mirror. And his mouth made a wide 'o' of horror. His hair was a state. Usually it stuck up in the air in a manner that some might have considered chaotic, but he personally knew that there was order within the apparent chaos. However it was purely and simply a mess. It stuck up haphazardly in every direction, making him look rather like he had just had an electric shock or something.

He glanced fearfully towards the closed door. Shit. Yamato had finished his shower, and that meant that he'd be out any minute now... He couldn't let him see him like this!

Frantically he began to drag his fingers through his hair, having nothing else to use. Desperately trying to restore some order to the tangled mess, and wondering, not for the first time, how the hell it always got in such a state when he slept...

Emerging from the bathroom a few minutes later, a fluffy white towel around his waist, and drying his blonde locks with another, Yamato wandered into the room, and then stopped in surprise. Staring at Taichi, who had frozen in shock at his entrance, a smile began to tug at his lips. Taking in the brunette's panicked expression as his chocolate eyes continued to widen, both hands still tangled in his unruly hair... The blonde began to giggle, and then doubled up in laughter, tears coming to his eyes. Grabbing a chair, he sat down on it, leaning back and tipping his head towards the ceiling, making no attempt to control his mirth as he just laughed.

"Ah dear..." he chuckled, wiping tears from his eyes a few minutes later once the worst had passed. "I haven't laughed so much in a very long time. I mean... what do you look like?!"

Taichi scowled.

"Well, I did only just wake up." he muttered, slowly removing his hands from his hair, and folding his arms across his chest.

"Even so..." Yamato sniggered.

"Yes?" The brunette's tone was acidic.

"What are you like you spiky-haired freak..." the blonde teased, before collapsing into another fit of laughter.

"Yeah? Well at least I'm not a long-haired loser!" the brunette retorted.

"Oh?" Yamato arched an eyebrow, his eyes sparking with challenge. "Well at least my hair doesn't make my head look like a mutant porcupine!"

"Well... Mine doesn't make me look like a girl!"

"A girl am I? Well at least I can actually fit my hair through a doorway without it having to be an extra-wide one!"

"Hah! My colour's natural!"

"So's mine you idiot! That the best you can come up with?"

"Like I believe you blondie!"

"Sounds like you don't know the truth when you hear it. I mean, hello? No roots!"

"That doesn't mean anything!"

"Yes it does, it means I'm a natural blonde, baka! And of course your hair colour would be natural; who would want a mop like that?!"

"Hey! You take that back!"

"Shan't!"

"Hah! I happen to like my colour than you."

"Some people have no taste."

"You mean like you?"

"Have you got your eyes shut? Thank you, I've got style."

"Not when it comes to hair!"

"You're one to talk!"

"At least mine doesn't look fake, wig boy!"

"You think yours looks real?! It looks like something bought in a joke shop!"

"Blonde bimbo!"

"Mousy brunette!"

"At least I don't get through a ton of hairgel each day!"

"You sure about that one?"

"Well..." Taichi hesitated.

"Or do you just have anti-gravity hairspray?" Yamato continued conversationally, somehow succeeding in keeping a straight face.

"Yeah, right." the brunette said sarcastically.

The blonde just shrugged.

Both lapsed into silence, having temporarily run out of insults to hurl at each other. Taichi chewed thoughtfully on his lower lip as he wondered what was meant to happen next. Yamato tilted his head slightly to one side, smiling gently. He held out his right hand towards the brunette.

"Truce?"

"Truce." he agreed with a grin, holding out his own hand to shake. His eyes widened in surprise as a moment later he found himself being pulled into a tight embrace by the blonde.

"God, I've missed you Tai..." he whispered into his ear, his voice oddly rough, as if he were suppressing great emotion.

"Yeah, me too Matt..." Taichi replied, his voice small as he blinked away tears that had gathered in his eyes without him noticing. He wrapped his arms around his friend, holding him close and marvelling at the softness of the pale skin. Closing his eyes, he buried his face in the still damp golden hair, breathing in the soft strawberry scent of the shampoo Yamato had used in the shower.

They just held each other for several minutes, until the blonde drew back from the embrace with a cough, and with great reluctance. The brunette saw him surreptitiously brush tears from his eyes, and found himself swallowing a lump that had built in his throat. He felt strangely alone now, without Yamato in his arms...

The blonde looked at him, and smiled weakly.

"Anou... Gomen." he said awkwardly.

Taichi brushed away the apology with a small shake of his head.

"What for?" he asked, his voice breaking mid-sentence.

"For..." He searched for words. "For being an over-sentimental wreak?" he hazarded.

"You have nothing to be sorry for then." he said softly, eyes compassionate. He reached out with a hand, and gently cupped Yamato's face, rubbing his thumb softly over his cheek. The blonde's lips parted slightly, a soft sigh escaping from them. His eyes fluttered shut, and he leaned into Taichi's touch.

They remained so in serene union for a few moments, but then the brunette's eyes widened, and he emitted a startled cry. He pulled his hand back sharply from Yamato's face, only just realising what he was doing. Horrified, he wondered if he'd overstepped the mark. A companionable hug was one thing, but that...? He wasn't even sure why he had done it, only that it felt so...natural to do so. But even so, he and the blonde had only just gotten back in touch after five, long, lonely years. It had made him realise how much he had missed his friend's company, and he couldn't bear the thought of having screwed everything up so soon...

Yamato caught hold of his hand mid-retreat, and clasped it tightly. Taichi looked at the blonde's face, and took in the tender, reassuring smile, and was comforted by it. The blonde didn't need to express in words what he was thinking, the brunette instinctively knew. Knew that he had no need to feel anxious, as his actions had been nothing wrong. That Yamato had felt it to be as natural as he had. He too smiled, and returned the firm handclasp.

They both released their grip at the same moment, and the blonde rose to his feet.

"Bathroom," he said, pointing, his eyes dancing with happiness. "As you may have already guessed. Feel free to take a shower. And no, before you suggest it, I am not implying that you stink."

He paused to glare disapprovingly at Taichi, who laughed.

"You'll also find a hairbrush, and yes, a tub of hairgel in there. Feel free to use them too."

"Thanks Matt."

"Hey, no problem. Anything else you need?"

"Don't suppose you could tell me the time could you?"

"Sure, just let me find my watch..." He rummaged through a drawer, and soon produced a silver wristwatch. "Uh... Letsee... About six or so in the evening."

"What?" he exclaimed incredulously.

"Six in the evening." he repeated, tone amused.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

The brunette smiled ruefully.

"Sorry Matt."

"What for?" he asked, genuinely surprised.

"For being such lousy company."

Yamato laughed.

"I went to sleep for a bit as well you know. Only woke up an hour or so ago, and I reckoned that you could do with the rest, so I just let you sleep. You seemed pretty beat."

"Yeah... Doing nights takes a lot more out of you than you might think."

"Anyway, hurry up and get ready!"

"Huh? For what?"

"I thought we could go and catch a movie or something in a bit. After we've eaten of course, seeing as we missed breakfast and lunch..."

"But..." Taichi protested, expression panicked. "I don't have anything to wear... I can't wear what I currently am, not after having fallen asleep in it as well!"

"Hmm."

Yamato regarded his friend thoughtfully for a few moments.

"What?" the brunette asked suspiciously.

"You're still around the same height and build as me aren't you?"

"Reckon so..."

"Then you can borrow something of mine. There! Problem solved. Now you get in that shower and get ready! I'll order us some food. What do you want?"

Taichi shrugged.

"Whatever. Don't mind. You choose! You know that I'll eat mostly anything, anyway!"

"You really haven't changed, have you?"

"Hope not. What about you, you world famous megastar type-person?"

Yamato laughed.

"Good grief, is that what I'm being called these days? Well... I hope I haven't changed too much either. Now enough of talking. Get in that bathroom, Yagami!" he mock ordered.

"Yes sir!" Taichi rose to his feet and saluted with a smirk. "Your wish is my command, Ishida!"

As the brunette walked the short distance to the bathroom, he was aware of Yamato's gaze on him. When he turned round to close and lock the bathroom door, the blonde was still watching him. The cerulean eyes were bright with life, and the smile on his lips strangely content. Taichi found himself smiling back at his friend, feeling wonderfully warm and happy.

For no apparent reason at all.

To be continued...

~

Hey, so what did you think? Yes, I know it's pure fluff… Although I could have made it a lot ruder in places. *coughs* I preferred to keep it as fluff, thanks!

Oh, please note: I have absolutely nothing against their hairstyles! I love both Matt and Tai, but just found it funny to get them to make fun of each other. Perfect harmony would be a little boring…

Don't expect another part for a while yet, because I'm still out of ideas. So suggestions are still welcome! Even if you don't have any, please take a few moments to review, it'd make this author very happy…

p.s. Actually, I have had an idea I'd like to ask your opinion on. I'm thinking of setting up a companion fic for this one. This fic kinda is from Tai's POV, so it would be a bit strange to suddenly have Matt's in there. So I was thinking of writing another with what's going on in his head. Okay so that may just be one really dumb idea, so what do you think? Should I write it…or not?

Jheya.