A/N: Took me a little longer than expected to complete this chapter... Sorry 'bout that. I've been busy with work and home crap. I wouldn't expect the next chapter to be out very soon either, but who knows... I may get hit with a wave of inspiration... Enjoy!
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Bottom of the Abyss (4/?)
by Aero
Taichi begged Yamato not to leave him and almost wrapped his arms and legs around the blonde just to make sure he wasn't going anywhere. He couldn't take the chance of Yamato being hurt in someway. Who else would put up with him? Especially when he was acting cracked-out.
Shutting his eyes tightly, Taichi forced the tears back. He was acting so stupid. Dreams aren't real, they can't hurt you. 'Unless you can't distinguish the difference between dreams and reality,' Taichi mused.
"Taichi, we have to take care of that cut," Yamato was saying. The sentence caught Taichi's attention. "How 'bout I go to the kitchen, right over there, and get a dishtowel. We can't let you sit there and bleed to death."
'I can't bleed to death from a little cut on my forehead,' the brunet thought as he watched Yamato walk into the kitchen and wet a dishtowel. Taichi pulled away from Yamato out of instinct when the blonde touched his cut with the wet towel, making his forehead sting slightly.
"C'mon Taichi, I have to get the blood off."
The blood was now dripping onto his clothes. He could feel the liquid getting into his eyes. He wondered if it looked real bad. Nothing could be worse than what he's seen in his dreams. "You didn't smell dead," Taichi said softly as Yamato wiped his brow. He raised his eyebrow, so Taichi continued. "You were okay two minutes before... It was everywhere..."
Yamato sighed. "Taichi, it was just a dream. I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere, okay?"
This was something Yamato wasn't used to. Taking care of Taichi, that is. He was never the one to recoil from something, hiding in the corner trembling. He was usually worrying about Taichi's decision making skills, which were piss-poor... Sometimes. Yamato knew Taichi had come a long way since the digital world, well, since the first time. But, he still had his moments where common-sense is thrown out the window, slaughtered as it hits the pavement falling from ten stories up.
Yamato hated when he made up weird analogies. They were usually the result of Taichi being freakish, when he started to think and worry about his best friend. With Taichi clinging to the blonde like he was made Yamato think back to when Taichi had told him he was homosexual. Why, he had to clue. When Taichi wasn't in sync with himself it knocked Yamato off balance as well.
Which is why Yamato's thoughts were jumping around.
Nothing had changed between the two, it wasn't like Taichi changed in any way, shape, or form. He was still cheeky and self-righteous as usual. Which was weird, Yamato would have never guessed Taichi was gay. It never even crossed his mind. Maybe because it didn't bother Yamato at all.
The blonde dwelled on that thought for a few minutes before being shaken from it.
"Are you even paying attention to me?!" Taichi demanded, his face scrunched up. "Dude, I'm having a freak-out and you're day-dreaming!" Yamato covered his mouth, suppressing a laugh. "You'd better damn well be day-dreaming about me!"
This time Yamato did laugh, and then nodded. "Of course," he replied grinning. "Funny how you recovered so quickly."
"Well, I wouldn't have if you weren't ignoring me! You zoned out five minutes ago, I thought I was going to have to knock your head against the wall a few times." The words left Taichi mouth and he froze. He swallowed the lump that rose into this throat, but almost choked on it. He couldn't stop the images from completely taking over his mind. They flooded him like sick pop-up pornography. And he didn't have a pop-up blocker.
All Yamato could do was stare at his best friend as he struggled with himself. How could he show Taichi that this was reality, that he wasn't dreaming anymore. What would show him that he had nothing to worry about; that everything would be okay. He searched his mind frantically and came up with one solution.
So he reached out and touched Taichi's cheek. The brunet stopped abruptly and gave Yamato a curious look, and the blonde blushed a deep crimson. He couldn't believe what he was doing. He was never this touchy-feely, it was usually Taichi that was hanging on him - not the other way around. Okay, so maybe Yamato wasn't hanging on Taichi, but he felt like this wasn't something he'd normally do. Taichi must have sensed it as well.
"Yamato," he started. "What're you..."
Yamato hand slipped behind his head and cupped it, pulling Taichi's face towards him. Their lips met in a soft kiss that wasn't really a kiss at all, at least it didn't feel like it. Maybe that was because of the quickness of it.
Everything had melted away in Taichi's mind immediately. That quick brush of Yamato's lips against his was enough to make him forget the images that were plaguing him so unjustly moments before. His lips were burning from the warmth of Yamato's lips.
He was dumbfounded by his actions. He knew the consequences would be great, he never expected himself to do that. But, then again, it felt... Good. So, Yamato was a little more than mildly confused.
Both Taichi and Yamato jumped when there was a knock at the door. Taichi grabbed Yamato's wrist when he got up to get the door. He shook his head saying, "I'll get it, Yamato."
Taichi got up and went to the door. He hesitated ever so slightly when his hand grasped the cold metal of the doorknob. He repeated a phrase in his mind to calm his shaking nerves. 'There's nothing horrible behind the door. It's probably just Koushiro or something...' he thought.
He opened the door and screeched closing the door again. There was a hesitant knock on the door again and then a muffled voice. "Taichi, everything's alright...?"
"What's wrong, Taichi? Who's at the door?" Yamato asked from behind the brunet. Taichi didn't know when the sweat started dripping down his face, but it was now. He shook his head, trying to free his mind of the thoughts that bombarded him.
"It's just..." He opened the door quickly and revealed a surprised Daisuke. "See, just Daisuke."
The mahogany-haired boy sighed. "I thought something was wrong..." Taichi shook his head.
"Why would anything be wrong? Everything's fine." Daisuke nodded.
Yamato cleared his throat and said, "I asked Daisuke to come over... When you were sleeping. I have to leave, but that's why Daisuke is here."
Taichi hit the floor and stared up at Yamato. "WHAT!? YOU'RE LEAVING ME HERE!? BY MYSELF?! WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU!?"
"Gee, thanks Taichi... I feel real welcomed now." Taichi stood up and brushed himself off, he shook his head.
"That's not what I meant, Daisuke. I meant... Erm... I meant..." The shorter boy looked up at him expectantly, crossing his arms. "I just meant you don't know what's been going on!" Daisuke nodded.
"Yamato filled me in on the details when he called me... I don't completely understand..."
Taichi stared at Yamato like he'd lost his mind. What was he thinking!? Daisuke was just like him, how could that be any good at all? Yamato was a little more... Oh... Mature with how he dealt with things. Daisuke wasn't. Taichi could feel his hope slipping away. He and Daisuke were going to go down with the ship, he just knew it.
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Aero: Okay, so not the best chapter in the world. Next one will be better, promise! Leave a review if you're feeling nice! And, I know you're ALL feeling nice, ne?